Grant Taylor X Nike SB Blazer Low GT QS Detailed Look

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Most people would relate the Nike Blazer Mid with basketball and its culture, but its low top brother have his foot firmly planted in the skateboarding scene. Grant Taylor, who won the title of Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of The Year 2011 and the son of former pro-skater Thomas Taylor, has collaborated with Nike SB to re-work one of his most favourite silhouettes, the Nike SB Blazer Low. Keeping things really simple, minimalistic and classy, the pair is seen with a black suede upper that is accompanied by white accents along the heel, the Swoosh branding and on the durable midsole.

The Quickstrike pair is set to be released tomorrow (22/11/2014) exclusively at SHOWROOM.

The Bellroy “Elements Travel” Wallet

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Bellroy wallets have been gaining quite a lot of traction lately in Malaysia. We guess it is because there are more and more dudes walking around in slimmer and tighter pants so owning wallet that helps you reduce the bulge at the pocket area (not the other bulge) really increases the appeal of the brand. Besides looking good, the wallets are also champions of functionality. That is why today we are taking a look at one of Bellroy’s champion in function, the Element Travel Wallet.

The wallet isn’t your conventional wallet which just keeps money and cards, the Element Travel wallet is a true travelling companion. It holds up to 10 cards, stores your passport, a slot to put your spare sim card, a slot for your luggage key, and it has a micro travel pen for you to fill in those annoying customs form. You can even store your phone in it ( depends what kinda phone you are using though ). Oh and we forgot to mention that it is water, dust and snow resistant. All in all, this wallet is a well-designed, well thought of, and well-made wallet.

You can now find this wallets at selected retailers like Pestle & Mortar, Hundred%, and Showroom.

 

Nike Sportswear Air Max 1 Breathe “Dark Grey / Arctic Green” Detailed Look

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The Air Max 1 Breathe is known as the lightest Air Max  Nike Sportswear has ever produced. The classic running silhouette has been reconstructed and it now features a mesh upper, seamless hyperfuse tape, foam midsole and added ventilation through the mudguard. A speckled midsole and coloured air bag finished off the shoe.

The shoe is now available at selected Nike retailers nationwide like Hundred%.

“Broken” by Ashley Gan

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Kuala Lumpur based artist, and also our #MASSESzine’s very own editorial designer, Ashley Gan has released her latest series of work titled “Broken”. As the name suggests, the series features 5 mirrors all of which have been broken in a certain unique way to portray different patterns. Ashley says that she finds broken things very fascinating, especially glass. Although broken, they leave behind a unique pattern, which may seem similar to other broken glasses, but never the same. And as much as we try to fix it to its original state, it will never be the same again. Even if repaired, small holes are left behind, thus making it more fragile than before.

For Ashley, the mirrors represent life itself, the relationships, the broken promises, friendships, shattered expectations and also the hardships that we face in our daily life. That is what makes us unique, different and sets us apart from others.

Her works will be on display at the PHENOMENA Exhibition by ONGOINGPROJECTS:-

Date : 21st Nov – 14th Dec
Venue : Chin Thye Hin
1, Level 2, Jalan Bangau 1, Kepong Baru, 52100
10 am – 3 pm on weekdays
10 am – 6 pm on weekends
Opening : 8 pm 21/11/14

Nerd Unit – Fall / Winter 2014 “Faultless” Collection

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It has been 3 years since Ronald, founded Nerd Unit back in 2011. And within this past 3 years, he and the brand have accomplished quite a lot. The most recent and biggest of it all would be the opening of the brand’s very own flagship store in Subang SS15. In conjunction with the store’s opening, the brand also launched their Fall/ Winter 2014 collection entitled “Faultless”. Still sticking very closely to the ‘street-goth’ influence, we see the collection spotting quite a number of long sleeve t-shirts, layered t-shirts and elongated t-shirts. Also, the brand has added some new additions to their collection with the likes of snapbacks and reversible bucket hats, most of which are made out of premium leather materials.

The collection is already available at the Nerd Unit Flagship Store, Boundlezz, and Headmost.

Nike WMNS Air Max Thea JCRD (RED) Detailed Look

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Nike designed a model: Air Max Thea, exclusively for women, for their 25th anniversary of the iconic ’87 Air Max. The shoe is named after the Greek goddess of shining light “Thea”, it won over hearts of women all around the world. The shoe features a no-sew upper and one-piece mid/outsole and creates a well-balanced combination of feel and function. The shoe is also famous amongst guys and Nike released a men’s model as well.

The shoe is now available at selected Nike retailers nationwide like Hundred%.

Medieval Apparel – “Dream Escape” Fall 14 Collection

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Medieval Apparel is an independent brand that originates from East Malaysia. Kuching, Sarawak to be more exact. It is pretty rare to find a local streetwear brand from East Malaysia and it is nice to see that these guys are holding it down there pretty nicely. For their fall 2014 season, Medieval releases their “Dream Escape” collection. The collection consists of several tee shirts in different designs and colourways. Pretty much just a simple and clean collection. Get in touch with Medieval’s Facebook page here if you wanna get your hands on the tee, and also follow them on Instagram ( @Medievalco ) to stay up to date with them.

Nike Roshe Run Print “Grey Scale” Palm Trees Detailed Look

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Here’s the new Nike Roshe Run Print that’s in grey scale colourway from the “Palm Trees” print series. Nike is drifting away from the usual Ripstop material that’s commonly seen on graphic Rosheruns, and replacing it with a stretchable mesh material. Many have complained about the constricting structure of the initial models, and with this new improvement, hopefully it will be a better silhouette.

The shoe is now available at selected Nike retailers nationwide such as Hundred% and SoleWhat.

 

The Borak-Borak Sessions – Ali Aiman

Posted by & filed under Entertainment, Features, Music.

We recently met up with singer / song-writer Ali Aiman for a pretty short chat over a nice cuppa at Coffea Coffee in Bangsar. The conversation ranged from his musical influencers, his cartoons choices, and his upcoming performance in Urbanscapes 2014. For those of you who are not familiar, Ali Aiman took the music scene by force when he released his first ever single titled “Breathe” that was accompanied by a dark, monochromatic music video. If you have not watched the video, you can check it out below, and also the rest of our interview with him.

Can you introduce yourself?

I am 27 this year, I am a musician, I play the piano, trumpet and the guitar. But my main instrument is the piano. And my name is Ali Aiman.

How did your music journey start?

It was more like a career option for me, because growing up, I took music lessons and I also played in the marching band. It was all for fun. After high school, I tried something else, and it didn’t work out. So I opted for a musical career path instead. It felt like the most natural thing for me to do. So I decided to go to ICOM (International College of Music).

So your parents were supportive of it?

Yes, they were very supportive from the beginning. My parents sent me to piano lessons since I was 6 years old. Maybe it was something they never got the chance to do and they wanted to expose me to music, or whatever else that could become a career option other than the typical ones you usually hear about.

Bring us through your journey in ICOM and Berklee College of Music. How was it like?

I entered ICOM in 2005, I did a two year transfer program and in January 2008 I went to Berklee. I initially started out studying Jazz Composition, but then I met people and I got into new classes and it kinda open up a lot of possibilities and I ended studying Contemporary Writing Production instead. I graduated in 2010, and I worked there for 3 and half years as an arranger, a 2nd engineer, an intern,  and also as a music director for a kids theater.

What kinda stuff influences your music?

MAN, there is so many!

Okay, in a more specific way, which band, artist, or singer that inspired / influence you the most in your music?

For me the reason why I picked up the guitar is because of KORN. I am a massive KORN fan. “Issues” is my all-time favorite album. In terms of piano playing, it was only later when I started learning jazz that made me go like “Okay I wanna learn how to play jazz piano”, so “Chick Corea” and “Brad Mehldau” were my biggest inspiration. For song writing, there is so many, but Bjork is my most favorite.

What is that one song that is currently on repeat in your playlist?

Little Dragon – My Step

So you got a major gig coming up, which is Urbanscapes 2014 in December 6th & 7th, and this is your first time playing, how did you feel when they approached you?

Actually it was Kevin Yeoh (Gumballmag.com) who texted me, and asked “are you gonna be free on the 6th of December?” and I was like “yeeeaaah, why?”, “URBANSCAPES!” and I went like “HOLY CRAP!”         but everything happened really fast. After I confirmed, the organizers made the final lineup announcement the next day. It was pretty exciting. For me at least.

So are you preparing anything special for your performance in Urbanscapes?

I am writing a couple of new tunes, still haven’t finalized and arranged it yet, but it is in the works. But it is definitely gonna be something different from my usual sets.

So is there an album on the way? A tour maybe?

Yeah I have been writing a lot and I hope to release something in the early half of next year. I’m planning to do a new MV, so hopefully that one comes out soon.

From your experience of being a Malaysian who has studied and worked in the States for a while, what would be your advice to anybody pursuing something similar to what you had pursued?

First of all, if you want something bad enough, you just have to really work for it. It is not easy. It is the same anywhere you go. Be it in the USA or in Malaysia. Secondly, you gotta keep learning. If you are a DIY kinda musician and everything is self-taught, it never hurts to learn. With the internet, everything is so accessible. You can just go online and learn music theory, music lessons, mixing, producing. Anything.

Star Wars or Futurama or Simpsons or Family Guy?

FAMILY GUY! That kid, Stewie is my favorite. I do enjoy watching the movies but I’m not such a big fan of Star Wars though.

-Stewie-Griffin-The-Untold-Story-family-guy-23470675-1360-768

Do you have any “Life-Hacks” that you can share with us?

For me honestly, I don’t really have “life-hacks”, but I just got this saying which I follow very closely:-      if you want to do it, just do it. Get out of your room, and stop making excuses for yourself and just do it.

Would you “Tolong Or Saman?”

I would probably “Buat Muka Kesian” and try to act dumb when the cops hint for me to ‘tolong’ them.

If you have the opportunity to do a song with any super-hero / super-villian, who would that be?

I would probably do it with Magneto. Because it would be just super dark.