In May I took part in an event at Manchester’s Futuresonic media and arts festival entitled ‘The Importance of Being Analogue’. This was a giant jamboree of analogue electronic enthusiasts and performers with all kinds of synths and modulars. We also played a theremin trio with Nachtsmeer and Alexx. You can now download all the recordings from the day here:
http://www.4shared.com/dir/7552716/1ea940b4/sharing.html
It’s a compiled a CD that you can dowload on demand to burn your own copies. One folder has the WAV files, theother 128KBit/S MP3s.There is also some nice artwork to print a CD jewel case insert in both PDF and Microsplurf Publisher format.
You can make copies to distribute and they can also distribute them on, under the GNU public license. But if any of the material is incorporated in another work, that also automatically comes under the GNU public license.
There’s also a bit of video of me playing on the day here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34LkzLrxsw
Enjoy!
’ve been to a few shows lately, but as this website atests I’m a craply slow blogger so here’s a mini-selection of some of my favourite recent live shows from April 08.
Current 93 and Baby Dee, Royal Festival Hall, London
A glorified freak show filled the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall – the pierced, body-modified, elven faced underclass who truly live in the dark side. Starspotting: Sleazy (TG, Coil), big old ugly fellow. Support was by Baby Dee, a truly strange harpist and vaudeville macabre singer and deep south hick who reminded me of a bag lady version of Madge from Neighbours. Trans-gender apparently (she should get her money back). I quite enjoyed her/his falsetto quirkiness, typical of the acts David Tibet (Tibs) champions through his Durtro label like (Mercury prize winners) Anthony & the Johnsons and (tulip tiptoer/paedophile) Tiny Tim (basically, vocalists that make Tibs sound like the equivalent of Mariah Carey). No doubt Tibs is secretly fuming “it should have been me!” when another of his proteges head to the stars, collecting gongs en route whilst he lies in impoverished obscurity (or so he claims).
However, the night endorsed quite the opposite – David Tibet is the true star whose light guides others. That night he was a god, and the former members of the Temple of Psychick Youth in his band and audience worshipped at his apocalyptic alter. I’ve always had mixed feelings about Tibs/Curent 93 – I love the concept and obviously I’ve nicked/applauded many of the ideas with Hypnotique. But at its worst the music is mediocre and repetitive, Tibet self-indulgent. The email newsletters with endless updates on the health of his cat and religious beliefs were nauseous. Then there’s the stories I’ve heard from a former-boyfriend who was a former-friend of Tibs & Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus) that did little to endear me, realising the unhealthy power of the cult leader and gang mentality which I seek to reject in my own inner-solitary way of living.
Regardless, Tibs has a rare gift of communication, of aura, of transfixing the ether. His 9-piece band (incuding Andrew WK, all a bit rough in places but generally getting the spirit) conducted by Tibs took us on a journey full of not only dark shadows but light – pathos and joy. Guest appearances by Anthony (of ‘and the Johnsons’) and a mini-set of acoustic songs about a medieval homosexual poet by Marc Almond from his new album were delightful and showed just how deeply the spirit of Tibs has infected British music culture. Almond, camp old queen he is, almost outshined Tibs with his showmanship, a perfect execution of ‘pizzazz’. I got a last minute return ticket, last seat in the house, and was sat next to an older business gent in a suit who’d got the 1/2 return tickets. He didn’t know any of the bands but said he was in town with work and decided to pop along because he liked Marc Almond. May have got quite a shock…
Tibs claims to be the reluctant performer, UK shows are very rare and he seems to want the life of a reclusive fine artist rather than an acclaimed musician (although fine, is art work is not). But that is front – Tibs is gifted to perform, uplift and take us all into his apocalyptic Catholic world of sin, penance and run with all the pretty horses between. Uplifting.
Merzbow, De Montfort University, Leicester
I’ve always won the ‘D’ for ‘Dunce’ cap, but I thought Merzbow was more of an ambient electronic act. So I got a bit of an audio noise shock at this show. It was a collaboration with what seemed like a university lecturer and his class of music technology undergrads (an all-male collection of hairy, bearded 20-something wearing a range of extrodinary head wear). They had made their own buzzy, oscillator machines inside tin cans. The performance juxtaposed segments of the students making free-improv sounds with extremely loud sonic manipulation from Japan’s “King of Noise”. He remained very stoney faced behind the laptop, and the black box theatre setting gave the performance a hushed, reverent quality befitting the academic surroundings. Afterwards I wanted to bow to him. Totally mastery of the pure digital noise manipulation, with total control. Wish I’d brought some earplugs. You know what they say, “If it’s too loud…”
Billy Childish, Art Organisation, Nottingham
Like Felix Kubin’s show in Nottingham last month, this was another less than satisfying visit by a seminal figure to be received by a less than wholesome audience turnout. “This is the last time we play in Scotland. Next time, tell your friends to come – if you’ve got any,” Childish barked in jovial cockney-fashion, unaware that actually 50 is an amazing turnout for anything here. It is rare he plays this far north, and that in itself is a lesson to build your fanbase outwards at any time in your career. Never live solely in the M25 bubble.
Billy Childish is thought to be one of the most prolific artists of the punk/post-punk generation, releasing over 100 albums, 2000 paintings and 40 poetry publications. 49-year-old Childish reflects the ‘JFDI‘ attitude of the punk era I so admire. This event at the very amazing boho, community artspace The Art Organisation was to celebrate an exhibition featuring many Childish works – mainly heavy oil textural pieces.
Childish’s band is a long-suffering vagabond trio of a lady bass player in a nurses uniform, and a big bald chap in a fez on drums. But the lithe, moutachied Childish rules the show, with plenty of wise cracking stories, impromptu performance and lots of rollicking good tunes – classic post-punk but with great hooks, great choruses and biographical stories. He said, “go home, and one day you can tell your kids and grandkids you’ve seen a real rock n roll band”. And damn it, it did feel, that maybe that night, for the first time I had.
Future of Sound, Birmingham Midland Institute, Birmingham
More lecture than gig, Future of Sound was part of the Art of Ideas event put on by a whole bunch of quangos to celebrate all things art and Birmingham. It’s been heavily blogged and collected over at Created in Birmingham – I just got a snatch of the talks night called “Future of Sound”. The two things I’d gone for (Modifield Toy Orchestra and Martyn Ware) were cancelled and the event got off to a duff start (pardon pun) with a panel led by Toy Orchestra guru Brian Duffy leading a panel of what could losesly be described as leaders in Birmingham’s sonic art scene including members of Dreams of Tall Buildings, Pram and jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch.
The talk was a demonstration of all the wrong things about talking about Birmingham as a ‘scene’ rather than a place where people just happen to live and do stuff, and also the idea of trying to coax this out of artists in order to instill a desire for cluster, place or pride. But it was also interesting in all the amazing things under the surface happening in this sprawling city that need coaxing out from under the concrete.
Collectively, the inarticulate, scruffy blokes had nothing to say – and epitomised how I felt at 21 when I was involved in the fledgingly ‘lofi’ indie scene (led by Broadcast, Pram, Plone, Avrocar et al) and I had to make a hard decision about whether to stay or move on. I chose to move on then because I never felt I would fit in with the betrodden, introspective world of these guys. I was too young, too ambitions, too outspoken.
Yet in isolation, when the guys talked about their work they were hugely articulate and fascinating. I only caught a bit, but Dream of Tall Buildings guy talked about their experimental work including mumified tapes, handmade artwork and conceptual ways of packaging their organic sounds. Brian Duffy, a NESTA fellow and intellectual superbrain, covered the history of sound, aurally reproducing the sound of stars and the theories of relativity in 3D form, tanslated into circuit-bending speak & spell projects including programming ZX Spectrums. Damn I wish I’d taken notes, with his brains and my looks we could’ve taken over the comos by now…
OK, here’s an experiment in words, perhaps not of the calibre of William Burroughs, but acting as something of a brain dump of some of my thoughts & emotions surrounding the show I saw in Nottingham this weekend by the marvellous Felix Kubin.
Mr Kubin is a Rennaisance man of impecible gifts, after my own heart, whose activities, according to his website, “comprise futurist pop, electroacoustic and chamber orchestra music, radio plays, performance projects, lectures, workshops and his own record label Gagarin Records.”
This hip Hamburger (Hamburgerin?) makes darn funky and twisted Deutsch techno rock using analogue synths and was a member of Blitzkrieg. In a word: he is a legend.
If you just check one thing to get a flavour, may I recommend this fine animated video about the ghost of Myra Hindley. Check out the excellent Podcast by the You Are Hear gang for the full set of the Corsica Studios London show with Silver Apples. And here’s a needless picture of me with Simeon from Silver Apples (Q – but who looks more like the pop star?):
I was tempted to head down to it, for surely it would be a double-bill of mighty mana, but given he was coming to my home town that week it made sense to wait it out.
But therein lies the problem: Nottingham is perhaps not the best city for electronic experimentation, as my own (non-existant) low profile atests. It’s hard for me as Nottingham is my home town and I have all the usual home town loyalties (I’m even a fan of the ever-failing Nottingham Forest boys) but one has to admit it’s not exactly a cultural metropolis – and I personally found it a disheartening downshift to move from London (the global cultural city) to a place with an entire county population of 1million, limiting the catchment audience for any kind of niche or subversive cultural activity, and indeed the acceptance of being niche, subversive or cultural. Unless you’re a goth, then strangely you’re one of many. And (sigh), now remembering why I was happy to leave the first time age 18.
But the outlook is a faint shade of rose: there are some good promoters growing loyal audiences with the likes of Damn You! rocking out American indie or Brit equivalent bands and Johnny Scarr’s Mantile nights in ‘Chameleon Cafe’ – a truly bizarre former tea room site overlooking the municipal square putting on experimental noise, electronic, prog, doom and sometimes even more unexpected touring bands from all over the world. (last night’s Burial Hex show was a good ‘un. Forgive my bleary-fingered typing but Flemish support band Silvester Anfang – all nine of ‘em – were sleeping in my living room last night – like most pissed blokes – boy did they have bad music tastes 
) It’s generally always good stuff, but a bit heavy on the bearded, long greasy-haired male afficionado types. But (sigh) you aint in the cultural metropolis now, dahling.
The Music Library and other events organised by the Via Vaudeville art collective were easily the most daring and quietly interesting nights, but as often happens in this transcient town, people move on (to London, mainly).
So back to the plot (remember that?). Whilst I applaud Ricky Haley’s Liars Club for hosting the divine Mr Kubin, a bit of publicity wouldn’t have gone amiss, given I had to make Sleuth-style enquiries to find out what was happening that would make Laurence Olivier and Michael Cain proud (but not Jude Law in that bloody awful remake). OK so lots of people go to Stealth, but has the average 18-yr-old got any interest in esoteric electro-analogue dada-rock?
Still it’s the first time in while I’ve been propositioned by a 23-yr-old who said “I’m only asking for my mate, he’s 20?. I got to use one of favourite “Carry On” catchphrases: “I’m old enough to be your mother!” (note: use in inappropriate contexts mainly, e.g. with persons older than self). Cradlesnatcher Hypnotique is definitely not. I’ve always been more partial to the beautifully maturing wane artistic male, preferably of a continental persuasion (thus perhaps my affinity for aforementioned Mr K, however, I’m even more prone to wax lyrical on the artist merits of any old Arian Berliner. Perhaps there is no objectivism in my cultural reviewer status. But let’s face it, it’s not much of a review so far).
Anyway, the set started v. late, but we’re off and myself, Johnny Scarr, Pieter and Jude held the micro-fort for refined audience appreciation. Mr K was resplendent in a modish tailored suit and two tone shoes, but clearly troubled by limited audience recognition. If, after all, you are a STAR then you wish to shine as such. I languish in obscurity so know no better. He kicked off and the kiddie-winks were curious. Their tiny teenage ears had never heard such SOUNDS where analogue synths crunch a beat, squelching in and out of sync, mice running up and down the sound spectrum with chants of “Hit Me Provider!” in fantastic Germanic tones Uber-alles. And that was before he brought out the BOLTS OF LIGHTNING (prop, not GWAR/Kiss style stage effect).
Oy vey baby! This is Hypnotique audio heaven. If only all night clubs were this da da da. A dangerous kind of fun. I danced like a mad cat, but the kids were suspicious, many choosing to stay in the suberclubs other rooms (which actually hosted a fairly tasteful selection of indie-pop (not too naff), house and later some fun and bubbly techno). Finally, people realised the action was happening on Mr K’s dancefloor. Or maybe they were all coming up. Or the other rooms closed. Who knows, but toward the end of the set people started flocking in and grooving, which lifted Mr K’s spirits and made it more like the event it should have been.
Afterwards we had a little shouting chat with him above the typical club din. The man was crippled, this was no night to end his UK tour and I felt ashamed of my shallow little hometown. I questioned (again) my own presence here – could I create something of my own where there is nothing, or is swimming against the tide the path to drowning? Anyway, I know you won’t be back Mr K – just as every other fantastic and unexpected performer who passes through and does a half-arse half-empty show never will. Another one bites the dust.
But just to say I adored what felt almost like a personal show purely for my own pleasure, and that’s gotta be worth something. I’m listening now to his 2004 album Matki Wandalaki. Lovely stuff, and who’d have thought Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” could ever sound so romantic. I once had a bad experience when I worked at Universal Music when a Lionel Ritchie gold disc fell on my head. That was a bad day in the office.
So I look forward to seeing another Kubin show another time, a better place.
On my Hypnotique blog I flagged up that I would be at the AV Festival with the posse for Jean-Jacques Perrey. Here’s a mini review of the couple of bits I saw of the North East’s AV Festival, an international festival of electronic arts, music and moving image. I went to two days of the 10 day event (1st and 2nd March).
Saturday 1st was really a day of catching up with, appreciating, and wigging out to the crazy new electronic pop sounds of Jean-Jacques Perrey with his new musical partner (and biographer) Dana Countryman as part of the Radiophonia day.
I last saw Jean-Jacques and the extended clan one very snowy and icy February in Berlin for the 2006 Transmediale festival. A crazy all-night club-night saw colourful costumed ravers doing some serious partying to the 1960s sounds from the man they call ‘the father of techno’.
Gateshead was surreal and similar – at the elegant The Sage concert hall, stretching on the banks of The Tyne across from Newcastle like a beached giant armadillo. The afternoon was a sedate lecture (which I was priviledged to introduce, stating that if it wasn’t for the 1960s electronic music pioneers we just wouldn’t have the rich audio landscape today, and I for one would probably not be an electronic musician.) Jean-Jacques demonstrated a little of his tape loop technique with splicing block, followed by the debut screening of Mal Meehan‘s excellent interview film “Life Laughter and Loops” (available to buy soon!).
We retired for dinner in the city filled with stag and hen revellers in bunny costumes and nun’s costumes, a surreal setting for equally surreal conversation with Dick Mills who claims more people are interested in his specialist knowledge of tropical fish than his legacy as the director of BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop.
The evening show was marvellous – a mixture of classic old and new tunes including ‘Strangers in the Night’ and ‘E.V.A‘ with wacky and disturbing tape loops. What amazed me was the spirit and energy of the audiences – all kinds of people of all ages – can-can-ing, grooving to this crazy, catchy music. There were some very young (18-20) folks, perhaps discovering this ‘ancient’ music through BitTorrenting, Wikipedia and other amazing means of transfering knowledge and music today – before their parents came to collect them. (How rock n roll is it to go to a gig to see someone your granddad’s age?!).
Here’s some videos I took (on YouTube) to give you a flavour of the atmosphere from the floor, at appalling low quality!!
Crazy Russian dance song (not sure title):
Sunday 2nd March:
In whistlestop fashion, I took in a few highlights including artist talks about the Broadcast Yourself exhibition and a yummy brunch at the fantastic community run Star and Shadow artspace and cinema. The exhibition concerned the historic context of arts in broadcast television, of which there are painfully few examples. In included clips of ‘art sabotage’ taking over the broadcast airwaves in guerilla fashion in USA and South America, and discussion of new works including a community TV project in a Mumbai market by Shaina Ananad and Nottingham’s own Active Ingredient discussing their fun new work for Make TV “Fantasy A-List Generator”, decontextualising celebrity interviews whilst encouraging the exhibition viewer to dress up in a disguise and become a fake celebrity.
I must admit that in the manner of many discussion by ‘serious’ artists, a lot of the debate traversed my non-art PhD bear-like brain like a passing corcorde, but it’s interesting to note that the nature of broadcast media is radically changing, offering new platforms for pure art visual content, yet meaning that the impact caused through wider distribution of visual fine arts will be lost. This exhibition will simply not exist in 10 years.
I scooted by ‘Works for Television’ inside a caravan on the high street, looping art works with industrial, textural themes in a cosy, nano-complex, en route to the outstanding Baltic art gallery, a Tate-style contemporary gallery serving as exemplar of Newcastle’s amazing regeneration. I was struck this visit just how gentrified and dynamic the city is today. John Cage’s Variations VII for various industrial sound-reproducing equipment had been recreated and rerecorded for the festival and was presented in both its original and new recording, which are striking different, I guess as result of the combination of a) a new interpretation and b) the variations of new, digital devices.
An evening show by Warp lovelies Autechre (after a very windy, cold circular journey where my destination was always ‘just left and left again’ according to the always accommodating locals) rounded off my visit. But I didn’t get it: it was more chin-scratching dance music that no one was dancing too. Something has gone wrong here that child-like electronic music from the 60s have the old and young up and grooving, whereas so called intelligent dance music has people densely thinking and not dancing. And maybe not even thinking.
So there you have it. Just a sample, but the programme of AV Festival was jam-packed with art and audio goodies across the North-East and would have definitely warranted a longer stay. I very much look forward to checking out the next AV Festival in 2010.
…but a stoat is stoatily different. I was sent this bizarro link from the Aetherphon yahoo group.
Apparently it was part of a photo shop competition to make Frankenstein human-animal musical hybrids. My favs are the kitten busking saxophone and the head of a baby gorilla on the end of Brian May’s axe.
I guess photo manipulation is the highest form of flattery. But they got me wrong. I only ever play with my pussy…
I’m very excited to be heading off on Saturday 1st March to the AV Festival in Gateshead (that’s Newcastle to the rest of the world), an international audio-visual art fest, to a day called Radiophonia, exploring the history of the genre made famous by the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Delia Derbyshire, Dr Who etc).
As well as a rare talk by Workshop Chief Dick Mills, my good friend and mentor Jean-Jacques Perrey will be giving an illustrated lecture, and no doubt telling many amazing stories of his invention of sampling (two decades before the sampler!) using tape-splicing technique adopted from musique concrete, and his friendship with Savador Dali, Walt Disney, Serge Gainsbourg, Edith Piaf, Jean Cocteau and many more!
To top it off, Jean-Jacques will perform with his American collaborator on current recordings, Dana Countryman, in an evening show, supported by two old familiar names from my Brummie days, Broadcast (DJ set) and Brian Duffy, a NESTA fellow of Modified Toy Orchestra fame.
And if that wasn’t enough to be, like, my best f-king gig of the year – I have the great pleasure to be introducing Jean-Jacques’s afternoon lecture! It really is a huge honour for me. I first became aware of Jean-Jacques’s crazy, happy electronic music in 1998 while I was writing my university music dissertation ‘Space Age Music And The Moog‘, which looked at the history of electronic music in relation to Bob Moog and Jean-Jacques Perrey, and how analogue synthesis and lounge music had been reinvented by modern generation, including the Birmingham Lofi scene (Pram, Plone, Broadcast). In fact, this may be the first time Broadcast and Jean-Jacques have come together since my naive academic scribblings!
Then, I didn’t even know Jean-Jacques was alive as he was living in relative obscurity in France in the 1990s. I knew Bob Moog was around, but it wasn’t until years later in 2004 when myself and Bruce Woolley produced the Switched On Radio series for London’s Resonance FM that everything came full circle.
The series, celebrating the 125th anniversary of electricity, explored the history of electronic music and two of the shows we produced were in conversation with Jean-Jacques Perrey and in conversation with Bob Moog.
I made an epic trip to Switzerland one icy January in 2004 to record a six hour interview with Jean-Jacques. He is one of the most generous, insightful and genius people I have ever known. Not only did Jean-Jacques, along with Gershon Kingsley, have a heavy hand in transforming the sounds and production methods of popular music in the 1960s and 70s, but his humour and wisdom, from theories of embedding sounds of dolphins as a cure for insomnia, and creating ‘happy crazy loops’ of sound to bring a spirit of happiness into the world (we need it now more than ever), to countless amazing anecdotes incorporating some of the most important creative figures of the 20th century. Check out the interview.
I was almost as enamoured with my two meetings with Bob Moog in 2004 (read my short tribute to Bob Moog). Who would have know when we did the show about him in 2004 that this would be one of the last substantial audio inteviews of his life. I’m revisiting the inteview today as part of an academic piece I’m doing (the original tape was lost for some time, I’m going to make the full interview transcript available online very shortly – watch this space). It’s amazing also the insight and clarity Bob had of his legacy and the humility with which he viewed his place in musical history. At the end of the interview I ask if he has plans to retire. He says: “I haven’t thought that far ahead”. 15 months later, he died from a brain tumour.
They say never meet your idols, for you are sure to be disappointed. I disagree. Sure, I’ve met many idols (mainly from my teens) who have in later real life disappointed, but as an artist (or as a business) you need to be nourished and encouragement throughout your life in order to carry on. It’s so sad that Moog was almost bankrupt in the 80s, and Jean-Jacques was virtually ignored on return to his native France. Now they have reinvented their music and instruments with new, younger audiences. It’s so important to tell people to carry on, and what you like about what they do. (If you like what Hypnotique does, don’t be shy, add a comment to the bottom of this page!). Also as an artist, you need to have a mentor and feel a connection with historic legacy and to learn from the triumphs and failures of those before you. I’m so priviledged to have had, and to still have, two of the greatest 20th century musical figures as my real-life mentors and inspiration.
Hope some of you can make it on Saturday.
Because I’m a librarian like archivists, I’ve uploaded some clippings of ‘auld news’ from my very old website which you can find archived here.
Many links are bound to be broken now, but I like the little momentos from the HTML world…
July 2007
James May’s 20th Century video
I appear like a fleeting ghost on James May’s 20th Century:
The Teenager, broadcast on BBC2, 24th July 07, playing Saint-Saens
“The Swan” on a short piece about the theremin.
See the video here
June 2007
Babyslave gig – Salford (Manchester)
Babyslave will also be making their first live appearance of 2007 with
the Subterfuge Arts Group (alongside The Matinee Orchestra.
and Slipped Disco) on Friday 15th June at Islington Mill in
Salford. Further details of this event.
See a review of the Subterfuge event on the Babyslave blog.
November 2006
Sunday 5th November 2006, 8pm
The Goat, 1287 Argyle, St
Glasgow, UK
New Release:
Dawn of The Replicants + Hypnotique
It was way back in November 1996 when Dawn Of The Replicants
got their first EP “So Far So Spitfire” back from
the factory. To celebrate their 10th birthday and the new
singles album ‘Bust the Trunk’ hitting the shop, it’s now
time to light the candles on the cake and let that mother
bake!
 |
DAWN OF THE REPLICANTS ‘BUST THE TRUNK – The Singles’ |
Following in the long history of greatest hits 45 collections
and golden moments, on their 10th anniversary Dawn Of The
Replicants bring you a singles collection that rivals
‘Abba Gold’ and the ‘Complete Miles Davis’
in the category ‘most electrifying compilation’.
‘Bust the Trunk’ pop’s the A-side padlock
and lets you peek-a-boo through a stunningly diverse assortment
of richly different tracks that will inspire and delight you.
Fashions and trends blow like mists through the night but
The Replicants have always delivered and here’s the proof…
22 tracks side by side like slices of granny’s gingerbread
chew.
Features Hypnotique playing on the tracks:
- Everyone in Heaven is Afraid of Heights
- Smoke Without Fire
May 2006
TV SHOW, MONDAY MAY 8th, 5pm
Paul O’Grady Show, Channel 4, UK
Miss Hypnotique will appear as a special musical guest demonstrating
the theremin with the aide of fellow guest, the king of daytime,
GMTV’s Eamon Holmes. Expect tame TV hijinks – ether
diva style – and a tribute to the sinking of the Titanic.
Show starts at 5pm on Monday 8th May, slot is likely to be
around 5.45pm. Expect no rollovers. Stoke yourself a cuppa,
sit back and wig out.
Watch the video of Paul O’Grady
THEREMIN ENSEMBLE LIVE SHOWS, Sat 6th and Sun 7th May, London
A night of a thousand theremins…
Masami Takeuchi, Japan’s first professional thereminist and inventor
of the Russian doll-shaped theremin, comes to London on his
European tour. Together with 10 advanced students from Japan
they have formed Mabel, the only existing theremin
ensemble that can emulate a full orchestra. Through a variety
of tones they imitate the sound of cellos, violins, flutes
and even the human voice. This will be an awesome spectacle
not to be missed!
You can check them out at:
Saturday May 6th, 8.30pm
The George Tavern
373 Commercial Road
London E1 0LA
Entry: Donation of £2
The proceedings will be opened by me (Miss Hypnotique) and
Bruce Woolley (Radio Science Orchestra) offering to the
gods a few esoteric numbers and songs to whet the appetite…
Then the Japanese troop will playing at:
Sunday May 7th
Ginglik
1 Shepherds Bush Green, London, W12 8PH
Entry: ADVANCED BOOKINGS £6 CALL O7714 207 914
ON THE DOOR £8
DOORS 7PM, PERFORMANCE 8.30PM. BAR 7PM – 12.30AM
No plans for myself and Bruce to play that night yet – but I’ll be there.
NEW MUSIC
I have been ‘experimenting’ with a sharp change of musical direction:
pop music, which is as dark and challenging as ever, but will
you be able to tell when you’re dancing to the pulsing, disco
beats? Produced with the kind aide of the ever-dazzling DJ/producer/performer
and Warp Records artist John Callaghan – check out
the first results:
“You Lie! You Cheat!“
It’s a tribute to girl power via Riot Grrl, Kirsty MacColl
and the Buena Vista Social Club realised through Spanish-holiday
style grooves, woodwind licks, megaphone expletitives, and
an instrumental performed on an egg slicing device. I’m hoping
it might make it as a B-side for the next Geri Halliwell release.
It’s on My Space thingy (dreadful but somehow useful):
http://www.myspace.com/misshypnotique
…and check out John Callaghan’s website, too.
Let me know what you think of this new direction. I hope the
track proves there’s more to Hypnotique than disturbing lofi
electro acoustic music, songs about genocide, infanticide,
Victoriana and ritual murder!
Feb 2006
Hypnotique
will be playing by Checkpoint Charlie as “someone in
a pre-WWII Berlin nightclub is laughing”, to quote Everett
True. Hypnotique will be playing in Berlin on Sunday 5th Feb.
Please email for more details as they are unveiled. As it that weren’t reason enough to
go East, Jean Jacques Perrey will be playing in Berlin on Monday
6th February. Cheap flights ahoy.
Dec 2005
Knowledge of Bugs + Hypnotique + theremin film
Friday 9th December, 8pm
Cube Cinema, Bristol, UK
From amidst his banks of circuitry and custom-built electronics
comes a flowering of songwriting from Bristol based musician
Knowledge
of Bugs. New album The Shifted Sands – possibly
the finest to come out of Bristol in 2005 – sees the travelling
man cross varied terrain, from bleak baritone led chorales
recalling Crescent to radiant electroacoustic folk more in
keeping with Jim O’ Rourke. Underpinning it all are gently
turning guitar drones, fluid improvisational passages and
subtle, effervescent electronics. A live performer with unique
presence and know-how.
Tom
Bugs welcomes theremin virtuoso Hypnotique to the Cube
to celebrate the release. Orwellian nightmares and macabre
real life tales meet in her live electro-cabaret show, as
hypnotic ether sounds and surreal lunar landscapes transport
the voyear from near drug induced euphoria to the obsessive
despair of high Romanticism.
July
2005
Friday
8th July, 8pm (free entry)
Hypnotique live performance, support from Sector
13
Namaskar Rooms
56a Seaside Road
Eastbourne, Sussex, UK
Tel: 01323 730152
Launch of Public Address – a new international
art show running from 3rd July to 28th August featuring artwork
and performances by Albert Oehlen, Dr.Randall Phillip
(Fuck Magazine), Foxtrot Echo (Coum Transmissions),
Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus/Death in June), Hypnotique,
Mike Rogers…and many more.
Curated by local Jase Williams (aka DK720), this subversive
collection of degenerate fine and sculptural art will metaphorically
have a bottle of bubbly smashed on its helm with a unique
one-off performance by Hypnotique. Enter at your peril.
Other things to do whilst in Eastbourne:
- Meet your downfall on Beachy Head, the beautiful
suicide capital of the world (iconicised in Throbbing Gristle’s
“20 Jazz Funk Greats”, the inspiration behind the
cover of Hypnotique’s “The
Hanging Garden“)
– Visit the largest Military Museum in the southeast
of England
- Get a full house at the Bingo Deluxe Club
- Visit a museum of Victorian shops. Toilet on premises
- Retire
- Die
Even more
things to do in Eastbourne
February 2005
It’s not often a legend rolls into town…and
less often they run into Oval (unless they’re a bowler…)
but for one night only, Hypnotique’s cousin (although
they bear a striking resemblance), Nikita Reisenberg a.k.a.
“The Ether Diva”, the world’s greatest
living theremin virtuoso, joins us all the way from Moscow
to present a cabaret of ether waves and espionage, whilst
en route to M15 in search of her English spy lover.
The
date is Friday 11th Feb, venue is South
London Pacific, 340 Kennington Road, London SE11,
between Kennington & Oval tube. See for venue details.
Show starts 10.30pm. FREE to get in B4 9pm, £3 from
9 – 10pm, and £5 thereafter.
Other
musical entertainment is provided by the venue’s house
band “24-hour binge drinkers”, and DJs spinning
laid-back exotic grooves and cocktail collections to groove
on out to ‘til the wee hour of 2am.
* the people at this gig were so pissed it
was a real battle of the Titans. There was a group of people
on a work leaving do, the girls got so drunk they danced around
in their underwear, and one of the walked out the toilet with
her beaver on show. My god. And that was in front of their
colleagues!
January
2005
Thursday
January 20th – The Spitz, Commercial St, Spitafields
Market, London E1 – 8pm
Another
sell out
“Wired Women” night
celebrating the most original all female electronic music.
(judging by general quality of acts that night, men can sleep
safely in their electronic music king-size beds..please girls
learn to play an instrument or do something other than get
your tits out!!)
Ann
Shenton (formerly of Add N to (x))*
Lolita Storm ^
Hypnotique
No Bra**
^
Tickets
£5 on door. Hypnotique on stage 9pm.
* formerly being the operative word.
** quite literally. And no talent either.
^ One of them was a bloke. So much for an ‘all
female’ night! ((bitchy, aren’t I??)
November
2004
Switched on presents… early electronic oddities
Friday 29th November 7 – 8.30pm GMT on London’s Resonance
104.4fm, or stream from www.resonancefm.com
An exploration of the strange and subliminal sounds of
early electronic musical instruments from 1860 to 1970, and
many now almost obselete daring and experimental creations
more info…
September
2004
Hypnotique to perform a demonstation of the new Etherwave
Pro theremin made by Moog
Music with an appearance by Bob Moog at two
promotional events in Aarhus and Copenhagen,
Denmark, Sept 21 – 22 organised by Danish distributors, High
End Tentacles. For further information visit
the High End Tentacles website (in Danish)
July 2004
Monday
July 26 – The Spitz, Commercial St, Spitafields
Market, London E1 – 8pm
Sonic Boom
The Birds (feat Cotton Casino from Acid Mothers Temple)
Hypnotique
Tickets
£7
A
great night of electronic innovation and hi-jinx from the
organisers of legendary nightclub
Kosmische.
See photos of the event in the gallery.
Saturday
July 03 – 14 Andre St, Hackney, London
10pm
- 4am. Hypnotique onstage before midnight.
Damned lies/destroy all monsters
HUGOS SPEAKER PALACE
MAN FROM URANUS
vOv
HYPNOTIQUE
With
the ether tastic double billing of Hypnotique and the sensational
and futuristic
Man From
Uranus -
this will be a guaranteed ear-turning night.
See
photos of May 15th Alpha Centauri Electronic Music Festival
show in Huizen, Netherlands with the group Intelligentsia
(external website, opens
in new window).
May 2004
Alpha Centauri Festival, May 15th, Huizen, Netherlands
Hypnotique will be appearing at the 10th Annual Alfa Centauri
Electronic Music Festival May 15 Taking place in theatre De
Graaf Wichman in Huizen, the Netherlands. She will be appearing
as a special guest with futurist electronic project Intelligentsia.
The show will feature: MIRAI, John Van Der Stap (Electronic
Drums), Hypnotique, MEISAI
(Progressive Dance from Japan), Richard Wentk / Bastiaan Winde
(Lasers, VJ & Visualizations), & the Operatic vocals
of ADEYTO.
For further details and booking info, visit
the Alpha Centauri website
May 19th – Hypnotique gives a theremin lecture/workshop at
the Greig Academy for adult education in Hornsey, North London.
April
2004
The new Dawn of the Replicants album ‘The Extra Room’ is available
now on Hungry Dog Records (Flying Sparks), featuring a guest
appearance by Hypnotique on three tracks including ‘Everyone
in Heaven is Afraid of Heights’ (forthcoming single) and the
joint Vickers-Hypnotique penned tune “Arctic Sails”
(‘a psychedelic torch song” – Rock Sound).
Here’s what the press have been saying:
“…a
never-ending concoction of musical campness laced with wit.
In a modern world gone mad, these bastard children of Frank
Zappa-esque grandiose are it’s sure-fire remedy.” (Record
Collector)
“…tender
mariachi brilliance. Probably the greatest institution nearly
nobody’s heard of, then. Still.” (Rock Sound)
“Free of mainstream influence they’re able to sway, skip
and swing their own rhythm, creating beautiful widescreen
masterpieces from the darker side of acid-abused pop. Way-out,
man.” (Time Out)
“Effortlessly
brilliant car crash of fizzy garage rock. crazy genius”
(Metro)
Gollum-like
streak of mischief and madness. Wicked lyrical humour.. surreal
pub-rock songs played with a nod and a wink and a wry, snaggle-toothed
grin.” (The Irish Times)
Order the CD and hear MP3s and video online at The
Replicants website
January 2004
Hypnotique produces ‘Switched On…In Conversation with
Jean-Jacques Perrey
Radio broadcast: 20th Janury 04, Resonance 104.4FM
On his 75th birthday, Hypnotique joins living legend Jean-Jacques
Perrey in the town of Lausanne, Switzerland to celebrate a
life of pioneering music with in depth conversation and rare
and classic recordings with the composer of ‘E.V.A.’ and ‘Moog
Indigo’. This is a personal voyage of a hugely inspirational
musical figure. Read more…
December 2003
Hypnotique will be joining the magnificent Art Terry &
The Fairies for a series of yuletide themed events as
a guest instrumentalist. You can catch this uplifting &
highly original chanteur and his vagabond troupe at the following
locations:
Friday
12th December – ‘Advent-garde’ – Resonance FM Christmas Party
Conway Hall (Red Lion Square, Holborn, London), from 7- 11pm.
ENTRY BY VOLUNTARY DONATION
Live
music from Billy Jenkins & the VOTP String Trio, Die Trip
Computer Die, Ergo Phizmiz and many more… come and celebrate
the season and raise funds to keep Britain’s greatest radio
station on air.
See www.resonancefm.com
for more details & flyer.
Saturday
13th December – Party at Sky Studios
Camden, London from 9pm
Join myself, Art Terry and the fairies for a ‘knees up’, email
for more details.
Sunday
21st December – Fairies Christmas Party
12 Bar Club, Denmark Street, London W1. From 8pm. £5
Tinsel, glitter and lots of Fairies at the top of the tree…come
down for an intimate show with Art and the fairy boys and
girls.
Other
shows:
‘SOW: How Taliesen Got His Name’.
CBSO Centre, off Broad Street, Birmingham.
Thursday 18 December 2003 at 7.30pm.
Tickets £12 / £8 / £5.
Hypnotique
will be appearing in this multimedia production. Join the
feast of sight and sound as the Celtic pig of wisdom comes
to town. This is an exciting venture involving animation,
specially created artwork, storytelling and a veritable orchestra
of the West Midlands most gifted musicians involved in folk,
jazz, rock and avant-garde music. Hypnotique will be metaphorically
casting herbs and evil spells into the ether through improvised
music as the role of Ceridwen in the telling of this classic
Celtic myth. The production and composition of Sow is by long
time Hypnotique collaborator Andrew Bland.
For more on the artists involved and art works see www.corisandemusic.com
November
2003
Hypnotique
produces UK’s first theremin themed radios show
‘Into the Ether: The Music of the Theremin’ is a 90 minute
radio show to be broadcast on Nov 3rd 2003 to commemorate
the 10th anniversary of the death of Leon Theremin, on experimental
London station Resonance FM.
The show will showcasing the best in classic theremin recordings
and talented new thereminists from around the globe plus interviews,
discussions and specially composed new radio sound works.
Collaborative
art and theremin sound installation
Hypnotique is joining with Edinburgh based visual and textile
artist Mary Trodden to produce an installation work
combining Mary’s ominous doll creations with Hypnotique’s
equally ominous theremin installation as part of an open studio
event taking place on Sunday 16th November 2003 12 – 7pm at
Forest Studios, Bruce Grove, London N17.
August
2003:
Hypnotique in a Field
The next Hypnotique live show will be:
1am, Saturday 16th August 2003
Bedouin Stage, Shambala Festival, Taunton.
… expect a magical weekend in beautiful surroundings with
a diverse and warm natured crowd. Shambala has amazing live
acts, diverse performances, and a community spirit . Come
along, bring the kids, get involved with workshops, and see
some inspiring acts. Have a break from the rest of the world!…
“The South West’s Best Kept secret” – The Guardian
This promises to be an exciting and groundbreaking Hypnotique
event. She is back on form with the gobsmackingly multi-talented
Mr
Andrew Bland, with a harder edged sound and stage performance
combining bitter-edged lyrics, sickeningly twisted narrative,
deep and desperately romantic imagery with ear spinning electronics,
instrumental grooves and soundscapes that fly from 1920′s
Berlin cabaret through to the pits of futurisimo industrial
hell. The era of fairground electronica begins here!
July 2003:
Oscillator, Oscillator on the Wall, Who is the greatest
Cabaret Thereminist of the all? Me-Me-Me!
Hypnotique is currently featuring as a contestant on an interactive
global talent search. The idea of Me-Me-Me.net
is to say up yours to Simon Cowell and all those rubbish no
hoper ‘sing till you bleed’ TV talent shows. Me-Me-Me is more
Eurotrash than Eurovision, more Quality Street than quality
acts. Naturally, Hypnotique flies leagues above the other
sensationalist acts which is why you much vote for her as
the supreme talent!
You pay to vote by phone or text message, part of the money
will go back to the winner and you also stand a chance of
getting your hands on a wad of cash as well. Come on, it’s
better odds than the lottery and you can be contributing to
the fund to buy a snazzy new
theremin for Hypnotique!
Introducing…Babyslave
*Babyslave is a new project that
brings together the multi-instru-mental talents of Hypnotique
with electronic guru Carya Amara (Earthrid
Records), mixing studio recordings with occassional exclusive
live events that aspire to be more than a bit special.
Babyslave’s
live public debut was a low key arts event on Wednesday 23rd
July in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The organisers asked
participants to accomodate feedback from the audience – and
Babyslave took them at their word. Noises from the audience
were, for once, encouraged: these reactions were electronically
processed in real time and integrated into the performance,
alongside the sounds of saxophone, theremin and synthesisers.
It would be fair to say, that Babyslave ROCKED the Spa.
Hypnotique has recently recorded a killer session with Dawn
of the Replicants in Edinburgh as part of a new e.p. to
be released late 2003 on Flying Sparks Records, provisionally
titled “Backstabbing Nation”. Hypnotique is currently
working with The Replicants on writing material for their
4th studio album.
Feb
2003:
Hypnotique has recently been recording with new band ‘Candy’,
an ethereal new country influenced band whose line up comprises
former members of The
Paradise Motel and Cindytalk
Dec
2002:
Hypnotique invited to entertain the Glitteratzi at Damien
Hurst’s Pharmacy Restaurant in Notting Hill. Not bad for a
mere plebian creature from the gutter! Let’s hope she doesn’t
get dissected in formalyahyde…
Wednesday 4th Dec 2002 5pm – Hypnotique
appears on Resonance
FM in a live interview with the Glass Shrimp collective.
104.4FM or stream from their website.
Nov
2002:
Dawn of the Replicants Tour Dates
Hypnotique will be packing her kit bag and taking to the long
& dusty road with Scottish nutters Dawn of the Replicants.
Rustling inside her leopardskin handbag to produce a musical
menagerie of sounds, The “Touching the Propellor”
tour will fly by night to:
Monday 18th Nov – EDINBURGH, Liquid Rooms (Ripping Records
0131 226 7010)
Tuesday 19th Nov – CARDIFF, Barfly (0870 907 0999)
Thursday 21st Nov – LONDON, Water Rats (0207 403 3331)
Friday 22nd Nov – OXFORD, The Zodiac (01865 420042) (Hypnotique
also appearing this night with the band Sunnyvale Sub Noise
Experiment)
Saturday 23rd Nov – MANCHESTER University (0161 832 1111)
20th November: Broadcast on John Peel’s show, Radio 1 of 4
songs in session with Dawn of the Replicants which were:
Hollywood Hills * Smoke Without Fire * Rockefeller Centre
1932 * Rhinestone Cowboy
The new album ‘Touching the Propellor’ and single ‘Rockefeller
Centre 1932′ both out now on Flying Sparks Records.
Oct 2002:
Hypnotique will be appearing on wacky TV talent Show “House
of Astonishment” broadcasting on Channel 5 every
Monday evening, 11.20pm from the 13th October – 1st December.
See her superior ariel ballet amidst the frolics of a man
stuffing scorpions down his sweater, rats in the pants, magnetic
maniacs and other eccentrics. I will be appearing in 5/8 shows
in the house band, but don’t blink or you’ll miss it! (I’m
not endorsing the quality of this televisual venture, but
not too bad for a giggle when you come in late from the pub).
Performance
annoucement:
The Idler presents THE MAGIC OF THE THEREMIN
@ The Electric Cinema, 191 Portobello Rd, London W11
Thu 24 Oct. Doors 8.30 Show 8.45 Ticket Price: £12.50
BOOKINGS: 020 7908 9696 (advanced booking strongly recommended)
Starring Hypnotique with the legendary Bruce Woolley and his
amazing Radio Science
Orchestra. Prepare for the thrills and chills of a live
performance of classic and contemporary theremin music &
historic prose from the vaults of Theremin Lore. This will
be followed by a late screening of B Movie director Ed Wood’s
triumphant Plan 9 from Outer Space starring Bela Lugosi
Hello chums,
A new year (hats off to yer) and another new project! This time with some old friends.The Stark Palace is the alter ego of Roger Simian of Dawn and The Replicants and Pluto Monkey, the Scottish Borders maverick misanthrope working in cordial sonorous collaboration with bro Mike (from The Replicants) and I’ve been known to pop by for toast and jam… If I described them as Beefheart meets Beck meets The Fall that would undoubtedly sound cliche, but there you have it.
Check em out on MySpace and join friends now:
http://www.myspace.com/starkpalace
I play a little sax at the end of smash his ‘Cromagnon Man‘, which was played by Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music “introducing” show in Jan 2008.
I also play some keyboards on ‘The Void Replied‘ .
But best of all, check out our new TOTP anthem ‘Egyptian Bizarre‘, which Roger calls ‘Girls on Ghost’ which I narrate. It’s set in 1920s Constaninople (now Istanbul in Turkey) and is another sort of Arabian nights epic (in the vein of “Snake Seller’s Wife” track I did with Babyslave) which tells the tale of a dark-eyed temptress who gets more than just the Turkish Delights she bargained for at the market: it cumulates with an intimate encounter with a lady spectre. It’s sort of Aladdin versus Debbie Does Dallas based on a recent 18-30 holiday. Hopefully, this track will appear in some form on the fothcoming Hypnotique studio album 2.
There was a photo of me in September issue of Word Magazine (UK) as part of the ensemble of “Hands Off!”, which took place in July 2007 in Hertfordshire as the world’s largest gathering of theremin players. Described as a ‘local legend’, you can see me front left in the picture, which also features Lydia Kavina, Bruce Woolley and David Vanian (The Damned).
Health warning: this post is proudly geeky and concerns one of my more unusual musical strings to the bow: theremin playing.
July 29th, I had the bizarre privilege of being part of a unique event – the world’s largest gathering of thereminists (we believe). Hands Off! took place from July 27-29th in the quaint rural retreat of Purcell School of Music in Bushey, Hertfordshire as a symposium for theremin players and lovers.
I arrived for the concert and farewell dinner and had obviously missed most of the action which included over 40 delegates from around the world (New York, Los Angeles, Austria, Switzerland and Germany all represented) learning how to improvise, play classical theremin, and exchange gossip, tips and tricks on making and playing. (An old car sticker: ‘thereminists do it with no hands’ springs to mine…)
Yes, I lose my cool, this was a Geekfest indeed. I even wore my ‘theremin addict’ T-shirt by Stoney (after a few drinks). An almost unimaginable collection of theremin families, teen proteges, men of a certain age (many wearing bow ties) and more facial hair and Etherwave Pros than Moog Music‘s stockroom.
There was an intriguing long afternoon concert with just about every kind of music represented:
First up, John Bernhardt from The Lothars (famed for playing theremin on a US beer commercial), a long haul visitor from Boston, was highly entertaining with his ‘songs you shouldn’t play on a theremin’ set – ‘Video Killed The Radio Star‘ (check it out on YouTube) complete with excellent facial ‘dancing’ (you can’t move when you play theremin) was a treat. One of the song’s writers (a keen thereminist) was in the house (alongside David Vanian from The Damned)
Wilco then rocked out the first experimental set using his sonic hand glove, straight outa Doctor Who and the kind of innovation that the theremin’s inventor Lev Termin (Leon Theremin) would have relished. This photo of Wilco and daughter proves they indoctrinate ‘em young into the ether cult in the flat lands of Holland…
The Beatrix Ward-Fernandez Trio played free improvisation. That’s the first time I’ve heard theremin played with tuba.
Spacedog UK gave us a demonstration of when music meets science and technology, using theremin with Max MSP to trigger video and ‘Clara 2.0? – a motorised doll that mirrored Sarah’s playing to automate theremin playing. She also played a mean version of ‘Mad World‘ on bells and saw.
The Radio Science Orchestra reminded us to remember the importance of Bob Moog, with the theremin triggering the Moog Voyager for an intriguing version of Dr Who and a world first of the theremin triggering a human voice’s pitch (vocoder style) for Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
Chris Conway took us to the tea break (how civilised!) with his own version of celtic-influenced ambient music using loops and layers, texturing up the theremin.
Part two was classical theremin, with duos, trios and a quarter from two up-coming teen theremin proteges – Carolina Eyck (Gemany) and Charles Draper (UK), alongside the great maestro divas Lydia Kavina (Russia) and experimental player Barbara Buchholz (Germany). There was a mix of rare original compositions for theremin from 1930s, classical arrangements and contemporary works for theremin.
The material was really amazing as not only is playing as a theremin ensemble really technically demanding at best, it was incredibly musical – a feat rarely achieved anywhere in the world. Hats off (or hands off) especially to Barbara Bucholz for some truly trippy sonic arrangements of contemporary compositions, and Charles and Carolina for a very cute arrangement of all the theremin ‘cliches’ stars-on-45 street-style – everything from The Swan, Spellbound, Over The Rainbow…. ah, isn’t post-modernism great?
The event culminated in the debut performance of The UK League of Thereminists – all participants got plugged in – from home made kits through to professional instruments (sadly no vintage RCA theremin in the house) – to have an experimental jam, ranging from a suprisingly accurate imitation of the TT races to a cute round of Frere Jacques (in good tune!).
For various reasons, I couldn’t commit to going beforehand so I didn’t end up playing in the main concert (under my stage name Miss Hypnotique - someone there called me ‘the good and the great of the theremin world’!), which was a shame, but I was delighted to be able to join in the world-record League of Thereminists (Guiness turned it down as an entry – amateurs!) and after-show jam.
There was a photo shoot of all attendees for The Word magazine – can’t wait to see the truly cult-like photo…
BIG THANKS to Gordon Chorlton and his wife Maya for organising this outstanding event, and JD and the many others who made it possible from a seedling vision to a reality.
I think the event revealed quite a few things:
- The diversity of performances and styles was astonishingly, all unite by this strange, intoxicating and frankly weird instrument, prove that the theremin isn’t a one-trick pony.
-The standard of playing has become incredibly dexterous and skilled – it’s not just about hitting the notes anymore or some kooky theatrics, it’s about discovering a diverse musical ecology.
- We still have a long way to go before all this exciting activity becomes truly ‘mainstream’, even in the underground music genres. It has to become truly cool.
For me personally, it’s also raised questions as to how my own playing fits in with all of this. On the one hand, I’m fired up to get back on the wagon and play seriously again. ‘Real life‘ has taken over recently and I’ve got a lot of catch up to do to get back to the diverse repertoire and shows I was doing in 2004/5. On the other, perhaps my role is as pioneer – did the first theremin radio show – now Spellbound, a weekly show, has taken over. Pushed classic theremin onto terrestrial tv, now it’s someone else’s mission to move it on to the next stage.
Theremin has not yet featured predominantly in Babyslave, but I theeink it should do more so in the future, both for dramatic performance and also because the unsettling eeriness suits our style. I feel a little melody coming on…
Hypnotique latest news:- New live shows: Bruit de Fond in Coventry, Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals March 18, 2012
- Grainger and the Theremin: 19th Feb, London February 15, 2011
- Come On, Let’s Go: Farewell to Broadcast’s Trish Keenan January 15, 2011
- Hypnotique with Theremin Hero at Game City 5 Oct 28th October 23, 2010
- Hypnotique mini tour of Essex, July 3rd July 1, 2010
