quick post

I’ve missed a load of gigs I wanted to flag because I’m up the walls in prep for the QME gig in DEAF09 this weekend. The QME are performing on the last day of the Dublin Electronic Arts Festival and we’re in the middle of rehearsals at the moment. They’re going really well and after listening to them rehearse Alvin Lucier’s Shadow Lines yesterday I’m really excited about Saturday evening. The performance lasts from 5pm -10pm; drop in at any stage during the evening, there is no obligation to stay for the full 5 hours. The tickets for that gig are on sale at www.tickets.ie from a very reasonable €15/10!

I was very sorry to hear today that this year’s DEAF is going to be the last festival. Organisers Eamonn Doyle and Karen Walsh are gearing up for a big blow-out party on Saturday night to give the festival the send-off it deserves. After eight years running DEAF both Karen and Eamonn have other projects they want to start. It’s a shame that a festival as great as DEAF will come to an end as the organisers move on, but this is the case in a small country such as Ireland where great events are dependent on a few key individuals.

Also – something sweet and non-music related: Temple Bar Chocolate Festival is this weekend!! Yum!

I’m not sure if he’s still doing it but Damien Mulley was putting together a list of interested bloggers to go on the mail out lists of PR company mailouts.

When I originally made the note to blog about the new Tom Waits album you could listen to it for free online. I did. It’s great. Sorry…….

Global Irish Economic Forum Report from the Dept of Education

My DEAF picks

I finally had a chance to have a look through the DEAF programme and these are my picks over the ten days (watch for the plugging!). After I completed the list I realised there is no way I’ll actually get to all these gigs, especially as some of them overlap but if I could bi-locate this is what I would check out

Ongoing:

ATOM: Meditations on the disappearance of the independent record shop, Projector Collective @ Filmbase

Donal Dineen: Mix media installation @ Filmbase

RELAY: Online sound project, Presented by The Model @ Filmbase

Thurs 22 Oct

Messages Sonores: Peter Maybury @ Road Records, 11am – 6pm

Beautiful Unit: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Fri 23 Oct (AKA Spatial Music Collective day!)

Spatial Music Collective: Workshops @ NCH, 2-5pm

Spatial Music Collective: Alvin Lucier’s I am sitting in a room @ NCH, 6.30pm

Spatial Music Collective: 8.5 @ NCH, 8pm

Baby Beef: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Dam Funk (actually I’ll be going just for DJ Kormac): @ Twisted Pepper, 11pm

Sat 24 Oct

Somadrome: Presented by The Model, New Spaces for Music, Location to be announced online, 7pm*

Sun 25 Oct

Roger Doyle: Crash Ensemble @ Project Arts Centre, 7.30pm

Sunday Roast: @ Globe Bar, 8pm

Mon 26 Oct

Yurodny: Presented by Diatribe Recordings @ Button Factory, 7pm

Thurs 29 Oct

Relay Launch: Polly Fibre performance & talk from curator John Lambert @ Filmbase, 6pm

My Heart is in the East: An evening of Sephardic and Persian music @ Smock Alley, 8pm (I caught a similar programme in the Samuel Beckett a few months ago and it was a beautiful performance – check out my post on it here)

Sat 31 Oct

night leaves breathing: Quiet Music Ensemble @ Filmbase, 5-10.30pmpm (plug!!!!)

A Gallimaufry: Mountains @ Douglas Hyde, 2-10pm

*New Spaces for Music details correct at time of posting but are subject to change so keep an eye on DEAF twitter!

The hiatus comes to an end

Upcoming events

(Plug Alert!) On 31 October in Filmbase the Quiet Music Ensemble (QME) present night leaves breathing; their first performance since the launch of the ensemble in July 2008. Prepare yourself for a 5-hour extravaganza of experimental music, sonic environments, uncommon Dreamhouse and drone music as the QME brings DEAF09 to a close. The QME website is under development at the moment so there are a few bugs but there is gig info here and tickets here. The QME will be joined by musician, curator and writer David Toop for an improvisation and the event will conclude with a performance of his work for the QME night leaves breathing.  MySpace & facebook

Kaleidoscope is a new music series curated by musicians Kate Ellis and Clíodhna Ryan. I missed the first night at the beginning of October but will definitely be heading along to the next one on 03 Nov in the Odessa Club. For those of you interested in eclectic performance across all areas of classical music this is definitely one for you.

Ergodos present Smyth/Marshall/Sanders this Wed coming (14 Oct) in the NCH. Info on the gig here and tickets from the NCH website.

Stet Lab in Cork kick off their 2009/2010 series this evening in The Roundy, Castle St. With performance titles such as Folk from Hell and Tuba and Laptop Shenanigans you can be sure this is going to be a very interesting evening of experimental music!

Reviews in brief

Jaki Irvine’s new work Seven Folds in Time is showing now in Temple Bar Gallery & Studios and will continue until 31 October. The piece explores the relationship between music and image and plays on the space that exists around practice and anticipation of performance. I find it resonates specifically with the performer in me, however the positioning of the monitors and the extreme close-up shots of the performers allow viewers with no performance history to enter that space and experience the concentrated state of trance when preparing for some future performance.

I made the trip to Louth on 01 October to experience the unique sounds of the Hilliard Ensemble at their best. Performing their Arhkangelos programme, the ensemble brought the audience on a tour of sacred music across Europe, traversing West to East. I could easily write a long review of the performance but time limits only allow me to link to the review by Philip Hammond. If I miraculously find time in the next few weeks I’ll detail my experience.

Culture notes

The deadline for Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme is less than a month away at this stage. Get your applications in to me before 02 November. More information on the award here, email me on capitalscheme@musicnetwork.ie or call 01 671 9429.

The Journal of Music is unlocking articles for a day at a time – today’s article is an interview with pianist Paul G. Smyth by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly.

There is a forum for experimental music meet-up’s online and the site has a Dublin-based group. At the moment it seems like a space for new arrivals in Ireland to make friends, regardless of their musical leanings, but has the potential to become a good networking site for new music. Keep an eye on it…