Had a bitch of a time tracking this one down, such was it’s popularity that the first two editions of 150 flew out. Out to the photographer behind the project – Brian David Stevens – as well as the publisher / distributor Cafe Royal Books for helping me track down the handful of remaining copies, and of course Awkward Movements crew in London for physically grabbing them and getting them in the mail to us.
Back in 2004, making notice of the predictability of media imagery that adorned the papers day of after Notting Hill Carnival each year, Stevens took his camera down to Carnival. Desiring to capture something other than under dressed Carnival queens or a youth in handcuffs, he turned his camera on to one of our great loves, the mighty sound system.
Stevens is continually exhibiting, with a particularly incredible talent for portraits. And in a similar way to capturing a person’s face that represents what they’re about, he’s taken the personality of street systems and share them through black and white photography.
Published and distributed by the wonderful Cafe Royal Books (CRB), Notting Hill Sound Systems was the latest chapter in a weekly release schedule from the independent publisher. Run by Craig Atkinson from the North West of England, CRB is a remarkable success story, never compromising the quality of their short-run zines, having released over 200 since it’s inception in 2005.
They’ve introduced a subscription service, which is spot-on for those that might forget to check the site often but still appreciate zines turning up in the post occasionally: http://www.caferoyalbooks.com/index.php/information/subscriptions/
Check out some photos below, but unfortunately it might be a bit of a hard hunt to grab a copy of the zine. That said, there seems to be a handful of the boxed screen print sets left, for a higher price tag. Done in association with Tartaruga, you can pick them up here: http://www.tartaruga.co.uk/prints/nottinghillsoundsystems
