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Studio Tactical – “Mints”
Joaquin Bordaine
March 9, 2016
Overture Mint Badges
The Overture Mint Badge is Overture Apparel’s first piece of accessory. These gold-plated brass butterfly pins are packaged with the Jacques Océano Beanies. We simply refer to them as The Overture Mints or “MINTS” for short. This name is loosely based from the manufacturer of coins in Canada, The Royal Canadian Mint.
Jacques Oceano Beanie – Navy and Overture Apparel Mint Badge.
The “Mints” symbolize gold standard. For Team Overture, this accent is a constant reminder to continue cultivating our work and share the best in what we stand for, quality.
Overture Mint Badge. Studio Tactical 2016 by Overture Apparel.
Finished as a soft enamel, the pin badge’s image reflects that of a gold bar’s top-face as seen from a two dimensional perspective. Stay golden everyone.
Salute to Women Always – International Women’s Day 2016
We salute women around the world. We are nothing without you. We celebrate your life, love, achievements and vision. Not just today, but always. Thank you for your infinite inspiration.
To the world, with its lingering and stifling issues of gender inequality. Awareness is just a single step. Voices are still silenced behind walls of social constructs, affecting the outcomes of countless women.
So today, as we celebrate our sisters, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, nieces, friends, lovers, wives, co-workers and colleagues, let us open our eyes to those fighting and working for women’s rights. And may we see that their cries, triumphs and hurdles are those of our loved ones, too.
The struggle is real. Peace to all.
Joaquin Bordaine
Weirdfest
Joaquin Bordaine
March 6, 2016
Hi blog reader,
Just a quick editor’s note. I’ll get to the point: this post has very graphic photos and descriptions of self mutilation. If you can’t stand to see someone put a needle through their cheeks, please stop reading.
The acts described were performed by a professional and were done with as many safety precautions taken into account as possible. Do not recreate these acts. Even with professional and medical supervision, do not recreate these acts.
We do not condone self harm. Self harm is not fucking cool and is very likely a sign to reach out for help. If you are in distress and have thoughts of suicide, cutting yourself or hurting yourself physically in any way, I beg you to call 911 or your local emergency services. The Canadian Mental Health Association has a list of crisis response programs in Toronto on it’s website, including:
Kid’s Help Phone Canada: 1-800-668-6868
Toronto Distress Centre: 416-408-HELP (4357)
-David Cadiente
Overture EIC
Weirdfest. It was an event that hinted shock. The night was a trip into the minds of each act.
It was a cool Friday night at The Central, a dive bar behind Honest Ed’s. When I arrived, a man with tattooed eyeballs greeted me. The energy inside builds as the crowd grows. With every drink, our curiosity develops into excitement.
Toronto never felt so familiar. Welcome to Weirdfest.
Organized by Bare Brains, the event was a collection of performances from music, spoken word, and side show, including Ti.gerve nom, Rubber Muffin, Ero Guro, Fresh Flesh, and Eyeclops–our new friend with the tattooed eyes.
Ti.gerve nom: Nick Romanoff and Rusty James. Weirdfest at The Central, February 19, 2016.
I entered the event in between acts. Ero Guro was already doing the last track from his set. The audience looked captivated as they reflected Guro’s outbursts of movements and screams on stage. I felt the energy in the room instantly.
Next, Eyeclops took the stage. Like a surgeon before an operation, he arranged his tools neatly on a table. The man with tattooed eyeballs cleverly built anticipation. Eyeclops picked up a long needle and pierced it through his cheeks, in from the right and out through the left cheek. Blood dripped from his left cheek. That was just the warm up.
Eyeclops inserting the needle through his cheeks. Weirdfest at The Central, 2016.
Next, a nail hammered through the nose. The girl standing beside me could not believe it, ecstatic just like the rest. The stage was small. It’s a tight standing crowd, an intimate vibe to say the least. Like a spider crawling up under my shirt intimate. This was indeed my first sideshow. Eyeclops had the crowd in the palm of his hands.
I spoke to Eyeclops after. I watched closely as he drank a pint and see if beer drips out of his cheeks after that needle act. I was a bit tipsy to remember exactly if it did.
Eyeclops pulling the needle out from his right cheek. Weirdfest at The Central, 2016.
Just as the crowd thought that the scene had calmed down, Ti.gerve nom ominously appeared on stage. Lead vocal Nick Romanoff was wrapped in black cloth, and wore a flat black-rim fedora over his Overture Apparel tube mask. Rusty James, Ti.gerve nom’s “mastermind”, played the arrangements in his black ski mask. It was a screaming chant of lyrics accompanied with heavy bass and electronic sound.
Nick Romanoff of Ti.gerve nom on stage. Weirdfest at The Central 2016.
Ti.gervenom’s play on visual and the ear held the crowd under hostage. Unpredictability is their companion. Proven to the end, Romanoff shoots out a confetti cannon field with coloured powder into the crowd. The whole space was engulfed in mist. The duo continued to play through. It was an image I would take home from the event. Reminiscent of “The Priest’s Arrival” scene from The Exorcist (1973), Nick Romanoff and Rusty James gradually emerged out of the fog on stage.
Ti.gerve nom’s duo Rusty James and Nick Romanoff. Weirdfest at The Central 2016
Expect the unexpected. It made for a spectacular entertainment. The out of the ordinary triggered the out of the ordinary in our responses. The experience left a vivid image of what is simply Weirdfest.
Honestly what the heavenly hell is up with the weather in Toronto? I was jogging in spring temperatures a few days ago and tomorrow I’ll be shovelling shin-high snow for cardio, fuck is going on?
We caught up with model-photog Samantha Kim after some snow-slush-rain struggle to discuss perception and reality and photography and to shoot around Varsity Brown, a leather goods and streetwear shop just off Queen Street next to Trinity Bellwoods park. The store is carrying Overture’s winter collection for a limited time.
Check out the shop and say hi to Matt. If it suddenly warms up bring him a snow cone from the 711 across the street. If it snows please help him shovel. If fire rains from the sky there’s a church across the street. Would you be surprised if it rained fire? I would absolutely not be surprised if it rained fire.
Scott Ramirez – Rembrandt in a House Jam
Joaquin Bordaine
February 23, 2016
Forms of clarity, as words put together, become more than phrases.
“Word is bond” echoes as I play “Enter the Wutang, 36 Chambers” (1993) in my car. Meaning: I speak the truth, A theme fitting a cold Saturday afternoon spent with Toronto hip-hop artist Scott Ramirez. His music reflects the life. His words speak of the experience and the vision.
Scott and I drove around Toronto during the NBA Allstar Weekend. We visited Play De Record to check some vinyl. To the liquor store, then straight to the studio.
Scott Ramirez , at Play De Record, 2016.
Joaquin: Tell me about your first project MLB (Mad Work / Low Pay / Big Dreams).
Scott: Released in 2011, it took two years to finish. I was 22 years old. As a college kid, you just wanna get out there and go for your dreams. It definitely helped how to do my next projects, definitely a learning experience. MLB had more of a classic hip hop, boom bap sound you know.
The visit to Play De Record on Yonge Street served as a trip down memory lane. It was where Scott shot his music video for Inspired Flight (2011). It was the first single released from the MLB project. The backdrop contained vinyl records along the aisle and walls. In our visit, Scott was looking through records from B.B. King, Wu Tang, James Brown. The visit felt like a nostalgic retrospect to the past as we look back at classics from the pioneers and as we talk about old stories during the time he shot his first music video. The connection was necessary. Those records were influential not only for Scott, but for hip hop. They are important for the culture.
Scott Ramirez, at Play De Record, searching through vinyls, 2016.
Joaquin: How would you say your music has evolved since 2011?
Scott: My ear for selecting beats and helping my producers formulate the type of soundscape I want has evolved. The way I decide to approach a track lyrically, whether it’s down south flow, mid tempo east coast, or some chilled out shit, depending on my mood at the time during a session, I just craft it to however I’m feelin. Everything is based on life experiences, your thoughts, and your schemes.
Joaquin: How would you describe your sound now?
Scott: I like to describe it as Rembrandt in Polo Sport in a fuckin House Jam.
I was intrigued by how he referenced Rembrandt molded with Polo in a house jam as his reflection. It was a contemporary statement that I didn’t expect. As if his artistry for music comes from a visual play of colours painted in his head turned into language for the beat.
Scott Ramirez, at Play De Record, 2016.
Joaquin: Was there a certain project that stuck out to you since 2011?
Scott: Monte Cristo (2015) is the most memorable project to date. Monte Cristo is like the bridge between the gap from that classical style that I grew up on, and the new wave, the new sound, the quote on quote contemporary sound of hip hop right now; the high hats, the tempo, double time type shit you know. The way I approached the raps, the beats, the music was very different. Like more light and shadow on the fuckin canvas.
Monte Cristo, Scott Ramirez, 2015
Most will only see or hear the product. The value is in the process. It is a system of learning. Scott mentioned that most of 2012 to 2013 were spent “researching, reading, listening, and developing the pen and the ear”. Before “Monte Cristo” was released in 2015, he released “Encarta 95” (2014). Like a boxer moving up the ranks, Scott had to prepare for each match. Everything that came before served as preparation.
After a quick stop to the liquor store, Scott and I made our way down to Justunlimited’s studio. On our drive, Scott shared some of the artists that he’s currently listening to. Pusha T, Run The Jewels, Michael Jackson, Doja Cat, to Rat King. The diversity in his playlist did not surprise me after he dropped that Rembrandt reference earlier. I see the appreciation he had for the process in building the sound and molding the style.
It all came together as we arrived at Justunlimited’s studio. Just played some beats he produced as we light one. Scott sat on the couch with his pen and notepad. As I looked over, I see Scott mumbling words to himself like a crazy person on the last train going home. Half an hour passes, Scott finally stood up and headed to the booth. Recording a track proved to be more intricate. Repetition was the theme to perfection. Scott and Just reminded me of Rocky and Mick. I witnessed the work behind the work. They were words turned messages spoken on rhythm and impressions left further than the ear. Word is bond.
“ in essence every song is always about the experience of the artist through whatever.” – Ramirez, Scott
Scott Ramirez recording at Justunlimited’s studio in Toronto, 2016.
Monte Cristo is the latest project by Scott Ramirez, including producers Justunlimited, ELMNT, Don Know, DJ TooM. Follow the link below to discover the music. View the music video from the second single from Monte Cristo, Gold Leaf (my personal favourite).
As I see it, to tell a story in the most captivating manner involves planning, precision and execution. The components within a story are no more necessary than the next. Each will lead to the same conclusion. The storyteller orchestrates his work for us to see.
Overture Apparel is the extension of the lifestyle lived by its founders. Fashion, Film, and Art are the main principles that fuel the company. Overture’s co-founder Nick Gluckstein is preparing to release his debut web series tomorrow, Thursday, February 18, 2016.
Nick Gluckstein
It was March 28, 2015, day 1 of filming for Canucks. We visited the set: a humble two bedroom apartment. The film crew was preparing for the next scene, a party in the apartment. I watched several scenes as Nick directed the cast and crew.
In between takes, laughs, jokes, and dialogues. I felt the vibes. The energy was real. This is going to be funny as hell, I mentioned to Nick. This comedy will catch you laughing uncontrollably. Developing conversations and creating designated laughter for the viewers require timing and delivery. Seeing these qualities on set gives anticipation for what we are about to see.
“And that’s all it was, it’s just something you can relate to and be like, Shit! That was me!” – Gluckstein, Nick
The cast of Canucks
Stay tuned as Team Overture takes you behind the scenes of Canucks.
Studio Tactical
Joaquin Bordaine
February 16, 2016
In early 2015, team Overture began developing the next phase of its brand that continues to celebrate and connect fashion, film, and art. The concept is to highlight purpose into the clothing, while putting quality at its foundation. The designs are made to accompany the individual as she/he confronts the challenges brought by their ambitions. Proving better results through the hustle is the mission. Providing comfort is the objective. Welcome to the Studio Tactical Collection.
