Aaron Dilloway #9

There was an evening, early doors of 1984 when I was invited down to the PSV Club in Hulme (Manchester). I say "invited down" as it was only down a flight of stairs as I was a resident in Charles Barry Crescent at the time .. anyway, my flatmate had been invited to join his Poly friend (Poly friend as in friend from Manchester Polytechnic Fine Arts Dept.) for a drink after rehearsing with his new band that included Pete Shelley and Derek Thompson. I "sort of" knew Derek as he used to place bass for SPK in 1983, so I came along. The evenings entertainment was provided by Thirst (Martin Brahmah's project post Blue Orchids), Eric Random and a dance troupe from Moss Side that (apparently) included a future member of Take That. Later on in the evening the table was joined by Tony Wilson and a guy who he had just interviewed on the telly - Bob Geldolf.
I tell of this because it was a slightly surreal situation (at the time) a bizarre event, and last week a similar thing happened whilst I was in London travelling downwards in a lift in Selfridges (London) with my good friend Simon and Aaron Dilloway, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and the young Chinese fashion designer Yang Li.

I was there at the invite of Aaron. A rare UK performance, an improvised set with Genesis taking place inside the rooftop restaurant of Selfridges (London) called Le Chalet. Why? The evening was called "So Destroy The Expected" ("In celebration of agender - Selfridges' exploration into a genderless store experience").
First the evening started with a short edited showing of the film "The Ballad Of Genesis And Lady Jaye", inside a cinema situated in the Lower Ground level of Selfridges. It turns out that this is the new location of The Everyman Cinema. The last time I was at The Everyman Cinema (back to 1984) it was in Hampstead and showing a collection of Gysin & Burroughs short films and a live performance from Psychic TV. There was a short Q+A after the film where Yang Li and Gen talked about the collaboration, an exchange of slogans for T-Shirt designs and a Zippo Lighter (limited to 100 worldwide and available for £410 in the foyer). It was a light hearted Q+A but I was a little surprised to hear Gen say he had never thought about collaborating with "fashion designers" before meeting Yang Li. I was wearing a Mishka designed Psychic TV coat and the name Lawrence Dupre sprang to mind … Anyway, the  evening was about to get more bizarre as a lift attendant took myself, Simon, Aaron and the Nyoukis clan up to the rooftop for the performance.
Invite was limited, the first few to respond (RSVP) to a Twitter message on the Selfridges Twitter page got in for free. Wine, cocktails and Swiss bottled lager were all free and plentiful. Free bar! I picked the wrong month to be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes! The decor was akin to the "Cockhouse" I suffered at the Sleaford Mods gig in Lincoln a few days before - all faux Hawaiian Tiki and green camouflage. The stage was set at the end of a long corridor, not ideal but nobody seemed to be bothered as most were pissed as farts. The DJ, DJ Powell kept banging out Severed Heads tunes and everyone smiled and chatted - T'was great to see some old friends (none of whom I expected to be there) like Jo Oremus, Luke Younger, Johnny Scarr, Dale Cornish and Bill Kouligas.

Most of the audience were young (not their fault) and London trendy. Aaron built up looped walls, rhythmic pulsating looped walls with finely honed nuances and great deft sonic trickery. I watched for a while (close up) mesmerised by his table manners, and Gen's voice drifted across and above the celestial drones. Deep trance, heavenly joy. A bizarre and slightly surreal setting that, at the end of the evening, seemed just right.

And then the evening was over, the next day I was travelling back on the train to Devon and thinking back on the event - the elevator journeys, the cinema showing, the live gig on a rooftop overlooking Mayfair, the fact that this all took place in Selfridges it all seemed slightly surreal and very bizarre. For a night I was either "part of" or "not in" my world …

Pictures.
01 & 02: The Foyer of The Everyman Cinema.
03: Aaron Dilloway.
04: DJ Powell.
05: DJ Powell + Yang Li.
06 - 08: Aaron Dilloway + Genesis Breyer P-Orridge in performance.
09: Gen + Me.
10: Aaron + Bill.
11: Johnny Scarr + Matt.

MuhMur SoundArt Radio Broadcast : 02/04/2015.

Back in the studio after a month off. The new premises of SoundArt Radio are up and running. Excellent premises too, around four times larger than the last set up, and thoughts move towards live performance space. (Recordings of live sessions etc)….Anyway, that is the future. Tonights programme featured a few records I got on my travels in March as well as a couple of Splintered "classics" I dug out after meeting vocalist Richo Johnson at a Sleaford Mods gig in Lincoln (see last blog entry).
Listen to the programme here: https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-soundart-radio-fm-broadcast-02042015/

Playlist:
01: Masstishaddhu : "For The Dead And Unborn" (United Dairies) 1988.
02: Guild : "Killing Horizon" (Aetheric Records) 2015.
03: Nurse With Wound : "Glory Hole" (Vinyl On Demand) 2009.
04: Con-Dom : "I Am Human" (Industrial Recollections) 2014.
05: Sleep Chamber : "Courtfield Road" (Manhood Records) 1995.
06: Bourbonese Qualk : "God With Us" (Mannequin) 2015.
07: Colin Potter : "Behind You" (Sacred Summits) 2014.
08: Stuart Chalmers : "Maelstrom" (Hairdryer Excommunications) 2015.
09: Henrik Rylander : "Eminence Fracture" (Hãsten & Korset) 2009.
10: Duet Emmo : "Or So It Seems" (Mute Records) 1983.
11: Dieter Müh : "Serves You Right" (Functional) 2002.
12: Splintered : "Facelift" (Aquese Records) 1994.
13: Splintered : "Hilt" (Shock) 1993.
14: Bourbonese Qualk : "Kneejerk Reaction" (Praxis Records) 1992.
15: Thee Majesty & White Stains : "Power" (Temple Records/Voiceprint) 2004.

Next programme is on April 16 at 21:00 gmt.

Pictures are of the new premises at Dartington Hall.

Sleaford Mods : Crap Towns & Shitholes #1: Lincoln.

"Get Ready Tonight / Gonna Make This A Night To Remember / Get Ready Tonight / (Oh Baby) / Gonna make This A Night To Remember" (Shalamar)

When the list of tour dates came out for the Sleaford Mods "Crap Towns & Shitholes" tour (my title - not theirs), one date stood out for me. Lincoln March 21. Sleaford Mods in my hometown of Lincoln appealed to me. The last gig I saw in Lincoln was in 2001. 999 at the Duke Of Wellington. I had seen 999 in Lincoln before, at the Regency Ballroom in 1978. ("Separates" tour). The gig in 2001 was rough with a load of old boys forming a "mosh pit" and dragging and pushing folk about the dance floor. Good humoured but still on the edge of turning nasty (nasty). Lincoln has always been like that though. Violent. Punk gigs in the past (1977-1979) always ending with a fight. There were shootings at AJ's, kids getting bones broken after nights at The Drill Hall (the pub across the road would do a cheap lager night to coincide so "kicking out time" took on a whole new meaning and it was every man for himself on Broadgate). I was at The Adverts gig in Lincoln Tech College when bricks and glass were thrown at the audience. A poor lad died after getting his neck broken at The Stranglers gig in 1978 and some poor soul got hooked onto a cars tow bar and dragged up Lindum Hill taking the skin off his back and legs. Rough times in a rough town. Tribal. I got the shit kicked out of me during Starjets set at Lincoln Drill Hall in 1979 - they were supporting Stiff Little Fingers, but The Starjets for fucks sake! I have seen Sleaford Mods a few times over the past 3 years - in the sticks, in the capital and even abroad and now I wanted to see how Lincoln would react.

Dance Laugh Wine Dine And Talk And Sing / But Those Cannot Replace What Is The Real Thing / It's A Lot Like Playing The Violin / You Cannot Start Off And Be Yheudi Menuhin.
So Amateur Hour Goes On And On / When You Turn Pro You Know She'll Let You Know / Amateur Hour Goes On And On / When You Turn Pro You Know She Tells You So".  (Sparks).

I rode into town with Steve Underwood and Jason in time for the soundcheck. The venue had been changed from a club called The Scene (or Swiss Cottage to us owd boys) to a club called The Basement. A 400 capacity venue underneath the old Conservative Club on Silver Street. Walking into the venue it became immediately clear that the venue could not hold 400 people, maybe 150 at a push. The venue was dirty, like an old squat from the mid 1980's with peeling brick walls, unswept floors and wires and loose light fittings everywhere. A motley crew were hanging trying to be louche by one of the bars in an ante-room. All black clothed and freshly coiffured. They stared at us, we stared at them. Mexican stand-off. ha! Step forward the promoter, a fat chap with hair three times bigger than Robert Smith, ill fitting black leggings and white cuban heeled winkle pickers. Comedy gold character number one. This guy was pissed as a fart on Strongbow at 5pm. He assured all would be fine and the support band supported The Horrors (and/or Telescopes) in Sheffield and in fact this venue was a lot like The Leadmill (in Sheffield) apparently. And when I say support band I mean headlining support band whose name was as large as Sleaford Mods on the flyers, a band called Telegram, a band who were "contracted" to get £250 of Sleaford Mods money for support, a band who are managed by…the dick that was stood in front of us .. the promoter.
The promoter carried on his spiel about how good Telegram are and how there's going to be an MC who was really funny and who'd do great banter with Jason. It was complete amateur hour.
The manager of the venue (the venue also had two other bars, for the more sophisticated clientele) shows up looking like Lincoln's answer to Danny Dyer and took us to the "dressing room", an out building decorated like an Hawaiian Beach Bar called Raoul's Love Shak. To quote Danny this was an out of the way quiet place where hen nights happen. A place where women can get drunk and suck cocks of the male strippers. The dressing room was a Cockhouse. Classy joint, but never mind - free bar!

The Dinosaurs Are Stuck On Denmark Street / The Boots Of Hendrix Lick My Feet. (Sleaford Mods).

I missed the three support acts. Well, they all looked like NME reading Radio6 Music listening miserable cunts anyway with their stupid trousers and foppish manner. Why would they want to support Sleaford Mods?
A few minutes before "showtime" Steve and I got the merch' from the car and entered the venue. It was now we saw that they were still selling tickets on the door. Unbelievable. The promoter was nowhere to be seen, but neither was there anywhere to sell the vinyl and T-Shirts, so we decided to sell from the stage after the gig. Great plan. It was walking into the venue from behind the stage that the chaos became obvious. Barriers had been set up just in front of the stage but there was only one security chap to fend off the surging hoard. I took up prime position at the (safe) side of the stage. The DJ stopped spinning his Blondie and Blur records (only in Lincoln) and Sleaford Mods took to the stage ripping into "Bunch Of Cunts", it was like a pressure valve being released - they place went mental. The surge of the crowd, the human tsunami as 300 odd folk tried to get a look at the band in a space fit for only 100 or so. Onstage monitors didn't work and the sound was (allegedly) shit out front too. "Fizzy", "Jobseeker", "Tiswas" all came to great applaud and cheers but the crowd at the back were getting more and more angry by the situation. "Sack The Promoter". By fifteen or so minutes no fucker could see as half dozen burly security men stood in front of the stage trying to stem the surging mob. I could see fists flying in the bouncing crowd, the PA speakers rocking, bottles were thrown and the security blokes (trying to stop people from being crushed / injured) being spat at. This was like being back at The Drill Hall in 1978.
During all this I was stood next to comedy gold character number two, a short stocky fellow looking like Mick McManus playing a heavy in "Callan". White (wide) lapelled jacket, black polo neck sweater and loafers. Local hard nut and part time gangster stylee. When Jason called for calm and for folk to "chill" he stepped forward and gave the "Calm Down" signal with his outstretched arms and hands. It was as he saw himself as "The Daddy". No-one took a blind bit of notice (of course) of old King Canute. Fucking hilarious. The guy packed in and started hurling abuse at the security men. And the crowd carried on fighting and bouncing and fighting some more so management and security decided to call it a day, 30 minutes in and that's your lot. It was not pleasant to watch the mob turn ugly to see folk getting spat at and showered with glass just because they are trying to stop some kind of disaster. They too had to throw some punches and headbutt a few just to stay safe! It took me back to the days of The Specials, UK Subs and Angelic Upstarts at AJ's and Chelsea at the Tech Coll. Tribal and very very violent.

You..You Better Get Ready / You Better Hold Steady / They Can't Control This Angry Mob. (Bad Brains).

Riot gigs, don't you just love 'em? The last one I was "involved" in was SPK at the ICA (London 1985) when the London Fire Service brought a halt to the proceedings because of SPK's pyrotechnics. Lustmord wielding an arc welder. That night it was my job to rescue the Fairlights from the angry mob who were picking up and throwing metal poles and shattered glass, tonight it was to get the merch' to the car as quickly as possible. Steve did manage to sell a couple of LP's en route - ever the professional.
This was a top night and one I shall never forget. Somehow I don't think the promoter will either. He should drop the idea of being a promoter, realise he is but an amateur wanker in the world of professionals.

On the plus side I did get to drink in one of my old haunts, the Tap & Spile on Hungate and enjoy a Tex-Mex meal and glass of wine with Steve and Jason on the Brayford. I also got to meet and chat with Richo Johnson of Adverse Effect / Splintered fame who had flown in that day from Poland for the gig…there was some chap who had flown in from the US so neither Richo or I get the "I travelled the farthest to see this" badge.

Next Sleaford Mods gig for me will be April 1 at Exeter Cavern. "Sack The Promoter"!

                                                        (Richo in The Cockhouse).

MuhMur SoundArt Radio Broadcast 05/03/2015.

So this is the final MuhMur Radio programme to be broadcast from the Space Studio in Dartington Hall Estate. A new studio has been found and will be ready for broadcasting on March 30 which means the next MuhMur Radio will be on April 2 (at the same time 21:00 GMT).
Tonights programme featured selected pieces from Cloama, including a recording from 2005 live in Helsinki. The programme has an "industrial" feel to it, see what you think..have a listen. Please copy & paste : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-soundart-radio-broadcast-05032015/

Playlist.
01: Cloama : "Neuroscan Organization" (Blade Records/Spatter) 2002.
02: Throbbing Gristle : "Convincing People" (Industrial Records) 1979.
03: S.P.K. : "Suture Obsession" (Normal Records) 1985.
04: S.P.K. : "Macht Schrecken" (Normal Records) 1985.
05: Skullflower : "Big Muff" (Broken Flag Records) 1989.
06: Cloama : "Säälimätön Valhe" (LSD Organisation) 2001.
07: MyTrip : "White Leaves" (Danvers State Recordings) 2014.
08: Temple Of Tiermes : "Lamat" (Kaos Kontrol) 2000.
09: Cloama & Blutleuchte : "Blow Of Insanity" (New Old Sentinel) 2007.
10: Cloama : "Anoidi" (New Old Sentinel) 2005.
11: Ramleh : "Pristine Womankind" (Format Supremacy) 1994.
12: Cloama : "Live At La Bas, Helsinki. 02/12/05" (Not On Label) 2015.
      (Exclusive recording for MuhMur Radio).
13: Amph : "Hudson" (Joy De Vivre) 2013.
14: Blurt : "Get" (Test Pressings) 1980.
15: The Panacea Society : "Pimps & Hoes" (Dogfingers Recordings) 2006.
16: Bruce Gilbert : "Bi Yo Yo" (Sub Pop Records) 1995.
17: Throbbing Gristle : "Six Six Sixties" (Industrial Records) 1979.

Sleaford Mods & Animals + Men Live In Exeter. 01/04/2015.

New poster for the evening designed by Exeter illustrator Mark Smith. Looking forward to this one. All tickets have been sold …

MuhMur SoundArt Radio Broadcast : 19/02/2015.

Last nights radio programme was a pre-recorded affair with myself enjoying the wilds of the wolds in sunny Lincolnshire. The programme is the complete version of the Æther cassette "Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring" that was released last year on the Swedish Mandragoræ label. Two one hour drones, ideal to listen to whilst going about your chores, or just meditate with ….
Copy & paste this link : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmu/

Playlist:
01: Æther : Straddling Two Kingdoms (Mandragoræ) 2014.
02: Æther : Like A Wisp Of Smoke, A Glowing Butterlamp (Mandragoræ) 2014.

The next programme will be a "live" affair, back in the studio with some exclusive material from Cloama.

MuhMur SoundArt Radio Broadcast 05/02/2015.

Tonights programme featured a session from Gloucestershire based musician Stuart Chalmers. Five new and exclusive pieces along with a couple of tracks from his "Imaginary Musick Volume 2" CDR on Blood Diamond Music. There was something messing with the turntable tonight with the needle sticking on the Bruce Gilbert + Nate Young singles - but then again these are coloured vinyls that have no sleeve and just rest on the PVC outer. Perhaps that and time have damaged the vinyl? Perhaps the weights of the needle had been tampered with/ Who knows - but my apologies all the same.
BBBlood track sounded wonderful through the studio speakers!
The next programme has been pre-recorded due to myself being away in Lincoln on the 19th. It will feature Æther. Please keep an eye on the MuhMur Facebook page for further details. Live broadcasts resume on March 5 with an exclusive recording from Cloama.

Playlist.
01: Andrew Chalk : "Bright Rivers Run" (Meditations) 2015.
02: Whaum : "Spaces" (Striate Cortex) 2011.
03: BBBlood : "Stoic Drones" (Skeleton Dust Recordings) 2014.
04: Stuart Chalmers : "War On Nature" (Blood Diamond Music) 2014.
05: Stuart Chalmers : "Offcuts 1 - 5" (Not On Label) 2015.
      (Exclusive material recorded especially for MuhMur Radio).
06: Stuart Chalmers : "Footprints In Time" (Blood Diamond Music) 2014.
07: Bruce Gilbert : "ORF Mix" (Mute Records) 1996.
08: Preslav Literary School : "Francis Servain Mirkovic" (Full Of Nothing) 2011.
09: Nate Young : "Half Full" (Dot Dot Dot Music) 2010.
10: Schuster : "Kaafur" (Not On Label) 2007.
11: Pekko Kãppi : "Hullu Tyttō (Amerikan Peikko Records) 2001.
12: Stuart Chalmers : "Dreamtiger" (LF Records) 2012.
13: Cremation Lily : "Screen Reflections In The Neon Window" (Strange Rules) 2014.
14: Ada Wilson : "I'm In Control Here" (Barn Records) 1979.
15: Astral Social Club : "Sky" (WFMU) 2011.

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-fm-broadcast-050215/
Please cut & paste the above link and have a listen ….