Newcastle

So, I'm leaving Newcastle as the Turner prize opens. It seems I'm always traveling in the opposite direction to everyone else.

GIG

I'm performing with Danai Pappa www.danaipappa.co.uk on 26th Oct. A new peice called sib Conduit.

Music, Technology and Innovation
De Montfort University, Leicester
New Media Events 2011-2012

Wednesday October 26th, 2011 7pm
PACE Building, Studio 1, Richmond St., Leicester

The second concert in this year’s series featuring more work created by MTI Team members.

Panos Amelides Alexandros
Manolis Manousakis A live Electronics and Dance Improvisation Fragments of the Unseen_London With Ioanna Kampylafka (dancer) & Michael Larsson (video)
Simon Atkinson Remote part iv (prelude to the mirage)
Neal Spowage Sib Conduit---With Danai Pappa (dancer)
Mike Gatt Rapture

Entry Free!

BEAM Festival

On the 24th, 25th and 26th June I'll be demonstrating and performing with my Dumbell in BEAM open Space, at Brunel University, UK.

Outline

Today I have made major progress in to getting the outline of my thesis in order. I am halfway through year three of Six.

Dirty Electronics at the ICA

I'll be here this weekend, assisting and taking part.

http://www.ica.org.uk/27692/Music/Dirty-Electronics-Solder-and-Score.html

European Venues

One of the most noticeable things about the venues we played on our little tour was how nice they were, good toilets, dressing rooms, showers, plus they were Acoustically Treated, nice foyer, sound systems (mostly) and bar areas. Generally they were pleasant places to be. Maybe that is a contributing factor to the high turnout of punters.

Come on England... Catch up.

Luxury Stranger

I've been a bit busy of late hence the lack of posts, the main reasons being a new girlfriend and new band. The band's called Luxury Stranger and we've been rehearsing for a tour supporting the Chameleons Vox. Heres the dates plus more.

25th January 2011 - Forum, Bielefeld
(supporting ChameleonsVox)

27th January 2011 - Werkhof, Hagen
(supporting ChameleonsVox)

28th January 2011 - Gigant, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
(supporting ChameleonsVox)

29th January 2011 - Nieuwe Nor, Heerlen, Netherlands
(supporting ChameleonsVox)

30th January 2011 - Winterborn Festival, Baroeg, Rotterdam, Netherlands (with ChameleonsVox, Karmadeva, Sophya, Spirals
and La Lune Noir)

1st March 2011 - The Maze, Nottingham (more detials to follow)

26th March 2011 - WGW Festival, The Spa Pavillion, Whitby(supporting the Damned)

9th April 2011 - ' exclusively at The Old Angel, Nottingham (A pre-party for Dark Waters: Luxury Stranger DJ set and
live music from Rhombus and Gina Stone)

22nd April 2011 - TBC (more detials to follow)

23rd April 2011 - TBC (more detials to follow)

24th April 2011 - TBC (more detials to follow)

1st May 2011 - FRiversider Live, Newcastle (supporting Sheep on Drugs)

7th May 2011 - The GMM Grand Charity Ball @ The Witchwood,
Ashton-Under-Lyne (more details to follow)

14th May 2011 - Dark Waters Festival, Nottingham
(with Psyche, No More, Resist, the Last Cry, Method Cell, Scary Bitches,
Lesbian Bed Death and more...)

28th May 2011 - , Zuu Bar, Bradford

25th June 2011 - Pitch Black @ the Appleby, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3RT (more details to follow)

1st July 2011 - Retro Bar, Manchester (with Resist)

26th August 2011 - Pray Silence Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
(with Gary Numan, Vendemmian and others)

MTI Live Electronics Event

I'm curating this TONIGHT 24th November 2010.


FREE Live Electronics and Explorative Performance in the Screen Lounge at the Phoenix Square, Leicester, UK, featuring performances from Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Alumni members of the De Montfort University Music Technology and Innovation program and the Institute of Creative Technologies.

In no particular order.

Conjugate DJ - Simon Smith

...
Heartbeat controlled audience participation installation performance
Dave Everitt

Untitled Collaboration
Ryan Jordan, Natalie Raven and Andy Small

Muted Fnord
Andrew Johnston- kaoss pad , diy oscillator, guitar;
Dave Dhonau- guitar, bass, game boy;
Ola Szmidt- Vocals, Ableton,flute

Electronic Dumbell V2
Neal Spowage - Debut performance of a new electronic instrument developed at the STEIM Institute. The Dumbell is designed for physical articulation and performance as much as it is designed for musical expression. It visualises itself through the musician.

Untitled Collaboration
Sleuf and Dushume - Radios, Decks, Home made instruments and Laptop. Improvising using chopped up samples and beats, mixed with radio sounds and live instruments

The Electronic Dumbell

This is a duplicate of my post on the STEIM Blog.

I arrived at STEIM with the partially completed second version of my instrument called the “Electronic Dumbell”. My areas of interest are: Hardware Hacking, Circuit Bending and DIY electronics; Found Objects, Dada, Readymades, Fluxus, Ergonomics and Sculptural Instruments. My intentions for this residency at STEIM were to finish this instrument and to begin the process of learning and composing.

The Dumbell consists of two amplified oscillators that have six short circuits built in to them. These short circuits are triggered by six on/off tilt switches and two variable resistors in the form of grip sensors that are positioned on the central stem. It is designed to be completely self-supporting, cheap, visually arresting, and to have directional control of the sound in the performance space. Its sound is intended to be glitch and noise based.

In the studio I made adjustments to the physical balance of the Dumbell by placing counterweights at key locations around the instrument. I became aware of the strength of the materials that I was using, and what kind of movements and stresses I should be aware of during performance. In this I mostly refer to the central stem of the Dumbell which is made from a piano key and designed to take years of stress from specific directional planes when it is mounted and played within a piano. It was not designed to take the forces that will be exerted on it from all angles during a performance as a component of the Dumbell. We tested the key and it seems able to take strong forces from many directions in the short term, I will keep a keen eye on the piano key to see how it copes in the long term.

I also repositioned the tilt switches and solved various technical problems with the readymade amplifier that, like the piano key, was not designed for the task. I make a point of abusing electronics in this way as I find the outcomes unpredictable and fascinating. As it turns out, the amplifier has uncommon grounds that we postulate are there to prevent earth loops and phasing when used in applications such as automotive audio systems. This was a useful discovery as isolating the earth like this probably helps prevent phasing between the three circuits in my design when they are running from the same power source.

I spent a large portion of my time rehearsing with the Dumbell, getting to know its idiosyncrasies, and deciding what movements and postures should be associated with the six short circuits and their combinations. I’d used trial and error procedures to position the tip switches accordingly and replace certain short circuits that didn’t ‘sound’ as required. The gesture and posture that an instrument like this forces upon the musician is also important, because it is beginning to develop the persona of a marching band or carnival instrument, and this persona will affect any composition written with for this instrument. This carnival or marching band persona was unintentional but still a highly desirable path to follow.

I also managed to grab some rehearsal time in Studio 3. This was invaluable because the fundamental design of the instrument uses the Doppler effect and acoustic reflections as performance tools; so, doing this allowed me to compare the harsher acoustics of Studio 3 to the muted reflections in Studio 0. These differences impressed me to keep the basic pre-amplifier equalisation so that I could adjust the tone of the Dumbell to suit different environments. Even though the pre-amplifier only contained the basic “bass and treble” filter bands, it provided enough sound manipulation to compensate effectively to the two different acoustics of the studios. Rehearsing in Studio 3 also allowed me to experiment with the instrument as a performance tool as well as a sound generator.

Thanks to Taku, Jun, John and Daniel, I am already looking at what new possibilities the format of the Dumbell may hold.

STEIM Artists Residency.

In the bottom right of this picture is the instrument that I'm working on here at STEIM. The first iteration was the dumbell, this is still the dumbell, or is it? Has it progressed and changed beyond all recognition? It is still changing as I type, certainly. And it looks good in a corridor, next to a radiator and some bubble wrap.

Short reportage of my last gig.

The Ghetto Bastard at The Access Space, Sheffield, UK

Access Space Sonic Event 1 - 23 July 2010 - Neal Spowage from Access Space on Vimeo.

RMA Study Day

I will be delivering a paper at the Royal Music Association Study Day in Leeds on 23rd October about 'Collaborations in Practice Led Research within electronic music instrument building and performance'.

The Spare.

It's always good practice to have a spare instrument, especially when you build your own and can't always rely on your build quality to get you through the gig, it's even better when said spare instrument attracts just as much attention as the star of the show. This clip is from Sonic Event 1, last night, after three glasses of wine, at the access space in Sheffield where I performed with my Ghetto Bastard.

Sonic Event - FLOSS & recycled technology, Sheffield

I will be playing with my Ghetto Bastard in Sheffield on Friday 23rd July as a part of this event, so if your about come down. It's going to be a fun night. Full details of the where, the when, the other artists and what they're doing are below.

SONIC EVENT 1
Friday 23rd of July 2010 6.00pm - 9.00pm @ Access Space - FREE

Performances by artists in and around the South Yorkshire region using
Free and Open Source Software and recycled technology:

Alo Allik - f(x) - an audiovisual exploration of 3-dimensional
continuous spatial functions using SuperCollider and OpenGL
http://tehis.net

Neal Spowage - Ghetto Bastard - a performance with recycled
technology: a bastardised radio cassette player utilising radio
static, interference, body resistance, acoustic feedback and
mechanical noise.
www.nealspowage.com

Monika Dutta and David Mutch - Kindle - performance premier of
new work created with Pure Data, video and live animation inspired by
climatic concerns, alternative energy and the light and vistas of
East Yorkshire's coastal region.
www.foggedfilm.org



Access Space, 3-7 Sidney St, Sheffield S1 4RG, UK
t: 0114 249 5522
w:www.access-space.org
e: jake@access-space.org

STEIM

I've neglected to mention this, STEIM have offered me a two weeks artists residency. They are possibly the worlds only independent artist led centre for research in the area of instruments & tools for performers in the electronic performance arts. I'm rather excited.

The end of the Banshee Aircrew

Our penultimate gig has passed and some of our songs have been played for the last time. Some of them haven't been recorded yet so if you weren't there then you will never hear them again. In two weeks, on the 17th of July, we will play our last ever show at The Duchess in York. Again, we will play music that will never be repeated in any other arena. So, if your a fan, then I think this will be one of those shows you must get to, because it will never be seen again. If I were you in your shoes, I'd be there.

Sodler Soldiers

Next week I'll be exhibiting some of the instruments that I've built over the past few years. There'll also be works from other luminaries including John Richards, Mike Gatt, Circuit Ben and ASMO.

Facebook Event.
Solder Soldiers, at Fabrika Independent Arts Centre, Leicester, Monday 14th June

+ an evening of performances on Friday 18th June.

Chris Carter and the Dirty Electronics Ensemble

On Wednesday The 28th April Chris Carter, of Throbbing Gristle fame amongst other endeavors, will be performing with the Dirty Electronics Ensemble at The Phoenix Square in Leicester. For this gig he, and John Richards, have designed a beautiful a new instrument called The Dirty Carter. I'll be there as a part of the ensemble. I've been looking forward to this all year.

Wounded Furniture

"You Play Together but Act Apart" is a piece that I have written for four language department tape machines. It was premiered at the Dirty Elecronics Christmas Concert in December 2009 and will get it's second outing next Saturday the 27th March at the Phoenix as a part of the More Wounded Furniture Fluxus event.

Third Time Lucky?

After the good news of "lots of really exiting gigs" for the Screaming Banshee Aircrew, I'm feeling slightly deflated now because I've found out that I didn't get the AHRC funding that I applied for in February for my PhD. I didn't even survive the first round of applications which is disappointing considering that the last time I applied with the same proposal, I managed to make the final five. So, with defeat staring me in the face like a big hairy monster, it looks like I'm back to looking for a second job to pay my fees.

But I shall not give up.......Third time Lucky?

SCREAMING BANSHEE AIRCREW

Us, me and the Screaming Banshee Aircrew have got a few gigs coming up... Look.

13 Mar 2010 The Maze Nottingham, Midlands
14 Mar 2010 A Funeral Party 3 @ The Purple Turtle London
25 Mar 2010 The Dublin Castle London, South
15 Apr 2010 The Hope And Anchor LONDON
29 May 2010 The Old Angel (with Luxury Stranger) Nottingham
17 Jul 2010 DV8 Festival @ The Duchess YORK, Northeast

So I thought it'd be a good moment to remind everyone that the album SUGAR is now available digitally on iTunes and Play.com... and to come to the gigs of course as our live show is now gaining legendary levels of notoriety!

see ya yaddadadaa!

SBA Mega Tour Video Fotoage

As seen on Eds FB, here's Chris's video document of the ever active Screaming Banshee Aircrew's recent mini 3 date UK mega world tour of the universe. Featuring under bonnet action, broken keyboards, belly button fluff, Bounty Bars, 27 point turns, and much much more......

Dirty Electronics Ensemble

On Wednesday I'm performing with the Dirty Electronics Ensemble at De Montfort Uni. It's free and everyone is invited. We start at 7.30pm in Studio1 of the Pace Building. I'd love to see you all there. Then it's the pub after, probably the Swan and Rushes.

Pieces by Duncan Chapman, Stu Smith, Neal Spowage, John Richards et al. The final MTI concert of the year! The twenty-five piece strong Dirty Electronics Ensemble will perform a concert of newly commissioned pieces for DIY electronic instruments, featuring an Atari Fuzz Punk Console, cassette machines, and small motors and chains.

http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/events.htm

SBA in NME FreakScene

Here's a pretty good article on my band, the Screaming Banshee Aircrew , printed in the Freakscene blog.

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=139&p=7570&more=1

If you want to see us, our next gig is in Leicester on the 26th Novemver at Firebugbar (Twesta promotions), supporting the excellent Leeds based I Concur. It's going to be one of those "tearing the roof off" kind of gigs!

http://www.myspace.com/twesta

The Electric Dumbell

So here it is, the Electric Dumbell prototype version 1.0. It has been field tested once and certainly needs a lot of work, including a re-build with better materials. That cardboard aint going to last long. I also need to actually learn how to play it, which will take time. I'll need a deadline so if anyone wants to put me on stage then I'm ready to go. I don't need plugs cables or a sound check. I'd really prefer to be part of a gig, with bands, in a pub. Not in a gallery or studio. It's my plan to bring this kind of thing to the wider public.

STENCH 25/10/09

I'm performing at the next STENCH which will be held at the Art Organisation on Humberstone Gate. It's on the 25th October as part of OXJAM and it starts around 4pm and finishes at 8pm to make way for more tradtional music such as live bands. http://stench.org.uk/events/2009/08/21/stench_v_at_the_art_organisation

I've been building a new instrument for the perofrmance, and I'm still building it, and I'll probably still be building it after the perofrmance.... and sometime into the next decade. It should be functional for the gig though, so don't fear. I will survive.

This is the current state of play, as you can see the chassis on the right is made up of an accelleration control lever from my dad's old mobility scooter, and a white piano key from an old KAWAI electric stage piano. I was hoping to use the speakers form the same piano but they're just not efficient enough.

Well, wish me luck, got less than two weeks to get it done.

Hardware Hacking in the Media

Hardware Hacking has had a couple of mentions in the media recently. In this broadcast, there is a mention of the Islington Hackspace towards the end of the programme:

How to Write An Instruction Manual
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00m4470/How_to_Write_An_Instruction_Manual/

Broadcast on:
BBC Radio 4, 11:00am Friday 21st August 2009
Duration:
30 minutes
Available until:
11:32am Friday 28th August 2009
Categories:

* Factual,
* Science & Nature

And in this broadcast there is a mention of the Noisebridge Hackspace in San Fransisco with a more in depth interview with one of the founders Mitch Altman:

Digital Planet 12/08/09
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003vq94
Last broadcast on Wed, 12 Aug 2009, 01:32 on BBC World Service

Enjoy

Something for the Weekend

On Friday I'll be playing with the Screaming Banshee Aircrew at the Purple Turtle in Camden. Come down. The doors, I believe, are at 8pm. We always make for a great night.

In addition (this is mainly for Leicester folk), you can buy the new Screaming Banshee Aircrew album, SUGAR, directly from me, or any other band members, in person for less than you would pay in the shops. Ask and ye shall receive.

STENCHIVAL

Last Friday was Stenchival, hosted by Bathysphere. Jacqueline Cheval came along and documented the proceedings of our experimental electronics.

Onstage were Asmo, Sam Dodson, James Kelly and Myself.
Here is the result. Rather excellent I think.

Stenchival 2009, Great Central Leicester from Jacqueline Cheval on Vimeo.

The Great Central Gallery

How near is a near miss?

I don't fly very often.

Last week Liz and I landed in East Midlands Airport and we had just crossed the M1 from the east and were about 500m from the end of the runway and very low when the engines powered up to what felt like full throttle and we began a very steep climb and bank right for what felt like about three minutes before leveling off and coming round for another go. The pilot kindly told us that he'd aborted because the runway had a plane on it.

Here's a google map of the area to give an idea of distances.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=nottingham&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=uk&ei=c7ZlSsiTNt6NjAfmxPibAQ&ll=52.827765,-1.32102&spn=0.028834,0.082054&t=h&z=14

Now, I'm curious, does that count as a near miss (1 mile) and is this fairly common to frequent flyers? Do ya'll take this kind of thing in your stride?

I found it a little scary. Much scarier than turbulence.

On the floor in front of the door

The chunky shiny black and orange procedings for NIME2009 dropped through my letterbox yesterday. I have a 2 page demo paper on page 29, or alternativley its available on the NIME website here http://www.nime2009.org/proceedings.php

I'm quite chuffed! I'm still quite new to this getting published lark.

Back in Blighty

I'm back from the dust ridden landscape of southern Spain with very little tan and a few more books read. I can now get on with the heady task of completing my new hand held instrument and the piano sound board installation (with Bathysphere Stu) ready for STENCHIVAL (sp?) on the 7th August which is a part of the Summer Sundae Fringe Festival.

The next Screaming Banshee Aircrew gig is at the Purple Turtle in Camden on 28th August.