Written City 15: Conflicting Emotions

I found this outpouring of anger and frustration on a bridge parapet...

...then, just a few feet further on - a philosophy to live by. 

Both Images: West Leicester, September 2014

It seems that every variety of thought and feeling you can imagine is out there on the streets. 

Entropy Releases Beauty

After heavy rain, time and gravity intervened and several poster layers fell away, revealing these...

All Images: West Leicester, November 2014

And, of course, I could spend hundreds of hours trying to deliberately create something even half as beautiful.

Playlist 11

I haven’t written one of these playlists for a while, preferring my sporadic music-based posts to take a slightly more in-depth form.  However, my recent listening has included a number of recordings that are too involving to pass without some comment.  Most of the items in this list are new to me, but there are a couple of old favourites as well.  For every new, experimental noise-scape, it seems there’s still the odd, evergreen rock anthem on heavy rotation too.  Sadly, I seem to have forgotten how to keep these entries concise, for which - apologies.  Perhaps you can just skip over the ones that interest you least.

Kemper Norton, ‘Loor’:

This is, (I think), the second full album to be put out in physical form by Kemper Norton, and a stylishly packaged artifact it is too.  It’s predecessor, ‘Carn’ is a nuanced and atmospheric electro-acoustic mélange, channeling the landscapes of Cornwall and Sussex, and eerie intimations of their previous inhabitants.  ‘Loor’ is billed as a nocturnal companion piece to that release, (translating as ‘Moon’ in old Cornish), and is a marvelous consolidation of everything that’s been interesting about his work to date.  Dark, folkloric or archaeological undercurrents run through much of this music, along with a definite sense of place, accentuated by the incorporation of field recordings into the overall sound. 

Norton’s signature sound involves ‘slurring’ acoustic and digital sounds, and layering sonic textures, hidden voices, and occasional, traditional instrumentation.  Beats sometimes intrude, but softer pulses or repeated phrasing more usually provide any rhythmic structure.  Key pieces are overlaid with passages of traditional song, intoned in an affectless and intimate voice.  On ‘Loor’ these include the familiar Welsh piece translated as, ‘All Through The Night’.

Like many current purveyors of haunted electronic music, Kemper Norton blurs the distinctions between the rural and the industrial, and actually deserves the clumsy ‘Folktronic’ label far more than many others.  Those of us happy to succumb to the marketing strategy of ‘Loor’ also get ‘Salvaged’, - a bonus disc of selected archival pieces, which display earlier facets of what is becoming an increasingly well-polished stone.

David Gilmour, ‘There’s No Way Out Of Here’:

Undoubtedly the most conservative choice here, - this is nonetheless something I often reach for when in a sentimental mood, after a couple of glasses of red.  By 1978 the tensions were really showing in the over-blown money machine that Pink Floyd became, so it’s no wonder that Gilmour chose to record his first, eponymous solo album at the same time.  I remember it, from a couple of years later, as a slightly patchy affair, but this song stays with me.

There’s no real mystery about how the emotional manipulation is achieved, involving, as it does, a solemn refrain with a dying fall, Gilmour’s beautiful voice and ever-reliable guitar work, those skipping extra beats, the break in the line, “the chance… you took”, soaring female backing vocals, etc.  My preferred version is this live promotional footage, found on YouTube.  I like Gilmour’s modest leadership of the band, and the fact that organist Ian McLagan is clearly having such a good time.

Concretism, ‘EP01 - Rabies Warning’ / ‘EP02 - Another Way Of Looking At It’ / ‘EP03 - Don’t Forget The Empties’ / ‘EP04 - Forewarned Is Forearmed’:

I’m highly attuned to anything using my current favourite building material as a referent right now, (although it’s no reason why a piece of music should be interesting per-se, of course).  Luckily, under the Concretism banner, Chris Sharp has produced music that suits me just fine on all four of these EP’s.  It clearly belongs in the Hauntology camp, amounting to, in his own words, a “grey world of sinister public information films, dusty archival sounds, Cold War Britain, and weeping analogue synths”.

Of course, the Hauntological checklist has become pretty standardised by this point, and certainly, there’s little here we haven’t already heard from Belbury Poly, The Advisory Circle, Pye Corner Audio, etc.  Nonetheless, Sharp’s music is a welcome addition to the canon.  I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff, and do enjoy a little conceptual harking back to the Britain of my youth.  His new album is high on my next shopping list.

Concrete / Field, ‘A Theory Of Psychic Geography’:

Which leads me to this CDR, burnt straight from the kitchen table/workshop bench of the Hacker Farm-related 19f3 ‘nano-label’.  Again, it’s no secret why I took a punt on this, given the name and title attached.  The splendid press release on the 19f3 website didn’t hurt either.

Working as Concrete / Field, Mark Chickenf1sh (really?) sculpts drones, sine waves and abstract frequencies into textural soundscapes the listener can actually inhabit.  His back catalogue shows an enthusiasm for the electrical buzz of coal-fired power stations or heavily processed, mechanical noises, but also an appreciation of landscape and the immersive environment generally.  Here, the relationship to place is given free conceptual rein through layers of nuanced sound that envelop the listener, rather than simply strafing the ears.  Again, there is that eliding of the rural, industrial and digital dimensions and a thoroughly contemporary sense of the hidden infrastructure woven through all aspects of contemporary life.

Ship Canal, ‘Please Let Me Back In Your House’:

Also from 19f3 comes this from Manchester’s own purveyor of DIY Dole-core Noise Art, Ship Canal, A.K.A. Daniel Baker.  Baker affects a beg-steal-or borrow approach to his equipment and a don’t-know-what-I’m-doing approach to technique, but if the latter’s true he’s a bit of a natural.  Like the Concrete / Field album, this lies at the point where Noise meets Ambient Sound Design, (do these labels really mean anything?), and is involving and environmental far more than it is confrontational or abrasive.

There does seem to be a certain political, (or at least sociological), intent behind Baker’s work, as revealed through certain speech samples woven through his otherwise abstract sounds, and it’s no surprise to see his work being championed through Hacker Farm channels.  Ultimately though, the Ship Canal project feels equally like an individual survival strategy, and a way for Baker to find both stimulation and expression amidst possibly frustrating personal circumstances.

Extnddntwrk, ‘Just Tracks’:

Andrew Fearn garnered loads of attention this year as half of everyone’s favourite East-Midlands ranting unit, Sleaford Mods.  However, a visit to Bandcamp reveals an extensive back catalogue of solo releases under the Extnddntwrk name, much of which is well worth a listen.  Several of the others download for free, so I was happy to shell out for this one on CD.

These electronic beat-sketches may generally lack the punkish aggression that attaches to Sleaford Mods, but they still demonstrate the stripped-down, economical approach of those more famous backing tracks.  Fearn is adept at leaving his sound uncluttered, (‘simple’ wouldn’t be insulting), whilst retaining our interest, and each piece has a distinct character or specific mood.  Nothing really goes anywhere in particular, but there’s always some sense of development if you pay attention, and the tracks rarely overstay their welcome.  The same may not be true of the extended, experimental piece that appends the album proper, and I’ve heard Fearn play with found sound and film and TV samples to greater effect elsewhere.

The CD release of ‘Just Tracks’ also includes a bonus disc of music from the Extnddntwrk archive.  It’s a great introduction to the oeuvre in general, taking in wobbly bass workouts, busier rhythms, sung vocals and even Punk and Metal guitar sounds, amongst much else.  It also points to the greater attack of the Sleaford Mods aesthetic, but gives the lie to the chancer-having-a-laff vibe of his persona in that unit, through sheer variety of work achieved.

Flying Lotus, ‘You’re Dead!’:

I have a lot of time for Flying Lotus, which is ironic, given that he’s the epitome of a butterfly mind, - endlessly alighting on each dazzling new idea or trope without allowing anything to really establish itself.  I enjoyed his previous full-length release, ‘Until The Quiet Comes’, but can appreciate that some find it just too amorphous or insubstantial.  This new one is a slightly more focused affair, whilst retaining FlyLo’s defining characteristics.  It even features tracks with a coherent groove throughout their, (admittedly short), entire extent.

‘You’re Dead!’ comes on like a Jazz album, although Stephen Ellison throws all his usual Hip-Hop, Soul, Electronica, and even Prog. elements into the pot too.  In reality, nothing this artificially assembled could really be termed true Jazz.  Nevertheless, he’s clearly channeling his Great Auntie Alice Coltrane very consciously.  Thundercat’s ubiquitous, School of Pastorius bass work adds to the overall Fusion flavour, and Ellison’s even got Herbie Hancock guesting on there, for crying out loud!

He also plays with Alice Coltrane’s open-ended approach to Eastern mysticism, - not least in the album’s different thematic interpretations of Death and what might come after.  As ever, Ellison is unafraid to engage with big ideas, whilst creating music that is far from portentous, and even seems cartoon-like on occasion.  It’s a bit like the aural equivalent of Fiona Rae’s painting and, similarly, - never less than entertaining.

Swans, ‘To Be Kind’:

Swans, (Michael Gira: Third From Left).

This title also seems ironic given Swans were once responsible for some of the most alienating quasi-industrial racket ever inflicted on audiences.  I’d contend it was never just about pissing people off though.  The band’s long history shows considerable musical evolution, and Michael Gira may just be the most emotionally honest artist working in music today.  He’s certainly one of the most intense, I suspect.

This reconstituted, late incarnation of Swans has been a revelation, - applying various aspects of earlier band phases to an expansive sound that is vast in its overall scope.  It combines raw power, and a persistence that seems almost pathological on occasions, with precision of execution and as skilful a deployment of subtleties and musical spaces as of the grand gestures.  It’s nominally Post Rock in genre terms, but mostly just sounds like itself.

The previous album, ‘The Seer’, was breathtaking, but this one may even top it.  There are wonderful things from beginning to end, but it’s hard to ignore the half-hour epic that is ‘Bring The Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture’.  The first half amounts to a mantra that I find properly transcendent, whilst the second goes deeper into the heart of darkness than even the Doors’ ‘The End’ managed, (and without the leather trousers).  For once, bigger really is better.

Bob Dylan, ‘Shelter From A Hard Rain’:

Bob Dylan: "Someone's Got It In For Me…"

I can’t afford the recent multi-disc release of Dylan & The Band’s complete ‘The Basement Tapes’, but this is some recompense.  It’s an unofficially released document of the once televised, penultimate date of 1976’s ‘Rolling Thunder Review’, and augments the official ‘Hard Rain’ live album from the period.  I’ve enthused about the earlier record’s shambolic, almost apocalyptic qualities in an earlier playlist, but this one fleshes out the story further and lends Dylan’s performance a more three-dimensional aspect in the process.

The stresses under which the whole venture was undertaken are legendary, with torrential downpours delaying the Fort Collins arena event for two days whilst Dylan kept a TV crew on expensive retainer and descended into alcohol-fueled domestic warfare with his estranged wife, Sarah.  When his road-weary musical troupe finally took the stage, it’s a miracle they weren’t all electrocuted as their canopy leaked in the persisting deluge, and instruments detuned themselves in the humidity.  Somehow, he fed on it all to produce a performance that transmutes an undeniably sloppy presentation into something else altogether.

This record demonstrates there was more to the gig than just some one-man-against-the world psychodrama, however.  There are socially conscious songs here, sung in duet with Joan Baez, that show plenty of commitment.  These versions of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’, ‘Railroad Boy’, Guthrie’s ‘Deportee’, and ‘I Pity The Poor Immigrant’, are well worth their inclusion, and the last three are real rarities, (unavailable elsewhere, I believe).

The duplication of tracks from ‘Hard Rain’ comes at the end, but I have no problem in paying twice for these versions of ‘Shelter From The Storm, Maggie’s Farm’, ‘One Too Many Mornings’ and ‘Idiot Wind’.  The latter, being Dylan’s notoriously bitter divorce song, heaps insult upon insult on Sarah before finally mustering some shreds of empathy and remorse from the wreckage to accept equal responsibility for the mess they (he?) created.  That she herself looked on as he dredged up this startling performance is rather astounding.

Aphex Twin, ‘Syro’:

I'm Generally Cynical About Marketing, But This Is An Amusing Example, I Suppose.

Hurrah!  At last, - a new, proper, Aphex Twin record, (although Richard D James hasn’t been exactly silent during his supposed withdrawal).  ‘Syro’ isn’t particularly breaking any new ground, or ahead of anyone’s game, (including James’ own), and he’s not trying to poke fun or deliberately irritate anyone either.  It is, however, full of splendid things and deeply satisfying as a whole.  It makes me remember how much we once relied on him for all this.  Deep joy.

Concrete 2: Take Me To The Bridge

Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

Although various themes and ideas run through my current work, it’s hardly a secret that much of what I do is generally released by some sense of Place in one way or another.  Thus it is, that there are few experiences I relish more than discovering an exciting or resonant new site when least expected.

Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

The one pictured here loomed out of the fog as I drove back into Nottingham from a social gathering, late one night, recently.  Keen to avoid the dreary inevitability of a hangover, I was the self-nominated driver and following an unfamiliar route back into town via someone else’s home drop-off.  Whilst it may have compromised my participation in the revelry slightly, the strategy proved successful as I was up early enough, and with sufficient energy, to return for a proper look the next morning, on my way back to Leicester.

Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

The site itself lies at the point where Nottingham’s Western Ring Road crosses the River Trent at Clifton Bridge.  It’s only a short distance from the Queens Drive Interchange that I featured a few posts back, and constitutes a similarly dramatic visual statement in some respects.  However, as it lies a little off my normal beat, it was completely new to me.  It’s another reminder of the value of deliberately seeking alternative, exploratory routes when out and about, - something I’ve always known, but which can sometimes get forgotten in the urgency of routine journeys.

Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

As it is, this site provides loads of fuel for my current concrete fixation, in the form of double and single spans, flying over the river in parallel.  These are supported on the inevitable, massive slab supports, and rely on gentle, but dynamic arch structures to get across to the opposite bank.  They also feature a wealth of complex shuttering textures and patterns, (as at Queen’s Drive), pleasing patinas of weathering and erosion, interesting steel-cage elements, and the inevitable dialogue between graffiti and the surface coatings designed to repel it.  Of the latter, the standard, threatening tribal idents were accompanied by a pleasingly inept frieze, which reminded me slightly of certain Neolithic rock art ‘message boards’.

Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

If this weren’t enough, the short walk to the bridges also provided some pleasing primary yellow interventions into a chromatically drab scene, (always a draw), and also a section of hazard stripes, (likewise).  I’m always delighted by the arbitrary, self-fulfilling nature of such Max Headroom signage, and this example was pleasingly juxtaposed against a blue-painted industrial roofline beyond.

Close To Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

I'll be heading back to this site with my video camera before long I'm sure, and am already wondering about the view back from the opposite bank.

Close To Clifton Bridge, Nottingham, November 2014

Microscape 2

The largely featureless nature of the flat, grey terrain only served to emphasise the impact of those brightly-coloured zones that have been clearly been marked out for some, as yet unknown purpose.  We spent some time taking measurements and marvelled at the formality and accuracy of their layout.  We were also struck by the precision of their alignment, both to each other, and to the huge drainage or ventilation feature which lay some moderate distance away.

With the use of harnesses and climbing ropes, we were able to venture across the face of this latter feature, and even to lower ourselves some short distance down into the cavernous space below.  A full investigation of this subterranean dimension must wait until time and resources are found for further survey expeditions [1.].  This is all the more frustrating, as our initial findings suggest there may be an immense network of unexplained infrastructure, or even evidence of a parallel society beneath the surface features already charted.

Returning to the surface, we spent several more hours in searching for some clue to the purpose of the vivid, geometric plots.  Whilst their numbering system is coherent enough, we were unable to ascertain any clear relationship between that and the contrasting colours which distinguish each allotment from its neighbours.  Regretfully, we can reach no conclusion on whether  these features are of economic, navigational, or indeed, ritual significance [2.].  However, their importance seems indisputable, judging by the care with which they have been both created and maintained.

Having spent many hours exposed upon the flat, grey plain, it came as some relief to finally be in reach of its margin.  We made camp beneath the vast canopy-like structure which, despite its impressive scale, feels like it has been deliberately placed in this landscape for the comfort of weary travellers.  From beneath its overarching roof, we gazed out towards the bright red and white, conical beacons that were our next goal, and to wonder what force, (be it deliberate or accidental), had toppled the most distant one which now lays upon its side.

Moving, with relief, into the more verdant terrain beyond the margins of the plain, it was decided that an ascent to higher ground would afford the best overview of all the features already described.  From here, we were able to fully appreciate their true relationships, take numerous bearings, and double-check the accuracy of our earlier measurements.  We were also able to gaze in wonder, once more, at the immense, black monolith, and even taller, twin mast structure that first drew us to this landscape [3.].



[1.]:  It is to be hoped that serious consideration of the funding of such expeditions be treated as a priority by the Committee, once this report has been formally submitted.  It should be obvious to all, we believe, that our initial surveys of this mysterious landscape have, to date, merely scratched the surface.  It is our opinion that much still remains to be discovered here, and that further, in-depth research into the whole region may pay considerable dividends.

[2.]:  In the process of drafting this report, the authors have been approached by two members of our expedition team.  They express the opinion that these features may actually be recreational in nature.  They may, it is contended, constitute the formal playing arena for some popular but unknown sporting activity.  We are content to keep an open mind on this subject, and to propose it as a topic for future research.

[3.]:  Full descriptions of these features were included in the report of our initial reconnoissance expedition.

Love In The Grass

West Leicester, October 2014

Be safe, now.

Sheila Ravnkilde: 'Boxes - 68 Colours' At Lakeside, Nottingham

Sheila Ravnkilde, 'Boxes - 68 Colours' (Detail), Exact Details Unknown, 2014

In my last post I discussed my visit to the exhibition ‘And Now It’s Dark: American Night Photography’ at Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts Centre.  Whilst there,  my eye was also drawn to a site-specific wall piece by Sheila Ravnkilde in the attractive day-lit exhibition space outside the main gallery.

Sheila Ravnkilde, 'Boxes - 68 Colours', Exact Details Unknown, 2014

‘Boxes - 68 Colours’ is a simple enough idea, comprising 68 small cubes mounted in a regular grid, each painted in a different colour and painterly manner.  The variation in paint consistency, application method and surface quality appears endless, (well, 68-fold, at least), as do the colour selections.  Although many of the individual colours are quite saturated, and the contrasts between adjacent boxes quite dramatic, the relationship of each to the white spaces between and the piece’s overall formality, create a mood of refined elegance and calm.

Sheila Ravnkilde, 'Boxes - 68 Colours' (Detail), Exact Details Unknown, 2014

This is accentuated by the gorgeous quality of the illumination that saturates the space.  I’m guessing the site-specificity of the piece was in part a response to that.  I also imagine that Ravnkilde’s agenda is also to explore how the idea of infinite variation within such a standard format, might create a never-the same-twice situation each time it is applied to a different location.  It’s an effective and seductive, if not exactly game-changing, solution, rooted firmly in high Modernism.

Sheila Ravnkilde, 'Boxes - 68 Colours' (Detail), Exact Details Unknown, 2014

What really drew me in to this essentially quite polite artwork though, was the way that the 68 cubes activate the three-dimensional space immediately in front of a two-dimensional wall plane.  Their relief quality means that this space exists in activated, articulated volumes between each element and its neighbours.  It also means that the effects of colour and surface extend over five surfaces each time, multiplying the range of combinations of light, shadow and adjacent contrasts exponentially.  I spent as much time viewing the piece edge-on as I did frontally, and was struck by how its sophistication and complexity increased with each new perspective.  Not least amongst these is the enjoyable way that fluid paint has been allowed to drip down the sides of several boxes after having been applied to the front surface.  This is done in slightly too controlled and predictable a manner to be truly expressive, but it does throw yet another interesting element of randomness into the pot.

Various Of My Paintings, Edge View

This attention to the edges of nominally ‘flat’ wall-based artworks is something that interests me greatly.  My own use of rigid painting panels is partly for practical reasons to do with layering and sanding collage materials.  However, it is also because of the scope it gives me to carry an image around the edges of a painting.  In fact I deliberately build my panels with the 2”X1” battens fixed edge-on to create that little bit of extra depth, for that very reason.  I hope this is more than mere affectation, and an attempt to avoid the various implications of framing without leaving a raw edge.

Various Of My Paintings, Edge View

The slightly paradoxical idea of a painting as a self-conscious object, rather than a purely illusionistic window onto a parallel, imagined reality, has always interested me.  In fact, as I increasingly start to think about the truly intangible shadows & light illusionism of video as a medium, the comparative substance of paintings intrigues me even more.  I love the idea of paintings as functionally ‘useless’, but intellectually/imaginatively/expressively essential objects.  Somehow, the idea that you could mend the roof or create an ad-hoc coffee table with one in an emergency seems to accentuate rather than diminish their true power when simply allowed to become ineffable and self-justifying.  Perhaps that’s just what all Art is really, - a form of imaginative Alchemy, often using the simplest of means.