29/11/2007

jubilee

for the manifesto of some world view

all that glitters isn't worth seeing
crucify what you don't believe in
distract a mind from what it is to be being
crucify what you won't agree with

the ultimate goal is to feel no pain
protect what you love from any change
but comfort is the absence of sympathy
and if i ignore then there's nothing good in me

she said:
you no longer control the things i do
i am not listening to you
you were once so beautiful
but now we're older
cracks are forming
the light you've hidden is starting to break through


the chicken or the egg (again)

for the artwork, i think the latter option of you starting and then me critiquing/adding would be best. as to specific aesthetics, i don't really know. i think that with music and visuals, the associations normally come once the relationship has been forced into existence. so i think that any starting point is fine. the title is fairly evocative so could be a guiding factor.

dust went well at the vic on the park and is definitely a good vocal for cell. i'd be happy to play it. smells like rain actually went down very well there as well, hence my keen-ness to do it again, particularly if we can practise some harmonies.

my thoughts for the projected stuff would not be that they are actual images to concentrate on, but rather ambience that replaces flashing or still lights. especially in the sound lounge where the walls are red and black and the stage relatively large. they would just have the effect of colouring the stage with enough light to make us out, but have an atmosphere that you don't get with stage lighting that has not been designed specifically for us. when i look at the photos with carlos at the cat and fiddle, the whiteness just kills any atmosphere. so i wouldn't see it as a clash, because i'm not thinking of the images as actually being on a screen or anything for the audience to focus on, rather as a wash for as much of the space as possible.

printed up some flyers - just palm sized. i'll bring some for you.

28/11/2007

keeping house

Yep - book is good... As long as we can work out a really solid way and practical way to construct it. In terms of content - other than the whole psychedelia conversation - have you got specific thoughts about aesthetic? Did you want to both throw things in the melting pot or will I just get started and put something together for you to critique / add to in sketch form?

Set list looks good as a start. Cell and I talked about doing dust – as an old favourite. My main flag on this list is obviously smells like rain – just because of the vocal.

I have about 180 of those photos and could very easily take a bunch more. I agree with all your thoughts about creating a stronger aesthetic. I must admit having carlos and the photos seems like a lot. My main concern there would be that it might all look a bit like a jumble sale... It’s really hard to plan a strong stage layout beforehand though.

I have not had the time to look at getting ableton on to the new laptop – given the time left – I’m thinking about just sticking with the current set up. That’s assuming we will have noise removing DIs...

Did you get a chance to print up any flyers?

26/11/2007

hiding the blemishes

i should be able to get board without too much trouble. the dots may be a slightly different issue - i tried to get some a couple of months ago and in the end resorted to buying a mouse pad from officeworks and cutting them out by hand. but i wouldn't really want to do that again. my old source for them has disappeared so i need to find somewhere new.

should we now agree on a booklet format as the basis, with a hard board cover? does that then give us specific enough a focus to get content started? lastly, on the actual pages, feel free to think of pages in different sizes as well - e.g. some might fold out to 1.5 or 2 times regular size, some may be in the booklet but smaller than the regualr size etc.

any time to rehearse this week? i thought i might post a set list to get things started and you can set it (or what we end up deciding on) up. so:

blending the edges
requited love
this is the new thing
the sun sets on the age of the instrumentalist (being a ferally released track, people might actually know that one too!)
smells like rain
send away
tape noise

is heartland still relevant anymore?!!

i thought the set suggested kind of builds, peaks, then eases of - a consideration of us being the last band on. so push and pull that around until there's something we're all happy with.

any progress on gem?

lastly, i've been thinking about the presentation of our performance. i think an evenly lit stage just doesn't have the kind of atmosphere i would like. we shall have carlos painting, but i was thinking of asking him how it might go for him with a little less light on stage. i think what i most like is a series of still(ish) organic (i.e. not c.g.) images which are relatively abstract but give the stage an ambience. i'd also like them to completely cover the stage (and even the roof etc) to create a mood in the room rather than to illuminate us in a small section. the original scratched slides we've had for years are probably still closest to what i would like at this stage, but i think they are unusable at the moment due to a dead slide projector. but, i also think your photos could be perfect for this (you can't imagine how happy i am that you took these kinds of photos!). how many do you actually have? i don't like images to have to repeat, so there'd need to be a significant number - but they can be manipulated as well (as long as they remain fundamentally organic) to get more. these could just be set up as a slide show type thing and projected with a data projector. i think it is actually vital to our presentation because we're not naturally charismatic performers, so we do actually need to get it right. what are your thoughts?

21/11/2007

extended comments

Firstly, there's no such thing as too long a post.

In regards to the packaging I feel a bit different in that i'm probably more worried about how we are going to approach the production than i am about the design or content. Though i do like it - i'm not totally sold on the recent folding technique - it just feels to fragile when i do open it. I'd also really like if we can to create something that has some real weight to it. As you know - i love hand made things where the hand made-ness is not the apparent driving factor in the design. Of course it is a core part - but not the a reason to be in itself.

I think the idea of a more expansive approach - perhaps something that tells a bit more of a story. i don't mean too literally of course! Printing out the lyrics in full seems like a good idea - perhaps with some kind of accompanying graphic essay.

I'm glad you like my recent photos - i have laid out a selection as a large print - i'll show it to you. I think in some sense they are my take on a huge wave of visual production at the moment that is obsessed with 'tactile' elements. I think a lot of people who have grown up in the digital age are finding a lot of inspiration in applying what they've learned to do with a computer in a more hands on way.

I enjoyed your underworld review. I have also been enjoying the album a lot. It's funny because i think i would find it hard to review with much objectivity... i thought you did very well.

Also - and i'm sure this will make you laugh... having long since rejected the intermediate version - i've been pondering a new telafonica website...

more soon

i saw this and thought of you.

i think the time has come to make a serious start on packaging for the album. what i'm mostly concerned with is the content at the moment, as that is what will take time to get done. the form, i think, is not as essential just yet, though i've got a few ideas which would be good to discuss.

do you have any thoughts on what the content will be at the moment? particularly whether it should relate directly to the title and conceptual frames of the songs?

i have been thinking about the idea of a zine kind of thing we mentioned quickly a long while back. i think i would really like to make a small book as the main feature of the packagaing. this may end up being similar in size to a regular cd booklet. of course, the jewel case will be avoided though - possibly replaced by a solid type of cardboard case or holder or something - i'm researching ways of doing that (i've collected quite a number of packaging and paper manipulation type books over the last year or so).

sooo...content. if it was a book, i can also imagine a whole bunch of different paper formats which we can mix through the book - from regular paper to the kind of old computer paper i used on those just like now posters, to our brown paper, to transparent paper etc. the main thing will be to keep costs relatively low and also to keep the format of each page so that it can fit onto an a4 sheet, just as that will make printing infinitely cheaper. i can image a mix of printed graphic work and actual screenprint/stamping/hand drawn stuff. i would really like to re-establish the actual stuff in the packaging rather than the purely printed out as has happened in the last few 4-4-2 releases. i also am really really in love with your recent batch of photos - as you now know, i absolutley love the psychedelic aesthetic, though i've never really mentioned it too much because i always thought you might find it too retrograde etc. however, those photos seem to use the aesthetic but bring new forms to it - kind in the vein of what you mentioned quite a while back about not imitating old forms but referencing them with new things.

yep, that's probably too much for one post, but i think it's reasonably urgent that we get on with it!

i'ce also officially posted my thoughts on the new underworld album on cyclic defrost if you're interested.

and, lastly, just so it's on our blog:

19/11/2007

powwow





each band plays 30-40 minutes. we're last on at 10:45. i say we go for the 40 minutes end. we stretched 7 songs over 45 minutes last weekend!

i enjoyed ending with tape noise - i finished it by sending everything through the distortion and delay pedals on my mixing desk which made a really nice climax, though it could work anywhere in the set, really.

i've been thinking i wouldn't mind starting with blending the edges, and i also would definitely like to do smells like rain again, having practiced some harmonies with cell. i'm really liking it as a song at the moment and think that with harmonies it could be really great.

ummm...this is the new thing, requited love...yeah, i think as much new stuff as possible is a good option.

the ads above are from the feral folk - they've made a separate ad for each band. i wouldn't mind our own as well (you know, the one you've been working on :) ). i'd like to particularly be able to print some up to give out to folk.

next weekend/next week is pretty much fine for me, except thursday night. monday/tues would need to be here as bec is out.

15/11/2007

a small post from the white boy

I'm glad saturday went well. I think it's good for you to think about what you want to do next year. I'd like you to be able to play as often as you want, wear a frock and perform in a natural way. I doubt this is something that you'll be able to do alone... unless you basically play sequences and carry on / sing over the top.... which in itself is not to be discounted but I suspect for telafonica, more people = good.
It's going to be an interesting time for the 'band that will never break up'... I think it's exciting.

a couple of things i've been enjoying:

The Whitest Boy Alive, Matthew Dear, FUJIYA & MIYAGI

13/11/2007

lists and pics



just for my own memory (and apra purposes down the track) - the set list, as i remember it...

send away
blending the edges
dust
the sun sets on the age of the instrumentalist
smells like rain
this is the new thing
tape noise

(was that all or have i forgotten something?)

12/11/2007

vic in the dark

saturday was good - it was a line-up with other good music which was nice - toy death in particular were incredible. very much a live experience i think, but brilliant. dandelion wine turned out to be really nice people who also played enjoyable music so i was very glad to be able to meet them.

our set was fairly good, but musically there weren't many additions - it's hard work trying to get the sequences and fx happening on the fly plus sing and control the mixing desk. i had originally thought that i might try to do all the stuff myself in your absence but my thinking is that now i definitely need to have somebody else along as well. after watching steve's films - which we used for projections on saturday - my thoughts turned to asking him if he'd be interested in doing the live stuff. it's also really hard to be a performer when all of that stuff also needs doing, and i really think we (i) need to be pushing ourselves as performers rather than just players of the music. i thought our actual singing was good. we also sold $100 worth of cds, both morpheme and the punches or the lies, plus got $30 from our 15% cut of the bands' cut of the door.

on a really wonderful note for future reference, we set everything up as per normal and had our friend the laptop buzz coming through loud and clear, so i asked for two d.i. boxes with earth lifts, which cindy our sound guy happily supplied me with. i ran the laptop into the d.i.s, then the d.i.s into our desk and, bingo - no buzz.

a rehearsal or two for the powwow show would be good - it may possibly be our last all together for a while so it would be nice to do it really well. when are you guys free?

08/11/2007

frocks

is it still ok for me to come over tonight for a rehearsal/whatever it is we do?

i'm thinking of frocking up for future telafonica shows - what do you think?

probably 90% certain to turn to the dark side and get a mactop. also, i've got the discs for ableton at my place - do you have your new computer yet and do you need them to install live?

06/11/2007

i thought of you

i've been listening through to the tracks with laughing at trees in to replace the sun sets...

i have to say, it's finally sounding like an album to me. it also runs for just over 45 minutes - a perfect length, i think.

i've added some harmonies to smells like rain which i really like. i'm still not really happy with anything i've done in terms of the sound of my voice for it. how would marcella's voice sound singing the lead? i would imagine fairly solid harmonies most of the way through from my voice if that is the case.

going through the motions

any sign of a set list yet?

some personal requests -
this is the new thing
blending the edges
item number
(maybe)smells like rain
...
...
..
.

01/11/2007

Notes on a scandal

tape noise:
maybe add some kind of high-ish freequency sound. something crisp and clean - to contrast the muddier sounds.

This is the new thing:
vocals - too dry? too loud? but maybe that's the whole point of it?!!

GEM
Cell to sing.

requited love:
mix a little muddy?
vocals. re-record... and experiment with effects

Blending the edges:
re-record aje vocal

send away:
this song is structurally unsound.

let's try bringing the kick in right at the start... so it has more imapct.
i like the underworld vibe - it makes more sense to me that way... maybe we could include even more echoing percusive sounds... creating a dense texture.

Item number:
good as is...

The sun sets:
loops to aje
possibly swap for populus

Smells like rain:
record vocals
cell to try vocals

Listening in for static:
vocals, vocals, vocals.

it never rains

a whole bunch of different things to report on have landed all at once.


firstly, electrolyt has released their new netlabel compilation which we submitted 'hearing but never understanding' for. i haven't had a chance to download the whole thing yet (our computer at home is completely stuffed at the moment) but the list of artists looks good - a mix of andreas' various projects, a bunch of the mexican abolipop folk and a few other things i haven't heard of before.

secondly, i decided i'd start contacting artists about performing with telafonica at future gigs. there's been quite a positive response so far from the handful i've contacted. they range from painters to performance and video artists. some of the ones who have shown an interest so far are:

butt[::]ns -


i've actually since found out that she spent a year and a half touring with the red paintings and painting on stage for them.

penny jane spankie -
can be fairly confronting at times, but always with purpose and done quite well - i really like this film in particular. i can't get the video to embed in this post so it's up as a separate post below. she also runs a small gallery in darlinghurst which i've been meaning to check out for months.

there's also one of my students from this year's y12 who is good and very keen.

lastly, i've been working on the music a bit - i've decided to take 'smells like rain' back and i've kept the song with it, but i've worked on it, added extra instruments and i quite like it now. i'd also really like the singing in it to be along the lines of 'this is the new thing' with unison/harmony all the way through. i've been playing around with track listing following our discussions last time i was over - i've moved 'laughing at trees' right off the album for the moment and also shifted 'the sun sets on the age of the instrumentalist' to nearer the end. you're definitely right in that pulling them out of the beginning bit helps it all to flow much better - it feels like you are into the album much earlier, rather than waiting for all the introductory kinds of tracks to set you up for so long. i'll bring a disk along tonight, but i've currently got it as:

tape noise
this is the new thing
gem
requited love
blending the edges
send away
item number
the sun sets on the age of the instrumentalist
smells like rain
listening in for static

it runs at about 45 minutes, i think.

i'll see you tonight, probably at around 7:30ish or a little bit later.

Mask