...to find a diamond in the rough, you need to dig a little deeper. These hidden gems, which you may have missed at first glance, man, they really deliver in unexpected ways. Emerging from the most unpredictable places, they can hold glimmers of inspiration for years to come. Every once in a blue moon, it takes a felt second before the world catches up. At other times, the level of awareness of your new favorite thing will never reach beyond a few insiders. Either way, the impact on today’s pop culture could be a significant one.

Lodown’s new issue GEMS puts the spotlight on collectors gems, some upcoming artists works, and holy nuggets from the depths of our archive. All over, we aren’t getting tired of trying our very best to brighten every new day as we reanalyze culture as we know it.

Highlights of our GEMS issue include…

LDWN Archive… Having shaped leftfield pop culture since 27 years (and still not being tired of it), it was about time to dive deep into our archives once again in order to bring almost forgotten treasures back to light.

Sean Hamilton… When the pandemic hit big time, Hamilton moved into a trailer on his parents’ property in rural Idaho, set up a studio there, and thoroughly committed himself to improving his painting technique. The result is nothing short of impressive. The starting point might be nostalgic imagery from the heydays of the nuclear family, the topics he’s addressing though couldn’t be more contemporary, as his carefully arranged compositions are adding new complex narratives to Midwest Americana.

Jamie Wdziekonski… There’s no shortage of epochal cover artwork hailing from Australia and it’s safe to state that the latest addition of great artists goes by the name of Jamie Wdziekonski. The Melbourne-based photographer divides his time between documenting the hottest bands this planet’s indie circuit has to offer and capturing protest culture on the streets of Down Under - and he does so with a striking (predominantly) black and white signature style.

Willy Spiller … When Swiss photographer Willy Spiller newly arrived in NYC in the spring of 1977, the city’s public transit system presented itself as something entirely different: to him, the vibe was matching the forecourt of hell. It was absolutely terrifying. Definitely electrifying. And most certainly not comparable to anything he’s experienced in his home country ever. As a result, he started to bring his camera on the subway for eight years straight, capturing the fascinating microcosmos and its implied crash of high and low culture on some 2.000 frames.

- plus more elaborate features and visual awesomeness from the likes of: Sebastian Haslauer, Mona Sardari, Bernhard Moosbauer, Barbara Helmer, Ali Boulala, Peter Lagast and many others.