⭐️📸𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄: 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐎 𝐁𝐘 𝐊𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆📸⭐️

In my previous posts, I’ve already talked to you about some great photographers who worked with Placebo during their career. Today, I’m going to introduce you to another one, 𝑲𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈.
The series of iconic Placebo photos, one of which is shared below, were taken by Kevin in London on 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟖.

Photo credit: Kevin Westenberg, 1998

💥There’s a specific reason I decided to talk to you about this picture now. On 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟑𝟎𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, Kevin Westenberg’s photography 𝐄𝐗𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 entitled ‘𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐗’ runs at 𝑨𝒈𝒏𝒆̀𝒔 𝑩. shop on Marylebone High Street in London, and this photo, beautifully framed, is proudly presented to the audience😍


As for his work with Placebo, the photographer recalled:
📢"In their time, one of the most exciting LIVE bands around. Not Britpop. Not RAWWWWK. Some sort of hybrid which manifests through Brian especially when he opens his mouth in interviews. That stage presence and energy radiating from these guys was infectious. This was and still may just be reflected in their fan base who are rabid in the best way possible. I was hired numerous times over the years not only by the music press but also by Hut Records and by the band themselves. The goal always was to elevate the imagery as high as possible given the budget limitations and the limitations of my own skill set from back in these days of chaos. Over the years, we didn’t always get it right due to various extenuating external events but when it worked well, It was absolutely great. Always happy with those times. This is essentially a microcosm of what my job was, creating these icon moments to have the public notice and then purchase the music. Of all the shots we took over the years, this set were for me, peak Placebo. This series were the most direct, graphic and memorable of all. This was part of the massive shoot we did for their album ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ which was a breakthrough.”

Photo credit: Kevin Westenberg, 1998

⭐️Indeed, it wasn’t Kevin Westenberg’s only photoshoot with Placebo. For example, he did a perfect job for 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 album and singles sleeve artwork. Also, you should remember some great pictures of 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 wearing his ‘𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’ top from the same time.


I hope it’s going to be interesting for you to learn more about the artist.
⭐️𝐊𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆, an American-born, London-based photographer, is renowned for his provocative, electrifying images of world-class musicians, artists. and movie stars for over 25 years. His technique of lighting, colour, and composition has helped to produce his own unique visual style. This electricity, however, has its origin in Kevin’s lifelong romance with the adventure of rock and roll.


▪️Meeting Elvis Presley on the film set of ’It Happened at the World’s Fair’ at the age of 4, ensured that Kevin would always be deeply moved by music and musicians. He grew up listening to the fabulous artists of the 60’s and 70’s as The Stones, The Who, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley. Westenberg joined his generation in the psychedelic exploration of music, life, and light. A decade of passion and decadence helped inspire a photographic style. Architecture school brought a new dimension to his life and after 8 years, he gained a master’s degree. But British punk in the early eighties was irresistible to him and he moved to Europe. He bought his first camera in Denmark, started practicing on fashion models in Barcelona and then, moved to London where he’s been based since 1983.


▪️Westenberg is self-taught and learned his trade working for New Musical Express and Melody Maker mainly throughout the late 80’s and 90’s documenting amongst others the UK Britpop bands. The breakthrough came in 1993-1994 with the release of Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales and Mary J Blige’s Share My World. These two album covers changed the perception of Kevin’s work worldwide and thus began a run of 20 years of commissions and great opportunities.

Photo credit: Kevin Westenberg, 1998

▪️For the last 25 years, he created stunning photographs of Radiohead, White Stripes, Jane’s Addiction, Sting, Bjork, Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, Nine Inch Nails, The Pixies, Michael Stipe, U2, Mary J. Blige, R.E.M, Black Sabbath, Massive Attack, BB King, The Rolling Stones, PJ Harvey, Marilyn Manson, Placebo, Oasis, Tom Jones, Soundgarden, Bon Jovi and Coldplay among many others.

▪️Also included are hundreds of album, single, magazine and book covers from all over the world.

▪️Kevin has also worked with creatives from the performing arts such as David Lynch, Luc Besson, The Coen Brothers, Billy Bob Thornton, Sean Penn, Jean Luc Godard, Ethan Hawke, Nicole Kidman, Tom Stoppard, and the late Alan Rickman.
(𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒: 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑣𝑒.𝑐𝑜𝑚, 𝑠𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠.𝑐𝑜𝑚)

⭐️𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏...⭐️
📸“𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐗, the new exhibition, serves as a reintroduction of the Westenberg oeuvre of images for a new audience at the special invitation of the French clothing line Agnes B. Sixteen years after ‘Idyll Worship’, Westenberg’s debut exhibition, introduced the work to the world, Technological advancements of scanning and modern printing methods, have now been implemented to create a whole new series of photographs from across all eras. Coming soon to the Agnes B Marylebone shop arranged over three floors in the heart of London. Additionally, the never before seen Polaroid’s, add a new depth and historic appreciation of the work and it’s place within the history of Rock & Roll.”


📢𝐊𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠: “Unveiled here for the first time, the full poster image for the upcoming collaborative exhibition at the Agnes B. shop in the heart of Marylebone, London. The main image of the 30 Polaroid’s, which I’m calling the Polaroid’s Wall is a new addition to the repertoire of images. Thousands of polaroid’s which I had kept in shoeboxes from the very beginning were scanned and edited down to these 30. There was no one particular reason for these 30; just to provide an overview of the variety of artists I had the pleasure of working with over the years. […]

Photo credit: Kevin Westenberg, 1998

📢𝐊𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠: “The [opening] night was indeed a full circle experience given back in mid-80’s I started my photo life in a tiny one room studio flat on Marylebone Lane, now long gone. The photos themselves fit in perfectly with the clothing and general atmosphere even better than I and the staff expected. We’re all thrilled.”
(@kevinwestenberg IG)


If you live in London or are lucky enough to be accidentally visiting the city these days, don’t miss the exhibition! And share your impression with us!😍
I wish I could attend it myself.


⭐️I think, listening to the song from the same era as the photoshoot can make your read more pleasant. So, I’m choosing 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐌𝐄 from 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈’𝐦 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, "a thrilling record […] made by freaks, for freaks.” (𝑁𝑀𝐸, 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 1998)
This performance was recorded at the Octagon Centre, Sheffield, UK, on October 17th, 1998.
❓Is there anyone of you who’s been at this show, by the way?


𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐞, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞, 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟖
➡ https://bit.ly/3MTDlBq

Post by Olga

⭐𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐕 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑⭐

You may like it or not, but with the upcoming Placebo album, we can see some of the newest band’s images distorted one way or another. But it’s not the first time Placebo go for unusual visual effects, is it?

Photo credits: Nadav Kander (2005); Kander’s notes - Jake Hicks Photography / edit by Olga

Today, I want to talk to you about 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐯 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫, a prominent photographer whose pictures are behind a brilliant artwork for 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐒: the album and singles’ covers became doubtlessly recognizable and truly iconic. (Here, we must not forget a digital artist Antony Crossfield as well!)
On Nadav Kander’s Instagram account, there’s an image used for the 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞 single cover with the following words:
📢 “Always loved working with the band Placebo. I was just thinking of Brian Molko so posted this. He’s always thinking about what’s next. How we can push this further.” (𝑁𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑣 𝐾𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟’𝑠 𝐼𝐺, 𝑁𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 3𝑟𝑑, 2018)

Now, I’d like to pay your attention to probably less known series of photographs for 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐒 taken by 𝐍𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐯 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. Placebo let his distinctive personal style be revealed in those images to the full – which is a great sign of respect for the artist.

Widely regarded as one of the finest photographers of our time, 𝐍𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐕 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 is renowned for his uncompromising and evocative images which cut to the heart of the human condition.

“𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍. 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌; 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏.” – Nadav Kander

Photo credit: Nadav Kander

🔸Nadav Kander is a London-based photographer, artist and director, known for his portraiture and landscapes. Kander has produced a number of books and had his work exhibited widely. He received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society in 2015, and won the Prix Pictet award.

🔸Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, when he was two, his parents moved the family to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he would remain for the rest of his childhood.

🔸Kander’s introduction to the possibilities of photography came during his formative years through his father, an airline pilot who had purchased an Iconoflex and captured hundreds of photos of the family’s road trips. At the age of thirteen, Kander purchased his first camera.

🔸He left school in his late teens, and, as was mandated for all white male citizens in South Africa, was drafted into national service. He chose the airforce and was fortunate enough to be employed in a darkroom, printing aerial photographs. It was here that his ambition to become a photographer was truly established.

Photo credit: Nadav Kander

🔸In 1981, then aged 21, Nadav Kander left for London where his photography career began in earnest.
Renowned for his portraiture, he has photographed some of the most prominent figures from across art, sport and politics. The series entitled Obama’s People includes fifty-two portraits of the (then) President and his most trusted staff and members of the administration.

🔸Kander is best known for his Yangtze - The Long River series, for which he earned the Prix Pictet Prize. Dense architecture gives way to mountains in the upper reaches towards the river's Tibetan source. The photographs are dominated by immense architectural structures where humans are shown as small in their environment. Figures are dwarfed by landscapes of half completed bridges and colossal Western-style apartment blocks that are rapidly replacing traditional Chinese low-rise buildings and houseboats.

🔸Nadav Kander’s works are now held in the permanent collections of, amongst others, The National Portrait Gallery, in London; Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Photography and, The Art Gallery of New South Wales.
(𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠: 𝑊𝑖𝑘𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃ℎ𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟)

You can see more of Nadav Kander’s work on his website:
https://www.nadavkander.com/

Post by Olga

💥𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 & 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨💥

✨𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑳𝑨𝑩𝑶𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕✨

Photo credit: Hayley Madden

Dear soulmates,
As you may remember, we already shared many great interviews with very special persons connected in some way to Placebo – photographers, musicians, producers, directors etc. – done by 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂 for her 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭.
As soon as the 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 is just turning 5, there comes new exciting stuff to celebrate the anniversary

In collaboration with 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, we’re going to exclusively publish the upcoming interviews immediately, so you have no chance to miss them!
Congratulations and big THANK YOU to Anastasiya for her impressive work full of genuine love to our favourite band!

And now, enjoy the newest 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 with 𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍, a documentary photographer who did photo shoots for musicians and bands such as Garbage, Foo Fighters, PJ Harvey and many others. In 1996 she took some pictures of Placebo for 𝑵𝑴𝑬.

Photo credit: Hayley Madden

𝐇𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍: "𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐄"
𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: Hi, Hayley. Thank you for finding time for this interview! Had you met the band or listen to their music before this photo shoot? Did you have something like a certain image in your head about Placebo?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: I had not met the band before, but I had seen them in concert. I certainly listened to their music and I loved their sound, and of course their style. I try not to have a preconceived image of any band before I shoot them, but it's hard when lots of good photos are around not to be influenced, especially if they are the band everyone is talking about – which they were when I got commissioned to do the shoot. They were all very striking in looks and style, so I knew that not much work would be needed to make them look good.

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: Can you tell me about the photo shoot. For what print media did you take these pictures?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: The commission was a feature for NME, a British weekly newspaper. It was a big deal for me as I was the new kid on the block, but all the other photographers were already busy (it was Britpop). It was a double page feature, and the interview had already been done. I usually try to sit in on the interviews to get to know the band a bit but there was no opportunity for that on this occasion.

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: Why did you take black and white pictures? Or was it necessary for this certain shoot?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: NME was one of the last papers to go fully colour and this feature was scheduled for black and white. Converting colour film to black and white gives poor results, especially if it is going to newsprint, and black and white film has much more range artistically, so if a commission was a black and white shoot I always shot on black and white film. Also we did not have big budgets to work with, so we had to shoot economically. I rolled my own film and processed it and printed it in my bathroom overnight which most of the music news photographers did then to avoid expensive overnight processing lab fees. Of course if Photoshop had been readily available I would have shot colour and processed it digitally. I do think Placebo are a 'black and white' image band though!

Photo credit: Hayley Madden

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: What can you say about the location for this session?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: It was in Liverpool, an old theatre called the Lomax where the band were playing that evening. The band did not want to go outside, but we did have the run of the whole theatre. I had location lights with me, but they needed power, so in the end it came down to shooting in the only room which had some spare electric sockets. Unfortunately every time I took a shot it fused the whole theatre. The stage crew were very accommodating and obligingly reset the fuse box each time I took a shot, but it did make for a very stilted shoot.

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: What was the most interesting in working on this photo shoot?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: Definitely the chance to meet the band. They were extremely patient but I did not get a great variety of images as the circumstances were so limiting. That is why I put the prints in water afterwards, bent them and shot the effect, so I got a bit more variety for the picture editor to choose from. I think it suited the band to have something out of the ordinary – I could not have pulled this off with Oasis or Pulp for example – but it was totally out of necessity rather than a preplanned artistic decision.

Photo credit: Hayley Madden

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: What were your impressions from the mutual work with Placebo? Would you like to work with them again?
𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧: Despite all the fuss around them at the time they seemed to have their heads screwed on and their feet on the ground. They were quiet and reserved, which was very different to the more boisterous and sensational Britpop bands at the time. They also came over as very private and they were all definitely 'outsiders'. Having said that they were not at all pretentious or difficult, they were very professional and a pleasure to work with. I really liked them and was sorry the shoot had so many technical problems. So yes, it would be great to work with them again and actually have a chance to photograph them under less pressured circumstances.
(𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑏𝑜 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡, 2021)

Your Placebo Anyway Team
Post by Olga

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄: 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨

Two weeks ago I started talking to you about 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬, a French photographer who worked with Placebo since the late ‘90s. As previous time I showed you a beautiful picture of Brian taken during the concert in Paris, so now let’s enjoy this playful studio photo of the band from 2000.
Also, I’d like to share an ✨𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖✨with Robin François in which he tells about his collaboration with the band, impressions on Brian’s style and meeting Robert Smith at the Placebo afterparty in Wembley.

Photo credit: Robin François

📍"𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄"📍
𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚: Robin, thank you for your participation. Firstly, I would like to ask you about photo shoots with Brian Molko and Placebo. When and where did you meet for the first time?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: … I met Placebo so many times that I don't remember which one was exactly the first. Apparently, I got acquainted with them on Black Sessions, on France Inter radio where they were giving a promo-show in support of the release of their first album in summer of 1997.

𝐀𝐋: How many photo shoots do you have with Brian and the band?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: There were really a lot of photo shoots. But I should specify that it includes not only complete photo shoots at studio. I often took pictures of them on stage, backstage, in breaks between interviews, here, in France, and in London… It's too difficult to divide all this into certain categories.

𝐀𝐋: Can you remember the most remarkable moment of your collaboration with Placebo? What impressions do you have about your mutual work?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: One day during their show at Wembley, Robert Smith from The Cure joined them. It was pretty amusing to see them at the after party. They turned out to be good friends. I had taken several photos with them together and Brian kept them afterwards.

𝐀𝐋: What can you say about Brian's images for photo shoots? In your opinion, what was the most interesting?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: I think it will not be a revelation but the most interesting thing in work with Brian is his androgyny which creates a special, one of a kind person. His image became a symbol for ‘90s generation.

Photo credit: Robin François

𝐀𝐋: As a photographer, what photo shoots do you like making with musicians? Portrait photo shoots at the studio or photo shoots of live shows?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: Unfortunately, since every smartphone is equipped with a high quality camera and everybody can post pictures in real time, live show photography became less popular among professional photographers. Anyway, at live shows a photographer serves as an onlooker imprinting what is happening on stage. Portrait shoots are a different story. Only in this context a real chemistry appears between a photographer and a model. Also there is an opportunity to instantly change set (light, decorations) and anticipate a final result. For me a portrait is in the first place reciprocation.

𝐀𝐋: Now the band is celebrating their Twenty's anniversary. What can you say about Brian and Stefan – now have they changed through the ages?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: In the beginning of their career lots of people thought that Placebo was a fashion phenomenon of that period. Nevertheless, they succeed to stay afloat and develop their talent in the long-term listening to emerging trends and, at the same time, keeping their authenticity.

𝐀𝐋: I saw on your website that you had taken photos of David Bowie as well. What do you think about Placebo collaboration with David Bowie?
📢𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜̧𝐨𝐢𝐬: It was Brian's dream came true.
(𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑏𝑜 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡, 2017)

Photo credit: Robin François

🎶𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨 - 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈𝐐 (𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐂𝐌 𝐂𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟏)
👉https://bit.ly/2Om1OD6

Post by Olga

Story behind a picture: Photographer Alfred Steffen exclusively for Placebo Anyway

In 2013, Brian Molko participated in a project called „𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚" which was commissioned to German photographer 𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻 by 𝗦𝗨̈𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗨𝗧𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘 𝗭𝗘𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗚

𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻.Alfred Steffen photographed 160 interviews without word for
SZ-Magazine, including celebrities Lenny Kravitz and Katy Perry, as well as various politicians and other art people.

𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻
https://bit.ly/2XT43D6

And here is a link to the whole very interesting interview of SZ-Magazin from May 2019, where the photographer answers questions about this long-term project. It's a very interesting read, if you do not speak German you can use a google translator as me. Unfortunately, there is no mention of Brian at all, but that is understandable.

https://bit.ly/3gUzOmI

💥💥💥 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗻.💗

Mr. Steffen read our post on Instagram and responded to my remark that unfortunately we have no information about Brian's photo shoot. He was very kind and wrote his wonderful memories in a comment.💗

Let's enjoy it together, dear Soulmates.
************

ALFRED STEFFEN:
"Dear Marti, hello folks.
That's a very nice contribution, thank you.
In my memory it was like this with the Brian shoot:
I had the appointment in a hotel suite in Berlin, the Soho House Berlin.
The record company had blocked some rooms and I was able to build my set in peace.
At some point Brian came into the room and we had a connection within a very short time. I explained how it works. And let's go.
Brian was extremely quick and creative, really extraordinary. No stumbling or thinking about it.
He needed the dress for an answer; someone got it from another room.
In the short break I smoked my e-cigarette, Brian tried to puff a few puffs through the tilted window in the hotel room, which was not allowed to smoke.
It was weird. He was a little jealous and asked me to recommend an initial set of e-smoking equipment.
I think my supplier thought that was very cool and then sent something to Brian.
But I never heard how it went on.
At the end of the session, 20 questions - 20 answer photos, we checked all the images on the computer, all perfect, no corrections necessary - and that was clearly due to Brian's creative and self-confident attitude."
💥💥💥

A short preview of the long interview:

🔸🔸🔸 𝗦𝗭-𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻: 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Alfred Steffen: Sure, my cell phone rang 13 years ago, at the other end was my photo editor Eva Fischer and told me that SZ-Magazin was planning a new section, an "interview without words", only with gestures and facial expressions. She said there was a role model: the illustrated book The Frenchman, which the legendary portrait and fashion photographer Philippe Halsman made in 1949 with the French actor Fernandel. Then I knew what she meant because I knew the book and had given it to assistants over and over again.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄?
Jürgen Trittin. The questions were great, for example: "Can you open a bra clasp with one hand?" Unfortunately, he looked the same in all photos, he always tilted his head slightly and made a pointed mouth. I suggested that he answer the questions again in a second round when one of his employees called that he had to be in the Bundestag in ten minutes, an important vote. Then it was clear that the shoot had to be moderated more strongly and the celebrities had to be given the chance to take a little time for the answers. And that's how we did it, until today.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟲𝟬 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼?
I don't talk so much anymore, but let the question sink in and wait to see what happens. You have to endure the silence, but it is often worth it. If someone still doesn't have an answer after a minute, I ask: Okay, what do you want to express? Most of the time a chat develops like this, at the end of which there is an idea. If that doesn't help either, I suggest a gesture, which always leads to the other person saying: Okay, thank you, but I have another better idea. Is a psychological trick. Nobody wants to do what is suggested to them.🔸🔸🔸

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 "𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗼"
https://bit.ly/31L7ddi

Can you imagine the photographer's collaboration with Brian? How difficult was it for Brian to express the question with a gesture? The photos look very playful and immediate, Brian confirmed his creativity and acting talent.

🙌Marti💗

Credits: all photos by Alfred Steffen / pic 1 - edit by Marti

Story behind a picture: Photographer Alvaro Villarrubia

📸 Let's talk about the "new old pictures" shared by Spanish photographer, fashionista and transgressor ALVARO VILLARRUBIA PHOTOGRAPHER


He worked with 🔹 Placebo 🔹 on a shooting in 2004 for the MTV Magazine.

🗯 We would like to tell you a bit more about Alvaro.
He definitely does his work on his own way, different to other photographers as we can see on each of his pictures!


👨‍🎤He started in the 80s with pop stars shootings, album covers and concert posters.
A lots of fashion and movie stars 🎬 wanted him because of his eccentric and unusual way of working, using a fancy way in creating the scenographic elements and fantasy accessories to give live to creatures out of our world.


We can see his work on uncountables numbers of 📰 magazines covers, not only Spanishs like El Mundo and El País España, Neo2 Magazine, Rolling Stone (España) or Metrópolis, he also worked for magazine outside of Spain like Vogue France, Corriere della Sera Italy, JAM Rusia, Art in America U.S.A. or 🗞 Vanity Fair.

To finish our short biography about Mr. Villarrubia we want to mention the celebs who chose him for photo shoots.


In Spain musicians and movie stars like: Miguel Bosé, Tino Casal 👩‍🎤 Alaska (Alaska y Mario / FANGORIA) (*friend with Stefan Olsdal), Marta Sánchez or actresses like Rossy de Palma or Carmen Maura, in the 80/90.


Nowadays, famous young Spanish actors, like Miguel Angel Silvestre, Paco León, Sergio Peris-Mencheta Oficial or Juan Jose Ballesta wanted him for a shooting.


Outside of Spain we can find people from television, actors, singers and bands like PLACEBO. 🎸


He also had fun working with Robbie Williams 🧑‍🎤 Duran Duran, Spice Girls, RuPaul, Dita Von Teese, Gloria Gaynor or Boy George & Culture Club, fashion designers 🧵 like Jean Paul Gaultier and the late David Delfín. Some ballet dancers like the famous flamenco dancer Joaquin Cortes 🕺 was also in front of his camera.

Read the complete biography 🤓 and check out some of his wonderful work on these pages:

 
👉 Alvaro Villarrubia on Facebook

👉Alvaro Villarrubia on Instagram 


📷 Photo credits: @alvarovillarrubia.photography
Placebo 2004 - MTV Magazine

Post by Susie Bosco

STORY BEHIND A PICTURE: the sensory overload

"When we step out on to the stage there's a bit of a sensory overload at first and it's almost like a car crash in slow motion, when your life flashes before your eyes … It kind of takes 20 minutes for things to settle and to feel completely comfortable with that sensory overload."

“It's having to prove yourself again and it's having to prove yourself worthy. But it's very good because it really gets in the way of ever becoming complacent. I'm quite pleased for the insecurity and nerves because if I didn't have it then I would really start to question whether or not there was anything vital left."
(Rolling Stone, Go Behind the Scenes With Placebo, October 21, 2013)

This picture is one of the shots taken by Joseph Llanes at The Wiltern Theatre (see the info down below) in Los Angeles on October 18th, 2013, where Placebo played one of their first shows in the US after not stepping there for six years. Can you imagine how exciting it was both for the fans and the band?! The concerts in New York and Los Angeles were a part of Loud Like Love tour in honor of Placebo then latest release.
The quotes above come from the “behind the scenes” interview while Brian was getting ready for the show in the dressing room downstairs The Wiltern.
To catch some special moments of the night, the Rolling Stone magazine engaged Joseph Llanes, a photographer who also worked with the band on Loud Like Love album shooting (which I told you about last week).

“…LLLA” is read below the picture of The Wiltern shared on @placeboworld IG just a few hours before the show. Were they going to be Loud Like Los Angeles?..
The show was opened with B3 followed by For What It’s Worth and Too Many Friends, but I can’t find them recorded from that day. Let’s listen to Twenty Years instead that seems to be a moment of starting to ‘feel comfortable’ according to Brian.

Placebo - Twenty Years, The Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles CA, October 18, 2013
♫ https://bit.ly/3fQbNfz ♫


🔹VENUE INFO: THE WILTERN THEATER🔹

The Wiltern Theatre received the name from its location: the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.
The magnificent interior of The Wiltern evokes a period of elegance and style simply not found anywhere in today's modern venues. The entrance is set back among colorful terrazzo paving, and its Art Deco design contains decorative tile work along with colorful murals. The most dramatic element of the overall design is the sunburst on the ceiling of the auditorium, with each ray representing its own Art Deco skyscraper.

Originally built in 1931 in Los Angeles, the Wiltern was designed by the city's oldest architectural firm as a vaudeville and movie theater. After a big renovation started in 1981, while the whole unique vintage style was carefully kept, the venue was converted into a performing arts center that could host live concerts and Broadway-level stage performances.

With 1850 seating or 2300 standing room capacity, the Wiltern remains one of the largest theaters in Los Angeles.
Dear soulmates, I hope you’ve got to know something new from today’s story. Now, back to the quote by Brian I started with… I think those words could only be said by a person whose feelings about everything he shares with the audience are extremely deep and true.
What do you think of this Brian’s reflections?

Photo credits: Joseph Llanes
Post by Olga

STORY BEHIND A PICTURE: Loud Like Love photoshoot at Vasquez Rocks

Many of you surely remember some stunning images from Loud Like Love packaging revealed in 2013. It was Los Angeles photographer Joseph Llanes who worked on the pictures for Placebo seventh studio album.

An extremely beautiful location, Vasquez Rocks, was chosen for this photoshoot so, the result appeared to be breathtaking. 

On May 18, 2013, Joseph Llanes shared this photo on his IG account with the following message: “The band that started my music career. Best shoot of the year so far. Can't wait for the new album.”

PHOTOSHOOT LOCATION INFO

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is a 377-hectare park located in the Sierra Pelona Mountains in northern Los Angeles County, California. It is widely known for distinctive rock formations repeatedly used as a filming location.

The prominent rock formation has been nicknamed "Kirk's Rock" due to being featured in several Star Trek episodes, each time representing a different planet. It was also featured in an episode of Star Trek: Picard, in a scene identified as taking place at that real location.

A small hint: do you remember that Stefan has once got a nickname ‘Volcano’ from his bandmates – just as the Star Trek character?

In 1935, Vasquez Rocks was used as a filming location to portray Tibet on the famous Hollywood horror movie Werewolf of London.

Feature films shot at Vasquez Rocks include Dante's Peak, Hot Shots! Part Deux, Rustlers' Rhapsody, The Flintstones, Blazing Saddles, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Free Enterprise, Paul, and Hail, Caesar!

Television shows include Zorro, The Fugitive, F Troop, The A-Team, MacGyver and G.L.O.W.

Commercials for Taco Bell, Bank of America, Pacific Bell, Pepsi, and Nike have been filmed at the rocks.

Musicians Radiohead, Michael Jackson, Greta Van Fleet, 311, Eddie Money, Sammy Kershaw, Restless Heart, Lee Tae-min, and BTS have made music videos there.

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is open from sunrise to sunset for outdoor activities. It is also a popular place for hosting so called Star Parties. Those are gatherings of amateur astronomers for the purpose of observing objects and events in the sky which sometimes last up to a week or longer and attract hundreds or even thousands of participants.

Joseph Llanes:

“I believe that the person I’m photographing should be put at ease, so my goal is to earn their trust.”

“I love cultivating relationships and recognizing the talents of others and putting them to good use. At the end of the day, my goal is for everyone to feel a part of something and to be proud of the images that were created.”

(Directory of Illustration) 

No doubt, both Placebo and photographer are proud of their collaboration outcomes.

Photo credits: @josephllanes

Post by Olga