Chicks On Speed - Outside of Music

Outside of Music

Logan and Murray-Leslie have always classified COS as a multi disciplinary "project" blurring the lines between, art, music, fashion and performance. They run a record label, Chicks On Speed Records, together with Peter Wacha, Juergen Söder and Gero Loferer, releasing recordings by Le Tigre, Kevin Blechdom, Planningtorock, Gustav, Ana da Silva of The Raincoats, DAT Politics, Susanne Brokesch, Kids on TV, Anat Ben-David, Angie Reed and the Girl Monster compilation series.

Chicks on Speed's interest lies in art, something that also characterizes their live performances. Their solo art exhibitions include Kunstverein Wolfsburg 2004, Kunstraum Innsbruck 2005, CAC Vilnius in 2007. Other exhibitions are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum 2007, Switch On the Power, Vigo, Spain 2006. XMas, Sell-Out, and ChicksTV. They played at the Turner Prize Retrospective at the Tate in October 2007, and at MoMA in June 2006, as part of a special evening with Douglas Gordon. Their work with Douglas Gordon included a performance at the Centre Georges Pompidou in February 2007, Collection TBA-21 hosted a performance in Vienna in April 2007, and an exhibition at Yvonne Lambert in Paris in September 2007. They have been responsible for the cover art for various other artists, particularly ones signed to their label and Mego Records in Vienna.

Chicks on Speed's focus on fashion began in 1997 with their first stage costumes, these developed into a longtime collaboration with kathi Glas and more recently with Peggy Noland and Ari Fish and Jeremy Scott. The fashion side of COS has grown into collaborations with independent fashion brands: including textile yardiges for Crystal Ball Japan in 2007/2008, DAA (Designers Against Aids) and Hennes and Mauritz "Fashion Against Aids" in 2008. In 2009 Chicks on Speed and Insight launched the project, Insight on Chicks on Speed, with a range of girls surf wear, and a song and video, titled "Super Surfer Girl". They are currently working on a larger collaboration with another larger brand.

Chicks on Speed launched an Art Scarf with Little Red Ridinghood, based in Berlin, released globally in art museum bookstores in December 2009.

Logan and Murray-Leslie published the book, titled Chicks on Speed: It's A Project, Booth-Clibborn Editions. The book contains historical pieces of information about the band and their art from their beginning stages onward, including a dress, DIY pattern to make overalls, designed by COS and Jeremy Scott, a CD of unreleased music and a poster, all together in a tote bag designed by COS.

London jewellery label, Tatty Devine, designed pieces for Chicks on Speed Japanese and US tours to go with their "Fashion Rules" single. They made plectrum inspired earrings and necklaces.

Chicks on Speed (Melissa and Alex) performed live DJ sets in Europe from October to December 2009, as preparation for a major solo exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre that opened on 4 June 2010.

For the last three years Chicks on Speed have been working on a series of what they call Object Instruments, (as maniac performers) shying away from filling the stage with conventional band instruments, they invented their own instruments, which at times double as fashionable stage outfits –for example: Super suits, outfits which remotely trigger audio/video and an haute couture hat, which is a self-contained amplification device.

The exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre was their first major solo exhibition in the UK. Chicks on Speed opened with a live art performance for invited guests on 4 June; featuring the ‘e-shoe’ – the world’s first wireless high-heeled shoe guitar, made in collaboration with Siberian-born shoe designer Max Kibardin and Hangar.org. These shoes were unveiled alongside Chicks on Speed’s ever-growing collection of self made ‘objekt instruments’ – cigar-box synthesizers, super suits with sewn-in body sensors that trigger audio/video samples and two hats made in collaboration with Christophe Coppins and Hangar.org, based on illuminated drawings of Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century Christian mystic who received visions, composed ethereal airs, performed healings and even founded convents. These hats transmit the utterances of their wearers by way of microphones and speakers.

The DCA galleries were further transformed into a giant stage and studio set for making music videos, experimenting with no-choreography and ongoing craft projects live, including loom-weaving inspired by Bauhaus design, lectures and workshops, film screenings of their fashion archive and selected video pieces. Chicks on Speed have been working with local and international artists and makers to combine traditional craft with cutting-edge technology.

In addition, at the end of November 2010, their second book, Don't Fashion, Art, Music, was released.