Caught by the River Social Club...

The second in what promises to be a mighty good fun addition to the CBTR social calendar takes place tomorrow at The Queen's Head, Denman St, and the line-up looks every bit as good as the first one in January...    ticket info here.

And find the wonderful Queen's Head pub here.

Caught By The River Social Club

Get yourselves out to The Caught By The River Social Club next Tuesday 22nd January. Stephen Cracknell from The Memory Band has also joined this line up as guest dj for the evening. More information and tickets can be bought here...

Free Film Screenings in January

Now here's something to look forward to in the new year... FREE film screenings.

First is the screening of Berberian Sound Studio.

It's 1976 and timid, Dorking-based sound engineer, Gilderoy, has been transplanted to Italy's run-down Berberian Sound Studio to work on "The Equestrian Vortex", the latest low-budget horror movie by notorious exploitation maestro Giancarlo Santini. Gilderoy's task is a seemingly simple one: to create, record and mix the sounds of bloodcurdling screams, limbs being severed and the insertion of red hot pokers into human orifices, mostly using a variety of everyday household items such as old vegetables and a hammer. But Gilderoy is totally unprepared for the graphically grotesque images on show, the effect they have on him and for the unusual working practices of his employers. As he becomes more deeply involved in his work, the line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred and, very subtly, Gilderoy's life begins to imitate art in a nightmare scenario from which he may never escape.

The film's soundtrack is a very special one - made up of new music from Broadcast, and is released via Warp Records. Pre-order it on LP & CD here.

More information about the screening taking place on Thursday 10th January at 7pm can be found here...

Second is the screening of From The Sea To The Land Beyond.

"Truly extraordinary" - Caitlin Moran, The Times

"...a visual treat...British Sea Power's arch hipster-fogey aesthetic proves the perfect accompaniment..." - Guardian Guide

To launch the DVD release of From the Sea to the Land Beyond, which features music by British Sea Power, Caught by the River and the BFI invite you to a special screening of the film introduced by its award-winning director Penny Woolcock, who will take part in a Q&A afterwards, hosted by Luke Turner, Associate Editor of The Quietus.com.

This fascinating and moving lyrical portrait of Britain's coastline is created through an exquisitely beautiful combination of evocative archive footage from the BFI National Archive and stirring music. British Sea Power set the course for this cinematic voyage with an original score that ebbs and flows with the natural sounds of seagulls, ships and just the occasional snippet of speech. 

Uplifting and inspirational, From the Sea to the Land Beyond is released on BFI DVD on 21 January 2013 but we will have copies on sale at this launch event at a specially reduced price. Pre-Order here.

More information about the screening taking place on Friday 18th January at 6.30pm can be found here...

To London With Love..

 Will Burns meets Robert Rubbish in a coffee shop in East London, where he has tea. It's the start of the first real cold weather of the winter, and he's wearing a silk scarf, sports jacket, checked shirt. We briefly discuss dyslexia, brogues and caffeine before settling into the interview, during which Robert is effusive and very funny. Robert's latest exhibition is entitled 'To London With Love', a group show featuring work by members of the celebrated cross arts collective Le Gun, alongside various other London artists and printmakers. The show follows on from a similar project undertaken by Robert and Le Gun in Bristol earlier in the year.

Hello, Robert.

Hello.


Could you tell me first what it is you like about the aesthetic qualities of a postcard?

I like the size of postcards, the fact that they are so easily accessible. I like that they are cheap and easy to store, easy to handle, really. And I really love the fact that they are normally a reminder of some event or place. 



And how about the actual word "postcard", what does that mean to you?

Well the word conjures up a few images, I suppose... holidays, something you can post for sure, communication. All of these works are actual postcards, Cass Art postcards, so can be posted. It's also about the group aspect... that somebody can go to an art gallery and buy a postcard. Well, here they are buying the original artwork.


So the work and the representation of the work are one and the same here?

Yes, the original is affordable enough to take away. There's a greater connectivity with the work.



It seems that the space behind the art suddenly becomes important when the art is this size, how did you choose or use the spaces you've chosen for these exhibitions?

Well, the thing with the Bristol show was that I used to go into this underground comic shop and buy comics. The guy there knew I made art and asked if I wanted to do something and I thought a group show would have the most impact. So I guess practicality informs the whole thing, also with the work, we didn't need to get a van to transport a load of artworks. And in the room itself, we couldn't drill into the walls, so we hung the cards on the washing line. So again, there is the practical. You know, it is quick. Afterwards, you look and you see the shadows and the wall behind the cards... it's nice to see it with the pegs and string. They look like Christmas cards...


...sort of domestic? There is a play between the idea of high art and the small, homely idea of postcards, clothes line, pegs..

Yes, yes. Sometimes, with exhibitions... the chance factor comes into play. When you're hanging the work. Unless you're spending a lot of money and time working out the lighting, spacing, the image order... but this was in a little basement, three walls. It works the way we did it.


So how do you see the relationship between the practical and the conceptual with this work?

Well it's about accessibility. The whole idea is the practical. The people involved are friends, associates, the spaces are where we have relationships. The work is easy to buy, to take home, the cards are easy to make. I mean by that, it's easier for me to give the artists a stack of cards and tell them they can make what they want. There's no brief so they can just have ideas.

I like the idea that the work is affordable and want to encourage people who don't usually think about buying a piece of artwork to buy an artwork. I've been thinking about this a lot in the last few years... that people, myself included, don't think about buying art because it is out of our price range. So a show like this, most people can afford to buy a piece. Most people don't mind going out getting wasted and at the end of it having nothing to show for it. So why not come to this show, get wasted and leave with an artwork that you can enjoy for a longtime afterwards? Also it would be good to encourage people to get interested in artists, they might want to buy a bigger work from in the future and if they lived with the small bit might think that's a good idea. They learn to like the piece, "I want a bit more of that.”

There is a sense of democracy about the works. All the artists contributing have a space, a size of canvas that is uniform...

The idea of giving the artists the same postcards to work on gives the whole show a uniform, an order, even though a lot of the artists' work will be very different. I suppose it's about the overall look of the show when it is hung. It is also, again, about the practicality of how easy it is to pack the work up in a box and take to a show. It's easy to hang and artists can even post the cards to me so it's all very easy. 

Ok, I want to move on to the musical aspect of the launch night. How do you see music in the context of making your art?

Music is integral to the making of the artwork. Most people, if you go to their studio, or watch them work, they are listening to music. Classical, the radio, whatever it is. So when you work without a brief, especially, the music feeds into it. So, for example, Neal Fox has these things - saints, he calls them, and there's Miles Davis, Iggy Pop, whoever... and Hannah Bays has done something with Bowie, so the references are in there, direct, or more oblique. The Heretic Printmakers have done these one-off prints for the show. You go to their studio and they're blasting out the crazy music they listen to. Music's a massive part of what they do, (they've) collaborated with all these psych labels, Tim Burgess, Factory Floor. But everyone I know listens to music... is influenced by it.


The images are small individual pieces, but together they create something larger, and the collaborative whole has a power of it's own...

Yes, I like what you are saying there... from a distance the whole show hanging will look like a sea of abstract colours and marks, but then when viewed at a closer inspection you pick out the details of individual works. So yes, it becomes like a symphony.


I saw your exhibition of "lost" album sleeves last year at Rough Trade East and I'd like to know about your musical influences, especially with regard to the content of the launch night for this exhibition... how do they relate to the way you work?

Music and me have always been close. I can't play anything properly and would have loved to. All my sisters are musical. I went to piano lessons once because my sister told me the teacher gave you a mini mars bar afterwards. I got the mars bar and he told me the piano wasn't for me. I would probably agree. I have been in some strange musical outfits like the nu-cabaret outfit The Meatballs in Jersey and the Victorian punk revivalists The Rubbishmen. I am hoping on the launch night to bring together some friends who have musical projects and have a mash up and the punk-poet Jock Scot's going to perform, who is also in the show, The Fat White Family are playing...  I'm not too sure how the launch will pan out because there's so much happening.


I see a parallel between the impermanence of musical artistic detritus; sleeves, sleeve notes, rock criticism and the idea of postcards, is that something you feel strongly about? 

I think that sleeves and sleeves notes have been an impotent thing for me right back to the first records I bought. In a pre-internet age the record was a source of information as well as music. And I think more time was spent on the overall look of the L.P. Bands like Crass... the artwork, the sleeves, the lyrics...  were so important to what they were saying. And it was so interesting to look at and read. It's art with a message. I also love the thank yous on records where the bands would name check other bands, people, drug dealers, writers, artists, cafes, pubs, organizations. You could read all this stuff and come out of it knowing some new stuff. We have taken the thank you idea into the front of Le Gun, it's a very fun part of making the magazine. 


Are you still involved in making music? 

I have made a few things in the last few years and would like to make a solo album at some point before I die. Lias from The Fat White Family has made a backing band for me called Five Robert Rubbish Fans Cant Be Wrong. It's just me and The Fat Whites doing soul covers and a cover of one of their songs. It's wrong we have only done one gig to about five people in a pub in Brixton. Maybe we'll do a number or two at the launch, who knows? 

Ok, now I want to talk about Le Gun as an idea, you seem to associate strongly with the idea of the "collective". How do you feel that has benefitted you artistically as an individual? 

I think being in a collective was the thing that we felt was a good idea at the time. It meant we had strength in numbers and we could push our ideas forwards better. Le Gun is probably better known than any of us as individual artists around the world, so it gives us scope that we wouldn't get on our own. There was a whole load of us into the same art, literature, music, underground comics, drinking. At college you would see people, see their work and you know you'd never seen anything like it and you'd sort of gravitate towards each other.


The whole thing is a bit like a band then?

Yeah, you harness the individual energy for a greater gain. And yes, it is like a band in a sense because there's difficult relationships, everyone has an ego, there's communication problems... but when everybody's sitting there, together, you can really push things further. Things progress in a way they don't when you're on your own. There's totally different skill sets. There might be, like, motifs or ideas that go right back to our first book, which was, kind of, quite raw, I suppose. But as a whole there's always different threads and ideas. But the group makes it happen. It's bigger and we can be more epic.


Could you tell me more about the group of people who have contributed to the show?

All the artists in the show I know and like. The work and the people, so in that way I have curated (the show) in a personal way. I see that. And I gave them no brief or theme and have just waited to see what comes back. I've always liked whatever everyone has done.

How did you all (the Le Gun Collective) meet?

Just common interests. We met at the Royal College of Art in 2003, and we had to do this course called Personal Sense of Place, it was a sort of nerve-wracking slide show type of thing, and it was a really good indicator of how people were, you know? How boring someone was, or what they were into, what they liked. And then you would see the same people in the bar, drinking and you'd start from there. You started to see that Andrzej Klimowski, who was the course leader, had maybe chosen people, not chosen everyone... but there were definite connections, a lot of narrative ideas, storytellers, really. So yeah, the conversations you'd have were about, "Have you read this? Have you seen this film?" And you'd start seeing things in people's work and then the idea started to form that we should all do something. And then it was a money raising thing, so we started to do these parties, with print-making, group drawings. And that's how it all started. It became a kind of group consciousness.


There could be an obvious political reading to the idea of art as collective rather than as an individual enterprise. How pertinent would you say politics is to Le Gun, or Robert Rubbish's work generally?

Well, yeah. I mean, you can't call something a collective without realizing it's got some connotations. But I don't think it's a big politics, as such, it's more of a personal thing. I mean, we all hate David Cameron and the Torys. That's just common sense. I suppose I'd say my personal politics are a mix of the anarchic and the absurdist and some socialism. But I think politics is about big business and keeping the rich rich. There's a real lack of social responsibility. Capitalism is an idea where the end game is the destruction of the world's resources and we are living in a time that is seeing Capitalism not work, and there's no connection with politicians, it's all public schoolboys engaged in one-up-manship, and people don't care. And that's, I suppose, what we try and do with the magazine if anything, is show the sort of absurd nature of politics. It is absurd. But obviously as well, we work together and again, it's about a greater good.... the sum of your parts and all that.

Again, art as a collective pursuit? It's interesting because art is so often associated with being a solitary occupation.

Yeah, but you know, it goes back to the renaissance, loads of artists; in the renaissance, modern artists, the Chapman Brothers having teams of people making models, whatever -artists have always used other people.

... but our cult of personality means we need to believe in the great artist?

Yes, right. I mean, Damien Hirst is Damien Hirst to us, not Damien Hirst PLC although that is exactly what he is. But it's not a new thing, it's always been like that. And you know, you learn as well, while you're there. It's like if you were a tailor, you'd go and work for someone on Savile Row, and eventually you'd go off and do you own thing. Or, you'd like to think you'd go off and do your own thing.

Ok, lastly, I'd like to ask a few questions about the Robert Rubbish book, how did you select the work that is included?

I just chose work that I've created since I started going under the name Robert Rubbish, so from 2007 to now, basically.


Again, like a band name?

Yeah, I suppose it is. I wanted a pseudonym, and I was doing The Rubbishmen at the time... so yeah, I chose work from that period, some of it is Rubbishmen stuff, some of it drawings, assemblages, all sorts.


Did you become aware of any progression of ideas as you sorted your own work chronologically that you weren't aware of as you've continued to make art?

Yes I think my work progresses with what I get into at the time. And I try and create work that reflect my latest interests. Soho has always been a big influence on my work and Victorian stuff, drinking, joke shops. But I see a lot of motifs and things cropping up, stylistic things. It's also interesting to see little spells where I draw or paint more, and ideas that I move on over time, where I can see I've said to myself, "Oh, I like that, I'll expand on that..." and later have done, without thinking almost.



Finally, what is your favourite piece in the book?

My favourite piece in the book is my homage to Martin Kippenburger's work, Feet First, which is a frog, crucified, wearing a loin cloth and holding a German beer in one hand and an egg in the other. But it's a great piece of art when you read about it... I mean when I first saw it, I thought it was quite a novelty piece, really. I thought it was funny, but also intriguing. And it's all about machismo, creation, religion, big ideas, you know? And I was inspired and wanted to make a homage. I only really came across his work, because we were asked to do a group thing in Paris about the Paris Bar in Berlin, and he'd painted the bar, and hung out there, drank, ate… so we looked at doing a group drawing and I started getting into him, reading about him, looking at his work. And then I saw that piece and it really tickled me and I wanted to make a homage. I was thinking about how to make this thing, and I went to this carboot sale and I saw this Kermit the frog for sale and I thought, "Oh, I want to think this is fate." I mean, not fate, but sort of... I like it when you have an idea, and then the way of doing it sort of just comes to you somehow. It's like Bob Dylan, where he says that he could always just see the path ahead. Like he knows that if he did this, this and this, it would come together. And I felt that with the Kermit and that piece in the book.

 

Robert Rubbish presents “To London With Love” exhibition at Material Gallery, 1 – 3 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3DT. On display from 7^th December until 24^th December. More information at...

www.lospistolos.com and  www.robertrubbish.blogspot.com

Will Burns is a poet and writer. More information on Will can be found.. 

www.willburns.co.uk  and  www.troubledstriker.blogspot.co.uk

You can buy the first three editions of Le Gun from Rough Trade East or online here...

Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 12

The annual selection of music, albums and artists that proved favourite with the staff and customers at Rough Trade Shops in 2012.

Rough Trade Shops Top 10 of 2012 is represented by Grimes’ (4AD) peachy synthetic pop, Django Django’s (Because) psychedelic art rock and John Talabot’s (Permanent Vacation) superior pop-house alongside a confessional from Alabama Shakes (Rough Trade) and some idiosyncratic rain-folk from Damien Jurado (Secretly Canadian). Allo Darlin’s (Fortuna POP!) giddy indiepop, Toy’s (Heavenly) contemporary motorik, Goat’s (Rocket) kaleidoscopic rhythms and alt-J’s (Infectious) innovative alt-rockism further enhance that list.

The beginning of this double-disc collection follows the Counter Culture tradition of starting slow and low with the beautiful, intense ‘10am Gare Du Nord’ by Keaton Henson (Oak Ten) which precedes the afore-mentioned Alabama Shakes and Damien Jurado tracks. Not for the first time, Phil Spector casts a shadow over pop this year, and this notion is demonstrated by the inclusion of a trio of artists new to Rough Trade this year – Crybaby (Helium), Jagwar Ma (The Blue Rider) and Opossom (FIRE).

Before CD1 flames out with the incendiary riff-age of METZ (Sub Pop), supported ably by Goat and storming debut singles from the post-punk-influenced Savages (Pop Noire) and Palma Violets (Rough Trade), the track list takes a detour through new formulas for the dancefloor created by Stubborn Heart (One Little Indian), Kindness (Female Energy) and Daphni aka Dan Snaith from Caribou (Jiaolong), then segues into an alt-rock sequence beginning with alt-J and Liars (Mute) before further mutation into a duo of crackin’, Kraut-rockin’ work-outs from Public Service Broadcasting (Test Card) and BEAK>(Invada).

CD2 is where extreme creativity is exhibited by adventurous musicians. Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras collaborate with the legendary Congos and their ‘ICON GIVE THANK’ album (FRKWYS) is a ground-breaking fusion of improvised composition and Jamaican dub. Daughn Gibson (White Denim) layers loops from old rockabilly records and combines them with his original vocals while Chromatics (Italians Do It Better) cover a Neil Young classic in their dry and minimal style. Post-industrial legends NON /Boyd Rice (Mute) and Throbbing Gristle / X-TG (Industrial) have important records released this year, the former returning to noise terrorism like he’s never been away, while Carter / Tutti / Christopherson (R.I.P) have produced a stunning re-imagination of Nico’s ‘Desert Shore’ with vocals from Antony, Marc Almond and Blixa Bargeld amongst others.

Zebra Katz’s (Mad Decent) ‘Ima Read’ is a slice of capricious high-school horror-core, blending rap, minimal techno and the world of Vogue-ing in equal measure and is truly unique. Debut EPs from Diamond Version (Mute/ Raster-Noton), TNGHT (Warp) and Acidliner (Gangsigns) have been massively popular on the shopfloor. All three of whom subtly mess with electronics in brand new ways and they, along with the Kindness, Daphni and Talabot remind us that 2012 was also a good year on the dancefloor

The big hitters from Grimes and Talabot follow, before we introduce the closing section of this year’s comp, a quintet of truly innovative electronic and avant-pop compositions from Julia Holter (RVNG), Halls and Vinyl Williams (both on No Pain In Pop), Group Rhoda (Night School) and the maverick Dan Deacon (Domino). These artists provide a fitting conclusion to the compilation as they, alongside us, attempt to shine a light on where we go next. 

All this for only £9.99. Order your copy HERE...

Brautigan Book Club End of Year...

Those of a literary bent could do a hell of a lot worse this week than head down to Bethnal Green Working Men's Club for the year end shindig with the excellent Brautigan Book Club.

Richard Brautigan is a genuine counter cultural icon, and this brilliant monthly gathering has been spreading the word with verve and imagination all year. This special year end event will feature Martin Carr, Salena Godden and Nathan Penlington amongst others.

Full details of the line up here, ticket booking here.

EXTINCT BOIDS

Rough Trade East are pleased to announce an exhibition of Ralph Steadman's Extinct Boids Suite, 12 images specially created from his and Ceri Levy's book, "Extinct Boids". Exhibited for the first time together, the images are Ralph and Ceri's recent favourites from the collection of boids that have been created over the last year and a half. These boids have been delighting audiences since their arrival into our world and bring their homeland of Toadstool Island closer to us. They all have that distinctive trademark Steadman humour about them and will be accompanied by text and information on their creation by Ceri. So come and marvel at the Needless Smut, the Dodo and the Blue Slut and meet some of their extraordinary friends.The show will run from Monday 3rd December until Sunday 6th January.

Read Robert Rubbish's (one of our past exhibitors in the shop) review of 'Extinct Boids' here...

Rough Trade's Top 10 Albums of 2012

It's that time of year again to announce to the world what our Top 10 albums are for 2012. In reverse order...

10 - Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Frank Ocean's free-flow barritone is as strong as any key soul vocalist from the past few decades. Throw in the production to match, from true 70's jazz-funk legends, to modern day neo R&B starlets, to the hip hop structure of beats and skits, this album expertly transcends musical eras, with conviction and without ever sounding contrived. Lyrically it pulls no punches around a variety of adult subjects, making the songwriting as broad as it is sonically. As respectfully retro as much as it is the sound of the future. Timeless.

9 Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls

The hype for Alabama Shakes was like no other in 2012 and this album more than lived up to it on it's release in April. A stunningly beautiful and intoxicating collection of throwback soul, southern rock and r&b grooves. However it's 22 year old singer and guitarist Brittany Howard's voice that makes this really special. part soft and sweet and part full of passion and soul - it recalls Janis, Aretha, and even Otis. She really is a true star and this is from someone who only quit her post office job last November.

8 Django Django - Django Django

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 12 track remix cd. Django Django are mining a seam of experimental art rock that hasn't been struck so well since the heady days of The Beta Band, their unique blend of guitar pop, electronica and melodic excellence has taken them to places that most bands wouldn't reach in twice the time. Glam rock oompa loompas at a rave.

7 Alt J - An Awesome Wave

Award winning debut album from this quartet, who have successfully managed to incorporate countless music genres, production techniques and sensibilities, whilst still sounding effortlessly at ease and fully in control of their self-made musical identities. From the epic indie-pop hooks, to the folktronic sentimentality, to the bottom end of the beats and the art rock synths, the albums references are immeasurable, both sonically and literary, without sounding too busy. These combined elements make this an album you'll instantly remember and one you'll want to revisit often.

6 - Damien Jurado - Maraqopa

Rough Trade version with an exclusive 6 track cd of vinyl only cuts and b-sides. Damien Jurado's recent work with Richard Swift has invigorated an already impressive body of work, fleshing out the song-writer's nuanced sketches with rich and original textures. This year's album is a real high water mark, a remarkable monument to the power of good, honest craft and artistic pursuit; an all too rare occurrence in this age of pop idols, reality stars and hype machine hipsters.

5 - Goat - World Music

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd featuring 5 tracks recorded at Goat's first ever live show at The Lexington. Truly psychedelic - the debut album from Goat is a wonderous affair, it mixes psych rock freak out, funk and voodoo inspired rhythms but all the while managing absolutely huge killer pop hooks. Play it loud for maximum effect. Goat - the first sonic ritual
.

4 Allo Darlin' - Europe

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd featuring six cover versions of AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Ramones, Darren Hayman, Eux Autres and The Go Betweens. A heady mix of wide-eyed indie energy married to a superlative lyrical eye for detail, a bittersweet emotional spectrum featuring Elizabeth Morris' crystal clear, aching vocal performance transcend any notions of twee-pop stereotypes, to create a firmly grounded, acutely observed and very human work of art.

3 Toy - Toy

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 6 track cd 'Toy – Live at the BBC. A monumental slab of sonic experimentation anchored with some effortlessly huge hooks and swirling maelstroms of guitars, vintage synths and reverb drenched vocals Toy combine influences with an ease and maturity that belie their tender years. The rock band for the age may well have emerged.

 

2 John Talabot - Fin

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 9 track cd featuring new tracks, b-sides and mixes from Bullion, Kenton Slash, Bostro Pesopeo and Pachanga Boys plus updated artwork. John Talabot has triumphantly intertwined sunburnt balearic boogie with touches of filtered French funk, alongside the rain-sheltering bleakness of British bass after-dark, the shady warehouse depths of early German deep house, and cinematic synth-heavy soundcapes worthy of the Italians - landing itself as a finished piece on the very aptly-named permanent vacation label. The result is an album which is a relatively chirpy multi-Euro dance-in-the-dark at first glance, but undoubtedly harbours a much more heads-down sense of darkness under it's surface. Exceptional.

And finally… 

1 Grimes - Visions

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd. A unique and thrilling sound world in which to lose yourself, hazy, reverb-drenched layers of synth, married to theatrical art-rock hooks and driving post-punk rhythms all buzzing with a direct, spontaneous energy, incredibly and expertly manufactured by one pair of hands and ears, with a brilliant, original and effervescent imagination. The five tracks that make up the bonus disc include three hard-to-find gems recorded in the same period as the album itself alongside two brand new remixes. 'Ambrosia' originally appeared on the Canadian LP pressing of the album, 'Christmas Song' was a digital-only bonus track and 'Song For Ric', a collaboration with Majical Cloudz, appeared on a compilation put together to help launch the music website Ad Hoc. The remixes include Skip's take on 'Genesis' and Baardsen's reworking of 'Be A Body.