8 - 10 Dec - ATP Nightmare Before Christmas - [...]

27 Nov - Thirdorgan / The Tajalli Vortex / Das Synthetische Mischgewebe / Grunt [...]

17 Nov - Damo Suzuki / Hotsnack / Martin Archer [...]

3 - 5 Nov - Gong Family Uncon - Amsterdam Melkweg [...]

21 Oct - Sir Richard Bishop / Michael Flower Band [...]

20 Oct - Cheap Machines / The Tajalli Vortex / Psychiatric Challenge / FTSE100 [...]

10 Oct - Madame P / Bjerga Iversen [...]

05 Oct - Psychic TV [...]

27 Sep - A Middle Sex / Towering Breaker / Chora [...]

15 Sep - Whitehouse / That Fucking Tank / Martin Archer [...]

12 Aug - Hair Police / Putrefier / kREEPA vs. Black Galaxy / Feast of Ishtar [...]

11 Aug - Solar Fire Trio / Little Miss Machete / Eaten by Children vs. Moodi [...]

10 Aug - Auto Da Fe / James Green & the Weary Sea Dogs / Eaten By Children [...]

14 July - Ashtray Navigations / The Serfs [...]

03 / 04 July - The Tree Fellers (Mick Beck / Paul Hession / Matt Wand) + Helmut Lemke w/ John Jasnoch / Charlie Collins / Neil Carver [...]

01 July - The Gated Community (Beck / Archer et al) - Promotional short [...]

23 June - Volcano the Bear / James Green Group / Chora [...]

08 June - Black Galaxy / Filthy Turd / Honey Ride Me a Goat / Sgure / Family Battlesnake / Terminal Outputs [...]

25 May - Hotsnack / Martin Archer / Andy Abbot / The Good Anna [...]

10 May - Magik Markers + support. Sheff [...]

2 April - Damo Suzuki's Network: Martin Archer / Hotsnack / Chora / The Stereo Walk Experiment / Inecto School. Sheffield Corporation [...]

25th March 2006 - Directing Hand (Alex Neilson) / Phil Todd / Ben Reynolds / Lied Music [...]

16 March - Freenoise Live: Astral Social Club / Gate 33 / GEN 26 / Chora at The Grapes [...]

25 Feb - Sunburned Hand of the Man / Hush Arbors / Flowers+Corsano / Chora / Feral Children - Matilda Centre, Sheffield [...]

22 Feb - Jack Rose / Chros Corsano / Inecto School + Chora - Cricketers, Sheffield [...]

15 Feb - Freenoise Live: Extreme Noise - Filthy Turd / Eaten By Children / Unicorn Love / GodOnlyKnows [...]

12 Feb - Sunn O))) & Earth: Live at The Cockpit, Leeds [...]

9th Feb '06 - Interview with Martin Archer on the nature of free noise, techniques, influences and more - [...]

2005
Chris Corsano + Mick Flower / The Giblets / Chora - Cricketers Arms, Sheffield, 8th Dec 06
Fursaxa. Lantern Theatre, Sheffield. 27 Nov 05
Hotsnack. Live, The Lescar, Sheffield. 17 Dec 05
Hotsnack. Live. The Grapes 6 Jan 06
Supersonic Festival. Capsule at The Custard Factory - Birmingham 8-9 July 05
Vibracathedral Orchestra / The Gated Community / Chora. Lantern Theatre Sheffield. 11/11/05

FREENOISE: LAUNCH NIGHT. 19 Jan 06. The Grapes, Sheffield UK.

Well, we launched the project in style and it exceeded all expectations. We gave away 25 copies of Fusion but forgot to include the golden ticket into one of them (free entry to all Freenoise nights this year) so will sort something for the 15th to get this out to some lucky dude(ess). We've sold a lot too, and a few have gone off to various stores and distributors including Fusetron in NY so the word's getting about!
There were some angels looking after things that night, firstly Jon provided projector and filmed the whole event, see clips. The visuals looked stunning and covered the whole back wall. I put together some old cartoons (inc.Betty Boop's 'Stop That Noise'), and Nic from Black Galaxy provided some great stuff for their set. A small laser crab, a strobe light added atmosphere along with the incense floating in the air. Pity about the fog machine conking out after one puff but that's what you get from hiring from dodgy shops. The combination worked surprisingly well with the act list which I oddly imagined would be 'underground minimal' overall but I've always liked putting on a bit of a show, besides, sod it, who said the underground couldn't make a visual noise as well? No, the theme was 'free noise' anyway and that's what transpired, beautifully.

Martin Archer introduced himself and gave us a lengthy solo show. The sampled repeated words 'All the wars were lost' are still haunting me now, along with his sensual freeform clarinet and powerful synth basses. After a stint with bass recorder a track consisted almost entirely of layered voice samples including hysterical laughing, and Martin was a man at one with the performance, engaging with the laptop like a genuine instrument; facial and bodily contortions were amusing and strange. The set climaxed with a stunningly frantic clarinet solo over some giant beats.

Elements of his show were challenging, consciousness shifting, peaceful and reassuring, thoroughly confident with his avant-garde originality. A friend summed up Martin's persona by saying to me 'I'll never be able to look at my bank manager in the same light again'. Sheffield's writer and our friend Martin Lilleker was there, this time writing on behalf of The Wire so look out for that. Amusingly The Sun were there too as some monkey band used to gig here, tonight they're hoping of a shot of our Brian (on desk), possibly not for page 3… More old b & w animations (inc. Burroughs) played during the interval to the sound of Throbbing Gristle mixed with Chechen Sufi war chanting I'd put together, not that anyone would've noticed!

Well my lovely sisters had done a good session on the door so during Chora's set I found myself at the top of the stairs on my own with a few minutes to absorb what was going on, and absorb some more Gwinness. Not for long though as through the door there's this almighty tribal beat I just had to go and see what they were upto this time and was in time to see Chris standing up drumming like a crazy and Ben and Rob yelping and tweaking noise machines all in time to a stunning voodoo beat. Again, check the clip! Afterwards as people were making for the bar I was met with a stream of blazing eyeballs and sweaty heads as everyone who passed me exclaimed their approval. Continued below..