The Fox is Black

  • OÍR / February 2024 — The Fox Is Black Mixtape


    Download the Mixtape →

    Love is a lot of things. Intoxicating, messy, nourishing, consuming, fleeting. And just like love, this mix is a lot things, and it really shouldn’t work, but I think it does. I set out to create a mixtape that contained a multitude of perspectives on love, coming at it from a number of different angles.

    It really started off with Crystal Castles classic “Not In Love” as Robert Smith’s vocals are incredible on it, and the way it builds at the end always gave me chills. From there I kept thinking of the Bee Gees’ “More Than A Woman” as well as Grace Jones, so then figuring out how I marry disco/post-disco together with Crystal Castles. I realized I needed to find a balance between with all the electronic and dance tracks, bring some breaths, some ups and downs, to give a sense of narrative. These parts are created through the instrumental tracks, Nick León’s “Love Potion” and “Puppet Talk,” a lil’ cutie from FlyLo, and ending with Carmen Villain’s epic 8 minute reprieve.

    I feel like I should add a quick disclaimer for when you get to the middle of the mix. Azealia Banks’ track “Fuck Him All Night” is absolutely filthy. I had to include it though because I’m obsessed with Galcher Lustwerk’s production on the track, it’s soooo good.


    Daft Punk – Something About Us (Cherokee Remix)
    oneboredjeu – Kiss Me More Than A Woman
    Grace Jones – Pull Up to the Bumper (Discomofo Remix)
    Nick León – Love Potion
    FKA Twigs – In Time
    Azealia Banks – Fuck Him All Night
    Perfume Genius – Jason (Planningtorock Remix)
    TDJ – I Drove All N8
    Andy Stott – New Romantic
    Flying Lotus – Puppet Talk
    Diplo – Into The Sun
    Crystal Castles – Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)
    Carmen Villain – Only Love From Now On (feat. Joanna Scheie Orellana)

  • If there’s one thing I miss about living in Los Angeles it’s the caliber of amazing restaurants that continue to flourish there. A great example is Dunsmoor, the creation of chef Brian Dunsmoor, an Eagle Rock restaurant and wine bar that opened in late June 2022. But the space was really shaped by the creative genius of Lovers Unite, aka Karen Spector and Alan Koch. Lovers Unite describe their practice as an architecture and design studio creating one-of-a-kind homes and hospitality spaces. The work they’ve done for Dunsmoor is a balancing act between preserving and augmenting the gorgeous 1929 Spanish Revival building, really letting the space shine. I mean, look at those windows! It’s a place where you want to sit languidly in the sun on a lazy Sunday with friends.

    Dunsmoor Restaurant by Lovers Unite
    Dunsmoor Restaurant by Lovers Unite
    Dunsmoor Restaurant by Lovers Unite
    Dunsmoor Restaurant by Lovers Unite
  • Paris-based photographer David Gomez-Maestre caught my eye thanks to his gorgeous, richly colored photos. Growing up in Alicante, Spain, he is inspired by the light of his hometown, Spanish folklore, and his childhood memories. His sense of color is next-level, often utilizing a palette that’s reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. Think lots of deep reds, burnt oranges, limes, and brash turquoise tones. Gorgeous work.

    Photograph by David Gomez-Maestre
    Photograph by David Gomez-Maestre
    Photograph by David Gomez-Maestre
    Photograph by David Gomez-Maestre
  • I love me a mix, especially when an artist truly does something unique and totally out-of-the-box. Enter DJ Python, who’s musical style has been described as “futuristic reggaeton” who comes out of nowhere with the most eclectic mix of 2024, and maybe, ever?! The range of this mix is unheard of. He describes it as “60-plus edited songs and unreleased stuff from friends and myself” but this literally spans nearly ever genre you can imagine. I can’t stop listening to this, and the ending, my god, it’s maybe one of the most magical things I’ve ever heard. I hope you enjoy it!

  • Opened late last year, Standard Equipment is a Toronto based product/furniture company that produces simplistic decor for your home. Primarily fabricated from steel, SE has a wide range of bold products like sofas, incense holders, and ceramic mugs, which have this beautiful steel ring around them, it’s such a cool detail. Everything they create has a timeless feeling to it, there’s nothing trendy or fad-ish about them. Just a great series of iconic pieces that should last the test of time.

    Standard Equipment - Catch All
    Standard Equipment - Incense Holder
  • What if you could sit in a fungi of microscopic proportions? Liam Lee makes dreams comes true, a New York artist is a furniture and textile designer who works in felted wool, crafting fantastical objects that look like the things you see in 70s science books. Vibrantly colored, oddly shaped, and beautiful to admire, his chairs and tapestries are wondrous objects. In an interview with Curbed, he loves the idea of his work being both desirable and repulsive. “I like that some people might be disgusted because you’re in this weird space where an object is either considered really beautiful or just this gross, unapproachable thing,” he says. “I want the viewer to approach it without any preconceived notions of what it is supposed to be.”

    Liam Lee — Wool Tufted Chair


    For myself, they are a perfect blend of form and function. Are they decorative? For sure. Would I want to sit in one of his chairs for a lengthy period? Absolutely, yes. I think they look so funny, yet so comfortable. These days, we don’t have fancy chairs such as these, everything replaced with “minimal IKEA” that lacks any artistry. Liam’s work is much needed in a time of banality, of household items all starting to look the same.

    Liam Lee — Wool Tufted Chairs
    Liam Lee — Wool Tufted Chair
    Liam Lee — Wool Tufted Chairs
  • I think Kim Gordon is one of the coolest people alive. If you’re unfamiliar, she is well-known for being part of iconic rock band Sonic Youth, and since then, has gone on to be a writer, a painter, fashion designer, model, etc. 40 years alter and she’s still making some of the hardest music out there. Her previous record No Home Record sounded like an amalgamation of electronic, hip-hop, and rock, creating a noisy mashup that is both hard to listen to and totally entrancing.

    Yesterday she announced her new record, The Collective, along with a music video for the song “BYE BYE.” The video stars her daughter Coco Gordon Moore as a mysterious teen on the run from unknown forces. The track continues Gordon’s electronic noise rock sound, messy and glitchy and great. Excited to see what she’s cooked up on 8 March.

    Kim Gordon 'The Collective' Album Cover - Matador Records
  • another design describes themselves as a trans-media visual design team that challenges traditional thinking and expands design language boundaries. Located in Guangzhou, they specialize in cross-cultural and business design strategies creating solutions that balance cultural and commercial aspects.

    Branding Identity for LAI HUI Living by another design

    A recent project they released is for LAI HUI Living, a new Cantonese restaurant under the brand of Laihui. They created a brand visual system that utilizes encircling typography situated around differently shaped plates. They say that this represents “sitting around the table and eating together with the same plate,” giving a sense of community to the branding. For me, the plates end up looking like gemstones, giving the brand a very luxe feeling while still having a very approachable essence. The concept is so simple, yet when you see it in all it’s applications, it all comes together in such a nice way.

  • Jordan Nassar is a Palestinian artist who creates embroidered landscapes which are framed by, and built up through, repeating patterns adapted from traditional Palestinian motifs. I love the way he utilizes such a classic medium to tell these stories of places through such delicate, colorful means. I would highly recommend reading his interview in BOMB Magazine which explains the duality of identity he experiences and how the manifests in his work, which is extremely interesting, especially with everything happening in the world right now.

    Embroidered Landscapes from Artist Jordan Nassar
    Embroidered Landscapes from Artist Jordan Nassar
    Embroidered Landscapes from Artist Jordan Nassar
    Embroidered Landscapes from Artist Jordan Nassar
    Embroidered Landscapes from Artist Jordan Nassar
  • Back in 2018, I drove down to Mexico to spend the end of the year in the Valle De Guadalupe. Kyle and I had been seeing a lot about the area, it’s about a 40 minute drive north of Ensenda, specifically hearing about how great the wineries and wine scene was there. Since then, it seems like that scene has continued to grow in amazing ways as evidenced by the addition of spots like Bloodlust (yes, you read that correctly) which you see below.

    Bloodlust Wine Bar Brings Pét-nats to the Valle de Guadalupe


    Bloodlust is a gastronomic space and wine bar started by three friends, Juliette Cheanne , Poncho Muriedas, and Yuri Muriedas. The iconic look of Bloodlust was created by illustrator Jaime Zuverza, which was inspired by a drop of wine, not a head of garlic. Think of it like many drops of wine combined together to form a round space. If you want to read more about the space, ArchDaily has a great profile on the development.

    I absolutely wish I would have been able to visit Bloodlust because a space like this is like my literal dream. It’s totally surreal. The plaster work is so beautifully done, and the menu looks absolutely delicious. Is it “Instagrammable” yes, sure, but who cares? I want more spaces that feel unique and interesting and different, and this is one the coolest examples of an innovative concept that I’ve seen in a long time.

    Bloodlust — Wine Bar — Valle de Guadalupe — Mexico
    Bloodlust — Wine Bar — Valle de Guadalupe — Mexico
    Bloodlust — Wine Bar — Valle de Guadalupe — Mexico
    Bloodlust — Wine Bar — Valle de Guadalupe — Mexico