The London film premier of ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar’ went down a storm last week. The film documents the little known story of Oxford’s small music scene which has for over thirty years had been producing bands of huge quality and integrity who have gone on to define and shape music on a global basis. Featuring new and exclusive interviews and never before seen footage and archival material of Radiohead, Supergrass, Ride, Foals, Candyskins, Swervedriver, Talulah Gosh and many more.

Nigel Powell remembers a five-a-side football game between Oxford indie legends Radiohead and Ride:

Film screening followed by Q&A with Jon Spira & legendary RIDE singer, Mark Gardener! Live music at selected venues.

Screenings

9th Hereford Courtyard Arts Centre
15th Oxford Phoenix Picturehouse
17th Sheffield Showroom Workstation
18th Nottingham Broadway
22nd Preston Continental
25th Leeds Hyde Park Picture House
26th Bristol Watershed
29th Edinburgh Cameo
1st Dec London Prince Charles Cinema

The Coen Brothers are currently working on a new film ‘Inside Llewyn Davies’ which is set in the 60′s Greenwich Village during its heyday when the likes of Bob Dylan came rolling in as an unknown with a guitar slung over his back seeking work in the burgeoning underground folk music scene of the Village coffee houses. The film script is based loosely on Dave Van Ronk’s memoirs ‘The Mayor of McDougall Street’.

Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the founding figures of the 60′s folk revival and a pioneer of modern accoustic blues that influenced so many singers at the time. Anyone familiar with the book will know that those that befriended Dave read like a who’s who of the folk world and included names that went on to become giants including Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell.

Inside Llewyn Davies is in early stages and is due for release in 2013. Parts announced so far include a young musician called Jim (Justin Timberlake) who is married to Jean (Carey Mulligan). Oscar Isaac will play the part of Llewyn Davies. John Goodman is also to play a part which is yet to be announced, if I was to speculate I’d say he’d make a good Dave Van Ronk with a beard and he can probably carry off that hard bitten gravelled voice of Van Ronk!

Tonight our good friends Architects of Harmonic Rooms & Records-Moving Image will be presenting a selection of video documents from their archives, that reveal a world of ingenious, underground Musicians and Artists. Including a video collaboration with Harappian Night Recordings celebrating the rich psychedelic world of obscure 1960s/70s Asian horror movies, a video profile of the renowned John Fahey/Robbie Basho influenced Guitarist Steffen Basho-Junghans, American modern folk Singer-Songwriter Josephine Foster, Andalusian Guitarist Victor Herrero, performance artists Mamabaer & Kommissar Hjuler and Greek Rembetika duo of Costa and Nero. Expect occasional interactive live musical accompaniment.

Video Details

Harappian Night Recordings – Holy Thugs and The Death Bat God
A devotional montage of footage mauled up from left over VHS dregs and archive film basted in a sonic cauldron of mashed up psych shitwinders and belly rumblings vomitas by Harappien Night Recordings.

‘In Conversation with… Steffen Basho-Junghans’
Video profile on legendary six and twelve steel string guitarist, highly influenced by John Fayhee’s Takoma Records and his name sake-Robbie Basho. Giving an insight into his decision to take on the Basho name and his unique performance style.

‘In Conversation with… Mamabaer & Kommissar Hjuler’
Mamabaer & Kommissar Hjuler have been simultaneously taking the international underground experimental music scene by storm whilst firmly integrating them self’s into the contemporary art world. An intriguing couple that inspire confusion combined with powerful performances were ever they go. Kommissar Hjuler is policeman by day and porno artist by any other day he gets off, this video attempts to shed some light into their world.

‘In Conversation with… Josephine Foster’
Josephine Foster is a powerful singer songwriter with an unearthly voice capable of transcending the listener into other realms. American in origin she has spent the last few years in southern Spain soaking up flamenco music and almost forgotten Spanish folk songs. Planning to reunite herself with her American roots this video captures her at the tail end of her Spanish excursion.

‘In Conversation with… Victor Herrero’
Victor Herrero is a passionate Spanish guitarist this video sees him reflecting on love, life and skinny palm trees.

‘In Conversation with… Mendrugo’
Never has there been a group of musicians that inspire a sense of such ridicules fun. Taku is a Japanese wood-wind specialist and is the heart of the project. In a short but insightful interview he enables us to glimpse into his world of imagination .

‘Costa & Nero: Relentless Rembetika’
Costa and Nero are a Rembetika duo comprised of Chris Hladowski: Berzouki & Patrick Dowson: Classical Guitar performing lightning fingered classic greek ditties, this video sees them in action across Europe and UK…

Fri 4th Nov, 2011, 20:00 @ Leeds Town Hall 2 – £5.00 / £4.00

Tickets and details

http://www.harmonicrooms.co.uk/

Last Hipie Standing Goa is not a place – Goa is a State of Mind is a re-issued cult documentary by Marcus Robbin who went in search of the ‘last hippie in Goa’ and he manages to find some interesting traces of that culture which began in late sixties and late seventies when the western hippie movement was dying out through commercialisation. Marcus very cleverly unfolds the hippie scene through a series of interviews as well as some great original super 8 footage from the seventies. What he also tackles is peoples perception of hippies in Goa as well as highlighting the fact that there is a cultural heritage that is still evolving.

The film starts with the modern day, the trance music scene that thrives in Goa, a far cry from the guitars and flutes of the first hippie communities on the beaches of Anjuna. The two cultures are linked even if the 170bpm music does not sound the same there is the undercurrent of escape and an alternative lifestyle. Locals offer their mystified responses to the music yet young people still arrive in their droves for the popular full moon parties.

The film highlight is the reurn to the seventies through the use of some amazing footage that has never been seen before. The film focuses around three individuals:

Cleo Odzer: A New Yorker who came to Goa in the seventies. She left in the 80′s due to drug problems but returned 20 years later. The film is dedicated to her memory as she passed away in 2001.

Swami William: A very fascinating man who was one of the orginal seekers from San Francisco. He lives in a Himilayan mountain village and gives an insight into the influence of hinduism on the hippie culture.

Goa Gil: Another intersting man who is a top trance DJ who also arrived from San Francisco in the seventies. You can’t help but like the man as there is nothing not to like about him in the documentary.

Whilst the documentary is a great insight there is an underlying purpose to it which becomes evident during the interview with the Chief Minister of Goa who states that they don’t want hippies in Goa as they don’t spend any money. They want rich tourists who will inject money into ‘the system’. There is a sad irony to this but also a heightened desire which drives Marcus Robbin’s vision of a global village in Goa. He has already begun work on a documentary sequel to this which is being financed by donations.

And the last hippies? Yes, they are still there, some arrived and disappeared into Indian society as Sadhus. Others left and returned like Cleo. Whilst they lived in a sepearate reality and saw the sun and moon differently to how others may see them there is something very endearing about those first communal societies. They lived simple lives and did not accumulate wealth and numerous possessions. There were very few dwellings in Anjuna so people built their own huts or slept under trees…they ran flea markets to exchange goods that they needed such as clothes etc. The documentary does paint a very flowery picture, but it also highlights how that culture has evolved and thrived in the face of growing commercialism. Looking forward to the sequel!

Scenes and Interview:

Trailer:


Goa Gil – The Secret


Seventies Footage

Marcus Robbin – Interview in Goa (May 2011)

LAST HIPPIE STANDING II (Trailer 01)

Links

www.lasthippiestanding.de

Gifted actor Paddy Considine makes his directorial film debut with ‘Tyrannosaur’ which has been getting universal attention thanks to the quality of his work as well as the standout performances from stars Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman. The film also picked up a World Cinema Prize for directing and two World Cinema Special Jury Prizes for dramatic acting at Sundance Film Festival this year.

Tyrannosaur is an unusually moving and challenging love story about two damaged individuals: Joseph (Mullan), an unemployed widower, crippled by his own volatile temperament; and Hannah (Colman), a respectable Christian charity shop worker. They are, for all intent and purposes, from the opposite ends of society. As their relationship develops a deeply held secret of Hannah’s is revealed which has devastating consequences for both of them.

The film cleverly exposes and challenges preconceptions and predjudices around class and background. Upon reading the script, which was also written by Paddy, Peter Mullan was struck by how beautiful and brave it was. Where scripts of this nature can fall into a deeply cheesy furrow, Tyrannosaur is unflailingly honest and looks at the darkness and the goodness that lies within the heart of people despite differences of class, gender etc.

Despite the films low-budget Paddy Considine did not want this to define the film aesthetically, he wanted it to look like a movie and he achieved this way beyond expectations. The film works on many fronts and promises to be a magical, courageous and moving film. The acting and directing is amongst the best, a cinema classic for the future.

Tyrannosaur is released in cinemas on October 7.

Trailer

The use of projections onto buildings has in recent years gone way beyond everyday perceptions of what can be achieved. The following video was taken two years ago of a projection onto Kunsthalle in Hamburg, Northern Germany by Urban Screen. Kunsthalle is a leading art museum and considered by some to be one of the most important in Europe. It was built in 1863 -1869 by architects Georg Theodor Schirrmacher and Hermann von der Goede.

555 KUBIK “How it would be, if a house was dreaming”

It is recommended that you watch the video in full screen.

Concept: The conception of this project consistently derives from its underlying architecture – the theoretic conception and visual pattern of the Hamburg Kunsthalle. The Basic idea of narration was to dissolve and break through the strict architecture of O. M. Ungers “Galerie der Gegenwart”. Resultant permeabilty of the solid facade uncovers different interpretations of conception, geometry and aesthetics expressed through graphics and movement. A situation of reflexivity evolves – describing the constitution and spacious perception of this location by means of the building itself.

Oliver Jeffers was born and brought up in Belfast and now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY where he has a studio. He makes art, from oil paintings, commercial illustrations and collage, but he is probably best known for making picture books for children. He got into picture books by mistake (watch the video) but has always been influenced by tales and storytelling, a passion derived from his Northern Ireland upbringing. He first started working with words and pictures in an experimental way, to demonstrate how one defines the other, it was then that he relaised he was essentially making picture books.

The following video gives a great overview of the man and his work:

One of his most popular picture books is Lost and Found which was made into a film narrated by the Jim Broadbent and also features a beautiful score by composer Max Richter.

Even if you haven’t read one of Oliver Jeffers books there is a strong chance that you have seen his work in the likes of The Guardian, United Airlines, Lavazza Coffee, Newsweek International or the Irish Times for which he received the Gold Icad Award for Illustration. The children application ‘The heart and the bottle’, got selected as Apple iPad app of the week. One of his strengths, like most succesful illustrator is a natural ability to capture the hearts and minds of not just the children, but the grown up children as well!

Buy Links

Lost and Found (DVD)

Oliver Jeffers Books

The heart and the bottle (Ipad App)

Link:

www.oliverjeffers.com

Related: Read our interview with illustrator Jeannie Paske

Most people have heard of Union Chapel because of a band or artist that has performed there but Union Chapel is also a working church, it is also host to the Margins Project launched in 1995 in direct response to those entrenched in poverty and crisis asking for help and shelter in Islington, one of the poorest boroughs in the country. Food, clothing and at times, emergency accommodation are provided by the Margins Project team, as well as practical support to help people break out of the cycle of despair and rebuild their lives. A Sunday ‘Drop‐in Service’ with up to 160 people coming every week to access services including a hot meal, showers, laundry facilities, warm clean clothing, toiletries and a haircutting service, alongside workshops and classes, enable people to move forward in a practical and positive way. In support of this work, between October 18th and 22nd, the Union Chapel will host it’s fourth annual campaign of exciting events with ALL proceeds going to the project:

‘Marginalised’ is a fantastically entertaining and engaging annual festival of events with music, art, comedy, talks, childrens workshops and discussions – all celebrating the breadth and the best of arts events at the Union Chapel. For the artists taking part, it’s an opportunity to present a unique one‐off event in an incredibly atmospheric venue. Some previous artists have chosen to work with the themes of marginalisation and homelessness. Some have incorporated visual elements. The brief is open. This year, the programme will build on the artistic legacy of past Marginalised festivals that have featured performances by Max Richter, Michael Nyman, David McAlmont, Gavin Bryars, UNKLE & Heritage Orchestra and the North Sea Radio Orchestra.

First events now on sale for the fourth annual Marginalised campaign 18th – 22nd October 2011. All proceeds will go to the Margins Project

Tues. 18th October – 5×15   Tickets

Five speakers, fifteen minutes each. True stories of passion, obsession and adventure recounted live with just two rules: no scripts and only fifteen minutes each.

• John Bird – on twenty years of the Big Issue
• Franny Armstrong – on her work as inspirational film maker and environmental activist
• Daisy Goodwin – on her passion for poetry
• Patrick and Henry Cockburn -  on Henry’s demons and living with schizophrenia

Thurs. 20th October – David Lean’s Classic 1948 film ‘Oliver Twist’ Tickets

Marginalised 2011 presents a special screening of the 1948 David Lean classic ‘Oliver Twist’

Based on the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist is about an orphan boy who runs away from a workhouse and meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. Oliver is taken in by the pickpocket and he joins a household of young boys who are trained to steal for their master. This version of Oliver Twist is topped by Alec Guinness’s masterly performance of arch-thug Fagin. Restaurant and bar open from 6.30pm

Fri. 21st October   Tickets

Live performance of the ‘Midnight Cowboy’ soundtrack

Arranged and performed by Stephen Ellis with the Space Marching Band

As soon as you hear those first memorable descending notes of the harmonica theme you’re immediately transported back into the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. But the soundtrack  is perhaps also best most known for the pop success of Harry Nilsson’s rendition of Fred Neil’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’, which has been covered by over 100 different artists. The soundtrack also featured the widely disparate sounds of B.J. Thomas, Elephant’s Memory, and even early Warren Zevon all drawn together masterfully by John Barry’s elegant title track and  a further handful of cues. Barry’s offerings seem to have had the most far-reaching impact on modern music – Faith No More notably covered and championed the main title track.

Stephen Ellis is the singer and songwriter for London band REVERE, who transport Barry’s plaintiff sound into their frequent use of reed organs and melodicas to contribute to something both mournful and universally epic. In honour of John Barry’s sad passing earlier this year, Stephen has set himself the not too small task of bringing this particular soundtrack to life on the Union Chapel stage.  It is an arena Ellis is all too familiar with having played sell-out shows here with REVERE and his other musical interest Gabby Young & Other Animals twice before. This evening’s performance will be arranged for and performed by a special expanded ensemble including members of REVERE alongside some specially chosen guests. The performance will also include in addition homage to some of John Barry’s other great film music.

The ensemble features members of Revere, Age of Not Believing Orchestra, Magic Lantern, The Unrecorded, Jess Bryant, The Howling Dog Choir, Strangled Brass and other special guests.

John Barry was a hugely influential English film score composer who died earlier this year at the age of 77. He is best known for composing 11 James Bond soundtracks and over  a career spanning almost 50 years, Barry received numerous awards for his work, including five Academy Awards; two for Born Free, and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won a BAFTA Award), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (for which he also won a Grammy Award) and Somewhere in Time (1980) (Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Score – Motion Picture).

Links

http://www.unionchapel.org.uk/pages/margins.html