A week ago, as I arrived in an empty office and put on my headphones, three swallows dipped past my window. They weren’t the first I had seen this year, but as the room was empty and the music on my headphones seemed to fit their flight, I imagined they were there for me. They were carrying a message. A change in the air. I sat still for a moment and watched them. I have become too impatient to wait for signs to appear outside window panes, so I turned on my phone. There was one new message waiting. One of my best friends just had a baby boy. I called him and he told me after the baby was born that night, the first song they played on the radio was by The Beastie Boys. “I don’t know, but that seemed like a good sign.” he said. I agreed, hung up the phone, put my headphones back on, watched the swallows some more and felt happy. Summer’s coming. And it’s going to be good.

Here’s the music on my headphones that day:

The XlR8R podcast by Anenon. Go find yourself a window and look for clues.

Image above (c) Jean Jullien

Tracklist:

01 John Cage and Merce Cunningham “In Conversation (Spring 1981, Minneapolis, Minnesota)”

02 Anenon “Tenor Saxophone Improvisation (Live at Home Room, 4/5/12)”
03 Mirroring “Silent From Above” (Kranky)
04 ROM-DOS “You Are at the Center of The Mandala” (Non Projects)
05 Sapphire Slows “Animal Dreams” (Not Not Fun)
06 Phoebe Kiddo “Fear of U_Men” (Non Projects)
07 Anenon “This is What I Meant (Laurel Halo Orfi Mix)” (Non Projects/Ad Hoc)
08 Gold and Soil “Everything Anything Nothing” (Non Projects)
09 Yosi Horikawa feat. Jesse Boykins III, Grayson Gilmour, Anenon “Whisper from an Angel”
10 Nils Frahm “Ambre” (Erased Tapes)
11 Jenny Hval “Blood Flight” (Rune Grammofon)
12 Eric Dolphy “Hat and Beard” (Blue Note)
13 Arve Henriksen “Opening Image” (Rune Grammofon)
14 Rafael Anton Irisarri “Moments Descend on My Windowpane” (Ghostly)
15 Keith Jarrett “Eyes of the Heart Pt. 1″ (ECM)
16 The Caretaker “Past Life Regression” (History Always Favours the Winners)
17 Brian Allen Simon “Piano Improvisation (Matadero Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 11/21/11)”

Are you following us on Instagram?

You should.

Here’s a special Eyecandy dedicated to the best of Instagram. #KNOTORYUSfilter

Before we gave you the full scoop, Mathieu of the newly baptised Case Studyo released a sneak peek of the Jean Pierre Le Douche sculpture.

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Here’s the theme song, by the mighty LeLe. J’aime le mirroire et le mirroire m’aime la même!

Lords of Amsterdam Patta are a must-follow, not only because of their excellent taste, but also because you get a heads up about the new collection before anyone else. This Suckafree T-shirt is my favourite shirt of 2012.

We’re finally gonna see OFWGKTA this summer. Just booked the tickets. Hodgy Beats uses the alias @lordgnaw on Instagram and aside from pictures of Odd Future members on the toilet, you’ll mainly see awkward close-ups of his buttered up legs and funny stuff along the path towards world domination.

Nalden. This kid is going places. This is his pic of David Shrigley street art at 19 & 9th Avenue in New York.

Hey, we’re on Instagram, too! This is dominique_knotoryus on the set of a fashion shoot for De Standaard Magazine. Buy this Swash jacket today at RA, Antwerp.

Silly stuff we run into.

The Cobra Snake’s Instagram always cheers me up. This is Snoop Dogg and his breakfast pancake. Don’t follow him for celebrity watching, though. Most of his Instagram feed is taken up by hikes across the L.A. hillsides with budding models and socialites. The Cobra Snake’s mom is also on Instagram. She’s the one commenting ‘so handsome!’ underneath every single pic.

I miss Wooooo! Magazine. He’s still on Instagram, though. Posting weird stuff.

Big Boi’s son. Cuteness.

OK, this is cheating: these pics aren’t from Instagram, they’re from P.A.M. on Facebook. But they are way too good to miss out on.

Like their page and explore photo albums like ‘Friends (From Outer Space)’.

Watch list.

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Django Django – “Storm”.

“You’ve taken all/ You thought was wrong/ You used it for the lyrics/ Of your favorite song”. I love that line.

Django Django will be on everybody’s ‘best albums of 2012′ list at the end of the year. Belgians: they are coming to Brussels soon. Check ‘em out at Botanique.

Also: great merch.

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I’m probably not the only one why’s making the link between Django Django and Captain Beefheart. This ‘Diddy Wah’ + phone interview from 1966 kinda made my week.

Sébastien Tellier explains why being a prophet and a pop star is not mutually exclusive in a short by Guy Aroche for Nowness. “To be one person all your life is quite a shame.”

Comme Des Garçons Junya Watanabe Wing Tip brogues. A thousand dollars.

UNDFTD NBA Playoffs Shirt. Thirty dollars.

And a fun one to end:

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Darq E Freaker feat. Danny Brown – Blueberry.

Only three hours ago, I was having lunch with Tim from our sister blog Ü and he told me he was on ‘The Frog’, one of the best songs on the new The Hickey Underworld album: the excellent ‘I’m Under The House, I’m Dying’. Tim’s riff is in there somwehere. Which is awesome.

Then he told me the video was shot with all-time KNOTORYUS hero Nicolas Karakatsanis, featuring Kim Peers and that it was weird and probably amazing.

Turns out, I didn’t have to wait long to see the actual results. The video just dropped. And yes, it is weird. And amazing. And Belgian supermodel turned DJ/Stylist Kim Peers is in it, puking and kicking ass.

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Oozing from the minds of the same crew that’s responsible for the ‘Blonde Fire‘ video. Be sure to catch The Hickey Underworld live if you can. They are doing some out there next level set stuff with Afreux, the Antwerp design collective who helped KNOTORYUS out with the production of our Ü Eastpack collabo earlier.

Clams Casino is one of the hottest clams producers of the moment, launching A$SAP ROCKY into the hip hop stratosphere and saving Lana Del Rey from the brink of hipster oblivion in less than a year. His instrumental mixtapes are still essential downloads (stream his mastered tape after the jump), and now there’s a smooth 25-minute mix of his own classics and some unreleased gems to add to the legacy. Originally delivered to the doorstep of Benj B’s BBC 1 radio show, now ready for your ripping pleasure.

(via Funkiblog)

(Image: Lastnightsparty)

——————–

CLAMS CASINO

INSTRUMENTAL MIXTAPE (MASTERED)

It’s been a while since I’ve seen my friend the great Baloji…

And I although I do miss him, I’m ecstatic that the reason why hasn’t been around is that he’s on the road sharing his incredible talent with the whole wide world…

LGF and I were pretty excited that during the few days he did spent in Belgium last week, he made a public appearance and spun some tunes at the launch of Tommy Hilfiger’s “Promise” collection.

As LGF was in Antwerp he swung by the event and here’s what’s up with one of Belgium’s (Soulwax league!) finest :

Baloji‘s MTV Iggy performance is nominated for a Webby Award, so please VOTE for him! We already did.

LGF informed me that B will be off to Cannes shortly to promote a short film that he starred in.

BTW IMDb! Update the Bullhead page please! Our boy had a speaking part and should be credited as such (Club Owner….Baloji)!

What else?

He’s got a movie script ready and he’s off to Japan where he’ll be touring 4 cities.

I hope he’s visiting Tokyo.

I’ve also received word that he’s working on a double album. WOW! And also: CAN’T WAIT!

And he might be releasing a mixtape.

Loving those frames, B!

The above and below images are from a feature that has been in the making for quite some time. But that doesn’t matter. Because the protagonists and their art are timeless. So watch out for this one in De Standaard Magazine. (I’ll keep you posted of the drop date).

I was super honoured that Vito aka Aeroplane visited the KNOTORYUS offices for a shoot + interview that you will also be published in De Standaard Magazine shortly.

And the ültracuteness smizing at you below is our beloved Ü (a KNOTORYUS project) editor Immanuel from Style For Guys.

I took him to Paris during fashion week, and I’m posting this picture of him sitting next to the clochettes des bois Karl Lagerfeld sent up to our room (not kidding) to congratulate him for his double Weekend Blog Awards nomination. Style For Guys is nominated in the category Best Fashion Blog and Ü is nominated for a Best Entertainment Blog Award.

We’d really appreciate your votes!!

(it’ll literally take you 1 minute)

Next Best Of The Weeks coming very very soon!

A new companion to the Eyecandy Smörgasbords to give you guys an idea of what the KNOTORYUS offices sound like.

JAI PAUL – JASMIN

Two official tracks in, just demos really, and this guy is already one of the most talked about artists today.  ‘Jasmine’ is one of those slow burners that you never get tired of.

AB-SOUL – PINEAL GLAND

Part of the ‘Black Hippy’ collective with Kendrick Lamar and such + full-on illuminati.

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BEI MAEJOR – MOMENTS

Much compared to The Weeknd, but much easier on the ears and not as twisted and perverted.

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A$AP ROCKY – GOLDIE

Dat pretty motherf*cker keeps putting out must-downloads that make Harlem sound as sweltering as the South.

LIGHT ASYLUM – IPC

16 months after we first wrote about Light Asylum, they’re finally ready to release their debut album.

DEATH GRIPS – THE MONEY STORE

The hardest band to listen to on earphones is back with a real, roaring album after the mixtape. Press clip quote: “acceleration is a mantra”.

And for the encore:

Danny!

A.k.a. Danny Swain. Check out his Tumblr, which archeologists in 2075 might use as a means to discuss the status of of pop-culture in 2012, and specifically: how a young rapper experiences coming up in a post-Flocka, post-Lil B world.

Major Lazer dropped the new track ‘Get Free’ for uhm… free, including a B-side remix. You should get this. It’ll put a smile on your face.

Download Major Lazer ‘Get Free’

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Sébastien Tellier is taking his spiritual sexy crazy commune vibe to the next level with the new video for ‘Cochon Ville’ (roughly translated: Pig City). Apparently, YouTube banned it after less than 100 plays. And here’s why: you’ll see Monsieur Tellier in electric blue robes chanting over a disco tune, whipping the crowd into an erotic frenzy including slapping, choking, leg-licking and a full-on ball sack close-up at 2:03. Just so you know.

NSFW

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OFF! doesn’t do three minutes. But somehow, director Richard Kern is able to take the one minute and fourteen seconds of angry awesomeness (including *gasp* guitar solo) that is ‘Wiped Out’ and cram it full of moshpits, heavily breathing hipster girls, skate FAILs, surf FAILs, chubby kids french kissing and good ol’ punk rock shouting.

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