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nydiscovery | unterwegs | unterwegs/tech | Social Networking | Elke"s Kitchen

Happy Holidays!

December sky over the East River

Video: Kendra Morris - Concrete Waves

Here's the video for the first single of Kendra's upcoming album. Great song, great locations, like the East Vilage and Coney Island. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cocktails after the Thanksgiving dinner 2008 on board Queen Mary 2.

iPhone Snapshots October 2011

Sunset at 4:45

Emika at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (photos)

These were fantastic two weeks: we saw four of my favorite musicians live. Last was Emika, who recently released my pick of the best album in 2011. She is kind of the polar opposite to Grimes: both women use synthezisers and samplers to play their music solo on stage, but where Grimes is light-hearted, sunny, straight-forward and improvised, Emika's music is much darker, more intense and every frequency seems to be exactly where she wants it to be.

She opened for Amon Tobin, who brought a truck-load full of equipment, including a battery of speakers, which benefitted her sound a lot: her signature bass was literally earth-shattering and when she deviated from her album for a Berlin-style piece of techno, you could feel the beat in your stomach.

After the show Elke and I enjoyed a chat with her. Emika, who currently lives in Berlin, speaks German very well and is a lovely and interesting person (just read one of the many interviews she gave during recent weeks). I hope she makes it to New York City again soon for an opportunity to play her full album in a more initimate setting.

#CMJ2011: Grimes at Shea Stadium (photos)

Shea stadium is a wildly exagerated name for a small recording studio off Bushwick Avenue, nor far from our home. On Thursday we went there for Grimes, on of my favorite musicians and found a textbook Williamsburg hipster party (hosted by YoursTru.ly and Gorilla vs. Bear) with a diverse lineup that kept us awake until 2 am.

For Grimes herself the show was certainly not her best: while on our side the sound was ok, she apparently barely could her herself, grew increasingly frustrated and cut the show short. It was nonetheless an amazing performance: last time we saw her only from the distance at Webster Hall, this time we were right in front of her. She sings, plays keyboard, dances and juggles with mics to record vocal loops live. And while she is proficient in her craft (she toured all over America and Europe in summer), she makes it look improvised, as if she aquired some new skills just yesterday and is eager to show them off to the audience.

Also, kudos to the Nikon D7000: there was next to no light in the room, but we got some great shots, most of them at ISO 6400.

CMJ 2011: Zola Jesus at Knitting Factory

Sometimes things just work out perfectly: Tuesday night, we strolled casually those few blocks down to the Knitting factory, walked in there, right to front center of the stage. The same day Borrowlenses.com delivered a fast 17-55mm zoom lens and that was just the right equipment for the night.

Zola Jesus delivered again a great show, less spooky than the last one we saw at Bowery Ballroom, fitting to the new white color theme and more uplifting mood of her new album, 'Conatus'. Her band was extended by a female violinist, usually something I would roll my eyes to, but in this case it was justified. Nika was in execellent mood, did her now signature stage dive and smiled when she got a marriage offer from the audience (bad luck, she is already married).

Here are some shots of the show:

New Music: Zola Jesus and Emika

There's a lot of amazing music coming from women with electronic instruments these days. One of them is Zola Jesus, who released a bunch of EPs and LPs during the last two years. She's rather on the dark and morbid side, which is why she got the "goth" label, but her latest album "Conatus" signals a departure from that: it's still her unique voice over thick synth lines, but there's a poppier component to it, which may make her appealing to a broader audience.

Live she's accompanied by a four-piece, all male band, who actually plays the synthesizers, rather than using laptops. We'll see her as part of CMJ on October 23rd.

Here's her latest video of "Vessel":

My musical obsession for this year belongs to Emika, though. She is an English musician living in Berlin and has created a collection of mind-blowing songs during the last year or so. It is a unique piece of work: a song may start as an almost R&B pop song, then being torn down by glitchy synth and drum lines, and just before it falls apart, a sub-bass, a melody or her versatile voice pulls it back together. This is music from a dark place and when she releases you with a sick piano outro, you will be tempted to squint in the lights. Emika herself, though, comes over as a rather cheerful music nerd, which makes all this even more charming.

We'll see Emika on October 27th in Brooklyn when she opens for Amon Tobin.

Here is her live performance for 'Pretend':

Update on Things

Hey guys, I wanted to give you a little update and explain things a bit more. I also wanted to open up the guestbook again because this one http://www.fotolog.com/nydiscovery/54018869 reached its capacity. [b]Thank you very much for all your lovely comments! You touched my heart ♥[/b] It was not my decision to quit my job with Fotolog. I started working for Fotolog in June 2004, when there were less than 300,000 members. I saw a lot of people coming and going! I was caring about the site and its members a lot. A lot! So no, I didn't want to leave but my team including myself got laid off. I don't know what the plans are. Let's hope they are smart. Now, I am using my free time to do all the things I never had enough time to do. Like playing guitar, taking pictures, blogging, learning Spanish, working out, writing and painting and so much more! --> Oliver and I started a new photo project on [b]TUMBLR[/b] http://tenyears.nydiscovery.com - [b]Check it out :)[/b] --> I also continue with my [b]Facebook[/b] page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts - [b]See you there :)[/b] --> There's [b]TWITTER[/b] of course: http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc - [b]Follow me :)[/b] --> And don't forget about [b]my own pages[/b] like http://www.nydiscovery.com and http://www.noodlebliss.com I hope you all are doing very well. I truly wish you the very best. [b]With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥[/b]

Farewell!

Disfruté cada momento en Fotolog, desde el día que empezé, en el año 2004. Han sido unos increíbles 6 años y 8 meses! Estoy agradecida por las personas que pude conocer, y contenta por las amistades que he hecho. Les deseo lo mejor, a todos ustedes. Y saben donde pueden encontrarme :) Con muchísimo amor, desde Nueva York, -- Elke♥ ----------------------- Ever since I started this Fotolog journey in 2004, I enjoyed the ride. It has been an amazing 6 years and 8 months! I am grateful for the people I have met and happy about the friends I have made. I wish you guys all the very best. And you know where you can find me :) With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥ See also: http://www.fotolog.com/fotolog/45911355 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc

First Days into 2011... Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To ease into 2011 with style, Oliver and I took yesterday off and strolled through my favorite new neighborhood: Greenpoint! If you think you've seen this photo before, you are right! Two days after my birthday, in October, we took this photo: http://www.fotolog.com/nydiscovery/53345112 and yesterday the one you see here. This morning, on my way to work, I read: [i]"The only person who likes change is a wet baby[/i]", and that's very true. By this day alone though, I know that not only January but 2011 will hold a LOT OF CHANGES! A lot. May they all be interesting! With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc

Good-Bye 2010, you were pretty cool after all...

Where did this year go? It went by so quickly! I liked 2010, it was a good year for me. - 2 trips to Germany and 1 big trip to Brazil and Argentina. - 8 weekends on Fire Island. - More than 30 shows. - New friends, old friends. - 2 x visitors/guests. - I moved into a bigger apartment. - I stayed in my job. - I got a 2nd guitar. - I started garage band recordings. - I started http://www.noodlebliss.com ... and so much more. [b]How was YOUR year? What are your hopes for 2011? In any case, I wish you a VERY HAPPY, HEALTHY and HAPPY NEW YEAR![/b] With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc

Getting Ready For Christmas

See! I'm really busy with x-mas preparations... Okay, Oliver carried the tree home on Saturday, but I helped picking it and I was cheering him up because the tree must have been super heavy because it's over 6 feet tall! As tall as Oliver, 1,85 meters. In addition, you can also see that there's NO SNOW in New York City, which is pretty normal for this time of the year. We rarely have White Christmas - the only time we had that in my 9 years in New York was 2002, otherwise always green! It's cold, very cold, but no snow. It would have snowed had I gotten my guests from Argentina but for all the New York imports, no snow will have to do ;D [b]I'll have interesting guests over for Christmas Eve and as for New York typical from all over the world:[/b] Brazil, Poland, USA (Florida) and Germany. Still trying to get Mexico on board but that's a tough one! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc

Kendra Morris @ Knitting Factory

On Monday, KENDRA MORRIS was bringing down the house at Knitting Factory. For a glimpse of what she's up to, listen to this remix: Do it! http://kendramorrismusic.com Have you done so? What do you think? Groovy, huh? As always, I am extremely busy before Christmas. Sent all the gifts to Germany off already. Am in the middle of writing x-mas letters. Planning the x-mas menu, etc. etc. And I am dealing with snow too ;D [i][b]How about y[/i]ou?[/b] [b]My top 8 albums of 2010 - part 1[/b] http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2010/12/14/my-top-8-favorite-albums-of-2010-part-1.html With lots of love from New York -- Elke♥ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elke-Nominikat/280325623236?ref=ts http://www.twitter.com/elkenyc

Monday - Pasta and Chicken

Remember? My "smart cooking" from Sunday evening? http://www.fotolog.com/elkes_kitchen/32755305 On Monday, I used part of the past from Sunday, but one step after the other. I cut an onion, glaze it, add chicken stripes, season them, cook them. Once the chicken is done, I remove half for it to have the base for another dinner on Tuesday. Then I add a little white wine and sun dried tomatoes (that were soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes) together with their liquid to the chicken and the onions. Eventually, I add some cut endive and the cooked spaghetti from Sunday. Everything cooks through for a couple of minutes, seasoned with some herbs and black pepper - ready! Bon Appetit!

Sunday - Pasta Marinara with Littleneck Clams

Those who know me, know that I cook from scratch. Well, not fully. I do buy pasta (always Barilla or freshly made one) and canned tomatoes (preferably diced without any further additions) but that's about it. My latest personal challenge is to bring great home made food to the table without spending too much time in the kitchen. Hey, after all it's summer! I want to enjoy the outdoors too. So, on Sunday I've ordered through freshdirect.com fresh, beautifully pre-cleaned local littleneck clams. Less work! I cooked a whole box of pasta and divided it in 2 portions, that way I had a base for yesterday's dinner (which I'll blog about tomorrow). Then I heated olive oil in a pan, put thinly cut onions in there, after a while I added the tomatoes, fresh Basil from my herb garden, little salt, much ground pepper and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. In a pot, I once again heated olive oil, added onions, some white whine and the cleaned clams and cooked them for about 7 minutes while shaking the pot with its lid on. Then, everything was done! The spaghetti cooked, the sugo reduced, the clams ready. I put the pasta onto two plates, gave the sugo on top, the clams around it and the wine-mussel broth on top of it all. Voila! Tomorrow, I'll show you what I prepared with the rest of the pasta. So, come back :) Gracias!

ATTENTION Vegetarians! Please close your eyes and continue browsing somewhere else...

Two Cornish Hen that I've prepared a week ago, to brighten Oliver's weekend which he spent working! Stay tuned, there's a picture of the "end result" too...

Last week I've had such a craving for paella, that I bought some nice saffron, and brown rice to make it healthier and cooked my own "quick" Paella. It had chicken and fresh shrimp in it. I also spiced it up with sun dried tomatoes, capers, green peppercorns and a lot of onions of course. It was insanely delicous. I froze 2/3 of it and yesterday we've had a nother bit of the paella which still tasted delicious.

To see what's in my or other people's fridge, please visit the FOTOLOG FOTOHUNT
http://www.fotolog.com/contest_main.html?cid=16
It's NEW and it's COOL :D

All pictures

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Jenny Lee Lindberg and Emily Kokal of Warpaint at the Orgeon Country Fair 2011

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Anna Calvi at Bowery Ballroom

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Katie Stelmanis of Austra at Mercury Lounge, NYC

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Theresa Wayman of Warpaint at Bowery Ballroom, NYC

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Passing the Gatún Locks into the Panama Canal was the highlight of our Queen Victoria cruise. It is a very special place, in the middle of nowhere, yet a hotspot of international ship traffic.

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Emily Kokal of Warpaint at Bowery Ballroom, NYC.

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No other drummer is so much fun to watch like Stella Mozgawa

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Jennifer Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa at the Brooklyn Bowl