Our top mate from off of the telly Will Best has interviewed nuff famous people over the years, try and think of a high profile singer or actor from the last decade and chances are that Will has had them on his couch (to interview). Though it must be pretty ace getting to quiz all those famous faces we couldn’t help thinking that Will might like it if we turned the tables and asked him some questions. So we got him to give us his favourite five didn’t we? Stay tuned if you’re into shirts that you can scuba dive in, love letters from Iggy Pop, Asian disco tunes, getting girls to draw stuff on your hands and ten pin bowling.
Clothing: Black Ami shirt
I feel good whenever I wear it, and it’s the ultimate all purpose item, so I wear it a lot. By all purpose I obviously don’t mean I’ll wear it when I finally get round to taking up mountain climbing, and it won’t last long on a scuba dive but I’ve worn it to fashion events and felt right at home and worn it clubbing in Ibiza and not felt out of place. So it’s ticking enough boxes for me. Plus I like the fact that there’s something about it that makes it look just a tiny bit like a pyjama top. Because who wouldn’t want to wear their pyjamas more often?
Book: Letters of Note
I rarely read non-fiction (thats what podcasts are for after all), and lets be honest, no one ever actually reads a coffee table book, but this is the exception to the rule. Its a collection of fascinating correspondence to and from some of the most important figures from culture and history; Ghandi, JFK, Abraham Lincoln, Iggy Pop, Kurt Vonnegut, Charlotte Bronte, Leonardo Da Vinci, David Bowie…the list goes on. There’s something so beautiful about letters anyway, so personal and candid, with that inescapable feeling that they’ve been crafted and poured over and invested in; but when they also give a totally unique insight into the thoughts, hopes, fears and ideas of the people you find in Letters of Note, they become profound. Some are funny, some are bursting with wisdom, some are heartbreaking, but they are all, without exception, well worth reading.
Music: Anchorsong Influences Playlist
I’m going to be REALLY modern here, and go for a Spotify playlist curated by an artist called Anchorsong. Yep. I went there.
Anchorsong is a Japanese electronic musician who crafts some of the most exquisitely interesting, percussive, uplifting music I’ve heard in a long time (his album ‘Ceremonial’, released on Tru Thoughts, was no.5 in BBC 6Music’s Albums of 2016 list), and he has a Spotify playlist he chucks his influences into. You can hear in his production that he draws heavily on African sounds, from traditional african percussion to the distinctive afro funk being produced in the late 70’s and early 80’s, as well as some rare R&B, soul, jazz, Latin records and Asian disco tunes. Its an absolute treasure trove, and you can’t help but get sucked down musical worm holes as you try and find out more about the artists and producers he features. It’s been the starting point for some of my favourite musical discoveries over the last year and I can’t get enough of it.
Art: Zaha Hadid print
I just love Zaha Hadid’s paintings. I fell in love with them at Uni when I was dating a trainee architect who loved her work, so much so I was genuinely tempted to get a tattoo of one on my hand. Thankfully I refrained, but instead I used to get my girlfriend to drawn them on in pen. My god, writing that down makes it sound even more ludicrous than it was at the time. Bloody students eh? I use images of her paintings as the covers for most of the mixes i upload to soundcloud, and i’ve got my eye on a particular limited edition print of one of her works that I’m just waiting till I move flat to buy. To be honest, I can’t quite put my finger on why I love them so much. I think from a purely aesthetic point of view the swooping lines, the feeling of movement against the stillness of the usually black backgrounds just appeals to me, but I think the real fascination comes from the fact that despite them feeling like works of pure fantasy, these are architectural drawings (or at least, the starting point for architectural drawings). They went from sketch, to painting, to architectural drawing, to model, and in some cases to actual buildings of concrete and glass. I like the idea of having part of that process hanging on my wall.
Misc: My bowling trophy
I’ve never really won anything in my life, least of all something vaguely sporting, BUT, I am the current holder of the prestigious #Bowling4Sure bowling trophy. You may not have heard of the #Bowling4Sure bowling competition, but let me tell you, it’s the absolute pinnacle of the sporting calendar. Every year, just before christmas, three friends and I hit the lanes and compete over this most coveted of prizes. For the first couple of years i enjoyed being there but couldn’t help feeling I was just making up the numbers whilst the real bowlers, the hardcore pin smashers, did battle for the big scores. But then last year it happened. After rolling a mind-boggling 136, I TOOK THE TROPHY BY TWO POINTS! Queue rapturous applause, a tearful acceptance speech, and the realisation that all the hard work researching the exact number of drinks it took me to be at my sharpest had paid off (turns out its two pints of pale ale and three bottles of Peroni). But most importantly, it proved once and for all that 2016 wasn’t all bad. The trophy itself now sits in pride of place, and it’s one of my favourite things in my flat. Only a few more months to go until I lose it forever.