Hollow Earth

Saturday, August 29

Kevin Shields' Pedals

I have become fascinated with Guitar Pedals recently. They're a relatively cheap way to distort samples and synth sounds, as well as being gorgeous little metal boxes. Furthermore they have got me thinking of how the great Guitar music, Link Wray onwards, has always been about signal processing rather than chops. This is one of the key regions in which the arbitrary distinction between "Rock Music" and "Electronic Music" is rendered satisfyingly meaningless. Have a look at these amazing pictures of (at the top) Kevin Shields' swag bag of pedals and (at the bottom-which opens larger in its own window) his ridiculously ornate pedal-board from the recent live shows.

posted by Matthew Ingram # 11:49

Friday, August 28

Linky linky

Woebot Hero Jon Leidecker about to unleash the third part of the simply awesome Variations series. You absolutely have to check these shows out if you're interested in Sampling/Collage in audio, or indeed music! This is shaping up to be, sine qua non, the most authoritative study of the field ever put together - prepare to be gripped with interest.....
Rouge's Foam at his most entertaining.
The very welcome return of Heronbone in which honor I have composed a poem:

If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise
At the third stroke
the time sponsored
by Accurist
will be

posted by Matthew Ingram # 07:38

Thursday, August 27

Ring The Alarm, Wake The Town And Tell The People

Hey! I'm back from holiday. In the bad old days when I said I wouldn't post whilst away I used to creep into net cafes or fiddle with my Treo and unburden myself of the will-to-blog. We had a great time thanks.

Reading matter was Peter Ackroyd's "London" which as well as making the return to the jail that is the capital less burdensome also sheds light on the 'nuum:

A German duke entered London on the evening of 12 September 1602, and was astonished by the unique character of the city's sound. 'On arriving in London we heard a great ringing of bells in almost all the churches going on very late in the evening, also on the following days until 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening. We were informed that the young people do that for the sake of exercise and amusement, and sometimes they lay considerable sums of money as a wager, who will pull a bell longest or ring it in the most approved fashion. Parishes spend much money in harmoniously-sounding bells, that one being preferred which has the best bells. The old Queen is said to have been pleased very much by this exercise, considering it as a sign of the health of the people.' This account is taken from The Acoustic World of Early Modern England by Bruce R. Smith.

Reading this excellent book which is both crammed with fascinating facts and anecdotes and persuasively describes the true character of the city itself I was drawn to think of my old comic Cary Grant from 2002 and on the long drive home pledged to "re-up" it.

Link

posted by Matthew Ingram # 07:51

Wednesday, August 5

Summer Holiday

All packed-up and ready to go away on a well-deserved holiday, so there won't be any posts here until September.

When I return I'll be "back in the studio" (lol) working on the new LP which will be ready in the New Year. The current album is nearly sold out (only 3 copies left), so don't sleep on it if you want one.

Other news:

# The Woebot website has recently been re-vamped - now with up-to-date links.

# Check my review of the new Zomby EP at FACT.

Out like a trout.

posted by Matthew Ingram # 08:14

Harrison Birtwistle/Peter Zinovieff: Chronometer

Link

posted by Matthew Ingram # 07:56

Tuesday, August 4

Elephant Sanctuary

I bought this Wooden Elephant from the back of an antiques shop in Bombay in 1990. Every other Elephant effigy I'd seen was heavy and squat but this one had a marvelous elegance to it and I was pretty sure it dated from an earlier time. However it was in very bad nick and I swore to myself that I would renovate it. Once renovated, my plan had been to sell it to this famous model I had lived with for a period when I was at Art School. I remember calling home and telling my mother that I was bringing back an Elephant. She took a nasty turn and pleaded with me not to. It turned out that my great great grandfather had brought a Lion* back from the sub-continent and kept it in his garden.

The slightly dilapidated Elephant had been a fixture in the house for many years, but had slowly worked his way to the back of the cellar. Trying to empty out that room I first thought I would stick it in the garden but as the first drops of rain fell I raced out and rescued him. Finally biting the bullet I took a few hours out and started the job of beautifying him. Obviously, as I sanded him down and daubed him with Dulux (his new name incidentally) I was haunted by the fear that he might be actually be a valuable object. But with his ears broken off and held together with Indian Cement, I dunno, it's like one of those cases at the Antique Roadshow where they say: "In good condition this would be worth X, but as it is I'm afraid only Y." Incidentally he does look nice in the pictures before I paint him white, but I had just washed him and once dried, that "look" faded away.

* My aunt informs me: "He only kept it for about a month because the butcher's bills were enormous and then gave it away - probably to a zoo."

posted by Matthew Ingram # 09:45