interview with sue denim

It's the holidays now, so I thought this would be something nice for you !!

You might already have heard of Sue Denim, a singer/songwriter from London who was in the band Robots in Disguise (obsession of 2010/11) with her friend Dee Plume, but now she's gone on to a solo career - her debut album being 'And The Unicorn'. She's super rad, has the most fantastic style and such a nice person... and she's taken the time to answer a few questions for me! (This was ready last summer and I was originally going to put it in a zine before I lost my creativity/inspiration/whatever you want to call it, so sorry about that!)

Did you always want to be a musician, and when did you start getting into music?

No, in fact I wanted to be a vet! But my grades started a-slippin’, and my interest in music surpassed that in animals, plus a guitarist mate (Dee) who I’d introduced to another singer pal of mine to form a band (without thinking I’d join em!) asked me to play bass with them. Even though I couldn’t actually play. Punk!

What makes you happy about the music industry?

Music! It’s the industry bit that’s tricky!

Is there anything that makes you angry about it?

Yeah. All sorts. It’s one of the most unprofessional businesses that exist! So much to complain about! Mainly though, that a good song is not enough, that it’s basically all down to finance. There’s a myth that surrounds it that is hard to dispel in many people’s eyes. Only years of immersion dispels the myth!

What are your 5 most played songs at the moment?

It changes all the time. I’ll just say my 5 most played at the moment:

Andalusia – John Cale

Pablo Picasso – Jonathan Richman

Spanish Caravan – The Doors

Jackie – Scott Walker

Free Pussy Riot! - Peaches

I  love your video for Bicycle! It’s sort of collage-y, do you make stuff like that for inspiration and such? Maybe for a new song idea or something?

I’ve only made one or two collages EVER! I should do more, it’s fun. Thanks for reminding me!

Do you think the internet has made it easier to be a feminist?

It’s easy to get information and connect to like-minded people quickly, which is cool. I HOPE it’s easier. I have a dream... EVERYONE becomes a feminist! (Yeah right!) The internet is a tricky issue for me... such a time-gobbler but BRILLIANT too! That dastardly internet makes everything both easier and more difficult, it’s the ultimate paradox!

Have you watched any films/TV shows recently that have inspired you?

I rarely watch TV. The last film I saw was The Artist which I loved!

What are you looking forward to in the next year or so?

Touring East... making another album, earning a bit of cash money, good health and good cheer!

Just super cool everything.

her website is here

(and Ialso found a really good website for more pictures of Sue and Dee here)

hope you all have a great easter if you celebrate it and eat a lot of chocolate,

jemima xx

creepy shoot pt. 2

I'm feeling an obsession with Francoise Hardy coming on. All her songs/pictures/videos are just so charming and whimsical and the whole 60's aesthetic in general makes me want to cry. (tears of joy) I chose a few I really like:

(found here)

the next one happens to be one of my favourite pictures of all time:

Just ah.

Earlier this week I said I would post some stuff from the Claude Cahun photo thing, so here are a few. We took some inside before going to the woods but we didn't stay out for long (cold and muddy).

I'm not sure how i feel about this one but ok. (eyebrows are drawn on not actually horizontal)

 Ellie.

Me, Eve and Ellie.

(As expected I look weird in all photos so please don't laugh)

I have been painting and stuff and here is finished Wolverine (insert primal scream here).

(I used a bottle of ink i found the other day)

David Bowie's Sweet Thing has been in my head all day, so I'll finish on that.

Also I have an interview with Sue Denim coming up on my next post which I hope is coolio

Jemima ❤xxxxxxxxxx❤

creepy man shoot

This is very tiny but...

I just wanted to say I think I am doing a photoshoot thing with two of my friends this weekend so if all goes well I shall post some of our stuff here. We've called it the Creepy Man Shoot because we're going to dress in menswear, most likely in the creepy woods near my house, and it is inspired by the photography of Claude Cahun who was a surrealist artist/writer and activist around the time of the second world war (and who is super interesting because she "experimented with her audience's understanding of photography as a documentation of reality.") Her portraits stood out because most surrealists were men at the time, and most of their paintings were of women as isolated symbols of eroticism - whereas Claude presented the full three-dimensional image and endless possibilities of the female identity, and so on. She played around with the concepts of sexuality and gender, therefore presenting it to the world in a way that is both easier to understand yet more complicated than plain written works. She's my new source for inspiration, and I found a few pictures of hers:

I was about to describe these as being sort of surreal and whimsical but then I remembered that that was her whole point

My art teacher told me today not to do any work on Frida Kahlo because she thinks her artwork is "scary" and "inappropriate". I'm not totally sure whether to feel mad at her or sorry for her.

Jemima ❤xxxxxxxxxx❤

i'm tired bye

Hello I'm sorry for not posting, I really need to keep up on my new years resolutions! This will have to be short because I am on the verge of falling asleep permanently instead of just on and off.

I'm laughing right now because we watched Romeo and Juliet in English today and an old person called Tybalt a 'saucy boy'. Ah, fun times.

I've been spending more time obsessing and being kind of lazy and eating a lot of stuff, but you know what, I am okay now because I watched this video:

And I've figured that I want to be like them. It's International Women's Day today and I've been looking around the ol' internet compulsively for some new things to watch and read that might perhaps inspire me in some way. And I found this here and sang to myself to celebrate.

I'm also reading Les Misérables at the moment and while it is inspirational, deep, eye opening and (insert more cliché blurb descriptions here), it's SO hard to read. I 'd still really recommend it though, especially if you've seen the film, because there are sometimes tiny hints in the texts that link to the songs e.g. "love is a garden", and it will make me you scream. It takes a while to get into, but once you're off, you're off.

The other day I found some rubber stamps and therefore had to stamp black flowers on everything:

(George Harrison is my favourite)

And I have started painting Hugh Jackman in ink:

It doesn't look much like him yet but I am still trying.

HBC necklace I made about this time last year (it's a sort of anniversary of my obsession) and I'm wearing a t-shirt I designed a while ago (I may also sell them once I get my etsy sorted out).

I want to call it a professional zine making workshop but really I think I was just rolling around in paper on my rug listening to Kate Bush records.

Finally, I've been fangirlin' more than usual recently, which is a huge OH. It's not good (I'm actually in danger of going into cardiac arrest whenever I see pictures of people I like) and I've been trying to vent it off by making more stuff for tumblr, e.g. LOGAN

(this method doesn't work)

(but I have found my soulmate in yet another fictional character)

Also it was non uniform day (for IWD) at school and I wore this:

The yellow jumper I picked up from a vintage fair last week, rolled up dress skirt from a vintage shop last year, the tights have silver stars on them which you can't see here. (Also blue lipstick fake glasses and about three hundred necklaces)

Before I go I'll tell you that I just watched Martin Freeman looking at johnlock fanart on live television.

Life. Made.

Jemima ❤xxxxxxxxxx❤