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In this edition:
- Five Improvisations on the Destruction of Operarelease July 5th
- Upcoming events:
- TRON (London)
- Mercury Over Maps 17 (London)
- Handmade Music Series (Belfast)
- Sound Festival (Aberdeen)
- Recommendations
1. Five Improvisations on the Destruction of Opera release July 5th, Burning Harpsichord Records
Five Improvisations on the Destruction of Opera will be released July 5th on Burning Harpsichord Records
I’ve sat on this archive recording for a long while now. It was the first CD I ever released (2002) on my label – ecoli records. I heard that Richard Ramirez liked it (the noise artist not the serial killer) and we eventually performed at the same event in an ex-porn theater called Super Happy Fun Land in Houston. That was a gig.
Back then, my email address was noise@texas.net and I was composing computer based works and writing for instrumentalists as much as I was playing live with electronics and field recordings or doing one off experimental works like this one.
As a student, releasing a CDr was quite expensive back then and this was perhaps the most anti-commercial release I’ve ever done. Essentially I found an old opera record and recorded it straight to minidisc as I slowly destroyed it using found objects, molten candle wax, solder, lighter fluid and fire (obviously) eventually setting the record player alight. All inside my living room no less – yep, that was me in back in the day.
It’s a hard listen, one I actually love though and if you make it through to the later sections it gets quite tranquil (relatively anyway).
Out this July and as always free to paid subscribers.
2. Upcoming Events:
August 13, TRON (London)
September 2, Mercury Over Maps 17 (London)
September 7, Handmade Music Series (Belfast)
October 26, Sound Festival (Aberdeen)
I’m just back from the Innovation in Music Conference in Edinburgh and should have some great footage of the gig soon (6 cameras captured it in what seemed like a cross between a TV studio and a performance venue). It was a great event and I made many new friends as well as running into several long lost ones too.
But onward we go:
August 13th I’ll be performing in in London with an ensemble of local electronics improvisors to provide a soundtrack to the original TRON movie. It’s not been publicly announced yet but save the date and I’ll provide details when it is.
Following that, the next edition of Mercury Over Maps is September 2nd featuring some absolutely stunning distressed film and circuit bent sounds by A/V artist Roma Agnihotri. Also on the bill is the brilliant clarinetist Pete Furniss performing solo clarinet and electronics. And I’ll be doing a solo of new Moog guitar material that I recently performed at Cafe Oto.
Shortly after (September 7th) I’ll be traveling to Belfast to perform at the Handmade Music Series with Xenia Pestova and Ed Bennett.
And in October I’ll be performing with Phil Durrant, Lee Patterson and Mark Wastell at the Aberdeen Sound Festival (October 26th).
Some details about these below.
Mercury Over Maps 17, September 2nd, Hundred Years Gallery
The 17th edition of Mercury Over Maps is on Saturday, Sept 2nd at Hundred Years Gallery.
https://billthompson.org/aka_prof_lofi/portfolio/mercury-over-maps
Handmade Music Series with Xenia Pestova, September 7th, Belfast
Photo by Dawid Laskowski
I’m looking very forward to sharing the the bill (and possibly stage) with Xenia Pestova and Ed Bennett after our recent performances at Cafe Oto in London.
This time we’ll be performing at the Handmade Music Series in Belfast – Xenia with prepared piano, cassette players, dictaphones and synths / me with Moog guitar. electronics and the odd vibrator or two.
More details to follow but please do join us if you are around.
3. Recommended
I’ve been listening a lot to Christof Migone lately (purchased four of his releases actually) – and it’s brilliant. One of my favorites is his Record Release:
https://christofmigone.bandcamp.com/album/record-release
On a totally different channel – two reading recommendations:
Julia Eckhardt’s book length interview of Eliane Radigue, Intermediary Spaces. Hard to find but Rhodri Davies still has a few copies on his bandcamp site (tell him I sent you)!
And JG Ballard’s Vol 1 of short stories – so many of them feature imaginative use of sound and time, brilliant.
Stay in Touch
That’s it for now. Please take care and as always, feel welcome to email with any questions. All the best!
Mastadon https://assemblag.es/web/@Prof_lofi
or by email at billthompson@billthompson.org
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Bill
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What I am reading: JG Ballard Vol 1 Short Stories
What I am hearing: Christof Migone Record Release
What I am watching: Actually too embarrassed to say but it’s got superheroes who swear…
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http://billthompson.org/
http://billthompson.bandcamp.com/album/solace
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“You get up where you fall down. You don’t get up somewhere else. It’s where you fall down that you establish your practice.” – Weintraub