Sweden West Coast slideshow pt 1

Mimi and Astrid on "Deer Rock" (Mimi saw a deer from there!)


view from the outside of our little summer house near Bovallstrand, a few kilometers inland from the coast

The Ybifjord near Nordens Ark nature park/zoo. Apparently not a proper Fjord...

Camilla's new facebook profile. "Ahhhhhhh...."

she looks Korean...

Julia, Astrid and Camilla in the farm house in Nordens Ark
the rocks outside Smoegen


the little country lane leading towards our house at dusk
bathing spot on Hallö, a barren island and nature reserve that you can get to by boat from Smögen
rocky hill on the walk to Bovallstrand

Sweden West Coast slideshow pt 2

These dark red fishermen's huts are everywhere...

again, the wild rocky scenery just outside Smoegen harbour





a lake with beautiful grass growing in it, deep in the woods...

back on the rocks near our house, where you can already see the coast in the distance





Mimi, Anton, Astrid, Julia and Camilla.

A bit of a reunion for a couple of days. Camilla and Astrid used to live with me in that famous "communal" and/or party house in Brighton Kemptown for a while in the 90s, both are now back in Sweden, Astrid has a family with two kids now and works as a gender consultant, Camilla is now a published author and translator. They came out for a couple of days while we were staying there, and we visited Nordens Ark nature park/zoo where you can see wolves, wolverines, tigers, reindeer and other animals in large enclosures, situated on a gorgeous woody hill overlooking a fjord (the kids loved it and so did we) and later Smoegen.

We had hired a little house in the sticks, built on the side of a huge flat elevated rock, on the Swedish west coast, somewhere between Bovallstrand and Hunnebostrand, near the famous old port town and island of Smögen, but a few kilometers inland from the coast. These rocky hills are everywhere around there, also deep woods, and by the coast some quite spectacular scenery. Fortunately there were buses and hiking trails, as we didn't have a car, notably the Söte Leden, a well-signposted (though quite challenging in places) long distance trail meandering in different branches around the area, mainly through the inland woods and hills, and passing our house close by.

Tonight at the Cross Kings

Reminder: This is happening tonight from 20.00 pm, Plus are on Stage at approx. 21.50!

There has been a lineup change: Rail unfortunately had to pull out and we now have Cementimental playing with us at 20.45 pm, they're a noise improv collective and will perform as a duo this evening. Check: www.myspace.com/cementimentalnoise

DJ Tricyclic Looper hopes to entertain you from the start and throughout.

Directions: Coming out of the main entrance of Kings Cross tube and rail station turn left, then left into York Lane, keep walking for about five minutes, cross the canal and the Cross Kings is on your right! We are on downstairs in the Jester Bar but it's possible to hang out and have good food in the main ground floor bar upstairs! See you there?

Plus - 10th anniversary show. Help us celebrate ten years of deranged guitar noise, experimental sci-fi poetry and improvised post punk! :-) www.myspace.com/mmmplus

Julian Storer - classical guitar

Cementimental - noise improv collective, here performing as a duo. www.myspace.com/cementimentalnoise

plus more surprise acts!

DJ: Tricyclic Looper

Tuesday 15.07. 20h

@ the Cross Kings (Jester Bar)

York Way, Kings X

www.thecrosskings.co.uk

3 pounds on the door

The Bishopsgate Goods Yard development: Have your say!

I went to Shoreditch Town Hall yesterday, where Hackney Council was inviting residents to find out what local people want for the development of the disused Bishopsgate Goods Yard, a piece of land bordered by Shoreditch High street, Sclater Street and Brick Lane, so this is not about the proposed demolition of The Light or the new high rise residential development on the top of Bethnal Green Road. There was an exhibition that you can view online (first link) and a questionnaire (second link) you can fill out and send them until later in the month, so pls have a look and fill out the questionnaire (even if you don't live in the area and only come to Brick Lane from time to time, this will affect you)

http://www.hackney.gov.uk/ep-spd-bishopsgate-goodsyard.html

http://www.hackney.gov.uk/bishopsgate-goods-yard-questionnaire.doc

There is talk of some open green space to be developed but that would mean having a large tower at the Shoreditch High Street end apparently (to maximise the space). I think they have a chance to do something interesting that will integrate with the existing character of the area, you know, affordable spaces for small businesses like cafes, bars, clubs, live venues, art galleries, that sort of thing... as well as having an open space that could be used creatively like the Elys Yard in Truman's Brewery, an urban oasis where many interesting things are staged on a regular basis.

Apparently this plot of land has been earmarked for major development for a while but I don't think the area needs more development, or at least it should be a more organic development that fits in with rather than completely redefines the area. Apart from the inevitable lengthy disruption while constructing these monstrous buildings (and there are already too many building sites around, and it's even worse in the City!), more big buildings will not add to the character of the area, and could probably help destroy the unique atmosphere around there. So far Shoreditch has resisted being completely co-opted into the encroaching city. The area around Brick Lane and Shoreditch is buzzing more or less nonstop right now, go on a weekend and it is clear that it is one of the areas people gravitate to from all over the place, it works, people are voting with their feet (go a little bit further into the old city and it is more or less dead apart from the odd tourists), new spaces are being found, the experiment that started almost ten years ago when there was virtually nothing in the area continues and is now almost mainstream, but still very potent. For instance, Redchurch Street running parallel to the bit of the Bethnal Green Road that borders the Bishopsgate Good Yard has recently become a hub for smallish new galleries, almost like Vyner Street, but more integrated into the flow of the nightlife, however you've got to wonder how this street will fare once all this new development will start appearing next door. Brick Lane itself, a street full of history and incredibly vibrant, again, it is vulnerable, and can't take much more, it's already bursting at the seams, the area is already super intense in its clashes of culture, art, tradition, history, etc.

So I think Hackney Council has a real chance to do something that will reflect on the area and also show off Hackney as a borough, as this will be its entry point when you come from the city. There's talk of a huge residential development but, again, I'm not convinced this is the right site for it, it's situated next to some major roads and rail lines and the air is pretty bad around there, so it will be noisy and polluted already. Plus there is nightlife and disruptive partying going on, especially on the weekend. I never understand how a lot of these developments are situated right next to such busy and noisy traffic routes, even with good insulation you still hear it and you must get sick of hearing the trains and traffic nonstop. So I'm not sure this is a good site to actually live.

However it would be a good site for a new biggish live venue, something Shoreditch doesn't really have yet but could definitely benefit from, there are many small to midsize venues around the area and it has become a major live music (and clubbing of course) destination, not as established as Camden, but full of quirky creative venues, something good (and often free) happens almost every day, but especially on the weekends. So while the Astoria and the Electric Ballroom in Camden are supposed to close at some point in the future, and the hub of clubs near Kings Cross already closed down, maybe this would be a good site to build something new for the clubbers, music lovers and artists who have defined the streetlife around there. Or integrate it into the railway arches that are apparently still around the site and could be used to build new clubs. There is already a lively infrastructure of venues in the area, that is being supported by a weekly influx of young people from all over the world, why not make it stronger and do something bold and amazing (rather than a boring aggressive residential high rise that most people don't want to see there and that will only make some people some money in the short term...) . The energy and the people are already there! All you need to do is give them more spaces to hang out! And the bankers go there too now! The Big Chill bar regularly hosts a very strange mix of after work city boys and scruffy local hipsters, and anyone else who wants to hang out, it's a very democratic, very intense urban mix and works!

I'm really fond of the area despite all its faults and faultlines, yes, it doesn't all add up, yes, it's too intense, yes, it's not entirely real and yes, it's getting too expensive for the people who started it all, but as i said, hang out there on a Sunday and you'll understand there is something special here, something a lot of other places can only dream of, and it's more than just gentrification. The days of the exclusive "Shoreditch Twat" are kinda over now, when there were just a few places, and the place was under developed, it's not so secret anymore, but still it's livelier than ever, and the once new venues now have an amazing history behind them already and have become real institutions that keep evolving. Don't make it stop, and you can't stop it anyway. Think about it, Hackney Council! It's your chance to do something amazing and thanks for listening!

p.s. Years ago residents in Berlin-Kreuzberg successfully campaigned to turn the former Goerlitzer railway station and depot area into a public park and this is what it looks like now...

p.p.s as i said pls fill out the questionnaire, it's very nice of them to ask ;-)

Brick Lane Follies...

These are from just over two weeks ago and mostly taken by Simon. Charlie's 40th birthday and we just went down the road to Brick Lane which is always buzzing on a Sunday but was especially good that afternoon, we saw some art in one of the Free Range exhibitions in the Truman Brewery and later ended up in the Vauxhall Arts Car Boot Sale at the back of the 93 Ft East where lots of quirky art could be bought, a big band played and the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club had set up in a corner for a very rocking karaoke session that really got raucous when the event was winding down and the last evening sun was illuminating this strange and beautiful urban wonderland. And it's MY birthday tomorrow!

I've been tagged: My Favourite Records Of All Times

so... here we go. This is a bit awkward. I listen to so much music all the time, it keeps switching, so for this very pompous sounding list I mainly chose the golden oldies. And I wrote this list down really fast, as you should apparently, cos when it comes to blogging speed is essential, but you know, I'm out of the loop, more or less permanently, so then it took me over a week to actually do this. So fuck it:

1. FEHLFARBEN: Monarchie und Alltag

"Einkaufsbummel im Erdnussland/Was uebrig bleibt/wird Entwicklungshilfe genannt"

This record looms large over a lot of German- language punk rock/post punk/new wave. I listened to it when I was at school but I still listen to it now. It can still give me the shivers. It's fast and abrasive but it also has some dreamlike lovelorn songs. It is depressing but also reminds you of what life is really made of in this world, the here and now still hurts and exhilarates like it does on this record, it's got a pulse even though it sometimes sounds like it was made by machines. I'm so glad this band still exists though I still haven't seen them. Peter Hein, the singer and lyricist, is an amazing writer, his voice is crystal clear yet melancholic and obscure at the same time. He's done many interesting things but this record is still ... unsurpassed in German language rock IMO.

2. GUIDED BY VOICES: Alien Lanes. 

"Disarm the Settlers/The new drunk drivers/ have hoisted the flag" 

The second, third or fourth, depending on how you look at it, of the run of classic early 90s "lo fi" albums that defined GBV, and still does, whether you like it or not. I'm getting *a little* bit tired of the cult of "Bee Thousand", and the people/critics who will forever reference that one album as an eternal benchmark, and I've always thought Alien Lanes was even more engaging, even more diverse. But whatever, at the end of the day... this record will survive forever in certain people's heads, certainly in mine.

3. X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND: Tocsin. 

"Folge mir!"

My slightly unhealthy fixation on this German, once 4AD signed, goth band led by the amazingly icy singer Anja Huwe continues, albeit in slightly milder form, and I think this is my favourite of all their albums, certainly the first five songs. There is a goth club called Tocsin in Lisbon's Bairro Alto. Also there are a lot of X-mal fans in Brazil. And I wish they would reform, I think some people would just flip out, I mean it.  

4. THE CURE: Pornography. 

"I could lose myself in Chinese art/ and American girls"  

I'm an old school Cure fan though I'm still very much into them and what they are doing now, and they still play this stuff live anyway, and people still listen to it 26 years later. Pornography is the full on conclusion of the trilogy of classic early Cure albums (also featuring Seventeen Seconds and Faith) and somehow still stands as the most extreme, the most heavy, and yes, the most goth of all Cure albums. Songs like "One Hundred Years", "The Figurehead" and "Siamese Twins" had such  a strong influence on me when I was younger, it's hard to explain, but they still do. 

5. MY BLOODY VALENTINE: Loveless

"Daaaaaa-dadada..."

June 20 at the Roundhouse. They're coming back! And it's coming closer .... When I first bought this record on vinyl when it came out, it was literally warped and I thought that's why it sounded so... off, like a self destructing radio, so I returned it, got another copy, put it on, and well, it sounded exactly the same, hahaha

6. COCTEAU TWINS: Victorialand. 

"Throughout the dark months of April and May"

Now the Cocteaus were really quite far out, and massively important for me back in the 80s, especially this one, as it's even softer, more experimental, deeper than the others. They were really pushing the boat out with this one and I went right with them at the time. I used to play this all the time for a while when I lived in Berlin in the mid 80s, often very loud. It still haunts me, those days, I think it did something to me, turned a key and let me into a very special room where the colours would change with the moods. . .

7. VIRGIN PRUNES:  If I Die, I Die

"Sweet home under white clouds"

Another timeless classic. Really witchy, passionate, and powerful, so many things came together. I think they thought it was too pop/mainstream at the time but somehow the elements of it that might push it into such a direction work in its favour to some extent, cause it definitely isn't mainstream in any way to my ears, but does sound coherent and, yes, streamlined but that makes it more intense and complete. 

8. TOCOTRONIC: s/t (The so called white album) 

"This boy is Tocotronic"

This is the only newer one on my list, and it's difficult to choose one of their records but as they have been so important for me lately I feel this, or one of them, should be on there. It manages to be obscure and elegant, and "white" somehow, but still has the punch of the earlier records, it's just more refined and stands at an intersection, marks the point when they definitely moved into a more poetic and sublime territory, a move that has benefitted them to my ears, made them more complex. 

9.WEEZER: s/t (The Blue Album). 

"Dozer will not clear a path"

Who would have thought back then what was to follow, all the creative traumas, all the pretty power pop songs alienating even more people. Back then it was just riding a wave, a wave of newness to some extent, and it was beautiful, and it still is. And they can't go back to this, I reckon, yet still we have this, and all the several million other brilliant songs...

10. BAD BRAINS: I Against I

"Almighty watching, almighty watching/ I against I against I against I"

They introduced me to the inherent pleasures of both reggae/dub and fast,heavy,loud rock/hardcore (just before I discovered the Pixies) at the same time. This is still their most potent set of songs I feel, though I've got a massive soft spot for their "Quickness" album too, and the early stuff too of course. Seeing them again last year in the original lineup was such a joy, it's hard to explain. 

So in the spirit of quickness which is apparently a hallmark of good effective blogging (am I giving you ideas here?), I shall now stop. And take you to take the next list, the right-now top ten, ok?

1. OF MONTREAL: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

"To me you're just some faggy girl/and I need a lover/with soul power"

I want to blog properly about this sometimes soon. Some line or moment of it comes into my head almost everyday...

2. THE NOTWIST: The Devil, You and Me

3. ROBERT POLLARD Is Off To Business

4. HOWLIN RAIN: Magnificent Fiend

5. SEBADOH: III

6. HARMONIA: Live 1974

7. MEAT PUPPETS: II

8. HOT CHIP: Made in the Dark

9. BRETT ANDERSON: s/t

10. MOUNTAIN GOATS: Heretic Pride