7thSun | Gohsten | Totem Recall Live

TONIGHT!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Currently showing at The People's Theatre. There are two remaining shows on Friday and Saturday.
Excellent performances, costumes and sets. Strongly recommended.

Manuel Göttsching - 'Echo Waves'

Video by suburbanbatherson.
This track is taken from the 1975 album 'Inventions for Electric Guitar'.

7thSun Live

I am performing live in support of Gohsten and Totem Recall at the end of this month.

The gig is at Barkollo on Leazes Park Road, opposite Barker & Stonehouse.

Entry is free, so please come along and support all of us.

Housewarming Mix

I made this mix for the housewarming party in the new place. Get in touch if you'd like a copy.

Part 1
01. The Notorious B.I.G.: Freestyle at Mister Cee's
02. The Notorious B.I.G.: Party and Bullshit
03. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: In Motion
04. Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime
05. Wu-Tang Clan: C.R.E.A.M.
06. The Charmels: I'll Never Grow Old
07. Devo: Mongoloid
08. New Order: Chosen Time
09. Giorgio Moroder: Chase
10. Goblin: Flashing
11. U.N.K.L.E.: Main Title Theme
12. Steinski: The Pay-off Mix
13. Prince: Kiss.

Part 2
01. Pulp: My Erection
02. Doug E. Fresh: Spirit
03. David Bowie: Magic Dance
04. Huey Lewis & The News: The Power of Love
05. Man Parrish: Hip Hop, Bebop (Don't Stop)
06. Prince: When Doves Cry
07. Santa Esmerelda: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
08. Burial & Four Tet: Moth
09. Daft Punk: Da Funk
10. Duck Sauce: Barbara Streisand (Jimmy's Panini Mix)
11. Boney M: Gotta Go Home
12. The Notorious B.I.G.: B.I.G. (Interlude)
13. Mary J. Blige: Real Love (Remix)
14. The Notorious B.I.G.: Going Back to Cali
15. Killah Priest: Wisdom/B.I.B.L.E.

Mogwai at The Sage, 27/02/11

Set list:

01. White Noise
02. Friend of the Night
03. Letters to the Metro
04. CODY
05. Death Rays
06. Killing All the Flies
07. How to be a Werewolf
08. Rano Pano
09. I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead
10. You're Lionel Richie
11. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong
12. Mexican Grand Prix

13. Helicon 1
14. Xmas Steps.

See Bright Light for people's comments.

Review: Goblin Live @ The Sage, 24/02/2011

Despite living in Newcastle for ten years, Thursday night was actually the first time I'd been to The Sage, Gateshead's giant woodlouse-shaped concert hall. Regardless of the venue's appearance, I was pleased to discover that (the smaller) Hall Two is an intimate venue and that the sound is crystal clear.

I last saw Goblin at the 2009 Supersonic Festival in Birmingham; I think the line-up has changed slightly since then. Each of the musicians gave an extremely professional performance however, and the great thing about watching Goblin play live is seeing how well they work as a unit: their songs require a lot of careful coordination, and there isn’t a lot of room for showing off. This may be prog rock, but Goblin favour intricate time signatures and layered textures over stunt solos. There’s something engaging about the mixture of gratitude and bemusement with which they react to audience enthusiasm; they also commented on the fact that a lot of the
crowd were younger than the songs themselves.

As at Supersonic, their newer material worked better live than on record, but their Dario Argento soundtrack material got the best response. These tracks also really benefit from a modern sound system: the title track from 'Zombi' came through powerfully, as did a frantic run through 'Tenebre' (complete with vocoder) and the hypnotic 'Mad Puppet'. My personal favourite though was the eery title track from 'Suspiria', which featured an extended outro.

The band were performing beneath a video screen showing extensive clips from the Argento/Goblin collaborations (particularly 'Profondo Rosso' and 'Suspiria'), whereas last time I saw them, the clips were more minimal loops. I think I preferred the former approach.

A great performance nontheless: I recommend going to see them if you get the chance. I'm back at The Sage very soon to see Mogwai, this time in Hall One.

True Grit

I just went to see 'True Grit', the new film from the Coen Brothers. It's based on the novel by Charles Portis and stars Hailee Steinfeld (who gives a terrific performance), Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. It was previously made into a film starring John Wayne in 1969, although that's really neither here nor there. See it if you get the chance.

Esben and the Witch - 'Violet Cries'

Recently released on Matador, 'Violet Cries' is an interesting debut from Bristol-based Esben and the Witch (who are named after a Danish fairytale).

I saw their sound described in one review as 'crepuscular': a similar term to 'vespertine', which also happens to be the name of my favourite Björk album. Rachel Davies' haunting voice and the band's atmospheric washes of noise create a listening experience just as unique and absorbing.

You can listen to the album in full here. The band's website is also worth a look.

'Eremite' Video

A video for my track 'Eremite', from the 'Eremite' E.P. released earlier this month.
Please watch in HQ.