To shut down our last Copenhagen night in style, we met up with our new pals in Giana Factory. We started in Loui's apartment where Lisbet and Sofie were already getting the festivities started by making strawberry daiquiris from scratch. Fancy.
After knocking back a couple of Giana Factory daiquiris, the girls started jamming and played me their single, "Rainbow Girl."
The first stop of our nightlife guide was a party thrown at a swimming pool where Glasvegas was djing. The two bands are old friends and James from Glasvegas actually contributed a remix of "Rainbow Girl" for Giana Factory's upcoming remix album.
After catching up with the Glasvegas boys, we headed to Simons where the girls were djing the after-party to the swimming pool party. Are you following me here? Yeah? Okay.
We were joined at Simons by Mette from Asteroids Galaxy Tour, and with the addition of cava service and amazing tunes, good times were had.
Also a massive bonus here in Copenhagen? You can drink on the streets.
This was the absolute perfect way to end my week in Copenhagen. Thanks to all the bands who welcomed us into their homes and treated us like family, and to Bruce Sinclair & the Danish Trade Commission for making this trip possible.
Jeg elsker dig xx
In Aarhus, I was greeted by David from Veto who took on the challenge of showing me around town for the day. Aarhus is about a 3 hour road trip from Copenhagen and the second you arrive, you'll be hit by a really cool intimate vibe.
We started by walking through the centre towards the Latin Quarter, where David's cousin owns and runs a super rad ping pong bar called Shen Mao. This space used to be an old bank and they just exploded parts of it and used the shattered walls as part of the design. Sections that were blown out provide seating and convenient spots to hold your drinks.
My ping pong skills in Aarhus proved slightly better than my iceskating in Copenhagen, thankfully.
After some cider and a game of ping pong, we popped by a great record shop called BadstueRock, and then Summerbird for some decadent Danish hot chocolate. The Latin Quater is lined with amazing one-of-kind boutiques and I really dug how each building has a unique look and stands apart from each other. If you're into taking a mini-break but still want to indulge in great shopping, drinking, and eating, definitely, try to make your way out to Aarhus when you're in Denmark.
So, here's the thing about me. Other than running and jumping really fast, I have zero athletic ability. So, when I was asked to iceskate with Oh No Ono in Frederiksberg, I could already envision the catastrophe. I ended up ditching the helmet and thought holding onto the rails for dearlife would look cooler. It actually ended up being really fun and the guys were such good sports, even if I did end up being an embarassment to all Canadians.
To heal my bruised ego, I went to Andersen's Bakery to do what I do best... eat. Andersen's hot dogs are unlike any hotdog you've ever had. The bun is crusty on the outside and soft in the inside and the toppings consist of fresh pickles, ketchup and a special sauce that's like a combination of tartar sauce and mustard. So damn good.
ArtRebels is an incredible collective that combines every element of art that you could think of. Each summer, they also throw a super rad music festival in the city called TrailerPark. I met up with Creative Director, Mette Ohlendorff, at their old office space which now houses hipster bar Bakken in the Kodbyen (meatpacking) district.
Unlike the meatpacking district in New York, this area still operates as one during the day. By night, there's a fantastic restaurant called Fiskebar and a series of hole-in-the-wall bars that get super hot n sweaty on the dance floor- all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Jolene's was a fav.
After chatting with Mette, I met up with The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's Mette at Ørstedsparken. She was a burst of energy the second we shook hands and we instantly bonded over our love of red lipstick (nerd alert: we were both wearing our stand-by, MAC's Lady Danger).
Mette taught me all the swear words in Danish that I'd need to know to get by while in Copenhagen (they are also the only Danish words I remember how to say) and she also updated me on their new EP which is coming out in the next month.
After a walk in the park, we headed to the studio where she performed "Golden Age" with her band. If you haven't seen The Asteroids Galaxy Tour live, you're missing out. This girl can SING.
To close off the night, we visited Studio R where Figurines performed an acoustic version of "New Colours," off their forthcoming self-titled album which comes out in April. The guys took us around the space which is one of the cosiest and beautiful studios I have ever visited. For real. You could actually live there. As the Danes say, it's totally "hygge."
After shooting two acoustic performances back-to-back, we more than deserved a meal at MadKlubben. I recommend the fish cakes and the lamb. These two dishes will blow you away.
First thing this morning, I went to Bo Bech Bakery to try their notorious sourdough bread. The bakery only carries this one type of bread (they close when all the loaves have sold out) and it's got the perfect combination- crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in the inside. I may or may not have bought an entire loaf and tore into it in the car for breakfast.
I guess the first thing you do to boost your ego after ravaging through a loaf of bread for breakfast is to meet up with three gorgeous ladies who make fantastic music. Giana Factory has toured with Glasvegas and two members filled in for the Raveonettes when singer Sharin took a break from tour to have a baby (Loui from Giana Factory is Sharin's younger sister).
Loui, Sofie and Lisbet took me to Sort Kaffe and Vinyl for a coffee, and then Granola for the best lunch I've had in Copenhagen so far. It started with a fresh fruit smoothie, a curry chicken salad smorrebrod (an open-face sandwich), and a dessert that I can't remember the name of, but is incredible, and a must-try if you ever visit Copenhagen. It's ice cream on top of a rhubarb jam-like concoction with toasted almonds sprinkled on top. Like the Bo Bech bread, this dessert was gone in a second.
Last stop with the girls was the Henrik Vibskov studio where we went through some pieces that will be taken on tour with them next month. Giana will be playing several shows in New York as well as in Austin for SXSW.
I'll be meeting back up with the girls on Friday for what will surely be a rather debaucherous night that will include a stop at a party taking place in an indoor pool. I'm counting down the days.
I started today off by visiting Maria from MoonSpoon Saloon, who was just fresh off of showing at Copenhagen Fashion Week. We went through their collection for F/W 2011 which introduced some sunny inspiration (a nod to designer Sara Sachs' new residence in L.A.) and body con items that were a departure to the typically voluminous brand. I fell right in love with an Eifel Tower sweater that had UFOs on the sleeve... I just might have to put an order in for that.
MoonSpoon has dressed Bjork, Lauryn Hill, Beyonce and Lady Gaga (note the American flag get-up in the Telephone video) as well as provided the costumes for Fever Ray's Metropolis musical.
This fashion/art collective is insane and I could have easily spent hours in the showroom which also houses artist Tal R’s workspace.
Next stop, I paid the head chef of Jacobsen a visit... well, more like I made him come in on his day off to show me his coveted malt ice cream over cracked ice dessert called “Nordic Winter.”
It was pretty damn delicious. Malt ice cream with Swedish berries, meringue, pickled pear, grape oil, and malt rye crumble. Yessir.
I ended the day by going over to Rasmus from Efterklang's house where he and fellow bandmate Thomas greeted me with fresh-pressed coffee and a heartwarming look at their new film with Director Vincent Moon called An Island.
The film is beautifully made and Rasmus and Thomas shared with me their favourite scenes which included a recording with their parents in a barn as well as a visit to a school where the children also participated in an impressive performance. If you go on their website, you can still arrange to throw what they have called "private public" screenings. It's such a refreshing concept where anyone in the world can hold a public screening of the film in their own home... bringing people together to enjoy a stunning piece of work at no cost. I can't believe no one thought of this before.
Hearing what an emotional and memorable experience making this film was on this tiny little Danish island for the band was the perfect way to end my first day in Copenhagen.
Tak! Vi ses.
xx
Just arrived in Copenhagen to shoot the next Sharlene Vs. for MTV and it's tropical weather (5°C) compared to the frozen temps back home in Toronto. Naturally, the first thing we did was to delve head first into gluttony at Europa Cafe where I had the most amazing platter of cheeses, smoked salmon and shrimp, beef carpaccio, and cured ham.
Afterwards, we went on a cosy boat ride along the canals to get acquainted with the various areas in Copenhagen that we'll be tackling this week.
Lots of rad shit planned for the next few days: a visit to Henrik Vibskov's studio, dropping by Efterklang's home to screen and talk about their new film with Vincent Moon called An Island, checking out MoonSpoon Saloon’s latest collection, and meeting up with The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Giana Factory, Oh No Ono, Veto, and Figurines... and of course, more eating. On the must-eat list:
Bo Bech's sourdough bread, hot dogs from Andersen's Bakery, and the original Danish Isbar (ice cream sandwich) from Lydolph.
Bring on the stretch pants!
I recently spent an evening at the home of John O (AKA Diamond Rings) and along with Paul from PS I Love You, we cooked up some vegetarian goodness. We started with John’s mom’s recipe for an addictive beet and carrot salad and then finished with Paul’s incredible veggie pasta.
Ingredients:
2 beets, peeled and grated
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 scallions, julienned
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch of red lettuce
Directions:
Add the peeled and grated beets and carrots, julienned scallions (green onions) and chopped garlic in a bowl. Mix with olive oil and cider vinegar. Layer a serving bowl with red lettuce on the bottom and sides, and scoop the beet and carrot mixture in the centre of the bowl. Garnish with scallions.
PS I Love You’s Veggie Pasta
Ingredients:
5 cloves of garlic (2 cloves halved and 3 finely chopped)
1 white onion, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions (green onions), finely chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon butter
1 broccoli bunch, roughly chopped
1 bag baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 small can of tomato paste
1 bunch fresh basil, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoon hot chilli flakes
2 teaspoon brown sugar
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 bag of fusilli pasta
3lbs Roma tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
Directions:
In a saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Once the butter is melted add 2 cloves of garlic that have each been sliced in half. Let this simmer until the garlic is soft and golden brown. Add finely chopped onions and scallions.
Steam the tomatoes until the skin starts to break, then let them cool and remove the skin. Add the tomatoes into a bowl and whisk until saucey. Add this tomato mixture in the saucepan along with the can of tomato paste and white wine. Stir and add the thyme, chilli flakes, 3 cloves of chopped garlic, fennel seeds and chopped broccoli. Simmer for 2 minutes and add chopped baby spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let this simmer for 3 minutes and add cooked pasta and salt & pepper into the sauce pan. Stir and turn off the heat.
When serving the pasta, add grated Asiago and chopped basil on top!
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| BBQ TOFU & CREAMY KALE / STUFFED MUSHROOM CAPS |
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| Warm Beet and Carrot Salad with Creamy Dill / Three Taste "Noodles" |
Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore met while studying philosophy in college. The two agreed that upon graduating they would sell their collective possessions and leave behind their lives in Denver. They planned to buy a small sailboat and spend the next year living aboard and traveling exclusively under sail...
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| raw diver scallop, spicy sauce, avocado |
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| horse mackerel with ginger and garlic |
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| oysters with chili oil and fresh wasabi |
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| gyutan grilled beef tongue, fish caramel, maldon |
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| ham & eggs katsu pork belly, green tomato, farm fresh egg, espelette |
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| george smoked altantic salmon, avocado, preserved lemon, skyr yogurt |
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| take nabe japanese mushroom, koshi hikari, farm fresh egg, bushi |
You may be asking yourself, "Sharlene's in Austin again?" Yes, friends, this fine city of tacos, bbq and live music has quickly become my second home. Bringing me here for a fifth time is the end of the festival run (for me, anyway), Austin City Limits. However, it wasn't just the stellar line-up at ACL this year that convinced me to say yes to this trip but also the truly amazing people and incredible friends I've made in this city that will continue to bring me back.
with our MTV camera stud Jason
I started my trip with said incredible friends, including this lovely lady who you might recall made an appearance in SHARLENE VS. AUSTIN as Ramesh Srivastava's friend.
Afsaneh is my go-to girl to continually geek out on style with. She's opening up a designer vintage site that I can't wait to tell you all about at the end of the year. It was my birthday the day before I arrived in the ATX, and Afsaneh welcomed me with the best present a girl could ask for... a pair of vintage YSL leather shorts.
Even though I arrived on zero sleep, I was so excited to catch-up with Afsaneh and Ramesh, as well as the gorgeous Dorr sisters whom I met on our last trip to New York. Needless to say we had a really fun (and late) time reuniting and I know, I've said this before (and I still can't say much about it now), but you have got to keep your ears open for these two incredible projects that Ramesh is working on. He's such a talent and you can read up on his musings here.
Walking to Zilker Park
After getting a day to settle into Austin, I embarked on the intense 3-day musical festivus that is Austin City Limits. Here are my highlights (note: live photos were taken by the festival):
Vampire Weekend are always a joy to interview. Prior to our slot, Chris, the drummer, showed off his "situation" to our sisters at VH1 and for our interview, we chatted about how to keep things light 'n fun when in the middle of an intense and long tour and killer ideas for a possible next music video. Here's one of the rad new backdrops (designed by their friend and Ezra's cousin, Asher) that VW is showcasing on this leg of the tour:
Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips to this day is still my top 5 interview subjects. Hands down. The challenge is to focus because let's be honest, we could chat about chasing worms and life philosophies for hours and hours (we limited the worm chasing to 5 minutes for the purposes of this interview which he twitvid'd).
Devendra Banhart was so stoked to be interviewed by us that he ran out in the middle of the shoot to find his iPhone and got about 10 photos taken of us with the MTV News mic flash. We spent our interview talking about R Kelly, grandma chic and how to make "a sad song fun". I never, ever swoon in interviews but there might have been some swooning done here... just a tad.
Matt and Kim's relentless positivity and happy glow never ceases to amaze me. I dare you not to spend 5 seconds with this infectiously fun duo and feel like you can conquer anything in life. We chatted about their new album Sidewalks, which is due out next month and their new motto, "WHAT WOULD MATT & KIM DO?"
Watching the Strokes play during Day 1 of ACL was a personal favorite highlight. The last time I saw them play live was back in 2006 at another festival (V Fest in Toronto). You may have heard me talk about the first time I saw them live in October 2001- also known as their first live show in Toronto, which was also a free concert held at The Horseshoe Tavern with Adam Green, Mooney Suzuki, and Pete Yorn. I lined up for 9 hours, sick with strep throat, and got in for the last song. Fast forward to 2010, no line-ups and no strep throat, just my pals and I dancing and singing very loudly by the stage to their 60min ACL set. Life's funny like that.
The Eagles headlined ACL and drew the biggest crowd from the past three days. It was crazy seeing most of the performers that day grooving along to Hotel California. I grew up with my dad playing The Eagles along with bands like Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd, so I gave my dear pops a call during the set, but instead of an affectionate bonding moment, I got my dad yelling on the other end: "WHERE ARE YOU? WHY IS IT SO LOUD? ARE YOU COMING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING??"
Here's some more pix of the bands I interviewed during the weekend:
LOCAL NATIVES
BAND OF HORSES
GOGOL BORDELLO
THE NATIONAL
Watch MTV on October 26 at 6:26pm, 8:26pm, and 11:26pm ET for the official wrap-up! xx
LEILA'S SHOP
With 24 hours winding down, it was time for a tea break at Leila's Shop. I read that Leila imports nougat freshly made from Iran and was dying to try it... apparently, I wasn't the only one and it was sold out.
Right now, the work of portrait artist Alice Neel is running at the Whitechapel Gallery. A highlight was a striking portrait of Andy Warhol after his attempted assassination.
MENU AT BISTROTHEQUE
After the gallery, we ate at Bistrotheque and I brought over some of their incredible chocolate raspberry cake for my friend Keex (AKA Akiko Matsuura). Keex is the drummer for THE BIG PINK, fronts COMANECHI and PRE. In the past year, we've become really good friends and always have a major catch-up session whenever we're in each other's city. Keex is about to go on tour with Comanechi, so I was really happy I got to catch her while I was in London and do a crazy nightlife piece with her.
We started at her house in Dalston and had a lil pre-drink before heading out. Below is a pic of GG, her kitten who's got an extra-long body and apparently loves to dance.
Later, we headed to Haggerston Pub by jumping on the 149 bus. At Haggerston, it was a friend's birthday in the back outdoor patio. I really liked the chill vibe at this place.
Alex from A Grave With No Name and Keong
After Haggerston, we walked over to Alibi and needless to say, there was a loving share of shots to be had.
At this point, we were dying for some food and Keex guided us to Tava for some lahmacun (a Turkish pizza). They were only £1.50 and so very delicious.
Since we were almost back at Keex's and couldn't physically drink anymore, we went back and played more old school Super Mario and Duck Hunt while Keex made some pasta sautéed with cherry tomatoes (that she made Alex go run out and get), garlic and red chillies. That's how we roll, y'all.
