There are a lot of foldable bikes entering the marketplace, which is certainly a great thing (such as the Strida SX and Mu Uno, for instance). The only problem with many is that they’re either very utilitarian and hideous, or they look cool but have such tiny components that riding them makes you feel like a Barnum & Bailey’s opening act. Such is not the case with the Barcelona Citizen Bike, a foldable cycle that combines classic styling with a consciously plush design and premium technology. With 20″ wheels, cushioned grips, cruiser saddle and a specially designed low, step-through alloy curved frame, the bike is as comfy as folding bikes get. The Barcelona Citizen Bike also features a 3-speed internal hub system drive, offering a smooth shifting and maintenance-free gear system compared to most conventional geared bikes. Get it for $394. And if you’re feeling daring, pick up the weaved basket accessory for $24.

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Last time we talked to RQM was last August when he dropped his Barely Legal EP, and now he’s returned with his latest missives from the edge of the galaxy. Few mc’s take their craft as seriously as Berlin-via-Brooklyn-via-Barcelona rapper RQM, and his latest EP, Colors Fade, is testament to that lyrical commitment. Featuring productions by Eurocrunk heavyweights Siriusmo and Chris De Luca, expect many futuristic liquid rhymes, ketamine references, and tangled wordplay. Enough talk — let’s see what Lukasz Polowczyk, aka RQM, has been up to…

So what have you been up to since the last time we spoke — which was around the release of your Barely Legal EP?
I took some time off from the creative process and launched my record label Baby Sumo. I knew that it would be a lot of work, but I didn’t expect to become an office rat, which is essentially what happened.

What’s up with Baby Sumo — you got any records coming out, or artists we should look out for?
I started Baby Sumo to release my own tracks – so at this point I can’t see myself dropping other people’s records. It’s a lot of work and I think if I would take that turn and push other cat’s music there would be no time left for venting creatively. Over the years I figured out how I want my music to be presented so I figured I’ll take a jab at doing it for self and it worked. The next EP will either drop this summer or this coming fall. The track was produced by Son Of Kick and I’m waiting for remixes from TRG, Mr Madjestic and maybe Modeselektor — they said they’ll take jab at it — I’m not counting on it, but it would be dope if it happens! And I’m still undecided about a few other versions.

Damn — Modeselektor? That would be huge. So did you move back to Berlin last October to work on new tracks as planned? And are those the tracks on the new EP?
Yesssir! We soaked up the last of the summer rays, packed our shit and flew back to Berlin to enjoy one of the thickest winters ever! And I started recording again, but the tracks on the Colors Fade EP are not from these sessions. I recorded Atomic Fusion before moving to Barcelona and “Colors Fade” was recorded right before we moved back to Berlin. I didn’t think of it this way before, but this release is like a bridge between the two chapters in my career: before and after Barcelona.

Hit the Jump to continue reading RQM’s interview about the source of “Colors Fade”, Berlin Vs. Barcelona, and why he’ll always prefer it crusty and bombed out, plus an exclusive Lazer Sword remix of CLP’s “Designer” featuring RQM…

RQM – ATOMIC FUSION (PRODUCED BY SIRIUSMO) by rqmpropaganda

“Colors Fade” is a mixture of a few stories, a few ladies and some snapshots of a particular time in my life. I think this song is a closure — an exorcism of a special kind of madness that drove me for a while…”

Is the Color’s Fade EP the project your pushing now? It had only new 2 tracks on it, so I’m thinking you’ve got a lot more in the vault, no? When are they seeing daylight?
I’m definitely trying to let the world know about Colors Fade — it’s a very personal piece and it’s quite intricate both from the production side and conceptually, so it requires that extra attention from people. And it ain’t easy to get cats to take the time to listen to shit these days, but we’re getting there.

In what ways is “Colors Fade” personal? Can you elaborate on that at all?
All my tunes are personal on some level. Some of them are more visceral in describing a moment in my life, others only carry an emotional imprint of something that touched me. “Colors Fade” is a mixture of a few stories, a few ladies and some snapshots of a particular time in my life. I think this song is a closure — an exorcism of a special kind of madness that drove me for a while. I’m just not sure what’s up next.

Do you have any magical power?
I don’t know if it’s a magical power or just the way that life works, but on the strength of my faith even some of my wildest dreams came true. Some of them were decades removed from when the seeds were planted, but still — give thanks!

What were you doing at midnight last night?
I was watching a documentary about the Crips and the Bloods. It’s crazy! Fifteen thousand people died as a result of this on-going gang war! It’s almost inconceivable to me cause that’s basically the population of a small town.

The last time we spoke you were bemoaning the fact that, “The crusty DIY Berlin that I loved started to turn into a hipster Mecca and by default it became too flashy and too self-conscious…creativity itself started suffering.” Did you find that Barcelona retained some of that raw, commercially untainted artistry?
Quite the opposite actually — Barcelona is a really expensive city. Tourism drives the local economy because the location is prime and it’s also a spot where real estate speculation went out of control. People told me that before the Olympics it was just as crusty and bombed out as Berlin. These days you really need decent weight check to stay afloat there.

How is Berlin now – even further down the hipster well, or has it recovered?
There’s never been so much tourism here and the hipper-than-though attitude still prevails, but Berlin is a huge city so if you want you can carve out a place for yourself outside of the glitz and bustle. We basically live on the wrong side of the tracks — so the hipsters stay on the other side of the bridge.

So what side of the river Spree are you on — the ex-Communist side?
I’m East Block material, so of course I’m on the ex-Communist  side. The Western part, with the exception of X-Berg and New Cologne is not really popping culturally — or at least I’m not registering it. The thing about the East is that it’s still growing according to a freestyle blueprint.

What is your most treasured material possession?
I have some amazing art pieces that I got from my friends. I have a small painting from 44 Flavours and a screen print from one of the brothers from the CBS — priceless!

CLP – Designer feat. RQM (Lazer Sword Remix) by rqmpropaganda

Tell us about that Blatta & Inesha track “Bite Your Lip” you’re featured on. Will it be on one of your EPs?
That was just something we did on the fly when I was visiting Blatta and Inesha in Sicily. It’s more of a joke than anything, but the tune can definitely peel the paint off the walls if the sound system is right. This might be the last one of these type of club joints that I’ll do. I’m a bit tired of all these preset song structures and I’m itching for more of that experimental songwriting right now.

What’s been on your constant iPod rotation as of late?
I’m really loving the new Gil Scott Heron, the Electric Wire Hustle LP, the new Robot Koch and Mount Kimbie Eps — all heavy rotation material.

So last time you told us if you got lost in a supermarket we’d find you in the magazine rack — what’s the next best place to find you?
I’m on a mission to upgrade my diet, so you’ll probably find me in fruits and veggies part of the supermarket — maybe because it’s spring. And if I’m not there then check the wine section.

The limited edition deluxe package of the Colors Fade EP — only 84 pressed, each record coming with a hand-painted cardboard cover and a Colors Fade Carhartt tshirt both designed by REMED. Pick it up HERE for about $30…

Last week we brought you the ingenious Hangover Lamp and freezable beer tray, courtesy of one Luis Luna. Well his talents lay much deeper than simply reclaiming plastic red cups and making them pretty. Sure, we also love the Gluttony Lamp above — which does similar work as the Hangover Lamp only with plastic cutlery — but we really dug his work in furniture design as well. Hence we shot him a couple questions to see what made his talent tick — let’s read what he had to say…

Where are you from? Tell me a bit about your background.
I’m from Mexico, 25 years old, right now based in the south of Spain working for a design consultancy called Virtual Company — I’m in charge of the industrial design area. I graduated in industrial design last May in Mexico from the University of Monterrey. I have made many different projects; I like all kinds of design, architecture and art.

Can you tell me the inspiration for the Hangover Lamp?
Actually I was hung over! I woke up on the couch of my house thinking what happened last night, and all I could see was the red cups all over the place. So I don’t know how the idea came to my mind while I was suffering a very bad headchache.

What about the beer tray? Any Heineken connection, or is that just your favorite beer?
Well I like Heineken, but I think they take their marketing seriously, and it was something that I really wanted to release with a brand name because people can easily identify with a brand. Also I was inspired by the Heineken aluminum bottle designed by Ora Ito.

Last summer I received a call from Heineken, they were interested to develop the crate. But after they said there was no budget at that time, so I don’t know if they are going to call me back in the near future…fingers crossed.

When combined, both seem to have a “house party”-type theme. Have these environments spurred any other of your designs?
Well always I try to design with a strong concept or background, but it seems just these designs have a link.

How’d you get your start in the designing? What’s the first thing you remember doodling that could be deemed “design”?
Back in the days when I was 9 or 10 years old, I remember using Paintbrush in Windows 3.1 designing sneakers. Funny I had never noticed that I could become a designer, I always wanted to be an architect. Still now my dream is to design a cool pair of sneakers.

Hit the Jump to continue reading the interview and to see another full gallery of Luis’ work…

The Barcelona To-Go

“I break daily routines to see daily beauty.”

[View with PicLens]

Tell me about the black Barcelona-like briefcase chair — is it made to actually close and carry like a briefcase, or is it just aesthetic?
Well it’s more like an art project; I wanted to declare my vision about design nowadays: more business and less inspiration. The idea was to take the most beautiful and pure design ever made, in my opinion, then make it look like something related with money… Also I thought to create a Barcelona “To Go”… actually it’s the real name of the project. But [if I sold it] I would do the same mistake that I’m criticizing.

What do you mean?
I would be contradicting myself, if the design were just something to carry away and you could buy everywhere, like commercially talking. Probably would look like a product you could buy in a late night infomercial. So that’s why I wanted to leave it like an art object. Of course people would find different meanings on it.

What about the FUNiture chair that looks like a Le Corbusier — is it made of particleboard? What is the unique design element?
The main idea of the design was to create a mixture between the best quality materials like the chrome tube frame and nice leather, with low quality materials like the particleboard and some wood leftovers. I guess that’s the unique element of it. And of course it looks like a Le Corbusier chair — another timeless design revisited, for good or for bad.

You should try to make it…. most of my designs seems like DIY projects.

Who are your design heroes?
Mies Van der Rohe, Eero Arnio, Kostantin Grcic.

How do you overcome creative block?
Breaking daily routines to see daily beauty.

What was the last beauty you saw  just because you broke out of your routine?
My thesis was totally inspired by breaking the daily routines; I developed a design style inspired by the Mexican urban iconography. Improvising furniture and objects more for survival than aesthetics, then I mixed it with contemporary design elements.

All this city chaos sometimes could be interesting if you see it in another angle or perspective. So I wanted to transform this everyday ugliness into something interesting, more like a reflection about what is design, and what if everyone could design free of the constraints of mass production.

What’s the last piece of technology that has affected your creative output?
Well probably is not an object but the fu**ing Facebook has taken my life lately haha…

Proudest professional achievement?
The C30 chair, even is not my favourite design. Volvo created a special award just for me in the competition.

The C30 Chair

Can you tell me about the inspiration for the C30 chair? Did you sneak a design element from the tail-lights of the car?
I was trying to be inspired for this project, but nothing interesting came to my mind. Then one day I saw the car on the street and the tail light was the first thing that caught my eye; the rest is history…

What about the Caramelo Chair? Why the stripes, and how/why is it for kids?
Caramelo means hard candy in Spanish, so the project was to create a piece of furniture for kids but I guess adults would like better. I wanted to  design something very styling and colorful, without falling into something tacky.

The Caramelo

What’s the most interesting example of design work you’ve seen over the last year? Be it industrial, fashion, product, packaging, etc.
I really love and found very inspiring the work of Jules Julien, a graphic artist from France. Also the TAF design studio from Sweden, is the best example of simpleness and beauty.

Ok one last question Luis: if you were lost in a supermarket, in what aisle would we find you in?
In the cookies aisle for sure…

“All this city chaos sometimes could be interesting if you see it in another angle or perspective. So I wanted to transform this everyday ugliness into something interesting, more like a reflection about what is design…”

[View with PicLens]

The story goes…In January 2006 in New York the patient of a well-known psychiatrist draws the face of a man that has been repeatedly appearing in her dreams. In more than one occasion that man has given her advice on her private life. The woman swears she has never met the man in her life.

That portrait lies forgotten on the psychiatrist’s desk for a few days until one day another patient recognizes that face and says that the man has often visited him in his dreams. He also claims he has never seen that man in his waking life.

The psychiatrist decides to send the portrait to some of his colleagues that have patients with recurrent dreams. Within a few months, four patients recognize the man as a frequent presence in their own dreams. All the patients refer to him as “This Man“.

From January 2006 until today, at least 2000 people have claimed they have seen this man in their dreams, in many cities all over the world: Los Angeles, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Tehran, Beijing, Rome, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris, New Dehli, Moscow etc.

At the moment there is no ascertained relation or common trait among the people that have dreamed of seeing this man. Moreover, no living man has ever been recognized as resembling the man of the portrait by the people who have seen this man in their dreams.

The site even through out a few theories to explain the mysteriously recurring presence of this man in the dreams of different people. They say their goal is to help those who have seen this man in their dreams and to foster communication among them. And to understand whom this man is and why he appears in an apparently pattern-less array of situations in the dreams of such diverse human subjects. If I were a gambling man, I’d say this is the beginning of a viral campaign. How it unfolds we’ll have to wait and see.

A couple summers ago the Madman was in Berlin covering an upcoming music scene — a truly bad ass group of producers and artists including Shir Khan, Jahcoozi, The Tape, Al Haca, Chris DeLuca vs. Phon.o (CLP), and of course Modeselektor, who we’re clearly in love with on LIAS. Separately, and at times together, these guys were crafting a sound clearly outside of the minimal techno sound that to this day still rules that city with a mighty fist. They had balls, a shitload of bass, pristine programming, but the one thing they didn’t have was a name for this sound. One day I was interviewing RQM, the glue-like MC that’s dropped rhymes on nearly all of the above artist’s tracks, and he too was stumped for a name. After we said goodbye, I started walking towards my hotel when he ran back to me out of breath. “Hey, I thought about your question, about how to define our music,” he said. “And I’d call it Future Bass Music.”

And so it stood.

Since, other mags have dubbed it things like Nu Dub, but Future Bass seems to have stuck. Who knows if RQM, aka Lukasz Polowczyk, actually coined the phrase but that’s the first I’d heard of it. Anyway, the guy is way craftier than just some dude who makes up names — his style is unique, a sort of amalgam of smart wordplay and detailed storytelling that is sadly absent in modern hip hop. Moreover, he’s chosen to rap on music that few thought you could ride a flow on — he’s laced some truly futuristic shit. Last summer we told you about Miss Pacman (Exploited Records), and today he’s releasing Barely Legal (OMG!), which features original production by Marvin Suggs and remixes by Brain Matters, Bass Weazel and Filewile. Apparently, the track was inspired by our lastnightsparty and the work of graff maestro Tilt — the mastermind behinf the Bubble Girls photo series. Although living in Berlin for 6 years (after growing up in Brooklyn), RQM replanted himself 2 years ago in the decidedly warmer climes of Barcelona, leaving the frigid weather and colder architecture of Europe’s most important artistic city for the land of siestas and tapas. Is he any happier? Read below and find out!

Were you aware that people have latched onto the phrase Future Bass? For instance, I’ve read XLR8R and Fader label Modeselektor that. Do you think you coined the phrase?

I done forgot about all that, but yeah, I remember now – I literally ran after you to tell you : “we should call it Future Bass Music.” And you’re right it became a household name. I don’t know know if I can claim that, maybe it’s better for the music historians to trace it and tag it.

Read the rest of RQM’s interview (one of our best and most honest ever) after the Jump!

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So you moved from Berlin where you had a pretty established crew to Barcelona. Was that difficult?

Not at all – It was actually very necessary at the time. I really needed a break from the scene and the city itself, I mean I lived there for almost 6 years straight and I started to get numb to it and that state of mind is never good for art. Plus I wasn’t feeling where the city was going. The crusty DIY Berlin that I loved started to turn into a hipster Mecca and by default it became too flashy and too self-conscious. Money started to flow into the city and although I was happy to see all my creative people get at least a small chunk of it – creativity itself started suffering. Before all the people that I knew made art for the sake of art, music for the sake of music, of course we were all pushing to eventually break the commercial threshold, but we weren’t compromising. But once money started to flow the motivation, even if it was only on a subconscious level started to change – we started to make art for money. It was funny to see all this gritty street art that was ubiquitous finally move from the city walls into galleries. And at the same time all my peoples that were making music suddenly wanted to become Timbaland and started to jack his style to the letter, not realizing that it was the left-of-center and that I don’t give a fuck if it sells attitude that actually honed the world in to listen to them in the first place.

How did the music scene of Barcelona differ from that of Berlin? Which is better, and in which way?

I don’t want to knock Barcelona, it’s a cool city on many levels, but there is no music scene here per se. There are some very creative and forward-thinking heads around that struggle to push things forward, but there is no communication between them. And then there is the mafia style control over the club scene, where a couple of families run the majority of the clubs in the city and give really shitty deals to promoters. So promoters avoid taking risks and cater to the mainstream tastes. Before I came here I was looking forward to checking Sonar, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment – the acts they book are staple and you can see them in Berlin on the regular. And having the means to do it the festival does almost nothing to support the local sound. The local acts, with very few exceptions, get the filler slots for a 50-euro fee and a pat on the shoulder – I mean that metaphorically, but you know what I mean. It’s almost like Mutek Mexico, where the sole objective of the festival is to import the big names. But having said that, watch out for Beatspoke, Debilorhitmicos, Guillamino and El Chavo – one hundred percent Barcelona-home-grown and dope

How are the other guys in that Berlin crew doing?

I’m happy to say that all my people are on the rise. Shir Khan’s label Exploited is making some serious noise and is set to drop a weighty compilation in September with some shit on it that the world aint heard yet. The CLP’s are in Detroit right now producing Gangsta Rap, I’m not sure who the artist is, but it’s supposed to be large. Jahcoozi is still set on world domination and they’re finishing their third full length lp, I heard a few tunes and they’re massive and even more musical than the joints before. Stereotyp is globetrotting and promoting Kubo and trying to brand the style as Barefoot – hands down one of my favorite projects right now. And Al Haca is officially dead and we’re just discussing the possibility of burying it with a CD of unreleased tunes, and we got a million on the drive, and a book documenting this whole mad journey that we’ve endured together – but you never know with Al Haca, it’s sort of like the weather in Poland: straight unpredictable

What was it like working creatively in Barcelona? Is that where you recorded Barely Evil?

Funny enough all the tunes that I’m releasing right now, Barely Evil included, have been recorded in Berlin before the move. And although Barcelona didn’t push me on a creative level, it helped me to put my heart back into place as far as music is concerned and prepped me for recording the next LP. The concept is in place and I’ll be moving back to Berlin in October to put it all down on tape.

Who produced the new tracks? How did you meet them?

The usual suspects: Robot Koch, Marvin Suggs, Sirius Mo, Walera from Data MC, The Glue Kids etc. Berlin Bass Mafia in full effect!

Is this part of a soon-to-be-released larger album coming out soon?

It’s funny cause this collection of tracks was originally going to be my full-length debut and in a way it’ll be still be that. But the thing is that after I dropped the first single, which was “Miss Pacman”, I figured since the average lifespan of a record in terms of media exposure is something like 3 months, and that’s if you have the means and the budget to promote it right, then maybe it’s better to partition the LP and drop all of the songs individually, and that’s what I’ve been doing. So “Barely Evil” is the follow up single, but at the same time I have tunes coming out on the Exploited and the Bass Brains compilations. The whole thing is a concept LP – all the songs deal with relationships. I have the typical club jams about boy-meets-girl and the whole sex-drugs-and-club music molotov cocktail and that’s “Miss Pacman” and “Barely Evil”. “Lover’s Voo Doo” is about telepathy and sex. Then there’s the tune I did with Sirius Mo, which is called “Atomic Fusion” and it’s an account of the lifespan of a relationship told from end to beginning using imagery specifically related to nuclear war. Those are the tracks coming out right now and in the fall I’ll close the project with a 2-4 song EP about jealousy and infidelity and maybe compile the whole thing into a mixtape. It’s a bitch to communicate the concept for the LP without having the budget for videos — and working with multiple labels and the compilation formats don’t help either — but I think It’s slowly coming together.

Who are your top three musical inspirations? Who was most instrumental in affecting the RQM sound?

There are too many to name. The thing is I love music so I’m always searching for the perfect soundtrack to now. This past year I was digging out all the classic records from back in the day.  I wanted to see if they still hit me like they did when I first heard them. So the playlist was all scrambled: Bad Brains, Marvin Gaye, John Coltrane, Metallica, Tribe Called Quest, Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Jimmy Hendrix, The Beasties, Goldie, Whodini, Run DMC, Rakim, Dre, Snoop, Rick James, Devo, Kate Bush, D’Angelo, The Roots, Nas, Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, Minor Threat, Fugazi, NIN, The Rollins Band, Stevie Wonder, Tom Ze etc. etc. And that’s in no order, off the top of my head and the list is far from being complete.

Your rhymes have a very distinctive flow, as you dubbed it “liquid rhymes”. How would you describe your “process” for writing?

The thing is I only write off of beats. So I’m always looking for tracks that feel emotionally charged for me and give me a very clear mental picture. If I find that beat and the feeling is there then the words come naturally. And as far as the style itself is concerned, I really work to keep it liquid –I’m always changing it and adopting it to the beats. Back in the day I was really into all the off -beat and between-the-grid type rappers and spoken word artist. For example I loved how RZA could go on and off the beat and some of Busta’s jams inspired me, especially the ones where he slid all over the place and used adlibs to keep the flow on beat. Common was another one that hit me as well as Talib. It might sound crazy, but back in the day I really thought of the metronome-like precise on-beat rappers, Q-tip is a good example of that, as boring and old school. And I really made a style out of being in and out of the grid. I don’t think it was understood and appreciated like that cause people in general need patterns and repetition to latch on to, but that was my jazz period and I’m happy that I got to explore it. And now, since I’ve exhausted it and the beats that I started to get became more dancefloor friendly, I’m getting high off of writing into the grid to support the track with a steady straight groove. It’s a bit tricky cause once you’re in the grid the flow dictates the choice of words, so it’s definitely a mission for me to try to push the songs on a lyrical tip still, while simplifying the flow, but I love the challenge of it.

What do you fear most?

I think I fear fear the most and how if you allow it, it could paralyze your freedom and gridlock your flow as a living entity. Back in the day when I dipped into the world of hallucinogens for a second I had my epiphany about it. I really saw it in the raw and how in the end all fear derived from the fear of death or the fear of not being – all of it. And I remember telling a friend of mine: life is like a street and at the end of it there’s a firing squad and you you’ll never know when they will open fire, but they will at some point, so you can either choose to ignore them and enjoy everything that this street has to offer or you can allow the thought of the triggers being pulled to stifle you and paralyze you from enjoying the moment. And I really believe that we do have a choice. And that’s not to say that I don’t get got by fear, but I push hard to overcome it at every level.

If we pressed Shuffle on your iPod while you went to take shit, what would you be embarrassed to come back to us listening to?

No shame here – I love it all: from the ambitious to the down right cheesy. I had a short period between Hip Hop and Metal when I was all into Italo Disco, so now I’m on a mission to dig out those jams and it ain’t easy!

If you had to mud wrestle anyone in history, who would it be?

Heather Hunter

What is on your shopping list?

Right now all I really need is a proper recording set up. A vintage mic and a vintage preamp would be nice – I want to get that warm fuzz in my voice. I have too many ideas these days to wait around for studio time and then work on a limited time budget.

If you were lost in a supermarket, what aisle would we find you in?

It would definitely be the magazine section. I’m a sucker for my glossy ink and the compact way of pushing information across. It’s too bad though that magazines are so overpriced these days and it’s cheaper to buy a book, so I just flip through them at airports and train stations when I travel.

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Lover’s Voodoo from RQM Visual Propaganda on Vimeo.
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rqm_barely_evil1

‘Barely Evil’ – Trailer – Single Drops 07/09! from RQM Visual Propaganda on Vimeo.