The new ASOS African inspired collection.....to be honest....I am not sure about this line....I mean they could have had more choices on the prints and colours...don't get me wrong....the clothes are great...they have a sort of Diane Von Furstenburg feel to them....I think....I may be wrong here..but come on...for African print or kitenge they say....they could have been more creative....I love the pants though....but the tops and skirt...I can see that going on 75% off sale even before summer ends..sorry ASOS but you could have contacted me....great work though,,,,,ON THE PANTS.....xxx
THE VERY BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED EMILE SANDE
You are a 23-year-old from rural northern Scotland. Piano has been your instrument, your songwriting tool, since you were ten; your voice has been remarkable for even longer. A tattoo of artist Frida Kahlo - a typically single-minded, forthright heroine runs the length of your right forearm.
Some of the greatest names in modern pop have sung your wonderfully exciting compositions: Tinie Tempah (Let Go), Professor Green (Kids That Love To Dance), Tinchy Stryder (Let It Rain), Chipmunk (Diamond Rings), Wiley (Never Be Your Woman). You’ve also written for divas big (Susan Boyle), small (Cheryl Cole) and medium-sized (The Saturdays). Your dad (from Zambia) and your mum (from Cumbria), who schooled you in music and encouraged your ambitions, are already proud.
Then there are the richly melodic, classically powerful, retro-futurist soul-pop songs you’ve written for your own debut album. Your love for - and understanding of - Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Lauryn Hill are obvious, loud and proud. Then there is the stuff you did in your ‘spare time’: three-quarters of a six-year degree in medicine at Glasgow University. You specialised in Clinical Neuro-Science; “because I really like all the brain stuff.”
You are Emeli Sandé, and you also really like all the soul stuff, all the heart stuff, and all the emotional stuff. Not many people knew it, but you were behind some of the key tracks of 2010. Now you’re about to be the voice in front of the freshest debut of 2011. As someone who sweats the writing as much as the singing, you know it’s about being contemporary, and timeless.
‘I can still relate to a Joni song, even though it’s 25 years old’ says Sandé. ‘That’s the main and important thing to me. I’m not too bothered about what category my music goes in. But I don’t want it to be too cool for school. There’s no point in limiting in who you can reach. But I want it to be respected.’
The broad and staggering talents of Emeli Sandé first attracted attention (good and bad) when she was eight. At primary school in the small Aberdeenshire town of Alford, she and her classmates wrote a song for a talent show. Her friends nicked all her ideas.
“That was the first time I thought, well, if it’s worth stealing then it might be alright!” she remembers with a laugh. “That was the first time I thought I might be a songwriter. I always knew I wanted to be a musician, and I always knew I wanted to write. Because the people I was listening to all wrote. I never thought it was an option to sing anyone else’s songs.”
Age 11 and full of pre-adolescent fire, Sandé wrote her first real song with a proper structure. “It even had a middle eight! It was called something like Tomorrow Starts Again. All my songs were about world peace and all these political issues. I had a lot of fun with all that.”
By the age of 15, word had begun to spread about the precociously gifted teenager with the big-but-intimate voice from the middle of nowhere. ChoiceFM invited her to London to take part in their Rapology competition; Richard Blackwood had her down to MTV’s Camden studio to sing gospel.
Then came Sandé’s big(ish) break: her little sister filmed her at the piano, singing one of her songs, Nasty Little Lady. They sent the clip to Trevor Nelson’s BBC Urban Music competition. Sandé was one of the winners, and was duly offered a record deal. But the newfound management that she had met via the competition advised her against the deal. Plus, other offers from other labels were soon coming in.
But, she recalls, “Doing the rounds of labels, I just didn’t like it. I just thought, I’d rather be a bit more in control than this. It was hard at the time because it was so tempting. But I was doing my exams at school, then I got accepted into medicine at Glasgow Uni. It would have been too much of a risk to say no to medicine then go down to London and just be another singer.”
The intuitive intelligence, self-awareness and empowered honesty that are apparent in her lyric-writing cautioned Sandé against jumping at the first taste of success. She went back home, finished school, then began her studies in Glasgow. Relocated to Scotland’s biggest city and its buzzing music scene, Sandé began supplementing her student income by playing piano and jazz standards in the city’s hotels.
She tried to keep up with her song writing while studying, “But I really had a lot of writer’s block and my head was full of facts and exams. I found it really hard to experience anything to write about other than sitting in the library. But I was doing shows and everyone on the course knew I was a musician. My writing speeded up, though, as soon as I started going down to London and meeting producers there. Before, it was just me and a piano so the sounds I could make were quite limited.”
UBER NATURAL BRIDES
I have encountered many a bridezilla who will stress about nothing but their hair...forget the cake, the forks, the church, the car that takes you to the church, the tiara, the this, the that, the here, the there....what will I do with my hair....this is the first question that runs in her mind after he has proposed....
Well...if you are spoilt for choice and want to do it the uber natural way.....let these pictures inspire you.....goes to show...all that stress about your hair is utterly pointless coz you can just rock the natural look and still be the bride of the century....amazing photography by Elizabeth Messina
SIKA DESIGNS
Sika is inspired by the rich and diverse culture of Ghana, West Africa.
Every fabric has been carefully selected in local Ghanaian markets and hand-made using natural methods, creating exclusive limited prints. Each unique piece defines an area in West Africa’s vast textile landscape, using traditional fabrics such as tie dye, batik’s and wax prints.
All garments are produced in Ghana by highly skilled tailors and seamstresses. The highest standards in garment production is an integral part of Sika’s mission. We work very closely with local traders and manufacturers to produce quality garments for the international market. By generating regular income for those involved, we are able to give back to the Ghanaian community and raise the standard of garment production.
While producing a stylish and wearable range, Sika creatively collaborates exeptional West African textiles with the trend and styles of London’s urba chic.SOURCE
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
THANKS FOR READING....HAVE AN EPIC DAY.....xxx
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