Touch Newsletter #224

Welcome to the Touch Newsletter #224. Recent cancellation or postponement of concerts, festivals, tours and other money-earning events on which artists depended has caused a “liquidity crisis” in the creative industries. This has particularly affected artists who tour regularly and have little or no other source of income. Fennesz’s US tour was cancelled after four dates; Laura Angnusdei is under lockdown in Italy, her tour also cancelled; Philip Jeck and Oren Ambarchi’s live schedules have been erased; Chris Watson & Hildur Guðnadóttir’s Chernobyl live performances have been postponed; Organ Reframed, Claire M Singer’s festival in London for late March has been postponed to September (further details on this below)…

This also affects labels, wholesalers, stores, venues and many other support industries — for example, please read Iklectik’s notice.

As a result, Bandcamp have removed their fees for all day Friday from midnight PST - that’s 7am in the UK and 8am CET… So we recommend picking up those titles you may have missed from our catalogue in that time period; we are also offering 10% global discount on all goods [enter code C19 when you check out] and please note that physical benefits artists more than digital… touch333.bandcamp.com

Look out in April also for Touch: isolation – our response to the surreal, peculiar and uncertain times we are in…

We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support over the years - we cannot do this without you!

Four new tapes on The Tapeworm have arrived at The Wormery, and we will endeavour to ship orders this week… The first, “You Are The Audience”, is a document of two live performances by Bana Haffar and Nour Mobarak. Their mutual pleasure in variable tunings, granular synthesis, and structured improvisations shaped their collaboration.

Simon Fisher Turner’s “Life Recordings From Prospect Cottage And The Ness” presents 40 minutes of raw, unedited transfers from Dungeness made with his Sony Walkman Professional WM-D6 in 1992. The tape includes the voice of Derek Jarman as he begins to write “Chroma”, and sounds from around the nuclear power station in the fifth corner at the end of the globe.

“Imagine Something Yesterday” is a compendium of previously unheard recordings by The Pathfinders – Roger Cleghorn and Malcolm Garrett. These experiments were captured directly on a reel-to-reel tape recorder over a period of a few months at the tail end of 1980 and the beginning of 1981.

Founded in Lisbon, 2018, Candura is Andre Hencleeday and Pedro Coragem. Their second published work, “/II”, is mastered by James Plotkin and features artwork by SavX.

Savage Pencil has a new book published by Strange Attractor, “Rated SavX”, compiled from his archive of artwork, personal photographs, documents, and ephemera.

Dale Cornish’s new album, “Thug Ambient” is now on sale via Vanity Publishing, his sublabel of The Tapeworm. Digital available for immediate download.

Bana Haffar / Nour Mobarak
“You Are The Audience”
TTW#125

Cassette only – limited edition of 100 copies. Nour Mobarak: voice and FX. Bana Haffar: modular synthesizer. Mastered by Juliette Amoroso. Illustration: Nour Mobarak. Releases 3 April 2020 – pre-order now.

A: Live At Zebulon, March 18, 2018
B1: “You Are The Audience”, Live At Potts Gallery, May 18, 2018
B2: Primary Worker (Studio Version)

This cassette tape is a document of two live performances by the Haffar/Mobarak duo. Their mutual pleasure in variable tunings, granular synthesis, and structured improvisations shaped their collaboration.

A lifelong expatriate, Bana Haffar was born in Saudi Arabia in 1987 and spent much of her childhood in the GCC. Through her switch from 10 years of electric bass to modular synthesizers in 2014, Bana is attempting to dismantle years of institutional “conditioning” in traditional systems of music theory and performance. She is interested in exploring sonic disintegration and coalescence into new forms and synthesized experiences.

Nour Mobarak (Lebanese-American, born 1985 in Cairo, Egypt) is an artist working with writing, music, performance, sculpture, and film making. Performances include the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Stadslimeit, Antwerp; Cafe OTO, London, and Cambridge University, Cambridge; among others. Mobarak has participated in exhibitions at Miguel Abreu Gallery, Cubitt Gallery, Rodeo, Taaffe Place, LAXART. Her writings have been published by De Appel/F.R. David, The Claudius App, and The Salzburg Review among others. Her music has been released by Ultra Eczema (Antwerp) and Recital (Los Angeles).

Pre-order Bana Haffar / Nour Mobarak “You Are The Audience” on Bandcamp
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk

Simon Fisher Turner
“Life Recordings From Prospect Cottage And The Ness”
TTW#126

Cassette only – limited edition of 126 copies. Tape transfers by Philip Marshall. Tape transcriptions by Lisa Swarna Khanna. Mastered by Phil Julian. Artwork: Russell J.R. Harris. Releases 3 April 2020 – pre-order now.

The life recordings on this C40 cassette are raw, unedited transfers from Dungeness made with a Sony Walkman Professional WM-D6 by Simon Fisher Turner. With the voice of Derek Jarman recorded on 20 June 1992 in his cottage as he begins to write “Chroma”, and sounds from around the nuclear power station in the fifth corner at the end of the globe.

Pre-order “Life Recordings From Prospect Cottage And The Ness” on Bandcamp
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk

The Pathfinders
“Imagine Something Yesterday”
TTW#127

Cassette only – limited edition of 127 copies. Digital resurrection by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios. Mastered by Simon Scott at SPS Mastering. Cover by Jane Plüer. The Pathfinders logotype by Malcolm Garrett (after DRU). Releases 3 April 2020 – pre-order now.

A1: The Dancing Years
A2: Police Surgeon II
A3: Long Shadows
A4: The Listening Trees
A5: One Of Jupiter’s Moons
A6: Radio Silence
B1: Beheading Of…
B2: Something Abstract
B3: One Step Ahead
B4: Classic
B5: Bigger Noise
B6: Police Surgeon
B7: Horse’s Mouth
B8: Other Clothes
B9: Iron Man Rusts

Recorded by The Pathfinders – Roger Cleghorn and Malcolm Garrett – “Imagine Something Yesterday” is a compendium of playful explorations with analogue synthesisers and distorted found sounds, made without an actual release in mind.

Former art and design students at Manchester Polytechnic, The Pathfinders were sharing a flat together in London when Malcolm was establishing his graphic design studio, Assorted iMaGes, on Tottenham Court Road and Roger was studying for a Fine Art MA at Chelsea.

These experiments from the 15th floor of a tower block in the Isle of Dogs, London were captured directly on a reel-to-reel tape recorder over a period of a few months at the tail end of 1980 and the beginning of 1981. Further embellishments were made at Chelsea School of Art. The equipment used included Yamaha CS-10, ARP Axxe, EMS VCS3, TEAC A-3340, Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1202 and Beolab 1700.

Listeners may identify the aural influence of electronic pioneers such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, Cabaret Voltaire or Throbbing Gristle and they would not be wrong as these were indeed some of the musicians whose records were frequently played at home by The Pathfinders around that time.

With almost 40 years having elapsed since recording, memories are sketchy with regard to who made what noise where – The Pathfinders could hardly be described as being musicians who jammed together – but everything ended up compiled onto a couple of cassette tapes, where they have languished ever since – the ‘master’ reel-to-reel tapes seemingly lost forever. Only one track from these sessions, “Long Shadows”, was previously published, on Touch’s 1983 “Meridians 1” compilation. “Imagine Something Yesterday” features almost all of the other surviving recordings. A tantalising additional 14 minutes of sound remains unreleased, the full running time being just too long for comfortable release on one cassette.

The Pathfinders remain Roger Cleghorn and Malcolm Garrett.

Pre-order The Pathfinders “Imagine Something Yesterday” on Bandcamp
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk

Candura
“/II”
TTW#128

Cassette only – limited edition of 100 copies. Composed, recorded and produced by Candura. Mastered by James Plotkin. Illustration: SavX. Releases 3 April 2020 – pre-order now.

Founded in Lisbon, 2018, Candura is Andre Hencleeday and Pedro Coragem. Their debut recording, “/I”, was released through GreySun Records (Portland, OR, USA) in October of the same year. In 2019, the duo presented a new composition live at Galeria Zé dos Bois, Out.fest, Amplifest and during the closing of Rui Chafes’ exhibition “Desenho sem fim (Endless Drawing)” at Casa da Cerca. This piece now becomes the duo’s second published work, “/II”.

Pre-order Candura “/II” on Bandcamp
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk

Dale Cornish
“Thug Ambient”
CARLY#07

Digital, and cassette in an limited edition of 100 copies. Composed and performed by Dale Cornish. Mastered by Phil Julian. Digital available for immediate download, limited edition cassette available to preorder.

“I see we’re letting thugs into the concert hall…” Eleven tracks about the reconstruction of club music, Nag Nag Nag, masculinity, Finland and Vatican Shadow memes.

Born, raised and current of London (south), Dale Cornish has released a series of acclaimed albums for Entr’acte including “Ulex” (2015), “Aqal” (2017) and “Enhex” (2019) along with releases for labels including Halcyon Veil, Where To Now? and The Tapeworm. In addition he has done remix work for artists as diverse as Merzbow, Perc and Billie Ray Martin and collaborations with Powell, Adam Asnan and Andie Brown. A regular duo with Phil Julian is memorably/horribly described as “Coil for the Trump age”.

Buy Dale Cornish “Thug Ambient” on Bandcamp

“Organ Reframed”
3-5 September 2020
Union Chapel, London

The fourth annual Organ Reframed has been rescheduled for 3-5 September 2020. Packed full of innovative music. Alongside headline performances, the three-day international festival will also feature talks, masterclasses, an interactive soundscape and family-friendly workshops. Tickets are on sale now.

Organ Reframed launches with three new works composed and performed by artists known for redefining their fields: Anna von Hausswolff, renowned for her gothic organ creations; enigma Abul Mogard, a synth visionary; and Ipek Gorgun, a composer of energetic, textural masterpieces. All three works for organ, electronics and the London Contemporary Orchestra will push Union Chapel’s sonic possibilities to the extreme.

It will see the Chapel transformed by sounds and rhythms echoing the seasonal shift of the Highland year. This free installation by Chris Watson and Claire M Singer will feature the wind, weather and animals of Scotland. These sounds will interact with the organ played by James McVinnie, Katherine Tinker and Jacob Lekkerkerker.

The world premiere of “Voci del Vento” by Chris Watson and Claire M Singer will combine organ, field recordings, modular synths, the London Contemporary Orchestra and Choir to transport audiences on an epic journey from pole to pole.

Tickets now on sale at unionchapel.org.uk

Guerrilla Audio

Guerrilla Audio is a new series of audio raids by Simon Fisher Turner.

guer·ril·la
ɡəˈrilə/
noun
noun: guerilla
a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.

Each audio edit will be posted for 14 days and then removed from the site, although the information about each guerrilla activity will be archived, but without the audio. There will be two postings per month with the first (also featuring Klara Lewis & Rainier Lericolais) on 1st August 2015, so please check in regularly to listen to the latest offering. We are well into the third year and have just posted episode 112…

Guerrilla Audio
www.simonfisherturner.com