Articles by Simon Roche
Author of 168 posts.
Simon is State's Art Director as well as running his own graphic design studio (Smoke & Mirrors) out of Copenhagen, where he has tolerated pickled herring and very pretty girls for almost five years. He spends his days designing album covers, magazines, books and maps and can often be found eating the local roasted hot dogs and pursuing his quest to find the perfect pint of Classic.
Website:http://smokeandmirrorsstudio.dk/
Earlier this year Doves cited the influence of Vangelis’ Blade Runner… soundtrack on their song -Jetstream’, which made a lot of sense with their history of synthesised layers to their northern British rock sound. Now we find Editors referencing the soundtrack to another ’80s science fiction/noir-ish classic as an influence on what is a definite
Maybe the Norwegians have a better word for singer/songwriter than we have. Conjuring up more the bedsit balladeer than someone versed in every subtlety of writing and putting together a sound this layered and perfectly formed, our meagre term does no justice to Mr. Dybdhal’s enticing Irish debut. The eponymous album is in fact a…
For the legendary Ms. Carey [aka Mrs. Cannon] her 12th studio album has been a time of re-invention. Mariah has in fact decided to go the State way and so instead of simply an album, a format which she knows is so passé, she has drafted in a production team who include Jim -Prepress Technician’…
A tidy enough package, this breezy album comes in at just under the half hour and with its neat songs and summery feeling it bears up certain repeated listening, possibly also due to the forgettable nature of much of the music on offer.
Pete Yorn has toyed with conceptual albums before (the first three allegedly…
Patrick Swayze has died at the age of 57 after a courageously fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Shooting to fame as every young girl’s holiday romance fantasy in Dirty Dancing, he more recently put in a brilliant turn as a troubled small-town celebrity in sleeper hit Donnie Darko… and starred in US TV show
The first impression of the debut from NME Philip Hall Radar Award-winners The Big Pink is of an album of sounds pasted together from the cutting room floor of early ’90s British rock, a feeling that has yet to leave. Clear from the off is that duo Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell have latched onto…
In 1980 U2 released their debut album, Boy…. What’s remarkable about that album is that as soon as you mention it to people with even a passing knowledge of the band, an instant thought is often of the iconic cover, the black and white close up of a young lad. So simple and affecting,
Perhaps A-ha didn’t invent ’80s pop, but they defined it. One look at them playing their new single back to back with -The Sun Always Shines On TV’ live on Jonathon Ross (see below) a few weeks back and you can see how the sound they perfected has come full circle for not just them,…
Three hours drive away in Gothenburg U2 are about to step out under the claw again but we have settled for the very cosy environs of Copenhagen’s Rust club where Handsome Furs are playing their second local gig in as many months. A simple affair, the band is comprised of our favourite member of Wolf…
David OReilly is a young Irish animator working out of Berlin. This year he won the best short film Golden Bear in Berlin for Please Say Something…, a melancholy modern day kitchen sink drama between a loving cat-type creature and an inattentive mouse. He also created the Youtube cult Octocat animations under the pseudonym
Sunday morning greet us with an overcast day – a blessed relief after three days of relentless sun. Last night’s late activities have taken their toll and it’s a shaky State that shuffles up to Peter Doherty… in the Arena tent. Shockingly, he is actually a few minutes early on stage and relatively fresh. It’s
“Do you think being circumcised will make you faster?”. “Eh, I’m not circumcised”. And so begins day three, as Roskilde Radio interviews the participants before the now-legendary Naked Race on the campsite. Today is going to be a scorcher – even compared to the two last days – so sitting in the shade beside the…
Holding to State‘s strict morning diet of natural, non-alcoholic beverages, we begin day two by squeezing our expanding frame in to see a band every bit as pure as the carton of apple juice we hold. First Aid Kit… shot to You Tube fame on the back of a Fleet Foxes cover – the
With all the running about we’ve got a few more photos from day one to share.
Photos by Jakob Bekker-Hansen…
