Wednesday, 17 June 2026

REVERB SAMPLER at the Laurel and Hardy Museum JUNE 25TH


 

REVERB is entering the lead-out groove..., our project  on pop culture, the agency of souvenirs and ephemera is coming tp a close.  First, there's a nice night in the offing at the Laurel and Hardy next week...we will be presenting a video compilation of  animation, performance excerpts, new music, video  and images from the project, including John Rennie's video piece from the Dock Museum show and Jim Alexanders "Song Of David" animation and the marvellous Artfly Jukebox, a kind of audio documentary in a beautifully crafted format.   We'll be previewing the new lathe-cut 45s from me and Shaun,  Alex's pop tribe sculptures and the video versh of Ellie's Dance Flipbook, using video we shot with five Afghan lads last year in Barrow. There should be a book available too, on pop, its products and place, and oooh, allsorts.   

Admission is by a donation to the Ulverston Food project, doors open at 7 so you can sample the museums excellent bar, and we'll be down at about 9 so we can come to the Hope. 

There'll  be another event in Barrow next month, and then we will be following up the responses and spinoffs.....I had a piece in the Radiophrenia festival last year, Shaun's tape release "The Keening" has had an excellent review in Wire mag, and we had an enquiry from the National Museum of Youth Culture about Alex's work and the project in general.

Come and see us on thursday.   

Wednesday, 1 April 2026

"White Lion / I Want The Lion / White Lion /" etc

    


The first two of Alex Blackmore's Youth Tribes editions, along with a bit of stout packaging in progress.

These figures are really beautiful, 6 inches tall, detail and clobber  dragged from Alex's memory and from photos loaned and uploaded by friends. 

 You'll get a detachable period graffiti'd brick wall, for the figure to glower in front of, and a badge for your Lewis leather or Donkey Jacket.

Ideal for intimidating your Star Wars figures.









Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Craft Slices. Lathe cut 45s


This is almost unbearably exciting.  2 boxes of Lathe-cut 45s arrived today, the AOIRE single Appyali / Organ Doner, and my Familiar Music EP, which is actually about the length of most singles, but you get four tracks.

If you heard AOIRE at FON in Barrow just before Christmas you'll have an idea of the deepmined intricacies of this music, which is sourced from local band demo tapes, rehearsal cassettes and recordings made by our much loved and missed Ali Rigg, whose home recordings were among the most popular recordings on the Artfly Dock-ola Juke Box during the Play One Of Your Own exhibition. At the same gig you'll have also heard versions of the 4 instrumentals that make up Familiar Music, played on Dulcimers, Guitar and Psaltery. You also hear a Yamaha keyboard and last years Bees in my garden.

The recordings were mastered by Matt Kassel at Seahouse in Barrow, and cut in real time by our friend Ben at Plastidisc. 

https://seahouserecords.com/

https://plastidisc.com/

The quality is marvellous. As is the music, obviously... but Ben and Matt have done us proud here. 

So, now we have to assemble the sleeves and get the records into them. There'll be a launch event, but before that there'll be other news on REVERB.

We'll be back after this short break.


 

Sunday, 15 March 2026

Box Fresh: The Teams That Meet In Caffs


 Pieces from the first of 3 editions by Alex Blackmore, The Yoof Culture Collection, perched on their packaging. The Teams That Meet In Caffs, in Donkey Jackets, Dungarees and Wool Caps.  Tea, three sugars, Eggy Bread, NME. 


3D printing by FUSION 3D of Barrow in Furness https://www.facebook.com/p/Fusion-3D-Printing-100085543682492/

Friday, 27 February 2026

Self-assembly Flatpack.


 These are the sleeves for our lathecut vinyl editions. After a bit of folding and sticking we'll end up with 2 45's, from recordings lovingly mastered by Shaun and Matt Kassel at Barrow's Seahouse Studio. There's also some great footage in the offing from AOIRE/Shaun's FON gig, recorded by Laurence Campbell, associate dust photographer. 

Thursday, 26 February 2026

We are Dust Mites / We are Golden.







I've been allowing dust to settle on this LP record for about two and a half years, and today filmmaker / editor Laurence Campbell - who did the video for me and Shaun at FON the other week, and records all their shows - has recorded some marvellous video footage of my pick up-arm ploughing through the dust and of it gathering on the stylus.

An excellent afternoon. Thanks Larry.

Monday, 16 February 2026

Yes Master.

 

Right then.  The masters for me and Shaun's singles are in the hands of Ben at Plasticraft the vinyl lathecutters. Alex is assembling his ranks of picket line indiekids (or something) while me and Jim work on the packaging. The animation is looking good and Ellie is working on a flickbook.  I had a trip to Chesterfield last week to talk to their Museum about a similar project dahn theeyer, and stopped off to talk to Phil, late of The Instructions about their brief and bewildering journey from a flat on Steamer St to the Ambrose for the latest of the heritage interviews project. Then back here for further chats with Glyn Fogharty on drummers and drumming, and Sue Gill on Blast Furnace. I'm stoppininternate it's baltic.






 

REVERB SAMPLER at the Laurel and Hardy Museum JUNE 25TH

  REVERB is entering the lead-out groove..., our project  on pop culture, the agency of souvenirs and ephemera is coming tp a close.  First,...