A Universal Language Trailer: RxDIO’s Story

Taking on a project like A Universal Language requires one to be level headed and articulate. Film production is not easy. A strong motivated team can be the difference between a project’s success and failure. It’s important for me to explore film production so early in my career because I’m passionate about telling the untold story. PhsicsMedia is not an outlet for counter culture; it’s an outlet for universal culture. I want to be able to project honest, tasteful stories. If the magazine is the manual, then Digital Timeless is the embodiment. I was blessed enough to work with Les Deux, a brand which I’ve come to respect and appreciate. We wanted to bring a brand communication that was more than about the clothes. We wanted to make it about people. 

Meet RxDIO, he’s one of the musicians featured in the AUL documentary. In my opinion, his Live A Little EP is the embodiment of substance. RxDIO was able to put together a project that is both personal and graceful. What blew me away about him was his unfilter-able, unedit-able personality. There are no scripts here, and this is what AUL is all about. We encountered a lot of hiccups during the documentary’s production stage, but the team I worked with was simply out of this world. Working on PhsicsMag’s fourth annual issue has introduced me to the intricacies of stories. This journey has taught me to appreciate every little detail that my subject chooses to reveal, and the value it brings to my publication. A Universal Language will premiere early 2014 along with the release of the magazine. You can also lookout for Phsics.Private’s new collection which will be available soon. Subscribe to the Digital Timeless Youtube channel, and don’t forget to monetize those dreams. Stay blessed. 

A Universal Language Trailer: Maddy’s Story

In PhsicsMag’s 4^th annual issue, I wanted to move out of my comfort zone. Writing about music was exactly that. Music is a domain which I don’t normally ‘examine’ because people’s emotions always seem to be heavily invested in it. I find it unfair that artists are rated and ranked based on what they've accomplished. Releasing an album is an accomplishment; it’s like giving birth to a baby. Imagine if all the new born babies in the world were rated and ranked based on what they looked like or how much they weighed or something, that would be messing with people’s emotions. The commercialization of music has created a culture of unnecessary comparison and evaluation based on appeal or segmentation. For those who are interested in media studies, a scholar by the name of Marshall McLuhan once said “the medium is the message”. My interpretation of his statement is that when a music video is streamed on MTV for example, MTV is the medium, therefore it (MTV) is that message; the message is not in the content of the music videos which it streams! It’s an interesting notion for understanding the current state of media and its portrayal of youth culture, religion, race, and anything else you can think of.  

Earlier this year, I established Digital Timeless (Phsics.DigitalTimeless) to be the “medium” that Mr. Marshall McLuhan spoke of. Digital Timeless is a vertical agency for PhsicsMedia. In simple terms, we cover content creation from its inception right to its projection. Digital Timeless allows PhsicsMedia to be a ‘cable network’ that makes films, clothes, magazines and coffees (my good friend Vanessa Bolosier knows this), and still be able to be cool. We’re so secure about what we want to achieve that being in trend isn’t a factor for us. Our Youtube Channel will premiere many of our future works with A Universal Language being our very first. With AUL I want to achieve an effective connection between the Les Deux brand and young, progressive artists from Los Angeles. Maddy McFly (formerly of the duo Sound Fx) is one of them, and we’ll be revealing our other subject in AUL’s next trailer. This is fascinating because Les Deux is a clothing brand from Copenhagen. By bringing the two worlds together, we’re able to align them with a set of values which a globally relevant; humanity, grace, fluidity, respect, and substance. AUL is the first film I’ve ever produced and although this is its first trailer (we’re dropping another one soon) I’d just like to appreciate the contributions of my co-pilots Jared Soule, Andreas von de Hoider, and Kal Mokhtar. The full documentary will premiere on our Youtube Channel along with PhsicsMag’s 4^th annual issue in early 2014. Stay blessed

Where does fashion's democratization leave you?

 Photography Credits: Le Blog de Betty (Betty Autier)

The democratization of fashion has done little to remove the homogeneity that encompasses runways shows, and the groupthink within the industry’s recruits. Instead, the fact that fashion is more accessible today than ever before has turned events like fashion week into media spectacles. Is it fair to say that nothing in fashion is truly exclusive anymore? Earlier this year Shala Monroque’s Garage premiered its Take My Picture docu-film. Having partaken in fashion media relations myself for quite some time, I watched this film with much interest. 

  

Anna Wintour's first ever Vogue cover is said to portray the beginning of fashion's democratization 

The rest of the world might view fashion to be a self-serving force. I have no problem with that, and if you've been exposed to the industry you’d know that when events that shook the world took place, such as the 2009 financial meltdown, fashion remained in its self-serving corner. My concern has more to do with the craze that sweeps across cities during fashion season. Fashion weeks were initially established to allow for the seasonal buying business model to take form. This was back when fashion buyers would buy items from the runway 6 months before they were in season. Then came the globalization of fashion. Stores opened up everywhere from Shanghai to Hong Kong. In trying to remain as exclusive as possible, retailers persuaded fashion houses to add more collections to their calendar years, such as resort, pre-fall, and cruise collections etc. This move allowed for a store in Hong Kong, for example, to have in their inventory an item which had just been revealed, while garnering the store enough time to order new items within season. These pre-collections have also contributed to the democratization of fashion because of the way they generate spin and publicity. Add an increasingly aggressive fast fashion business environment, diffusion lines, collaborative execution models and you have what we have today, a revealingly disjointed structure which is failing to capture what or who is truly influential in the present fashion times. 

TAKE MY PICTURE from GARAGE Magazine on Vimeo.

Democratization begins at an individual level. Being able to write a product review or a blog on something is truly empowering. Being able to fly to Paris to take a snapshot of something that won’t be out for another 6 months is an even more exciting spectacle. But, if 50 000 people show up to do the exact same thing as you, and another million more online watching from their desktops, it’s no longer an event that truly depicts the essence of the craft, it’s a marketing drive! Let’s just rather watch Manchester United vs Arsenal; same idea in terms of ratings, just more unpredictable with regards to the outcome! In closing, I would like to say that the social web is new to all of us. We have seen how a simple Tweet can start an uprising, and how a Facebook post can spark outrage. Fashion is not isolated from these occurrences and it can’t view itself as being any special. In democratizing its presence, fashion has to let go of its homogeneity. Same faces, same designs, same view points. Where has fashion’s democratization left you? It has left me rather isolated.  

Nia Keturah’s Poetic Visualism

When skill and mastery reach a point of mass replication, authenticity is the last distinguishing differentiator. I’m saying this at a time when the word “authenticity” itself is loosely being thrown around. Is music still a “universal language”? Was it ever was? During a discussion with some friends on this topic, I was of the view that music no longer spoke to a universal audience, and that it had succumbed to the creation of niches and target segments; the type of stuff they teach at Business school. But is this a fair assessment of a subject which is constantly evolving? Ever since that exchange with my friends, I have become very selective about what I want to discover. But, I also realized that it wasn't the genre lines that drew me to a listen. I felt that in most cases it was the story; the visual detail that stimulates a repeated fondness of a song or an entire album.

One such musician who possesses such artistry is Nia Keturah. Her ‘poetic visualism’ is revealingly unapologetic and progressive at the same time. But these images she paints through her lyrics are far from being repetitive and monotonous. This is, in my view, something female rap musicians in the industry often struggle with: the ability to give variations in their musical tales. However, Nia Keturah has managed to master this very early in her career. Whether it’s the melodically playful Control, or the delightfully conscious Proper Poppa, her ability to address a broad spectrum of issues without isolating the listener reflects on what I mentioned earlier about authenticity. Po Lil Black Girl is her third and latest offering, and features the works of producer Wino Willy, alongside other notable storytellers such as ABGOHARD on the reflective yet uplifting, Blunt People.

Whether music is still universal or not, it’s here to stay. It’s through artists like Nia who reinforce the universality of it. We can’t afford to isolate the storytellers, and more importantly, we can’t afford to dilute authenticity. Let’s embrace the last bit of positivity that’s left

phsicsmag (p):Please tell us, what inspired Po Lil Black Girl?

Nia Keturah (NK):I've always wanted to speak to the Kanye line "black female addicted to retail” with an entire record dedicated to exploring materialism in a black girl's world. PLBG was that record. The lightbulb moment was an interview my friend HOA Bossman did about a song we had done together entitled "Paris"…he said something to the effect of "we all know a Paris who has not been to Paris"…the interviewer retorted with "or a Mercedes on the bus or a Diamond with no diamonds." It was such an elegant way to explore the current condition of the black female.

p: When did you touch base with Wino Willy to start working on the project? Take us through some of your in studio experiences.

NK:Willy attends Morehouse and I attended their sister school, Spelman. I met him at a weekly open mic held on campus. Willy is like a brother to me...we disagree, we fight, but we also get very hyped and encouraging. Working with him a blessed yet frustrating process.

p: Po Lil Black Girl is your third body of work. How have you evolved as an artist since the Missed Education of Denise Huxtable (MEDH)?

NK:I've come more into what I know to be my unique sound. As an artist I know what my voice is capable, figuratively. Literally, I understand now more than ever how my voice can penetrate. Comprehending both of these things allows my new records to have a fuller sound.

p: Any exciting new projects we expect from you in the near future?

NK: Look out for something lively very soon.

p: Lastly, do you feel music is still the “universal language” it once was, or are artists better off creating musical niches for themselves?

NK: I think music is the "language of understanding". It gives us windows and doors to other lifestyles. I think it will always possess these doors and windows. Inherently, music is a way to create a niche, but eventually most niches get a window or a door.

this interview will be published in PhsicsMag's 4th annual issue 

How do we brand tradition?

                                                      photography credits: SA brand Okapi

I don’t want to approach this subject from a creative process standpoint. A lot of marketers tend to place tradition at the forefront of their brand communication. A certain French champagne brand has been around since the 1950s, but brands itself around 17^th century ideals. There are many brands which do exactly that, and we've come to accept them. My understanding of what tradition is, is that it is ‘the way in which things are done’, or ‘a certain way of doing things’. A grape cultivator has the objective to cultivate his crop in a manner which best suits his business. The grape cultivator can either choose to stick to an existing method, one which has existed for centuries, or he could ‘innovate’ and begin a new method which he’ll be credited for starting. To my understanding, the former case would be following a particular tradition, and the latter case would be beginning one’s own tradition. Both these scenarios are important to be able to distinguish because of the luxury industry’s present state; be it wines, chocolatiers, hotels, fashion, publishing, any sub-domain of the luxury industry hasn't succeeded yet at effectively defining what tradition is to them. 

Closely positioned alongside tradition is the notion of heritage. This is when a certain tradition is passed on from generation to generation. In this case, the grape cultivator has inherited all of his knowledge and skills application from his ancestry. Heritage is interesting because it’s a broad subject matter. I've encountered brands which define themselves as having an “African heritage” for example. To be fair to those brands, that’s completely acceptable provided that their heritage is in line with what their ideals stand for. Heritage can be overused, or understated. It can also be effectively communicated. But the one thing I've realized with setting heritage as a unique selling point is that its appeal tends to narrow the potentials of a brand. It’s more of a ‘core clientele’ prerequisite. There are brands which balance these two centers very well. But not all brands have a unique attribute to their heritage, and not all brands view tradition as their core differentiator. 

Perhaps we need a broader scope of assessing a brand’s legitimacy. We cannot only use tradition and heritage to validate the way a brand prices its products. We should also observe other dimensions of that brand. Critical aspects such as the provenance, the product quality, the technical application, material, methodology, design, refinement, and the brand’s core ideals, are just some of the differentiators which could be applicable, along with looking at its tradition. Luxury branding has never been this accessible to so many people. There’s a 2.5 billion middle-to- upper income population globally that’s just waiting to hop onto all things ‘luxury’. They possess the buying power, the tools, and the knowledge. But can they identify with what they’re consuming? Branding ‘tradition’ is like slapping a gold encrusted label onto an empty cardboard box. It’s really easy to be grabbed by the detailing of its packaging, but it’s still empty! 

Brand Constancy in a rapidly changing macro-environment

the below piece was originally published in PhsicsMag's Private issue 

Trading down is an interesting but controversial notion. As you would recall, Aquascutum, the 150 year old British luxury fashion brand, filed for administration in April 2012, which led to the house subsequently being taken over by a Chinese consortium called YGM Trading Ltd for a fee of USD 24 million; shockingly absurd don’t you think? For a brand with that much history and tradition, one which is considered as an icon of British culture? In her Redefining the Luxury Concept working paper, Uché Okonkwo introduces two notions; trading down and trading up. In her argument, taking into account today’s macro influences such as a surge in wealth accumulation and the wide accessibility of upscale retail establishments, Ms Okonkwo points out that “fashion brands are for the mass market, whether they are of high quality or not”, and she goes on further to identify luxury brands as being “for a distinct narrow market and are defined by high quality, differentiation and precision in product design and manufacture”.

               all digital marketing enthusiasts, order the book Luxury Online by Uché Okonkwo

According to Uché Okonkwo, the existence of “mass-premium” branding has created a situation whereby the Marketing Mix of an H&M or a Zara for example, no longer reflect that of a low to mid-range retail establishment. To counter claim her latter observation, one would agree that indeed there has been a blurring-out of the differences in the Marketing Mix between low to mid-range brand and retail establishments with luxury ones, but there hasn't really been an effort by luxury brands to justify their high prices effectively, because Zara, H&M, Uniqlo; all these fast fashion establishments are proving to be more relevant on the high street each day. In trying to understand the trading down concept, and whether it contributed to the likes of Aquascutum’s demise, I would like to introduce the notion of brand constancy.

Unlike Burberry, Aquascutum tended to target older and slightly more sophisticated consumers. Unlike Burberry, Aquascutum didn't really have a consistent communications strategy. Unlike Burberry, Aquascutum didn’t evolve into a web 2.0 luxury brand in time, and looking at the company’s history, its previous owners tried their best to keep it rooted to 19th century British ideals. If trading down caused established makes such as  Aquascutum to go bankrupt then why didn't it happen to the likes of Burberry? Trading down reflects directly on a brand’s constancy because consumers will be loyal to the brands which have been relevant to them throughout. Brands that die-out in the minds of consumers will simply become replaced. I do agree that the “mass-premium” approach is making it easier for high income consumers to trade down, but does this mean that there isn’t a middle segmented consumer base which is willing to trade up anymore?

Private Life: Les Deux

 

the below piece was originally published in PhsicsMag's Private issue 

Danish brands have become renowned for their exceptional dynamism and originality. Over the last five years or so, Copenhagen has become the epicenter of alternative movements. Despite the somewhat ‘anti-establishment’ principles that some of these brands may filter-through, think of brands such as Han Kjobenhavn and Panuu, they still carry with them a very complex value scheme; which if broken down, focuses on discreetness, originality, high quality, functionality, craft and engineering, and more importantly, strong design. One such brand is Les Deux. Established in 2009, L2, as it is also known, has gained the reputation of being a sophisticated yet subtle brand. 

 Les Deux’s “flashy in an underground way” theme is flawlessly executed. This brand represents what it means to be Private. I have come to respect the brand’s communication strategy also. Connecting two contrasting worlds is at the focal point of Les Deux’s communication and brand clarity. With society changing all the time, cultural seclusions have in recent years led to an ‘upspring’ of some sort. The benefactors of these cultural upsprings are brands like Les Deux, which highlight the importance of self-determination in a world which is becoming increasingly cluttered. I find myself being able to relate with what Les Deux stands for!

Photograph by: Theis Bothmann
Models:  Japhet Graham & Laura Lundsgaard 
check out Les Deux's website &  Facebook
download the full PhsicsMag Private here 

Issue Three

PDF version is available free for download here