The Beam enters The Science Museum

Copies of The Simonsound science fantasy escapism record 'The Beam' will be available to buy at London's Science Museum from the 24th of June as part of The Poundshop.

The Poundshop is an art project with the goal of spreading design to a wider audience and create a platform for designers to sell their items with minimal risk in our pop-up shops. The Poundshop creates a bespoke interior for each shop and curates a unique product range selling wares that are well designed and have a function for the fantastic prices of £1, £5 and £10.

I have to admit to a sense of excitement at having this particular record for sale in a place that is full of science wonder and space adventure. It feels like the perfect home. I'm hoping to attend the launch event which coincides with Science Museum Lates, which this month explores The Next Big Thing.


black channels 10" on Death Waltz Originals

I'm pleased to be able to announce that my project with Becky Randall is getting its first physical release on Death Waltz Originals (Death Waltz is the soundtrack re-issue label which has previously released records by John Carpenter, Ennio Morricone and Clint Mansell). The 10" vinyl will feature 3 tracks and will be available in a limited edition and standard edition on the 17th of July 2015.

Here is the sleeve artwork by Luke Insect.

My favorite soundtracks - Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

This film is all about loops. Tape loops & narrative loops. As ghostly fragments of sound echo and distort on tape spools, the story of a British sound engineer out of his comfort zone in a 1970s Italian horror film studio unravels within the hazy mist of a nightmare. We watch as Gilderoy struggles to cope with the dark nature of the film within a film, 'Equestrian Vortex'.

The band Broadcast are the perfect match for this, their music has always mined and ultimately transcended the rich seam of strange soundtracks and library music of the '60s and '70s. This film blends music and sound design in such a way as to blur those boundaries to brilliant effect. A real treat for sound and music lovers.


My favorite soundtracks - Utopia (2014)

I just picked up the Utopia series 2 soundtrack album on Record Store Day. I have to admit that I don't like all of the music from the brilliant Channel 4 TV series. Some of the more uptempo cues veer on the wrong side of cheese for me and those off beat chords always make me think of bad reggae, BUT all of that can be forgiven due to the absolutely astonishing amount of programming and sound design that really makes this soundtrack shine. There are so many off the wall and unexpected sounds that creep in to every cue, twisting and mutating like the story it underscores  - a truly original piece of work. Fragments of voices (sampled voice is used heavily throughout the work), manipulated choir, squelchy bass lines, found percussion and loads of distortion feature throughout, but it is the more subtle cues that really standout for me.

Vinyl copies are pretty scarce (It was released as a limited edition issued for Record Store Day), but if you search hard enough I'm sure you'll uncover a copy.

My favorite soundtracks - Planet of the Apes (1968)

Jerry Goldsmith's percussion heavy soundtrack for Planet of the Apes took avant-garde dissonance and techniques from musique concrete in to the cinema. Echoplex strings, stainless steel mixing bowls, swirling violent violins, bursts of piano and a host of percussive instruments conjured up this 'other world' that was familiar and yet so totally alien.

The film's mind bending climax (penned by The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling and which tapped in to society's heightened fear of nuclear annihilation) stunning Oscar Award winning make up and costume design and Goldsmith's Oscar nominated score helped Planet of the Apes break box office records.


My favorite soundtracks - Mala Morska Vila (1976)

This Czech version of the Hans Christian Anderson Little Mermaid fairytale is the most dreamlike realisation of an underwater world you will ever see on the screen. The Zdenek Liska soundtrack is haunting, mixing orchestral and electronic elements that resonate with the intensity of the sea. There are deep electronic oscillations in here that feel like living organisms, and tightly filtered tuned white noise is used to dramatic effect. Composer Liska also used on set recordings effected and manipulated to add yet another layer of unreality.

The film itself is currently unavailable to buy.  The full soundtrack can be purchased from obscure soundtrack hunters Finders Keepers, whose Doug Shipton I have to thank for introducing me to this masterpiece of European cinema.

 

My favorite soundtracks - Forbidden Planet (1956)

It's easy to forget just how pioneering this soundtrack was at the time.  The use of electronic sound and music within films was relatively unheard of, and Forbidden Planet's soundtrack was the first to be comprised solely of electronic sounds, most of which could be quite challenging to general listeners heard in isolation.  Of course similar electronic experimentation was going on at this time, but none that reached the audiences of a major motion picture from MGM.  The richness and range of sounds that Louis and Bebe Barron conjured from their basic analogue oscillators is inspiring and perfectly complimented the strange futuristic world visited in the films story.  There was a bitter twist to the story though as movie execs downgraded the Barrons' credit to 'Electronic Tonalities' which they believe robbed them of an Oscar nomination.

Buy the album here.

Listen to this brilliant BBC radio documentary about the soundtrack and the Barrons, by Ken Hollings.

 

 

My favorite soundtracks - Assault on Precinct 13 (1978)

The first in a regular look at some of my favorite soundtracks. With so many to choose from its a tricky task, but here goes.

First up is John Carpenter's stark electronic score for his first feature film Assault on Precinct 13. The film itself is a pretty straight forward 'police under siege' story and is a great example of how a soundtrack can lift an otherwise unspectacular movie. Simple DIY electronics created using borrowed equipment, provide wavering synthesizer tones and repetitive primary drum machine rhythms, more noise than definable as actual drums, which lift the film and give it the cult status it rightly deserves. Its a powerfully evocative score that hints at later work to come in Escape From New York.

Recently re-issued by Death Waltz Records in a stunning package.

Govindpuri Sound

In my role as a freelance Studio Manager my creative input is usually limited - I'm responsible for capturing broadcast quality recordings and then editing and mixing them ready for transmission. Every now and again a project comes along that offers the opportunity for a little more creative  collaboration with the producer, in this case Dr Tom Rice, a sound anthropologist. His programme, Govindpuri Sound explores the sound of Delhi's Govindpuri slums.

Slum settlements have a strong visual identity. We are used to seeing TV footage of densely packed, ramshackle homes squeezed onto strips of land in inner cities. In this documentary for BBC World Service, Dr Tom Rice – a sound anthropologist – takes an alternative perspective and explores what a slum sounds like and how this embodies and reflects the local culture.

Govindpuri Sound
BBC World Service - 8PM-9PM Sunday 1st February 2015.

Dark Ride

During the 2014 Brighton Digital Festival, Persistent Peril and Paul Hayes created their very own miniature 'dark ride' (an indoor amusement ride where riders usually travel in some kind of vehicle) using Lego Monorail. The ride traveled through fantastic lands created by Lucy Irving, and members of the public could even 'ride' aboard the Monorail using virtual reality goggles.

Following The Simonsound Monorail trip in 2013 (a journey in electronic sound, released on 10" vinyl with a map of the ride) I've been pretty obsessed with theme parks and Imagineers - the men and women behind some of best immersive ride experiences at Disney Theme Parks. In the team behind Persistent Peril, I found kindred spirits equally mad about such things. I gladly provided a sonic treatment, featuring Buchla Electric Music Box and Aalto Synthesizer for this on board video.

For more like this take a ride aboard Monorail SS MkI and don't forget to purchase your souvenir record and map!

Two Knocks For Yes

I created this Radiophonic collage for Halloween. I'd really enjoyed this article by Adam Curtis and wanted to do something using excerpts from the archive material featured.

Explore the poltergeist phenomenon with this 30 minute radiophonic collage, featuring recordings from British cases including the famous 'Enfield Haunting'. Electronic oscillations courtesy of the Buchla 200e Electric Music Box; manipulated frequencies courtesy of the Critter & Guitari Kaleidoloop.

I love projects like this that see my two worlds of music and radio collide. I just wish there were more outlets for such work. It would be fantastic to create a radio drama with the same kind of treatment....

Explore the poltergeist phenomenon with this 30 minute radiophonic collage, featuring recordings from British cases including the famous 'Enfield Haunting'. Electronic oscillations courtesy of the Buchla 200e Electric Music Box; manipulated frequencies courtesy of the Critter & Guitari Kaleidoloop. For more info on the cases featured in this collage please go to - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/posts/the_ghosts_in_the_living_room

Testing the Stone Tape theory

I'll be testing the Stone Tape theory again this Friday at The Phoenix Gallery in Brighton. Expect heavy oscillations, eerie modulations and unholy frequencies from my Buchla Electric Music Box.

The event will also feature films and performance from Ian Helliwell, and more music from Trying to Kill Me and Adam Cobell.

8PM - The Phoenix Gallery, Brighton. £2 on the door.

Fort Process - photo by Agata Urbaniak

Fort Process - photo by Agata Urbaniak