November 2020
The year is ending with a hectic rush of new issues in ahead of the holidays. Here we take a look at a selection of recent arrivals from recent weeks that caught our eyes, including magazines about travel, wine, music and stuttering, as well as several more conceptual publications.
Noble Rot #24
London wine masters Noble Rot have spread their wings this year, adding a Soho sibling to their Clerkenwell wine bar and publishing the enticing book ‘Wine from Another Galaxy’. Meanwhile the magazine continues to break down the snobby world of wine, a highlight this time being a long lunch interview with British politician/personality Ed Balls. There’s plenty of cross-promotion of their other projects, but what else is your own magazine for? And besides, all the projects point in the same direction – great wine! The cover image, by McBess, is an early design for their book cover.
noblerot.co.uk
Orlando #1
Being built on the concept of the magazine as a hotel, with sections defined as floors, means that this bold new launch is able to explore a very broad range of subjects. We enter through the ground floor restaurant, visit libraries on the first floor and are treated to wine and theatre in the basement. Along the way we’re treated to ideas and stories that are satisfyingly fresh and removed from the usual PR agenda. This bold new launch is different in almost every sense, including that portrait of QE2 on the cover (a painting by featured artist Miriam Escioffet).
orlandotales.com
Nomad Interview #3
We love this South Korean magazine specialising in interviews, all of which are done by Beom-Sang, Seo, who also designs the publication. Occasionally the English translation lets it down, but that’s more than made up for by the scope of the subjects. Notable in the issue is an international survey of independent magazine shops – including a quick mention of magCulture – focusing on Berlin’s Do You Read Me?! whose Jessica and Mark answer questions at length.
Tonic #1
This ‘heady cocktail of drink, travel and adventure’ delivers exactly that, visiting Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East to discover the local drinking habits. That means Lebanese wine, Indian IPA, and even communion wine amonst other treats. But it’s not just the drinks, it’s the (responsible) drinking too. It’a convincing start, let down only be a slightly perfunctory design.
thetonicmag.com
Apology #5
Created – in its entirety – by Jesse Pearson (who served as editor-in-chief of Vice from 2002-10 and as editor at Index before that), Apology is ‘a general interest magazine for people whose general interests aren’t general.’ Which means if something catches Jesse’s eye it’s in. Luckily he has a great eye; the issue includes Ed Templeton’s photographs of people on their smartphones, Don Carpenter’s remembrance of Richard Brautigan and imagined TV characters by Patti Harrison.
apologymagazine.com
Rodeo #11
The product of ‘a dissatisfaction with popular music journalism’, Manchester’s Rodeo magazine isn’t genre-specific, instead celebrating eclecticism and proclaiming: ‘If it’s good, we’ll write about it.’ If the name threw you off for a moment, don’t worry – you're not the first. The bimonthly publication takes its design cues from ‘American country music and diner aesthetic’, because ‘why not?’ Echoing its editorial, if it looks good, they'll use it.
therodeomag.com
Dysfluent #1
A new project created by Conor Foran and Bart Rzeznik, Dysfluent shares the experiences of people who stammer – timely, given the election of Joe Biden who has spoken publicly about overcoming his own during childhood. Most notably, the font used throughout this 60-page publication, Dysfluent Mono, was created by Foran to visually represent ‘the voice of the stammerer’ with elongated and repeated lettering, successfully complementing the aim of this first issue as ‘an introduction to what it means to be a person who stammers.’
dysfluentmagazine.com
Here #14
We only discovered this beautifully put together travel magazine earlier this year, so it was sad to hear this will be its final issue. Being published by a brand – it comes from D2C luggage company Away – often inhibits creativity but in this case the creative team of art director Chloe Scheffe and editor Ally Betker were allowed space to develop something really unique. Worth it for the design alone, there’s some great editorial takes on travel too: tis issue celebrates the road trip (one form of travel available to the US during the pandemic).
Suitcase #32
With new editor-in-chief India Dowley at its helm, the 32nd issue of the archetypal travel magazine turns its gaze inward with the ‘Homegrown Issue’. Following the grounding of the travel industry, the freshly-led team have – like many others – seized an opportunity to celebrate ‘the diverse people and places’ that make up their home country, the UK, encouraging ‘responsible, local travel that is kind to the planet.’ Though this introspection is borne out of the Coronavirus pandemic and the havoc ’s wreaked on the wider industry, the trend toward slower, environmentally-minded travel may – with hindsight – be something of a welcome sea change.
suitcasemag.com
Luxiders #05
Describing itself as a ‘New Intelligent Luxury Magazine for conscious women and men’, Luxiders is a high-end fashion and design magazine with stories of sustainability, healthy living and eco-mindedness at its core. Trilingual – with pieces in English, Spanish and German – it also prides itself on being an ‘enhanced global resource for sustainable brands, creative professionals and consumers‘. The latest issue is themed Rise & Shine and includes editorial on Craftsmanship, the ‘Regenerative Future’ and a silent New York during Covid-19. Plus people wearing kitchen pots on the cover! It’s become a recent favourite amongst fashion students.
luxiders.com
Reviews by Jeremy Leslie and Danielle Mustarde