A record that's causing a minor stir in the hardcore scene is the debut 7"ep by Low Threat Profile. Those in the know will appreciate this as it features members of Infest (Matt Domino) and No Comment (Beattie), with a sound that's not a million miles from those bands. I bought the red vinyl press from Deep Six Records in the limited run of 100 copies, so I'm a bit stoked owning this (not that I'm one of those record collector bores). Musically it rages, with the 10 or so tracks just flying by. I tried digitising this as individual songs, but gave up. The guys don't have time for breaks between songs. Believe me. So I listen to this on as 'side a' and 'side b' on iTunes.
The Lack Of Interest / Slavestate split 7" on Slap A Ham was a record I had to dig out after listening to the Low Threat Profile. Don't know much about Slavestate, but Lack Of Interest is pure Infest worship. Totally ragin' stuff from many years ago, and the band is still going strong.
I bought myself an Olympus Trip 35 camera a while back (remember those classic David Bailey TV adverts?), and I took it with me on a recent trip to London with the Mrs. and kids. Anyway, got the colour photos processed at Boots, but I thought I'd try something by scanning the negatives. I like black and white or minimal colour photographs, so using the Graphic Converter program see what turns up. It's a hit and miss affair, and 100% experimental. Being able to take basic good photos would be a help too. Anyway, here's a few examples of me messing about with the graphic manipulations. Rather better attempts will be uploaded later once I've got the hang of it.
Scanner - Canon N67NOU flatbed, Film - Fujicolor C200, Camera - Olympus Trip 35, Graphic Software - Graphic Converter, Computer - Apple iMac with OSX 10.6
Just registered onto the Soundcloud website, so I can upload my Soviet Dawn music for sharing. Looks like a good, efficient service, so expect more of my stuff to be put on there. Of course, Soviet Dawn material will be free to download, but if anyone wants a CD-r with printed cover, just email me.
I've made three CDs so far, but a fouth one of early one off works was accidentally deleted.
The best modern art should exists on its own terms. There should be no concessions to style, history or Romanticism. A powerful modern painting should be contemplative, unambiguous in its focus, and strong on a single social statement. Personally, I would add that the most appealing modern paintings are the ones that are not complicated, pretentious, or immersed in dogma, but are simple in construction resulting in emotive power. I think, that is why I find the paintings of Gwen John (born Wales, 1876-1939) so appealing. She willfully lived a poor life, uncaring about her own health, eventually living alone with her cats in France. Her personality was the opposite to her more famous brother Augustus John, and this is what she communicated with such force in her studies. A typically tortured artist, John's paintings reflected her moods with a technique of subdued colour, sketch-like structure and an unfinished application. This painting of a girl reading a book, encapsulates all these qualities an the sad, deathly expression is foretelling of personal loss, while the unfinished fresco appearance is transient. The observer is almost expecting the model to fade away.
This track is taken from the 'Love Is The Revolution' album of 1969 (Nocturne NRS-905). I like this song for the gentle mix of psyche and folk. Harper's vocals pretty much encapsulates that laid back stoned groove, but those dark lyrics of death and overdosing mean that it the times were coming when people started taking note of all the dope fiends that were peppering the sidewalks. Reminds me of that Gilbert Sheldon underground comix strip 'Little Annie Amphetamine' that appeared in one of the Zap Comix. I'll have to dig it out. Anyway, the song's got a memorable groove to it and some quirky guitar lines, but it's overall spookiness makes it a winner. Don't know much about Arthur Lee Harper, though like all the best artistes of the time- he came, laid down some beautiful music, then disappeared. Listen:
Just when things were getting not very interesting in metal, Canada's Menace Ruine come along out of nowhere and deliver 'Cult Of Ruins'. Raw black metal, industrial metal and harsh noise are convincingly merged into seven songs that truly takes things to a higher level. For a debut release, it can be argued that they've thrown everything in for effect to make the maximum impact. A lot of bands do that. But 'Cult Of Ruins' has a dynamic flow that draws the listener into this claustrophobic atmosphere that they've created. A song like 'Kill The Egregore' with its pulsating rhythms and Genevieve's deadpan vocal drones, reveal a band intent on trying to excite the listener without loosing the essesnce of what they're about. An astounding release that works on many levels and is truly unique.
While 'The Die Is Cast' is a very different work from 'Cult Of Ruins' you can't mistake it for coming from any other band. Though the fierce black metal has been replaced by a slower, doom approach, the harsh drones, scraping vocals and heavy reverb are idiosyncracies mastered across the seven tracks. We're talking Amber Asylum territory here, but turned up a notch to eleven. Genevieve's vocals make the biggest impact since their debut album, with a style that is more gothic or funeral doom. 'Neo folk' is a description that others have used. But black metal roots have not been disregarded because the backbone is a piercing downtuned guitar sound that made this genre what it is. Whether this album is a diversion to what the band is about remains to be seen, but Menace Ruine are proving themselves to be most exciting metal band around at the moment.
Sample track: 'This Place Of Power' from 'Die Is Cast'
I know it 's not really a rock and roll thing to write about, but we've just spent our holidays trying to get our kitchen revamped. The previous owners had the insane idea of cladding the walls with timber slats, then covering them in a hideous textured wall paper. all those textured bumps just pick up dirt and grease. Fiftenn years worth of it. So all that had to come down. Now I've almost completed one wall of the kitchen with some large wall cabinets. I've painted the wall a deep red colour (Wickes' 'Raspberry' colour from their 'Durable range'). The cabinets are from Ikea's legendary Fraktum range, but have sliding doors (the Nexus?). Anyway they look way cool even if I have to wait another two weeks for the doors to arrive direct from the manufacturer. They didn't have the colour we wanted in stock. Also, I've got a cooker/oven between the cabinets so that's got to be replaced with a hob and new worktop and extractor fan. I know that fan is going to be a nightmare to install already. Looks like I'll be doing this kitchen bit by bit: just buying cabinets and stuff when I have the money. I've got to rip a whole wall down yet, to make a new dining area, but I'm waiting for my father in law, who is a builder, to come round and look at some hidden beams, to see what we can take down. Hope it all works out well, because it's going to be one fine kitchen. Ikea don't let me down.
My Opera
