Astral Social Club

IIBIIS ROOGE “Life in a bloodcell” cassette

astralsocialclub — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:29:22 +0000

Just got a pile of copies of the new iibiis rooge tape on Winged Sun, more fruits from my collaboration with the mighty High Wolf. You can hear it here, via Bandcamp:

And you can even buy the physical artefact from me using my bigcartel page.

Richard Youngs “Rurtain” ASC remix

astralsocialclub — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:23:55 +0000

Here’s a remix I put together last year for my old pal Richard Youngs, and whose release is now imminent on Luke Younger’s Alter label.

It’ll form part of an LP that will also include two radically different mixes of the same track by Richard, along with similarly shredded interpretations by John Clyde-Evans and Daniel Lopatin. Not sure of release date, but it’s being sent for mastering right now, so not so very long.

Updated live appearance schedule

astralsocialclub — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:04:35 +0000

OK, find below an amended list of live dates I have over the next few months. Unfortunately the MF/NC Hebden Bridge gig has been postponed until May 5 due to the original venue closing, and ASC will not now be appearing at the Rammel Club weekender in March, as has been advertised elsewhere. But the slide towards entropy is countered by a Flower/Campbell Cops and Robbers benefit gig in Leeds in February and a date at the fantastic Instant Chavires in Paris with Skull flower in April.

Saturday 4th February
The Fox and Newt, Leeds
Astral Social Club
Culver
The Piss Superstition
Midwich

Saturday 11 February
The Cardigan Arms, Kirkstall Rd, Leeds
Herb Diamante
Neil Campbell + Michael Flower
Mucky Sailor

Friday 30 March
The Croft, Bristol
Astral Social Club
MXLX
Silver Stairs of Ketchikan

Saturday 21 April
Instant Chavires, Montreuil, Paris
Skullflower
Astral Social Club

Saturday 5 May
Stubbing Wharf, Hedben Bridge
Michael Flower + Neil Campbell
Slomo

New releases – IIBIIS ROOGE / KUFUKI

astralsocialclub — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:51:32 +0000

A few new releases I’ve had a hand in are due to drop over the first couple of months in 2012.

First up, I did a couple of extreme remixes/eviscerations of new Japanese band Kufuki, and one of them will appear on their eponymous debut CD on Wonderyou Records, due out on January 11th. The other one can be previewed and downloaded here:

Hot on the heels of that one are two new things by Iibiis Rooge, my duo with High Wolf. The “Life in a bloodcell” cassette on Winged Sun Records is 4 tracks spread over 32 minutes, recorded through the aether 2009-11. 100 copies only, and I should have a reasonable number for sale, probably late January. As a little taster from the cassette, here’s an excerpt from the last track, Vanellus Vanellus.

And finally, the second proper Iibiis Rooge LP, “Hespherides”, is due February or thereabouts on vinyl/download on the fabulous Weird Forest label, home to some of my favourite releases of the past few years (Expressway Yo-Yo Dieting, Can’t, Love Cry Want, Starving Weirdos, etc). Very excited to finally get this one out – we recorded the basic tracks in a very hot room in Leeds, summer 2009, and spent a long time batting various sections back and forth across The Channel until we had achieved the correct density and flavour.

Live action, early 2012

astralsocialclub — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:26:49 +0000

I have the following live dates coming up.

NEW DATE! Saturday 4th February 2012
The Fox and Newt, Leeds
Astral Social Club
Culver
The Piss Superstition
Midwich

POSTPONED until later this year! ~~Saturday 25 February 2012~~
~~The Hole In T’Wall, Hedben Bridge~~
~~Michael Flower and Neil Campbell~~
~~Slomo~~

Friday 30 March 2012
The Croft, Bristol
Astral Social Club
MXLX
Silver Stairs of Ketchikan

“Romeo Challenger” video

astralsocialclub — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 09:58:51 +0000

Here’s a totally functional vid for an as-yet unreleased casio/guitar jam fron earlier this year, slated for release sometime or other on an LP called “DESTINY SNFU” on the wonderous Ultra Eczema label.

NC mix for FACT Portugal

astralsocialclub — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:31:43 +0000

A few days ago I was asked if I could cut together some sort of mix of music I liked for the Portuguese edition of FACT magazine, ostensibly to promote this coming weekend’s Rendez-vous festival in Setúbal. Time was tight, but I grabbed a couple of hours and cut this here mix together:

Here’s the tracklist, a mixed and mixed-up mix for sure:

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB – ffllllllyyyyy/collage/work in progress
BRITNEY SPEARS – piece of me
ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS – outside toilet blues
HIEROGLYPHIC BEING – a genre sonique #4
MARIA AND THE MIRRORS – magadan ’92
RIHANNA – breakin’ dishes
PURE – nigredo
JESUS AND MARY CHAIN – the living end
CYBOTRON – cosmic raindance
POPULAR RADIATION – saitana sarkasa
S.C.U.M. – whitechapel
NERVE NET NOISE – carbon
ULTRAVOX! – hiroshima mon amour
ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB – v.e.n.u.s
SHAKIRA – men in this town
PARLIAMENT – the silent boatman

“Want some of this?” … it’s here

astralsocialclub — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:21:34 +0000

Finally, I have some copies of the ESP Kinetic “Want some of this” LP, just released by Harbinger Sound in a one-off edition of 100.

All vintage material recorded all over Northamptonshire by Andy Watson and myself between 1982 and 1985. They’re available for sale for £10 + postage through the ASC bigcartel shop.

V . E . N . U . S

astralsocialclub — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:36:49 +0000

Had a lot of fun at the Galvanised festival at Cafe Oto last week, despite having to run off into the night straight after playing to catch that graveyard shift train home to Yorkshire.

One upshot of the planetary commission Kev Quigley gave me for the night is that I wrote a new piece, using some venusian compositional conceits (don’t ask) and note permutations on the letters V, E, N, U and S. The studio recording of this is now available to hear as one of my ongoing series of long-form CDR “singles” (see “SCUDDING” for the first in the series). It consists of three overlapping movements for massed guitars and electronics, all collaged into a single 31 minute track and can be purchased from my bigcartel shop.

By way of a taster, here’s a big seven-minute chunk from the CDR.

…and a photo from the slightly shellshocked reviewer at the Arts Wednesday blog.

Michael Flower and Neil Campbell, featuring John Godbert

astralsocialclub — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:57:15 +0000

… that’s the snappy title of a new double-cassette on Golden Lab Records, cut from the live shows Mick and myself (and sometimes John) have been doing over the past year or so. Four long cuts, almost 80 minutes playing time, edition of 100 in lino-cut artwork and pretty much sold out from the label. I have a handful of copies at the moment, but probably not for long – they’re £10 in the UK, £12 elesewhere.

Here are a couple of excerpts: