Kaleidoscope #40

KALEIDOSCOPE issue #40 / SS22

Portrayed through the lens of Tobias Spichtig, Loïck Gomez aka BFRND talks to Jordan Richman about the power of difference, and the sense of community that lies therein—from his soundtracks for the Balenciaga shows, a product of his creative and life partnership with Demna, to his forthcoming debut album.

Also featured in this issue:
Swiss artist Sylvie Fleury has affirmed herself in the ’80s at the center of a new wave of feminism, by appropriating shopping bags, makeup palettes, and candy-colored rockets resembling giant vibrators. In an interview by Whitney Mallett, she shares her outlook on consumerism, superficiality, and celebrity spectacle.

Previously dismissed as an atmospheric soundtrack playing in the background of our daily life, ambient resurges as the central aesthetics of the early ’20s, perhaps as an instinctive reaction to global chaos and our infinite-scroll reality. Featuring contributions by Federico Sargentone, Nicholas Korody, and Drew Zeiba, our extensive trend report “Selected Ambient Works” addresses ambient not as a music genre but as a quality, a trope applicable to the entire spectrum of cultural production—with expansive, experiential, synesthetic immersivity making a comeback at the nexus of music, art, and architecture.

And finally, “SEASON,” the magazine’s opening section, accounts for the best of this Spring/Summer with profiles on Jan Vorisek, Cookie Mueller, Friends With Benefits, Berenice Olmedo, Willy Chavarria, Emily Barker, Whaam!, Crystal Murray, Poche Studio, 1909 Paris, Andrew Roberts, LA Timpa, Dylan Solomon Kraus, Cobrasnake, Guerriero Do Divino Amor, You’ve Never Been Completely Honest, Vitelli, Tohji, 120 BPM, Sun Woo, and James Bantone.

Cover: BFRND / Balenciaga Special by Tobias Spichtig