Planetary Assault Systems – The Messenger

There’s a shit lot of stuff on in town tonight. An unfortunately huge amount of stuff on, in fact. Maybe it would have been a good idea if all the promoters could have got together at some kind of nice conference thing with free tea and coffee and biscuits out of a big blue tin (Fox’s, natch) and discussed the best weekends for them to all put on their nights, rather than just playing promotion darts with the calendar and all getting double tops in the same go. Not that any of them have done a bad job; please don’t get me wrong. Just that they’ve all done very good jobs at exactly the same time. And it means I can’t go to all of them. Sad face.

To not give particular preference to any of them I’ve decided to list them all and embed a track that has nothing to do with any of them. This may seem irritatingly evasive but I’d prefer to think it should help generate further exploration and a democratic cultural process. Which is a really great thing.

So, here’s the new album from Ostgut Ton’s Planetary Assault Systems. It’s three quarters of an hour of some of the best shifting phases, industrial thuds, malfunctioning displays and bare-boned minimal techno you’re ever likely to hear. Hello weekend.

And as for what’s on, here’s our round-up of the best…

Nail The Cross

Two nights at The Shacklewell Arms put on by the good people over at No Pain In Pop, featuring a stellar line-up that includes Pariah, Nite Jewel, D/R/U/G/S, Sex Worker, Miracle, Echo Lake, Patten, Doldrums, Halls and Holy Strays, as well as assorted DJ sets from the promoters and their friends. Phewph.

Blackest Ever Black

One of the most impressive labels around at the moment (and a huge personal fave) are putting on a showcase night at Baring House, steeping it in deep, dark, gothic dance music. It’s the new black.

Qu Junktions with Magic + Dreams

The pairing of abrasive analogue wizard Ekoplekz and trombonist Bass Clef, Ekoclef, heads the bill at Café Oto tonight, with Pipe Dreams and Some Truths in support.

Upset The Rhythm

The awesome Lucky Dragons will be playing at Space on Mare St, supported by Flamingods.

Oh, and there’s also the Carl Barat DJ set at the Barfly in Camden. ‘LOL’

Image is by Fredrik Söderberg.

Spaghetti Tree

This weekend the Bussey Buildings play host to a stellar lineup of bands, corralled together by the ever-reliable Upset the Rhythm for the inaugural Spaghetti Tree weekender. Combining acts from their own stable with some transatlantic treats, UTR have made it pretty hard to find a better reason to spend the weekend in Peckham, or anywhere else in London for that matter.

The biggest draw of Friday night’s entertainment, and possibly the weekend’s, has to be bespectacled electronic experimentalist and new partner in crime of Francis Ford Coppola, Dan Deacon. The man has a preternatural ability to make a crowd do whatever he deigns; whether it’s inter-audience member grind-offs, synchronized, interpretative dancing or just whipping everyone up into a swirling euphoric mass, there’s few people who command the floor better.

Dan Deacon – Woof Woof

Also playing on the Friday are Bristolians Munch Munch, whose album, Double Visions, came out on UTR’s own label not so long ago. Having missed their last two support slots with Marnie Stern, it will be an absolute pleasure to finally witness these guys in the flesh.

Munch Munch – Wolfman’s Wife

Saturday’s got a couple of big hitters, too. Top of the bill are raucous West Coast two-piece No Age whose take on frantic skate punk should loosen a few collars, limbs and teeth. Or, depending on age, send you, terrified, to the bar.

No Age – Every Artist Needs A Tragedy

Whilst most of the Saturday bands have a pretty rough, punky feel to them, there should be a few moments of quiet, introspective beauty, from the previously featured Ignatz and the consistently wonderful Ducktails.

Ducktails – Deck Observatory

Ducktails – Killin The Vibe feat. Panda Bear

And last up is this fantastic bit of subaqueous weirdo trance from London’s own Peepholes. Should be wonderful.

Peepholes – Carnivore

Ignatz

Upset the Rhythm‘s upcoming Spaghetti Tree weekender at the Bussey Building in Peckham has been a cause for excitement recently, featuring as it does a slew of really excellent acts. We’ll be putting together a more comprehensive preview in the coming weeks, but for now here’s a short showcase of a recent discovery that we’re really looking forward to seeing there: Ignatz.

This solo project of Belgian artist Bram Devens centres on a trad blues scale treated to layers of loops, effects and occasional drum machines to give it a creepy, otherworldly sound, somewhere between Ry Cooder, Mississippi John Hurt,  Suicide and Yellow Swans. It’s psychedelic in an introverted way, singalong in a not-quite-there fashion and old-timey in a totally anachronistic manner. Riven with contradictions, but brilliant for it.

Here’s a short selection we’ve put together to give a feel for his breadth and beauty of output. Hope you enjoy.

Image is by the wonderfully ethereal landscape photographer Misha de Ridder.

Universal Swimsuit

James Ferraro’s playing at Upset The Rhythm’s night at Artch in Bethnal Green this Friday and it looks like it’s gonna be a real doozy. Despite how nigh-on impossible to listen to his recordings as Skaters can sometimes be, there sure is a lot to be found in his extensive output. A couple of his most recent offerings, Night Dolls With Hairspray in particular, have been real faves here. Perfect encapsulations of the cut-n-paste melty scuzz sound that’s been so prevalent in the last couple of years.

However, James Ferraro is well-established, top-of-his-game, can’t-do-wrong-in-the-eyes-of-the-music-blogerati and shouldn’t really need any further introduction. What we’ve found a slightly more enticing proposition in this evening of electronic sludge wizadry is his second support act; London’s own Universal Swimsuit, aka Harry Sanderson, who is described as thus on the UTR blog: “Hundred Adopt Pop Man Quick Break Off Free Extra Rejected Fitting Negative Hack.”

Brilliant.

Here’s a short selection of some of our favourite bits of his stuff. Most of which are available to download from his SC page, HERE.

Gif is taken from Harry’s blog, which you can also see more of here.

Tom

I’m not sure if I like this. It’s so ‘now’ it kind of hurts. Lo-fi scuzz, analogue effects pedals, bad Casio keyboard playing, even worse de-tuned Dalston drumkit playing, Upset The Rhythm fave. Like Trash Kit but with a layer of hypnagogic fuzz over the top of it. Feel like I should probably hate it. But I kind of like it. Ah well.

Playing with Gentle Friendly at the Old Blue Last on 2nd October. Could be a good gig.