Meet: The Telescopes
In the many turbulent winters that enveloped our delicate island since the formation of The Telescopes in 1987, Stephen Lawrie and Co. have sought to plant subversive little seeds into the tortured soil of our cultural landscape. Each seed could be differentiated from its sisters by her shape, weight and age, as well as by …
Psych Insight: EP Review – BEAK><KAEB
When watching the London-based art rock collective, Rude Mechanicals, perform at Kent’s Homespun festival earlier this month, a friend of mine observed that all of the band’s five members appeared to be various manifestations of Brian Eno’s split personalities. There was Roxy Eno, with long, bleached hair blasting his way through a saxophone solo; Dr. Eno, transcribing …
News: Thurston Moore to perform Pussy Riot’s Zona.Media event
Thurston Moore has announced that he will be headlining a guerrilla show, in support of Pussy Riot, at London’s Village Underground tonight. Moore is billed to appear along with his band, which includes among its ranks My Bloody Valentine’s former bass player, Debbie Googe. Explaining his support for the Pussy Riot cause, Moore stated that: …
Psych Insight: EP Review – Array 1 by Loop
When the Pixies released the first of their three EPs after a prolonged absence, back in 2013, many suspected that the decision to stagger their new material was deliberately made to circumvent the critical emphasis that would have been inevitably placed on the songs, had they been released together in the traditional album format. It’s …
Festival Review: Raw Power 2015
Above: Circle – All photography by the author. You would be forgiven for thinking that a festival with a name like Raw Power would promote a very specific style of music. One pictures a hoard of hard rock bands whose members never really grew out of their Black Sabbath phase, their music a slow variation …
News: Terry Riley’s 80th Birthday
Lost Property, Brighton’s alternative arts collective, will be curating an event in celebration of Terry Riley‘s birthday on Saturday 27 June. The American composer, who turns 80 this year, will be commemorated by having his pivotal masterwork, In C, performed by a 25-piece ensemble. Led by Adam Bushel, the ensemble will consist of players of …
Exclusive Mix: Sebastian Melmoth Datacast
In a shameless bid of self promotion, I thought it would be a good idea to share with avid Backseat Mafia readers an exclusive mix Sebastian Melmoth prepared for a French sound art collective last month. DotData is a small itinerant net label based in Rennes and Paris. Their visual aesthetic blends monochromatic dream sequences with …
News: Dead Rat Orchestra announce 18 date UK Tour
Now traversing their second decade, the ambitious post-folk trio, Dead Rat Orchestra, embark on an eighteen-date multimedia performance tour of English public execution sites. The work will comprise of a live soundtrack to James Holcombe‘s new film, Tyburnia. Named after London’s ‘Tyburn Tree’ gallows, the experimental film explores the different social and historical events surrounding …
Say Psych: Album Review – Keeper of the Dawn by Ancient River
At a time when every man and his bong can be said to be exploring the final frontier with cathedral reverb plastered all over their stoned guitar noodling, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand apart from the rabble. Ancient River try their best at saying something new by, perversely, not saying very much at …
Album Review: Mark Lanegan Band – A Thousand Miles of Midnight
Since forming the Screaming Trees in the mid-1980s Mark Lanegan has been viewed as a welcome figure on the alternative rock periphery. He has collaborated with everyone from Queens of the Stone Age and Greg Dulli (the Afghan Whigs/Gutter Twins) to Belle and Sebastian’s Isobel Campbell. For about thirty years, his prolific output has varied in …