I love these short comics about record collecting by illustrator Mat Pringle, especially the Scott Walker one, easy to forget pre-internet era collecting. He also does a fine line in prints, gig posters (see the Silver Apples one below) and the odd Threadless shirt design too.
Talented guy, see more at his site.
Shelter from Carl Burton on Vimeo.
Incredible short film by Carl Burton. An epic secret world is revealed within an attic during a rainstorm. Show support by purchasing a download bundle.
Contains: Digital HD Copy + “Making-Of” PDF + Wallpapers for $3
Bundle and T-Shirts available here: shelteranimation.com/shop
Main animation site: shelteranimation.com/ Inspiration Tumblr: carlburton.tumblr.com/ Twitter: twitter.com/carlburton
The excellent Pepe Deluxé are coming to the UK for their first live performance on November 12th at the Scala in London. Tickets are available here from Soundcrash.
The full live experience will be supported by Husky Rescue and guests and coincide with the release of the Deluxe edition of Pepe’s ‘Queen Of The Wave’ album which I rhapsodised over earlier this year.
Apparently the new edition (a deluxe Deluxé edition?) contains 2 CDs and a DVD and comes in a 64 page hardback book with loads of extra artwork to add to the album companions already generated for the original version. Check the front and back covers below and get more info from their Facebook page.
[singlepic id=4112 w=640 h=480 float=left] [singlepic id=4101 w=640 h=480 float=left]
More photos from the recent Sacrum Profanum concert in Poland – this time by the excellent photographer Bartosz Holoszkiewicz. These go right through from our arrival, rehearsal, backstage banter and make up (B&W) to the final performance (colour). There are even more over on Bart’s site but this is my pick of the bunch, also that’s Prof. Penderecki with Skalpel below.
My good friend Sarah Coleman, aka Inkymole, who recently put on an exhibition of mine and Henry Flint‘s work, has done the cover for the new US edition of Playboy!
No, she hasn’t given up the pen to strip off and become a bunnygirl but that’s her hand drawn type all over the cover. The mag has recently gained a new art director who is keen to get back to the days of old when it had some genuinely original designs fronting it.
For more info, and a look at past designs sourced from the ever-handy Secret Oranges blog, go to Sarah’s Inkymole site.
S
ubscribers get this on a Saturday, always a joy to come home from a gig, stick the kettle on and relax for 30 minutes with an issue.
Really packed opening at the Blackall Gallery on Leonard St. last night for the opening of the Futurism 2.0 show. Featuring a gallery of modern artists, at least half of whom piss from a great height on anything in a regular Tate Modern showing. Be quick if you want to see this show, it’s on for a ridiculously short time and finishes next week on October 2nd.
Shots of the forthcoming album by The Herbaliser, ‘There Were Seven’, which I designed. This is the regular vinyl version which comes in a screen printed PVC sleeve and has a download code for the whole album too. You can pre-order if here (Click the red ‘shop’ tab for options).
The launch party in London is at the HMV Forum on October 27th where I’ll also be supporting along with Belleruche and DJ Cam. Tickets with a special ‘Friends of Food’ discount can be found here. Or, if they’re all gone – here.
Very jealous of those who will be able to go to this
Way back in March I was asked by Eddy Temple-Morris if I would be interested in putting together a short mix offering my take on the work of DJ Shadow. This was to form part of a marathon special on his XFM show celebrating Josh’s career and tying into a compilation of some sort which has since evolved into the ‘Reconstruction’ release and deluxe box set.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big Shadow fan so this was a thrilling opportunity and also a daunting task. The mix had to be between 17 and 20 minutes long according to Eddy, how on earth to fit so many great tracks into that length of time? No idea but best get down to it and see what develops. Going through my extensive collection threw up over 80 potential tracks, skits, remixes, co-productions and original samples which totaled over 6 hours of music if I remember correctly. How to do this so that it wouldn’t be just another Shadow mix? How to present the ubiquitous but essential ‘Organ Donor’ in an exciting way? Have a listen…
Well, I couldn’t get it down to to 17 minutes, or 20, but squeezed it all into 23 which Eddy graciously let me get away with. I decided to go for the essence of a lot of tracks rather than letting everything play out, trying to edit sympathetically to each track’s progressions so it wouldn’t seem too brutal. I used a lesser-known compilation track (from ‘Turntables On The Hudson’) called ‘Flashback’ as a theme to title the mix as it’s such a blur of sonic information sometimes that it seems like it might be just that. Having not listened back since I made it nearly 6 months ago I find it’s quite an exhilarating ride if a bit relentless, which I quite like but it you might have to be in the mood for it. The solution to ‘Organ Donor’, probably his most well known creation, was to put it at the end, the big bang after a big build, mixing in the original Giorgio Moroder ‘Tears’ sample that forms the main melody as well as a newer production to show that he’s still got it.
But after all that, I still had material left over, specifically large chunks of ambient sound beds that formed a big part of his earlier releases, which is something I love about his music and that stood out as both original and uncompromising at the time. I wanted to put these together as some sort of collage without the usual beats and vocals, maybe it could be used as a bed to talk over on the radio? It was all here, might as well see what could be done with it, I doubted anyone else would go down this route too. The result is the short but sweet ‘Trip Out’ mix…
I was thinking of the KLF‘s classic ‘Chill Out’ album here, hence the pastiche of the cover and the title – also an allusion to hallucination of course but also a knowing wink to the Trip Hop genre tag that has dogged Shadow since the start of his career. I actually think this concept could have been taken further with a bit more production to extend and rearrange sections but time constraints didn’t permit. Anyway, now I had over 30 minutes of mix for Eddy when he only wanted half that. Props to him that he played both and you can hear the whole thing, along with mixes by IRN MNKY, Bare Noize, Stereo:Type and Culprit One online at XFM for the next week. If you’re abroad and you need to enter a postcode to make it think you’re listening from the UK then try W1A 1AA.
Being that Dredd3D just came out in the US after the UK premiere 2 weeks ago (special poster for Mondo by Jock, left) there have been numerous articles on which stories new readers should read up on should they want more from the character’s 35 year history. I thought it would be interesting to re-read one of the classics to see how well it held up today and see what others may be encountering for the first time.
‘The Cursed Earth’ is the first Judge Dredd ‘epic’, ie: a long form story recounting a significant event in the Dredd mythology. It ran from Prog 61 to 85 in 2000ad, way back in 1978 and coincidentally the premiere episode was also the first issue of the comic I ever bought as a child so I have fond memories of it.
Reading back through the collected edition was an enlightening experience though, all the art was present and correct, forever burned into my brain as I’d looked at it a thousand times as a child. The big shock though was the dialogue from writer Pat Mills, the man who started 2000ad and went on to write so many great strips for the comic but wasn’t Dredd’s main creator (that accolade falls to John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra). Baring in mind that this was the late 70’s and 2000ad was slowly reinventing what British boys comics could be, it’s interesting to see how the character has developed with age and return to a time when storytelling was a lot more simplified.
I’ve picked out a few choice panels which made me smile but probably wouldn’t appear in today’s version of Dredd. Only two artists drew the saga* – Brian Bolland, all clean lines and perfect anatomy, and Mike McMahon – a scratchy, rough style with the classic big booted look to his characters. Each are fan favourites and both helped define the Dredd uniform as we know it today. *(Dave ‘Watchmen’ Gibbons actually inked a couple of Bolland episodes too for the record).
The panel above is hilarious and unfortunately there are a lot more like it that turn up throughout the epic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sylvester Stallone read this and took it as gospel for his performance in the 1995 version of the film. Of course, back in 1978 this was gung-ho Dredd and my 8 year old self probably thought it was great.
The image on the left above is from the opening splash page of the first episode, check that dialogue – wow – another spiky speech balloon too which usually meant the character was shouting. To the right of it, Dredd goes all Scooby Doo trying to solve the mystery of a vampire terrorizing a village. It turns out to be a trio of medical robots who need fresh blood for the body of the cryogenically frozen last president of the United States.
Some campy comedy in these two panels, Dredd wouldn’t be so polite in the top one these days and the little ‘speed roll’ thought bubble made me laugh. More often than not this kind of thing would be said out loud preceded by a, “only one chance!, got to…”.
Above is one of the cliffhanger end panels that they were so fond of back in the day and still have their place in today’s comics too. I love the fact that he’s about to be eaten by a Tyrannosaurus and he still has the time for a bad gag to round things off.
Conscious Dredd: you can see Pat Mills’ own concerns with the environment and man’s cruelty to others shining through here in Dredd’s own thoughts, something of a rarity in comics back then.
Dredd in smile shock! Yes, he does crack the occasional smile but it’s as rare as hens teeth these days.
Two more final panels, the left one from the end of the first episode and the right from the penultimate part. Note the change in the character’s uniform and progression in drawing style by McMahon in just the space of 20 odd episodes. The rounded helmet has been straightened out and the chin is bigger – both artists really nailed their own takes on him during this run and helped iron out a lot of the creases in the original designs.
For a very enlightening insight into the creation of the character and the comic landscape at the time head over to Pat Mills‘ new blog as he goes into detail on the genesis of Dredd’s creation.
It’s taken me a while to post these as I was collating a lot of photos from the concert in Poland last weekend. Here’s a selection of images from my own efforts plus a few that I gleaned from the web, some by photographers Andrzej Banas and Wojciech Wandzel
Copyright: 10th Sacrum Profanum Festival, Krakow, Poland
The event was Sacrum Profanum, the 10th time it has happened in Krakow, situated in a working steelworks which is usually a no go area for the city’s inhabitants. This time the focus was on four Polish composers – Penderecki, Gorecki, Kilar and Lutoslawski – and the reinterpretation of their works. I was invited, alongside The Kronos Quartet, DJ Vadim, King Cannibal and Grasscut, by the Polish duo Skalpel, to perform a work by Kilar called ‘Krzesany’ in front of over 2,000 people for the event.
The set up ran like this: The Kronos Quartet would perform a piece (or a section of) by one of the composers, then one of us would perform our remix, then Skalpel would perform their take on another piece by the same composer. Once the show began we were encouraged to leave very little time between each piece so as to present a seamless flow, save for applause at the end of each piece. The audience were incredible, absolute silence during the pieces, no talking, mobile phones etc. – you wouldn’t find that in the UK at an event like this.
Skalpel are huge in Poland and this also acted as their reunion concert as they have been working apart the last few years (the Igor Boxx album on Ninja Tune is a solo record by Igor Pudlo from the group). They got big cheers when they appeared and, even though I was unfamiliar with all the music in both its original or remixed form, theirs stood out as being quite excellent. But the highlight for me was Grasscut’s take on Lutoslawski, an incredible piece in 11/2 time which grew to epic proportions with the addition of drummer Aram Zarikian. Coupled with the multi-layered projection screens behind them and the fantastic lighting design the whole stage resembled a huge stained glass window with the sun streaming through at points. The visuals were a big part throughout, helping fill the cavenous space.
The Kronos Quartet played their first piece with their backs to the crowd, reading a huge rolling projection of the score as they plucked and tapped their instruments to create a concrete opener for the concert. After this the screen was lowered as DJ Vadim presented his take on Penderecki (who was actually in attendance too) and an ‘X’ shaped cluster of screens were revealed showing different notes and textures. The X was a feature of the festival graphics, being that it was their 10th anniversary, and two of the huge supporting structures within the factory had also been lit to form the giant letter. I had sent animations of my own although I couldn’t see them when I was performing but was delighted to see used in photos afterwards.
A truly incredible gig in a year that has already had its share of great moments and events. I was honoured to be asked to such a concert (Aphex Twin and Johnny Greenwood had played similar pieces the year before) and will remember it for a long time. All the music I heard was excellent and I hope this will be collected and released as an album at some point. It was all filmed for DVD and Blu-ray release at a later date as well. More gigs like this please!
Be very quick if you want one of these, The Herbaliser have their new LP (designed by yours truly) up for pre-order. If you want CD or download, you’ll be fine, but…
If you want vinyl you have two options: regular double LP with full printed inner sleeves in a screen printed sleeve – only 450 copies though.
Or there’s the super limited (50 copies) deluxe version which comes with hand stenciled covers by Snub23, a signed A2 poster, a T-shirt and a download card. More photos when I actually have a physical copy! Order here (red ‘shop’ tab on the top right) – actually I think you can only order the regular vinyl right now…
The vinyl sort out is still happening, today I found this, a signed Busy Bee LP, love the little message he’s added, modest to a T.
A lot of turntablist records are biting the dust, I’ve got a re-ignited passion for Divine Styler, Cappo and J-Live albums, found some Major Force and Skylab remixes I forgot I had and was surprised at how much or little certain records are worth nowadays. I also found a remix of Tipsy‘s ‘Space Golf’ by Muziq tucked away on a B-side and was reminded how great their first album was/is.
I’m currently in Krakow preparing for this gig which promises to be a highlight of the year as performances go. This is an annual festival, highlighting and celebrating Polish composers be presenting their works in new and different ways.
The composers celebrated this year are Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki and Wojciech Kilar and the Kronos Quartet will play versions of their original compositions tonight before myself, DJ Vadim, Skalpel, Grasscut and King Cannibal present out reinterpretations. I have taken on Kilar’s ‘Krzesany’ and turned in a 13 minute piece of strings, electronics and drums.
Tomorrow night Kronos will perform with Sigur Ros and it all takes place inside a huge steelworks that an house 3,000 people and is usually off limits to the public. I’ve heard some of the new versions as rehearsals and they sound incredible, I can’t wait to hear them in front of a large crowd tonight. Below is a shot of Kronos practicing yesterday inside the venue.
A match made in heaven, Syd Mead designed Gundam robots, some of which you can get in kit form.
I’m very pleased to announce that my full dome show ‘The Search Engine’ will be returning to the SAT in Montreal for another run between 18th Sept and 12th Oct (that’s next week!).
For those who didn’t get to make the 5 day run in July there’s another chance to see it in one of 16 showings Tuesdays – Fridays.
I won’t actually be at these performances but before I left in July we programmed the whole piece to be automated in that certain sounds will follow random patterns around the dome the same as if I was controlling them.
Full details of dates, times, ticket prices etc. are on the Facebook event page. Or a direct link to tickets for each event is here. I’m told that Friday 21st might have two showings and some sort of Ninja Tune after party in the Foodlab space (good name), more info when I get that.
A quick reminder of what’s in store in the form of this little promo video I shot there last time.
DJ Food ‘The Search Engine’ live at SAT, Montreal from Solid Steel on Vimeo.
These images recently came up in an old 1994 2000ad monthly my friend David Vallade got from his local library. Carlos Ezquerra‘s original designs for Dredd, his lawmaster bike and law giver gun.
The style of the 70’s is present in the chopper-esque bike proportions and flared gloves. Note the diagonal zip on Dredd’s uniform and lack of eagle shoulder pad.
“Dredd’s breast chain and badge actual predated punk fashion and with the black clad uniform, screened by a black helmet and his knee-length boots, he was the most exciting British comic book character that radiated menace” – Steve MacManus‘ ‘The Judge Dredd Story’ 1994.
Going through records this last month, having a long overdue, very necessary clear out. One of those ‘do I REALLY need this anymore?’ kind of clear outs rather than just weeding the garden. Having had Serato as my playing out set up of choice since 2006 has meant that I’ve not needed to carry vinyl for a long time (thank god) save for the odd special set. It’s also meant that 12″s or LPs with one decent track can be transferred to digital and dispensed with.
Nothing makes it harder to dispense with vinyl than a nice cover or piece of packaging though and I have bought plenty for exactly that reason with little regard for the music. I found a whole raft of hand-painted promo sleeves which I will scan and put up here at some point, also this rather nice Runaways sleeve by She One.
A good length of time and some hindsight will also clear the unwanted guff though, as is normal when a new strand of music or scene appears, you hoover up all available product, regardless of quality, simply because there’s nothing else to compare it to. Years later the good is easier to distinguish from the bad or just plain average.
Not digging in the collection for a while can yield some surprises too; I was slightly horrified to find a Kylie record in my collection (the one with the Blue Monday/Can’t Get You Out Of My Head mash-up on the B side). But pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of the old Pussyfoot catalogue had stood the test of time – still full of undiscovered treasure and that the Richard X album was a pretty excellent pop record that had outlived the mash up genre that had spawned it. Another surprise was finding a 12″ of the follow up to ‘Play That Beat Mr DJ’ by Whiz Kid that appears to have been signed by him (long since deceased).
Looking forward to this record sleeve-themed exhibition by Shepard Fairey in October at the Stolen Space Gallery.
“The Sound and Vision art show includes mixed media works on canvas weaving my social commentary with inspiration from a range of musicians, including the Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Gang of Four, the Clash, the Circle Jerks, Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, Neil Young, and Metallica. Sound and Vision will also include an installation of a record store environment, with customized vintage turntables and a portion of my own record collection for public listening. The record store space will also showcase over 80 12″x12″ images I’ve created as tributes to the 12″ LP sleeve. A comprehensive variety of other works will be featured, including screen prints on wood, metal, and paper; rubylith cuts; and retired stencils.” – Shepard
More info here – exhibition runs from 19th Oct – 4th Nov, 2012.