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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

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

January 25th, 2009 / New Romantics













File posting under: Art, Culture, Music, Style