KOAN 4: Collaborations - Live at The Globe, Newcastle

Shelly Knotts & Mark Carroll / James Wyness & Christian Alderson / Adam Denton, Nigel of Coalburns and trubba not

For the last of Martin Donkin’s KOAN instalments this year, the programme focusses on collaborative improvisation. By enthusing individual musicians to risk experimenting live together, the evening was set-up as a roll of the dice: would instincts synergise, combine or go another way?

Having wanted to work with Adam Denton for a long time, Donkin finally had that wish realised earlier this autumn. As trubba not, alongside Nigel of Coalburns, he got to improvise with the musician responsible, in-part, for the Trans/Human project (amongst other journeys.) This first operation together with Denton took place outside; at the Bandstand in Exhibition Park.

https://soundcloud.com/trubba-not/live-on-the-bandstand-adam-denton-nigel-of-coalburns-and-trubba-not
     

Now, under the roof of The Globe this evening, with the curtains drawn shut and the lights down, the trio explored the collaboration further, involving strings of pearls, cymbals, and guitar pick-up manipulation amongst other tools and techniques. Nigel of Coalburns, poised in his seat, often held taut facial expressions whilst he delivered heavily reverberated vocal tones. Altogether, this was a haunted sonic walk through an eerily quiet and uncanny place.

Next up, under generic lighting, James Wyness manipulated drones and patterns from his laptop/mixer set-up, whilst Christian Alderson gave a typically furtive and skilful development of patterns from his drum-kit. Whilst Wyness coloured the horizon of the soundscape, like a sun in different stages of rising and setting, Alderson played in the foreground. Sticking patterns on skin fell in-and-out of phase with loops of noise and pitched-tone motifs from Wyness’ laptop. The piece ended with a crescendo of percussion, as if teeth were grinding harder and harder.

Weaver of electronics, Shelly Knotts and explorer of the future-cello, Mark Carroll had the darkness restored as they started the final set of the evening. The piece reached an exquisite tension midway, after Carroll had been exploring a spider-esque tapping technique at the bridge of his electric-cello, and Knotts had guided the sound to the last stop before silence. The resolution came as a resurrection; a lot of unsetting loops, with subtly juxtaposing-dynamics, all building the detail of an increasingly thunderous wave. Big smiles and a confident handshake between the pair at the end, as the audience applauded, showed that this performance energised both musicians for possible future duetting.

I highly recommend Donkin’s KOAN evenings, for his curation is amongst the most focussed, and the talented people he engages for each instalment are always fascinating and specifically tailored to a thematic programme. The capacity attendance here at KOAN 4 will definitely have their eyes peeled for the date of next episode.

[2016.11.25] for NARC Magazine.

Pink Martini - Live at Hall 1, The Sage, Gateshead

As the cha-cha started up, and China Forbes cast the first phrase of Amado Mio across the audience, everyone was reeled in. The syncopation and melodies of this experienced, internationally-formed mini-orchestra sparkled in the air of the auditorium.

Between songs, Thomas Lauderdale curated with playful syntax, serving up each next instalment with lateral explanations of their widely-sourced influences. Prior to the interval, Pink Martini indulged in some extended instrumentalism, with the djembe solo slightly pushing patience. 

True to a traditional format, after the break was utilised for the hits, including Let’s Never Stop Falling In Love and Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler. The addition of Hunter Noack joining the tour and performing a solo piano piece by Ravel was a glistening cherry. 

Hall 1 of The Sage has often seen battles between its formal structure and more fluid programming. Though many watching are often internally keen to oblige a request to dance, a perception of the space oppresses the necessary conviction. Tonight though, Pink Martini’s balance of implicit musical studiousness and immediate performance playfulness framed such a response as a liberation, and initiated pockets of people to rise like sunflowers throughout. The energy eventually climaxed at the end of the night in the formation of a conga line flowing like water throughout the aisles. 

[2016.09.16] for NARC Magazine.

Ceiling Demons / FUQ / The Milk Lizards - Live for ENDLESS WINDOW at The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle

Having often seen bands sloppily indulge in pastiche (convinced a self-awareness of their revivalistic practice alone speaks to some kind of genius,) it was deeply satisfying to watch The Milk Lizards modestly and carefully perform fuzzy surf instrumentals simply for the joy and spirit of that sound. The boiler-suited trio even signed-off with Misirlou; a wink that having fun was at the core here.

Having performed a riotous set for EW at The Tanner’s Arms for NARC Fest in July, tonight FUQ return with slickness tailoring the presentation. A soft spotlight illuminated the stage, and whilst Rezaei painted rhythms and vocals from her colourful MPC, Bothwell stepped in-and-out of the shadows, a microphone in one hand, a mobile phone in the other. Their neatly composed songs rode the rainbow, including pop swagger in Sins and playful disorientation of Zim Bell.

There are few performers from which a ceaseless heartfelt appreciation for life, gig-in gig-out, beams, but that affection is written so deeply within Ceiling Demons conception, even Eeyore could not frown for the optimism within their work. Ritualistically emerging from masks, CD offered another impassioned set, filling the programme with their latest single, Lost The Way, the restless beasts from their Belly Of The Hopeless EP and the euphoric anthems of yore.

[2016.09.16] for NARC Magazine.

KOAN 3: Hapsburg Braganza / Paul Taylor / Zassõ Fukei / Jewel - Live at The Globe, Newcastle

For this concluding night of the KOAN trilogy, curator Martin Donkin invited some personal favourites to guide this special series around improvisation home.  

Donkin and Davey Sax (Jewel) set about calibrating ears for this more gentle instalment, with a continuous piece of saxophone / electric guitar improvisation based around Śūnyatā. The rising tides of sound inside were tonic, but mixed with the Referendum rain outside the windowpane.

After preparing the space meticulously with an array of tools, Ant Macari (Zassõ Fukei) played with the idea of communication; opposing immediate moments (cymbal-head-hit) with lengthy unveilings of written poetry, using looped music and a guitar-paintbrush.

    “the lengths we go / stone / upon stone / to remain / apart”

Introduced as someone who should be “performing on the stages around Europe,” Paul Taylor’s face was bashful, however, such a sentiment was soon proven warranted as the keys took over his form, ingeniously mixing a multitude of influences including Debussy’s Impressionism, and 70’s Fusion.     

As Phil Begg (Hapsburg Braganza) took a seat with his five-string electric, the accumulated warmth upstairs at The Globe rested gently on the faces, and, combined with the dying light, welcomed dreaming. Begg’s shimmering instrumentals lead from Lute-esque dances to slower pieces, evoking such images as sprawling cornfields, perhaps. Turning further to more abstract compositions, his confidence realised itself here, playing with the imperfections. 

[2016.06.24] for NARC Magazine.

Darren Hayman / Nev Clay - Live at The Mining Institute, Newcastle

Studying a display in the main hallway of The Mining Institute of late-19th Century photography, depicting curious social scenes, further resonated how in tune this venue was for Darren Hayman to present his most recent project, a set of songs inspired by Thankful Villages; places where every soldier returned home safely from WW1. 

Nev Clay’s winding wit was the perfect thread to pull our imagination into action at the head of this evening of story, from meandering thoughts on gravitational waves and missteps in Metal bands, through to feather-light performances of songs with intimate observations. Including a cover Women Of The World by Ivor Cutler, with its bold sentiment, sat seamlessly alongside his original work, united in a brave spirit - a faultless hallmark of Clay’s performances.  

To present this new collection, Hayman’s trio assumed the position of the pit orchestra, whilst above them, opposite the audience seating, diary footage of his visits through each of the villages was projected onto the wall. The set amalgamated unique sounds from the trip; including the metronome of Aisholt’s church clock, and recordings of poetry read by residents. The riddling songs were bracketed with Hayman’s humorous expositions of the journeys travelled to find them.

[2016.06.18] for NARC Magazine.

Crystal Castles - Amnesty - Album Review

Crystal Castle’s fourth album Amnesty further embraces the bitter-sweet side of their nature. Though the riotous skewed banging aspects of their debut (and follow-ups) are still hinted at in tracks like Enth and Concrete, compositional choices are more reigned in here, and an ever slicker production makes this latest record their most comfortable listening long-play experience. New vocalist Edith Frances’ gentler delivery compliments this direction too. 

Though Amnesty veils Crystal Castle’s more unpredictable aggressive expressions, their melodic artillery that delivers the agony and ecstasy is promoted to the frontline. This coherent playlist builds from melancholic yearnings, including the single Char, to a euphoric finale - the bliss of Kept, and then the sweat and morning reality of Their Kindness Is Charade.

[2016.06.18] for NARC Magazine.

Super Furry Animals / Ffug - Live at Northumbria University Union, Newcastle

NUU was steadily buzzing, filled almost to capacity at the beginning of the night, as Ffug offered a boring support set sadly their own enthusiasm for could not leaven. 

Out of a pulsating blue flush on the stage, with matching heartbeat, SFA, in their white coveralls, blossomed with Slow Life and Ice Hockey Hair. As the set progressed, drawing from a catalogue reaching back from as far as the mid-90s, these present performances further clarified the strength in the design and imagination of that songwriting; strong melodies and textures that sound fresh and positive today. 

Rhys’ vocals really cut through the PA tonight. At the coda of Run Christian Run, the overlaying cries cleansed like a waterfall. The sonic experience was married with typically playful visual idiosyncrasies, such as laser lights, queue cards and costumes; often registering as absurd and glorious, but somehow never contrived.

After a string of hits, including Juxtaposed With You and Receptacle For The Respectable, SFA finish with The Man Don’t Give A Fuck. As the troop return to the stage with a reprise of that song’s ever-relevant chorus, Rhys raises his final placard with ‘Resist Phoney Encores’ on it, marking out a dignified exit for this band which show no evidence of rust.

[2016.04.23] for NARC Magazine.

Ditte Elly / Caoilfhionn Rose - Live At Trinity Chuch, Gosforth, Newcastle

After many years developing her songwriting, 2016 is the year Ditte Elly is finally ready to gift us her debut album, ‘Songs.’ Elly greeted attendees personally at the entrance of Trinity Church in Gosforth; the pews inside slowly but surely filling up for the celebration.
    

Caoilfhionn Rose’s sombre songs roused the flame of the night, with her musical partner Mitch Williams fleshing them out with gentle and reverberated electric guitar tones.

Elly’s set (split in two for a bar-break in the middle) was built almost completely from the new album. The performance utilised many of the ‘Fables’ musicians; sometimes altogether, and at other times with select members adding an instrument to the texture. Adam Coopers clarinet worked particularly well with Elly’s voice on the song Red.

Having formed close collaborative relationships with both Rosie Caldecott in Oxfordshire, as well as with Matt Stalker in her adopted North-East home, tonight’s performance was the first time that these talented musicians all shared a stage. Their voices melted as closely as true friendship.

With every detail of this evening infused with Elly’s class and character, this landmark is surely the prologue of someone who has the content to build a library.

[2016.03.12] for NARC Magazine.

Pentecostal Party - Let’s Storm Heaven - Single Review

Dawn Bothwell’s project Pentecostal Party is born of her interest “in the type of euphoric high you experience in groups of people worshiping together: an experience that is both solitary and collective.”

   

This tape-recorded version of Let’s Storm Heaven off-sets two layers; a creeping pulse established with a prominent hi-hat and light analogue synth on the surface, whilst the ear is more and more drawn to what lurks in the depths, the yearning and relentless army of voices plotting beneath.

Music can be loved for an infinite amount of reasons, but the behaviour that I find particularly special about Pentecostal Party’s music is the way it unlocks depths through deceptively simple, minimalist structure.

Small synth lines and repeated phrases map the contours of her songs, but as a listener you are compelled to imagine the terrain. The music’s majesty reveals itself like a magic-eye picture, or faces forming in tree-bark.

[2016.03.12] for NARC Magazine.

Ditte Elly - Had Me From The Start - Single Review

Taken from her recent debut album, the song Had Me From The Start reflects the lighter and brighter side of Elly’s writing.

The choice to double-track her lead vocal in unison throughout the recording removes a deeper vulnerability that could sadden the mood of this track, but here, the love being described is one that has been invited-in to consume the narrators’ heart; a celebration! This joyous expression is further emphasised with a chorus of backing vocals finding ever more energy throughout the song; like springtime bringing more and more colour with flowers.   

Elly modestly explains “I just really enjoy singing it, so I hope people enjoy listening and want to tap their feet along.”

Though written three years ago, the gleeful spirit, in Elly’s strummed classical guitar and Adam Kent’s spritely electronic sounds, marries the optimism around this blossoming time in Elly’s life as a songwriter.

[2016.03.12] for NARC Magazine

Matt Stalker & Fables / Jason Thompson - Live At The Mining Institute, Newcastle

Long-term fans, and a healthy amount of family and friends, entered The Mining Institute, in elegant attire, to salvage a last meal with Matt Stalker & Fables; a concert promoted as a ‘swan-song’ and a celebration of the group’s eight years together (in various incarnations.)

Jason Thompson’s film about the making of the band’s final record, Knots, started proceedings downstairs in the auditorium, and offered both a way for those close to the music to reflect, as well as a good entry point for others to the attitudes and ideas of the musicians ahead of their farewell show. 

The Moses Choreography started the main feature in the hall upstairs, with a quartet of strings, including Jenny Nendick’s cello backing Stalker’s crisp and spritely vocal. The rest of the band then joined in, delivering impeccable arrangements, as if writing type on the air with a fountain pen. Ditte Elly’s rich voice was wisely promoted in a number of these newer compositions from a duetting backing vocal to sharing dialoguing lead-lines. 

With confidence overflowing Stalker’s chalice, I doubt this evening symbolises any real conclusion for his own writing, but a breath for him and his friends to try other adventures for a while.  

[2016.02.20] for NARC Magazine.

Roller Trio / Leash - Live At The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle

In the charming upstairs room at The Bridge Hotel, the Jazz North East team are poking the stage lights into position with broom sticks whilst the opening trio Leash debate a few last minute form possibilities. 

Adrian Tilbrook, first up to the Gretch Kit, started this night under a different banner six years ago. Paul Bream and friends have now taken over the reigns, keeping its life-blood bellowed. 

With unison whole-tone fusion grooves blended with a peppering of rockier references, Leash play one-extended instrumental for their set, twisting improvisation through thematic check-points. Loyal lights of the club, Andy Champion and Mark Williams, excelled; certain scaling passages were performed with fingers too quick for any eye.     

Roller Trio punched heavy from the off, blasting out the Eastern tones in RollerToaster and ripping up hyper beats in Doris. Though the records utilise lighter and clearer tones, their live sound is powerful for its extra breadth. Redfin-Williams’ rides ring out more, Mainwaring’s saxophone wails longer, and Winter’s guitar sound is spread with a rich fatness in the bass pitches. By the end, January sorrows had been blasted from all faces. The room was a pressure-cooker of energy. Everyone was left hot! hot! hot! 

[2016.01.10] for NARC Magazine.

Warm Digits with Filmbee / co￥ﾡpt / Pentecostal Party - Live at Northern Stage, Newcastle

Following on from supporting Razmataz Lorry Excitement’s Without album launch, Claire Dupree, in the name of NARC Magazine, once again utilised the space at Northern Stage, to give a band close to her heart an unrestricted stage to play with.

After a break from performing over the summer, Warm Digits (Steve Jefferis and Andrew Hodson) recently popped down the road to play at Leeds’ Recon Festival in October. Now, the Distraction Records duo return to Newcastle to give their home fans something new. As well as a set written to include recently recorded tunes, they are also relinquishing their light-show element of the show, to give way to collaborate with the film co-operative FilmBee, who will shape the display of visuals for this upcoming evening. 

In terms of the programme, Jefferis explained that Warm Digits were keen to have other acts on the bill that were doing interesting things with electronic music currently. From Pentecostal Party and co￥ﾡpt’s recent output, their inclusion on the bill certainly seems to marry this desire.     

A healthy crowd circulate downstairs in the Stage 3 venue at Northern Stage, shortly after the doors are opened, and lively chatter and the clinking of glasses is lacquering the air. Walking into the space, you discover gorgeous old Elf projectors sitting a-top of wooden platforms, whilst busy members of FilmBee’s team sweep clothes-hangers of film strips into position, ready for their collaboration with the headline act: the promise of Warm Digits’ ever-evolving spectacle supported immediately for those attending, and anticipation blossoms into excitement.

Fading up the outline kicks of what will develop into Night & Day, Dawn Bothwell as Pentecostal Party subtly develops the outline of the beat on her table of toys as the house lights fall. Behind her, a projection screen fills the back wall behind the stage, and a video loops the slithering of an intimidatingly large blue eel underwater. Pentecostal Party uses rigidity in the rhythms of her songs which carve out, what feels like, the blue-prints of physical architecture with which she sits the more vulnerable centre of her music inside: her vocal chants and reimagining stanzas. 

Pentecostal Party’s previous show for the Halloween Hauskonzert put a spell on the upstairs room at The Old Police House in Gateshead recently, with a packed room of people engaged with its heartbeat and cathartic yearning melodies. Tonight, due to a contrasting space and performance time, similar material was digested more reflectively from most of the crowd, with some attendees ignorantly continuing to prioritise the sound of their own voice over someone who actually had something to offer.

Highlights of the set included Lets Storm Heaven, with Bothwell fully immersed, one hand reaching up to the ceiling as she refrained the call-to-arms. At the close, percussion was removed as synthesised chords looped, and improvised melodies were played with, fading this unbroken streaming seance into silence.

Riding high off the back of performing at Manchester’s Algorave event at Texture last night, the live-coding spirit of Sean Cotterill, co￥ﾡpt (pronounced co-opt,) was still restless and keen to dance. Armed at his laptop, (Sunn O))) T-shirt holding his hand,) Cotterill set about creating his set, using phrases of computer code to grow and manipulate sounds and images. The language of his instructions were projected in real-time, whilst other shapes and images were mixed into the canvas, also at his command. 

His improvisation started with swelling chords, with percussion elements slowly entering the fray. Unusual words like ‘Buf’ and ‘pwhite’ built steadily in different colours of the rainbow behind him and slowly but surely the audience partially ingested the links between the visual language Cotterill was speaking and the sounds they were hearing. This first section enjoyed a half-time feel with lots of hemi-demi-semi-definition made up of small clicks and fuzzes. Certain visual motifs were established on the backdrop too, including mosaics of black triangles streaming, and cuboid lines intersecting. After a while of what was a steadily unfolding landscape, a more vigorous style was programmed kicking out the previous scene and from here on in Cotterill moved quickly through various progressive movements. Though the sounds were very different to traditional set-ups, the flow was in the spirit of progressive rock or fusion jazz improvisations. Alongside this playful sonic confidence, the visuals became more dynamic, with the original triangle motifs collapsing together and expanding, as if they were a beating heart.

As the co￥ﾡpt set came to its dramatic finish with ripped up bassy sounds, Cotterill shook his two fists at chest level in triumph; a feeling very much understood by those watching, themselves noticeably thrilled.

The crowd moved forward, embracing the gap of space in front of stage as the main feature took position. Lights circulated around the skin of Hodson’s bass-drum, projected out from the kick. With a quick nod to one another, Warm Digits were off! They opened boldly with Wireless World and then the optimism of Working For A Better Future, with its joyful skipping beat, and Jefferis’ sweet melody lines. 

Though shoulders and two-steps were grooving from the beginning of the set, it was by the time the funk bass of one of their more recent offerings, End Times, came around a few tracks into the set, the waves of movement in the room were banishing all thoughts of an outside world; their groove was in the marrow of every bone, and their imagination leading everyone. 

Throughout, the duo linked songs, maintaining the momentum, which they utilise as an important foundation upon which to build their musical textures. This sense of travel has also become one of the great attractions of their sonic identity, taken to a further, more literal interpretation, on their material for the Half Memory project. Sometimes they melted tracks together with a seamless blending of motifs, and at other times they enjoyed looping and degrading the last breaths of the previous tune before excitedly entering a new track, with a new style, and a new athletic movement. This sonic relentlessness is paralleled by Hudson’s performance throughout, which speaks to endurance. With uplighting around his drum-kit, the drama in his facial expressions and flying limbs were given added distinction. 

Towards the end of the set, the hyper scaling of Weapons Destruction started, and joyous fans made the floor bounce at the realisation; some with arms raised in the air, others hooking embraces around friends. 

FilmBee intertwined their sumptuous visuals around Warm Digits’ music across this special occasion, creating symbolic and textured film-loops on two additionally erected screens. Some of the shapes resembled Cy Twombly circles, whilst others included broader paint marks. Not only did the progressing visuals interact with the music, but both the left and right screens developed relative to one another as well, all skilfully edited live at the two stations at the back of the room. 

It’s not often two separate encores are genuinely coerced from a band, but tonight everyone was in WD’s plane as the wheels left the ground and nobody felt like coming down so the architects of flight kindly kept on going a little longer, finishing with two older classics, including One Trash Groove. Though most of FilmBee’s accompanying work had been more abstract for the evening, in this final coda, humour and tenderness were summoned, with a section of film depicting a very sweet little guinea pig.

With its combination of acts, the evening felt like a celebration of shape, space and angles explored through various styles of music and visuals, performed by artists who possess the skills to go deep within these topics. The thoughtful curation elevated each glorious part to a greater sum.

[2015.11.13] for NE:MM Magazine.

Xiu Xiu Play The Music Of Twin Peaks - Live at The Sage, Gateshead

“Diane. It’s 7pm at The Sage. I’ve just arrived at their Double-R Diner, and there’s a man in blue denim and long grey hair eating cherry pie.”

The upstairs room between the two venues had been perfectly transformed into The Black Lodge too. Each guest, dressed-up as a favourite character, walked around The Red Room with childlike wonder on their faces.

With Angelo Badalamenti’s original soundtrack as fundamental to Lynch’s creation as the visual world, it takes bravery to recreate alternative versions of the music, not least because of the scrutiny they would receive from fanatical followers. Facing Hall 2, packed full of the North-East’s division of the church, Xiu Xiu came to share their adaptations.

As they started to play Laura’s Theme in front of a screen looping the sinister fan shot from the show, a young man beside me fainted. Audrey’s Theme was played with extra fuzz in the baselines, whilst Shayna Dunkelman’s xylophone brought out the famous riffs perfectly. Though used sparingly, Jamie Stewart’s voice will have divided opinion, but his passion for the material was doubtless. Their choice not to speak between the music allowed an eery atmosphere to be maintained across the set.  

The night concluded with dramatics as Dunkelman took up Laura Palmer’s diary, and read from it with a wild impression. Jamie Stewart then channelled Leland from behind the drum kit with Does Eat Oats. After the show, Some people returned to the Black Lodge, clinging on to a wonderful night.

[2015.10.05] for NARC Magazine.

Richard Dawson / Asiq Nargile / Spires That In The Sunlight Rise - Live at St Gabriel's Church, Heaton, Newcastle

Entering St. Gabriel’s Church, we are treated to the memory of incense long soaked into the furnishings.

Sat humbly on chairs in front of the chancel and imposing golden imagery, the duo Spires That In The Sunlight Rise set the night alive, looping flute and saxophone passages amongst samples and synths. Kathleen Baird’s contralto burned lyrics into their aching sonic impressions.

A touring companion, fluent in English, introduced Asiq Nargile, explaining that she would be singing songs that made up portions of epics. Having the outlines of these stories prior to the performance may have helped the audience contextualise, however, standing stoic, using only her head, vocal cords and flying fingers (unfolding the encyclopaedia of her sas,) to demonstrate, Nargile captivated all with strength, beauty and precise articulation.

It is a testament to his expanding reputation that one member of this audience had travelled up from Malvern, Worcestershire exclusively to see Richard Dawson before returning the next day. Dawson ran long with his many facets: a greater range of music (including a Shirley Collins cover,) more jokes, more bananas. His conviction in the distinction for each of his songs shows his skills are as sharp as they have ever been.


[2015.09.17] for NARC Magazine.

Hapsburg Braganza / Yeah You / Kieran Rafferty / Alright Lover - Live at The Globe, Newcastle

Upstairs at The Globe, gig-goers relax on the balcony in a bright Summer eve, whilst sound-checks are completed. On first, Alright Lover (Craig Pollard) starts on his knees, mildly neurotic, building prerecorded phrases with his sampler. These carefully constructed sounds underlie songs sung with fragility and angst.

You may have enjoyed Kieran Rafferty live before, with his impeccable voice of saxophone melodies and bright chordal tensions from his Fender. Tonight, our next act’s sound is expanded, as certain technologies divide the notes he plays on his Jaguar as part bass-simulation, part traditional electric guitar tones. Drum loops complete orchestration, and these new songs grip the room.

The only guarantee of Yeah You live is knowing you will be surprised, and that is a fantastic guarantee.The sonic organisms created tonight, from a square table of toys, are less volatile than many of their previous pieces. One light creature was born when a keyboard demonstration was accidentally triggered and then eaten up into their style of improvisation.

Due to the rhythmic energy of preceding acts, Hapsburg Braganza’s exquisite soundscape painting brought the feelings in the room safely to land for the night. Phil Begg started his set with a minute of eclectic snipped spoken quotations before embarking on a rich collage centrepiece of ambient sounds.

[2015.07.23] for NARC Magazine.

NARC Magazine Demo Reviews - July

10ft Tom / Austin Tweddle / Cactusman / Northern Horizon / Six Billion Monkeys

You’re on your own at the back of a smokey bar, drinking away the pain of a lifetime of bad decisions and troubled situations, feeling lost. Don’t worry. 10ft Tom (and his Leprosy Crooks?) are singing a lil’ rock’n’roll just for you with their song, People Like Us. The chord cycle in the verse rolls like a stone whilst our giant singer reads a register of dedications. The excitement as the band speeds up in the choruses is endearing, like a child taking you by the hand to show you a new painting they’ve drawn. As a single-finger keyboard string line is added to the orchestration, and the singer assures us we’re not alone, the song leaves the ground carrying the listener to a more hopeful place.

As our singer meanders through lyrics reflecting upon the complications of a femme fatale, Austin Tweddle’s appreciation for Sheffield’s LA Teddy Boys could do with being ever so slightly diluted. His lazy drawl is seamless and cool, and this modern noir is completed in Blueprints by a female backing vocal singing in unison at the choruses. The production is crisp and perfectly judged, allowing tastes such a modest tremolo part and a soulful distorted distant guitar to sit within the mix, embellishing without distracting. The track outros with a rally of repeated distorted guitar motifs as our Romeo’s frustration finally concedes and he begs for his beau’s ‘blueprints’ of the song’s namesake.

Cactusman certainly have a taste for the bittersweet in their song Death Of Me; from the teary lead electric guitar tone painting with arpeggios, to the rainy lead melody. Even the accompanying visual artwork to this song is a delicious extension of the mood, with its heart and death collage of mixed materials. Death Of Me classically combines the optimism of a recycling positive chord sequence and resigned and mournful lyrical content. When a female voice harmonises in the choruses, our lead singer’s mildly flat pitching is emphasised. Though certainly an imperfect flower, this ballad is the demo that glistens the most this month. Alongside entries that celebrate traditional forms,
this is no exception, but Death Of Me feels like a sudden expression that captures a mood instantly, and the band have had the wisdom not to mess with that.

The production does not get slicker this month than with Northern Horizon’s Miss Hopeless, a song psychically connecting the teen spirit of Ajax, Ontario at the turn of the millennium with the present adrenaline of five boys from the North East. Steve Waltl’s accent denies any British routes for a seamless brat American voice. His delivery and control of glimpsing falsetto moments are expertly handled and own this punchy and angsty pop ballad. The track rocks its groove seamlessly between a full and half-time feel whilst maintaining a solid heart throughout. With just a pinch of something more unique in the ingredients, this would have walked the demos this month. 

The most embryonic demo this month comes from Six Billion Monkeys, seemingly the pseudonym of Rodney Hall. There is a devil sat on my shoulder tempting me to reflect the tracks title, Are You Prepared?, back on the songwriter and if he was not selling the song, I would have not let those thoughts onto this page. The track pumps Am, F, and E chords over a crude delay-heavy drum pattern as lyrics are yelled through distortion far back in the mix, barely audible. Though it may serve as a useful draft, those with the lowest-fi, punk penchant would still want to add a cherry or two before calling this finished. 

[2015.07.16] for NARC Magazine.

Rhian Thompson / Rhodri Davies & Mark Sanders / Shelly Knots / Callan - Live at The Old Police House, Gateshead

As people arrive for Hauskonzert #20, quietly growing his set out of his soundcheck, DJ Callan moulds tones quietly through the PA kneeling discretely at the side of the main living room space. Using LP’s with soft ambient tones, he delicately interacts with the dials of a little box in loop with the vinyl player, effecting and editing the sounds. This gradually evolving ambiance graciously soothes the ears.

Stepping up behind her laptop in a bright yellow Adidas jacket, Shelly Knotts then starts her set, teasing, what sounds like a hive of lizard tongues lashing, into life. These percussive acceleration and deceleration cycles then adopt a soggier character and we are transported from the desert to the monsoon. At a climatic point, a wonderful dominant seventh interval sustains in a synth sound as clashing thunder falls around it. SK shrugged as she finished her set, suggesting a concern about what she had produced. The audience’s applause however indicated that if she had doubts, they were her own.

Next up, on the first floor, a drum kit and harp sit, anticipating heartbeats. If you need a further reason to love Hebden Bridge, Rhodri Davies introduces his long-term musical collaborator, and duo partner for tonight’s performance, South London drummer Mark Sanders, with an anecdote explaining that he first met him whilst visiting West Yorkshire’s artist’s haven in 1994, and that discovery of Sanders’ musicianship was a primary influence for his own exploration into the greater world of improvised music. 

The improvisation between them that follows is sublime, with Davies and Sanders’ intuition of each others instincts palpable. The combination of Davies’ emerging muscular arpeggio patterns breaking free, and Sanders’ more fluid and joyful beats, blends into a complicated and fascinating animal. Sanders would swim in sections of his drum kit throughout - a hydra of cowbells, then a woodblock and tambourines for example - and draw focus to these timbres before moving on to another compliment with unstoppable enthusiasm.

If this jam put excitement and encouragement into the audience’s blood, Edinburgh’s Rhian Thompson concluded the bill, putting a chill back into it - with an eery piece, complete with indistinct voices (wound and rewound live on a handheld tape recorder,) klaxons, and doll rattles. With the daylight fading fast outside of the window, Thompson uses these sounds, supported by synthesised drones and pedal notes, in an interrupted and less repetitive way; not allowing any certainty to establish itself in the mind of the listener. She concludes this instrumental, reaching the maximum tension, by sustaining a loud high-pitch feedback, defeating some listeners into shielding their cocleas. It has been another delectable edition to the history of Davies’ Hauskonzerts for sure.

On a personal note, I think it is important to note that composer Mariam Razaei, with close friends such as Adam Denton, has, in a short period of time, turned this once Police Station, then Youth Centre, into a magical space for passionate musicians to create and perform without any distractions beyond the occasion itself - nought but music and participation. We are fortunate to have discerning curators like herself and Rhodri, supporting peculiar talent in this area, and connecting us with such from afar too. Involve yourselves in the events that take place in this little house on the Gateshead side of the river, and the rewards will be true.

[2015.06.18] for NARC Magazine.

Teen Men - Teen Men - Album Review

In a new project, a breath away from The Spinto Band, Nick Krill and Joey Hobson join forces with visual artists to bring their new Teen Men self-titled debut album to life. Though the songs carve relief-deep definition for themselves, the mix of forms used in the various videos accompanying the tunes really help to convey the fuller sculptures. A mild melancholic vocal sometimes pulls the listener closer, but the songs are often delivered with a certain level of detachment, allowing their life to be observed, but from a window far away. This precise dreamy pop record has been perfectly realised and feels unworried by its unfaltering passivity. If you feel unworried by that too, there is a sweet record to be enjoyed here.

[2015.06.15] for NARC Magazine.

Beauty Pageant / Commiserations / Dead Friends / Kilo Grandma / Waskerley Way - Live at The Old Police Station, Gateshead

Whilst playing a game of chess a couple of weeks ago, a good friend delivered news of the best surprise: Beauty Pageant were back! and to be playing a gig at The Old Police Station in Gateshead at the end of May. After over a year away from performing live together, the imagination and graft of events organisers Even Clean Hands Cause Damage have brought them back to the area where they formed, to once again twist and punch ears. Further delights were to colour the evening too.

   

Opening the nights proceedings was Michael Bridgewater, performing as Waskerley Way. Taking off his jacket, and kissing his football shirt with a wink in his eye, he embarked upon three contrasting instrumentals built with sounds from his laptop and keyboard. The set evolved from slippery bass moans, through hip-hop influenced beats, to a final tune blossoming with a melodic prettiness.

Next we were treated to one face of Kilo Grandma; an improvisation group, this time utilising the talents of Beauty Pageant’s drummer, Dan Dixon, modular synth meddler John Bowers, clarinetist Rebecca Jennings and Charlie Bramley on pocket operator synths. Across two jams they filled the room with as much volume as it could handle, sourcing new musical patterns from one another, with phase progressing phase.

A man known as Dead Friends then brought an inspired bout of humour, playing prerecorded compositions from his tablet whilst casually drinking from a can and indicating choice moments in each track with a point of an index finger, or a raise of a brow. This setlist of short crude extracts and melted classics supported by deadpan expressions was a perfect aperitif.

Commiserations, a raucous trio from Leeds, realigned the airwaves with noisy short songs driven by loosely tuned guitar riffs and thrusting drums, whilst the two members with microphones vocalised their aggression. A goblin decided to play tricks from within one of the guitar amps halfway through, bringing the set to a holt. The band tried to correct the issue whilst the room of people watched with hopeful anticipation. Thankfully the amp returned to its full force and the riot could play out.

Crowning the evening, Beauty Pageant start with their Torso EP opener Superplasticizer and the mood is instantly theirs. After a few tracks uniting headbangers and the hypnotised alike, a humble thanking of all involved is given and met with audience agreement (displayed as silence.) Marie Thompson makes fun with this awkwardness before encouraging BP to quickly premiere a new song, returning to the comfort of playing their musical storms. When Helen Papaioannou’s opening saxophone riff for Cheerleaders starts up, final inhibitions are cut loose, and the room rides out unbridled excitement to the finish.

Though they have been away for a while, tonights display confirms their united character is still strong and loved. This performance has recharged our batteries until next time.

[2015.05.25] for NARC Magazine.