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Up until May, 2011, I hadn’t picked up a guitar in around two years. But on hearing Hallock Hill‘s debut, The Union, I finally felt musically inspired enough to pick up the instrument again.

The nine pieces that make up The Instrument are layered, one-take pieces recorded in my living room using just two guitars, various bits and pieces lying around the flat, and feature everyday, unedited sounds from my surroundings. This, twinned with the fact that I didn’t note down any of the tunings, means that I can never replicate any song on the album.

Since then, the album has been picked up by Runningonair Music and is scheduled for a March release. It will be available on limited edition vinyl and as a download.

A press release is available here. 

The record that caused a temporal melt down within as I suddenly realised that improvisation and experimentation can be executed beautifully on the guitar. No unnecessary pitch-shifting, arpgeggiatted synths cloying for attention – just one man, and an outlet. Tom’s music was undoubtedly responsible for me turning inwards and writing my own album in 2011 too. There He Unforeseen leant on The Union as a sullen twin, envious of its brother’s success. Not as accessible as The Union, but a fascinating listen to an artist’s evolution.

Elzhi – Elmatic.

Elzhi, hunched forward under the throne of Nas‘ iconic Illmatic took the New York MC’s record to new heights as he transferred the sounds and lyrics to Detroit. Using a live band to recreate the sampled sounds to create the Nas’ masterpiece, Elmatic is more than just a mixtape. Reimagining a work while being skilful and fluid enough to make it your own is a task that requires effort Herculean in nature. Released for free,  physical vinyl copies were strictly limited to 2,000 and should – no doubt – have flown the fuck out the shops.

Alva Noto – Univrs.

 The most insane electronic record I’ve heard in a while. Insane in a way that isn’t about noise, but structure, rhythm, gloss, sheen, pressure, industry. Thudding kick drums fall over eachother and the whole record sounds like a trip on a an interstellar steam train as taken in 3011. It may not be an accessible dance record, and I have no idea how to make it work in a mix. It all seems to be driven by maths, grime and sweat. A thrill from start to finish.

Andy Stott – Passed Me By / We Stay Together.

Great covers on this pair of EPs. The content is some kind of deconstructed techno-fuzz at the wrong tempo for it to be even considered techno. So what is it? It doesn’t really matter. It exists and it sounds like C3P0 throwing R2D2 against the concrete wall of my estate. What’s not to like?

Death Grips – Exmilitary.

I could almost understand if some reviewer somewhere didn’t include many of my favourite records in their ‘top’ list of 2011, but if they left this off, then they must be some kind of limp moron. Made freely available as a download, this rambunctious rap-punk mix of gluttony and polemic is an absolute must hear for anyone that likes hip-hop and its continued evolution. Basically, if you don’t like this record, you must be racist.

Nils Frahm – Felt.

It’s fair to say that I was thoroughly sickened by this latest release by Frahm. Like Peter Broderick, he is yet another youthful musician that just seems to ooze natural, innate talent.  Felt is so called because he had to dampen the strings of his piano so he didn’t disturb his neighbour – or so the story goes. Regardless, this makes for a fascinatingly intriguing listen – one that reminds me of the Goldberg Variations – not for its content, but for its intimacy. Yes. Intimacy. You don’t often get that from records these days.

Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place.

Breathy, female vocals usually send me running for the hills, but Julianna Barwick‘s gorgeous (yes, gorgeous) Magic Place is quite a different beast. Where is Barwick’s Magic Place? Well, “It was one tree that grew up, down and around. You had to crawl in and once you were inside, it was like there were different rooms, and you could actually lay in the branches. We named it ‘The Magic Place’ because it really was magical—especially for a kid…” Sounds righteous to me. In fact, the record is so bloody lovely, you could almost consider converting to some whacked out religion to ensure you got a daily dose of it.

Machine Head - Unto the Locust.

I admit that this record took me by surprise. I didn’t expect there to be a metal album in 2011 that could be quite as cohesive and consistent as this. Machine Head wear a love of …And Justice For All era Metallica on their blackened sleeves, yet the shredding wah solos and tumbling descending riffs brings A Vulgar Display of Power to mind. The band have come a long way from debut Burn My Eyes, and though traces of that record could still be heard in 2007′s The Blackening, Unto The Locust simply gallops along at a pace that far outstrips anything the band have ever done before. Superb.

Tape - Revelationes

Tape‘s latest is less experimental than their earlier offerings, it is a beautifully accessible album. OK, so the Swedish trio are unlikely to ever create something that will slide alongside releases such as Mogwai‘s currently lauded Hardcore will never die, but you will, but Tape’s music is so warm and homespun, it digs a very special home of its own. A place where others couldn’t tread without coming across as overwrought pirates partial to a bit of emotional blackmail. Y’know…a bit like Mogwai.

Raekwon - Shaolin vs Wu Tang

Maybe it’s just because it’s The Chef, but this – for me – was one of the shining hip-hop releases this year. Though  Danny Brown, Frank Ocean, Elzhi and Death Grips were all slinging decent albums for free across the ‘net, it’s only Shaolin vs Wu Tang that features great guest appearances from fellow Wu members, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck amongst other luminaries in the rap game like Nas and Busta Rhymes. Don’t compare it to Cuban Linx, just relish it for what it is. A banger.

Megafaun - Megafaun.

Beautiful work by this American trio that represents amarked advancement on their previous records. Filled with gorgeous, dropping harmonies and classically inspired progressions that brings The Band to mind, Megafaun are unafraid to wander into awkward instrumental experimentation, and that is one of the many reasons why they fit within the context of a progressive music that doesn’t simply dwell on a nostalgic reaffirmation and glorification of the past.

Deaf Center - Owl Splinters.

Deaf Center‘s ominous and curiously titled Owl Splinters  is just one of many interesting records released on the brilliant Type records this year. So why this record? Well, it’s dark, bowed strings, and dissonant pianos create an intensely broody atmosphere full of discomfort. A crushing record.

Drake - Take Care

When I first heard Drizzy, I wondered why I was listening to an American Craig David look and sound-a-like. But then, digging deeper and I found that Drizzy is capable of delivering far more than that Southampton garage chap. Take Care is emotionally and lyrically rich, with truly subtly nuanced chord progressions. Very clever and thoroughly enjoyable stuff that reveals something true about the artist himself. A rare thing.

Pinch & Shackleton - S/T

I don’t really understand where UK bass music is any more. The entire genre  seems so fractious, that I have a hard enough time keeping up with sub genres, remixes, mixes, producers etc. Nevertheless, this is one record that really stood out amongst all the moody 140bpm shuffling. It’s an album that seems to have a lot in common with the old style of drum n’ bass than any other artist is currently capable of generating, and that includes artists focusing solely on generating drum n’ bass.

A Winged Victory For The Sullen - S/T

Moody, droning pianos eloquently put together without the malice that Tim Hecker somehow manages to muster up. In contrast to Deaf Center and Nils Frahm there is little commonality. A Winged Victory For The Sullen are perhaps more likely to be aligned with the output of the orchestral, cinematic leanings of Max Richter, specifically in reference to Richter’s album, The Blue Notebooks.

And here’s a downloadable vinyl mix of some records I bought between 2010 and 2011.

A vinyl only mix of tunes selected and cut by me at the end of 2011.

Tracklist:

Yu Aku, Kunihiko Suzuki – Zange No Neuchi Mo Nai
Mono/Poly – Needs Deodorant
PJ Harvey – The Last Living Rose
Donato Dozzy – Untitled (track 3)
Ezekiel Honig – Between Bridges
Pye Corner Audio – November Sequence
Mount Kimbie – Before I Move Off
Andy Stott – We Stay Together (part one)
Ricardo Donoso – Baiting Disappointment
Googoosh – Talagh
Elzhi – The Genesis
Mos Dub – Ms. Vampire Booty
Belbury Poly and Moon Wiring Club – Portals and Parallels
Lorn – Automaton
Public Enemy – Sophisticated Bitch
Wildstyle – Gangbusters
Wagon Christ – Intro Funktion
Roots Manuva meets Wrong Tom – Worl’ A Mine
Ernest Ranglin – Ranglin Doddlin’
Dr. Octagon – 3000
Teebs – While You Dooo
John Baker – Omo Ad
Kuedo – Onset (Escapism)
Pinch and Shackleton – Torn & Submerged
Rustie – Hover Traps

http://www.mediafire.com/?x1i4cld9yz7zf1z

This month’s class has already been one of the best I’ve attended. An openness and unity within the group that has previously been absent has magically appeared. Whether that’s because regular class members are gaining a greater understanding of what ‘method’ is, or whether that’s down to more recent, tangible events is up for debate, but there is something more emotional and more challenging in the ether.

On the run up to the UK release of Self Made, I’ve been contacting acting agents in the hope that someone will come and see the film and consider putting me on their books. Sadly, the answer is primarily ‘No’, or – worse still – no acknowledgement at all. I understand that this is all part of industry and being an actor, yet it is also terribly demoralising. So whereas on the one hand, there are the joys of work in the studio – actually finding a place to put that practice to work has become the greatest challenge. It’s not as though I was ever ignorant enough to think this moment wouldn’t come, but it doesn’t change the feelings of rejection.

Sending out each CV pack reminds me of sending out demo CDs to record companies, recalling those follow-up phone calls that usually had a tired exec blunty stating, “Oh I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.” It’s utterly disheartening, and yet I – for one – carry on. I’m no masochist, I don’t particularly enjoy having to sell myself and though there are hundreds of books written to aid the plethora of aspiring actors, the only person that can really make anything happen is the individual. But how? By making creative choices and taking actions that positively inform their work and thus their career. 

But that alone can’t change an industry built for financial wealth and the attainment of a celebrity lifestyle. It’s not like having an acting agent, or even a manager for your band will necessarily change things either. I know plenty of actors that have simply had no work from their agent, desperately seeking work themselves. There has to be a willingness on the individual’s part to take risks in order to bring about the change they seek – and that’s not easy; nor does that  just apply to the arts.

What is success and how do we define it? I feel like a success and failure most of the time. Sometimes I feel like I will never escape the shadow of an office, with moments of creative freedom coming fleetingly in and out of my life. That’s not altogether a bad thing. How many people can expect to live a life fully free of dutiful responsibility, wrapped in a world of their choosing? Few. There isn’t a market for everyone, and that’s a good thing because – somewhat perversely – that gives us our own unique selling point.

Feeling disheartened and full of malcontent is the standard, so it’s getting beyond there where the creative individual can find the space to excel.

“Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man.”

Friedrich Nietzsche.

Yesterday, I was at the London Film Awards to represent Self Made (Sam and Gillian were over in Poland for the New Horizons Film Festival). Self Made didn’t make the shortlist, and Submarine was the eventual victor. It was a fun evening, though, especially as I got to meet the delightful Manjinder Virk and Christine Bottomley from The Arbor (pictured).

Outside a pub in WC2, some time after we’d left the awards, I managed to grab a brief chat with Ken Loach as he made his way home. Understandably, he was a little surprised by my animated approach. A grand night all round.

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