ucef hanjani

here we go now weekend playlist: happy listening

DJ-Yeva-Don

our friends at “here we go now” yoga to the groove. here are just 4 of the many eclectic playlists available from their blog. click on links to check em out. happy listening and good weekend y’all… above: “dj & kundalini yoga teacher yeva don with her poetic inspiration towards infinite gratitude to mother earth. this music mix is a journey of emotions that teaches you how to breathe, feel, give, live and dance…” follow her on instagram. khan-gerald-forster

“to all who hear this collage as it concerns you, i put this together as an extension of myself and what i am standing for, freedom. i want for this to leave you moved and inspired to do what it is you are here to do in this space and time in every moment, thus you will be free. so, here we go now…” – anthony “the twilite tone” dj khan…” DJ-Lima-Love

“dj lima love, has created a transcendental meditation mix with a beautiful melodic and sensitive soulful splash of vertical love… “ Ucef-Hanjani-ceft-coalition

“ceft coalition is a musical collaboration led by “internationalist buff”, ucef hanjani. the collective includes various friends, producers and selectors who have came together in NY in the past decade  for appearances at 675 hudson, sunday sessions, frying pan, cielo and capital. here we bring you an exclusive mix of vintage and new electronic tracks with reggae/funk roots. expect to be surprised at the range of genres colliding in this mix – a true hallmark of this collective…” follow them on instagram. all photos by herr gerald forster. visit “here we go now” blog by clicking here.

CATEGORIES: music

DJ compilations: easy listening… well sort of!

musician/dj quinn luke aka bing-ji-ling

ucef hanjani of the collective selectors ceft colaition

jamaican record producer clive chin

amsterdams dj jaziah

our friends at “here we go now” have compiled a series of music compilations from various DJs in NY and beyond, including the legendary jamaican record producer clive chin of new yorks miss lilly’s. if you happen to have the patience to wait for the damn stream to load (pending your connection: mine took 2 minutes and 19″ seconds to be exact) this eclectic mix of reggae funk and electronica by the ceft coalition spanning over an hour of music is worth a listen (click here to load stream). my other fav is of course anything from clive as well as the mix by princess christiens socceaneanana. happy listening. photos courtesy of gerald forster. by pr

CATEGORIES: music, ny places

tom sachs space program mars: nasa meets nike, meets krink ink, meets tupac, meets playboy. it was one hell of a party

may 15th opening night at the tom sachs show at the new york park avenue armory

i’ve had eggs and bacon with buzz aldrin himself (no shit!) and i still found this to be pretty exciting

gravity defying counterfeit nike high-tops courtesy of mister tom sachs, i so wanted this one

authentic nasa fridge… the final frontier

i suppose you cant take your samsung point-and-shoot to the moon now can ya!

nasa taco truck, brilliant.

i’m not sure so don’t quote me, but i think this is john fuckin luries stinkin’ air jordans

thanx dre we missed you that night but you where there in spirit… and well as a ban-saw!

this was funny, vintage 60’s-70’s playboy issues painted in official nasa silver. upon exit of the show you walk through a metal detector while 3 mustache-laden nasa officials are busy reading playboys with the nasa silver cover

mars yard shoe, cause you won’t need high tops all the way up there. i was actually wondering that night what nike had to do with nasa and all? and the funny thing i learned was that nike has been and does actually supply nasa with many of the astronauts high tech fabrics and get-ups…

jerry-rigged nasa suit by tom sachs

nasa krink-ink, i mean you’re not gonna go all the way there and not tag shit.

maybe i can explain kl… so last week we somehow got on the premier nights invite list by mistake, sorta like peter sellers in blake edwards’ film “the party.”  it was a hike to the peak of manhattan, but it was tom sachs, and i was curious what sort of shenanigans he’d be up to in new york now that jeffrey‘s has flocked to la. i remember mid-way climbing up mount everest in the cab that i thought damn this better be worth it… but you know i grew up admiring nasa, wanted to be an astronaut, had every book on nasa and it’s space suits, and i even named my dog after the first dog in space… so why not? once there i stepped over the slimy olivier zahn, said hi to robert longo, pushed aside kanye west, hugged mario sorrenti, kissed bill cunningham’s forehead and grabbed some popcorn. the show was great and i had a big smile walking around. but while tom’s work is more trendy than serious and he has a bit of a frat boy humor for my taste, he does make me laugh and the show in a way made my grey week a bit more nasa red. i highly recommend all you art lovers to check it out. the show, at the park avenue armory is up till june 17th so hurry. by dd

CATEGORIES: art, backstage, ny places

le cabinet de curiosités: thierry despont, claudio bravo, manolo valdez with steinitz gallery

dayassi olarte de kanavos at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

wooden books in wooden shelves

creative director ucef hanjani and kimberly norcott at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mechanical insects

francesa vuillemin david victor rose at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

original map table belonging to napoleon

pilar molyneux juan pablo molyneux at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mitchell alfus michaela cordes at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

last night we stopped by marlborough gallery artists/architect thierry despont’s opening at the mercantile exchange which was transformed into an 18th century french residence peppered with everything including a renaissance bulls head, various mechanical insects, and an original map table belonging to napoleon himself. the original 18th century wall paneling containing the show belong to the steinitz collection and were transported exclusively for the show from france.

the topic of the show “le cabinet de curiosités” was a brilliant one and one i’m obsessed with.  the lighting and mood were appropriately set with dark walls and sage green panels. my favorite pieces were the monochromatic parcel painting by chilean painter, claudio bravo, that reminded me of christo and jeanne-claude in their puritan form. also the beautiful wooden bookshelves, fully equipped with “wooden” books, by spanish artist manolo valdez. i simply wanted to drag them back home with me. the mechanical over-sized insects were created from various industrial pieces and while quite immaculate, i have personally developed an new affinity for the real specimens from amazonia. it was a beautiful transformation and worth a visit… the only thing missing was some krug champagne… the show is on until january 31st 2012. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places

summer selecta at 675 hudson

675 has been known in some circles, for over a decade, for a series of wild and unexpected pop-up shindigs. new york times once made the error of writing it up in 2008 causing repeated raids by new york’s finest. the digs stopped, but once in a while the doors open to a certain “friends and family”… transient dj’s, the ceft coalition, known to have frequented the premises was once again present this summer. not quite sure what was more impressive the music selection or the horse they came on. vintage norton courtesy of shadi and company. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places

my favorite things: ucef hanjani from a generic man

describe your style in five words:
erik satie meets sergio leone

what are you currently wearing?
white jeans by marc jacobs, my old white cotton button down shirt by helmut lang, no socks, my white generic man naval shoes
white leather and bamboo whip from kiki de montparnasse

any fashion tips for this season?
avoid the system

name one person, living or dead, whose style inspires you:
living: jarvis cocker
dead: my grandfather

what are you into now?
music: lee hazelwood, Lars and the hands of light, syd barrett, gonzales
film: documentaries seems to be all I watch these days
food: still japanese, but sans radiation
drink: krug, anything from joto sake
cars: 1954 maserati AG6, 1976 rolls royce corniche coup, 1964 ferrari Lusso
instruments: vintage gretsch semi hollows, hand made acoustic guitars from spain
hobbies: galaxies, carrera classic slot cars

where did you get your generic shoes?
in LA

what do you love the most about them?
well made, unbranded and hand crafted

ucef hanjani a few of my favorite things from generic surplus (blog) and the makers of generic man. for style profiles go to generic surplus, ca. by xy

CATEGORIES: eye candy, fashion mens, foot fetish

nars cosmetics: new york launch party for “makeup your mind” the book and the interactive website

 

francois nars, the lovely and talented grace coddington and underwear giant calvin klein who seems to be getting younger by the day

london “it” girl alexa chung whom i ran into at old navy over the weekend in ny… that made her quite cool to be sure

the launch event at cedar lake nyc, that’s me in the black suit and white shirt

lake bell and francois nars

the very blond erin fetherston

ok the twins where not a stunt act but rather the djs from paris: ladies and gentlemen, les jumeaux

francois and amanda lepore keeping it real as usual

catering was supplied courtesy of martha stewart – that’s a joke.

makeup artist bad girl sarah sophie flicker

how to become a narsissist: the new interactive website with the same name as the book, where you can follow instructions and upload your picture for a chance to win 1 of 12 prizes


ok as always we are a bit behind schedule, recovery has its own perils… last tuesday nars cosmetics held their launch event at cedar lake in nyc to celebrate the launch of the book “makeup your mind: express yourself” (good thing there is no tax on word count) and its corresponding social media website makeupyourmind.com. the event was done as expected of nars, fully polished, and star studded with francois celebrity friends. everyone from the cheerful and talented simon doonan, to carol alt, elise overland, and anna sui turned up for a drink and a quick makeover. i ran into the lovely gender bender model andrej pejic who was charming and tall as usual. he looked rather flat next to amanda. the drinks were colorful and cold, i had a couple of champagnes, and eyed the under-lite trays of yellow tale sashimi’s swimming by. the event was from 7-10 followed by an after party which i wasn’t invited to. i dashed out at around 8:30 to make room for the ever flowing fans, as the party must go on… the instructional book “makeup your mind: express yourself” finally available was beautifully design by baron & baron and the website which contains the instructions “makeup your mind” was designed and produced by ceft and company new york by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, beauty

ARE YOU A NARCISSIST? Makeup yo’ mind boy!

site design and production: ceft and company new york

today NARS cosmetics launched the above website “www.makeupyourmind.com“, where you can go, learn how to do your makeup from the master himself, upload your results and be judged by the entire fashion world. boys of all age and girls of certain demeanor are highly welcome. should you be in the mood you can browse around and “heart” those you like, unfortunately, and not very in-line with the fashion world you can’t kak on those you dislike. the most loved (as in winners) get NARS goodies hand packaged by mister francois nars not to mention the grand winner who will hang out with francois himself backstage at NY fashion week. when asked why NARS created a separate site for the experience, rather than building it directly into facebook, the creative director of ceft and company, ucef hanjani, said: “it’s always important for certain brands to maintain and control their own aesthetic and feeling, and when it comes to web i must say, many have dropped that notion, but obviously not NARS” — this of course is a complaint often expressed by fashion and beauty brands that want to use social media but don’t want their content to sit under a lame-o facebook or youtube swastika. by fr

CATEGORIES: beauty

THE SECRET OF “THE WOOLY”

host victor glemaud and the handsome james penfold – this boys got groove!

fabulous designer and host camilla staerk with brian coats and david thielebeule

the ever present yana k

julia restoin-roitfeld and monsieur andre, or in this case lauren tabach bank and david thielebeule

fashion photographer karen collins and ucef hanjani (ceft and company)

beautiful! actually this photo is from another party but she looked too fabulous to pass

annabel tollman and photographer and charming host of the night hanuk

michael carl and demetria white

douglas and amanda wurtz

 

 

 

 

 

straggling down new york’s financial district one would expect to find dinosaur bones scattered around from the jurassic financial era, but not a live, hopping, wooly underneath the woolworth buidling!! everyone from waris, to mark borthwick, to karen ellison have graced its thrift-store decor which seems to grow and accumulate with each of my visits there. the wooly has officially become the go-to place for recapturing the intimate parties that gave new york the old reputation it once had. this last saturday fashion designer camilla staerk along with her friends, victor glemaud and hanuk hosted a small but super fun gathering. as expected an eclectic and fun crowd of friends coupled with good music (may kwok & rod) melted the night hours away. all photo credits go to our charming host hanuk. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, fashion, ny places