Hello
Well, here I am, refreshed after celebrating a grand birthday, and feeling totally spoilt with the warm greetings from friends, colleagues and complete strangers. I have been travelling a lot over the last month, so let’s take a moment to review what’s happened!
Future Ruins, Future Archives
May began with the premiere of the film ‘Future Ruins, Future Archives’ – a short film by Ben Kelly at London’s 180 Strand. I scored the film with new music, and you can now watch it back in full online. The launch event featured a conversation between BBC legend Mary Ann Hobbs and Ben, and I DJed a special soundtrack for the event.
‘Future Ruins, Future Archives’ is a new short film that visually excavates and explores five decades of cultural innovation and personal ephemera now held in the Ben Kelly Design Archive (1971-2016) at Kingston University. It was produced by Stanley Picker Gallery, w.in.c Films and Kingston School of Art.
The Rain in Spain…
I then jetted off to Gijon in Northern Spain to perform a very special set at LEV Festival, now in its 18th edition! The performance was outdoors at the outstanding Laguna Boreal, Jardín Botánico Atlántico which meant there was always the risk of bad weather. And yes, I woke up that morning to the sound of the skies falling, with torrential rain and thunder, Biblical and apocalyptic in full force!
Rapid changes to the technical set up at least meant I could perform under the safety of a roof, but it was nerve-wracking wondering how committed an audience might be to leave their nice warm and dry homes for a damp afternoon with exploratory sounds. Thankfully, they were braver than I imagined, and the gardens were packed with people wearing plastic ponchos and carrying umbrellas.
Remarkably, for the duration of my set, the skies cleared and the rain stopped, so audience members were free to walk around the gardens wearing wireless headphones to listen to my live set. It was wonderful to see spectators in the far distance, sheltering beneath the trees, listening to my music. The entire set was recorded and was broadcast on Spanish radio on Sunday 3 June. Listen back here.
Teaching and Sharing in Italy
Following this, a week in Malta brought sunnier skies and aching calves, with visits to Valletta, Gozo, Mdina and much more, and then with a swift change of suitcase I was off to Malagola in Ravenna Italy, where I became Professor Scanner for a week.
The week began with an intense Sound Design workshop and masterclass with a group of young artists, and followed with four days of explorations of the human voice in composition and design with dancers, singers, actors and the rare sound person.
We began with choral singing, improvisation, experiments with mouth percussion, moving onto recording in the city and creating detailed soundscapes of the street sounds. In between, we recorded some astonishing choral works which were beyond anything I could ever have imagined.
Most intriguingly, we spent a day exploring the resonant frequencies of different rooms. We began in the main theatre space, but then rather amusingly moved into the girl’s bathroom, where about 15 of us squeezed into this tiny space, and proceeded to record clapping and voices, which, with repeated playing and recording, rapidly transformed into these alien-like tones floating through the space.
It was an amazing experience for us all and I’m keenly anticipating returning again in 2025 to run more workshops, and most importantly make new friends!
EarSpace Episode 11
A new episode of EarSpace is now awaiting your kind and appreciative attention. In episode 10 you can hear new music from Dave Monolith, Jan Jelinek, Lorem, Innode, Ulla & Ultrafog, whilst traveling back in time to hear Cluster and Martin Rev. Tap your feet or lie back on the sofa to enjoy deep ambience from Celer, Madeleine Cocolas and much much more. As always, I introduce and chat about the work, to offer context and information. Happy listening!
REVERB at 180 Strand
The exhibition REVERB opened at 180 Strand last month and runs until the end of September this year. It’s a major multimedia exhibition exploring the intersection of art and sound. In the largest show of its kind, The Vinyl Factory brings together over 100 artists and musicians – working across mediums including visual arts, music, film and live performance. And I have a unique work on display, which will soon be available to own.
It’s a very special limited vinyl edition of my soundtracks for the work of my old pal Ben Kelly. Each copy is handmade, since the design cannot be manufactured in bulk, and will as such be sold at a premium art price, or so I’m told. It’s an extremely beautiful object though, and I’ll have more information once my own finished copy arrives!
The exhibition also features site-specific audio-visual installations and sonic experiences, from artists including Theaster Gates, Es Devlin, Julianknxx, Kahlil Joseph, Caterina Barbieri, Stan Douglas, Virgil Abloh, Cecilia Bengolea, Jeremy Deller, William Kentridge, Jenn Nkiru, Hito Steyerl, Carsten Nicolai and Gabriel Moses.
The Berklee Sessions – new album
And whilst we are here, and talking about new music, did some of you think that I had perhaps been a little lazy recently, having ‘only’ released two albums in 2024? Well, The Berklee Sessions is out on 5 July and is a very special recording for me.
The album was recorded in March 2014, but has taken ten years to release. Rather amusingly, given the time-scale, the entire album was actually recorded live in just one day. There was no rehearsal, as the players set off into the unknown with each piece.
The session itself was initiated by my friend, American saxophonist and composer Neil Leonard, with a host of amazing guest musicians. These were David Tronzo on electric (slide) guitar (David Sanborn, John Cale, The Lounge Lizards, Sex Mob, Wayne Horvitz), Mike Rivard on bass (Cab Calloway, Frank Zappa, Morphine, Jon Brion), and Dean Johnston on Drums (Superhoney, Club d’Elf).
My modest ideas were rapidly expanded and propelled into entirely fresh dynamic territory. One might even label this ‘jazz,’ but with a very inventive spirit, as it’s embodied with an electronic spirit, spiralling off into thunderous rhythms, with blistering solos, ethereal melodies and sampled voices, with exuberant playing and focused improvisation.
I’m super excited about this release, and feel certain it will confuse and challenge certain listeners, and I am really happy about that notion!
The album will on presale Bandcamp on 1st June, and out officially on all streaming services on 5 July. Available on CD and digital, you can pre-order it here.
There are two further albums out this year, two collaborative releases, on CD and vinyl, taking my release schedule to FIVE full-length albums in a year. Not so bad at my age, I think 😀
Bruno’s House at Macte
A future date for anyone in Italy or thinking of visiting Italy, with my collaboration with Italian visual artist Salvatore Arancio, which will be exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art in Termoli (Macte) from 14 June – 28 September 2024.
Bruno’s House is a film shot by Arancio amidst the kaleidoscopic architecture of Bruno Weber Park, a sculpture park built in Dietikon by Swiss architect and artist Bruno Weber, which, accompanied by my psychedelic sound, brings in a dark sense of disquiet, shifting the visual narrative out of linear time. And for those of you who can’t travel there, you can also watch the film back on your screen at home directly here.
More live shows are approaching later this year, in Bristol, Whitby, Brighton and overseas too, so stay tuned!
As always and forever, thanks for your support
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
David Jackman: A Cloud of Light (Die Stadt)
Gastr Del Sol:We Have Dozens Of (Drag City)
Eno/Czukay/Schwalm: Sushi Roti Reibekuchen (Gronland)
Virgin Prunes: A New Form of Beauty 1-4 (BMG)
::: read :::
Madhumita Murgia: Code Dependent (Picador)
Joel Meyerowitz: A Question of Color (Thames & Hudson)
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind (Tate)
Christina Kubisch: Inaudible Invisible 1974-2023 (les press du reel)
::: watch :::
High & Low – John Galliano: Kevin MacDonald
L’origine du mal: Sébastien Marnier
Alice in the Cities: Wim Wenders
Dogfight: Nancy Savoca
