For
Email Members: www.spiritofgravity.com
email: info@spiritofgravity.com
GRAVITATIONAL
PULL
Dispatches
from the Spirit of Gravity / Edition 103 / May 11
·
Happenings:
Next Spirit of Gravity gig: TUESDAY 24th May 2011
GEOFF
LEIGH AND KAY GRANT, PLUS GUESTS / HEREHAREHERE / THE SPIRIT OF GRAVITY
ORCHESTRA PLAYS “MEBO”
The
Komedia Studio Bar, 44-47 Gardner Street,
Brighton, BN1 1UN
Time
8:30 - 11:00 Cost £5 / £4
Don't
forget that due to the festival biznizz,
this month’s show is on TUESDAY 24th, and has special guest Kay Grant
performing with Geoff Leigh for the first time, along with some Warrior
Squares, HereHareHere and The Spirit of
Gravity Orchestra.
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165145493547410
Geoff
Leigh and Kay Grant
Geoff
Leigh (Flutes and effects) - the Henry Cow member and Faust collaborator
will be playing with some special guests as unfortunately post Rock
guitarist Magnus Alexanderson is unable to come.
Kay Grant is an improvising vocalist based in London closely identified
with the Boat'Ting events. She uses effects
to augment her extensive vocal techniques and played an unforgettable
show at The Spirit of Gravity with her Sideband back in the Marlborough
days.
Also appearing will be several members of the mighty St Leonards Based
Warrior Squares.
HereHareHere
are feral vocalists Robin and Mel who have played at The Colour out of
Space, Phil Minton’s Feral Choir and as part of Dylan Nyoukis'
Chocolate Monk collective.
Robin is also Slow Listener.
The Spirit of Gravity Orchestra
will be playing "Mebo", a new
piece composed by Richard Miles.
Hosted
by our very own 'Laptop' Lee Hume
Visuals by _minimalVector
There
will be the elektrocreche available
for any unaccompanied toys who will be looked
after during the intervals by our professionally trained team of
volunteers. And anybody else that wants to bring along a sound toy to
play with.
For
details of future Spirit of Gravity events, go to www.spiritofgravity.com/.
Video
and audio on the Spirit of Gravity mp3 blog at spiritofgravity-brighton.blogspot.com/
Video
and audio on the Spirit of Gravity MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thespiritofgravity
Facebook
group with shows and information at www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=75568366205
Downloads
of complete Spirit of Gravity sets at www.archive.org/details/the-spirit-of-gravity
_minimalVector
films featuring Spirit of Gravity acts and guests at www.vimeo.com/thespiritofgravity
·
Greetings:
We're really pleased to be hosting a toy bending/kit building event with Build Brighton:
===================================
Noise Toys, 30th May, 1 - 6pm, Hectors House
===================================
An afternoon of interactive noise sculptures
and electronics workshop. Come and interact, make some noise and make
something cool. Build yourself a mini-theremin,
drum synth circuits and a host of other
horrible-noise generating toys. Witness eerie soundscape
generating lava lamps, a robot drummer and more
Entry - Free
Kits - £5-£50 (includes soldering tutorial & help making the kit)
========================================
8-bit beats. 30th May, 7pm -midnight, Hectors House
========================================
BuildBrighton & Spirit of Gravity are
hosting a Chiptune and geekery
themed night featuring some of the UK's finest geeks. Expect atari-acid,
gameboy-gabber, blip-hop and roland-rewinds
a plenty.
Entry - £5 on the door. BuildBrighton
members get in free!
Become a member at www.buildbrighton.com
Also,
an event of note on the 11th of June is the Tinderbox festival at Cropredy,
Oxfordshire, Dan Powell and Gus Garside will be playing along with lots
of other friends like Bolide and the Safehouse
collective.
·
Reviewings
Spirit
of Gravity
at the Komedia Studio Bar, Brighton,
Thursday 28th April 2011
With
the jazz limiters set on stun, Broken
Star joined forces with East of Eden sax player Ron
Caines to bring some fusion to the
floor. Starting with a reedy organ blended with trademark guitar drones
seething in the background, Ron worked his magic over the top flurries
and skronks of saxness
skidding on top as gradually some erratic beatiness
grounded things for a while before the electric piano came in for my
favourite section in the middle of the set with the electric piano on a
rising motif and Ron soaring as it all headed off into space. The final
section was a bit smooth Weather Report for me, but well executed with
some crisp beats, solid bass and Ron the fidgeting at the edges.
After a music box interlude Dan
Powell and Gus Garside quietly shimmered elliptically into a quiet
set, Gus worrying at his double bass and Dan thrumbling
at his Woolworths guitar, his laptop wiggling the sounds to odd semi
melodies and buzzing half tunes; tinkling cascades and modernist swells.
It’s an interesting process watching, or rather, hearing the sounds
wander generatively their way. Gus meanwhile strokes and encourages his
bass in his inimitable style: rumbles and lower register booms and
clacks and skitters as it takes him, forcing and following in turn. The
second section starts with a little more urgency, Dan putting the guitar
down and getting the percussion going and Gus applying the bow in short
agitated stabs, the sound fills out and is richer: the chiming singing
bowl ringing clearly round the room, Gus' sonorities booming about it, a
slow deliberate conversation between the elements. Gus’ elastic bass
and the bowl ringing things to a close.
Meshmass - A laptop, sax
and guitar. The laptop sets up rhythms against Richard Miles guitar
loops, shimmers and odd bassy thwangs,
with the sax in its own space aloof, switching solos with Richards
heavily fuzzed (if subdued) guitar. The whole thing has the shifting
dreamlike air of the opium den. At some stage the rhythm seems to
disappear and we get some agitated skronking
before the curtain parts and the reverie returns. Things get taken apart
return again in altered form and then break down completely in Carillon
and squall before a spooky guitar circles back in to give a new base for
things to start developing afresh. And more harshly, a swelling warp,
and more abrasive guitar judder before the drums came back and I'm sure
at some stage there was some foot on the monitor action going on.
Yours
as ever
El
Maestro Con Queso
Editor.
Gravitational
Pull
is the official newsletter of The Spirit of Gravity Collective,
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