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Blackout 2005
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ASHTON COURT MENU: intro | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
Returning after his Saturday night / Sunday morning after-show digital dirty, Max will grace the show with his tight quash and square fashions while hacking his way into the charade that is entertainment. Smack his back and get insane in his brain.
Cross-platform artist Tristan Burfield provides a compelling sonic re-appraisal of the fantastic images and transcendent technical explorations of a seminal film work. Beauty is transfigured by tone, disassembled through texture and processed by art.
See the capabilities of film to outgrow time, to capture creativity and to suspend physical laws. Sumptuous fantasy and surreal image combine to create the impression of an inner artistic space. Hear the film-poem come to life.
This is an edit of the rarely-seen 1926 animated feature, now receiving a long overdue restoration and re-release. Produced in Germany and directed by Lotte Reiniger, one of the very few women animators to achieve international recognition, the film represents a stunning achievement, adapting the ancient Arabian Nights tales, working entirely with black silhouette figures and settings.
This presentation comprises closely considered editing and a live soundtrack of deep, enchanting sounds, both crafted by the laid back, innovative DJ Tom (the Flo).
A four-element human valve comprising vintage drum synths, mutated double bass, keyboards from deep into the last century and guitar only identifiable by dental records. Retro-futurist treasures from men with machines and the means to play them.
Components: Adrian Utley (Portishead), Tony Orrell, Will Gregory (Goldfrapp) and Jim Barr (The Jukes), featuring onboard visual tracking facilities courtesy of CIA analogue-ops division. A rare treat beyond your wildest electric dreams.
R.Kay Maclachlan creates 'Flicker': an evolving video collage of other-worldly forms and textures, sampling from cameras set in micro-sculptural/elemental installations. Base matter such as candles, plants, powder and foodstuffs are melded and mixed with hi-end digital black-box alchemy to create televisual transmutation.
Sound manipulator Lovewig captures flicker's sounds using mini-microphones and light sensitive theremins (Bugbrand³) and weaves them into an evolving soundtrack of multilight treatments.
A hyper-zany musical with elements of The Goons, subconscious nutter-speak and no eggs. Be seated, be smiling, and be very ready for a journey to the centre of the mind.
The story...a group of doctors Ganish, Oppenheimer, Bleur, Lipshtamer and Conichi Wah got together for the annual brain surgeons' convention, little did they realize what they would find - a village situated deep within the subconscious called Hippledippledob... a zany village, where eggs are rationed, smiles are plentiful and rainbows happen all the time. Meet some of the most eccentric, outrageous and tantalisingly witty characters that reside there.
Streaming hypnotic audiovisual environments of the abstract kind, this Birmingham
crew slide over the surface of thingsÉin a beautiful way. Modulate
are an AV collective of artists from a range of backgrounds. As well as creating
abstract mixed-mode works for live performance, they design multi-speaker
installations and environments in varied locations.
They are currently developing works for a Modulate DVD, authored in 5.1 surround
which will be released on Headphone Records later this year. Sit down for
a while, concentrate on the detail or let it wash you to another plane.
War Against Sleep has curated a selection of period archive short films with specially commissioned soundtracks by arcane and eerily dexterous acts:
DON MANDARIN
'Drug Abuse: The Chemical Tomb'. Haunting, deceptively observational spoken
word soundtrack from acclaimed songwriter Rich Beale.
BRONNT INDUSTRIES KAPITAL
'Birds of Prey' (1938). A soundtrack rich with cello, trumpet, Spanish guitar,
and spiraling analog delay for this short film about flying and killing.
ASTEROTH
'Alcohol & the Human Body'. Prohibition era vinyl gets downed in one in
a haze of machine hum and analogue feedback.
ELECTRONIC BOYFRIEND
'The Cuckoo'. Hitherto exiled citizen of Plug-in City provides emotionally
charged, immaculate conceived mix of rampant beats and tasty synths.
A bouncing ball, three girls on a hillside. A falling man. A red balloon against the skyÉ like moving paintings. Small Moves is collaborative art from Riz Maslen (Neotropic) and Oliver Marlow (Kohoutek).
Neotropic hails from the West Country and has collaborated with Future Sound Of London and released romantic experimental music on N-Tone and Mush. A modern composer who works in post-techno experimental electronics, her work combines ambient, dub, and electro with touches of folk and hiphop. This set will be a compelling multi-dimensional collage of music in pictures/pictures in music.
Virtuosic sample mixing with home made 'sonic philosopher's stone', supplying
a precise junglist-krautrock chassis of molten bass, voodoo-fairground keys
and 'on the mental' guitar to drive a unique blend of 'hyperdelic space-munt
and brown sofa symphonies' into psychoactive sunsets.
Imagine Prog, Twistedronica, and Ambient are all played by the band on the
Titanic, but it's not sinking into cold and wet, it's floating majestically
through warm and fuzzy. They have played everywhere from filthy dives to the
Royal Festival Hall; they win high-fashion awards and still do their own mad-as-a-leg
thing 'they rock in a 21st Century kinda' way.
Purveyors of "all that's f***ed and wrong in dance music" with DJs Punksi, Parasite and Uberdog and live sets from sick guests. Meshes of text, sprawl and rhythmic visuals from VJ Anakissed mashed with mutant jungle, sizzling dancehall, bleedin' grime, hard breaks, speed gypsy, reelin' ragga and no-skool in one hot tent.
Featuring DURACELL: the new one-man freak sensation. Imagine space-metal duo Lightning Bolt in one chamber and a Commodore 64 with a big pile of driving and murdering games in the other chamber. Using his drum kit to trigger a Nord modular, he produces no-fi versions of everything from Aphex Twin to classic computer game themes.