Blown Away

What do you require from a new magazine? Me, I want boldness of vision; quality writing; and arresting images. Simple. It also has to smell lush. Blown - with a confident flourish - ticks all of the above boxes, and a few more besides. Its roots may be in Wales but the magazine stretches its cultural tentacles as far afield as Venice, Arles, Romania, Gijon and Mayo. And that's no bad thing.

Mixing fashion, music, photography, literature, art and performance, Blown manages to be intelligent without disappearing up its own cultural fundament. In fact, it's a fun read. Some of the characters you'll encounter within its glossy pages are John Cale, Nick Cave (and his photogenic sprog), a pair of well turned-out football hooligans, Basement Jaxx, Diane Arbus, Rachel Trezise and the delightfully pervy, Paul+a.

Blown is funded, to some degree, by the Arts Council of Wales which means that it is mercifully free of the relentless tyranny of advertisements - the ruination of many a magazine-reading experience. So, why not give it a whirl? Check the Blown magazine website for your nearest stockist.