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We've been ensconced in the studio and recording continuously this month to complete our long delayed new Carter Tutti album. Cosey is off to LA for a couple of weeks to install her show at MOCA and visit friends while I stay behind to tweak the final production and finish the mastering (stereo & 5.1).
Numerous TG live events (and the release of the Part Two album) are looming very large on the horizon (see above) so I guess in some ironically mental way even our current intense workload could be considered the calm before the storm that is/will be TG in 2007. Oh what was it I once said many years ago about being in TG? ah yes.....
"it was the best of times, it was the worst of times". And I tell you it's never been truer!
Well, as a few people have asked here's a tiny glimpse of what I have been working on in my spare time between my various day jobs (Carter Tutti, recording, performing and TG etc.)
This project currently involves a fair bit of audio circuitry R&D, prototyping and building (click on the pic above) and a certain amount of retro circuit modification, although NO circuit bending is involved!
The ongoing results are interesting to say the least (IMO). Without giving too much away (because at this early stage it could all change direction completely) think along the lines of... a collection of original 1970s' analogue Gristleizers and TG noise units battling it out with a bunch of 21st Century sonic generators and manglers. But as I say the fruition of all this work and final outcome are still to be determined. Stay tuned, audio clips will folllow... - CCCL website LINK - CCCL MySpace LINK
Disclaimer: This project has no connection with Carter Tutti, Chris & Cosey or Throbbing Gristle.
2006 was an odd year for us, with some real highs (like our Carter Tutti gigs and Cosey's exhibitions and so on) but there were also a lot of unfinished and unresolved aspects to it. And it ended on a real emotional downer, with Nick (our Son) rushed into hospital. But... after a few setbacks he's finally on the road to a full recovery and his nurse says should be OK to go home next Sunday (Jan 7th). By the way, thanks again to all of you who sent wishes etc. they were very much appreciated.
This year should see some interesting developments. We're determined to get our long overdue second Carter Tutti album completed (well over a year late!), Cosey and I are working on a number of interesting 'collaborations and projects' that we'll be announcing soon, there are some 'significant' TG announcements (and releases) imminent and Cosey is in a major exhibition opening in LA, in the Spring.
Detailed updates on all these soon'ish...
Happy New Year...
Much on hold at the moment as our son Nick is still very poorly after a burst Appendix.
Regular updates will return after Xmas/New Year.
In the meantime here is a newly posted online interview with me | LINK |
Our trip to Madrid was short but very sweet... The people at Experimenta Club were wonderfully friendly and helpful and very professional. The venue (a massive state of the art cultural centre!) was equally impressive and the only venue we've ever played with pink carpet, both on the stage AND throughout auditorium. Plus we sold it out, played a blinding set and went down a storm!
ExperimentaClub'06 photos can be seen here
Meanwhile back home: Well no matter how much you think you're on top of things there are always those unforeseen circumstances, random problems and plain old human errors lurking in the background just waiting to confound you and bite you on the arse. Yes of course I must be talking about TG and yes the release of long awaited TG DVD boxed set will be delayed, just a bit. But it'll be worth it AND it WILL be out before the (near legendary and even longer anticipated) Part Two album. Oh no don't get me started on that sore point again!........
Wow.!. I can hardly believe it but the audio mastering is finally completed for the new TG DVD live boxed set. Weeks of mixing (and what ultimately turned into a rescue job for some of the newer material) is now en route to Mr Christopherson, who is still beavering away on the final video edits and menus. But it's all looking and sounding glorious, I just wish it wasn't all so fucking time consuming! More TG news coming soon....
Taking a few days off now...
I'm mixing and mastering the recent TG live performances in stereo and Dolby 5.1 for the new TG DVD boxed set. Sounds amazing but it's bloody intensive work!
I really, REALLY need a break after this but (and it's a big BUT) those CARTER TUTTI gigs are just around the corner and we need to start preps for them soon...
Well I'm sorry to say that the new (and still untitled) Carter Tutti album will definitely not be released this year, (2006, for any time travelers reading this). As I've said previously we had been making good progress with the album and it's sounding wonderful but what with one TG thing and an other it's just not going to be possible to get it finished anytime soon. This is an important project for us and not something we're going to rush so it will be released when we're happy with it, but just not for a while yet.
So onto other things...
We bought a nice new Toyota VersoTR a couple of weeks ago. Its our first new car in 7 years (well strictly speaking Cosey bought it, but we both drive it) although we've been so busy lately we've hardly used it yet. I finally got my faulty Korg Kaoss Pad 2 returned (after 3 months!), well it's a brand new one as Korg's shippers lost my original 'repaired' KP2. The weird thing is that the replacement sounds completely different to my original KP2, I guess it was a lot more faulty than I thought. Just as I was writing this I heard about the new Korg KP3, I've got to get hold of one of those for gigs and improv! I've also just bought myself a Monome 40h unit, originally just to experiment with and for some interactive looping fun alongside the Kaoss Pad2 but we've already used it on two tracks for the new Carter Tutti album. The funny thing was that unbeknown to me Sleazy also bought one at the same time too, synchronicty or what? If you use max/msp and don't flinch at dabbling with some pretty arcane application interfacing you should definitely consider trying one, they're great. You'll need to be quick though, only a few left and they're not going to make any more.
Slow but productive... this would describe the current progress of our new (still untitled) Carter Tutti album. We were hoping to have it finished by September and in time for our upcoming performances, but this looks to be increasingly unlikely, in fact it would be a miracle!
And the reason? Well I put the blame squarely on TG shenanigans. This time last year we delayed starting the (long overdue) Carter Tutti album so myself, Cosey and Sleazy could complete the new TG 'Part Two' album. Which turned out to be an intense project and which the three of us put a lot of time and effort into. We were under pressure to deliver final production parts in time for a Decemeber 2005 release (in Berlin). And even when the three of us (and Mute) thought the album was finished, I had to spend another month rerecording parts and remastering the whole bloody thing a second time ('Part Two' couldn't be a more apt title!). And then to cap it all it didn't get released in 2005! In fact I doubt it will even get released in 2006, how ridiculous is that? So this whole sorry TG affair has whacked us with a double whammy... no new TG album and no new Carter Tutti album. That I might be feeling a little frustrated right now is an understatement!
And another thing...
I'm sick of wankers and nere-do-well's emailing me about the TG 24-track recorder. I've had time-wasters (many), fans using it as an excuse to find out where we live, cheapskates making laughable offers and lately Nigerian ("I'll pay you twice the asking price") scammers. To all of you: if you going to waste my time just FUCK OFF... because I won't be replying. If this carries on I'm going to donate it to a charity, seriously I am.
Update: the TG24-track is now OFF the market and no longer for sale.
Spent the weekend in London: I went with Cosey to the Tate Britain symposium. Her 'Confessions' film was very well received: as usual, Ken Russell was sweet, and very eccentric. Later we met up with friends and Portion Control & Neon Judgement at the monthly Cosey Club all nighter. It was funny really... on the dance floor were all these industrial/gothy 'twenty-somethings' getting it on to classic 80s' & 90s' EBM tracks originally played by these middle aged musos (us included) backstage. With conversations about "aches, pains and ailments", "did you know so and so was dead" and "I'm not usually up this late" it was like a (slightly scary) 1980s' twighlight zone. We all had a bloody good time though!
If you live in (or near) London I highly recommend a trip to Richard Clouston's Cosey Club, fantastic atmosphere, amazing DJ sets and some inspired choices of bands. I've posted a few photos from the evening in my Flikr pages.
The new (as yet untitled) Carter Tutti album is coming along slowly but sounding wonderfull. We're toying with the idea of posting some mp3 'teaser clips' on the C&C site when we have some finished mixes. We'll see...
TG are selling the Throbbing Gristle 24-track HD recorder. It's only been used a couple of times but for various reasons it's now "surplus to our requirements".
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