I recently received back into my possession, several old scrapbooks from when I was aged between 11 and 15. Some of these consist entirely of cuttings about Adam & The Ants but that’s a story for a future blog. Whilst going through these I found this, written by Adam Ant back in 1980 for a teenage magazine. Seems apt to post it today, more to come in the coming months…
[youtube width=”640″ height=”480″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-emKstoheQ0[/youtube]
In a weird bout of synchronicity, King Cannibal posted, “Dear music industry. I bet It’s kinda embarrassing that Sigue Sigue Sputnik guessed it right.” on Twitter, late on Friday night. Being a SSS fan, I replied, asking him to elaborate, “the whole bit about the music not being important. Global branding, advert space on albums. Looking like Gaga”, he said. Mark Emsley from ireallylovemusic chimed in with a timely reminder of their, “history will prove us right”, catchphrase which sometimes adorned their adverts.
I have to admit, he’s got a point, and then tonight, Thrift Shopxl posts an obscure B-side of theirs on Facebook and this: “Check out what Degville says in this Japanese interview from 1986 about the brand and how it’s about the stuff around the music – it’s like a blueprint for today’s label deals:” and the video above. Like everyone else at the time, I thought they were just having a laugh, and they probably were, just playing the pop game and seeing what would happen. But what Degville’s saying, (and he was only towing Tony James‘ line), is eerily prescient and looking at the fashion sense of a lot of K Pop bands you wonder if they were influenced by Sputnik along the way, although this is probably more to do with SSS’s wholesale theft of many Japanese manga elements for their look in the first place.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co41XRmG1Xc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Instant super star – BTW, anyone buying a vinyl LP for that price is being ripped off unless it’s being pressed and printed in gold.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qmVNB4nalk[/youtube] by Anthony Schepperd
That’s right, it’s all coming down, Monday 13th Wednesday 15th * extended for 2 more days* so if you want to see original Henry Flint artwork for my album, original 2000ad comic art for Judge Dredd, Nemesis, Deadlock and the like, original drawings from Henry’s book ‘Broadcast’ (on sale as a cheap price too), buy limited signed prints or just marvel at some nice pics of me in a spacesuit – best get along there before it closes on Sunday night. It’s at The Pure Evil Gallery, 108 Leonard St. London, open 10-6 Friday /Saturday, 11-6 Sunday – free entry.
If you can’t make it, here’s an audio tour and some pictures, courtesy of Strongroom Alive.
It’s been bought to my attention that the download of my new album from iTunes in N. America, Latin America and European stores had the wrong booklet bundled with it. This has now been rectified but existing customers can download the booklet from here or the downloads page as iTunes cannot rectify this for past customers. A few other places to buy the album from:
Google Music (USA only): / Amazon MP3 (USA only): / Bleep: / Boomkat: / Beatport:
Love these, by artist Christopher Lee (no, not that one) – only $35 each + postage from The Beast Shoppe
Love this cover to the new Air album with the coloured up George Melies image. Look at that logo, gorgeous!
And on a slightly different moon trip: thanks to Leigh for sending me this.
This stunning commission piece is by Brendan McCarthy (my track ‘The Illectrik Hoax’ is a nod to one of his first published strips from the 70’s). This was done for a friend of mine, David Rees, and features some of the McCarthy-created characters from the Strange Days comic which appeared for 3 issues back in the 80’s. See the initial pencil prelim below and note that Martin Atchitson from the book ‘Skin’ has made an appearance in the final version.
‘The Search Engine’ is finally released in N. America today – here’s some links to get it from:
(US Ninja shop) (Canadian Ninja shop) (iTunes US) (Amazon US)
and here are some of the things I used to make it
…
It’s arguable whether I would be where I am today without the help of Mixmaster Morris. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t have the connections to give you that foot in the door then you can fall through the cracks. Morris gave me that connection back in the early 90’s by putting me in touch with Matt Black, and as a result, Ninja Tune. He came and played at parties I held for free, gave advice, information and mixtapes of new music that I couldn’t afford to buy as a student. I have treasured memories of sessions round his flat in Camberwell, where he still lives today, listening to track after track of new and old electronic music which Morris would seamlessly mix together in his living room as he chatted (and those who know him know he likes to talk). I was a complete novice in a lot of this at the time, still finding my feet after exposure to The Orb, The Shamen, KLF, early Solid Steel shows and Colin’s Dale and Favor on KISS FM. At the end of the mix, Morris would take a cassette from his machine – he’d been recording all along – and give it to me to take home. This was the real underground stuff, the music that didn’t get written about or get near the charts but is now acknowledged as seminal.
He didn’t have to do any of this, he was busy with his own career, but he did and now he needs help as he’s faced with bailiffs and a £2,500 tax bill that needs to be paid now. Please see if you can spare anything if this man’s music and DJ sets have ever blessed you ears, you can send donations via paypal to [email protected]. The world of electronic music would be a worse off place without his relentless championing of new artists, many a time I saw him relentlessly feed information to journalists who would then go and write about said artists and make the rest of the world aware of them. His knowledge of Krautrock, Prog Rock and New Wave electronica was also extensive and he was the first person to rave about Can, Harmonia, Neu, Faust and Gong to me, long before they became fashionable names to drop and the subject of whole magazine articles. Sun Ra was also another name he dropped and Morris was the first person to play me Ken Nordine as he had a Best of Word Jazz CD, and we know where that led… This was all pre-internet when word of mouth was important, people like Aphex Twin, B12, Carl Craig, The Black Dog, Psychik Warriors of Gaia, Pete Namlook and his Fax label, Luke Vibert, As One, Reload/Global Communication… all of them I heard of from Morris before I’d seen their names in print anywhere.
(top: Morris invited me to play at his Nubient night at the Big Chill Bar in 2010, right: with Stevie Chick at the Ninja Tune 20th anniversary book launch.)
Here is side A of the first mixtape he did for me, this blew my 22 year old mind at the time as it opened up a new world of music, I’ll post side B later.
and here’s side B
[youtube width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFVq7vPtWno&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Furthermore to the flurry of February posts to mark 2000ad‘s 35th birthday I’d like to highlight the current sale they have on in their online store. Some of the graphic novels on sale are minor classics and the prices are bordering on scandalous some are so low. Below is a personal guide to a few favourites should you feel like dipping your toe into the deep pool of the comic’s past.
The Complete Nemesis vols. 1 & 2. One of the very best characters ever (and one of the best villains too) with Kevin O’Neill‘s amazing art on the first few books and Pat Mills keeping you on your toes with the plot. Only £8 each.
Two books in the Alan Moore canon usually overlooked by the media when writing about him: D.R. & Quinch is madcap space comedy at its best with beautiful artwork by Alan Davis. Skizz riffs off the E.T. phenomenon but brings it into Birmingham and does away with the cuteness. £6 and £4 respectively.
Robo Hunter – Verdus, the first of many series’ starring Sam Slade, a Philip Marlowe-esque private investigator on a planet full of crazed robots with Ian Gibson‘s incredible artwork rendering every rivet. Only £4. The V.C.s is future war with a cast of great characters told through the eyes of a rookie addition to the squad. Only £6.
Jamie Hewlett and Pete Milligan’s bizarro tale, Hewligan’s Haircut in graphic novel form and robot-loving, torturer for hire Lobster Random are both great if you like your comedy left of field. £8.99 for Hewligan and only £4 for Lobster.
It wouldn’t be a post about 2000ad without mentioning Henry Flint would it? Shakara is one of THE best stories in recent years, the first 3 books are collected in The Avenger with another 2 yet to be compiled – amazing art and a plot that keeps you guessing from Robbie Morrison. Only £7.
Zombo is Al Ewing and Henry’s dark outer space zombie comedy with each series upping the weird factor. Sadly not in the sale at £10.99
Also not in the sale but well worth your time and money: Easily one of the best spin offs from Judge Dredd‘s world in recent memory, the Insurrection series’ deals with a breakaway team of Judges who declare independence for the worlds they’ve colonised with the aid of robots and apes, and have to deal with the full force of Mega City 1’s SJS squad as a result. More future war with a battle of the wits by Dan Abnett and Colin MacNeil. £13.99
Back in print again: The Complete Nemesis vol.3 – This is the final few books in the 10 book series with the amazing John Hicklenton on 2, Clint Langley and that man Flint on 1 each and the final episode by Kevin O’Neill himself. Not cheap at £19.99 but worth it.
And finally if you want to know more about the history of the comic, including all the highs AND lows, there’s no better book than Thrill Power Overload by ex-editor Dave Bishop, and at £12 it’s a steal. You might also be needing something to sip your tea out of while you get down to reading all of this – how about a mug with a classic wraparound Dredd cover by Mike McMahon?
Of course I’m biased but wouldn’t you be with a quote like that used on the official poster?
The ‘Queen of the Wave’ LP vinyl is finally ready as well as a 7″ of ‘Night & Day’, T-shirts, badges and more – over at the online Catskills Record shop.
Ian Gibson – original inks, Tom Frame – colours (unconfirmed) – The Best of 2000ad Monthly ‘Robo Hunter – World Cup Special’ cover, 1986
(36.4 x 27.3 cm, acetate overlay, watercolour on card).
Production artwork for cover, The Best of 2000ad Monthly No.10.
Henry Flint – ‘Cosmonaut’, 2011
(594 x 420 mm, ink and silver pen on paper)
DJ Food album artwork, Ninja Tune.
Eleven years ago, upon the release of our album, ‘Kaleidoscope’, PC and I did an interview for Flipside magazine (now long lost in the ether). Illustrating the piece was this image by Jonathan Edwards.
11 years later and the new album is out, he tweets it and, on inspection of his I Heart Pencils blog, I notice that he’s supplied a version of Strontium Dog Jonny Alpha for the 2000ad tributes at Down The Tubes. Weird synchronicity, or, as the name of another blog suggests: Everything Comes Back To 2000ad.
Limited to 100 signed copies, an A2 lithograph by Mr Krum for the new DJ Format album, the price is unbelievable, go get one…
More on the radio front, both mixes and interviews:
The big news is that Solid Steel is back on the air, live in London, on a Thursday night via new station Strongroom Alive. DK (Solid Steel) and Jon More (Coldcut) will be spearheading this each week with myself when I can make it. The usual selection of old and new, guest mixes and the odd interview will be happening as well as some new features. . Listeners in London can tune in to 87.9 FM on the radio (and Freeview channel 111) between 7 – 9pm each Thursday and across the world you can hear it on www.strongroom.fm
As previously mentioned The Arctic Circle Radio interview with Ben Eshmade is now available as a podcast.
I did a 1 hour mix for the Laura Leishman Project on Le Mouv radio in Paris the other week that aired on Friday (Feb 3rd). This was done with only one turntable as I’d left my Serato controller discs at home and they could only find one, I’d mix one track in and then jump it across to the other virtual deck and cue up a new one on the real turntable. The first half is more clubby and the second a showcase for parts of the album, including some of the forthcoming Amorphous Androgynous remix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’. The mix is available here – via soundcloud.
The Selector – the 25 minute mix of UK-based artists I did for the British Council is now up on Soundcloud, the 55 minute version follows this Friday (Feb 10th)
Strongroom Alive also hosts a mix show with Pure Evil aka Charles Uzell-Edwards on a Friday and his debut show (Feb 3rd) contained a gallery walk-through by myself conducted the day the show I’ve currently got on at his gallery with Henry Flint opened. The music Charley plays is a fantastic selection of mostly ambient electronica classics from the 90’s with a few oddities thrown into the mix like Black Sabbath. The show is up on mixcloud for those who want to listen again.
In fact I’m going to embed it here I enjoyed his selection so much, some of my Planetarium mix plays at around 1 hr 30 mins including the 2econd Class Citizen remix of ‘The Illectrik Hoax’.
This Sunday (Feb 5th) on Resonance FM I’m interviewed at the same exhibition by Jonny Trunk cohort Robin The Fog for the Panel Borders show about comics at 8pm which will be available to stream or download too.
This coming Saturday (Feb 11th) I’ll be dropping in to Jonny Trunk‘s OST show, again on Resonance, playing space-themed records and giving away a limited edition copy of my album. Resonance 104.4FM. Saturday 4:30pm to 6:30pm. Repeated Wednesday 3:00pm to 5:00pm