Category: Archive

Attenborough Centre co-promotions: Colleen & Scanner

We are very excited to be invited to co-promote two upcoming events at the Attenborough Centre:

Saturday 2nd November: Colleen, support from Johanna Bramli

Over the course of eight critically acclaimed albums (2003–2023), Colleen has consistently reinvented herself, first by taking acoustic instruments out of their usual context and pushing the boundaries of their playability, then through avant-pop electronic explorations, and now dedicates herself to her own unique brand of warm analogue synthesis. Colleen has played over 250 concerts in prestigious venues across Europe, the US, Japan, Brazil and Singapore and festivals (such as Big Ears, Moogfest, Mutek, Le Guess Who, Transmediale and Rewire).

French-Swedish musician, composer and sound artist Johanna Bramli blends found sounds, drones, DIY noise devices, and harmonised vocals to create melodic, dreamy yet haunting soundscapes. She uses textural sounds with a melodic sensibility that sets the scene for a cinematic experience.

 


Friday 15th November: Scanner: Harry Smith at 100

Harry Smith (1923–1991) was a great American eccentric, experimental filmmaker, musicologist, graphic designer, bohemian and anthropologist. He was also a collector of found objects and sounds, including the world’s largest known private paper aeroplane collection. The Anthology of American Folk Music is perhaps his most famous contribution.

British artist Robin Rimbaud, also known as Scanner, has been invited by the Harry Smith Archives to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth by performing live scores to a wide selection of his films. For this event, Scanner will be performing a live soundtrack to Smith’s Early Abstractions (1946–57) and Untitled Seminole Patchwork (1965–66) films.

Scanner has been intensely active in sonic art since the 1980s, producing concerts, installations and recordings, connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he names Bryan Ferry, Wayne MacGregor, Mike Kelley, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Michael Nyman, Steve McQueen, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan amongst his previous collaborators.

www.attenboroughcentre.com/events/5160/scanner-harry-smith-at-100/

Gravitons festival of live streaming

Right on cue as the shorter days and the darker evenings make indoors attractive ….  Gravitons, an exciting and varied series of live streamed performances started on 16 November and continues throughout the month.

Each performance will run for approximately an hour. The livestream, which may be accessed with no charge, is here: stream.gravitons.org
The full lineup is:
16 November, 3pm – Screaming Alice – improvised analogue synth-driven grooves
17 November, 3 pm – Dan Powell – semi–improvised soundtracks to films by Chris Marker
21 November, 8pm – Rashamon – laptop and iphone based stratified disco brainchild
23 November, 8pm – midi_error – vintage and current grooveboxes on a sonic voyage
24 November, 3pm – Remember Glaciers – slow ambient soundscapes, improvised
27 November, 8pm – McCloud – noise beats from aka DJ Cheesemaster
29 November, 8pm – Meljoann – avant-pop songs, disorientating AV, wellness cult recruitment
30 November, 8pm – Ascsoms – the solo project of Adam Wimbush, one foot firmly planted in Musique Concrete traditions and the other in electronic improvisation
Updates and more information here: gravitons.org

All made using ethical alternatives to big tech, with the aim of confusing the algorithms by creating a decentralised, local scene.

Next radio broadcast on ResonanceExtra FM: Sunday 27th October – 8.00 to 10.00pm

Gravity Waves and the Spirit World

Sunday 27th October 2024 from 8.00 to 10.00pm on ResonanceExtra FM, DAB radio or online at extra.resonance.fm/

As preparation for her new album, some long overdue tracks from I Am Fya, some tracks from the new Xylitol & Alien Alarms albums, a couple of remixes from Nil by Nose’s new trains based album, and some pieces by friends of the Spirit of Gravity. In the 2nd hour, Spectral Transmissions present Transmission 7: Midnight in the Haunted Karaoke.

I Am Fya – A Womxn Pt 1 / Xylitol – Moebius / Alien Alarms – No Warriors / Armatures – Seeding Tome / Nil by Nose – Top to Bottom Wholecar Graffiti Trains (Daytime), second try (Orok Version) / Lekomo – Scary night / Alien Alarms – The Spirit Of Gravity  / Xylitol – Monte Mare  / I Am Fya – A Womxn Pt 2 / Nil By Nose – T.H.A ; the T.V.G Mix. – The Human Aerial / Lekomo – Pipes of War

Part 02: The Spirit World: Spectral Transmissions 
Transmission 7: Midnight in the Haunted Karaoke
It is nighttime in the city. Tatty terraces and scattered concrete tower blocks, the detritus of a vast up-turned wheelie bin bathed in orange twilight. Around this time of year strange things happen. The ether is populated with unruly beasts. Pipes can be heard tapping in the darkness, lightbulbs flicker, music plays on an unplugged jukebox and faint calls of distant laughter can be heard echoing in the subway. An empty karaoke booth crackles into life and the soft crooning lament drifts through the still corridors. Someone has entered the building.

The September 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-peripheral-visions-22nd-september-2024/
This month’s show is drawn from two compilations featuring friends off the Spirit of Gravity, WE DON’T BELONG HERE VOL.1 and Exploring an Exploding Soundtrack, plus the 6th instalment from Spectral Transmissions: Peripheral Visions

Thursday 3rd October at the Rossi Bar: Hannya White / Alien Alarms x Ieva Dubova / Altamode

Hannya White: Avant pop experimentation
Alien Alarms x Ieva Dubova: Tortured Breaks x Free Piano
Altamode: Rhythm & Texture

The South East London-based artist Hannya White fuses symphonic instrumentation with deep-bass turbulence, carrying you through a fog of cutting, surprising sounds and melodies, luring you into an unpredictable, landscape. Older things can be discovered here: hannyawhite.bandcamp.com/

Since combining breakbeats, field recordings of Brighton and the 19th century words of Lord Byron on “Music On The Water” in May 2021, Alien Alarms have released 2 albums, received airplay on Codesouth.FM, Radio Reverb, BBC Radio Wales and were played on BBC Radio 6 Music by Tom Robinson who described the music as “continuing to push the envelope”.
Ieva Dubova is a Latvian-born composer and pianist celebrated for her innovative blend of minimalist classical, jazz, and folk influences. With a background in piano performance and composition, Ieva’s work often integrates natural soundscapes, creating immersive and evocative musical experiences. Her compositions have been featured on platforms like BBC Introducing and Radio Resonance FM. Recent projects include Preludes, Sedo, and Brass Memories, each showcasing her ability to push the boundaries of traditional music. Ieva’s latest album, Undercurrents, recorded in the Outer Hebrides, marks a new direction in her music, combining the serenity of the Scottish landscape with the richness of blues and jazz harmonies.
The latest Alien Alarms x Ieva Dubova collaboration, “A Leap” will be released on the new Alien Alarms album “Utopia Or Dystopia?” on the 4th October via alienalarms.bandcamp.com

Altamode: A partnership between Luke, an analogue synth obsessive known for his work in the infamous live-only Yellow Door collective, and Monty, a synthesis tool creator and organiser behind the bleached record label. This performance may well be solo. Monty. Interesting textures and time signatures.
altamode.bandcamp.com/album/the-minard-sessions-volume-1

Chris [Symmetrical Forces] creates live visuals for each performance using his own lo-fi footage, dusty VHS tapes and obscure videos from the internet to create futuristic images from the past overlayed with out-of-reach memories and vague fragments of lost visions.

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

Unfortunately, we’re unable to livestream more of our gigs, due to internet problems at the venue, but you can still catch us streaming live music sets from home at stream.gravitons.org.

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

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