Stuart Davis, Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors — 7th Avenue Style, 1940
From the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:
Hot Still-Scape is a masterpiece of Davis’s late abstract style. Its enigmatic title provides clues to deciphering its content. The term “still-scape” was the artist’s own invention: a combination of abstract landscape and still-life elements he had used in other paintings, coupled with those he had made up. “Hot,” according to the artist, described the dynamic mood created by the juxtaposition of the six colors: white, yellow, blue, red, orange, and black. The designation “7th Avenue” refers to the New York City street on which Davis had his studio for fifteen years. It was in the heart of a bustling West Village neighborhood with lively street life and noisy automobile traffic (indicated by the syncopated street signs in the picture), and just blocks from a number of the hot jazz clubs in the Village. A month after he finished the picture, he wrote, “It is the product of everyday experience in the new lights, speeds, and spaces of the American environment.”
happy 27th birthday dev hynes (also known as blood orange and lightspeed champion)
Aw, thank you. <3
One of my favourite tracks from the Solange record TRUE is the last song, “Bad Girls’. Although it is seen as a cover of one of my songs, we actually tracked the Solange version before mine was released. The Blood Orange demo I had made had been floating around on a cdr i would give away at shows I would play a few years ago.
Part of Solange’s genius is her ability at creating and transforming vocal arrangements (e.g the final minute of this song). Many things Solange did vocally changed how I then would sing the song in future Blood Orange performances, inflections and adlibs that my mind would never have gotten to. I love how the lyrics, when turned into first person become less of a judgement call but more of plea.
The craziest thing about this song though, is Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire coming in to play bass. It was mid-October 2010, and I remember us sitting in the house in Hollywood, nervous, waiting for him to turn up. Solange said to me “You know, as producer, you’re the one that has to like, tell him what to do?” I shat one.
He turned up, looking incredible as ever, and was instantly sooo warm and friendly. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We played the song to him (which I should add, at this point was around 12 minutes long) and we listened to my bass parts. Now, I don’t really see myself as a bassist, but I feel I can get the point across.. but having probably one of the greatest bassists in the world listening to bass parts I had recorded in my bedroom, is really wild, and scary.
We decided to run the song on a loop, and have him sit across from me and just jam through it. Keeping my bass part in the track as a counter to his, my tone being the more trebly and compressed, his being the thicky funky power lead. It was incredible. i’m pretty sure that the first 2 minutes of Verdine’s bass in this song are from a one take that he did, which we left completely un edited.
Afterwards he told us stories of Earth, Wind & Fire in their early days and then, still completely in shock at what had just happened. We said our goodbyes.
Solange & I on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. lol!
Watch Solange & I perform the single “Losing You” from our record TRUE on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. STANKYYY
“Everything Is Embarrassing” the song I wrote for Sky Ferreira was just named Song Of The Year in the culture issue of New York Magazine. This is so wild !!
Huge thanks to everyone that is supporting the record I made with Solange !
TRUE out now on itunes !!!
You can now pre-order the whole record TRUE which is released digitally November 27th worldwide.
(Photo taken by me backstage at The Fonda last year, I just recently found it on my hard drive!)
A few weeks ago Grimes asked me to be the special guest performance for her sold out NYC Bowery Ballroom show. Even though i’m not really playing shows that much these days I couldn’t say no to her. Here’s a video of me performing the song I wrote and produced for Sky Ferreira - “Everything Is Embarrassing”.
(via trashhand)
‘I walked in and Dev was playing this beat, and it was like a lightbulb went off … and he was dressed as a wizard, which helped’ - Solange Knowles
Last year I somehow made The Guardian Guide cover, in which I hinted about the Solange record I was working on. This week, Solange is a cover star and talks in detail about the forthcoming record we made, “TRUE” (available November 27th).
Solange - True (Released November 27 via Terrible Records)
- Losing You
- Some Things Never Seem to Fucking Work
- Locked in Closets
- Lovers in the Parking Lot
- Don’t Let Me Down
- Look Good With Trouble
- Bad Girls (Verdine Version)
