Author: Spirit of Gravity

Next radio broadcast on ResonanceExtra FM: Sunday 28th July – 8.00 to 10.00pm

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Gravity Waves and the Spirit World

Sunday 28th July 2024 from 8.00 to 10.00pm on ResonanceExtra FM, DAB radio or online at extra.resonance.fm/

Gravity Waves: Sneak previews and friends – an upcoming guest, an upcoming release, and some local friends including collective members Dan Powell and Andrew Greaves:
Spheress – Fowl (Emergent Mix) / Psanck – East Water / Altamode – Attack / Inside Journeys – Inside Journeys part II / Automouse – Flapjack Octopus / Barelife – Critical Thinking / Altamode – form / Psanck – Girt

The Spirit World: Spectral Transmissions # 04: ABOVE US THE WAVES
“you wont never fynd no beginning its long gone and far pas.”1
‘If we look through the aperture which we have opened up onto the absolute, what we see there is a rather menacing power–something insensible, and capable of destroying both things and worlds, of bringing forth monstrous absurdities, yet also of never doing anything, of realizing every dream, but also every nightmare, of engendering random and frenetic transformations, or conversely, of producing a universe that remains motionless down to its ultimate recesses, like a cloud bearing the fiercest storms, then the eeriest bright spells, if only for an interval of disquieting calm.”2
“To push anything back into the past is equivalent to reducing it to its simplest elements. Traced as far as possible in the direction of their origins, the last fibres of the human aggregate are lost to view and are merged in our eyes with the very stuff of the universe.”3
Singin’ in the Rain: Arthur Freed / Nacio Herb Brown.
1 Hoban, R. Riddley Walker
2 Quentin Meillassoux, After Finitude: An Essay on the Necessity of Contingency
3 Pierre Teilhard De Chardin , THE PHENOMENON OF MAN

The June edition of the Spirit of Gravity Radio show is available on the ResonanceFM Mixcloud page:
www.mixcloud.com/resonanceextra/gravity-waves-and-the-spirit-world-spectral-transmissions-midsummer-special-a-common-treasury-2/
This show includes the Spectral Transmissions Research Unit Midsummer Special: A Common Treasury, plus an hour-long track by Elizabeth Veldon – ‘this pressure- this texture- this smell- this gesture’

 

Next radio broadcast on ResonanceExtra FM: Sunday 23rd June – 8.00 to 10.00pm

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Gravity Waves and the Spirit World

Sunday 23rd June 2024 from 8.00 to 10.00pm on ResonanceExtra FM, DAB radio or online at extra.resonance.fm/

This show features tracks from Dan Powell and Andrew Greaves’ recent release Inside Journeys, plus tracks by artists in the orbit of the Spirit of Gravity, and the latest mix from our new guest contributor Spectral Transmissions:

Gravity Waves:

‘This pressure, this texture, this smell, this gesture’ – Elizabeth Veldon

The Spirit World:

The Spectral Transmissions Midsummer Special: A Common Treasury

Amid all our familiar scenes stand memorials of the people who were here before us and as the daylight fades on midsummer night eve we embark on an hallucinatory journey to the weed choked lay-bys, unobserved rites, violence and wild anarchy that haunts Britain’s Spectral pastoral.

Includes elements of:
Battle of the Bean Field 1985 (Operation Solstice) Gareth Morris, Russel Morris and Neil Goodwin
U.K Free Festivals-The 1980s, BBC Documentary
Winstanley, Kevin Brownlow,  1975
Being and Doing, Ken McMullen and Stuart Brisley, 1984
A Celebration of Midsummer ,East Anglia, 1964

The May edition of the Spirit of Gravity Radio show is available on the ResonanceFM Mixcloud page:
www.mixcloud.com/resonanceextra/gravity-waves-and-the-spirit-world-gagarin-spectral-transmissions-research-unit-26th-may-2024/
This show includes a Gagarin special feature, plus Episode Two: “The Path” this month’s broadcast from the Spectral Transmissions Research Unit.

Sunscapes

Posted on by Spirit of Gravity

June 2024
The Rossi Bar

Nylon Prawn, Alistair & Nell, electronics & vocals, cornet & tap shoes! The first piece is largely radiophonic synth burbles blending with effected wordless vocal like whales singing to dolphins across vast distances. After a gasping peak it picks up momentum, tumbling away, and flattening out in breathy cornet flutters and synthful swirls. Nell gives a bit more form to her vocals for the second piece, and Al provides a disarming, warping synth sequence, all unlikely intervals, slurred and detuned, that slowly forms into a one note bassline with Nell singing over it. Drums. It becomes more insistent, hypnotic as it progresses, then slumps and boom: an evil bassline and a massive reverb-y kick stomp right in, Nell giving it blues diva over the top. There’s a nice quiet squelchy interlude with Nell back on wordless vox. A beep-y sequence starts that Nell interacts with very nicely that leads to another thump-y kick and occasionally bass tone. This warps into full on space vocals then a beat comes in, fully rounded, syncopated even. Nell bounces off it, scatting then gets back into singing mode again. The cornet gets some action at last. It swings round itself, in speared delays, bouncing to and fro.

Andrew Greaves was next up previewing his new album, our biggest selling physical format release (thumb drive). Against a firm wind Andrew starts with drones, drones that move into runs along the keyboard and back into drones. Beeping sequences spark off their heavily delayed selves, The beeps slow into a melodic line that via a grinding sound builds back into another bouncing sequence. Over this he runs a pair of melodic lines that eventually disrupt the sequences into minimalist basslines. Then again down into space whispers and mesmeric eastern scales. This third one is a slow builder, unfolding, slowly morphing as it progresses. Possibly the most complete piece of the evening, a hint of psychedelia and perhaps a touch of field recordings. And we finish on a very slow coda.

And for the evenings climax, Perry Frank with a very nice borrowed Vox guitar. He uses this and a synthesiser to feed an interesting effects chain. Preloading them with shimmering, pulsating washes. We can see some quite fast strumming or picking that results in a slow cascade of almost static tones. The first piece seems to have almost no dynamics at all, but manages to shift along quite beautifully. Sonically summoning up a cathedral cosmic vastness with slowly shifting shining notes winding through. As the first piece fades away we feel a pulse pushing through it, the guitar returns in crashing waves. A roaring full bodied crashing with a machine whining whirr pushing through. As the waves subside a drum track lumbers into consciousness and synth squalls cut into us. As it develops it conjures up images of a vast clockwork (yet vaguely organic) Godzilla. The volume drops down to a tense few minutes of uneasily quiet trilling. Distant shrieking metallic plates start us out of our reverie, a thrumming spaciousness of treble wrought from the guitar before he gets back to working on the tidal electronics. Again down to a gentle slowly pulsating guitar wash lapping rhythmically at the shore, that slowly evolves into a multi-layered drone – all light aircraft and light – to end. I haven’t really expressed how close your eyes and let it fill your mind beautiful this was. But it was.



Thursday 6th June at the Rossi Bar: Andrew Greaves / Perry Frank / Nylon Prawn

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Andrew Greaves: plays “a listener’s response to urban walking”
Perry Frank: dreamy synths & guitar soundscapes
Nylon Prawn: vocal soul FXed to the max with cyclical electronic riffs

Andrew Greaves is a Brighton based musician/artist and an active member of both the Spirit of Gravity electronic music and Safehouse improvisation collectives.
Andrew’s pieces combine melodic analogue synth improvisations within a layered mesh of minimalist repetition and sound art textures.
His latest release “a listeners response to urban walking” is inspired by a short visit to the Bauhaus town of Dessau, Germany in the spring of 2023; exploring options for combining the principles of design, architecture and colour within a music and sound project. “a listeners response to urban walking” was born out of a long day, walking around the town and its suburbs; visiting Bauhaus sites, artist’s, houses, workshops, public buildings and iconic housing estates. While walking, Andrew became interested in how, environments morph into each other; shopping quarters become residential, drift into light industrial areas, parklands and finally suburbs. Andrew was struck by how with a shift in environment comes a change of colour and sound types; each influencing his mood.
Each of the pieces on “a listeners response to urban walking” plot a journey on foot, including the extended “A Round Trip”, an aural trip around the whole town. Two of the pieces feature the guitar textures of Safehouse regular Pete Dixon. A highlight of the album is the duo version of Courtége, a piece written by and featuring the great saxophone innovator Ron Caines, of East of Eden fame. Andrew draws inspiration from many sources, including minimalism, German Kosmische, early synth pioneers, psychedelia, experimental jazz and a variety of non-western musics.
Andrew returns to Spirit of Gravity after performing there with Ron Caines & I’m Dr. Buoyant in 2023.
His work also includes live and recorded collaborations, with the sound artist Dan Powell, including their imminent release “Inside Journeys”.
In an altogether more raucous vein, Andrew has an analogue electronic duo “Screaming Alice” with synthesist Howard Spencer.
Andrew has also performed as a member of Broken Star, Himmel, Axz, Some Some Unicorn and Spirit of Gravity Quartet.
Andrew’s albums can be heard on the Spirit of Gravity Bandcamp label:
spiritofgravity.bandcamp.com

Perry Frank: a one man band project of Ambient, Post-Rock and Acoustic Music.
The unique sound of Perry Frank is based on guitar and synth loop soundscapes that create imaginary and dreamy textures on which arpeggios and melodies move with a timeless and spaceless feeling.
BIO: Perry Frank is an Ambient, Post-Rock, Acoustic and Psychedelic Music Project started in 2005, as a one man band, by the sardinian musician Francesco Perra. He released six albums MUSIC TO DISAPPEAR (Idealmusik 2012), THE NEPTUNE SESSIONS (Clubland Records 2013), SOUNDSCAPE BOX 1 (Tranquillo Records 2014), REVERIE (Dynamo Tapes 2020), SELVASCAPES (Lauge, Valley View Records 2021) and NUIT ENSEMBLE (Valley View Records 2022) During his career Perry collaborated with several artists like Chords of Orion, From Overseas, Antoine Michaud, PCM, Crows Labyrinth, Matteo Cantaluppi, Andrea Carri, Lauge, We Dream Of Eden, Spacecraft, Astropilot and Applefish. In October 2014 Perry Frank started a project called AMBIENT GUITAR SESSIONS. The sessions are filmed and recorded live in different outdoor and indoor scenic places.
PCM (the band he founded with Matteo Cantaluppi and Matteo Milea) released three albums ATTRAVERSO (2019), MACRO (2021) and DREAMLAND (2023) published by n5MD US based label. In January 2021, Perry started to collaborate with Valley View Records and released one album, several singles and EPs: LANDFORMS, JANAS, NEBULA, EARTHSHINE and MOONRISE with Spacecraft, MORNING VIEW, SIBERIA with Astropilot and DREAMSCAPES with Brannan Lane.
From July 2023 Perry started to collaborate with Ambient Soundscapes label and released 3 EPs: OUTER SPACE with Unusual Cosmic Process (July 2023), NEBEL (October 2023) and WAKE UP, WE’RE DREAMING with Applefish (December 2023). And in 2024 he has already released two EPs VANISHING, with Crows Labyrinth,  published by French label Mare Nostrum and SHORES OF SILENCE, with We Dream Of Eden, by VVR.

Nylon Prawn: A duo in which Nell Howe finds out what happens when soulful vocals are pushed through multi-FX, while Al Strachan supplies a bedrock of riffs and loops on synth and electronics, with the occasional cornet squeal. Also, tap dancing can occur.
nylonprawn.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-psychedelic-sundae

All accompanied with dreamlike and responsive live visuals from Meljoann.

The Rossi Bar is a small grade II building, and they are restricted with how they can improve access for anyone with mobility issues. The live music venue is located in the basement, which can only be accessed by a short spiral staircase. More accessibility information and images of the venue are in this document:
spiritofgravity.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-Spirit-of-Gravity-at-The-Rossi-Bar-for-audience-members.pdf

If you can’t make it to the Rossi Bar, you can now live stream all of our gigs on our new Owncast platform at stream.gravitons.org/.

“The Spirit of Gravity: making experimental music a threat again – since 2001”

Thursday 6th June 2024 | 8pm – 10.30pm | £5 (cash only)
Downstairs @ The Rossi Bar
8 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3WA