ROOM 63

Yo guys...

2012-01-19T13:49:00.002Z

Blogging from now on from here

http://www.cseddon.tumblr.com/

John Stezaker

2012-01-10T13:42:00.000Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stezaker

Mirko Borsche

2012-01-09T17:11:00.002Z

http://mirkoborsche.com/

Highlights 2011

2011-12-23T10:50:00.003Z

In no order:

Maria Minerva - Cabaret Cixous

Minerva's eccentric avant pop seems to be influenced by all the right things, (Chris & Cosey, Chicago house, vintage electronic pop etc) and on this her second full length of 2011 she's combined a number of these into an album of steamy, lo-fi laments that's both detuned and distorted in a charming and inebriated way.

Cut Hands - Afro Noise

William Bennett's Cut Hands project still carries with it some of the grinding malevolence of his previous work as Whitehouse, but the use of percussion and traditional African instrumentation lend this album a ritualistic and sprightly menace. The musical equivalent of that scene in Heart of Darkness where Marlow's steam boat comes under attack by Kurtz's native African army.

Hype Williams - One Nation

Hype Williams heavily sampled sonic aesthetic takes in everything from 80's pop to Americana and Hip Hop to House carefully blending the the lot into a syrupy, smacked-out fusion of lo-fi electronics. On this, their third full length they're at their most reflective, even melancholic and it's probably their last, if rumors are to be believed, and most coherant album to date.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

OPN's third album in as many years follows the same pattern as the previous two in that it's heavily synthesized electronica; the addition of percussion and piano, however, have a radiant effect on the OPN sound. There is, as with a lot of Daniel Lopatin's music, a warm insulated fuzz and emotional velocity on display here and by broadening his approach, Lopatin is at once breaking with and continuing the OPN aesthetic in impressive fashion.

Roly Porter - Aftertime

Dramatic and dystopian neo-ambience courtesy of Roly Porter formerly of Vex'd. There are some real moments of grace and beauty slipped between the crackling white noise and monochrome atmospherics here and although the overall feeling is somewhat bleak, it's still a pleasure hearing the former dubstep producer developing his sound in such a sophisticated manner.

The Pale Kind by David Foster Wallace

The Pale King never quite hits the highs of Wallace's masterpiece 'Infinite Jest' but that's to be expected as it's made up of an unfinished mauscript found after his death in 2008. It's impossible to tell where the narrative may have headed and the plot is far from linear, but despite that, there is here still a worthy reminder of Wallace's unique voice and extraordinary skill as a writer.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Having enjoyed Franzen's previous novel 'The Corrections' I was eager to purchase Freedom and as expected, the narrative was easy to immerse yourself in and difficult to put down. The dialogue between some characters did seem at times a little verbose and the inclusion of certain politically aligned individuals seemed only to convey the author's dissatisfaction with the Bush regime, but all in all this is a thoroughly enjoyable read and a book that continues the fine tradition of the great American novel about the the great American family. 

Death in June Live, 15 October Lisbon 

It was a total highlight visiting Lisbon during an unusually warm week of sunshine in October- made all the more amazing by catching one of my all time favourite artist's Death In June perform live. The gig's location was not actually disclosed until on the day of the event and but for a bit of good fortune we would have missed it all together. However, fortune favors the brave, or so they say, and thanks to Charlotte's persistence we did finally locate the venue- a quaint and practically perfect Portuguese working mens club in Downtown Lisbon- and an excellent city break was amplified by the power of ten.

The Sopranos

The standard may drop off a little in the latter series' but this is still up there with The Wire and Mad Men as one of the best shows ever made. I was genuinely upset when it all ended for big T and the remainder of his crew in such enigmatic and ambiguous fashion.  

Honorable mentions should also go to: 

Dalglish - Benacah Drann Deachd - digitally contorted sonic architecture that sounds like its been downloaded from a large generator in outer space.

Cindytalk - Up here In Clouds - Textural and tactile industrial/ambient business from Gordon Sharp.

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 - Best Hecker release in a long time. Vast, imposing and beautifully poised.

...IN CONVERSATION

2011-12-21T10:43:00.001Z

...IN CONVERSATION is my most recent publication and now available to purchase for £6.00
72 pages, risograph, cyclus 115gsm, Limited Edition 25.

pie bag

2011-12-18T10:12:00.001Z

Marvin De Deus Ganhitas

2011-12-12T14:57:00.001Z

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackgepeto/

Galaksija

2011-12-01T09:46:00.001Z

found at butdoesitfloat

Bottland

2011-12-01T09:35:00.001Z

Thomas Bott's drawings have already appeared on this blog and now the seven year old artist has got his own blog to share his marvelous drawings of monsters...

http://bottland.tumblr.com/

hApPy ThANksGiVinG

2011-11-22T14:50:00.001Z

full story

meh wwf

2011-11-19T15:04:00.001Z

Pretty naff use of street art as a metaphor for mistreatment of our planet/environment/animals etc

Bienale Neodvisnih OCT 2011

2011-11-16T19:49:00.001Z

Photography by Natan Esku

more acidic than neat Robinsons

2011-11-04T16:55:00.000Z

GB12

2011-11-04T16:40:00.001Z

Howard Hodgkin

Rachel Whiteread

Michael Craig-Martin

Martin Creed

Official posters for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, designed by some of the UK's leading artists.

Mathias Schweizer

2011-11-04T13:17:00.001Z

www.weizer.ch

koma Danger

2011-11-01T16:10:00.002Z

Creepy hand made collages ftw
http://koma-komadanger.blogspot.com/

Wojtek Soldier Bear

2011-10-28T12:22:00.003+01:00

Wojtek (1942–1963; usually spelled Voytek in English, was a Syrian brown bear cub found in Iran and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. The name "Wojtek" or "Wojciech" is an old Slavic name that is still very common in Poland today. It derives from two words: "woj" (the stem of "wojownik", warrior, and "wojna", war); and "ciech", enjoyment. Thus the name has two meanings: "he who enjoys war" or "smiling warrior".

In 1942, a local boy found a bear cub near Hamadan, Iran. He sold it to the soldiers of the Polish Army stationed nearby for a couple of canned meat tins. As the bear was less than a year old, he initially had problems swallowing and was fed with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle. The bear was fed with fruits, marmalade, honey and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink. He also enjoyed smoking and eating cigarettes. He enjoyed wrestling and was taught to salute when greeted. The bear became quite an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial mascot of all units stationed nearby. With the company he moved to Iraq and then through Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

To get him on a British transport ship when the unit sailed from Egypt to fight with the British 8th Army in the Italian campaign, he was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a private and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. Henryk Zacharewicz and Dymitr Szawlugo were assigned as his caretakers.

As one of the officially enlisted "soldiers" of the company, he lived with the other men in their tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped his friends by transporting ammunition – never dropping a single crate. In recognition of the bear's popularity, the HQ approved an effigy of a bear holding an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company (by then renamed to 22nd Transport Company).

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the bear was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland, along with parts of the II Corps. Stationed in the village of Hutton, near Duns, Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press. The Polish-Scottish Association made Wojtek one of its honorary members. Following demobilization on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was given to the Edinburgh Zoo. There Wojtek spent the rest of his days, often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom would toss him cigarettes, which he then proceeded to smoke. Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 22. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 500 pounds (250 kilograms) and had a length of over 6 feet (1.8 meters).

The media attention contributed to Wojtek's popularity. He was a frequent guest of BBC's Blue Peter program. Among memorial plaques commemorating the bear-soldier are a stone tablet in the Edinburgh Zoo, plaques in the Imperial War Museum and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, as well as a sculpture by artist David Harding in the Sikorski Museum in London. There are proposals to erect a memorial in Edinburgh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_%28soldier_bear%29

Bienale Neodvisnih OCT 2011

2011-10-19T14:55:00.004+01:00

I was invited by previous exhibitor, Urh Sobocan, to take part in this year's contemporary illustration biennial in Slovenia. Having just go back from Lisbon I was, alas, unable to get to the exhibit in person but have just been sent a couple of quick snaps of the showing going up and the opening. More photos to follow...

http://www.bienaleneodvisneilustracije.com/2011/

Lisbon - Mostly overxpsd SLR OCT 11

2011-10-19T14:33:00.008+01:00

75 PETERS

2011-10-19T14:00:00.004+01:00

Portrait of the architect Peter Cook for exhibition/auction in Brisbane from October 26th to celebrate Sir P.C's 75th birthday

My intention with this portrait was to create an image that represented the nature of architecture whilst still being a visual representation of Sir Peter. The use of segements that combine to create something coherant and complete ties in with the fundamental idea of architecture as construction.

Further details to follow...

Paul Delvaux

2011-10-12T16:35:00.001+01:00

2011-10-11T14:30:00.001+01:00

locus amoenus

2011-10-09T15:57:00.004+01:00

Locus amoenus by Randy Lenz
Did this a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd stick it up here for anyone that might want to listen to something that coincides with the shift in season, which is to say it's quite chilly and slightly melancholic.

R.I.P

2011-10-06T11:15:00.000+01:00

Zhang Lin Hoi

2011-09-27T10:23:00.002+01:00

Zak Prekop

2011-09-26T10:59:00.002+01:00

The London Art Book Fair

2011-09-23T11:29:00.007+01:00

Lot's of interesting things going on over the course of the weekend at the London Book Fair at the Whitechapel gallery.

“The London Art Book Fair is an annual event devoted to international art publishing. Hosted by the Whitechapel Gallery in association with Marcus Campbell Art Books, The London Art Book Fair presents the work of individual artist publishers, galleries, magazines, colleges, arts publishing houses, rare book dealers and distributors alongside a wider associated programme of talks and events.”
— Whitechapel Gallery

http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/the-london-art-book-fair-2011

Coincidentally, you can now download my most recent publication as a PDF here:

Beautiful death

2011-09-20T23:45:00.002+01:00

The Euthanasia Coaster is a concept for a steel roller coaster designed to kill its passengers. In 2010, it was designed and made into a scale model by Julijonas Urbonas, a PhD candidate at the Royal College of Art in London. Urbonas, who has worked at an amusement park, stated that the goal of his concept roller coaster is to take lives “with elegance and euphoria”. It is a ride to the death. The seven loops or ‘inversions’ put the human body under such stress that it causes the brain to be starved of oxygen, as the heart simply cannot push blood against the enormous g-forces. Even if it kills you, it is designed to still be a fun death. An honourable thought, if rather macabre.

Source: skinned-teen

Nokia 6300

2011-09-18T14:23:00.005+01:00

1. LFW
2. New home, Hoxton
3. Street art
4. CM
5. RIP REAL

Collective heroes

2011-09-14T16:08:00.006+01:00

*BEST MUTED*
On a stretch of road by the crest of a hill in Logan, Utah, on Monday, a motorcycle and a BMW collided, throwing the cyclist under the car and causing the bike to burst into flames, which quickly spread to the sedan. Rather than fleeing those two flaming vehicles, a dozen bystanders rushed toward the blaze, lifted the car and pulled the injured man out by his ankle.

Just What Is It that Makes Today's Homes So...

2011-09-13T18:24:00.002+01:00

RIP

2011-09-03T16:04:00.002+01:00

Some new Brassica Imagery and identity stuff. Ongoing....

Syd Mead

2011-09-03T15:45:00.002+01:00

No thanks, i don't do the horse

2011-08-10T15:45:00.002+01:00

In February of this year, Art Orienté objet (Marion Laval-Jeantet & Benoît Mangin) were at galerie Kapelica in Ljubljana to perform Que le cheval vive en moi (May the horse live in me), a bold self-experiment that aimed to blur the boundaries between species.

The French artistic duo has been exploring trans-species relationships and the questioning of scientific methods and tools for 20 years now. This time their work involved injecting Marion Laval-Jeantet with horse blood plasma. Over the course of several months, the artist prepared her body by allowing to be injected with horse immunoglobulins, the glycoproteins that circulate in the blood serum, and which, for example, can function as antibodies in immune response. The artist called the process "mithridatization", after Mithridates VI of Pontus who cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses of the same.

In February 2011, having progressively built up her tolerance to the foreign animal bodies, she was injected with horse blood plasma containing the entire spectrum of foreign immunoglobulins, without falling into anaphylactic shock, an acute multi-system allergic reaction.

Horse immunoglobulins by-passed the defensive mechanisms of her own human immune system, entered her blood stream to bond with the proteins of her own body and, as a result of this synthesis, have an effect on all major body functions, impacting even the nervous system, so that the artist, during and in the weeks after the performance, experienced not only alterations in her physiological rhythm but also of her consciousness. "I had the feeling of being extra-human," explained the artist. "I was not in my usual body. I was hyper-powerful, hyper-sensitive, hyper-nervous and very diffident. The emotionalism of an herbivore. I could not sleep. I probably felt a bit like a horse.'

QUATTRO FORMAGGI

2011-07-30T16:50:00.006+01:00

My work is featured, along with some excellent young creatives, in this publication of experimental digital art. All contributers were invited to design two doublespreads with no restrictions; the outcome being a cacophony of avant-garde imagery more than 40 pages long and limited to 250 numbered copies. Artists involved:

Andreas Ervik, Ashlea O'neill, Barriobajero, Brenna Murphy, Christian Oldham, Nic Wilson, and Travis Stearns

Curated by Alexander Dueckminor of The Crystal Beach

http://www.thecrystalbeach.com

Available soon, limited number on request.

Street Art

2011-07-28T16:45:00.002+01:00

Nick Waplington

2011-07-19T17:29:00.002+01:00

John Divola

2011-07-16T16:36:00.002+01:00

The Minimal Gesture

2011-07-09T14:38:00.003+01:00

The Minimal Gesture brings together a group of cross-generational artists working in the wake of abstract expressionism. The exhibition suggests that the painting practices of these artists are marked by conflicting impulses. Austere signifiers of order such as the grid format, geometric motifs and monochromatic colour palettes are made expressive through playful lines and textured surface. The Minimal Gesture explores the gap between – and improbable proximity of – abstract expressionism and minimalism.
Timothy Taylor Gallery Until 20 August

Andrzej Klimowski

2011-07-06T13:03:00.003+01:00

www.klimowski.com

Dries Wiewauters

2011-07-02T15:55:00.004+01:00

www.drieswiewauters.eu

Massimiliano Bomba

2011-07-01T17:32:00.005+01:00

http://www.massimilanobomba.com/

http://www.rawraw.it/

MDCCLXIV

2011-06-23T14:52:00.004+01:00

http://www.mdcclxiv.com/

IdN

2011-06-23T13:40:00.004+01:00

IdN V18N3: Glitch Issue

In the ever-more-perfect world of computerised design, accidents can be inspirational. When the software seizes up, some free spirits become even more creative. What was once a goof is now a genre – let the featuring 12 glitch-design specialists explain how it has opened up new vistas for them.

Thrilled to see my work on the front cover of IdN Magazine. Lot's of interesting stuff in this issue too: http://idnworld.com/mags/?id=v18n3

SS 11

2011-06-19T20:42:00.003+01:00

2011-06-13T21:51:00.002+01:00

The Olympic Torch

2011-06-11T13:59:00.002+01:00

The Olympic Torch, designed by Barber & Osgerby.

Artiva

2011-06-11T13:54:00.000+01:00

www.artiva.it

2011-06-09T15:25:00.000+01:00

2011-06-04T14:30:00.003+01:00

No Layout is an excellent online Library of Underground and independant publications, allowing users to flip through full content on any screen without downloads or apps.
www.nolayout.com

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

2011-06-01T18:05:00.002+01:00

Love and Power

The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts

Ed Fella

2011-05-31T14:30:00.003+01:00

The Creative Archives

2011-05-29T02:36:00.004+01:00

Further Info
http://www.thecreativearchives.com/

Austin Osman Spare

2011-05-26T15:34:00.003+01:00

'All day long he would have a pencil in his hand, drawing anything that was placed before him - his parents, his sisters, or brothers. Nothing seemed to come amiss and we made up our minds that if it was at all possible he should be allowed to follow what was evidently his vocation. Of course it has been expensive to buy his board and paints, and all else that he requires, for, curiously enough, he can never be persuaded to sell any of his work. He is even averse to showing it to any one.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Osman_Spare

Behind the Zines

2011-05-26T14:25:00.004+01:00

I was thrilled to receive my copy of Behind the Zines: Self-Publishing Culture, which features my zine Correctionism, yesterday. It contains many excellent examples of contemporary self published material and, as with all Die Gestalten Verlag products, is designed and finished to an exceptionally high standard.

2011-05-23T19:22:00.001+01:00

www.itsnicethat.com

Leigh

2011-05-21T10:35:00.002+01:00

2011-05-21T10:32:00.000+01:00

Barney Bubbles

2011-05-15T10:19:00.003+01:00

Info

George Shaw

2011-05-07T13:48:00.003+01:00

I can't decide if I think George Shaw's paintings are evocatively profound or sentimentally suburban; the truth is probably somewhere in between. If nothing else, though, there is the impressive draughtsmanship and application of paint to admire.

Varda Caivano

2011-05-04T14:16:00.002+01:00

2011-04-30T14:45:00.004+01:00

Abandoned Yugoslavian Monuments

The Awakening Conscience by Holman Hunt

2011-04-28T14:58:00.003+01:00

Beni Bischof

2011-04-27T17:25:00.004+01:00

http://www.benibischof.ch

NOKIA 6300

2011-04-21T09:03:00.002+01:00

Jon Rafman

2011-04-19T13:18:00.002+01:00

http://jonrafman.com/

Michiel Schuurman

2011-04-15T15:12:00.002+01:00

Mark Leckey

2011-04-13T14:55:00.001+01:00

Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (Mark Leckey) from Anon. on Vimeo.

Wim Crouwel - A Graphic Odyssey

2011-04-07T22:08:00.003+01:00

Interview: Wim Crouwel at the Design Museum 1 from Dezeen on Vimeo.

The Design Museum celebrates the prolific career of the Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel in this, his first UK retrospective. Regarded as one of the leading designers of the twentieth century, Crouwel embraced a new modernity to produce typographic designs that captured the essence of the emerging computer and space age of the early 1960s.
From 30 March - 03 July at Design Mueum

2011-04-07T22:06:00.000+01:00

http://www.weoccupy.co.uk/blog/

Want

2011-04-01T14:53:00.000+01:00

The Principality of Sealand

2011-03-31T10:48:00.014+01:00

Continuing nautical themes of previous posts, The Principality of Sealand is a unique micronation located six miles off the eastern shores of England. It is one of four Naval Sea Forts deployed by Britain during World War 2 and was home to 150-300 personnel, radar equipment, two 6-inch guns, and two 40mm anti-aircraft autocannons, before being abandoned by the Royal Navy in 1956. Once it's wartime duties had come to an end, and the Royal Navy had cleaned it out, it sat unoccupied for a number of years.

That was until 1967 when a pirate broadcaster named Roy Bates took control of the Towers, and declared it the Principality of Sealand; a sovereign, independent state. Though the legitimacy of this self-declared state would be put to the test during a skirmish with a British Trinity House vessel, the tower was declared outside of British jurisdiction and remained largely untroubled, until 1978 when Sealand was invaded by a consortium of Dutch and German diamond merchants who took temporary charge of the Tower. Assisting the help of armed forces, the Bates family won back the fortress and took back their country, holding the would be invaders as prisoners of war until their home countries petitioned for their release.

Today, Sealand’s sovereignty and legitimacy are not recognized by any traditional States, however it is perhaps the best-known micronation in the world even though its inhabitable area is only 550 square meters. The Bates family, who now reside in Britain due to their declining health, were leasing the country exclusively to HavenCo Limited, a data hosting services company founded in 2000, but in November 2008, operations of HavenCo ceased without explanation and as it stands now The Principality of Sealand is up for custodianship with an asking price of £600 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

Nancy Spero

2011-03-25T14:31:00.003Z

Currently exhibiting at Serpentine

Thomas Hart Benton

2011-03-23T15:19:00.003Z

THB

Garth Weiser

2011-03-16T11:29:00.001Z

Hoverspeed

2011-03-12T13:34:00.009Z

My girlfriend's repeated nagging about visiting Paris was momentarily appeased yesterday when I told her of my previous trip from Calais to Dover aboard a Hover craft - the highlight of a largely unremarkable school holiday in the carefully scheduled, physical activity fuelled location of Meymac. In a matter of excitable moments I had begun to plot an old fashioned route that would include a scenic train journey and breezy hover craft trip. But as the time spent en route was totted up, my girlfriend's enthusiasm began to dissipate. Her initial willing expression now replaced by that of stony indifference.

Not that it mattered much anyway, my plan was quickly sunk by the depressing news that Hoverspeed is no longer trading, ceasing to operate back in 2000, its position as vehicle and passenger craft replaced by the more economically friendly, Catamaran.

With this my interest was lost, my plans scuppered. The thought of travelling by Catamaran didn't hold the same sense of adventure. But in doing some research, I had sought some consolation in the discovery of the wonderful US Navy Hovercraft and the Russian designed Zubr Class, which is the largest Hover craft in the world. These menacing machines can travel at high speed over land, water and ice. The Zubr can carry up to 500 troops and is capable of flying across the ocean at a rate of 63 knots.

Perhaps, then, it's better that the hover craft isn't still shipping vehicles of families between the modest ports of Calais to Dover, for these unique machines surely utilise their intimidating attributes to better effect in the hostile habitats of war zones and military assignments. And, anyway, my girlfriend would never have agreed to the long winded travel plan I had begun to clumsily formulate.

Hoverspeed
Zubr Clas LCAC

Karl Nawrot

2011-03-11T14:35:00.005Z

Amazing work by Holland based French designer, Karl Nawrot. Further info: http://www.voidwreck.com/

2011-03-10T08:23:00.001Z

http://blog.pantherclub.eu/

2011-03-03T08:34:00.001Z

2011-03-02T14:22:00.003Z

2011-02-26T08:45:00.001Z

http://beautifuldecay.com

2011-02-24T16:10:00.000Z

http://svartkonst.net/

TSA

2011-02-23T19:45:00.000Z

http://www.thestrangeattractor.net

Agnes Barley

2011-02-20T21:58:00.002Z

LFW

2011-02-20T10:57:00.005Z

The silk scarves, which were designed for The Creative Archives project, are being exhibited at this years London Fashion Week. Please excuse the hastily taken photos, proper imagery of the products and further details to follow.

Arjan Janssen

2011-02-18T15:22:00.002Z

Info

Kate Peters

2011-02-16T22:58:00.002Z

Nice photography from Kate Peters, more here

Hastings

2011-02-05T04:28:00.003Z

Urban Outfitters 2011

2011-01-24T21:32:00.003Z

Brassica posters, on show at the Urban Outfitters Ofxord Circus store for the next few months.

2011-01-23T11:22:00.002Z

In addition to the signature, and arguably more interesting, the scribble that preceded Peter Saville's autograph. An instinctive but unremarkable series of marks that serve as pre-execution testings.

Basil King

2011-01-17T14:17:00.002Z

Ben Nicholson

2011-01-11T22:33:00.003Z

Google Street View

2011-01-11T22:01:00.002Z

http://9eyes.tumblr.com/

CDSWAP2010

2010-12-23T16:49:00.009Z

I'm taking part in this year's CD Swap, arranged and distributed by Peter James Field. Last week I sent Peter ten copies of my disc and, in the new year, will receive a set of ten different cds from various people. I'll be uploading a mix of all the tracks I chose in the New Year, but if anyone would like a copy of the CD drop me an e-mail and I'll get one posted.

2010 Highlights

2010-12-15T08:44:00.021Z

Autechre live at Bloc Festival, Minehead, March 13th
I finally got to hear one of Autechre's legendary live sets at this year's Bloc festival; an hour of contorted analogue hiss and jacking syncopation. It was for sheer sonic force, an extraordinary experience that has yet to be matched.

Death in June - But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter?
My iTunes library suggests this was my most listened-to-album of 2010, for that reason I've chosen it as a highlight, even if it was originally released in 1992.

One Day - David Nicholls
Most of the books I read this year were published long before 2010. Of them, Kerouac's On The Road, and Hemmingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls, made a lasting impression while David Nicholl's superb novel, about the lives of of two students whose path's are traced for 20 years, is as witty as it is moving and without doubt, one of the finest published this year.

The World Unknown Parties, Brixton
The World Unknown parties are exactly what clubbing should be - affordable, illicit and incredibly good fun. Add to this a friendly crowd, a venue under a railway arch, and an adventurous music policy and you have one of the best club nights in London. After all, who wants to pay 15 quid to get into a massive club full of pouting morons listening to tedious generic house all night long.
http://worldunknown.co.uk/

MUJI Sketchbooks
This year I've developed something of a stationery fetish, my trips to Tottenham Court Road's Muji store becoming all too frequent. The smooth papered, pocket sized sketchbooks are beginning to make up a large percentage of my bookshelf, whilst my pencil case is stuffed full of blunted markers and functional felt-tip pens.
http://www.muji.eu/

Autechre - Move Of Ten
2010 saw Autechre release two albums, Oversteps and Move Of Ten, throughout the year it was the latter that I listened to more regularly. Punchy and percussive, but illuminated by a post-rave swagger and subtle melodious sheen, it complimented the fuzzy glitch of Oversteps and provided further evidence, if any was needed, that their position at the forefront of electronic music is still some way from being toppled.

Twin Shadow - Forget
This year I listened to lots of amazing post-punk, industrial, EBM, synth wave and new beat records, all of which were released during the 1980's. I guess it's little suprise, then, that George Lewis Jr.'s infectious new wave inspired pop project, Twin Shadow, has been one of my favourite releases from 2010.

Late additions to this list come in the form of woozy, melancholic crunk courtesy of Salem's King Night, and the fuzzy, sci-fi ambience of Oneohtrix Point Never's second full length Recturnal, which is not quite as good as the first LP, but alongside his 'Games' project, an excellent addition to an already impressive back catalogue.

Selected sketchbook spreads 12/10

2010-12-10T21:41:00.006Z

Taken from a battered, pocket-sized sketchbook...

Tim Head

2010-12-08T13:25:00.003Z

Recent work

2010-12-02T17:20:00.003Z

In between working full time, I've been drawing large organic forms on newsprint. Here is a preview of some of the images. They will be printed as silk scarves in Florence and will form part of a collection due out in Spring 11.

Ivon Hitchen

2010-12-02T17:13:00.003Z

RIP Peter Christopherson

2010-11-25T20:43:00.003Z

Mega talented, multi disciplinary artist and ex Throbbing Gristle, Physchic TV and Coil member, Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson has sadly passed away today.