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March 16th 2008
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Italian trip
Following a home town gig at the Victoria in Menai Bridge with Holland's The Bent Moustache on 7th February, Ectogram set off for a short tour of Italy the following week. This was their first ever visit to the country, where they played two concerts, both of which were most enjoyable. On February 16th, Ectogram played at the excellent Bloom club in Mezzago, just outside Milan, alongside the very fine post-rock Hellakin Mascara. The following day, after a picturesque train journey, they took to the stage at Rome's splendidly named Sinister Noise club, where the noted experimental musician Adriano Lanzi joined in for the second half of the set. Adriano's sonic arsenal of sampled noises added a whole new dimension to the Ectosonic stew and it is to be hoped that further collaborations will follow. Also on the bill at Sinister Noise were Rome's premier shoegazers La Calle Mojada and inventive avant-fusionists Tribraco, both of who are highly recommended and well worth seeking out.
Following the last minute cancellation of a proposed third Italian date, Ectogram made full use of some extra time in Rome to ensure that the eternal city prominently backdrops their next video. All in all, a most enjoyable trip and we are all looking forward to returning to Italy as soon as possible.
Ectogram with special guest Adriano Lanzi on stage at the Sinister Noise Club, Rome
New split release
Cult underground record label Giant Hammer has just released a split EP featuring Ectogram alongside Llanfairfechan's premier noise terrorists Klaus Kinski. Although billed as an "EP", it is in fact longer than most people's albums, with the Ectogram contribution being a single thirty three and a bit minute long epic. The CD also features five fantastic tracks by Klaus Kinski, described fairly accurately by Giant Hammer as "5 screaming, sex-noises that sound like the bastard child of The Fall and Arab on Radar or if The Birthday Party had a Birthday Party and Nick Cave hadn't been invited and he went mental and blew up the house next door by accident". The CD comes in a hand-printed sleeve and can be obtained from the Giant Hammer website.
Summer Festivals
Ectogram recently played a couple of festivals in Europe. Most recently was a return visit to the Klangbad Festival in Scheer (southern Germany) between the 3rd and 5th of August. They previously played there two years ago at the 2005 event as well as returning to the town last year to record the new album. This year's line-up also included Circle, The Nightingales, Pharaoh Overlord, Paper Factory, Nista Nije Nista and Parking Non-Stop (and many more) and was a very enjoyable event indeed.
A few weeks earlier, the group paid their first ever visit to the Arctic, appearing at the Nødutgang festival at Bodø in the north of Norway. The festival was a unique and wonderful event and the group thoroughly enjoyed playing there, hearing all the other great acts on the bill and also indulging in 24 hours a day of sunny partying amongst the finest possible company. In addition to playing a set at Bodø's Sinus Club, Ectogram were also very excited to have the opportunity to play a collaborative set with Frankfurt psychedelic duo S/T and Bodø noise artist Ronny Wærnes (who also guested with them at Sinus) at the Gimle Club.
Ectogram at Sinus Club, Bodø 22nd June 2007 (photo: Cornelius Horstmann)
Ectogram at Sinus Club, Bodø 22nd June 2007 (photo: Ian Land )
Ectogram with special guest Ronny Wærnes (far left) at Sinus Club, Bodø 22nd June 2007 (photo: Joachim Gaertner )
More photos from the festival can be found here (by Ian Land), here (by Joachim Gaertner - click on "photos") and here (by Cornelius Horstmann)
Ectogram completists might be interested in three compilations that have appeared over the past couple of months:
click on the covers for further details and track listings
As if this wasn't enough, Ectogram also share a forthcoming split release with Llanfairfechen noise terrorists Klaus Kinski, highlighting the group's more uncompromising side and appear on a new compilation on the Mind Expansion label, run by Randall Nieman of legendary Michigan post-rockers Füxa.
New CD and Vinyl LP
In contrast to their usual tardy work rate, Ectogram actually have not just one, but two new albums out, with further releases and a couple of Summer festival appearances to follow.
"Fluff on a Faraway Hill" is a full length CD featuring 8 brand new songs recorded with producer Hans Joachim Irmler at his studio in Scheer, on the banks of the Danube in southern Germany. The CD is out now on the Klangbad label: www.klangbad.de
"Concentric Neckwear" on the other hand, is an alternative vinyl interpretation of Electric Deckchair, featuring completely different versions of all the songs on the 2CD set condensed on to a single vinyl LP. It comes in a special deluxe gatefold package with artwork specially comissioned from one of Germany's foremost graphic artists in a limited edition of only 200 individually numbered copies. It is one of the first two releases on a new Frankfurt-based label, deceptively called Pure Pop For Now People that will concentrate on limited edition vinyl releases and is available now from their website.
Faust box set
A lavishly packaged box set has also just been released on the Dirter label, documenting German experimentalists Faust's UK tour of Autumn 2005, where Ectogram supported. The box includes three CDs and a DVD of live recordings from the tour, together with a documentary book containing memoirs of the tour by Jean-Herve Peron of Faust. One of the CDs includes the performance where Ectogram joined Faust on stage to play "J'ai Mal au Dents". The wonderful artifact is titled, appropriately, "Faust in Autumn"
More film news
"Y Lleill", the bilingual film for which Ectogram provided the soundtrack (see below), was screened over two days at London's ICA in December. It also was awarded the Bafta for best movie at the 2006 Bafta Wales awards in Cardiff, although Ectogram's soundtrack was just beaten to the post by their old friends Mark Roberts and Paul Jones for their music for the TV series "Codi Angor". Paul incidentally played on some of the very earliest Ectogram material, many years ago.
2006.....
After a busy 2005, Ectogram spent most of 2006 away from the spotlight, a rare exception being a hometown gig at The Skerries in Bangor on February 26th, alongside Micrographia and Jacobi, both of who are very fine groups. Ectogram used the opportunity to try out a bunch of new material they had been working on over the preceeding weeks. A very enjoyable evening was had by all.
However, the lack of public appearances was somewhat deceptive as the group were very busy "behind the scenes" for most of the year. Maeyc's home studio facility up in the Ogwen valley finally became functional (if not actually completed) at the start of the year and Ectogram spent regular sessions there throughout 2006 exploring new approaches and developing new ideas. This activity has yielded many hours worth of recordings, ranging from abstract explorations of sound and space to melodic and structured (if not quite conventional) songs.
In June, the group were invited to record in southern Germany by producer Hans-Joachim Irmler with a view to releasing the resultant material on his label. Again, the sessions produced a variety of material from which was culled two hour-long improvised soundscapes together with eight more concise and structured pieces.
Ann and Alan returned to Germany in September for the 2006 Avant Garde festival in Schiphorst. Although not playing in their Ectogram guise this time, they both managed to participate in collaborative sessions with other artists during the festival and sowed the seeds for some future international projects.
Albums of the year 2005
Electric Deckchair made a top ten appearance in the 50 best albums of 2005, as decided by Italian stations Radio Capodistria and Radio Torino Popolare's popular "London Calling" show. Apparently the top 10 albums were played in their entirity on the station's New Years Eve special.The full top 50 can be seen here . Ectogram will also be appearing on Italian TV in the coming months - more details as we know.
November 2005
New album out
The new Ectogram album Electric Deckchair is now in the shops. Divided into two traditional LP-length discs, each sequenced to stand alone in their own right, the album comes closest yet to capturing the live essence of Ectogram, masterfully captured in the Bryn Derwen studio by sonic wizard Michael Auld, with the only subsequent overdubs being vocals. Click on the sleeve for further information and reviews.
Electric Deckchair should be available in all record shops (at least in the UK) via Shellshock/Pinnacle distribution (cat. no. ANKST 115), and online from the Ankst shop at www.ankst.net
Faust tour
Ectogram recently finished a trip round the UK with legendary krautrockers Faust on their Faust in Autumn tour.
Between October 27th and November 8th, they visited Hendre Hall in Bangor, The Tunnels in Aberdeen, the Coal Exchange in Cardiff, The Metro in London (also with Charles Hayward and Stella Maris Drone Orchestra), The Old Market Theatre in Brighton (also with British Sea Power and Stella Maris Drone Orchestra) and the Academy in Newcastle. The tour was a big success and Ectogram made lots of new friends and had a great time, as well as getting to see Faust six times in a fortnight!.
The two groups then parted company and Ectogram headed back to Cardiff to play at the Cardiff Screen film festival on November 10th to mark the World premiere of the movie "Y Lleill" (see below), to which they provided the soundtrack (see info below).
Ectogram at the Drones Club (picture by Joachim Gaertner of S/T) - more pictures here)
On Saturday 15th October, they played at the Drones Club at The Others, 6-8 Manor Road, Stoke Newington, London N16. The bill was: S/T (from Frankfurt) / Ectogram / Burning Idiot Noise (Brighton) / Raagnagrok (London). The event was organised by the Kosmische collective, who run regular live events in London as well as having their own excellent weekly radio programme on Resonance FM, dedicated to highlighting adventurous and explorartory music.
September 2005
Festivals in Germany
Ectogram at Scheer, 13th August 2005 (L) and Schiphorst, 17th September 2005 (R)
Ectogram recently appeared at two festivals in Germany, both organised by members of krautrock legends Faust and both amongst the most enjoyable gigs they've played.
The second annual Klangbad festival took place between the 12th and 14th of August on the banks of the Danube in southern Germany where Hans-Joachim Irmler of Faust runs the Klangbad studio in the town of Scheer. Also on the bill were Faust, Circle, S/T, Steven Wray Lobdell, Cpt. Howdy, Audiac, Nalle, Nista Nije Nista and Das Weeth Experience. A wonderful time was had by everybody and a DVD of the event should emerge in due course.
Ectogram
returned to Germany a month later to play the Schipho'
Avant Garde Fiesta at Schiphorst in Northern Germany (between
Lübeck and Hamburg) from 16th to 18th of September.
The bill featured a whole host of legendary figures from the world
of experimental music, including members of Faust, Henry Cow, This
Heat and Guru Guru as well as new sonic adventurers like
The Stella Maris Drone Orchestra, Ulan Bator, Permanent Fatal Error,
Numb and Electrix Garden. In addition to the music, the
fiestaval also featured Poets (including our friends Zoë Skoulding
and Ian Davidson), Martial Arts, Performance Art, Parachutists,
Preachers, Soundsprinkling, projections and films!
Interestingly, the lineups for Faust at the two festivals were completely different. At Scheer, it featured original organist Hans-Joachim Irmler and original drummer Arnulf Meifurt (who hadn't played together in over 30 years!), alongside long-time members Steve Lobdell, Lars Paukstat and Michael Stoll. The Schipho' lineup, on the other hand comprised the other original drummer, Werner "Zappi" Diermaier and original bass player / singer Jean-Hervé Peron, alongside new members Olivier Manchion and Amaury Cambuzat from the French group Ulan Bator.
Photos from the festivals can be found here (Scheer) and here (Schiphorst)
Film
Shooting is now complete for the forthcoming movie Y Lleill, for which Ectogram provided the soundtrack. The film, which tells the story of a fictional Welsh rock group and their eventual disintergration due to internal and external pressures stars ex-Carbonvein singer John Reynolds.
Ectogram provided both the group's music and incidental music for the film, which is due to be premiered at the Welsh Film Festival in Cardiff on November 10th. Alternative versions of some of the songs in the film will also appear on the forthcoming Ectogram record Electric Deckchair.
More stuff
Whilst working on the new record, Ectogram have continued to play a few low-key hometown gigs. On October 23rd 2004, they played at the Railway Institute in Bangor, alongside David Wrench, Dethkit, The Hollow Men, The New Dodos, Anaemic and Nixon and Jarvis. In a concise 26 minute set, they played four relatively lengthy numbers: Small Things Crawling / Come Get Some / Black Lime Tree / Daisy Rind.
Ectogram at the Railway Institute, Bangor 23rd October 2004
Another recent live appearance took place on July 4th at the Old Glan in Bangor. Although the group had never played the venue before as Ectogram, all three members have a long history of playing there individually, and in various combinations, dating back over 20 years. Some of you may have been there on the 22nd of January 1982, when Maeyc and Alan's legendary group The Pinecones played probably their finest (but sadly also penultimate) gig. Others may fondly recall the evening of Friday August 6th that same year, when both Maeyc and Ann performed solo sets under their stage names Paul Cone and Nancy Chair respectively (alongside sets by Jim Wistful, Adrian Smart and Iorwerth Evans), or maybe you will warm to the memory of the only ever performance by Alan and Ann's first joint group Karnarvøn Kästle. Also worth mentioning is Alan and Maeyc's dubious honour of inventing the concept of the "Tribute Band", 20 years ahead of the pack, when their group "The Pink Ones" performed a complete set of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd material, together with far out light show and free sugarcubes on the 27th October 1981!
Anyway, back in the (almost) present, the Ectogram set on this occasion comprised: Overstopped / Cloud Trouble / A Dent In The Sunshine / Roses / Small Things Crawling / Cleaver In The Nightingale / Black Lime Tree / Daisy Rind
The group are now working with legendary studio whizz-kid Michael Chocolate on material for the new album and also for the soundtrack of a forthcoming film, more details of which will appear as and when they become declassified.
Damo Suzuki gig
Ectogram played at Hendre Hall (yet again) on May 2nd 2004 as support to legendary ex-CAN singer Damo Suzuki. As well as playing their own set (comprising Overstopped / Small Things Crawling / In The Shadows / Black Lime Tree / Cleaver In The Nightingale / Daisy Rind), the group also then backed Damo himself for part of his set, following on from Ruthin group Manchuko.