Belly Kids

Belly Kids – records, books and ill-formed prose. Their given byline is too reductive, when each creation is so brilliantly unique. What Belly Kids do is to help realise our most primal or juvenile desires, our moments of ingenuity that never normally venture beyond a friendship group, or a poorly-lit conversation. Belly Kids are a sort of social-media talent hoover that siphon off the finest of these concepts, casting a net wide across their accumulated networks, and waste little time in sculpting them.

Perhaps this blueprint is what future organisations must cede to. Like a chameleon, they adapt to their environment, or more aptly, they gather up the leftovers and whip up something delicious. Belly Kids’ projects are mostly marinated in nutritional content; from cuisine-based interviews, to delectable illustrations, and recipes by bands. I recall at one exhibition they organised, there was a giant home-made Kit Kat stick – in my memory, almost a metre long. Their output is never monotone, always with bright colours, bells, whistles, and a garnish of culture.

Here we give an overview of our favourite projects by them:

THRILL MURRAY

A colouring book harnessing the work of 24 illustrators (24IP), to portray the great Bill Murray in his various cinematic roles. With an endless amount of classics; Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, the Life Aquatic, Lost in Translation, and the most recent, Moonrise Kingdom, Murray never has to be far from your side anymore. We get to pretend we are closer to cult-hero whilst playing with some crayolas. Latest on the hot press is a Bill Murray tote bag!

THE MONA PIZZA

A portrait of music & food, sees 20 different bands, musicians, or artists submit a recipe to this grandiosely-titled cookbook. A real staple of Belly Kids witnesses more classic drawings alongside a rare sort of artistic contribution from the likes of Beak>, Japanther and Emmy the Great. A recipe shows the real calibre of person you are.

DISCOVER ATLANTASS

A spoken word jazz-opera release from Talibam! who collaborate with Sam Kulik, accompanied by a 30 page comic. It tells the story of a young boy called Franklin who gets abducted to the undersea world of Atlantis by a laid-back jazz fish revolutionary named Stinge. Together, they are ready to combat a disastrous oil spill which has nearly eradicated the vibrant community of poets, musicians, artists and fornicators who inhabit the undersea paradise. It is based on their 2008 Finland Tour, the 2010 BP Oil spill, and the Ground Zero Mosque.

A NEO TROPICAL COMPANION

An aggregation of Jamie Stewart’s (Xiu Xiu) classical Japanese form haikus, complete with illustrations and commentary. Topics include death, uncertainty, cats, being on weird tours, horrible sex, hating other people, bird watching in Guyana, and growing up in a dim and boxed-in valley. Some taster haikus are below:

when all else fails you

beg them to pay attention

that’s why they like dogs

your cock is sugar

granulate it up my ass

my tears are candy

Belly Kids will be having their 1st Birthday Party this Saturday at Power Lunches in Dalston. A medley of zines, comics, records, and cocktails as well as a bunch of bands and DJs will fuel the big night

Have a listen to some of their mixes too: