You may have never heard of Kodek, a Latvian beatmaker whose immaculate pre-internet sport styles we’ve admired before. Bright, bold and badass, his new forthcoming EP, HI-LOW AEROBICS, features a new video for "All I Wanna Do," a minimal track, which is a throwback to Kraftwerk. By wearing his trademark colorful sport getup, Kodek is clearly the best customer to his local thrift store. By donning everything you might typically overlook as “too much,” he fuses retro with a message: It takes us back to Windows98, a time when the internet was paranoid-free, exploratory, and without encryption.
FLUORESCENTS ARE A MUST
Equipped with the scorching palette of garb to stop anyone within 5 kilometer radius, Kodek is a cartoon character walking through the Latvian snow. Wearing a ski suit even when the snow is dwindling, you've got to pair up the snowsuits with high tops and a boombox at all times for full impact. Notice the slogans on his sports gear which reflect the lyrics in the song: “FUN” and “HIGH.” (Hopefully “LOW” and “ALL I WANNA” are somewhere in there, too.)
ALWAYS CARRY A BOOMBOX
You never know when you need it and since we’re going back to a pre-mp3 era (which is arguable), your ski mirror sunglasses must help reflect the snow. It helps if the boombox is purple because then it matches your cotton pants.
FANNY PACKS
You need somewhere to carry all dem DD batteries for your boombox, so forget the wallet, the jacket pockets and the murse, the fanny pack is where it’s at. Also, even though high top sneakers complete the outfit here, when there is actual snow, you’ll have to stick to Wal Mart boots. Also, gloves are for pussies. Get a grip on that boombox.
HOLD MS OFFICE 97 UPSIDE DOWN
It shows that you’re hood. Long gone is the era of the PC, along with Office and Excel and Word and everything else that brings you back to high school. Looking back on these boxes, it looks like they’re parody audio book covers or something found under the couch of a suburban library. Now, these extinct creatures belong in the natural history museum—right beside the dinosaurs.
BUST OUT THE SPORTS BAG
When you can’t fit everything in your fanny pack, it’s time to upgrade to a sports bag, carrying your 1998 laptop—of course—which is so heavy that it throws you to your grandma rug in exhaustion.
BRING IT BACK TO FLOPPY
Simply holding up the Windows boxes is not enough Outlook, so it’s best to bring it back to floppy and put that shit in your old school laptop, which is so heavy you can't lift it from the carpet. Here, you discover an unknown world, ready to discover.
GO DEEP WEB
So deep that you need an almost-gone toilet roll directly beside your ghetto laptop, because… you have a cold? Uh, playing video games is a must, you understand. That’s all we can think about, day in, day out. (Sidenote: Couldn’t help but notice Kodek’s Tumblr has a 1998 desktop theme).
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, TURN YOUR CAT INTO A VIDEO GAME
Lynx is the name of Kodek’s cat and the cat has a stage name MC CAT FOOD. This video game shows Lynx kicking ass in a pair of shades, destroying all the Windows avatar icons into toxic purple and green clouds, in the style of Pong. Enter this into the video game museum, stat.
LASER CATS ARE FOR REAL
So when you want to destroy Windows and turn them into toxic slime, the cat can do that with one death stare. The video game cat also makes an offline cameo, IRL. And this isn’t the first time Kodek has done so—his Future Wave EP has cats all over it, as does his music video for "Jupiter 8000," which is more like Star Wars for felines, armed with the odd palm tree.
EMBRACE TINFOIL
Especially on the walls, where you chill in the corner like an oversized child with your digital mansion, holding MC CAT FOOD, who blasts the ghetto internet with laser green death stares. Tinfoil walls means you can also chill with shades on inside the house without feeling like a tool. At this point it's more a matter of #health and #safety than #style. Seriously your eyeballs should be protected from such reflective light-bouncing surfaces.
BE HOME ALONE IN A PIXEL MANSION
Don’t forget the toilet paper; this is your own universe, after all. It could be viewed twofold: entering online permanently; or destroying all internets since the beginning of time forever, so you are forever trapped offline in a house with no access to anyone, ever again (except the cat).
BE PREPARED TO SING INTO A SHOWER FAUCET
While wearing a sports coat in your pixel, tinfoil universe. The "pinky up" symbol is a sign of the European class, usually used while holding a glass of red wine or a tiny teacup of extremely weak Earl Grey.
YOU NEED A HAT WITH A FAN
And it has to say ‘Mallorca’ on it. Even though your eyes should be accustomed to the brightest of fluorescents, wear the teashades to be protected from the plastic propellers. This sophisticated look is what you wear underneath the fluorescent sports gear, inside the cozy house, composing new beats, chilling out on the fanpage.
BRING OUT THE LASER EYES IN TAXIDERMY
Now that you have internet super powers, you can take owls and other kinds of taxidermy and inspire glowing green eyes in them. This way, we stay protected against Windows98. Need more superpowers? Head back to the vintage clothing shop. They might even have batteries.Related:Pre-Internet Latvian Sports Styles with KodekIt is unclear which of these trends Nadja is currently following but we suggest you ask her via Twitter - @nadjasayej.AND MORE!
_ _What I learned about style_ from Green Day's "When I Come Around"_What I learned about style from Weezer's "Say it Ain't So"
What I learned about style from Britney's "Work it Bitch"What I learned about style from Beyoncé's 17 VideosWhat I learned about style from Shakira's "Can't Remember to Forget You" ft. RihannaWhat I learned about style from Enrique Iglesias' "I'm a Freak" ft. PitbullWhat I learned about style from Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost a Thing"What I learned about style from Paris Hilton's "Good Time" ft. Lil WayneWhat I learned about style from Fiona Apple's "Criminal"What I learned about style from Rick Ross' "No Games" ft. FutureWhat I learned about style from Drake's "Started From The BottomWhat I learned about style from Angel Haze's "Echelon"What I learned about style from Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"What I learned about style from Aerosmith's "Crazy"What I learned about style from Mick Jagger and David Bowie's "Dancing in the StreetsWhat I learned about style from Sonic Youth's "Bull in the Heather"What I learned about style from TLC's "Creep"What I learned about style from Olivia Newton John's "Physical"What I learned about style from Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"What I learned about style from Solange's "Lovers in the Parking Lot"
What I learned about style from MIA's "Bring The Noize"
Advertisement
Equipped with the scorching palette of garb to stop anyone within 5 kilometer radius, Kodek is a cartoon character walking through the Latvian snow. Wearing a ski suit even when the snow is dwindling, you've got to pair up the snowsuits with high tops and a boombox at all times for full impact. Notice the slogans on his sports gear which reflect the lyrics in the song: “FUN” and “HIGH.” (Hopefully “LOW” and “ALL I WANNA” are somewhere in there, too.)
You never know when you need it and since we’re going back to a pre-mp3 era (which is arguable), your ski mirror sunglasses must help reflect the snow. It helps if the boombox is purple because then it matches your cotton pants.
You need somewhere to carry all dem DD batteries for your boombox, so forget the wallet, the jacket pockets and the murse, the fanny pack is where it’s at. Also, even though high top sneakers complete the outfit here, when there is actual snow, you’ll have to stick to Wal Mart boots. Also, gloves are for pussies. Get a grip on that boombox.
It shows that you’re hood. Long gone is the era of the PC, along with Office and Excel and Word and everything else that brings you back to high school. Looking back on these boxes, it looks like they’re parody audio book covers or something found under the couch of a suburban library. Now, these extinct creatures belong in the natural history museum—right beside the dinosaurs.
Advertisement
When you can’t fit everything in your fanny pack, it’s time to upgrade to a sports bag, carrying your 1998 laptop—of course—which is so heavy that it throws you to your grandma rug in exhaustion.
Simply holding up the Windows boxes is not enough Outlook, so it’s best to bring it back to floppy and put that shit in your old school laptop, which is so heavy you can't lift it from the carpet. Here, you discover an unknown world, ready to discover.
So deep that you need an almost-gone toilet roll directly beside your ghetto laptop, because… you have a cold? Uh, playing video games is a must, you understand. That’s all we can think about, day in, day out. (Sidenote: Couldn’t help but notice Kodek’s Tumblr has a 1998 desktop theme).
Lynx is the name of Kodek’s cat and the cat has a stage name MC CAT FOOD. This video game shows Lynx kicking ass in a pair of shades, destroying all the Windows avatar icons into toxic purple and green clouds, in the style of Pong. Enter this into the video game museum, stat.
So when you want to destroy Windows and turn them into toxic slime, the cat can do that with one death stare. The video game cat also makes an offline cameo, IRL. And this isn’t the first time Kodek has done so—his Future Wave EP has cats all over it, as does his music video for "Jupiter 8000," which is more like Star Wars for felines, armed with the odd palm tree.
Advertisement
Especially on the walls, where you chill in the corner like an oversized child with your digital mansion, holding MC CAT FOOD, who blasts the ghetto internet with laser green death stares. Tinfoil walls means you can also chill with shades on inside the house without feeling like a tool. At this point it's more a matter of #health and #safety than #style. Seriously your eyeballs should be protected from such reflective light-bouncing surfaces.
Don’t forget the toilet paper; this is your own universe, after all. It could be viewed twofold: entering online permanently; or destroying all internets since the beginning of time forever, so you are forever trapped offline in a house with no access to anyone, ever again (except the cat).
While wearing a sports coat in your pixel, tinfoil universe. The "pinky up" symbol is a sign of the European class, usually used while holding a glass of red wine or a tiny teacup of extremely weak Earl Grey.
And it has to say ‘Mallorca’ on it. Even though your eyes should be accustomed to the brightest of fluorescents, wear the teashades to be protected from the plastic propellers. This sophisticated look is what you wear underneath the fluorescent sports gear, inside the cozy house, composing new beats, chilling out on the fanpage.
BRING OUT THE LASER EYES IN TAXIDERMY
Now that you have internet super powers, you can take owls and other kinds of taxidermy and inspire glowing green eyes in them. This way, we stay protected against Windows98. Need more superpowers? Head back to the vintage clothing shop. They might even have batteries.
Advertisement
_ _What I learned about style_ from Green Day's "When I Come Around"_What I learned about style from Weezer's "Say it Ain't So"
What I learned about style from Britney's "Work it Bitch"What I learned about style from Beyoncé's 17 VideosWhat I learned about style from Shakira's "Can't Remember to Forget You" ft. RihannaWhat I learned about style from Enrique Iglesias' "I'm a Freak" ft. PitbullWhat I learned about style from Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost a Thing"What I learned about style from Paris Hilton's "Good Time" ft. Lil WayneWhat I learned about style from Fiona Apple's "Criminal"What I learned about style from Rick Ross' "No Games" ft. FutureWhat I learned about style from Drake's "Started From The BottomWhat I learned about style from Angel Haze's "Echelon"What I learned about style from Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"What I learned about style from Aerosmith's "Crazy"What I learned about style from Mick Jagger and David Bowie's "Dancing in the StreetsWhat I learned about style from Sonic Youth's "Bull in the Heather"What I learned about style from TLC's "Creep"What I learned about style from Olivia Newton John's "Physical"What I learned about style from Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"What I learned about style from Solange's "Lovers in the Parking Lot"
What I learned about style from MIA's "Bring The Noize"