:: GussetBLOG ::

:: Friday, June 16, 2006 ::

MP3 Friday

Last chance to grab the Cock Rock Disco freebe. See Tuesday's bonus post.

GOODIEPAL - collected works
"Here for the first time in an easy to download set of zip files are a series of collected Goodiepal works which include at Goodiepal's request 'Narc Beacon' and his 'Mort Aux Vaches' releases. There are also a selction of rare Goodiepal tracks along with some of his selected advertisments."
[5x zip on webpage]

Another Damo mix: Headspace Mix June 06 [53MB MP3]
"it's all 128bpm electro. Lots of glitch and melodies.
Not sure how many of you will be into this, but here is my mix that aired on 214's Headspace show last night (Tuesday June 13)."
Tracklist in comments

";;SWG001 - mp3 compilation of finnish electronic music!
idm/electronica/drum n bass/techno/8bit"
download it free from www.swaeg.tk [nine tracks plus artwork on webpage]

Jamie Lidell - When I Come Back Around (featuring Jimmy Edgar) (WAP191LIVE) [9min 20MB MP3, required registration if you don't already use Bleep]
"Taken from the recent USA tour and exclusive to Bleep, Jamie Lidell does a sweaty beefed-up live version of 'When I Come Back Around', freaked by Jimmy Edgar on synths and keys."

:: Dan 16.6.06 [Arc] [1 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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I've had my car tax come round for the first time since the online payment system was set up. It's the slickest government IT project I've seen.
Vehicle Licensing Online
Hopefully more projects will be this smooth, because the NHS and Job Centre have both been disasters and ID cards are going to be. Or at least would be if they happened but I have a hunch nothings going to come of it.

The futures not looking good for the once great equaliser of the Post Office.

:: Dan 15.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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The Melting Pot is a generally nice ska album for summer background listening but doesn't stand up to much scrutiny. The production is too polished for my liking and provokes an '8o's pop mentality to my ear. I prefer my ska more rough and ready. There are a couple of good tracks, particularly Won't Let You Go, but this loses it a little when the vocals kick in. In all I found most of the vocals quite weak and the lyrics pretty insipid. The whole thing lacks energy.
Release Monday on Galley Music if the date on the disc is to be believed but might be some time in July according to other sources.

White Bread Black Beer suffers from a similar problem. It's all very laid back and downbeat sounding, in a very '90's sort of way. Again the production is very smooth and polished almost to the point it sounds as if something is missing. Very much coffee table music and not really my thing.
Out now on Rough Trade

If, after reading that, anyone wants either of those CDs, drop me a mail and you can have them.

:: Dan 15.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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"9weeks is an excercise in creativity for experimental musicians. It is a place we come to sharpen our sounds and tighten our discourse."

It was started following this post on NIDMM. The premise is to take a 10 second sound sample and make it into a track of at least 60 seconds in length on the same subject/theme as the original sample. The process is repeated each week for nine weeks always using the same 10 seconds source. The results are uploaded along the way.

:: Dan 15.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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This PDF [258KB] is a scan of an article from the Bristol Observer (09.06.06) about a "silent" wind turbine design that is about to be given the go ahead near Temple Meads. (Ignore the CWE/FLW postcard in the corner, I was being lazy with the scanning.)

BBC story here
New Scientist reports that Her Maj also wants one

There is a website about the turbines here but it is down at the time of writing. From the google cache, "claimed to be noise and vibration-free." Can't find any test data, so exactly how quiet quiet really is is unclear.

It was designed by Richard Cochrane of XCO2 (low carbon engineering). They have a case study about it here and a broacher here [712KB PDF]

It has an integrated LED display on the blades allowing it to act as a billboard/screen as it rotates, providing advertising revenue to offset the install cost. Whether this will work on not in urban areas is debated here.
And while on that site I also found this article, "Common Eco-Myth: Wind Turbines Kill Birds", which nicy counters The Case Against Wind'farms' published by Country Guardian (Vice President: Sir Bernard Ingham.

:: Dan 14.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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"FuzzMeasure Pro 2 delivers a complete suite of features geared towards professionals in the acoustics, live sound, and recording industries. By combining a complete toolset with an elegant user interface, FuzzMeasure Pro 2 lets you get all your work done without getting in your way.
"FuzzMeasure Pro is an audio and acoustical measurement application you use to perform, analyze, and produce visually stunning graphs of your measurements. Using FuzzMeasure's tools, you can easily gather measurements of a home theater system, recording studio, stage, auditorium, raw loudspeaker components, and more."

Interesting. Could be handy and its dirt cheep compared to most of the tools on the market. Look like it's MAC OS only though. And some of the graphs look a bit suspicious. I hope that's just some random data they chucked in because I wouldn't trust RT measurements that look like that.

[Thanks James]

:: Dan 14.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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Whiteplane_2 - A collaboration in sound and light by Alex Bradley and Charles Poulet
"Whiteplane_2 is an installation using ambisonic sound and light emitting diode technology to create a unique, immersive experience. Whiteplane_2 creates an unwalled room of changing light hovering in a dark void between two horizontal planes, one situated at ground level, the other suspended three metres above. Standing between the planes, the audience are enveloped within tonal sweeps of light and colour, as the sound moves around them; inhabiting a ‘space in-between’ whose shifting edges are defined only by light, sound and the audience within. The artists have worked with spectral, optical and acoustic theories to create an environment that subverts the usual relationships between physical and sensory spatial awareness. By removing the hard walls around the space, the audience can enter into a dialogue with light and sound itself – beautiful, disorienting and instinctive."

:: Dan 14.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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Harmonic Bridge by Bill Fontana
"This sound sculpture will explore the musicality of sounds hidden within the structure of the London Millennium Foot Bridge. This bridge is alive with vibrations caused by the bridge’s responses to the collective energy of footsteps, load and wind. This sonic world is inaudible to the ear when walking over this bridge. It will be revealed by the use of the accelerometers (which are vibration sensors) that are listening to the inner dynamic motions of the bridge. Harmonic Bridge will be realized by installing a network of live accelerometers on different parts of the Bridge in order to acoustically map in real time its hidden musical life. The live sonic mapping will be translated into an acoustic sculpture by carefully rendering sounds from this listening network into a spatial matrix of loudspeakers. This sculpture will not only render the natural acoustic movements of the Bridge, but will tune the presence of this live sonic data to the characteristics and architecture of the two spaces in which the work is presented: the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern, and the Main Concourse of Southwark Station of the London Underground."
16.06.06 - 16.07.06

:: Dan 14.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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"The Clifton Suspension Bridge across the Avon Gorge in Bristol is the iconic reminder of IK Brunel's genius. But could it be bettered today?"

You can vote in the rerun of the original 1831 Clifton crossing competition currently being run by Bristol Uni (although the final decision will be made by a panel of judges).

:: Dan 13.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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"On Monday morning, the Austrian-Hungarian composer György Ligeti died in Vienna at the age of 83 after suffering from a serious illness. With him, we have lost one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.

"György Ligeti was an adventurer in form and expression and a great visionary of contemporary music. His richly varied output takes a special position in its musical quality and uncompromising individuality. Ligeti moved far away from aesthetic trends and methods all his life. He was characterized by fresh and unorthodox ideas, any form of dogmatism was foreign to his nature, his entire oeuvre is marked by radical turning points. Admired and hugely influential in the profession, the sensual accessibility of his music has won the hearts of audiences everywhere."

You probably know some of his music even if you are not aware of it. For example, his Requiem and Lux Aeterna feature in the 2001 soundtrack. I remember his Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes in particular capturing my imagination as a child (possibly after seeing in performed on Blue Peter? I always hated Blue Peter, why has that stuck in my memory?)

:: Dan 13.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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Hot on the heels of the very late MP3 Friday, I'm posting this weeks early to give you chance to grab a limited time Cock Rock Disco download.

"...we're proud to show off our newest feature here at CRD- free
monthly Mp3 downloads! Everyone loves free, and we figure if you're on
our mailing list, then you like us, and hell, why shouldn't't you get
great tracks for free, right? So PLEASE, if you're cool with it, pass
the news on to your friends because there's plenty of awesome music to
come and we want to share it!

Ok, this month's download has a whopping 48 minutes of music with
unreleased free downloads from our albums by Slepcy, About, Stunt
Rock; a preview of the new Assdroids, Drumcops, and White Cock #3
vinyl's, and a truly classic party mega-rave hit by DJ Technorch, as
featured on our collaborative 12" release with Japan's Maddest
Chick'N Dom records. We know you're all fired up to grab it, so just
click this link, and download all 12 tracks complete with
printer-friendly cover!

http://www.cockrockdisco.com/June.zip [66.3MB zip]

BUT! The link only works until Wednesday* June 16th! So grab it now!"

* I presume that's suppose to be Friday 16th and not Wednesday 14th, but grab it soon just in case.

And yet more generosity from the mighty Cock:

Two videos up on the Cock Rock Disco myspace, from Terminal11 and About, and seven free songs from Jason Forrest. The little desciptions of those songs make them all the more interesting. It's good to see that Song for my Grandmother includes "some samples from Conlon Nancarrow, a composer who used the player piano to explore its super-human capabilities. Brilliant man!" My one time college Val (Valerio Camporini Faggioni, Unbearable Recordings / Gamers In Exile) introduced me to Nancarrow and based his two Multitemporal Songbook 7"s on his work. There aren't many recordings of Nancarrow around but Jason's obviously got hold of some. If anyone knows where I can find any please let me know.

:: Dan 13.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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"Advanced Batch Converter does exactly what its title suggests, allowing you to easily convert multiple graphics files at the click of a button. More than that, you can also edit images directly in Advanced Batch Converter, to produce a variety of effects (resize, rotate, flip, mirror, crop, filters, watermarks, morphing effects, color enhancements etc)."

Brilliant handy little tool when trying to view .PSDs on a machine without Photoshop.

:: Dan 12.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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I won't write any sort of formal review of the night as I spent almost all of it sat behind the record stall and didn't really see much of what went on. I took my camera but didn't take a signle shot. Thanks to Jon for giving me a bog break, Tom taking pitty on me and allowing me 10mins of Snares, and Joe for then taking over as Tom was too wasted.

I did cunningly locate the stall so I could hear everything going on in the main room. Where this idea fell down was that said location was where the cloakroom normally is, although the promoters had decided that their wouldn't be a cloakroom that night. Thus I spent my evening dealing with cues of people trying to hand me huge winter coats – its 24 degrees! Why are you carrying that? – and oversized bags that "don't have anything in them anyway." Some people offered me money to hide things for them. I refused the money but allowed them to hide a few bit and pieces anyway and offered to keep an eye on it as long as I was there.

About an hour in I had another run in with the Black Swan's owner, Mel. He chucked me out of a Toxic Dancehall a year back for taking a photo in the bar area. He was convinced I was a photographer from the Evening Post preparing an exposé. Exposé of what, Mel? This time he told me I had to either shut the stall down or give him 10% of the takings "for my charity." He placed a strange emphasis on the "my" part of the sentence.

As it wasn't my money (it's Armin's as he runs dSWAT but he couldn't be there that night) to argue with I explained that that wasn't my decision and asked if I could find Ed (the promoter) to talk it over. He gave me five minutes. I finished off the sales I was in the middle of but failed to find Ed. I resigned to packing up only to bump into Ed when carrying the stock out to the car. He said he'd already sorted the matter with Mel and we could stay for the rest of the night as no agreement about a cut had been discussed in advance. Don't think we'll be getting away with that again though.

Musically I can only comment on what I heard through the wall. The Phil Collins Three sounded like they were probably very funny but I didn't get to see their ninja costumes. Boep's set sounded good although they apparently had technical problems and weren't happy with it. Binray sounded great, although it was an unusually primetime billing for him and people who wanted to dance couldn't hack it. Mike P played a set which did have a new track or two in it but apart from that was the same set he's been playing for the last couple of years. Snares played an intense set, which despite changing time signature constantly hardly ever changed tempo. I preferred the longer set he was doing last year with the (relatively speaking) more gentle material at the start and the gradual build. Atomly sounded very interesting too despite my hearing getting a bit fatigued by that point as I'd forgotten my plugs. I was disappointed to have missed Cursor Miner upstairs, as he would have been main room suitable in my view.

It was good to bump into and catch up with the GussetBlog reader who I met at the Brighton gig back in January, although I've forgotten your name again, sorry.

I also found out from Monkey!Knife!Fight! promoter and Thekla barman Small Saul that the Thekla is changing hands in August. On the 1st it will be going into dry dock for repairs and when it comes back out it will no longer be owned by "a couple of Hippy's in Devon" but by Nottingham Rock City who will likely turn in into a Beirkeller / Academy hybrid rock venue. None of the staff know if their job is safe. =[

The crowd seemed to include all the usual Toxic Dancehall goers but was augmented by a huge number of people only interested in seeing Snares (I had to give directions around the place to new comers and confirm Aaron's set time to people all the way up until he played). There was also a massive number of 14 year olds swanning around with beer in hand and fag dangling from lip in a manner they obviously felt looked really cool. Jon and I both felt old sat watching them. This was no longer the scene we'd had once known.

I stayed at my stall until close down at 5am and shifted 166 quids worth of records. Not bad going even if I do say so myself. Armin plans to run dSWAT stalls of this sort at more gigs around the area in future, and I'll happily run these when I'm strapped for cash now and again. Just don't count on these being at the Black Swan again.

:: Dan 12.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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Here's a quick summary of where I've been for the last week.

Saturday – Drove to Porthmadog in north Wales, where I had to spend the next 7days with Amanda, the farther-in-law and step-mother-in-law, brother- and sister-in-law and nephew one, step-bother- and sister-in-law and nephew two and niece. A recipe for disaster from the off.

Step-mother-in-law (SMIL) reheats a cottage pie for tea. Vegetarian step-sister-in-law (SSIL) is presented with some mash potato and two slices of tomato. Hardly a good veggie option.

Sunday – Took train obsessed nephew 1 on Porthmadog-Ffestiniog narrow gauge stream railway. In Ffestiniog find almost every single shop and tourist attraction closed. Take photo of comedy cactus with stick-on eyes in opticians (I think) window.


We order lunch in the only restaurant open, The Queen's Hotel. DO NOT EVER GO TO THIS PLACE. Despite a menu advertising fast service for people between trains we spend 1hr20 in the place with more than half our group receiving no food at all, and some of those that did getting incorrect orders. Most of the drinks are off at the bar but we don't find this out until my Guinness has sat for 20mins between pours. We do get a refund, but most of us are left hungry.

Amanda and I stayed a night near here once previously, when on a driving holiday around Wales. It was in a small village called Gellilydan in a lovely quaint little B&B. It was the only place we could find as night was drawing in, and the old landlady took some persuasion as she had an appointment in the morning. We convinced her we would be up and out early and we would happily skip breakfast if she didn't have time. In the morning we found that she had prepared a huge cooked breakfast, possible containing all of the bacon from at least one large pig, which we sat and ate quietly with her partially-deaf husband. He enquired as to our plans for the day and we mentioned our interest in the roman amphitheatre we'd spotted was nearby on the map. He misheard us saying "roman amphitheatre," thinking we'd actually said "nuclear power station." Close. Evidently the dual magnox nuclear reactor at Trawsfynydd is a touchy subject around here. We were lectured on the objections to it for the next half hour, culminating in an unlikely tale of the time "spent reactor fuel rods were found in the village pond." We made our excuses and left.

The offending power station is visible on the horizon from the train.


Step-bother and -sister-in-law cook.

Monday – Finally get to see Portmeirion, after disappointing previous attempt (in poring rain at 5 in the evening when the place closed at 5:30) several years ago on afore mentioned driving holiday.

It's smaller that I expected but intriguing in its execution and its detail. Took plenty of photos. Bought a copy of the book The Place and Its Meaning. There aren't many places where you can buy postcards of Clough Williams-Ellis and Frank Lloyd Wright staring into a pensive.


I cooked a Balti for tea, based on Ainsley's BBQ Bible recipe. I was told by my boss before I left that the local lamb, reared on the salt flood plains near the cob, "is the best lamb in the world." I bought some local lamb from the butchers although I didn't know where it was actually reared. I then spiced it to the point no-one would have been able to tell the difference anyway. It's cooked separately from the sauce and a mushroom side dish is provided as a vegetarian alternative. Goes down well.

Tuesday – 06.06.06 – Slayer day! And the father-in-laws (FIL) birthday. A coincidence of dates not lost on his "white witch" first wife, Amanda's mother.

I cook a full breakfast for everyone.

Day is marred by illness of 18 month old niece, who had not been well throughout, who was admitted to hospital with what turned out to be a water infection. Was prescribed antibiotics. FIL fails to understand difference between bacterial and viral infections and seems poised to murder party he is yet to identify under false accusation of fiddling. Hospital also point out that they've seen a lot of these recently with the hot weather. Does he really think Bangor hospital has had an influx of patients who have recently been serially abused in north Summerset? This unreasonable mood hangs over the rest of the week. There are mumblings of desires to leave early from several parties.

Amanda and I spend the afternoon digging in Cob Records. I now regret having walked away from The Nat West Jazz Band Play Dixieland Jazz for only £2.95.

Jacket potatoes and left over balti is served up for those not waiting in the hospital. Or the "spital-spital" as nephew 2 calls it.

Wednesday – BBQ lunch does not go as smoothly as hoped as older generations don't seem to understand concept and we end up setting out a full table with crockery and cutlery and basically having a normal meal but sat outside.

Visit Harlech Castle. Spot a massive* grass snake.

* By UK standards.
About snakes in the UK.
A pile of cannonballs in the castle appear to predate cannonball size standardisation. Either they had an almost endless supply of different bore cannons or these were actually fired by a catapult. I suspect the latter.


Discover Purple Moose Ale (especially like the Dark Side of the Moose brew) and work on my spins on the table tennis table.

Thursday – I cook breakfast again as SMIL's insistence on buying industrial size bacon pack is presenting a burden on the fridge.

For nephew 1's benefit we make the second trip of the week on a narrow gauge steam railway, this time the Llanberis lakeside railway. Then, giving in to a week of not-so-gentle hinting from the SMIL we drop by Betws-y-Coed for a spot to eat. In the car park.

I have an argument about the cost of a slice of vegan vegetable tart in the vegan café. The place looked nice, but they wanted to charge £6.50 for a slice of tart to take away (the same as the price charged for it as a sit in main meal with potatoes and salad and other bits and pieces I didn't want). They also refused to do green tea to take away because it was loose leaf, although that doesn't seem to be an issue when ordering jasmine tea in a Chinese restaurant. I boycotted the place and bought a Welsh Oggie from another shop instead. A Welsh Oggie is basically an oversized pasty btw. Or a pimp-my-pasty for those familiar with the term.

In the evening an eerie mist rolls over Tremadog.

During the evening the parents make embarrassed comments about how they've been waited on all week. They are nominated to prepare breakfast. There is a hint of panic in the SMIL's voice when she confirms that it doesn't have to be a cooked breakfast. A simple selection of cereals and a pile of toast will do, she is assured.

Whip up strange selection of over-stocked items from fridge for tea. Salmon pizza anyone?

Friday – Parents attempt at cooking breakfast is a shambles. They basically make their own and do nothing for anyone else. For example, they don't even leave fruit juices on the table but put them away after they have finished with them. They generally wind everybody else up and the rest of the day is spent whinging.

Splitter group of BIL, SIL, Amanda and myself visited slate caverns at Blaenau Ffestinog. The caverns were billed as being "spectacular," but due to lack of lighting it was almost impossible to appreciate their scale. They were more like "The Really Dark Caves. It's almost like being blind," featured in Father Ted. OK, so there was enough lighting to allow you to get around, and some pools of mood lighting in places, highlighting points of interest along with the crackling piped commentary, but not enough to make it any sort of amazing wonder. I also lean a lot about the history of Welsh harp music, thanks to the cottage of The Blind Harp Player near the pit entrance, and listen to the frankly ridiculous sounding urban legend about how he died once three strings from his harp had broken.

Parents provide a take-away for tea then create a nasty scene because there isn't any wine, despite the fact that they are the only ones who have been drinking it and everyone else has been forking out for all the shopping.

Family union at an all time low. Amanda and I escape for the evening and watch the sunset as we fly our kite on the almost deserted beach at Black Rock Sands. This calms me down enough to get me through the final night.

Saturday (last day!) – Unnecessary amounts of house cleaning indulged in by all except parents who merely vacuum their own room then stand around getting in everyone else's way and picking up random items and shouting "Whose is this?"
FIL points at some items on the table and asks "what's that?"
"A yogurt, some cheese and some Philadelphia," I reply accurately.
I'm accused of being facetious.

Note scary steady increase in number of St George's Crosses on cars as we get closer to England. The groups splinter again on the way back, and we stop for lunch in Shrewsbury on the way to dropping FIL, SIL and N1 at the airport. Discuss SMIL's annoyance at great length and decide that a holiday like this will never happen again. A one day cap has been put on any similarly large meeting. Manage to avoid football. Home just in time to go to Bash Out for the night.

:: Dan 12.6.06 [Arc] [0 comments] [links to this post]    ::
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