Mole

MOLE 3 MOTHER LOVAHS

2009-12-16T17:52:00.001-08:00

Artwork by Chris Cheal

MOLE 3
5TH JANUARY

BANDS:
THE MURDER ACT
SEX DUNGEON
D.A.A.S.I

MIXTAPE AMNESTY
MOLE ZINE
£2 ENTRY
£1 WITH MIXTAPE

CAMDEN HEAD, 100 CAMDEN HIGH STREET

SOUL JAZZ

2009-12-06T14:59:00.001-08:00

Soul Jazz Records Bitesize profile

I should mention (out of fear of sounding like a P.R creep) that I don’t work for the label or know anyone affiliated with it but after years of seeing their ridiculously cool adverts staring back at me from the bottom of The Wire magazine I was lured into the Soul Jazz jungle and i’m having a real hard time making my way out.

One of the UKs best independent record labels releasing one spellbinding compilation after another, Soul Jazz was founded in the early 90’s. The London based label specialises in all manner of non mainstream musical delights with its main focus on principally black music with compilations featuring some of the most radical artists and musicians; including Sun Ra, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Alice Coltrane and Os Mutantes. Amongst their incredible catalogue of innovative black music, Soul Jazz also delve into the world of psychedelic, DIY post punk and no wave and global sounds with the label imprint Sounds of the universe.

Soul Jazz don’t just deal in soundwaves, they’ve got the visual goods to boot with a whole host of excellent Blaxploitation films and music documentaries such as Les Stances A Sophie, Dub Echoes and Studio One Story.

Soul Jazz recently reignited (and sadly snuffed them out again) the flames of their infamous 100% dynamite monthly Sunday event in Brick Lane, featuring Soul Jazz sound system and hosting a huge roster of talent including Warrior Queen. They played dancehall, dubstep, funk and soul and hosted a film screening of Franco Rosso’s Babylon, a poignant look at working class black youths living in South London in the early 1980s accompanied by the sounds of I-Roy and Aswad.

With the likes of global music conduit Gilles Peterson regularly putting together compilations for the label, it is the first port of call for anyone interested in delving into the wonderful world of...Haitian voodoo tribal drumming say, or perhaps the polyphonic voices of Georgia. Whatever the niche, chances are Soul Jazz have covered it. But before anyone dare say it, Soul Jazz don’t deal in novelty exploitative new age rubbish; care and attention is paid to each release, usually coming with some artwork integral to the record itself and a nifty booklet chronicling the development and history of the genre or scene featured.

Here’s a small snippet of some recommended Soul Jazz releases.

Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound
An amazing selection of Brazilian Tropicalia featuring legendary artists such as Os Mutantes, Tom Zé and Gal Costa.

New Thing!: Deep Jazz in the USA
As usual Soul Jazz offer another microcosm of the cream of the civil rights jazz crop, in a similar vein to Universal Sounds of the America but less afro futuristic and more politicised tracks.

Universal Sound of America: Universal Sound of America
This is what the future should sound like. Theme de Yoyo is possibly the best track on the album. This release just proves Space is the Place.

Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films 1968 – 75
A recent release putting together some familiar and alien sounds inspired and hired by some of the greatest Blaxploitation films, including Coffy, Foxy Brown and of course, Shaft Goes to Africa.

http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/

Now Then: The Field

2009-12-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it’s necessary for electronic music to provide some warmth, depth, sometimes it’s ok to combine a hybrid mix of luddite and technophilic sensibilities, man maketh the machine, the machine do not maketh the man. Sometimes techno can do with a god damn heartbeat. Enter The Field to provide the circulatory electronic system needed to pump some blood through the wired veins of Bungalow and Bears sound system.

Joining Sheffield’s Pygmie Globetrotters and Forest Creature for an extraordinary rare free gig, (yurp that is correct, FREE) the Kompact signed swede, known also as Axel Willner, is accompanied by live guitar, bass and drums. Together they look more like a warped metal band, all tattooed up with a wife beater vest thrown in for good measure but the sound produced is far removed from what their attire might suggest. Delicate, danceable rhythms that pull in a large hipster crowd and most importantly get them moving. The sort of beats that are repetitive but not tediously monotonous, the sort of driving beats that make you want to dance until your feet bleed. Motorik beats that give a mechanical nod to Can and Neu!

80’s power ballad ‘Everybodys Got to Learn Sometime’ by The Korgis is translated into a dreamy, whimsical mantra, gently aided by light tribal like drumming. As much as some are transfixed by the beat, others are most probably lost in the cyclical luscious soundscapes The Field is clearly renowned for.

Watching from the side of the stage to admire the drumming, the live instrumentation really elevates the spectacle, it’s no longer Vladislav Delay (whos performance at East London based Concrete and Glass last year failed to thrill visually) hunched over a laptop with an icy stare transfixed by a blank screen. What kind of a human being can pretend to be enthralled by that?

It’s often hard to catch any of the onstage antics, every so often the tip of a shiny bald head bobs up above the crowd at the front, but maybe sometimes a shiny bald head is all you need to see.

Who said you can’t get something for nothing.

Now Then: Hicks Review

2009-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Sheffield docfest: American: The Bill Hicks Story

(Directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas)

The Resurrection of Goatboy

‘Ever notice how we always kill the good guys and let the demons run amok?’

The self proclaimed ‘Chomsky with dick jokes’, Bill Hicks was a prophet and philosopher, embittered by religion, American unipolarity and capitalism, i’m yet to come across anyone who wouldn’t agree with his wise musings. Three years in the making, it was two brits Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas that were granted the divine right to tell the story of one of comedy’s if not humanity’s most iconic figures. This feature length documentary adopts innovative animation technique, using photos and snippets of footage of Hicks’ family and friends to go above and beyond the conventional talking heads set up. Harlock and Thomas speak to those who knew Hicks best, with each one capturing the essence of Bill with their amusing anecdotes and memories of the fellow. His close family recall his Baptist upbringing, which seemed to be the butt of some of his more extreme material. His childhood friend Dwight Slade reminisces over the duos high school days, performing guerrilla routines in front of anyone who happened to be within their perimeter. We’re launched into an animated recreation of the world of Hicks, his beginnings in Houston sneaking out of the house to perform at the Commix Annexe. Perhaps the most impressive footage is 15 year old Hicks performing to a crowd twice his age as the accompanying voiceovers recall his rare observational talent from such an early age. With the footage of Hicks live routines we feel as if we are in the audience, we cringe when he puts down drunken hecklers in the audience and almost compelled to shout praise in agreement of his poignant quips. The animation really excels itself during the documentary’s ‘squeegee clean’ third eye segment; recounting Hicks experiences with magic mushrooms and goes hand in hand with his liberal take on the ‘war on drugs’. A notorious chain smoker, the documentary deals with Hicks struggle with alcohol and pancreatic cancer without too much unnecessary hyperbole and sentimentality culminating with footage of Hicks last show in New York in 1994 just before his untimely death at the age of 32. As one friend puts it, as is so often the case with reluctant heroes, If Hicks was able to see the messianic status he’s been afforded in the entertainment industry he’d either find it highly amusing or be disgusted by it, but as biographic documentaries go ‘American...’ is a much needed celebration of Hicks life and philosophy; the vital importance of which in this day and age I cannot stress enough. After all It’s just a ride.

NOW THEN

2009-11-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

So I made the concious decision to get off of my bee-hind and attempt to start some writings again. I've had an influx of ideas for articles and other things, MOLE has a facebook group now so if your interested, join it, if you aren't interested, die. simple.

In other news there's a awesome magazine in these sheffieldian parts called Now Then
it's a arts, music, culture and politics free physical magazine that comes out monthly and I asked them if i could contribute a few bits and pieces. I have a gig review of The Field and the Bill Hicks doc (see below post) so that's pretty tidy, as one might say if they were northern...perhaps, i'm not sure i haven't learnt many northern colloquialisms since i've been here to be quite honest, which actually is a bit shit. anyway if you are from sheffield get the freebie copy of Now Then, not just because my shites in there but it is a genuinely nice little publication and it doesn't cost you anything. which is good isn't it?

ooh and psssst... MOLE 3, JAN 5TH, THE CAMDEN HEAD, CAMDEN, LONDON, ENG-ER-LAND. We're putting on bands and whatnot, it's gonna be a QUHWOOT.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

2009-11-08T09:46:00.001-08:00

Bill Hicks= saviour of all mankind. 15 years after his death at the age of 32 and Hicks is still as hilarious and relevant as he ever was. just saw a brand spanking new awesome documentary on the man himself and it was fantastic. the doc comprises footage of some of Hicks' material, anecdotes from close family and friends all pasted together with creative animation and photo montages. it really is an inspiring film about a very inspiriational man.
Here is the official website for the film.
if you've never heard of bill hicks or never really watched any of his standup then do yourself a favour and go forth and research.

OXBOW

2009-11-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

You like big burly men who play 'a blend of Noise Rock, Experimental Jazz and Musique Concrete , that creates caustic soundscape with constant overtones of paranoia and revulsion'(!) who write books about fighting and like to strip down to their pants everytime they perform? yes? well then go see Oxbow at the Star and Garter in Manchester on tuesday please, because this will probably be one of the very few events which will satisfy your perverse interests...

Me and The Moon
Time, Gentlemen, Time
S Bar X

Oxbow are quite the intense band, notorious for their live performance and even more for their well hung front man (if you go then you'll understand, i'm not saying i know from experience, it's just well known...) there was an intereting article in The Wire or somewhere similar about the band saying something along the lines of why people have this curiosity about the group. is it purely due to their music? is it because Robinson is black? do people have this weird colonial interest in this seemingly ferocious, feral black fellow who strips down to his panties and often gets in fisticuffs? i t would be insulting to the band and to Robinson to suggest this, the music speaks for itself that's a certainty.
like Swans, Neurosis and oodles more hardcore, no wave, drone metal, whatever you want to call them bands, Oxbow produce a hypnotic soundtrack with layers of sound, whilst Robinson mutters and howls ominously underneath. they've got some nice collaborations featuring Jarboe and Robinson also features on Ruder Forms Survive the debut album by British doomy, ‘instru-prog-metal’ band Capricorns.

Robinson is quite the jack of all trades, writer, singer, agony aunt, actor and 1998 CAAT Heavyweight Men’s Sanshou champ...woof. his book is called 'Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass Kicking But Were too Afraid you'd Get your Ass Kicked for Asking. ' the chapter on knives has been censored over here, what with everyone knifing each other and all that, we just cannot be trusted!

A worth while purchase i think you'll agree, i've always wanted to know how to kill someone with a palm strike.

Black

2009-10-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

some nice music that i have been listening to recently. None of it is new but all of it is nice...click on the title of this post if you want to hear a lame little mix/ sample of these nice tunes.

Black Rhythm Happening- Eddie Gale
Melt!- Flying Lotus
BANG- DJ Dijital vocals Mr. Bubble (Underground resistance)
Dread Cowboy- Tayo meets Acid Rockers Uptown
Krautrock- Faust
Orthodox Caveman- Sunn 0)))
Theme de YoYo- Art Ensemble of Chicago

bbbbbbbbbbbback

2009-10-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

so i'm at uni in the city of steel, i haven't written any reviews or articles for some time, but i find myself on facebook constantly posting videos and links like mad, i figure if i'm not gonna spend my time doing any god damn work and the shite newspaper and radio station refuse to answer my questions about contributing i may as well stick some shit up on this bad boy blog! shame to let it go to waste is it not!?
i guess i should inform anyone who may be interested in the MOLE night at the George Tavern way back when, nearly 2 months ago now, jeeez louise. we had an awesome night thanks a hella bunch to those who came along and took part in the mixtape amnesty, hope you enjoyed the fine tunes being played:
LATE THANKS TO Cgul, General electric (ahaha), Gavin Gaa Gaa, Ellen Percival, Massoud Barzani and Lucy Tesco...
we had some super cool mixtapes with some special artwork, the venue was nice, laid back and relaxed, we had a LOT of funky soul sounds going on with some noise and a bit of ska to start of the evening, next time we'll stick some metal up yo' ass and put some heavier tunes on.
speaking of next time there IS another MOLE going on, next tuesday at the George Tavern, I'm not involved in this particular MOLE but it looks awesome

MOLE 2: ROCKABILLY VS NOISE, check it...

DOUR

2009-08-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

p.s Dour Was frigging immense, i still have not written a little review of it which is a shame because i did love it so...i can lie and say there is one in the pipe line but i aint so sure so to make up for my shortcomings, here is a tiiiiiny tiiiiiny little picture of Engelbert Humperdinck...kadinky dinky dink doink BING!

Standon Calling 2009

2009-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

I need a snorkel, I’m practically drowning in the sheer abundance of festivals taking place this year. Slowly but surely each year our fertile musical nation is giving birth to more and more. Fortunately Standon Calling manages to stand out from the brood.
From its humble beginnings as a birthday barbeque, the Hertfordshire based event has evolved into an award winning, fantastically intimate boutique festival, and it’s only in its second year.
This year the festival had the ingenious theme of Space, synchronizing the lineup to fit the theme and encouraging attendees to dress up in an array of out of this world (excuse the pun) garments. I believe a round of applause is in order for the group of fifteen middle aged drunkards ALL dressed as Coneheads.
What is particularly special about Standon Calling is the sheer quality of acts performing. The festival isn’t afraid to put on avant garde musical pioneers like Sun Ra Arkestra and Femi Kuti and the positive force alongside emerging local talent. They may have possibly succeeded in upstaging last year’s Japanese themed lineup comprising Acid Mothers Temple and Melt Banana.
Sticking with the intergalactic theme each stage is given a cosmic inspired name: Galileo, Apollo and err…Main Stage. Barberella’s proves a popular nightclub style haunt, tucked away in a converted cowshed with graffiti and decoration paying homage to the movie of the same name. People dance like extra terrestrial beings and play with the strange and ever so slightly confusing decorations/ props dotted around the place.
Friday brings us the eccentric and childish musings from Tim Ten Yen. Pulling some serious shapes, Tim Ten Yen does a strange whilst forcing the cross legged audience sitting in front of him to stroke the stuffed cat he brought along to accompany his act. My festival acquaintance speaks about him for the rest of the day and genuinely wants to marry him one day…
We Have Band are a London based funk dance troop. Dressed in silver and white they play matchmaker with Gang of Four and Donna Summers, who’s also messing about with LCD Soundsystem behind their back. WHB manage to pull in the largest crowd of the day thus far, which might well be over 30 people! Bear in mind this is a very intimate festival. The trio’s cover of ‘West End Girls’, and single ‘Oh’ goes off like a bomb in a discothèque (note: I just looked up the term Disco Bomb, this is not what was meant by the aforementioned metaphor.)
Not quite in keeping with the space age theme swedish folky sisters First Aid Kit are Johanna and Klara Söderberg and are exactly what you’d expect from Sweden, quirky, delicate beauties with a warm and soulful tinge. They look a tiny bit like fashionista shedevils the Olsen Twins ® (they are a brand not humans) in certain light but redeem themselves with their maudlin, gorgeous two part harmonies. These Scandinavian sirens have ethereal voices and, no one can deny a genuine talent defying their envy inducing youth.
Making their British festival debut Mothlite are a welcome surprise, providing beautifully atmospheric drone pop. Visually, these folks are mind cripplingly boring, although they do come with some smoke which they most likely stole from sunn0)))’s tour gear. Sonically they are gifted, close your eyes and you might find yourself falling into a deep, beautiful slumber, open them and you probably will too.
Sun ra Arkestra clash, quite tragically, with the much hyped Chrome Hoof who are in their very existence a doom/jazz tribute to the Arkestra themselves. The astro jazz disciples of the late great Sun Ra, the Jazz legend who coined his own philosophy and believed he came from Saturn, perform to an elated and intoxicated crowd, led by 85 year old Marshall Allen who has played in the arkestra since the mid fifties, the group eventually begin after an intensely long sound check. Streams of people crawl into the Galielo tent, whether they’re there to shelter from the torrential rain or there to witness a free jazz spectacle is beside the point.
The group lead the audience in a hypnotic chant of ‘Space is the Place’ and after this I’m left wondering which planet I originate from, afro futurism is the future.
Playing to an embarrassingly small audience Sunday afternoon, Kap Bambino do exactly what crystal castles do, create a barely tolerable noise which sounds like a cross between scooter and a female led hardcore punk band. The latter being a good thing the former…not such a good thing. I have to leave quickly as my ears begin to bleed quite heavily from the gabba influenced back beat.
Obviously 98% of the crowd watching Tony Christie turn up for the novelty of seeing the man himself perform ‘that song’, much to their disappointment Christie doesn’t bring along the cast of Phoenix Nights for a march along, instead he croons his way through a couple of Everly Brothers tunes and knocks out a bit of Andy Williams, he even dares to sing a few songs of his own that aren’t ‘that song’…but then he belts out ‘that song’ and simultaneously everyone feels like they’ve achieved something, no ones quite sure what though.
Femi Kuti and The Positive Force are a fantastic climax to such an eclectic lineup- channeling the spirit of his father, Fela Kuti, Femi brings his politically charged Nigerian carnival to the green fields of Hertfordshire. Kuti coaxes the largely white middle class spectators into repeating politically charged anthems criticizing the state of African governments. Afro beat accompanied by a huge brass wind section and three curvaceous backing singers shaking it in every direction.
Not to be missed is drag queen Jonny Woo’s Gay Bingo. Not for the faint hearted, or for that matter the young children sitting in front of me, there are a lot of references to Ketamine and predictably a lot of sexual innuendos. Woo looks like one of the girls from the video to simeon mobile disco’s ‘hustla’, at the end, when the girls wear those creepy masks that make them look like sexy ugly monsters. Gay bingo proves a fun camp frolic and a good opportunity to win a bottle of nasty cheap plonk.
Not only boasting a stellar musical roster, Standon Calling is situated in an 18th century manor house, yes someones actual garden…really big garden. The festival even has a swimming pool for tent dwellers to cool off/ wash in, replete with Wet Sounds under water DJ’s, quite spectacular I think you’ll agree.
Any one willing to pay 300 quid to go to Reading frankly deserves to pay 300 quid to go to Reading…Standon Calling has set a standard and i’ll be damned if I ever lower mine!

MOLE

2009-07-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

Artwork for MOLE by Ellen Leber

MOLE AT THE GEORGE TAVERN 28TH AUGUST 2009

2009-07-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

SOOOOO.....when we were about 16 an acquaintance and myself had grande ideas about hosting a club/gig night shindig in a local townhall which was home to many a misfit and troubled youth (we wern't one of them, but basically the townhall was a bit of a shitter).
Unfortunately our lack of initiative, funds and well any sort of experience prevented us from going ahead with our big plans.

Needless to say, not a great deal has changed, experience and funds are still relatively low but we have finally taken the initiative 3 years later to put on a pub night on the 28th August in Londonia at the infamous George Tavern in Whitechapel.

It's all very exciting, scary and fun to sort out, we're organising this event with a lass from London called Charlotte, so just incase you get an invite to this thang, thinking it's some faceless pointless generic club night with aload of tendy hipsters posing and pouting so that they can be posted on a photo website in ironic clothing...THIS IS NOT THE CASE. we just wanted to be involved and be proactive rather than being the cynical, passive, critical bastards we are, complaining about having nothing to do!

The night basically stemmed from an idea (not the most original one i know but hey an idea's an idea) to create a MIXTAPE AMNESTY at my sixth form, now as i'm sure those of you who may have gone to my sixth form can guess, this never actually happened. But now it is.
I havn't given up on buying cds and it's always fun to have a surprise compilation featuring music that you have never heard of of would never usually listen to, so i think this would be a pretty special opportunity to discover some unheard sounds and maybe strike up some conversation and chumships.

we've got other ideas floating around which include crazy raffle, some free badges and maybe a copy of MOLE Zine once in bloom.

It's a friendly affair, we have some mates helping us with leaflet and flyer design. They're gonna provide much better artwork than my little flyer job you see above.
we're gonna be handing out flyers ourselves and glueing up posters. so whether you know us or not come along for MOLE night, think it might be a chuckle.

If you are interested in getting involved, have any ideas yourself or any other enquiries drop me a line: radical_imo AT hotmail.com

ummmmmkay!

Facebook Page

Myspace Page

Last fm Page

Standon Calling

2009-07-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

Standon Calling is a lovely little 'boutique' festival located, i do believe, in the grounds of a 17th century manor house in Hertfordshire.

This looks amazing, i'm gonna be 'bartending' at this years festival because it's only a few minutes away from my hood and the lineup is particularly special.

They have a space age intergalatic feast this year, last year the theme was Japanese and they managed to get hold of Melt Banana and Acid Mothers Temple to perform, I missed it unfortunately!

This year has afro beat legend Fela Kuti's son Femi headlining along with the late Afro futurist jazz legend Sun Ra Arkestra and Hawkwind- it's going to bedazzle.

In the mean time watch this little clip of Space is The Place, I'm now desperate to watch this film.

Tyondai Braxton- 'Central Market'

2009-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

So usually when I review an album I’m generally cooped up in my dark grotty chambers, alone with only my quill and rats fighting in the shadows for company. For this particular solo debut however, I find myself draped over a leather couch at the Roxy bar and screen, roped off in a romantic room surrounded by burgundy drapes and candles, plied with a fountain of free alcoholic beverages to sweeten me up and dull my senses I’m assuming.
A clever ploy to prevent leaking of any tracks whilst simultaneously earning brownie points for the PR department of the record label in question, Warp records home to Aphex Twin, Gang Gang Dance and one of the leading forward thinking British independent record labels...god damn it, their evil plan just may well have worked!
Tyondai Braxton the ambitious vocalist of ‘complex time signatures and weird proggy effects’ group Battles and son of legendary multi instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, releases ‘Central Market’ a collection of compositions this September.
From the classical compositional feel of ‘Opening Bells’, punctuated with syncopated rhythm at the records beginning, I couldn’t shake this vision of Braxton conducting an orchestra of Disney characters in some cartoonish green utopia; I was instantly reminded of the film score to Snow White.
As the record evolves we’re interrupted by urgent horn sections, a bass heavy sequence and a plethora of quirky sounds from cowbells, kazoos on ‘The Duck and the Butcher’, to inaudible alien vocals interspersed between dull metallic noises.
Braxton is in possession of an auditory crystal ball in which he predicts the sounds of the future.
In this sense ‘Platinum Rows’ appears to be the more accessible track on the album for those not too down with epic orchestrated pieces, it’s a far Mellower, sludgier affair. A haze of apocalyptic, dirty guitar builds up in contrast to rest of records clearer sheen, transforming into grungy repetitive guitar chords and a rumbling bass line, the track is accompanied by shamanic indecipherable vocals.
Central Market certainly has a narrative to it and felt to me like a chronological record of modern orchestration, guiding the listener by the hand into the ‘22nd century’.

O Brother where art thou

2009-07-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Little Brother at the Jazz Cafe 1/7/09

Thanks to the deelitefool Shook and Doctors Orders mammoth 4th birthday celebration I got to check out North Carolina natives Little Brother at the Jazz cafe.
Now i'm not particularly hot when it comes to hip hop, as i've established before, I'm not incredibly good at keeping up to date, but I did a lil bit of research before trotting down to camden and recognised a few names on the groups good ol' wiki page- Kanye West anyone? Lil Wayne anyone else? nah? ok!
supported was Ghanian rapper Wanlov the Kubolor and acquaintance, these guys were a nice choice of warm up and managed to get the crowd going nicely with their global blend of afroamerican tinged hiplife. a highly enjoyable affair.

It wasn't until Phonte, Big Pooh (ahar i know, i like it too) and co came onto the stage that things really started to pick up. Waltzing onto the stage to the soulful acapella version of Jackson 5's 'I'll Be There', it nearly made me cry, maybe it was a combination of alcohol and the death of his majesty the King of Pop last week, but it was nigh on impossible not to be touched by rapper Phonte's homage to jacko.
I strongly believe regardless of a groups performance, flawless or not, the crowd reaction is paramount, (eg. Tv on the Radio at ABC in Glasgow- awesome band, shittest audience in the galaxy did not make for a particularly great gig). But the Jazz cafe crowd were really responsive, everyone seemed to know the words (except for me of course, i just mumbled unconvincingly and mimed some made up words inorder to feel like part of the crew). Many a head was nodding away, arms pumping up and down and three of the tallest guys i've ever seen in my life stood smak bang in front of me doing a strange jig. They were all at least 6ft 4 plus, why would they do that?!!!

Phonte provided some lovely smooth rnb style crooning, singing random phrases and words in the lull between each song. 'ASSSS ON THE COVER, ASSS ON THE COVER'. Whilst Big Pooh gave the crowd a taster from his latest solo album, which might i add sounded exactly like every other song Little Brother performed, but i'm not complaining, just making an observation.
unfortunately i didn't get to witness the remaining spectacle due to public transportation being what it is. Just as I made my way out of the door, a tune which sounded to me like one I ACTUALLY recognised crept into my ears and the crowd seemed to get even more restless- but I still regrettably made my way into the humid london night! I always seem to miss the best parts god damn!

For now, Here's a relatively amusing video from the group it's kinda funny.

King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime

2009-06-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well honestly i feel like my best friend threw a party and i wasn't invited, what a bitch!

i was aware that Faith No More were reforming to play download and some european festivals this summer but i had NO IDEA they were doing this Brixton warm up gig. Incase you are unaware (which most likely you are) FNM was probably the first 'alternative rock and roll group' that i ever obsessed over from the age of 14. unfortunately they have been hailed as responsible for spawning the blasphemous music genre known as 'nu metal' this is unfortunately true, after one listen to 'angel dust' and all is forgiven.
obviously the band were long dead by the time my ears started to listen to 'the real thing' and 'angel dust' but hey i still got to see Mike Patton perform with Peeping Tom and Fantomas!
i even dedicated part of my GCSE english project to a mock review of one of the bands albums, AND named them (along with old metallica...eurrrgh) as my fave band when i had a brief cameo in a girly magazine- everyone else seemed to go for beyonce and natasha bedingfield. but not me, nuh uh- FNM were number one!
I was in two minds when my friend informed me of this reunion. it must be greed, i assumed at first, pattons gone bankrupt and needs funds to support his record company Ipecac and his many many many many 'side projects'. but nah, im guessing he's pretty loaded thanks to the track 'epic'.
what i would have given though in hindsight to stand there at the front singing along to 'Midlife Crisis' and 'be Agressive' ah an opportunity wasted. shame they couldnt get jim martin back on geetar plus original vocalist chuck mosely singing 'we care alot' would have been the icing on the cake...ah well a girl can dream. sigh.

Sud Afrika

2009-06-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

SHARP SHARP!

Having been in South Africa for the past few months i figure it might be appropriate to try and write something about the music over there. thing is, there isn't a huge scene over there and after watching the SABC music awards on the tv, i realised that they do have a lot of shit music! in terms of live scene, cape town in parituclar had little to offer, unless you have your contacts and you're willing to dig deep, it's almost impossible to find live stuff going on, very unlike london. when i was over there i missed out on the cape town international jazz festival where i think south african jazz legend hugh masekela performed and mos def made an appearance, alongside other jazzy types.
BIG MISTAKE, looked like it was the only thing goin on in cape town at the time.
in terms of whats popular in the strange country Kwaito is massive, it's a fusion of hip hop, trance/ techno and traditional south african rythyms and a huge bassline- usually punctuated by the MCs or rappers shouting repetitively over the top of the tune. anyone who has seen the film 'TSTOSI' will have heard Kwaito- you see guys dancing about with 90's fashion and what looks like fisherman sunhats on their heads- that's Kwaito. Every time i got into a minibus taxi (which does exactly what it says on the tin) the driver would have this sort of music cranked right up and i think it was the best music i heard in the place. speeding through the streets of cape town and durban with this stuff blaring out is a common sight and sound in the country. so expect a little article on south africa my experience there!

R.I.P Plan B

2009-06-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

After returning from the Bermuda Triangle, i attempted to rebuild my contacts and my short lived stint at Plan B Magazine ( i spent a day at there cool little scruffy office in london on 'work experience and did some flyering around camden for them).
After emailing the editor and seeing if i could continue my time at the magazine i was saddened by the news that the magazine has folded and the june issue was the last of it's kind! here's a link to the Stack subscription website where the news was broken. Plan B had some of the coolest articles, features, illustrations in the land so i shall miss looking upon it's perfectly crafted pages. too sad. i shall now conduct a 2 minutes silence in honour of Plan B...

On another note STACK is damn awesome. although i'm not a subscriber the concept behind it rules and i managed to bag a freebie magazine from them a few months ago which was damn cool. the idea is that each month they send you a different magazine on rotation, you don't have any control over what you get but you are guaranteed a super cool, beautifully presented publication that may well change your life...or your choice in reading material at least. dooo it!

Artrocker Brownies

2009-04-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty sure the Brownies article is in the latest edition of Artrocker, i aint go now way of gettig hold of this so if some kind soul wants to purchase a copy and send it to my humble abode on my return and i will pay you with copper coins and twigs.

DOUR

2009-03-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Me and sonny jim just bought our tickets to this bad boy

It's in Belgium :I land of chocolate, waffles and history trips, should be a corker, only 20% of the lineup have been revealed thus far but the names i do recognise don't look half bad:

Aphex Twin, Five Elements of Hip Hop (wooooah), Deerhoof, Diplo, Killing Joke and about 180 others to be announced.

judging by their past lineups Dour looks like one of the best festivals in the world and for 100 of your continental euros- it's a bargain if i ever did see one.

Don't be sour, come to Dour. Sorry that was poor.

Artrockahhh

2009-03-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah that's right, the Spider and The Flies article can be found in April 09 issue of Artrocker feast yo' eyes on my second piece of published material PLUS they got my name right, well done this particular musical and cultural rag, well done.

Mole Fm

2009-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

This will probably be one of my last posts for some time to come...i wonder what will happen to this here blog in the next few months, i aints gots a clue!

Tracklisting as follows:

Bo Diddley - Hey Bo Diddley
Telepathe- So Fine
Roy Orbison- In Dreams
The Ikettes- I'm Blue
Don Henley- Boys Of Summer
The Knife- Forest Families
Nina Simone- I Put A Spell On You
Whyte Boots- Nightmare
Gang Gang Dance- House Jam (Hot Chip Remix)
Billy Holiday- Strange Fruit

Big Bad Mole

2009-03-04T11:24:00.001-08:00

'Dyin' aint much of a livin' boi'

I have been incredibly neglectful these past few weeks, i have intense spurts (urgh hate that word) of writing, then it all goes to pot and i lack the motivation and decency to bother! i made a conscious decision to stop doing CD reviews as i have become incredibly disillusioned with the idea of rating something and telling someone about music...I'm happy to do interviews, write constructive gig reviews as i feel like these are moments and experiences that are easier to define and invest in more, basically they are funnerer, also easier to sieve through the bullshit and the hype really than listening to a CD, it became a chore and that's not why i write about music it's not a job (i don't get paid obviously).
anyway boring rant over, the main reason for this random realisation was whilst i was watching a documentary on BBC4 'Festival!' directed by Murray Lerner, it was damn inspirational. i was never big on folk or blues for that matter but that documentary had a big impact on me.
after that I couldn't stop listening to Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bo Diddley. i jut remember why i like music, personally i am not too great at getting up to date with every album as they come out, i prefer to just go with whatever i want to listen to or whatever phase i'm going through. at the moment all i have on my mp3 and CD player is Telepathe, Scratch Acid, Bo Diddley, Red Bird compilation and Brazilian Tropicalia. Literally. that's at least 50 years of music.
this isn't the most entertaining of posts i admit but it sort of explains the abundance of tumbleweeds that have been blowing through this here blog.
on another note i have got an interview with Spider And The Flies out tomorrow in the latest edition of Artrocker and also i'm just finishing an article on a Norwich band called the Brownies hopefully to be featured in Artrocker so look out for that...

Over Und Auf

Knife Fever

2009-02-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded the new single to be released by Karin Dreijer Anderrson under the guise of Fever Ray. Karin is of course one half of one of the most amazing electronic pop groups in the world ever, The Knife. listening to the Fever Ray track 'If I Had a Heart' sounds distintively knifeish but even darker, like 'forest families' from the album 'Silent Shout' but with Grinderman in the background, it's brooding art at it's best. I love her androgynous warped man vocals too which she brings back.
Me and a few friendlings managed to catch the Knife play at The Forum in 2006 Planning To Rock supported them and it was a triumph to say the least. They went to great lengths to hide their identity probably because it was one of their rare live performances. I vaguely remember there being a massive sort of translucent/ net curtain between band and audience and loads of weird and wonderful videos projected in the background, the duo both wore balaclavas and looked amazing.
Here's a little link to 'Pass This On' from The Knife's first album 'Deep Cuts' (the crazy hoodlum looking guy that starts dancing at the beautiful man lady is Olof Dreijer Karin's brother and partner in crime.)

To a Sky Lark

2009-02-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Leeds triumvirate, Sky Larkin, have had quite a year, with some impressive support slots (Conor Oberst) and mentors there to guide them (producer John Goodmanson and Death Cab for Cutie have mucked in).
Now signed to Witchita (home to the likes of Bloc Party, Les Savy Fav and Bessie mates Los Campesinos’) the band look like they’re in safe hands.
Those Sky Larkin birds are however a difficult breed to try and track down. GIITTV were hoping for a lil bit of chat time before christmas loomed, unfortunately it wouldn’t be until January when I was finally able to nab a conversation about the new album ‘Golden Spike’ and what the future holds for the band.
I knew I was cursed from the moment my train was delayed by an hour. After having finally scheduled a phoner interview with the band, my car then broke down preventing me from getting to the necessary tools in order to record the interview!
Eventually I managed to transcribe the interview and write up a piece only for it to be lost in the expansive cyber universe! The Gods just did not want the message of Sky Larkin to be spread.
Excuses, excuses, excuses, you say…ne’er fear after many obstacles and torturous hours I bring you a brief but insightful interview with front women Katie Harkin who was ever so gracious and lovely in spite of the misfortunes that plagued the interview, the women is a true professional. Enjoy it, I walked slowly over hot coals and ash to bring you this…sort of.

How would you describe the sound of the album?

Katie: Well when we went to Seattle to go and record it we met (producer) John (producer John Goodmanson) just as we were straight off the flight and we were incredibly jet lagged and we were trying to have a constructive conversation and I think the only words that I could get out of my mouth in my jetlagged state were ‘RAW’ and ‘FULL’. ‘I want it to sound really full but also really raw at the same time’. I think that’s was about as far as I could get, and I think that’s how it sounds.
The fun of being a three piece is that, ‘cos they’res only sort of a limited number of things going on at one time, you have to make each of your parts as full as possible without overplaying.

How did you find the recording process did it all go pretty smoothly, were there any amusing anecdotes you can share?

Katie: Well we went to two different studios we went to Death Cab For Cuties studio, they lent us us drums and amps and stuff like that for recording the basic tracks ‘cos we only came over with the standard baggage allowance. Nesta managed to break five snare drums in one day. He broke nothing until the last day that we were there then he managed to break five in one day.
We went to johns to do vocals and sort of extra bits and pieces and John had just moved into this studio that he was halfway through building and the vocal booth that he had was in an old broom cupboard it was so hot in there that if I had the light turned on, it was too hot, so I had the light turned off and had to sing in the dark.

Did you find that had any impact on you’re vocals at all?

Katie: It’s always a bit schizophrenic like singing and then lifting back to yourself and then being like, yeah I’d like to keep that or whatever, it’s always a bit maddening. So yeah I did go a bit loco.

Who would you say were your kindred spirits within the industry?

Katie: There’s bands that we’ve toured with and played with a lot. We’ve toured with Los Campesinos a couple of times and we’re just about to go on tour with Johnny foreigner. We’re all kind of around the same age and we all play gigs together before any of us had albums out.

You’ve kind of grown and developed together?

Katie: Yeah definitely. Johnny Foreigner are coming along with us touring Europe.

What about the name Sky Larkin? I was trying to find some sort of reference and wondered if it was inspired by a love for Percy Shelley (in reference to Shelley’s poem ‘To a Sky Lark’)?

Katie: It’s funny ‘cos I started the idea for the band when I was living in London and I went to meet my friend Simon, I said to him I wanted a band name that sounded positive and hopeful and kind of ambiguous, like it could be a person or a band at the same time. He just suggested it, you can’t think of anything more expansive and universal than the sky. Plus my last name is Harkin so it’s a pun, which is always good.

Good wordplay. Where do you see Sky Larkin going in the next year?

Katie: I don’t know exactly what we’re doing in the next three months, but I know that we’re gonna get to go back to a lot of the places where we were lucky enough to do support tours last autumn like Conor Oberst. We went to places we never expected we could go and now we can go back to those places, it’s gonna be nice to go back to Switzerland and places I never really imagined we would play and I guess every musicians aim is to have a record out. When we first started out our goal was to have a 7’’ single out and maybe to play a gig in another country and beyond that everything is just a bonus.

No Pussy Blues

2009-02-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

After reading a quote in some rag or t'other this week, in which a particular artist claimed that boys do 'it' better (im assuming this particular quote 'it' refers to creating music), got me thuhunking.
At first i agreed with this sweeping statement. 'yar...' i thought 'boys do do it better'. however after a liddle bid of reflection AND on closer inspection, i've come to the conclusion that the aforementioned statement was, to put it bluntly, the quotation equivalent of a steaming pile of turd that sits crusting in the suns rays.
to make matters worse i think the quote can be attributed to a female band member, she was basically admitting to her own inferiority, to be fair her band are not particularly special.
Plankish though her statment was, it sort of proves how initially it's difficult to list great female artists and singers without going through the same old people.
I started thinking about no wave, the likes of lydia lunch, Jarboe and Diamanda galas, three women who i have ALWAYS meant to get into their work but have neglected to do so. their influences have stretched far and wide, they're all loud mouth bizznitches and a little bit weird...that's why i like them.
i also found a cool book which is home to an archive of interviews from 'punk planet' (punk rock zine i assume...i have little knowledge on the subject) in Oxfam a few months ago, there is a cool interview with kathleen hanna, she of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre fame. she's basically a stark raving feminist...but not in the way i have always assumed feminism to be, man hating. she puts up a good fight, she's eloquent, knowledgable, witty and doesn't contradict herself which is a surprising feat considering the conviction she has in her views. Hers was definately an inspirational point of view.
My new found gender awareness is thanks in part to listening to a lot of Ellie Greenwich stuff and The Slits this week. I've never really been a feminist or really taken the time to study in depth womens roles in society, however i still get supremely pissed off when i do take the time to think about the gender injustices that plague our world. i'm considering going on a tirade about this, perhaps in article form or something and link it in music, we'll see what happens with that one.
On the lady note i'm just getting into a novelist called Harry Crews, and coincidently Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Lydia Lunch (Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, bummed around with Nick Cave back in the day) were in a short lived 'supergroup' in the late 80's which was based around him and his books...check him out he seems interesting. he's probably a misogynist like most of the people that appeal to me.

Flash

2009-02-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

The Furious Five sure did know how to dress, dapper and well fitting.

This months Plan B

2009-02-03T04:05:00.000-08:00

Looky here, I am officially a published 'journalist' my first ever piece of proper published writing appears in this months Plan B magazine, how exciting!
However...I was slightly dissapointed to get this email from the reviews editor of the magazine:

hey imogen, hope you're well - have, um, good and bad news - the good being that richard (cced here) will dispatch you a free copy of the latest issue if you can get him yr address - the bad news will become apparent when it arrives - yr review made it in as one of the leads, and yr name nestles proudly amongst the other contributors on the contents page but somehow - and this is totally my fault - you've been misnamed as 'isobel decordova' in the actual review credit - felt sick when i saw it - so sorry - hopefully we can make it up to you in the future...

it is a rather unfortunate state of affairs, both bitterly ironic and humourous and touching all at once. but oh well, it's only my vanity that would be bothered about my name not being 100% right in the credits. so if you happen to stumble across the article there is no Isobel, it's a cunning disguise on my part :s

Full Transcription of Spider and The Flies Interview

2009-02-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Spider And The Flies Full Transcription of Interview

This interview took place on Saturday 31^st January 2009 in Tom’s plush flat somewhere in London.

How did the project flourish

S: Spider and the flies came about from tom and I spending countless hours and evenings exploring listening to and just kind of losing ourselves in electronic sounds from some of the earliest Musique Concrete straight through to brand new releases and everything in between. And I think it’s such a insane world that it’s something that you really have to discover for yourself. As a teenager, at school, the idea of dance music or electronic music was something that really scared me because it was something that I didn’t want to anything to do with my identity with riffs and guitars like the rebellious side of like avoiding what I was confronted with in the charts…

T: You think it’s something that’s sort of intangible, not real.

S: I think it was such a horrible time for electronic music as a kid or a teenager, it was something that you kind of just ignore. Chart dance music, was one of the reasons why I completely immersed myself in punk and garage but of course what lies behind the awful, face value stuff that is played on the radio all day, is the most amazing world of creativity that starts out as a science.

I mean most of the original electronic composers were actually trained orchestral musicians who were suddenly given a new instrument or sound to explore in a completely different way. So I suppose in the late 50’s the idea of messing around with the limited equipment they had you know working with oscillators and tapes, suddenly the idea of being able to explore a sound that was before completely unheard of, is just the most exciting thing in the world.

I think for me the first electronic track where I suddenly understood and completely got into everything must have been when I was I dunno, 18 years old, dancing at this mad club and then the 15 minute version of I feel love came on I was in quite an altered state of mind at the time, and as the song went on and on and on, I was obviously familiar with the track, this 15 minute track was the most insane freak-out, it was just like a mad euphoric explosion of synthesizers and wild kind of filtering and phased drums and I just lost myself in that moment.

Transformed by Donna Summer

S: Yeah, it just kind of I think yeah something clicks, and I suppose for me the exciting thing about electronic sounds is that it’s such a man made thing that its like it’s a very emotive way of communicating I suppose.

That’s quite paradoxic…

T: It’s jumping around quite a lot.

S: The earliest sounds that appeal to me, are kind of like the beginnings of working out what you can do, to the birth of dance music. Where you know it’s music to lose your mind to. That other worldly quality is something that from the earliest sounds to house, to everything really, it’s so affecting and I think that’s something that really appeals to us.

T: I remember sort of always being into the old much older records. The garage records that have electronic on them, I mean I don’t really know why anyone would consider putting (makes weird woohohoahfrdngr noise…) on an old garage record, I don’t know why they did it, but those are always my favourite ones.

There’s a great track called ‘Forest Of Black’ by Dirty Filthy Mud which is completely full of those sounds, that was my favourite one. Then it kind of was a natural progression of listening to completely electronic music. Opening your mind to the idea that dance music isn’t, this sounds really awful saying this now, but if all you’ve ever been exposed to is really awful soulless rubbish then you’ve got this horrible idea of what it can be like. It was opening your mind to the fact that it can be some of the most amazing music

S: The thing that is so inspiring and the thing that really drives us is the idea that in early guitar music it started to creep it’s way in…I don’t know what’s the right word. But the way that it’s affected generations from like acid house and then how in America…this is all getting a bit over the top…the impact that had on the London scene and what it’s evolved from into…you know what became rave and that into jungle and into drum and bass. It’s too difficult to say why you enjoy it, but it’s a world to easily get completely lost in.

It’s interesting what you were saying earlier about how it can be emotive music. Because of your garage / psychedelic influence with the Horrors, compared to the automated, very clinical techno influence- how do you find that differs in the process of actually making it and how you respond to it?

S: Well the process of writing is obviously completely different. It was amazing for Tom and I to work like this because it is working in such a different way. It’s not working in a band you know, writing together in a rehearsal room, throwing chords or ideas around, kind of that organic sense of playing and working. It’s such a different thing.

It was a real kind of release of energy, ok we’re writing as this band, but there was this other thing you could really do. The possibilities are endless, you could do whatever you want. And the point was, we were doing it for everyone’s enjoyment, but it was a chance for us to be let loose and try and explore.

T: There was no way out, there was no one telling us, whispering in our ear.

S: Funnily enough on that note, when we recorded the mini EP was kind of recorded in two sections the flip side of the vinyl release. The first five tracks on the CD were our first foray into recording and writing in that way, we had just been working with the Horrors up until that Friday and I think we booked in the Sunday. We literally got back from touring and decided to go straight into working like that.

We thought well lets not write this music lets actually think about, lets write to a theme or lets come up with a story ‘cos that’s obviously something we were interested in, in some of the concrete or the Joe Meek, more avant garde or experimental side. We thought, you know, lets actually write a story and then create the sounds for it.

It was very much played live at that point there was obviously a lot of programming involved.

T: It was all programmed, none of it was sequenced.

S: The other couple of tracks that feature on the LP we recorded a year later and you can very much hear how the sound has completely moved on. The original thing is quite organic and quite filmic, it’s certainly not the sequenced programmed…(inaudible).

Can I just confirm when exactly you started recording?

S: We actually recorded the first five tracks last summer.

T: We were gonna go on tour in America, we found out that was over and we had a week off so we decided to do this thing we’d been talking about doing for ages.

S: It was our first experience in a recording studio working like that.

How about the actual recording process how did you come up with the concept for each track? Is it just you literally messing about and seeing what happens and hoping you’re happy with the results or is it actually scientifically calculated?

T: It’s completely both ways, most of the time. The two most recent tracks, one of them was just like a 10 minute jam we were doing at the end of the night cut up into 4.5 mins. One of them was just us taking turns and putting parts on, it’s a real studio based thing, We’ve thought about taking it live.

Yeah, are you gonna have any live dates?

T: We would really like to, but its hard because of the way we’ve done it you either have to learn how to play the tracks you’ve already done, which would take more time that we’ve got or you have to do something improvised which could go either way.

S: We’ve kind of discussed what we’d do to take it live and we’ve wanted to keep as true as to working with the analog equipment and try and not get lost in the fact that you could just bring a laptop and have everything programmed at the touch of a button.

We’ve discussed the idea of having a load of drum machine, sequencer and keyboards clocked up. In theory you know, you can create and play within those limits, but still completely explore.

Visually that would be more exciting as well…

T: But there is a danger of it getting a bit tangerine dream, I think the trick is to keep it really minimal, you’ve gotta have about one keyboard each.

Reading the press release and your description on your Myspace you’ve kind of created this time traveling, out of space exploring…

S: We just made that up as the week went along didn’t we? There was a record called ‘I Hear a New World’ a kind of Joe Meek solo project, he worked with a live band, one of his regular studio bands but it’s really a record he used to explore and to play around with his studio world. And the various techniques that he’d been exploring of treating sound, very much in the way that the concrete musicians were but without really knowing it.

His exploration of tape loops, weird reverb units and echo chambers he’d built and he was really driven to explore electronic sound and this record was actually a journey into space.

Each track had a narrative and featured different aliens and life form and it told you about their personality. He created this world and each track had its on world within it, the music so vividly came to life. There were only 100 copies pressed, that was such an inspiration to us that we wanted to pick up where he left off and go on our own journey, our own vision of space. We thought that was a really inspiring idea.

I’m interested as to whether each track has a concept to it?

S: We did want to write a story for each track

T: We did but you kind of end up getting carried away with the music, but then it ends up coming back on itself and you’re like where’s the character now and how’s the story gonna end.

S: The first track is our launch into space…there’s our version of the kind of Cantina bar, our kind of robo-disco track we stumble across walking into a crazy club full of insane robots off their heads kind of dancing. There’s a mad space chase track which I just had this vision of speeding through a meteorite shower.

T: ‘Jungle Planet’ has got the best one, Jungle planet is a planet which from the outside doesn’t look like anything, it just looks like a bare, horrible barren planet . But you can go through it and when you go into it it’s all jungle and the song is suppose to be flying through the planet. There’s an alien tribesman trapping people. And there’s loads of creatures going (makes weird noise corresponding with the weird noises on the record). It opens up into this huge space and there’s this disgusting monster in it, then it’s the escape from the disgusting monster.

So it is a concept album then?

S: It is a concept album but we didn’t want to be too like erm…

Proggy?

T: Yeah exactly

S: Well the thing is it’s such a visual thing, we didn’t really need to explain what’s happening because it paints a picture that if you are to listen to it from start to finish you can hear what’s going on. If you’ve got a loose idea of what’s happening I think you could literally paint your own picture.

You won’t be having any epic story in the sleeve notes then?

Both: No.

T: We toyed with that idea.

So that’s solar influences covered, would you say you’ve got any B movie, horror influences at all? With the artwork and the human fly image?

Both: No

T: That was more just like we came up with a name and then come up with the concept afterwards. There’s not an awful lot of good material to be found in B movies and horror stuff. I don’t know, I’ve got a few sound tracks but there’s nothing that amazing. No, that’s never really been an influence for us, we’re not really big film people, we’re big record people but not film.

Where did your relationship with Barry 7 from add N to X spring from, how did you meet him?

S: I met him djing at the old blue last, I was playing a track by Michael Cox, he came storming over and was sort of like ‘what’s this track, what’s this track’ and I told him what it was and immediately we started talking and we just became friends.

T: It was the opposite way for me, he was playing a record that I really wanted and we just hit it off, I think we’ve got a very similar love of music and electronics and he spurred us on to buy as much equipment as possible and as a result we’ve got too much. He was really supportive.

You’ve talked a lot about academic side to music, have you studied it?

T: No not at all, I kind of wish I had now, it was something that at the time the idea of music technology sounded like the Anti Christ, why would you want to scientifically break down that. Now I really wish I had.

S: I always see myself as a punk finding music in (any) of it’s form. The best thing about working with these new machines…

T: old machines

S: yeah well, old machines, is hearing and learning how they work and how sound is affected.

T: I come across a lot of people that know a lot, but you know, they ain’t got no soul (laughs). It’s not like you can’t learn it or do it yourself, if you put in the effort you can.

S: I think that’s one of the really inspiring things of the Radiophonic Workshop, is that they were inventing this science as they went along.

T: Them and Raymond Scott are the two kind of big people…I’m curious to know how many people were influenced by them immediately after and I’m pretty sure it’s actually next to no one. I think now what they were doing was miles ahead of their time.

S: There’s a really amazing album called White Noise I had before actually knowing anything about the Radiophonic Workshop and it is a psychedelic record made in ’69 heavily features electronics. Delia Derbyshire was approached to work on that record.

T: The way it was made is pretty much like exactly how Madlib or J Dilla made their records, except they were cutting up tape instead of putting it into samplers, it’s just as weird, just as psychedelic and just as amazing.

In terms of your contemporaries, would you say there’s anyone around doing what you’re doing?

T: Without sounding really wanky, there are some bands I really like but I don’t think they see themselves in the same ball park as we are and I don’t think we do either.

S: We just are in our own contained unit, maybe this is like the electronic wing of what we’re doing and we’d definitely like to go and explore other wings as well. But there’s definitely some amazing electronic music being made at the moment.

T: Mostly in The Hague, some really great dance tunes coming out of the ghettos in The Hague.

Do you know Underground Resistance? I was just reading an article about ‘Mad’ Mike Banks and the whole Detroit scene…

T: Yeah, yeah he’s amazing, but he’s in Model 500 now. Like Model 500 live is like a complete techno all stars team. I mean Underground Resistance, as far as their concerned no one outside of Detroit should even hear their records. That’s amazing, and that music is so much more punk than punk has been for a really long time.

Is there any relevance to the clockwork theme?

T: the idea it would be like a clockwork spaceship…

No homage to Clockwork Orange then?

T: No that would have been to easy.

This seems a lot more mature, it’s different to the kind of NME front page idea? Less NME more The Wire.

T: We never strived for that kind of thing with the Horrors.

S: Unfortunately other people have more power to create a mould/ image of you than you do yourself. We would have made this in exactly the same way as we did with the Horrors regardless of what anyone wrote or put on their pages. It really is what happens on the other side that says something.

T: Maybe it was a lot camper than we thought it was, we never had the intention of it being a shock horror thing.

S: We were just like 19/ 20 year olds playing guitar music, we didn’t think that anyone was gonna listen to that

T: None of us had ever written a song it was just a fun idea.

S: It’s just what we would have always done, if noone had paid any attention to the Horrors we would have still been doing it. We certainly weren’t really interested in what people were gonna think of it. We just did it. It’s the same as Spider and the Flies, wherever we were, we would have done that as well. It’s not in any way a considered move.

T: It’s not a case of ‘look how interesting we are, we make electronic music’ like what Coldplay did or something, ‘We listen to kraftwerk and we rip them off as well’.

Its just timing is it not? I was 18, you can’t expect like Leonard Cohen or something straight away.

I wasn’t saying that you’re intentionally trying to stray away, it’s just that listening to your album it’s not as accessible to some of the kids that maybe listen to the Horrors and are expecting something completely different.

T: They like it

S: I don’t know what I think, the reason we’re making music like that is because we

Explored and heard amazing music. I’m hoping it will have the same affect on people because actually there is a world of great music that isn’t rubbed in your face every day and that’s actually where the best stuff generally lies.

T: The Cave Club is a really good example of this, it’s basically an underground psychedelic club, we switched around and said we want to do the electronic stuff, and all the same people came down and stayed, people are open to that idea.

S: Great music is always great music. There’s just too much shit music around, it blurs people’s vision.

T: if you wanna eat fish and chips everyday then that’s your problem, your missing out.

You haven’t got any ideas for touring?

T: What with Spider and the Flies, not at the moment, no way.

S: We were planning on doing a live launch for the record we’ve been so busy doing other things that we haven’t sorted it out yet, but if someone was to say to us, ‘You’ve got a week off in August’, not even that far, ‘you’ve got a week off in May’ or something, ‘do you wanna play a gig?’ we’d probably say yes, we would and even if it was just a one off thing, we’d love to and we will as well.

T: Unfortunately I think the idea of a week off in August is way off.

So you’re just playing it by ear?

S: Yeah, that’s the way this entire project has worked. But there’s new sounds being created on a weekly basis.

T: We’ve been asked to do live sessions for the BBC and XFM, but instead of doing live sessions we’ll write three tracks each, instead of doing a session, so yeah they’ll come out.

What do you get out of this project that you don’t get out of other projects?

T: Initially it was, it’s was a chance to do, ‘cos we were touring lot when we’d started doing this record, we were playing songs that we thought maybe were a bit immature maybe we weren’t too happy about playing and this is a great chance to do something that we really wanted to do.

Now to be honest, I don’t really feel like I’m getting anything else out of this than the other band. It’s a bit more…fun I dunno its different to the Horrors, where you would have to sneak it in. It was initially a great opportunity to do things that we couldn’t do.

S: That’s not even true either, we’ve just recorded a (horrors) record that features a lot more…

Have you found that it’s seeped through, both projects have collided?

T: I think it would have been ridiculous for us to do another album that sounded exactly the same as the last...

S: (Interrupting) Well it was out of the question, it would just never happen.

Danke schön to Tomothy Furse and Rhys ‘Spider’ Webb for taking time out of their busy schedule to take part in the interview and subsequent photoshoot…the results of which I am yet to see.

The feature produced from this interview should be in the April or March edition of Artrocker Magazine unless something goes horrifically wrong or the editors think it’s shite...i'm not kept in the loop on these things. Watch this space, actually i wouldn't if i were you nothing will change.

Fly In The Ointment

2009-02-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

alriiiight. It's been interesting on the 'music journalistic front' of late, i've conducted my first phoner interview (which was pretty shit) and my first (well third i guess) face to face interview this week. yesterday i had a little interview with Rhys 'Spider' Webb and Tomethy Furse of The Horrors fame as they're embarking on a side project known imaginatively as 'Spider and The Flies'.
i have to say i've never listened to The Horrors and my only knowledge of them before the interview and my extensive research was of their NME and 'south end scene' tag, which probably won't be shrugged off easily. I had written them off as poserish, flash in the panners...is that the correct phrase ah fuck eeht.
anyway my preconceived ideas were relatively ill informed and dare i say wrong (they are very stylish though, for some reason i have a problem trusting stylish people, probably because of my complete lack of it) anyway they have a heap of interesting influences and know their shit, i don't really understand how they have been touring with the likes of the fratellis and the view though in those bumper NME award tours, those tours remind me of industrial sized food stuff, an abundance of nasty bits of meat and a lack of flavour and nutrition. The sort of slop you get in shitty restaurants and whetherspoons, quantity over quality...yeah that's right the NME is the publication equivalent of whetherspoons.
anyway enough on that analogy, so Spider and The Flies, well i have just completed the transcript of the interview, the convo lasted just under half an hour i reckon and there's a bit of interesting banter, mainly nerdy talk though, i dont think there's enough information on the project to delve any deeper, but i like to think i may have grazed the surface, meh i dunno, you can judge for yourself.
the duo had just finished working on the new Horrors album that day i do believe so i'm not sure how into the SATF frame of mind they were, i was under the impression this was their first interview on the project so they're probably still honing they're technique for discussing it, even so a bloody good job they did, very articulate.
oh and about the album, yeah it's good.

Afrobeat

2009-01-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

Right now it's 2:30 in the morning, my eyes are burning and itchy and i feel like i'm developing premature arthritis, i'm a right picture of health. But i have this urge to update my blog a lil bit, chat about what i'm listening to and di-higging at the mo'. right this second i've tuned into afrobeat radio courtesy of last.fm. After developing an interest in 'new york global noise/ dance/ grime/ any fucking genre as long as it's a got some colour to it' group Gang Gang Dance, i've dug out last October's Plan B and been reading a front page feature on the crew in question. in the southern offices they were playing a liddy bid of what i believe to be from the up coming release, i don't know when it's due out, what the name of the song was or who they collaborated on it with, alls i knows is...it sounded honey fine. After drowning my ears with alot of grey and comparatively dull 80's no wave/ goth/whatnot, it's refreshing to paint my aural receptors with someting a little more vibrant shall we say. uplifting in these bleak times, it's a nice distraction from the icy cold early mornings and usless hot water bottles (mine is a piece 'o' shite).
i started browsing through the soul jazz website, i have a lot of love for that label, despite owning only ONE record released on the label (Brazilian Tropicalia cd...why the fudge am i not going to Brazil this year?), i have a real soft spot for it. most likely because since i've been a Wire reader, the colourful and crazy advertisements for new soul jazz releases have always adorned the rear of the magazine. i've always looked at the pictures and been intriegued, so despite my lack of soul jazz releases i think it's a awesome label and a cool intro to global music much like Trojan and the like.
my i've gone off on a tangent. i've really wanted to check out the 100% dynamite club soul jazz host in Brick Lane since i got an email about it way back when, i'm still yet to attend i don't really have a good excuse to be honest.
This global music is reminding me why i wanted a gap year in the first place, predominantly to travel and experience different cultures, the colours, the music the food all of it. unfortunately due to bad decisions and my lack of financial savviness i remain in freezing blighty and thinking twice about whether the whole thing was not a terrible mistake that shall haunt me for the rest of my days....doubtful of course but the melodrama only serves to make the current climate slightly more interesting.

you know what song just came on...'yeke yeke' by mory kante...'ole ole, feelin hot hot hot.' No, i friggin' well am not.

I'm beginning to regret not catching seun Kuti and the egypt 80 at cargo last year, i swear he played their twice, unless that was his brother Femi...Nigerian Afro Beat pioneer, Fela Kuti's sons. i downloaded a bunch of random mp3s from this blog called awesome tapes from africa that i discovered after reading the aforementioned GGD feature, we shall dig through those and see what happens, in the mean time i'll let last.fm teach me a trick or two.

Southern Lord

2009-01-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

hey, remember that first post where i rambled on about visiting the Southern records hub and and my attempt to get them to take me on for 6 weeks as an intern, aye well the fun has begun. i started last week as a practical 'student' of the industry aka all round skivvy. the joys, the pains, the heartache, it's good shit. at the moment i don't have a heck of a lot to show for my time there thus far...i gots this here on the news page if that's evidence enough, hopefully over the next few weeks i can maybe mumble about whats gwarning in the world of Southern (if i do indeed know myself) or just moan about my swollen fingers...yes they are sensitive and susceptible to inflammation after hard labour work opening and closing cd jewel cases for hours on end. That's the price you pay for being a southern lord in training...

i'm listening to Scratch Acid at the mo...this some good shit.

Dum Dum Ditty

2009-01-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

My mother mumbling along to ‘The End of the World’ by Skeeter Davis when I was quite young is one particular moment I can think of that ignited my interest in this period, it’s not so much girl group track but certainly evocative of the scene. This sad track doesn’t necessarily stick out because of that sentimental fact, but fact that she is tone death and sang it so tunelessly; it makes my eyes well up when I hear it.
What influence has the sixties girl group sound had in this day and age? What springs to mind when I say the words s.i.x.t.i.e.s g.i.r.l.g.r.o.u.p sound? Perhaps a perverse transgender line up of showaddy waddy ? Or perhaps the noughties reincarnation of Hairspray (the John Waters 80’s original remains one of my childhood favourites)?
What is it I love about 60’s girl groups? I love the gut wrenching lyrical content that croons of heart ache and lust, lust, lust? I love the gorgeous four part harmonies, the skyscraping beehive hairdos, winged eyeliner and knee skimming mini skirts, the retro kitsch is oh so very now after all. I love the melodrama, the American dream personified in every group is so often a tale of broken dolls, fixed then broken again by the savage competition to stay top of the pops, churning out hit after hit to the point of exhaustion. Each one has their own story but I’ll use my writing to pigeonhole and define an era and a MOVEMENT to make it succinct and much simpler to contemplate than it should be.
Over the past few years there’s been a somewhat revival aesthetically in the mainstream with Duffy, Amy Winehouse, hairstyles (think Dawn Porter, the annoyingly self obsessed ‘investigative journalist’ that looks a bit like a clean Lily Allen).
It seems like everyone has taken note or two from the ‘good ol’ days’. The main difference between now and then is that now we don’t know how to hide a good scandal. everyone knows when you see Amy Winehouse crawling around on stage she’s strung up to her eyeballs, it’s almost expected of pop musicians these days- the squeaky clean façade is dead- it took a stake to the heart a long time ago. And EVERYONE knows the skeletons in the closets of today’s pop star wannabes before they’ve even released their first single.
What I love most about the 60’s girl groups is their depiction of an innocence and naivety that was believable. When today’s desperately fame hungry vultures aren’t clogging up the television schedule with another attempt to zombify their careers, it’s transparent that they’re backstage giving sloppy blowjobs to the cameramen. Not to indicate that the girl groups of yester year weren’t doing the same, just their target demographic would remain oblivious or turn a blind eye to the charade. Ignorance is, after all, bliss.
I love the lyrics of heartbreak and pain- compared to the meaningless drivel spluttered by Girls Aloud and the like. These were songs sans hyperbole, extended metaphors or sophistry - good old fashioned love songs that don’t need the bravado to ask ‘dont’cha wish yer girlfriend was a freak like me?’, you just know these girls were promising to love with the same (bunny boiling) intensity.
Listening to these tunes, the lyrics focus on monogamy and a sort of child like dependency, thanks to Brill building song writers such as Carol King, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. Each track is cloaked with a layer of the haunting, dense walls of sound Spector’s production affords the records.
The distinctive wall of sound: ‘rock’s monolithic backbeat’, waves of distortion and reverberated sound that define Spector’s production technique and has influenced so many since it’s creation. Electric and acoustic guitars playing orchestrated pieces, Spector’s so called ‘Wagnerian approach to rock & roll’ he appropriately described as ‘little symphonies for the kids.’
Clearly the beloved song writing/ production relationship wasn’t perfect.
Ellie Greenwich: ‘He (spector) always wanted to have total control over anything that he had anything to do with. I don’t know how happy he was that Jeff and I were going to do something on our own …but he didn’t stop us.’
Spector’s tyrannical grip, trial for second degree murder and mortifyingly bad choice in wigs has sullied his reputation as a production wizard.
Taken from Plan B issue 14 September ’06 an interview with Ronnie. ‘What happened to my singing?’ I would ask him and he would shout, ‘I don’t have time to talk about your goddamn career’, so I wasn’t going to ask him that question again because he yelled a lot, and I mean a lot. So I stopped asking him and became this little quiet girl.’
Ronnie Spector is probably my favourite of the girl group vocalists, her New Yoik dialect seeping through that booze and tobacco marinated voice. Woah oh, a woah oh oh oh… with ‘Be my Baby’, ‘Baby I love you’, defining 60’s girl group records.
The emphasis on youth ‘Born Too Late’, the low self esteem ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’, there’s a reason why these tracks aren’t anachronisms in the 21^st century and why the revival isn’t so surprising. What teenage girl isn’t attracted to the familiar plight of her sisters from the sixties? But in the vintage age our attempts to resuscitate these decaying corpses all seems a bit hollow doesn’t it? Like we’ve seen everything before. Someone just mention it to the management of Winehouse meh and Duffy bleh…Don’t get me started on the Pipettes.

Dethscalator, Actionbeat At Buffalo Bar, London

2009-01-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Noise in relation to sound equals meaningless sound of greater than usual volume, in tonight’s case the exact opposite is true. This evening’s Plan B curated event could do with some amplification boosting Viagra as the volume remains relatively limp and muted in comparison to the potential that lies beneath. It’s all very civilized and a bit pedestrian over enemy lines as the no mans land between audience and band remains untouched, the intensity of each artist’s performance not wholly reciprocated by tonight’s attendees.
Hailing from Stoke Newington, Dethscalator swamp the venue with their Iron Monkey tinged crust punk. Like they’ve been sipping from the same stagnant waters as High on Fire or Pissed Jeans (without the sleazy front man), they concoct a sludgy beverage of one doom laden dirge after another, accompanied by spasmodic vocals, like some sort of warped sloth hybrid creature.
Having shared bills with Acid Mothers Temple and Whitehouse, lumping them with the slowed down punk tag is more than a little lazy, Electric Wizard they aint. Lead singer Dan is a bear of a man with Ozzy Osbourne/ David Yow vocals, hollering into the microphone. He blunders off of the curb sized platform that constitutes the stage into the audience to be met with little noteworthy response.
At the right frequency and in the right atmosphere Dethscalator could send you into a spellbinding trance, but there isn’t enough contagious head nodding or distorted walls of sound to envelope the intimate crowd space and unfortunately there appears to be little chance of hypnotic slumber this time.
Truth Cult’s Action Beat, self confessed rapists and molesters of detuned guitars and old drum kits, stream into the venue with a conveyor belt of instruments, their gig roster consisting of whoever is available to play on the night. Despite their description as convicted noise-ophiles, Action Beat isn’t a collection of Providence, Rhode Island loft apartment artists one might expect but rather ‘The Noise Band from Bletchley’.
The ease and the unpretentious atmosphere of the evening makes it all the more enjoyable as their conventional rock n roll indie instrumental develops into something wild, feral and…noisier. Melt Banana, frenetic ‘Boredomesesque’, they beat with such ferocity until the clothes are peeled off and the torsos bared as the group are circled by the audience who look from the outside in on the menagerie and the chaos that ensues.
The audience, band participation remains low, set up like a circular human Stonehenge, the band look like conduits evoking the noise deities in order to gratify their own interests rather than anyone else’s.
The group dissolves into a blur of arms and legs, flailing around like a seven headed aural monster from Grecian mythology; Action Beat conduct energy of Lightening Bolt proportions with at least three times the man power.
As their set evolves, just as the band start to get interesting, they announce their last song ending the short but sweet love affair we have and at one fell swoop our relationship is no longer.

valkyrie :I

2009-01-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

Having been born in the 90's the curriculum at all secondary schools pretty much sees you spend almost 4 years learning about WWII and Nazi occupation, the ins and outs almost every fucking aspect! morbid and controversial as it is, it's damn interesting. there are numerous films on the subject that shed light (albeit mainly in terms of entertainment and stylised) on the period, some of my faves Downfall (i still maintain that Bruno Ganz's Hitler bears a striking resemblance to the uptight bloke in 'The Full Monty'), Sophie Scholl is also is goodun. EVEN Black Book (the Nazi occupation of the netherlands) wasn't too awful.
But this my friends is the final straw VALKYRIE. remember when Tom Cruise tried to kill Hitler and failed miserably...me neither. I don't know about the film but judging by the ridiculous trailor, it looks like a pile 'o' Hollywood shite. i haven't seen it so i shouldn't really cast the first stone, however the idea of a dwarfed witchdoctor depicting war hero Count von Stauffenberg makes me throw up a bit in my mouth. apparently Cruise recieved ' An award from the German people for having the courage to make this film...' sounds like the little people from the small island of Germania have been waiting for Mr Cruise to emancipate them for centuries...the man is a menace to society!

Monkey Dust movie trailer anyone?

time

2009-01-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

don't worry the blog is still alive and well, i;ve just been a lazy son of a gun over the capitalist, corperate meaningless festive holiday known as christmas...but the foooood was good mmmm.
i've got more on the way ne'er fear perhaps a band interview or two in the pipeline at least one feature and another installment of MOLE, i need to jazz that up a bit add some sound effects or maybe a jingle, any ideas?
it's a busy year, internships, work experience and travelling shall occupy my time hopefully the reviews/ features will come in thick and fast without compromise, welcometh to 2009, i have a good feeling about this year...

The Lines- Flood Bank

2008-12-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

‘The old ‘This band has been criminally ignored in the past’ line rears its head again. You may yawn but…have you ever encountered The Lines?’

Zig Zag No. 116, August ‘81

The Lines are shrouded in mystery, formed around the late 70’s in London the group went on to have little mainstream success aside from a number of NME features and the like…but then again who hasn’t been brown nosed by the NME and left high and dry like a dirty one night stand?

I was not previously acquainted with The Lines this is certainly a chance encounter I am quite relieved to have had, one of Post punks best kept secrets. Flood bank is a reminder of why reissues should exist to draw music lovers in to discover new/old music, not to line the pockets of bands that have had their day (cough Echo & The Bunnymen cough)

Flood bank combines both the bands full length LPs Therapy and Ultramarine which were recorded between 1981 and 1982, the fast tribal drum beats, distinctively 80’s vocals and harmonies the reissue feels like an album I’ve been listening to forever.

The Krautrock, Post Punk tag would place them in ‘The Fall, Gang of Four, Birthday Party’ alt Indie bracket that seems to encompass so many. But there’s plenty of room for melancholic experimental New Wave in my books. I’d encourage you to make use of your senses and read between the [insert obvious word play here].

MOLE fm second installment

2008-12-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Got a bit of a 70's/ 80's theme of Thatcher bashing here with some random additions at the end. The second installment of MOLE fm, the audio sister of MOLE blog.

Playlist: 'i'm no communist but...'

PIL- This is Not A Love Song
The Smiths- This Charming Man
The Fall- Totally Wired
Gang of Four- Damaged Goods
Bauhaus- Shes In Parties
Toots and The Maytals- Pressure Drop
The Specials- Ghost Town
TV On The Radio - Staring At The Sun
Dälek- Trampled Brethrens
Dälek- Hold Tight

(click on MOLE fm second installment...basic etc same routine as before.)

Pancake Mountain

2008-12-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

George Clinton on 'Pancake Mountain'

why the bejesus wasn't this around when i was a wee nipper, this looks like the most amazing kids show in the world. fuck off Playdays, Pancake Mountain is where it's at.

...From Mole Hills

2008-12-11T14:18:00.001-08:00

I just realised Dälek penned a track conveniently titled: '...From Mole Hills', it's as if it were meant to be!

Dälek: Gutter Tactics

2008-12-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

New Jersey duo Dälek (pronounced dia-lekt) mix, and slice up the finest beats using a cut, copy, sample and paste ethic which sees them lean towards the more experimental side of hip hop.
After Recently purchasing ‘From Filthy Tongue Of Gods And Griots’ I was ecstatic to see this release land on my door mat. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to review a CD, it’s certainly the season for Ipecac at the moment, a label which I’ve held close to my heart for the past 4 years.
combining noise, drone and heavy rock influences by artists as diverse as shoegazers My Bloody Valentine and kraut rockers Faust, Dälek are often considered Avant garde hip hop, a term which the duo deplore considering themselves ‘hip-hop, in the purest sense.’
The dark ambience of Gutter tactics consumes you with each listen, although not too dissimilar from the duo’s earlier releases, the new record has an intensity and heaviness that has seen it compared to the work of Black Sabbath and label mates Melvins . ‘Atypical stereotype’ has a raw bassline heavy enough to melt your bones (no I’m not sure that’s possible either…). Certainly worthy of the albums title, the gritty Feedback and distortion on the record contribute a density that doesn’t exist on ‘From Filthy Tongue…’
One standout track and album opener ‘Blessed Are They Who Bash Your Children’s Heads Against A Rock’ takes it’s name and sampling from a controversial speech made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright and reminded me of a similarly styled Stokely Carmichael excerpt used by Blackalicious on the track ‘Cliffhanger’.
The Beautiful sonic brilliance of Dälek is proof of the evolutionary force of hip hop, having been active for the best part of the last decade the likes of Saul Williams, Blackalicious and Dälek by are no means part of a new skool but these are the sort of musical educators mainstream hip hop could do with taking a few notes from.

2008-12-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

ahh that's better.

Melvins- Scala 9/12/08

2008-12-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

( Melvins and Big Business)hardly a senile animal, but i can't say i'd like to see them nude in boots, except maybe you Coady...

After missing Nightmare Before Christmas curated by our heroes in question the Melvins and vocal acrobat Mike Patton and missing Fantomas perform the directors cut the previous night it was all I could do to see the behemoths of distortion and heavy low frequencies that are the Melvins, and disappoint they did not.

The ambiguously titled Melvins 1983 Stormed through a collection of songs from the mangled demos joined by founding member Mike Dillard on drums, Dale Crover took over bass duties. There seemed to be a theme of hippy bashing that night with Big Business front man Jared Willis expressing his disgust for this particular breed of liberal species. Despite this The drum and bass duo worked their magic, watching Coady Willis navigate his way around his extended drum kit is like watching a wizard at work, for those that think Dale Crover is a drumming Adonis, Willis is proves just as engaging. ‘Grounds for divorce’ was a particular highlight (unfortunately their cover of Devo’s ‘Be Stiff’ was nowhere to be heard). Jared’s bass could have done with being a couple of hundred decibels louder, I thought it would blow the cobwebs off of a few relics in the venue, however after the weekends antics which saw the band blow an amp after the first note of their set they probably thought better.

The Melvins and Big Business conjoined twinship is akin to a distorted mirror reflection. The synchronized drumming is nothing short of amazing to watch. Although Buzz had a solemn look on his face throughout, one glimpse from him felt like your eyes would be burnt out of their socket, like Medusa, albeit with scarier hair. The intimacy of the Scala suited the evening perfectly, no barrier between band and audience I thought buzz was going to knock out the front row with his guitar or mammoth afro from which he had actually carried his equipment and roadie in.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the energy and stamina the Melvins seem to possess (in their stripped down incarnation and the current lineup). The band worked through mostly newer collection of songs from A Senile Animal and Nude With Boots much to my disappointment I was hoping for some older classics. Revolver was met with cheers and gentle shoving which constituted the mosh pit of the evening, compared to their Islington show last year, the evening was tame.

Highlight of their set were mainly golden oldies which included Eyes Flys in its entirety, slow, dense track prompting audience members to shuffle from foot to foot in anxiety as they anticipated the climatic detuned riffs punctuating the glacial paced drum beat. The haunting stroke of genius that is ‘Boris’ sounded equally amazing. As did the distinctively Melvins version of Star Spangled Banner which almost made me want to lift a clenched fist across my chest as a sign of patriotism.

The night drew to a close with an intimate last track from Buzz as the others abandoned the stage leaving him to a soulful rendition of ‘Okie from Muskogee’ which drew titters of laughter amidst annoying shouts and requests from audience members who should simply shut the fudge up and let the man sing in future, damn savage hippies.

Mole FM 2

2008-12-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

I have found a new hobby, it takes longer and it isn't quite as rewarding as writing, plus the sound and pitch of your own voice tends to grate after a few seconds, HOWEVER brothers and sisters here is the first 'properish' installment of MOLE FM, more to come hopefully and better quality, think of this as a guinea pig of sorts.

Tracklisting:

When you Sleep- Portatile Room Mobile
Bela Lugosi's Dead- Bauhaus
Across 110th st- Bobby Womack
Down in Mexico- The Coasters
Hustler- Simian Mobile Disco

i know, not a great deal of songs, but it's a good half hour long and there are some fine tunes right there, hope it works. ( just click on MOLE FM2 and use filefactory basic service)

mole fm

2008-12-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Hey! Bo Diddley

2008-11-30T13:20:00.001-08:00

After listening to some Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Blind lemon Jefferson and Bo Diddley, i thought I'd throw a lil' ol' link up demonstrating the brilliance of the Bo Diddley beat.
The pictures are awesome aren't they. we have the Duchess on the left, former female guitarist in Bo Diddley's merry band. she upped and left to get married! Then there's B- Diddy himself on the right of course.

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

2008-11-25T13:41:00.001-08:00

check out this here lil radio link (november 25th) MOLE enthusiast/ soon to be artist and my buddy ol' pal Alison debuts. listen to her velvet smooth tones. (also the girl referenced moaning about the Glaswegian crowd not being boisterous enough...was me!)

Greg Weeks The Hive (Fact Magazine Online)

2008-11-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

BUZZZZ

Greg Weeks seems to have built up a reputation of nurturing a doomy gloomy attitude, a folky grim reaper some might say; but when you’ve spent most of your past time listening to black metal and Sunn0))), disregard subject matter on the album and base your review purely on abundance of melody and instrumentals, Weeks is a great big ball of fun and optimism. In reality ‘The Hive’ doesn’t fall short on providing morbid and bleak tracks. The bespectacled founding member of psych folk band Espers, new solo album has moments in which it is hard to put an era or period to it. Mixing the occult, acoustic beauty with digital elements to create an amalgamation of tracks that are part mediaeval England, part 70’s trad rock/ folk and part Sergio Leone western; ‘You Won’t Be The Same Ever Again’ sounds like a death toll akin to Ennio Morricone. Particularly anachronistic however is Week’s cover of Madonna’s Borderline which is translated into a haunting ballad, I still can’t quite work out if the ditty is tongue in cheek or homage to her Madgejesty. Either way it’s probably the Weekest (aha) track on the album. His voice sounds somewhat out of place on the record, simple monotonous stream of lyrics are revived with Flutes, ocarinas, all manner of quirky instruments and tools; but there is a Clarity in the vocals and harmonies lending itself beautifully to the drone and feedback that creates the ethereal sound Weeks manages to achieve on certain tracks. A hive of maudlin, psychedelic lullabies that will leave you tossing and turning throughout the night.

Up The Irons?!?!?

2008-11-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

I don't care what anyone says but this is a damn fine tune!

Black Metal ist Krieg

2008-11-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

RARGH!

Despite the tangled web of murder, church burnings and its association with torture and Satanism, the earth in which the original incarnation of black metal is buried remains largely unturned by the mainstream music media.
The origins of black metal unfortunately do not involve a tale about a giant evil egg ascended from the depths of hell to wipe out all hope and optimism on Earth (no that, my friends, was Kerry Katona’s birth) the story of black metal developed in the slightly less obvious surroundings of Norway.
On second thoughts the dark, cold, isolated landscapes of Scandinavia, its pagan heritage makes Norway seem like the likeliest lad of them all. Gaahl the notorious front man of BM band Gorgoroth hails from a rural Norwegian village just a 2 hour boat trip, 45 minute car journey, skip and jump away from the nearest cosmopolitan city. It’s not too difficult to see how such places can inspire some of the most disturbing yet simultaneously beautiful, dark ambient music.
Initially influenced by the heavier end of the metal spectrum, bands such as Bathory, Venom, Merciful Fate, you could say black metal was a response to the increasing accessibility of Death metal. Euronymous, the late founding member of BM veterans Mayhem often voiced his discontentment for the state of death metal; ‘It’s a big trend today to look totally normal with these goddamn jogging suits and sing about ‘important matters’, and call it Death metal. These people can die, they have betrayed the scene.’
One item of clothing black metal musicians aren’t renown for wearing is casual sportswear. The general uniform seems to consist of black, presumably in order to match the colour of the musicians souls (plus it’s slimming.) The other obvious staple being corpse paint, pioneered by the likes of KISS, King Diamond, and introduced into the scene in it’s ‘modern’ sense by Dead the late lead singer of Mayhem (yes that’s another ‘late’ member of Mayhem to add to our collection.)
‘Before the shows, Dead used to bury his clothes into the ground so that they could start to rot and get that "grave" scent. He was a "corpse" on a stage. Once he even asked us to bury him in the ground - he wanted his skin to become pale’.
Despite the rather ridiculous addition of spikes, PVC and witches hats (please check out this classic immortal video for help with obtaining the black metal ‘look’) black metal has a number of articulate and insightful renaissance men some might say…maybe not!
The scene arguably has developed and evolved in dark waves, the first wave included artists such as Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, and Burzum. Through media coverage and interviews with Varg Vikernes of Burzum and Euronymous parallels are easily drawn between Black metal and politics, although some refrain from becoming politicized altogether, influenced more by Norse mythology, H.P Lovecraft and Tolkein.
The creation of Helvete, Euronymous’ record shop and the strict social and aesthetic rules within the scene, reinstated elitism within musical genre, with which a black metal hierarchy was instantly created. The influx of right wing mentality within the scene has been known to attract vehement xenophobes neo Nazism (Varg Vikernes is one of the main artists attributed to this mentality) however the Aryan superiority witnessed in Paganism and Odinism has been referenced as far back as Led Zeppelin! It’s interesting if you were to source the music all the way back through to its original roots; metal, classic rock, soul, blues, slavery- the root of all ‘evil’ is black, much to the disappointment of National Socialist black metal bands the world over.
My personal interest in the music was certainly fuelled by the drama surrounding the genre, it was probably a number of Terrorizer articles and the whole of ‘Lords of Chaos’ before I had even begun to try and listen to the music itself. To the untrained listener not much distinguishes black metal from death, grindcore, trash, crust punk and infact every other sub genre of metal there is (there are of course hundreds) but there are certain characteristics which one must be familiarized with in order to associate a particular act or artist with black metal.
For one the music must sound as though the gates of hell have been opened and earth itself has been consumed by the subterranean underworld, as flames lick the mortal world, and with it an aural assault that sounds like an orchestra consisting of a chainsaw and some old garbage cans (excuse the American colloquialism) being attacked by a psychotic drunk, vocals come courtesy of an old lady riddled with tuberculosis coughs up a lung.
The varying musical styles of black metal range from traditional to industrial to symphonic to melodic to electronica to operatic and so on and so forth. The more experimental acts are of course the most interesting. Many artists that grace the Southern Lord roster, Striborg, Atilla Csihar’s work with sunn0))), Leviathan et al tread the avant garde side of the track.
The likes of Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and Satyricon have gone on to find some mainstream success. Even if it is for using shock merchandising tactics (remember the COF ‘Jesus is a Cunt t-shirt with the masturbating nun…no me neither.) Personally these bands make me feel sick, but not in a good way.
Despite initial concentration in Norway and Europe, Black metal is also a global affair, hailing not just from Scandinavia, but far from the fjords in USA, Australia, Japan and South America (I’m yet to hear of any big names coming out of Africa.)
The search to find female input in black metal that isn’t confined to ‘operatic vocals’ and melodic choruses, is a chore in itself. After extensive research (badly done I must admit) I managed to conjure up two at least two well known acts with a substantial amount of Estrogen in them. Japanese black metal girl group Gallhammer and Runhilde Gammelsaeter formerly of doom metal band Thorrs Hammer, apparently she use to date Ihsahn from Emperor, see you just cannot detract from the misogynistic world of such masculine music, there just HAS to be sex involved! How true this is, I’m not so sure. Hopefully there are plenty of females within the genre perhaps they’re far too evil to rear their nocturnal heads into the limelight.

(DISCLAIMER AIMED AT BLACK METAL PEDANTS: In no way am I attempting to provide a complete of even accurate portrayal of Black metal, I am in no way an expert just very interested in the genre and the bands, please forgive any mistakes and misquotes and please don't burn me.)

old NME interview (found via google)

2008-11-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

funny shit

Strange Fruit

2008-11-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Strange Fruit- Billie Holiday

Brings a salty tear to my eyeball, beautiful. There is a particularly haunting note she hits in the line 'For the sun to rot/ for the trees to drop'.

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

I know Ms Holiday did not write the lyrics herself, it's actually based on a poem written by a Jewish teacher called Abel Meeropol and was inspired by the lynching of two black men in the deep south. as i mentioned before i'm not a lyrical fantatic, but i know a moving piece of poetry when i hear one.

Lithops- Ye Viols! ( solo album by Jan Werner from Mouse on Mars and Von Sudenfed)

2008-11-09T07:20:00.000-08:00

Lithops, the solo reincarnation of Jan St Werner (of Mouse on Mars and Von Südenfed fame), presents Ye Viols! a collection of installation soundtracks from a number of recent exhibitions St Werner has worked on.
The project takes its name from a genus of plants native to sub-Saharan Africa which avoid being eaten by blending in with surrounding pebbles. Pretty apt it would appear as St Werner’s project, with all its subtleties and painstaking, detail, obscures itself to create what the inattentive listener may describe as ‘background’ noise; listen closer however and the idiosyncratic features of St Werner’s work make themselves known.
Multi-Layered, fine details and the dynamics of each individual track makes the experience like looking through a futuristic kaleidoscope. Though Lithops is inevitably influenced by the synthetic, unnatural rhythm of man made technology, there is something quite organic about the record. particularly the repetition in some areas of the album; ‘In nitro’ sounds a lot like the percussive elements in drone veterans Earth’s song ‘Raiford (The Felon Wind)’ from the album ‘Hex…’
Ye Viols! As an industrial composition, is reminiscent of an aural accompaniment to Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’, an ultramodern soundtrack to a visual dystopia.

torn ACLs: Cedar By The Sea (Herts and Essex Zine)

2008-11-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

The recent wave of North American artists invading university radio stations the world over, has built up into a tsunami of educated and poetic souls vying for the attention of the cappuccino sipping musing types.
The Torn ACLs is another addition to this scene, American indie pop infused with elements of jazz and an array of global instruments. Their well produced debut EP ‘Cedar By the Sea’ combines simple pop song structures layered with beautiful melodies. The EP opener ‘Reputation’ begins with a cacophony of hand claps which quickly dissolve into the songs opening beats, a basic idea which proves innovative and inviting in the first seconds of the record. The EP is reminiscent in some areas of a less talented and avant garde Hot Chip. Lyrically parallels can be drawn with Ben Folds Five, vocally- Weezer and the electro pop of The Postal Service.
A section in closing track ‘Obsessively, compulsively’ providing lots of feedback guitar, shows potential for something more raw and less perfectly polished, which would make the record slightly more appealing to me as the sickly sweet fairground pop begins to bore after a while .
The torn ACLs obviously have the talent and the ideas destined to make them as successful as their contemporaries, however I still found myself waiting for the epic climax of each song. ‘Cedar by the sea’ shows potential, however a rougher finish to harden the smooth production would prove the perfect tonic. For now, however the EP will probably remain confined to the geek chic soundtrack of coffee shops and bakeries in the groups hometown of Seattle.

Victoria and Jacob: Super Computer (Herts and Essex Zine)

2008-11-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

There is something a little bit strange with the recent trend for employing a childlike voice, I’m not sure if it’s an intentional display of vulnerability, some sort of gesture of innocence or if the vocals in question naturally sound like that of a whining 4 year old?
Whinging infant aside, Victoria and Jacob: Super Computer is a little bit like marmite, not that you’ll either love it or hate it, it just seems a bit sticky and tar like in quality.
All the songs do appear to melt into each other, which is a criticism, Victoria and Jacob refuse to depart from the safe cove of infantile pop they have created, the melody sounds the same on all three songs.
The lyrics and vocals conjure up obvious comparisons to suburban chanteuses such as Thomas Tantrum and Kate nash. The childlike simplistic quality in the voice can be irritating in most parts but there are moments in the track ‘Lion Hunting’ which prove endearing.
The twinkly twee electro pop of Victoria and Jacob is pretty poorly produced and the computer syncopated beats synthetic and fake backing track does little to enhance the vocals. The best parts of the EP involve the variety of early learning instruments the duo employ, contributing to the nusery rhyme vocal delivery.
Elements of Joanna Newsome can be found if you look hard enough through a super strength microscope with an inbuilt heat detector but the lyrical themes are rather too ambiguous without being poetic and the songs generally uninspiring. Super computer?... Meh burn the computer.

Dear Science

2008-11-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

i have to say i've developed some affection for the concept of open letters, Saul williams seems to be a big ol' fan of them and my favourite new yoik noiseniks TV on The Radio have just produced the most beautiful and epic open letter Science could ever hope to recieve. i just lurve post!!!
i'm a little bit behind on the new album front so its a bit of a bummer that i ordered the album a considerable amount of time after seeing TVOTR (more on that latah) but not actually owning the album did'nt prevent me from enjoying the new songs live, no siree, i gots the scars and the bruises to prove it!
the opener 'halfway home' is a bit of an anthem with a catchy 'bababa' intro line and awesome fast swinging beat that gets you wobbling and jubblin' about (i just made the word jubblin' up, nice isn't it.)

as of yet i've listened to the album about 3 times and so far, except for halfway home, nothing has really embedded itself in my brain. all i know that on first review i sort of swallowed it as a generally goood release, doesn't quite have the legendary status as desperate youths... or any outstanding singles that can parallel wolf like me and staring at the sun, but that is something only time can create. like cheese, these sort of classics need to mature over time after which they will take over your audiophile life!

theme wise, apparently Tunde (my favourite four eyed nigerian vocalist) claims it was some sort of response to science and its unemotional stubborn reasoning! (i'm sure there's a far better explanation and analysis of the album concept however...i can't provide one just yet.)

i'm not much of a lyrical dissector to be honest, they could be singing about scratching their balls all day frankly and that probably wouldnt taint my view of the record. the only lyricists or music i really take notice of writing is usually Saul Williams and hip hop, or when i can decipher vocals. alot of the songs i listen to i have no clue what the fuck they are talking about (listen to any Melvins stuff and also the song skin peeler by Mortician and YOU try and interpret the lyrics.)
i wonder if that makes me shallow.
anyway back to the matter at hand, Dear Science...mmm Kyp Malone and his Castrati vocals, mmm horns mmmm David Sitek soundscapes and production...mmmmmm i can smell food, i'm hungry.

The Sea and Cake (Fact magazine online)

2008-11-02T08:06:00.003-08:00

Piece 'o' cake.

After reading an article about the windy city outfit and one brief mention of Chris Ware; The Sea and Cake remind me of graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan ‘The Smartest Kid on Earth’. Both have this bright and clean aesthetic whilst subtly alluding to the dark underbelly of mundane suburban life.
‘Tight as a nun’ is one crude phrase one might use in order to emphasise the perfectly synchronized efforts of each member playing on the quartet’s brand, schpanking new release. Vocalist Sam Prekop claims ‘I don’t feel versatile within musical language’ which explains why and how The Sea and Cake have concocted their own specific musical vernacular with a hint of the accent adopted by Sonic Youth. Parallels can be lazily drawn between both artists as Prekop’s soft raspy vocals occasionally recall the drawl of Thurston Moore.
The record is full of angular riffs and intertwining guitar rhythms that melt into McEntire’s relaxed percussive input. Car Alarm’s crisp production compliments the simple and clean layers of each song, clean straights lines and pop in its purest sense.
Gems such as ‘Weekend’ integrates chic (not the group) disco pop elements and threaten to become ‘pseudo sophisticated music’ club favourites with art school grads. ‘Mirrors’ incorporates steel drums; in turn contributing to the dream like sheen the album possesses that completes the surreal urban ambience.
Just as the accompanying video clip to ‘Weekend’ is a lovely portrait of the free and whimsical nature of youth; Car Alarm is a breezy vacation from the depths of the subterranean concrete jungle into the purer arms of mother nature.

Los Campesinos (Fact magazine online)

2008-11-02T08:06:00.001-08:00

Young beautiful and doomed.

Listening to ‘We Are Beautiful...’ is the audio equivalent of a hedonistic tea party, where the lime jelly has been spiked and the kids have too much fizzy pop.

Los Campesinos!, pioneers of welsh ‘Tweexcore’, blend fast paced melodic anthems with Biting vocal delivery. The seven piece can’t avoid comparison to the likes of Canadian behemoths Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire.
With sweet and sour juxtaposition of the male/ female lead vocals, delightful harmonies that drown in waves of soaring guitars and strings to reach their uplifting climax. However, the formula lacks versatility and I can’t explicitly pick out anything that marks this album out as a change of direction from their previous efforts.
The record is peppered with lyrical content exploring drunken phone calls to ex lovers, masturbation and insecurities, the average issues of attractive but tragic young adults.
No singles are to be released from the record, and its distribution is limited, perhaps an intentional obstacle in order to prevent the likes of Fearne Cotton getting their grubby little mitts on them.
Lack of promotion and obscure themes aside, the Lyrical ambiguity finds resonance with an audience’ in fact the line ‘Collected scabs in lockets/ Hung them round our necks like nooses’ literally reminded me of a girl at school who use to wear her boyfriend’s randomly discarded teeth as pieces of jewellery. Cute.

Concrete and Glass

2008-11-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Telepathe and tv on the radio- cargoLondon (as part of concrete and glass)

The Kings and Queens of the New york alternative pop scene graced shoreditch in October to headline the excellent Concrete and Glass 2 day festival, which was of course to exhibit some of the coolest and most innovative art and music in the worlds major cities atm. However I was unable to sample many of the delights that the festival had to offer due to the popularity of TVOTR, ridiculous competition to get into the venue in order to witness the spectacle.

Telepathe- wore glitter like war paint, clad in baggy t shirts and leggings they certainly exude quintessential new yoik cool. The heavy basslines, ritualistic drumming and the catchiness of tracks such as ‘chromes on it’ won me round, despite the terrible sound (listening to the myspace version of that track is a much more comfortable experience.)
lead singer Melissa Livaudais invited audience onto the tiny Cargo stage, only managing to get 4 up there before security were sweating over the drunken hyponotised girl carelessly swinging her beer over the expensive synthesizers on stage. They are visually compelling, you can tell they really want the audience to be involved, however the cargo crowd weren’t in the most involving mood. Muffled claps met the end of each song, but perhaps the bands behaviour was too avant garde for the audience that night, or most of the cargo crowd aren't used to being beckoned on stage by three lesbians who look like they've run riot in Claire's accessories.
It might be interesting to see the band headline their own tour in a similar sized venue with perhaps a bigger stage so they can create the mass riot they always threatened to that evening. The excitement was infectious you could literally feel the buzz radiating off of each gig goer. It was of course a very special occasion due to the ridiculously long wait the band have forced on their British audience. It was TVOTR'sfirst show in 2 years so it was eagerly anticipated, so much so that cargo was packed from 7:00, tv on the radio wernt due on until 1:00am.
The setlist was laden with older back catalogue rather than the Dear Science shizz, mainly stuff from cookie mountain and desperate youths blood thirsty babes. Highlights: obviously wolf like me, dreams and the encore finale starring staring at the sun (unfortunately I had to abandon my position at the front and missed most of the last song due to a minor need for oxygen) it was an amazing concoction of heavy hi hat disco beats pounding bassline and distortion/ drone that flooded the whole venue with the sweet soulful sounds of adebimpe’s velvety vocals.
My T- shirt was utterly soaked by the end of the night. there was a Crush towards the front, i was expecting some stage diving and more physical interraction, even though it was hot hot hooot i still love the intimacy of cargo. this month the group are going on to play the not so cosy shepards bush empire, it would appear already not even a month after the new album was released seeing the band play tiny venues is a novelty. i look forward to hearing them debut more from Dear Science at ABC in Glasgow next week, i shall most definately fight my way to the front and swing my wild locks to 'Staring At The Sun'.

MOLE ZINE

2008-09-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

Finally after 3 years of threatening to, i am now in the process of creating my masterpiece MOLE! of course i expect it to fail quickly and turn into the biggest waste of time ever, however i hope to have fun making it! i need contributors and likeminded freespirited creative folk who don't mind prostituting their talents for the sake of a crazy idea...that is, lets face it, not particularly original but it could be oh so special...

anyone interested contact radical_imo@hotmail.com subject: Mole

dooo iiiit

2008-09-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

CRY FOR HELP...

2008-09-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

... to anyone attending these magnificent gigs!

Concrete and Glass- friday 3rd October
ATP Release The Bats- Thursday 30th October

company required :(

This was from Release The Bats '07- there i am...right there, in the green!

Southern Belle

2008-09-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Today I had an interview, well less an interview more an informal 15 minute chat, for an Internship at Southern Records. For those not aware of Southern it's home to some of the best alternative music labels in Europe and the US, from Ipecac, Southern Lord and Touch and Go; Southern distribute and help promote these labels and their own artists in Europe and America. i spent alot of yesterday preparing myself for this 'interview', researching the label and the studios and browsing blogs and flickr to get a feel for the work environment, I was still not prepared for what i was greeted with.
My dad drove me to 10 Myddleton Road, North London, we slowly surveyed the area looking for some sort of block of flats or office like place, when my dad pointed to a run down looking detached house and claimed that was our destination, I had to double check. the place was so subtle and discreet you would never think that that was where the (European leg of the company's) magic was made. after I had come to terms with the fact that the head quarters wasn't quite the happening middleclass Shoreditch penthouse you may imagine it to be, we spent the next half an hour walking down the 'high street', the whole wood green area felt like it was trapped in some sort of timewarp. apart from a few kebab shops and newsagents, every shop was closed down or clearly hibernating. my personal favourite was the mens wear store selling doris day albums and 70's style Y fronts, which on closer inspection were browning and crusted (is that even a word?) the owners had clearly shut up shop and hadn't bothered opening up again for at least 30 years. crazy shit!
After driving around the area and avoiding the north circular for fear of getting trapped and tortured for the next hour, i decided to brave it into the Southern house.
the place was pretty damn crazy, another time warp, reminded me of some punk squat from the mid 80's, I was lead out to the communal seating area/ back studio (which is exactly what it says on the can...a garage-the place had no airs or graces, it was modest, cheap and laid back) with mammoth vintage analogue equipment sitting there which served to complement the nostalgic atmosphere the place exudes.
however the place looks, there is no denying it has character. sitting waiting to be greeted, I couldn't help but think of some of the legendary artists and bands who have graced the studios and head quarters, it felt like a bit of an honour just to be sitting in the dingy seating area. apparently Lee Perry once left a poo present on the floor, i should have kissed the ground to see if genius is contagious.
the actual interview was probably the least intense and intimidating process ever, the girl that spoke to me, Claire, looked cool and laid back with her scuffed pink pumps and thick fringed hair, the people and the place felt completely welcoming and relaxed. we basically talked about music interests, my main band interests, gigs, how I first came to hear about these bands. it was the sort of conversation I rarely get to have with anyone in the flesh who has any idea what i'm actually talking about. I don't mean to say that in a patronising or arrogant way, but alot of people just are not on the same page as me musically or when it comes to creative projects.
hopefully I left a good impression, my Wire experience seemed to impress and go down well, I attempted to elaborate on that but to be honest I don't know if experience or office credentials are that important in a Southern environment, just a passion for music and an open mind, which I like to think I possess.
who knows what the outcome will be, I find out in a week or so, I just hope the other candidates are'nt too experienced or charming. This could be my chance to be a Southern Lord.

Post Scripture:
after visiting p.c world with my father today i have decided to embrace my inner computer nerd. I desperately want an Apple Mac notebook/ laptop of any sort- garage band!photoshop, the works, plus my Sennheiser headphones are worth 45 quid- jeesh! remind me to make more money, then teach me how to save it!

All Tomorrow\'s Parties Festival - Release The Bats 2008 - News

2008-08-10T04:02:00.001-07:00

All Tomorrow's Parties Festival - Release The Bats 2008 - News

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Epiphany June 2007 (web version part of the Wire internship)

2008-08-10T03:46:00.000-07:00

Dub Drunk

Web only Epiphany by The Wire's intern Imogen Decordova

The Wire's 17 year old intern, Imogen Decordova, recalls the first time she got drunk on the intoxicating rhythms of Jamaican dub.

Once in a primary school music lesson we were asked to bring in music from different cultures. As my Dad is of Jamaican descent, I asked him for his help in picking out something "genuinely Caribbean". "Ghost Town" by The Specials was one of the first ska-influenced records I can remember hearing; that, and seeing the group perform "Message To You Rudy" on Top Of The Pops 2, was my first introduction to this 'exotic' pop music from across the Atlantic.

No offence to my Dad's undeniably impeccable taste in music, but his recommendation of UB40 wasn't quite the response I had been hoping for, and it wasn't until much later that I'd finally get to explore and learn more about the sounds that came out of the studios and dancehalls of 1970s Kingston, a lesson that began in the somewhat unlikely setting of a scruffy Brighton hostel full of wide-eyed adolescents.

Like most teenagers, the urge to seek independence and have what is commonly known as 'thee best summa eva' was strong. For myself and two friends, this quest began with an aborted plan to stay in the teen holiday Mecca of Newquay in Cornwall. Then, a few months later, during the middle of the summer holidays, the three of us were hit by a wave of spontaneity and decided to book, right there and then, a three night stay in a small hostel in Brighton which we had found via some completely unreliable route.

Sure enough, the hostel conformed exactly to the stereotype of most youth accommodation: communal showers, a communal kitchen (the sink of which one of my friends was to later throw up in), a communal living and dining area complete with the requisite 'ethnic' ornaments. And of course, there was a 'communal' acoustic guitar, on which any lone traveller could strum the blues and sing tales of gap year woe. But what really struck me on entering the living room was the sounds of reggae reverberating through the house. My taste in music had always been fairly diverse and non-specific; I was already partial to the kind of drones and downtuned instrumental riffs issued by the Southern Lord and Hydra Head labels, and my CD collection at the time consisted of groups such as Pelican, The Melvins, Earth and Jesu (more like that of a white, middle American, teenage boy than a mixed race, teenage girl from the South East of England). But back in the hostel, the slow, pulsating rhythms really encapsulated a mood that the house seemed to exude and the sounds subliminally struck a heavy chord with me.

The next day I went music shopping along the Lanes, the warren of tiny streets behind the Brighton seafront that are full of shops selling all manner of kitsch accessories to the town's wandering population of teens, hippies and Goths. Stumbling into a deserted record store, I was confronted by aisles of music just waiting to be consumed by my greedy ears. I'd entered the shop with a vague idea of what I was after (some Roky Erickson, The Ronettes, a surf music compilation), but now I found myself lost among the browser racks, overwhelmed by the choices on display.

As I flicked blindly threw the endless CD sleeves, I became aware of the music that was playing in the background, an insistent, hypnotic pulse that seemed to go on and on. I was desperate to find out what it was, but was too scared to go up to the counter without buying anything. So I grabbed a pitch black box set from the World Music section with the legend 'Trojan' branded across it; I didn't recognise any of the names credited on the back (King Tubby, The Upsetters, Augustus Pablo and Niney The Observer, among others), so I was going purely on gut instinct. After buying the CD I asked the Neil Young lookalike behind the counter what he was playing. In my head I was already thinking it could be the psychedelic, trippy score to Jodorowsky's "Holy Mountain", which had been recommended to me by a crazy Dutch acquaintance, but it turned out to be "a German band called Can".

That Trojan box was to be one of the best buys of my life so far, a generous selection of pioneering dub tracks crammed onto three CDs complete with a brief history of dub printed on the back of each sleeve. I was amused by the names of the tracks, as I'd never before come across a genre that referred to itself so often in the song titles: "Dubbin' & Wailin'", "Long Time Dub", "Freedom Dub", "A Gigantic Dub", and my personal favourite, "Dub On My Pillow". I played the album that evening as a soundtrack to the binge drinking session that inevitably marked our last night at the hostel. Everyone else was more interested in the cheap Croatian alcopop that my friend had stashed in her suitcase, but I was intoxicated by the music, letting it wash over me, and I drowned in the muffled echoes of the hi-hat, imagining each crash of the cymbals was the cold English Channel, interrupting the warm drone of the bass and the thick, foggy atmosphere that enveloped the sweet melodies and harmonies of the voices. The music effectively transported me to another place, and I fell into a conscious hypnotic slumber which, with some help from the alcohol, no doubt, resulted in a form of temporary amnesia regarding the rest of the evening's events.

I recently played some of the tunes to another party of drunk and stoned teenagers, most of them too out of it to care what they were listening to. Being something of a tyrannical control freak when it comes to music, I hogged the music player, selecting tracks by Venetian Snares and Iron Monkey. But it was the Trojan tunes that got the best reception. The sight of a room of pasty-faced, acne-encrusted youths gyrating their hips and bobbing up and down to the alien sounds of The Ethiopians' "Train To Skaville" was something else, and I felt a triumphant grin spread across my face. As I cued up more vintage dub and ska from the Trojan vaults, one party animal came up to me and announced, "It all sounds pretty much the same, I can't differentiate between one track and the next, but that's how I like it."

So if I am ever again called upon to debut some 'genuine Caribbean music' to a classroom of infants, I'll know to drop some Trojan dub and leave my Dad's copy of "Red Red Wine" at home.

By Imogen Decordova

Edwin Pouncey interview June 2007 (internship at The Wire)

2008-08-10T03:43:00.000-07:00

Rough Transcription of Pouncey interview

I wanted to start with your background and where you grew up you grew up in Yorkshire, Leeds, how did your environment influence you?

It didn’t at all, I kind of blocked Leeds out

What was it about it you didn’t like?

It felt like a mistake that I was there, I kind of went into denial that I was from Leeds which sounds a bit strange, socially I didn’t really get on with anybody, didn’t really have very many friends.

Did you hide behind your art and see it as a sort of escapism?

It was to be reclusive yeah, to go into my own little world, somewhere where I’d feel comfortable.

You moved to Essex and then came down to study in London…

After attending Art College in Colchester I went for an interview to attend the Royal College of Art and they accepted me and that summer I moved down there and attended for 3 years.

Did you find it easier to settle down there?

Oh yeah, as soon as I left Leeds I was alright.

Your first foray into music was with Art Attacks…

That was a band that got formed during my stay at the Royal College of Art, it came out of being in a talent contest. At that time punk had just started, I was interested in it. I knew a guy in the furniture department who was a guitarist; he’d started to cast his own guitars out of aluminium and passing them off as sculptural objects. We did this punk rock gig and I wrote a couple of songs. It must have been the mood of the time but believe it or not a riot broke out and the next thing we knew there was this guy from Wimbledon college of art asking us to do a gig there.

And it sort of just snowballed from there?

Yeah

So you didn’t have any plan to go into that area before?

No, I’d always really wanted to do art. Because there’s no money really in being an artist you have to find a way to survive somehow so I found other ways and means of drifting in areas that I was interested in to make a living, writing being one of them and drawing cartoons and illustrations is another one.

How natural was your progression into these other areas?

Pretty natural because they were things that I was interested in the first place, so I would listen to records, read reviews and think I could do that. I like records a lot, mad record collector still am, so when I hear a record and im really excited about it I want to sort of express myself, my feelings about it etc. And luckily at the moment I’m in a position where I can do that.

It’s rare for people to find a job somewhere they’re passionate about, have you found it easy to remain doing what you love at any point thought you’d have to give up?

Not really no, I don’t think so, I worked for sounds magazine and freelance on lots of other things, once you’ve established yourself, you’re ok, you can get work. Unless you burn all your bridges.

Is it all just luck and chance meetings?

Yeah a lot of it is, but its not just luck, there has to be an element of professionalism about it, otherwise if your given a job and you don’t turn up with a copy or drawing on time, people are gonna think, what a waster, your reputation will be if you can keep coming up with he goods on time...

Who’ve and how have you been influenced by? Lovecraft for example?

Everybody was reading Tolkien, I’ve tried Tolkien but I didn’t really like it much, thought it was a load of hippy sewage. I got book three Tolkien and decided I don’t really wanna read any more of this nonsense and was drawn instead to the people who wrote for a magazine in the 30’s and 40’s called ‘weird tales’.

Yeah, I was going to ask you about that.

There were people there like Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E Howard who wrote the Conan the barbarian stuff. I like Lovecraft best because all of his creatures were kind of suggested as oppose to anything else, I like horror stories and ghost stories, the ones I like the best are the ones that sort of just suggest it and let your imagination run riot. You’ve got a basic idea of what great Cthulhu looks like and all these other inhabitants of this sort of world that Lovecraft created, to put these gods in there, but he never really writes a complete description that you could actually sit down and draw it out, its to amorphous and I like that, I though that was really kind of spooky and psychedelic it really fired me up to think about those sorts of things.

How has that translated in your music/ musical endeavours?

Well, musically it’s improvised, spontaneous. I’m not really thinking about Lovecraft when I’m playing music as such, but it has that same kind of amorphous quality to it. I cant really say that anything is formed, there’s no sort of particular rhythm to it or pattern to it, it sort of forms, rises up and goes back again and sometimes it can be really huge and terrifying and sometimes its subdued and sometimes it doesn’t work at all and we just pack it in. the last few sessions have been really good.

Do you have a perfectionist attitude to your work?

Yeah definitely.

Do you think all artists do?

I think good artists do yeah, perfection to the point of where it’s almost a mania for getting it right.

I’d personally describe your art as pretty, grotesque, warped and distorted, how would you respond to this?

Warped...?

Its meant as a complement, the way in which the figures are created, its not realistic at all, so I’d say it was warped in that sense...

To me that means product of a warped mind.

I’m not indicating that you are warped in anyway way. How would you personally describe your art?

What I’m doing now? Im quite interested in a lot of patterns, patterns within sort of shapes. Im more interested in seeing the creatures have more pattern and design going on there and seeing how many different ways in which I can draw an eye, and then have an eye inside an eye inside an eye.

Are there any mainstream artists that you’re influenced by?

There are people that I like, but I don’t know if I’m influenced by them. I like Cameron Jamie, I like mike Kelly and that crowd, Marnie Weber and people like that. I like a lot of old cartoonists.

What about classical art or more sort of traditional pieces?

Austin Osman Spare, ah you’ve put me on the spot...too many to mention.

You’ve done lots of artwork for bands, sleeves, posters etc. how do you end up creating those, do you listen to the music and then get inspired by that or do they give you a brief of what they want?

Sometimes it’s easier if they give me a brief of what they want and I work with that for those types of jobs.

What’s the most free rein you’ve been given?

Well your given a free rein on any of those jobs, ‘cos they haven’t really got an idea either so you have to come up with something but some are more specific and give an idea of what they want and that’s kind of good really, you really do know what to draw, all you are really is an instrument in making that a reality. It’s really hard work thinking of ideas, scary ‘cos if you haven’t got an idea and they’re expecting you to come up with something wonderful then the pressure mounts.

What are you most proud of?

I don’t really know...the next thing. As soon as I finish something that’s it, I get on with the next one and im proud of that. I’ll look at it and think ‘wow that’s good I wonder if somebody would like to buy it’. The thing I’m working on now is the thing that I like the best.

What are you working on at the moment?

Nothing specific but I will be doing something, drawings of animals.

What interested you in etching? What is it about that medium that you like?

Just because it suited my drawing style and it’s black and white and I like black and white. I don’t really like colour that much, I think colour mutes the power of the image somehow. I can use probably one colour but not a whole load of colours because like I say the image is sort of lessened by colour, the colour soon becomes more important than the line, I want the line to stand out. I want people to notice the line, the sort of textiles and jewellery in a way.

So that’s why im in interested in etching because it allows you to be a jeweller in a way, with the line you can really do some fine incredible things with it. The etching process itself, because it’s kind of dangerous it’s got like fire and smoke and acid all those sort of things, it’s kind of toxic and dangerous. It’s nice to do an addition, say a small addition then you just smash the plate up and that’s it. It looks really strong, like it’ll last forever but it doesn’t. I prefer it to run for about 20 copies and then just smash it up. And then that’s it, onto the next plate!

Gives you muscles too, because you’re pulling the metal plates through presses, winding this huge wheel, good exercise.

It’s more of a physical process.

Very physical, and it’s something you don’t really get through drawing on a table, you’ve got your music on and its not that difficult getting up and having a cup of tea, whereas etching is like being in a factory, you’re grinding this stuff out.

Would you like to progress into more physical art?

Yeah I am interested now in sculpture, my wife just helped me do this sculpture, she’s a really good moulder, so based on a series of drawings that I did we made these models together which I exhibited in Paris recently, that’s where I want to go next. I’m thinking the next thing I wanna do is a big bronze, which would be mad, I just want to show people that im not just an illustrator. I wouldn’t put down illustration but I haven’t really had the opportunity to do it really, because I don’t have the space, maybe I could try it now see what happens.

Do you associate yourself with a scene, in terms of musically and the artists that you’ve worked with?

I have worked with people in groups, but I wouldn’t really say I’m part of any scene. I don’t want to join a club, no thanks.

A lot of the work I’ve seen of yours there seems to be a lot of black metal influence, there was also a quote from one of your exhibitions that claimed there’d be ‘Black metal, Goat worship, Semen, Blood and Ink.’ Was that just novelty or do you take it seriously?

No that’s serious, all of those elements kind of went into that exhibition believe it or not, in different ways, well not physically but metaphorically, what I wrote for that exhibition was true. That exhibition came out through listening to black metal music non stop for about 6 months.

What sort of bands?

All really underground, One of the main ones that started me off was one called Abruptum.

Oh right yeah...

You know them?

Yeah they have a member called ‘It’.

Yeah ‘It’ and ‘All’, well when I first heard Abruptum I thought that, like I suppose many people do, black metal was just a load of people shouting with a stupid gargly voice and lot of that still goes on.

Abruptum was really different it seemed to go on forever and ever, they were more like just making sort of dungeon type noises, very odd, very atmospheric I was completely blown away by that. I thought if they were doing that, surely some people must have been influenced by Abruptum and there were quite a lot of people who had been influenced, had taken it to their own level and continue to do so.

So I’m always seeking out the more strange, things that the wire would cover, dark ambience stuff like that, no, that’s too polite for it. It’s got its own feel, I don’t know where it’s coming from, some weird, subconscious, terrifying place that I was really interested in going myself. I went down the same route that Abruptum went, only with my art. I really was exploring the limitations of death, Satanism and music, what fired that music. It wasn’t a joke it was a real homage to black metal.

Could it be said that a lot of Black metal artists have been influenced by similar things to you, like Alistair Crowley for example?

Yeah I suppose they are, I think Alistair Crowley always gets tarred with that ‘black magic’ brush too much when in fact there’s more to him than that. You know he’s a poet, a thinker and well really a black magician I suppose... but I don’t really think he’s as black as people like to paint him.

Have you ever considered donning corpse paint or sacrificing any farm animals?

No, I’m not really interested in hurting any farm animals or painting my face to look like a clown, but good luck to those people who want to do that. I don’t really like people hurting farm animals to be honest (chuckles) unless if they’re killing them for me to eat them.

Have you read ‘Lords of Chaos’? That’s what sort of introduced me to aspects of the black metal scene, would you recommend any books?

There’s yet to be written, I’m yet to find a really good book about black metal, I’ve searched for it and searched for it. The only really good thing I’ve ever really read about black metal is Stephen O’Malley’s (Sunn0))), Khanate, Thorrs hammer and Southern Lord) Descent magazine which unfortunately is really difficult to find, there were only about 5 issues. It was like a fanzine that he wrote and designed, it was very passionately written and I think that was why I like it. But my interest in that music is still very active and that is really affecting the art a lot. You asked me about a scene and I think I am in a way becoming more and more attached to that black metal scene. They know I exist and they want me to participate, which im happy to do.

Who’s asked you?

I’ll be talking at Supersonic festival in Birmingham, I’m asked by bands like KTL to do artwork, Sunn0))) still want me, a few things for Earth.

What about your group Pestrepeller, what made you decide to go in that direction, had you had a break from music or had you always been active?

That’s bands been going for a while, I know the people in it, there’re all comic artists or writers or into computers or their musicians themselves and I guess its just an on going project more to do with music than art. And every so often something will come out.

You’re last album, ‘Isle of Dark Magic’ has been described as having ‘heathen and pagan qualities to it’ on a review site. How would you describe your music?

Well I suppose I should make something up, heathen music? Yeah well I suppose we are kind of heathen sort of a heathen psychedelic blues band with avant garde jazz tendencies or something like that. The new album has got quite a lot of metal in it but it’s not out yet.

When does that come out?

I’ve no idea, we’re still trying to find somebody mad enough to take it on board.

You play guitar and like to make more noise, drone, why is that?

Because I can’t play guitar.

So it’ just a disguise, nothing more?

I’m interested in what sounds come out of it in the same way that I’m interested in what lines come out of an ink pen, I’m sort of, some people would say, doodling with it, but im not really doodling with it im trying to control it and not control it. See how out of control it can go and find new ways of making this feedback that I’m interested in, change and alter and shift. I think eventually I’ll run out of ideas to do with feedback, in fact this last one is probably the last time I’ll do feedback, but I find it’s sort of relaxing, to stand there and just hear this stuff pour out on an amplifier.

Have you been influenced by bands such as Sunn0))) and Earth or any other artists before them?

Kind of before that, I’ve always been interested in the Velvet Underground type drone and La Monte Young the whole idea of drone is very attractive to me, the fact that it just goes on and on and on it’s quite primal, natural, like you said ‘heathen’.

Speaking of primal, you’re pseudonym, Savage Pencil, how did that come about?

When I was 16 I was doing my own underground comics, I wanted to make a little company like Marvel and DC and some underground comic had ones like ‘Last Gasp’ and ‘Print Mint’ and so I thought, well I’ll have a company as well and do lots of comics, so I decided it would become Savage Pencil and when I got a gig at Sounds to do a regular weekly comic strip called ‘rock n roll zoo’ I decided I’d take on the pseudonym Savage Pencil that’s my alter ego, the cartoonist is Savage Pencil as a writer im Edwin Pouncey.

Do you see them as two very different characters?

I don’t really no, because they’re both me.

How long have you been a critic for?

Since 1981

In terms of film, were you influenced a lot by gore films, hammer horror stuff, what do you think about this respective new wave of grind house films?

Use to kind of like that stuff, mainly for its stupid qualities, I liked the poster more than the films. You mean the Tarentino things?

Yeah sight and sound had a special edition on it, I wondered if you had any opinion on it?

Well we’ve been through the grind house, definitely been through there, it left it’s mark but that was early 80’s. I was doing little comic books as a reaction to the Thatcher governments ridiculous witch hunt on so called ‘video nasty’ films.

Would you say that politics has had a big effect on your work, or do you try to distance yourself on social commentary?

I suppose politics drifts into social commentary doesn’t it? I’m interested in politics though because I watch news night every night, I keep abreast of what’s happening and I vote. So I must be interested in politics.

And finally what bright talents are you currently championing or have you been infected with cynicism giving you little hope for more contemporary work?

Well, my favourite band at the moment are a black metal band from Finland called Dead Reptile Shrine, who else do I like, I don’t really know. I don’t know enough about who’s around. I don’t really pay much attention to the current scenes, what is going on, you tell me? You see I stopped reading comics so I wouldn’t know. I keep going back to established stuff and reassessing it. Hans Belmer I like, a German, he did a lot of etching, erotic and strange and rotting stuff...check him out. He did this doll, an articulated life size doll which he’d crop up and photograph in certain positions and it would always look abused and used and horrible and strange, but it’s a really great work of art.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

2008-06-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well hello and welcome to Mole!