While social media is still sloshing with Kate Middleton conspiracies, this week also brought us a license to spill the rumoured new 007, along with the unveiling of a London-based Banksy artwork, which was vandalised just three days later.
But on to what you're really here for - a list of cool things you should see, do and listen to across Europe this coming week.
From epic new sci-fi series, to extraordinary print fairs and stop motion scaries, there's a lot happening, and more time to experience it all as we spring towards longer, lighter evenings. Phew.
Exhibitions
'RANKIN: Sound Off (Musicians 1990 - 2023)', London UK
Renowned British photographer Rankin, who we had the privilege of interviewing last year, has a new exhibition at Tin Man Gallery in London.
From the Spice Girls and Madonna, to The Rolling Stones and David Bowie, Rankin has taken some of the world's most iconic images of musicians over the last 30 years. Here, visitors can not only see them up close, but learn more about Rankin's creative processes and behind the scenes anecdotes that capture an essence of the UK music scene in particular.
Red Rainstorm, The Pyramid, London, UK
Smells like art! Acclaimed perfume designer Azzi Glasser has launched 'Red Rainstorm, The Pyramid', a giant "Fragrance Pyramid" that forms part of a new exhibition called 'Seeing Red' at London's Phillips Gallery.
“I have created the scent of a 'Red Rainstorm' this time," Azzi explained in a press release. "A literal scent that expresses the essence of a Rainstorm: the aroma of cold rain hitting warm pavements. An electrifying accord with notes of wet earth, mud, a concrete pavement, wet grass, water, roadside, tar and dust has been captured and recreated."
It's available to experience until 24 March and can even be bought for £65,000 (€75,673).
London Original Print Fair 2024, UK
New works from Boo Saville, Grayson Perry and Paul Morrison cohabitate with rare prints by Picasso, Bacon, Freud and Eminat the London Original Print Fair (LOPF) from 21-24 March at Somerset House;the breadth of printmaking's history and diversity of its many forms on display. More than 40 different art dealers will be present, selling antiquities and signed prints, while there's also the opportunity to attend various workshops and academic talks.
Movies
'Stopmotion'
A young stop motion animator named Ella (Aisling Franciosi) makes a film about a lost little girl in the woods who's being chased by a sinister, raw-fleshed figure known as the 'Ash Man'. In bringing her story to life, Ella also gives motion to her darkest psychological demons, becoming ever-more obsessive and gruesome. Directed by real life stop motion specialist Robert Morgan, this is one of the best horror movies of the year so far, offering a fresh and visually impressive take on trauma-induced melty realities and the all-consuming toll of creative success.
One tip: Don't eat any kind of meat while watching.
And read our review by David Mouriquand here.
TV series
3 Body Problem
Based on a sci-fi novel by Liu Cixin, and adapted for TV by ‘Game of Thrones’ creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with Alexander Woo (‘True Blood’), this new Netflix series is exactly the kind of sprawling spectacle you’d anticipate. Spanning the past, present and future through a tragic event that ripples through space and time towards a potential alien invasion, the material is dense but woozy with wonder.
But we're not overly impressed. Read our review Jonny Walfisz here.
Books
‘The Morningside,’ by Téa Obrecht
One of the books featured in our 2024 books preview, we've been really looking forward to American writer Téa Obreht’s latest novel. It tells the story of a displaced mother and daughter that move to a now-dilapidated luxurious high-rise in a flooded island city, searching for meaning, identity and secrets to the backdrop of a war-torn world.
Music
'Shake Shake Go', France
Franco-Welsh pop band 'Shake Shake Go' are currently touring France and - having met and interviewed them last year \- we'd strongly recommend (shake shake) going!
"The best kept secret of pan-European pop," David Mouriquand wrote in his Euronews Culture review of their third album, 'Double Vision'.
"Their perfectly calibrated hooks, powered by Jones’ showstopping vocals – which used to recall Dido and now often feel like a sunnier version of The xx’s Romy Madley Croft – are uniquely cathartic."
The dates are as follows:
- Lyon (24 March)
- Brest (27 March)
- Nantes (13 April)
- Festival Voix de Femmes (14 June)
- Festival Décapadiot (28 June)
The Gossip: 'Real Power'
Many people of a certain age will remember The Gossip for their 2006 hit "Standing in the Way of Control", a track that became synonymous with teenage debauchery after soundtracking promo's for the British TV show Skins. Twelve years since their last album, the band, made up of Beth Ditto, Brace Paine and Hannah Blilie, is finally making a return with their sixth studio effort.
According to a press release, it's a "celebration of creative expression" and the power that came out of choosing family in the aftermath of "collective and personal trauma".
It was also included in our 2024 music preview, which is full of upcoming sonic gems guaranteed to get your eardrums tingling.
