Posts in Category: Cover
On The Cover
“Take My Breath” is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on August 6, 2021, as the lead single from his upcoming fifth studio album. A portion of the song’s instrumental was first teased by the Weeknd on social media platforms on August 2, 2021. “Take My Breath” was critically acclaimed for the Weeknd’s vocals, its production and nostalgic ’80s beats and synths.
Background and promotion
The Weeknd first teased that he was working on a new album in September 2020, via an interview with Rolling Stone in which he stated “I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over”.Later on during the 2021 Billboard Music Awards in May, he went on to state in his acceptance speech “I just want to say the After Hours are done and The Dawn is coming.” The Weeknd continued mentioning the upcoming project under the working name “The Dawn” on social media, throughout June and July, with him revealing a new style for his next chapter and dropping the collaborations “You Right” and “Better Believe“, respective collaborations with Doja Cat, and Belly and Young Thug, during that period to showcase it in the visuals for the two tracks.
On August 2, 2021, a snippet of “Take My Breath” with a visual of a sunrise titled “The Dawn Is Coming” and a GQ interview was released in promotion of the track, with the single’s release date of August 6, 2021 being confirmed through the release of a Tokyo Olympics 2020 promotional video later that day.
Critical reception
“Take My Breath” received universal acclaim. The vocals and production of the track received praise from Billboard‘s Joe Lynch, who compared the latter aspect’s usage of a synthesizer to the synth riff that was used in Donna Summer‘s 1977 single “I Feel Love“. Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian gave the song a five-star rating, stating that it is “an instant disco-pop masterpiece”. Consequence of Sound writer Mary Siroky complimented “Take My Breath”, “the music is pulsing, almost dizzying in its dance-floor intensity from start to finish, leaving the listener appropriately breathless”. Chief critic Jon Pareles of New York Times highlighted the record’s retro appeal, “the disco thump, electric piano chords and call-and-response falsetto vocals in “Take My Breath” hark back to vintage Bee Gees. Journalist Quinn Moreland from Pitchfork complimented the intro and chorus, “from the strutting intro to the extremely infectious melody, “Take My Breath” is full of life”. Fans around the world speculated the synth-pop “Take My Breath” gives vibes of Michael Jackson and reminds the late era of the 80’s.
Music video
The music video for “Take My Breath” was first teased by the Weeknd on social media via self-released images of the visual during the week leading up to the release of the single. Directed by Cliqua, it originally was supposed to play before IMAX showings of The Suicide Squad, but was reportedly pulled due to epilepsy concerns in regards to the “intense strobe lighting” featured in the clip. The video was released alongside the song.
Personnel
- The Weeknd – songwriting, vocals, production, programming, keyboards, bass, drums
- Belly – songwriting
- Max Martin – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, drums
- Oscar Holter – songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, drums
- Elvira Anderfjärd – background vocals
- David Bukovinsky – cello
- Shellback – drums
- Magnus Sjölander – percussion
- Mattias Bylund – strings
- Mattias Johansson – violin
- Sam Holland – engineering, studio personel
- Serban Ghenea – mixing, studio personel
- Dave Kutch – mastering, studio personel
On The Cover
Kimberley Born, Trevor Stuurman, 28, Is An Award Winning Contemporary Multimedia Visual Artist, Afda Graduate With A Ba (Hons) Motion Picture & Live Performance Who Sees The World Through His Creative Lens And Finds Beauty In That Which Reminds Him Of Home – A Place That Is Imbued With Colour, Love And Belonging That Reflects Africa. Ever Since He Burst Onto The Creative Scene Scooping The Elle Style Reporter Title In 2012, Trevor Has Easily Cemented Himself As A Creative Force To Be Reckoned With.
A Seasoned Explorer, He Cites Travel As His Core Inspiration. “The More I Leave Home, The More I Realise The Power And Currency That Home Has. And I Think That In Turn Makes Me A Better Storyteller Because I Am Able To Find Pieces Of Home Wherever I Go And Then Create Tangible Products”. This Essence Of Belonging Inspired Him To Host His First Solo Exhibition Entitled “Home”, A Love Letter To The Himba Women Of Nambia That Enjoyed A Successful Run At The Hazard Gallery In Johannesburg. Subsequently, Trevor Has Exhibited In A Group Exhibition At Digitalia; The Art And Economy Of Ideas In San Francisco At The Museum Of The African Diaspora. Trevor Has Curated His Own Installations; “Teleporting Into Afrika” And “This Is Home” For The Absolut One Source Live Creative Festivals And “This Is Home” At The Motsepe Foundation’s Mandela 100 Summit.
Trevor Has Cemented Himself As A Co-Pilot With Brands Such As Mini As Brand Ambassador, Standard Bank, Simon And Mary’s Fez Hats Line, Eponymous Fashion Brand Rich Mnisi, Vlisco And Laurence Airline. He Has Collaborated With Artists Such As Black Coffee, Ciara, Nelson Makamo, African Rhythm, Dear Ribane And The Carters – Beyoncé And Jay-Z. As Marie Claire Magazine’s Image Maker 2018 Recipient And Gq Style Declared “King Of Creativity”, Trevor Has Lived Up To These Titles Having Been Commissioned In The Same Year By Disney To Interpret Marvel’s Black Panther With Manthe Ribane As His Muse. His Work With Global Humanitarian Foundations Includes The United Nations, Gates Foundation And The Auma Obama Foundation To Document Former American President Barack Obama. Described As “A Cultural Force” By Cnn’s African Voices Feature, Trevor Continues To Hone In On His Creative Eye And Centres Diverse Beauty And Fashion. He Has Captured The Likes Of Teyana Taylor, Naomi Campbell Shanelle Nyasiase, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner And Imaan Hammam. As A British Vogue Contributor, Trevor’s Work At Arise And Afro Punk Johannesburg Has Made Him A Sought After Photographer Able To Capture Inclusive Representations Of Beauty, Culture And Fashion Expression. It Is No Wonder He Believes That “Being African Is His Superpower.”
On The Cover
The RICH MNISI furniture debut, consisting of a chaise and a stool, follows our latest fashion collection – titled Nwa-Mulamula, after Rich’s late great-grand mother. The pieces stand as a physical representation of Nwa-Mulamulaas the ever-present guardian, whose teachings live on through storytelling generation after generation.
“For me, the chaise, which takes the shape of Nwa-Mulamula’s (The Guardian) body in the form of a Navy leather couch, presents her presence and long-lasting teachings, and the stool, in the shape of an eye with gold puddles, represents hertears, which were never in vain. Without her pain and her experiences I wouldn’t exist. I couldn’t be the person I am today,” explains Mnisi.
These specially commissioned pieces form part of a group show of multidisciplinary artists, all in celebration of Southern Guild’s decade-long journey of pioneering collectible design in South Africa, and include ceramic artists Zizipho Poswa and Madoda Fani, sculptors Daniella Mooney and Stanislaw Trzebinski, and newcomers such as 3D illustrator Ferdi B. Dick.
“You’ve never seen anything like these pieces before,” says Julian McGowan, co-founder of The Guild Group, “the whole concept was to encourage the designers to work outside their comfort zone, providing mentorship and guidance along the way. They’re accomplished designers already – so we wanted them to think differently about themselves and their work.”
We’re proud to announce that we are part of a group show titled ‘Communion’ where we launch ‘Nwa-Mulamula – Alkebulan, mother of humankind’
The fertile soil of unfettered expression that nourishes our work, takes form yet again through the preservation of her-story and inspired by my late great-grandmother, Nwa-Mulamula. From the journey of unearthing a time capsule of her story, reimagining her as a guiding light during ceremonial rites of passage and to the visceral dreams of connection in Milorho. She revisits.
Alkebulan is a symbol of returning myself to the ancestral ground she rests on. The personification that is the continent of my birth and the home of humanity. A place that celebrates the spirit of her children. Her roots are the source of life. Mothers remain the umbilical cord that grounds a family in gathering. Mother Africa, the world rests at your feet. “Communion brings into dialogue intensely personal work by six artists. Working in different disciplines, each artist uses their creative process to wrestle with, sanctify or release the ties that bind. The shared site of the gallery becomes a place for communion between the artist and their subject on the one hand, and among the group of artists together, on the other.” – Southern Guild
On The Cover
PARIS, MAY 24, 2021
by NICOLE PHELPS of Vogue
It’s three years next month that Kim Jones made his Dior Men debut, setting a template with the thousands of pink flowers that lined the Paris runway and the giant Kaws sculpture at the center of it for lavish shows featuring artist collaborators. After Kaws came Daniel Arsham, Amoako Boafo, Kenny Scharf, and Peter Doig, and pandemic-proof lines of shoppers outside Dior Men stores around the world.
Absent a runway and an art world partner, this collection presents an opportunity to investigate the other hallmarks of Jones’s tenure. If they’re not as splashy, they’re no less considered; a Zoom presentation of this season’s novelties suggests that few things escape his attention to detail.
Sneakers are a good place to start. Jones reported that footwear is Dior Men’s largest growing category, with “huge figures.” This season’s new addition is the B30, whose aerodynamic and large CD logo treatment was influenced, he said, by French modernism. (There is much experimenting with logos here, including a heart-shaped CD lifted from Marc Bohan, the designer who helmed Dior for nearly 30 years.) Or consider the new Lingot bag, shaped as its name suggests like a bar of gold. Offered in a range of sizes, each bag features a nifty slot for Apple’s AirTags, making them trackable via the iPhone’s Find My app. A stainless steel flask engraved with the Dior Oblique logo is a trifle by comparison, but no less collectible for it.
On the apparel front, a ripstop nylon jacket folds away into a saddle bag built into the jacket’s lining, a product that was a long time in development due to its complex construction. “It’s a techy thing that really makes lives better and fits with the modern world,” Jones said. Utility is the flip side of luxury at Dior Men. A beautiful shearling bomber, for instance, reverses to quilted leather. Elsewhere, the couture-influenced tailoring he’s become known for has been loosened up considerably.
Jones hinted that he’s thinking of spring 2022, which he’ll show next month, as a sort of refresh. “I always ask myself, what would Christian Dior be doing now,” he said. The couturier, of course, made his mark with the New Look as Europe emerged from the devastation of World War II. Fashion is a different industry today, but if the runways still have the power to reshape trends in a post-pandemic world, Jones with his roving eye and boundless enthusiasm, just might be the designer to lead the way.
On The Cover
This month we cover the businesses man Jay-Z and take a deep dive into his old and current deals and on an article by Bob Curley on Why Young Adults Are Having Less Sex plus see the entire Dior Fall/Winter collection
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