After the wedding Jes and I decided to find a nice quiet place to relax and retreat. We stayed at a the Gopinath Bhavan temple in Vrindavan, India for about a week.
It certainly was a very spiritual space and it gave us time to disconnect from the digital world and connect with our inner world. My days were spent mostly alone relaxing, reading, doing yoga, eating the healthy vegetarian meals they provided for us, and working on my photography.
After 20 years of taking yoga classes, I finally started my own personal morning practice too!
Here is Jes’ more detailed blog post about our week at the women’s ashram.
the highlight of my stay was meeting Tungavidya Devi Dasi, the lovely director of the temple
my room
electricity went out at least once a day, so I would often read by candlelight
we ate our meals on this simple floor
there is a river right outside the temple, but I preferred the cool marble rooms of the temple
We had an absolutely perfect meal at French Blue, in St. Helena, Napa Valley. It was my first time in Napa and I can’t wait to go back.
Nicole Whitten, the Restaurant Manager at French Blue,
visited the restaurant (on her day off) to share a delicious meal with us.
Daily made Farmer’s Cheese with fresh strawberries
Fresh Egg Salad with Fennel
The menu was filled with all California wines!
Good times!
Schwa wine cap!
Salad of Farmer Omar’s Greens was a knockout!
Mellissa
Grilled Delta Stugeon
My favorite dish: Fresh Corn Agnolotti with hen-of-the-woods, sweet onions, wilted spinach
California Albariños are spectacular!
We ended our perfect day at Calistoga Spa Hot Springs!
We were so happy to visit Inman Family wines, where we were greeted by the lovely mother and daughter team for a delicious tasting of their organic wines in Santa Rosa, California.
Kathleen Inman, the winemaker and General Manager of Inman Family Wines
& Olivet Grange Vineyard
Meredith Inman, her daughter pouring some heavenly rosé
www.inmanfamilywines.com/
All photos by Seze Devres
I can’t stop listening to “Says Elliott” by Sibylle Baier from her album “Colour Green” which was recorded in Germany 1970-1973.
Says Elliot by Sibylle Baier
I grow old I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled says Elliot
I grow old I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled says Elliot
days keep growing short, nights too
let us go then, you and I
and try to unlearn, says Elliot
he seeks for return and burns ancient love letters
let us go then you and I and lie by marble stone says Elliot
and put a record on the gramophone
Lie down dear
on the weed
Don’t weep dear
gayly clad
sadness is a radical quantity says Elliot
sadness is a long brown ribbon, says he
sadness is beautiful
I grow old I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled says Elliot
I grow old I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled says Elliot
Artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans talk about their stained glass window in the Museum at Eldridge Street. Their new design is the culminating piece of the 20-plus-year restoration of this national historic landmark, an 1887 synagogue. Smith and Gans’s design features a celestial motif – illuminated stars in a swirling pattern that evokes the Big Bang.
Listen to the story here
Stained-glass window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans
in the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue
Courtesy Museum at Eldridge Street
Falko Brocksieper at the Bunker December 12, 2009 – photo by Seze
This Friday July 2, Falko Brocksieper and Mia Grobelny will be playing at The Bunker (where I am the hostess and photographer). We are very excited to have them back in Brooklyn and I was lucky enough to have some time to talk to them before the party. Sub Static is a label run by Falko Brocksieper and Mia (Michaela Grobelny) that was Founded in 2000. In 2004, they moved from Cologne to Berlin. Both of their sets from the last Sub Static night at The Bunker in 2008 became very popular Bunker Podcasts.
Full event info and bios.
Q. I know that there are some exciting new developments brewing at Sub Static. Do tell…
MIA – Yes we’re actually relaunching! The last release on Sub Static came out almost two years ago. At that time we felt quite burnt-out about label business, after having put out about 100 releases on our two labels. Also myself, I had to slow down a bit, after I did so much travelling and performing with my last album. I’ve been in the studio ever since, but experimenting a lot and not pressuring myself to get stuff finished. Finally, I have a new 4-track EP due to be released in about 3 weeks on Sub Static …
FALKO – …which is a really strong one I believe. It’s incredible how much great music is slumbering on her hard drive, mostly about 90% finished. Some of that had to be released. After that, we’ve scheduled two digital compilations of remastered Sub Static tracks. Each of us will be compiling one.
Q. MIA and Falko, can you tell me a bit about how Sub Static was began and how you first met. I know it was almost like “music love” at first for MIA because they day she met you she suggested you collaborate together.
MIA – True. It was a really empty party in Cologne and we were both there to DJ. It was quite boring so finally I walked up to Falko and said “Hey! Do your records fit with mine? Maybe we can play together?” – the records fit, and that was the start of it.
FALKO – And at that time neither of us were really part of the Cologne scene or anything. We were just two bedroom DJ’s making our the first steps into music production. The launch of our own label was a pretty spontaneous decision, we had no clue how it worked, and had even less of a plan or goal for it. It just all happened little by little. We never thought that ten years later, we’d give an interview prior to our return to the best techno party in New York City!
Q. Falko, you start your mnml.ssgs 90′s mix (listen to the mix here) with a Mouse on Mars track, who are also from Cologne. Are they friends of yours? What was the techno world like in Cologne when you were there and how does it compare to where you live in Berlin today?
FALKO – One guy from Mouse on Mars studied at the same media art academy in Cologne as me, but we don’t know each other personally. However, Mouse on Mars is a pretty good example of how vibrant and advanced the electronic music scene was when I moved there in 1997. There were a lot of underground venues and labels and producers everywhere. I don’t know what happened, but almost none of that is left there today. Of course there are still many producers and labels doing stuff, but the reputation of Cologne definitely hails from the past. So at some point we were looking for something new, a change. That’s why we moved to Berlin in 2004. It’s hard to compare the two cities.
Q. I know you both really enjoy many genres of music, outside of house and techno. MIA, last night you played a brand new rough track for me that was mostly your voice and guitar. Have you always been diving into new genres? What other non techno records you been listening to recently?
MIA - For me it’s hard to sit down and say: Now I’m going to write a peaktime techno track of this and that direction. Maybe I do sometimes, but then unfortunately the final result is still going to turn into something completely different. First off, I have a love for strong moods and melodies, and initially the process of making music is something I just do for myself, for my own private enjoyment. So there is no direction I’m pushing it towards for the sake of marketing or anything like that. But of course I enjoy techno too, and if I happen to make techno tracks, that’s when I release a techno record. As for music I’m listening to lately, I really like Phoenix, Little Dragon, Turin Brakes and Jamie Lidell just to name a few.
FALKO – I’m probably a bit more biased by a final result I’m aiming at when I make music. But I have quite a wide range. I’ve made some melodic electro recently, something I wish more people would cultivate. Unfortunately the stuff that’s not easy to play in the average club is mostly hard to sell and thus hard to release. I guess this is why 90% of the club tracks sound all the same today, and ironically everyone is complaining about it.
Q. MIA, you are one of the few women I know in techno who has written and produced an entire album all on your own. What are your thoughts on “artists” who have other people produce their records for them?
MIA – Well there are a few others too, such as Chloé, Ada, Dasha Rush and AGF. Generally I think it’s just a question of what your skills and interests are. I can personally get a lot out of the process of producing music. It’s a good way to capture and alter my feelings. Lots of other women, like Ellen Allien, Anja Schneider and Bloody Mary, seem to see themselves more as an entertainer, and they’re more focused to stage themselves as a certain role model. It’s a great skill to be able to market yourself and organize your career like that. Sometimes I wish I had more of that.
Q. You have quite the American vacation planned. I hear you have a road trip planned from Colorado to California. What are some of the sites you are most excited to visit?
MIA - I’m very excited to get to see all the nature – Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley … but also Las Vegas should be fun.
FALKO - For us European kids this is a dream come true. I just hope we will survive all the attacks by snakes, bad lieutenants and nuclear bombs in the desert!
Q. What is your favorite place or thing to do in NYC?
MIA - The only time I’ve been here so far it was raining terribly, and I just had one hungover day to spend. I’m definitely excited to see more. The MoMA would be great to visit, and I wanna take the Staten Island Ferry … other than that I’ll just go with the flow and consult our awesome hosts.
FALKO - My favourite thing to do just about everywhere is simply to walk and look around, without a specific destination. And I think New York is one of the best places to do that. Seeing small weird things along the road is much more appealing to me than any of the “must-see” stuff. I’m really looking forward to some days in New York again and get to know the vibe of the city better.
Falko Brocksieper at the Bunker February 1, 2008 – photo by Seze
Mia Grobelny at the Bunker February 1, 2008 – photo by Seze
On Saturday we ran into Clark Warner and his wife Liz Copeland at breakfast. I finally met their adorable baby. A few hours later radio goddess and new mother Liz Copeland opened up the festival with a really lovely set of what she defines as baby listening music. Melodies from Air and Brian Eno and other ethereal treasures consumed our ears, as ravers of all ages started to show up for the first day of the festival. Other highlights of my day were killer sets from Nikola Baytala and Steve Bug.
Clark Warner and his baby in protective ear gear or maybe he is listening to death metal?
an adorable Lolita raver
more candy ravers
At night we threw the Detroit version of House n Home (my flyer). I finally had a chance to meet the lovely DJ Cassy. Here is the fist shot I took of her. She was all smiles during her amazing set. I wish more DJs smiled when I photographed them.
Photos by Seze Devres
Photos by Seze Devres April 2012
