Thanksgiving/no thanksgiving. NYE 2009

If you will indulge me…there is something important to be said…

This has been an interesting year, better than last year. Ups and downs of course like everyone. A year of healing, lots of music produced, opportunities arose, some undertaken, some missed out on. Oh and the beginning of the parenthood adventure (though we won't actually be parents until April 2010, the news arrived this year!!!). So as a means of re-capping what happened (mainly good, some bad) here's a heartfelt thanks and no thanks;

For all the live music gigs; Thanks to Scot Cotterell and Tom Hall for playing with me as both DÜO and Triad, Aaron Metcalf for playing with me as M.0.1.0, Tim Panaretos for playing with me as Untermorast, Scot C (again), Tim P (again), Leigh Hobba, Lisa Rime, Julian Teakle and especially Damo Suzuki for playing with me as part of the Damo Suzuki Network. Also thanks to Ben Crothers for giving me a DJ set at one of his 'Brand New Second Hand' nights. And to Concrete Lung in London for letting me play on their 'Waste of Flesh' CD. Also thanks to all the great acts we played with at 'Black Sunday' (Evil Goat, Axxonn, Spheres and Cycle).

For the live music venues; Thanks to the following venues and the staff for letting myself and my associated acts perform; 6a-Hobart, The Glitchfest stage-Dover, Inflight-Hobart, The Brisbane Hotel-Hobart, Salamanca Arts Centre-Hobart, Devonport Regional Gallery-Devonport, Make It Up Club-Melbourne, Stutter-Melbourne, Don't Look-Sydney, Club Zho/Tura New Music-Perth, The Step Inn-Brisbane, Tom's House/Sonic Boom-New Farm, Centre For the Arts-Hobart (thanks John V Grad Show) and ONO # 2 at former Fitzgeralds Millinery Dept-Hobart.

For the 2009 Exhibitions; Thanks to the following venues and/or curators for showing my work during the year: Victor Medrano/Inflight and MOP Projects Sydney for including my work Twoot in the 'Limbic' group show, Lucy Bleach and CAST gallery (despite some issues it was an absolute pleasure working with you) for including my work Exhalation 2009 in the 'Lust For Life' group show, Ellie Ray and Devonport Regional Gallery for including me in the 'Tidal' competition with my work Whitepinkblack Noise (Moment), Andrew Harper, Tricky Walsh and the 6a crew for inviting me to install Haunted Micro Voices in Princes Park Battery for the 6a/Amplified 'Sound Art' showcase, Pat Brassington and Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart for housing my PhD submission - Suspension of Disbelief and Pip, Kate and the ONO crew for inviting me to setup my ex-X (Phase 10hz) ritual in that cool old building!

During the year I spent quite a bit of time at the Centre for the Arts on Hunter Street, Hobart both as a student and as a staff member. A sincere thank you to both of my wonderful PhD supervisors Mr Leigh Hobba and Prof. Jonathan Holmes, it was a pleasure. As a teacher; thanks to all my students who strived and had a bit of passion, it's rare and it really made it worthwhile. Sorry I won't be back for a while if ever. And to Bill Hart who gave me many chances to be employed and Neil Haddon who supported me during a tough encounter!.

Some random thanks: Marisa Mastrocola for including me in the credits, it wasn't necessary, but much appreciated. Deborah Pollard for continued support, awesome chats inspirations and somewhere to stay in Sydney. Felix Ratcliff for the ongoing chats in cockney accents and his love for descending arpeggios. Cat Hope for the letter of support and appreciating Scott Walker. Joshua Santospirito for the interest in mumble(speak) and good music chats. Susie, Dale and Charlotte (Edward wasn't born then) for putting me and Scot up and for your continued friendship. Brother Nick and Delta for putting me up in Melbourne and just being nice. My father Graeme and sisters Jayne and Mel and niece Abby for coming down to my graduation, it meant a lot. Thanks to Inflight ARI for taking me on for 2010, I'll do my best. To finish, thanks to Sally for being there and for being her.

Now, some no thanks: Those with a lack of manners, common sense and respect for others. Those who don't reply to messages, emails, letters or have the common decency to be polite. Those who play it safe and don't recognise something unique when it's in front of them. Those who are close-minded 'experts', ("I don't get it, it must be crap" types). Those who wish to censor such as the 'Clean Feed' brigade, those who stifle free thought and expression, those who want to make Mid-wives and homebirth illegal. Pokies in pubs. Those who are ignorant by choice, stupid by design and bigoted by nature (you can break into the cycle). I'm not always above some of these, but I'm trying my best.

A recap of the music of 2009. In 2009 I discovered/rediscovered/purchased some excellent music. Not all of it contemporary, some of it released this year. All of it impacted on me in some way and not that I think I have impeccable taste (as some may think after witnessing this list), but I would happily recommended checking at least some of it out.

Amon Düül 2 - 'Carnival in Babylon' (1972) Kraut-rock classic. Hadn't heard it till recently, not quite as essential as the earlier ones, but pretty good.
Axxonn/Tom Hall/Ambrose Chapel - 'Masters Of The Epic Day' (2009) three-way split of subby, droney electronics by a couple of great guys.
Battle of Mice - 'A Day of Nights' (2006) - incredible so-called 'postrock' supergroup, angst noisy, scary.
Black Sabbath - 'Black Sabbath' (1970), 'Paranoid' (1970), 'Master of Reality' (1971) Fantastic special edition reissues of these essential classics.
CAN - 'Unlimited Edition' (1976). Never heard this mixed bag compilation. It's pretty great though a little bitsy!
Alice Cooper - 'Dada' (1983). Only ever had an incomplete cassette dub of this. Always had a soft spot for this odd little Ezrin produced album, apparently Cooper doesn't remember recording it.
Council Estate Electronics - 'Kitsland' (2009). One of Justin Broadrick's myriad of side projects, droney bleepy atmospheric, but less ambient than Final.
Miles Davis - 'Pangaea' (1974) Live in Japan, free jazz meets funk, incredible grooves, this is a period of Miles I'm still quite new to.
Earth - 'Extra - Capsular Extraction' (1991) early Sub Pop era, drone metal material, some good moments.
EyeHateGod - 'Take As Need For Pain' (1993) US post-rock/doom metal.
Evil Goat - 'Evil Goat' CD-r single (2009) Naughty local lads duo, electronics/guitar doom.
Final - 'Infinite Guitar 3/Guitar & Bass Improvisations 3' (2009) Broadrick's longest operating project, lots to digest here. Has it's moments, drones and ambience.
Final - 'Reading All the Right Signals Wrong' (2009). Close to my favourite Final release, gets the balance between meandering and dynamic shifts right.
Jandek - 'Chair Beside the Window' (1982) - 'Telegraph Melts' (1986) - 'Modern Dances' (1987). A major discovery for me. One of the most unique, enigmatic, haunting, and abstract 'folk' (for want of a better word) performers around. He has a vast catalogue, there's no-one or nothing quite like him. Think Skip Spence's 'Oar' meets Daniel Johnston and you're still not quite there.
Jesu - 'Infinity' (2009). Broadrick's current 'rock' project. A 40 plus minute track, some beautiful textures and guitar lines, improves greatly in the second half.
Jesu - 'Opiate Sun' (2009). Raw, descending arpeggios, melodic slow guitar power pop. Like Husker Du through molasses. My favourite Jesu release thus far.
KISS - 'Sonic Boom' (2009) So shoot me…old habits die hard. Not bad, but certainly not nearly as great as reviewers or KISS themselves would let you believe. Sounds like a fairly convincing pastiche!
Krackhead - 'From Hell' (1997/1999/2009). Previously unreleased album of Broadrick's distorted Drum n Bass project available now as a download. Pretty good, great grooves, noisy!
Love - 'Love' (1966) Nice remastered edition of the late Arthur Lee's band Love debut album, psyche rock/folk/garage. Essential!
Craig McElhinnery - 'You and Me Are Young and Brutal' (2009) - Perth based, very atmospheric soundscapey, but musical. Good stuff.
Meat Loaf - 'Bat Out Of Hell' (1977) Again shoot me, this is something I grew up listening to. I'm too old to worry about if I'm hip or not. First time I've had it on CD, think I prefer my crackly old vinyl. Max Weinberg and Todd Rundgren play like maniacs! Oh yeah that Marvin fellow can sing okay!
Napalm Death - 'Noise For Music's Sake' (2003) Compilation of essential tracks, rarities and B-Sides. Killer live cover of 'Avalanche Master Song' featuring JK Broadrick.
Lee Scratch Perry and the Upsetters - 'Psyche & Trim' (2004) cheap compilation, not as dubby as I'd hoped, some good material though.
Scorn - 'Plan B' (2002). This is one that slipped by the collection. Mick Harris is a master at subby/dubby beats and wobbly bass and drones. Sorry but this was done earlier and way better than any of the contemporary 'dustup' pretenders. They have their place, but this paved the way and he doesn't get the props!
Scorn - 'In The Margins'/'Pin Down' (single 2009) - huge tracks, on par with the material on 'Stealth' (2008).
Solaris BC - 'Submerged Technology' (1996/2009). Another beauty minimal Broadrick project, unreleased until now (as a download). Slightly underwhelming, but has it's moments.
Voivod - 'Infini' (2009). Metal with a slightly quirky experimental edge, for those who don't know. I've been a big fan of these guys since the mid 1980s. The final (?) album based on the late Denis D'Amour (Piggy) demos. It's way better than the last album and has some great moments. Quite raw in places, lacks a bit of the interplay that could really only come from all playing together, which is sadly, impossible. They have recently been touring with Dan Mongrain (Martyr) on guitar and original bassist/founder Jean-Yves 'Blacky' Theriault (an old sparring partner of mine in the now defunct D-Group). They don't appear on this record.
Various Artists - 'Adventures in Dub' (2006). A double CD of dubby reggae. It's a bit hit and miss, bur anything that has King Tubby, Scratch Perry and Prince Jammy has got to be good.

So that's it for now. I realise this may have come over as I'm accepting some award, but being that 2009 was quite a year, I thought this was good way to recap this year's activities. Hope it was a good one for you and that 2010 will be even better. Thanks for reading, see you next year.













Image by Aaron Horsley

Glimmers, security, freedom, breeding and lots of noise; December 9, 2009

Glimmers of hope and slaps in the face.

Changes as good as holidays.
After I speak will you please reply.
There is something important to be said.

Glimmers of hope and slaps in the face

One of the things I've come to realise, (what, only now?), the life of an artist and musician, the life I lead is one that fills you with a psychological dichotomy. That is to say, there is certain degree of feedom that comes with not having a 'regular' (whatever that means), secure (again whatever that means) job. A job you know will be there for you on a Monday morning, so you can be fed and feed those near and dear to you. The freedom of not being tied to a specific timeline and place, means that one can journey through life and experiment with what you do and when you do it. So no complaints.

The security that comes with a more traditional (again, that's a slippery slope there) existence means that you can relax and not worry about where your next meal might be coming from. The ability to not worry has a wonderful freedom of it's own. Now I should point out here, that not in anyway do I consider that my life style is any more 'alternative' than anyone else. But I've not really ever had a 'real' job. Again no real complaint, ultimately this was my decision, I don't really regret it and I'm reasonably happy to live with it. Very often, one makes one's own opportunities. Again I'm not claiming to be bucking the system, but as I see it, we do live in a fairly conservative country, where the arts are not really considered a valuable contribution to society. Sport is though...I missed a trick by not pursuing my superb hockey skills!

So what's this got to do with anything? Well the nature of what I do often means I'm a dog looking for bones. Every so often an opportunity comes up where one applys and waits by the phone or for an email, or as Pip mentioned, hopefully not on the receiving end of a skinny envelope (a fat one is the one you're after). A few little moments of luck over a period give you a little bolstering of confidence, that is just as often followed by a slap or two in the face. These come very often without explanation (see the next rant) and are a real blow. There are some very illogical decisions made out there in the world and you are sometimes at the receiving end of them. So one has to re-boot one's attitude every so often which is what I'm trying to do. While I don't think you should be in the constant mindset that you are owed something by your very existance, you are the best at what you do and eveyone should realise that, it's also not good to be always down on youself, in constant denial of your abilities and value or always worrying.

Now I realise that people everywhere must experience this sometimes, but from my experience trying to balance these states in an environment where one is sometimes pulled wildly from one extreme to another is very difficult. But I realise as I get older, (oh yes our little Matt is growing up), that I need to be mindful of how I take on criticism as well as praise, failures and successes.

I must realise that not everyone in the world knows or understands or even cares about the value of culture and what it contributes to society, but I also shouldn't shy away from speaking about what I do and can bring and contribute to that culture.

Manners and etiquette

I'd like to talk a little bit about etiquette and I'm not talking about the of 'Laddette to Lady', kind of thing, but something more basic and to do with common sense. I'm the first to admit, I can improve my communication skills, I don't always speak clearly and I ramble a bit sometimes. Often my inherent shyness gets the better of me and I'm silent. But one thing I am very mindful of is respect to others around me. It seems to me that with the advent of speedy, instant, portable communication, we have lost the ability to have basic manners. This may sound like an old man thing to say, but for Christ's sake you don't have to talk that loud on your mobile, or speak on it at all in certain circumstances. There would be a generation of people who would not have experienced a life before mobiles and email, but there was and people got by. Yes we are all busy and things need to be communicated, sometimes right away, maybe excuse yourself and get out of the queue. Also, I don't want to hear about your private life at the top of your voice.

In specific reference to the above subject; There are a lot of elements to our communication that are virtual, there is a lot of traffic moving back and forth online and also still in the world of analogue post. One is not to know if something has reached it's destination or not. One shouldn't assume. So

I don't expect an essay, but it would be nice if there were more of the 'Yes I got it thanks, I'll be in touch soon' messages. Especially via email, it's so quick and easy. Why wouldn't you?

Old man rant # 2 over.

Impending parenthood and the midwife issue

So being that I'm now an aforementioned old man, most of you would know that I'm soon to be a father, which fills me with so many different thoughts and emotions, I don't know where to start. Mostly joy, but a bit of fear thrown in too, but of course I'm not the first to experience that.

Although it was more Sally's call than mine, we were both agreed that a homebirth is what we wanted to do. There are many reasons, but first and formost, the comfort and security of a familiar environment is important to the wellbeing of the person doing the hard work - the mother.

Giving birth in the majority of cases is not a medical condition. When it becomes a medical problem, of course you seek medical assistance. Giving birth at home doesn't cause a medical problem. It may in fact defuse one, being that the mother may well be more relaxed. You wouldn't call eating a medical problem, When you choke, it becomes one. But we don't go to the hospital to eat a meal. Over 60% of births in the Netherlands are homebirths. This seems to me to be a good solution here where there is an overcrowding in hospitals and overstretched staff.

And so this simmering little problem that has arisen over the potential illegalities of midwifery is a touch alarming. Sally has already eloquently laid this out on her blog. I urge you to read it if you care about homebirth or even if you have an interest in civil rights. It can be read here.

Recent activities

Myself and Scot Cotterell performed a DÜO no-input set, (that is to say, no external sound sources were used, mixers and the input of a cassette deck feeding back into themselves) for the Graduate Show at Centre For The Arts in Hobart on November 6. Response was pretty good, although we were essentially background ambience, most were there (quite rightly) to see family and friends artworks and congratulate each other for achieving a degree. It was a lot of fun and we got some interesting sounds out of the gear. Here's some images and to hear some of the results go to:

http://www.virb.com/matt_warren_muzik

Top image courtesy of Matt Warren, bottom image courtesy: Aaron Horsley.

MOIO performed our second live performance at the Fringe Festival's 'Heavy Noisy Things' night. We ended the night, response was great. Even sold a few CDs. Don't have any images or audio from this appearance, but here's the poster for the event.

You may have noticed the name on the bottom of that poster, Untermorast. That was myself and Tim Panaretos' new improv duo, myself on effected voice and Tim on effected electric bazouki. More details as they come to hand, but keep an eye out for a myspace page down the line and hopefully followed by more gigs.

MOIO's third gig was on 26^th of November at ONO # 2 and we were greeted by a very positive response to our set, especially considering we followed the completely maniacal and impressive Lightning Bolt. Cool place to play, (a disused floor of what was once Fitzgeralds in the Hobart CBD), big and boomy room, suited us well. We will now be working on new material for a while before going out to play again, but rest assured we will be back. I can't speak for Aaron, but I'm pretty sure he would agree, I greatly appreciate that MOIO is so appreciated.

Image at ONO # 2 courtesy Rebecca Fitzgibbon.

Also at ONO # 2 (amongst many other wonders) was a performance/installation ritual piece I conceived and directed (a performed with 9 others) called ex-X (Phase 10hz). It was work about catharsis and each participant contributed wonderfully, thanks all. The whole ritual part was 10 minutes with the 'aftermath' as an installation being ongoing (well until closing time). Here is a condensed video document of the piece.

An extra curricular activity that I did a few months back was contribute some percussion (drums, cymbals, shakers and chime) to a track called 'Waste of Flesh' by London-based industrial metal band Concrete Lung, for an EP, also called 'Waste of Flesh' which is due out on December 12. It was great to be a part of, the wonders of file-transfer across the web! I look forward to hearing the result.

Oh I finally officially graduate on December 15!

Upcoming in 2010:

Jan 8 – 31. I will be presenting a slightly interactive/participatory surround sound and object installation at Kelly's Garden at Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart as part of their program and the annual MONA FOMA festival. The piece is called 'The Last Beach Movie' and references the popular mythology about Brian Wilson's compositional environment.

Image mockup by Matt Warren

Feb 12 -March 5. 'Of Heaven and Earth' is a two person exhibition of light, sound, collage and video works by Matt Warren and Sally Rees (some solo, some in collaboration) produced mainly whilst on residency in Montreal, Canada in 2008. This will be shown at 6a ARI, in North Hobart.

Image: The Lull by Matt Warren in 'Of Heaven and Earth', Auberge Alternative, Montreal Canada, 2008.

On March 12 I will perform a live soundscape for Fiona Lee's work in the two person show (with Cath Robinson) called Chora Choruses at Kings Gallery in Melbourne. The plan is that I will also be part of the artists floor talk the following day. My soundscape (a pre-recorded surround piece) will also feature in Fiona's installation throughout the remainder of the show's run.

My solo ambient/drone/mood project mumble(speak) is going to be touring in June 2010.Thanks to Sound Travellers, mumble(speak) will present the 'Good and Bad People and Things' show (a narrative) on tour throughout the country. Full confirmation of venues and dates are still to happen, but the planned schedule is:

June 17 - Hobart

June 18 – Brisbane

June 19 – Sydney

June 20 – Melbourne

June 25 – Darwin

June 26 – Perth

June 27 – Adelaide

Late November; a three week performance/installation laboratory at Salamanca Arts Centre, collaborating with Sally Rees and Deborah Pollard for a project with the working title of 'Decay'. More on that later.

Listening: JESU – 'Opiate Sun' e.p (2009), Alice Cooper – 'DADA' (1983)

Watching: 'The Bed Sitting Room' (Directed by Richard Lester from a play by Spike Milligan - 1969). This has recently been released as a budget-price (but not budget quality) DVD...see it now!

Reading: Contracts, proposals and applications and re-reading 'Smile – The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece' by Domenic Priore (2005).

This will likely be the last post for 2009, so whatever you do at this time of year, have a good one, take care of each other and yourself.

The secret ingredient to good beans on toast – smoked paprika!