£PRICELESS - MUSIC&CULTURE
ISSUE 04 - AUTUMN 2012
THE TRIP
FO
04
HIYA, Welcome to Trip Number Four. Letters instead of numbers eh. Bet that threw you. We've ditched the tidy popstar in the making on the cover approach and went back to the true Trip style… Sorry for the wee lapse. Normal service is resumed. So ensue the usual "much has happened since the last issue", and it has. Wor Altoid has had a hand in putting together a fucking wonderful line up for 'Frontier Festival'. Turn pages to read more about that. Wor Loco B has started a new project '5ft. Walls At Zeros' and invented the phrase 'full tickets' which I'm all about overusing in the upcoming months, again read on for more… Sports wise, United have kicked off the new Premier League season in true United style; slow as fuck. RVP will sort us out though. Chelsea's league this term if you ask me though. Any one bar the Citeh will do me mind… Big Dougle B has put his relying commitments aside and signed for Berwick Rangers proper… and has been one of their best players thus far this season, including against Ally and his Newco. 1-1, with a BRFC goal disallowed in the last minute… hhmmm… Andy Murray won his first major, and to everyone's surprise the miserable bastard nearly managed a smile. The olympics was G.I.D gid. And we got a new TV show from British Cycling's dominance in said olympics and Tour de France; The Road To Glory, absolutely top shit. And as I type Team Europe are about to complete one of the greatest comebacks ever in the Ryder Cup. Nothing on that one night in Munich my friends mind… Nothing. Festival season happened. Was alright. Stone Roses at every single festival ever seemed to be many peoples highlight. Simian Mobile Disco in the Slam Tent at TITP my own personal favourite. Anyway best get back on track… This is The Trip Four and it's pretty amazing. Dancers, bands, books, beers, DJs, festivals, local heroes returning, theatre and more… Read on my friend…
CONTRIBUTORS & THANKS.... LEE MACE TRUDY MORRISON PAUL SINCLAIR ROSS DAVIDSON ALAN TURNBULL NOISYDARRON GENERATE RADIO DAVE METHVEN SCOTT JEFFREY THAMPSON BRENDAN MCDONALD ROB WILKINSON SUE REED ALAN THOMPSON SAMMY REED CHASTITY FLYTE WILSON GALE PHIL HEYWOOD SION GATES BARRELS ALEHOUSE RAMBLESHACK YOUR HOUSE HISTORIAN ADVERTISE WITH US; HAMISH@THETRIPMAGAZINE.CO.UK
IMAGE: LEE MACE
THE SHIPPING OUT BROADCAST All good things must come to an end and never is this more true than when that good thing is made even better by being free of charge. The Berwick Broadcasting Corporation, the pro-am theatre company which has been delighting audiences at The Maltings for the last three years, will cease broadcasting as from January 2013. There will be much lamenting and rending of hair as this company, with its irreverent take on the radio shows of the Forties and Fifties, seeks a new direction. I caught up with Rob Wilkinson, general Berwick Broadcasting Corp bloke-in-charge and fellow scriptwriter. So, Bobster, there are a lot of pissed off fans out there. RW: After three years, we've a lot of new fans and a core of stalwarts who have been with us from the very beginning avidly following the trials and tribulations of old favourites such as 'The Sticks', 'Reverend Peter Meliah', and 'Fighting Friday'. We want to leave them wanting, rather than force-feeding them more. The weight of having to produce an entirely new show every month is ever present. It's a big responsibility because these shows are loved by a lot of people. We want each show to be the best it can be, and finding the time to ensure quality control is becoming an issue. So basically you're saying the cast and writers have had a better offer? RW: Well, we all have new projects we want to invest in – some acting, some writing. You, for example, are making the move into writing for 'real' radio for the 'real' BBC, and I've a lot of time invested in the Tideline Runners Theatre Company, with two shows next year – Love or Money & Other Stories in February 2013, and The Word in the Wires sometime next summer.
Good times though, eh? The laughs. The complaints... RW: We have courted controversy over the years, but once you explain to people where the joke lies they settle down. It's a very kind-natured show in spite of its mockery – we pick our targets well. The 1940s filter that we employ is more than just a cosmetic choice – it harkens back to a time when '-isms' were prevalent throughout the whole of society – racism, sexism, etc. We hold our carnival mirror up to these dated attitudes and reflect them back as grotesques. Some people haven't really understood that and they saw our shows as racist/sexist/homophobic. Going out with a whimper or a bang? RW: We plan on ending the 2012 run on a high... in 2013. We didn't want to call time at Christmas because then that episode would have to serve too many masters. By ending at the beginning of the new year we can lead straight into the new format. Ah. Gone but not forgotten entirely? RW: Exactly. Instead of a monthly show, we're going to do a series of one-hour specials at various points throughout the year, celebrations of holidays and national events kind of thing. We'll also be performing in new spaces, though keeping to Northumberland and the Borders. So dry your eyes, all you fans of nostalgic innuendo. It looks as if there's some life left yet flickering in Fanny's meat.
TRUDY MORRISON
5FT WALLS FROM HEROES Berwick Music Veteran Brendan Porteous goes solo in new venture If you are a fan of music in the B.U.T scene, then it will be impossible for you to have not heard of the Porues brothers. Both Liam and Brendan have spent the last ten years creating musical waves within this walled town and, for the first time ever, Brendan is going it alone. Whether it be with Espionage Of The Loc, The Absolute Kretins or any other of the musical outfits he has created or stumbled upon in the past, Brendan has delivered cult classics with his twist of clever lyrics and catchy melodies. So, how did this new venture come to fruition?
came with little thought, “It’s easier in the sense that I’m doing it all myself, I’m recording it all myself, so what I say goes, there’s no arguments from the other guys, because it’s just me” This must become a luxury for any artist, the freedom to express in a completely free way, without the need to cater for others. Does this mean then, the end of Espionage Of The Loc?
“Well, with Espionage Of The Loc, the gigs started to become few and far between” explains Brendan, sitting on a cold Sunday night, smoking tabs and drinking gin, “So I suppose I wanted to start doing a lot more music than I was doing at the time, and starting a new project would achieve that goal” And like any writer, the majority of the material that became 5ft Walls was drawn from real life, and there’s no stopping the everyday struggle, so getting it out was an important factor in this new venture “All the songs are about real life happenings, the usual, and if you listen to the album, you’ll probably get that…” Fair enough. But what lead him to land on the somewhat unusual name 5ft Walls At Zero’s? “Point Break, the film. Patrick Swayze’s character says ‘5 foot walls at zero’s, lets go!’ When I asked him how the new project compares with his previous bands, his answer
creator, 5ft Walls At Zeros is here to stay…
“Oh no” Says Brendan “At the moment with 5ft Walls, I play along with backing tracks, drums, bass and keyboards. So eventually, I plan to get Ali, Xennon, Liam and Knoxy to form one big band of many songs.” It sounds as if Brendan has given a lot of time and thought to his new band. Many, many bands have come and gone over the years in Berwick, a curse of the town in some ways, but in the eyes of its
“This album stems from the stories of my life. The ups and downs. But with good, hard hitting music behind it… I have dreams that we will play big festivals. I’m not aiming for main stage headliner, I see us as a daytime slot band, with the sun shining…and all the birds going mental….” So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. As a critic (That’s such a shit word, isn’t it? Being a critic is just voicing your own opinion, which means little to nothing to anyone but yourself, but its what I’m here to do, I suppose) I would urge you to check out the album. Any Espionage fans out there will be satisfied with it, the next chapter in the Loc world, and any new fans will find it as a great introduction to a great artist. Brendan Portues is a true musician, with a gift for the gab and a talent for truly beautiful music. You’d be fool to let this one slide…. Enjoy another fine sunny day with something else from Loco B. PAUL SINCLAIR x
GENERATE RADIO // The second year in a row and the Generate Radio team are honoured with a nomination in the ‘Radio Station of the Year’ category, something they do not take lightly. // Pipped at the post by Heartland FM, they learned that just a handful of votes kept them off the top spot. Directors Kyle Wilson and Oscar MacAndrew said ‘to be 3 votes shy of getting the award is an awesome feeling and we would like to thank all those who support us, not just for this award but everyday’ Kyle went on to say ‘Frankly to be nominated is amazing enough after all we were in the mix with much larger stations with FM status. That is an honour
alone’. The event was attended by both Oscar, Kyle and a team from the station. On the agenda was firstly a great night out but also forging connections, another plus for an event such as this. The station once again scored a first - an interview with Scosha who picked up the award for ‘Pop single of the Year’, as well as a live session from Erin Bennett who won ‘The Frankie Miller Songwriter of the Year’. // Generate Radio simply goes from strength to strength with a competent group of volunteers, enthusiastic and professional presenters, and innovative shows. This month sees the celebration of their 2nd year anniversary marked with a 24hr live show by Presenter Donald Strachan (also an SNMA nominee). Will they make it at next years awards? You could say 3rd time lucky, but this little band of go getters don’t rely on luck. No, they simply get on with it.
IMAGE: THE MAN ALAN TURNBULL
I’ve had the privilege of seeing these guys at their Christmas gig at the Barrels. That was a spankingly good night and something I will remember for a long
The vocals throughout the whole album are mixed excellently. I know I get annoyed by electronic music where vocals are pushed to the forefront. It seems arrogant and imbalanced. On this whole album, however, he places the vocals on a level with the rest of the music and adds lots of reverb and effects rendering some of the lines quite hard to make out but at the same time more a part of the music rather than a separate thing put on a shiny pedestal. According to the man himself, this is due to his desire to let the listener make up his own lyrics and ‘sing along like a nugget’. This allows the listener to go, not on Ian’s journey, but their own. This results in the feel of the album being a hell of a lot more apparent than the actual ideas put across in the through the lyrics. This is not saying the lyrics aren’t important. There’s some excellently relatable stuff being said. ‘Rooftops’ for instance is, I’m sure, familiar to some and the lament; ‘Get the time’, that would be poignant for many of us at some point in the past, present or future.
to them.
I’m now on my 7th or 8th listen and the smorgasbord of electronica indie soul is becoming far from tiring. It is a piece that, initially, you can really get into a groove, then as you listen to it more you almost build a relationship with the songs. This sounds outrageously wanky yes but with the amount of effects this guy has in play you ‘get to know’ the songs more and more every time you listen
soon as it’s out in October you should snap it up, get to know it and sing along like a nugget. Also, as soon as is possibly humanly possible get along to one of their gigs in November! They’re landing in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and of course Berwick-upon-Tweed. ROSS DAVIDSON
The main themes throughout the album are journeying, finding balance and becoming happy with the earth. This is a break from what this guy usually focuses his music on; Aliens, revolutionary calls to arms and the esoteric agenda which will have us all being herded into slavery with every penny we spend and every time we switch on the telly... (nearly got into a rant there but I’ll hold back, this isn’t the platform). Ian wrote most of ‘Under My Skin’ while travelling around South East Asia and Australia and this meandering image shows through lots of the tracks, no less in ‘Heaven Sent Insane’ and ‘Strange Dreams’. This impression of travelling left with you makes it perfect for a train journey, a particularly brutal hangover or the night before. You know, all of life’s little journeys which make up the big one. This is a cracking album which as
I think I’ll call them the Roysettes. Brendan, Steve, Holmsie and Knoxy are all very creative beings who have learnt note for note and beat for beat what Ian gives them. The mix of Ian’s electronic track and the Roysette’s live input give Ian’s music a brilliant richness which definitely gets my juices flowing.
man behind it, stock broker, traveller, multi instrumentalist, spiritual explorer and conspiracy aficionado Ian Thompson.
Ian works in Edinburgh for ‘A major multinational finance institution’. Some would say that this is at odds with his passions for music, spirituality and fighting the good fight against the powers-that-be. But he has no illusions about what he does. He finds it difficult sometimes to work for the enemy but understands that this enables him to achieve his goals of travelling, music and living life. This Gemini really understands how to balance things. This balance is something that is noticeable throughout the new album.
time. I’ve also been lucky enough to sit in on a few practices out at El Rancho Holmsie. And a big shout-out has to be given to the guys that have joined Ian.
So, I’ve been given the privilege of having a sneak peak at the new Roy’s Iron DNA album, ‘Under My Skin’ and even had a little bit of an interview with the
RIDNA ALBUM PREVIEW
LORDS OF BASTARD - CUDDLES
DAVE RECOMMENDS
// Whack. Here's Cuddles...
Everyone’s favourite ginger, Barrels frequenting, deep house record spinner Dave Methven has sent us a note with five of his favourite tunes. Check them out or miss out.
// I love sandwiches and this CD reminds me of a proper belter Sandwich.. filled to the brim with meat and oozing with garnishes and melodic seasoning that ensures you're hungry for another immediately after finishing it. Its a bit like the cheese at the Golden Arches.. you know it's essentially made of unknown ingredients but it tastes epic. Lords of Ba$tard have topped their debut album in great style with the masterfully entitled 'Cuddles'. Mike Aitchison, originally from Berwick-a-town.. now a resident of Leith in Edinburgh, is the driving force behind their concrete foundations in the Edinburgh music scene. They frequent Bannermans on a regular basis where you can see them perform live tracks from both their debut and newest album. 'Cuddles' envelopes all that is mental in the world of heavy guitar music. The Drums are intense, the keys perfect, punchy bass and terror dream-style guitars all accompanied by vocals that sit perfectly in the mix - exactly where they should be.. Imagine being beaten heavily by 2 guitars, a mentalist drummer and a rhodes keyboard, to breaking point, only to have your soul and body healed by 16, yep - 16 Swedish goddesses. It's a refreshing listen... Excellently produced and delivered in a macabre yet enlightened way to ensure you feel the dirt of every track and arranged in a manner that makes for an easy listen. 'Eggs any style' is a favourite, not for the egg-type connotations, just for the sheer brilliance of the melody and the way it spits in your face while telling you everything you ever wanted to hear..... class. The lads really do know how to make technical guitar music and have a rare ability to make it very listenable. If I was a gambling man, well, I'd go to the bank, withdraw all my money, lend more from my Gran, head to the casino and put it all on Lords of Bastard. // Winner. Mucho Respecto - Noisydarron
1 - Pittsburgh Track Authority – Untitled My favourite record of recent weeks. Straight up house music with a definite nod to the past. Synthesised strings, bleeps, and a belter of a bass line. 2 – Omar S – Set It Out One of my favourite records of all time and never far away from my record bag. Ridiculously deep and soulful with a great vocal. Omar S makes it look easy, a true house music legend. 3 – Locussolus – Berghain (Darkroom Mix) Im not even sure what this is. Techno with a hint of disco, a touch of darkness and a load of complete fucking mentalness. Im yet to hear this in a club, but when I do I reckon I may actually soil myself. 4 – Fred P – Come This Far (Fred P Reshape) If “epic” wasn’t completely overused and cringe worthy id probably use it to describe this beast. As deep and subtle as you like, it just builds and builds. If you like deep house check out this dudes mixes, he got skillz. 5 – Tornado Wallace – Paddlin’ (Linkwood Remix) I had to include something from the Edinburgh man Linkwood. Everything he touches is gold, he has serious amounts of talent. A deep, groovy, downtempo bomb perfect for a Barrels warm up set. DAVEY FINGERS x
DIVORCE// THE CLUNY 2// 18.9.2012 Brutal is a word far too overused nowadays, as an adjective it is pinned onto more genres of music than it probably should be. Such foreword is indicative of me once again making things over-difficult for myself, because I just don’t have any other words to accurately describe the events I witnessed here. As a consumer I am finding myself drawn more and more to the obscure and the raucous, there is much to explore down this path and the bands domineering the stage of Cluny 2 tonight are truly something to behold. Regretfully only glimpsing the last tune or two of local three-piece ‘Tide of Iron’, they certainly blow my tits clean off in this short time, causing me to surface for air and a bottle of Wylam after only minutes in the darkness of this supremely cool venue. Next up are Nately’s Whores Kid Sister, another Newcastle band and one that I frequently champion. This is my fourth time seeing them this year and they still can’t bore me. Despite new song ‘Bags’ being the only fresh content they have for the 100-or-so people here tonight (that and some lovely dress/legging combos) they’re 30 minutes once again feels like 5. My only knowledge of Glasgow’s ‘Divorce’ was garnered from various online platforms in the week or so leading up to this gig. Several visits to their bandcamp resulted in the decision that they could be something I’d enjoy live. To be totally honest, I still feel as though I’m yet to recover from their set. I’m not referring to my physical wellbeing either, as I was sat for most of their performance. They make music that mentally drains yet excites and inspires me as a musician. It is rare for a band to expel such seemingly un-meditated and ferocious noise whilst staying as tight as a tiger in the process. Switching between blast parts akin to 90’s grindcore and some of the juiciest DFA 1979 style bass/ drum grooves I’ve had the pleasure of listening to, Divorce make you uneasy in the most pleasant of ways. Its music to shock to the core, to soundtrack the most horrific and prolonged of introspective nightmares. Next time I make a vengeance kill, they’ll feature heavily on the playlist.
SCOTT JEFFERY
SHAKEFEST 2012 - DUNS Alan Fairbairn and friends transforming Duns Volunteer hall into a tidy little venue with table staff and stovies for the crowd to enjoy.. not to mention a sound setup managed by local favourites Iain Ballentyne, and Scott Spence. I’d already seen the delights of 3 bands, Missing Myla, Where’s George? and Morfsnud. The first hailing from Dunfermline - nice one fellas for journeying it to the borders to play some very well executed pop/punk. Missing Myla created another poppy atmosphere and these lot really know how to belt out a tune. Great guitar work and just the right amount of cheese to make some tasty Duns-baked cheese-pastry type sound. Nice. ..Morfsnud, from Duns.. get it? Genius. ..apparently playing their last gig but by the look on the lead singers face afterwards I reckon not. Hopefully see them soon somewhere if a little altered in guitarists. Me. Pale one. One guitar and me. Couple of hundred folk tearing into stovies, drinking pints and ‘chatting’ (There’s nothing more comforting when you’re poring your heart out in songs you’ve made up in your televisually programmed mind than.. erm.. stovies.) Enjoyed it though, warm welcome and friendly crowd.. Le Woodsmen next. Was looking forward to seeing these lads as I hadn’t seen them for a while. Their live sets are the business. Finest songwriting and sharply executed guitars, just a couple of things that make Le Woodsmen a pleasure to listen to… and dance to.. Great tunes to dance to. The Warehouse Announcement had arrived, having already played at Spittal Seaside Festival. Some boys! Always good to see these fine men. Fine musically talented beasts. Every one of them. Bob had astounded me with his signed poster of the Trailer Park Boys before they went onstage and I tell you, I’m jealous of that poster and always will be. Their music was as entertaining as the banter and as usual they put on a crackin' show. Last up, Easter Street. A local talent indeed. Easter Street’s music, is a type of sound that’s rare round these parts. Great guitar riffs and strong vocals complimented by drumbeats sitting perfectly inside clever songs. Great onstage chat too. Great local music, pints, stovies, friends, a quality evening… Plans are already underway for Shakefest2 so keep it in mind for a wee cracker night oot in Duns next summer. Well done to everyone who contributed to raising over £2500 for the Parkinsons Unit. THAMPSON
THINK OF THE VERB, RATHER THAN THE NOUN. REJECT BY STANLEY ODD. Who's Stanley Odd? The sounds that form the opening few seconds of their second LP, Reject, are like that of a spaceship landing. That lends to the fact that they see themselves as outsiders. They're a Scottish based hip-hop band. I've heard they had a hard time finding a record company who saw past their MC's accent. That makes me think about how it's perfectly acceptable to put an American accent on our radios, but not a native Scottish one; for us to listen to American points of views and raps, but not one from our own doorstep! That's the radios and record companies playing it safe. That's something Stanley Odd seem at ease to fight against. They're of the minority and they're proud of the fact, but that doesn't mean they aren't very, very good, or "accessible", or poignant, or down-right happening.
the tight, smooth, back bone to the songs. Samson the Snake (drums/electronics), AdMac (bass), Scruff Lee (guitars) and T Lo's (keyboards) contributions are the definition of deft, with a capital D; Deft. My pick of the songs from Reject are "Going Through The Motions" (brings to mind our almost imitate, modern relationship with technology) and "Marriage Counselling" (Scotland and England). Having said that, these aren't the singles off the album. I've seen the band live twice and they're tight and powerfully uplifting. Odd folk, indeed. BRENDAN MCDONALD
MC Solareye puts to you pictures of life in the UK (and of the world) via energetic, intelligent, soul-searching, honest word plays. There's no american-gangsta-wannabe rubbish here. Veronika Electronika adds a tonic to his 'gin'; her soulful tones play off his urban-vocal, almost vitriol, wits. Together they switch lead vocals to provide an almost verse/chorus format. The vocal performances are so compelling it's easy to overlook (overhear, even)
CAULS – EP2 It seems like only a few months ago I was bemoaning to anyone who would listen that music these days rarely surprises me and all but never delights. Well, that whinging and hand-wringing is over- I have seen the light. To say that the new E.P. by Cauls is surprising is a massive understatement. The level of surprise is on a par with a kindly vicar stopping part way through an acoustic reading of “If I Had a Hammer,” on National No Swearing Day, standing up and screaming “I DON’T FUCKING THINK SO!!!” then pissing on the font. Opening with the chilling bass atmospherics of “Whistler,” E.P.2 quickly establishes its air of manic unpredictability by channelling The Cure’s seminal “Faith” album and cranking up the Goth to 111! It also introduces us the exquisite voice of Michael Marwood who has his vocals set to stunning. He doesn’t so much sing a melody, but eviscerates it and leaves it bleeding on the floor. Whistler’s moody theatrics give way to “No Motion” – easily the most accessible piece here but by no means “pop” – with its all conquering melody, stadiumsized chorus and the boundless energy of a toddler ripped to the tits on M-Kat; it’s just about the most exciting thing to emerge from my stereo since the news that Bin Laden had died last May. Iris Brickfield demonstrates just how much fun being mental can really be. Perhaps their most violently inventive song with a never-ending ending that’s almost
comically absurd yet so much fun and so very right. Back in the late nineties, music journalists loved to talk about being “bathed in a cathedral of sound,” this is more akin to being “gang-fucked in the showers in the lunatic asylum for the creatively insane.” The Durande provides a moment’s respite with its “Stars of the Lid” inspired yawning guitar sweetness before “Ahsonnutli” (The chief God of the Navajo – fact fans – he created everything from the sky to accordions.) This closing track sees the band shed their final mantle of sanity – the point where Marwood demonstrates the type of noise a rabbit would make if you opened it slowly with a bench-saw. It puts the “mental” in “monumental.” It is – like the rest if the E.P. – incredible. Sickeningly inventive, playful, exciting and intoxicating. Like driving a very fast, very stolen police car into a sand-pit full of toddlers: Messy, but ultimately worth the tragic loss of life. This release stands head and shoulders above any rock record released this year. It is the sound of people who love what they do and who love life. It is the most life-affirmingly ALIVE record you will hear in a long time. ROB WILKINSON
AUDIO SOUP// GARVALD, EAST LOTHIAN AUGUST 31ST – 2ND SEPT “You know you’ve had enough when you wake up in a heart shaped straw circle listening to drumming” This was the quote from a fellow ‘souper’ at Audio Soup, a tiny but oh so friendly festival, which has soared to take prime position in my list of favourite festivals this year. From the moment I arrived on Thursday, to set up my stall as The Woolly Pedlar, and had a cup of tea made for me, to the time that I left hugging newly made friends, and vowing to return next year, I was surrounded by lovely people, many of them like myself veterans of the festival scene. I think it is the fact that the Audio Soup crew were made up of folk that had been to countless festivals in their time, and knew what makes a festival work that made this tiny event such a roaring success. In one small field there was everything you would find at a larger festival. The main stage saw tribute bands on Friday, billed as Tribute night, such as Blondie, RAGE, and I sang along to many covers remembering all the words, being of that generation. Dub Mafia went down a storm as did Spartan Tartan, Frog Pocket and Mr Woodnote. Sunday night however, was my top night for bands on the mainstage. Pikey Beatz were in my opinion the best band of the weekend. They are a seven piece band who are hard to fit in a genre. They are billed as ska reggae, but there was also a wonderful mix of gypsy melody which saw the crowd waltzing and then back to some serious raw energy. They are only young but there are extremely talented, and the fact that they were billed before the Scottish giants Bombskare, shows the as a great festival band that they have built over the last few years. Bombskare didn’t fail to disappoint either and finished the festival in true ska style with the crowd jumping and asking for more. The dance tent was given ten out of ten for effort with décor, with signs such as ‘look don’t leer’ and we all had a great time in there with great tunes and great people, which is after all, what makes a great dance tent. Venue 42 with its wooden floor and cheesey tunes was a >> fun place to be, providing workshops by day such as
>> Flamenco with Toti and Diego and a cocktail bar by night with some great cheesey tunes. Next door, the Wub Hut played thumping tunes for the more hardcore amongst us. By far my favourite venue was The Beatroot Café though. Run day and night by a tireless team and providing delicious homemade food, and with a stage, soundsystem and some fantastic bands, such as Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5. It has an air of wackiness and cabaret and was the ideal venue to finish off the night, when a cup of tea and a chair is called for, but you are not quite ready for bed and the music sees you up for just one more dance. By day, the arena had plenty to offer too. There was just the right amount of market traders, with Jupiter and Woolly Pedlar seeing to your festival clothing needs, and the fantastic sauna run day and night in the ‘Shit Hot Shed’ as well as massage and alternative therapies, with nature walks, and a place to make your own herbal lip balm, creams and potions. The kids’ area provided a safe haven and plenty for the kiddiwinks to do and was run by the some very lovely folk. Randomness and fun abounded by day, and the straw bale heart was centre stage for many a shenanigan. You could have your outfit pimped up and titivated by ‘Glad rags’, and Cupid’s Couriers saw to it that love and laughter flowed. Sunday saw many in their finery as folk wore their Sunday best, and a carnival atmosphere prevailed. The weather of course helped with wall to wall sunshine and not a drop of rain all weekend, which most definitely has not been the case at the other festivals I’ve attended this year. I left the site on Monday morning so glad that I had found Audio Soup. It was the perfect end to the festival season and I look forward to going again next year. I’ll most certainly be looking out for their March Equinox gathering. Many congratulations to the Audio Soup crew. You knew just what works at a festival and worked so hard to make that happen. I met some lovely people and made many new friends. Well done to all of you. I will be back. SUE REED
FRONTIER FESTIVAL
AS PART OF OUR FRONTIER FESTIVAL SPECIAL, WE CAUGHT UP WITH CO-ORGANISER ALAN THOMPSON FROM TRAVELLED MUSIC. ALAN EXPLAINS THE ARTIST LINE-UP IN DETAIL… >> X
WEDNESDAY 10TH OCTOBER // AGES & STAGES: A FILM ABOUT THE MELIGROVE BAND
FRIDAY 12TH OCTOBER // ELECTRIC PENELOPE ALBUM LAUNCH
A couple of years ago I toured the US with Canadian band Born Ruffians, along the way, somewhere in the Nevada desert, we had met up with our support act for the tour The Meligrove Band. They are possibly the unluckiest band I have ever met, but they keep going relentlessly smiling all the way. The first show I remember with them (they missed the first 4 dates due to customs troubles leaving Canada) we were in Reno, Las Vegas’s ugly sister. The guys turned up in a converted disabled bus with the destination ‘Woodbine Sluts’ showing on their vehicle. The show went well despite the male prostitutes and crack heads outside the venue and we headed back to our casino hotel. We stayed up late drinking and gambling with toothless ladies and mullet haired locals, the next morning The Meligrove Band’s ‘fun bus’ was surrounded by oil. A burst gasket on the 2nd day of tour! We had a 12 hour drive to the next show in California so Meligrove Band were forced to cancel yet another show, losing much needed income and missing out on some much needed affection from Californian girls. They joked and smiled regardless and this film is a testament to this hugely popular Toronto band. It’s a behind the scenes documentary about life on the road and life in the music industry. Critically acclaimed at Toronto Film Festival and making it’s UK premiere in Berwick upon Tweed. I can’t recommend the film enough or indeed the music of The Meligrove Band, maybe one day we’ll get them to play in Barrels!
Possibly the biggest show of the festival will be Electric Penelope’s album launch night in The Maltings Theatre, a 300 capacity venue in the heart of Berwick. The main performance will feature a full live band, backing singers and all the frills of a stage show. Anna Emmins is Electric Penelope singing soulful, jazz styled pop music in support of her debut album, which will be available on the night. We also welcome back to Berwick, after performing at last year’s Borders Green Festival – Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou. The husband and wife duo play pop-folk music that have received acclaim from the Mercury Music Awards committee and brought the songs to the attention of a wide range of BBC radio programs right across the UK. Local gals ‘The Mockingbirds’ have expanded their line-up to include a rhythm section to match their delicious vocal harmonies and will open the performance under their new stages names – ‘The Moon, The Son & The Daughters’. After spending the summer busking in Berlin and playing shows around Eastern Europe the group were joined by Anna’s brother Gabriel back home. Singer Maddy explains, “The Moon was the only constant that kept us together when travelling, The Son is Gabriel and we (Maddy, Anna and Hannah) are the Daughters!”
THURSDAY 11TH OCTOBER // BERWICK BANDS COLLECTIVE PRESENTS Berwicker Jonny Gray started the Berwick Bands Collective in the early noughties at a time when the Berwick music scene was just emerging. Great bands such as The Briganties, The Local Villains and Ninepins were all part of the early stages. Now growing again the Berwick music scene is well established with musicians sharing gear, arranging shows and releasing mixtapes, demos and albums all within the walled town. Thursday’s show will feature the creative noise and songwriting brilliance of local poet, playwright and actor Robert Wilkinson aka Secret Gang Handshakes alongside new Portues brother project 5ft Walls@Zeros with Le Woodsmen performing well-known songs all in the hidden gem of a venue – Barrels Alehouse.
ELECTRIC PENELOPE
XI
SATURDAY 13TH OCTOBER // THE TOUR
original act The Famous Poet. His last outing was in blues-rock shouty mode as The Agitator, a project that found Derek signed by Blur’s management team (he lived in a very big house in the country!) and appear on Later with Jools Holland to much acclaim. This hometown show will be much anticipated and Derek will perform solo at the piano a fantastic way to showcase his wonderful songwriting abilities. Cattle & Cane, a 5 piece lo-fi band from Teesside will headline this show performing songs which have found themselves playlisted on BBC 6Music and performed live at T in the Park. Check this band out on YouTube for a taste of something special.
The Saturday night is the show I’m most excited about! It’s going to take place over 4 venues with staggered shows so the crowd can walk between each gig. The night starts off with a few words and a drink in the Maltings Stage Door Bar where a very special guest will entertain ticket holders. We’ll then walk up to the amazing Gymnasium Gallery. A venue that has never hosted a music event before. The space is incredible and the bands playing up there are pretty incredible too. Opening the show will be local lads Ordinaryson. Playing songs from their debut album ‘Sorted Out’, the lads have built up a good reputation for quality songwriting and musical proficiency over the years, having played shows all over the continent and alongside some well known acts such as Mercury nominated Field Music in Barrels basement! Next up will be the vocal folk group from Tyneside The Cornshed Sisters, the girls last show was in a launderette with only ten people squeezed in to catch the unique performance. Gymnasium headliners will be the crazy UK festival veterans Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra. They play a brilliant blend of swing, folk and jazz rock to take any crowd off their feet, double bass, guitars and accordion it’s sure to be great set.
For the last night ravers and partygoers the Frontier Festival marches on.. Barrels Alehouse will be the final calling point with RIDNA DJs special guests at the regular Flux DJ night in the basement. Residents Gav and Flinty will play a hybrid selection of Rap, Grime, Techno, Electro, Synth Wave, House and Bass music which will go on till the wee hours of Sunday morning.
SUNDAY 14TH OCTOBER // IAIN PETRIE PRESENTS The brand new Watchtower venue in Tweedmouth will host a full days of acoustic performances curated by local musician and producer Iain Petrie. Special guests will include Bridie Jackson & The Arbour, Tasha Blackmore, Antic Hay, Linzi Walker, Des Shanahan, Angus Gunn.. A fantastic selection of brilliant musicians in a wonderful venue. A great way to cap off a great week of live music in Berwick. A border town on the Frontiers of independent music!
ROB HERON & THE TEA PAD ORCHESTRA
A short walk to the Henry Travers Studio is next for a very special performance from local lad done good Derek Meins. Derek has toured Europe with his first band Eastern Lane, who were signed to the legendary Rough Trade Records at the tender age of 15. Eastern Lane were supported by Zane Lowe, MTV and XFM and even toured with the infamous Libertines. After moving to Brighton after Eastern Lane parted ways Derek went on to play in front of thousands supporting The Maccabees around the UK with his
XII
ELECTRIC PENELOPE A NEW DAY
Above all things Electric Penelope is a classy writer of top quality pop music. The most compelling evidence in support of this is the song “My Lovely Friend”. A song LITERALLY about having a lovely friend. A lesser composer tackling such topic-matter would probably inspire the eye-stabbing of several kittens, so it speaks volumes to her song-writing ability that “Leccy-pen’s” own piece will have you grinning from ear-to-ear like a drooling village idiot. With A New Day, Electric Penelope has carved out an assured piece of classic pop. With one eye looking longingly behind her to the classic sounds of 1960’s girl groups and the other fixed firmly on the squelchy synth driven textures of “future-pop now,” this cock-eyed songstress has happened on a winning formula that is fun and reassuring. If a hug could be translated into song it would sound like this album. And what of the songs themselves? Opening with recent single “Trafalgar Square” with its parping “Ronsonian” horns and effervescent carnival atmosphere, we then bump into the “The Supremes-u-like” Motown infused “You Are My Everything” (A song every girl should sing to her guy at least once in hushed breathy tones...)
percussion and simplistic whimsical scat “ba-ba-ba...” chorus is sweet pop perfection. Speaking personally, I’d like to hear a few more “Innocent Ones” as this seems to really fit the voice snugly and... it’s really fun. This is a strong assured debut that is staggeringly ambitious in its execution and almost too perfect in its production. Perhaps future releases will see this mantle of perfection slip a little and embrace the silliness even more. The theatricality running through almost every track is fun and delightfully endearing, but it’s when the epic stops and the intimacy starts that this album really wins big.
Best song on the album is the plaintive and beautifully romantic “Carry Me Home”. Every second of this ballad is at once painfully honest and wonderfully theatrical. We also take a trip through Electric Penelope’s record collection - Title track “A New Day” is gentle summer reggae track with a surprisingly tender chorus while “Sunny Song” is a sultry sticky soul number in the “It’s a Man’s World” vein. The album isn’t all sunshine and butterflies, “Scorpion” is all dissonant tango piano and comes with a feeling of impending danger; and the scary-assed gypsy waltz “Everything Must Come To An End” has her coming across like the world’s most callous fortune teller. The song makes me think of spiders laying eggs in my ear... don’t ask me why it just does. The album closes on a playful note with a nod back to her lo-fi -roots “The Innocent Ones” with its cute “comb, biro and mug”
There is something very unusual and special about this album – and that is the “writing voice” of the singer. Her open and honest lyrical tales get to the heart of who Electric Penelope really is: A mother; a sister; a daughter and wife - she is all these things and she sings of them with such endearing rose-tinged romanticism that her diary-like poems take on an almost Quixotic sense of adventure. It is this great support system of friends and family that inhabits her song-world that makes her songs such an inviting prospect. You always hear the vox-pops bleaters crying “If only Amy Winehouse had better friends...” This is what is happening here: A mercurial sense that everything is alright, no matter how bad they seem- help is at hand... you are safe and you are loved.
One thing is clear... this is not “for safe read boring-safe,” it’s not “Mum-pop.” You don’t see her so much boogying away at the kitchen sink with a tray of fish fingers... but orbiting the planet in a satellite looking down on us all – like a guardian - before riding the wreckage like a surfboard as it crashes to the earth, hopping off just before impact, fixing her lippy and coolly walking home and making the world’s best chocolate fudge cake. This is “MILF-POP!”
ROB WILKINSON XIII
THE BERWICK WATCHTOWER
The first time I heard about this project it was described to me as, “the old Jehovah witness place”, which didn’t paint much of a picture considering I know nothing about the religion other than its followers are notorious cold callers. I found myself just weeks later deciding “The Watchtower” was the best name for this beautiful building, but apparently I was the only human alive that didn’t know this is the name of the jehovah’s magazine, so just for the record the jehovah’s are gone and lots of crazy art has moved in.
However the opportunities these facilities present would be nothing without YOU. The whole reason I wrote this article is to ask everyone and anyone to get involved. When I first was introduced to the watchtower I was just a musician having a look around and now I’ve been handed a great opportunity to be involved in the running of this place. So if you think you can make use of our facilities or can contribute in any way or even if you just want to meet some more creative folks then come see us. You can catch us on facebook www.facebook.com/berwickwatchtower or the website www.berwickwatchtower.com and you can e-mail me on Sammy@berwickwatchtower.com. it’s about time Berwick’s music and art scene had some life in it again and we’re hoping everyone will help us on this venture.
When I first met with Kate (the owner of the watchtower) it was clear that this place is to serve 2 main purposes. The first being that it is a tribute to her late husband Ian Stephenson and his spectacular art work, The second being that it is an open door to artists of all varieties. Whether it be a 100 year old painter or a 10 year old who just learnt his first guitar chord we have opened this building in hope of aiding those with a love for creation.
SAMMY REED
It’s early day’s and we are only just starting to discuss how we aim to do this but one thing is for sure we aren’t a big entertainment business, though we do aim to entertain, our main aim is to facilitate, inspire and build a network of creative thinkers who are all teaching, learning, and collaborating under one roof. At this time the facility itself is the most valuable asset we have to offer. It has a full gallery which has Ian Stephenson’s work constantly on display on the highest point’s of the tallest walls and bellow this we currently have work from Mali Morris, Stephen Lewis and Mark Irving on display but these exhibitions will constantly change as we have no shortage of artists wanting to show their work. In the main exhibition area we also have a stage and lighting for gigs/ play’s or any other function you can think of. Below this we have the brand new recording studio/ practice room which is yet to be equipped properly but the acoustics are heavenly plus it’s old school wood frame and canvas interior gives it the ultimate hippy folk vibe. My favourite feature has to be that there are inputs upstairs in the exhibition hall where you can record live shows or just make use of the big echoey hall in you’re recordings. As well as our facilities Kate Stephenson and Michael Richardson are possibly two of the nicest odd balls I’ve met in my time and they are all about trying to make things happen and welcoming enthusiasm of all sorts. XIV
ART FOR ARSE SAKE? // I must be a philistine. When contemporary art speaks to me, it’s often under its breath along the lines of, “For fuck’s sake,” and with a mental prompt to take the recycling out. Visual art, by its very nature, should be indefinable – is indefinable. Yet this doesn’t chime with those contemporary artists who feel the need to dictate to us what we are meant to be seeing. As I don’t presume to tell the artist what to create, I would appreciate the same courtesy from the artist in not telling me what to perceive. I have a sneaking suspicion that many artists finish a piece and think, “Hmm, it’s pretty enough, but I haven’t a fucking clue what it means.” So, not having enough belief in the merit of their own art, they scribble down a few lines of hasty pretentious twaddle to keep the art critics happy and to alienate large swathes of the general public. The last time I visited the Tate Modern in London I left white-lipped and shaking, marvelling through my incandescent wrath at the gravitas with which people – functioning people, holding down jobs, raising families – contemplated three light bulbs, a lolly stick and a dead rodent.
pleased me at the time I kept repeating it until my husband told me to shut up, people were staring. // I recently told a colleague of mine, a Guardian reader, this story. He looked at me first aghast and then with well-brought-up pity, as if I was disabled and had accidentally rolled myself across his picnic rug. “Oh, my God. Modern art is brilliant!” he spurted. “It’s all about the space it sits in and the emotions it evokes. The very fact that you felt so strongly about it means that, as art, it succeeded.” Christ, I feel exhausted just remembering. // I’m tired of people like my colleague assuming a smug and patronizing stance, believing that they ‘get’ contemporary art when really the only thing they’ve got is a suggestible personality type. Because, I’m sorry, if an exhibit requires an A4 laminate of explanation beside it… well. Call me naive, but aren’t artists supposed to convey things through the medium of – and I’m fairly confident I’ve got this right – art? (EXTRACTED FROM ‘IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME – 184/250,’ NOT THE BERWICKSHIRE ADVERTISER)
// I recall stomping back across the Millennium Bridge shrieking at the aptness of the Tate Modern being cut from the new clothes of the ultimate emperor, Tony fucking Blair; a connection which so
CHASTITY FLYTE //
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I am immensely proud to be writing this review. Rikki has a zeal that would see him succeeding in any endeavour he sets out on and a pipe dream three years in the making saw the launch night of his brand new brewery Bear Claw. Berwick has a rich history of brewing dating back from 1777. The Border Brewery was brewing beer throughout the 19th century but halted brewing after the first World War. The flames were relit in 1992 with the re-founding of the Brewery. This enjoyed superb success, so much so in fact that new premises were in needed after only ten years. This saw the formation of the Hadrian and Border brewery in Newcastle. With the departure of the now Hadrian and Border Brewery from the town there has been an empty space where a beer company should be. No more though, and my lord what a comeback! With the names like the charmingly morbid ‘First Blood’ and hopelessness inducing ‘Sun God’s Ruin’, Berwick Beer is back with a vengeance. A vengeance through the medium of ABV’s of 6.5 and 5.7 respectively. ‘First Blood’, an American red ale, at the first taste grips the front of your face with equal measures of bold hops and malty blasts. Then those tastes don’t let up all the way down the glass. I’d personally recommend this in a half pint glass... with a dark, navy rum perhaps. ‘Sun God’s Ruin’, a double Border blonde (whatever that means?), seems a little more laid back, almost session bearish. It’s buttery texture and lightly hopped flavours lull you into the false sense that this is a lighter beer. It certainly doesn’t drink like its alcohol content. So be warned it’s a Siren of a beer. The man’s dedication goes further than carefully crafting his beers, his pump clips are from carefully hand carved wooden print blocks too. Rikki’s launch night went superbly well with one beer sold out and the other very close behind. Everybody was well oiled and although, from a strictly business point of view, I’d like to see him making a more approachable beer(primarily because it tastes so good I want to have more than 3 pints before I can’t talk) the fact is he has a passion for making strong beers and having there been such a void of brewing in Berwick he wanted it to come back with a bang. And bang it went. Well done Rikki, I wish you all the best and can’t wait to see you going from strength to strength (not that kind Rikki!). ALL HAIL BEAR CLAW! ROSS DAVIDSON
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The Rambleshack is an individual B&B with a difference: the intimacy of a B&B with the privacy of a holiday let. Situated in the heart of the beautiful village of Coldingham on the East coast of the Scottish Borders. All within walking distance of the blue flag beach, the marine reserve at St Abbs, and the pub. The Rambleshack is ideal for a break away whether you are en route, love surfing or walking, or simply want to relax beside the coast.
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I’VE BEEN DREAMING OF THIS EVER SINCE I WAS A BOY Okay, anyone who’s ever seen me attempt to “cut some rug” (a mercifully rare occurrence) will know that not only do I have a complete inability to dance, I also seem to not understand what dancing is or even which parts of my body are actually moving. When it comes to watching dance, particularly more contemporary dance pieces, I often fail to understand what it is I am actually looking at: I don’t understand. I can’t find a way in. I find it impenetrable. It makes me not want to go to contemporary dance shows. So here I am at Chloe Smith’s first solo dance piece (following on from her nightmarish ensemble piece last year in the spooky-wooky Penny Lodging House). Upon entering the room I am surprised to find chairs arranged in a circle – have I come to an intervention? - and am told to “sit anywhere except for the chair with boots and the torch.” This chair is reserved for our host. She sits down, puts on her boots and starts making odd little shapes in the palm of her left hand with her right. My brain immediately reaches for the help manual. Are we supposed to copy? Do I applaud? Should I take all my clothes off? Then she begins to tell us the story of her time spent at Occupy London. This tale – a sweetly told modern parable – is the “music” to the piece. With characters as rich and tangible as any great novel: Columb who “lives outside the money system”; Kenny, a sweet natured alcoholic who bought our Chloe a Mars bar
for her breakfast; and Kelvin who worked in the kitchen whose grandfather called her “baby girl”. Chloe’s personable and nuanced delivery coupled with her inventive dance was both compelling and strangely moving. I became so utterly invested in these people that I had never met that I wished that they were still there, safe in their tents. Then came the moment Chloe walked to a lady in the circle and asked her to hold out her hands. The lady dutifully obliged as Chloe started to make the same shapes in her hand that she had made on her own at the opening of the show. “This is the kitchen tent...” she begins. She moves on to the next member of her audience – now utterly engrossed - focusing all of her attention on her latest disciple; “This is the spire of St Paul’s...” With “I’ve Been Dreaming of this Ever Since I was a Boy” Chloe Smith has created a show that is a whip-smart whorl of invention, accessible without playing to the lowest common denominator and brim-filled with genuine emotion. Sweet, engaging, beautiful and unique - a show just like its creator. ROB WILKINSON //
MUSINGS ON MY TOWN BY WILSON GALE // I’m getting on a bit now. Hell, that’s an understatement. I believe if I were to catch a common cold it would end me. Real shame, but it’s true. I’ve had a pretty eventful life though; I’m not sad, just curious about what comes next. In a way I’m looking forward to it. Will I burn in hell for what I did at the tender age of 16? Will I be forgiven and allowed passage through the handsome gates of heaven? Fuck knows, but Lord, its exciting thinking about it.
Selection of real cask ales upstairs, basement cocktail bar, live music events every week, avaliable for hire for private functions.
“IT’S NOT ALL GLOOMY AND BAFFLING THOUGH” // I always enjoyed writing. I always marvelled at the goings on in my town, the beautiful town of Rosewood. I figured I’d write my own little blog for you, dear reader, and tell you of some of the absurd goings on in this town over the years. It’s not all gloomy and baffling though, just last year, the local first school’s headmaster decided it would be good sport to let the kids create a game for the parents to take part in for sports day, and vice versa. I’ll bet he wished he hadn’t as he, as well as the parents, took part in their 34th round of “Chuck the dried dogshit through the hoop”. Ah, life in a small town eh? // If you will endure, dear reader, I will tell you stories of the bizarre, and at times, damn right creepy things which happened in my town. Why are you bothered about who I am and what I have to say? Well sir or madam, if you’re not, turn the page, put the mag down, staple the cat to the ironing board, or whatever else you freaks like to do. // I’ll be back next time. I’ll tell about “the disappearance of the three”. Big news that was, round here anyway...
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BERWICK FILM AND MEDIA FESTIVAL So, what was it like? Well, it was like wheat, chaff, panning for gold among the mud, gravel and marmite of a river bed, finding unexpected diamonds mixed with fools gold. This mixing of metaphors, sheer unpredictability and gasp out loud moments probably sums up the Berwick Film and Media Festival perfectly. If art is anything then it should polarise, create debate and simply make you think. Art should be a disruptor amongst the straight edges of logic, science and our everyday lives. And on that basis the Berwick Film and Media Festival certainly delivered to its brief. The theme of this years festival was to explore the link between still photography and the moving image, or in other words “Pictures in Motion” - how one has informed the other - whether in terms of the visual language of each, the mixing of the actual media or still photographers making the transition from the static to the moving. Of course this is a very apt theme given the recent explosion of user generated content on YouTube and the fact that any digital still camera or smart-phone is pretty much capable of taking decent quality video content. So, we all now have the tools. The ongoing digital democratisation of film making, while it has given many more people the chance to explore their creativity using a medium previously denied to them, has meant there is a lot of garbage out there and careful sifting is required not to get sucked into the morass of the cheap laugh or the banal. Or the simply pretentious. Of course you would expect the film makers in the festival to be creative, intelligent people who have not only studied their art, but are also in love with it. But is that enough to guarantee the production of compelling art? Art that reaches out to the viewer and is memorable and/or thought provoking? The answer is no, it doesn’t always guarantee a compelling viewing experience, but it does perhaps guarantee the unexpected. Think of a film festival like choosing bottles of French wine as opposed to that of the new world. You never quite know what to expect. A great vintage could be corked, while a bottle of vin-de-table could be sublime.
Over a couple of days we saw a range of films that spanned the range from pure gems of sheer brilliance where even just a single frame of the movie stayed imprinted on the mind even now to the self-indulgent, narcissistic dullness. But hey! Isn’t that what it’s all about? Some movies, especially the shorts seemed to possess no story but would simply depict visually an emotion or concept. We saw a three minute short, shot beautifully with mostly one scene that seemed to me to be a visual interpretation of the words “dread” and “menace”. It was as though the two characters were aware of some awful un-named doom that was fast approaching. Just three minutes was enough to create a nervous, pressure cooker like feeling and it was almost a relief when it ended. I’m thinking about the movie now, how it unsettled me in those few short minutes. I’m not sure whether it was a completely pleasurable experience, but it made me think. Outside of the movie screenings were scattered little installations of video art – some hidden away in ice houses, some lurking in the opened up battlements of Berwick’s town walls. Some of these worked very well – a special favourite was one where the outside elements of roaring wind and crashing waves seemed to mingle perfectly with a soundtrack of opera and the stop-go freeze frame of a singer in an amazing frock amidst a verdant forest. It was outside of this installation that we asked one of the film festival staff what they had thought of a film that we had seen the previous night and which we had found to be the perfect example of creative indulgence mixed with supreme dullness. After a little hesitation and reticence, the staff member started her response with “Well, I wanted to like it….” Then admitted she had spent most of the evening avoiding the film-maker in question just in case the dreaded question of “Did you like it?” arose. That same film won much appreciation from the audience. While each to their own, I think it does beg the question of how much of creativity, if clever and delivered by someone of standing is often seen through the same mirror that the emperor and his new clothes stood in front of. To use the wine analogy again, the views of tasters who can see the labels can be very different to those who cannot. Again, that is not a criticism of the festival. It was a film that polarised, which is exactly the point. I simply didn’t like it – it bored the pants off me, didn’t make me think
and neither was it visually compelling. All I can say in its favour was that the film maker seemed a really nice guy and immediately before the screening I too…”Wanted to like it”. However, that was just one movie. Some of the cinema-photography in the other films we saw was glorious, elegiac and beautiful - where the eye of the director had made every frame of the movie worth watching. Perhaps this was where the theme of the festival was most truly realised. In still photography there is only a single frame with which to tell your story, to impress or to force wonder or interest in the viewer. In movies you have 24 frames every second. But that is not an excuse to put any to waste, although many often do. I’ll single two movies out here, both shorts. First of all the “The Last Bus” by Martin Snopek and Ivan Laucikova” from Slovakia. A surreal tale of Beatrix Potter as imagined by Roald Dahl or Nick Cave, it featured a rusting dilapidated bus full of incredible creatures apparently fleeing something. Or were they just going on holiday? It took us into a fabled world that after a minute seemed perfectly natural and believable. It was beautifully shot, coloured, costumed and imagined. We saw a wolf make the journey from being hunted, to being feared to being the epitome of compassion, to finally showing the sheer desperation of the need to stay alive. Brilliant stuff and one of the few movies where luggage and suitcases almost had the starring role. It was a film of textures, in all senses of the word. The second movie was another short, this time by fashion photographer Tim Walker called “The Lost Explorer”. Here a girl discovers a tent in the overgrown margins of her family garden. Inside the tent, dying of malaria is an African explorer complete with maps, a revolver and a pith helmet. There’s a strange bond between them and the film takes us on a journey of disquiet and amazement. The explorer tells the girl of how they would capture canaries and take them onboard ship. Then in the middle of the ocean would release them and watch the flock swoop and dive through the ships rigging before landing back on deck. “Don’t they escape and fly off?” asks the girl. “Where would they fly to?” responds the explorer. This exchange is then gloriously realised in a dream sequence where the girl and the explorer enter an abandoned building to find a ghostly galleon made of gossamer and silk about which a thousand bright canaries flutter. I was minded of the magic realism of Gabriel-Garcia Marquez here and “100 years of solitude” where intrepid explorers come across a Spanish galleon hundreds of miles inland, deep within a rainforest and festooned with tiny blue flowers.
The explorer close to death, sneaks into the home of the girl during a dinner party and rather awkwardly, dies in her bedroom. The final scene where the girl sets alight his pyre and is outlined in silhouette by the flickering flames is simply beautiful. Adapted from a short story by Patrick McGrath the “Lost Explorer” is twenty minutes of lavish film making, which demonstrates a love of light, scene and composition. Not to mention great acting from the central character, played by 14 year old Olympia Campbell. So, no, we didn’t see every film out of the 40 or so that were being shown. Neither did we see all the installations or the premiere of “Resident Evil” given we are a little scared of zombies down here at The Trip. There was, as stated at the beginning some over-indulgence and some brilliance. It was all excellently organised and I think the very fact that the festival could attract over 50 film makers and ultimately really celebrate the medium both in terms of the films being shown and in the workshops and Q&A sessions, has to be applauded. I could imagine setting five days aside next year in order to ensure watching as much material as possible and really getting immersed into what the festival is about. Perhaps that’s the way to do it as opposed to being a flighty gad-fly and nibbling away at the margins? But, would such immersion lead to viewing everything on offer through the prism of the emperor and his new clothes? Er, dunno to be honest, but regardless of that, we’re very much looking forward to the next one.
PHIL HEYWOOD
BELOW: MARK COUSINS SPEAKS AT THE FESTIVAL
IN TRAVELLING DAZE... In “Travelling Daze”, Alan Dearling seeks to piece together the woven, tie-dyed fabric of the “new-age” travelling community. From the free festival hippies of the 60’s “tune in, drop out” era, via the casualties and campaigners of Thatchers Britain to the rave scene and the modern festival experience, this refreshing insight into “life on the road” seeks to dispel popular prejudice and mis-conception for those that weren’t there whilst also offering a trip down an almost certainly hazy memory lane for those that were.
But it is in the struggle, the constant harassment by the authorities and the endeavouring spirit that makes these tales more poignant than ever. With the introduction of the Public Order Act in 1986 following on from Dearlings introduction helps to paint a context for the Thatcher’s war on the miners in ’84, and then latterly the modern day traveller, outlining a journey with its roots Criminal justice bill in the early 90’s, Travellers constantly embedded in the post-war sense of displacement and the found themselves on the receiving end of reactionary emergence of the counter-cultural spirit and energy of the policies designed to curtail anything that could be seen 1960’s. With totemic music festivals like the trio on the as subversive or a threat to “decent” society. In 1985, in Isle of Wight providing a focus for the growing sense of what is known as the battle of Beanfield, police in riot frustration and adventure, we are taken on a journey with gear attacked a group of travellers on their way to a some of the colourful characters across the generations as peaceful gathering in Stonehenge. Trailers were burnt and they search for their new Albion. possessions stolen. The police originally stated that they came under attack first... an allegation that was proven 2 of those characters, of whom each has a chapter not to be true. It is incredibly heart-warming to hear of dedicated to them, are the infamous, often controversial, miners and their families helping out those travellers who although undeniably stalwart champions of the counterhad lost possessions, just as the travellers had helped the cultural travelling community....Wally Hope and Sid miners during their times of anguish. Rawle. We are provided with anecdotal accounts of both men, offering up a balanced and honest portrayal For those that don’t have even a smudge of genuine (depending who you wish to believe) of visionaries, interest in the travelling fraternity, then this book will do mystics or frauds. Both men, in different ways shaped the little for you. But for anyone who’s ever wondered who path and philosophy of many a modern day traveller. We the strangely attired wood folk were passing through are also treated to a chapter on travelling artist, David your town in beat up buses and wagons, or for anyone Stooke, whose moody landscapes of traveller camps and intimate portraits of furrowed campers draw the reader in closer with beautiful simplicity.
that was “there”, then this book is a lovely little find. One of the contributors, Netty Miles, who writes the penultimate chapter, sums it up wonderfully.... “(travellers are)... tired of living on the city streets...(and) bring the philosophies of Buddha, Marx and 2000AD magazine together with Orwellian nihilism...” Maybe there’s a little bit of that in all of us (?) SIÔN GATES
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