Hello
It always feels a little odd to be sitting here writing about the end of another year, but as we all recognise as we grow older, our years seemingly grow shorter. This has actually been a phenomenal year in many ways. New music, new friends, new adventures.
Musical releases have somehow bookended the year, beginning with OLA, my collaboration with French artists Geins’t Nait and L.Petitgand, and closing with Et il y’avait with the identical dream team. More on that new album in a moment. There was an EP collaboration with David Harrow, a work created for Kunstradio in Vienna, and documentation of a very special live performance in Lincoln.
I remixed the work of øjeRum for Room40, creating a rather epic 42 minutes of new music, reworked music of The Allegorist for her TEKHENU Retold album. I launched a new website, freshly designed, performed the work of La Monte Young in both Prague and Liverpool (and released this latter concert on DiN on the magnificent Tone Science No.8), and created new work based on the archives of American folk hero Harry Smith.
I ran workshops at Malagola in Ravenna for young artists, which proved to be such a success that I’m returning there in 2024, treading in the footsteps of some truly inspirational characters. I played guest guitar for The Metamorph, collaborated with legendary American composer Carl Stone and British maverick People Like Us, and scored two installations and films for artist Salvatore Arancio, and a film for British designer Ben Kelly.
I also created special audio/video mixes celebrating the work of Sophie, Mika Vainio, Alva Noto and Martin Gore as well as launching my first monthly radio show, EarSpace. Plenty more of these mixes and episodes to follow in 2024.
Phew…I think I need a lie down now!
A Week in an all Analogue Music Studio
Last month I spent a week in a residency at Het Concreet in Tilburg in the Netherlands for a truly inspiring adventure. This music studio is very unusual in that it doesn’t employ the use of computers, screens or even depend on the internet to function. It’s pure and simply analogue.
I worked with the team there experimenting over a number of days on dusty reel to reel players, fuzzy echo machines and a hand-built synthesiser from the 1970s. On the closing weekend we collaborated in a 12-hour special event focusing on the role of radio in creativity.
The live broadcast began at 06.00 a.m. and wasn’t without challenges, but isn’t that the mark of anything exciting? I was interviewed about my own experiences in radio and broadcasting, then later on performed live in two very different sets, the latter of which utilised sounds from old cassettes of mine from around 1980 and recorded onto tape loops.
With an intimate audience invited to witness this, it was a truly wonderful experience and though we have very little to share from the day with everyone, I’m hoping that at least a portion of the live sets will have been stored somewhere (remember, it was a digital free zone!) so you can hear it one day too.
Celebrating Minimalism with In C
Earlier here I briefly mentioned that I performed over in Prague at Dox+, adjacent to the amazing modern art gallery. I have been working as part of an ensemble of musicians performing the work of contemporary composition. It’s a thrill to be part of an ensemble in this way, and Klang Systematiek as we are now known, will be playing more shows in 2024, tackling the work of some truly inspirational composers.
This year we performed the work of both La Monte Young and Terry Riley and the entire performance for Riley’s seminal work In C is now available to watch online. A CD release of this and other performances will be out in 2024 too.
Farewell to London’s Iklectik
One of my favourite London venues looks destined to be closed by the end of this year. For the last nine years Iklectik has supported and presented the work of countless artists in a warm and dynamic way. Unfortunately, more monstrous developments continue in London and as such they are being evicted to be replaced by more anonymous offices for profit.
I have played there several times over the years now, most recently as August this year. On Monday 18 December I will be performing for the last time with a special multimedia 3-screen show in collaboration with London artists DFuse for their Nine Earths project. The show sold out within a few days but this hugely ambitious project will be touring in the near future, so stay tuned.
EarSpace Episode 3
Episode 3 of my EarSpace radio show went out last month and you can listen back to the full two-hour show here. I not only play music, but talk about and offer personal insights to much of the music too, just like a real DJ. This episode features the music of Mouse on Mars, alva noto, Demdike Stare, Will Gardner, Kid Baltan, One Million Eyes, Stephan Mathieu, Jan Jelinek, Am Pm, Frankie, Empty Set, Islaja, Vittorio Montalti, Organum and many more. Listen back to this and the previous shows here.
I’m delighted that my my collaboration, Thermal Drift, with celebrated artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer currently on show in Abu Dhabi, in the most incredible location. The piece makes visible the dissipation of heat from bodies, flora and buildings, and is amongst ten outdoor artworks (six of them world premieres) for Rafael’s hugely ambitious exhibition Translation Island, that transforms the magnificent desert Lulu Island. The exhibition runs until Dec 31st.
New Music on CD and Digital
And as for new music? Well, there’s no stopping me. December brings TWO new releases for you. On Friday 1st December you will be able to pick up my new album in collaboration with French artists Geins’t Nait and L.Petitgand. This follows our previous collaboration early this year, OLA.
Since 2014, when the Mind Travels [Ici, d’ailleurs] series was created, Geins’t Naït and Laurent Petitgand have been churning out project after project, constantly experimenting with sound. Our new album Et il y’avait is the outcome of an exceptional creative collaboration.
This new album, Et il y’avait, has a different feel to its predecessor, OLA. Quieter and more atmospheric, Et il y’avait leans more towards dark-ambient this time round, but still features plenty of industrial sounds. Apparently, it’s highly recommended for fans of Coil, Laibach or Nurse with Wound, and who am I to argue.
Copies can be bought directly here, but if you are in mainland EU you might want to pick it up direct from the label here to save on postage. Of course, your direct support is always welcome too.
Then on 15 December my festive album, A Scanner Christmas, will be released. This is a rather joyful festive album for the Christmas season, featuring songs and favourite hymns, with both instrumental and vocal versions of some classic tunes, including Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas, Last Christmas, Silent Night and Ding Dong Merrily on High amongst others.
Wonderfruit Thailand and a sunny end to 2023
I will be finishing up my year with a most surprising live show in Thailand at the Wonderfruit festival. I will be performing two shows, a solo ambient work and then a special live collaboration with the team from MSCTY Studio from Tokyo.
Wonderfruit places architectural design at the heart of its activities, working with some of the world’s most imaginative designers to create a temporary city based on innovation and sustainability. It aims to offer a chance to deepen our relationship with mind and nature in the most extraordinary location.
MSCTY Studio have previously organised shows and workshops there with Kate Carr, Chris Watson, and Sirasar Boonma, so I’m thrilled to have a chance to explore there, and feel some warm air on my skin before returning home to the cold.
So, that’s 2023 finished with. Here’s to the next one.
As ever, thanks for your continuing support over the last year and wishing you a positive and safe entry into 2024.
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Radian: Distorted Rooms (Thrill Jockey)
Jimi Hendrix: Los Angeles Forum 1969 (Sony)
Akio Suzuki: (Art Into Life)
Richard Orton: Hemlock Stone (Persistence of Sound)
::: read :::
Brooke Wentz: Transfigured New York (Columbian Uni)
Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist (Penguin)
Phil Baker: Austin Osman Spare (Strange Attractor)
Henry James: The Best in the Jungle (Penguin)
::: watch :::
L’innocent: Louis Garrel
It Snows in Benidorm: Isabel Coixet
Jules: Marc Turtletaub
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed: Laura Poitras
