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The Mire

Master class

The long-promised interview by Robert Henke of Monolake with Rashad Becker, the mastering engineer at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin, is finally online . Becker's name is ubiquitous from run-out grooves and mastering credits, but as far as I know this is the first lengthy interview he's done.

The Mire

Wire Mire Linkage 25/02/2009

Simon Reynolds on the Hardcore Continuum at FACT Liverpool (via Fact Magazine): http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task;=view&id;=2028&Itemid;=28 Dumbing Down or Dumbing Up?: http://simple.wikipedia.org From the simple entry on Capitalism "Most people agree that capitalism can only work if the government keeps people from stealing other people's things. If people could steal anything, then nobody would want to buy anything." Oh yes. The Savage Pencil on automatic at the Atlantis Bookshop in London: http://www.theatlantisbookshop.com/ A very flashy, arty and colourful web stalking project. Sick and dirty: http://www.mrscoryarcangel.com/ Source: Music Of The Avant Garde, 1968 – 1971 : http://www.pogus.com/21050.html Allan Moore on superheroes, adaptations and the Watchmen: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/17-03/ff_moore_qa?currentPage=all

The Mire

the elliptical thought cycle of hearing a familiar reggae rhythm

1. that bassline, that's familiar... yeah, this is one of the true foundation tracks of reggae. Now, what the hell is it? 2. [hint of melody comes in] OK, yeah, that's how the verse goes... so, if I can just remember the chorus, I'll be able to figure out the track... 3. [hums vocal line to self] Ah yes, this is the one.... so the chorus goes something like... 4. "Jah is the light and foundation...." / "Down here in Babylon... " / "Africa... here I come...." Argh that doesn't narrow it down at all! 5. Return to step 1.

The Mire

Adventures In Modern Music 12 February 09

My Adventures In Modern Music show from the other week is available for download at the On Air section of the site. There's a great mix from the Mississippi Record Label on there. Or rather, the mix might not be great, but the music – raw gospel, blues, African and East Asian stuff – certainly is.

The Mire

Sample sale

For those who, like us, have been cold rockin' the Beastie Boys' reissued Paul's Boutique – a big influence on The Bomb Squad, I believe – it's worth checking out this sample resource for the album. I haven't looked into it deeply yet, but the sheer density of the samples, and breadth of the styles referenced, is fantastic.

The Mire

Lost And Found Dept

Great to see Steve Beresford and John Butcher last night at my local pub, The Birdcage in Stoke Newington. They were playing with percussionist Will Connor for new monthly art/music night, The Lost And Found Department. After a short trio set, which I missed through tardiness, each performer played solo. Butcher was on jazzy form, inflecting lilting melodic phrases with flutters and overtones before pelting the crowd violently with jagged squawks. Glad to see the cosiness of his surroundings did nothing to dilute his performance. Beresford was hyperactive behind his table laden with gadgets. Using a variety of sound sources, incl. Walkman, sampler and a little touch-pad synth he controlled with a pen, he cycled through ideas quickly. The three then took it in turns to play in duos: Connor & Beresford, Beresford & Butcher, Connor and Butcher. Connor took the everything-but-the kitchen-sink approach to percussion, playing a CD rack, a BBQ...

The Mire

Adventures In Modern Music 05 February 2009

Our latest Adventures In Modern Music is now up for your delectation. Hosted by, erm, me, it includes tracks by Black Dice, Beastie Boys, Dat Politics, Woebot, Mr Oizo, Goodiepal and more... Tune into Resonance FM next week (12 February) at 9.30pm for the next installment

The Mire

True Riches

I was wondering what kind of reaction there would be when the ICA decided to shut their live art/new media department last October. Along with the closure, ICA director Ekow Eshun wrote an email explaining that the art form lacked "depth and cultural urgency" (if you can define what exactly the multimedia/interdisciplinary art form of live art & new media is). Is Eshun correct in saying that live and new media arts aren't relevant enough for the ICA to put its funding into, and that anyways it'll be covered by the ICA's other events and exhibitions? Who knows... But there are more delicate ways to put it. If he had just closed the department with a tight lipped "sorry, no money" explanation or any other standard bureaucratic obfuscation, that would've still been upsetting for the live/performance/digital/inter-multi-etcetera-disciplinary artists losing out, but possibly any backlash against the institution and director may have dwindled away like, well, arts funding. In any case, Eshun...

The Mire

Doppler In Effekt

The most exciting live event of the year so far – Dopplereffekt's live London debut this saturday night. They resurrected electro in the mid-90s, and recently have been writing electronic eulogies to particle accelerators. The most singular electronic artist of the era, for me...