This weekend has been fun. I nipped back to Southampton (where I was brought up) to see the parents and make a series of films with my band, Ni Dieux Ni Maitre. We waited until just before sundown in the kitchen of Oli’s flat, then improvised while the sun set spectacularly behind us. It was all filmed by the excellent and enthusiastic Sam Cogings (I don’t think he has a website otherwise I would link you to it). Over two evenings we made three separate films, at least one of which will be screened at the Ejector Seat Arts Festival warm-up gig on 29th May. Click the flyer below to go to the Ejector Seat website for all of the information you could possibly desire, or check the FB event here.

Which brings me neatly round to the next thing – you may spot another familiar name on the flyer; Happy Mammoth have been kindly invited to perform alongside Etao Shin, Kumiss, and the mighty Hind Ear (for whom we have a particular soft spot). It’ll be nice to play somewhere a little less grubby than London, and in the picturesque and historic Bargate space (tourist board pay me by the hour), and we should be peddling sexy-looking EPs too. If you’re anywhere nearby, do come down.

We’ve also just confirmed a slot for consistently excellent promoters eARmusic on June 16th. We’ve played several of their open mics before, but this time we’ll be a showcased band, which makes for more kudos all round. It’s in a new venue, the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park; if it’s accessible for you, expect new material and (more) CD flogging. Flyer below, more pluggage sure to follow.

After having sat up into the wee hours watching the election, at lunchtime I headed over to the foyer of the BFI Southbank, to see my piece ‘Snow’ performed excellently by Trinity’s Contemporary Music Group. There was a nice crowd, and it was great to see the four shortlisted pieces for the Runswick Prize performed again (as it happens, I didn’t win the final, which took place last week). While I was there, I wandered into the BFI shop, which turns out to be an excellent place to go if you’re at all interested in film and criticism thereof. Check it out!

Upon getting home, I kept myself busy by sending the master CD and artwork for the forthcoming Happy Mammoth EP off for printing. This promises to be a rather nice looking object, and the run of 500 which we’ve ordered should be arriving in the next week or so, at which point we’ll be sending/selling them off to all and sundry. Very exciting stuff.

By this point I was beginning to suffer from my late night vigil, but there was no time for rest before I was off to see the aforementioned Transitions show at Laban’s Bonnie Bird theatre. Having seen the show several times now, I can vouch for the fact that it gets even better every time, and has yet to bore me in the slightest. The company are only partway through their tour, and will be all over the UK (as well as a couple of international dates) over the next month or so; I urge you to check them out if you get the chance (tour dates here).

Finally, I spent much of the last week or so working on a Second Line track, which i finished on Wednesday (OK, so this isn’t strictly part of my busy Friday, live with it). The track is a Dubfunk remix of Caribou‘s ‘Sun’, though it doesn’t bear much relation to the original (which you can listen to here). Stream it below:

That’s all for now. More to come soon on Mothers Against Noise podcasts and interviews, Mammoth gigs and lots of other bits and bobs.

The piece I made with choreographer Colin Poole and the Transitions Dance Company at Laban is coming back to London after a couple of months on tour. The company have been all over the UK and just came back from performing in Jordan, and will be presenting the mixed bill show from Wednesday to Friday of this week. Come down if you have the chance; I’ll be there on Wednesday and Friday.

Info and tickets can be found here

And the Facebook event page here

So, after our gig at the Fox & Firkin in Lewisham a couple of weeks ago, Happy Mammoth were kindly invited back to step in for a cancellation. As a result, we’ll be playing at FOXFEST – the pub’s annual weekender festival featuring 40 bands over 2 stages – tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. It promises to be a merry afternoon (their drinks are preposterously cheap), come down if you can.

The facebook event, with more informations, can be found here.

And here’s a track from our forthcoming EP to whet your whistle:

That’s all for the moment. More to come soon (sooner than you expect).

So! What’s been going on with me?

First up, my band, Happy Mammoth, have a gig TONIGHT at the Fox and Firkin pub in Lewisham. It’s free entry and is our first proper gig, so it’d be great to see as many people down there as possible. The flyer’s nice lookin’ too; click it to visit the facebook event page:

We (Mammoth, that is) have nearly got our EP all sorted. It was very kindly (and proficiently) mastered by Harun Kotch last week, and our friend Emmi has contributed some excellent artwork, so solid copies should be appearing soon.

Next: last weekend, I saw Autechre perform live in London. It was dead good, and I wrote an article for the Quietus about it. You can read it by clicking the image below:

Also this week, a composition of mine written for Trinity’s Contemporary Music Group got shortlisted for the Daryl Runswick Prize. This means a performance of the piece in a concert at Trinity on Tuesday 27th April, and another in the Foyer of the BFI on Friday May 7th. The piece is intended as a live accompaniment to a film from the BFI archives, so come down and see if it works or not! Info on the concert(s) can be found here.

Finally, some Mothers Against Noise things:

Here’s a new Dub from Duskky & Hurtdeer which I think is particularly future. Stream while you read!

Things have gone on hold a bit in terms of our regular nights; we’re currently seeking out a change of venue for a more intimate (and hopefully weekend!) vibe, and unfortunately we’ve had to call a halt to our plans for a night in May. We’ll be broadcasting info on future plans as soon as we have it.

But that’s not to say we’ve been sitting on our hands! Macka has had a free EP release on the brand spanking new Schwa! records. It features some of his strongest tracks from 2009; his sound’s changed a bit since then, but they’re still classics! Download the free EP:

I think that’s all for now. I’m going to try to keep these updates more regular and less weighty, but I can’t promise anything…

In other news, I’ve uploaded another track over at the Second line Soundcloud page. It’s under another alias, ‘Splines’, which may or may not stick; I just felt it needed differentiation as it’s in a distinct vein from the Techno/Dubstep explorations of Second Line tracks. It runs at 130bpm, with a Dub sense of space, perhaps a bit of a Drumfunk mentality and more breaks than you can shake a stick at. It was my attempt to make something in the vein of recent Duskky and Hurtdeer tracks, tentatively united under the banner of ‘Dubfunk’. It’s a loose template at the moment, but something which I think has a lot of potential.

Anyway, click the pretty Soundcloud logo below to listen to ‘Axe Mi’

Finally, the relentless medley of deadlines which has taken me from January to the present is nearing an end. The last piece I’ve had to write is for harp and live electronics, and will be performed in an open workshop at Trinity this coming Wednesday morning. I found trying to reconcile my favoured techniques in acoustic composition and electronics pretty difficult, so I’m not sure how successful the piece will be. Oh well, if you’re around, pop in for a bit.

That’s all for the moment. I’ll (hopefully) have a lot more free time over the coming weeks so you’ll probably hear from me more frequently (for better or worse).

Topics covered include upcoming plans for Combat, the ever-looming presence of Dubstep, and Stormfield’s ongoing fascination with the Audiovisual experience. The interview provides an insight into the musical perspective and creative activities of one of the London scene’s most committed outsiders; and with his last interview dating back to 2008, Stormfield had a lot to talk about!

Click the Combat logo below to check it out:

1) Macka release:

First up, Macka’s two-track release ‘My Revolution/Whoopah’ is now available as a free download through Twenty/Twelve records.

This, his first release on the netlabel (nominated for ‘Best New Label’ in this year’s Dubstepforum awards), features two Macka stalwarts. First up is ‘My Revolution’, a heavy-footed 2-step anthem with impossibly agile vocals and hints of a Garage shuffle. On the digi-flipside is ‘Whoopah’, a brooding explosion of massive snares and even bigger bass. Dancefloors beware!

Get it here.

Rian at Twenty/Twelve has been good to us (he’s released Duskky and Hurtdeer in the past), and it looks like his beneficence will continue; we’ve just confirmed a MAN compilation to be released through the label in the next few months. Details are hazy as yet, but exciting news nonetheless!

2) Transitions

The previews of my Transitions piece with Colin Poole – which was eventually given the title ‘…No..No’ – took place last Thursday and Friday at Laban. Unfortunately the performances were private (hence why I didn’t shout about it) but it was great to see the piece in a finished state, and to see it sit alongside interesting pieces by Angela Woodhouse and Cameron Macmillan.

The company are off on tour as of this Monday, but they’ll be coming back to London to perform at Laban on 5-7 May. Rest assured I’ll let you know closer to the time.

If you’re keen to see it before then, check out the company’s tour dates here.

(Are you noticing all the pictures? I thought my posts looked boring so I’m giving them a little graphic augmentation. Hope it’s not too distracting.)

3) Happy Mammoth

The acoustic band that I’m in – that I mentioned briefly before – have been venturing meekly out into the public domain in past weeks. So far we’ve played a few open mic nights, just to air the material and get some practice in. Things are picking up pace however, and we’re now beginning to look for proper gigs. We’re also advertising our activities, so if you happen to be in the vicinity of Chalk Farm this Tuesday evening, it’s looking likely that we’ll be playing at the eARmusic open mic at Monkey Chews. Details here.

I think that’s all for now. Lots more news to come very shortly.

I’m also currently touching up the interview with Stormfield, which is a very interesting and enlightening read. That should be going live in the next week or so.

We’re feeling really good about this one; it promises to be a night of excellent music and visuals, and the flyer looks gorgeous as well, courtesy of Mr. Thomas Brooks:

Firstly, my piece with Colin Poole and the Transitions Dance Company (previously blogged here) is having its preview performances on the 25th and 26th Feb at the Laban Bonnie Bird Theatre, Deptford. The piece – alongside those by Angela Woodhouse and Cameron Mcmillan – will then go on tour in the ensuing months, taking in Jordan, Palestine, Norway and Spain, as well as locations around the UK. As far as I’m aware the preview dates aren’t yet being publicised, but when they are be assured that I will bombard you with links.

I’m hoping to venture out of my bedroom tomorrow to pay a visit to Dalston for a new project I’m involved in. This is a contemporary dance film – again choreographed by Colin Poole – organised by East London Dance in association with Hackney Council, for which I’ll be providing a score. The piece aims to engage the local community with various redevelopments occurring around Dalston, and should be completed in early March.

I also managed to make it out this evening (I know, quarantine was a misleading term) in order to meet up and have a chat with Stormfield of Combat Recordings. The conversation took the form of an interview – covering the label, Stormfield’s own production work and his wider views on the scene he inhabits – which should appear on the Mothers Against Noise website in the next couple of weeks. This is in support of Stormfield’s impending appearance at our third night in March; though this has yet to be publicised so you heard it here first. Full details will follow very shortly.

I think that’s everything. I’ve just taken my 4-hourly cocktail of painkillers and decongestants so I’ll shortly be feeling a bit woozy…