Stab Likes

Wanna know what’s been tickling us lately? Musically, there’s a 25-year-old from Columbia, US, who makes low-key pop. Visually, there’s a new advertising campaign. Sartorially, one of our favs designed a clothing line for his sponsor. And there’s also a little light reading in here – the likes of which inspired Mad Men. So come see if you like any of the stuff we like.

Toro Y Moi

The world of musical genres is a minefield. So when we refer to Toro Y Moi’s sound as ‘experimental’, it’s done so with the least definitiveness possible and only because that’s how he labels himself. Toro Y Moi is 25-year-old Chazwick Bundick’s stage name and loosely translates to “Bull and Me”. The music’s heart-warming, disco-influenced pop with glistening synths, syncopated basslines and ethereal vocals. It’s the kinda music that might not strike you first listen, but given a few playbacks it’ll firmly plant itself in your subconscious for weeks following. Perhaps not for everyone, but personally, if we had Toro Y Moi on compact disc, there’d be a hole burnt in it by now. Luckily, we live in a digital age and that’ll never happen.

Adidas All In

By now means is this new, but it’s more than worth a mention. You know this ain’t a plug, ’cause our guess is that it’ll be a very long time before y’see Adidas taking a decent crack at the surf industry. Stab digs this ad purely for how damn well it’s made and how stimulating it is. The clip’s directed by Frenchman Romain Gavras, who you might but probably don’t know from M.I.A.’s Born Free clip, or Justice’s A Cross The Universe US tour doco. The ad’s soundtrack, in fact, is actually Justice’s newest single, Civilisation, and we’re guessing Adidas paid a mint to secure the French duo’s first original work in four years. Unsurprisingly, this is Adidas’ most expensive campaign to date.

Like a coffee hit, the advert’ll have you buzzed – Katy Perry, Messi and Beckham, designer Jeremy Scott, NBA star Derrick Rose, the Adidas skate team and a bunch more that all sound equally as cheesy and far from being up our alley as you could imagine… until you see them cut together in a blunt but perfectly charged way. Adidas’ve nailed the raw, rarely-seen elements of sport and celebrity into an invigorating two minutes. There’s blood, slams, crowds, screaming and sexiness (Ms Perry). About as effective a pre-game blood-rusher as you’ll find on the Internets.

From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor

Front-line Dispatches from the Advertising War. If you dig the Brylcreem’d hair and dapper suits that is Mad Men, then this may be one for you. Written by Jerry Della Femina in 1971, it’s the book that inspired the critically-acclaimed TV series. Jerry was a real Mad Man – he worked in a bunch of advertising agencies before starting his own, eventually penning this smart, funny and insightful memoir about advertising in America in the 50s and 60s. Scotch, cigarettes, affairs and suits. Oh, and the title refers to a tongue-in-cheek slogan proposed for the client Panasonic during a brainstorming session. Think about it.

Dion Agius’ Globe Line

Dion Agius is a good at jumping off waves with his right foot forward and inciting hatred from furious Internet critics. Dion is sponsored, head to toe, by Globe, who’ve just re-signed him for a multi-year contract. Part of said contract has seen Dion turn his hand to designing a small line of teos, trunks and shoes. The tees, with plunging neck lines as per the man’s taste, are printed with graphics that manage to avoid played-outedness – a rare commodity in teos these days. One design shows a cute-as-hell girl with Banksy-esque bandana mask, and the other flips a skull on itself. The trunks come in 20-inch leg and 17-inch (for the fruits out there, like us), and are both available in either black or purple (for the fruits out there, like us). The shoes come in either canvas or leather, low or high, and look a little military. The lo’s own the canvas, and the hi’s are best in leather. Best of all, the line’s reasonably-priced. Teos are $59.99, trunks $69.99, hi’s $109 and lo’s are $89. Decent, no? Look for footwear in May, clothing out August.