Thursday, 29 October 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Tommy Boy
Since the advent of high speed internet connections an almost forgotten aural and visual landscape has slowly been unearthed by those willing to search for it; miners of lost disco gems and yuppie ores have found a past that looked to the future. A future of electric dreams and exploration of the unknown.
One such excavator is Tommy Boy - half of the seminal and consistenly enviable Arawa.fm he also pieces together films and music videos from the more esoteric and synthetic fragments of the past 35 years, creating soundtracks for the likes of CFCF, Telepathe and most recently Spectral Empire.
-When did you first start experimenting with video?
Well, I’ve always been enamoured with video, even as a kid. I vividly remember the moment I knew what I wanted to do as an artist. There was a show on MTV in the mid to late 90s called AMP. It was an hour block of mostly electronic and experimental videos. Most of the videos were generic and formulaic, however 2 artists really stood out. E.B.N. , and Coldcut's brilliant video work inspired me. Their video aesthetic consisted of sampled video, cut to the rhythm of the song, and rearranged to tell a story with syncopated imagery.
A few years later in Austin, Texas, I started to VJ with friends in a multimedia outfit called "Loose Id Studios" with the intention of emulating this style. It’s crazy remembering how much time went into making those productions. Video encoding took forever and our tools were so archaic. I was using one of the first multimedia apps at the time, VJAMM on my old IBM notebook. The output wasn't always the best, but I learned tons in that time. I definitely caught the bug for film then.
-You mentioned on Arawa that 20JFG asked you create a video for Spectral Empire's Black Shark - are you always commissioned in this way or do you find yourself starting something just through musical inspiration?
20JFG initially approached me to do a video for Telepathe based on my previous personal video work and my massive image dump on myspace the they often borrow from for posts. I think they just trusted my vision and decided to throw me a bone. From the Telepathe video, Patrik North from Acéphale contacted me privately to do the CFCF video. Soon after that, 20JFG referred two more jobs to me, Spectral Empire and Gatekeeper (TBR). So, yeah, 20JFG have really made my year! Love those people. Plus, I really like the work that’s been sent to me. Fortunately, all these artists resonate with my interests, so the projects have been a blast. I like client oriented work since it keeps me on task. However, I do like to strike a balance between work and play. I definitely take time to make videos for myself. I like making music videos for bands that never had the chance. I did videos for Phill & Friends Band and Casco because I love them so much.
CFCF - 'You Hear Colours' commissioned by Patrik North of Acephale records
-The video for CFCF's You Hear Colours is a really great synthesis of sound and visuals - what was the process of making the video like?
Most projects start with me getting very familiar with the song. If it’s something new to me, I’ll listen to it on repeat for days, everywhere I go. It might take me a couple weeks to really get the song and find the right imagery for a story. With CFCF, it was the middle of winter when I got the song. I remember driving my car in the barren early morning light on my way to work, watching joggers stride by as “You Hear Colours” played in perfect harmony. I knew almost from the start that I wanted to do something that would capture that feeling. With that in mind, I began researching source material. I remembered a movie my Dad had turned me onto as a child. It had been probably 20 years since I’d seen “Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”, but after revisiting it I knew it would be the perfect backbone for my story. I intended for the video to be vintage. I think black and white footage frees the mind to fill in the colours as you see fit. If you were hearing colours from CFCF's gorgeous song, I wanted you to see his sound. So for me, this song will always end up looking like those early morning drives felt like, which is great.
-Your videos seem to exclusively use sequences and sections of other films and pictures, do you think you'll ever pursue making original content or is that not how you work?
This is a constant source of contention for me. I recognize I’m abusing certain copyright laws; however I feel I utilize video clips the same way a DJ selects songs to tell a story through a carefully selected mix. I have no intention of taking credit for the original footage I use. I hope people can see the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I’m always striving to tell my own story with borrowed footage. I would love to start using more of my own original footage, but with limited budgets and lack of equipment I’ll most likely rely on sampling for the near future. If someone wants to do an all expense paid shoot with me, I’m totally game. Seems like the only people who can afford that kind of work with me are corporations who want me to make a widget demonstration video for their website. God help me if I have to keep doing those. My career is totally upside down, as I’m sure it is with most artists. I get paid for shit I hate to make, and I do stuff for free because I love to do it. Besides, there’s a vast archive of video out there just ripe for the picking. I really enjoy researching film history. Dissecting and rearranging existing footage is still a thrill for me. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Telepathe - 'Devil's Trident' remix by Diamond Vampires commissioned by 20 Jazz Funk Greats
-Do you see a career in what you're doing at the moment with videos with or do you see it more as a past time?
I don’t really see a career in making music videos the way I’m making them now. I run the risk of being a one trick pony at best, at worst I could face litigation. So, yeah, the time for doing this stuff is finite. I experiment with video as a means to express myself as an artist. I'd like to make a career of it, because I have so much work I still want to do. I spend my time VJing when the video projects are slow. I recently enjoyed doing work for the Butthole Surfers fall ’08 tour, as well as the Maker Faire in Austin, TX, Crystal Castles/VEGA, and Nancy Fortune shows in ’09. I like taking video out of my house and on the road. So, maybe there’s a future in VJing. Who knows. It’s all still up in the air.
-Your music tastes seem to be centered on the dark and synthetic output of the 70's and 80's, what is about this sound and era that appeals to you?
My artistic interests incorporate a healthy respect for retro-futuristic ideals. I’m a child of the 80’s, that era of romantic futurism in the grip of the Cold War. Science Fiction has always been a major influence on my life. My first memories of sound were from a Fischer-Price plastic record player with my own 45” copy of Disney’s “The Black Hole”. I have a profound sense of nostalgia for all the sights and sounds from my childhood. I remember spending entire summer days at my neighbour’s house who had MTV. I sat mesmerized by the crazy “New Wave” videos that often mirrored the futuristic vision of my favourite movies. I spent my formative years in music education researching anything and everything electronic. My heart fell in love with the roots of electronic music and all which sprang forth from that creative force. I don’t necessarily feel I’m drawn to the darker side of electronics, but compared to my ARAWA.FM partner, Sean Donson, I can see why you drew that conclusion. Ok, sorry for this lame analogy, but the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle explosion is closely related to how I see music. It’s the promise of the future coupled with the tragic reality of the present. It’s the beauty in tragedy, the shortcomings of technology, the human will to break barriers and forge new territory. All of that. Music from the late 70’s and early 80’s embodies those ideals for me. Synths were just coming onto the scene, people were embracing the future, music was sublime, transcending time and place. Most of this music sounds more relevant to me today than I’m sure it sounded when it came out. Especially the left-field, obscure, bizarre tracks. Maybe my taste does lean to the darker sounds of synthdom. I guess I like my dystopian disco to sound like it was actually made in "1984".
'Repossesed' a submission for Moon Illusion
-Mixes are another interest of yours, do you DJ as well?
I have been DJing about as long as I have been doing video work, but with mixed results. For the moment, my biggest gratification is to release mixes on the web. I hope my mixes swim in the same circles as my mentors. The biggest influence on me right now is DJ JAZ aka John Zahl. As long as guys like him are killing the tables, it’s best for me to stay at home and work on video. DJing for me is like making mixtapes for high school crushes. I miss those days. I have always loved the art of a good mixtape. So, I guess I’m just making 21st century mixtapes for all my internet lovelies. But I digress.
-What's the story of how Arawa came into being? What inspired you and Sean Donson to collaborate?
ARAWA.FM is actually Sean Donson’s brainchild. Sean’s from San Francisco and we’ve actually never met face to face. I think he started blogging about a year before I did. This would’ve been around ‘06-’07. When I started my own blog, I noticed his name popping up in comments from time to time. And vice versa. We started talking and one thing led to another. I think the partnership came out of necessity and a mutual respect for each others work. We’re not the most consistent bloggers, so strength in numbers seemed to make sense. I officially became partner after an insane Halloween posting juggernaut we produced last year. It was as if stars were aligned and a cosmic force was unleashed once we teamed up. Besides, Sean is like the ying to my yang, I absolutely adore his style and direction. Sean has a real talent for graphic design, an area I’m sadly lacking in. I was more than happy to jump on his bandwagon. He had already made a strong foundation for ARAWA. His posts are always fresh to me, consistently supplying me with treasures I never knew existed. Sean and I have had a lot happen to us since we started to collaborate. We recently completed work for JAZ, Nancy Fortune, and Gatekeeper as a result of our blog endeavours. Things keep coming in too, which is a real amazing since this is a just result of us just doing what feels good. Sean added a quote to our blog which really drives home our mantra. It’s from one of my favorite works by David Lynch, from the epic series, “Twin Peaks”. It says “"... I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange." This is really the story of Sean and me. My brother from another mother, my cosmic twin, Demian to my Sinclair, the best friend a guy could ask for. Aw shucks, love me some Sean, love me some ARAWA.FM too.
Obligatory Fleetwood Mac reference - 'Gypsed'
-Lastly, do you have any current infatuations, be it videos/songs/links that you'd like to share with us?
I don’t know if these are current as much as they are things I have loved for a long, long time. For the video enthusiast in me, I consistently draw inspiration from these sources:
TV Carnage, Paperrad, Animal Charm , Church of the Subgenius , 5minutestolive , Totally Wreck Production Institute
And as far as music is concerned, anything these guys are up to usually rocks my world:
Lovefingers , Donnaslut , Dream Chimney , Bumrocks
And lastly, ARAWA.FM has a new sister site for all the things that just don't make it on the blog. Please bookmark http://youmakemefeel.tumblr.com for more ARAWA related fodder. Stay tuned, there's lots more to come
Tommyboy can ofcourse be found online at Arawa.fm (ofcourse) and also at Vimeo and Youtube.
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Comus
A few months ago my friend Chris Mapleston emailed some questions to legendary folk band Comus with the hope of using the answers for a zine he was setting up in his adopted home of Japan. Which in itself is just a bit ridiculous really. Considering the band, so unloved and discarded during their heyday should only exist in a world of their own - untraceable and unattainable to anyone born after 1973, remembered by few and fondly by less.
Yet somehow this isn't the case; since reforming in 2008 due to an overwhelming resurgence in popularity Comus have steadily become more and more prolific, almost as active as they were in their heyday - playing gigs and festivals at home and abroad, being featured on radio, in magazines, rehearsing and performing new material, and embracing such 21st century miracles as blogging and myspace. While my friend Chris gets his zine together he's very kindly let me upload the full interview here for now, for which I'm incredibly grateful for as this is a pretty big deal, you know?
-You’re headlining the Equinox festival in London this summer, playing the “First Utterance” album in its entirety. What are your feelings towards the album? Are you surprised that the album has developed such a dedicated fan base?
Roger Wootton (Vocalist/Guitarist): I was amazed at the steady resurgence of interest in First Utterance and to have picked up such a young following. I distanced myself from the album for some time after we split up, because it was so unpopular.
I have reappraised it and are now much more proud of it. I am still perplexed at the difference in reaction to it now. I think it is the complete originality of the whole band sound which we and everyone else find stimulating.
-The failure of First Utterance upon its initial release has been cited to be the result of “poor reviews” and “postal strikes.” At the time had you expected the album to be received better than it was?
RW: Yes, although I was disappointed in it and felt that we performed the material much better live, the negative reaction, even from Dawn, the record company was extremely frustrating. Fans would contact us, saying they could not find any record shop that stocked it and had to order it and Dawn were completely disinterested and seemed to want to bury it. I think at that time, 1970-71, that there was every indication that it would be successful due to audience reaction.
–It always surprises me how young the band were when First Utterance was recorded. Were you all prodigious musical talents?
RW: Not really. I think it was just luck how the particular members fell together. It seemed to be the chemistry amongst the members that made us aspire and be more inspired than playing with anyone else.
Comus circa First Utterance
-First Utterance is undoubtedly the album which the Comus cult has developed around. Do you feel its follow up “To Keep from Crying” has been somewhat neglected?
RW: No, I am ashamed of it. The material wasn’t originally intended for Comus and, because of the atmosphere at the time with glam rock, there was a need to find some way of commercialising ourselves. The problems were increased by the fact that only three of the original members wanted to do it. We regard To Keep from Crying as an artistic failure.
-You played with David Bowie back in the day; does he still keep in touch?
RW: No, we lost touch shortly after the Ziggy Stardust album took off. After he became a star he didn’t want anything to do with most of the people he had associated with before.
-Over the years Comus have been praised by many bands, most notably Opeth, but also groups such as Current 93 and Nurse with Wound. Are you familiar with their work, and if so do you feel any common ground?
RW: Yes, Current 93 got in touch with me in 2000 and David Tibet and I got together a couple of times. I am not familiar with Nurse with Wound, but it was Michael Ackerfeldt of Opeth who was largely responsible for Comus reforming. When Opeth were asked to play the Melloboat Festival in Stockholm in 2008, he stipulated that they would only do it if Comus could be persuaded to reform and play the festival as well. He came to London for the signing of the contract and we met for the first time. Since then he has been an important contact and friend to the band and we are in regular contact by Email. Opeth are constantly touring all over the world.
-Do you listen to any modern folk music? Many bands labeled with the “freak folk” tag from a few years ago seemed to have taken influence from Comus…
RW: I think the members of Comus all have varying tastes. I, myself, mainly listen to modern classical music and follow such composers as John Tavener, Osvaldo Golijov, Arvo Part and John Adams.
-Like Comus, many of the bands playing the Equinox Festival seem to take their influences from pagan and folkloric imagery and iconography. Is this still something you take an interest in?
RW: I have looked at many kinds of mysticism and philosophy throughout the world but am now reacquainting myself with paganism since Comus reformed. I am now immersing myself in all the subject matter and imagery of the original Comus in order to write new material.
The Reformed Comus Line Up L-R: Jon Seagrott, Roger Wootton, Andy Hellaby, Bobbie Watson, Glenn Goring, Photo taken from The Wire
-The Comus line-up contains a number of illustrators and designers. Can you tell us a bit more about your work?
RW: I did the drawing for the outside of the gatefold sleeve and a lot of the promotional illustrations and posters. Glenn (Goring, Guitarist/bongo player) did the painting for the inside of the sleeve. I have since begun to return to this style of drawing after many years. I had given up on it because of lack of interest in the UK. Even now I cannot get any illustration work in England outside of Comus. I have returned to the same technique and have so far designed the poster for Melloboat 2008, a Christmas card for the Melloclub in Stockholm, 2008 and the sleeve drawing for the shortly to be released DVD of Comus live at Melloboat. I am currently working on a new T shirt design (Which can now be found here).
-It was only after the release of the “Song to Comus” compilation that the band reunited. How did the decision to get back together come about. And had you ever considered reforming before?
RW: At first, at an emotional reunion at the old manager’s house in 2005 after the rerelease on Song to Comus, we decided that after 35 years it was out of the question – too much water under the bridge – even after Sanctuary had offered us a record deal; but the interest continued to build and we were almost pressurised into reforming in 2007. Until this point we had no idea how popular we had become and it still seems unbelievable considering the lack of interest and negativity we had experienced originally.
Melloboat Festival 2008
-You played the Melloboat Festival in Sweden recently, performing for the first time in 34 years on a boat in Sweden. How did it go?
RW: The gig went very well considering half of us had flu and Bobbie had broken her wrist. The audience were fantastic and very encouraging. Over a hundred had come over from the UK specially to see us and some even flew over from the USA. It was then that we experienced for the first time just how passionate a following we have and decided to stay together and carry on. We played pretty well but over the last 12 months we have got a lot tighter and we have all improved as musicians.
-Has it been hard to relearn Comus’ material, or did it all come flooding back?
RW: It was extremely hard. Trying to relearn the chords from the CD, as nothing was ever written down and trying to find my Comus voice again was a major effort. We all struggled at first finding the rhythms but gradually we got tighter. Most of us were rusty, having not played for a while but gradually it came back.
-My first experience of First Utterance was buying the “Song to Comus” compilation in 2005 and wandering round the caves of Nottingham pubs researching ghost tales for my degree. Every time I listen to the album images from that day spark through my mind. Do you get any similar trips to the past when listening to your work?
RW: Sometimes – we all have our memories – but one of the reasons we were so reluctant to reform was that we had a lot of bad memories of life on the road and did not want to go through it all again. I think though, that the years have created a kind of distance from the music and we are now reassociating with the songs in a new time and reality, knowing that we have a lot of fans.
-How much do the feel the internet has helped ignite the Comus fanbase?
RW: If it were not for the internet Comus would not have reformed. It is largely through file sharing that we now have a global fanbase. When we split up we were unheard of outside Europe.
-Your website tantalizingly reveals that you’re recording new material. Can you shed any light on how it’s shaping up? Will the Malgaard Suite finally see the light of day?
RW: No, the Malgaard Suite is largely forgotten. It was so complex and parts of it did not work very well. We only have one poor sounding recording of it from a gig and we feel it is best left behind. What we wanted to do was to kick back in as we were in the middle of 1971 and what should have been the second album – a continuation from First Utterance and that is what we are doing. The first finished song, ‘Out of the Coma’, will be performed at the Equinox Festival. We are intrigued to see how it will go down. It is very much in the same vain as the songs on First Utterance and we are all working on more.
-Bobbie, on the Colins of Paradise website, among the band’s friends you count artists such as Ital Tek, Venetian Snares and Vladislav Delay. Are you a big electronic music fan? Any chance of this filtering into the new Comus material?
Bobbie Watson (Vocals/Percussion): Jan Jelinek, Burial, and X.A.Cute featuring Mike Ladd, are some of my/our sure favourites (Jon Seagroatt is my husband) - a whole world away from Comus....
-And finally, any plans to take Comus over to Japan?
RW: There was a gig planned for Tokyo but it never came to anything. We look forward to an opportunity to play in Japan.
Comus can be found online at Comusmusic.co.uk.
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Wednesday, 22 July 2009
No No No
Inspired by 'a love of good illustration and good printing' Nobrow are a collective of film directors, artists amd illustrators formed in December of 2008. They have published prints by the likes of Bjorn Rune Lie and Paul Blow, a book from the mind of TLL endorsed Ben Newman and an oversized bi-annual collection of bespoke sumptuous illustrations from artists such as Stuart Kolakovic, Alex Spiro, Sarah King, Blex Bolex A Richard Allen, Alex Bland and McBess.
-No Brow No1 has been selling pretty well so far - you must be pretty chuffed with it's success. (Out of an initial run of 3000 - less than 500 remain)
We have to say, though we were hoping for this type of response, we certainly didn't count on it and we are really happy that people dig what we're trying to do. It's good to know the hard work and sacrifices have not been in vain....
Ltd Edition Prints from Bjorn Rune Lie (top) and Paul Blow (below)
-Why choose the theme of Gods and Monsters for your first issue, was it just something that you felt the artist's could run with?
Funny you should say that, because we were thinking about the artists when we came up with it- the convo went something like this:
a: what do you think they'll want to draw?
s: I dunno what do you want to draw?
a: monsters...
s: me too...
a: actually, most people I know, at the most fundamental level, want to draw monsters, but it is rare that anyone lets you.
s: cool
a: it does sound a bit vacuous on its own...
s: how about 'Gods and Monsters'....
...and there you go
Work in Progress
-You've just published The Bento Bestiary by Ben Newman - How did the project start? What is the publication about?
It's really awesome, printed by hand by us, bound by us, illustrated by the ever prolific genius of Ben Newman; buy one, its only 40 quid!
The publication is about Yokai monsters from Japanese legend; I think it grew from Ben's submission for the mag...
Detail from The Bento Bestiary
-Can you tell us anything about Nobrow No2 - when will it be out, who will it feature?
Nobrow 2 is coming out on the 14th of November and it is going to be a beaut! All we can tell you at this point is that it will be a fresh bag of tricks (colour wise and otherwise) and contain another set of new illustrators from around the world that will blow your socks off.
A Nobrow Exhibition at Jaguar Shoes, London
-Apart from publishing, do you plan to move into any other fields?
Well we'd love to make toys, but its a very tricky business, so we'll have to see, in the mean time we'll continue with the small press, producing lovely prints and cool limited edition book projects and also pushing the publishing into other fields - comix, collections, etc. keep your eyes peeled.
Nobrow can be found online at nobrow.net.
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Outer Space
Above's a clip from a Chicago Cable childrens program called Chic-A-Go-GO featuring Jazz musician Kelan Philip Cohran. In the video, Cohran talks about his invention of the frankiphone, recites a much longer than expected self-penned poem of his and at the end of it gets all the kids in the audience to dance along to one of his songs.
Though most famous for his work with Sun Ra's Arkestra Cohran, now 82, has a incredible back catalogue of his own - The Wire wrote a pretty comprehensive article on the man if you ever wanted to find out more.
Philip's eight (EIGHT!!) sons make up nine members of The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble who are pretty interesting in their own right. Many thanks to them for putting up so many videos. Including this ripper:
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