Finally a guide to Londons Independent shop scene, long over-due this is a comprehensive photography based guide to the best independent shops in London.

Britain: a nation of shopkeepers? but where are they all? Working at Tescos? 2000 local shops are closing each year in Britain since the end of World War II, the number of small shops has plunged from 500,000 to 30,000. Enough is enough.

We know you know where Boots, Snappy Snaps and the other insert name here clone high street shops are but wheres the Flea-Pit or F-Art or La Bouche? Well theyre all here in this little gem of a guidebook. Your Independent Store Guide is our way to inform you of all thats individual, artisan, inspirational, eclectic and just great, as well as of course independent independent of mind, spirit, and soul.

Clone town is a threat to diversity, the environment the very social fabric of Britain, its time to redress the balance so we want to show you the best in Independent shopping around London. We cant promise free parking, trolleys, long queues and 2 for 1 offers but with our detailed descriptions and photographs we can help you find the best in individual shopping in London.

Be Independent.

Relive Playboy's fifty-year history with this sweeping retrospective of the groundbreaking magazine that grew from Hugh Hefner's pet project into an icon as recognizable as Disney and Coca-Cola. Visit Hef's Playboy Mansion, canoodle with his delectable Bunnies, tour the DC-9 Big Bunny jet, experience the sizzling atmosphere of the Playboy Clubs, read the best Playboy interviews, original fiction, and humor, cackle at the irreverent cartoons and social satire pieces, and - of course - admire each Playmate of the Month since the first issue all six hundred of them. All of the magazine's most glorious moments are highlighted in this extravaganza of Playboy nostalgia.

To celebrate their twentieth anniversary, Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana feature their most significant fashion moments in this luxurious book. Known for their contemporary fashion with a strong Mediterranean identity, Dolce & Gabbanas style is sensual and unique with the utmost attention to quality and detail. Adored by Hollywood elite and pop stars around the globe, their creations convey a message in a universal language. 20 Years Dolce & Gabbana is a collection of memories and iconic images that mark each step of their evolution. The book features images from photographers such as Steven Meisel, Mario Sorrenti, Ferdinando Scianna among others and models of the likes of Gisele, Linda Evangelista, Isabella Rossellini and Marpessa. The Author Sarah Mower is an eminent British fashion journalist. Her work has appeared in Vogue and Style.com.

A luxurious, slip-cased volume featuring more than 400 stunning illustrations, drawing together some of the most significant moments in fashion

Published to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of iconic fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana - an incomparable partnership

Written by a celebrated journalist, with images by renowned photographers

These richly imagined tales, by turns playful and dark, and shot through with magic, depict the lives of East African Ismailis, a Muslim community with origins in India and a history of upheaval and dislocation. Set variously in Canada and East Africa, these stories portray characters caught between home and exile, between what is real and what is imagined, what is lost and what is found. A baby with wings, a disappeared life savings, a pearl divers magical secrets - in each story, what is cursed is also blessed, and redemption, when it comes, will take your breath away. Reminiscent of the stories of Singer and O. Henry, Baby Khakis Wings is an unforgettable reading experience and the mark of a singularly new and luminous literary talent

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Roxy Music has garnered fans worldwide since the 70s. From their Glam-Rock beginnings to their Ultra-Suave metamorphosis -- they were the model for every New Romantic group to come out of the 80s. With a potent cocktail of fashion, romance nostalgia and futurism, Bryan Ferry and Company set the standard for cool.

BasicLUX has pulled together an international group of artists influenced by the path and style that Roxy Music & Bryan Ferry created and asked them to re-visit their Roxy favorites. The results are stunning, sexy, and sensual.

It is our hope that the work of these artists and producers will remind fans of why Roxy Music was and remains so important to the music scene today.

Track & Artist Listing:

01. Same Old Scene - Madison Park w/Soulrider
02. Love Is The Drug - J.A.C.E. featuring Chris Hays
03. Angel Eyes - Perfect Project
04. Avalon - Sunday People
05. Don�t Stop The Dance - BiTeR mc featuring Elena DeLucca
06. More Than This - Madison Park vs Lenny B
07. Wildcat Days - Abstract Foundation
08. Kiss and Tell - J.A.C.E. featuring Chris Hays
09. Thru An Angel�s Eyes - Stormchild
10. Beauty Queen - Sara J
11. Slave To Love - Abstract Foundation
12. You Do Something To Me - Madison Park w/The GrooveOholics
13. Ten Cents a Dance - Wilson

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Who better to introduce to Madison Park then James and Deanna themselves. Click on the more information link below...

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The Mistletoe Lounge ::: Christmas Classics Remixed

It's that time of year again shop til you drop, gather with good friends and kick back by the fireplace. snowflakes glisten as the flames flicker and dance. the fine crew at the Mistletoe Lounge has served up a tasty mix of Christmas Classics, regrooved with the sounds of modern lounge. infused with elements of smooth house, bossa nova and electronica, this is the perfect soundtrack for the season. so pop this cd in the player and slip into the holiday spirit. 'tis the season

click on more info to hear sample tunes

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Vocalist Maureen Kennedy developed her love for jazz in her early twenties when she studied for six years with Canadian flugelhorn and trumpet player Fred Stone. The purity of her sound and her restrained use of vibrato developed under his tutelage. She also studied at Jazz Workshop at the Banff Centre for the Arts under the direction of bassist Dave Holland and pianist Don Thompson.

Through the years she has cultivated an extensive repertoire of memorable standards and rediscovered gems that compliment her very personal sound. This is evident in her debut recording This Is Always, which features a selection of classic standards including rarely recorded compositions by Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke, Alec Wilder and Antonio Carlos Jobim. In addition, the arranging talents of pianist Nancy Walker are showcased in covers of two folk songs written by Nick Drake and Sandy Denny.

Listen to Maureen Kennedy by clicking on the more info line below and hit music...

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DJ duo and festival favourites Bent turn in a trademark cool-as-fk selection which spans some of the edgiest labels on the planet: Ninja Tune, Breastfed stablemate Discfunction, Metro Area�s Environ and Ghostly International. Quirky, spacey, and managing to be at the same time mellow yet with more than a hint of disco, this is a unique and inspired mix which is destined to stay in your i-pod all summer long. --

This album hits the spot perfectly, moving between mellow house and playful funk with an effortless poise.� Update
Simon and Nail, also known as chillout / dance / club innovators Bent, have been DJing across the globe, experimenting with loads of different styles and hundreds of different tunes, ranging quite literally from the sublime to the ridiculous. In every set though there is still a vibe and a sound that feels like home. Call it spacey disco if you have to, or maybe Bent disco would be more appropriate. Whatever you name it, it feels and sounds just right, whether you listen to it on a sunny Sunday morning or a gloomy Thursday afternoon. It�s a sound filled with melody, it�s groovy but always atmospheric. It�s up, definitely uplifting, but not so fast that it drags you along to a place you�d rather not be. It�s more like an old 2CV with the roof down, zooming down some back roads on the way to an old friend�s house. An old friend who knows you well enough to expect you to be at least two hours late, but as soon as you arrive it will be like you�d never been away.

What we have here is not just any old mix album, but something very precious and personal, put together by two people who really care about their music. It�s like a mix tape that you�d make for a best mate. It�s not full of the latest trendy tunes, but some more obscure things, old and new, plus some tried and tested favourites. All with that special mellow, Bent disco flavour.

Track listing:
Eastern Lights Neon Heights mix : Heavy Deviance
Saddic Gladdic : Wagon Christ
Lament For A Dead Computer Part 1 : Furry Phreaks
Ordinary Day : Bent
It�s A Fine World : Nail
Elektromotor : Olav Brekke Mathisen & Sideshow Jogge
Baby Of The Year : Bent
The Rhythm Touch : Kelly Polar Quartet
Followed By Angels : Mathew Jonson
Keep The Faith : Yam Who feat. Little Rico
Berlin Sunrise Die Nacht : Daniel Wang
Think Twice : Detroit Experiment

An eclectic collection of classy but feelgood tracks for the escape generation…

-- “An instinctive explosion of music to go with your naughty weekend escapades. Sensuality is the name of the game, and this album delivers it well” BPM Magazine --

Spy Publishing, independent publisher of Mr & Mrs Smith – the UK’s fastest selling travel guide – want couples to have everything for the best escape possible. So now they have turned their attention to music… Having teamed up with Seamless Recordings and Rob Wood, they've put together a compilation guaranteed to put you in a holiday mood, inspire unforgettable times and promise great memories. With Seamless Recordings the creator of the supercool bargrooves series and Rob Wood the prolific DJ formerly behind music magazine, Jockey Slut, let’s just say this is a team that knows their music. This 13-track compilation is a unique selection of tracks and artists on one CD. Travelling from soul to jazz-funk via Balearic house and Britpop, it’s truly a mix like no other. Bringing together different musical experiences, Something For the Weekend captures a diversity of styles and moods that will appeal to anyone who loves music. One minute it tugs at your nostalgia heartstrings with tracks like St Etienne and Randy Crawford, and the next it gets you on your feet to Max Sedgley and Faze Action… this is a compilation as elemental to parties back in your hotel suite, as it is your car stereo.

Track Listing:

Nothing Can Stop Us Now : Saint Etienne
Think Twice : Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band
Junta Jaeger : Rune Lindbaek
Cajun Moon Long Trip version : Randy Crawford
Spellbound : Rae & Christian
Tell Him : McKay
Broad Souls : Faze Action
Les Fleurs : Chungking
Happy : Max Sedgley
Josephine French Edit : Chris Rea
Up With People : Lambchop
Wesley Music : RSL
Come Together 7” mix : Primal Scream