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Monocle – Book of Japan

Thames and Hudson

Tyler Brûlé and his brainchild Monocle have had an intensive relationship with Japan ever since the inception of the magazine – a relationship which could be claimed to have been borderline formative as the magazine was informed by the core crew spending time late into the night behind the stacks at Tsutaya, absorbing how Japanese magazines not only seem to have an acute understanding of their readers at their core but form real relationships with them and think about what they are giving back for the cost of the magazine.

Needless to say, that Japan has been an often-visited subject of the international magazine ever since its very first issue, when an image of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force even took over the cover.

Given its inextricably linked deep connection to Japan, its admiration for the culture and having an established office on the ground in Tokyo, Monocle has had one of its foci firmly set on both Japanese craft culture as well the innate dignity of service and gentility that gradually seems to be getting recognition.

A tome on the endlessly fascinating and culturally rich country of Japan as part of Monocle’s portfolio was only going to be a matter of time and what has materialized now is an ode to a nation that the magazine has built up a unique understanding and passion for.

With the idiosyncratic thorough approach and Monocle unique voice, the reader is guided through a visually appealing curated array of examples from the worlds of Japanese fashion, food, design and architecture.

Striking a sophisticated balance between plenty of eye candy and informative essays, no matter how familiar one with this mysterious country might be, this book serves as a lens which allows to discover it anew.

If you are familiar and appreciate Monocle’s previous book release, this collaboration with Thames & Hudson will be an immensely satisfying and visually appealing addition to your collection - the uninitiated are in for a treat as The Book of Japan serves as an ideal introduction to the Monocle cosmos.

Motown: The Sound of Young America

Thames & Hudson

For the uninitiated – 2020 marks the sixtieth anniversary of Motown Records and everything surrounding it not only dominated the first half of the sixties, but left an imprint on popular culture, the reverberations of which can be felt to the present day.

I have yet to come across anyone remotely into pop culture that does not harbour a weak spot for the sixties pomp that was channelled and released to the public under the banner of Motown Records.

Needless to say that with Motown’s head of sales, i.e. Barney Ales, being one of the authors of this opulently illustrated tome, the stories you get come from straight from the horse’s mouth from a protagonist that was in the room when it happened and especially for Motown aficionados it should be quite a revelation as the record is set straight – a tenet that seems to have been one of the major motivations behind the book.

Having quite a few books on the topic on my shelves, with this one I found it quite refreshing that there is no need to laundered in order to create an engaging and riveting reading experience – the factoids themselves surrounding recording processes and releases are fascinating and document a unique time that put Detroit on the map and in the ears of anyone owning a transistor radio.

Apart from the documentation and stories, the photos alone are worth the purchase: Over one thousand colourful illustrations and footage detailing acts in various circumstances (including ample shots from behind-the-scenes), cover artwork, ads, live performances, et cetera, make Motown – The Sound of Young America a visually appealing book that in terms of sheer beauty and eye candy is hard to march.  The fact that the layout is crisp and printed on quality paper only adds to the experience.

The ultimate resource and a superb ode to Motown – not only the most successful independent label to ever exist but one that defined an extraordinarily creative era that is unrivalled in terms of vibrance, iconography, innovation and blindness to race.

Nicole Hartje-Grave

Von Max Ernst bis Eduardo Chillida - Die Sammlung Wilfried und Gisela Fitting

Wienand Verlag

Ever since I was first exposed to Max Ernst as a teenager, his fascinating life and oeuvre has never not proved to be immensely influential on me and anyone remotely interested in surrealist art and has had the misfortune of not being familiar, should start investigating to gain insight into a fantastic world of aberrant art that reaches far beyond Salvador Dali.

On the other end of the spectrum of Wilfried and Gisela Fitting’s collection, which is being shed light on in this opulently illustrated tome, is an artist that has become known for monumental and spatially complex multimedia art with the focus always firmly set on paying homage to the sublime, i.e. Eduardo Chillida.

Fitting’s collection started in the 1960s and is informed by a keen vision and understanding of the respective artist’s significance, which at times took decades to be validated by a mainstream audience. The curation of the more than two hundred artworks is substantiated with essays and elaborations on their provenance, which expertly highlight the merits of e.g. Hans Arp, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and Joan Miró, amongst the two.

There is a delicate subtlety that informs the approach the Fitting Collection as it refrains from loud and declamatory tones without ever risking diminishing the importance of the various artists.

As an avid collector of books on Max Ernst, I specifically enjoyed some of his lesser known decalcomaniacal works, i.e. where he applied paint to the canvas to depict often grotesque mythological figures by pressing it against a flat surface, gives the result a mossy, furry or marshy appearance and what resulted in his emissions being considered as “Entartete Kunst” by the Third Reich aesthetic.

The book whets my appetite to experience the Fitting Collection in the third dimension, which makes a visit to the Kunstmuseum Bonn, where it is permanently exhibited, mandatory.

Endurance

Louis Rudd

Pan Macmillan

As we go by Lord Byron, prolonged endurance tames the bold but there are some individuals who have perfectioned the art of concentrating patience and conquering bad fortune by endurance, one of which is Louis Rudd, who among other accomplishments has completed many tours in extreme cold weather environments, including inside the Arctic Circle – unsupported and unaccompanied.

Rudd’s book, aptly titled “Endurance”, details in a first-person narrative the evolution of a man who not only cultivated a thirst for challenges but simultaneously grew his courage, mental strength and determination.

While the book will definitely appeal to anyone remotely into pushing one’s individual boundaries, it has an inspiring aspect that makes it relatable even to the yet to be initiated as far as Polar expeditions are concerned in that Rudd sheds light on his adventures step-by-straining step in such an engaging manner that one cannot help but feel in the midst of the action.

On a more abstract level, there are valuable lessons to be learned that apply to seemingly unrelated areas of life as far as leadership, team building and the mastery of the journey through life is concerned.

The fact that Louis Rudd’s approach to his story is informed by humility and humbleness adds to the stories of exploration, endurance and physical and mental resilience, which is results in a motivating reading experience that fuels one’s struggle with the day-to-day pressures we all face in life and at work.

Water of Life – Overeem Distillery

As part of our whisk(e)y-centric series, we have covered a wide range of Tasmanian distilleries, most of which I have had the privilege to visit and meet the protagonists behind the still. The one that almost got away and that has been ranking high on my list has been Overeem.

The back story is complex: When the founder Casey Overeem retired in 2014 after seven years of producing excellent drops, the distillery continued under the umbrella of Lark before Australian Whisky Holdings (AWY) acquired it.

The great news is that Overeem ( https://overeemwhisky.com/ ) will transition back into the hands of the family that founded it as Jane Overeem and her better half Mark Sawford, i.e. Sawford Distillery, have bought it back with settlement set for June 2020.

Given that Overeem was one of the founding distilleries on terra australis, what gets me excited about the distillery re-emerging is that there is a commitment to not only honour but revive the DNA that informed Casey’s meticulous work, which led to its emissions being decorated with awards on not only national but international terrain – prospects of plans about expansion via distribution in the UK should get anyone in the old world excited who is remotely into great single malts, specifically of the high calibre that Tasmania has consistently delivered.

While I am typing this, I am indulging in a dram of the alchemy that has channelled in a single French oak Port cask that has been chopped down to hold mere hundred litres. Not unlike with one of my favourite whiskies, i.e. Laphroaig’s Quarter Cask, the small cask size increases the speed of interaction between the wood, the liquid and the air, producing a more intense flavour, which is hinted at by what tickles the nostril upon approach: A bouquet of white flowers, vanilla, ripe summer fruits (strawberry, plum, nectarine and redcurrant) with a sweetened cream drizzled over the top. The delicate part is that it is pervaded in a subtle manner by oaky, peachy undertones.

On the top of the mouth, the savoury sweetness the nose hinted at takes a welcomed left turn towards a deeper, darker rich fruitiness, highlighted by nuances of liquorice, peppery spice, toasted vanilla and dark chocolate. Delicious.

An elongated complex finish is well-calibrated between the coordinates of tannic oak, the essence of sweet dark fruits and the most subtle wafts of smoke, which makes one lust to try the cask strength version as the balance between spirit and the character infused through the port cask treatment is superb.

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image from company website