I spent the best part of my Easter weekend hunched over a light box with paintbrush in hand, hand colouring over 350 images on lith film for slide projection at the Orb gig this Friday and Further two weeks after that. Now to mount the buggers…
I’m sure it’s been noted all over the net as fanboy analysis videos pick apart ever inch of this trailer but it seems to mirror parts of the first Force Awakens trailer with the sudden ‘jolt’ appearance of an out of breath main character at the start, Vader‘s melted helmet replaced by Kylo Ren‘s and the flying craft skimming the surface shot. There may be more but those were the ones that stuck out to me. Not a lot to get excited about here at the moment for me, those new ships look a bit like B-Wings, is that Carrie Fisher from behind? Glad to see Phasma back, I hope they’ll actually use her this time. Nice nod to the original Star Wars poster in this teaser too.
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
Eardrum – Last Light (Leaf) LP – recent rediscovery from the collection, love their 4th World percussion workouts
ToiToiToi – Im Hag (Ghost Box) LP – upfront pre-release of found sound hauntological excavations
Colin Towns – Dramatic Brass & Electronics (Chappell AV Series) LP – all about the track ‘Forest of Evil’ as sampled by Fridge on ‘Ark’
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity (Heavenly) LP/CD/DL – driving psych where all the tracks seque into each other and then the whole album loops at the end – gets me through doing my accounts.
Whilst hanging out with Robin The Fog the other week, we went down an internet wormhole of reel to reel tape box design. Here are some lovely examples I found among the digital detritus.
Loving the Jack Kirby-esque background and costume designs in the trailer for the new Thor film
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
The Allergies – Love That I’m In (Jalapeno) 7″ – 80s electropop summer banger
Remi/Rough – Symphony of Systematic Minimalism (Va Va Records) Free DL – soundtrack to his latest exhibition
Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk – Passage (Azure Vista Records) LP/CD – first release from Jonas Munk’s new Ambient/Shoegaze label
Frank Zappa – The Lost Episodes (Rykodisc) CD – posthumous collection of career-spanning off cuts, outtakes and live bits hiding many treasures.
It’s that time of year again, when my friends Sarah & Leigh of Solid Egg fame – now into their 5th year – lay a new batch of chocolate creations on us, it’s enough to give the Easter bunny a hernia. A pure white one arrived last week, purely in the realms of research you understand, and they’ve outdone themselves this time. Every aspect of the packaging screams, ‘attention to detail!’, from the outer box to the accompanying tea towel to the paper the egg is wrapped in.
As ever, they’re not resting on their laurels and have a host of different flavours including a mega allergen-free one for those with complicated needs. You can buy them here in nine different varieties this year and they’re also available in the Cocoa Amore shop in Leicester. They’ve ramped up the online presence this year too with a bespoke site where you can read all about what’s in them at solidegg.co.uk, a Facebook page in case you want to ask any questions or show off your purchases and an Instagram account so you can peek behind the curtain and see some of the inner workings.
Bristol’s The Allergies – featuring a certain DJ Moneyshot who I collaborated with on The Paul’s Boutique 3-Way Mix with DJ Cheeba – have a new single out and it’s a surefire summer festival electro pop earworm. There’s a great video (below) with a 45 on Jalapeno Records plus an album finished and due the summer.
You can get it here
There’s a new album by Remi/Rough on Va Va Records – ‘Symphony of Systematic Minimalism’. Beautiful cover, the album soundtracks his latest exhibition at the Wunderkammern Gallery in Rome with each track relating to one of the nine new works on display. It’s free to download here
Sad to hear of Alessandro Alessandroni‘s passing earlier this week, the Italian film and library composer probably most famous for the whistling on Ennio Morricone‘s theme tunes to ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ and ‘For A Few Dollars More’ scores and being the voice of Piero Umliani‘s famous ‘Ma-na mah-na’.
Weirdly I was listening to a very different type of Alessandroni the week before, this new release from Four Flies Records that collects unreleased music from his vault under the title,‘Afro Discoteca’. It’s a 4 track EP of library cues from the 70s that the title sums up perfectly with a disco beat underpinning congas and synths in equal measure. Sadly it was released only two days before his death. Jonny Trunk is dedicating the whole 2 hrs of his OST radio show to Alessandroni this week so tune in if you want to know more.
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
Steve Hillage – Green (Virgin) LP – mostly for ‘The Glorious OM Riff’
Billow Observatory – II- Plains-Patterns (Azure Vista Records) LP – newly released on El Paraiso Records’ ambient offshoot
L’Infonie – Vol 33 Mantra (Polydor) LP/CD – amazing version of Terry Riley’s ‘In C’
Frank Zappa – Mystery Disc (Ryko Disc) CD – Miscellaneous collection of Zappa/Mothers performances, outtakes, studio and tour chat originally included in The Old Masters box set
A random web search threw up the image above, citing that it was a rejected cover for The Beatles‘ Revolver album. More searching revealed that it wasn’t by Klaus Voormann, whose classic black & white collage and line cover everyone knows, but by photographer Robert Freeman. The Beatles passed over it for Klaus’ work and googling that cover image brings up masses of variations of the final piece, as many by Klaus as by fans who have reworked it for their own ends. Voornman not only did many different versions before he arrived at the final but has revisited it many times over the years as well as creating several works centered around Beatles songs in the same style for various projects.
The image below visualises ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, I’ve found some details so that you can see what’s going on a little more easily. There’s also a book, ‘Revolver 50’ that tells the story of how he made the cover.
New Coldcut meets On-U Sound album up for pre-order!! Including 8×7″ box set / CD / DL https://ninjatune.net/release/coldcut/outside-the-echo-chamber … Love that cover!
Here’s a trailer for what to expect at Further on May 6th at the Portico Gallery
DJ Food & Pete Williams present a new, irregular evening by creating an audio visual space to enjoy. Films, slides, oil projections, food, drink and plenty of seating form the environment to soak up the sights and sounds.
Programme:
7.30 – 8.30: Doors, there will be a record stall with stock picked to compliment the evening by Micheal from the nearby Book & Record Bar and delicious food from local café Pinterdera served alongside the fully licensed Portico bar with beers & ales
8.30 – 10.00: Ghost Box Records in the form of Jim Jupp (Belbury Poly) and Julian House (The Focus Group) will be playing an audio visual DJ set.
10.00 – 10.3: Howlround will perform a live score to ‘A Creak in Time’, a film by Steve McInerney (Psyche´-Tropes), via tape loops and reel to reel machines.
10.30 – 12.00: DJ Food & Pete Williams will open and close the evening with their multi-projection Light & Sound Designs.
Location: Portico Gallery, 23B Knight’s Hill, London, SE27 0HS, UK
Tickets here: (limited cheaper early bird price nearly gone)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/further-at-the-portico-gallery-tickets-32880361045
Travel:
Train: West Norwood overground station (1 min walk)
Buses: 2, 68, 196, 315, 322, 432, 468, 690
Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral is to host ‘The Liverpool Mass’ (Messe de Liverpool) by Pierre Henry on May 13th.
Developed by one of the godfather’s of musique concréte for the Cathedral’s inaugural mass in 1967, it wasn’t completed it in time and another work was substituted. Now, 50 years on, in a unique collaboration between Henry and Bluecoat, the piece will be staged in full at the Cathedral, in an immersive experience. With a sound design created especially for the space using 40 speakers arranged around its circumference, The Liverpool Mass will be presented as a live mix by Henry’s collaborator Thierry Balasse.
Consisting of six movements – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Communion – the work interprets the traditional mass through recitation of its texts, accompanied by musical instruments ‘treated’ by Henry to produce a composition fitting for the ceremonial and celebratory occasion of the Cathedral’s inauguration.
This will be the first time The Liverpool Mass has been presented with Henry’s cooperation and a new sound design in the setting for which it was originally intended: a mid-20th century modernist structure with distinctive ‘brutalist’ architecture of concrete and stained glass. Henry’s electronic score was intended to complement this daring new building, as the sound would resonate in the magnificent, cavernous, light-filled circular interior. Watch this fascinating short film about how the stained glass was made for the top tower.
The evening programme will begin at 7.30pm with a set by Vincent Epplay and Samon Takahashi, made in response to Henry’s music in the Cathederal setting. Tickets cost £10 or groups of ten or more get a discount of £7 per head – on sale here.
Four From Food Fridays – a weekly look at four things that have been doing it for me. They can be new or old, any style so long as it’s been getting some rotation in the studio. From top left:
The Mothers of Invention – We’re Only In It For The Money (Verve Records) LP – probably my favourite Mothers LP although it’s a close tie with Absolutely Free, Uncle Meat or Freak Out
Various Artists – Unboxed Brain (De:tuned) 12″/DL – 7th addition to the Brainbox compilation from last year
Frank Zappa – the MOFO project/object (Zappa Records) CD – expanded 2 CD version of Freak out! plus there’s a 4xCD version available only from the official Zappa site
Narassa – Viaggio Pop N.1&2 (Cinedelic) Double LP – Italian composers Alessandro Brugnolini and Giuliano Giunti library albums reissued in the most insane packaging
My Dog Sighs and Snub23 are excited to reveal ‘Future Vision’. Painted over 6 days in GS Park, Shenzhen, China, as part of a large two year mural project run by Snub23. So good.
Now that’s a poster!
Here’s my mix for the Diggers Dozen vs Soundsci night a few weeks back – all library, all vinyl, all originals, no reissues or comps allowed. I went in for the weirder end of percussion, electronics, jazz, ambient and a bit of big band cheese. Below are also sets by Mr Things and Ollie Teeba and you can hear more sets from Jonny’s Cuba and Trunk here.
