Gottwood Adventures
I am still in mild disbelief that I actually made it to Gottwood. I’ve notched up three failed attempts. The first, I had a friends and family ticket, and I was guilt tripped into not going. That was a mistake. The second time, I didn’t go because of a tragedy. I lost a dear friend … Read More
Don’t Edit Your Mix, Don’t Think Too Much, and, Most Importantly, Don’t Take My Advice
I was asked recently if I thought a mate should edit their mix before putting it out there. Absolutely not is my answer. It was quite funny and sweet really, because they were nervous about it being their first recorded vinyl only mix, and it’s so much tighter than my latest radio show, which I’ve … Read More
Some Good Times Were Had 💜
There’s a hat at The Imaginarium – a colourful trilby type hat. A festival hat is what I suppose it would be to some people. It’s been used as decoration, and occasionally worn. I recently apprehended someone, and asked them to please not leave with our hat. It holds sentimental value insofar as it’s travelled … Read More
Recent Music Reviews
Mainly, you can find my music reviews on other sites. Recently, I’ve reviewed the following: Elías Sternin – Virtual Analog EP (Real Interactions) Hybrid Man – Overgrown Echos (On Rotation) Galcher Lustwerk – I Neva Seen (Willow Remix) & Not Even Noticed – Microtransitions
A Few Scattered Thoughts
The Imaginarium It’s quite mad to think that it’s been a year and a bit now since we opened The Imaginarium. A lot of that time was consumed by situations that meant I couldn’t really enjoy it all as I should have, but finally now I am. It’s been a real treat to have some … Read More
Imaginarium Craven Arts House Exhibition
I’ve been really buzzed to take part in an exhibition at Craven Arts House in Skipton, as part of the Imaginarium takeover, which runs throughout September… Craven Arts House is a centre for contemporary arts, run by an artist-led organisation. Throughout September, I’ll be showing some of my artwork in their gallery space, as part … Read More
Paranoia, Chaos, and Hysteria: Some Reflections on Three Rockumentaries
I’ve recently watched two documentaries about Brian Jones; both are well worth checking out. Another music feature I’d recommend is Moonage Daydream, about David Bowie, which you can watch on Netflix. Nick Broomfield’s BBC documentary, The Stones and Brian Jones, came highly recommended. The other, Rolling Stone: Life and Death of Brian Jones is produced … Read More
Rubber Ducky Records Fundraiser
Many of you will be aware of Rubber Ducky Records, and the catastrophe that has hit this wonderful venture… This Friday (May 12th) sees the return of On The Button to The Imaginarium, and the event is also a fundraiser for Rubber Ducky Records. This incorporates a pre-party in Plant & Deck, with a pop up … Read More
Animal House Review
I decided I wanted to read Animal House, after stumbling upon an extract from the book in The Guardian. The headline quote read: “We took acid at 6pm – the awards started at 6:30.” Easily lured in by tales of chaos and decadence, I was compelled to read more. The book is an autobiographical work … Read More
Boy Wolf T-Shirts
As modelled here by my pal Joe Haze, I’ve had some t-shirts printed with a bit of artwork I made a loooong time ago. You can buy these here and there’s a £5 discount available to patrons. Please feel free to contact me if you want the deets of the printer, too. He’s an independent … Read More
A Cosmic Sunday Night
*This was orginally posted on the DIY Leeds website* So, after the many avenues of the weekend, I found myself at Club Cosmos, which is taking place weekly at Freedom Mills every Sunday night… I say ‘found myself at’ – I had various places to be, and I’d always planned to land at this one after everything. … Read More
A Bit of Spoken Word
I was going to perform at Prismatic tomorrow, but I don’t dare. There have been relatively few things ever that I’ve not dared do, so this got me thinking about why that is. I suppose the first thing is that it’s something quite far away from anything I usually do. I’ve only ever been to … Read More
Some Recent Music Reviews
I started writing music reviews on the Hideous Things site in 2021, but then I found that I had a weird writer’s block, and things wouldn’t come out as they usually did, so I stopped. Anyway, I’ve started them again and there’s a couple I’ve just put up on Weapons of Desire’s latest EP – … Read More
The Art of Ecstasy
I’ve been intending to write about Vintage Disco Biscuit‘s wonderful book for quite some time. I got a copy of The Art of Ecstasy at The Golden Lion in Todmorden (also quite wonderful) back in April, when I played a gig there with John Paynter and Matt Hum. We were on after a book signing … Read More
Imaginarium (Part Two)
I knew back in September, that I wouldn’t be writing much over the following few months. Nearly a year before, we had left our old studio space, created in a warehouse just off Kirkstall Road, and that had meant several weeks of graft – and also that the rest of my life didn’t get a … Read More
My Vinyl Emoji Hell
I collect ‘first world problems’. By that, I don’t mean that I aim to be disgruntled by trivial nonsense. What I mean is that I see my own absurdity when this happens, and I tend to remember things that make me laugh. At the end of last year, I moved to a new flat, and … Read More
The Trickle Down Effect
There won’t be a German Market in Leeds this year, and the council have announced that Bonfire Night festivities are not taking place either. I am pretty gutted about both, and I would not have gone to either. The reasons Leeds City Council have given for the market not happening are ‘the cost of foreign … Read More
Plant & Deck at The Imaginarium
— ORIGINALLY POSTED ON DIY LEEDS.COM – WORDS BY ME — The brainchild of Subterranea resident DJ Phil Warner, Plant & Deck will be housed in The Imaginarium, a multi use creative arts space, which is currently under development on Church Walk, just off Kirkgate, situated – conveniently for music lovers – next door to … Read More
Tower Works
I’ve had many rants about property developers, often because their plans are a cultural wrecking ball, and they force the closures of venues that are integral to our music scene. Sometimes, it’s because they pay no respect to architecture that deserves preservation, and sometimes it’s just because they destroy a beautiful skyline. I wanted to … Read More
Thank You Houghton – A Most Excellent Time Was Had ♥
What a magical few days that was! I have attended many festivals, and I don’t think I’ve come back from any quite as buzzed as I was after this year’s Houghton. By 2022, there had been more Noughtons than Houghtons, and the festival had become a bit like the jam that they are always going … Read More
Invasive Specie Remixes
——————————— A few months ago, Hummingbird by BPZ founder, Benjamin Philippe Zulauf approached me about doing a remix of one of the tracks on his Invasive Specie LP, released under the moniker Fork Tailed Woodnymph. The LP addresses the issues of climate change and the impact of humans on the Earth – something I feel … Read More
Ali Cat Vintage
Appreciation post for the wonderful finds of Ali Cat Vintage 💛🖤💛🖤 Love this Picasso jacket, and the amazing item below (apologies for the poor quality image)… It was really difficult to get a decent photo of this (as you can see, I’ve not managed to do so), but it’s ace! When Heironymus Bosch painted The … Read More
Van Gogh – The Immersive Experience
I went to Van Gogh – The Immersive Experience and all I got was this lousy notebook that I purchased as I exited through the gift shop… Nah, it was brilliant. I’m not posting any pics of the actual thing, though, as that kind of defeats the object and would do it no justice (you … Read More
Leeds Street Gallery at Seagulls
Among the many events that took place in Leeds during the Jubilee weekend, the Leeds Street Gallery Jubilee Block Party at Seagulls Paint on the Saturday was an excellent day. I had the pleasure of DJing and bringing some art to this event, and I’ve also written about it on the rather neglected DIY Leeds … Read More
Beyond the Screen
Reviews – The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix Series), Andy Warhol’s America (BBC) and Warhol by Blake Gopnik (Penguin) My Warhol fascination began when I was in junior school, and I was browsing the art books in the town library. I was dimly aware of his name, and I think I could relate it to his … Read More
Music for Ukraine
Following our Ukraine fundraiser event, we’ve released an album on bandcamp featuring exclusive tracks from some excellent artists… Music For Ukraine Big thanks to everyone who contributed a track to this compilation. All proceeds will be split 50/50 between Help Ukraine Center and ActionAid’s Ukraine appeal. You can buy the whole album or individual tracks … Read More
A Beautiful Memoir
Book Review – Patti Smith – Just Kids One of the books I’ve most enjoyed in recent times is Patti Smith’s Just Kids, an account of Smith’s life in her twenties and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. I have long been an admirer of Patti Smith as a musician and poet, and I expected that … Read More
Oh, Facebook, Why?
I’m not one for wild conspiracy theories, but I did briefly wave my fists in the air earlier and wonder if Facebook is funded by Russia (I don’t actually think it is, it just doesn’t work very well). Here’s my rant… I’m organising (with the help of many other good people) a charity fundraiser for … Read More
Ukraine Fundraiser
After having my head up my arse for most of the early part of this year (I was suffering the after effects of my second go of Covid, then a friend died – I wasn’t in a place to think about much), I came to a couple of weeks ago. One of the first things … Read More
My Phone Has a Unicorn Problem
My phone has a unicorn problem. It’s getting out of hand. In fact, it has only ever been completely out of hand. Trouble is, I kind of like it. It’s darkly entertaining. My contract was up in January and I should really get a new phone. The iphone X is shite. It does all sorts … Read More
Preachers, Predators, and Prima Donnas
This post originally appeared on Hideous Things In the summer, not long after restrictions had been lifted, a friend of mine posted a long rant on social media. He’d provided the equipment for a gig, and he’d had to change the mixer something like five times (it may have been more). Basically, a mixer for every … Read More
On the Spectrum
I was sat on a train, on the day before Christmas Eve, eavesdropping on a conversation. Within the space of about sixty seconds, these two guys had diagnosed themselves with autism, OCD, and bi-polar disorder. A while back, after someone saying that his girlfriend was bi-polar, a friend of mine quipped “Why do all women … Read More
Monday Morning 19/07/21
This post originally appeared on Hideous Things A while ago, a friend said to me: “I think when I finally find myself on a dancefloor again, in front of a big speaker stack, I’ll probably cry.” I wondered then and many times afterwards if I would too. Maybe not actually burst into tears, but at least … Read More
Still Friends, in Spite of it All?
I’m not generally in the habit of deleting people on social media. I have done it before, but circumstances need to be extreme. Or they did. Now I find myself considering it a lot. It was different a few years ago. Things just weren’t so much like this. Brexit and Covid have changed everything and … Read More
The Last Plastic Carrier Bag at Morrison’s
I meant to write this post for Global Recycling Day, but, as is often the way, I was too busy. The images I’m sharing with this post are by ScapaJoe. For Global Recycling Day, we shared their piece ‘Inside My Head’ on SHSO – a creative blog I run along with my mates Joe Haze … Read More
Tales from the Covoid
It’s been sunny. I have stuff to do. The restrictions are being relaxed. I feel a lot better now. Almost good in fact. But things did get quite grim for a while. I was listening to a radio show back in January, and the DJ spoke about not having been particularly productive during this last … Read More
Remembering Andrew Weatherall
This post originally appeared on Hideous Things It’s been a year today since Andrew Weatherall died. A long, strange year. Because of everything that has happened since, it seems, in a way, like a long time ago. But also, because nothing has really happened, it has passed like no time at all. I remember that … Read More
A Few Good Things
It’s not all been bad… It’s undoubtedly been a difficult year. A horrible year even. But… there are some things that weren’t shit for me in 2020. Here’s some stuff (in no particular order and with no particular theme) that have made me smile in the weird year of the pandemic. Some of it is … Read More
The Year That Wasn’t
This post originally appeared on Hideous Things I also share my writing on Medium *** I’m half entertained and half spooked by the fact that I titled our first blog post, back in February, ‘Sorry Guys, Do You Mind Not Dancing?’ At the time, everything that has happened since would have seemed unimaginable. Five months … Read More
Complexa Mix Series
Something I’ve enjoyed recently has been the Complexa Mix series. Put together by my friend, York-based DJ Jon Baker-Hood AKA Upside your mind and Brad Wood AKA Synthia, the vibe is spacey electronic sounds. The genres vary – which is always something I favour – but the cosmic, trippy vibe is strong throughout. The first … Read More
Imaginarium (Part One)
It’s been some time since I’ve documented any progress on our studio space. In my last post on this, we’d decided on a name for the space – The Imaginarium. Part of the reason for this lack of updates was just how busy I was. Also I didn’t want to be repeating myself. And then … Read More
Lockdown Diary (Part Five)
I’ve not written one of these for a while. Lockdown has got less strict and less weird, I’ve been busier, seen more people, felt better. In what I would deem as a responsible way, I’ve broken the lockdown since it began. I was dropping some post at a friend’s house at the beginning of lockdown, … Read More
Lockdown Diary (Part Four)
I want to go somewhere mad. But nowhere is open. Anywhere. A weird consequence of globalisation that none of us were expecting. The world is small and quiet. Tomorrow it will be six weeks since I had a beer in a bar. It’s been six weeks since I rode a bus. I’ve sort of lost … Read More
Lockdown Diary (Part Three)
I’ve not written for a while. I read my last post back and I felt that it was very negative and I didn’t even end up sharing it on any social media. That was quite early on in the lockdown. Since then I’ve been a lot more upbeat, and assuming that this doesn’t go on … Read More
Lockdown Diary (Part Two)
I think I dealt with the first part of this pretty well. In some ways I was even weirdly glad of it all. I wouldn’t be left homeless or completely broke and, after months of little free time, diminished amounts of work meant that I would have more time for creative projects. As the weekend … Read More
Lockdown Diary
Two weeks and two days ago I was sat in a bar, just next door to where I was living, planning many things for the year ahead. I went down to Outlaws Yacht Club, as I did most days, where one of the owners had kindly offered to help out with advice about licensing our … Read More
An Alternative Christmas Message
Years ago (I was about fourteen), I was at my friend’s house, stoned (I smoked weed back then) and tripping (we’d eaten some hallucinogenic mushrooms) and staring into the fire. Some terrible Christmas film was on, but we weren’t really watching it. What did happen, though, was that it inspired me (along with the mushrooms … Read More
Reflections on a Disaster
One of the saddest days of my recent life was Friday 13th December 2019, the day our election results came in. I wasn’t expecting to feel so gloomy. That part came as a shock to me, because the result didn’t. I was expecting that – and so I wasn’t expecting my own reaction to it. … Read More
Studio Space (Part Five) – The Imaginarium
It’s been a mad couple of months. When I started packing to move house and began the real task of sorting our studio space I knew it would be a mad few weeks. I underestimated how long it would all actually take. This is unusual for me. Usually I overestimate. We took on a warehouse … Read More
Distrikt Pride Courtyard Party Review
This post originally appeared on DIY Leeds *** I need to stop reviewing gigs I’ve played at myself. Or we need more writers for DIY Leeds (it’s a labour of love. Currently all content is written by me and Joe Haze). Anyway… Every so often you play at a party that stands out a little from … Read More
Future World Problems
There is a beautiful quote from The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan that by its nature will always be relevant: “We are all flawed and creatures of our times. Is it fair to judge us by the unknown standards of the future?” A thought-provoking question. To put it in context, here’s the whole passage: … Read More
A Golden Weekend – The Off Licence presents CMYK
This post originally appeared on DIY Leeds *** This was such a good party. The Off Licence is the brainchild of my friends Ben Etherington and Alex Kelsall, who are also Schwein residents. They’d been talking about putting a night on themselves since before coming on board with the Schwein crew and it’s been awesome … Read More
The Opiate of the Masses
My mate Brett used to say ‘That’s dead seventies’ about anything he thought of as grim or old fashioned. ‘I think TV is dead seventies’ I said to him one day. ‘Like things still being on at particular times and just that people watch it at all.’ I’ve always found the notion of watching TV … Read More
Controversial, but…
The other day I made someone chuckle because they said something about feminists and I apparently pulled a face of disgust. “So you’re not a feminist, then?” my friend asked, laughing. “God no!” I said. This kind of response from me is usually either met with amusement or horror, so I feel I should maybe … Read More
Goodbye, Mint Club
This piece originally was originally written for DIY Leeds (for those not in the know, Google does not penalise this kind of duplicate content) *** I need to stop going to gigs on acid. Well, I don’t, because it’s brilliant, but I probably should when I intend to review them objectively because it makes everything … Read More
Studio Space (Part Four)
I’m conscious of repeatedly posting the same thing, so didn’t want to do daily updates on our progress doing up our wonderful new space. Also, I’ve been busy as hell as I’ve needed to make sure I’m earning enough to pay my share of the costs. Following the glorious multi-coloured walls, we needed to get … Read More
Words That Should Exist
The image above is something I’ve seen floating around the web for a while, and I always enjoy re-reading it. Number 12 prompted me to think of a word that doesn’t exist, but should… Anecdouche – A person who constantly interrupts others with their own anecdotes. (I will add that most people I know are … Read More
Nicolas Dixon Mural at Leeds Trinity
Last week I took up the brilliant opportunity of helping prolific Leeds artist Nicolas Dixon out as he painted a mural in the Trinity Centre. Along with Peachzz , Florence Blanchard, Raul33 & D7606, artists for Blackbox and OllyStudio, he has transformed the Albion Street entrance to the shopping centre. This will coincide with new … Read More
Studio Space (Part Three)
Swift progress is being made doing up our wonderful new space… After some discussion, we decided not to paint the studio ourselves. That was our original plan – and we even had some of our lovely friends volunteer to help. On thinking it through, however, we realised that the time we’d spend doing it would … Read More
The Moral Quandry of Greggs Vegan Sausage Rolls
In recent times I’ve made a concerted effort to eat less meat and I’ve started 2019 with an aim to avoid meat products altogether. This is the only new year’s resolution I’ve ever made. This was what one of my friends had to say about the new vegan sausage rolls at Greggs… “Profits from this … Read More
Studio Space (Part Two)
Following probably the best Christmas and NYE I’ve ever had (great time with Freaky Behaviour on Boxing Day, mint NYE and NYD Schwein gigs at Wire and 212 and then dancing all night at Hold The Relish), the time had come to get my brain back into gear and remember all the serious stuff I … Read More
Schwein NYE at Wire
The Schwein & Bad Ornament crew are back at Wire for NYE. I’ve done a full write up about this on our site. Have a read here
Studio Space (Part One)
A couple of years ago – the day after the hideously depressing Brexit vote, in fact – someone asked me where Schwein & Bad Ornament was. (Schwein & Bad Ornament being the art and music collective that I’m part of). “Oh, it’s not a place” I said. “But we would love to have a place … Read More
Making a Difference
“If one person makes a change it makes no difference.” I’ve heard that a lot, and it’s bullshit. A friend said to me the other day “You do realise that if you do this it won’t make any difference to the rest of the world.” Oh but it will. If everyone had that attitude, nothing … Read More
My Friend Marco
My friend Marco died like his heroes. It was a terrible waste – as is the death of any young person. Marco was talented and sweet, and he made us all laugh a lot… and he deserved to live long enough to realise that most of his heroes were douchebags. Marco loved the past. He … Read More
Underthinking
I don’t think much. I mean, I obviously do have thoughts, but I don’t really ponder things that often, I tend to just observe and do. I have been told that I’m ‘hard to read’, but on the few occasions when I would consider myself to be really THINKING, someone has always asked me: ‘Are … Read More
Bad Ornament Art Exhibition at Outlaws Yacht Club
Currently, myself and the good folks at Schwein & Bad Ornament have artwork on display and available to buy from my favourite teleport destination (as I once quipped to Nigel Rogers who has since adopted the description and used it widely), Outlaws Yacht Club. Nigel, Darryl Marsden, Al Bradley and our resident DJ Carl Sheppard played some tunes for the launch party, a … Read More
Balancing Gigging with ‘Normal’ Life
…I am just about managing this. I work as a freelance web designer and developer and I also run Schwein & Bad Ornament with a few close mates. We’re a crew of DJs and artists and we host regular events in Leeds and a few further afield. This includes two residencies on the third and … Read More
Studio Time
Up until now I’ve not had much time to work on tunes this year, but I got a few finished in the later part of 2017, after various reworkings and I got to have some studio time last week to do rough masters of these. My housemate and fellow Schwein resident Marcus Kitchen is studying … Read More
Pop Cult Chic
As a web developer/designer I get to work on some exciting projects. Some of these are a buzz in a nerd kind of way – like the technical side is fun and I get to make some cool shiz and solve weird problems. Others are inspiring because they tie in with the other side of … Read More
Gold Lego Minifigure Necklace
Gold Lego Minifigure Necklace Custom made gold Lego minifigure necklace. I made this a while ago and just shared a pic on Instagram and facebook. Had quite a decent reaction so going to make a few more to sell. Watch this _________
Charity Shop Gold
An ace find. Cheetahs. Completely the wrong size. Perfect.
Big Disco
Big Disco Our stall at Big Disco last week – prior to putting on Rhythm&Soul at Wire…