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READ

Wax Poetics


When vinyl collector Andre Torres realized that there were no magazines dedicated to similar minded crate-digging scavengers, he decided to create one himself. With a focus on hip-hop viewed through the lens of its reverent origins in jazz, soul, funk, and the like, Wax Poetics established itself as, according to The New York Times, “the best and most exquisitely laid-out music bimonthly in America.” However, circulation stopped in 2016 when Torres departed the publication to join Universal Music Enterprises. Luckily, five years later, two enthusiastic fans resuscitated Wax Poetics via Kickstarter, bringing it back into print. The latest issue is a cover-to-cover joy to dig into. Edited by Jesse Serwer, it features an exceptional story on Japanese icons Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Haruomi Hosono from Yellow Magic Orchestra. Additionally, select issues from Wax Poetics’ back catalogue are available to purchase by print-on-demand. (from $23.99, waxpoetics.com) —Spike Carter

SHOOT

Vivitar 4K Camcorder


At a wedding last month, the bride and groom asked me to take a video or two on a handheld camera—easy enough, I thought. I was a bit surprised, though, that when I was walking into the ceremony, the wedding planner stopped me in my tracks, handed me a camcorder, and informed me that I would serve as the videographer for the day’s proceedings. This was slightly more than I had bargained for, and all I could think about was how my shaky hands and heavy breathing would ruin the video. I quickly settled in, my hands steadied, and I realized that the home-movie approach is quite a charming way to record the big day. For your nuptials, consider skipping the professionals and try out the Vivitar 4K. ($99, amazon.com) Michael Pescuma

CUT

Victorinox


If you’re on the hunt for a sleek Japanese knife that seamlessly slices meat, fish, and vegetables, look no further. The Wood Santoku Knife, by Victorinox, has a fluted-edge blade and is favored by none other than Daniel Humm, the chef behind New York’s fabled three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park. Humm brought a set with him when he moved to the United States from Switzerland. “When I was young and starting to get into cooking,” he says, “my parents gifted me a Victorinox knife case. It’s been my go-to knife ever since.” ($89, victorinox.com) —Elena Clavarino

DINE

Cha Cha Tang


Earlier this summer, Hancock Street, a Viennese restaurant in Greenwich Village, turned into Cha Cha Tang on Sunday and Monday nights. The Hong Kong–style diner—which serves classics such as scallion pancakes and egg rolls, as well as more experimental dishes, like caviar canapé and macaroni soup with Spam wontons—was a success. So much so that Hancock Street is now permanently becoming Cha Cha Tang. The collaboration between John McDonald—the restaurateur behind Hancock Street, Lure Fishbar, and Bowery Meat Company—and Wilson Tang, the force who restored Chinatown’s Nom Wah Tea Parlor, will start with dinner. Luckily, their brunch service is just a few weeks away. (chachatang.com) —Jensen Davis

SHOP

M.II


On London’s Chiltern Street, just a few steps from AIR MAIL’s Shreeji newsstand, Maria Lemos has been delighting the fashion set at her boutique, Mouki Mou, for the past 11 years. Now she has opened M.II just down the block, which offers men’s wear as well. Lemos has sourced all kinds of tempting clothing and accessories from designers including Oliver Church, Arts & Science, Extreme Cashmere, Unkruid, and Rier. The shop mixes in glassware from Vogel Studio, home fragrances from Tennen Studio, and beauty products from the Naxos Apothecary. The formula for a perfect day in London, you ask? Coffee and magazine shopping at Shreeji, a late lunch at the Chiltern Firehouse, and an afternoon racking up AmEx points at Mouki Mou and M.II. You’re welcome. (wallpaper.com) —Ashley Baker

WEAR

Layover Goods


Jonathan Brandstein will give you the T-shirt off his back, which is what he did recently when a shopkeeper in St. Barth’s admired his Air Guyane one. The shirts that elicit such longing are from Brandstein’s Layover Goods. They bear the names of distant and often defunct airlines—Safi and Ariana of Afghanistan, East Pakistan Helicopter Service, and Cameroon—along with those of far-flung hotels and nightclubs from the 70s and 80s, including Le Krypton in Paris. The fonts are distinctive, and shirts are deliberately faded, as if you traded your Levi’s for one at a café where they also just might sell hashish. Brandstein, a Hollywood talent agent by day, travels to Mali, Timbuktu, Kabul, and Cuba for kicks, even when those kicks put him in peril. “Travelers wear them like a badge,” he says. As much as I covet each one, I’m happy to say, My friend went to Yemen and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. ($29.50, layovergoods.com) —Linda Wells

Issue No. 266
August 17, 2024
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Issue No. 266
August 17, 2024