Justin and Helen Watson are the creators of the wonderful Manchester label 'Front & Follow'. Their releases over the last few years have been exceptional; including the 'Collision/Detection' series of EPs; Sone Institute's 'A Model Life' from 2012; 'Blind Mouths Eat', the latest album by Doomed Bird of Providence; and the astoundingly good 'The Outer Church' compilation, masterminded with… Continue reading Justin Watson’s 2013 Round-up
Author: earsforeyes
Very amateur music writer
Forebrace – Bad Folds (Copepod)
Forebrace are a new quartet from Alex Ward (clarinet), Jem Doulton (drums), Roberto Sassi (electric guitar), and Santiago Horro (electric bass). ‘Bad Folds’ is a great introduction to the group. It kicks off with the Beefheart-like intensity of Presage’ which confounds attempts to follow its briefly straight lines, a racing and thunderous opener. Other highlights… Continue reading Forebrace – Bad Folds (Copepod)
Boat-Ting – Zolan Quobble/Sylvia Hallett + Key Grant + Caroline Kraabel/Alison Blunt + Gianni Mimmo/Steve Noble + Alex Ward + Shabaka Hutchings – Bar & Co, Temple, 18th November
Shabaka HutchingsOpening this Boat-Ting was the poet Zolan Quobble and his verse featuring angels on pins and dancing photons. This was musical poetry set to an internal beat, rhythmic and absorbing, a perfect opener. Performing next was a trio of Kay Grant (vocals + electronics), Sylvia Hallett (violin + electronics) and Caroline Kraabel (saxophone). They played a… Continue reading Boat-Ting – Zolan Quobble/Sylvia Hallett + Key Grant + Caroline Kraabel/Alison Blunt + Gianni Mimmo/Steve Noble + Alex Ward + Shabaka Hutchings – Bar & Co, Temple, 18th November
Lume – Rachel Musson, Hannah Marshall, Julie Kjaer + Trio Riot – Hundred Crows Rising, Islington, London, 14th November
Julie Kjaer, Hannah Marshall, Rachel MussonTwo trios at tonight’s Lume tackled the trio format with widely differing approaches. Performing first were Rachel Musson (sax), Hannah Marshall, (cello), and Julie Kjaer (sax). They played an improvised set teetering on the edge of the precipice of a noisy canyon; a tight control on their sound kept the… Continue reading Lume – Rachel Musson, Hannah Marshall, Julie Kjaer + Trio Riot – Hundred Crows Rising, Islington, London, 14th November
Tape, Áine O’Dwyer, Slow Listener – Cafe Oto, Dalston, London, 7th November
This great triple-bill at the Café Oto was a night to remember. Main act Tape were somewhere on the post-rock spectrum with lovely winding guitar lines and deep kosmiche hum. Synths and keyboard drones buzzed and crackled around the smooth plains of stringed melodic momentum. As good as this band were, the night belonged to… Continue reading Tape, Áine O’Dwyer, Slow Listener – Cafe Oto, Dalston, London, 7th November
Into the Deep Abstract: an interview with Auditory Field Theory
"Evan": the self-aware glitch algorithm running Auditory Field Theory In the second in a series of interviews with record labels operating in the weird cracks of the internet, we spoke to Evan of Auditory Field Theory. The label released a run of brilliant albums this year: the crackling threat of The Revenant Sea, the brain-rinsing oddness of… Continue reading Into the Deep Abstract: an interview with Auditory Field Theory
Boat-Ting – Steve Noble, Alex Ward + Benedict Taylor, Adam Bohman + Adrian Northover + Catherine Pluygers, God’s Mama, Bar & Co, Temple, London, 4th November
Another great evening of exploratory music was had at this edition of Boat-Ting. The first performance was an excellent solo drum set from Steve Noble featuring maracas, singing gongs, and a tom falling over. Structured around thick punkish lines and splattered periods of controlled chaos; it was virtuosic but unflashy and definitely not without humour:… Continue reading Boat-Ting – Steve Noble, Alex Ward + Benedict Taylor, Adam Bohman + Adrian Northover + Catherine Pluygers, God’s Mama, Bar & Co, Temple, London, 4th November
Áine O’Dwyer – Anything Bright or Startling (Second Language) / Music for Church Cleaners (Fort Evil Fruit)
Áine O'Dwyer is a multi-instrumentalist involved in United Bible Studies, Piano Magic, and The Cloisters, among other projects. Here, we look at two excellent solo albums. 'Anything Bright or Startling' is Aine O'Dwyer's first recording with vocals, an album of bewitching harp compositions. Beginning with 'Falcon/Egress', this album instantly enchants; the thick bass notes delicately picked and scattered among… Continue reading Áine O’Dwyer – Anything Bright or Startling (Second Language) / Music for Church Cleaners (Fort Evil Fruit)
Mats Gustafsson & Thurston Moore – Vi Är Alla Guds Slavar (OTOroku)
‘Vi Är Alla Guds Slavar’, is a recording of an improvised performance from the second night of the Thurston Moore and Mats Gustafsson 2012 two-day residency at the Café Oto. Thurston Moore plays the sort of clanking shivering guitar manipulations familiar from the outer reaches of Sonic Youth’s material, and Mats Gustafsson mainly contributes table-top electronics alongside some… Continue reading Mats Gustafsson & Thurston Moore – Vi Är Alla Guds Slavar (OTOroku)
Ears For Eyes 