Ivan Antunovic from
Zagreb is an extremely interesting individual who has his finger in a few
notable pies. Not only does he have his 0.5 Half Releases label which “specialises
in bringing out pop/noise records of sorts” by the likes of Alone In Heaven, Videododir, Hemendex, Mekanismo Va Morir,
Popsimonova & Zarkoff, Split Personalities and Ilegalne emocije, but he
also produces his exquisite fanzine “Small Doses” periodically, a copy of the
latest issue (No.V) having recently landed on my doormat. “V” stands here,
though, not just for this fifth outing but also “variety” which is certainly
the name of the game with “Small Doses” and always the true marker, in my view,
of a quality publication, see my review a while back of Kevin McCaighy’s “Salt”
zine, and it also reminds me to some extent of Dave Haslam’s supreme “Debris”
magazine which I used to devour and cherish as a teenager living in 1980s
Manchester, reading about Coil, Raymond Carver, Mass Observation, Margaret Attwood,
Laibach and The Pastels in the same pages, all blended together naturally to form a
unified aesthetic.
Design is
a central concern of Ivan’s and the two issues of “Small Doses” which I possess
are triumphs in this respect, the first I received being a partial homage to
the neo-Constructivist work of Neville Brody, as exemplified in the graphic
work he did for Cabaret Voltaire, and this most recent one being stylishly
printed onto a mixture of the kind of brown paper you might use to wrap parcels
and the more conventional white you’d expect to find in a publication such as
this, the articles within then being lovingly arranged across full A5 pages with
others sliced sharply and precisely on the diagonal interspersed, such that
reading through it, irrespective of the content, is a joy in itself.
So, to the content, which is first rate also.
The opening articles, titled “La Philosophie dans le Woodoir” and “Objects Type
for Themselves” concern themselves with two Croatian designers who Ivan selected
as his favourite participants from the D-Day design event which took in Zagreb
in June of this year, Patrizia Doná and
Sanja Rotter whom he describes as, “two amazing product designers, each
contributing to quality life on this planet, with their unique blend of art and
commerce. Sonja creates hand-made, unique jewellery and furniture, while
Patrizia is an aesthete with an exquisite eye for second-hand items,
transforming these into fashion objects of sheer beauty.” Across a thoughtful and highly intelligent interview, the first of these talks
about her influences and motivations, as well as her philosophies and the challenges
she faces producing her designs primarily from wood (hence the name of her
brand – Woodoir), whilst the second speaks of the dadaesque bags, jewellery and
other items, such as a perfume bottle, she sculpts out of found, mechanical
objects such as typewriters and musical instruments. Her startling products
remind me of a cross between Duchampian readymades and accoutrements which
wouldn’t have looked altogether out of place incorporated into one of Oskar
Schlemmer’s theatrical pieces, most obviously his “Treppenwitz”. One of the
concerns her work raises, and which is raised in her interview, is the thin
line which exists sometimes between what constitutes a work of art and what can
be viewed as an everyday functional piece and I love her attitude when she
says, “...some may view my unique bags with built-in typewriter keyboards as a
piece of art, a sculpture, and are not surprised when I tell them the price of
such an object. Others may see it as a wacky bag, a fancy toy they might like
to stroll with through the promenade. The ideal holder is the one on which such
an object will not “stick out”, but will present as a ‘pièce de résistance’ in
their fashion style and lifestyle. Here are some examples.
Next up in “Fashion
Tricks and Politics” we find another sympathetic pairing in the form of two “German
Bite” old friends, Soft Riot and Nõi Kabát, who also provide the three tracks
which appear on the CD which comes accompanying “Small Does No.V”, an
alternative mix of “Cinema Eyes” by the former and two versions of “Seeds of
Time” by the latter, one reconfigured, in fact, by the one man band that is
Soft Riot, Jack Duckworth. It’s worth buying for these alone, I might say.
Across several pages of commentary about these electro artistes extraordinaire,
mixed with snippets of interview, the focus is very much on these particular
pieces rather than their respective oeuvres in general.
The musical thread then continues, and music is
probably the major driving force behind the magazine, in a piece, again
including an interview, about Canadian / Danish / living in Berlin electro-pop chanteuse Sally
Dige of whom I’d never previously heard. Having been inspired by the
piece, I’ve since had a little browse on You Tube and become quite a fan. I
think I’ll throw in her video for “Immaculate Deception (Demo)” now which
brings to mind several tremendous artists of yesteryear, Hard-Corps, Ronny and
Gina X, to name but three.
Then, before we reach
a few closing reviews nestled in the back pages, the final interview is with
Heinrich Diesl, an Austrian music editor and writer who, it transpires, has recently
had a tempting book titled “Im Puls der Nacht: Sub- und Popularkültur in Wien
1955-1976” published. Across ten pages, unsurprisingly, the focus is largely on
the cultural history of the Austrian capital city, as well as topics such as
interesting interviews he’s conducted during his career, his dj-ing aesthetic
and, bliss, oh, bliss, electronic music again.
So, there you have it. I go back to my two
copies of “Small Doses” over and over for another, well, dose of what they
contain, most of which has been a new and wholly edifying revelation to me upon
our initial meeting. Get in touch with Ivan and see about getting a copy for
yourself and entering into his wonderful world, I proffer, and here’s a some
links to assist you, a couple to his music pages and one to his Wordpress
outing which operates as an extended alternative to that which has just been
detailed above. Happy reading / listening to those of you wise enough to follow
my recommendation.
https://soundcloud.com/halfreleases
http://innumerals.bandcamp.com/
http://halfreleases.wordpress.com/
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