December 13th

December 13, 2003

With my plans for a British currywurst franchise temporarily on hold, I’ve been doing some mixing and project assessment with The Butler and Stephen Bennett.

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The ‘voiceloops’ album is probably complete, but now comes the difficult part of selecting the parts of the tracks which hold up to repeated listening. Almost without exception, the pieces start fairly tentatively and pick up an interesting or emotive thread around the two minute mark. A spark that then drives the ensuing 20 minutes of, hopefully, inspired indulgence.

Certainly amongst the most original and challenging work I’ve done, whether it’s quite up to public scrutiny I’ve yet to make my mind up on.

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My two Hugh Hopper collaborations have finally found a shape and a sonic space that works. Twisting, fevered pieces with a genuine sense of edge and surprise, along with the more experimental elements of Centrozoon, it’s the closest I’ve got to the freewheeling intensity and invention of ‘Wild Opera’, for quite some time.

Whether they form the basis of an HH project, a collaborative one or something of my own, I still don’t know. Regardless, it’s a thrill to be involved in something fresh and intriguing that includes the legendary likes of HH, Elton Dean and John Marshall.

Inside the Machine at last.

Reading:

Margaret Atwood’s arthouse apocalypse tale Oryx And Crake.

Listening:

Steve Reich – Three Tales
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (Deluxe)
The Beatles – Let It Be (Naked)

Watching:

David Cronenberg’s disturbing study of mental degeneration, Spider
Little Britain (BBC 2)