Top of the World London | 'S/S Liberty Collection' + Exclusive Interview

After last weeks exclusive sneak peek at the latest designs, Top of The World London's Spring collection is finally here! Threads have been woven and designs and have been printed and now everything is now available for purchase via their online store. As mentioned in last week's preview, TOTW have recently impressed us with their inspiring designs and with the success of their Autumn/Winter 13 collection so we decided to talk in detail with the guys about the story behind the brand and whats in store, introducing TOTW...

ATB: Hey Guys, hope your good can you tell us a little about the brand. 

TOTW: Top of the World is a London­based street wear and lifestyle brand that aims to provide high quality, well­designed products. Feeling ‘on top of the world is’ something special, and that’s exactly what we have tried to embody. It’s the idea that you try to excel in every way possible and help others around you to do the same. Our products and brand are really our way of trying to reflect that feeling and approach to life.

Our Autumn/Winter 13 collection was a huge success, with orders selling out two of our designs, allowing us to establish our brand and gain a wealth of followers and supporters. We’ve been working hard over the last few months and we’re really excited to release and show off our new collection ­ Liberty.

ATB: Tell us more about the new Liberty collection. 

TOTW: We wanted to create something with meaning, something that our customers and supporters could relate to. Going back to our name, Top of the World, it’s all about the moment and the emotion. And in that moment, that’s when you feel most alive and free. The word “Liberty” signifies that really well and that's why we chose it to represent this new collection.

The tag, “The Voyage Holds The Truth” is also featured on several designs within the collection. It is used to emphasise the journey and the hard work that goes into reaching the Top of the World.

We’ve slowly pushed our product range and are now offering Sweatshirts. Perfect for this cold post­winter weather!

ATB: How are you different from other brands? 

TOTW: There are a lot of great brands out there. We’ve focused on two things from the outset. The product and the customer experience. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that like any other high street or mainstream brand, we interact with people, and want to leave a lasting impression. We let the quality of our product speak for itself. Everything we create is hand­crafted and each item is printed and made to order. We also focus on customer experience. We send out every order individually wrapped with personalised packaging and cards, and we will always offer free delivery on all UK orders as a way to show our thanks for all the support we receive.

Liberty 2014 Lookbook  Video

ATB: What other brands are you guys feeling? – and why? 

TOTW: We’ve been really inspired by so many clothing companies and teams. One branding particular is P&Co; we’ve been following their story for a while and have been quite impressed. Their collections always offer something cool and refreshing, and they do some really well designed products. Plus you gotta love those beards!

ATB: Your launch was successful, your second collection will no doubt be making waves, how do you plan on growing? 

TOTW: We’re only just getting started. We’ve had a great deal of success from our launch of the company and have received a lot of support. We are already planning our next drop and have some really exciting material hopefully coming out this summer. We recently secured our first stockist with Fancy.com and we’re really pleased with that. TOTW has started working with several other individuals and companies to push the brand to the next level. We have a sketchbook full of designs that we can’t wait to turn into great things for our customers.

ATB: Where can we find you on social media? 

TOTW: We’re online on Facebook (www.facebook.com/totwlondon), Instagram (search @totwlondon or www.instagram.com/totwlondon) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/totwlondon). We’re always posting behind the scenes stuff and you can check out what we’re up to. If you’re an avid user of Fancy check us out here and be sure to Fancy our products!

Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron [Album Review]

                                                      7/10

A hugely anticipated record, Oxymoron seemed to live up to expectations in the charts, selling an impressing 139,000 copies in a week and reaching the number one spot on the Billboard 200.

Top Dawg Entertainment are certainly doing something right.  The label is mostly known for Compton-born Kendrick, who broke into the spotlight in 2012 with his debut ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’, spawning four top40 hits and gaining the rapper seven Grammy nominations.   Schoolboy Q has long lived in Kendrick’s shadow, collaborating along the way with the likes of A$AP MOB, Action Bronson and Danny Brown, often delivering acclaimed verses, like his 32-bar on Ferg’s Work Remix. Oxymoron has given Q the platform that he needed to move away from being just a ‘featured-artist’ and cement his place in modern day rap.  And it’s not a bad effort.

The album can be considered ‘oxymoron-ic’ to the extent that it explores contradicting lifestyles, perhaps before and after Q’s success.  It tells a story of his road to the top; one that involved both crime and gang culture. This contrasts with the life of luxury Q now experiences, as evident in Collard Greens, featuring Kendrick, perhaps the track of the album, where Q sings ‘Oh… Luxury, Chidi-ching-ching could buy anything, cop that’. The title also refers of course to Q’s hustle illegally selling ‘Oxycontin’, an opioid used in the States as a prescriptive drug for severe pain relief. The oxymoron here being the euphoric highs of prescriptive drugs contrasted with a menacing view of a Los Angeles dystopia.

So, we understand this is a record of an oxymoronic nature. Thankyou for that Q. It also delivers some great rap music. One of the stand-outs on the album is the Clams Casino-produced track Gravy. As a gravy-loving nation, the British audience are already enjoying the metaphor here, but it deserves more than a deluxe-edition bonus track.  Our bucket-hat-fashioning rapper displays both lyrical ability and flow on a track that gives a lighter vibe to an album that emphasises a dark portrayal of street life. And of course, Clams’ beat is amazing.

Important tracks on this album are the opening Gangsta, which features Q’s daughter Joy and sets the brooding mood for the record, What They Want featuring 2Chainz, which is produced by Mike WiLL, and an experimental His and Her Friend featuring SZA.  Also worth a mention, the softer-sounding Studio, delivers a heart-felt stream of consciousness from Q, about a girl he thinks of during a stressful day in the studio. The album's centerpiece track Prescription/Oxymoron tells a painful story of an addiction to prescriptive-drugs and lasts over seven minutes, whilst Hell of a Night steps outside the box for a trap-tempo record, produced by DJ Dahi, the man behind Drizzy’s Worst Behaviour. Finally, Tyler the Creator features on The Purge. It’s awful. Skip it.

Overall, Q gets a thumbs-up for his debut effort. It’s not Get Rich or Die Trying or good kid, m.A.A.d city. But it’s a decent record, filled with collaborations that mostly work, telling a truly painful story of Q’s road to success and backed up by a reliable formula, perhaps as a result of flourishing label TDE. CLICK HERE to download the album from iTunes.

@antonioslimjim

Love Saves The Day 2014 [Festival Preview]

It says a lot about a festival when it may only be in it's third year, but Bristol's Love Saves The Day has made such seismic strides it returns to Castle Park in May for undoubtedly it's biggest edition yet. Having sold out in previous years well in advance, Love Saves The Day has once again expanded into a two date weekender for 2014, albeit ditching the original 'Saturday' & 'Sunday' tags to give it a more holistic feel and judging by the acts on the bill, it's gone some way to solidifying its status as Bristol's premier festival for electronic and bass music.

Saturday

Taking headline duties on Saturday will be none other than local hero Eats Everything whose delectable blend of classic 80s and 90s house has seen him receive prestigious accolades including DJ Magazine's 'Best British DJ' and 'Best Breakthrough Producer' awards amongst others. In addition Radio 1's Annie Mac, one of the most in demand club and festival DJ's on the planet will be bringing her now trademark assortment of party vibes to the main stage for what promises to be one of the sets of the day.

If you're regular followers of the blog you'll know we're massive fans of everything Snakehips put their groove on. Having previously remixed the likes of Banks to ridiculous effect, the London duo will be bringing their house inspired sound to proceedings. For equally similar yet infectious take's on R&B & pop classics PMR Records' go-to remixer of the moment Cyril Hahn will be showing us exactly he's been gaining support from the likes of Diplo, the XX, Jessie Ware and his label mates Disclosure.

Clean Bandit are one of the most exciting new dance bands in the UK, and have recently scored their first Number One in January with 'Rather Be' feat. Jess Glynne. First appearing at Love Saves The Day last year, we are really proud to have them return to play one of the premier slots on the Main Stage.

With an album dropping this spring the mighty Hercules & Love Affair will be promising some amazing new music to go with their new collective of DJ's, musicians & producers on show for what is always a show to remember. For the house heads our sets of choice include Hackman, Waifs & Strays, Kidnap Kip, DJ Q & Bristol's own Eton Messy, who tore down last year's after party at Motion.

Last but no means least Todd Terje will be bringing his inescapably catchy Disco vibes to proceedings, in addition to Nina Kraviz who's combination of deep house and techno has seen her become one of the biggest names on the scene whilst Craig Richards flies the flag for the tech house fraternity to round off what is a relentless aural feast.

Sunday

From his early dub-tinged club focused singles to the crossover success of his self-titled debut album, SBTRKT has never been afraid to push musical boundaries & his forthcoming 2014 album is one that is sure to break new ground in what we understand as live electronic dance music.

Preceding Sbtrkt will be one of the most respected names in music Jamie XX. His signature combination of haunting melodies and low key club percussion provide the backbone for his work. An active DJ career, collaboration with the late, great Gil Scott-Heron, production work for rap heavyweight Drake and a series of remixes for Radiohead are an indicator of exactly how diverse an artist he has become.

Paul Woolford's Special Request moniker captures and distils the energy and unruly conventions of UK pirate radio and uses that as a springboard of inspiration for a series of productions that span from heavyweight darkside techno to chaotic, eye of the storm jungle tear-outs. We've long been a fan of Woolford's sets and can't wait to see him perform as his rampant Special Request alias.

Despite the generations between them, dub production stalwart Adrian Sherwood and fresh-faced dub step producer Pinch have teamed up to create an incredible clash of heritage dancehall, reggae and modern electronic music. Their set will be highly anticipated as will performances from drum & bass legend Shy FX, bass boy of the moment Dismantle and another of Radio 1's champions of dance music B. Traits. The legendary Greg Wilson will take to the decks at the UK's finest electronic music festival with Gentleman's Dub Club, A Sagittarian, Jus Now,Congo Natty and many others ensuring that festival goers enjoy the very best electronic sounds the globe has to offer.

Line Up

SATURDAY

Andy Butler / Annie Mac / Apex / Black Butter / Bodhi / Christophe & Lukas / Clean Bandit / Craig Richards / Crazy P Sound System / Cyril Hahn / Dan Wild / DJ Q / Eats Everything / Eton Messy / Feel the Real / Felix Dickinson / Foundations / Futureboogie / Gotsome / Hackman / Hercules and Love Affair / Horse Meat Disco / Joe90 & Dave Harvey / Just Jack / Kidnap Kid / Kove / Maribou State b2b Pedestrian / Motor City Drum Ensemble / Moko / Nina Kraviz / Origins / PBR Streetgang / People Like Us / Piff / Shambarbers / Shapes / Snakehips / Solomon Grey / Subb-an / The Dance Off / Todd Terje / Tom Rio / Waifs and Strays / 4ours

SUNDAY 

A Sagittariun / A.Quake / Aba Shanti-I / Breakage / Congo Natty with Nanci + Phoebe / Crack / Digital Soundboy / Dirty Talk / Dismantle / Dubkasm / Durkle Disco / Dutty Girl / Falling Up / Felis / Fire Man Sam / Francis Inferno Orchestra b2b Fantastic Man / Gentleman's Dub Club / Greg Wilson / The Heatwave / Idle Hands / Jakwob / Jamie XX / Javeon McCarthy / John Talabot / Jus Now / Laid Blak / Livity Sound / Ms Dynamite / Neneh Cherry & RocketNumberNine / Pardon My French / Quantic / Sam Binga ft. Redders / SBTRKT / Sherwood and Pinch / Shy FX / Sip The Juice / Soul Train / Special Request / Stylo G / Teachings in Dub / Tessela / The Blast / Trap 

Saturday Tickets - Buy Now

Sunday Tickets - Buy Now

Our review of how it went down last year can be viewed here, with our official gallery available to view below.