DDC's Closing Weekender - Who's doing what, and when?

Can't work out if you think the newer stuff Tera Melos is producing is genius or just a little too off the wall? Can't help but think it needs more pedals? Do you miss the sprawling soundscapes of tunes like Melody 8? Let's talk about it at DDC one night sooner rather than later. The team behind Dusk-Dawn-Club are taking a well-earned break after another year of highs, lows, and lots and lots of shows.

Here's what's happening, and some words from those helping out with the happenings.

Thursday, January 24th

In a previous conversation with thruoutin*, we covered the origins of his originality, and I added a quotation from Dumbledore, A. This time around, we spoke of downsizing through dabbling with outdated technology, and how that happened. 

No, it wasn't anything to do with Marie Kondo.

Hiya, what a wonderful afternoon to have this phone call. So, you've just come back from a pretty extensive tour in the states?

Yeah, I've just done eight shows in about a month, in California and Louisiana. It was with my sister, Seippelabel, and some of her classmates, in pretty much all new venues that we hadn't played before.

Did any of them stand out in particular?

Well, they were all very different, and I guess one that stood out would have to be the first show we played in Oakland, California, at a venue called “The Hole”, and it's a house venue. 

The first floor is a garage, and common area converted to a stage and bar. The upstairs housed the people that ran the venue. It was very... D.I.Y. and something that I haven't really seen in China. That's what stuck out.

I miss house shows.

The venue definitely has that house show vibe, people coming in and out, they made vegan Indian food for everyone, and it was just like hanging out at someone's house. It was great.

You also experimented with some pretty tasty looking modular synth setups. How did you get involved with that?

That's quite interesting actually, my sister is doing a masters at Mills College, Oakland, and they have a computer music program which is pretty legendary as far as electronic music is concerned. A lot of the early synthesizers made by Buchla, Moog, and a lot of different Eurorack stuff has been donated to the school, so students get to learn how to record on analogue boards, run systems for live performance, and then get classes in some really old technology and devices. 

I got to have some private classes on how to use the Buchla 100, one of the earliest modular synthesizers, commissioned by the San Francisco Tape Library.

That's really cool.

Yeah. I got to record it, and that recording is something I'll be introducing into my set on Thursday.

How is this set on Thursday going to work?

So, I'm promoting it as a mixed media performance. 

There'll be visuals, and sounds put through an fx chain. It's called Off Grand, all the music was prepared in my sister's studio in Oakland, which is... off... an avenue called Grand. The visuals are taken from the view in her studio, the music was all created in her studio, and I guess this project is a culmination of everything I was doing in California when I was there this last month. 

This video comes courtesy of LoReLi Productions Inc.

What kind of technology will you be using for this performance? I saw a recent photograph of you with lots of gear.

Okay, this one's slightly different. I wanted to get away from my computer screen, and just have something that was a bit more minimal, and better for travelling. 

[Insert witty/humorous comment about iPod outdating cassette players here]

For this performance, I'll be using some cassette players with variable speed and pitch, a mixer with onboard effects, the video and some other aspects for the visuals.

Awesome, I'll make sure I'm there at 9.30 to catch your set. What a lineup, eh? One one-piece, TWO two-pieces, and then a supergroup!  I wonder what's happening the day after... 

Friday, January 25th

Hello Matthew Byrne, A.K.A. Mr Spittoon, what a wonderful morning it is to have this conversation. 

Let's jump straight into it. Spit-Tunes... when did this begin?

Spit-Tunes, around about two years ago now, February 2017, more or less, the first one, and Spittoon as an organization for four years, this for two years. This for two, that for four.

To go into some depth about why spit-tunes exists in the form that it does, I did an MA in Manchester. We went to the Royal Northern College of Music and read poems to composers who then chose the poems that they like. Having that very personal process of writing a poem that reflects your talent being animated by music is a very powerful feeling. The poets that are selected are just really happy that it's happening.

When setting up the musicians and poets, do you partner them up or do they choose their own?

It's a mix of both. The ideal situation is to have an anonymous document - what I mean by that is that having the poets submit to a document, and we take away the name, gender, and ethnicity, and send it to the artists who then select a poem that perhaps matches their style. Sometimes though, to make it more practical artists or poets might make requests. For example, we have Great Buffalo Blues working with Zuo Fei, and she distinctly said that she was into doing it with a blues band, and I thought we're missing a trick if we didn't bring them together.

I have to say, it's always pleasantly packed (but not too packed) at the events.

Yeah, people love the concept, and you can have a carousel and musicians and poets from around the world. It's as if you spin the wheel and wonder what could happen. It's a compelling mix up between the literary, and music scene.

Hang on a second, wasn't that guy on the left playing with Hazemaze? Aren't those two in that Pink Floyd cover band? Are they tiny, or is he really tall?

David Bond, Matthew Byrne with Jaime are going to provide a Jack Kerouac inspired rendition of his fiction piece with musical interludes from the brain of Bond and Byrne, we're calling ourselves that. It sounds like a solicitor's firm or something. It's kind of like soundtracking a story but with genuine creative songs that are inspired by parts of the story.

Liane and Anthony, beautiful guitar music that's very close to the theme and heart of Anthony's imagery. 

Very carefully constructed music, it's heavily rehearsed.

Great Buffalo Blues and Zuo Fei, I think the natural, soulful element of Sophie's poetry and the intense communication the band have been having with her will create a genuine collaboration of a group of artists and a poet that have found each other through a mutual love of the blues.

Rainbow Machine and Oliver Tores**, a mixture of psychedelic...noise, and for the first time in Spit-Tunes history, someone screaming... over... that music and... stirring the pot a bit. It's the anarchic side of Spit-Tunes. It'll shake some branches.

Where do you see Spit-Tunes going once the metaphorical branches are settled?

We'll continue working with Nasty Wizard Recordings on an album, and we also want to take it on tour. Spittoon has a collective in Chengdu, and we're working on it in other places. It's just a great way to create lasting partnerships, and create a lasting portfolio that tries to go beyond the literary art, incorporating all sorts of arts into the mix.

Do you want to give a shout out to 69, and DDC for their constant support?

I'm giving a shoutout to 69 for his constant support. Whenever he sees an event that may seem off the wall, but may have an element of potential, or it feels like it's experimental, he'll be very supportive about these ideas. That's what stands out about this venue. 

'Everything Sounds Here', it kind of makes you stop and think because it doesn't necessarily make sense, but in a way, it does. 

Saturday, January 26th

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*A previous conversation with thruoutin available here - tap to listen!

**As always, shout out to Live Beijing Music for just being incredible.

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