Monday, September 26, 2011

THE SWAMP WITH STRINGS & PERCUSSION @ MIUC - 27/09/11


One of the most mind-blowing performances at MIUC earlier this year was The Swamp, a conceptual improvisation by Nik Kennedy featuring four grindcore vocalists utilising heavily processed voices through massive speakers. For this reprise, The Swamp is augmented by master junk percussion from Nat Grant and MV, and the grimcore cello aktions of Judith Hamann. And, a double treat from the North: No Anchor, Brisbane's finest no-core punknik's in extreme free improv mode, and the electroacoustic genius of Joe Musgrove, 1 half of internationally renowned audio-video abstraktionists, Botborg.


+ The Swamp with strings and percussion, featuring: Brad Smith (vocals and electronics), Zev Langer (vocals and electronics), Jack Whitcroft (vocals and electronics), Nik Kennedy (vocals, bog sounds and electronics), Judith Hamann (cello), Maya-Victoria (percussion) and Nat Grant (percussion)
+ No Anchor (BRIS), featuring: Alex Gillies (drumkit), Donovan Miller (bass) and Ian Rogers (bass)
+ Joe Musgrove (BRIS) (a/v processing)


The Make It Up Club
http://makeitupclub.blogspot.com/
Avant Garde Improvised Music and Sound Performance
Every Tuesday night at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065
Doors at 8:30 pm for a 9:00 pm start
$5/$10

Coming up:
04/10/2011: Miles Brown and Matthew Brown.
11/10/2011: Ren Walters' This Ensemble.
18/10/2011: Jasmine Guffond (Ber); Tony Osborne (SYD); Oscil Ether (BRIS).
25/10/2011: Kevin Lo and Troy Naumoff.
01/11/2011: David Tolley's The Other.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

DEATH BY CONES @ Black Market - 28/09/11


Black Market - Wednesday 28th September:

 + DEATH BY CONES
Life-shortening quadraphonic noise onslaught with Mark Skelton (brutal pedal noise/Peavy amp), Jack Whitcroft (brutal guitar noise/Sunn amp), Lloyd Honeybrook (brutal saxophone noise/Lab Systems amp), Nik Kennedy (brutal voice noise/Warwick amp)

+ AVENAIM/BAXTER/TALIA
First-time triple genius extended percussion collab from three of Australia's finest stuff-hitting blokes - Robbie Avenaim, Sean Baxter & Joe Talia

+ JOE MUSGROVE (QLD)
Visceral, synaesthetic real-time audio/visual processing, from one part of Botborg - http://botborg.com/

+ BLARGHSTRAD/NYLSTOCK
The demented one-man-band of Brad Smith (drums/bass guitar/vocals) turns full-fledged stadium rock band gone wrong with the abstract ultrashredding freakery of Chris Nylstock (guitar)


@ Gasometer Hotel
484 Smith St. Collingwood
8:00pm / $5

Monday, September 19, 2011

SPASMOSLOP (without) MILITARY POSITION @ Make It Up Club - 20/09/11

 Melbourne art-punk, Harriet Morgan, has been collaborating with Nik Kennedy for some time now, and their musical communication has become empathic. Employing sub bass drones and processes voice, the group creates whirlwinds of noise. Wank Bank is the new shitcore project started by Tommy Gunn, and promises faux goregrind, improvised toilet noise. And master experimental percussionist, Robbie Avenaim returns to Melbourne for a rare solo treat. A night of intense, shitcore inspired, avant improv.

  • Military Position vs. Spasmoslop, AKA: Harriet Morgan (bass/electronics) Nik Kennedy (vocals/electronics)
  • Wank Bank, featuring: Stewart Cole (pitch shifted vocals), Tommy Miller (drumkit) and Michael Bugsy (abused guitar)
  • Robbie Avenaim (extended percussion)
The Make It Up Club
http://makeitupclub.blogspot.com/

Avant Garde Improvised Music and Sound Performance
Every Tuesday night at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065
Doors at 8:30 pm for a 9:00 pm start
$5/$10

Coming up:
27/09/2011: No Anchor (BRIS); The Swamp with strings and percussion; Joe Musgrove (BRIS).
04/10/2011: Miles Brown and Matthew Brown.
11/10/2011: Ren Walters This Ensemble.
18/10/2011: Jasmine Guffond (Ber); Tony Osborne (SYD); Oscil Ether (BRIS).
25/10/2011: Kevin Lo and Troy Naumoff .
01/11/2011: David Tolley The Other.


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Unfortunately Harriet can't play this show anymore so I'm gonna be doing a SPASMOSLOP solo set instead. Synthoscillodrones/vocalisations/clangs.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

SPASMOSLOP/CANDLESNUFFER collab @ Make It Up Club - 13/09/11


 This week sees the continuation of our profile of Nik Kennedy in a collaboration with Dave Brown. This performance focuses on Kennedy's use of home-made instruments, employing metal, breath, hydrophonics and effects, with Brown in full, macrosonic Candlesnuffer mode. Axximilation is a raw analogue duo featuring two young women who consistently impress with their novel deconstructions of punk-inspired improv. And Sydney-based experimental musician, Sam Pettigrew features in a duo with Ben Byrne, incorporating bass and laptop in an empathic improvised musique concrete milieu.
  •  Nik Kennedy (sub bass processed voice, homemade instruments, electronics and effects) and Dave Brown (macrosonically effected electric guitar)
  •  Axximilation, featuring: Pandie Panther and Battle Pussy (drum kit, voice, tapes, laptop and distortion)
  •  Ben Byrne (laptop and electronics) and Sam Pettigrew (SYD) (bass and electronics) 
The Make It Up Club
http://makeitupclub.blogspot.com/

Avant Garde Improvised Music and Sound Performance
Every Tuesday night at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065
Doors at 8:30 pm for a 9:00 pm start
$5/$10

MADCAP MISADVENTURES



Made a little flyer for the busy month ahead, featuring one of my favourite movie characters of all time - Sardu from "Bloodsucking Freaks"!


MILITARY POSITION/SPASMOSLOP - "Spectral Gloom" CD-R on Magik Crowbar


MC046: MILITARY POSITION + SPASMOSLOP "Spectral Gloom" cdr (25x)
Blackened axe, oscillations and misanthropic howls from Harriet K Morgan and Nik Kennedy. A post-apocalyptic blizzard of isolation, evident in the fact that there were a whopping two people at this show. Recorded straight to Ken Oath's taser.


Recording taken from our first gig ever/first time playing together as a duo, in Shane Van Den Akker's kitchen. No jamming/rehearsal, just straight in. Thanks heaps to Tommy Gunnnnn/Magik Crowbar for putting this out. Comes in a nifty DVD case featuring Tommy's distinctive cut-up artwork. Some copies on pure holocaust kids' party invitation paper with little party hats embossed on them, for extra darkness and grim vibes.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

MILITARY POSITION/SPASMOSLOP @ State of Decay - 10/09/11


CHAPMAN & BAILEY GALLERY - JOINTHASSLES & HELEN HUGHES - STATE OF DECAY

10 September – 1 October

A group show curated by Helen Hughes & Harriet Morgan
Opening Saturday 10 September 3:00-5:00pm

STATE OF DECAY looks at the literal and metaphoric concept of deterioration within life and imagery. The ever-impending feeling of both existing and ending, and the effect we have on the all the elements that go together to make the world we live in. The artists involved all differently communicate this aesthetic or ideology, displaying their thoughts on decomposition, mortality, decay and adverse experimentation within their visual and audio practices, whilst also simultaneously communicating how a human might feel, operating on a day-to-day basis- within this decaying and rotting earth.

STATE OF DECAY embodies the conscious & unconscious impact of living, the outcome of death, the emotional mindset associated with it all & the visual effects that fading, ageing, rotting, wear, time or hand can have on an image and the mind.


The exhibition runs from 10th September to 1st October 2011

Stewart Cole / Marco Fusinato / Mark Groves / Blake Hesken / Christopher L G Hill / Luke Holland / Tom Miller / Harriet Morgan / John Nixon / Alex Vivian

Opening Performances from MILITARY POSITION/SPASMOSLOP + MSHING + DEAD BOOMERS

Reflective written responses from Christopher LG Hill / Helen Hughes / Harriet Morgan / Simon Taylor

Chapman & Bailey Gallery
350 Johnston St. Abbotsford

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Very stoked to be playing this! The gallery at Chapman & Bailey is a large room with high ceiling, big windows and a concrete floor ie. the sound will be bruuuuutal!!

Sunday, September 04, 2011

UMBILICAL TENTACLE @ Make It Up Club - 06/09/11


 September sees a month of shows featuring Nik Kennedy, one of Melbourne's most exciting and inventive noise improvisers in four unique combinations. For his first performance, he is joined by long-time collaborators, Yuka Mikayama and Brad Smith in a chaotic, ecstatic and joyfully stupid project of partynoisecoremania. Sam Dunscombe convenes a trio of very recent group explorations into the “labyrinthine dungeons” of MaxMSP audio coding language (as he refers to it). Along with Jess Pinney and Kim Tan, the trio juxtaposes the warm and the cold, the fake and the real, the abstracted and the empathic, the clinical and the emotional potentials of this amazing digital tool. And, with immense pleasure, we welcome cornetist Felicity Provan back to Melbourne for a brief visit from her home in the Netherlands. A champion of abstract improv, free and modern jazz in Melbourne during the 80s and 90s, she is joined by Dutch colleague, improv legend and current Australian resident, Cor Fuhler

Umbilical Tentacle featuring: Yuka Mikayama (vocals and electronics), Nik Kennedy (vocals and electronics) and Brad Smith (drumkit)
Doom Cube, featuring: Samuel Dunscombe (MaxMSP), Jessica Pinney (MaxMSP), and Kim Tan (MaxMSP)
Felicity Provan (cornet and voice) (NL), Cor Fuhler (keyolin) (NL)

The Make It Up Club
http://makeitupclub.blogspot.com/
Avant Garde Improvised Music and Sound Performance
Every Tuesday night at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065
Doors at 8:30 pm for a 9:00 pm start
$5/$10