Pauline Boty's Nightmare

Here is a clip  from the 1962  program Pop Goes The Easel, directed by Ken Russell. In this clip the Artist Pauline Boty (1938 - 1966) is chased down the corridors of the BBC TV Centre. These scenes have been re-scored by victorialicus38 using music produced by Delia Derbyshire. The full version of Pop goes the Easel can be seen here. At the time Boty was part of the emerging UK Pop Art scene. Also featured in The Pop goes The Easel Doc are Derek Boshier, Peter Phillips and Peter Blake. Sadly Pauline Boty died of Cancer in 1966 at the age of 28. For a truly in-depth look at Pauline Boty and her work,  I suggest that you pop along to the Sparks in the Electrical Jelly Blog..........of you go now.

New Album 2013

Finally getting somewhere with the new album. Its title (at the moment) is Boxes Windows and Secret Hiddy-Holes, and If all goes to plan should be available as a CD and Digital download from Bandcamp in Feb 2013. Due to a lack of work I had in the summer, I managed to crack on with the album and get quite a bit done, and it was originally due out this year. But then out of the Blue a sudden influx of work (I am not complaining honest) has now put this project on hold, and I do not have enough time on my hands to get it all finished this year. So 2013 it is. Have had a few of the tunes on Soundcloud for a while, but thought I would put them all here. Makes it all nice and tidy. And we do like tidy round here.

Some Recent Vinyl Finds

Some of this months vinyl finds.

The Eccentronic Research Council - 1612 Underture

Only came across this the other day in the Guardian, and knew I had to get a copy fast. The Eccentronic Research Council consist of  Adrian Flanagan, Maxine Peake and Dean Honer. The 1612 Underture is a 12 chapter sound poem based of the mistreatment and memory of the Pendle Witches who were executed in Lancashire, England, on 20 August 1612; Elizabeth Device, James Device, Alizon Device, Anne Whittle (aka Chattox), Anne Redferne. Jane Bulcock, John Bulcock, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt and Jennet Preston, as well as the accused Alice Grey and Elizabeth Southerns (aka Old Demdike) who died while awaiting trial (Finders Keepers). The track Another Witch is Dead has the wonderful line Contains Greens and Worms and Carrots, 16th Century Holland and Barrett. The album really does sound quite wonderful and is out now on Finders Keepers off shoot Bird. 

Highdown Rocket Site

Finally managed to pay the Highdown Rocket Site on the Isle of Wight a visit. I have gone on about Highdown elsewhere on this blog so I will not go into to much detail here, and drone on about it all over again, apart from to say that Highdown, was the static test area for the UK's Black Arrow and Black Knight rockets from 1954-1972. Have to admit I was very excited about finally visiting this place, and must say I was not disappointed. The former control rooms of the site now house the exhibition space, which is small, but very informative with lots of old black and white photos of men dressed in lab coats sitting at banks of equipment. It all looks and feels very much like something out of an old Quatermass film. At times you can almost feel the excitement and enthusiasm that these scientists must have had, knowing that they were working (on a very tight budget) on what could be the UK's own independent space program. Alas it was not to be and after one successful Satellite launch (Prospero) the UK Rocket/Space program was shut down, and the Highdown Test Site was dismantled and all but forgotten. Then in 2003 volunteers and the National Trust started to clear the site. It was finally opened to the public in 2004, but is definitely an on going process of restoration. Its a bit of a hike to the Highdown site, but if you drive its only £4 to park for the day at the Needles car park. Then its a bimble along the cliff path to the Needles Battery. The only mistake I made that day was to go into the Needles park, which is pretty dire and grim (over priced fast food and very dodgy coffee)

I managed to climb down and get into the observation blockhouse. This is where the safety Officer monitored the static tests at the gantries to the left and right of the blockhouse.

Inside the blockhouse

Gantry One

Some of the equipment, on display in the old control room.

Peter Strickland Interview Berberian Sound Studio

Director Peter Strickland talks about his new film Berberian Sound Studio which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in June. Starring Toby Jones with a soundtrack by Broadcast.
1976: Berberian Sound Studio is one of the cheapest, sleaziest post-production studios in Italy. Only the most sordid horror films have their sound pro- cessed and sharpened in this studio. Gilderoy (Toby Jones), a naive and introverted sound engineer from England is hired to orchestrate the sound mix for the latest film by horror maestro, Santini (Antonio Mancino). Thrown from the innocent world of local documentaries into a foreign environment fuelled by exploitation, Gilderoy soon finds himself caught up in a forbidding world of bitter actresses, capricious technicians and confounding bureaucracy. The longer Gilderoy spends mixing screams and the bloodcurdling sounds of hacked vegetables, the more homesick he becomes for his garden shed studio in his hometown of Dorking. His mother’s letters alternate between banal gos- sip and an ominous hysteria, which gradually mirrors the black magic of Santini’s film. As both time and realities shift, Gilderoy finds himself lost in an otherworldly spiral of sonic and personal mayhem, and has to confront his own demons in order to stay afloat in an environment ruled by exploitation both on and off screen.
If you can't catch it on thee old big screen, the Film has got a DVD release date of Dec 2012-Feb 2013 this is gonna be a must for me.

Tangerine Dream German TV 1971

Found this wonderful old film of Tangerine Dream on YouTube from 1971. Bit of an oddity because on YouTube for some reason its been called Ricochet 1??????? and its definitely not Ricochet. Not 100% sure what the track is? Some people on YouTube think its Fly and collision of comas sola from the album Alpha Centauri others think its Journey Through a Burning Brain from Electronic Meditation? Whatever its called it sounds superb and really gets going at 5.46. At times it sounds in a similar vein to More/Zabriskie Point/Careful With That Axe Eugene era Pink Floyd. Pheadra and the sequencer were only a few years away.

Test Transmission Archive Reel 10 (Garden Mix)

Originally mixed for The Garden of Earthly Delights Radio Show 10/08/2012. On this mix we have Kryzsztof Komeda, Billy Childish & Sexton Ming, The Wendingo, Belbury Poly, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Derek Scotts Moog Killer Watts, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and tons more for your listening pleasure. I am of on my Hols now. A few projects (Mr Stevens and Album) and work to sort out for the Autumn. If all goes well Archive Reel 11 will be ready for November (where does the year go????)

A New Tune. Who knows?????

Finished recording the new album a while ago and decided to have a break while it was being mastered. Through a lack of work at the moment I had some spare time and got bored, so started working on a new track. This was what I came up with. A work in progress that might get longer or shorter. Who knows?????

The new album should be out in the New Year.

Oramics to Electronica

Finally got round to paying a visit to The Oramics to Electronica Exhibition at The Science Museum the other day. Been looking forward to this for quite some time now, and was not disappointed. In general the exhibition covers the work of 3 pioneering British studios (EMS, The Radiophonic Workshop and Daphne Oram's studio in Kent. With lots of display cabinets containing Synths (Wasp VCS Fairlight) bits and bobs from the Radiophonic Workshop and of course Daphne Oram's magnificent Oramics Machine. My only minor criticism (its not really a criticism) is that it would have been nice if the exhibition had been a tad larger, with maybe some more installations, perhaps also including work produced by FC Judd and maybe even Joe Meek.  But of course I do realise that this was not a definitive look at everybody and everything to do with early British electronic music, and electronic music pioneers. Maybe that would be something for the organisers of this exhibition to consider at a later date. Anyway I really enjoyed this exhibition and if this sounds like your thing, then you can't go wrong with paying it a visit. But be quick because its only on until 1st of December.

The Oramics Machine

 The Mighty Fairlight

VCS 3 (Putney)

The Wasp

Daphne Oram and Peter Sellers

Radiophonic Workshop items

The Garden Vaults Aug 2010

Just got an email from The Head Gardener at The Garden of Earthly Delights informing me that my session for The Garden from Aug 2010 (has it really been that long) has now been put onto Mixcloud here.  The 3 tracks for the session were Highdown, Tom's Dark Science and Residential Alchemy. All of which ended up on my album Consistently Mediocre and Daydreams.  What a top chap The Head Gardener is.

Thibaud Ou Les Croisades (Desert Crusader)

Thibaud Ou Les Croisades or Desert Crusader as it was called in the UK was first aired in the UK in 1972. The story basically concerned  a half French half Arab Knight galloping around the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades, getting into all sorts of trouble and scrapes and saving the day. The program was dubbed for an English audiance, the sets looked pretty bad and the fight scenes were pretty laughable. But all that said it made great viewing for an 8 year old me, and I must say I never missed an episode. What is interesting about the series is how it deals with the relationships between Muslam and Christian or as Elizabeth Chadwick points out the serious themes are treated thoughtfully and actually with a touch that is far more subtle and in keeping with the period than something like Kingdom of Heaven. The interraction between Christians and Muslims is one of people rather than idealogies. The theme music to Desert Crusader like The Flashing Blade was wonderful, all very dramatic and rousing, and many a game of Desert Crusader was played in the School playground, with one major problem....... who would be the Desert Crusader? who would be his side kick? and who would have to die at the hands of the Desert Crusader by the end of the break. Its worth checking out Elizabeth Chadwicks Blog page for much more info on The Desert Crusader.

The Garden Mix Friday 10th Aug 2012

I have been asked by the Head Gardener to supply a Mix for the Garden of Earthly Delights Radio show on CRMK Radio. The Mix will be broadcast on Friday 10th of August. I will upload the mix to Mixcloud as Test Transmission Archive Reel 10 at a later date. This will be my 2nd Mix for The Garden and the Head Gardener. The last Mix for The Garden can be heard here.

Test Transmission Archive Reel 9 by Keith Seatman on Mixcloud

Test Transmission Archive Reel 9 now on Mixcloud. This time round we have music from Simon Heartfield, King Crimson, The Mike Sammes Singers, Plone, Abominations of Yondo, Douglas E Powell, Dick Mills and tons more to wet your whistle.

au revoir Minitel

1982 - 2012

Charity Shop LP Finds

Have had some really good charity shop LP finds recently. BBC Hi Tech FX, Honky Tonk Nickelodeons, The Many Moogs of Killer Watts, Mike Sammes Singers, Pentangle and a very Persuasive Percussion. Side one of the BBC Hi Tech album has lots of Computor/Fax/Printer/Disc Drive effects, but side 2 has some wonderful compositions by Dick Mills, Malcolm Clarke and Simon Hancock. Killer Watts is an odd one lots of Moog variations of film scores. Good the Bad and the Ugly is entertaining but Amazing Grace is down right dire and cringe worthy. The last track Now Here This is a composition by Derek Scott who plays most of the Moogs (and an ARP 2600 as well) on the Album and is an absolute corker. I do intend to use this track and others from these LPs on Mixcloud later in the year.

Splitting the Atom VII a Grand Day Out.

Had a wonderful time playing at Splitting the Atom VII in Brighton on Saturday 23rd June. Got there a tad early with my friend Mr Packer (who carried my extra baggage and bought me beer) but we also had to leave early later in the day to get a train so missed AK/DK, but really enjoyed all that I saw. Before I went and got my lunch I caught The Bald Knobbers. I have seen these chaps before and really enjoy the wonderful cacophony of sound that they create with Drums and Bass and Sax and Bells and Violins and everything else that seems to come to hand. Also bumped into one of the Noteherder and McCload chaps, and had a chat. Saw Noteherder and McCloud at a previous Splitting the Atom, and very much like what they do. Later in the day I caught Andi Brown (These Feathers Have Plumes) Andi produces what can only be described as a beautiful haunting soundscape using 3 or 4 large Brandy glasses filled to a certain level with water. Then by running her finger round the glass rim and also using a violin bow the sound is treated using various effects to create her soundscape. Definitely worth catching if you can. I also played a set myself which was very well recieved, but alas due to my stupid camera deciding not to work I have no movies pics or audio of my set. A great day in a good venue organised by the very helpful (thanks for the table)  Mr Graham Newbury (Club Zygotic) who informed me that he had in fact recorded my set. So there is a chance that I might get a copy of it at a later date. Thanks to Graham Geoff and everyone else who helped me on the day and made me feel very welcome. I hope to return?

Len Lye

Len Lye was born in 1901 in Christchurch New Zealand and is mainly known for his work as an experimental Film maker and his Kinetic sculptures. As a Student Lye became interested in experimenting with kinetic sculptures and developed a desire to make films. In 1926 Lye moved to London and joined the Seven and Five Society (later to be renamed The Seven and Five Abstract Group), and began to make films for the GPO film unit and later The Crown Film Unit producing wartime public Information Films. A collection of Lye's work and Kinetic sculptures can be seen at the Govet Brewster Art Gallery New Zealand. "One of my art teachers put me onto trying to find my own art theory. After many morning walks...an idea hit me that seemed like a complete revelation. It was to compose motion, just as musicians compose sound. [ The idea ] was to lead me far, far away from wanting to excel in...traditional art." Len Lye

New Album track A Slight of Hand (excerpt)

Yet another track of the new album, which now has a title and artwork (more of that later). The album will probably not see the light of day until the New Year. This tune was jointly written with my friend Mr Packer, who also plays Bass on it. For the 1st time in a few years I dug my Guitar out of the loft and used it on this track.

The New Sound of Music

In 1979 the BBC produced this documentry, presented by Michael (Screen Test) Rodd which was about the rise of new technology in music. From Barrel Organs Pianolas and Phonograph to the VCS 3, The Yamaha CS-80. Many faces from the BBC Radiophonic workshop. Malcolm Clarke demostrates the Synthi 100, Dick Mills works on sound effects for Doctor Who using a VCS3 unit, and Elizabeth Parker uses bubble sounds to create music for an academic film on particle physics. The presenter Michael Rodd tinkers with some tape splicing and creates some Musique Concrete. Peter Zinovieff of EMS fame (VCS3 Synthi A) is featured using his computer music studio to create some electronic variations on classic vintage scores. 
I personally loved this program, because many many years ago I was in a position where I had to create sounds from nothing and work with Reel to Reels Tape Splicing and some very old analogue equipment (some of which is still around) All good fun really. In fact I recently converted quite a few of these sounds to digital files. Should do something with them one day.