Hardcover Books 320 Items

From breathtaking nature to timeless culture, explore the hiking trails and the wonders of the British Isles.

The British and Irish Isles are a paradise for hikers. They provide a unique blend of breathtaking nature, fascinating local history, and timeless culture. Stunning photography showcases the diverse natural landscapes and rich national history of the region. The book offers maps, valuable insights on the trails, the best time to hike them, and regional specialties that will help readers make the most of their adventures. Whether you're an avid hiker or an armchair traveler, this new addition to the Wanderlust series will take you from the heart of the Scottish Highlands, to the Lake District, Ireland, and onward to the expansive coastline of the English Riviera.

In addition to highlighting the natural and historical monuments of the islands, this book celebrates the best hiking trails and details the best of British and Irish culture, providing readers with some unique spots to relax and unwind after a day of exploration. Experience the warmth and hospitality of the locals, and end your island journey by the fireside, savoring all that these remarkable islands have to offer.

Format: 22,5 × 29 cm Features: full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 288 pages Isbn: 978-3-96704-103-3

Alex Roddie has been a mountaineer and hiker for over 15 years, and likes to experience nature’s wild, and often wet character. Based in England, he works as an editor, writer, and photographer for outdoor-related publications and websites.

Compiling the world’s best surf photographers Surf Porn is a visual impact on the true essence of surfing.

Best surf conditions or the rarity of a perfect session is what makes surfing so unique and intense. In Surf Porn, not only the right swell, right wind, right tide and weather are important but the right light. This book curates the work of some of the most famous surf photographers capturing the most astonishing scenes from the rarest surfing spots on our blue planet.

In the end, Surf Porn makes the reader maybe understand how surfing creates such an intense mix of joy, adrenaline and well-being. But it definitely creates a deep longing for the next perfect and unridden wave.

Format: 24 × 30 cm Features: Full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 256 pages Isbn: 978-3-96704-128-6

From an early age, the French native Gaspard Konrad was fascinated by the beauty of the ocean and surfing. Passionate about surf photography, he started to collect imagery before Social Media was born. Sharing them one day on Instagram resulted in hundreds of thousands of @surf_porn followers. Gaspard dedicated his life to the environment by founding WeFix, a fast-growing company specializing in repairing smart devices. He is also an active member of the Blue Collective by Surfrider Foundation.

Discover the devotional practice of wave riding through an atlas of iconic surf locations from around the world.

The Surf Atlas is a collection of the world’s most unique, unusual, and iconic surf destinations. Surf beneath the northern lights in Norway, warm yourself up on Ghana’s equatorial waves, or dance down your longboard in Waikiki. This book has it all. Extended across six regions—Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, North America, Oceania and the Pacific—The Surf Atlas celebrates exploration, adventure, and the dizzying diversity of our surfing world. It’s time to move with the tides, so grab your board—surf’s up!

Format: 24 x 30 cm Features: Full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 320 pages Isbn: 978-3-96704-058-6

Photographer and writer, Luke Gartside, is the former editor of Wavelength Magazine, Europe’s longest running surf title. For more than ten years, he has been chronicling surf culture around the world, meeting intriguing characters along the way.

Join the boat life movement and explore a world across the great blue waters.

Boatlife visually explores a nomadic lifestyle on the water filled with new landscapes, cultural experiences, and endless adventures. Through photography, illustrated maps, itineraries, and background information, this book will inspire your own adventure, while taking you on a journey across bodies of water from The Americas and Europe, to voyages alongside Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle.

Thanks to the ever growing popularity of alternative living and flexible work schemes, the boat life movement is fast on the rise. Whether it be spending the summer on the Mediterranean or a weekend in the Caribbean, people are choosing to escape their stressful life on land for a simpler and more mindful world on the water.

Format: 22,5 x 29 cm Features: full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 256 pages Isbn: 978-3-96704-099-9

The most famous outdoor photographer captures and celebrates the oceans in all their beauty and majesty.

The oceans are the lifeblood of our planet, a source of wonder, beauty, and inspiration. In this breathtaking photo book, Chris Burkard, world-renowned outdoor photographer and explorer, takes us on a journey across the seven seas. From the rugged shores of the North Atlantic to the tranquil waters of the tropics, Burkard's lens captures the stunning diversity and ever-changing beauty of the world's oceans. With each turn of the page, readers are transported to a different corner of the globe, immersing themselves in natural splendor.

But The Oceans is more than just a collection of stunning photographs. It's a call to action, a reminder of the urgent need to protect and preserve our fragile blue planet. Through his art, Burkard encourages us to see the oceans not just as a resource to be exploited, but as a source of wonder and inspiration that deserves our respect and stewardship. Dive into The Oceans and experience the awe-inspiring beauty of the world's deep blue waters.

Format: 24,5 × 33 cm Features: Full color, linen hardcover, stitch bound, 320 pages Isbn: 978-3-96704-126-2

An updated edition of the acclaimed monograph, celebrating one of the most iconic and revolutionary artists of our time.

"Yayoi Kusama transcended the art world to become a fixture of popular culture, in a league with Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Keith Haring." —The New York Times

Kusama is internationally renowned for her groundbreaking work on themes such as infinity, self-image, sexuality, and compulsive repetition. A well-known name in the Manhattan scene of the 1960s, Kusama's subsequent work combined Psychedelia and Pop culture with patterning, often resulting in participatory installations and series of paintings. This revised and expanded edition of the 2000 monograph, which is arguably still one of the most comprehensive studies on her work to date, has been augmented by an essay by Catherine Taft and a collection of new poems by the artist.

Reviews: "When people look back at Kusama's work decades from now, they'll see that her idea of creation and infinity has an eternal endurance." —Marc Jacobs

"The effect of Kusama's work is both so complex and simple. It is produced by the interaction of the two close somewhat parallel planes, at points merging at the surface and at others diverging slightly but powerfully." —Donald Judd

"Yayoi Kusama comes with a pedigree of film and orchestrated happenings and performance in New York during the 1960s and the 1970s that was every bit as avant-garde as Warhol."—The Art Review Power 100

Specifications:
Format: Hardback Size: 290 × 250 mm (11 3/8 × 9 7/8 in)
Pages: 240 pp
Illustrations: 240 illustrations

Rihanna invites you into her world with this stunning visual autobiography

"It's a piece of art that I am really proud of..." —Rihanna

From her Barbados childhood to her worldwide tours, from iconic fashion moments to private time with friends and family, the book showcases intimate photographs of her life as an artist, performer, designer, and entrepreneur. Many of these images have never before been published.

This large-format book is 504 pages with 1,050 color images on 3 paper stocks and 7 single- and double-page gatefolds, 9 bound-in booklets, 1 tip-in sheet, and a double-sided, removable poster.

Rihanna (b. 1988, Barbados) is a nine-time Grammy Award–winning recording artist, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. She has sold 60 million albums and 215 million digital tracks worldwide, making her the top-selling digital artist of all time. Rihanna launched her beauty line Fenty Beauty in 2017, her lingerie line Savage X Fenty in 2018, and most recently her luxury fashion line, Fenty in 2019.

Specifications:
Format: Hardback Size: 420 × 320 mm (16 1/2 × 12 5/8 in)
Pages: 504 pp
Illustrations: 1050 illustrations

With a foreword by Osgemeos.

A guide to the art, artists, and culture of graffiti from the 1970s to today, as told by the taggers themselves

This major co-publication with the Museum of Graffiti chronicles the worldwide graffiti movement from its birth in the 1970s, through the street and train painting of the 1980s, to its emergence as an artistic genre admired in museums and sold at auction. With hundreds of never-before-seen photographs of graffiti art from the 1970s to today, many of which have been provided exclusively for this volume by the artists themselves, the book gives an insider’s view through multiple interviews with celebrated graffiti artists, including Roger Smith of Sane Smith, Hotboy Hert, Desa, Shirt King Phade, Rime, MadC, Saber, Aura, and others.

Told through essays, hundreds of images, and interviews with the artists – both the underground outlaws and the writers who went mainstream – The Wide World of Graffiti will become the standard-bearer of the art form’s history and life today, a unique contribution from the first and only museum dedicated to graffiti as an art form.

About the author:
Alan Ket is an artist, graffiti historian, and cofounder of the Museum of Graffiti. Ket has contributed to such publications as the 1990s cult zine Stress, and graffiti, music, and culture magazines Complex and Vibe. He has consulted on product launches embodying street culture and has worked with art institutions to develop programming. Ket has documented street art throughout the world while painting with many of the top graffiti artists.

Specifications:
Format: Hardback Size: 254 × 203 mm (10 × 8 in)
Pages: 360 pp
Illustrations: 350 illustrations

As seen in Harper’s Bazaar UK, Guitar World, and Design Week

The 100 most iconic guitars from around the globe, from early modern beginnings to cutting-edge electric models

The guitar is the iconic instrument at the heart of all popular music. From Delta blues on acoustics to electric rock & roll, and all that came in its wake, the guitar has proven the most versatile and emotive conduit for musical expression and experimentation.

Across more than 300 years, master guitar-makers have striven continually for new sculptural and aural peaks, yet the guitar's immediacy and intimacy endures, however loud the volume controls on the amplifiers are turned.

With 100 of the finest and most innovative models of guitar from the 17th century to the present day alongside the players who changed the face of popular music, Guitar includes fascinating stories behind iconic models from an eclectic mix of brands, including Alden, D'Angelico, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Ibanez, Kay, Martin, Millimetric Instruments, Mosrite, Greg Smallman, and Stauffer.

The book also includes a wealth of fascinating and lesser known information about enigmatic performers including the Beatles, Woody Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, St Vincent, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimi Hendrix, and Neil Young. A delight for design enthusiasts and music aficionados alike, Guilfoyle's latest book charts the development of this pillar of popular music and the charismatic performers who have used the guitar to transform our lives.

About the author:
Ultan Guilfoyle is an award-winning producer, director, and writer, whose films include Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006) and Making Space, Five Women Architects (2015). His books include The Motorcycle, Design, Art, Desire (Phaidon, 2020).

Reviews:
‘A feast for the eyes that is sure to pull at the heartstrings of any guitar fan.’ – Library Journal

‘Guitar: The Shape of Sound highlights 100 of the most innovative guitar models and the performers who played them. Would Jimi Hendrix have been the same without his favorite Fender Stratocaster?’ – Fast Company

‘A delight for design enthusiasts and music aficionados alike, Guilfoyle's latest book charts the development of this pillar of popular music and the charismatic performers who have used the guitar to transform our lives’ – Acquire

Specifications:
Format: Hardback Size: 270 × 205 mm (10 5/8 × 8 1/8 in)
Pages: 280 pp
Illustrations: 250 illustrations

An A to Z of video games – 300 entries showcasing the most influential and celebrated games, consoles, publishers, and more

A visual history of all things video games, this book will provide the reader with an overview of the gaming industry, from the very first game created around the mid-twentieth century, right through to the present day. Particular focus is given to advances within the industry during this time, such as new technologies, innovative gameplay, never-before-seen graphics, and design. An introduction by Simon Parkin provides an overview of gaming history, and exploring how iconic games have pushed the boundaries of the medium and 300 entries, hand picked by a panel of industry experts, showcase the most influential and celebrated games, consoles, publishers, and more. Each entry is accompanied by text informing the reader about the game and its history, its place in wider popular culture, and including useful information and facts, with exciting and sometimes unexpected pairings provided by the A to Z organisation. A glossary of key words and select biographies of influential creators and developers provides more context and a system of icons and infographics allows readers to see the connections between the book’s 300 entries. Wider gaming culture, and how it has grown from a niche hobby to a worldwide phenomenon, influencing popular culture, is also explored, making this the widest ranging survey of games and gaming available today.

About the author:
Phaidon Editors

Simon Parkin is an award-winning British author and journalist and an authority on video games. He is a contributing writer for the New Yorker, a regular contributor to the Guardian, and is a critic for the Observer newspaper. His work has been featured in ‘The Best American Nonrequired Reading’. He is the author of several books, including An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games (2019).

India Block is Deputy editor of Disegno, the international quarterly design journal, and a writer with a focus on architecture and design.

Specifications:
Format: Hardback Size: 290 × 250 mm (11 3/8 × 9 7/8 in)
Pages: 352 pp
Illustrations: 500 illustrations

Tape Leaders is a richly illustrated A-Z compendium featuring over 100 composers active with tape and electronics in the analogue era. Containing information never previously uncovered, it shines a fresh light on many sound experimenters unacknowledged in the history of British electronic music. First published by Sound On Sound Magazine in 2016, this is the first time it’s been available outside their shop.

Tape Leaders is available as a hardback and the 224 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 130gsm paper. The specially compiled 15 track CD of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works is exclusive to the Velocity Press shop.

In the form of a richly illustrated compendium, Tape Leaders: A Compendium Of Early British Electronic Music Composers is an indispensable reference guide for anyone interested in electronic sound and its origins in the UK. For the first time, a book sets out information on practically everyone active with experimental electronics and tape recording across the country to reveal the untold stories and hidden history of early British electronic music.

With an individual entry for each composer, it covers everyone from famous names like William Burroughs, Brian Eno and Joe Meek to the ultra-obscure such as Roy Cooper, Donald Henshilwood and Edgar Vetter. There are sections for EMS and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and amateurs, groups and ensembles that experimented with electronics, including The Beatles, Hawkwind and White Noise. Author Ian Helliwell draws on his experience and extensive research into electronic music. After six years and dozens of interviews, he has amassed information never before brought to light on this fascinating subject.

Included with the book is a specially compiled 15 track CD of mainly unreleased early British tape and synthesizer works (exclusively available to the Velocity Press shop), making this an essential book for anyone interested in electronic music history during the 1950s and 60s.

This hardback book is 22.7cm x 17.7cm, and the 224 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 130gsm paper.

Quotes:
“Until now, the Radiophonic Workshop has somewhat eclipsed other players in British early electronic music history. The extent of this is laid bare in the revelatory book Tape Leaders – a landmark survey by the composer, film-maker, instrument-builder and researcher Ian Helliwell, who has uncovered hitherto unacknowledged independent electronic music composers.” Fortean Times

“For anyone with an interest in the early years of electronic music, Ian Helliwell’s book takes the reader on an enthralling tour of the pioneering British contributors to this genre.” Sound On Sound

“The work of computer music pioneer Peter Zinovieff, home-build guru FC Judd, UFO-believer and Spitfire pilot Desmond Leslie, and Tristram Cary – have all been reissued. Ian Helliwell’s new book, Tape Leaders, A Compendium of Early British Electronic Music Composers, goes further. It reveals that these figures collectively represent the tip of a hitherto unimaginably vast iceberg submerged for decades. Profiling dozens of composers, amateur and professional, and augmented by a 15 track CD of electronic music… it truly is a portal into a lost world.” Shindig

Eine Kulturgeschichte des Fußballsounds Als die Fußballstadien während der Pandemie leer blieben, schalteten auch viele Fernsehzuschauer:innen nicht mehr ein. Ohne die Resonanz von den Rängen - die Gesänge, das Geraune und Gejubel - verlor das Geschehen auf dem Rasen schlagartig an Reiz. Nie war es offensichtlicher, dass der ganz spezielle Sound einen wesentlichen Teil der Faszination dieses Sports ausmacht. Fangesänge und professionell produzierte Hymnen verleihen dem Spiel nicht nur emotionale Tiefe und prägen die Fußballkultur, sie waren auch entscheidend für die Verwandlung des Sports in ein Unterhaltungsprodukt. So ist es nicht übertrieben zu sagen: Der Aufstieg des Fußballs zur populärsten Nebensache der Welt wäre undenkbar gewesen ohne die Musik, die ihn umgibt. Gunnar Leue hat den Sound des Fußballs als Fan in Stadien live erlebt und als Journalist und Autor beschrieben. Mit "You"ll Never Sing Alone" legt er eine umfassende Darstellung des Themas in all seinen Facetten vor. Unterhaltsam wie informativ erzählt das Buch die Geschichte der Fußballbegleitmusik von der Entstehung des modernen Fußballs im 19. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart. Es schaut zurück auf die skurrilen und wenig bekannten Anfänge des Fansupports, auf erste singende Fußballstars, die Entstehung von Vereinshymnen und die Entwicklung der Ultraszene zu einer internationalen Jugendbewegung. Immer wieder stößt Leue auf den einzigartigen Zusammenhang von Fußball und Pop, der die Gesangskultur in den Stadien prägte und diverse Kommerzialisierungswellen seit den 1920ern auslöste. Entlang dieses Spannungsfelds geht das Buch den Fragen nach, die den Kern der Fußballkultur betreffen: Sind Stadien bedeutende Orte, an denen sämtliche Milieus einer gespaltenen Gesellschaft zueinanderkommen und gemeinsam singend agieren? Oder doch nur weitere Arenen des Entertainments, in denen sich passive Konsument:innen berieseln lassen? Mit einem Vorwort von Thees Uhlmann. Hardcover, farbig ca. 256 Seiten

• The magnum opus on Bob Dylan’s life and career all Bob Dylan fans have been waiting for since the 60s. • More than 600 images, mostly never seen before. • The book spans Bob Dylan’s life from the early 40s to the Nobel Prize to today. • Essays written by the most illustrious cultural figures of our times, such as Joy Harjo, Michael and Griffin Ondaatje, Peter Carey, Amanda Petrusich, Lucy Sante, Ed Ruscha, and many more. • Created in collaboration with the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. • More than 20 foreign language editions will be released on the same date maximizing global PR

Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine is the landmark magnum opus every Bob Dylan fan has been waiting for since the 60s: lavishly illustrated with hundreds of previously unseen photographs and spanning from Dylan’s childhood in Hibbing, Minnesota, to the Nobel Prize for Literature and beyond, this is a treasure trove that promises to be of vast interest to Bob Dylan musical fans as well as a broader cultural audience. This is a landmark publication for the ages that will be supported by a substantial PR & marketing plan and is slated to become a lead title for Fall 2023. Several years ago, a treasure trove containing some 6,000 original Bob Dylan manuscripts was revealed to exist. Their destination? Tulsa, Oklahoma. The documents, as essential as they are intriguing—draft lyrics, notebooks, and diverse ephemera — comprise one of the most important cultural archives in the modern world. Along with countless still and moving images and thousands of hours of riveting studio and live recordings, this priceless collection now resides at The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just steps away from the archival home of Dylan’s early hero, Woody Guthrie. Nearly all the materials preserved at The Bob Dylan Center are unique, previously unavailable, and, in many cases, even previously unknown. As the official publication of The Bob Dylan Center, Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine is the first wide-angle look at the Dylan archive, a book that promises to be of vast interest to both the Nobel Laureate’s many musical fans and to a broader national and international audience as well. Edited by Mark Davidson and Parker Fishel, Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine focuses a close look at the full scope of Dylan’s working life, particularly from the dynamic perspective of his ongoing and shifting creative processes—his earliest home recordings in the mid-1950s right up through Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020), his most recent studio recording, and into the present day. The centerpiece of Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine is a carefully curated selection of over 600 images including never-before-circulated draft lyrics, writings, photographs, drawings and other ephemera from the Dylan archive. With an introductory essay by Sean Wilentz and epilogue by Douglas Brinkley, the book features a surprising range of distinguished writers, artists, and musicians, including Joy Harjo, Greil Marcus, Michael Ondaatje, Gregory Pardlo, Amanda Petrusich, Tom Piazza, Lee Ranaldo, Alex Ross, Ed Ruscha, Lucy Sante, Greg Tate and many others. After experiencing the collection firsthand in Tulsa, each of the authors was asked to select a single item that beguiled or inspired them. The resulting essays, written specifically for this volume, shed new light on not only Dylan’s creative process, but also their own.

Authors: Mark Davidson is the Curator of the Bob Dylan Archive and the Director of Archives and Exhibits for American Song Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which manages the Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie Centers. Mark earned his PhD in musicology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2015, with a dissertation titled “Recording the Nation: Folk Music and the Government in Roosevelt’s New Deal, 1936–1941.” In 2014, he earned his Master’s in Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on archiving and library science. Mark has published numerous articles and essays on music, archiving, and Bob Dylan, including Blood in the Stacks: On the Nature of Archives in the Twenty-First Century, published in The World of Bob Dylan (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Parker Fishel is an archivist and researcher who was co-curator of the inaugural exhibitions at the Bob Dylan Center. Providing archival consulting for numerous musicians and estates under the aegis of Americana Music Productions, Fishel is also a co-founder of the improvised music archive Crossing Tones and a board member of the Hot Club Foundation. Highlights from his recording credits include Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969 (Third Man Records), a forthcoming box set inspired by the legendary Chelsea Hotel (Vinyl Me, Please), and several volumes of the Grammy Award–winning Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series

• Contains a candid selection of previously unseen images of Pulp, behind the scenes and on set, of the four main video shoots made to promote their classic album Hardcore. • Includes contributions from Doug Nichol, John Currin, Stephen Mallinder, Sergei Sviatchenko, John Stezaker and Florian Habicht, all of whom have a connection to the album, the band or the era. • A selection of younger artists and designers, such as Alexa Vieira, who have been inspired by Burgess’s photographs and the band’s legacy, contribute visual responses.

A lush visual celebration of Pulp’s sixth album, This Is Hardcore, featuring unseen photography, behind-the-scenes interviews and revealing visuals. From the mid- to late 1990s, Paul Burgess was invited by Jarvis Cocker to document the British band Pulp, taking photographs during video shoots, live gigs and other events for what has become one of the landmark albums of the period, This Is Hardcore. Written and designed by Burgess and Louise Colbourne, Hardcore contains a candid selection of previously unseen images of the band, behind the scenes and on set, of the four main video shoots made to promote the album. Twenty-five years have passed since Pulp released this extraordinary album, and this book holds up a mirror to the ingenious creative processes and characters behind the seminal record. With carefully curated images from Burgess’s archive, Hardcore also includes quotations and interviews from then and now by the video directors, band members and other artists involved with the album. The book contains contributions from Doug Nichol, John Currin, Stephen Mallinder, Sergei Sviatchenko, John Stezaker and Florian Habicht, all of whom have a connection to the album, the band or the era. There are also visual responses from a selection of younger artists and designers, such as Alexa Vieira, who have been inspired by Burgess’s photographs and the band’s legacy.

Paul Burgess is a freelance designer, photographer and author. He was course leader for the Illustration programme at the University of Brighton from 2010 to 2015. Burgess is also a collage artist and his work has been featured in many UK and international publications and exhibitions. Louise Colbourne is course leader for MA Graphic Design at the University of Brighton. She also works as an independent creative director, working on collaborative ventures which often re-present archival material in new art forms.

• Showcasing new photography of more than 100 one-of-a-kind guitars whether now owned or once owned by Johnny Marr, each paired with detailed captions and fascinating personal reflections by Marr. • Featuring influential guitars that have shaped the sound of Marr and other iconic musicians, including Pete Townshend, Nile Rodgers, Chrissie Hynde and Noel Gallagher. • Tells the story of rock and pop of the last 40 years through the unique prism of Marr’s personal experiences and guitar playing. • Johnny Marr has pledged commitment to publicizing the book.

A stunning photographic presentation of the guitars that defined the distinctive sounds and style of Johnny Marr with personal reflections and insights from the legendary guitarist himself. ’Guitars have been the obsession of my life ... they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline’ – Johnny Marr The guitarist’s guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to be one of the most influential and important British bands of all time. Tracing Marr’s career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr’s Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr’s superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion. Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which shows the guitars were played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson Es-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including Nile Rodgers’ Stratocaster, Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music Hagstrom and Bert Jansch’s Yamaha. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on ‘Wonderwall’ and the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on In Rainbows by Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. Punctuating the photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr’s Guitars a unique cultural history of modern music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr’s experiences and achievements.

Johnny Marr was co-creator and lead guitarist of The Smiths. He went on to join The The and The Pretenders and collaborated with Talking Heads and the Pet Shop Boys before forming Electronic with Bernard Sumner. In the 2000s he joined Modest Mouse and The Cribs before launching a successful solo career. He has added his distinctive sound to film soundtracks, collaborating with Hans Zimmer on Inception, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, which won the Oscar for Best Song. In 2014 Marr developed and launched a guitar with Fender: the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar has gone on to be one of Fender’s most popular models.

A gorgeous hardcover time capsule of the emo music scene as it was from 1996 to 2006, featuring never-before-seen photographs and never-before-told stories from key emo musicians, photographers, and icons. While the term emo has become a familiar label, there was a time when that wasn't the case. Many bands of the mid-to-late '90s would never have classified themselves as such - back then, the term was not only inaccurate but often used derogatorily. With the advent of the 2000s, the previously underground emo scene was put on the map, and the term and sound of the genre morphed into something new. A musical renaissance was happening, but bands didn't give much thought to the label in the long term. Nothing mattered, as long as the kids came out to shows. Today, the musical and cultural impact of this movement is alive and well, responsible for some of the biggest and most influential acts of the 21st century, from Jimmy Eat World to My Chemical Romance, and the (...)

A visual storytelling celebration of American roots music in its rich variety, through unseen and newly scanned photographs by the founder of the legendary Arhoolie records. Founded in 1960 by Chris Strachwitz, the one-man operation of Arhoolie Records eventually produced more than 400 albums during more than forty years in operation, exploring the far corners of American vernacular music - blues, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, hillbilly, Texas-Mexican norteno music, and more. From the very beginning, Strachwitz brought his camera along with recording equipment as he met and recorded now-legendary artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Clifton Chenier, and Big Joe Williams. This book collects more than 150 of his best, most intimate and exciting images - many never-before seen - each with rich captions by Strachwitz and awardwinning music journalist Joel Selvin, along with a substantial 20,000 word essay about Arhoolie, Strachwitz, and the music by Selvin.

A down-and-dirty chronicle of the birth and evolution of the Seattle grunge scene—from amateur skate parks and underground hardcore clubs to worldwide phenomenon—as told by one of its founding fathers and lead guitarist of legendary alternative rock band, Mudhoney. In the late 80s and early 90s, Steve Turned and his friends—Seattle skate punks, hardcore kids, and assorted misfits—started forming bands in each other’s basements and accidentally created a unique sound that spread far beyond their once-sleepy city. Mud Ride offers an inside look at the tight-knit grunge scene, the musical influences and experiments that shaped the grunge sound, and the story of Turner's bands, Green River and Mudhoney, which went from underground flophouse shows to selling out stadiums with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Including stories about the key moments, musicians, and albums from grunge's beginnings to its come-down from the highs of global success and stardom, this is the first (...)

Originating from the Latin for deity or goddess, the term diva has evolved to become a far more complex – and loaded – term. Delving into the public and private personas of performers from Jenny Lind to Sarah Bernhardt, Nina Simone to Rihanna, this book looks at what it means to be a "diva" and how this has been subverted and embraced over time. Kate Bailey opens the book with an essay on the transformation of the diva from 19th-century opera and stage star to 20th-century silent screen siren. Six thematic chapters then focus on different aspects of diva-dom: ‘Performing the Diva’ looks at how Hollywood Icons Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Davis cultivated their personas through their approach to costume and attitude, and how this has been taken up by performers such as Cher, Elton John, and Mariah Carey; ‘Voice for Change’ discusses the political activism of artists such as Billie Holiday and Miriam Makeba; ‘Status, Power, and Freedom’ explores the agency and brand acumen shown by artists including Dolly Parton and (...)

Music is a universal human experience that’s been with us since the dawn of time. You’ve listened to music all your life . . . but have you ever wondered why? It turns out music isn’t just about entertainment—it’s a deeply embedded, subtly powerful means of communication. Songs resonate with your brain wave patterns and drive changes in your brain: creating your moods, consolidating your memories, strengthening your habits (the good ones and the bad ones alike) . . . even making you fall in or out of love. Your music is molding you, at a subconscious level, all day long. And now, for the first time ever, you can take charge. From executive editor Peter Gabriel and the minds behind It’s All in Your Head (the ultimate user’s guide for your brain), Reverberation unlocks a world where you can actively leverage the power of music to improve and enhance every aspect of your life. You’ll learn specific songs (...)

Again, we only have a handful of these, but for those interested, we can recommend this zine very highly. 125 pages of mad print technique, illustration and general ink splatter from the creative mind behind Bandulu Records artwork, and boss of printing studio 16 Tonne Press here in Bristol.

deadHYPE CLTV is the first issue of the new hardcover book from Berlin-based collective deadHYPE. In this ever-changing, ever-evolving, relentless digital realm, the fleeting lifespan of content falls short of their aspirations, so they made it their mission to create a physical platform not only for themselves, but more importantly, for the incredible talent within their community.

Cover with damaged spine and corner.

In his more than 40 years at Braun, Dieter Rams established himself as one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. True to the principle of “less but better” his elegantly clear visual language not only defined product design for generations, but also our fundamental understanding of what design is and what it can and should do.

Less and More offers boundless inspiration for anyone interested in the aesthetic and functional aspects of applied design.

Cover with one stuffed corner

From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us.

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output; it's about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone's life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities. The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distils the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments - and lifetimes - of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.