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January 2008

Hello

Welcome to the New Year, the International Year of Planet Earth, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and in Australia the Year of the Scout!



2007 closed with ill health for me, an unfortunate accident with a bicycle in the dark left me bruised, cut, limping and still in severe back pain, whilst a nasty flu took hold of me and much of London for the festive period, so I look forward to 2008 with optimism and more reasons to swim, exercise and look after myself than ever before.

The death of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen in December was a strange situation personally too. An email from my friend Ed, via Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, who took care of his scores, CDs, books, films, flowers, shrubs and trees, informed me of his death, a response to which I posted on Facebook. Less than 30 seconds later the BBC telephoned me requesting confirmation of this, then BBC TV news, then BBC Radio 4, and within the hour I was at the BBC newsroom commenting on his death, extremely unprepared and unrehearsed for such an encounter. It seems that in sharing this information I had ‘broken’ the news of his death, which still seems surreal to me.

Curiously for me I still treasure a signed set of CDs Herr Stockhausen mailed me some years ago after the Wire and the BBC had presented a series, ‘The Technocrats’ which examined Stockhausen’s musical legacy. Entitled Advice to Clever Children you still read this online for some modest amusement. I was especially struck by his suggestion for me to be ‘more like an apple on the moon.’ See you there soon I’m sure.



December was happily a little less crazy for me – trips to Parma to perform at Lenz Rifrazioni and then to Bucharest in Romania to present my work for AVmotional at the Orange Concept Store, and then out to the deserts of El Paso Texas, where I was fortunate enough to disappear into the mountains and to visit White Sands, one of the world's great natural wonders. Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin are the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field. As far as your eye can see is miles and miles of pure white sand with the occasional American Stealth Bomber flying over, part of the Missile Range next door!

Back to work and a recent micro film collaboration with Dutch video artist Olga Mink can be seen here. Entitled Landscape it was which was recently shown at Maffiafestival, De Balie Amsterdam 2007. We are currently developing an extended work to be toured in 2008-2009.

In the dangerous and heady world of rock and roll of Githead we’ve been setting up European concert dates for 2008, with several already confirmed in Amsterdam, Cologne, Paris and Belgium in February. In the meanwhile too Renat Ziegermann shot footage at the soundcheck and during the gig at Bar Music Hall, London in June and made a video entitled Profile. Also newly featured is on that page is a link to a witty video interview with Malka & Colin made by Mike Robinson of Eastwood Guitars.

All Scanner and Githead releases are now available for download exclusively through and will remain so even when their physical formats have sold out. In addition my entire back catalogue will shortly be available via eMusic, Amazon and countless other locations so keep your ears peeled and your credit card handy.

So it only leaves me to wish you a positive and wonderful 2008 and hope to see many of you very soon.

Affectionately

Robin



::: listen :::
Cat Power: Jukebox (Matador)
Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (Innova)
Tom Yorke: The Eraser Remixes (XL Recordings)
Clark: Throttle Promoter (Warp)

::: read :::
Non-Format: Love Song (Die Gestalten Verlag)
Miranda July & Harrell Fletcher: Learning to Love You More ( Prestel)
Charles Burns: Black Hole (Pantheon)
Steven Pinker: The Stuff of Thought (Penguin)

::: film:::
Interview, Steve Buscemi, USA
Throbbing Gristle: TGV 7 DVD set
Art School Confidential, Terry Zwigoff, USA
The Bridge, Eric Steel, USA

Exhibitions

Night Haunts
By Sukhdev Sandhu
Design Mind Unit
Sound Design Scanner

Artangel Interaction invited writer and historian Sukhdev Sandhu to write a nocturnal journal unfolding over the course of 2006. His postings will appear sequentially at this microsite specially designed by Mind Unit. Sandhu's forays see him prospecting in the London night with the people who drive its pulse, from the avian police to security guards, zookeepers and exorcists. Acclaimed artist and musician Scanner has collaborated with Sukhdev and Ian Budden of Mind Unit to compose the sound for the site. If you would like to be kept informed as each episode is posted, join artangel's mailing list by clicking here .

www.nighthaunts.org.uk
www.artangel.org.uk



Bittersweet Songs for the Sleepless City
Artangel Interaction

NightJam is the latest project in Artangel Interaction’s Nights of London series of artist-led collaborations with people who have a special view on a hidden side of the nocturnal city. Scanner invited young people at New Horizon Youth Centre in King’s Cross to collaborate on a creative project that expresses how the city at night looks and sounds to their ears and eyes. Through music and voice workshops they explored the sense of freedom and fear, celebration and solitude of the concealing darkness. Meanwhile, they captured their nights on disposable cameras, taking images that are at times eerie, startling, contemplative and funny. NightJam presents two elusive visual and musical journeys through the city’s ‘quiet’ hours.

NightJam presents two music tracks, a film, photographs, that can be experienced and freely downloaded. A limited edition CD is also being distributed for free through the website. Now featuring remixes of NightJam by Stephen Vitiello, Hakan Lidbo, Troy Banarzi, Si-cut.db and Pete Lockett.

www.nightjam.org.uk