create – and so she thinks

Create top five

admin — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 12:59:25 +0000

The talent across the three stages at Create this year is phenomenal. Local bands and those further afield gather to play everything from pop to punk, by way of jazz, soul, and rock. Here are five artists you simply must see:

Luca Afrobeat Band

Main Stage, 15.55

Afrobeat is having something of a revival, and LUCA are bringing their own stamp to it. They melt the raw potent funk of Fela Kuti with 70s prog and metal influences to create a funky apocalyptic nightmare. Luca Afrobeat Band have released two EPs to date, with a third on its way in 2019.

James from the band says that community festivals like Create are perfect for them as a band. ‘Being a bit of a niche band, we really rely on people stumbling across us at these kind of events and so we really welcome the chance to play to people that have never heard us before. We have all been told that Create Festival is a fun day with a great atmosphere and so we can’t wait to discover it for ourselves.’

The song they are most looking forward to playing?

Barse

Tall Poppies

Revelation Ashford Stage, 14.15

Tall Poppies are a London based, Australian born, indie pop quartet. I identical twins Susan and Catherine spin tales of life from both sides of the planet alongside heart tugging violin from Diarmuid whilst Doug Fink injects energy and danceability on drums. They played Create in 2015 ‘for the rainiest day in July ever. But despite the rain, they say ‘it was a brilliant experience with everyone warmly welcoming us.’

This year they have new material out, following their recorded and released two studio albums, ‘Thursday’ and ‘All The Rave’.

The song they are most looking forward to playing?

Now

Estelle Mey

Revelation Ashford Stage, 17.15

French singer songwriter Estelle Mey has always been influenced by her surroundings. British weather and Icelandic landscapes have imbued her rock with a dreamy and otherworldly quality that balances power and lightness.

Based in Canterbury now, powerful riffs emerge from deep within the raw and distorted growl of her baritone, accompanied by the heavy, thumping, rhythmic beats of Neil Price on the drums.

She is excited to play Create, and says that ‘it’s an honour to be chosen to play Kent’s biggest original Free festival. To share my music in the county I love, Kent.

The song they she is most looking forward to playing?

Anything from the new album – but here’s the old one for now.

Jaz Ellington

Main Stage, 15.00

The humble singer-songwriter Jaz Ellington describes to music as his “audible diary”, of which houses the transcripts to personal memoirs and experiences. As a result, his music is downright honest, and never misses the mark when it comes to writing and arranging songs that come from the soul.

His career highlights included opening opened for the legendary Lauryn Hill, working with Will I Am on a project for NASA, appearing on The Voice UK 2012, and being selected as one of the top six singers to represent England in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

He says that ‘I am excited about doing Create as i love sharing my music and I’m looking forward to good vibes from my fellow ‘Ashfordians’,’

The song he is most looking forward to playing?

Don’t Run

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTSdV65xFjc?feature=oembed&wmode=transparent]

Lake Folks

Revelation Stage, 16.30

Lake Folks is an indie-folk artist from France, whose music varies between delicate guitar-voice folk to some more Americana-flavoured pieces. Think Ben Howard, Bob Dylan, Villagers or Mumford and Sons.

Lake Folks started as a solo project with the release of his first EP in July 2017, and his single ‘The Old Man and the Lake’ was well received. He decided to move to London in 2018 to broaden his musical horizon. After a few months of settling in the London music scene, he got back to studio with a full band this time to record his second EP ‘Someone else’s dreams’, which was released last March.

The song he is most looking forward to playing?

Fire

Upholstery for a Good Life

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 20:34:21 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you often see worn pieces of furniture in the charity shop or loved but lagging items in your grandparents’ homes and think ‘Oooh, I could do something with that, make that really nice,’ your little eyes filled with images of a cottage industry creating your own perfect retreat – and then end up going to IKEA for cheap furniture because it’s only twenty quid and then a hell of a lot easier.

So why spend a Sunday learning how to upholster a chair? Well, why do anything at all except for enjoyment and enhancement. Crafting something yourself, even – perhaps especially – recrafting and honing something already existing and providing new life into it, is immensely satisfying.

The Goodlife Centre run practical courses in DIY, woodwork, upholstery and more.

So sew

admin — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 10:31:35 +0000

There’s something incredibly gratifying about sewing, knitting, cross stitch, dressmaking, and the like. The tactile nature of using your hands when so much of our lives exist in the digital world. The delight in letting you imagination reign as your play with creativity. The satisfaction of following a pattern with care and precision. Spending hours on a swishing array of fabrics and textures. The opportunity to make something functional or full of emotion. And the delight in turning a flat piece of fabric into something three dimensional and beautiful.

There’s also a hell of a lot of frustration – what to make, which fabric to choose, how can wools be so different, why are there multiple different needles, what is that proddy thing and for god sake why won’t this bloody sewing machine just sew?!

But that’s all part of the fun! At Craft Heaven: The Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts Show they hope to inspire and inform with a whole host of demonstrations, workshops, stalls, experts and events to get you started or keep you going in the world of making. Running from Thursday 7th – Saturday 9th April, tickets are only £10 in advance, and available here.

WOLVVES and their kit

admin — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 11:32:00 +0000

It’s rare to find top notch musicians and producers giving their soul to a musical project that puts edge and experimentation before anything else. Such is Brooklyn band WOLVVES, formed by the Valleau triplets, who forge suspenseful (if not terrifying), noir, experimental electronic rock. We asked a few question to the knob fiddler in the band, producer/multi-instrumentalist Joshua Valleau, who worked among others with the likes of Kanye West, DMC (of Run-DMC), Snoop Dogg, and Imani Coppola.
How much of your recording is done at home versus in the studio?
I run a recording studio in Brooklyn, so we do everything there. We even rehearse there.
What are the pieces of equipment that you find particularly inspiring when recording?
I think the vacuum of a blank stretch of time and the absence of sound is the the most directly incendiary combo for converting the epic of overlapping lifetimes and constant memories of the future into 3-7 minute mp3s. So a quiet room and nothing else to do for a few hours is at least several times more inspiring than the next few items down the list, which for us include a Neve 5452 console modified for direct outs, some synths (Pro One, Juno, JX-3P, Nord Leads, Superbassstation, CZ-101), pianos (Rhodes, CP-70, Kawai 7′ grand), organs, tape decks, crappy 90′s digital outboard, FutureRetro Mobius, guitar amps, drums. I guess the more I try to narrow it down, it’s really only about that first item on the list. Could definitely just be a laptop in that same room.

What one piece of hardware/software would you most like to add to your recording setup (cost not an issue)? Why?
More computers! Lol no but I’m totally serious. These days I’m growing a garden of computers. For us, I’m learning that the only way to achieve the ecstatic fury of uninhibited electronic music creation is by having access to the highest number of clock cycles operating on the highest number of cores logistically possible at any given moment. Anything less is a recipe for tears. Heartfelt thanks for option to seamlessly farm out DSP to other machines goes out to Vienna Ensemble Pro. Oh also I really want a DEP2b.

Do you expect your next record to be self-produced, or would you like to work with a producer? If it’s the latter, who would you most like to produce your band, and why?
What we would love most is for the United States Secret Service to produce our next record. It seems like a match – they could make our whereabouts unknown, secure the entrances, cook for us, block all telecommunications, tech the outboard gear. Probably even run me cleaner power than I have right now. We’ll give them 4 points of course.
Do you use rack effects or guitar pedals to forge your own sound? If you do, please list the ones you use the most and let us know why you love them.
I mean, Lewis runs his DrumFire through a Foxx Tone Machine clone that I had a guy build me a while back. Other than that some of my favorite distortion pedals are one or more channels on the Neve, a very bossy ’76 V4B, MCI JH-110 1/2″, Decapitator etc. I tend to mentally organize the spice rack not so much by brand or physical location/interface, but strictly by taste. There’s an ever-present continuum of sonic portraiture running through my head, and every different box or plugin of which I’m aware is a point in that spectrum. So a lot of times there’s a software->hardware or hardware->software thing going on. An automated (SoundToys) EchoBoy ride on a return with an automated ride on a send (on the same return) that’s feeding back into itself out to an amp in the live room that’s coming back through stereo mics into an outboard lexicon and then a final live ride into distorted territory on the Neve on its way back into the box would be a typical sort of thing. Then maybe print that to tape. There are also dozens of scenarios that I just haven’t had time to build yet.

Do you have a particular recording style that you aim for? What techniques do you employ to recreate it?
We’re constantly working to streamline workflow, introduce new aleatoric elements into our creative process, and take dysfunctional items off the table. There is a constant push to get everything that’s known into automatic territory as quickly as possible to make room for the unknown. We’ve come to finally understand that technology is a constant string of broken promises. And that understanding is also a key to unlocking the true powers of the technology – when you move your expectations away from your ‘idea’ and towards the current and unknown present. Let the road drive you a little.

The last few weeks we’ve been doing stuff like combining arpeggiators, running an arpeggiating/randomizing reaktor ensemble off a hardware sequencer and running a synth with an internal arp off the reaktor ensemble – stuff like that. I like to play piano, Elizabeth just got a cello. Lewis is mixing & mastering his rock band’s album and perfecting his pie crust. I’m hoping to find some time to put some contact mics in the bookcase next to the Hammond and track drums through them. There’s a song in every single position of the volume knob of my (Fender) ’67 Deluxe. When you don’t feel like you’re going to die, then you’re getting somewhere.
Who determines the direction and style of your recordings?
Ancient forces from the future, and our honest college best shot at trying to figure out what the hell they want from us. Sort of just like composing for Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo in the royal court of Salzburg, or getting a call from Sergei Diaghilev who’s looking for some new ballets. Or scoring an episode of Twin Peaks. Only the creative forces we have to answer to are in the air and in the ground. Seems like a pretty good gig.
Is there a person outside the band that’s been important in perfecting your recorded or live sound?
We have the precious and inestimable support of our family and friends, but no.
What other artists would you say have had the biggest influence in your approach to recording? Why?
I wouldn’t say there’s a lot of particular influence to the approach coming from one or 5 directions. I’ve definitely checked out the approaches of many legendary engineers, producers and artists. That’s always cool. Alongside that, I’d say the inspiration of our heroes is of much more significance. Then you build yourself machines to get you going in directions you’re excited about. The way someone else did it was the right way before things were the way they are right now.
Would you say that your live show informs your recording process or that your recording process informs your live show? Both? Neither?
All the music that’s floating around right now was done before we ever played a show, so only the latter for that material. But as a matter of fact our live show has indeed begun to inform our recording process for the material we’ve been working on since then – none of which is out at all yet. There’s some more live drums, control elements ported over from the stage rig etc, and we’ve been doing some live full-band recording as well. Pretty sweet
Is there a piece of equipment that you find particularly useful on stage?
Particularly useful to us on stage is a small box which contains a pair of mac minis along with several wired and wireless audio and midi interfaces and converters. This forms the technological central nervous system of the band on stage. All the audio is routed through the computers and sub-mixed down to a stereo pair before it hits the house. That provides a world of manipulation and control options that I feel will possibly never be exhausted. Those limits now are primarily defined by aesthetic considerations, which I consider to be a dream come true.
With bands doing more of everything themselves these days (recording, performing, self-promoting, etc.) and the evermore multimedia nature of the world, how much effort do you put into the visual component of your band – fashion, styling, photography, graphic/web design, etc.? Do you do these things yourself or is there someone that the band works with?
Actually that seems to be one of the strongest points of this band: An internally and clearly defined, understood & agreed-upon aesthetic, and the in-house expertise to iterate at will. Our primary limitation in that regard seems to be time (that’s why more computers). But like also we’re doing a music video soon & enlisting a bunch of ppl, of course. How many outside hands we need depends on the job – kind of like the computers. But yeah mostly everything gets done by the 3 of us.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspects of the recording process? On the flipside, what aspects are the most rewarding?
The process? Well it’s really simple. As long as the process is intact (things aren’t broken), then the process is the reward.
[vimeo 104318139 w=612 h=344]

Blackout poetry – an interview

admin — Tue, 13 May 2014 15:36:36 +0000

I saw some images that made me look again. A merger of different forms of art, the words leapt out from colour and texture, an aesthetic delight, a thought provoked. A page of text is reduced to a few words, the meaning altered. It’s simple to do, yet requires thought and insight. A new way of looking at the page in front of you. It’s blackout poetry. I chat to John Carroll, from Make Black Out Poetry.

Are you a poet or artist?

I’ve never really considered myself either. I’m a writer first and foremost, mainly Flash Fiction. I’ve dabbled in poetry here and there and had never attempted creating any kind of art before I started making blackout poetry.

Is it really poetry?

I think so. It might not be in the academic sense, but then again Charles Bukowski wrote poems about alcohol, gambling and one night stands. Art and poetry are more about expressing yourself in an honest way than following a sentence structure or going to art school. Life is art. Life is poetic. Sometimes you just have to adjust your perception to see the beauty that’s been right in front of you all along.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in everyday life. Life in its very nature is art. We’re all creations. Our lives are stories that we tell everyday with every action we make and every word we say. Like the blackout poetry I make, I try to view life from different angles.

Do you seek it?

I seek truth. You’ll never run out of inspiration when you seek truth. It comes in all shapes and forms and is presented to us constantly. You might have to weed through a lot of preconceived ideas to find it, but it’s there. I believe in some universal truths, but we all have to find our own truth.

Do you use texts you like or just see words in any random passage?

I’m typically not very familiar with the text that I use when making blackout poetry. Most of the books are random. I’ve been using a few books over the last couple of months that I found in a bag on the side of the road waiting to be sent to the landfill.

What could I read into you and your mindset and life from your work?

Blackout poetry is very subconscious for me. I can usually get a decent gauge on my thoughts and view on life while making blackout poetry. When I was struggling with finding purpose and hope in life, most of the blackout poems were very dark. But life is dark and I was being honest about how I felt. I have much different perception of life now, so most of the blackout poems I make now are centered around truth, hope, balance and love, because those are things that I think about most. It came to me more so during the troubled period. I tried to stay busy, so I wouldn’t think about the pain in my life which ultimately just prolonged the pain. Blackout poetry helped me focus and process the grief in a way that was enjoyable and manageable. It helped me tap into how I really felt and It eventually lead me to face myself head on and come to a resolution.

I’ve heard it called ‘creative destruction.’ Do you see yourself leaning towards one or the other (a creator or destroyer)?

Life is a cycle. All things that are born, eventually die. I feel like there’s a balance between creating and destroying in most art, but especially blackout poetry. Evolution could be another way to look at it. Changing the the current state of an object, in this case, a page of text, to become something else. A photosynthesis of sorts.

Camden Create

admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 10:18:46 +0000

Given how vibrant the streets are, how bright the décor, how the night hums with music and art and the day with its hangover, how famous the postcode is, how creative the area is, it’s surprising that Camden has never had a festival not only celebrating said creativity, but offering inspiration and advice on how to break into the world, for work and play. From the 13th-15th May Camden Create will curate three days of talks, workshops and events in iconic locations such as Proud and The Hawley Arms from the 13^th-15^th May. Part of a wider strategy implemented by Camden Town Unlimited (a group of local businesses who have come together to improve Camden Town as a place to work, live and visit) the event spans art and design, careers, media, entertainment and fashion.
Renowned Camden figures such as Alex Proud (founder of Proud Galleries) and Wayne Hemmingway (fashion designer and co-founder of Red or Dead) are just some of the local names that will be talking about their work and careers and offering advice to those looking to break into the creative industries. The programme is busy: with Comedy nights at The Roundhouse, cruises down Regents Canal with Vestal Voyages and their vodka, Food Walks, Video CV Making workshops, public art and graffiti talks and walks, fashion performances, discussions on the importance of regeneration, and of course plenty of opportunities to mingle, it is three days of social, entertaining, artistic and business focused events, all with the aim of getting people excited about Camden.
Not just a festival of self celebration, it’s a forward thinking and area boosting opportunity – something to be excited about.
Tickets are available here.