RAGGED MAGAZINE INTERVIEW.

I was recently interviewed for the American publication Ragged Magazine which is the sister to music magazine Filter.

I was asked to name my top 5 tracks of all time, cue five hours of a constant frustration in my thoughts, it was terrible. What about “Last Night”  by The Strokes, multiple tracks by Queen, “Time for Hero’s” by The Libertines what about…. As you can imagine I could go on (Michael Jackson!!) ….

Please find below, a selection of the questions and answers.The Filter magazine next issue is due out next month, check website for further details…
http://RAGGEDmag.com


JONO NAMARA TOP 5 TRACKS OF ALL TIME

Stevie Wonder- Superstition
Beatles- Elanor Rigby
Roxy Music- Love Is The Drug
David Bowie- Ashes To Ashes
Kinks- All Day & All Of the Night
Will Smith- Getting Jiggy Wit it :)

1. Which musicians are you most inspired by?

David Bowie
Bryan Ferry
Adam Ant
Obvious choices but obvious for a reason! Bowie was always ahead of his time (and he had great hats- I can’t pull off hats!!)


4. Do you find that music helps during a photo shoot or runway show?Absolutely, The best runway shows to do are the ones where the music has a strong beat to it, it gives you that extra thrust of confidence, anything too slow and whimsical can really make the show drag on. On many occasions i’ve witnessed fashionistas on the front row falling asleep onto their Chanel handbags-the poor darlings.

The same applies to shoots, the best shoots for me are the ones where i’m allowed to express energy and I always ask the photographer to play a track  with a fast and catchy rhythm- its good for jumping shots!!I’ve no idea why it is but fashion photographers always make skinny white boys jump!!

5. Are you involved in the music industry - band, DJing, music videos, etc?
As much as I can possibly be!! I used to be in a punk band which I started out with 3 other male models called “Mannequins”- it was a great idea, I put alot of work into it- writing all the lyrics, helping with the structure of songs and using all the contacts I had built up over the years- we played some great gigs and did some fantastic photoshoots but unfortunately, being four male models in a punk band there are just far too many ego’s to contend with even the drummer wanted to be at the front of the stage!!


At present I DJ once a week now at a club night I co-run called ADULT at Sketch Club in Conduit Street, London- the nights concept is that we hold a genre-less disco- we want dj’s to play everything from Big Band, hip hop to U.K garage and anything and everything in between- it can be quite a challenge sometimes but it suits the eclectic crowd we bring in.


I’m also constantly on the look out for finding and then shouting about new bands and artists and there is currently a big influx of new talent coming out of America such as Foster The People, Rafter, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero’s, Das Racist , Phantogram, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Sleigh Bells to name but a few. Cue for a sweeping generalisation but I really feel U.K music scene is currently lacking in new talent- the major record labels are too busy pushing there established acts to make money on tour sales and there is still a post-Myspace saturation of bands still sounding like its 2006. There are a few great new bands though two of my favorites being Bombay Bicycle Club and These New Puritans.

6. How would you describe your personal style?
Like a recently un-employed British Business man.
I actually once decided to walk into an office block wearing a suit and a briefcase


7. How would you describe your taste in music? Or if that’s too specific, just tell us about some stuff you like…
In regards to music, I try to be as eclectic as possible as long as its got a good beat to it and a melody- I’ll usually like it. I’m not too keen on the word eclectic though, i’ve recently had taken a look at the many different genres you can label a track on the Itunes Player and I certainly currently do no obtain any music which falls under the genre of Porn Groove.

I don’t usually tell people this, but I’m still a massive fan of Star Wars infact I have a huge collection of figurines that date back to 1970’s and early 80’s- don’t tell anyone, I know you guys won’t.