Alexi Murdoch: Wait

So it’s my final post as guest editor of this little place of collective passions. I thought I would leave you with a an equally passionate and soulful track from one of my favourite artists, Alexi Murdoch.

I was introduced to his music a few years ago by my friend Amy, who was raving about him. Then I realised I’d heard his music on the surf movie One California Day.

Alexi Murdoch is a talented signer/songwriter from England who seems to live mostly in the US now. This track is Wait, from the album Time Without Consequence, and I love it’s stirring emotions.

I hope to see you again on H9 sometime soon…

The Colour of Remi Bertoche

I first discovered the art of Remi Bertoche in a French surf shop whilst flicking through a rack of surf prints and photos. His art stood out straight away from the other prints and photos – strong vibrant colours, vivid brushstrokes and a tropical style that instantly transports you to a far-away surf destination. So I had to buy a print, framed it and it now dominates a room in my house…

Remi Bertoche, as well as being an extremely talented artist, is also a former professional surfer (on the WQS tour), keen golfer, book publisher, fashion designer and editor of two magazines in France – “FreeSurfing Mag” and “FreeGolf Mag”.

The Long Skate

This is my long skate. It’s 6 foot in length, handmade with wood and is super flexy. It turns like a double-decker bus, but is perfect for cross-stepping, nose rides and cruising along the seafront in Brighton (that’s not the usual Brighton “cruising” by the way!).

It seems to attract a lot of attention, especially from kids who tend to remark “look at that man on the giant skateboard”. But what is even more special to me is that it’s signed by three of surfing’s legends: Simon Anderson, Mark Richards and Wayne Lynch.

I was fortunate enough to meet all three in one place when they visited a local surf shop as part of a Quiksilver tour. Meeting them was amazing; three proper legends of surfing including the man who invented the thruster, a world champ and one of the most stylish free-surfers of all time. I wanted something to remember this by, but all I had to hand as my long skate in the car, so asked if they could sign it.

They were gracious enough to do so. MR’s response was the best: “Chop 3 foot off that mate and it will be great”. It’s a unique momento and hangs out in my bathroom, apart from a few trips down the seafront again.

The Travel Beater Project

A couple of years ago at the Sorted Surf Festival my friend Bill Fitzhugh introduced me to The Beater, a funky soft surfboard from the Catch Surf crew in California.

I had a quick go but the waves were not great so despite getting to my feet a few times I hadn’t got to experience it properly. Despite the fact it looks like a bodyboard, I’ve seen some cool videos of them being stand-up surfed really well.

It’s obvious small size makes The Beater a handy board to travel round with, but it looks like surfer Matthew McGregor-Mento is taking this to the max with his ‘Travel Beater Project’. Matthew has basically taken a Beater board and turned it into a Pope-Bisect style board that fits as carry-on luggage on planes!

This seems to offer a great solution for airlines that don’t carry surfboards or charge you a fortune. And just think is you’ve got a business trip somewhere and might be able to sneak a surf, but can’t take your normal board then this could be your way to salty goodness.

Check this video of Matthew explaining all about the Travel Beater Project. It may inspire you for a little DIY project this weekend…

The Orange Beast

This is my big Orange Beast. He’s a 9’7″ x 23″ x 3″ classic noserider from UWL Surfboards. And with an impressive gloss weighs the same as a baby elephant. He should actually be called “Le Bete Orange”, as UWL Surfboards and shaper Renaud Cardinal hail from near La Rochelle on the Cote de Lumiere in France.

Karma brought us together. In 2002 on a French holiday I snapped my then longboard in the shorebreak in Hourtin (yes it was a little bit waterlogged, but still snapped!). I visited UWL Surfboards, which was near where we were staying at the time, and spoke to Renaud, but he said he had no boards left in the shop. Returning to England a week later I went into my local surf shop (the infamous and sadly no more Small Planet), where owner Jez took me out the back to see a new board he had just had shaped for him. And yes it was a UWL board!

Jez explained he wanted to sell it straight away as needed money for a Mexico trip, so I walked out with the Beast.

This used to be the one-board quiver for me, but now he tends to make an appearance when its waist high and clean (although it’s still fun to take it out in the bigger stuff as it flies!).

Friends who have ridden the Beast do tend to paddle back out with a big smile on their faces. Given his weight advantage he seems to glide through many flat sections to produce nice long rides. And at 10 years old he’s doing well so I plan on surfing him for as long as my days.

Wall Art: Graffiti Btown Style

Like all cities (and towns) Brighton has it’s fair share of graffiti. Yes there’s lots of what some would say is just mindless tagging, but there’s also a whole load of beautiful and creative stuff, including the odd Banksy original or two.

There’s one particular street, called Kensington Street, that’s tucked behind the main shops and restaurants. Here the graffiti isn’t just covering a few odd spaces, but the sides of entire buildings, therefore transforming these drab industrial faces into vibrant canvases.

Here’s a selection, photos courtesy of Isobel Somerville, aged 8…

Graffiti and Brighton seem inexplicably linked. The whole city has this mashed up vibe that is unique. It’s what draws people to come here and never leave.

Jeff Divine’s  Slice of the 70′s

Jeff Divine is a surf photographer of huge reputation. Having taken photos since the 1960s in California his images are iconic in the pages of magazines they have appeared in. I was first introduced to his bold, colourful visions when I bought an anniversary issue of Surfer magazine that had photos from the 1960′s to the 2000′s – and he had entries in all the decades. But it’s Jeff’s 1970′s photos that have struck a cord with me, they seem to perfectly capture that whole drop-out California generation when boards were fat and trousers even fatter.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff in person at an exhibition in Brighton a few years ago (see below) to help publicise his book Surfing Photographs From The Seventies Taken By Jeff Divine. He was a great storyteller and still passionate about shooting surf photos some 50 years on.

Good Morning Cornwall and hello Hickory Nines

I’m stoked to have been asked to be a guest editor of this gem of a website, so hope you enjoy what I bring to the table this week.

First up is this beautiful video made by Richard Gregory of Wavedreamer back in 2008…

Richard and I used to surf together back in the day in Brighton, where he started to make some cool surf films including the Brighton classic Not California. He made the wise move a while back and upped sticks to North Devon (where he lives today), so he could surf more and film more.

Good Morning Cornwall is just one of the stunningly filmed and produced flicks he’s made and I recommend you check out more Wavedreamer stuff if you haven’t already. It features surfers such as James Parry, Elliot Dudley, Sam Bleakley and Andy Cummins from Surfers Against Sewage having fun on some peeling Cornish rights.

The track, which fits like a glove, is by Richard Asquith and Henry Price of Friend of Mine.

Bring on springtime and dawnies again!