Scott Campbell x Alessandro Simonetti – My homie Ale produced this short video starring artist Scott Campbell talking about his collaboration with with iconic tire company Pirelli, which are probably more famous for the yearly calendars.

When I was in NYC I had the pleasure to meet Scott Campbell as well, visit his studio and be there for some scenes of the video shoot. Scott, who seems to be busy as hell, was super nice showing as around and explaining quite some art pieces to us, telling us why he’s doing what he does and the most interesting were definitely the different stories behind his objects.

I hear a lot of people saying that Scott is way too hyped up and doesn’t have the credibility to make a stance in the “art world”. But who does? And who decides who does? Tattoo artist turned artist. So what?

If you’re open enough to listen to his stories you will see that there is a certain deepness to all his artworks.

The burnt butterfly piece is from his bespoke exhibition in Mexico. Craaazy story. Try to google it!

Bits and pieces of 1 Dollar bills laying around everywhere:

Master:

We all know this one form Scott’s stint at LV:

Check this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HrgMMyt-Tg

I must admit, this encounter has inspired me to make my motorbike license and I’m hooked on bikes. Must be an amazing feeling of freedom. Gimme some time… I’m on it.

Ale and his crew preparing the cameras on the bikes etc.

Here the final video:

http://www.vimeo.com/29754743

And this one if for the ABC crew! (you know who you are)

San Francisco – After LA we hit the road up to San Francisco. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to drive alongside the Big Sur Coast which is said to be breathtaking. Really a bummer, but hopefully there will be a next time in Cali.

The drive took us around 6 hours and seeing the changing landscapes and the size of this country was simply beautiful.

Driving into SF was like driving into a ghost city… the city was covered with fog and clouds everywhere.

But the sun was gentle to us. And that’s exactly how I envisioned SF…rows of cute small houses next to each other just a la Full House:

Edward represent:

Definitely a different attitude over there… these took guys took literally 12 minutes (!) to put that shit on my sandwich! Can you believe it? Craaazy. They had all the time in the world… no rush.

But I must say it was pretty good though… I guess that’s what you call slow food.

Honey & Marcelo:

The city is full of records shops:

And sneaker stores:

Those kids were pretty amazing… getting together after school to earn some extra bucks they played songs by Rhianna and Jay-Z. Pretty dope!

Castro – where all the gay movement started and I’m sure most of you have seen the movie MILK with Sean Penn… all happened right there.

You can imagine that it was pretty gay over there… but they definitely had a sense of humor:

Four Barrel Coffee. Super nice.

Meeting Damiano & Co.:

They’re grinding their own coffee in the back:

Damianos barber shop Population:

On the way to the park:

Great selection at Union Made. Especially, the hand-made soaps and stuff.

On my morning run I came across some beautiful spots:

First Black Fleece flagship store I’ve seen. And it was dope!

Of course, we had to go there:

Foggy, but it was ok.

Overall: SF, I think I like you, too.

Los Angeles – Another first-timer this year. Never been to the city of angels. Actually, I’ve never been to the Westcoast at all, so I was pretty psyched when I booked this trip.

Of course, I hear already tons of things about LA… Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu, Hollywood, Beverly Hills etc. and when I finally saw everything in real life for the first time and kind of felt like in a movie. I’ve seen all those things before. On TV. It was slightly different, but it felt the same way.

I really had to get used to all the driving… the city is huge and spending 30 minutes in the car to go from place to the other is just more than normal. Not my cup of tea, I prefer walking, but oh well.

You can’t beat the weather in LA. That makes a huge difference.

Ok, this is how it started… Met my homie Marcelo at the airport in Frankfurt and from there we flew together to LA.

Trying to figure out the car:

Having a car in LA is a must. Getting tickets comes with it. (unless you read the signs and I clearly didn’t understand them!)

First night we got a ticket right in front of the Standard. Yay. Welcome to LA.

In Berlin I usually pay 5,- EUR for wrong parking, but there it’s a little bit a different situation. And this was just the beginning… Second day we got toed away. 262,- Dollars fee. Plus a ticket of 162,- Dollars! Third day again another ticket! You probably can imagine how much I loved driving over there! Haha!

We hit Venice Beach right away. Didn’t like it that much I must say. I found it quite depressing and sad to see all these homeless people, weirdos and freaks running around and trying to sell shit. Seemed like they were all stuck in the 80’s.

Random store check on Fairfax:

Guess why there’s a line:

And then we hit La Brea of course:

Union. Probably my favourite store LA. Love that they sell Tantum and their great selection of Junya.

Yeah, somebody should have told us this before. Bitches.

Cafe Midi:

Had to do this (out of love for Entourage): Urth Cafe. Haha.

Really? Really.

A night out with Devendra Banhart and his lovely girlfriend Ana:

We were staying at Colin and Natalia’s place for the week! Couldn’t have it any better… super lovely and great hosts! Thanks for everything, guys!

Los Feliz and Silverlake were definitely my favourite areas in LA.

Some great stores around there…

Love that one (obviously I had to go inside):

Marcelo! He just can’t take his hands off of people… really? Really.

Marcelo’s private concert on the way to Malibu:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccJmMXDK0bA

Couples retreat:

Matteo, Giorgi & Natalia:

How to do it in America:

The flying Diva:

Out to Los Feliz:

Colin’s brother Ryan:

Raw, organic and healthy. soLA.

Maxfield. I liked.

Givenchy:

Best thing about Maxfield is definitely their selection of Vintage jewelery, watches and antique products. That’s what really sets them apart from other stores in their sefgment.

Loved those ones… a vintage Rolex Airking from 1945:

And one from 1966:

Welcome to LA, Phil-G. 

At Devendra’s place:

Marcelo getting some ink by Devendra (yeah, didn’t know that neither):

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPfSwddQWo

First I thought they were joking, but then Marcelo started to tattoo Devendra!

Proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KBRj0UAqIM

BAM! (it says: DE REPENTE btw.):

I ran LA:

I knew it! There must have been something… Look what I found on the way…

No way around meeting this guys when I’m in LA: MAESTRO! First time, I saw Levi in his hometown.

Always hung out with him in Berlin or London. Time to show me his city:

The Hundreds 2.0 in Santa Monica:

First things first: IN’N'OUT Burger!

Then we went of to Manhattan Beach for a romantic sunset. Maestro knows it all! Haha!

At Opening Ceremony:

Beach day at Santa Monica:

Texting each other:

And since Marcelo is getting jealous very easy, Giorgio got the punishment:

Well, they both seemed to enjoy it…

Casey and Natalia:

Big Pete and his lovely daughter:

LA, I think I like you.

Looky Looky Book Release – Tonight the 3 angels Julia, Conny and Luise, who are the driving forces behind Berlin-based T-Shirt label and creative outlet Looky Looky , are releasing their first book.

This review is a time-capsule of the last 5 years with lots of  private snapshots and graphics of the crew, so definitely a must-have.

If you’re in Berlin tonight, make sure to drop by at Civilist and get your signed copy!

Copenhagen – Lia and I went to Copenhagen for Fashion Week to finish up our SS12 order round and meet a couple of people. As usual the CIFF were great hosts and offered splendid services.

And first thing at the airport… we had to think of our lovely Eve girls…

Michal:

Mayra:

1/4 of the wolf pack:

The future:

The good guys from Soulland took us to legendary Danish hat-maker Andersen&Berner:

Style:

Jacob from Soulland is literally a true Berliner:

After the factory visit we WALKED to Silas’ store US IMPORT for some drinks:

And who do I meet? Mr. Klaus Samsoe himself. I was psyched! What a cool dude!

And then we… WALKED again… Haha! To the restaurant…

What seems to become a seasonal get-together, Soulland invited a handful of retailers, press and friends to a lovely dinner. Super cozy, good atmosphere and really nice to have the chance to exchange with each other.
And next thing we knew, Jacob and Silas getting a bit emotional:

The next day we found our lost Team member… Laust!

3/4 of the wolf pack:

Lia getting some funny thoughts:

The brand new Wood Wood store:

Best thing I saw in CPH: Junya!

Always a pleasure at HAN:

The history of the Lego logo:

And this was freaking me out:

Jesus!

Prince or Michael Jackson?

Sorry, but I have to go for PRINCE! I kind of grew up with his music since my uncle had this one DVD of one of his concerts that I couldn’t stop watching for years.

Last weekend in Copenhagen I finally had the chance to see this legend live in concert at the NPG Festival. And as this wasn’t enough… it came in a double pack and no other than the legendary Chakka Khan was performing as well!. It might have been a little too much for me… I was out of words and I think a little paralyzed, cause I couldn’t really move or dance. I must have looked like my homie Daniel from Frankfurt when he’s trying to hit the dancefloor. Hahaha!

Let me hit you right away with this one:

I think Lia and I were the only ones not wearing purple:

The die-hards:

Chakka Khan!

Not too stupid those Danes… a carton beer carrier:

Prince aka The artists formerly known as Prince aka The Smybol:

And there he was:

Some more videos:

http://www.vimeo.com/27473753

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UVy5V4DAjo

For his last song he took about 15-20 random people on stage who were dancing their asses off! Some of them were really funny and you could it on their faces that they couldn’t believe it themselves…

http://www.vimeo.com/27537864

And then almost at the end of the last song it started raining. No, you don’t understand… it was POURING! First, everybody was screaming and thought it was cool, but then we realized that it doesn’t stop anymore and everybody was soaken wet! Festival feeling to the fullest.

You could tell that Lia is a regular festival go-er and was totally prepared as usual:.. NOT.

Me neither. And my new shoes were fucked.

But it was all worth it. I only can recommend you to go see this living legend. So when he’s coming to your country… GO!

Also, big thanks to my  man Nico! (You know why)

The first MADE “Moments” project with Aloe Blacc x Miki x Jaybo has come to a proper salute with the release of all six songs that were exclusively performed that night at MADE. Of course, the videos include Aloe’s hit singles “I need a Dollar” and “Loving you is killing me”, but my personal favourite of the night definitely was “Mama hold my hand”. Teardrops, fellas, teardrops. Haha!

HERE all the videos are simply check below:

Our latest VOV interview features NYC based artist Jeremyville. His last exhibition took place at Soto and we really had a fun time with Jeremy and Meghan in Berlin!

Make sure to check it out…

MELT Festival – And another first timer: My first Music Festival (can you believe it??) and my first time camping! Don’t know why, but never did.

So my man Benji really had to put in some work to convince me to go as I almost cancelled the trip, but somehow he managed to and I definitely don’t regret any minute. More than that, I really might be a festival guy!

Ok, ok, once a year is enough, but this experience was really great! Loved it. Thousands of people, great live music from all kinds of genres, good vibes and most of all this MELT location 1,5 hours outside of Berlin just blew me away!

It used to be an old mine and you still have these huuuuuge cranes standing and by night beautifully composed with lights and lasers. I was tripping.

And yes, of course, you have those nasty festival freaks and overly excited teenagers, but hey it’s fun. Really. And camping… best ever. I’m officially hooked.

First time building up a tent:

And I swear we built it up in like 4 minutes. No jokes. So easy. (I guess we had it in us all the time).

The fashion tent:

2 nights. I don’t think anyone brought more stuff than we did. We didn’t really know what to expect, so we just brought everything. From water to food to alcohol to blankets to pillows to 3 outifts per day. Hahaha!

Our neighbours:

Bam. Ready:

We actually thought we have a bad ass tent, but we we saw what was built up around us we clearly realized that we’re amateurs. Those guys took camping really to a next level.

At the location:

Dilim?

Next to The Streets, Robyn, Rusko etc…. I must say that Nicolas Jaar was one of my favourites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4ZgtB680eg

At the main stage:

Benji was unstoppable! (too fast to get on the picture)

The next day we spent pretty much the whole day in the sun, riding around, exploring some lakes and woods that were around… super nice.

Big thanks to Marie-Luise, Nadine, Sarah, Gema and Miriam and of course all the others we met that weekend! And of course my new camping’n'festival partner Benji! And Indra and his Amsterdam crew for making this an unforgettable trip!

Come to TORSTRASSE tonight and tomorrow from 6pm on and share a drink and a lil dance with us!

Sven Hausherr and Oliver Kann from Berlin are rockin the decks today and Silas from Soulland and our Milano friend are spinning till the Police comes tomorrow evening.