The real, live CBC Radio 3 2012 Bucky Awards – vintage trophies provided through the generous support of Kingpin’s Hideaway.
In honour of the 2012 Bucky Awards being presented this week by CBC Radio 3 Kingpin’s Hideaway has graciously donated the vintage trophies being given to the winners! The Bucky Awards are CBC Radio 3′s annual celebration of the very best Canadian music of the year, as chosen by their listeners.
This Friday, August 17th, the Velvet Parlour will feature our curated vintage fashion in a photo booth experience; featuring many original and designer pieces from our current collection. Linger in the Velvet Parlour and perhaps pose in our vintage photography booth. Find out… What kind of man wears Kingpin?
Electro Swing Club is a global network, operating sold-out events in London, Paris, Turin, Vancouver and beyond. It is coming to Toronto as the one and only monthly event dedicated to the genre. The launch event is this Friday, April 13, 2012 at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West in Toronto.
Electro Swing Club Canada Party Guests
The electro swing sound is a fusion of old and new, combining traditional swing with electronic music such as house, electro, dubstep, drum & bass and hip hop. I would consider it a solid branch of the victrolacore music tree.
This event will feature DJs, live acts, burlesque performers, visuals and décor and, together with a vintage dress code, will evoke the sounds, spirit and fashion of the 1920s – 40s, giving them a modern edge.
Mr. B. the Gentleman Rhymer and Victrolacore Innovator
Moving into mainstream consciousness is never a gentleman’s motivation, yet it is often a result of a gentleman’s actions. So a resounding ‘Hazzah!’ for Mr. B. The Gentleman Rhymer, chap hop innovator and victrolacore artiste, on his recent appearance at the Latitude Festival and performing on television for the beautiful and talented presenter Zoe Ball. Well done, chap, well done.
A musical phenomenon of interest to the Kingpin gentleman is one that is emerging from genres being called ‘chap hop‘, ‘modern burlesque’, ‘steampunk‘, even ‘industrial hip-hop opera‘ all of which I put under the broader category of what I have termed Victrolacore. You heard it here first!
The key elements of this branch of the punk bush are the reuse of previous cultural expressions now considered quaint and old-fashioned. Samples taken from recordings of the 20s and 30s; use of antiquated instruments like the banjolele or the harmonium and lyrics peppered with out-of-date colloquialisms are commonly combined with a modern musical approach, like hip hop or industrial structures and then viewed through the gin-soaked lens of satire.
Frisky and Mannish – Chained Heat Prison Edition!
These grafted together with a Kurt Weill sensibility the evokes the music halls of Berlin and London in the period between the world wars. The pervasive decadent burlesque mood hangs from the music. Clever wit (including a stage persona that amplifies the musician’s over-all intent) fuse these disparate elements together.
Mr. B and Professor Elemental – Chap Hop Rivals
To get an idea of the artists covered by my Victrolacore label I would direct you to listening to Doctor Steel, Mr. B. the Gentleman Rhymer, and Professor Elemental. I would also include the work of Richard Cheese and Frisky and Mannish, as their work utilizes the same devices, only in reverse; they apply antiquated musical styling to current pop music, and produce the music live as opposed to using samples.
Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine
Key to all of these artists is being elegant ladies and gentlemen their work exudes, each with deeply satisfying satirical effect. Especially enjoyable is how the unrelentingly evil Doctor Steel is careful to observe proper social etiquette in his quest for world domination.
“…define our Dandyism, in essence, as simply making as much of an effort as possible with the limited resources available. An effort in sartorial flair and individuality, an effort in civility, social responsibility and courtesy, and an effort in communal culture, welfare and hedonism.”
“Dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of his mind.”
Victrolacore musically expresses this same flare. Rage on, good chums, rage on.
