I emailed Chad Kouri of Long Live Analog about his internal soundtrack because I like picking at the brains of people whose work I admire, and he does amazing collages which become studies for amazing graphic design work. Funny thing is you do hear Parker and Coltrane play in your head as you go through his collages, most of which involve the juxtaposition of postwar American pop-culture imagery in a way that exposes the subtexts and darker undertones. Think of how your mind’s eye arrives at a Weegee photograph by marathoning Leave it to Beaver.
However, most of the collages still retain a sense of whimsy and leave out the blatant cynicism, making evident the kind of influence that jazz holds on Kouri’s work.
Chad Kouri: Hands down [it’s] Icy Demon’s Spywatchers on their Miami Ice. So catchy. The sexy waltz triplet syncopation slammed together with a straight forward 4/4. And the bass and shaker drop a minute forty in… god damn. Can’t get enough.
I would be more than happy to explain in greater detail how music influences my art. For example, I have been a huge fan of jazz music since hearing Charlie Parker for the first time in high school. My collage based work is very much like improvisation jazz. My work uses already existing pop/ad imagery and appropriates it like a jazz musician uses standards in their solos. I could go on and on.
What’s your favorite flavor of Ice Cream?
Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked
What was the first thing you ever splurged on?
I was never a person to have a lot of money. The oldest thing i can think of is a pair of Nike CMYK edition Air Max 90s. To most recent thing I can think of is a giant box of old letra set sheets for $175. I’m talkin like 60 pounds of letra set. Didn’t fully realize that it was too pretty to cut up when I bought it. O well.
http://www.longliveanalog.com
http://www.thepostfamily.com
Alice Sarmiento 
