Crystal Morey is an American based artists whose delicate work in sculpture and drawing aims to explore human emotion and our relationship with nature. Intelligently portraying raw emotion and honesty in her work through images of  open palmed hands and faces, Crystal is proving to be one of the most important figures of the ever expanding Oakland art scene.

We recently caught up with Crystal in order to find out what themes are behind her new body of work and what techniques are used when shes capturing emotion in her sculptures.

A lot of your work deals with human emotion and in a recent interview you stated that your work has become more and more introspective over the years. What mental processes do you go through in order to come up with the emotions you want to portray in a piece?

My work has actually been very introspective and personal in the past and has taken a different route lately. I have been working on a body of work that is dealing with emotion in relation to environment. I have been building sculptures with figures in full backgrounds and themes of natural cycles and man-made changes in nature.

I don’t know if I have a mental process I go through in order to portray emotion. I try not to think about how the figures in my work feel, I try to feel the emotions I want them to exude and show them in the body, face and hands.

 When you have an emotion you want to portray in a piece, how do you then avoid letting your current mood and feeling effect the end result as you work on the piece over time?

I try to work really fast! If I have a new idea for a piece I try to start and finish sculpting within a week. I find that I lose ideas or an idea can be diluted even if I make detailed sketches. I like to work with vigor and potency and they both escape me if I wait to long.

 In your landscape pieces you said that you have taken inspiration from, amongst other things, nature and memory. Is there any place in particular that has inspired your work recently? is this reflected in the piece?

I use imagery from nature to make statements about the environment and to give my figures a context. I spent my childhood living in the forest surrounded by tall trees, mountains, rocks, and streams. Nature is a reflective, quiet place for me, a space where my mind can wander and be contemplative. Nature is also a precious place, it is finite and ephemeral, I like to work with this idea as an over-arching theme.

 You seem to get a lot of support from other artists, including John Casey who has photographed a number of your works. If you could collaborate with anyone either living or dead who would it be?

The Oakland art scene is really strong right now and filled with lots of new galleries and artists. There is a momentum and everyone is really involved. I have a lot of support from other artists in the area. We are all working towards the same goals and it is really motivating to work as a group or a movement.

I would love to collaborate with so many different artists for so many different reasons. I have found that in the past, when collaborating with other artists, that I learn so much about working with people and my own ideas. But if I had to come up with a short list of dream collaborators, I would have to include Kevin Taylor, Tiffany Bozic, Egon Schiele, Akio Takamori, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and Jay Shafer from Tumbleweed Tiny Homes.

What’s the name of the exhibition you have coming up?

I am in several group shows that are coming up, although I am most excited about a solo exhibition at Rowan Morrison Gallery in Oakland this December.  The name of the show is ‘March Into The Sea’ and deals with ideas about the death of nature.

 December 2010 – www.rowanmorrison.com

I have a drawing at POVevolving opening August 7th www.povevolving.com

What’s the idea or theme behind your new body of work that you have prepared for the exhibition?

My intention is to explore the human experience of emotion, and its relationship with the environment. I want to study the tenuous, symbiotic balance between human necessities and the health of our natural habitat of forests, oceans, mountains, and deserts. Everyday we strengthen the disconnect between what we use in our lives, and the destructive effects it has on where we live, the air we breathe and the water we drink. We have made a departure from nature and the balance that should exist has been broken. In my work I want to reveal the ephemeral quality of human life and show our dependence on an increasingly delicate ecosystem.

 Which of your new pieces are you most proud of in terms of how honestly it has reflected the emotion you have wanted to portray?

“The Long Wait” is a piece I am pretty happy with right now. The idea behind the work shows that in order for new life there must be death. This piece shows a cycle of disintegration and growth at the same time.

When working on that piece what were your working conditions? What environment do you have to be in, in order to capture the raw emotion in your sculptures?

I need quiet time in order to think and read about current events. I listen to National Public Radio for inspiration. I have ongoing ideas and stories that build and need regular working time in the studio to stay constant.

To see more of Crystal’s work and to keep up to date with her exhibition schedule please vist her website: http://www.crystalmorey.com/

A dynamic mix of music by Mackaveli. From minimal melodies to tropical treats and big bass to garage galore – quite an eclectic variety but a jolly listen.

Sweet simple sounds underline many of Lazaro Casanova creations with keyed chords, tropical percussion and smooth deep grooves that are easy on the head but hard on the feet. Listen to more tracks and mixes on soundcloud – especially ‘La Verdolaga‘.

Lily Allen – Not Fair (Lazaro Casanova Remix) [320]

I can’t hear much of an audience, but maybe they were just astounded by and fixated on what they were seeing, that is the happiest dj in the world.

About a year ago Kaegh posted a video of Ruckspin and Quark’s original release Sunshine, bringing beautiful summer dubstep vibes. Leeds based 7 piece groupSubmotion Orchestra (with Mr Ruckspin providing live electronics) have reinterpreted it for their Ep. This is just too hot!

The Balkan Rally presents Underhill Festival (30.07), bringing the Balkans to the West country with one day/night of folk and dance music set amongst the woods and fields of Wiltshire.

Another superb animation from the Italian street artist Blu.

A friend showed me this recently, and i was amazed i had never heard of it before. Salvador Dali and Walt Disney collaborate on a beautiful short. Good Stuff!

Hot City release ‘Another Girl‘ on July 4th, a ravey party track full of pumping bass. Their (a.k.a.) bootleg of Another Level’s ‘Freak Me’ comes to air at the same time, with stabby samples, choppy vocals and a funky bassline.

DJ Haus N’ Benz – Freakin Hot [320]

Kidkut came to my attention as the leader of one of my favourite labels Immerse Records. Putting out consistently fresh sounds from the likes of Kontext, Sigha and Planas, the label flows through the streams of sound I love, broadly sprouting from the pool of dubstep.

Adam Kidkut Jackson seemingly excels at the production of exciting electronic sounds as well as the harbouring and distribution. He has a forthcoming release on the mighty Applepips label and featured here is the B-side Lilt. A totally tropical thirst quencher of percussive housey bass music. Yum.

Kidkut – Lilt

I think my mind just blew. Apparently, through frantically searching the internet for the last 15 minutes, I’m somewhat late on this one, but for anyone who hasn’t heard, here is the magic of Ten Ragas To a Disco Beat. There is wild speculation all over the internet that this is some sort of hoax, but regardless the sounds are sweeeet!.

Here is what Boomkat have to say:

“Charanjit Singh’s ‘Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat’ is quite easily one of the maddest records we’ve ever had in stock. It was originally made in 1982 by a Bollywood soundtrack composer, intending to capitalise on the disco phenomenon with a combination of centuries-old classical Indian Ragas set to a disco backing. He basically created a sound which mirrored, and more importantly, pre-dated the first acid house record -- Phuture’s ‘Acid Track’ by five years, and even preceded Chip E’s ‘Jack Trax’ in 1985. It’s no throw-away novelty record either, instead capturing the hypnotic potential of acid music in the most ornate and scarily prescient fashion, making explicit the similarities of infinitely arpeggiated bass sequences and pure electronic pulses that would soundtrack dancefloors for the next 30 odd years. ‘Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat’ is vintage futurism of the highest calibre, and made all the more amazing by the fact it came from India, a place hardly renowned for its electronic output! This is a remarkable record and comes with our highest recommendation -- AN ABSOLUTE FIND.

Currently excitedly awaiting the arrival of this on vinyl. Here are the words of Blackdown‘s Keysound Recordings with regards to the release…

“LHF are a shadowy collective existing in the liminal space beyond most standard definitions. They have a musical vision that bubbles up deep from below, as if from a different era, one uncontaminated by current trends and cluttered distractions. Their membership is ill-defined, their methods clandestine and their motives unclear. What is for certain however is the vast expanse of raw, experimental sounds emitting from the camp, stretching out above London’s pirate airwaves and beyond, radiating towards cities like LA, Rio or Mumbai and beyond, perhaps even stretching to the celestial bodies where only Sun Ra dare gaze. LHF: they may enter in silence but beware… the storm has yet to break.”

Exciting stuff! There is also a promo mix circulating of various tunes from the diverse LHF collective, which can be downloaded here.

Sunday 13th of June saw The Magic Lantern performing their penultimate gig of their Shine A Light On Tour at Oxford’s club The Cellar. The gig was hosted by Oxford’s long running night the Sunday Roast. This meant that free cake, tea and craft workshops promised to add innocent delights to the enjoyment of one of my favourite new bands. However the friendly atmosphere unfortunately enticed irritating conversation from the audience and this combined with the usual nonchalance of the sound man did not create the inviting atmosphere i had hoped oxford would provide. Nonetheless the band played through and illuminated the space with their magic.

Despite the disinterest of part of the audience at the show, those who stopped to listen seemed entirely captivated, and this is one of the great skills of the band. I first came across them at Secret Garden Party last year when a few of the members played an impromptu gig to a miniature audience at 6am in one of the few tents still releasing sounds. Despite my inebriated state, searching for early morning scraps of a party, I and my companions were instantly transfixed by their sound.

The Magic Lantern fuse delicate folk flickerings with the depth a richness of a jazz timbre. Their open sound is extremely accessible, but in no way due to the following of common formulae. They are a five piece band who opt for a percussionist rather than drummer and feature a cellist and clarinet player. Their sounds combine to provide a refreshingly deep and mysterious atmosphere, full of imagery even before lead vocalist Jamie Doe has decorated the songs with his powerful lyrics.

Jamie has a voice which instantly invites you to listen due to its honest clarity. Not over-polished, but perfectly pitched, soft and full, Jamie’s voice is the perfect accompaniment to his poignant lyrics, musing about common emotions, and tackling subjects such as environmental change without falling into the trap of explicit deliberacy.

Despite the intricacy of The Magic Lanterns arrangements (and the issues with sound and audience attention!) the band still delivered a tight performance full of power and maturity.

Below is my favourite song of the moment, Somebody Told Me, off The Magic Lantern‘s forthcoming album Shine A Light On. Stay tuned for a full review, but for now enjoy!

I’m off to Mexico for four weeks tomorrow so posts will be less frequent but please bare with us. Until the next post enjoy this mix by Jef K forthcoming on Silver Network. A simple pumping track with sweeping pads and deep soul vocals, it’ll get in your system, a sure summer hit.

The Gathering – In My System (Jef K System Mix)

As another academic year comes to a close, universities up and down the country present to us their finest servings of fresh faced graphic designers and illustrators. This years show at Sheffield Hallam University has introduced me to the work of recently graduated illustrator Tom Casson.

Displaying his work in the form of prints and hand made zine’s, in his up and coming self publication “A Vision Of The Future” Tom has taken examples of modern culture and twisted them to paint his own (hilarious) view of western civilization in the year 2020. Tom writes “A Facebook profile is deemed worthy enough that Birth Certificates and Passports are fazed out”. We certainly hope that isn’t the case.

Showing a great sence of fun in his work we decided to invite Tom to answer a few questions for Pejhy before he enters the working world, heres what he had to say:

A solemn gradual build opens to the familiar chorus with tapping hats, before Solo lets loose into some bass and bongos. Get your free 320 from soundcloud. Summer winner!

Layo & Bushwacka – Love Story (Solo Bootyleg)

(Directed) handmade by Irina Dakeva @ Wizz, and is composed of approx 2000 watercoloured images painted one after another.

Back from Gottwood festival and what an allround great experience – beautiful location, super performances and amazing people. Here’s a new atmospheric stormer by Max Cooper who’s set was two hours of sublime pleasure.

Portishead – Roads (Max Cooper Remix)

I’m off to my first festival (Gottwood) of the summer season today and djing in an Igloo. Here’s some Parisian party house by Playfair to fuel some excitement and joy for the weekend.

Playfair – Paratrooper [320]

I’ve been away touring the English countryside for the last week and a half, and feel i have fallen a million years behind in recent releases. A quick session on Boomkat has however provided many sweet fruits. The most exciting prospect is the forthcoming Hotflush release from Sepalcure ‘Love Pressure EP‘. An entity previously unknown to me, but creating the post-dubstep sound i’ve been chasing since dubsteps birth. A quick google search also revealed the video delight above. Enjoy!

Pearson Sound aka Ramadanman on a beautifully deep clipped house/-step, summer vibe. Be patient with it, the rewards are great. A side is just as sweet, on a drum n bass minimal flex. Forthcoming on Darkestral Recordings.

Tiefschwarz‘s third album ‘Chocolate’ is soon to be released on their label Souvenir. ‘Home’ introduces a deeper sound than previous productions with gentle swaying melodies, carefully crafted beats and solemn vocals. Mesmerising pleasure.

Tiefschwarz feat. Daniel Wilde – Home

Acid Washed - Snake by Anthony Burrill, Paul Plowman, Jack Featherstone

Acid Washed – General Motors, Detroit, America by Anthony Burrill, Paul Plowman, Zac Ella

Todd Terje brings a restrained seduction to all the familiar sounds and vocals of Superstition. Slow builds, echoes, delays and plenty of groove. Body rocking dancefloor wonder!

Stevie Wonder – Superstition (Todd Terje Edit)