Hello
March is upon us and clearly busy with celebrations (for someone). We have National Pig Day which shares the same date with Self-Injury Awareness Day. Then British Pie Week begins, followed bizarrely by World Obesity Day. I’m not sure if these are connected or not!
Contrary Motion with Nurse with Wound
Let’s begin the month with the announcement of my new album with Steven Stapleton, otherwise known as Nurse with Wound. Since 1978, Steven has been releasing music which touches on his fondness for dada, surrealism and absurdist humour. And these releases invariably feature artwork from the legendary Babs Santini, otherwise known as Steven. There’s an amazing publication coming out on his artwork soon too.
So, we’ve been friends for some years now and when he suggested we record together last year I jumped at the opportunity. Contrary Motion is the result, almost an hour long of exploratory sounds.
It’s an ominous trip into radio waves, processed voices, electronics, squeaky guitars and a mysterious labyrinth of echoing sonic disturbances.
Available in the Scanner CD edition, as well as the Nurse with Wound CD edition, containing identical audio, but alternative artwork. The vinyl edition will be a double LP, with 3 sides of music and one side with a special Babs Santini etching. At present, there is no set date for release for availability of the vinyl, so we can’t as yet put this for sale, but the CD is proving to be very popular on pre-sale.
I briefly had both editions available for sale, but these sold out within an hour. Chances are that I will also have more copies of the NWW edition for sale in the future, and will let you know if that’s possible. CDs have literally arrived as I write this newsletter, so orders will be posted out in the next days.
This is the fourth release on my Alltagsmusik label, after Alchemeia, The Phenol Tapes and The Berklee Sessions, which are all still available. Several more label releases will follow shortly, including the first in the dance/ballet score series. There are around 75 scores to release at some point, so please be patient.
EarSpace Episode 20
February closed with Episode 20 of EarSpace, the show that brings you electronic music from the past, present and future. This time, there’s new music from Schlammpeitziger, Hesaitix, Atsushi Izumi & Fatwires, Aelk Minsur and Martina Bertoni. There’s some insanely mad music from General Magic and Imperious, as well as sonic gems from Vanessa Bedoret, Eduardo Polonio, Roedeliusm J.WLSN and many more!
And, as ever, I try my utmost to pronounce these often very challenging names correctly too. Listen back here.
Speaking about Composer Roland Kayn
I recently recorded a special broadcast on the German composer Roland Kayn (1933-2011) for Reina Sofia Museum. Given the sheer volume of music Kayn produced and is available to listen to, I was delighted to be invited to offer my thoughts on his work for this show.
I am especially honoured to appear along such fine friends as Jim O’Rourke speaking about Phill Niblock, Stephen Vitiello speaking about Pauline Oliveros, as well as other shows on Annea Lockwood, Alvin Lucier, Maryanne Amacher, Harry Bertoia and many more.
For this particular Kayn special I speak about his inspiration and ideas, and try to offer a few entry points into his mysterious sonic world. I hope you will enjoy it. You can listen back here.
Conversations about intuition and environments
And February was definitely a conversational month, in that I had a wonderful chat for the podcast, Unorthodox Blend.
For around an hour we discussed the evolving nature of creativity, the power of intuition in decision-making and how sound can shape emotions and environments. We reflected on the value of preserving knowledge, the magic of unfinished conversations, and the deep connections found in seemingly fleeting moments. We also explore the role of AI in memory and legacy, asking whether technology could one day capture something of the human essence.
This discussion is an exploration of sound, art and the unseen forces that shape our experiences, offering a perspective that feels both forward-thinking and timeless. I hope you might enjoy it. Listen to the conversation here.
I’m also flattered that my collaboration ‘Pneumatos,’ with Jenny Sorrenti & Tullio Angelini, opens the new album from the duo. I pushed the song to an extreme, almost ripping it apart and letting the pieces fall back together into this epic dreamlike piece. You can listen to it online and buy the limited CD or digital directly from them. Happy listening, as ever! Pick it up here.
The Joy of Stickers
Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved stickers. Even today, I have a drawer filled with stickers that I have picked up at music concerts, gear fairs, given to me by friends or just found over the years. It’s very reason I have them regularly made to share with my own supporters.
I thought with this new year it was time to have a redesign, so here’s the new cut-out style Scanner stickers that will accompany every new order on my Bandcamp account. I hope you will enjoy sticking them as much as I like them! Remember to act responsibly though and don’t stick them on cats, dogs, parrots or children.
Live actions on stage
The WonkyPonkyElectronk show in London was fun, albeit rather ‘wonky’ for me, in that I had some rather challenging technical issues. I couldn’t hear what I was playing, but for the audience it apparently sounded fine. This made it rather surreal, performing without really fully knowing what was being heard! My next show in London is almost completely sold out on 11 April, when I play alongside my old sonic pal, Austrian musician Fennesz. Very last tickets available here.
In between, I’m playing two additional UK shows, in Norwich and Ipswich. Both in fact places, as far as I can recall, that I’ve never performed live in, which is rather bizarre to consider. I’ll be at the Holloway, alongside Loula Yorke on 21 March, then blowing my sonic whistle at the Steamboat Tavern on 22 March.
Big news might be coming next month, or big disappointment, dependent upon the results of a new potential public art work. Please cross your fingers for me for genuinely positive news.
Wishing you a lovely month ahead and as always, thanks for your support.
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Paul Schutze: The Extreme Recordings 1989-1992 (Kontakt Audio)
Tim Hecker: Shards (Kranky)
T.A.G.C.: Iso-Erotic Calibration (Cold Spring)
Polypores: I Wish There Was a Place Like That (Quiet Details)
::: read :::
Thurston Moore: Sonic Life (Knopf Doubleday)
The Second Annual (Korm Plastics)
Cat Hope/Lindsay Vickery: John Cage’s Variations (Mode)
Vienna Actionism (Mumok)
::: watch :::
Touch of Crude: Nicolas Winding Refn
Matt and Mara: Kazik Radwanski
Le deuxième acte: Quentin Dupieux
Mouchette: Robert Bresson
