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LAMPO is well over ten years old having come into existence in 1997 and doing a fine job of bringing experimental music and intermedia from America Europe & Asia to the Midwest of the US - particularly Chicago where it is based. Now, this is not a region that we would immediately think of when wishing to quench our thirst for electronic, electroacoustic and multimedia performance, so a big tick to them for facilitating something/ somewhere like this for so long.
But, as we all know, state funding for the arts within “The Land Of The Free” has never been something this nation has had much of a reputation for. Then slap a dysfunctional economy into the situation and the future isn’t coming up smelling of roses for this fine organisation. As is the case for all arts vehicles whose primary function is to educate and bring new material to new audiences, ticket sales alone will rarely (if ever) keep the wolves from the door. Hence they are now dependent on member subscriptions and donations for their survival. Check ‘em out and see what you think...LAMPO homepage
the end...?
Entrepreneurs will try and match make all sorts of potential bedfellows in an attempt to make an event sound fresh, appealing and enticing to a new-music audience who generally has I tight budget to adhere to. The Manchester International Festival has assembled an interesting line up happening on July 2nd. Contemporary music ensemble Bang On A Can, formed in 1987 by composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe have commissioned a piece by the legendary Steve Reich entitled 2 x 5. Sharing the stage with them that evening will be the Adam and Eve of beat driven synthesis, Kraftwerk.
And, haven’t they been around for an impressively long period of time (they share a fairly similar vintage with Mr. Reich) albeit with only one member remaining from the original quartet from Dusseldorf. Part of the premise of Bang On A Can is to bring innovative music to new audiences in an accessible way as possible – which seems to fit comfortably with the night’s combo - and necessary if we want a future that includes exciting new music. Lets hope the gig does the job rather than ending up feeling like yet another tired attempt at getting bums on seats! homepage
"... and we're lookin' good!"
“Yo. I've just finished another ZX Spectrum 48K AY chiptune. Just a small, funny tune toying with AY synthesis again.” Announces Yerz/AY-RIDER from Poland. ”Enjoy one more song with annoying squeaks from me.” MicroMusic is the not-so-new fad/genre of recycling archaic computer technology from the 80’s and 90’s - well before there was such a thing as sample-based synthesis or computer generated sound of any complexity. Often using video game console chips and 8 BIT technologies which one would now find at the bottom of landfill. This really is about the medium being the message.
After an early 21st century of our ears becoming acclimatized to a very sophisticated palette of sound design present within electronic music, we find the “charm “ of this music is in its almost naïve simplicity - giving it a quaint, humorous feel. And, as we all know, there is nothing like heavy restrictions for making the brain work more creatively. The few basic editing functions that this technology has, IE arpeggiation, is taken to new realms of over use. As so many of us are flushing many thousands of dollars/pounds down the toilet bowl each year on upgrading needlessly over high spec technologies with it’s deliberate built in redundancy, these composers are most sensibly finding their tools in the rubbish bin! 8BIT collective
"Blip Blop For The Masses"
The British music festival scene has a fine long standing tradition and no one does it quite like them (rather like a holiday camp perhaps, after all, Iggy Pop played at Butlins once!) From the juggernaut sized gatherings at Glastonbury to the more civilized sized events of the Maverick festival that’s about to celebrate its second year from July 3rd through to the 5th.
There’s been a few of these smaller more intimate gatherings happening over the last few years in the south of the country from Suffolk to Dorset. In the height of summer with the long evenings that one gets in those latitudes (should the weather decide to behave itself) setting up camp and spending a long weekend in this stunningly atmospheric countryside amongst what feels like a temporary medieval village of stalls, drinking, eating and performance, can be the height of relaxed chilled fabulousness! (Just be aware of who you’re getting your on site hash cakes from – they can be lethal!!) Hopefully there will be more of these smaller alternative festivals in the future. Portable ATMS and the heavy handed security that started turning up at Glasto a few years back rang the death knell for the large events for many.maverick homepage
"HI - DI - HI!"
“Musically omnivorous” is how Ethel, a string quartet (or “band” as referred to in their blurb) describes themselves. Formed in 1998 and made up of violins x 2, viola and cello. These classically (sorry; “Julliard”) trained musicians have been described as "the fiercest string quartet this side of hell," and "the most bad-ass quartet around." They compose a fair ol’ whack of their repertoire as well as performing works by others and have recorded with everyone from Lenny Kravitz to Yo Yo Ma. This group appears to be doing a convincing job of creating a hybrid of Rock and Classical.
On listening to a few pieces you’ll hear elements of both, for example, a track they recorded recently has a clear reference to 12 bar blues (a vehicle that Rock n Roll has used as staple diet for decades) and delivered with a voice that belongs to the classical string quartet. Not only that, but also various indigenous cultural influences can be heard within their arrangements, and, collaborations with other media such as dance. In this decade of recycling the past - and the quest to find a new and engaging voice amongst the noise pollution of current music industry output - these guys ‘n’ girls are doing a fine job of giving us something fresh to tackle – take them for a test drive. ethel homepage
va va va vooooom
“Ding-dong, ding-dong – the rag and bone mans bell rang…” proclaims Michael Garrard on his inevitable myspace profile. This chap is responsible for JLESH MUNCE. What the hell’s that!? Well – three or so years ago a breath of fresh air finally wafted across the London gig circuit. Just as we all got to the point of heaving if we were to hear yet another indie rock wanker or hip hop tosser churning out the same old rubbish, a bunch of Camberwell arst students (who thought they had nothing better to do with their drinking time in a pub than do the same thing but include an interesting soundtrack) decided to embark on FLESH DUNCE. This venue would cater for anything of any genre that showed no danger of being considered attractive by “the industry” and had a real edge. The policy of not paying bands/acts and no door fee added to a sense of the non-commercial. And what a selection on stage! From a Bangladeshi boot boy in bleachers beltin’ it out, to an OAP that looked like a cross between Alice Cooper and Albert Steptoe (“what’s the difference?” I hear you ask…) snarling: “ you open a can of worms and there’s just another fuckin’ can of worms inside” – From Yumi Hara Cawkwell trilling that she couldn’t decide whether she should throw up in toilet bowl or a sink - to an aging, unshaven, unattractive, antipodean Tran calling itself Pheecle Debbry in duet with the MD from Piano Circus on an interpretation of a Lieutenant Pidgeon classic retitled "Mouldy Old Homo", and so on…
The FLESH DUNCE gang were once described as “the overlords of the underground”… Oh, that’s right, weren’t we talking about JLESH MUNCE…? I haven’t been to this one yet but apparently the afore mentioned Mr. Garrad has decided it’s worth pushing the FLESH DUNCE boat out even further with the once-a-month offspring evening in Brixton. Someone described a night there: “like David Lynch does German pre-war cabaret”. Good on ya lads – keep it fuctup and twisted!! Really Long Link
"musical circus run by death clowns"
The Paradiso in Amsterdam, a music venue in a converted church that’s been around since the late 60’s and has hosted everything from the Sex Pistols to the Rolling Stones, is hosting a dance festival contained within a single evening. “ I Like To Watch Too” as the event is entitled will have a variety of cutting edge dance performance and installations dotted throughout the building inhabiting the same floor space as the audience – no stages and auditoriums with boundaries here – it’ll be in your face!
Not only that, but the programmers will be collaborating with Cinedans, the international film, dance and media festival that explores dance created specifically for the medium of the moving image, and, film and new media interpretations of existing works. This will occur later in the evening as: “I Like To Watch And Dance Too”… natuurlijk! Then throw in a whole bunch of DJs and VJs and what an extraordinary evening of mind expanding multi media. It really does look like the 21st century promises a future of exciting audience participation interactive hybrid media performance; here’s hoping - can’t get enough of it! homepage
I Like To Get a Leg Over!
STEIM (the studio for electro-instrumental music) based in Amsterdam is celebrating its 40th birthday – and what better way to do this than have an evening of Mexican electronic music. This sounds most intriguing! I don’t know why but up until recently I had never really thought in terms of Latin electronic composition (other than Señor Coconut, of course!) There is a history. The first work of this medium to be composed in the country was by Carlos Jiménez Mabarak in 1960 and this kick started a prolific outburst of work from a vast number of composers lasting the whole decade culminating in the Electronic Music Lab within The National Conservatory of Music (1970) with Moog and Buchla (who co designed Morton Subotnicks first synth.) supplying the technology.
Unfortunately this new school suffered a very Latin American fate – after initial funding from the state for start up, the powers that be lost interest when it came to investing in maintenance – it all become redundant rather quickly. This must have produced generations of self-sufficient composers capable at being creative in how and where they find their resources. I wouldn’t know what to expect… go and find out!STEIM homepage
... and here's the mailout
Yumi Hara Cawkwell is on tour again! Now she’s in collaboration with electro acoustic composer/ live electronics composer/performer Geoff Leigh - and they’re doing Japan, her home turf. Yumi certainly has been around the block and back again quite a few times. She has a remarkably diverse background that includes studying medicine and practising psychology in Japan for many years before moving to Britain to study music and composition - in the meantime performing with the legendary all girl pop group "Frank Chickens" whom we all know for their fantastic “We Are Ninja” and “Blue Canary” – and didn’t we LOVE IT when these girls from Japan would all come on stage and introduce themselves by announcing to the audience; “We love you English men because we love your passport…”
She also DJs as Anakonda…a friend of mine noted a memorable evening that had her spinning the decks for an all female event in Hackney entitled “Phat Bitch”! Recently she has collaborated with David Cross, the violinist from King Crimson, which aptly illustrates her love of Prog. Rock (Yes, she adores Soft Machine!!) Textural variation is very much her forte – moving effortlessly from improvisation to structured composition. From classical disciplines of all cultural/ethnic persuasions to high-camp pop, and, what an extraordinary voice!! If you can’t catch her in Japan then keep an eye out for where she may be touring next – that girl gets gets around!Really Long Link
"I'm In Control..."
I thought it about time that the Doyenne of the Los Angeles tranimal scene, the inimitable Jer Ber Jones, was brought to the attention of Orble readership. A singer/songwriter/performer/r ecording artist and performance curator par excellence. Unfortunately I have not had the pleasure of experiencing her in the flesh as she has not performed anywhere near my neck of the woods, but she is a familiar and recognizable iconic face due to the usual medium of YouTube and the stunning imagery of photographer Austin Young (…I have it from the horse’s mouth that it’s amazing what a difference Photoshop can make…) She is a co creator of the legendary Trannyshack, circa San Francisco 1990s and composer of the first single that took the Scissor Sisters up the pop charts a few years back – the girl has pedigree… Her sound production appears to be influenced by electro pop whilst squeezing a dark twist of sick onto her palette.
What is so refreshing and engaging about this artist and the tribe she represents is that finally we are seeing some humour and social observation coming out of California: a region not renown for it’s ability to look at it’s unattractive underbelly and have a good self deprecating laugh at itself! The flavour of this is unique to the region and, thank god, doesn’t try to ape the UK model. Certainly what’s going on there at present is a far more vibrant pop culture than any of the pompous, bored, cynical and tediously recycled garbage coming out of the UK/Europe popular art/music scene these days. Jer Ber’s songs are “accessible” and well composed but due to the nature of the subject matter and the way she treats it, it’s inevitable that the mainstream will choke on it. A musician friend of mine invited me round for dinner one evening and while cooking we starting listening to a stomping track entitled “Boobs” that I gather has been included in a Some Bizzare Label compilation released in the UK recently. This particular “ballad” describes a pole dancer and the colourful interaction with her admiring male audience. A great fun song that my friend thought could be aired on the BBC’s Radio 2… until the song started winding up with Ms. Jones snarling: “You wanna see me jiggle my tittys” He thoughtfully paused chopping his aubergine to conclude, “ No – Radio 2 wouldn’t play it…” BTW: rumour has it that Jer Ber has created an alto ego named “Robbie Daniels Jnr” but we don’t seem to hear much from this shady character…..Oh - and where's that new album we've been promised...?Really Long Link
"Darling, Mommy Loves You..."
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on Vegetarian Risotto
Audiotopsy