The comedy actor Mollie Sugden died yesterday at the age of 86 after a long illness. She was best known for playing Mrs Slocombe in long-running BBC sitcom “Are You Being Served?”. An obituary from news.bbc.co.uk can be read here.
As a tribute, please click here for a short mp3 clip, taken from Touch’s first edition, Feature Mist.
Touch # TO:52LP
Gatefold vinyl edition
Artwork & Design by Jon Wozencroft
Cut by Jason at Transition
Originally released on CD by Touch in 2002
Track list:
Side One
1. Odi Et Amo (3:10)
2. Englabörn (1:34)
3. Jói & Karen (3:24)
4. Þetta Gerist Á Bestu Bæjum (1:02)
5. Sálfræðingur (3:49)
6. “Ég Sleppi Þér Aldrei” (2:57)
7. Sálfræðingur Deyr (3:40)
8. Bað (3:07)
Side Two
9. “Ég Heyrði Allt Án Þess Að Hlusta” (2:05)
10. Karen Býr Til Engil (3:45)
11. Englabörn – Tilbrigði (1:24)
12. “Ég Átti Erfiða Æsku” (3:41)
13. Krókódíll (2:45)
14. “Ef Ég Hefði Aldrei…” (3:42)
15. …eins og venjulegt fólk (3:51)
16. Odi Et Amo – Bis (4:00)
Faster Than Sound presents ‘The Suffolk Symphony’ by Touch, featuring Philip Jeck, BJNilsen, Jon Wozencroft, Mike Harding and Philip Marshall.
8pm – 11pm, Saturday 22 August
Hoffmann Building: Britten Studio and Jerwood Kiln Studio, Snape
Faster Than Sound bring more imaginative experiments with sound and image to the Snape Proms with The Suffolk Symphony, a specially commissioned residency and new work by leading sonic and visual production company Touch. Inspired by the historic coastline of Aldeburgh and its surrounding area including Aldeburgh Music’s Snape Proms and its history, Touch will create a new audio-visual symphony from scratch, using only locally sourced sounds and images. Beginning on 16 August, Philip Jeck, BJNilsen, Jon Wozencroft, Philip Marshall and Mike Harding will go on a week-long treasure hunt to unearth old records, field recordings, home-made sounds and images to create a new multimedia Suffolk Symphony, culminating in its first performance on the 22 August.
Following the offer of an Aldeburgh Residency by Faster Than Sound’s creative producer Joana Seguro, Mike Harding responded with the idea of creating a new multimedia work purely from locally sourced sound and image. Mike and BJNilsen went on an exploratory field trip in May to make initial field recordings which are being made into vinyl to be used in the performance. The artists are already busy exchanging ideas in preparation for the residency in August, with Jeck drawing inspiration from the work of Benjamin Britten, especially his Simple Symphony, and Jon Wozencroft planning to describe the special place of Aldeburgh on film, shot in real time during the residency.
Directed by Mike Harding with sound by Philip Jeck and BJNilsen and images by Jon Wozencroft, the whole week will be documented for an interactive website (now offline) by Philip Marshall. The residency will feature workshops and presentations by Philip Marshall and Mike Harding, including interviews with the other artists and a Touch showcase, culminating in the performance which will take place in the recently converted industrial space of the Hoffmann Building. The Suffolk Symphony will be subsequently released through Touch.The interviews by Mike Harding during the residency will include a
discussion with his partner Jon Wozencroft about his vision for Touch, now nearly 30 years old, and an assessment of the changes which have occurred in that period. Philip Jeck will discuss his work, particularly the method behind his live and recorded output, which eschews conventional instrumentation. BJNilsen assesses how field recordings have developed as source material for his work, and Philip Marshall describes the way artists communicate their ideas online and how this affects the relationship between them and their audience. Each interview lasts for one hour, including a 15 minute Q & A session, and dates and times will be shortly be announced via the website.
www.fasterthansound.com
www.aldeburgh.co.uk
Book tickets online
Touch now has an official Twitter account. From there, we will be updating you with info on new editions in the TouchShop, TouchRadio broadcasts, and more… Follow us @touchmusic
A2 Poster, gloss stock
Designed by Jon Wozencroft
…discovered in the depths of the Touch archive, this poster advertises the long-deleted Tone 7 and Tone 7.1 from 1997 – New Order’s “Video 5-8-6”, which was recorded in 1982, initially as soundtrack to the opening of The Haçienda in Manchester, England.
These copies are from the original 1997 poster print-run. As such, they have minor blemishes (small crease marks to the edges) which, we believe, will be obscured when framed-up. Be quick! We only have a handful of these A2 Posters available…
Now sold out
A lengthy extract of Jana Winderen‘s CD ‘Heated’ [Touch # Tone 36] was played by Fiona Talkington on Late Junction on BBC Radio 3 last night. You can hear the episode here for 7 days. The live recording, along with a 7″ vinyl and cassette release, is available in the TouchShop here.
Many thanks to all who attended Touch Presents, live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. A fine review of the evening has been posted over at the Mapsadasical blog, and Drowned in Sound acclaim the “triumphant performance” with a 9/10 review.
The next Touch Presents… in London is now only a week away.
Touch Presents, live at The Roundhouse
16th May 2009, as part of The Short Circuit Festival.
Philip Jeck [UK] and the Gavin Bryars Ensemble [UK/FR] – “The Sinking of the Titanic”
Biosphere [NO]
Hildur Gudnadóttir [IS] & BJNilsen [SE]
+ an installation by Chris Watson
+ in the bar, Sheikh Ahmed selecting sounds from the Touch catalogue
Further information at www.roundhouse.org.uk
Book tickets online
Visit www.guardian.co.uk to read “Sinking of the Titanic: the watery sound meditation returns”, an article previewing the Gavin Bryars Ensemble / Philip Jeck performance next weekend at Touch Presents… at the Roundhouse.
“For his prologue, Jeck used a test tone record that had been lying around without a case for years. “What I’m trying to set up, it’s like an empty ocean, with bits that are like a premonition for things that are going to come,” he says. Amid the static from this battered record come foghorn-like tones and hisses like a diver’s air supply – this is a transmission being excavated from the past. “Philip is a genius, no doubt about that,” says Bryars.”
[nb: Jeck is not a DJ!]
www.guardian.co.uk: Sinking of the Titanic: the watery sound meditation returns
Further information about Touch Presents… at www.roundhouse.org.uk
Purchase The Sinking of the Titanic in the TouchShop
This Friday May 1st sees a rare screening of “Liquid Music” at Tate Britain’s Late at the Tate event. Produced by Jon Wozencroft for Christian Fennesz’s live performances during 2001-2004, the film has so far been impossible to master onto DVD. The soundtrack is from one of Fennesz’s finest performances, in Brighton, from the Touch tour of 2001.
As part of the night’s theme, “Polish Connections”, artist Janek Simon will perform an “optical intervention” in parallel to the original footage. There will be two screenings, at 7.30pm and 8.30pm, in the Duffield Room. Anybody interested in attending is advised to get there early, as space is limited and admission is free.
Film notes for “Black Sea” by Jon Wozencroft, premiered last night at Fennesz’s Ether 09 performance in London.
Now available in the TouchShop:
“Touch – Not A Record Label” T-Shirt, designed by Jon Wozencroft.
Printed on a white Fruit of the Loom Super Premium T-Shirt.
Position of logo and type: Center Chest, 14cm wide.
Sizes available: S / M / L / XL / XXL / XXXL
Buy the “Touch – Not a Record Label” T-Shirt in the TouchShop
The Guardian newspaper have made next Tuesday’s performance by Fennesz at Ether 2009 one of their “Pick of the Week” recommendations.
They write: “…guitarist Christian Fennesz treats his instrument so it sounds like pretty much anything apart from a guitar. Fizzing, atmospheric stuff…”
Touch presents, live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, featuring Fennesz, Rosy Parlane and CM von Hausswolff will take place on Tuesday 21st April, 7.30pm, as part of the Ether Festival 2009.
A day before, at 6.30pm on Monday 20th April in the Purcell Room at the QEH, Touch’s Jon Wozencroft and Mike Harding will be hosting a Q&A session with the artists. Nb: the Monday event is FREE – so, if you are in London please do come!
In 2002, Touch invited a group of sound artists and composers to re-imagine the ringtone. On a recent visit to Dublin, Touch’s Mike Harding talked to Kevin Brew of RTÉ Radio 1’s “The Arts Show” about the miniature artworks that featured on the resulting CD, appropriately entitled “Ringtones”.
The disc features 177 tracks by artists such as Ryoji Ikeda, Fennesz, New Order, Hecker, Gilbert & George, Mika Vainio, Mark Van Hoen, Phill Niblock, Simon Fisher Turner, People Like Us, Oren Ambarchi and Chris Watson.
You may listen again to the interview by visiting The Arts Show website.
“Ringtones” is available in the TouchShop.
Touch presents, live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
21st April 2009, as part of the Ether Festival 2009.
Fennesz [AT]
Rosy Parlane [NZ]
CM von Hausswolff [SE/KREV]
encore
also:
Monday 20th April
Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, 6.30pm
Q&A with the artists and Mike and Jon from Touch
The third revision of the Ash International website is now online.
Ash International – a haberdASHery audio project. R&D not A&R.
Back by popular demand!
We are offering a Subscription Service, whereby a lump-sum payment guarantees you all Touch releases at a 10% discount [until the subscription needs renewing, then the process starts all over again], a special free download or streaming service only open to subscribers, first option on other exclusive releases, a regular dedicated newsletter, discount on back catalogue items and more… You can top-up your account at any time.
We do hope you will take advantage of this service; not only does it offer you value for money, saves you having to repeatedly order new items in the TouchShop, but you also receive exclusive offers.
Buy purchasing this subscription you will receive editions in all formats by Touch.
Saturday 21st February
Tráfo, Budapest, Hungary
with Hildur Gudnadottir & BJNilsen, Jon Wozencroft & Mike Harding
Click here to read Paul Sharma’s interview with Fennesz in The Wall Street Journal.
Jon Wozencroft writes: “Came across this text whilst we were preparing a display of adverts made for The Wire. It was commissioned by Rob Young/Chris Bohn for the magazine’s Epiphanies column (at the back of the magazine) in March 2001. The text was a tiny bit too long so an important section got chopped.
Amazingly, I eventually met the man who had been sitting next to me, Duncan Haysom. We met up in Waterloo in the August of 2007 following an internet quest of dedicated JD fans. The master recording of Joy Division’s ULU concert became the bonus disc for the reissue of Closer by Warner Bros in November that year. There is thus a strange intertwining between this account and the outcomes of the two films, Control and Joy Division, six and seven years later, ie. 29 years after the fact.”
Text: Jon Wozencroft.
Couverture: J-F JAMOUL
Dusted managing editor Otis Hart has included Philip Jeck’s Sand among his 25 favourite albums of 2008.
Otis writes: “Mr. Jeck takes home the Robert Wyatt prize for oldest musician on a year-end list. The 56-year-old turntableplayer (emphasis mine) weaves a dense fog of samples and loops on his 10th album. No surprise there. But for one reason or another, Sand tugs at the heartstrings a little more than past excursions. It could just be the Emily Dickinson poem quoted in the liner notes. That’s the thing about Jeck’s nebulous compositions – they mold to our imagination.”