Highlights of 2012 / The Year Ahead

Music, Films and Television - in no particular order. 

Robin Guthrie - Fortune (Soleil Après Minuit)

Listen to 'Circus Circus'.

Russian Circles - Empros (Sargent House)

Listen to 'Schiphol'.

Swans - The Seer (Young God)

Listen to 'Lunacy'.

Beach House - Bloom (Sub Pop)

Listen to 'Myth'.

Tusk Festival 2012

Visit the website. Highlights were Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescaleet and Hild Sofie Tafjord.

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
Watch the trailer. 

The Imposter (dir. Bart Layton) 

Watch the trailer.

Berberian Sound Studio (dir. Peter Strickland)

Watch the trailer.

The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan)

Watch the trailer.

Les Revenants (Canal+)

Watch an advert.

Africa (BBC)

Watch a clip.

Things I'm looking forward to this year:

• My band 7thSun is performing live at The Bridge Hotel on Thursday 02/05; it promises to be our biggest show to date. The Washy Modes and Prussian Intervals are also playing.
• I'm going to see Robin Guthrie Trio live at The Cluny tonight. 
• The V&A is hosting the 'David Bowie Is' exhibition from 23/03 - 28/07.
• Michael Gira is curating the 'Mouth to Mouth' Festival at Koko in London on 06/04. Swans, Ben Frost and Grouper are on the bill.

Tusk Festival, Newcastle, 7th-9th October 2011

I went along to the first two nights of the Tusk Festival at The Cluny this weekend.


The first band I saw on Friday were Pigeons, whose songs veered from more traditional folky structures to free form psychedelic madness - with bells.


Next came Vincent Epplay and Samon Takahashi with their 'ungovernable' synths.


Drawing the biggest crowd on Friday was Grouper. It's a shame that she didn't sing a bit more, but her masterful way of merging performances together with samples and drones was still mesmerising.


The Long Lonesome Go kicked things off on Saturday Night with some inspired improvosition. You can download their music for free from their website.


The last act I caught on Saturday was Pulse Emitter, whose homemade synth wizardry brought the festival to a close for me.

I really enjoyed this festival, and will be keeping an eye out for future Tusk events. The shows were excellent value, and the programme featured an eclectic mix of international acts.