Looking forward to my Artist Residency with Tim Atack at iShed


 

I’ve been really lucky over the period of my sabbatical to get to work with some great people. Some of these collaborations [ ORE / MortonUnderwood ] are lasting and will shape my future.

Until my sabbatical I was a rather solitary artist but I have learnt just how rewarding working with others can be. Trusting someone else to deliver to the standard you are used to doesn’t daunt me as it once did; it’s about finding the right people to work with.

It is on this basis that it gives me great pleasure to announce my collaboration with Tim X Atack and iShed in Bristol later this year. Myself and Tim have been selected as artists in residence to work together to develop ideas based around Tim’s writing (words and music) and my Sonic Graffiti project.

This is very cool on a number of levels. Firstly, it’s great to have met Tim, as pleasant talented folk are always good to have in your life. Secondly, from our initial discussions I am VERY excited by how his influence might shape the project. Who knows we might actually make something genuinely moving with my emphasis on extending user interfaces and his on narrative. Thirdly, the very talented Juneau Projects are the other artists selected for the residency, which can only lead to good things. Lastly, and crucially, iShed is pretty much a dream place to do a residency. They have a proven track record of commitment to open and frank exchange to aid artist development, along with an attitude to creative work that strikes me is about as good as it gets.

Bring this on!

Bye bye sabbatical

Today is the final day of my sabbatical. It has been a remarkable experience and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who feels able to do so. I have learnt many new skills, made lots of new acquaintances and I’ve discovered much about myself, which has been central to defining what I plan to do for the next 10 years or so…at which point I plan to take my next sabbatical.

 
The ups and downs
Here’s a quick list of what I see as my most major achievements to come out of my sabbatical:

ORE
To go from just starting to play tuba as my sabbatical began to playing our debut gig at Supersonic 2011, and all which has followed thereafter, makes me extremely happy. I am also delighted that my collaboration with Stuart Estell, which can only result in good things!

MortonUnderwood
Likewise, to go from having started work on our first commission together in November 2011 to delivering a highly successful sound art piece at BEAM Festival recently is great progress. Again, I am delighted with my collaboration with David Morton.

PRSF New Music Incubator
To be selected as one of the ten UK artists to partake in the PRSF New Music Incubator programme 2011-12 was fantastic. A great experience, which boosted my confidence and has led us all to have a group of open-minded performers (and friends) I can rely on to deliver future projects.

Collaborations, in general
These three achievements (above) have led me to view collaboration as a great thing. I am no longer a solitary soul where my art is concerned.

Sonic Graffiti
My Sonic Graffiti project has developed greatly over the past months. In particular the work I did to deliver sound objects as part of a commission for VIVID and Capsule drove this on greatly. I will definitely be doing more!

Malvern Hills District Brass Band
I recently joined Malvern Hills District Brass Band. I did so in order to gain more focus in terms of my playing and sight-reading. I also rather like much brass band music and I see it in some way as a dedication to my granddad who loved brass bands. In many ways there could be no greater endorsement of the progress I have made on tuba than this. Yes, I have loads to learn still but the fact a band is happy to have me on board when they would naturally have a very matter-of-fact view of players is great. Chuffed.

There are a number of really exciting things bubbling under at present, which I am sadly not quite in a position to announce. These include potential projects with organisations and artists I admire greatly. Hugely exciting stuff…which I will be sure to let you know about as it is announced.

 
Here’s a list of the things that didn’t go as originally planned:

Studio build
What a nightmare. This was just like you see on the telly box. Too much time, money and effort expended by half. BUT at least it is nearly done there. This was the reason my sabbatical was extended by three months.

Still not enough time
Yes, despite taking a sabbatical some projects still never came to fruition. I think in some ways what you unnaturally want to concentrate on comes to the fore. In my case this meant some specific projects didn’t get done and in general I didn’t do as much recoding and production of music as I had hoped. Onwards!

 
What’s next?
Now my sabbatical is over, everything changes. Well, not quite. Much of what I have been developing will continue to be developed. The change is in the focus of what I am doing. Essentially, I will be spending less time on projects that fall at the fringes of my interest (such as helping to organise The End Festival) and more time focussing on developing my core areas of interest… and yes, making some money.

The main areas I plan to concentrate on in order to both get better at them and to make some money from them are:

  • Tuba playing with ORE, and in other contexts
  • Musical instrument design, build and sale
  • Electronic and (ultimately) acoustic instrument building workshops
  • Sound art installations – in particular my Sonic Graffiti and acoustic gallery installations based around my instrument building
  • Concerts – with an emphasis on bass and exploring cavernous acoustic spaces
  • Recordings – where possible physical beautiful physical releases
  • Short-runs of hand-finished merchandise
  • Lectures

More details on these as they develop but for now, if anyone wishes to commission me to build a musical instrument, play at your festival or deliver a workshop or lecture, please get in touch.

 
Finally, a note to (not from) my sponsors
To those of you who very kindly sponsored me at the start of my sabbatical, I have three things to say to you:

  1. The funds raised are still kept entirely separate from other monies and will go into funding some cool stuff very soon
  2. Your Sabbatical Credits are safe and you will be able to spend them on anything I produce
  3. I have not forgotten that I promised to run a draw amongst you for a piece that I worked on throughout my sabbatical. This hasn’t quite transpired as I intended. Rather than being a piece that was added to daily, I will now run a draw using something that has been one year in the development as the prize. More on this soon!

Oh, and a huge thank you for your support!! It helps not only in terms of providing some funds towards making cool stuff happen but also in terms of my knowing that people care about what I get up to. Thanks.

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Thanks for reading!

And…for anyone out there thinking of taking a sabbatical, here is part of what convinced me to do so. I can now highly recommend it myself but the master frames it rather well.

Sagmeister: The Power of Time Off

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TOYBOX at TROVE / Confessions of a circuit-bender

Tomorrow I will be heading up to Birmingham to install my piece as part of the TOYBOX exhibition at TROVE. I am very excited to be included in this as it looks like a great collection of fun stuff. The piece I am exhibiting is a very early circuit-bent piece of mine (shown below), which now has a long history of use in gigs across the country, including at Supersonic Festival in 2009.

The reason for exhibiting this piece was as much to do with the story behind it, which I think illustrates the sometimes uneasy life fo a circuit-bender.
 
 
“I used to live in an ex-mining village in north Nottinghamshire. During the summer the neighbouring village would host car boot sales. I would go regularly, looking for stuff to bend. One time I was there and saw a stall with loads of V-tech stuff, which is a favourite amongst circuit benders. I went over and the lady asked who I was buying stuff for. I lied. I couldn’t bring myself to say that I planned to hack it to pieces to make odd sounds, so I lied. In order not to narrow down the options I said I have a nephew and a niece. “How old are they?”, she asked. I said they were both around two years old. I was starting to get nervous. Then, I spotted the V-tech phone and exclaimed how perfect it was and that I wanted to buy it. She told me the price and I paid. I started to leave and she said “Um, what about your niece?”. I said not to worry and that I would find her something elsewhere. The lady was very insistent and wouldn’t let me leave her stall without something for my imaginary niece. In the end she forced me to take a doll for her, at no extra cost. My lying had resulted in a car boot sale stall holder showing extreme generosity and concern. I felt guilty as hell but that soon faded when I got home and realised the doll’s head came off the body and fitted perfectly on top of the V-tech phone. And that is the story of how this odd looking hybrid was born.
 
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TOYBOX