'The Outer Edges' At Derby Quad

A few months ago, I wrote a post extolling the pleasures of Karl Hyde’s album, ‘Edgeland’ [1.] and ‘The Outer Edges’ [2.], a film he made in collaboration with Kieran Evans.  I won’t trawl over old ground here, as my favourable opinion of both pieces remains largely unchanged.  I’ve played the album repeatedly over the intervening period but only watched the film a couple of the times, (as is in the nature of the two media, I guess).  Therefore, I was more than happy to zoom over to Derby Quad one evening the other week to watch the film again on a big screen with a live score performed by Hyde himself, Leo Abrahams and Peter Chilvers [3.].

Karl Hyde,  (Photo: Perou/The Artist)

The beauty of living in the Midlands is that anyone in search of cultural stimulus, (or indeed, other pleasures), can shuttle quite easily between several neighbouring towns and cities, each of which offers a different combination of possibilities.  Of these, Derby is a city I visit less often, and it’s easy to categorise it as a relatively mundane place whose heart has been exchanged for an immense shopping complex.  However, the pre-existing town centre does feature some interesting aspects and a perfectly usable culture and media facility in the form of Quad.  Also, as I've repeatedly come to realise, it's in exactly these kind of places that I've increasingly found inspiration for my own work.  As Quad seems to be struggling financially, I was happy to hand over my money for ‘The Outer Edges’ and in reality, our tickets were good value considering the inclusion of the live musical element.

Derby Quad

View Towards Market Square, Derby, November 2013

Based in Hyde's own Essex homeland, the film was as enjoyable and approachable piece of Psychogeographical cinema as I had remembered, full of poignancy and the resonance of place.  The musicians produced an atmospheric, well judged, instrumental score with guitar, bass and laptop electronics, concluding their semi-improvised performance with just one song that emphasised what an affecting voice Hyde has.  Any hoped-for Q&A session failed to materialise but, on reflection, maybe it's wise to resist the impulse to over-explain a piece that is, I think, sufficiently well resolved to be its own explanation.  I was surprised to discover that my own vivid memory of a silhouetted BMX cyclist in one scene, (corresponding to the song ‘Shadow Boy’), was actually a motorcycle; proving just how inaccurate visual recall can be.  I also now wonder if some of the interviewees that provide the film’s human heart could be labeled too easily as Essex ‘types’.  However, Hyde belongs to this estuarine landscape and is therefore perfectly qualified to recognise that these people do inhabit it for real.

T'is The Season To Spend Lolly...

…Tra La La La La, La La La La.

On exiting Quad, my friend Dave and I mixed with raucous weekend revellers and the aftermath of a celebrity Christmas lights inauguration.  We spent a few minutes photographing the conjunction of cheesy illuminations and slightly bleak architecture in Derby’s Market Square, but discovered our most powerful subject matter in the now almost deserted multi-story car park where we’d left the car.  It provided a wonderful environment of utilitarian geometry, sickly fluorescent lighting and information graphics.  We lingered on in there, expecting a challenge from security guards that never came.

Assembly Rooms Car Park, Derby, November 2013

[1.];  Karl Hyde, 'Edgeland', Universal, 2013.

[2.];  Keiran Evans (Dir.) & Karl Hyde, 'The Outer Edges', Universal, 2013.

[3.]:  'The Outer Edges', Film Screening With Live Score By Karl Hyde, Leo Abrahams & Peter Chilvers, Saturday 16 November 2013, Derby Quad, Derby, UK.