GIG: WAHEELA // CATTLE // HIS NAKED TORSO

A rare collaboration with Big Spaceship and The Gig Barons...

We bring you noise in the form of:

WAHEELA
5-piece improv noise rock from Newcastle. Waheela emit a sound not unlike the stony cataclysmic void ensuing from a distant asteroid field. Beyond the physical boundaries there lies a faint but hectic echo of clattering events, flurries of frequencies and mind shattering consequences. Waheela take you inward to the chasms of your mind through feedback, psych drones and razor sharp wails.
If you like Krautrock combined with heavier tones, electronics and screamed vocals Waheela are for you.

Check out their soundcloud for loads of sweet live recordings and stuff:
https://soundcloud.com/waheela

Supported by ...

CATTLE
Noise Rock 3-piece from Leeds. Bass. Drums. Voice.
Get the EP here:
http://cattle.bandcamp.com/

+ HIS HUMAN TORSO (cardiff)
“His Naked Torso isa outpour of stutter, awkwards and confuspeak. A theatre of da absurd. Relish in harsh tonals, dumb-dumb strateg, meatflesh, da internet pervers, yet celebrat just howa doo-doo up and bombad weesa real is. Afrikaans isa restless and staccato, punctuat with sound collage and far reach, disturb and ultimata, maxibig of funny-funny. Post coital guilt, which one da yousa internal voices to trust and da idea of mortality from da perspective of a gnat.”
http://hisnakedtorso.bandcamp.com/

At the Wharf Chambers

£4 in

Doors 19:30

CANAYA / OLD MAN LIZARD / EARTHMASS / BARRICADES

BIG SPACESHIP PRESENTS...

CANAYA
http://canaya.bandcamp.com/

These dudes have been going for about four years now and have all previously been in some awesome bands. Tangaroa, Year Of The Man, Imposters, Executive Distraction Tasks, Hot Prophecy and Daigoro. They have all individually mastered the art of heavy. There is nothing in Canaya's music that doesn't need to need to be there, this is pure refined balls out heavy metal.

OLD MAN LIZARD
http://oldmanlizard.bandcamp.com/album/old-man-lizard

Riff heavy 3 piece from Suffolk. Their self titled release needs to be in your collection, recorded in an old factory with some sweet fuzzed out drive, meandering guitar licks and some nice dynamic while the whole thing sounds kind of sleazy.

EARTHMASS
http://earthmassband.com/

Earthmass began in 2012 and provide massive doses of heavy prog. In April of last year they released Lunar Dawn (Keep, Relics & Ritual) a tremendous first release displaying waves of spacey drone edged with a folk(y) haunting vocal intermittently crushed by a release of war bound riff.

BARRICADES
http://barricadesnoise.bandcamp.com/album/homeward-demo

Opening the show will be Leeds 5 piece post-metal/sludge machine BARICADES. Their demo 'homeward' is aggressive as fuck to begin with only to swerve though some nice melodic delayed guitar. Despite these moments of release, after listening to the whole thing I kind of feel like some ruckus. The demo is available on their bandcamp, name your price.

1st band about 8:30...ish
£4 entry


 

Review: ALBUM: 'Beyond The Pale' by Shields

If you like crippling down-tuned riffs, growling bass lines, pummeling drums and emphatic, triumphant vocals then I direct you to this blistering debut album by Leeds medieval power rockers SHIELDS.

'Beyond The Pale' emits a monstrous signal reaching far back to ancient realms where pillaging and other primitive acts scorn the earth. A grave reminder that when four individuals come together to play music, it can be ultimately magical. Yes this band are unsigned and yes this band are local, which pains for me to say it. It pains me because there are so many other bands in Shields' situation; recording music that deserves more attention. However, that aside, Shields are a band on the rise and one can only hope that this album gets the reception that it deserves.

The album kicks in with the creatively named 'My buddy went to Azeroth & all I got were these lousy arrows' which is a whip cracking track on your quest through 'Beyond the Pale'. it features plenty of heavy, in-your-face transitions that strip and then dress right in front of your ears.

Gig: LIMB / BLACK MOTH / THRONE

Come gather round children and witness the day of the holy Sabbat. We here at the Big Spaceship sect are very proud to present a juicy night of psychedelic doom-vibes.

LIMB
Make sure you have acquired the relevant talismans for this daemonic group of heathens, for you will need every kind of protection (especially ear) against the evil forces emanating from the sound of this band. It is Limb's first time out of their lairs into the northern promised land of Leeds and they surely must be preparing well to meet the demands of Leeds' ghastly gig goers.
Limb hail from London and play dirgey sludge ridden doom for fans of Weedeater, Acid King and Electric Wizard.
Download their demo for free here:
http://limbtheband.bandcamp.com/

BS Gig: ANTA / FCOLOSSUS / MHG / CLEFT

Traversing through the realms of the unknown, Big Spaceship uncovered something of a rare find. While meandering through Equine star sector I, an anomalous green moon appeared instantaneously. With the nature of its spontaneous appearance, the crew on the Big Spaceship were imediately urged to explore...this is what we found...

HAMMERS - 'Vardogr' (2012) : A Review

HAMMERS are a group of musicians hailing from Manchester with an original approach to creating brutal crust-laden hardcore. I wanted to include 'metal' in the synopsis, but as soon as I use the words hardcore and metal together my whole body cringes. It is crusty in that it projects gritty bass, low guttural voice and stampeding tempos.. all driven along in an adventurous early Dischord-era style where technical prowess and unpredictable structures aren't sneered upon.

The first track 'Casting Spells' oozes dark feedback(y) mess all over my ears, before spitting out a pristine sounding riff that instantly cuts through the layers of vicious feedback...From black metal to early Baroness in the flip of a switch. The titles of this album almost remind me of the chapter names of some prophetic book out of the middle ages; encouraging a bewildered sense of awe. A similar feeling most have experienced through attempting to read 'Dante's Inferno' when they were 17...intriguing nevertheless.

The kind of head-nodding (cause there are 'kinds') it gets out of me is a kind of blend between the focused jarring approach induced by math rock and the head-down-to-the-ground shake techniques regularly seen at your local thrash gig. Its easy to say Hammers envelop many styles in their music, it is hard to determine exactly how due to the fluency of it. A track that sticks out to me lasts a timely :23 secs named 'Endoteric'. Mainly because I have a great big mushy soft spot for grimy doom but secondly for that chord at the end of the riff; sounds like an orchestra of electric bass guitars all playing the same note in a massive expansive auditorium.

BS GIG 07/07/12: CANAYA // EL SCHLONG // BEARS KILLING BEARS // SEVEN HEADED COBRA

CANAYA

Leeds groove metallers Canaya return to the ship's helm for a night of pure, adrenaline fueled music. Steadily chipping away at the UK's metal scene, they have built a solid undercurrent of buzz with their self-produced EP 'Alignment of Dying Planets' including a melee of live shows, some of which are attainable online; check this feed out hosted by eccentric rockers HIMSELF in an undisclosed venue....
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/himselflive
The debut EP, 'Alignment Of Dying Planets' was released in 2010 to great reviews in Rocksound (8/10), Big Cheese (5/5) and received heavy rotation on Total Rock Radio.

'What the industry has it's sights on' - Metal Hammer

'Alignment Of Dying Planets' is twenty minutes of unremitting ferocity. It’s an aggressively potent EP, the kind of record that will have you smashing yourself across the temple with a hammer afterwards for relief.' - Szikora Press

'Combining a voice with the caustic power of Norma Jean with some seriously Mastodon-esque riffs, Canaya’s EP is a violent twenty-minute pole-axe to the temple.' - Heavy Blog Is Heavy

www.facebook.com/canayauk
www.myspace.com/canayauk
www.youtube.com/canayauk
www.twitter.com/canayauk
www.canaya.bandcamp.com

Wet Nuns release new video for 'Heavens Below'

 The insatiable blues thunder of WET NUNS has been depicted in a recent music video containing moments of anger, animosity and sexy-80s-jeans-cut-offs-nothing-but-a-black-bra dancing. Delightful. Wet Nuns have recently been named in the ones to watch list of 2012 in the NME, good on ya lads. Its good to hear NME have discovered music with some heavy balls. The video was done by Sheffield-based director Darren Topliss who has invented videos for such bands as Buoys, Horses and Algiers. His work has included some really cool use of projectors and nifty editing skills. Keep an eye out for him in the future.

A couple of Big Spaceship gigs coming up: run,WALK! & Wet Nuns

run,WALK! (Holy Roar)
http://runwalk.bandcamp.com/album/peekay
Noisey hardcore band run,WALK! have been soldiers of the riff for quite sometime and have maintained an experimental and brutal approach to their music since their formation. These guys are no strangers to Leeds but if you have yet to see them play then be sure to check them out.

ANTARES (Holy Roar)
http://www.facebook.com/enjoyantares?sk=app_178091127385
These monsters of physical technicality will warp your fragile mind with their chaotic battery of progressive hardcore from the unfathomable realms of confusion. One sentence. That is all.

WE'LL DIE SMILING
http://welldiesmiling.bandcamp.com/
Awesome Leeds based 3 piece of the progressive hardcore persuasion, We'll Die Smiling have been around for a while and every now and again releasing an absolute fuckin' gem, never failing to impress with a creative streak that is apparent in many aspects of their music.

NO COAST
http://www.facebook.com/nocoastband?sk=app_178091127385
No Coast are a relatively new band but have set their standard from the very start. Their music is a cocktail of brutal punk hardcore grind and aggressive as fuck. Only one song available on their facebook page but be sure to give it a listen and make sure you come and see them play.

Big Spaceship Presents: Slabdragger / Wizard's Beard / Seven Headed Cobra +1 TBC

Big Spaceship Presents:

A night of riff-worshiping, 70's soaked doom and weirdo rock.

SLABDRAGGER (Holy Roar)
A 3 piece beastly experimental stoner band from London. We've all been pining after a bit of these guys since the arrival of their monstrous album 'Regress'. These guys will tear off your balls, replacing the contents of your scrotum with swollen spheres of steel and like a dwarf afoot a mountain, you will stand in awe.
http://www.facebook.com/Slabdragger
http://www.myspace.com/slabdragger

Lavotchkin / Humanfly / Beards / False Flags @ Santiagos, Leeds. 01/10/11

Big Spaceship Presents:

A NIGHT DEDICATED TO TINNITUS
1st October, @ Santiagos Bar, Leeds

Lavotchkin
Unrelenting sludgey post-hardcore from Newcastle. These guys have been to Leeds and ripped it up a few times in the past, but that doesn't mean that this time is any different. Their album 'Widow Country' has had a bit of time to sink in since summer last year and with a new split 7" with Leeds metallers End To Empires out now, what better time to release their blood-soaked, raging filth on the city of Leeds once again. If you are a bit shy, and a bit reserved, I would probably leave that behind because by the first song you will be pounding your sodden chest with fist clenched, screaming at your relative counterpart from across the room.
They have been described as "possibly the closest thing you will ever get to a UK equivalent to Botch".

Apple Cannon / Mother Destroyer / Fallen Colossus/ Two Trick Horse @ Royal Park Cellars, Leeds, Saturday 17th Sept

The Big Spaceship blasts off once again, inviting you to climb aboard her, as she weaves her way on an eclectic excursion, aiming only to appease her audiences. Attendees can surely expect auditory amusement aplenty...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...BIG SPACESHIP PRESENTS:
A JOURNEY OF UNPARALLELED, GARGANTUAN GROOVE.

Introducing your crew for the voyage; effervescently educating audiences on all things astronomically audible via their Olfactory Organ Oscillators™:

We suggest you contact your Lieutenant ASAP and make him earn his wages. Order him to activate both primary and secondary deflector shields for the duration of this duo's set, because they have their phaser firmly set to 'kill'. A tight, compact unit that threatens to deliver the heat of a thousand suns and instantly vaporise. Frequently firing away on all cylinders, never letting up until the enemy is annihilated... The weapon of choice: the inescapable...
APPLE CANNON (http://on.fb.me/applecannon)

During a previous odyssey, upon passage through the Ursae Majoris system, we witnessed what resembled the violent scenes of a civilisation folding in on itself

Russell and the Wolves // Meddicine // ASSS

Low Culture and Big Spaceship Presents:

Saturday 6th August
Santiago’s, Grand Arcade, Leeds
...Doors 8.00pm

In celebration of the new split EP between ASSS and Meddicine, we present:

RUSSELL AND THE WOLVES

Almighty, well you’ll be goddamned. This band are literally the shit! Bluesy filth churned out at speed with a scary front man, what more could you ask for?

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/russellandthewolvesband?sk=app_178091127385

Well, we also have:

MEDDICINE

Describing herself as ‘psychedelic nostalgia dance’, others have called her Grave Wave, we say whatever you’re into. The fact is that Meddicine’s creepy electronic is always chilling and cinematic with hints of Kraut here and there. A one girl Suicide Machine.

http://www.meddicine.net/

and the equally impressive:

A S S S

Hailing From Portland, Oregon, A S S S deal in minimal and deliciously bleak Electro/post-punk. Their songs emerge like soviet blocks of synths and devolve into howling industrial noise.

Think somewhere between Factory Floor and A Place To Bury Strangers.

http://thisplaceisawreck.b​logspot.com/

Tickets: 4 adv (5 otd)

Jumbo, Crash and WeGotTickets link here: http://www.wegottickets.co​m/event/126936

Hope to see you there!

http://bigspaceshippresent​s.blogspot.com/

http://www.wearelowculture​.com/


words by NLK

Etai Keshiki/ C.A.G./ Sloth Hammer/ Black Mantra

Big Spaceship Presents:

A night of noise, improv and electronic voids....

Etai Keshiki (leeds)
...If you haven't seen this band yet I am jealous. To see Etai for the first time is like washing your face with ice cream and meandering haplessly through a gauntlet of bee hives (but in the most pleasurable way). They say their sound has evolved since their last EP "Etai Or Die" and analogies aside, this band surprise with there ever more visceral and robust sound. A combination of noise, hardcore and sludgey grooves, Etai are able to create and destroy before you even have chance to realise it.
http://etaikeshiki.bandcamp.com/album/etai-or-die

Castrato Attack Group (leeds)
- "Sloth like dumbo rock"
A relatively new band spawned from the harrowing corners of Leeds. A 3-piece centered around an improvised ethos of freaking out on the tapered feedback from your amp, whilst riding the perpetual inertia of sub-bass surf and groove. Having seen their first gig as a three-piece a month or so ago, we quickly snapped these up on the Big Spaceship ride. CAG includes Luke Vollar of Lanterns and Gav Montgomery of Cissy.
No website yet- they're that new!

Sloth Hammer (leeds)
Here, I shall detail a few quotes about Sloth Hammer:
'Horrifically foul, but somehow fulfilling, and certainly entertaining to watch.' - Joe
'Twas a heavy beast. It has a godflesh / khanate vibe. Hideous' - Matthew
If you were to turn Justin Bieber inside out and plug him into a Sunn amp...it probably wouldn't do much...other than eternally scar millions of thumb-sucking disney tots, nevertheless you see what I'm getting at. Sloth Hammer portray depravity at its lowest point; blood curdling resonances that can implode minds (metaphorically of course) and distinguish any hopes of getting out alive. Circuit-bent, hell-bent and mind-bending electronic doom featuring members from Diascorium.
http://www.myspace.com/theslothhammertwo

Black Mantra (wakefield)
Beyond time and space on a small green moon, The Weed Priest smokes. Sending clouds of madness up to blackened skies. Deep chants resonate on wasted plains of crippled landscapes. Sonic boundaries fall from reality as the call of the ancients ring out. The black winged beast is stirred and takes flight!
Disparate drone from the mind's astral plain (via Wakefield).

Come down for a night of cheap thrills, cheap drinks and dense anomalous cloud-like cosmic matter.

Be inside the Fenton for 7:30 or we shall hunt you down with our far superior weaponry.

£2 in.

For more info on this event and any other Big Spaceship wanderings:
email:
bigspaceship@hotmail.co.uk

Richard Parker + The Party Program + Shields + Magnapinna @ The Well, Leeds

Instrumental astral wanderings of local lads Richard Parker can be experienced at the Well tonight with 2 other awesome Leeds bands and Party Program from Scotland.

Big Spaceship took the time to listen to Richard Parker's self-tiled EP a few weeks ago and was very much intrigued. The subtle aether that surrounds this offering is evident in the cerebral expanse of this EP. It treats the listener to a lush spatial feel that expands toward euphoric washes of speedy picked lead guitar, soaked in so much reverb it sounds almost like a glissandi string section amid a cinematic orchestral arrangement. An innocence echoes inside the interwoven harmonic registry between the arpeggios and swirling lead parts of the guitars. Reminiscent of such post rock gods as Mogwai, Sigor Ros and the rich sensuous undulations of Mono, RP invoke nostalgia you didn't think was present before you had bore witness to this EP. Dynamically, this EP takes you on a journey through serene lands alien to human presence... This record gently inebriates, exhilarates and tingles the senses... sit back, close your tired eyes and melt into your chair to the surging contrapuntal soundscapes of Richard Parker.
The first date of the brazenly named 'The Dick Party Tour' with THE PARTY PROGRAM begins tonight.

Download RICHARD PARKER's EP here:
http://richardparker.bandcamp.com/album/richard-parker

THE PARTY PROGRAM
http://www.thepartyprogram.com/
SHIELDS
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shields/106121999460153?sk=info
MAGNAPINNA
http://magnapinna.bandcamp.com/

BS

Dopefight / Wiht / Dead Existence / Groan @ Royal Park Cellars, Leeds – Review 03/06/11

This write-up has come a little late due to a busy schedule on board Big Spaceship but nevertheless, here it is.

As I descended the dark staircase of The Royal Park Cellars on this hot Friday night I was cloaked with the mist and humidity of this gloomy venue even before I walk through the door. Upon entering this underground sweat-box, I was greeted with the twisted psychedelic meanderings of Groan (Doomanoid Records). Solid 70’s style riffs, catchy hooks and wailing solos, Groan are like a culmination of Sabbath, Deep Purple and Grand Funk Railroad with a little Kyuss thrown in there for good measure. It’s hard not to nod your head as these guys deliver a lively performance with an obvious love for what they do. Groan present a sound that has been heard before and yet it is impossible to not admire this infallible formula of concrete 'fists in the air' groove without donning a massive set of pendulous heavy balls. Yes, I went there.

http://www.myspace.com/groanuk

The mighty DEAD EXISTENCE were next to take the stage and fuck me balls swinging they were heavy as FUCK! In all honesty I wasn’t prepared for the bludgeoning barrage they had waiting behind the first 1, 2, 3, 4. Bone crunching, earth shattering, apocalyptic, these are all common ways of describing the various forms of heavy but I promise you, This is heavier. This is what you will hear resonating from the skies as the earth comes to a slow and bitter end. The dragging riffs of Dead Existence lure you into a state of sadistic hypnosis, so much so that when you are released from their thundering tidal wall of noise you will fall forward, realising that your body had been solely held up from the force emanating from DEAD EXISTENCE's demonic tones. Check their split with Dopefight here:

http://www.deadexistence.bigcartel.com/product/dead-existence-dopefight-split

http://www.deadexistence.net/

The penultimate segment of this doom laden musical theme park was an instrumental journey through unknown arcane wilderness in the form of WIHT. There is something about them that makes you shut the fuck up and pay attention. As you cross ambient plains with them you will discover mountainous riffs that erupt into colossal states of mind warping splendour. WIHT have the ability to create an overwhelming sense of tension and anticipation that holds you on the brink of insanity, before plummeting into a void of unrelenting power. Fantastical and progressive orchestration leaves the audience with seldom-opportune moments to congratulate the band on their talent and abilities. The aftermath of Wiht's performance sees a troop of bodies stood static in awe, gawping at the heavy load just released by Wiht's musical phallus. Wiht Are in the process of finishing an album with Ghosttown recordings (leeds) and hopefully shall be with us soon. In the meantime, check out their EP and also the sneak preview of their new album:



www.myspace.com/wihtleeds

Last on the bill was London-based DOPEFIGHT. The crowd waits patiently as levels are achieved on stage before the performance; sporadic bursts of powerchords and doom riffage are rife. The first thing I noticed was the insanely heavy tone of the bass guitarist's sound. Playing through just one distortion pedal, the sound that followed rips up the air like auditory shears, trimming the air molecules before tearing into your ear drums. The Dopefight commences and waves of nodding heads answer the call of the groove portrayed by this southern trio. The breakdowns that occur twixt stoned passages, ooze aggression and intensity usually attributed to more hardcore and punk rock realms. As though during an angst fueled punk gig in the past, someone had pulled the plug, offered up a monster bong to everyone in there and slapped some Sludge on the PA leaving everyone in a hazy, trance-like state worshiping every Sabbath riff pre-Sabotage. BOOM.
Check the new album out 'BUDS', it will put hairs not only on your chest but on your lungs, hands and your mothers face. Smoke. Listen. Mosh. Mong. In that order.

http://www.myspace.com/fightdopefight

Check out "Baby Goat Sick" put to a rather cool clip from Kill Baby Kill. Awesome.

Big Spaceship Presents: Pyramido/Beards/More Than A Joke/Curbcrawl/Magpyes

Click to attend the Facefuck event here

Big Spaceship Presents:

PYRAMIDO (swe)
Indelible barbarians hailing from the European capitol of doom. They have put down their axes and chalices to treat UK to a slice of their apocalyptic waves. They seamlessly blend numerous metal genres within their music; from doom, crust and sludge and all other connotations associated with these ever-increasing terms. Their latest album "Salt" is being released on Total Rust Records to name but one of their various label outputs...

http://www.myspace.com/pyramidodoom

BEARDS
Leeds' finest contrapuntal, interdimensionally challenging group shine a light on this night of doom to enrich listeners with more colourful collection of sound-waves. Compound time signatures aplenty, super weird harmonies and thick tonal textures, Beards shall boggle and discombobulate your peripheries and stretch your imaginations to oblivion.
Beards formed in Leeds in 2007 and have toured the UK & Europe several times. Their first album Brick by Boulder is out on Ouse.

http://www.myspace.com/beards2000

MORE THAN A JOKE
This band employ more than enough noise, more than enough energy and more than enough speed to make you leave with your ears oozing generic matter. Listening to their album "Trojan Whores" for the first time the other week, it has left me very much looking forward to a display of experimentally driven hardcore and whateverthefuckyouwannacallit-core on the night. Think of a no-nonsense Melt Banana and you're probably no where near...

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/morethanajoke?sk=info

CURBCRAWL
Incredibly gnarly grind-core from Leeds. Deploy your emotions at the door and vacate the premises re-programmed to kill. I hear remnants of black and death metal within their debauched undulating passages. Unearthly guttural vocals, penetrating riffage and incessantly pounding blast beats and breakdowns; a lot to fit into just over a minute's worth of music.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Curb-Crawl/108683419163239?sk=app_178091127385

MAGPYES
Onslaught, aggression, assailment, assault, blitz, charge, incursion, invasion, offensive. Magpyes offer all this with a kind helping of pleasantry. Insanely heavy Death/ Grind band from Leeds/ Southport. Not to be missed!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/Magpyes?sk=app_2405167945

Check out this hilarious video for the song "Mother Ruin" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fV9sjNwgjY

Doors 19:30

First band 20:00

£4

TOM
BS

Big Spaceship Presents: Tree of Sores/Diet Pills/Fallen Colossus/Magnapinna

Big Spaceship Presents...

TREE OF SORES / DIET PILLS / FALLEN COLOSSUS / MAGNAPINNA

@ The Fenton, Leeds, 17 June

Big Spaceship presents three of Leeds finest up and coming bands, all of which are relatively new but exciting in every sense of the word. The line up also includes Leicester filth mongers DIET PILLS...

TREE OF SORES (Witch Hunter Records)
A refined blend of prog, drone, ambient and experimental doom that is guaranteed to have a lasting effect on your perception of heavy. Here exists cosmic forces on an inward level, TOS's funeral march will send the mind through terrifying realms of macabre.

http://www.myspace.com/treeofsores

DIET PILLS (Force Fed Records)
To endure Diet Pills one has to withdraw the senses momentarily and let shuddering cacophonies of doom and debauched sludgery melt the surface of your body(s). Leaving you in a twitching pool of your own formless matter.

http://www.myspace.com/dietpillsband

FALLEN COLOSSUS
These guys bring a new element of prog with cosmic riffs and catchy hooks, these mighty craftsmen are not to be missed. Witness the giant being released and then brought down by the thundering roar of this band's war song.

http://www.facebook.com/fallencolossus?sk=app_178091127385

MAGNAPINNA
Rich metallic twang, algorithmic beats and hypnotic bass all emanate as a collection of inertial throbs. Magnapinna present a genius display of mathy structures and interwoven, disjointed hooks. An alien-like composition and tendencies toward big beat jazz, you'll feel your leg tapping, but you won't know why. Don't fight it though.

www.myspace.com/magnapinnaband

First band at 8:00

300p door

Etai Keshiki, CAG, Vom + Pyramidion @ The Fenton, Leeds - Review

Star trekking through Leeds' run down fringes, with the looming signs of social decline in the air, I journey to the next BS pit stop @ The Fenton.
Entering the front door I am greeted with hoards of long-haired and bearded metallers soaking up the pre-90's thrash and heavy metal played through the jukebox. The Fenton, I hear, used to be a popular destination for bikers, punks and metalheads decades ago and one can still witness the aftermath of its influence on the misdemeanor and mentality of its present customers. I share affinities to the mentality of these kind of pubs, still reeling off the unquestionable impact these lost eras had on their establishments. I admire its honesty and I feel it's this kind of history that needs to be preserved.
All that aside, I wasn't here to bask in any kind of cultural reminiscence, tonight was about the unearthly vibrations being emitted from above.

First on was newly borne Leeds improv-groovesters CAG (CASTRATO ATTACK GROUP). As I entered the room, I was accosted by a towering tidal wall of high frequency guitar feedback. Before I could pinpoint where I was, the disorientating aggression of the piercing feedback loop was like a clutched hand at your throat, willing you to listen or be asphyxiated where you stand. A plodding down-tempo groove was provided by bass and drums. As i watched, it was as though there was no acceptance of an audience being present, they might as well have being playing to a regimented robot gathering, heads slowly nodding away in unison. Which, incidentally is what the listeners portrayed. Time passed and I found myself staring vacantly into the dark kick drum cavity, the mixture of groove and wailing guitar feedback was hypnotic to my earholes. 30 mins of purely improvised stringent stoner groove, like driving music for the undead.

CAG are Luke Vollar, Gav Montgomery and Phil

Next up were another loud Leeds ensemble that go by the name of ETAI KESHIKI. They represent a particular malevolent dystopian nightmare, where doleys are permitted to get together and release their pent up up frustration on the world. A distant assault on the drums provide a hellish tribal backdrop to the harsh reality protruding from the variegated onslaught of the backline. Etai are a claustrophobic entity on the brink of exploding all over the listeners personal space, but in the nicest possible way. I've witnessed Etai perform in the past, and tonight they treated us to a brand new set, offering a more stunted selection of songs that seem to concentrate their energy to great effect. For circuit bent, sharp sounding black and grey hues of nuance and heavy as fuck riffs with shouty behaviour... Etai fulfil every pocket of your discontent for everything soulless in this world while still harboring a wide grin on your face.
I admire the bands choice to release an EP on a dying format, it aptly sympathises with my growing love of today's anachronistic tendencies.
Their new EP "ETAI OR DIE" is available on cassette tape now.
Email etaikeshiki@hotmail.com to purchase the tape.
Listen online here:
http://etaikeshiki.bandcamp.com/album/etai-or-die

Next on the menu were VOM, a Psych-doom offering hailing form Scotland. A contagious more softer doom emanates from the offset of their performance. Lights were turned out and replaced with a slow blinking white light on the stage that reveals fragmented pockets of their movements. A disjointed rhythm from the light throws the headbanger and forces you to close your eyes and concentrate, which I personally have found myself doing more often than not in recent gigs. It is an invitation to be more critical in your listening approach. Psych guitar chords striking, doom-laden bass swelling and marching percussion pounding a visual representation of a birds eye panoramic view of desolate alien topography. Gliding above this topography riding the fire winged griffin, a dead sea comes into view where you spy archaic, ineffable objects emerging and floating eternally in the scorched sun. VOM is the surf music from dead seas.

http://www.myspace.com/vommusik

Rather than fake a detailed description of last band of the night, Pyramidion, I will instead confess to missing the majority of their performance due to getting carried away conversing in the smoking area. I did catch their final 10 mins or so which I very much enjoyed. I heard an indulgent delicacy in this fragment of their performance.. Like a looser construct to the proggy echoes of the 60's and 70's, with bands like Zappa and Yes coming to mind. More Crimson in sound but more psych when one contemplates the more cosmic improvisational approach to their music. I have played in improv orientated bands in the past and find the most difficult thing in composition is controlling the ups and downs in emotional peaks within the live performance. I found Pyramidion executed this well, conducting themselves in a way they would bring their density up and down in quick succession and in unpredictable ways. I highly recommend this band, and hope the next time I see them, I am not cemented to the smoking area!

http://pyramidion.tumblr.com/

Pyra 190509.4 by Pyramidion

TOM
BS

Enjoy "A Bundle of Measures" - Review 27/05/11

The title a Bundle of Measures derives from a German idiom that translates to - every one has to catch their own bundle.

Racking up up at the event within a deep corner of Leeds' industrial nightmare. On a street that is legal to drink on (due to the existence of a few alcoholic residencies on the same street) we direct ourselves to the ominously green fronted building @ ENJOY headquarters. We were greeted with a conversation about edible flowers that then transformed into a discussion of a particular club in Leeds with a seemingly infinite smoke machine. An odd introduction to prepare for the numerous obscure conversations that were in store for the rest of the night. ENJOY itself must do something to people, turns stories like Oliver Twist into debauched allegories where Fagan administers his children to the streets to harvest body parts. With the added feature of cheap wine, conversations tilted into more obtuse angles, adding to a night that would soon be filled with breathing sub frequencies and clinically disorientating swells of Grischa Lichtenberger.

Lichtenberger had been given a 2 week residency at ENJOY where he would produce a varied display of artistic skill. Collections of paintings, sculptures and sound art would fill the halls of this art space over the course of the next 14 days. On the opening night one was faced with a large tilted painting containing esoteric shapes produced with a minimal palette of colour and form which would force the viewer to become more indulged in its abstract splendor. Moving to the corner of the room, a metallic object was suspended with red string above a small sheet of flimsy glass. This I gathered was representative of a tension in his art. On the cusp of shattering something fragile, revealing the potential destruction that all art can face.
After a few more glasses of red wine and cigarette breaks, the sound performance had begun.
A combination of evil digital sound-scapes, blending transitory events that would reveal a metamorphosis in his music. So heavily manipulated and processed, form and structure seamlessly flow. A distant reminiscence of Berlin techno comprised within a glitch-fed distorted environment. Objects that were leaning against the walls of the room became displaced during the sub frequency passages in his set. These events for me, implied the room itself was accepting in Lichtenberger's offering, a strange sign that the universe was agreeing with him. People sat, stood and swayed in awe at this "felt more than heard" performance. One guy was roaming around in a glitchy flurry, wielding a rolled up piece of canvas round his body in a strangely idiotic synchronicity. This music was tampering with peoples bodies in an uncompromising way.
Toward the end of the set; one of the first times I had looked up from ineffably gazing down at my shoes in a trance, I had noticed a strange box in the corner that was lit up inside. I had later found out that this was in fact Lichtenberger's sleep hatch where he was staying during his 14 day residency. This certainly was dedication to the cause.
The whole thing reminded me of a sequel to a film (that I had watched expecting the same level of quality as Vincenzo Natali's first offering but was unfortunately disappointed) Cube 2: Hypercube. It documents the struggle of a few individuals trying to escape the torment of a huge cubic structure which is part of some kind of governmental experiment. A particular room they enter has its own time, in that as soon as you enter, time exists at a slower rate. Almost like a twisted static temporal reality in which sounds dismantle themselves into grainy particle-based quanta.
I'd like to sum up the whole performance with two words: Electronic Rapture.

GRISCHA LICHTENBERGER, born Bielefeld 1983, is involved in a variety of arts such as writing, graphics, installations, video and music.

www.myspace.com/grischalichtenberger



Another act on the night was Northern noise purveyor SKEKSI, who provides the listener with tonally challenging music that beats up your insides sonically. Skeksi was the perfect antidote to the dwindling mental capacity felt after Lichtenbergers performance. Like an all-you-can-eat buffet where the only thing on the menu are large moreish binary chunks of pure synthesised forces that satisfy from the inside out.

SKEKSI is a UK based dj/producer, runs ∆ICASEA records with Alex Peverett and Satoshi Aizawa. Also records as one half of m&c (skam)

http://www.skeksi.com/skeksi

Buy tickets here for Skeksi's next event

http://www.wegottickets.com/event/118941

NHKyx (skam/ raster noton)
VHS Head (skam)
S>>D (icasea)
MDX (skam)
Skeksi (icasea)
Skam Djs
Icasea Djs
+more TBC
25/6/2011 @ the Musiquarium
8-10 Wyther lane, Kirkstall, Leeds.
10pm - late
£7 in

Listen to this sweet recording of one of Skeksi's live performances:
// by 5K3K51

TOM
BS