the blog of makemassair

Back in January this year I was commissioned to produce a short audio visual ambient inspired piece. This was premièred at the Tate Britain on the 8th of the month. Some of you were lucky enough to come down to the awesome venue and gallery and see what me and my fellow artists had produced. (more details here).

The event Digital City will be screening the complete 12 shorts originally shown at the Late at Tate Quiet Voices event on the 27th March. It sold out really quickly (quicker than I could advertise it lol) but they have 3 tickets to give away, read on:

COMPETITION: We’re chuffed to be sold out, but also gutted that so many who’d like ot be there are unable to, so we are giving away 3 pairs of tickets. All you gotta do is answer this:

Q: Name one of the live acts that played at the first ever Digital City up in an industrial loft, 5 years ago, this march.

Hint: www.digitalcity.org.uk

Please sent your answer to info@digitalcity.org.uk . We will pick the winners a week before the event on 20/3/10.

more info about the event:

It’s taken us over a year to find this absolute beauty of a venue, but Digital City and Names of Nothing return to our secret party roots for a very special night in an utter gem of a warehouse- a secret venue in east London, very close to Hackney Wick.

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….now look what we have in store for you:

Digital City’s 5th Birthday Party (from 7pm):

Digital City will be transforming the venue into a world of screens, where VJ, film and art installation share equal platform with the beats, and will feature:

Active Optics: An interactive video feedback installation. Accompanied by chilled tunes and quality grub

Quiet Voices films: Curated by former Big Chill visuals resident John Rixon. Expect beautiful aural soundscapes and lush cinematic projections to experience, absorb and get lost in.

• Echaskech: Live AV set from the purveyours of arguably the best hypnotic technotronica since the demise & resurrection of Orbital
• DJ BarryDark (techno-electro set)
• Tentonatom Live & DJ set
• DJ Remote (warm beats and glitch set)
• VJs Mach V, Dr Mo and Parallax

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DC will be followed by Names of Nothing (until 7am):

Names of Nothing is an underground night and DJ duo.

Famous for their huge inner-London wood raves, Names of Nothing specialise in parties in different places- be they legal or illegal, indoors or outdoors. Their events revolve around a love for music and music alone and as such Names of Nothing try to maintain that not many people know who they are. It is not for commercial gain and has just built up via reputation and word of mouth over the years.

12 short films exploring and responding to the theme of Quiet Voices:

• RayV: 3 Steps, 3 min 18 sec
• Alex Pearl: Lodgings, 4 min 19 sec
• Annabel Dover: Imperial, 4 min 8 sec
• Bonny John/soundtrack by Input Junkie: A cloudless sky, 7 min
• Animat: A promise of snow, 7 min 36 sec
• Sounds for the Ground – video by MachV: First Light, 5 min 47 sec
• Another Fine Day: Buckets & Spades, 11 min 36 sec
• Emily Richardson: Redshift, 4 min 9 sec
• Lulu Horsfield – soundtrack by Amy Mallet: one hundred, 5 min 6 sec
• Phoebe Rixon – soundtrack by Enrico Coniglio: Mothlight, 2 min 31 sec
• makemassair: Sevenzero, 5 min 40 sec
• Lucy Wilson: 5:48, 5 min 40 sec

“Echaskech may sound lush and atmospheric but this is ambience with teeth…as a live proposition, Echaskech toughen up into a true armoured dance animal with crunching beats and vicious synth snipes as standard…with the addition of Mach V (visuals) Echaskech become a truely immersive audio-visual experience where melody and groove are prime directives.”

DJ Magazine (Fantastic 4 – Hottest four names in dance music)

A short film by Flat-e. The project began life as a film to accompany a performance by the London Sinfonietta of Edgard Vareses Ionisation. An inspiring 20th century composer who pioneered works that cross over into the electronic scene of today.

Sound: Ultre (ultre.co.uk).

In May of 2009 I was asked to provide a short 15min mix for broadcast on the pirate FM station Point Breaks (grab the 11 track, electro fest here). It was received really well by the listeners, show host and the downloaders since. One of those downloaders was the UK producer Paul Blackford (who I had featured a few months earlier on my radio show MANTIS).

Paul Blackford is an electro producer known for his fast bass-driven sound. Heavily inspired by early Rave and Detroit Electro, his first release on Breakin’ Records in 2003 was described as a pioneering UK take on the Detroit Techno Bass sound. Since then, Blackford has released tracks on labels such as WIDE, Deadlock Records and Twilight 76 Records. In 2009 Paul Blackford set up Militant Science as an output for his own and other artists material.

He had been looking for someone to put together a back catalogue mix of his label, Militant Science. He decided on me. So I listened through the really bloody good back catalogue and constructed this 1 hour mix of 49 tracks with samples dotted about the place. I’m really pleased with it. The music provided really got me in the mood and the feedback so far has been fantastic and much more than expected.

You can only get the mix at Junodownload, have a listen to the samples they’ve provided. It’s a fast rolling, electro heavy, breaks smattering mix.

For more info on me as DVNT and my DJing and radio show, head over to darkfloor.co.uk

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I’ve mentioned this before and I can’t quite believe it’s happening this Friday, 8th January 2010, but it is and to say I’m excited is quite the understatement.

I was commissioned by the Big Chill festival’s visual curator John Rixon early in 2009 to produce a short audio visual piece based around the theme of Quiet Voices. John was really interested in my Downbeaten Exploratory series of mixes I produced in late 2008 and early 2009 (of which I will be doing new ones in 2010, grab the first 2 here) and was aware of my editing and video production work. I’ve been to a few Late at Tate events before and the quality of work blows me away, so to be asked to provide a piece for the event is quite an honour.

My piece, sevenzero, is my interpretation of ambient. It’s not really background sound, nor is it stuff that demands your complete attention. In my opinion it nestles somewhere in between. Comprised of footage filmed on location in Scotland with sound produced specifically for this piece.

If you can make it down, feel free to come over and say hi.

Quiet Voices, curated by former Big Chill visuals resident John Rixon, is an ambient audio-visual feast. Featuring Roger Eno and Dom Theobald, Jon Hopkins, Laura B and Graina, John Rixon and Simon Wild, Animat and Alucidnation. Together with a short film programme exploring the nature of ‘quiet’, expect an evening of beautiful aural soundscapes and lush cinematic projections.

Auditorium
19.00 & 20.30
12 short films exploring and responding to the theme of Quiet Voices.

RayV: 3 Steps, 3 min 18 sec
Alex Pearl: Lodgings, 4 min 19 sec
Annabel Dover: Imperial, 4 min 8 sec
Bonny John/soundtrack by Input Junkie: A cloudless sky, 7 min
Animat: A promise of snow, 7 min 36 sec
Sounds for the Ground – video by MachV: First Light, 5 min 47 sec
Another Fine Day: Buckets & Spades, 11 min 36 sec
Emily Richardson: Redshift, 4 min 9 sec
Lulu Horsfield – soundtrack by Amy Mallet: one hundred, 5 min 6 sec
Phoebe Rixon – soundtrack by Enrico Coniglio: Mothlight, 2 min 31 sec
makemassair: Sevenzero, 5 min 40 sec
Lucy Wilson: 5:48, 5 min 40 sec

Big fan of the United Visual Artists work. They are constantly pushing themselves and their work is always inspiring and cohesive.

Massive Attack ‘United Snakes’ directed by United Visual Artists.

United Visual Artists are a British-based collective whose current practice spans permanent architectural installation, live performance and responsive installation. Research and development is a core part of our process – enabling us to constantly explore new fields, as well as re-examining more established ones.

We aim to work on a diverse and expanding range of projects, drawn from the commercial and non-commercial arenas, and to collaborate with a wide range of artists and companies.

iri5, as they are known on flickr has created this piece amongst others. Quite impressive really, I’d be interested to know the technique involved.

Ghost in the Machine: Jimi Hendrix out of cassette, commission, 2009
(cassette is real, no paint, no photoshop)

He has also done Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison, which you can check out here

Musically The Raveonettes have that stripped mellon collic darkness about them, and this video for their track Black + White helps to  illustrates that well. This music video was directed by Chris Do and is a visual metaphorical representation of the colours black + white.

“Black and White” utilizes light and shadow to convey the opposing themes of the piece, including love/hate, life/death, young/old, daydream/nightmare, and ugliness/beauty. The narrative unfolds through an innovative mix of shadow puppetry and animation, as two-dimensional characters come alive in a colorless world, underscored by The Raveonettes’ haunting vocals. A majority of the elements used in the video were shot in-camera, and puppeteers’ hands and rigging are often left in the shots to create a more spontaneous and organic aesthetic.

Further info and production images over at BL:ND

Those of you that know me, know that I have a big love for Jeff Mills and he was recently interviewed in the Wire. What follows is the first page

Jeff Mills Interview by Derek Walmsley

D: Your work recently has started looking beyond the dancefloor. When did that start?

J: Well, around 2000, people were very fearful, there was Y2K, the world’s about to come to an end, and this whole kind of what-if kind of scenario, so I made an album based on that. And that was really the beginning of this period. (more…)

Just a quickie to let you know that I am having a mix aired on the London station Resonance FM this Tuesday for the rather spiffing Marvin Suicide show.

You can tune in on the old FM dial (if you’re in London) by heading over to 104.4FM, or those not lucky enough to be in the area can tune in online over at resonancefm.com (or click here).

It airs from 13:30 to 14:00 this Tuesday 27th January 2009.

If you do miss the show then you will be able to pick up the mix from the Marvin Suicide podcast, details of which will follow shortly after airing.

Massive thanks going out to the Marvin Suicide show for airing the mix.

Recorded live from the Bristol leg of the VOID vs BRAP SOUTH COAST TOUR Autumn 2008. Was a great gig, really nice venue and had a great reception to the set. We’re doing another all dayer in Feb, check the Void site for details.

[DOWNLOAD]

Tracklisting
Robag Wruhme – Wuzzelbud Kk [Musik Krause]
Nesha Tehnika – Shadows [Diggarama]
Monolake – Decay [monolake.de]
Fujin – Block Raid (Grizzla Remix) [Bombtraxx Records]
Red Box Recorder – Hoovers in the Barn [Acroplane]
+ Byetone – Grand Style [Raster Noton]
+ Human Resource – Dominator (Is Hell The One And Only Dominator) (DJ Hell Dub Mix) [Noom Records]
Unknown – Unknown [dubplate]
Human Resource – Dominator (Is Hell The One And Only Dominator) (DJ Hell Dub Mix) [Noom Records]
+ M25 – You Know The Fucking Score [B Rave Records]
Grooverider – Where’s Jack the Ripper (Tipper Remix) [Higher Ground]
Esse – The Beach (Few Nolder Remix) [Knobs]
Fabrics – Hypnos [Xynthetic]
+ Unknown – Summer Breemix [dubplate]
Horace Andy – Youth of Today (Suspect Remix) [dubplate]
Bassnectar feat. Kristinamaria – Yo [Om]
Mathew Jonson – Decompression [M_Nus]
+ Dropout – Bukkake [Antiritmo]
+ LFO – Freak [Warp]
Let’s Go Outside – I Can’t Sleep [The End Club Series]
Neo Filigrante – Hittin The Jack [NeoFiligrante.de]
Dropout – Bukkake [Antiritmo]
+ Quadrat Beat – Rasoblade (Mars Remix) [dubplate]
Si Begg – Better Living Through Distortion (Si Beggs Have I Gone Too Far? Remix) [Noodles]
Andy Page – Mr Rush [Distinct'ive Breaks Records]
M25 – You Know The Fucking Score [B Rave Records]
Vadz – I was Wondering (Debasser Remix) [WIDE]
+ Blackmass Plastics – Smoke Monster [dubplate]
DJ SS – Black (Blackmass Plastics Remix) [dubplate]
+ LFO – Freak [Warp]
LFO – Freak [Warp]
Bitstream – Bass Movements [Modern Love]
Takomo – Modula [Enough Records]
ANTROPIK – Black Rain [Jarring Effects]
[DOWNLOAD]