The Source: Andy Fowler

Andy Fowler, founder and ECD of Brothers and Sisters, gets in the zone by listening to electronica, thinks youth culture is the stuff of life and is open to offers from a European city.

What is the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen in the past few months?

I went to the hipster heaven that is the UK Music Video Awards last October in Leicester Square. There’s literally fuck-all cash in music videos, yet the quality of ideas and craft was as strong as ever. I’m a massive fan of Roman Gavras and his Best Video for MIA’s Bad Girls is an eye-popping feast.

What is your favourite website?

I must give props to my sidekick Mark Harris who introduced me to overdoz.tumblr.com. It’s beautifully curated. Whoever puts it together has an amazing eye for guns, girls, fire and buildings.

What website do you use most regularly?

I devour Pitchfork.com daily. It reviews the whole independent music scene and makes some sweet docos too. I also love soundsoftheuniverse.com and honestjons.com/shop.php. I never understand how people lose their love of youth culture as they get older. They stop buying music, lose interest in clothes, can’t be bothered to go to the cinema. This stuff is life.

What product could you not live without?

My iPad is pretty much glued to my hand. My kids have micro-scooters. Without them, I’m not sure how we‘d get around of a weekend. And I regularly bore everyone at Brothers and Sisters about pilates, which has changed my back and my life. I use a machine called a reformer that has made me feel about two inches taller. It’s like the contraption they used in Roman times so four horses could rip a slave apart from each corner.

What product hasn’t been invented yet that would make your life/job better?

I wrote “teleporter” first but then had to alt-delete when I saw that James Hilton wrote the same in his interview for shots. I think the hover board from Back To The Future would be pretty damn sexy, being able to ride around on air just above the pavement, leaning as I swoosh around corners and narrowly avoiding oncoming hover lorries.

What track/artist would you listen to for inspiration?

I can only write to instrumental electronic music, so something like Boards of Canada or Flying Lotus would do the trick. There’s something about writing in a trance that this music induces in me. I can play the same Boards of Canada track 20 times and I get into a writing rhythm. Whether it makes any sense is another matter, but I don’t think I’m ever happier.

What is the best film you’ve seen over the past year?

I took my kids to Madagascar 3 and the animation was the best I’ve ever seen. On a more grown-up level, I’ve been re-watching some of my fave films lately because I’ve got a five-week-old daughter. If you haven’t seen Angel Heart then please do. Mickey Rourke is the coolest mutha fucka you’ve ever seen. My favourite film of the past year or two is Drive. It’s pretty vacuous on one level, but beautifully put together.

Mac or PC?

Mac, predictably, but I’m not the kind of person who worships at the grave of Jobs.

What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?

I bought a ridiculously detailed Korean manga painting at the Affordable Art Show last week by a girl called Kim da Song. It’s pretty mind-blowing. She takes three or four months to do each piece. I love buying contemporary and street art. In another life, I would have run my own gallery. I’ve become good mates with Adrian who runs ap-art.co.uk. I bought a Defi Gagliardo piece from him recently. He’s an Argentine guy who makes these beautiful little cinematic set pieces made of lolly sticks and other detritus he finds.

If you could live in one city, where would it be?

I’ve always wanted to live in a European city such as Barcelona or Rome to learn a language. I’ve got to find an excuse for setting up Brothers and Sisters in Europe. If anyone reading this wants to invite me to their lovely city to share their office or introduce me to some clients, I’m all ears.

Who is your favourite photographer?

Rinko Kawauchi does these amazing photos that turn everyday objects into things of extraordinary beauty.

What fictitious character do you most relate to?

I watched The Godfather again the other night and I love Pacino’s Michael Corleone character. He’s ultra-loyal to his people, will do anything to defend their honour and gets to fall in love with a beautiful Sicilian girl.

What is your favourite magazine?

Fantastic Man is a bit of a revelation. I think they publish it from Amsterdam. They interview loads of interesting characters. I love the art direction and feel. And the formal, old-fashioned way they refer to each interviewee as Mr Eugeny Lebedev esq, or whatever, is somehow refreshing. And you can’t go wrong with Wired because you get to find out what’s coming round the corner every month.

Who is your favourite designer?

It would be whoever designs menswear for Folk right now. And whoever does the same for Albam, APC, YMC. Sadly, the Convenience Store, the womenswear boutique that I was a partner in, recently closed. We supported up-and-coming British designers, but the concept of putting a high-end boutique under a run down council block was ultimately flawed.

If you could have been in any band, what band would you choose?

Radiohead are heroes because they do exactly what they want to, yet they have a massive following. Being one of the original Beastie Boys would have been shitloads of fun, let’s be honest. I wish I’d learnt a musical instrument at school instead of playing football every waking minute.