The Freshest – Vancouver’s Freshest Kids

Here’s a great interview taken from www.hiphopcanada.com with our good friends The Freshest, Vancouver’s trend setting Dj Squad:

Vancouver, B.C. – Comprised of DJs Seko, Marvel, Kutcorners, and Rico Uno, The Freshest group is dominating the party scene in Vancouver at the moment. These boys spin everything from electro rock to dancehall and everything in between, showcasing their versatile tastes and talents. Hip-hop, however, is what truly dominates the soundwaves when these kids are in the house and on the tables, and their taste in hip-hop is indicated by their name. Each DJ has their own special touch, but the four of them together maintain an untouchable status as the Freshest in Vancouver. They love music, and it is evident in their craft, for they move from popular club bangers to dancehall and reggae songs, and on to sexy house sounds with easy confidence. The boys are on a West Coast tour as we speak and we caught up to them at Shine nightclub, on a night that they were all on the tables together as a team.

Q: You boys just returned from Cali, how was the trip?

DJ Marvel: We started out in San Diego. We played at a place called Dynamite. It was fun. We played with a guy named Beatnick. It took us a really long time in traffic to reach there from L.A. About six hours in eight lane traffic. But it was worth the beautiful scenic drive. On Tuesday night we played back in L.A. at a place called The Dime on Fairfax. And the final night was on Thursday and we it was at a joint called Senior Fish in L.A. We played with Drew Byrd and the night was called Lemonade. It was in Little Tokyo, so that made it interesting. And really fun.

Kutkorners: We went surfing in Malibu too.

Q: What is really different about a place like L.A compared to Vancouver when you’re spinning at the clubs?

Kutkorners: Well being that L.A. is much bigger, you would think that there would be crazy crazy nights, and there are! But it’s just like Vancouver in a lot of ways being that there is an underground scene. There’s a D.J. scene, a community and they want to play music that they like. So they get to do that thanks to the boutique-like clubs over there, whereas in the big-ass clubs you hear all the top forty and junk like that. We were fortunate to be able to play the boutique clubs and we had a great time. We went to a dope party down there called the Do Over too and saw some really amazing artists from L.A.

Q: Such as?

Kutkorners: Dam Funk and Steve Arington of Slave and Peanut Butter Wolf.

Q: What do you guys love about Vancity?

DJ Seko: Van City is nice. It’s clean and safe. The weather is nice and the people are friendly. The food here is so good cause you can get any type of food you want from Italian to Japanese and it’s so delicious. Coming from Guatemala for myself this is like paradise.

Q: What are some of your favorite albums of 2009/10?

Rico Uno: During our trip down to L.A. we were listening to a lot of the Dream album, Love King, which is my personal favorite of this year I think, The Big Boi album for sure. It’s hard to decide.

Seko: Clipse was pretty fresh.

Marvel: Jay-Z Blueprint III, The Onra album we were listening to, and Rick Ross!

Kutkorners: I’m gonna go a little leftfield here. I’m really enjoying Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti album.

Q: Do you have a favourite genre of music?

All Four: No.

Kutkorners: We all love hip-hop. It’s our main source of music, but we love music. All of it. It just has to be good.

Q: Marvel, what’s good about Seko on stage?

Marvel: Seko’s gonna give you a great show. For those of you who grew up liking Mobb Deep and stuff like that, he’s gonna give you the closest thing to seeing a Mobb Deep show as you’re gonna get. He knows his golden Era and he has a love for it and it shows when he’s on the tables. He puts on a show in his attitude and he’s super fun to spin with. That’s why I DJ with him so much.

Q: Seko, whats good about Rico on the tables?

Seko: When Rico is on the tables you can expect the ladies to be on stage dancing to all types of music that you have never heard at a club before. So it makes a really dope shuffle party with a great flow and amazing sound. It’s like when you put your iPod on shuffle and all these dope songs come on that you just wanna dance to.

Q: Kutkorners, what’s good about Marvel?

Kutkorners: Marvel is really, really enthusiastic. He loves music so much. So you’re always gonna get a really exciting performance from Mike. He is probably the most keen to scratch and manipulate the music, so you’re gonna get a lot of different sounds from Marvel’s set. It’s high-energy and diverse.

Q: Rico, what’s good about Kutkorners when he’s on the tables?

Rico: When Kutkorners is on the tables you get a real music lover that controls the room. He gives a fantastic selection of all sorts of dope songs, and whatever the night needs. At the hip-hop nights on Sundays, he hits the crowd with little dipsets and Southern anthems, and obviously the New York Rap. But if he’s doin a Radtimes party, which is a dope little East Van dive party you’ll here anything from the Pixies to the Zombies and more.

Q: You guys always have the newest ish on the song market, how do you keep up with the newest songs available for you to mix with?

Rico: It’s our love for music and our obsession with the newest freshest stuff. We all cover different genres and we help each other out and we cover all sorts of ground concerning what’s new and that kind of helps us to stay on top of everything that’s out there.

Q: How do you know what the kids want to hear?

Kutkorners: Well that is a hard one to answer. There are always trends and so forth but a lot of what we have done with making mixtapes is having the community dictate what they like to hear. We expose dope music through the mixtapes and we can share this way.

Rico: We are all really open minded to hearing new stuff, and I really think the kids really feel like they want the new stuff and the newest sounds, and not just what is being handed to them all day everyday by the radio stations and what not. So just being open minded to listening for new sounds helps us get the sounds that kids want to hear out there.

Kutkorners: I think that most people know what good music is when they hear it. Fortunately we like a lot of different music, and sometimes we stumble across the really good stuff.

Q: So what makes you so fresh?

Rico: We all got different versions of being Fresh and we just want to do it the best we can as a team. Having each other makes us what we are, and that is The Freshest! There is no I in Freshest!

*Big Shout out and thank you goes to Interviewer Samatha Cairns for HipHopCanada.com

The Rodfather – Rod Ferens

Check out this dope interview Skatenewspot.com did with our Gastown location manager Rod Ferens. Rod has been holding it down in Vancouver for us for a while now, get to know the dude.

Interview: Oleynik
Photos: Christian

Boosh, Swoosh, Juiced. Four years ago, The Rodfather had the first skatenewspot interview. A lot has changed for the former Pegger/Vancouver transplant. Find out exactly what below.

In your first interview, you talked about how much you love Vancouver. You said you don’t leave unless it’s to visit family. Do you still feel the same way about your city?
Ya totally! I just moved into a dope spot with my home boy Luke, right in the heart of the city. It kinda sucks to see a bunch of the homies leave back to the peg, but someone needs to run things out there.

At the time of your first interview you were managing the Canucks store, then you managed Goodfoot. Your new job is different. Tell us about it.
Ya! That was a fun time running Goodfoot, but like everything good, it always comes to an end! I took a job with Take Five trading which was a great learning experience, but unfortunately, it was victim to my wife breakup. I just wasn’t in the right mind frame, and I probably drove Garry crazy with all my shit.

Back then you rode for some serious companies (Nike, DGK, Gold, Venture). Out of the blue you decided to quit them all. What was your thinking with that decision? Looking back, do you feel it was the right thing to do?
Naw, I don’t regret doin it. I hope they gave my shit to someone who needed it, who couldn’t afford to skate, who loves to skate. It isn’t hard to get boards and skate shit, but I remember being that kid who would give anything to get that shit. All those sponsors were about the people behind them, once they were gone, I felt I was gone.

So you work full time, are unsponsored and 35 years old. I heard the other day at the Plaza you did a pop shuv front crook in the middle of the ledge. What keeps you skating at that level after all these years?
Ya now I run Livestock in Gastown, I wish I could say I still skate a lot, but I won’t. Mentally when I go skate, especially with dudes like Wherry, Spenny, Twa, Bryon and Paul Spencer, they keep you thinking you’re on that level, even tho I’m sure I’m not. Also when you just feel the trick that much, and wanna do it that much, usually you do it. Even if I don’t skate that much, you know when I do……it’s on!

It always seems like you try to take care of the people around you, whether it’s through hooking up product or giving advice about things you’ve been through. Do you feel a responsibility as an older guy in the scene/community to try and help it grow?
I think with all the fuck ups I made, and seen how certain people have been successful I just try and look out for my boys! Sometimes it’s just busting balls to see dudes like Robbie light it up. I get hella stoked when my boys make things happen!

What advice would you give to the kids who want to skate for many more years to come?
Skating is a lifestyle! Either you’re in it or you not. If you’re into it, it’s your life.

Do you pay attention to skate videos, magazines and websites anymore?
Not too much, once in a while something will catch my attention. I always get hyped to see Canadian killers!

Who’s skating are you feeling right now in Canada?
All my boys! McD and his whole Green Apple Team, Wherry, Spenny, Trav, Twa, Mc Court, Vince and Trep is nuts!

I asked you this in your first interview and I’m interested if anything has changed: “So if there’s a Micky in your freezer, and you have one drink, what are the chances of you not having another drink?”
Pretty sure that hasn’t changed at all. It just doesn’t happen as much these days.

Last words and thank yous?
Don’t get married! Thanks Matt and Garry! I have the dopest Fam ever! Thanks Benny!

Big thanks to Skatenewspot.com for the write up.

Kazuki Kuraishi X Adidas Originals by Originals: Real Style of KZK Interview

Here is a great Interview with the talented designer and artistic director, Kazuki Karaishi, one of the key members of NEIGHBORHOOD and also the Creative Director for Adidas Japan.

In the third issue of “Felicity”, adidas sat down with Japanese designer Kazuki Kuraishi to talk about his sense of design and vision, the present and the future, and his current personal style. The piece also dissects the ObyO KZK range; its inspirations and inner workings of the collaborative venture between Kazuki and the adidas Originals by Originals program. The interview in its entirety can be read below.

First of all, what’s your personal style like these days?

K: To put it simply, it’s mainly layering. I would start with something like long, cut-and-sewn innerwear, and then put on layers of garments over it. Last winter for instance, I was wearing a rain jacket over a long coat.

Where did that idea come from initially? Did something inspire you to dress that way?

K: I was given this underwear from NUMBER (N)INE a while ago, but it happened to be quite long. And as I continued to wear this underwear, I suddenly found myself wearing a few layers of garments all the time.

And before that?

K: I’m not sure. Layering has always been my favourite style and it’s just that it became longer in length. Also, if anything, perhaps I used to favor ribbed garments more. Regardless of season, knit and cut-and-sewn garments I was wearing were mostly ribbed. Needless to say, you would’ve found many ribbed pieces among the stuff I designed then.

So did you approach this season’s ObyB KZK on the assumption that they would be “layered”?

K: Yes. I definitely designed with layering in mind. Whether it’s the length and the width, or the fit, I was very aware of trying to come up with pieces suitable for such styling.

Would you say that sort of awareness wasn’t there two years ago, when ObyO KZK was launched?

K: Well, I did give thoughts to coordination to a certain degree from the very beginning, but I was more conscious of making very much self-contained products. You know, ultimately, style is defined by the individuals who wear that piece of clothing. So my feelings back then were more like, it’s not for me to intrude into that territory.

Perhaps there les a significant difference. Do you now feel that your own style comes first, and then products are made as extension of that style?

K: Absolutely. I suppose I’m taking on a little more subjective view in my creative process.

Was that change brought about by change in your working environment?

K: It hasn’t changed much. I mean, your values and aesthetic tastes cannot be swayed. But you could say that there may have been a “shift” in a positive sense in my attitude.

And that wasn’t there before?

K: At the moment, apart from ObyO KZK, I’m in charge of Japanese affiliate of British brand CASHCA. Through this collaboration, I was able to learn in earnest fundamental aspects of clothes making. I was able to reaffirm which sewing method is suited to achieve beautiful silhouettes, how best to highlight details like buttons and stitches, and so on. Really, I could physically experience profundity of what clothes making is all about. Plus, Takahiro Miyashita had a significant impact on me. He’s a designer in the truest sense of the word. I deepened my love for clothes through various conversations I had with him.

So that difference in what motivates you to make clothes is reflected on this season’s ObyO KZK collection?

K: This is the season where you might be able to catch a glimpse of evolution taking place. I was able to reduce the weight of standard shell jacket to the lightest ever, and with this first collaboration with LUKER BY NEIGHBORHOOD, I tried to make designs tight and solid in order to express their worldview accurately. And overall, these days, I personally give such detailed instructions as how everything should be sewn. Like, ‘If you can’t sew it this way, then try this other way.’ This season’s ObyO KZK products came into being through the process of adding these small changes in my awareness.

You’re saying that these products clearly indicate you have reached a new height. So, are you beginning to see what products you should be making for ObyO KZK? In other words, are you beginning to see what your style look like?

K: Yes. I think I have a clear picture of what I should be aiming to create through ObyO KZK project, what it looks like in a completed form.

So what does that exactly mean?

K: Well, you know, I guess that answer was pretty self-explanatory.

Pharrell Williams & N.E.R.D interview

Check out this in depth Interview with Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream’s Pharrell William & the rest of his group N.E.R.D as they touch on what interests them, keeps them motivated as well as projects both past, present, and future. Click HERE for the rest of the interview, “As part of the production duo The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams has won Grammys, helped to sell millions of albums, and become the face of nerdy cool in hip-hop. More recently, Williams has branched out into fashion and art, designing sunglasses and modeling for Louis Vuitton, working with Paris boutique Colette, as well as launching his own clothing line, Billionaire Boys Club, a footwear line, Ice Cream, and partnering with textile firm Bionic Yarn.”

G-Shock x Frank151 book – Digital Edition

Frank151 Media Group is an internationally recognized, independent content creation and distribution company we all know and love. The Frank Book is a pocket-sized quarterly publication, every chapter of the Frank Book is helmed by a special Guest Curator and focuses on a unique editorial theme. Last year Frank151 partnered with Casio to publish an issue dedicated to G-shock watches. This booklet includes a number of interviews alongside a detailed G-Shock history, check it out here

NiceKicks Livestock Interview!