Your Skulls

Been a bit quiet around here lately. Real life has gotten so loud of late. Lately I've been concentrating on a new project I've been calling YOUR SKULLS. It's still in the Ambrose Chapel ballpark, just a lot more beat oriented and with different gear.

Check it out:

The Out of Sight OST

One of my favourite films is Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel 'Out of Sight'. It is, by a long margin, J-Lo's best film and one of Clooney's too.

Just remembered today, for some reason, how good David Holmes' original score for this film is. It's a weird mix of gazed out ambient, trip hop beats and 70s exploitation film cheese. And killer bass.

Practicing on the kitchen table.

AXXONN Remix

Late last year I remixed an AXXONN track for a compilation. That comp is now available here. The full track-lisiting is:

1. Let’s Get It Straight – Monster Monster & Saint Surly

2. Let’s Get It Straight – Little Scout

3. Perfekt Acieed – Scott Arford

4. Perfect For Placid – Jonathan Boulet

5. Mash – REStream

6. Let’s Get It Straight – Toy Balloon

7. If I Had A Heart, Fever Ray [AXXONN Remix]

8. Perfect For Acid – The Sea Shall Not Have Them

9. Let’s Get It Straight – Tape/Off

10. Let’s Get It Straight – Ambrose Chapel

My contribution is a bit more musical than some of my other work. I dunno why. It's still pretty long a dense though. It's also the first recording of mine that utilities the drone/doom synth I built for Ableton Live; something I'm still working on but also something I'm not totally in love with at the moment.

Ambrose Chapel from Records: Experimental Sydney on Vimeo.

Wailing Danny Ford's Cassette Project | News

Been a bit quiet on here lately. Spent most of the summer working on new stuff. Gotta bake while the oven's hot. Gotta get while the getting's good. Gotta record shit into Ableton and listen to it over and over again while I still think it's a good/acceptable idea. I'm all about Redwirez impulse responses at the moment.

Doom-hell > Fender Bassman > Ableton > Redwirez Marshall Cab sims = total silence on the out side and total apocalypse rad in the headphones. My neighbours and I have never been so happy with each other.

In other news I just bought this on LP:

NativeKontrol LPC-Live: Launchpad Control to OO

Lately, I've been getting a bit of keyboard RSI type arm ache.

So while something like this looks complex and confusing, I'm definitely interested:

Currently Hearing:

I played a show with Blake Freele from Syndey a few weeks back and liked what I heard. His latest record is available via New Weird Australia's 'New Editions' series and it's pretty great. You can download it via Bandcamp for free/donation.

Currently Reading:

Summer Death Rays

2threads.com put a call out for summer mix tapes and it's been ages since I've put something together. Just be warned regular listeners: this is maximum UNBLEAK and not very metal. This is for BBQing. And Sunday afternoon stocktake.

Summer Death Rays by Ambrose Chapel

Tracklisting:

1. Blood Rainbow by Tim Hecker

2. Happiness Burns by Two Hours Traffic

3. Bright Paper Werewolves (Ambrose Chapel mix)/Lords of Overstock by Guided By Voices (recorded live for John Peel)

4. Hash Pipe by Weezer VS Sun Bear by My Disco

5. Intoxicated Hands (Demo, Ambrose Chapel mix) by Damien Jurado

6. Desire Lines by Deerhunter

7. Fuck Addict by Torche

8. Don't Know About You by Bardo Pond (their new track!)

Thanks to the Altec Lansing folks for the free swag/vibes:

The world will someday get me on some ludicrous pretext; I simply await the day that they drag me to some air-conditioned dungeon and leave me there beneath the florescent lights and sound-proofed ceiling to pay the price for scorning all that they hold dear within their little latex hearts.

–Ignatius J. Reilly

Hell Yes!

Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones is easily one of my favourite songs of all time. It is, as Greil Marcus points out, one of those songs you feel like you hear for the first time every time it plays.

And just when I thought I couldn't be more obsessed by it, someone posted the multi-tracks on the internet. Oh man, it's crazy: everyone is AAA+ wailing on it; especially Watts and Wyman.

Check it out: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/deconstructing_gimme_shelter_listen/

Refractions Nov 2010

Photo by Lucien. Thanks to Emily, UTS and all at Refractions. All of the other acts that played this night were amazing; check out Loopsnake, Blake Freele and Luke Bacon.

Great Photos From The Worst Set I Ever Attempted To Perform

TINA

I'm going to the This Is Not Art Festival this weekend in Newcastle. Pretty excited. I've never been before.

Here's my stuff:

Around The World In 18 Dates 12pm - 1.30pm: Panel, TPI Auditorium.

Facilitator: Chris Hearn (Sound Summit) Participants: Adam Gauci (Curse Ov Dialect), Emily Hasselhoof (Baaddd, Hoofkake), Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel), Millie Millgate (Sounds Australia), Shoeb Ahmad (hellosQuare recordings, Spartak)

The increasing globalisation of the music industry, and the current affordability of long distance travel have made it easier for Australian musicians to export their sounds to an international audience. A well-traveled panel of experts discuss various approaches, the possibilities and the realities of international touring.

---

Instant Expert: Ableton Undead Exploring the Aesthetics of Drone/Doom Metal 4.00pm - 5.00pm: Artist Presentation, Renew Newcastle HQ. Facilitator: Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel).

The affective power and popularity of doom/drone metal can be partly attributed to it’s accessibility. Over the past year Ambrose Chapel (aka Ian Rogers of No Anchor) has explored this aspect of doom/drone, experimenting with and building a variety of software patches to be presented and released at this demonstration.

---

TINA Showcase Gig 7.30pm - 2.00am: Performance, Cambridge Hotel.

Performers: Jason Forrest (USA), Tantrums (Vic), Scattered Order, No Anchor (Qld - that's my band), Geodesic Domes, PA, Chris Cerrito, Cock Safari, Black Math

Premier local, national and international acts from Sound Summit and Electrofringe programs showcased over two nights.

Tickets each night $12 +BF presale / $15 on the door $20 +BF two night festival pass (presale only) from www.moshtix.com, The Cambridge Hotel and 1300 GET TIX.

---

Outside The Square 12pm - 1.30pm: Panel, TPI Auditorium.

Facilitator: Andrew Tuttle (Sound Summit) Participants: Ian Rogers (No Anchor, Ambrose Chapel), Emily Hasselhoof (Baaddd, Hoofkake), Jason Forrest (Cock Rock Disco, Nightshifters, DJ Donna Summer; USA), Stuart Buchanan (New Weird Australia)

The path to success as a rock star/superstar DJ/internationally acclaimed troubadour is littered with contradictory messages as to what and what not to do. Both “old” (write + record + tour +... so on) and “new” (facespace + iTwit + annoy all and sundry) methods of spreading the word about your creative talents seem to be the best way to be heard; however a select group of people manage to forge their own niche by distinctly playing ‘outside the rules’.

Dogs On Swings

The internet is pretty good, yes?

Update:

There's a few things on the boil worth mentioning:

1. I'll be giving an artist presentation at this year's This Is Not Art festival in Newcastle as part of Sound Summit. My workshop will be at 4pm @ Renew Newcastle HQ (3 Thorn St). I'll be mainly talking about doom/drone and Ableton. It's going to be fun and easy-going; you don't need to be a druid or a computer person. I'll also be floating around the festival and popping up on a few panels.
2. My band No Anchor will playing that night as well at The Cambridge Hotel for the TINA showcase. (We're also supporting Zeni Geva on Sept 24th up here in Brisbane = MAXIMUM HELL YES!)
3. I'm working on some new stuff. I think I might put something out soon, something small and easy.
4. I'm going on tour again in November.

That is all.

Thank god.

And satan. And any other associated occult/spiritual forces that guide my hands across the midi-controller.

Currently Reading:

AXXONN Signs!

My friend/ally Tom Hall just signed AXXONN to local Brisbane label Useless Artists. This makes me pretty happy for a few reasons, let me list them:

(a) I used to play in AXXONN and when I decided I couldn't do it anymore, I didn't want the project to end. I just couldn't do it anymore. I haven't heard the completed album but some of it is taken from a sessions Tom and I did on tour in Rotterdam at WORM studios and some of it may even hark back to pre-tour session we did at his house. I've been trying to stay out of it; partly because I like surprises; partly because I think when you leave a band it's important to not be a fucking douche about it. You just gotta get on and let other people get on. Glad Tom got on.

(b) Useless Artists is partially run by Jesse from Fans and I like the guy. I would have signed up with him too. I now think of him as the foster dad of my child, the one I abandoned.

(c) Got pretty loose when the contract was signed:

Currently Reading:

I think my contribution to this is pretty self-evident.

Sodium-Vapour 24.7.2010 from Richard Byers on Vimeo.