The second release on Sgarab Tapes is THE PANAMA PAPERS S/T EP; Sax-driven industromental diversions, gascloud flotsam ambience and alternative chamber arrangements from this shadowy, nefarious duo. Born of true and absolute necessity at SHIFT Cardiff, this tape features two cuts of frosty skronk, and two finely crafted laments for souls lost to accounting errors. Thanks to Jonsey Boy and The Paper for doing us an exclusive on the radio, so good they played it twice
The tape / digipack pre-order is now up on Bandcamp. We’re also doing a little release show down Paradise Garden on Sat Nov 4, 8PM. You should definitely come along, it’s free and alongside PP features some very special guests:
CRESCENT ARC – ‘Lite noise, hard panned,’ says Doug, aka Sadrave, a Leeds-based experimentalist who, under the Crescent Arc moniker, pairs caustic sonic drift and tightly-wound sound-play with scrapyard pop abstractions and dreamy, over-the-phone transmissions
DOCTERRE – aka Harvey Coleman, co-founder and resident at the excellent Leeds clubnight Season. He actually just released this very cool CD under his DT Dream moniker, but tonight he’ll just be playing what he likes. I imagine some of it will be fast and in French
SOPHIE HARD LINES – One of my favourite Cardiff DJs, except I haven’t seen her out since the fateful TGN x HDM cross over (handshake meme with Cardiff queers, CCFC Casuals and Madonna Hung Up) and so I am fixing this
GIGS
WED OCT 25: BOURNE WILLBERG NOONAN @ The Queens Head Inn, Monmouth
Ashamed to say I’ve never been to Monmouth, and sadly it looks like one of its draws—The Queen’s Head—is putting its foot down on weird gigs and leaning into cover bands. Utterly shite patter, not least since Lyndon Owen (who gets two mentions this month, see below) has been doing his thing for 18 years now, but at least this last hurrah (which is tomorrow) looks good. Bourne Willberg Noonan is a new improv trio featuring New York percussionist Sean Noonan, a ‘polyrhythmic storyteller’ who splices kinetic technique with spoken passages that draw on ‘irreverent folk tales and offbeat inspirations from various cultures’. Joining him is keyboardist Matthew Bourne and London double bass talent Otto Willberg. Sounds spicy to me
THU NOV 9: YEAH YOU, BEAUTY PARLOUR W/ NIA!, EKSTASIS, AUGUSTE VICKUNAITE @ SHIFT, Cardiff, 19:30
The Welsh-born, Newcastle-based ‘wild pop’ duo return to SHIFT. Every time I see them they’re stunning; Elvin Brandhi’s improvised treatises are always a thrill, but what I love most is how they draw blood from whatever assemblage of electronics they’ve laid hands on. Real Cash Convertor Soundsystem gear. Support from Ekstasis—modular thrashings and contact mic drama from the nightmare frontier—and Auguste Vickunaite, who’s using old reel-to-reels to explore the ‘errors of old technology, randomness of nature, aesthetics of boredom and slow art’. Sounds awesome. I’m also playing with ad libs from original BP comrade Nia D
SAT NOV 11: GWYL NAWR FESTIVAL W/ Y PREGETHWR, LIFTING GEAR ENGINEER, ALAW RHYS, SACHASKY, SARA EVELYN, R. SEILIOG, RADIO FREE PONTY, ANI GLASS, ELSPETH ANNE, PAT MOGRAN @ Ty Tawe, Swansea, 12:00
Wow: Rhodri Davies and co lay on a full spread in Swansea next month with several artists previously featured here (Frontier beats from Sachasky, the eldritch transmissions of Radio Free Ponty, Datblygu’s Pat Morgan), along with dream pop supreme from Cardiff’s Ani Glass and a rich mix of Welsh electronics including Swansea IDM disciple Rob Morgan, AKA Lifting Gear Engineer. Very exciting and almost certainly scheduled for the one day I can’t make on purpose. There will also be a short programme of films before the music kicks off, including celebrated docs on Sonic Youth and Sun Ra, and Gwenno’s ‘Tresor’
TUE NOV 14: SONIC FRUIT AND VEG MACHINE, LIAM LEE-HINES @ Bank Vault, Aberystwyth
To the West Coast now where Lyndon Owen of improv metalheads The Plague Doctors is taking his Sonic Fruit and Veg project, a communal endeavour inspired by the composition techniques of Cornelius Cardew and crew, and informed by peoples’ diets, I’m told; but don’t believe me, see for yourself! Supporting is fellow Plague Doctor Liam Lee-Hines, who manifests expansive soundscapes via bass guitar and electronics
THU NOV 16: EDDIE PREVOST / SILVAN SCHMID / TOM WHEATLEY, OMEGA INSTITUTE, CHRIS PARFITT @ SHIFT, Cardiff, 19:30
Another new improv trio for you; ‘buoyant and elusive jazz, driven by referential investigation’, with a debut album forthcoming on Matchless Recordings in 2024. Went down well in Café Oto I’m told! Very cool to see Bristol’s Omega Institute coming to Cardiff too, free-wheeling experimental dub for the adventurous gaffsman. Support from South Wales Improvisers capo Chris ‘Christ’ Parfitt
FRI NOV 17: MARTIN MCALOON @ Clwb, Cardiff, 19:00
Probably of interest to some, certainly to me: the Prefab Sprout bassist and brother of Paddy takes the hits on tour to a host of intimate settings including Clwb. I reckon this will be very nice
No reviews this month sorry because I’m very busy looking at bones ahead of final exams, but there’s a few in the pipeline for next time and in the meantime can I recommend Caerphilly terror The Dawn Project
THINGS I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- Love this from keys / double bass duo Salenta & Topu, impossibly pretty improvs that have been keeping me company in this profoundly lonely Swansea guest house they’ve got me living in
- The new Laurel Halo and Lee Gamble both slap but you probably didn’t need me to tell you this. ‘She’s Not’ is my fave release this year
- This from Edinburgh sound designer Tomm Mudd is really class: Guitar Cultures is similar to 2019 release Brass Cultures in that what you’re hearing is physical modelling-based synthesis of an instrument. The latter seemed mainly interested in ‘impossible brass’, which is to say cool ass sounds you couldn’t wring out of the things themselves, but this new guitar-based collection seems way more interested in, err, guitar culture itself, with nods to improv legends like Derek Bailey and Hans Reichel. Still, would love to see you nerds shred like this
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Xavier Boucherat is a Cardiff-based musician, promoter and writer. Check out Sgarab Tapes on Bandcamp. Through the Night is published whenever there’s time on Substack. You can subscribe below
If you are a recording artist in Wales or from Wales making anything freaky, I’d love to hear your stuff, particularly if you’re from a group that traditionally lacks representation. You can email me at throughthenightwales@gmail.com
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