Jacob Kirkegaard and Oren Ambarchi are appearing at this year’s Norberg Festival. For more information, you can visit the festival website here. Also showcased is the 13th anniversary of Ash International, featuring Alvars Orkester | Leif Elggren | Carl Michael von Hausswolff |

BJNilsen | Jana Winderen | The Ash International Sound System

As part of the Ars Electronica festival, Spire will be appearing for their 7th live event at the monastery of St. Florian in Austria on 2nd September 2006.

Appearing will be Charles Matthews on the Brückner Organ, joined by resident organist Robert Kovács, Christian Fennesz and Philip Jeck. In a short while will be posted the full programme for this event.

Spire continues its live events closing the Holland Festival in Amsterdam on Saturday.

Concertzender in Amsterdam are broadcasting a Spire radio special tonight at 1800 CET time.

6-7pm, Saturday 17th June, 2006
Curzon Soho, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1

Fingertips , a live music film event, by Tereza Stehlíková, with an original soundtrack performed live by Philip Jeck

Vertigo is a unique project which champions innovation & diversity in form and culture for independent film and the moving image. Through its magazine, website and special events, Vertigo engages audiences, educators, students and practitioners, introducing new work and critical debate. Its latest issue is launched tonight and is available for sale after the event and at the cinema anytime.

On Monday June 12th at 2215, more tracks recorded at Leeds Spire Live are being played on BBC Radio 3, including Charles Matthews playing tracks from the Robertsbridge Codex.

More highlights are being broadcast on Radio 3 at 2215 on June 12th 2006. If you miss it, you can listen on the Listen Again page: search for ‘Mixing It’.

Spire Live in Geneva has received an Honorary Mention Digital Musics at the 2006 Ars Electronica. This item is still available from the TouchShop

This weekend sees further Spire Live dates – the first in the UK

12th May: Leeds Town Hall

Main Organ: Charles Matthews & Marcus Davidson
Soloist: Robert Millner
Fennesz
BJNilsen
Installation: Leif Inge

13th May: St. George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Main Organ: Charles Matthews & Marcus Davidson
Soloist: Robert Millner
Fennesz
Philip Jeck
BJNilsen
Further information can be found here

Philip Jeck is to perform at the ICA [upstairs in the bar area] as part of the Cut & Splice festival. Joachim Nordwall from Alvars Orkester will be DJing as Touch continues its series of events to celebrate 25 years. The whole event starts at 2000 and more information can be found here.

Fennesz and Philip Jeck appear as part of the next Touch 25 event in Prague, The Czech Republic, on April 13th. With films by Jon Wozencroft and Tereza Stehlikova, more information can be found here. The evening starts at 2000.

Events for Touch 25 can now be found here

Touch was conceived in 1981 and the first cassette magazine “Feature Mist” [see image below] was released in 1982, and to acknowledge this 25th anniversary we are hosting a series of live and web-based events throughout the period. News will be posted well in advance, so watch this space!

Here you can see a full catalogue of Touch releases.

Our first is a special offer in the TouchShop. Starting today, anyone who purchases 4 or more cds in the TouchShop will receive the lowest value item free of charge. Click on the link here and in the comment box when you place your order, include the code word “Feature Mist” to qualify for the discount. [Paypal users should deduct the net cost of the cheapest item from their total payment]. This offer applies for a limited period only.

Our second is a series of photographs by Jon Wozencroft which you can use for your desktop or as a screensaver. A folder of 20 jpegs at 72 dpi are available for 5 different monitor sizes. The folders were archived using a Mac with system 10.4.3, and are saved as zip files. You can unstuff them using Stuffit Expander [for Mac] [for Windows].

l 14″ ibook 1024×768 pixels
ll iMac 1280×1024
lll Powerbook [widescreen] 1280×854
lV 23″ monitor 1600×1200
V G5 1680×1050

Once you have downloaded these images, you can select the folder to act as your desktop image folder in system preferences/Desktop & Screensaver.
Here is a Touch 25 screensaver for your mobile phone. You can upload it via bluetooth or a data cable. It was tested on a Nokia. Click on the link, dust drag this image to your desktop and upload to your phone.

And here is a free ringtone for Touch 25. You can upload it to your phone in the same way as the screensaver above. Check out our CD of ringtones here

A new dance piece by Darshan Singh Buller – “Laal”, features a seven minute extract from Fennesz’s Spire Live in Geneva set. The world premier is at Sadler’s Wells on March 2nd 2006. This is his final piece as The Phoenix Dance Theatre‘s Artistic Director.

There will be various live events throughout the period to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

The first will be a label showcase with Philip Jeck at the ICA, London, on Friday May 5th 2006 as part of the Cut & Splice festival. Accompanying the live set will be a film, ‘fingerprints’ by Tereza Stehlikova. 2230-0100 HRS

Spire Live events can be found here

Live at the Norberg Festival, Sweden 28-29 July 2006

Alvars Orkester | Leif Elggren | CM von Hausswolff | BJNilsen | Jana Winderen | The Ash International Sound System.

Touch @ Oslo Konserthus

in the Small Hall :
1800-2000 Chris Watson

in the Main Hall:
2000-2100 Johann Johannsson + ensemble perform Virthulega Forsetar
2115-2200 Philip Jeck
2200-2245 BJNilsen
2300-2345 Fennesz
2345-0000 Milanos — Fennesz/Jeck/Nilsen Trio

Visuals: Jon Wozencroft, Tereza Stehlikova & Heitor Alvelos
Audio: Audun Strype

For enquiries or to reserve tickets, please contact the box office at Oslo Concert Hall: +47 23 11 31 11, or by email: billetter@oslokonserthus.no

A pdf in Norwegian for more info can be downloaded here

Masthuggs Church [GAS Festival]

Main Organ : Charles Matthews & Marcus Davidson
Soloist: Robert Millner
Fennesz
Philip Jeck
BJNilsen
Interval: Henrik Rylander & Leif Elggren

This event was recorded and broadcast by Sveriges Radio, on “Musik.nu”. A link can be found here, click on ‘webbradio’ (javascript), choose ‘P2’

Photos may be found here

Royal Holloway Theatre and InForm Theatre present “Hospitals and Other Buildings That Catch Fire” which uses music by Ryoji Ikeda [from the album “op.”], and BJNilsen [from the album “Fade to white”].

This smouldering story – dominated by a sick child – is told through a blend of new writing, physicality and puppets. Faeries, priests and nurses come along for the ride against a backdrop of fires and the burning need to talk things through. Blurring the line between fiction and reality, this is an arresting, non-linear theatrical explosion based in the heart of a heartless city.

For our German-speaking readers, there is a feature on Touch in the Swiss magazine Das NetzMagazin, which can be found here

Installation:
Title: The Golden Well
Visuals: Jon Wozencroft
Audio: Rosy Parlane – Iris [Touch # TO:58, 2004]

Display Cabinets:
Touch CDs/LPs/Books designed by Jon Wozencroft
Framed Photographs by Jon Wozencroft reflecting the best of his photography for Touch releases over the years

The Listening Eye

Domino can be found at AB, Anspachlaan 110, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Pictures from the exhibition:

The Stockholm Effect No. 1
Live at Fylkingen, Stockholm, 26th August 2004
[Fennesz/BJNilsen/z’ev]

Fennesz – computer, piano & guitar
BJNilsen – computer
z’ev – bass drums

The recording has been divided into seven pieces for download.
They were mastered for easy reconstruction back to the original
uninterrupted performance.

Each track will be deleted at the end of each month and will not
reappear, so check back at the beginning of each month for the
new track to download. The files are compressed and will appear
as .sit files. You will need a suitable utility to decompress them
[eg Stuffit Expander]

Track 1 [4:26] – October 2004
Track 2 [2:51] – November 2004
Track 3 [4:04] – December 2004
Track 4 [3:39] – January 2005
Track 5 [2:39] – February 2005
Track 6 [3:08] – March 2005
Track 7 [2:55] – April 2005

Mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering