Amelia’s Magazine | Exhibition: I have this strange kind of feeling and I just can’t place it…

Charly Coombes and the New Breed Live
Charly Coombes and the New Breed are a contemporary rock and roll band, salve hailing from the same nest as Supergrass. They are currently working their way around the UK promoting their latest EP, medications Waves, and offer a great blast of rock and roll freshness through the musty sound waves at the moment.

You can buy tickets here and check them out at the followign venues:

25th Nov-The Cape Of Good Hope, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK
26th Nov-Wycombe Academy, Buckingham, UK

27th Nov-The Cellar, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK

1st Dec-Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow, Lancashire, UK

2nd Dec-The Duchess, York, Yorkshire, UK

4th Dec-The Soundhouse, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK

10th Dec-Kasbah, Coventry, West Midlands, UK

11th Dec-Water Rats, London, UK

The Compass Road by Iain Sinclair illustrated by Faye West

The decision to wear a wrist-piece by Mr Jones’ Watches is to accept the designer’s re-evaluation of our modern understanding of time as a series of fixed units, medical through which the day is neatly compartmentalised. A concept visualised within the permanent collection, in the form of The Average Day watch. Originally produced for The Muses, (Mr Jones matched five professionals whose “work or life thematically linked them” to five new watches) the watchface represents the average activities undertaken at different times throughout the day. The information was digested from a variety of sources researching how the average person consumes time on an average day.

The Average Day, Photograph by Chris Overend. The Muse for this particular watch was Jonathan Gershuny, Director of the Centre for Time Use Research and who Mr Jones stipulates has “750,000 time-use diaries.”

Continuing to dispense with the unquestioned measurement of time, Mr Jones developed Cyclops, a watch with no hour, minute or second hands. Instead a circular disk mimics the movement of shadows across a sundial, as the passage of time is meditatively documented. Encouraging the wearer to reevaluate their relationship to capitalist time in which every precious second counts.

Cyclops

On Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Mr Jones’ Watches launched The Masters of Time a collaboration with five unique professionals who share the development of an unique and personal concept of time.

During the launch Iain Sinclair, author and psycho-geographer, Greame Obree, record breaking cyclist and artist Brian Catling discussed the ideas behind their watches and the process of negotiating whilst collaborating. The final two watches were developed with Comedian William Andrews, and DJ Tom Middleton.

Iain Sinclair’s (Author of Hackney That Red Rose Empire) Compass Watch relates to 90 minutes of film time, rather than your usual TV time of 60 minutes. Sinclair discussed the relation of time to walking, the layers created as time passes both between an event and the walker’s presence, within the walker’s own time. For Sinclair this interest is perhaps pinned down into an interest in the relation between Landscape and Authors.

Fittingly Sinclair’s watch replaces the units of time with authors whose experience was shaped both by the influence of both geographic location and a complex understanding of time. How time can dramatically change as different systems compete for ownership of land, in his 15 minutes Sinclair discussed the breakdown of the poet John Clare after the enclosure of the landscape to JG Ballard’s experiences as a prisoner of war before his arrival in Suburban England.

Compass Road by Iain Sinclair and Mr Jones Watches

Brian Catling, a performance artist, presented an art historical slide show, introducing the ideas behind Dawn West Dusk East through a series of paintings and performances exploring the concept of ‘the cyclops’. The watch itself was designed -as spoken by the artist- to be “enigmatic, subtle and poetic.” The single rotation of this exquisite design is request to a return to a slower pace, as the dial continually measures 12 hours between Dawn and Dusk and back again.

Brian Catling

The final speaker of the evening was the twice claimant of The Hour record, cyclist Graeme Obree, whose watch The Hour visualises the time span of the toughest record in cycling. Fittingly the hours have been replaced by words relating to the passage of time. As the hand rotates through a 12 hour cycle, a different word is revealed with the aim to encourage the wearer to question the inhabitation of every hour in every day. Obree described the record breaking attempt as the best, worst, most exhilaratingly painful hour imaginable, as each second ticks past…

A fantastic event, which sadly William Andrews and Tom Middleton were unable to attend, in turn their watches played with the idea of ‘death’ on stage in The Last Laugh and displayed a DJ’s relation to BPM and . BPM comes complete with a specifically designed animation to help the nocturnal DJ keep count of each record’s BPM.

Tom Middleton

William Andrews

William Andrews The Last Laugh functions as both symbol of the performer’s need for the last laugh and a momento mori, a reminder that life is brief as time flashes past on the moving teeth of the skull illustrated watchface

The Last Laugh by William Andrews and Mr Jones Watches

Both Compass Road and The Last Laugh have been released, you will need to watch Mr Jones Watches’ website for the appearance of BPM, The Hour and Dawn West Dusk East… An beautifully clever selection of watches, available to view in the flesh at Mr Jones Design, Unit 1.11 Oxo Tower Wharf
Southbank London SE1 9PH.

Iain Sinclair – Compass Road interview from Mr Jones on Vimeo.

The Compass Road by Iain Sinclair illustrated by Faye West

The decision to wear one of Mr Jones’ Watches is to accept the designer’s challenge to a modern concept of time being a series of fixed units, discount through which the day is neatly compartmentalised. A concept most succinctly visualised by the watch The Average Day watch. This piece was originally produced for The Muses. The watch-face illustrates the average activities undertaken at particular points throughout the day. The information was digested from sources researching how time is spent by an average person throughout the day. The hours are replaced by words, diagnosis for example 6pm becomes social life and 11 am becomes work.

The Average Day, viagra sale Photograph by Chris Overend. The Muse for this particular watch was Jonathan Gershuny, Director of the Centre for Time Use Research and who Mr Jones stipulates has “750,000 time-use diaries.”

Continuing to dispense with Western Modernities accepted measurement of time, Mr Jones developed Cyclops, a watch with no hour, minute or second hands. Instead a circular disk mimics the movement of shadows across a sundial, as the passage of time is meditatively documented. Encouraging the wearer to reevaluate their relationship to capitalist time in which every precious second counts.

Cyclops

On Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Mr Jones’ Watches launched The Masters of Time a collaboration with five unique professionals who share the development of an unique and personal concept of time.

During the launch Iain Sinclair, author and psycho-geographer, Greame Obree, record breaking cyclist and artist Brian Catling discussed the ideas behind their watches and the process of negotiating whilst collaborating with Mr Jones. The final two watches were developed with Comedian William Andrews, and DJ Tom Middleton.

Iain Sinclair Photograph by Emilie Sandy

Iain Sinclair’s (Author of Hackney That Red Rose Empire) Compass Watch relates to 90 minutes of film time, rather than your usual TV time of 60 minutes. Sinclair discussed the relation of time to walking, the layers created as time passes both between an event and the walker’s presence, within the walker’s own time.

Iain Sinclair – Compass Road interview from Mr Jones on Vimeo.

Fittingly Sinclair’s watch replaces the units of time with authors whose experience was shaped both by the influence of both geographic location and a complex understanding of time. In his 15 minutes Sinclair discussed the breakdown of the poet John Clare after the enclosure of the landscape to JG Ballard’s experiences as a prisoner of war before his arrival in Suburban England.

Compass Road by Iain Sinclair and Mr Jones Watches

The performance artist and sculptor Brian Catling, introduced the ideas behind Dawn West Dusk East via an art historical slide show. Original paintings and performances explored and expanded on the concept of ‘the Cyclops’. The watch –in the words of the artist- was designed to be “enigmatic, subtle and poetic.” The single rotation of this exquisite design is a silent request to return to a slower pace. The dial gradually measures the 12 hours between Dawn and Dusk.

Brian Catling Photograph by Emilie Sandy

The final speaker of the evening was the twice claimant of the toughest cycling challenge The Hour – a race between the cyclist, distance and the clock. Fittingly the title chosen for Graeme Obree’s timepiece is The Hour. As the hand rotates each hour reveals a different word encouraging the wearer to question emotions experienced during a variety of daily activities. Obree described The Hour as the best, worst, most exhilaratingly painful amount of time imaginable, each second a step closer to achieving or failing a lifelong obsession.

The Masters of Time launch was a fantastic introduction to an individuals complex relation to time. Sadly William Andrews and Tom Middleton were unable to attend, their watches The Last Hour and BPM played with the idea of ‘death’ on stage and a DJ’s relation to the beats per minute respectively. BPM comes complete with a specifically designed animation to help the nocturnal DJ keep count of each record’s BPM prior to the moment of a live mix.

Tom Middleton Photograph by Emilie Sandy

William Andrews Photograph by Emilie Sandy

William Andrews The Last Laugh functions as a symbol of the performer’s need for the last laugh and a momento mori, a reminder that life is brief as time flashes past on the moving teeth of the skull illustrated watchface

The Last Laugh by William Andrews and Mr Jones Watches

Mr Jones Watches are available from the website or you can visit Mr Jones Design, Unit 1.11 Oxo Tower Wharf?Southbank London SE1 9PH.
Compass Road and The Last Laugh are available today.

The Utrophia Project space’s short history has seen it transformed from an old ice cream factory in the 50’s to an exciting art space. Utrophia prides itself on ‘sailing into lands uncharted, discount ’ providing a platform for interesting and diverse events while trying to make the most of the building’s unusual character (there’s even a decent vegetable patch in the courtyard where the cows used to be kept). Folie à Deux seem to have found a natural home in which to house their first project which aims to ‘promote thoughtful and provocative contemporary art’. They stress a desire both to encourage community participation in cultural events and to inspire the individual with a sense of magic.


Illustration by Giulia Ricci

I have this strange kind of feeling and I just can’t place it… teems up five artists with talks about their work (such as Giulia Ricci on 21st, erectile and Judith Lyons on the 28th) and an Alternative-Folk music evening on the 20th. The artists all have an innate concern with environment: ‘the ways in which we shape it, try and are in turn shaped by it’; but in talking to Clara, she emphasised the instinctual nature of the way in which the artists were chosen for the event. She said, ‘we’re drawn to artists who are theoretically interesting, while motivated by the unexplainable.’ As a consequence while theoretically there is a unity between the artists, formalistically they are quite different. Judith Lyons’ work is a series of bold close-up photographs of flowers, half dissected, saturated with intense colour that transforms the ordinary into strange alien like, underwater sea creatures.


Illustration by Nina Mankin


Illustration by Nina Mankin.

Giulia Ricci uses a simple pen and paper to create systems and patterns that explore the nature of various repetitive processes within science and maths. Nina Mankin and Keith Roberts use mix media and collage, while Nina Royale uses a more traditional oil on canvas. Having seen some of the photographs, it should prove to be a diverse exhibition with some beautiful works.
If this wasn’t enough there’s a music night on 20th which brings together three different acts from the UK folk scene to perform within the art space itself. If you haven’t heard of the bands, they’re well worth checking out. Dear Winesburg have just released a fantastic debut album, produced by Fairport Convention’s Mike Pela that has garnered considerable acclaim.


Dear Winesburg


Amber States

While Amelia’s Magazine reviewed Amber States a little while back, picking up on their ‘catchy hooks, dreamy melodies, exhilarating builds and toe tapping rhythms’. With Benedict Rubenstein (front man of Brighton seven piece Alt-Folk band The Mariner’s Children) to finish off the night with a solo performance, playing intimate stripped-down versions of the band’s songs.


Mariners Children

In combining both music and art in so many different forms – the various events positively bubble with the enthusiasm and excitement that Christopher and Clara have put into them and the music night promises to be ‘laced with mulled wine, beer and other seasonal drinks’. It’s also worth noting that the admissions are free. Although there is nothing concrete planned for the future Clara assured me that this was going to be the first of many ventures, so we should see a lot more of Folie à Deux in the near future.

Exhibition title: I have this strange kind of feeling and I just can’t place it…

Opening times: 11-28 November 2010

Event Times: Thu-Sun, 11.00 – 18.00

Admission: Free

Location: Utrophia Project Space, 136 Tanners Hill, London SE8 4QD.

Event title: Alt-Folk night at Utrophia Project Space

Event times: Saturday 19.00 – 23.00

Admission: Free

Location:
Utrophia Project Space, 136 Tanners Hill, London SE8 4QD.

Categories ,Amber States, ,art, ,Benedict Rubenstein, ,Dear Winesburg, ,exhibition, ,Folie a Deux, ,Guilia Ricci, ,Judith Lyons, ,Keith Roberts, ,Mariner’s Children, ,New Cross, ,Nina Mankin, ,Nina Royale, ,Pop-up, ,Utrophia Project

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Amelia’s Magazine | Emily Hall presents Folie à Deux at Spitalfields Music Festival

Emily Hall  profile
As one of the Spitalfields Festival Associate Artists, award winning composer Emily Hall is curating the Sound Among Sounds event at Rich Mix where she will be debuting her latest work ‘Folie à Deux’. The new production, presented by the Mahogany Opera Group, is a sonic voyage into a shared psychosis and endeavours to explore love and loneliness within a relationship. The weekend (June 6/7) will include installations and performances sparked from her new opera, showcasing some of the most exciting artists working across the classical music field. Emily takes a few minutes out to explain the inspiration behind, and the making of, ‘Folie à Deux’.

Folie a Deux trailer

Folie à Deux’ directly translates to ‘A madness shared by two’. What gave you the inspiration for your new work?
It was a conversation with a good friend who is a psychiatrist. She told me about ‘Folie à Deux‘, the psychosis where a delusion is transmitted from one person to another, normally a partner or family member. It seemed to me like an exaggerated version of many relationships and a gift for an opera. Initially I workshopped the idea using “delusional parasitosis” where the delusion is some kind of insect infestation but it was so deeply uncomfortable even to research! Once Sjón came on board we happened upon the idea of the delusion involving a pylon and the power it might hold. I liked this idea immediately because of the sonic possibilities it held.

Emily Hall
You just mentioned the Icelandic author and lyricist Sjón. Was this the first time you worked together? How did that relationship come about?
Yes – the first time. I knew I wanted Folie à Deux to be simultaneously an opera and a concept album. Sjón has written many lyrics for Björk as well as many strong opera librettos. I had also been blown away by his book, ‘The Blue Fox‘ so I just got in touch and I was very happy when he accepted the challenge.

Interview with Emily Hall

The new piece enjoyed its world premiere in Bergen, Norway last month. What sort of reception did you receive?
It was a real pleasure to premier Folie à Deux at the Borealis Festival in Bergen. The festival audience was very warm and supportive. We got some great reviews and it gave us a really strong start to the tour.

Folie a deux stage
I hear you invented a brand new instrument, specifically for this production and album. Can you tell us a little more about that?
Yes – Folie à Deux includes a specially invented instrument, the electro-magnetic harp. It is a specially adapted harp basically with multiple ‘ebows’ on metal strings to create drones much like the sound of pylon, all stemming upwards from 50 Hz, the pitch of a UK mains hum. Sound designers David Sheppard and Jonathan Green created the electro-magnetic harp especially for this piece.

Sofia Jernberg
What can people expect from the stage production?
A minimalist tale investigating love and loneliness within a relationship. Performed by Sofia Jernberg, a truly unique vocalist and classical tenor and Finnur Bjarnason, on the acoustic harp and the specially created electro-magnetic harp against an incredible back-drop of responsive lights. The audience isn’t spoon fed the narrative – one of it’s strengths is people have drawn different conclusions about how it ends.

Sofia Jernberg2
You have another new work being performed by Women Sing East during the Spitalfields Music Festival. What’s the concept behind this piece?
Yes – on Monday 8 June Women Sing East, an all female amateur choir based in East London, will premiere my new work in Shoredich Church. It’s called ‘We are Passengers’. I’ve set text-art, old and new, juxtaposing some specially made by the artist Caroline Bergvall with an epic visual poem by Benedictine monk Rabanus Maurus (b.780). I have recorded all 45 members of the choir speaking the letters one by one of the 45 lines of Rabanus Maurus’ Latin poem. I have also woven recordings of material written for the amazing viola de gamba player Liam Byrne and Women Sing East sing quite simple, self-contained lines over the top “We are Passengers” “everything happens all the time”, “keeping still means stopping”… The audience will be able take away limited edition reproductions of the text art I have set. Pop choir Lips are also singing in this gig who are totally inspiring to watch.

Catch Emily Hall: Sound Among Sounds during the Spitalfields Music Festival 2015 at Rich Mix, London on Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7. Check website for ticket details and performance times.

Categories ,bjork, ,Borealis Festival, ,Caroline Bergvall, ,David Sheppard, ,Emily Hall, ,Finnur Bjarnason, ,Folie a Deux, ,Jonathan Green, ,Liam Byrne, ,Lips, ,Mahogany Opera Group, ,Rabanus Maurus, ,Rich Mix, ,Shoredich Church, ,Sjón, ,Sofia Jernberg, ,Sound Among Sounds, ,Spitalfields Festival Associate Artists, ,Spitalfields Music Festival, ,The Blue Fox, ,We are Passengers, ,Women Sing East

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Amelia’s Magazine | Interview: Laura Hocking


Illustration by Georgia Coote

As with all the best new music discoveries, more about my introduction to Laura Hocking and The Long Goodbye began with snippets from light-hearted conversations. By the time that three separate friends, (whose judgement I value deeply) had announced excitedly that they were off to see her play, waxing lyrical about her delicate voice, gorgeous harmonies and all-round One To Watch-ness, I couldn’t resist it any longer. Cut to a few Sunday nights back where I found myself in the top room of the Old Queen’s Head in Angel. So it seemed, did a lot of people; the room was packed – always a good sign! On Saturday night they take this heady brew to Deptford, where they will be playing at the consistently excellent Folie à Deux. The wonder and magic of standing in a converted dairy shed whilst hearing the best of the new alt:folk scene never abates. Laura Hocking and The Long Goodbye describe their sound as ‘folk-tinted freak pop’, which sounds alright by me.

I saw your set at the Old Queen’s Head; I thought it was wonderful, you have a new found fan in me! How did you find the night? 
Thanks! It’s always a nice place to play – the gig was put on by a band we’re friends with so most people knew each other and were into similar music, which makes for a good show. I like the decor in there. Sometimes mid-song you’re faced with yourself in a mirror, which is disconcerting. 

For the uninitiated, can you describe your music? 
 Best description ever came from Jon, who composes music for films. He said it was like biting into a cream cake and finding a razor blade. We call it folk-tinted freak-pop. 

Your Myspace lists a truly expansive and diverse list of influences, and I’m especially intrigued by Expressionism, Edvard Munch, David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman. What is it about expressionism that appeals to you?
Ha, I wrote that a while ago, I haven’t thought about it in a while. I’m fascinated by dark, uncomfortable, macabre things. Expressionism seems to access that place in a person where anxiety and vulnerability meet with violent creativity. Those artists create weird worlds which express their individualism in a ferocious and inventive way, but they also capture elements of human experience that we can all recognise. It rips the scab off of life for you, and I like that. 

 You also mention that your EP is based on “love, anxiety, devastation and renewal”. Do you find writing and performing your songs to be a cathartic process, and has it helped you deal with emotional setbacks?
Writing is always cathartic for me, but the material is not directly about my life. It’s often about all the things I would like to say to people, but don’t have the guts to. So most of my songs are ‘to’ people, rather about them, but I like to hide that message inside a story. It’s a trixy thing to do, I get a kick out of it. If the person wants to find the message, they will.
Writing and performing do help you deal with other parts of your life, because they give you something bigger than yourself to think about. For me, song is bigger than anything.

You are – as yet – unsigned. Do you find it a struggle to do everything yourself (marketing, distribution etc) or do you relish the freedom of being able to navigate your own path? 
It’s been a huge joint effort between me, my band, and our various friends who’ve put together things like the cover design and the website. We’ve really put our heads down and really pushed hard on this release. It’s a hard learning curve, I feel like I’m being schooled and it is quite humbling, but I want to understand how the industry works, and how far we can get under our own steam. It’s going bloody well, we’re more than halfway to selling out our physical stock.
In terms of marketing, music fans are what really count – people who love music and want to support artists and spread the word are a PR force to be reckoned with, and that’s what’s helped me the most. 
     
Your interests outside of performing: this is when most people say something like “long walks, hanging out with friends”, but you say that you have learnt to brew beer and have written an opera?!  I’m not sure what I’m most impressed by…  First, could you give me some pointers on home brewing, and then could you tell me a little more about the opera that you have written?
The formula for a beer is thus: steep something (could be ginger, nettles, elderflower or grains) in hot water for a few hours. Strain. Add lots of sugar. Cool. Add beer yeast. Sterilise a large container  (like a  5l water bottle) pour it in, top with an airlock (at it’s easiest, this can be a balloon over the neck), and leave for about 10 days. Taste with interest. My current brew is quince wine. You can brew anything, but beware of coconut milk…the fat makes it explode. 

The opera is something me and Dan (violinist) worked on together. It’s a translation and adaptation of La Serva Padrona by Pergolesi, a comic operetta from the C18th. I’m writing the libretto (lyrics) and he’s doing the instumentals. It’s like a musical version of Fawlty Towers. We want to stage it, so we’re looking for a space we can use for free. 

You mentioned that you are originally from West Yorkshire.  Do you miss life up North? I lived in Cornwall as a child and deeply miss the open skies, the countryside, the friendliness of locals, the pace of life – but that could be just me!  –  how do you find being a transplanted Northerner in London?
More than anything, I miss being alone in the countryside. I used borrow a neighbour’s dog and walk for a few hours across fields, and not see anyone at all. I don’t think that the North is necessarily friendlier than the South, but people definitely show their emotions more in public – one person can be having a big moan to their friend on the bus, and other passengers will chip in. In London, many people have their Tube face on all the time. Pubs are friendlier in the countryside. Curry is hotter in Bradford than in Brick Lane. I love meeting other Northerners in London. I get all giddy, like a puppy at the park, and out come my northern vowels.     

What are your plans musically in the next year?  I hope to hear about more songs and more live dates!
I have a lot of studio time ahead of me, with about 15 songs which are ready to be demoed out an arranged. I’m lucky that some very talented people have offered their time and resources to work on songs, which I’m grateful for. When a good proportion of them are in the shape I want them, I’ll be looking to release through a label. It’s quite a flirtatious thing to try and arrange – I’ve had interest from several sources but until the songs are ready it’s difficult to talk in concrete terms. 
There will always be lots of live shows in London, I’ve been offered some gigs in California and New York, so I plan to go there next summer. But more than anything I want to get back to the North and play there. 

Where can we find out more, and get hold of your music?
http://laurahocking.bandcamp.com   – as the place to buy music
www.laurahocking.com    – my website
www.facebook.com/laurahockingmusic –  as the best place to network, find gig details and sign up for the mailing list
@laurahocking – my twitter cos I Mary Hampton and Nick Mulvey at Folie à Deux in Deptford.

Illustrations by Georgia Coote, you can find her work here, and here, and follow her on Twitter here.

Original photographs by Anika Mottershaw and Holly Falconer.

Categories ,acoustic, ,Alt:folk, ,Alternative, ,David Lynch, ,Deptford, ,Edvard Munch, ,Expressionism, ,Folie a Deux, ,Ingmar Bergman, ,interview, ,Laura Hocking, ,Laura Hocking and The Long Goodbye, ,live, ,mary hampton, ,music, ,Nick Mulvey, ,Old Queens Head

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