Jens Lekman (pronounced "Yens") is an indie rock artist out of Sweden, has 2 LPs and numerous other recordings under his belt. When I started listening to El Perro del Mar, I enjoyed her immensely, but didn’t look into other Swedish artists. I don’t know why. I can't seem to turn him off now...
Thanks to Her Royal Hotness, Isabel who gave me his music SO LONG AGO, but I only listened to it now. Silly me. She's always on the cool way before it becomes cool.
One indication that a brand has become a lifestyle is when it successfully extends beyond its original product category – in Bape’s case, it began with clothing. The company not only maintains its apparel line, but also operates Bape Cuts hair salon, Bape Gallery, Bape Sounds Records. There’s even a Bape Café with its own brand of food, drinks and dessert. They don’t miss a beat!
Bape Food!
Designer names like Abercrombie and Fitch and Calvin Klein are considered typical lifestyle brands but are no where near as comprehensive as A Bathing Ape. Part of its far-reaching
success could be its constant collaborations – the current big one being Sponge Bob, but has included big companies like Adidas, Casio, Disney, Marvel and Pepsi in the past – combining strengths of the brands involved, leading to mutual benefits to both in expanding their horizons so to speak.
Bape shirts that are two-sided – You know when you grab that shirt even though its dirty but you still wear it? Bape lets you continue this life style by looking new and fresh on the block while doing it. I like how Bape takes into account your busy lifestyle and not having time to wash your clothes all the time. They make it seem like you have more clothes than you really do. The crazy colours and designs are helpful: in case you get lost in a crowd, you'll be easy to find (not good if you’re a fugitive, so criminals beware).
In North America, the culture Bape reaches is limited to those in-the-know, particularly sneaker heads. But in Japan, where it has been established for over a decade, it is well known and not limited to such subculture, but rather to everyone and that’s really where the lifestyle aspect can really take off. Give Bape a few more years in North America and see how far it can go.
"Cheyney and Eileen Disturb a Historian at Pompeii"
"Lucy and Paulina in the Moscow Metro" / "Simon in Fort Greene"
Toronto's MSTRKRFT - consisting of Jesse Keeler and Al-P - lend their hands to this week's Essential Mix on BBC Radio One. The two hour electro punk house mix is out-of-this-world and worth checking out - only if you like to party hard.
