Off Modern LATE at The Barbican |
As part of the OMA/Progress exhibition curated by Rotor at Barbican Art Gallery, Off Modern presents an night of sound, visuals and performances by artists, filmmakers, designers and musicians engaged in deconstructing the spatial experience and architecture of the Barbican, and mapping futuristic scenarios. The event will take place in the Barbican Foyers and Art Gallery, as well as its labyrinthine corridors and public spaces, inside and out.
In the Gallery events space on Level 3, James Bulley and Daniel Jones debut Maelstrom, a sonic sculpture that sources sound fragments uploaded to the internet, feeding these through a notated score that voices infinite chord variations from the collected data. In a collaboration between musician Lewis Rainsbury and filmmaker/photographer Ciaran Wood, the pair present a series of video and audio works recorded exclusively on smartphones and treated into a series of looping soundtracks and landscapes. Artist Lewis Wright’s piece Live From Distant Shores features on the Frobisher Crescent Sculpture Court, a compilation of live CCTV feeds from desolate ports and jetties in the UK, exploring the cartographical possibilities of the Internet by providing mysterious glimpses of nautical terrain. Photographer Tom Saunderson presents new work based on the architecture of the Barbican itself, whilst artists Tom Pearson and Hannah Bould transform that same architecture into a hanging mobile, reimagining the traditional models used by architectural practices.
Eat Your Own Ears curate Blackout Sessions, one of two stages at Off Modern Late open until 1am. Blackout Sessions, run by Late of The Pier’s Sam Potter, are gigs in which the bands play in complete darkness. With the line up kept secret Blackout Sessions provide a unique opportunity for an audience, a chance to experience live music free from expectations and preconceptions.
On the second stage London Symphony Orchestra present Aftershock, a clubnight featuring a series of unique performances from LSO players, with live sound-tracking as well as djing and visuals provided by Off Modern collaborators Straight 2 Video. Further into the night sub-base takes over with DJ sets from Off Modern friends and family.
Featuring Work From:
SPPP (Shelley Parker & Paul Purgas)
Tom Saunderson in collaboration with Colden Drystone
Daniel Jones and James Bulley
Tom Pearson + Hannah Bould
Claire Baily
Dash May
Sam Potter
Lewis Rainsbury + Ciaran Wood (Vondelpark)
Lewis Teague Wright
Rob Chavasse
Henry Stringer
Tasha Cox
Off Modern
Plus:
EatYourOwnEars presents BlackOut Sessions
London Symphony Orchestra presents Aftershock with visuals provided by Straight to Video
More TBC
Nail The Cross IV |
South London’s inaugural celebration of all things sonic and experiemental takes place in Dalston this year.
BOOOOOOO
We’re djing at it for the fourth year running.
YEEEEEEEY
It’s smaller than last year.
BOOOOOOO
We’ve got this awesome mixtape featuring the acts playing over two days at the Shaklewell Arms.
YEEEEEEEY
Nail The Cross IV Mixtape by sexbeat
Friday 21 October
Pariah – dj set
D/R/U/G/S / Miracle / Patten / Halls - live
No Pain In Pop / Off Modern djs
8pm – 3am | £7 advance / free entry to bar
Saturday 22 October
Nite Jewel / Sex Worker / Echo Lake / Doldrums / Holy Strays / secret guests tba Fri 21 Oct – live
Ital / SEXBEAT /Lanzarote djs
8pm – 3am | £8.50 advance / free entry to bar
Facebook Event
Halloween Payback |
This Halloween sees the triumphant return of Bruk Out to the Big Chill House in Kings Cross, and its a true scare fest this month, with the likes of; N.A.S.T.Y crew leader and Rinse DJ, Marcus Nasty, Leo & Alex from Greenmoney HQ and Butterz label honchos, Elijah & Skilliam all taking to the turntables.
In fact it’s such a good line up this month that the Big Chill have been forced to accept bribes from promoters to get a piece of room 2!
This is the extra special payback edition (*insert westwood explosions*) and for this reason its free all night long, we’re open till 4am and we’ve been promised that drinks will be cheap. Find more details on the Facebook group here:
Lets go!
Crushed Beaks |
South london power duo, Crushed Beaks return with some new tracks and some exciting news.
They will be releasing a seven inch onto the world…with the help of Too Pure records.
Make sure you pre order Close Ups/Sun Dogs 7inch here.
They will also be playing our resident DJ, Nasty McQuaid’s new night SWAMP Dance at The Servants Jazz Quarters this Friday, Bradbury St, Dalston. £3 Entry.
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INLAND |
Inland is a studio/gallery complex situated in the heart of Camberwell. Run by artists Lauren Houlton, Keira Greene, Benji Jeffrey, Bella Marrin and Alice Mendelowitz, it is a new space for events, talks, workshops and exhibitions.
Their first show, Chimera, is a short film produced over a week in the Spanish village of Frailes.
CHIMERA creates a desolate union between the geographic and the psychological. A fictional space created around the town relocates Frailes in a new mythology using a combination of moving image, spoken word and music.
The original edit was premiered in the village after an intense week of filming and editing. The film’s London premiere and second edit will attempt to weave in additional English footage. This will link the geographic locations of the studio and the village.
PRIVATE VIEW
30/9
6pm-9pm
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
1/10 — 2/10
12pm-6pm
TOP OFF |
In 2009 we were part of Stag and Dagger, running an exhibition and club with our Skwee-loving buddies Top Nice.
With the London leg of Stag & Dagger a mere 24 hours away, today’s mix marks the last in our series of 10 exclusive Cloudcasts that we’ve been releasing weekly in the lead up to the festival. There’s no time for tears though, as this mix is a celebration of another heavyweight collaboration, as regular Stockholm/London clubnight Top Nice join forces with the Off Modern collective of artists, writers and curators – the leading promoters of all things art/literature/music in the South East London area.
The result? Top Off. (Obviously). Not the most creative portmanteau you’ll ever hear, but their combined eclecticism more than makes up for it – their stage, at The Book Club, not only features “live Gameboy dancehall DJs” Hyper Black Bass, but also upcoming producer Sampha, Berlin-based pop artist Molly Nilsson, and a live photo-stream by Ivo Gormley & Gery Georgieva. There will of course also be residents from both Off Modern and Top Nice manning the decks, including the latter’s own Louis Enchanté, responsible for this week’s mix, “Made For Ravin’”, which is a thrilling ride through Hardcore circa 1991 and mid-‘90s Ghetto House, topped off (see what I did there?) with a track from the UK bass scene’s DJ du jour, Deadboy, who you’ll also be able to catch on Friday night at FACT’s stage at Scrutton Street Studios.
The Wreck |
A great friend of ours, illustrator, designer and Trekkie Rob Shuttleworth is opening a new venue in Camberwell. What used to be just ‘that room above The Castle’ is soon to become The Wreck, a destination for students and graduates in the area featuring music, games, publications, events, parties, snacks, and heavily discounted beverages. Participation is key; Rob wants people to redesign the logo every couple of months, or have a stab at putting a party on or launching a zine. For more information head to the blog here. It opens up on the 19th of September. Look for this sign above the door, head upstairs and take advantage of the £2 beers.
Late at Tate Britain: Vortex Revisions |
Off Modern contributor Paul Purgas curates this fridays Late at Tate, bringing together a night of sound and visuals inspired by the Vorticist literary magazine Blast. The Vorticists created a radical new language with which to express the excitement and ravages of the modern machine age. Vortex Revisions plans to adopt the spirit of Blast as a framework for examining the conflicted relationship between art, technology and humanity, exploring the legacy of these ideas within visual art and experimental sonic practice. Film screenings include John Russell’s Vermillion Vortex, Cyprien Gaillard’s The Lake Arches as well as Off Modern collaborator Hannah Perry’s Sublimate Bass. Performances come from Matt Loveridge from the brilliant Beak> (why haven’t we put them on before?) and Bruce Gilbert from none other than Wire.
Films: 18.30–19.25
John Russell Vermillion Vortex 23 min
Hannah Perry Sublimate Bass 3 min
Mark Dean Christian Disco (Terminator) 3 min
Takeshi Murata Untitled (Silver) 12 min
Aïda Ruilova Goner 11 min
Cyprien Gaillard The Lake Arches 3 min
Performances: 19.30–21.30
Matt Loveridge (Beak>)
Bruce Gilbert (Wire)
Lee Gamble (Entr’acte)
Get clued up (sort of) on Vorticism by downloading Blast. It’s a pretty antagonistic magazine but Wyndham Lewis was a pretty antagonistic guy living in pretty antaogonistic times, WWI was about to break out don’t you know.
OFF MODERN IN PARIS |
On July 28th we descended on the banks of the Seine along with Corsica Studios, to throw a party on Le Batofar, Paris’ premier floating nightclub. We commissioned four enormous flags from artists Philipp Von Frankenberg, Daniel Swan, Tasha Cox and Tom Harrad, and hung them about the boat as if it were captured by a troop of arts graduate pirates. Rumbling Dj sets deep in the underwater belly of the ship came from Space Dimension Controller, Will Saul, Tom Boogaloo, Mr Solid Gold and Hesseltime while we took care of the silent disco on the deck. It was fun.
THE CONCH |
Head down to the South London Gallery tonight for the second edition of The Conch, a new bi-monthly discussion forum. Collectives and galleries from around South London present work from emerging artists, to be critiqued and discussed by other artists, writers, curators and enthusiasts.
August 3rd sees OM friends Arcadia_Missa, Flat Time House and the Old Police Station putting forward artists and their work for consideration.
OM/ PARIS |
Next thursday we’re off to Paris with Corsica Studios/ Trouble Vision.
The guys at Corsica have kindly invited us to be part of this unique cross-border collaboration, a Corsica Studios presents as part of The European Series at renowned Parisian Party-Boat Le Batofar.
Showcasing the best of Corsica Studios, Trouble Vision have lined up Irish spacescape visionary Space Dimension Controller, AUS music main man Will Saul plus a host of their regulars. We’re taking control of a silent disco on the deck and have comissioned flags from long time Off Modern collaborators to spruce up the boat.
This is an open invitation – come and join us. We’ll be out there from the 27th and making the most of our little jaunt by taking in the culture; galleries, canal and clubs until the 31st.
If you’re already in Paris, there’s no excuse!
Click attending on the facebook event to let us know you’re coming and take a minute to ‘like’ our facebook page when you do.
The worlds first meteorological eight-channel DJ set? |
We blogged Made by Martian Labour’s film of Variable 4′s first incarnation in Dungness back in March. Since then James Bulley and Daniel Jones have taken their twenty-four hour generative sound instillation to Snape Maltings in Suffolk. It’s impressive when a group of artists follow through a project meticulously, investigating it’s potentials and encouraging it’s discussion in different environments and that’s why we’ll be attending their showcase, discussion and post-snape maltings celebration at the book club tonight.
Daniel Jones and James Bulley will be presenting their piece and showing audio and video excerpts, demonstrating how it works under the bonnet and introducing some of the musicians and technicians involved with the piece. Alongside this will be an informal panel discussion on Sound in Art, featuring some luminaries within the field: producer Joana Seguro (FasterThan Sound, Lumin), curator Cecilia Wee (Sound and Music, Rational Rec), writer and curator Daniela Cascella,and BAFTA award-winning sound designer Nick Ryan (The FragmentedOrchestra, Papa Sangre).
The evening will open with the world’s first (?!) meteorological eight-channel DJ set featuring some of the spatialisation methods devised for the piece — controlled with a windvane and anemometer interface.
Things kick off at 7pm and end at midnight at The Book Club, 100 Leonard Street, EC2A. Act quickly, 7 pre-sale tickets remain.
IS TROPICAL ALBUM LAUNCH |
Is Tropical have finished making their debut Album! and to celebrate Kitsune are throwing a big ol’ party for them , oh and we’ll be there too! Joining us on the cd players will be…. !WOWOW! head honcho Matthew Stone, Moshi Moshi threesome TEETH, Amp & Deck and our very own Nasty McQuaid plus a very very special guest from Rinse FM.
We are overjoyed that things are going so well for Is Trop and now that their latest single ‘The Greeks’ has hit 1000,0000 billion views on youtube we thought we’d better get an interview out of them pretty quick before they get too big to ever want to talk to us again. So with that in mind we sent our most excellent journalist, Meg Woof, along to ask them some intimate and thought provoking questions. Here’s what happened;
MW: The video for your song, ‘The Greeks’ has had 1,700,058 views so far. Does this feel like success?
“Yeah, It’s great that its been viewed by that amount of people. It’s a well executed video that deserved to get attention. The guys at Megaforce are incredible video makers.”
MW: The first music video broadcast on MTV was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles. The song is based on ‘The Sound-Sweep’ by J. G. Ballard, a story about a boy who goes round sucking up sounds with a vacuum cleaner in a world where music is banned. Do you feel MTV culture actively prohibiting your musical artistry?
“We haven’t actually seen any music videos on MTV, its all 16 and pregnant, the hills, and Jersey/Geordie Shore, which we love and take huge inspiration from. The MTV generation now exists on the internet instead of the TV, and there is little restriction. It’s all gravy.”
MW: What would you be doing with yourselves if music were banned?
“Spray tan, vet, 6 pack, get on it like a car bonnet.”
MW: The previously mentioned song and story are about changing and ageing, ending and subsequent nostalgia, some of which you state to be themed in ‘The Greeks’. How do you hope that comes across in the song?
“The great thing about music is that anyone can interpret it however they want. We never try to push a message, we merely serve to enhance peoples fantasies.”
MW: You also say you like daydreaming and imagination. Do your imaginings hold any reoccurring motifs?
“There has been a number of unintentional themes that have cropped up such as the sea, nautical imagery, war, and distant lands.”
MW: Moving image technology provides the tools to imitate the look, feel and power of dreams, and surfing today’s constant image stream causes a cinematic sensibility that impacts how we think, feel and even dream.” How can music imitate and impact dreams?
“We all enjoy traveling with music on headphones so you can hear every sound within the song drifting in and out of consciousness due to a lot of travel and no sleep. These become almost dreams and we definitely encourage people to follow suit.”
MW: Do you think a promo video widens or narrows people’s perception of a song?
“It’s just another form of art that can be connected. People may like it or not but as long as more people can create their ideas and get them seen, the better in our eyes.”
MW: Dance music tracks and classical compositions tend not to have accompanying videos, why do you think this is the case?
“Personally we haven’t seen many classical videos. I guess this answers the question that there are different expectations for different music. Different codes for different toads.”
You can buy tickets for Is Tropical’s Album launch for this Friday HERE! Hope to see you all there…
