As physical media continues its comeback, The National rounds up the best releases this month across film, music, art and more.
Socialist Disco: Dancing Behind Yugoslavia's Velvet Curtain 1977-1987 (June 25)
By 1979, disco was dead in the US. In other parts of the world, the party was only just getting started.
In Yugoslavia, for instance, concerts from international artists such as Love Machine, Boney M and Amanda Lear inspired a host of local talent, turning the genre into a staple of the now-dissolved country’s club scene until the late 1980s.
Socialist Disco: Dancing Behind Yugoslavia's Velvet Curtain 1977-1987 collects 18 rare singles and B-sides, each long out-of-print, which give a fascinating and highly enjoyable look into that scene. Full of bizarre lyrics and blazing basslines in equal measure, this is disco that feels both familiar and totally alien, full of experimentation and genre hybrids.
The collection’s initial run sold out while still in the pre-order stage in 2018. It's now finally back in print by the boutique label Fox & His Friends Records, who are opening preorders on their website at the end of June to ship in August. Expect it to sell out before it hits wider retailers once again.
William Mullally, arts & culture editor
Panton: Environments, Colors, Systems, Patterns (June 25)
Verner Panton was a design genius. While his vision was seen as unconventional during the mid-20th century, it was highly influential on contemporary design.
When a generation of designers were working with natural materials and prioritising manual craftsmanship, Panton was interested in coloured plastic, fibreglass, synthetic fabrics and industrial mass-production. In 1960, he released the S chair: the first single-form injection-molded plastic chair, which is still in production today.
Panton: Environments, Colors, Systems, Patterns is a new book that comprehensively chronicles the work of the 1960s Danish designer. From his furniture to his interiors and building designs, Panton’s oeuvre is examined from the perspective of how he influenced and cemented the ethos and design aesthetics of the 1960s and 1970s to their mixture of utilitarianism and how they contributed to contemporary design.
The book is a new version of the bestselling, now-collectable 2018 edition, but features a different layout as well as more illustrations and images of Panton’s personal life with a psychedelic cover.
Maan Jalal, arts and culture writer
Noyuri by Akira Miyazawa (June 21)
Akira Miyazawa’s Noyuri is the amber of a musical moment that brought together three greats in Japanese jazz.
The album, released on vinyl for the first time on Friday, was recorded in 1992 under the direction of Japanese singer and composer Maki Asakawa. It features eight performances by saxophonist Miyazawa and pianist Takeshi Shibuya.
Noyuri is a case study of how two very particular musicians, with a deep understanding of each other’s craft, can create something truly inimitable. Miyazawa’s blistering melodic phrases – emblematic of the energy that defined the saxophonist’s later years – are contrasted by Shibuya’s delicate harmonies. Across eight tracks, Noyuri moves from the pensive and melancholic to more sprightly grounds, with a measured pace.
Noyuri is the first work in Zero Hour, a series of records produced by Asakawa between the early 1990s and 2010, when the singer and composer died days before her 68th birthday. Along with Noyuri, CAE Records is also releasing vinyls of two other works from the series, including Come From With by Japanese saxophonist Takao Uematsu, and From the Broken World by US cellist Tristan Honsinger.
Razmig Bedirian, arts and culture writer
These Foolish Things by Dylan Jones (June 13)
It's been decades since the "Cool Britannia" movement dominated global pop culture in the 1990s. Now, one of its leading journalistic voices offers a look inside like never before.
In the 1990s, then-British GQ editor Dylan Jones led a semi-charmed life, becoming friends with artists ranging from Sir David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Dame Tracey Emin and Damian Hirst, and his memoir is replete anecdotes that give an intimate look at each. His career has a fascinating arc: from the heart of punk and the New Romantic Movement, he would eventually end up at the centre of Britain’s shifting political discourse, hiring Boris Johnson, Piers Morgan and Alastair Campbell as columnists.
This memoir of a life at the intersection of music, politics, culture and fashion – with only fleeting time spent on personal life and tragedy – fits neatly into a genre that includes classics such as Tina Brown’s The Vanity Fair Diaries. Aged 64, you get the feeling that Jones is someone who refuses to believe his best days are behind him and is still on the lookout for culture-defining moments to partake in and write about.
Nasri Atallah, Luxury editor
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (June 4)
Terry Gilliam rose to fame working with the Monty Python comedic troupe, directing shorts as well as the feature film Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975. Drifting away from the British comedy group, Gilliam directed dream-like fantasy films such as Jabberwocky and Time Bandits. He then directed his magnum opus, Brazil, starring Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm and Bob Hoskins.
Gilliam's films share an air of fantastical mysticism, awash with the feeling of dipping in and out of sleep. That's what watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas feels like a fever dream, full of discomfort and surreal brilliance in equal measure. The film stars Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro and is adapted from the book of the same name by Gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson.
Released this month on 4K from the Criterion Collection, the box art is by renowned British illustrator Ralph Steadman. The film has long been a fixture on cinephile collectors' shelves, as Criterion has previously released it in every format. Now with this new 4K restoration, fans can experience a true nightmare put to film.
Faisal Salah, gaming and social writer
Hip-Hop is History (June 11)
For a genre immersed in style and innovation, the literature surrounding hip-hop has been mostly bereft of the immediacy and vibrancy associated with the music. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, a renowned DJ and member of The Roots, now adds to that welcome collection with the crackling Hip-Hop is History.
With Questlove playing his part in that growth as an artist and co-producer of important records by the likes of Common and Erykah Badu, he peppers his narrative with revealing studio anecdotes and sharp analysis of the genre milestones.
With Questlove being first and foremost a drummer, there are also some enthusiastic explorations of production techniques by Pharrell Williams and his favourite group A Tribe Called Quest.
While by no means a definitive account of the music’s journey, Hip-Hop is History is valuable in that it encourages one to hear new and older records with a more informed ear. That alone is a worthy tribute to a genre that gave him and us so much.
Saeed Saeed, features writer
