The Pleasure Seekers

Nothing to do with the Seekers or New Seekers - this is the Pleasure Seekers, one of the early US all-girl bands. (The?) Suzi Quatro is supposed to have been involved. Here's their stunning psyche anthem 'Mr Power' (1969):



They seemed to have changed their musical style at some point, as here they are performing a neat cover of that famous soul song. At the end the singer does a remarkably frenzied headbang:

C60, C120

Lets Look at London

What with the Olympics and the Jubilee coming up, the eyes of the world will be focussed on London, so lets Look at London in full glorious early 60s Colour. You can expect to see a jolly Bobby, "The London Policemen, the admiration of visitors from all over the world". The Changing of the Guard, Feeding the Pidgeons, a not very busy Picadilly Circus A chirpy cheery Fruit and Veg Street Vendor or Coster as he is called in the book. "But rarely does he lose his habitual cheery demeanor". So.......come on Look at London IN COLOUR!

Barn Owls

Splitting the Atom VII

Something that might be of interest to anyone who might be in or around the Brighton area on Saturday 23rd June. Its time for Splitting the Atom VII at The Green Door Store. I have been to a couple of these Splitting the Atom all day events before and had a great time. You can definitely expect  to hear some fine electronic experimental noise/drone/oddness throughout the day. Did I mention that I am also playing this time round. 

Inexplicable Mechanism Found In A Field

Found Objects can, of course, prove to be wonderful triggers for a certain manner of thinking.

Spring Reading

A collection of recent finds. I haven't read any yet but I will, honest.

More at between channels.

Beasts

The series Beasts by Nigel Kneale (first broadcast on ATV on 16th October 1976) has been mentioned on FO before, but for those unaware, here is the first episode in full.

Plastic.

"Designing with Plastics", Schools Council Publications, 1975.

Another rewarding volume recently rescued from a university skip.

Witless observations;

(i) Green tint and concentric circles can make anything look exciting.
(ii) Dig that unsettling '2001'-inspired plaque!
(iii) I covet that boat-building lady's outfit.

Making a Bicycle 1945

A friend recently sent me a link to this wonderful film which dates from 1945. How a Bicycle is Made was filmed at The Raleigh Factory in Nottingham. Every now and then the narrator informs us that there is a special solution a special treatment a special fluid and special machines, that are used to create the Steel/Bike parts. This film is filed in the (and property of) British Council Film Collection. 

Penda's Fen

Absolutely brilliant British film from the good old days of Channel 4

Red Collective

I'm just highlighting the work of an old friend of mine who goes by the artist name of 'Red Collective'.. His work very much reflects the haunting and experimental side of the BBC Radiophonic workshop.. Hope you enjoy this 'unnamed' piece..

Utopias (No.2)

"
Atoll K (1951) is a French/Italian film—also known as Robinson Crusoeland in the UK and Utopia in the US—starring the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in their final screen appearance.

The production of Atoll K was riddled with many problems that caused the production to be extended abnormally. Ida Laurel, Stan Laurel’s widow, told biographer John McCabe, "I’m hardly likely to forget the date we left for France and the date we returned – April 1, 1950, and April 1, 1951. But there was no April Fooling about that terrible year. That bloody picture was supposed to take twelve weeks to make, and it took twelve months."

From the beginning, there were disagreements on the film’s screenplay. Laurel was unhappy with the storyline envisioned by French director Léo Joannon and insisted on bringing Alfred Goulding and Monty Collins to aid in the screenplay’s creation (neither man received on-screen credit). There were also considerable problems in communications, since neither Laurel nor Hardy spoke French and Joannon spoke very little English.

During the production, the two comedy stars encountered serious problems. Laurel’s pre-existing diabetes was aggravated and he developed colitis, dysentery and a prostate ulcer while on the French locations for the film. He eventually required hospitalization, and his widow would later fault the quality of the French medical care, claiming that at one point, she had to substitute for an absent nurse by changing her husband’s bandages. Laurel’s weight dropped to 114 pounds, and for most of the production he could only work in 20 or 30-minute spurts.

Hardy, however, saw his already hefty frame expand to 330 pounds while in France, and he required medical care for cardiac fibrillation and the flu. Adding to the medical problems was Italian actor Adriano Rimoldi, who played the stowaway, when he fell from a docked yacht and required a month's recuperation away from the production.

When they were able to work, Laurel and Hardy saw their relationship with Joannon fray dramatically. Ida Laurel would later claim Joannon was an incompetent who spent three days filming a lake because, as she said, "it was the most photogenic lake he’d ever seen." In the middle of the production, US film director John Berry was quietly brought in to work with the comedy team. Berry’s US career was ruined by the Hollywood blacklist and he sought to start over in France. However, his participation was kept secret out of the fear that the film would not get a US theatrical release if it became known that a blacklisted director was at its helm. Berry’s contribution was not publicly acknowledged until 1967, when film historian William K. Everson cited the uncredited director’s input in his book The Films of Laurel and Hardy. While Berry never publicly acknowledged his work on Atoll K, the film's leading lady Suzy Delair confirmed his role during an interview with historian Norbert Aping.
"-WIKI 

Utopias (No.1)

My friend Joss makes pictures on photocopiers and sculptures out of concrete. He has also made a cassette tape that he's posting to people for free. 

It consists of two audio mixes on one side, the first by him, which comes to life with the hauntological anthem 'Ghosts' and winds down with Harvey Pekar reminiscing about his home town. 

The second is a ten minute mix rumoured to be recorded by members of The Crooked Circle back in 2005. The Crooked Circle are a secretive occult group who have been attempting to manipulate parts of art theory and local music cultures to make their dangerous ideas more digestible to the disenfranchised young people of the North East.

The other side of the tape is blank.

Email him for one:

joss.humberstone@yahoo.com

...few seconds of sleep or a few minutes,

"

Last Step is an alias used by Aaron Funk, whom you may know as Venetian Snares. His new adventure is called 'Sleep' and - as the title suggests - it's a collection of compositions that Funk recorded quite literally as he was falling asleep. 

For those used to Funk's more abrasive recordings the slower, woozy tempos and soporific atmospheres may come as a surprise. Recorded using his own arsenal of analogue synths and sequencers, Aaron has exploited the wandering timing and pitch of these old beasts to produce uncanny and evocative detuning effects which add to the induced torpor. Even the track titles relate to the theme: 'Xyrem', a narcolepsy treatment; 'Cimicdae', a name for the bedbug family. So, while the atmosphere may be unsettling in places, the tempos and structures are those of an experimental house music album, with abstracted 303 acid lines and classic drum machines acting as a welcome familiarity as you navigate the odd time-signatures and plastic aural sensations of Last Step's hypnagogic world.  

In the words of the man himself:

"Sleep are tunes I recorded while falling asleep. These tracks are really different for me, really mellow and dreamy, that nice comfortable feeling when you're falling asleep. Feels pointless to describe it, that feeling, there really shouldn't be words for that state, so I describe the process a little instead. For awhile, when I was really tired and ready to go to bed instead of going to sleep I would make a tune. Get some stuff going on my sequencers, drum machines, patch up my modular and just jam it. Would fall asleep alot listening to the sequences, few seconds of sleep or a few minutes, wake up in it. This is what I sound like in my sleep."

" - planet mu

Parsons Polygon

INFO

Fun Fun Fun In Glorious Mablethorpe

Tales from the Black Meadow...

A new project from 'The Soulless Party'. This started out as an experiment really, but will be expanding this idea further in to a little E.P. in the future.. This is 'Tales from the Black Meadow'. Hope you enjoy it.

Alpha Beta

Keith's post prompts me to mention a set of Space: 1999 pages which I chanced upon just the other day. To whet your appetite:-

Too dorky to go fishing.

More action-packed adventures for Dr. Helena Russell. In space.