Areas

Co-Conspirators

Friends

Past

December 08th, 2009 / War of Independence

There was an escape from the off-world colonies two weeks ago. Six replicants, three male, three female. They slaughtered twenty-three and then jumped a shuttle. An aerial patrol spotted them off the coast. No colony, no sight of them. Three nights ago they tried to break into the Corporation. One of them got fried flying through an electrical field. We lost the others. On the possibility they might try to infiltrate new territory, we had Holden go over and run Voight-Kampff tests on the new captures...R E P L I C A N T S

Photos by Heather Michaels and James Chiang

The Battle of Lexington Green, 1775

The battle at Lexington green, 1775









James Chiang's website

File posting under: Art

September 02nd, 2009 / Nice Collective Time Machine Movie











File posting under: Art, Music, Style

August 17th, 2009 / Nice Collective Fall 2009





For their Fall 2009 runway debut entitled Time Machine, Nice Collective plunged into the murky dreamscapes of H. G. Wells, Chris Marker and Terry Gillian-offering a distopic, but euphoric vision of blurred timelines and epochs. Time Machine presents the full realization of the brand's ethos, which is less about clothes than the creation of a full immersive experience. The specially designed runway/installation was the joint collaboration of Nice Collective and friends, who labored with a full team for over three months on the complex schematics. Assembled from hand picked materials (including a salvaged turn of the century carriage, aged steel, antique leather and burnt wood), the resulting environment provided a timely homage to the fashion spectacles of the early nineties.





The esoteric juxtapositions extended to other collaborators, which included former Nine Inch Nail's member, Alessandro Cortini, who created a live pre-show soundscape. Runway music was produced by Nice Collective and long time friend and producer Jason Jinx, and featured the world premier of the unreleased track "Under Control" by Freeland. ("Under Control" is now available on the album, Cope, released earlier this spring). These exclusive photographs and video by James Chaing document the unfolding of this collaborative universe, and offer a sneak peek behind the divine madness.
































File posting under: Art, Culture, Music, Style

July 09th, 2009 / Michael Jackson R.I.P.



In 1999 Michael Jackson hand picked Nice Collective's conceptual Long Arm Shirt to wear in his exclusive photo-shoot for T.V. Guide. From our "Time" collection, the shirt design represents the long and short hands of a clock and with further inspection it reveals a third functioning sleeve.

The actual shirt (pictured above) was returned to us complete with make-up and sweat stains. It is one of the few pieces we saved from that collection and has been tucked in our archive ever since.





It was a very memorable editorial for us and the "time button up" holds a special spot in our archive and our hearts.




















File posting under: Music

July 02nd, 2009 / SAVE THE ROBOTS


For some reason, since Nice Collective's inception, the more experimental, sinister or impossible to re-create a garment has been, the less likely we are to archive it. Historically, it was likely due to lack of space or resources. Nowadays, however, our desire for the pieces to be out in the world seems to trump the notion of tucking them away in a dreary storage room.

Luckily for us, Gavin Rossdale has been far more prolific with his preservation of our work. Having first discovered our brand in the late 90's, he now holds the most complete archive of Nice Collective, spanning from S98 to present day. His desire to keep long-lost classics in his wardrobe rotation often re-introduces us to our own design history.






Last week, our archivist, friend and co-conspirator rolled through San Francisco while touring in support of his album Wanderlust. Having arrived with supporting act, Nico Vega, a full day prior to their show, allowed us sufficient time to playfully indulge in some experimental design and deconstruction. Leather scraps were soaked and wrapped around metal chain, remnants of an old canvas tent were pieced into jackets. Power tools were used to accelerate the wear and tear of the leather straps, coins, and skeleton keys which adorned their belts.






The stage lighting at The Fillmore afforded us an alternative perspective on some of our recent design work, whilst heavier, electric versions of his solo work (and the occasional Bush classics) beautifully filled the venue.





Not ones to stop after a successful design day, our night continued at The Brain for the after-party. With the tour wrapping inside a few days, a large crew of the travelers joined our SF-based extended family for a little midweek revelry. As morning approached, we remained tightly gathered around the party's natural epicenter: An installation of propane-burning flowers made by San Francisco sculpture/fire artist Charles A. Gadeken. In addition to his solo work, Charles is a founding member of The Flaming Lotus Girls. Their work is a perfect example of art building community. It certainly served the purpose on this night.























File posting under: Art, Music, Night, San Francisco

June 04th, 2009 / FREELAND LIVE






The deep roots between DJ /producer Adam Freeland and Nice Collective span well over a decade, a history of inspiration. Adam's pioneering blend of techno-breaks cuts across multiple genres. His signature, raw, outlaw style has provided our soundtrack for countless long nights on many a dance-floor (and I do mean very long nights). I first suspected that Adam was a kindred spirit when I discovered that one of my all time favorite tunes, Edge1 (Compnded) -Edge Records/Rabbit City), had a permanent residency within his record bag. Parallel tastes and aligned journeys, sometimes cosmically, continually keep us randomly connected at locales across the globe.









A few years had transpired before our most recent reconnection in a Cyber-village intentionally constructed on the deepest peripheral ring of Black Rock City. Adam was spinning an under-the-radar, slightly down-tempo set of grimy breaks and sexy bleeps to a close-knit tribe of beat aficionados. Just as the sun crested the horizon, he premiered a few tracks from his soon-to-be-released full-length album Cope by his newly-formed group Freeland. The set truly twisted the dance-floor inside out.









AND DANCE

After falling under the spell of a hybrid-stomper named Under Control, we realized it a crucial element to the soundtrack of our F09/W10 Time Machine runway show. Adam trusted us with his unreleased track, which we kept under wraps, until its debut in NYC during fashion week, February 09.









ALBUM DATA

Successfully avoiding the trappings of a typical DJ release, Cope holds true as a band album showcasing real drums, live musicians and rock-infused, electronic grooves. Perfectly 'anti' yet, totally of the moment. The core of the songs were written and performed with the new group's vocalist/frontman Kurt Baumann. Joining Adam and Kurt in the studio was an eclectic cast of musicians ranging from The Pixies' Joey Santiago and Twiggy Ramirez to Jerry Casale of Devo. The full impact of the project will become evident once the Freedom Live tour transverses the world this summer.



























File posting under: Music, Night

May 26th, 2009 / SMELL THE BLOOD OF THE TREES










Three in the morning, deep in Black Rock City I moved to the darkest, seductive drum my soul had ever known. The fire pillars encircling me, inviting me to move with their flames as I danced with the spirits that the drum and fire had united for this moment. As I became more intoxicated by the freedom and oneness I began to realize that something had quietly crept into the circle, elevating me into a state of trance. It was a heady smoky scent snaking through the air. I have now come to know this spirit as the scent of the Mayan Copal Pom.

Copal is aromatic tree resin employed in Mesoamerica as incense. Young boys are given the task of gathering the sap from the pine trees, which is collected by making shallow diagonal cuts in the trunk. The sap flows along the path of the cut and drips into a leaf cup placed at the base of the tree. It is dried into resin, which is pounded into a thick paste and stored in large gourd bowls in the god house. Copal, the blood of the trees, is revered by the northern Lacandon Maya of lowland Chiapas in southern Mexico as the principal food for deities.

When burned it releases the most intoxicating scent next to the natural scent of a man, that I have ever experienced. It stained my memory with its potency and left me feeling connected to something I’m challenged to articulate. Like the scent of sex, the scent of your mothers hair, the connection is deep and palpable. This experience with Copal left me puzzled why it seemed so familiar, yet I believe I’d never experienced it previously. If you are fortunate to find it dont rush into it. Create a space that allows you to relax, move, cry, laugh or fuck. I want so much to understand everything around us, but this will not obey ones wishes.

Knowing that a scent can subconsciously facilitate a variety of our social interactions helps me understand a bit more of the complexities of who we are. Having experienced the blood of the trees while deep in the desert, where trees do not exist, reminded me that our ancestors knew of so much more, things like Copal, exotic, so simple and yet so powerful.



Jonathan Solo






























File posting under: Culture, Music, Night

March 13rd, 2009 / Nice Collective presents Voix De VilleVideo stills from the Voix De Ville Show taken between 9:00-12:00pm July 24, 2008.


























File posting under: Art, Culture, Music, Night

March 06th, 2009 / Martin




Hello,
We are Martin of San Francisco. After a decade of collaborative work with Nice Collective, we have produced an imaginative synthesis of modern cycling culture and photographic aesthetic. Clean lines, simple ideas, and thoughtful execution has brought these two worlds together in our new line of apparel.

Family is our foundation and friends our inspiration.  Martin welcomes collective interaction and is excited to share "our" like-minded vision.















File posting under: Culture, San Francisco, Style

February 24th, 2009 / Interview with a clown

File posting under: Interview, Random, Style

January 25th, 2009 / New Romantics













File posting under: Art, Culture, Music, Style

October 22nd, 2008 / Club for Heroes

Every Tuesday, 350 of the most creative, individualistic young people cram into the club. Many are ex-punks, fed up with a scene that had burned brightly, but all too quickly turned in on itself. Others are young fashion students from the nearby Central St. Martin's College turning the place into a personal catwalk.

The brilliant thing is that everyone involved has a role. George is in the cloakroom in his white-faced kabuki made-up and kimono, Rusty, in his fifties suits, playing the records, and I am on the door with my big hair and high heels, carrying a silver-topped cane.

My door policy is always very strict, everyone has to pay - even the regular faces and the people who will become famous. If people don't want to pay, and think that they were above it, I will say, "Who the fuck are you ?"

There is plenty of glamour, but it is also very debauched. There is always someone falling over. The men are always in the ladies loos putting their make-up on because it has the best mirrors. Sometimes you'll walk into the loos and the scent of hairspray will almost knock you out. But one thing you can say about Blitz is that there were no barriers.

excerpts thanks to - Steve Strange
1980


File posting under: Music, Style