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introduc tion

DAZED

Whether Glastonbury sizzles in the sun or dissolves into a quagmire at the end of this month, if there’s one performer who can be guaranteed to heat up the summer, it’s Beyoncé. Photographed for Dazed in an elaborate trailer park fantasy, our favourite R&B megastar kicks off our summer music special with a splash of energy and colour, wearing custom-made creations by Tom Ford, Riccardo Tisci, Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, Stefano Pilati and Marc Jacobs. Tom Ford told us while he was working on it, “Beyoncé is not only one of the greatest performers of our times, but also one of the world’s most inspirational women. She has incredible grace and style but also an incredible inner beauty which radiates from within.”

Elsewhere, we present the most exciting music stars of the summer, some returning and some new – Tom Vek, telling us where he’s been for the past five years, enigmatic production maestro Zomby popping by our office for a photo shoot, grime overlord Wiley dropping the album he’s always wanted to, Bon Iver talking beards and Kanye, and Manchester’s Wu Lyf limbering up for the big time. Spike Jonze and Arcade Fire’s Win Butler also talk teenage dreams and suburban nightmares, while if you were in any doubt as to who the “sexual liberator” of Jamaica is, then dancehall legend Vybz Kartel is here to set you straight.

Rod Stanley, Editor contribu tors

Laura Bradley WRITER

Laura Bradley is commissioning editor at AnOthermag.com and founder of the Fashion Almanac. She met musician Tom Vek and his cat Cooper in east London for Vek’s first interview since the announcement of his new “beat rock” record Leisure Seizure, the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s We Have Sound. “In my article he reveals the secret behind his ‘perfect quiff ’,” reveals Bradley, who discovered the two had some traits in common: “His birthday is the day before mine. The first time I met Tom I knew he was a Taurus. He was very shocked. I can spot them a mile off.”

Viviane Sasen PHOTOGRAPHER

Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen traveled to a flower farm near Amsterdam with senior fashion editor Katie Shillingford and model Lisanne de Jong to shoot the In Bloom story. “The fields only blossom for two weeks each year in spring. We were lucky; the farmer told us if we’d come two days later, the flowers would’ve gone.” Sassen spent her early childhood in Kenya and is known for her surreal African portraiture (collected in her book Flamboya) as well as innovative photography that has appeared in Dazed, Vogue, Wallpaper, AnOther and Purple.

Can Evgin PHOTOGRAPHER

Photographer and filmmaker Can (pronounced “John”) Evgin shot Wu Lyf, Gwilym Gold, Zomby, Wiley and Tom Vek for this issue. “The most dramatic shoot was Wiley. After a few canceled dates, we finally caught up with him in Brighton and ended up hanging out in his tour bus until his show later that night. He’s an absolute genius live.” Can’s photography is regularly featured in Dazed, Vogue and Wonderland and his films have screened on Nowness, 10, Post and Test.

Sharif Hamza PHOTOGRAPHER Originally from London, New York-based photographer and filmmaker Sharif Hamza shot a sizzling Beyoncé in Brooklyn’s Navy Docks for Dazed’s cover story. Hamza, whose work regularly appears in Dazed, Interview and Vogue says his shoot with the pop diva was a career highlight: “Working with Beyoncé has easily been my most exciting shoot to date. The subject matter of my work is always strong, modern, independent working women, and Beyoncé is the embodiment of that. With her sheer professionalism and ability to turn it on in an instant, it was an almost effortless experience.”