May 2017
Our monthly overview of magazines we couldn’t quite squeeze into the daily feed includes several new titles as well as some favourites. Subjects include mental health, typography, nineties style nostalgia and Asian movies.
Cercle #5 – Oceans
This annual publication works a visually interesting theme every issue. The Oceans issue leads to some great factual and abstract image-making from illustrators and photographers alike, while the inclusion of a series of interviews alongside the portfolio sections adds weight and meaning to the whole thing.
cerclemagazine.com
Torchlight #1
Another mag about mental health, this time from the perspective of editor Kevin. We have seen varied responses to the rapid collapse of services available and disproportionately high levels of men suffering with depression. He aims to confront the spectrum of inequality and stigma around the topic with a frank and honest discussion based on personal experience.
TypeNotes #1
Type foundry Fontsmith have been publishing posts online for a while now, and with this launch have repurposed that writing alongside new, longer type-orientated pieces to create a smart addition to the world of typography magazines.
fontsmith.com
Pikes magazine #1
Based around the celebrity-heavy Ibiza hotel of the same name (and location for Wham’s ‘Club Tropicana’ video), Pikes might be disappointing as a standalone magazine but as hybrid mag/hotel guide it is a pleasantly diverting publication that stands well apart from the usual in-room hotel title. And – that cover!?!
Skin Deep #6
The cross-platform mag surrounding race and culture calls out authoritarian aspects of our lives and ‘appropriates’ them in this issue as a response to, and a distraction from the political circus. Their retort to the establishment is perfectly summed up on the back page in large letters above the barcode: ‘RESISTING FACISM - PRICELESS’.
skindeepmag.com
5054 #1
Surprisingly perhaps, the indie car magazine is a rare thing, so this new launch is a welcome development. Published by experienced car journalist Hilton Holloway and designed by Patrick Myles, it follows the proven indie format of examining the culture of its subject rather than just the product.
5054magazine.co.uk
Salt & Wonder #1
Travel-food crossovers are always popular, food being a key part of holidays abroad. Salt & Wonder plans to look at a single city each issue, and while starting with Lisbon is a little predictable the mag makes an unfussy job of showcasing its subject. More image than text.
saltandwonder.com
Nang #2
Nang has already outlined its ten-issue lifespan, like a film series. This second issue explores ‘death of cinema’, through mortality and scars with guest editors John Torres and Yoo Un-Seong. It is black, white and blood red with open, coptic binding. They write how they strived to steer towards the ‘deep, poetic openness around cinema.’
nangmagazine.com
Juicy #1
This new launch looks back to the time when Juicy by Biggie was in the charts, Paris wore Louis Vuitton, and Kim wore velour tracksuits. It celebrates the excesses of the noughties, indulging in the tackiness of the phones, nightlife, and style. It acknowledges this nostalgia comes from the internet, instagrams, tumblrs and the lawless liberties we can all take with intellectual property for a cool feed.
The Rolling Home Journal #2
Rolling Home celebrates the American fascination with the wilderness, road trips, and going off the grid. Editor Callum writes ‘you will find stories, and the best stories have no ending’, ‘carry them and take them with you.’ The ethos of the mag seems to be pursuing whatever makes you most happy, and how stripping away the superficial can enlighten us to an alternative way of life.
therollinghome.uk