STEVE DAVIS - founder of SSD Concerts - Q & A interview - Part 2

In part two of our Q & A interview with Steve Davis we touch on some of the more contentious issues surrounding the man and his gig promotions.


NE:MM: Why did Think Tank? move from Hoult’s Yard to Digital?

Steve: It’s hard to comment on this really but it was the best option for all concerned. The small shows out there suffered. Nobody want to drive out of town on a Tuesday night in the rain to see emerging bands. It has to be accessible in the city centre to work.

NE:MM: What is the current set-up - you use a mix of venues still or Think Tank? and Riverside as home?

Steve: Think Tank? and Riverside are home but we still use The Academy for big shows, The Head of Steam a lot because we love it, The Uni’s, sometimes along with the Gerogian Theatre in Stockton, Leeds Brudenell, York Fibbers, Factory in Manchester and more.

NE:MM: How did the Riverside deal come about?

Steve: The company that owned it went into administration and a close friend got Riverside. The set up there is now the best in the region for that capacity. We have some amazing unannounced shows to go in their its super exciting for all of us.


NE:MM: Why do you think Riverside is important for the city and the music scene?

Steve: Riverside is vital and I believe will bring around a new scene for the quayside; its perfect down there. The pre-bars, the parking, the setting, the hotels for bands etc, this will be the main venue in the city by September. Nobody’s favourite gig was in a 2000 cap space, seeing bands with 600 others is where the atmosphere is. Where the bands main hardcore fans are there and additional people find it hard to get a ticket. It’s got soul that building, the bands love it.

NE:MM: What future TT and Riverside gigs have you got lined up? (can you give us one exclusive announcement as a headline?)

Steve: Haha I would love to let you all in on the holds we have in the diary but can’t, but by the end of June that venue will be firmly on the map. 

NE:MM: Bigger than Interpol and Courtney Love? There were rumours of you trying to get Prince!!??

Steve: Yeah believe it or not the Prince story had some truth behind it, they wanted some warm ups for the London shows last time around, they wanted warehouses and asked about Hoults, then we didn’t hear further! And yes bigger than Interpol and Courtney Love.


NE:MM: How did the Courtney Love booking happen?

Steve: We just got offered it as an additional show to her tour when the agent heard how well the Interpol show went. I will definitely be repping that one, it’ll be great to meet her and find out what she’s like, that’s an exciting weekend for us as we have Frankie and the Heartstings the night after too.

NE:MM: Do you have any further expansion plans?

Steve: Yeah always looking to move forward, I‘d like to do more grass roots stuff but I’ll tell you more about that on another day. SSD local will be something we launch in the winter of this year in local bars etc. we also have Cult Festival to announce for August.


NE:MM: You use a few regular bands as local supports - Lisbon, Gallery Circus - are you involved in managing them at all? Any others on your roster?

Steve: Yeah we officially manage Lisbon and Gallery Circus, both are flying at the minute. Gallery Circus will be one of the bands to watch this year, they are on just about every festival in the UK the next single is something else. Lisbon ... well just wait and see where those guys go, Lisbon are going straight to the top, amazing bunch of guys, amazing tracks. This is why we got into this whole thing in the first place to try and help guys like these.


NE:MM: Some final questions - about how people perceive you
 

He's impossible to pin down / get hold of ...

Steve: Anyone who worked in a professional role who ran 2 venues, 1 promo company, managed 2 bands and had 2 small children would be hard to pin down. I tend to stay off the phone now as it wastes a lot of time, everyone who emails me gets a response.


NE:MM: He does too much. If he did 50% of the stuff he'd be able to do a more thorough job of promoting the gigs he does ...

Steve: If I did 50% there’d be a chance 50% of the bands you all want to see would come to this city, and if I did 50% I wouldn’t be giving my all. I don’t agree with that comment anymore, maybe in the past when we had the issues of Hoults to address but now we are a well oiled machine and have an ace team behind us.

STEVE DAVIS - founder of SSD Concerts - Q & A interview - Part 1

To say that Steve Davis is a controversial figure in the local music scene would perhaps be going too far but he certainly has his supporters and his detractors. Some accuse him of trying to accomplish too much with the result being that sometimes an apparent failure to pay attention to detail can lead to disappointment. Others say that without him the local live music scene would be a far less interesting and busy one. Either way you look at it, Steve Davis is someone who is worthy of our attention and so we caught up with him recently to ask some of those questions on everyone’s lips.

NE:MM: What was your motivation to start promoting live music events?

Steve: I have always been a huge music fan and although I can play guitar this whole thing probably started from me having the want to be a rockstar. I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen so the music side mixed with my desire to earn £ led me to promoting shows. To this day there is still nothing like the thrill of securing a big show.

NE:MM: You began as Gigs North East. When and how did it all begin and what will become of Gigs North East following the foundation of SSD Concerts? 

Steve: Gigs North East, although it was founded 10 years ago still hasn’t launched in full. It’s an exciting year for this project and there will be lots to come from it in the very near future. When I started promoting it was going to be the company promo name but we quickly started doing shows outside the region so it was shelved. The long term plan for it is great and it will be a platform and source of information for bands/promoters venues etc starting in the summer of 2014. Gigs North East will be self financed as it will stand on its own two feet due to several income streams it will develop. Generator have helped a lot with the initial stages and putting the website together. It will have an instant impact on the regions ticketing for live shows.

NE:MM: When and why did you form SSD Concerts?

Steve: SSD was formed 10 years ago or more now I wish I kept the date and our first show written down so we could tack it and have annual birthdays etc but at the start it was more of a fun thing, we didn’t know where it was going back then so everything was just thrown together and off we went. We were going to be Gigs North East but that name limits us to this region so it became SSD Concerts. It was going to be a consortium of people whose initials spell SSD but they backed out at the last minute and I had already had the logo designed so I just kept that name. It doesn’t really mean anything now the name, although people think its my initials. My Initials are actually SAD, so luckily we aren’t called SAD concerts or we’d have to put on acoustic gigs every night to make it fit : ).


NE:MM: How is SSD Concerts run?

Steve: I run it and have a small team of people I can rely on to help run the shows. I am a radiographic practitioner at a hospital for most of the week so can’t do everything myself. We’ve put on at least 1,000 shows but I can’t tell you exactly how many. 

NE:MM: You’ve had some big bands who must demand large fees. How do you manage to avoid huge losses?

Steve: By sending the right offer for each band, it is easy to offer the earth for most bands but most of the time you would be surprised what they actually get paid. I look at each artist as a long term relationship, you never make money on the first show you do with most emerging artists. I tend to look at each artist as a 5 show relationship you will lose on the first 2 but make on the last three. Its getting harder now though as artists are getting catapulted from the bottom to the top in 5 minutes nowadays, so by the time we have lost on the first two shows Zane Lowe has blasted them to stardom and the big boys like SJM and Kilimanjiro have taken them off us.

In part 2 of the interview we ask Steve about why Think Tank? moved from Hoult’s Yard to Digital, how the Riverside deal came about, Interpol, Courtney Love, Prince rumours, what plans he has for the future and his response to criticisms about his style of promoting. 

LIVE AT LEEDS FESTIVAL 2014 - Special Preview

Live at Leeds is in its eighth year and after 2013’s event boasted appearances from the likes of Everything Everything, AlunaGeorge, Rudimental, Laura Mvula, Pigeon Detectives, Peace, The Staves, Savages, it’ll have to go some this time around to match last May’s festival. Taking place across various venues in Leeds over the May Bank Holiday weekend v.2014’s line-up hasn’t quite the same level of ‘headliners’ but we think that there’s plenty of strength in depth which is worthy of special consideration, so here is our guide to those lesser known bands and artists on the Saturday ‘wristband event’ schedule.

  BLAENAVON at Nation of Shopkeepers 1.00pm
We were alerted to this three man band from Hampshire    over 2 years ago by the excellent ‘Crack In The Road’ online blog and have been eagerly awaiting the chance to catch the precocious teenagers ever since. Though still at school (!) they’ve crafted some beautiful indie rock befitting experienced veterans and have drawn comparisons to early Wild Beasts. We reckon they’re pretty special.


  THE WITCH HUNT at Leeds Uni ‘Stylus’ 2.00pm

Fans of The Kills need to check out this Leeds trio, formed around heavy guitar licks and the piercing vocal talent of lead singer Louisa Osborn. Live at Leeds has a habit of supporting local bands and here’s a great example of that ethos paying dividends for wristband purchasers because this is a band who have grown enormously as a live act over the last year or so and seem ready to stake a claim for serious recognition. If we were  label A&R scouts we’d be at this one. 

 THE MEXANINES at The Cockpit 3.00pm

Back in the summer of 2011 we saw a Bradford 3 piece on the BBC Introducing Stage at Leeds Festival. They were one of the highlights of a weekend that included Elbow and Interpol, despite their youthfulness and relative inexperience. The band played a kind of blues infused indie rock, the blues element largely emanating from the rich lead vocal of James Brander. They’ve since added keys and sax to their sound and we’re looking forward to hearing how they’ve developed. When we caught up with James recently he was looking forward to LAL. “We are really excited to be playing at this years live at Leeds festival! We are very lucky to have landed a great spot at the cockpit this time around and if it's anything like the last time we played we know it's gonna go off big style!”


 LYLA FOY at Leeds College of Music 3.30pm
You may know Lyla Foy by her previous moniker ‘WALL’ but she reverted to her own name recently before signing to label Sub Pop for the release of her beautiful debut album ‘Mirrors The Sky’. Lyla deals in simple, minimalist and melodic pop. Leeds College of Music could be the place to stop off if you’re looking for a relaxing break in the middle of a hectic schedule. 

 GALLERY CIRCUS at The Packhorse 5.00pm

North Easterners need no telling about the identical twins who make a bigger racket than many full bands. The twins are energetic and engaging performers armed with killer hooks and soaring vocals. One half of the ‘anti-garage’ duo Graeme Ross can’t wait to play the festival: “I think the line-up looks great this year and we're delighted to be playing. It will be our first show in the city and couldn't have asked for a better one. We will be playing some new material and our new single Club house killer will be released in the same month.”

  GAMBLES at Holy Trinity Church 5.00pm
If you’re younger than 50 this is the closest you’ll ever get to seeing and hearing Bob Dylan in his prime. Actually, that’s a bit of a disservice to Matthew Daniel Siskin whose simple songs with beautifully crafted lyrics deserve to be appreciated on their own merits. We’ve been tracking his progress from the off in late 2012 and he’s possibly the artist we’re most looking forward to catching at the festival. Thumbs up to the organisers for putting him on in such a beautiful setting. We predict he’ll have many more disciples after the May Bank Holiday weekend. 

EVA STONE at The Cockpit Bar 6.30pm

The one thing all of our featured artists have in common it seems is a precocious talent and 22 year old Eva is possibly the best example of this, singing with a mature, smokey, bluesy voice of situations that you’d swear she could have no personal experience, except for the fact that her delivery is so authentic. A native of the North East she recently headed to the Capital where she found new management and a new impetus. The future looks bright for this talented young singer/songwriter. 

As an addendum we’d suggest for an authentic Leeds indie experience you check out local favourites THE WIND-UP BIRDS at a fringe event at Milo’s. The band take the stage at 11pm we understand. Their debut album ‘The Land’ was one of our favourites of 2012 and we hear good things about the soon to be released follow-up.


As if that wasn’t enough there’s some great bands and artists of greater repute playing this year’s Live At Leeds, our pick of which would be THE HOLD STEADY, YUCK, GEORGE EZRA, MARICKA HACKMAN, LANTERNS ON THE LAKE and ROYAL BLOOD.


On the night preceding the Saturday wristband event there’s also BLOOD RED SHOES playing The Cockpit and following the release of their brilliant new album we’d recommend catching that if possible. 

Words: Russell Poad

Photos: Daniel Robson (The Witch Hunt & Gallery Circus)

Photo: Caroline Briggs (Eva Stone)

SPECIAL GIG PREVIEW (part 2 of 2) NE:MM PRESENTS ......

We're branching out into live music promotion this week - here are the details:

FRIDAY 28th March 2014   at   THE CLUNY 2, Newcastle

POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS 

On the road to promote their blistering debut album Pink Fur, don't miss the chance to see this band in an intimate venue while you still have the chance.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PWGGTV

TISSUE CULTURE 

The perfect support for this gig and a local indie rock band that never stop improving. It's only a matter fo time before they're 'discovered' so get ahead of the crowd and don't miss their set. 

Doors 8pm

Stage times - 

Tissue Culture 8-30pm

Post War Glamour Girls 9-30pm

Tickets available here until 4pm on Thursday 27th March. http://www.wegottickets.com/event/260797#.UzBXmxwaWkI

Tickets also available on the door.  

SPECIAL GIG PREVIEW (part 1 of 2) NE:MM PRESENTS ......

 

We're branching out into live music promotion this week - here are the details:

THURSDAY 27th March 2014   at   THE CLUNY, Newcastle

As part of our ongoing fundraising efforts we're putting on EIGHT great local artists/bands for a mere £5 entry. 

This is only possible due to the generosity of the performers who are giving their time for free, and the venue. We'd like to place on record our gratitude. 

7-05-7-20

The Unreliable Narrator  
https://soundcloud.com/the-unreliable-narrator
Singer/songwriter Chris Whiting has a unique style of performing, often utilising different vocal styles within his clever, witty and original songs. He'll be joined by a new collaborator, his sister Ruth, for this gig. 

7-30-7-50

Paige Temperley & Allan Hyslop
https://soundcloud.com/paige-temperley/paige-temperley-allan-hyslop
These two were made to sing together. Paige is known for her sweet and charming vocal style as well as her fine songwriting, both of which she now employs within the popular group Oursleves & Us. Allan is lead singer and songwriter for upcoming band Kosoti and was formerly lead in James Allan & Co. 

8-00-8-20

The Shooting Of...
https://soundcloud.com/theshootingof
Paul Jeans has been around the local music scene for some time in various guises (most notably perhaps Jeans Goes Pop and The Lindsay Tin) and his latest project gives him the chance to show off his songwriting craft and musicianship to the max.

8-30-8-50

Gem Andrews
https://soundcloud.com/gem-andrews
I read somewhere that Gem sings 'dark country ballads' and whilst that's true, it misses out the fact that she has a voice reminiscent of K D Lang. A fantastic and underrated talent. 

9-00-920

What We Call Progress
http://whatwecallprogress.bandcamp.com/
John Pattison and David Young wouldn't be out of place as members of Radiohead. The music may be synth-based but there's nothing synthetic about the emotion in John's voice. They've some new songs to showcase at the gig. 

9-30-9-50
Meghann Clancy
https://soundcloud.com/meghannclancy
Despite her young age Meghann has been a stalwart of the local folk/acoustic scene for some time and is known for her delicate and beautiful songs and vocal talent. 

10-00-10-20 
Peculiar Disco Moves
https://soundcloud.com/peculiar-disco-moves
The North East's most quirky, fun band. Like Ben Folds Five with a sense of humour. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

10-30-11-00
So What Robot
http://www.sowhatrobot.com/
There's no better way to finish off a night like this than with the cheerful guitar pop of So What Robot. Great guys, great tunes, great musicianship, great entertainment. 



You can buy tickets in advance here - up until 6pm on Wednesday 26th March. http://www.wegottickets.com/event/260798#.UzBU5RwaWkI

There will also be tickets on the door. 

THE RICH MORTON SOUND - The Sequel That Never Was

Once in a blue moon an album appears that’s so clever, so knowing, so accurately aimed at its intended target that it shouts out to be heard.

So authentic is The Sequel That Never Was by The Rich Morton Sound that if you found a vinyl copy (sadly it’s not available on vinyl – sorry to raise your collective hopes) in your local vinyl emporium, took it home and popped it onto your groovy 1970s ‘music centre’, you’d be convinced that you’d found a real album of lost film and TV themes from the ‘60s and ‘70s. 

What the album actually contains is real music for imagined sequels, prequels to, and TV spin-offs from, iconic films and TV shows. So for example you can marvel to ‘Go Continental’ and ‘Game On’ from The Britannia Job (the sequel to…you’ve guessed it…The Italian Job), thrill to the wonderful ‘Blue Rendezvous’ and ‘Come Lounge With Me’ from the 1970 sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair, Crown the King of Thieves, and lie back and enjoy the magnificent ‘In Camera’ and ‘The Dead Drop’ from Close Up, the imagined 1968 sequel to the 1966 cinematic classic, Blow Up.

It’s an album that sounds fantastic, and it is never better than on ‘Life is a Carousel’ (from Charades, the follow up to Carousel) with wonderfully atmospheric Swingle Singers ‘dabba dabba dah’ style vocal backing and Jazz Flute breaks of which the legendary Ron Burgundy himself would be justifiably proud and on ‘Daylight Rodeo’, which takes its lead from John Barry’s atmospheric downbeat theme to Midnight Cowboy and flips it over to create a gloriously upbeat theme to its imagined TV spin-off.

And if this hasn’t made every film soundtrack buff purr with delight, there’s even more to whip you up into a state of frenzy. The CD insert contains plot synopses AND suggested cast lists for these little beauties. The attention to detail is superb, for example the 1974 TV spin-off to the aforementioned Midnight Cowboy stars David Soul, Henry Winkler, Loretta Swit and Danny DeVito (as Leo Pirelli, ‘sleaze merchant’). Broadway Annie Rose (sequel to Annie Hall and prequel to Broadway Danny Rose) stars, along with the inevitable Woody Allen, Olivia Hussey, Carrie Fisher and the recently departed comedy genius Harold Ramis, billed simply as ‘Heckler’. Get Young Carter, the 1977 prequel to Get Carter boasts an amazing imagined cast including Malcolm McDowell, Dennis Waterman, with a supporting cast that includes Warren Clarke (unsurprisingly filling the role of Beefy, ‘a rival thug’) and Phil Davis (as J, ‘a darts player’).

But the most inspired casting of all is to be found in the talent list for Mr Benn – The Movie. Mr Benn (Peter Sellers), donning the gadget-laden dinner jacket of Secret Agent 52, travels to The Republic of Panagua in Central America, where with the help of Sancho (Andrew Sachs) and undercover American agent Virginia Langley (Raquel Welch), he thwarts the villain (Christopher Lee) just as the shopkeeper appears to let him know that it’s time to return to Festive Road. The shopkeeper, of course, is played by Arthur Lowe. 

Words: Neil Pace

EVOLUTION EMERGING 2014 - applications now being accepted

Generator NE are again looking for the best emerging North East talent to play this year’s Evolution Emerging - their takeover of venues in the Ouseburn Valley on Saturday 24th May.

They’re asking regional bands and solo artists (from any genre) to apply to play this year's event.

Evolution Emerging will see more than 25 emerging artists playing alongside special guest headliners and artists unearthed through their Tipping Point blog.

You have until Friday 7th February to apply. All you have to do to is submit your track via http://www.generator.org.uk/evolutionemerging

Joe Frankland, Artist Development Manager at Generator says:
“We’re all really proud that Evolution Emerging has given an early platform to a massive number of the North East’s biggest artists - Lulu James, Mausi, Lanterns on the Lake, The Lake Poets, Beth Jeans Houghton, We Are Knuckle Dragger, Eva Stone and Boy Jumps Ship to name but a few - so there really is no better opportunity to get noticed and we encourage any artist in the region to get involved – don’t miss out!”

Evolution Emerging is supported by Arts Council England, ERDF and PRS for Music Foundation.

Laura McBeth's Life Through Music Lists - January

Top Five Buys 2013

I don’t really buy music. I know. I’m sorry. I pay for Spotify – that’s probably worse isn’t it? I just don’t have a need to ‘own’ music, I’m quite happy to pay my fee to Spotify and borrow it. I will, and do, pay actual money to go to gigs and that’s how I support the artists I like. It is rare that I feel compelled to possess and album, but it happens and as is the fashion, here is a list of those I’ve bought and loved in 2013:

• Queens & Kings by Fanfare Ciocarlia (2007)

I’ve long since been a lover of Romany, from the more traditional Klezmer through to the modern interpretations from the likes of Balkan Beat Box or The Lemon Bucket Orchestra through to the Western adaptations a la Beirut.

This album came out waaaaay back in 2007 but completely passed me by (I can only assume I was in the midst of my ‘boys in skinny jeans’ phase and did not have a window for brass in amongst the aural-neon that was Myths of the Near Future), but I heard Cerys Matthews on Radio 4 talking about her musical influences, citing Queens & Kings as a “must-listen” and so I did and then bought this album. It’s been one of my favourite things to listen to in 2013.

• Acousmatic Sorcery by Willis Earl Beal (2012)

This album is magical. 

I first heard ‘Evening’s Kiss’ in around March time (though the album was released in 2012) and adored it. The rest of the album is equally as loveable; a lo-fi bluesey, folksy, surreal and enchanting melting pot of ideas and influences. It feels almost unfinished and as though you were never meant to hear it, like you’ve stumbled across his secret. 

When I was a kid, my parents had a book of the supernatural and the paranormal. It was squirreled away, high up on the bookshelf, away from curious eyes, but whenever I could sneak a glance, I’d immediately turn to chapter showing grainy, black and white pictures of imps, fairies and elves… this album, to me, is that chapter.

• Arc by Everything Everything (2013)

I did not get Man Alive, Everything Everything’s first offering album-wise. I spent four weeks traveling across America that year and I can honestly say, hand on heart, I gave it a bloody good going over, but the whole thing just jarred. I wonder, if perhaps their song-titling may have put them on the back-foot with me; as a staunch objector to abbreviations ‘MY KZ, UR BF’ (WTF?) for example, well, it was never going to impress.

Needless to say then, I wasn’t expecting much from Arc. Well, I was wrong…to quote a great man “when I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.” It is a triumph. It is eminently listenable, incredibly tight and focussed – there is nothing there (instrument, vocals, composition) that doesn’t need to be there - in stark contrast to the first album when EVERYTHING was everywhere.

It’s been my anthemic soundtrack of the year and can say, with some authority, that on a three hour and forty five minute train journey from Birmingham to Newcastle, you can listen to Arc 4.7 times and not get bored. 

• Immunity by Jon Hopkins (2013)

To my shame, I didn’t truly appreciate Jon Hopkins until I saw him live at The xx Day & Night gig/field-day/festival ‘thing’ in June 2013. 

I once knew a charming man, who would extoll the virtues of Hopkins and his wondrously skilful commandment of the electronica genre on an almost daily basis. And it made little to no impression on me, until I saw ‘Open Eye Signal’ live and it blew me away. He was by far and away the best performer I saw that day, in a line-up that included The xx, Solange, Polica (who were an incredible disappointment, by the way) Mount Kimbie, Sampha and London Grammar.

Immunity is bolder than the ambient Hopkins I remember the Charming Man introducing me to, and I like that. It makes an impression and reverberates right through you, even the mellower tracks (‘Abandon Window’, for example) demand your attention and thought.  

• Comedown Machine by The Strokes (2013)

I couldn’t not buy this album, of course. The Strokes are my coming of age band. If Nat Faxon and Jim Rash were to write a film of my awkward teenage years, there’s no doubt The Strokes would soundtrack it. ‘Someday’ for the heady summer romances, ‘Ask Me Anything’ for my petulant teenage apathy, ‘Last Nite’ because I’m gloriously drunk at a house party. I’ve basically just written it myself.

So, to Comedown Machine, the fifth and frankly terrifying release from Casablancas and the boys. Terrifying, why? Because, album one was a (perhaps unmatchable) game-changing triumph, album two continued in the same vein and in it we revelled, oh how we revelled. Album three, *sucks air through teeth* we were divided, but persevered because loyalty dictates as much. Album four, we were sad, there had been solo projects, it wasn’t the same, it didn’t sound the same and it didn’t feel the same. Had we changed? Had they? Were we too old now? Had the time passed? Were they going to become the Paul McCartney of their era? 

It could be said that fans of The Strokes are to music what England fans are to football. Maybe this year’ll be The Year, maybe this tournament, maybe this album, maybe this match, maybe this song. Do we hope for something that is perpetually out of reach?

Comedown Machine is not ‘our year’, there’s no revolution here, certainly not comparable to the monumental releases of Is This It? (2001) and Room on Fire (2003). But neither is it a disappointment. It’s The Strokes, it is more “The Strokes” than Angles (2011) was and if you listen to ‘50/50’ with your eyes-closed, you could almost be back in 2002. 

DAVID WALA - A A D Photography Exhibition - Cluny, Newcastle - 6th November 2013 - January 2014

It’s the participatory element of David Wala’s latest exhibition titled A A D (I’ll come back to that title later) that sets this collection of portraits apart.

Rather than documenting the local music scene, Wala has taken his work in a different direction by handing over creative control to those who are typically his subject matter and in doing so has prompted questions surrounding authority, ownership and the role of participatory art within photography.

The methodology for A A D is simple; Wala sets up a Hasselbald (analogue) medium format camera and an old-style squeeze ball shutter release that he places in the hands of his subject. It’s up to them, the subject, to take the shot.

A A D stands for Analogue (the  type  of  camera  used)  Analogue  (the  film  used)  and  Digital  (the  printing process), and it is also the abbreviation that is found on the back of most CDs. If you have used an analogue camera you will resonate with that laborious process of setting up a shot – which is so far removed from digital photography it’s unreal. With analogue you feel like you HAVE to get every shot right because your limit is dictated to you by a roll of film you have wedged in the back of your camera. Every click of the shutter is precious because it’s counting down to your last shot.

Wala has taken what is normally a very controlled process where the artist dictates the outcome and flipped it on its head and this is where it gets interesting. Relinquishing creative control regarding when the shutter button is released to the subjects themselves puts the subject in a position of power regarding how their image is captured and in turn this amplifies the personalities of those in the portrait. Wala also includes the contact sheets in the exhibition itself, allowing the audience to see which shot was selected from the entire roll of film the subjects had to play with. Again this emphasises the individual personalities of the subjects.

I suppose this is what I most enjoyed because it reminded me that these subjects were real people, real musicians in real bands and you start to see the beauty in human error – the blurred shot, the unexpected shot. Then you encounter the subjects who get creative and bring in props to create scenes and you see the beginnings of a narrative or dialogue between the subjects coming through.

You get a definite sense of playfulness from this collection, which is emphasized because the subjects lack inhibition when placed in a position of authority – they don’t have palpitations over out of focus shots or whether this is ill-lit scene and they’ve only got 7 shots left over - it’s all trial and error and the fun of releasing the shutter to the surprise of someone who said they “weren’t ready, so why did you take the photo?? – I can hear the conversations that went on. With these portraits Wala and his subjects have rekindled is a sense of play that so many of us seem to lose touch with. Thankfully there is no pressure here, this is just a massive experiment in social interaction and human creativity in celebration of the joy of the human touch.

Words: Frances McKenna

Picture: David Wala (Howler pictured)

David Wala has a Kickstarter campaign which offers some unique rewards, including the camera

and shutter release used for most of this project. Visit the page for more information and

a video explaining the project:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidwala/a-a-d-photography-exhibition

*NEW MONTHLY FEATURE* Laura McBeth's 'Life Through Music'

Life through Lists Music

My First...

I'm not an authority on music, I'm leading with that. I'm not even an authority on lists. But I do like them (click here for proof) and I do like music (click here for even more proof). So, if I set your expectations there, this should work out.

As this is my first list for NE:MM, and never one to ignore the writers life-raft better known as a 'theme', this is my list of music-based firsts...


1. The First Song I Heard

‘Caravan of Love’ ~ Housemartins

I’m exercising a bit of artistic license with ‘first heard’; this came out at the tail end of 1986, at which time, I was two years old. Undoubtedly, I’d heard other songs before then, but this is the first one I remember hearing, and the one that my family mercilessly bring up in the presence of any man I’ve ever introduced them to.

I still quite like this song, but none of the other stuff by the Housemartins. I am marginally comforted by band member Norman Cook who eventually, released from his cocoon became Fat Boy Slim, who was pretty influential in my music tastes as I grew older, but this is soured by other band members forming The Beautiful South; a group that would certainly be top of my “cannot, will not, listen to” list.

2. The First Band I Loved

The Strokes

Before The Strokes, there was Nirvana, The Prodigy, No Doubt, Stereophonics, Ocean Colour Scene, Oasis – loads of bands, that I thought I loved. But it wasn’t a true, enduring love.

The Strokes were the first band that I adored, completely unencumbered by friend’s opinions or peer pressure… peer pressure is what makes you listen to ‘Good Riddance’ by Greenday on repeat every day, peer pressure forces you pretend that you actually care about the Blur/Oasis rivalry, peer pressure makes you deny your deep seated love of UK Garage. Peer pressure is no good for no-one.

Is This It? by The Strokes is without question one of the most unstoppably fucking brilliant albums of our generation. It’s nonchalant and laced with apathy whilst at the same time capturing moments of fervent spontaneity and excitement.

This album was right place, right time, right sound, right band.
And Julian Casblancas is probably the coolest man on the planet.


3. The First Single I Bought

‘Bump n Grind’ ~ R Kelly

I was ten years old (too young for R Kelly?)
It was a cassette tape. It was £1.99.
I’ve got nothing else.


4. The First Band I Saw Live

Ocean Colour Scene

I saw Ocean Colour Scene in height of the Britpop hullaballoo following their “critically acclaimed” album Moseley Shoals (incidentally, featuring on the front over, Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa – my former hometown and home of Nizlopi…); I was about twelve I think, and to be honest was less fussed about seeing the band and more about impressing an older boy who was obviously, a Lambretta sporting Mod-a-like disciple of the British indie band movement that occupied much of the mid-90s.

The gig, was overwhelming and brilliant and slightly terrifying, being essentially, a child.

NB: Around the same time, I accidentally walked past Steps, performing at the Coventry city centre Christmas light switch on. This is an illegal submission based on the definition of ‘band’ – a group of musicians and vocalists.


5. The First Band That Changed My Mind

Bloc Party

Silent Alarm is another one of those albums, alongside the likes of Is This It?, Nirvana Unplugged in New York and Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj (no? Just me then…) that just smacks you in the face and changes your opinion and playlists for ever more.

My major music influences were handed down to me from my dad; The Jam, The Smiths, The Kinks. Or, put simply: GUITARS. Men and guitars.

Then; Oasis, The Strokes, Nirvana, Stereophonics. Or, put simply: more guitars. I knew in which camp I resided, and it certainly was not the electronic or syncopated or techno or house “camps”. Eurgh.

And then this. A band that seemed to bridge the two genres of indie and dance (“dancepunk” people in the know call it) and undoubtedly paved the way for the likes of Late of the Pier, MGMT, Foals and Klaxons; to name just a few. For me anyway, they were a gateway to a whole world of music I’d never have considered before.

Bloc Party are intense and frantic and rousing and thoughtful and melancholy. And they play guitars sometimes.


Words: Laura McBeth