The Formative Years – Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity started out in 1982 as a classic hardcore punk band and eventually evolved to create their own brand of slowed down, blues influenced crossover metal.

COC’s debut full-length Eye for an Eye was released in 1984 and delivered twenty well-thought out trashers. 

Things got interesting in 1985 when Corrosion of Conformity released their second album Animosity, issued on Metal Blade’s Death Records and demonstrated how different they really were from all the other contemporary bands like D.R.I., Raw Power, Dr. Know that were lumped into the “crossover” genre.

While COC was clearly influenced by the same ground-breaking early-1980s metal bands, they were not merely inspired by first generation metal bands like frantic era Bad Brains and the more sinister elements of Black Sabbath, but lifted their riffs, played them in an accelerated manner to then add sludge and doom nuances in their brooding breakdowns and topped their hectic tantrums off with demented vocals.

Animosity created a wonderfully greasy, violent bass driven link between punk, thrash, crust core and metal in a way that was no longer about speed but heaviness. The fact that the cover artwork was created by Pushead did not hurt either.

A brutally effective album that was far ahead of its time, which is why it is not further wondrous that bands like Metallica and Mr. Bungle keep covering songs from it.

Let There Be Light

Musing on the Art of Illumination

Ever entered a space and felt immediately at ease? 

While there are a range of factors at play when it comes to interior design resulting in a sense of well-being, chances are that lighting has been addressed as an integral part of the collaborative design process to effectively distribute luminescence, eliminate harsh lighting and shadows within an area in a bid to shape and imbue a more impressive space with ambience - be it via employing techniques like layered lighting with multiple light sources to create a distinct atmosphere or other advancements in technology and lighting control to manage intensity and make adjustments to the mood of lighting throughout the day, 

Needless to say, light sources, their design and their nuances play a vital role and can not only accentuate the beauty of light but with the chosen materials and shapes bring underlying concepts to the fore.

The year is MMXXII and the design landscape is entirely occupied by mass produced lighting sources. Well not entirely! One small baroque, coastal town in Sweden still holds out against the soulless cool. 

For close to 150 years, Karlskrona Lampfabrik have resisted ever-increasing time constraints and wage differences by manufacturing their lamps true to their small-craft ethos. By adapting their production to the design of household appliances instead of the other way around and still using the same German machines from the 1880s, each and every lamp leaving Karlskrona is not merely unique but informed by designs that are infused with the architectural language of antiquity and further accentuated by a  firm belief in the fact that a quality, manufactured product crafted from quality materials is an investment that not only illuminates the confines of your abode but your soul and through its sustainable attributes also minimises the damaged done to the environment and the wallet. 

With Karlskrona Lampfabrik’s idiosyncratic holistic approach, which entails the consideration of design, product development and craftmanship in equal measure, they not only embody a renaissance for Swedish craftsmanship but demonstrate their expertise in how to cast a flattering light, stemming from their deep affection for the independent firm’s traditional paraffin-powered glass lanterns – and once one has been engulfed in the warm glow of their light sources, it will prove difficult to make do with less subtle offerings.

Another example par excellence for a conceptual endeavour in the realm of adding an intriguing facet to what light sources can be is the collaboration between London based Mathias Hahn and Marset: Informed through his background in Industrial Design, enabling him to work according to production and manufacturing processes and intrinsically driven by a natural desire for designing towards use and functionality, the creation of the Theia lamp for Marset was inspired by the impulse to create an everyday item and solve a particular problem without neglecting the narrative and playful side of the design process in a bid to form a layered and intertwined symbiosis.

Quintessentially the Theia lamp with its materials is a thinly veiled homage to duality of the yin and yang, the sun and moon, merging shadow and light in unison and of course, with its telling name, the Greek goddess and forebearer of the sol, the crescent and the aurora.

With its two-faced ability to manually swivel the sturdy fixture around its central axis, Theia’s opaque’s lampshade can either be positioned to be used as a reading light or to create a subtle, indirect light source, thereby shifting not only the distribution of light but beautifully marrying different spheres horizontally, vertically and intersectionally through projecting, reflecting and absorbing light.

The common denominator of Marset’s approach to designing lighting and its collaborations is not merely a passion for the complexity of light but the celebration of light as a multifaceted, thrilling and enduring experience to improve people’s quality of life, informed by a deep understanding of the role of darkness.

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image from company website

The Formative Years - Prong 

It was a pure coincidence that I came across Prong in the early 1990s via a tape a much older metalhead friend compiled for me and it took me a while to get into them.

While it felt like metal, there was something unique to their sound as they managed to create a melange of seemingly contrasting musical influences with their own idiosyncratic twist on it.

Prong’s full-length Beg to Differ did not only come with cover artwork courtesy of but was essentially one of the first recordings that was not only rooted in thrash metal but with its up-tempo, dissonant pumping riffage laid down what later on was to be classified as “groove metal”. It kicked open the doors and created a foundation and reference point for bands like Helmet, Pantera and White Zombie to base their sound on. 

By marrying the rawness of punk with subliminal stop and go rhythms of noise rock and thereby utilizing negative space to their advantage, Prong was one of the distinctive trailblazing pioneers of slick and accessible alternative metal 

While the sound production feels at times a tad sterile and clinical and could have benefitted from a bit of grime, Beg to Differ is a classic album that broadened my horizon and appreciation for experimentation and heaviness opposed to speed.

Audio = Ground Zero

JBL Live Pro 2 TWS + TWS

JBL has much more to offer than the array of Bluetooth speakers it has become known for over the last couple of years, as the brand has contributed heavily to the improvement of speakers at large over the last hundred years.

Not only did JBL set the de-facto standard in concert touring speakers and sound systems in IMAX theatres, but their technology is inextricably linked to legendary recording studios like Abbey Road and their playback speakers and festivals like Woodstock.

In the realm of manufacturing superb headphones, JBL has firmly established itself on the forefront of offering cutting edge products in each tier, be it for affordable and cheerful options or higher end products for the dedicated audiophile.

When it comes to feature laden low-frequency depth in-ears, JBL’s stem styled  Live Pro 2 TWS earbuds offer a powerful audio performance, which manages to masterfully accentuate both high and lows along with functionality in the noise cancellation department, a ten band customizable EQ and a full-featured app with hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant.

Coming equipped with three pairs of silicone ear tips, it is ensured that they fit snugly, which enhances the easy-to-operate capacitive touch panel on the outside of each earpiece where simple tapping switches between ANC and ambient modes, as well as enabling the Talk Thru mode. 

Simple tapping the respective earpieces is again the name of the game when it comes to handling playback, with double tapping skipping tracks forward, and triple tapping taking one to the previous song. Double tapping on either earpiece accepts incoming calls and ends any in progress. 

IPX5 water-resistance  ensures that the Live Pro 2 can withstand splashes and low-pressure jets from any direction. 

Housed in medium-sized Qi standard supporting wireless charging case, which is enhanced by a status LED display, reveals the remaining battery life of the ten hours it can last in addition to the thirty hours the case itself can provide, while a USB-C port sits on the back for the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable. 

Having used the Live Pro 2 TWS in-ears while travelling, I appreciated the exquisite quality noise cancellation for the price, which manages to expertly take out distracting noise in casual environments. 

During workouts, the automatic pause is a handy feature as it stops the music when an earbud falls out and the Find My Buds feature helps to locate each one individually by resonating with a high-pitched beep.

Summa summarum, JBL’s Live Pro 2 is a small, sleek looking, well-rounded and feature-packed pair of true wireless earbuds that ticks all the boxes in terms of style, energetic sound quality and affordability. 

Stepping things up a notch or two and geared towards connoisseurs is the beauty that is the JBL Tour Pro+ TWS True Wireless Earbuds not merely because of the aesthetically pleasing packaging they come in, but with the extensive gear they are accompanied by, i.e. five differently-sized ear tips, a USB-C charging cable, a charging case, and two differently sized sets of stabilisers.

While this little numbers comes with all the features the aforementioned Live Pro 2 came with, what sets it apart is the schmick design of the superbly built compact and sturdy yet lightweight LED equipped charging case, which is understated and classy, along with the minimalist details of the scratch and sweat resistant, oval shaped earbuds with touch-sensitive surfaces, protruding from the ear just the right amount so they can be easily inserted and pulled out.

Hands-free functionality is ensured via smart capabilities, i.e. Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant voice activation and as far as active noise cancelling technology is concerned, JBL’s Tour Pro+ maximises audio quality by drawing on both external and internal microphones to reduce distracting noises. 

Compared to the Live Pro 2, the Tour Pro+ do not merely deliver punchy bass but also excel in the mid-range and top notes department and with up to 32 hours of playback time, this baby will keep you going all day.

Another fantastic feature the Tour Pro+ accomplishes compared to similarly priced competitors is the crystal-clear communication courtesy of six microphones focusing on placing your voice front- and centre.

By personalising EQ settings, one can create customising frequency levels of the balanced sound signature, which I love.

In essence, the Tour Pro+ TWS proves to be one of my favourite products from JBL, especially because of the design, the quality of voice calls and the equilibrium between price and high-end performance.

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images from company website

Arrival in Our World Is Really a Departure

It should not come as an epiphany that we produce more clothing than ever before, with the driver being monetary gains rather than human necessities.

Needless to say, it did not take long for the more caring facets of the fashion industry to engage in what is commonly referred to as circular economy, i.e. the commitment to reusing, re- and upcycling by design which at the best of times can be challenging as the composition of most clothing is complex, sheer endlessly variable in terms of source materials and unlike metal, paper or glass simply not designed to be recycled. 

In other words, if the objective of recycling is to culminate in arriving in a product close to the original, all components would first need to be separated, which would be a labour and cost intensive exercise.

Enter Brooklyn-based brand The Arrivals, the research lab of which has been tasked to creatively produce a net-neutral offering of products, culminating in their limited SS22 collection, which is comprised of responsibly constructed garments leveraging recycled, rehabilitated, and repurposed textiles titled SIGNAL LOST.

Centred around the reuse of vintage fabric and 100% repurposed organic cotton, the resulting carefully designed soft wear styles have been hand-dyed with graphical designs, giving them an idiosyncratic edge and promoting a mindful present and the endeavour to create the foundation for a meaningful future. 

I specifically dig The Arrivals’ collaboration with the outdoor and sports brand MAAP, as it was the first exposure to the cycling industry stepping up to produce a performance gear  built for distance capsule collection to blur the boundary between explorers and their surroundings, merging on-bike performance with an off-bike ethos with products like long sleeve tees made from Polartec Power Dry, containing 50% recycled PET fibre content and moisture wicking properties.

An immensely useful piece is the packable insulated jacket made from 100% post-consumer textiles and Primaloft Black Eco thermal insulation, with a water repellent finish, adjustable hood and multiple useful pockets. 

Born of frustration with the excessive of the world’s natural resource, the collaboration between The Arrivals and MAAP manifests the belief that social and environmental issues go hand in hand and through exploring the connection between these issues, syncing  sustainability and innovativeness. 

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image from company website