RoofHop 1.2 - Cheating...

ROOFHOP No.2 is Officially LIVE people hehe! Shot on the roof of The Macbeth in Shoreditch this video sees me and my screen lover - (singer/songwriter Jay Auburn) - argue it out Jeremy Kyle musical stylee hehe! Who's been Cheating on who I wonder...will love prevail??   Dramatics over it was actually a really fun job...as you'll probably tell by us kooking out at the end of the video lol!

     

 The original track was produced by amazing duo 43 and The Wizard! Check out the EXTENDED studio version here...

   

It was mad hot that day, so I couldn't even rock my Choolips Storm Jacket :( But look out for it in following posts!  Gaga eat your heart out lool!  For info on the crew, the "Roofhop Series" and to see the very first Roofhop - BROWSE HERE!   If you've liked what you've seen so far you'll piss your pants for the next installment. Even nature is on our side.... hahahaaaa

 @sh.x

RoofHop Series: The Crew...

Ok, so you guys have heard about Choolips contribution to the Roofhop Series ahead of the release of the 2nd Roofhop video - I want to tell you a little bit about the team behind it :D

Gibbi Bettini on guitar: I've worked with Gibbs for a little while now...you'll see him in all of my live videos and despite his age this boi's got SwaG lol. He's also wracking up a bit of a rep amongst his piers, strumming for upcomers like Amy Love and J-Sol! Now I don't know much about playing guitar, but as an artist I think Gibbi's musical style/sensibility is second to none, and it's been a pleasure watching his talent grow! Check out his website HERE!!

Arash Khoshnazar / Pat @ GEEproductionLondon on camera:
One big AA ethos is to bring people together and this duo are no exception! Having met both guys in different media circles I wasn't sure how they'd get along having met on the day, but like true professionals these boys pulled it out the bag lol - kit and ALL! Throughout the RoofHop Series you'll see this temporary duo have an amazing eye for space/composition...despite the little time we had on each roof they really captured the spirit of the project!! Jay @ Gray Cars was also a blessing! Massive thanx to him for driving the 6 of us around for the day! We felt like proper little rockstars for the day lol!

Thanx to the 6 rooftops:
Helana @ The White Lion - Streatham
Mikey @ The Bussey Building - Peckham
Mark @ The Macbeth, Shoreditch
Ms Karen Fox for her roof - Notting Hill
Miss Manal Shaker for her roof - Notting Hill
Ahmed for his roof and - Shepherd Bush
And special mention to documentary director Mark Goldie for capturing the day from behind the scenes! Looking forward to seeing a crazy cut of that lol - hopefully without the expletives lol! @sh.x

Smell the CHOOLIPS...

You guys KNOW I LovE my 'crazy-sexy-cool' clobber...especially when I'm performing (flashback to face covered in glitter lol)! But when it came to choosing costumes for the Roofhop Series I needed a simple look. Something to compliment the raw nature of the acoustic performances...yet retain the kooky character that defines AA!! Thank god I smelt the roses...or should I say Choolips lol?! Of all the clothes/designers I've ever worn I found in Choolips the ultimate solution to looking 'different' with minimal effort!! Just PUT IT ON lol!

Annegret Affoldabach (designer and founder of Choolips) has weathered many a storm as she strives to bring stylish and ETHICAL clothing to the fashion/retail world! All of Annegret's garments are lovingly designed in her London Studio, before being hand made/printed using traditional Batik techniques, on the Gold Coast of Ghana. And did I mention that it's all ethical? Thats right...Choolips works on a genius Fairtrade system which sees entrepreneurial Ghanaian trailblazers, local batikers, tailors and seamstresses earn more than fair wages for their work. *Two fingers Primark!*

By working closely with African communities (and with a network of other collectives on side) CHOOLIPS has introduced new technology and print design to sustain this ancient Batik technique. And looking at the results it's easy to see why retailers such TOPSHOP and online fashion giants ASOS have jumped at the chance to stock Choolips' hand-perfected designs!! Annegret really has 'put the sunshine back into the high street' and as a budding fashionista myself it's impossible not to love her work!

Thanks soo much to Annegret for letting me wear the SS11 collection for my Roofhop Series. There still maybe some bits left in stock?! so if you want a whiff of Choolips check out the website or click HERE - for SS12/AW12 collections...you'll be sitting pretty all summer :D - Scarves and all!!

@sh.x

Roofhop Taster - Coldplay Yellow...

So, what's a 'Roofhop' right?!  Well it's simple really...take a girl (that's me), a guitarist, 2 camera-men and a driver to cart them all around.  Chuck in 6 rooftop locations and a hand full of amazing guest artist - then cram them all into ONE day!  Et voila!!

When me and this trusty team hit the road roof-hopping in August 2011 we weren't sure what this day of musical madness would bring...and let me tell ya we weren't disappointed!  I've chosen my favorite 3 videos to share with ya'll over the next 6 weeks :D  and because I know you guys LOVE a bit of suspense I just uploaded this little taster to give you an idea of what to expect...

Funny Fact:  just before we shot this we (or should I say gravity) fractured the neck of Gibbi's guitar :o!  He was VEX as you can imagine lol...but after patching it up with a bit of electrical tape (we're rock'n'roll like that you see :P) we rocked on!

Massive thanx to my crew and to Choolips for my amazing costumes (more about them later).  Thanx to Rhian Fox (from Payroll) on guest guitar/ backing vocals...and of course BIG UP Gibbi Bettini for playing his fingers to the bone for 8hrs straight!

The next installment SOON COME .....

@sh.x

S.o.B with 1Take.TV...

Shades of Blue music video is approaching the finish line *phew* Now that the edit's done, I've managed to rope in a couple of pros to give it those all important finishing touches! A release date has been set in stone (#ifitkillsme) and lets just say it's gona get very Shadey before the year's out!!

Over the next few blogposts I'll take you through the nitty gritty...but in the meantime massive thanx to Elliot Bradley, Jonah James and Beatrice Black at 1Take.TV.  Because of them I'm able to bring you a beautifully shot acoustic version of SoB to tide you over!

 
Had a great time shooting this taster with 1Take in their uber-cool basement studio, though I think my guitarist Gibbi Bettini would agree that next time we work with these guys there's a certain record we're going to break!! :P

Shades a-coming.....
@sh.x