Category Archives: Hedonism

Thought festival season was all about hangovers and dodgy burgers? Try these out if youre after a different kind of six pack.

One of the mantras of covetable Vancouver activewear brand is Sweat. Once a day. Or maybe two or three times. Its certainly putting its money where its mouth is with Sweatlife, as attendees can opt to take a whole bunch of classes from boutique gyms including Barrys Bootcamp, The Foundry, Psycle and KoBox, presumably while wearing a whole lot of very enviable lycra. If even the thought of that wears you out, there are plenty of lower-key yoga classes on offer, along with talks on everything from learning to breathe to building a business. Today 9am-7pm, Tobacco Dock, London. 30, thesweatlife.co.uk

Hedonism meets health with this three-day escape in the Kent countryside. Fill your days with kickboxing, spinning, yoga and paddle-boarding, but save some energy for night after-parties from Groove Armadas Tom Findlay, Danny Howard and Jessica Skye will keep the good vibes going into the wee hours. For food, forget greasy chip vans everything from vegan kebabs to Mediterranean street food is on offer here. And if campings not your bag you can rest your weary muscles in their pop-up hotel. 28-31 July, The Pinetum at St Clere estate, Kent. Tickets from 140, lovefitfestival.com

If you thought this Welsh festival couldnt get back to nature enough, it has a dedicated section Nature Nurture to help you keep your ear to the ground. With dedicated treatments, gong baths, yoga and Pilates classes and some restorative hot tubs, it is just far enough on the luxurious side of hippy dippy to help you destress and unwind. 17-20 August, Brecon Beacons, Wales. Tickets sold out, but visit greenman.twickets.co.uk for resales.

Probably the most chilled-out festival you will ever go to Soul Circus has you feeling zen from the get-go. Mix energising rocket yoga with more restorative sessions, with a lot of music to keep you entertained in between. You can opt to go for full-on my body is a temple mode if you like, or reward your zen state with local craft beer or natural wine, and an intimate supper club. 18-20 August, Elmore, The Cotswolds. Tickets from 69, soulcircus.yoga

There is so much in the way of wellbeing at this festival that you would be forgiven for never making it to the main stage. Neals Yard treatments, yoga, Pilates and barre classes and paddleboard yoga are all hot favourites, or step out of your comfort zone with some meditation and Qoya wild woman dancing. There is even a Deliciously Ella supper club, so you can carry on those good intentions after sundown. 3-6 August, Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire. Tickets from 178, wildernessfestival.com

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The best wellness festivals in the UK - iNews

Ah, Lovebox. A true melting pot. For two days in July, the festival welcomes individuals from all walks of life to the green pastures of an east London park, so they can partake in some carefully controlled hedonism between the hours of 12PM and 10PM, or as some preferred to sit under a tree and repeat the phrase, "I'll be fine in a minute"

This year, the event celebrating 15 years spanned a huge scope of punters. This was partly down to Frank Ocean, the supernova Friday headliner, counting fans in every demographic; we met Essex lads sporting identikit testicle-crushing Topman jeans, patellas artfully exposed, who waxed as emotionally about the artist FKA Christopher Breaux as queer art students in towering rainbow platform heels. But it was also testament to an excellently curated line-up, designed to pull in crowds with wildly different Spotify favourites, from Slen, Kaytranada, Mac Miller and Rex Orange County to 67, AJ Tracey and Mist. Saturday was the electronic lover's wet dream; a roster including Andy C, Annie Mac and Chase in Status had teens with clenched jaws and cross-body bags thrusting their phones above pulsing crowds, capturing the drop on Insta Stories for posterity. Standard festival fun. Friday though? Friday was a moodt.

The presence of Sampha, Solange and Frank on one date was potent, their politically significant releases injecting an electric current into proceedings. Add to the mix acts like Ray BLK and energy was built to almost unbearable levels. Solange, a clear festival highlight, snatched everyone's collective wig at the Noisey stage with a set featuring a note so Minnie Riperton-high the girl next to me cried. Then, it was just Frank left to deliver the final, transcendent coda; 50,000 people singing "Solo", seeming to set a blissful seal on proceedings. But I wanted to go further. Sure, everyone looked pretty joyful but what burdens were bubbling away under the face glitter? We decided to hold an impromptu therapy session. Wisdom goes that those most in need are the ones who seem least likely so we hit up the happiest-looking people to dig deep into their inner fears.

Noisey: You all look very chipper do you ever get stressed? Will: I was when we going through security and the dogs were out. Spencer: My virginity stresses me I'm never going to lose it. Elliot: My only worry is that Tottenham won't win the League.

Who are you going to see to blank out your worries? Will: Kaytranada! Those vibes. Very funky. I want him to bring Craig David out.

Noisey: You guys seem very chill is this for real? Ashley: Anxiety is actually a huge thing for me; music definitely helps. Solange and Frank's albums have got me through panic attacks I've experienced. Brianna: We're from California and getting here was quite stressful. We were two hours late and on edge but once we stepped through the gates and saw everyone's vibes it put my mind at ease. How do you deal with something like anxiety on a daily basis? Ashley: I listen to music and work out a lot. Weight training is great I hate cardio. Brianna: Working out for sure. I really like Crossfit.

Is there anyone on the line-up who particularly soothes your stress like exercise? Ashley: Being a woman of colour, Solange makes me feel like my worries are heard. She's so angelic and calming. Brianna: She puts my mind at ease and helps me be comfortable in myself, like loving my hair; I can come here in my braids!

Noisey: Hi happy people, tell me your problems. Alero: I'm a stressed person! I overthink things. I don't want to lose myself; I'm scared of losing purpose or doing stuff I normally wouldn't because I feel down.

Wow, that's real. How do you push those thoughts aside? Nicolai: Partying a lot! Alero: Getting a psychiatrist or a therapist is a good start.

Are your worries playing on your mind today? Nicolai: Nah, fuck them! Alero: Ditto fuck them when I've finished my vodka Red Bull.

Noisey: You both have huge smiles. Let me wipe them off. Are you secretly stressing? Bronwen: No! I don't worry about anything, I'm a really laid back person. Daniel: I try not to worry but my work makes me stressed. There's a lot of pressure there.

What's your remedy for that? Daniel: Going to festivals and enjoying myself. I let my hair down at weekends.

What about today have you managed to detach yet? Daniel: All my worries were gone as soon as I realised I wasn't at work. Bronwen: He had his playlist on this morning when he was getting ready, it was a very chilled situation.

Who's going to do the best job of blanking out your worries? Bronwen: Jamie xx, he's really upbeat. "Loud Places" is a great song, he did it at Glastonbury and it was really good. Isn't that about a breakup? Bronwen: I don't read into the lyrics that much! That's too deep for me.

Noisey: As the officially designated voice of the Lovebox youth, what about the world worries you? Kate: I worry about where the world is going. I don't know where my place is. The current political situation makes me scared but I voted Labour and Jeremy Corbyn gives me a lot of hope. Things like Lovebox, where people come together and celebrate it's such a good thing for the UK. Natalia: I worry a lot. Climate change freaks me out.

That's a lot of stress to carry how do you deal with it? Kate: It's always at the back of your mind but you try and get on with life and enjoy yourself. Natalia: I volunteered at Wireless Festival with Greenpeace; I recycled plastic and paper and that made me feel better.

Is there anyone here today who might be able to help with your burden? Stee: Mac Miller he speaks the fucking truth! Kate: Frank Ocean; he's the reason I came. I'm bi and he really speaks to me. He understands me. Blonde got me so deep.

Noisey: You look full of magic beans. Is this your normal mode? David: I'm from California and thanks to my recently-elected President, I'm stressed on a daily basis. But right now I'm having a great time I've been dancing my butt off for an hour. Although there's a lot of gentleman shufflers I've been trying to make dance too.

Trump is enough to make anyone antsy. He doesn't seem to be bothering you now though. What's the opposite of stressed? I'm currently that.

What's your advice for reaching the level of chill you're on right now? I go to a lot of festivals I just went to Coachella as well. I love movies too; I'm a teacher and run a film club. I took all my kids to see Baby Driver and they loved it.

Who should I go and see today if I want to de-stress? Mac Miller. He always helps me let go completely. "Dang!" gets me going in the best way.

Noisey: Hello boys. You seem to be on a very cheerful wave. Noah: We're here to see Frankie boy! Although I'm more worried about him not turning up than I've ever been about anything else in my life.

What stresses you beyond the confines of Victoria Park? Dan: Probably family. I've got a little girl who is two years old. I have general fears about what's going on in the world, especially with recent events in London. Noah: The government. They're scary fuckers. Especially Tony Blair!

How do you blank out those thoughts? Dan: We get spangled! Noah: I just try to ignore them. It works terribly, nothing changes.

Your worries don't seem too close today Noah: Tony is a million miles away from my mind right now. Dan: I've got some thoughts niggling away, but nothing on a national scale. Hopefully if I can get spangled, they'll go altogether. But they'll be back tomorrow.

Which artist is the best cure for your worries? Dan: Frankie! Noah: The sweet aroma of Frank has been wafting over London for days, like mother's cooking. I don't even know where we are, I just followed my nose.

Noisey: Hello, you two look exceedingly happy. Is this your normal mode? Martin: I'm more chilled than Jean is. I do worry though, about politics, the environment, the chances for young people. We're separating when we should be coming together.

It's a lot to deal with. How do you manage your stress? Jean: Yoga and exercise mostly. Martin: Running, swimming and music. We're here to see Solange and Frank Ocean. If Frank doesn't do it for me later, nobody will. I played both his albums again this morning and can't choose a favourite.

Is Lovebox living up to its joyful reputation? Jean: Absolutely. All my worries are gone. This is the first festival I've ever been to so I'm just soaking up the atmosphere.

Thanks, you happy-looking people.

You can find Moya on Twitter and photographer Zo on Instagram.

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We Asked the Happiest People at Lovebox About Their Worries - Noisey

As a member of the now-departed Klaxons, James Righton channeled pure adolescent hedonism and a nostalgia for '90s rave culture into a short-lived but memorable phenomenon. Now working solo under the name Shock Machine, he's about to release his debut album. Today the video for new single "Unlimited Love" is premiering on The FADER.

The song itself is a giddy and romantic ode to unbridled romance with nods to Todd Rundgren and more modern psych like Tame Impala. The accompanying visuals complement this kaleidoscopic style with bright pops of color appearing throughout, chiefly from Righton's sharply cut suits, which thankfully don't restrict him from dancing wildly and expressively to the song.

Filmed and directed by Righton himself alongside directorial newcomer Sam Taylor-Edwards, "Unlimited Love" features scenes shot in both London, and Bucharest. "I wanted a simple performance video. Something bold and strong, something that captured the essence of how I perform live," Righton told The FADER via email.

Shock Machine is out on August 25. Check out the "Unlimited Love" video below.

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Dance Like Nobody's Watching To Shock Machine's Unlimited Love Video - The FADER

A woman was seriously hurt on Saturday after falling and hitting her head at a Guns N Roses concert in Tel Aviv when trying to climb onto the stage in the middle of the show.

The fan was one of nearly 62,000 people an Israeli record who had gathered at the citys Yarkon Park to hear the concert.

Some Hebrew media reports said that the woman, in her late 20s, appeared to be drunk when she tried to climb up the side of the stage during the performance. She then fell off and injured her head.

Medics at the show gave her first aid and she was transferred to Tel Avivs Ichilov Hospital while unconscious and on a respirator. However, medics said her injuries were not life threatening.

In total, 55 people required treatment at the show, according to the Ynet news site.

This was not the first medical emergency at a concert this summer. In May, a woman went int labor at a Justin Bieber concert.

The promoter of the show for the American hard rock band said earlier this month that the concert would be the largest ever held in the country.

The hard rock band, which formed in 1985, sold 61,900 tickets, more tickets for an Israel show than any other band, said promoter, Guy Beser, of Bluestone group. Britney Spears had 55,000 fans at her show earlier this month at the same venue.

Guns N Roses has sold over 100 million records, making it one of the best-selling bands of all time.

The band, which was founded in 1985, with its first studio album, 1987s Appetite for Destruction, featuring the number-one single Sweet Child O Mine, was known for a new brand of hard rock and for hedonism reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones.

Its May 1993 concert in Tel Aviv was part of a major, two-year world tour following the 1991 twin albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, which sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide.

It was that tour which led to tremendous tensions in the band, following significant drug and alcohol abuse by members of the group. The band was last in Israel during that 1993 tour, although Axl Rose performed in Israel in 2012 with a different mix of band members.

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Woman seriously injured after falling off stage at Guns N' Roses show - The Times of Israel

PETER COSTER took the wrong turn at the Adelaide Grand Prix but found himself in a winning position after the race:

IT WAS Ayrton Sennas last race for the McLaren team before he joined Williams at the end of the 1993 F1 season. Adelaide was a party town and the City of Churches had given itself up to hedonism and howling F1 engines. Senna was on pole in the McLaren-Ford, with his great rival, the Professor, Alain Prost, in a William-Renault alongside him on the front row. That was also how they finished.

It was Prosts last race and it was Sennas last victory. Prost retired and Senna died when the steering column snapped in his Williams at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy and he crashed into the wall at the Tamburello corner. Roland Ratzenberger died when his car crashed in qualifying the previous day. At Adelaide the year before, Senna, perhaps the greatest GP driver of all time, embraced Prost on the podium with tears in his eyes. He was always an emotional and moody man, a fiery Latin who some drivers said believed God was with him in the cockpit.

He would not die. At the Japan GP before the Adelaide race, Senna won but punched rookie Eddie Irvine for holding him up. The last season with McLaren saw Senna the victim of his mixed emotions. After the race, he was embraced by Tina Turner as she sang to him that he was Simply the Best. Adelaide was a glorious farewell from McLaren for the volatile Brazilian. The editor of the newspaper I was working for was a petrol head who begged me to get Senna to sign a couple of T-shirts, which Ibought from one of the merchandise booths at the circuit.

A grumpy and glowering Senna was sitting at the back of the McLaren garage and I watchedas he started signing the T-shirts with a felt pen I had also provided. He signed one and then threw the pen down.

What had upset the triple world champion? Why was he angry? Was I about to be thrown out of the McLaren garage?

The publicity manager came back with a rueful look on his face. He says its not him. He says its Michael.Michael Andretti was the second driver for McLaren, an Indy car champion who had been controversially signed by McLaren for the 1993 season but who didnt cut it in F1 and had left the team three races before the end of the season.

He had been replaced by the Finnish driver, Mikka Hakkinen and the guy who ran the merchandise booth was getting rid of the T-shirts without bothering to tell anyone that he was flogging old stock.

You couldnt tell who it was sitting in the McLaren, but Senna knew. I should have known by the colour of the helmet but I didnt and, of course, Senna did. I made profuse apologies for having upset him before the race. But he did win, I thought later as I unpacked back in Melbourne and put the T-shirts in a drawer.

Then someone I told about the fiasco said Sennas signature on the wrong T-shirt was probably worth more to a collector than his name on his own T-shirt and the paper could still use it in a promo.

A check on Google said the T-shirt was likely to be worth at least $5,000, maybe $10,000. It was like finding a rare stamp with an imperfection. Have you seen the Ayrton Senna T-shirt, I asked the person who used to go to the motor races with me before we were married and who has shown very little interest since. I washed them, she said with a dismissive sniff. I had to put one of them through twice to get rid of that black stuff on it.

Ayrton Sennas signature on the Michael Andretti T-shirt was gone, but the F1 legend lives on. I prefer to think of it that way. Memories of the 1993 Adelaide Grand Prix and the great Ayrton Senna are priceless.

PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the... More

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A windfall is washed down the drain - Sports Hounds

Norfolks own Wild Knight English Vodka, which only hit the market 12 months ago, is now sharing shelf space with some of the worlds finest drinks at luxury wine emporium, Hedonism.

Set amidst Mayfairs designer backdrop and surrounded by exclusive names such as Claridges and Vera Wang, Hedonism has become the first London outlet to stock Wild Knight.

Sitting aside super-select labels such as Krug, Cristal and Chteau Lafite, this hand-distilled, pure vodka is in truly exceptional company within one of the UK capitals most elite retailers.

Ben Murray, spirits buyer at Hedonism, commented: We wanted Wild Knight Vodka in Hedonism because it looks good, it tastes good and it's a point of difference to have a characterful English barley vodka.

Matt Brown, co-founder of Wild Knight, is thrilled at the labels latest accolade. He said, Wild Knight is an ultra-premium English vodka so it's important that we link up with high-end outlets like Hedonism that reach out to our ideal audience.

Working with Hedonism is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our vodka to a discerning market.

PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Ben Murray, spirits buyer at Hedonism

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Norfolk vodka brand joins London's jet set - Business Weekly

Kesha is one of the great musical artists of our era.

Not only has her music inspired me for years, observed from a certain perspective it can be compared favorably to the works ofMozart and Michael Jackson.

Although Keshas reputation among music snobs hasnever been particularly high, its not like her initial work was overwhelminglypanned by critics.On Metacritic,Animal has decisively mixed reviews with a 54 rating while Warrior ranks only slightly better with generally favorable results and a 71 rating. Still, this is insufficient compared to what she offers.

A wanderer passing through those aggregators would walk away with the impression that she was mediocre, like most of the pop stars who briefly light up the musical firmament before evaporating from memory.

Animal teems with choruses that stick with the listener for days, from the blissful Your Love Is My Drug to the catty Backstabber. Equally prevalent, however, are heavily processed vocals, which make it hard to tell whether the California cutie can actually sing, wrote Billboard about Animal.

Too many cooks in the kitchen notwithstanding, it amounts to 12 songs here with some 40 perfectly crafted hooks, wrote the Boston Globe aboutWarrior.

Allfail to give a great artist her due.

Of course, Keshas recent single Prayingoff of her forthcoming Rainbowreceived critical acclaim, and rightly so. Its a beautiful and haunting ballad about depression and personal resilience, one that is inextricably linked to her struggle against a powerful music producerwho she accused of rape and was forced to work with anyway by both Sonyand the court system(the judge described locking her into the contract as the commercially reasonable thing to do).

Yet, while Praying is likely to be remembered as the moment when Ke$ha became Kesha that is, when heroverproduced image of a party girl transformed into that of asoulful artist this does a terrible injustice to her pre-Prayingoeuvre. I can attest first-hand that her early work does indeed provide an inspiring background soundtrack to my own artistic efforts as a writer.

Im not sure which musicians other writers like to use as a score their creative process, but Im pretty sure most will not proclaim (at least openly) that the individual is Kesha. Acknowledging this here is likely to earn me open scorn by some, derisive snorts from others. Yet they are wrong, critically and objectively.

AsI explained to my longtime friend Sean Davis a PhD student in Music Studiesat Temple UniversitysBoyer College of Music and Dance, where he has also taughtMusic Theory Keshas music is very energetic and has a certain ironic cheekiness to it in terms of its vulgarity and hedonism. Naturally its lively feeland clever wordplay makes for mental fuel when in the thick of my own creative endeavors. That alone could justifymy appreciation for the artist Kesha, bornKesha Rose Sebert. I could let the matter rest there.

But I wont.

There aredeeper ways inwhich toabsorb her brilliance,one also summed up by an aspect of my conversation with Davis. In discussing the remarkable biographical similarities between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Michael Jackson, both of whom were child music prodigies who suffered from serious emotional issues as adults due to the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of the entertainment industry (and their parents) as young people, Keshas name arose.

While Kesha is perhaps not a musical prodigy like those individuals (Im going to omit the controversy over her IQ scores), she undeniably became very successful at a young age and (if you believe her accusations against Dr. Luke, which I do) was heinously exploited by the music industry. Although onecouldnt have known the latter when first hearing the scintillating Tik Tok or Die Young upon release, one must admit that there is a certain canny self-aware effortlessness to her performances that comes across. In balance, it is starkly reminiscent ofboth Jackson and Mozart.

Its hard to explain how to distinguish between artistswho seem to sweat and groan and labor mightily to produce their work and those for whom it comes with a gracefuljoie de vivre. You cant dissect it, but you know it when you see it.

When listening to Keshas earlier work, just as when one listens to Prayer, the palpable sensethat her musical performancesare both fun and natural is simply unavoidable so much so that the transcendent ease of her artistrybecomesinfectious, invigorating, galvanizing. While some might toil away in their studios to The Goldberg Variations, those with true ears and open minds find better inspiration in Kesha. Certainly, it is the case for me in my own work.

Yes, its easy to notethat, for many, Kesha representsa guilty pleasure. This is reductive. A true intellect will find that there is nothing to feel guilty about. Shame me all you want for loving Kesha. I have none.

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I demand a critical reappraisal of Kesha's brilliant, brilliant music - Salon

Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, addresses the Morning Gloryville crowd. Photograph: Jack Pasco

The stench of dead flesh and discarded bones wafts through a chattering crowd dressed in sequins, wacky wigs and neon Lycra. Its 7am, and hundreds of ticket holders are waiting near Brixtons meat market to enter a rooftop beach venue in south London.

Theyre here for the fourth birthday of Morning Gloryville, an event that pitches itself as a non-alcoholic rave. The crowd here includes everyone from young families to yuppies, Instagramming teens, and Ibiza casualties who have traded in booze and drugs for protein bars and bikram. The rave is held in a big open plan space, decked out with posters that read: I am in charge of how I feel and today Im choosing happiness. As the morning unfolds, the scene becomes increasingly bizarre. Couples kiss as if it were New Years Eve; a grown woman holds a bucket and spade; there are impromptu yoga sessions, head massages, and a polyamorous collective appears, dressed as glittery unicorns. All the while, Fatboy Slim DJs in a Lucha libre mask.

Extroverts are everywhere, and I have the lurching feeling that if I lock eyes with anyone long enough they might rope me into something I dont want to do: dancing on stage to Balearic house, for instance, while holding an inflatable slice of watermelon. Everyone is, of course, stone cold sober.

The heaving crowd is a sign of something bigger: the current appetite for combining music events and healthy living. Morning Gloryville was set up by Samantha Moyo who, having left hedonistic days behind her, wanted to keep seeking the communal thrills and escapism of raving. Her parties soon went from passion project to a fully functioning empire, often attracting big-name DJs who have abandoned the excessive lifestyle that can come with being a touring musician, including Roger Sanchez and Fatboy Slim.

The absence of bar profits might have represented an impossible financial hit for Moyos parties, had the stars not aligned in other areas. The popularity of the events has rocketed as the trend for clean living has grown a trend that is captured on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, with images of Morning Gloryvilles parties spreading out across social media.

The unexpected relationship between clubbing and clean living has been building for a few years now. In 2014, for example, there was a craze for voga, a fitness class combining yoga and voguing. Then there is Ministry of Sounds role. Eric Prydzs notoriously raunchy aerobic video for the song Call On Me led to Ministry creating a series of wildly successful workout compilations, and this year it even opened its own workout space in south London, with a club-standard sound system. But the latest wave is more bohemian. It includes the club Awakening, a conscious rave where cacao and smoothies are served, there are classes in hip-hop hot yoga, and meditation sessions are accompanied by expert gong practitioner Mona Ruijs of Sound Interventions. In the last few weeks alone I have been alerted to an event that combines guided group meditation with classic album listening parties; a music festival that boasts a pop-up eco spa; another with a deep listening, meditation and laughter class; and an album by a singer who is also described as a sound therapist. The party picture website The Cobrasnake once a photo stream of It girls and fashion freaks at clubs and gigs recently turned its attention away from hedonism to concentrate instead on its Cobra Fitness hiking club.

The pairing of wellness and music is now mainstream, and highly profitable. In the wake of the digital boom, the music industry found itself in a state of flux at the start of the 21st century there were numerous record shop and label closures and a 40% decline in revenue as piracy took its toll. Festivals and live events have shrewdly merged with the 3tn global wellness market to help them stay afloat. It also helps that we are in the age of experience as currency where a Snapchat story of your best mate hula hooping to Basement Jaxxs Bingo Bango at a wellness event may have more online capital than a video of them showcasing their Black Friday haul of beauty products.

Of course, there are also actual health benefits to be gained from some of these events. I attended one hosted by Secret Yoga Club, during which Simone Salvatici, an ambient and experimental composer, played an assortment of Tibetan bowls and shamanic percussion instruments (and at one point, it seemed, a bunch of twigs). His immersive performances are designed to be therapeutic, and recall both stirring whale song and the work of doom metal group Sunn O))). As I looked around the room, I had the feeling that many who were there wouldnt have been seen dead murmuring om in a renovated asylum on a Wednesday night five years ago, but now seemed to welcome a chance to escape Twitter feeds full of snark and grim news (while also toning their biceps).

The wellness trend is perhaps most obvious at some of the festivals taking place this summer. This weekend you can do voga at the London festival Citadel, which will also host SwingTrain, a fitness session set to swing music, and Lovercise, a workout class for single people set to tragic love songs and bump and grind tracks. Green Man in the Brecon Beacons has Nature Nurture, a health and holistic rejuvenation area, as well as a shamanic hideaway, and Isle of Wight now has a Yogassential Deck where you can get a massage or a fresh juice, as well as working out. Glastonbury is a veteran of the wellness trend with its Healing Fields, and this year Radio 1 Breakfast Show DJ Nick Grimshaw described it as probably the most vegan-friendly place on earth (perhaps forgetting, as some pointed out, that Glastonbury is located on a dairy farm).

Wilderness festival in Oxfordshire was an early adopter of the trend and this year hosts spa treatments, mindfulness and exercise classes and a yoga session set to the most hedonistic of all musical genres, psytrance. Tessa Clarfelt, a programmer for the event, believes that before parties such as Morning Gloryville, there was a spiritual absence in some music lovers lives.

I think that the coming together and the community aspect of [events like Morning Gloryville] is a really large part of it, says Clarfelt. Once a month at 6am, which is quite a ceremonial moment, the sun is coming up, you group together with people who are friends or people you dont know, and you get this new connection. She suspects people are getting tired of fun meaning going out and getting drunk, and are instead warming up to the more Californian approach to wellbeing.

While Morning Gloryvilles Moyo says she favours dance music that gives you a big rush, the increasing links between club culture and spirituality are bringing more ancient sounds to the fore. Moyo believes there is much more appreciation of gongs and chimes and didgeridoos, at the moment, for example, because everyone left, right and centre is trying ayahuasca or going to see a shaman. Chillout music is growing in popularity, with the types of sounds you might hear in a yoga session being listened to now more than ever. One musician who has been exploring ambient sound for decades is Laraaji, discovered by Brian Eno on the streets of 1970s New York. He has released a string of acclaimed albums, and is behind the aforementioned meditation and laughter workshop where, without any jokes being told, people force themselves to laugh together until they feel genuinely happy. He has run the sessions for years, but says that in the age of 24-hour news cycles full of Trump and terror, people need this kind of healing and music more than ever. Ambient music can provide [an] escape, he says, even if its temporary, without feeling like youre abandoning your duty and responsibility as a planetary being.

Its this kind of musical quest that a generation of Instagrammers and yoga enthusiasts has embarked upon and, of course, commercialised. And just like any trend co-opted by commerce, there is a sense that the link between music and clean living may soon start to pall, and to seem quite unhealthy. Many of us are tired of the pseudoscience peddled in this area, and the excesses of websites such as Gwyneth Paltrows Goop (with its $30 pots of Spirit Dust and $66 yoni eggs), and are questioning those who profit from our health-based paranoia. The high costs of many of these luxury events its not unusual for a hot yoga session to cost 20 or more will also ensure they remain the preserve of the wealthy. As a newly politicised generation grows up, it seems likely that Instagram health gurus will soon seem like vacuous relics of the past. But while the more commercial strands of the music-mindfulness movement may disappear, the marriage of spirituality and sound will endure.

Since the beginning of time music has been a spiritual experience, says Moyo. Laraaji agrees. He says that music reminds us there is still beauty, equilibrium, and a consciousness that isnt perturbed by whats going on in this fleeting global moment. If youre trapped in the inner city, or a stressful relationship, ambient music can offer a fast way out.

As can Fatboy Slim playing anthems before breakfast. As the clock reaches 10am, and the morning rave continues, I start to wonder what these people do for a living. But its difficult to deny the confidence of Gloryvilles audience there is something oddly rebellious about sober people dancing their way to ecstatic joy. At least until they are flung back into Brixtons pungent meat market.

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Clean raving: how club culture went wild for wellness - The Guardian

Welcome to News Bites, BoF's regular compilation of the stories that have got the industry talking.

Loewe will todayrelease a 12-inch vinyl in collaboration withSoulwax and Michel Gaubert.

Jonathan Andersons parents used to have an apartment in Ibiza, so some of his most impressionable summers were spent goggling at the goings-on in such temples of e-soaked hedonism as Manumission. The Andersons let their boys off the leash early. But that meant when Jonathan came to Loewe, his visions of Spain were shaped by Balearic bliss, not by bullfights, or haute bourgeois Madrid. That higher state of consciousness has helped turn the 173-year-old house into a hotbed of sunny sensuality, quirky craft and idiosyncrasy that often borders on the Dali-surreal. And now it has a soundtrack.

Anderson is obsessed with curation. Its determined the shape of his work and his life. So adding a 12 vinyl object to the many other elements hes drawn into his orbit at Loewe completed a circle. Hes giving credit for the actual curating to his soundtrackist Michel Gaubert, who brought in Belgian DJ duo (and longtime Ibiza aficionados) Soulwax to create a track called "Close to Paradise," the kind of subtly uplifting anthem you imagine playing as the sun sets over the Caf del Mar. It evokes the prelapsarian moment on the White Island before the charter flights started disgorging planeloads of party-crazed visigoths. Four denizens of those early days murmur about their experiences over the gentle pulse of the music. People who are rooted in what we know of Ibiza today, Anderson calls them.

Paula's, Ibiza | Source: Courtesy

One of his own early memories was the boutique Paulas Ibiza, the inspiration for a capsule collection for Spring/Summer 17. Loewe is launching the 12 with a party on Friday night at the islands Museu dArt Contemporani (digital downloads follow on iTunes and Spotify in August), and a pop-up of Paulas archives from the 70s. The boutiques founder Armin Heinemann will also have massive baskets of old stock so everyone can play dress-up.

Ibiza is one of those places you can let go and experiment with something youre not, says Anderson, with gleeful anticipation. You feel anything is possible. Thats how I feel about Loewe. There are no boundaries. And there arent many brands where you could do this. Which, as the Ibicencan sun rises on Saturday morning over Loewe's all-night party people, will surely seem like an understatement. Tim Blanks

Erdem Moralioglu is the latest designerto announce a collaboration with H&M.

The Canadian-born, London-based designer, whose designs are wornby celebrities and royalty alike, has developed collections for both men and women, to go on sale globally in H&M stores and online on November 2.

I am so happy to collaborate with H&M, and to explore my work on a whole new scale including a menswear collection which I have never done before," Moralioglu said in a press release announcing the partnership. "Its also such a thrill to work with Baz Luhrmann, one of the most important storytellers of our time.

The collection is set to be a celebration of some of the designer's most well-known themes. Meanwhile,Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann has directed a teaser film for the collaboration, which was released on YouTube Thursday afternoon.

For me fashion is always about more than just clothing, it is a form of expression - a stand alone art form," said Luhrmann. "I am excited to be collaborating with Erdemand H&M to reveal the story of this unique collection. Tamara Abraham

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News Bites | Loewe Releases Ibiza-Inspired Record, Erdem x H&M - The Business of Fashion

In 1986, shortly after I started writing about cars, a Hyundai operative showed up at the Inquirer with the South Korean automakers first U.S. offering: the Excel Sedan. He came back to retrieve it a week later.

Well, how did you like it? he asked, brandishing a salesmans hopeful smile.

Well, I replied, when I tried to roll down the drivers window, the window crank came off in my hand.

The smile dropped to less than half mast. Suffice it to say that the Excel was a lousy car that almost nipped Hyundais American adventure in the bud.

After spending a recent week with Hyundais newly minted Ioniq Hybrid, I was struck by just what ancient history the Excel had become, and what a quantum leap Hyundai has taken.

The Ioniq I drove was nicely realized from the standpoint of both styling and workmanship.

It also boasted enough lovely, innovative engineering to give it EPA mileage numbers that crown it king of the hybrid hill. The base Blue model has EPAs of 59 city and 57 highway for a combined rating of 58. (The more upmarket Limited model I drove was 55 and 54 for a combined 55.) This surpasses the EPAs mustered by the Toyota Prius. The perennial hybrid gold standard is rated at 54 city, 50 highway, and 52 combined.

The Ioniq, a compact hatchback, will ultimately come in three flavors. The Hybrid and an all-electric model are already here. A plug-in hybrid follows later this year.

Like its corporate cousin, the Kia Niro, the Ioniq utilizes a 104-horsepower, 1.6-liter gas engine buttoned to a six-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission. That exceptionally efficient engine it packs goodies such assodium-filled exhaust valves and direct injection shares the work with a 43-horse electric motor.

Under mild demand, the Ioniq can get along solely under the auspices of the electric motor. If your accelerator foot gets heavier, the engine is fired up and seamlessly joins the electric oarsman.

The Ioniq Hybrid is more fun to drive than its leisurely zero-to-60 time of 9.5 seconds might suggest. Its fully independent suspension makes this an agile car, and its responsive, accurate steering adds to the festivities.

The testers fun quotient was also enhanced by placing it in Sport mode. That keeps the engine on all the time, cracks the whip on the gear changing, stiffens the steering, and gives you a tachometer readout.

The Ioniq is handsome in a clean, civil fashion, and the fastback slope of the roof and rear window make the car resemblea stylish sedan more than a hatchback. It also contributes to the Ioniqs exceptional aerodynamics. The trade-off? The roof slope means tall, rear-seat passengers will find their heads encountering the headliner before the headrest. And the steeply raked, split liftgate window diminishes visibility.

The testers interior was comely in a spare way with a welcome Bauhaus need for form to follow function. Cargo space was a generous 26.5 cubic feet with the backseat up. The volume with the rear seat down was not available.

The Ioniq starts at an affordable $22,200. And that price includes an industry-exclusive lifetime warranty on that expensive hybrid battery. The more upscale Limited tester was very well-equipped for its price point ($27,500). Standard safety gear and hedonism included blind-spot detection with cross-traffic alert, lane-change assist, power sunroof, and leather seating. In addition to the battery guarantee, the Ioniq has exceptional warranties on the car itself (5 years/60,000 miles, bumper-to-bumper) and the power train (10 years/100,000 miles).

Base price: $27,500. As tested: $31,460. Standard equipment: 1.6-liter engine, electric motor, front drive, and an extensive array of safety gear and conveniences, including leather and a blind spot alert. Options: Includes a $3,000 package, which contains aids like automatic emergency braking, smart cruise control, lane departure warning, headlights with dynamic bending light function, rear parking sensors, and a navigation system. Fuel economy: 55 MPG city and 54 highway. Engine performance: Produces leisurely acceleration. Handling: Crisp. Ride comfort: Fine. Styling: Stylish but civil. Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper. Four Bens: Excellent

Published: July 14, 2017 5:00 AM EDT

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Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid - Philly.com