Here’s an update on workdesk activities, mostly to remind myself of what I’ve gotta do this month:
The debut album of soundtrack/experimental/instrumental compositions, Let the Darkness at You, released under the guise Panoptique Electrical, will be released by Sensory Projects/Inertia in July. It’s a 75 minute epic! 19 tracks. Exact release date to be announced soon but the album is shaping up very well indeed, with beautiful illustrations by Steve Phillips adorning the sleeve. Various shows and installation/performance events are being planned around Australia throughout the year to support the release too. For updates on these go to www.myspace.com/panoptiqueelectrical - and also listen to tracks from the album there.
There’s also an incredible 2CD compilation celebrating the 50th release on Sensory Projects coming out this month called Tingling Cheeks are Love (which is actually the name of the Panoptique Electrical track which features on the compilation). There is also an exclusive, unreleased track by Pretty Boy Crossover called In Rectangles kicking of the first CD. But it certainly will be one of those ‘must have’ compilations, featuring every artist ever released thus far on Sensory Projects and more…and is a 2 hour journey of some of the finest music released on my favourite Australian label, naturally. Visit www.myspace.com/sensoryprojects for more info.
Another debut album scheduled for later in the year is my electro-pop collaboration with Harry Whizkid, otherwise known as School of Two. I keep thinking of it as an ‘angular’ pop project but there are certainly many hooks and twists and odd intersections and even some dance-ability. The album will be called The Right Way to Say the Wrong Thing and will be released by Feral Media. Harry and I are still working on finishing touches to tracks but we’re not far off now. I might even put up an mp3 download on www.schooloftwo.com in the near-ish future. We plan to make some nice pop video promos too. And hopefully gigs.
And finally, a little more news from Pretty Boy Crossover… Well, Cailan and I began a few new sound sketches a couple of weeks back in Melbourne but I reckon our next album is a way off yet. However, we’re going for some new approaches, still incorporating the hunch-style beats and sweeney-esque guitar, but we’ve been listening to Stereolab’s Peng album again and well…it’s been giving us ideas. We do however have a remix appearing on Underlapper’s Red Spring Remixes due for release on Feral Media at the end of July. There’s also a couple of Pretty Boy Crossover tracks appearing in a new short film called Parallel Actions by Kath and Liz Dooley to be screened in August as part of the SALA (South Australian Living Artists) Festival in Adelaide too. I’m sure that will also be youtube viewable so will post that when it becomes available.
Apart from that, I’m also setting up a new space for recording and ‘administrivia’ at HQ Studios in Adelaide. Keep an eye on activities there by clicking on www.hq-studio.com - it’s a great studio/performance space, micro-cinema and gallery so make sure you have a look at the calendar on the website to see what’s happening there.
May you enjoy May.
http://www.myspace.com/panoptiqueelectrical
I’ve made a myspace page for my studio + performance project Panoptique Electrical (the name of my mobile recording unit since 1995).
Panoptique Electrical is both an experimental studio project and instrumentalist collaboration with electronic and classical musicians.
The material on this myspace page precedes an album of a decade of collected works “Let the Darkness at You” (1998-2008) which will be released mid 2008 on Australian label, Sensory Projects.
I wrote story #1000 for Barbara Campbell’s 1001 Nights Cast project (see entry below).
As this was the second to last piece for the project, the directive was to work with previous entries from the project. I decided to approach it like a ‘remix’ and work with 20 different stories that were threaded by the tags of ‘celebrations’, ’sound’ and ‘music’.
This what I came up with: http://1001.net.au/Prompt/2677
Tomorrow night (17 March) the final performance at http://1001.net.au
Over the past couple of years I have been writing for Barbara Campbell’s incredible durational online performance project, 1001 Nights Cast.
http://1001.net.au
Each morning Barbara reads journalists’ reports covering events in the Middle East. She selects a prompt word or phrase that leaps from the page with generative potential. She renders the prompt in watercolour and posts it in its new pictorial form on the website. Participants write a story using that day’s prompt in a submission of up to 1001 words.
This project began on 21 June 2005 from Paris - the story was “The challenge of healing”. The project concludes tomorrow night (17 March 2008) with a live performance webcast from Performance Space, Carriageworks, Sydney NSW (Australia).
I have contributed about 9 stories since early 2006 and archived: http://1001.net.au/cgi-bin/isengine?action=getXML&target=results&o=1001&style=field_number&category=performance&template_type=search&noauto=true&sort=number&offset=75&limit=25&sortorder=321&period=&field=time&ss_contributor=Jason+Sweeney&dd=&mm=&yyyy=&ss_thread=
It has been amazing to be part of this project and I hope to spend some more time reflecting upon it, my own contributions and the work of Barbara Campbell.
“Your Cassette Pet” - 555 cassette compilation
A track by School of Two (Jason Sweeney & Harry Whizkid), “Party Line”, is included on this amazing compilation released by the legendary 555 label. Available via paypal from http://www.myspace.com/555recordingsofflagstaffaz
555CS79 YOUR CASSETTE PET 32 track 94 minute compilation CASSETTE, booklet and button badge $5 Simpy stunning! Feat:- Akina Kawauchi (Kanda), Ashtray Boy, School Of Two, Hulaboy, Saradon, Mia Schoen Group, Lazy Stripper, Bad Animal, Que Possum, Mytty Archer, Stick Insect, Shout The Tiger, Mint Car, Fellows (ex-Plastic Mastery), Like Chandeliers, The Faintest Ideas, Powerful Owl (Huon), Tracey Read, Arland Nicewander (Kanda), The Cannanes, Dr Konig Arthus, Flywheel, Boyracer, Green Apple Sea, Goto80, The Hundred Thousand Fireflies, New Estate, The Young Untold, Forest Giants, The Declining Winter (hood), Beatnik Filmstars, and The Grey Tapes. The greatest compilation you will ever own.
Luxury Gap - a collaboration between Jason Sweeney and Nicole Lowrey - will be presenting a live screening & performance of new experimental sound and video work made recently in Melbourne. Supporting Nik Skeltys new project, The Jilted Brides.
Where: Glitch Cinema - St Georges Road, Nth Fitzroy, Melbourne.
When: Friday 11 April 2008.
http://www.myspace.com/luxurygap
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Symbiosis podcast
Online – Monday 25 February
This is a half hour set of new material, partly pre-recorded/remixed and improvised by Pretty Boy Crossover. The podcast is the new online radio show for Simon Hampson, post RRR. The podcast will be available for download at http://overlap.org/tag/symbiosis/podcast
Studio 5 Live - PBS 106.7 FM
Live set – Thursday 20 March – 5-7pm
Both live on radio and webcast via http://www.pbsfm.org.au - Pretty Boy Crossover perform a full live-to-air set of new material uninterrupted and then follow up with an interview with Gus.
It Rains Today (mp3 download)
A piece of music made in the memory of an artistic collaborator, Tanja Liedtke.
In the Melbourne basement at the moment working on the Ladykillers web project, Based on a True Story - a public submission website where people can post stories, memories, images, sounds etc about the subject of Fathers. Big topic! Will post the website details when it’s all ready to go live.
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