ÙSER

 

1. Madonna - Erotica (Dominatrix Mix)
2. Lady Gaga - Government Hooker
3. Trentemøller - Moan (Sabotage 2010 Edit)
4. Crystal Castles - Wrath of God
5. Donna Summer - She Works Hard For the Money (Eddie Baez Remix)
6. Gomma All Stars Feat. Peaches - Maniac
7. T.E.E.D - Your Love
8. M People - Renaissance (I'm Coming Home) (Macsilva Mix)
9. Terranova Feat. Khan - So Strong
10. DJ Fresh Feat. Sian Evans - Louder (Inphinity's Electrostep Edit)
11. Neon Neon - I lust Ù
11B. Sophie Ellis-Bexter - Murder On The Dancefloor (Sample)
12. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (Daphni Mix 1)
13. IV29 Emmanuel Jal - Kuar (Olof Dreijer Remix)
14. Crim3s - Holes
15, Samuel & The Dragon - Rising Up (Slow Mix)

Ù

I made a new mix tape... enjoy!


Ù by Alùn Davies

1. OAR001-A (Orginal Mix) - Oni Ayhun
2.This Must Be It (Rex the Dog Remix) - Royksopp ft Fever Ray
3.Fashion Of His Love (Fernando Garibay Remix) - Lady Gaga
4.Call Your Girlfriend (Azari & III Remix) - Robyn
5.Colourless Colour (The Subs Popup Mix) - La Roux
6.Stay [The Lisa Marie Vocal Experience] - Sash!
7.Destroy Everything You Touch (Sasha Invol2ver Remix) - Ladytron
8.Lady Gaga - Electric Chapel (Alessio Silvestro Remix) - Lady Gaga
9.Garden - Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
10.OAR001-B (Original Mix) - Oni Ayhun

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Low Fi yet high budget graphics - Check!
Throne - Check!
Aliens - Check!
High Volumes of Fashion - Check!
Mirror effect - Check!
Skull tatoo guy - Yup he's still everywhere!
Gaga does look ever so skinny at the moment I do hope she's eating properly! Especially if she's having babies!

COLLABORATORS REVIEW OF 2010 : CHRISTA HOLKA

I’m Christa Holka and I am a photographer. I came to London in to do an MA in Fine Art at Central St. Martins, which I finished in 2008. I met Alun very soon after my arrival in London and we became fast friends. I then began working with him in the summer of 2008 doing Art Department/Set Design on a feature film. Since then, I regularly work with him on set design projects for fashion, but have also worked with him as a photographer.

My personal work is mostly documentary photography and deals issues of documenting and archiving the communities in which I exist. One of my biggest ongoing projects is “I WAS THERE”, a series of photographs of friends and acquaintances in parties I frequent in London. Intersecting with my personal work, are photos I share with my friends’ blog The Most Cake.





























































Outside of my own work, I work predominantly as a freelance photographer documenting live art/artists and art events as well as in editorial photography. I am also a stills photographer for film and television and occasionally work as a photographer’s assistant for fashion editorials and with Alun in set design and art direction for fashion and film.

Working with Alun, I’m always impressed by his incredible creative vision, passion, professionalism, attention to detail and ability to make the most gorgeous sets and objects with any budget no matter how small. Working with Alun has and continues to influence me and my work on a number of levels, and I am lucky to work with him. Plus, it’s just fun to work with your friends!

So, some highlights for the year included:

The saga of Lady Gaga. I was part of a very intimate team working with Alun assembling costumes for Lady Gaga’s European Tour. I don’t know if I have ever worked so hard and so long in my entire life. This project also marks the moment where I hit my exhaustion limit and broke. After two long weeks of work, and the final 2 days of 15 hour days, plus the final all-nighter, I lost it! My usually calm and relaxed demeanor even in the toughest, most stressful situations just went out the window and I do believe I was asleep in the studio, refusing to get up to finish the job. After an hour nap, I did get up and I did deliver those costumes to Anna Trevelyan. Oh yes I did.

















Rihanna for i-D Magazine. I must admit, I was starstruck. Rihanna is one of my favourite pop stars of late and that I got to be in a room with her for a whole day whether or not I even spoke to her, was terrifically exciting! This was a full day shoot where we brought everything. Lots of furniture that I think I helped source, fabrics, etc. and in the end, it was all about a wooden stool. I never could have imagined that a wooden stool would be so important or so precious. I am since always on the look-out for the perfect wooden stool which I plan to buy and give to Alun as a surprise some day.

Kate Moss for British Vogue. This was a two-day shoot, one of which was on location in a gorgeous location house. This was again a situation where we brought the world in terms of props: gorgeous furniture that we sourced from all over London. I also remember Alun sending me out to source an old mattress, not just a mattress but an “exquisite” old mattress. I never found the thing but I tried did I ever try.

Rosamund Pike for InStyle Magazine. For this shoot, we built a gorgeous old film set. Aside from the Adidas Campaign I worked on with Alun a few years ago, this was the first time I got to see the almost all of the big props Alun sourced go to work. The result was an impressive, convincing film set. I also got the opportunity to do some “behind the scenes” photos on this shoot that are included in the final story.















Naomi Campbell for British GQ. This was another moment where I felt truly starstruck. The chance to be on set with one of fashions most notorious models was quite exciting, not to mention the very ambitious set that included a special effects swimming pool AND us building a separate free-standing room. Also, as it goes with celebrity rumours, Naomi was not a nightmare, but rather she was well behaved, quite unremarkable in those terms. On top of being on set with Naomi, my job for about half of the day was splashing Naomi while she was photographed (!!!).

Beyond fashion shoots, I also collaborated with Alun by doing the photography for Bright Light Bright Light’s 2010 Limited Edition Tour EP as well as some publicity photography for 2009 and 2010.































































































And I think that about covers it! I look forward to many more of these memories with Alun to come! Hey 2011!

www.christaholka.com
www.xtawasthere.tumblr.com

REVIEW OF 2010

Hello,

2010 was an extremely busy year at AD AD, it was the first year to see so much of our set design work on the stage as well as in print, online and as live installations. Working across fashion and music, we have collaborated with some of my early inspirations (Peaches, Vincent Peters, Willy Vanderperre ) as well as some brilliant up and coming talent (Daniel Sannwald, Charlie Le Mindu, Bright Light Bright Light). It also seemed the perfect time to develop our costume props and accessories taking them to a new level, some touring the world (Lady Gaga) and gaining a whole new audience for our designs.

Some of the highlights I have listed below but the stand-out event for me was the amazing opportunity to travel and work with Peaches in Berlin. I spent almost 2 months working with avant garde recording artist as the production and stage designer for her shocking and brilliant musical opera 'Peaches Does Herself' at the prestigious Hebbel Am Uffer, creating dynamic sets such as a vaginal lipped bed giving birth to the contemporary dancers dressed in fetus style outfits, to oversized set pieces such as an operating table, the Peaches trademark 'Shocker' hand and dancing cardboard trees. The show was a back to back musical of Peaches songs and the imagery followed with props including a specially commisioned exploding dildo by 'Babes-n-Horny', hair arm costume props and many more. The show was sold out for the whole weeks run in Berlin, and was such a success it shall return again in May 2011.

COSTUME PROPS

Another on-stage sucess were the scintillating and mirror ball encrusted dancers costumes for the Lady Gaga Monsterball World Tour, commissioned by Anna Trevelyan for super stylist Nicola Formichetti. Gaga wears dress by Armarni Prive.

EDITORIAL \ CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL STORIES

In print and online AD AD created editorial art direction, prop design and costume props with stylists and photographers such as Kim Howells for Contributing Editor, Raquel Garcia for Metal Magazine, Yasuhiro Takehisa for Dazed and Confused Korea and Vision Magazine. Markn for Harpers Bazarre, Vincent Peters for Vanity Fair, GQ and InStyle, Daniel Sannwald for Suddeutsche Zeitung Magazin and Thomas Lohr for Under Current Magazine.

COMMERCIAL

Commercial shoots and campaigns included Net a Porter, Office, House of Fraser, Lu Flux (Esthetica at LFW) and Waddler Clothing with photographers, Holly Falconer, Jonathan Hallam, Markn and Sophia Spring .

LFW AND BEYOND

Staying in the wonderful realms of fashion we collaborated with milliner Piers Atkinson for his London fashion week installations, creating body contorted mannequins in gloss black, speared with neon tubing for his A/W 2010/11 stand at Somerset House, and golden lacquered bodies with glitter pink Hollywood Hills for his S/S 2011 installation. More recently creating futuristic erotica inspired costume props for his Christmas window display at it-boutique Machine-A, where we had incidentally previously brought to life a themed ‘graveyard for vaginal worship’; a live performance Installation for Machine-A and Charlie Le Mindu, a cardboard graveyard and astro turf lawns graced the Machine-A basement, a body and fountain of hair was suspended as performers writhered in worship on the floor.

MUSIC & MOVING IMAGE

Ongoing artistic direction for Grazia.com’s LFW soundtrack recording artist Bright Light Bright Light, with brilliant projects that included his first music video for single 'Love Part 2', an abstract space was created where two anonymous dancers play guardian to BLBL as cascading shards of glitter and glass attempt to invade his environment. Aswell as lighting and stage design for live performances at Koko London, styling consultant for their show at The Hammersmith Apollo and all current press photography. Continuing In the world of pop, the music video for La Roux's 'Bulletproof ' began a global debut in 2010 and made it into the top ten around many countries in the world including top 5 in US, after brilliant success in the UK in 2009. The video has now been played over 15 million times on YouTube alone! A 'Tron' inspired geometric set design was created by AD AD with post production by Mathematic Studios Paris.FILM & INSTALLATION

The end of year rounded off very chicly with a subtle installation for photographer and video director Jez Tozer for his 'Alchemy Series' launch event. Freshly charcoaled wood was suspended in a lattice across the entrance creating an aromatic, ambient, live trailer to the film screening later to be shown online at SHOWstudio.com, (themes of fire, smoke and fashion), with designer fashion garments by Craig Lawrence and Noki hung in the show space.

2011 is already looking busy with discussions with LA film studios, the release of the feature film 'Wreckers' in early spring and a continuing presence at LFW. I will endeavor to keep you posted!

Happy New Year !!

Alun

Special thanks to all my assistant and collaborators over the past year, Lloyd Rossborough, Kim Morley, Kirri Barker, Erik Nilsson-Gullstrand, Emilia Zieba, Rosie Knowles, Christa Holka, Lynne Morris and everyone else who has been involved with ADAD projects.

MILEY CIRUS

Today's business advice came from my 11 year old niece, wo over baking a cake together today told me that I really should be by now working with Ms Miley Cirus (Not Hanna Montanna she is totally passed that apparently) I was also told that Justin Beiber is not a sex symbol to all young girls and in fact he has hair that is a bit like a girls. However it was good that I have worked with Lady Gaga but would probably be better if I could work with Pink and definately should by now be working with Katy Perry as her song California Gurls is one of her favourites. So thanks for the advise Ms Saffron Gilley.

Saffron also mentionthat Miley's Raven costume was quite something and her new video for 'Can't be tamed' was definately worth the watch, so looks like I need to do my home work better, as the video is quite fun and all the costumes are brilliant, note to previous blog entry http://alun-davies-rogue.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-accessories.html these accessories were made before viewing any Miley Cirus footage haha.

The Lady is Dead by Roy Raz

Thanks to Homotography.com I came accross this piece of art i'm sorry but this is simply beyond any music video I have seen recently even a Lady GaGa video simply would not even come close. There is no Art Director credit so I guess the Director Roy Raz and the rest of the team helped create this visual masterpiece. And once again I am seriously impressed with Homotography's radar on current work right now I really am loving this site as a visual reference, thank you.







Credits - Director: Roy Raz | Cinematography: Roman Linetsky | Editor: Ornit Levi | Styling: Gustavo Matias Franco | Hair & makeup: Tomas Shemesh and Noga Tamir | Post production: Assaf Yeger | Producers: Roy Raz and Eitan Tal

Lady Gaga - Monster (Robots With Rayguns Mix)

Lady Gaga - Monster (Robots With Rayguns Mix) by Robots With Rayguns

LADY GAGA - BAD ROMANCE (Live in NYC at MSG 07-06-10)

I didn't blog this before but here is Gaga performing with the mirror balled dancers in Madison Square Garens in NYC how exciting. And appropraitely tonight she plays Pheonix in the USA.

Charlie Le Mindu Pop Up Salon at Machine-A

Yay!!! I have an appointment at the Charlie Le Mindu Pop up Salon at Machine-A Press day tommorrow..

On Saturday 17th of July 2010, celebrity hairstylist and pioneer of the pop-up hair salon, Charlie Le Mindu will be returning to his roots and launching a new luxury pop-up salon at MACHINE-A, one of London's most exciting boutique/gallery concept stores. Charlie will be offering cuts and style.

Charlie's past clients include: Peaches, Florence and the Machine, Uffie, Lady Gaga, MGMT, Bloc Party, Metronomy, , Eason Chan, Ayumi Hamasaki, VV Brown, Luke Worral....

For further information and appointments please contact ella@machine-a.com

Pop Ideologies Make The World Go 'Round

The lovely Christopher Cole Emailed me a few weeks back with some questions regarding the Monsterball dancers costumes I had designed. He wrote quite an interesting piece on them and his insight into my design approach was quite intriguing, especially to see how much people can read into simply the costume design, however these were never any old costumes they were of course Lady Gaga's dancers and with Gaga comes a whole narrative and character synopsis, even if you don't have time to process this consiously when you simply need to design and make everything under tight deadlines, the subconscious runs through.

You can read Christophers piece at:
http://pop-ideologies-make.blogspot.com/

Cruel Summer

Cruel Summer by Lewis Cloke

The New Summer Mix is ready, featuring:

Robyn, Ace of Base, Major Lazers & La Roux, Estelle & Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Stars of 54, The Golden Filter, Lady Hawke & Peaches, Miss Kittin, Sigur Ross.

In Camera: Lady Gaga - SHOWstudio part 2

Here are some screen grabs of Lady Gaga being interviewed by Alex Furry Fashion Director of SHOWstudio.com

I personally was fixed for the whole 2 hours of the interview perhaps this was something to do with Gaga perhaps it was my own personal connection to SHOWstudio and the live interviews that they have done. OR maybe it was simply the fact that the interview was completely raw and Gaga herself felt quite free talking about herself, which was quite refreshing. However we never really know what is fact and what is fiction. Well watch the interview and decide for yourself.

http://live.showstudio.com/

In Camera: Lady Gaga - SHOWstudio

Watching Lady Gaga interview live on SHOWstudio 12:00 - 14:00 GMT

http://live.showstudio.com/

The Considered Ensemble

I wrote this blog post for The Considered Ensemble yesterday. A Text based blog where you can view more descriptions of people various attire. Check it.

LEWIS ALUN DAVIES
Artistic Director, collecting images from unwanted sources collaging them all together to make new beautiful things. Making unwearable accessories for photoshoots and mirrorball armor for Lady Gaga’s dance troup. Spending to much time in artificially lit photographic studio’s and helping myself to fizzy water in their fridges. Down and out in London & Paris.

From head to toe: A light splash of Bumble & Bumble ’straight’ potion for my unruly locks. A dash of DIOR homme aftershave. Thin cotton vintage blossom style print shirt by PAUL AND JOE, with cream landscape, blue tree trunks and pink blossom, from Selfridges London. Pure lambswool Cardigan by PETER JENSEN in wine color. Round neck cut with no fastenings on front, bought from sample sale at Peter’s studio. Vintage CASIO gold calculator watch. Slim fit dark denim jeans by UNIQLO with 1inch turn up. Perfect fit for my overly long legs and slim waist. All underwear by AMERICAN APPAREL in maroon bought from the LA flagship store in down town LA whilst on vacation last autumn. Vintage Chelsea boots bought from a flea market in Paris. Slightly scuffed and worn leather just as I like them.

Lady Gaga - The Monster Ball Tour 2010 European 2nd Leg Stockholm Globen, Sweden first night 7.5.2010

As Lady Gaga entered her second leg of her tour, mirror ball outfits are still going strong!

Rosie Knowles

Hi I'm Rosie Knowles currently interning for Alun Davies Studio, I am a 2nd year Theatre and Performance design student, studying at LIPA in Liverpool.

At the start of this week after getting a little lost I arrived at Alun Davies Studio. I was given my first task to buy fabric for Alun's costume project for Samuel Chase (singer). With my A-Z in one hand and my tube map in the other off I went on the first of many mini adventures around London. I returned successful and was presented with my next task of finishing off disco mirror covered cuffs for Lady Ga Ga's dancers. I thought this was most exciting because I find her so fascinating so to be actually working on something she will see was fun. I even got the chance to drop off her clothes. My friends were impressed when I told them that evening as it wasn't the average Monday.

The rest of this week I have been helping Alun finish off Samuel Chase's costume for his first performance at the ICA which took place yesterday night. Samuel's performances are based around audio visual effects interacting with his music, which are then projected onto him as he stands alone with his microphone. Alun's design was to create a collar which would have a major impact under the lights, so I have been gluing all sorts of sparkly crystals, broken glass, bondage straps, whistles, nails, door hinges, feathers to name just a few which appear on the piece.

Finally having covered the whole piece we proceeded to pack everything up and head over to the ICA. This is where Samuel was able to see the finishing touches we had done and also the addition of a smaller collar to go over the larger piece. I helped Alun attach the collar and then it was out front to see the performance. The piece really worked great under the lights considering how dark it is when all the other lights were out. I really enjoyed the different colours and Samuel's shadow which gave a very mysterious silhouette. After a lot of well deserved congratulations it was time to have a glass of wine and head home for bed.

Coming up next week I will be assisting Alun on MACHINE A fashion art installation which sounds very exciting so I look forward to telling you all about it!


http://machine-a.com/

Here is a little look at what work I have done recently while at university....

GaGa Garden!

Performance Artist Owen G Parry did a test run of a new set of Gaga armor I have been making today for me in our garden. It had such a beautiful sparkle in the sunlight and Owen was impressed with how HOT it made him look I just had to share it with you!

Japanese Lady Gaga fan jumps on stage!

As I complete a new set of Gaga armor in London it looks like Gaga needed her armor dance troup armored up in Japan. Look she said "I don't wanna be friends!" Go mirror ball team!!

Happy Birthday Lady GAGA

So happy Lady Gaga had nice Birthday with a cake, we all need a surprise even when we are super famous! And amazing that it was a super sparkly one hehe!! xxx