http://displaycopy.net/ / Facebook event

Flyer by Boiler Room. Video and photos by Shaun Bloodworth

Watch the video recordings from the show:
patten l Funkineven l Ikonika l Rustie

Practical Electronica: A Trailer from Public Information on Vimeo.

This winter sees the emergence of an important and previously untold link in the history of early British Electronic Music. Whilst the lives and sounds of Tristram Cary, Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire et al. have been laid bare on wax and disc in recent years, the name of 60s contemporary Frederick Charles Judd will be completely alien to most.

Public Information hopes to change that with a forthcoming retrospective of Fred Judd’s rhythms, tones and loops; a compilation of incredible, pioneering music from his archive called Electronics Without Tears.

But first to the documentary… Practical Electronica. A wondrous film directed by the man who made this entire project happen, Ian Helliwell.

After much research, enquiry and hard work Brighton based filmmaker, musician and scholar of electronic music Helliwell tracked down Fred’s widow Freda who kindly allowed him full access to Mr Judd’s personal archive. Ian set about making a film and in the process discovered many fascinating aspects of this remarkable man from Woodford, East London- his life, his work, his vision.

Fred was writing about electronics and the burgeoning tape recording/home radio scene as early as the mid-50’s, he went on to publish 11 books and countless articles in a quest to disseminate these thrilling new technologies out from academia into the front room. By 1963 Fred had built himself a dynamic home studio… sitting amongst the oscillators, tone generators, filters, amplifiers was an electro-mechanical drum machine and a voltage controlled keyboard unit to synthesize sound (a device that predated the Moog and Buchla synths). Using this equipment he wrote many FX and sounds for television and radio whilst self-releasing a handful of 45’s to a following of enthusiasts.

Practical Electronica explores these narratives and many more. The Sound World of F.C Judd is crafted into an extraordinary Audio-Visual feast for eyes and ears and brains. It’s an hour-long experimental collage of bold music, bright colour, vivid stills, super 8 home movies, archive footage, strking animation and an eye-sizzling reinterpretation of Fred’s own Chromasonics (a psychedelic sound visualisation process, running parallel to Daphne’s Oramics system).

Electronics Without Tears, a 35-track compilation of F.C Judd material (fully restored and mastered at D&M Berlin) will be landing soon on Public Information. Most of this music has never been heard before. For more information and for details of screenings around the UK, visit http://public-info.co.uk/

The film will be screening at Barbican Centre, London on Friday 25th November. We have 3 pairs of tickets to give away, simply email your name to info@bleep.com.

We recently were lucky enough to come across the work of a man called Felix… Felix makes machines and with these machines, he makes music. He has collaborated with Plaid and he has just recently released an EP of his work entitled… Felix’s Machines.

We caught up with the man to ask him about his machines and he also supplied us with a brilliant video showing exactly what the machines do…

Bleep: Who is more responsible for the music, Felix or the Machines?
Felix: The machines are hand-built devices that often create some unexpected mechanism noises. I compose MIDI sequences on a laptop but their physical location and condition determines how they sound, which impacts the way I write the music. As an ensemble of instruments, timings and timbre need to be adjusted to suit specific spaces. Essentially, I write the music but the state of the machines provides a set of rules. I find it helpful to work with this limitation as a guideline for composition.

B: Tell us a bit about the growth of the machines…

F: I started using a rudimentary set of materials. These were taken from wooden piano mechanisms, and I used springs and solenoids salvaged from scrap electronic devices such as typewriters. Over time I’ve got better tools and have added more metallic parts to the machines. I’m gradually learning about materials and ways they’re engineered, and as I do the machines are upgraded.

B: What influences would you say have brought you to where you are today?

F: Melodic/chaotic electronica has influenced me. In particular Plaid, Autechre, Aphex, Squarepusher, Venetian Snares. Visually I like Kinetic sculptures, Futurists, Cubists and Surrealist styles.

B: What is the on the Machine’s rider?

F: Depends on the performance space. For a gallery all the sounds are acoustic and the setup can take a range of forms. Live amplified setups require a selection of mics and careful mixing to ensure there’s no feedback. It takes a day or ideally two to setup. And it needs to be dark.

B: Who would you and the Machines most like to collaborate with?

F: I’ve collaborated in two live performances with Plaid and we’re looking to do more. It would be great to hear other artist’s music composed for the machines, but it can take a while. The machines definitely have a their own characteristics, probably a bit like learning an instrument. Aside from the music side I’d like to expand my designs by collaborating with a company who build drum kits.

B: What plans have you got for the future?
F: My time has recently been taken up with various commission work for brands, but at every given opportunity I keep building and recording the machines. I hope to start putting together another release next year with newer more powerful machines.

Find out more at www.felixsmachines.com
Buy Felix’s Machines EP on Bleep

Forthcoming on Unknown to the Unknown, exclusively upfront on Bleep from 6th December.
Read more about Unknown to the Unknown.

This week, we are celebrating the 10th birthday of Lex Records… We have even put together an exclusive 50 track bundle of the best tracks of Lex. If you need a little background on the label, have a look at our quick Q&A with Lex below….

Bleep: If you were describing yourselves to someone that knew nothing about Lex Records, what would you say?

Lex Records: 10 year old independent music company based in London and NYC, distributed worldwide. Quality over quantity, focused on artists rather than genres…

B: What have been the highest points of running Lex Records these last 10 years?

LR: Packed out Lex shows in London back in 2003, Danger Mouse splicing Jay-Z with Beatles to create The Grey album in 2004, working with many of our favourite musicians worldwide. Lex 5th anniversary party with Ghostface Killah (who is back in the house with DOOM for our 10th anniversary on Saturday November 5th at the Roundhouse), various festival missions including Coachella and Fondation Vasarely with Boom Bip… it’s been an interesting decade.

B: What has been the lowest point of running Lex Records these last 10 years?
LR: Dodgy distributors, warehouse fires, late artwork, the eternal battle between flagrant rappers and federal agents, the death of John Peel, the turning point when various people began making decisions based on quantity of MySpace plays / Facebook Likes rather than just using their ears.

B: What do you have planned for 2012?
LR: We’ll be moving into film, online content, books and art projects with new projects from most of our core roster of artists including Alan Moore (of Watchmen / V for Vendetta fame), DOOM, Doseone, Jneiro Jarel and Boom Bip… hopefully something Neon Neon shaped too.

B: Where do you see Lex in 10 years time?
LR: Operating from a burning spaceship on the shoulder of Orion with a three-boobed Martian lady on each arm feeding me duck pancakes and char sui buns, Intergalactic FM on the stereo, Pimms in the crunk cup, experiencing Alan Moore’s new film in 4-D hologram format directly piped into my brain… Like tears in rain.

A few weeks ago, we were delivered the fifth album installment from Luke Slater’s Planetary Assault Systems on Ostgut Ton. We decided to catch up with the man himself to discuss where he is at with his music…

Bleep: You have been quoted as saying you promise to ‘create new sounds which are not otherwise present in club music at this time’ on your new album. Can you explain this idea a little further?

Planetary Assault Systems: I think thats a promise I made to myself. Planetary has always been about moving sound around beats, motion and rhythm in unexpected ways that either still work on the dancefloor or work at a pure listening level. My aim is to manage both at the same time. If it works in a club and is valid on a listening level then i’m good. It’s something I always found in early electronic dance music and somthing that makes sense to me. There’s no point in releasing a mediocre record. Do it right. Feel it, let it breathe.

B: What do you think of the current techno landscape? Are there any other artists you particularly admire right now?
P.A.S.: This is a good time for good electronic music, it’s being embraced by people. Like I’ve always said techno is the foundation stone for electronic dance music, whatever happens, people find it and embrace it after fads wear out. They find the groove and the mindset, and as a writer, its inspiring. New guys like Shifted and Sigha and many more are thinking the right way. Pay attention to the music, write good music. Don’t do it for the wrong reasons. Do it because it makes sense…

B: Planetary Assault Systems, L.B. Dub Corp, Morganistic, Offset and 7th Plain are just a few of your mysterious music-making monikers. Why produce under so many different aliases?
P.A.S.: It’s all about P.A.S right now really. That’s where I’m at…

B: You’ve been a Berghain resident for a while now and are a firm part of their Ostgut Ton label. What attracted you to Ostgut in the first place and what does your relationship with them mean to you?
P.A.S.: I do have a long standing relationship with Osgut the club going back many years. It’s something that developed natually through the music and their commitment to only that. It made total sense to release my music on the label on many levels.

B: Any future plans that you can share with us?
P.A.S.: Right now things are very busy with the live P.A.S show that’s been going down immensely well, there is always some sonic and visual surprises involved with the shows on an artistic level. I think P.A.S is now doing what it should have done 15 years ago. Aside from the live show and DJing, I’m busy with remixes and Part running Mote-Evolver with Heidy. There are some great releases forthcoming on Mote-Evolver, so stay tuned…

Planetary Assault Systems – The Messenger is available to buy now on Bleep.com.