3 minute read
NARC. TV
Image: Ceiling Demons
NARC. MAGAZINE EDITOR CLAIRE DUPREE AND WEB EDITOR DAVID SAUNDERS INTRODUCE AN EXCITING BRAND NEW MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
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We hope you’ll forgive us a moment of self-indulgence, but we’re absolutely thrilled to finally unveil a project we’ve been working on for many months now.
NARC. TV is a brand new magazine-style programme which will launch this month on our YouTube channel. Featuring interviews and live performances from some of the North East’s finest artists, filmed (in a Covid-safee manner) at some of the region’s finest independent venues – The Georgian Theatre in Stockton, The Forum Music Centre in Darlington and Independent in Sunderland.
Delivering exciting performances and in-depth, insightful interviews is at the forefront of this project – much like the magazine and website, we strive to showcase quality content with the aim of entertaining and informing you about the best alternative music and culture in the region.
We’ve teamed up with filmmaker and all-round artistic powerhouse Ste Bardgett, aka Artmouse Films, to produce five 30-minute long episodes, the first of which will debut on Thursday 5th November. Ste’s keen attention to detail and ability to capture the raw essence of a live performance has resulted in some really exciting footage. The experience has been a truly collaborative one, and has resulted in a project which all three of us feel extremely proud to be a part of.
NARC. TV has been a real labour of love; we’re passionate about showcasing North East talent and it’s been a massive source of frustration to us that we’ve been unable to enjoy the live shows we dearly love throughout this year. While nothing can replicate the energy and emotion of an actual live show, with these programmes we’re able to give artists a valuable platform and you the audience informative chats and exciting live performances.
On Thursday 5th November we kick off with an explosive first show featuring North Yorkshire’s masked alt. rappers Ceiling Demons, whose emotive performance is supplemented by live painting by Art Demon, filmed at Stockton’s Georgian Theatre. An in-depth chat with Psy and Dan reveals the motivations behind their work and their ethos as a band. The second half of the show features a mesmerising performance from Hartlepool’s experimental guitar loop artist Girl From Winter Jargon, who also discusses her musical practices and songwriting approach, filmed at The Forum in Darlington.
Subsequent programmes will be released every couple of weeks, featuring some of the region’s most respected emerging musicians including girl-gang rockers bigfatbig; Hartlepool’s lo-fi pop troupe Mt. Misery; shadowy garage rock quartet Wax Heart Sodality; Middlesbrough rappers Shakk and Eyeconic, who perform an exclusive collaboration; vibrant catchy pop band Marketplace; Sunderland’s indie rockers Plastic Glass; Darlington’s remarkable gospel blues band The Dead Seat and the extraordinary talent of singer-songwriter Faye Fantarrow.
The programmes have been produced in conjunction with our friends at Tees Music Alliance; Paul Burns, their chief exec, explains why it has been an important project for them to support. “We’ve got a long standing relationship with NARC. going back to the day that the magazine was first published – and we’ve been proud to work alongside them ever since on a range of projects. When lockdown hit and they suggested approaching streamed performances in a different, more exciting style to what people were being offered, we jumped at the opportunity. Importantly though, the end result is not just an entertaining watch – it’s a fantastic snapshot of the region’s venues and artists in 2020; reminding us of the great music and experiences that we’ve been missing during these dark days.”
Chief among our reasons for wanting to do this project has been a desire to support musicians in a tangible and meaningful way. Thanks to funding from Stockton BID, Creative Darlington, Sunderland Culture and We Make Culture, we have been able to pay 10 bands and artists to do what they do best, as well as give paid work to sound and lighting techs and filmmaker Ste Bardgett. It’s our hope that, as well as giving our audience some great content, NARC. TV will play a small part in helping to sustain our region’s creative sector.
To be the first to see each episode subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/narcmagazinetv, where over the coming weeks you’ll also find loads more video interviews and features with North East musicians and cultural practitioners. www.youtube.com/narcmagazinetv
Girl from Winter Jargon
