FREENOISE LAUNCH NIGHT

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.

Lights down (almost off) lasers and films on, a single puff from the fog machine, Bel handing out glowsticks and kREEPA vs. Black Galaxy pumped up the action. I packed away the entry table and had it confirmed by a few mates the night was already a success, so I decide they can come in for free now (always was a great businessman!) as I settle into the dark to have my senses properly assaulted by these madmen. John 'the doctor' Richards is centre stage hurtling himself at his self made 'Kreepback' machine. Simon Mabbot stands tall behind his tall rack of machines and Nic (Napalm Death founder) Bullen sits hunched over pedals and a tabletop guitar. Hang on, I'll just have to watch a bit of this again to catch some description, its so alien to my ears.. Hmm that's better - ok. Dangerously extreme frequencies are attacking me from all sides. There's a twisted but addictive beat somewhere in there. The oddest jarring, scraping competes with a sub bass drone appearing from nowhere… Then there's only a lone hiss that makes me think I'm in an alien spacecraft miles from home, this goes on for a few minutes, only interrupted by the odd asteroid hitting the side of the craft. The centre of the stage is lit occasionally by flashed outlines of planets, faces, trees, dreams, abstraction.

Richards sits still now staring above the audience heads, apparently listening to stuff we can't hear his machines working on..! The music (yep now there's a regular clockwork type beat coming in so I'll call it music) is so understated it's a crime. The trio have mastered the art of call and return, or rather getting their machines to combat one another's prowess, stalking, sniffing out, psychologically abusing and all out fight to the death. Now, its dark, its quiet and I'm confused. Suddenly a strobe light kicks in, by 'coincidence' the images on the screen are flashing manically and the volume and intensity rollercoasters into freefall psychosis again. After this amazing climax we are actually treated to an encore as Nic shout's 'I love you all, I've never had so much f****g fun in my life!' Someone then shouts 'Make some f****g noise!' and the insane distortions are let loose for a couple of mins again before finishing. Nearly an hour. Superb. Brian our resident sound man tells me the next day with regard to the Kreepback machine that neither he nor the desk have ever been tested that far in the whole history of gigs at The Grapes.

Wire - March '06

Links: K vs. BG / Chora / Archer