cuddle formation ‘rest in pwr’

Olivia here. Yesterday veteran artist David Hockney revealed his one off redesign of  The Sun’s logo, to a mixture of bemusement, fawning syncophantism from art critics, and anger from those who dislike the publication. I spent a good 30 minutes yesterday trying to work out if the redesign was a joke – drawn in childish iPad scrawl, Hockney added a beaming sun with far reaching rays in the corner of the logo with the letters blackened to represent shadow. Of course Hockney is well known for his fascination with light, and particularly sunlight, having spent a large portion of his career in LA depicting spindly palm trees and the reflection of sunlight on impossibly blue swimming pools. So it should be no surprise that the artist revisited his most enduring muse, with Hockney himself saying, ‘once I thought about the idea, it didn’t take me long. The sun and the Sun. I love it.’ It’s this statement that makes me wonder if he was in fact trolling The Sun – as far as I know, his politics hardly align with those of The Sun, and after all, he is more than capable of creating incredible detailed works using an iPad, as demonstrated in his more recent work. Some have suggested that the redesign intentionally juxtaposes the beauty of nature with the brashness of The Sun’s masthead – and furthermore, what lies within its pages. My partner took one look at the redesign and declared ‘That’s shit.’ Philistine. Art is funny in that way, and like most things in life, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and what could be considered artistic to some, is the complete opposite to others. Take pop music for example – where do we draw the line between creative expression and music generated for purely commercial value? When does pop become art, and vice versa? I’ve been listening to a track that I think has a great deal of creative value – ‘rest in pwr‘ by cuddle formation ( pseudonym of musician Noah Klein). Taken from his latest album ‘here i’ll be forever’ which was recorded in different spaces and communities, the song explores the relationship between space, art, and feeling, featuring a gorgeous collage of different sounds – from trebley synths that sound like birdsong, reversed chords, and Klein’s faltering vocal. Background noise, clicks from recording, and other foley effects have been left in the track as production elements in their own right, further evoking the space the song was recorded and created in, and giving the track an endearingly DIY sound. Every sound is given equal importance, lovingly hand-stitched together into a rich tapestry of noise as Klein takes us on a journey through different spaces. Stick your headphones on and let yourself be carried away.