Why this is the perfect time for bricolage?

Bricolage is a term that encompasses a wide range of activities, including the creation of something unique from whatever items or resources are available. Originally a French word, it is now widely used to describe “do-it-yourself” projects and all crafts that require a high level of creativity with the materials.

You, too, can be a member of the bricolage and crafting culture if you have any free time and use the warm weather as a motivator. It is becoming more common to restore items and make them as good as new with a few carefully chosen tools and materials. This is also a good time to consider recruiting a professional for certain large, around-the-house projects that need a little more expertise.

What does bricolage mean?

Bricolage is the process of combining various materials, such as wood, iron, or whatever you can get your hands on, to make something completely new. This can be difficult because different materials work best in different conditions, and you need to know not only how to compose the piece but how to properly finish and paint your creations.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about various painting implementation techniques and how to use pressurized painting booths to perfect the project. Since the bricolage should be made of various materials, the paint should be applied individually to produce the best effects. This way, a specific procedure is implemented for each material, and conditions are perfected to meet the needs of each product to paint.

What can you make using the bricolage technique?

Bricolage is a creative way of repurposing old objects and giving them new life while maintaining their uniqueness and treating each object like an independent entity. This technique is applicable to any project, whether it is a small art piece to compliment your walls or a full redo of your space in a modern decorative theme. The use of found and repurposed materials adds a touch of flair and ingenuity, as well as the satisfying feeling of reusing certain items and integrating them into the new style.

9 incredibly cool drinks!

Today the aperitif marks a very longed-for moment of the day, made of relaxation, chatting in freedom and confidences among friends. For many bars, the aperitif, accompanied by various appetizers, has soon become the main business, so much so that this practice has gradually become almost a real lifestyle.

In this article we go to see the coolest drinks of the summer.

Acapulco

This cocktail is named after the legendary Mexican coastal town famous for its extraordinary Caribbean beaches. Inspired by the flavours, aromas and distillates typical of those areas, it is a very pleasant aperitif with an average alcohol content, to be drunk alone or with friends.

Manhattan

The Manhattan is an American whiskey cocktail, an extremely elegant one, completely different from the previous one, ideal for a “candlelight” aperitif.

Malibu

From Acapulco to Malibu, passing through Manhattan, who knows why the best cocktails have so many names of (wonderful) cities. The Malibu cocktail is made with rum and vodka and is super easy to prepare at home, following this recipe.

Margarita

An excellent cocktail for a “festive” aperitif, Margarita was born in Mexico and is, of course, based on Tequila. One of its peculiarities is the garnish with salt from the edge of the glass.

Ramazzotti 1815

More than a cocktail, it is a bitterness that is not lacking in Italy (where it was born) and in the world. It is increasingly drunk abroad thanks to its strong and particular flavor.

Dry Martini

One of the most classic and timeless aperitif cocktails, born in the United States in the early 1900s. There are several variants, the best is always the classic one.

Negroni

Finally a cocktail born in Italy by an Italian barman. It was born in the ’20s when Count Camillo Negroni, tired of the usual American aperitif, asked the barman to add some gin. This is how Negroni was born, a famous and highly appreciated aperitif drunk all over the world.

Spritz

Its spread has increased dramatically in recent years, soon becoming the favorite aperitif of many young people, especially in summer when, thanks to its liveliness, its colors and its moderate alcohol content has breached the hearts of young and old, men and women, marking the most coveted moment of the day’s work, that of the aperitif, precisely.

Whiskey Sour

An ancient cocktail, among the most famous in the world, drunk in every corner of the planet, often just as an aperitif. Despite the discreet alcohol level is very pleasant, very fragrant and lively.

3 Songs We Liked in 2015

A-96922-1327587078.jpegLately, there have been amazing new releases by indie music bands and artists. Some have managed to earn large audiences whereas others have done averagely. All the same, some bands have produced influential songs in the near past, which has placed them in the global arena. If you are looking for great indie music, we could not mind to help you make this choice. Below are some of the best songs, which you will like.

Winching the Night Way (here is the Youtube video) is among the best latest indie songs. It was released in 2007 through the album Chutes Too Narrow, under Sub Pop label. The track was purely pop and its primary artist was The Shins under the leadership of James Mercer. The band had become popular back in 2001, after they released their debut album “Oh, Inverted World”. The Chutes Too Narrow album was rated 9.2 and it had over 170 ratings.

Another hit indie song is Our Love To Admire, which was released in 2007 in the album “Turn on the Bright Lights”, by Interpol (listen of Last.fm). The song was entirely rock and it hit from the very first day it was released to the market. Interpol is another indie band, which is a success, even if they are not signed to a major label.

More recently a new indie singer has been established. Lisbon Soul is creating a name for itself. Its pop song Love in Reverse has been very successful (listen it on Lisbon Soul Youtube official account or on Lisbon Soul Bandcamp account). Even if it was just released in 2015, the song has found its way to the hearts of several listeners and has received positive reviews. Up to date the song, has earned numerous downloads and views on Spotify among other music streaming sites where the song has been uploaded.

If you would want to refresh your music playlists or better still add some songs, you should consider these three tracks.

Sources and official websites:

Oceanside by Reputante

Oceanside-ReputanteOceanside by Reputante is an album full of quality, only five songs but real feeling, not to miss. All the stories seems coming out from a fairy-tale, during those nights when sleep lingers to arrive.

Lock Me Up” and “Deep September Eyes” are a real pleasure, so simple and linear in the verse-chorus-verse structure that is quite simple to get and absord all the emotions of the album itself.

“Safe and Sound” is like the two songs above also if does not have the same immediate impact. Not a problem anyway as the song can be really appreciated in all its explosion second after second. At the end is a nice song which worth more than a listening.

The last song of the album, “Neighbor”, go almost unnoticed, let’s say a 6 out of 10.

If we would look for a negative point in this album, it may be the fourth song, “Sing to You”, which is quite similar to the theme of the japanise anime “Anne of Green Gables”. Anyway, it is just a small token to pay (more than willingly to be honest) for a good dip in a past.

Reputante group is formed by James Levy (voice), Emiliano Ortiz (guitar), Jimmy Giannopoulos (bass) and Raviv Ullman (drums). Someone says that Levy is an unreliable narrator who does not know who to love and who to hate. That’s true but we need to remember that he has grown artistically in New York City so he knows limits and extensions of the new romantic music, how to filter it and how to get only the best.

Posted in Uncategorized

Top ten songs to hear while you’re running

Top-ten-songsWhether you use treadmill in a gym or at home or you prefer going out to run in the park, this kind of sport is definitely nice and healthy. Some people do it to lose weight, other to de-stress from work/life problems, other to keep healthy, some run to try to join the next marathon in a big city such as New York or London. Whatever is the reason to run, a pair of headphones which plays good music is the best way to “do it better”.

At this point, which might be the most suitable songs to run? The choice is subjective and depends from anyone’s preference. Anyway here is a list of 10 songs made with the help of Rockol UK, which, in our opinion, can not miss in your MP3 player when you are going to run.

  1. “Eye of the Tiger”, Survivor (well, it’s not a surprise as it has always been chosen in the Rocky III movie)
  2. “Audio, Video, Disco”, Justice
  3. “Waiting for the Man”, The Velvet Underground
  4. “Electric Feel”, MGMT
  5. “Rock and Roll”, Led Zeppelin
  6. “I Ran ( So Far Away)”, A Flock of Seagulls
  7. “No Cars Go”, Arcade Fire
  8. “The Last Time”, The Rolling Stones
  9. “We are the champions”, The Queen
  10. “Wake Up”, Rage Against the Machine

Choosing the right song while you’re running help you to feel less fatigue and to “push” more and more. Those songs can also be very helpful in other situations, such as going to the gym to lift weights.

Music has always been very important in sport, so choose the best songs for you and go.

Top ten records to hear while you’re driving

musicDrive a car alone is a think not anyone like to do. In both cases (if you are like a Formula 1 driver or if you usually prefer take public transports but sometimes you need to drive) here a list of the best ten records you can hear while you are driving.

We start our compilation with “Good Life (Remix)” By Faith Evans, a song which comes from “The Fast and The Furious” movie, which is all about cars and speed. This song is ideal to have a good time while driving, both if you are alone in the car or are enjoying someone’s else presence.

Judas Priest by Green Manalishi is another good song to drive, quite old but still high in our chart. If you can, prefer the live version, like the one played in Dallas in 1986. It is a high energy song, perfect for driving for miles and miles.

Burn by Deep Purple is the third song in the compilation, very energy and ideal to drive, alone or with other people. In this case both the album version and a live version are good. On the fourth place we put Smoke on the Water and at the fifth place Stormbringer, both by Deep Purple.

Highway Star by Metal Church is at the sixth place. As you can imagine from the song’s name, it is “born” to the heard in a car.

Let’s go to the bottom part of our chart with “Blindsided” by Bon Iver, ideal if you’re driving in a rainy day, “Like A Rolling Stone” of Bob Dylan, an always-green song, “Foolin’ ” by Devendra Banhart, ideal during hot summer days and “My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder, for all of those who are driving to go out for the first appointment.

Posted in Uncategorized

Dieci by Terje Nordgarden

dieciDieci” is a very nice folk-blues album made by Terje Nordgarden, a norwegian singer and songwriter who comes from the classical american school of songwriting. The album is played by Terje Nordgarden (vocals, guitar) and by the italians Caudullo Marcello (guitar) and Massimo Ferrarotto (percussion).

Thanks to the prodigious vocal abilities of singer-songwriter Nordgarden, this album is a real tribute to italian song. Nordgarden, indeed, attends regularly in Italy since 2003, so he speaks very well italian language also if some “north european” accent.

“Dieci” is a successful work: the original style of the songs is quite various. The particular Nordgarden pronunciation of italian language makes this album quite particular and very nice to hear.

The first track “Non è la California” is the best song of this work: the distorted guitars emphasize a well-assimilated text by Nordgarden. The second “La mia rivoluzione” is another song particularly felt by the performer. Initially, is deliberately ethereal and a bit “untied” for almost half of its length, then Terje gives a “new life” to the song at its middle.

Very nice and romantic is “Invisibile“, intimate music and lyrics, the song is performed with just piano and voice.

Among all the songs, “Miele” is probably the one most similar, in terms of sounds, to norwegian sonorities that have been produced by musicians coming from the land of Nordgarden.

La realtà non esiste” written by Claudio Rocchi, who passed away a few months ago, was perhaps the most difficult song of the entire album due to the originalits that have always distinguished the author. The result was an honest job.

“Dieci” is an intimate album to listen alone or with good friends to take your time, enjoy and relax.

Posted in Uncategorized

Top ten records to hear when you break up

top-musicWhen a love story goes to an end is a bad period for both the persons who decided to break up. Let’s have a look at the best songs to hear to try to feel better, also if it can be quite difficult.

Too much love kill you by Queen and Brian May, with a tremendously deep and touching lyrics, full of metaphors and expressions that seem to reflect any person who has broken up with someone else. Both the versions, the one played the Queen only and the one played by Brian May are very nice to hear. The last one have more simple arrangements in respect to the Queen version, at the end is a personal choice.

Nothing Else Matters by Metallica. The music is ideal to hear in a negative period such as the one just after a separation.

The End by The Doors. The title of the says it all, is the song which maybe best reflects the end of a love story. Above all is a song that helps you to understand that is not the and of everything, as all the rest of your life keep going.

Here is the rest of the our top 10 songs to hear when you break up and you are trying to ascend.

    • Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood
    • Cry Me A River by Justin Timberlake
    • Single Ladies by Beyoncé
    • No Scrubs by TLC
    • Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe
    • You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette
    • Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson

Surfing Strange by the Swearin

musicSurfing Strange” is the second album made by the Swearin, indie band from Philadelphia, composed by Allison Crutchfield (vocals, guitar), his twin sister Katie Crutchfield aka Waxahatchee, Kyle Gilbride (vocals, guitar) Keith Spencer (bass) and Jeff Bolt (drums).

Muses are the same as the album debut (it’s name was “Swearin”, as the band itself): Pixies and Breeders. Same players but different way of play. If “Swearin” (2012) was a quite dynamic album, “Surfing Strange” (2013) plays in the defense line but with the same intensity, with a still effective result.

After the good start of 2012, many have been waiting for this second album with pretty high expectations, which have not been disattended. “Surfing Strange” gives us a further taste of what is the real potential of this band.

The real strength of these guys are to create curiosity with great pieces of music, such as “Gold Dust In The Sack” and “Watered Down”. They also want to create some of the most intimate and confessional lyrics ever, such as those in “Loretta’s Flowers” and “Curdled”.

Very particular are songs like “Melanoma” and “Echo Locate”, which seemingly calm but are ready to explode, thanks also to the sweet voice of Allison Crutchfield.

At the end of the disc is quite spontaneous to demand: when will the next one? Of course, we’ll always expect always something more.

As said by Allison Crutchfield at Stereogum “In the first album all the songs wer over, in this album ( Surfing Strange) not all are necessarily finished”. Basically, a different way to approach to the music which does not disappoint at all.

One Breath by Anna Calvi

One-Breath-Anna-CalviOne Breath by Anna Calvi is a really great job, full of talent and ideas. This second album by Anna Calvi is the right follower to the first one, which given to the music world a debut that bordered on perfection. The album has been recorded in France and mixed in Texas.

This album is, if possible, even more ambitious than the first one. The entire work brings Anna in unexplored territories, from the 80s to the hard -rock. Compared with the first album, this second work increase the instrumentation used and becomes a more complex production, by keeping the fundamentals of her style, from the vocal power to the ability in playing guitar.

One Breath” keep in mind what done in the first album (Suddenly, Tristan and Eliza are the songs) without offering a sudden changes of pace and atmosphere (Cry, Piece By Piece and Love Of My Life are the songs). All this means that the disk appears, on the whole, a little “schizophrenic”, although the class of the author cannot be put in discussion. The album offers accelerations up to hysterical moments mixed with more calm and relaxing atmospheres, almost angelic, without forgetting everything in between.

One of the best song in the album is “One Breath“, the seventh one, which talks about the time befose you have to open yourself. It talks about how this moment can be terrifying and scary, especially if you never did it before. It is also a moment full of hope, because whatever has to happen has not yet happened.

If you are looking for an album great to hear, with good sonorities and nice lyrics, “One Breath” is the one, as you will stand in front of another great job.