Matt Warren - The Small Hours

"A shame-faced open letter" (Oct 13, 2009)

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:52:00 -0700

Eyes and ears are open wide, some things don't go in.
Trying to catch up with sleep. Disappointment at what I see around me.
Grounded, making noise, things coming to an end and a very important beginning about to start.
There is something important to be said.

An open letter to the rest of the world.

Please don't think the actions and attitudes of contestants on "Hey Hey It's Saturday" represent me! The pro of the web is that information can be delivered quickly and effectively, the con is that if that information is an extremely unfortunate example of human ignorance, everyone sees that too.
One would hope that this kind of racist 'entertainment' doesn't represent the attitudes or entertain the majority of the country, but I sometimes wonder. Australia has a bit of a reputation around the world has being racist, for example, just look at how we treat our students from India. When I lived in Canada around 10 years ago, an Asian fellow who worked in the Uni said to me;
"Oh you're from Australia, do you know Pauline Hansen?" "Not personally" I replied. I was extremely embarrassed that her shit travelled so far.

So for those who don't know the story, a 1970s/80s family variety TV show called 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' recently presented two 'reunion' shows. The second one included a kind of 'gong show' talent competition, featuring a re-showing of a skit from about 20 years earlier called 'Jackson Jive' a collection of guys in black face (ala The Black and White Minstrel Show') and frizzy wigs and a leader in Michael Jackson ('Thriller' era) getup, with a pale face. It was a bad idea back in the 80's, it's a bad idea now. American crooner Harry Connick Jr was a judge on the show and he called them out on just how dodgy the whole thing was. Presenter and producer, Daryl Somers, to his credit, apologised to Connick for the offense and gave him the opportunity to say why he was offended, which he eloquently did. However, why the hell was this even aired/allowed on the show? (on the repeat, the skit and it's aftermath were removed).

'It's all a bit of fun, no harm done, no offense intended' some might say. 'It's Political Correctness gone mad'. Screw that, I say. To a degree, what's correct politically is subjective, one's morals and ethics are your own. However, when a majority of society agrees that racism is a 'bad thing' then you should really think about it.

Somehow certain parts of popular culture become acceptable, regardless of the problematic nature of them. Football machismo (excessive alcohol consumption and sexual molestation) although slightly frowned upon is excused because 'these elite athletes need to let off steam. 'Shock jocks' like little ol' Kyle Sandilands or that wally Sam Newman are still on the air because it's just their schtick. It's like the bull runs, just because because something is tradition, doesn't mean it should continue.
I'm opposed to censorship, but when you talk shit, you should expect that someone will call you on it.

Back to 'Hey Hey it's Saturday'. Satire is all well and good, however there were a number of reason's this was a bad idea. Michael Jackson has just died for one. A sense of irony, about a period of TV entertainment, that was naive in it's attitudes would be one thing, a 2009 perspective on an 1970s/80s mindset. However, there was complete lack of irony or wit and it reminded us all that the show had (and seemingly still does - perhaps to be authentic) a general tone of racism and mean-spiritness.

Rant over, but all this shit needs to be wiped out, I'm fed up with it. I'm also not looking at 'blanding' out society with no controversial art or entertainment. This is not conservatism. This is a hope that elements that perpetuate bullshit are shown the door. It's so easy NOT to be ignorant, why is it still happening.

There are good things around though. Me and Aaron as MOIO did our first gig at the mini-fest 'Black Sunday', organised by myself and Scot Cotterell with assistance from Jason James and co-presented by Sound Klub and Salamanca Art Centre.
It was held on Sept 27, a rainy blustery afternoon and we are appreciative of all who braved the weather and came along. A special thanks should go to Spheres who ventured down from Launceston to do the show. It was great to finally see Tom and Ian's act AXXONN as well. TRIAD opened the proceedings, followed by a wonderfully 'vibratory' performance by CYCLE, those naughty EVIL GOAT boys also appeared and impressed! Here are some images of TRIAD and MOIO. There are sounds up on the myspace pages too. Thanks all it was great and hopefully there will be more.

On August 29, I performed a DJ set as DJ Broken Tiny for Ben Crothers monthly themed - evenings called 'Brand New Second Hand'. The theme was 'Europe' and so played a lot of Krautrock and a bit of French and Swiss industrial and a bit of Italian prog. DJ Mamoo (aka Lisa Rime) did a wonderful French pop set as well. Thanks Ben, it was a lot of fun, keep me in mind for the future!

There's a few visual arts/installation things on the horizon coming up, but things still need to be confirmed, will let you know.

What I can say is that myself and Scot Cotterell have been invited to perform at the UTAS Artschool Grad Show. This is on Friday November 6. We are looking at doing a DÜO 'no input' set, mixer and devices feedback noises. Here is Scot's mockup poster.

Also MOIO have been invited to perform in the Hobart Fringe Festival 'Noise/Metal' night at the Brisbane Hotel, on Friday November 20. It is curated/organised by my mate Tim Panaretos (of Soundtracks Will Dissolve) who should put together an interesting lineup. We've also been jamming a little of late, not sure what will come of it, but it's been kinda doomy, creepy and noisy!

And to end and give a sense that I'm still amazed by the majesty of nature;
I saw a shooting star, arching over a very clear night sky, whilst listening to 'Silver' by JESU on Oct 11, 2009 at approx 8:33pm, Cressy Street, New Town, Tasmania.
I'd love to be able to suggest you try it for yourself, but when can you expect to witness that? Keep an eye out, watch the skies!

Take care.

Are you sleeping....brother John?

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:20:04 -0700

Some things are sent to test us, hold your fire.
Integrity is the key, sun comes up, rain falls down.
The sounds I make, people come to hear, eternally grateful.
There is something important to be said.

An open letter.
As an artist and as a human being in general, one of the the things in life I hold dear is integrity. If one makes a artwork, writes something, says something, if you truly believe it, or believe in it, you should be able to stick to your guns. If a commercial concern rears it's head, if a 'dumbing down' to the lowest common denominator is requested, if you project something that you don't believe in, you have lost the integrity of the original intention. It's not always easy and sometimes things are forced out that you feel you are no longer in control of. I think most people can spot bullshit, some choose to ignore it and accept it for what it is. Others are repelled. A minor few don't realise or don't care.

I admire those who withdraw completely from something they feel has been compromised, but I also admire those who try and fight for what they think is right. Like I say it's not always easy. What has all this got to do with anything? It's just something I've been thinking about lately. It's something I've always believed. And every now and then certain occurrences bring it into focus. Say and do what you mean. I, like everyone else have opinions and views and I'll defend them if need be. But if one truly believes in what they do and say, anything I or anyone else says should not make a difference in the long run should it?

It is a delicate balance though. Because one should not just 'hear what you want to hear'. Often opinions that differ from your own, stick in your craw. You can take on board other's opinions, thoughts and suggestions. But in the end, the decision is yours. I have for the past 5 or so years, tried to keep my cynicism at bay. It's a difficult path. It's much easier to have a blanket response to everything, cover up the quirks of existence with a dark cloth of ignorance or impatience. What I attempt (and am not always successful with) is to try look at things on a case by case basis. This can take time and patience and will sometimes mean 'life' passes in front of you. The life that passes though will often be one of 'instant opinions', superficial glances, a Wikipedia world.

I do like the fact that the Internet is fast and we can get information instantly. I like advances in technology and I use it regularly. I like a life of easy access, virtual communication. But it's not the be-all, end-all and it's not that faster = better. I would subscribe in many ways to the opinions of 'The Long Now'.

So to close the rant...I think it's important to look at all sides if you can, take on board things where you can and where you think it's relevant, but ultimately it's up to you.

I was honoured to be part of the 6a/Amplified Sound Art showcase on Friday, July 17 and was in awesome company.
My project mumble(speak) performed along with Soundtracks Will Dissolve, Cycle, Matt Neidra and Scot/Andrew. It was a cool mix of sounds and I was able to also launch the second mumble(speak) studio album "having learnt a few things about people".

Part 2 of the 6a/Amplifed Sound Art showcase was again something I was happy to be asked to be the featured artist. This one-night only event was called 'Haunted Micro Voices' and was located at the abandoned Battery beneath Princes Park in Battery Point. The space, full of it's own mood and connotations was installed with 3 surround sound elements, one of which was recorded site specifically,

some dim lights and fog. The space itself did the work, I just amplified (pun intended) the mood. Not that it was an easy work to create and install, but the challenges were worth it. We had close to 180 people through during the 3 hours it was open, a steady drove of folks, some who came specifically for the work, others curious about the space (you can actually visit the battery if you take a Hobart Ghost Tour) and a combination of the two. I was very happy with the final work and the responses.
Below is a 'walk through' recording of the sounds in the various rooms with some images.
Thanks 6a, Andrew, Amplified and especially to Tricky who re-worked the posters and took some fantastic images. Upcoming:On August 29 as DJ Broken Tiny, I will be performing a set at 'Brand New Second Hand', Ben Crothers (aka DJ BTC) monthly DJ nights at The Brisbane Hotel. The theme for the evening is 'Europe' so I will be playing a set containing Krautrock, other Euro-prog and electronics. Should be fun.I'm currently co-organising a show in late September called 'Black Sunday' presented by Sound Klub, an evening of experi-metal and dark drones. More details as it comes to hand.And just to end with, Brian Wilson - 'Surf's Up (demo)'.

Take care of each other.

"Haunted Micro Voices" recording session.

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:15:17 -0700

Princes Park Battery, Hobart. Recording session on-site for 'Haunted Micro Voices' July 1, 2009 Photo taken by Andrew Harper

The ground running (June 16, 2009)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:49:15 -0700

Seeing many places, faces, hearing many voices, noises.
Hitting the ground running and trying to catch up.
Wondering where the politeness, basic respect and common sense has gone.
Trying to be patient with those who are trying and those that try me.
New beginnings, a different outlook and some new letters.
On the look out for those things that touch the innocent side of us that is always there,
but isn't accessed enough.
There is something important to be said...

TRIAD tour
Well that was an experience. Getting to play this kind of experimental, improvised
music throughout the country with two of the nicest and talented blokes around was a pleasure. The first leg in Tasmania was a nice start, the gig and workshop in Devonport (Tom's hometown) went well, the response was positive and the folks at the gallery are great to work with. Thanks Ellie and co.

The show at our co-sponsors Inflight in Hobart was also great, nice to play with
Soundtracks Will Dissolve as well, they were great as per!

Onto the mainland leg. My fear of flying was kept at bay and it all ran fairly
smoothly apart from a couple of hiccups.

First Melbourne show that The Make It Up Club @ Bar Open was fun.
Listening back to the recording there was lots of meandering on our part,
but some nice moments emerged.

On before us was an incredible set of power electronics by Absoluten Calfeutrail followed by a free jazz odyssey by Jeff Henderson, Kris Wanders, Rory Brown, Mike Majkowski, Sean Baxter and Robbie Avenaim. Highlight was the guy in the loud shirt and the frizzy hair doing the 'Warlock' dance during that set. Awesome!
Just minutes away from show time at the wonderful 'Stutter' at Horse Bazaar in Melbourne, the 1st hiccup, we got word that our first show in Sydney had been cancelled, or rather it perhaps had never been booked, still not sure what happened there. Also the second hiccup, my laptop up and died literally moments before we started. So for me it was guitar through analogue effects and a bit of angst for this show, seemed to go over okay.

The cancelled show in Sydney meant that we had a day off to do a bit of a photo session and some field recording/improvised open air performing around Circular Quay and Hyde Park. These may well become something in the future.

Our only performed Sydney show was at the Don't Look Gallery in Dulwich Hill, a great little place run by the ever friendly Greg and we got to play on a bill with Seaworthy who did a great set. Tom opened with a solo spot too. Got to catch up with old mate Felix, ex-Conductor guy Cy and met Jo from Sound Travellers (our main sponsor) which was all very cool.

Next show was in Perth. I was pretty nervous before this one, not sure why. Possibly because it's the first time I'd been to Perth, let alone perform there. Listening back it turned out to be what I think was our best, most consistent performance of the tour. Got to meet the great Cat Hope (sub-dronester!) and her partner and got to hang out with dear old buddies Susie, Dale and their daughter Charlotte.

Final show in Brisbane was a hoot! Being that it was the last the show and Tom's current base we thought we'd try something a little different. Let's just say that some of the metal in our blood made it's way out. Here is a positive and not so positive response.

There are some images, videos and sounds from the tour up on the TRIAD myspace page that will give you are sense of what went on. We would like to thank Sound Travellers and Inflight for your support. All the folks we stayed with and who came to the shows, all the people we played with, (it was great to see/hear such a superb and varied bunch) and especially the great supportive venues and bookers!
Thank you all it was great! There's a few 'possibles' for TRIAD in the future, but it's too soon to say anything yet. Stay tuned.

There is one last live thing to mention and that was a mumble(speak) set at Tom's place for his monthly 'Sonic Boom' night. It was initially due to be a Broken Tiny set, but due to my laptop being unwell, I was basically beat-less and re-worked the set to be mumbly! It was a very short doomy/drone set because it was shut down by the police (though I don't think the mumble set prompted this). Go to the mumble(speak) myspace page to hear the set and read about it.

As it happens Scot and I performed a short DÜO doom set afterwards (at lower volume)...such rebels!!!

So is that kind of racket, befitting of someone with a D and an R before his name should he choose to place it there? Perhaps there should be more PhD folks making doomy noises with guitars! Perhaps I should be worrying less about who should be doing what! Yes the degree is done and I'm through without a hitch or corrections to the paper which was a very pleasant and large surprise. I have a reasonable head on my shoulders, but I would find it very difficult to consider myself an academic. I work very hard at what I do.

The tour ended and I essentially hit the ground running back in Hobart. The very next day I was back teaching at the artschool, (albeit as a fill-in for someone else) and a day after that back to my regular gig in Emedia. An artschool is an interesting and rewarding place to work in many ways. It can be quite moving to see someone's practice evolve and feel that one little suggestion or pointer you gave may have helped in some way. But a question that comes up for me is "Can some things be taught?" "Are there some things that are simply known or felt?" Ticking the 'right' boxes for assessment purposes are a necessary administrative element of being a student at the artschool, but it's not what makes art (good bad or indifferent). I would always consider what I do as facilitating rather than teaching. I've seen a few things, I know a few things, I've made a few things. I can give advice, but I don't think I can teach someone to be creative. I sometimes wonder how people find themselves at an artschool. I found myself there, it wasn't planned from my childhood, but it was meant to be I think. I'll say nothing more other than patience is a virtue, I need to remember that, so do students. Art is not and perhaps should not be easy!

So it seems, Australia is swamped with Swine Flu. I must say I was surprised at the number of cases that seemed to be confirmed. Now of course I suspect that the suggestion of covering your face will not do a whole lot of good in preventing you contracting the illness. However, outside of this or any other flu, what I do find alarming is that apparently people need to be told by the government that they should cover their mouths when coughing or their noses when sneezing! For crying out loud this is not playschool. Surely that's common sense regardless. I'm not a snob who is overtly concerned with good manners, but I don't want someone's snot flying at me anytime.

A couple of blog posts ago I pointed out my aversion to censorship. It is was bought to the surface for a lot of people recently with the Bill Henson affair and also the Internet filtering proposal put forward. I have in the past been fairly vocal about censorship, going back to John Howard's notion that a blanket ban on all 'R' rated movies would have prevented the Port Arthur Massacre. A letter to the paper that was published setting out my point of view may not seem like much of a stand, but perhaps it got people talking. Perhaps something more visible would be a public protest, something that will be happening in Hobart tomorrow afternoon following the ABC (apparently the more progressive TV station) sacking of Amanda Duthie (the Head of Arts, Entertainment and Comedy) supposedly as a result of allowing the sketch by "comedy" troupe 'The Chaser' (yes I deliberately and snottily placed quote marks around the word comedy) that was controversial and caused a bit of a public outcry. I believe The Chaser's show 'The Chaser's War On Everything' has been taken off the air for a couple of weeks too.
This puts me in a bit of a bind I must say. I couldn't care less if we didn't see The Chaser on TV ever again. I personally think they are smarmy little gits, courting controversy for the sake of it (rather than wittily presenting an alternative view) who I basically don't think are funny. However, and its a big however, my own conscience tells me that censoring them via removal is not right, nor is the sacking of someone trying not to stifle someone else's "artistic integrity" (there I am being snotty again) by approving a sketch to air. It's a tough one, because I hate the little brats, but I want them around so others can love them and hate them too.

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,"
- Evelyn Beatrice Hall 1906, referencing the beliefs of Voltaire.

More info on the Chaser stuff.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25619891-26103,00.html
http://wotnews.com.au/news/Amanda_Duthie/

I recently exhibited in the group show "Lust For Life" curated by Lucy Bleach at CAST gallery in North Hobart with my work Exhalation 2009

The group show 'Parallel' I've mentioned in previous post continues to tour and is currently at the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale until July 12.

Upcoming projects: I will be part of this years 'Amplified' festival in conjunction with 6a ARI, presenting a very interesting incarnation of three of my recent sound works. They will be presented in an underground battery in Princes Park, Battery Point on Saturday July 17. mumble(speak) is also due to perform and launch a new CD the night before, but until I get all the promotional details sorted, I'll leave it at that. Stay tuned.

We have lived in the same house for 8 years, ever since arriving back in Australia after living in Canada from 1999 - 2001. That's a bit of a record for me I think. I moved around a lot when I was a kid and since living in Hobart, residencies didn't last much longer that 2 or 3 years. Due to various circumstances we are moving again and although it's a big process, it will be worth it. It is very much time for a change.

Take care of one and other.

RIP - Hugh Hopper

Listening: Harmonia - "Musik Von Harmonia" (1974), AFX - "Analogue Bubblebath" (1994), Jandek - "Telegraph Melts" (1986), LULL - "Like A Slow River" (2008)
Watching: "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (Dir: Sydney Pollack 1969)
Reading: Franz Kafka - " The Zürau Aphorisms" (1918/2006)

On the road (April 26, 2009)

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:51:29 -0700

Eyes and ears open. Looking and listening. Deadlines getting closer. No complaints other than wishing for more hours in the day. Re-learning all about collaboration. This is mainly down to listening and then deliberating, this can take a split second or glorious minutes of silence. Then a sound can be made. There is something important to be said.

Still no word on my results for my degree. But I have been told that it can take some time. Will get back to you on that.

So some music project news; mumble(speak) - A new full length studio based album/CD has pretty much been finished. It will likely be called " 2 - having learnt a few things about people". I'm looking at doing some kind of launch/live gig later in the year.

Broken Tiny performed live for the first time since August 2006 at the Glitchfest in Esperence on April 5th.
Although I was on fairly early in the day, the response was quite good. I'm looking at
evolving the sound of this project to be more about power electronics and distortions and less
about beats, but we'll see. At the end of our TRIAD run (see below), I will be performing as
Broken Tiny at Tom Hall's Sonic Boom in New Farm, Queensland on May 10.

The metal/drone thing I do with Scot Cotterell (TRIAD/User/Evil Goat)
called DÜO also performed at Glitchfest. It was great to fill the forest
and the hills with slabs of distorted guitar.

M.0.1.0 (the duo with Aaron Metcalf) have launched our Myspace page
with some tunes and more info of upcoming activities coming soon.
http://www.myspace.com/machinesoio

As I write, the first Australian TRIAD tour has started, with two gigs
having taken place, one at Devonport Regional Gallery (in the North
of the state and including a workshop) and at Hobart's Inflight ARI
(who are also helping with sponsoring the tour). Thanks to all who
have come so far, they've been great. The rest of the tour is as follows:

04/28/2009 07:00 PM - Make it Up Club - Bar Open 317 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy, Melbourne, VIC
Cost:$10/$5 www.makeitupclub.com.au

04/29/2009 08:30 PM - Stutter - Horse Bazaar 397 Little Lonsdale Street,
Melbourne, VIC
Cost:$7/$5 conc www.myspace.com/stuttermelb

05/01/2009 08:00 PM - Sedition 275 Victoria St, Darlinghurst,
Sydney, NSW

05/02/2009 07:00 PM - Don’t Look Gallery 419 New Canterbury Rd,
Dulwich Hill, Sydney, NSW
Cost:$15/$10 www.myspace.com/dontlookgallery

05/05/2009 08:00 PM - Club Zho, presented by TURA New Music.
The Ellington Jazz Club, 191 Beaufort Street,
Perth, WA. Cost:$15/$10 www.tura.com.au

05/09/2009 08:00 PM - The Step Inn, 186 Brunswick St,
Brisbane, QLD.
www.stepinn.com.au

Whilst I'm away on tour I will be exhibiting a new installed video version
of the (planned) yearly performance called 'Exhalation 2009'. It is part of
a group exhibition called 'Lust For Life' at CAST in North Hobart and
curated by Lucy Bleach. I won't be in Hobart for the opening (which is on
May 1st at 6:00pm) and after a preliminary install, the final setup will be
undertaken by the ever-lovely Ms Rees (who has a new blog dontcha know).
I will be back in time for the artist's talk (24th?) and get to see it installed at that point.
Check it out.

For those interested, I'm using the networking site Twitter for an ongoing
online poetic work. Essentially I aim to present a personal objective every
day in place of the 'Today I feel a little sad' or 'had a great cup of coffee today'
kind of messages. I know some folks find Twitter a little silly and pointless
and of course it can be, I kinda thought this myself. But you are able to make
use of the Internet in ways other than chatting up people, web stalking, posting
images of drunken hi-jinks and so forth. Anyway if you want to check it out it's
called 'Web Objectives' and can be found at :
http://www.twitter.com/Matt_D_Warren

Okay well, that's about it for now, hope to see you on tour somewhere.
Take care of each other.

On the road (April 26, 2009)

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:50:01 -0700

Fallout - March 15, 2009

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:18:03 -0700

After a long project, the end brings a change in focus. Trying to fill the newly formed space. In the back of my mind I know it's still there, but I won't fall in. This happens to others too and it's happened to me before. It's okay. Empty space should be seen as a positive, not a negative. Listen to silences between Miles' notes, the spaces between Jaki's beats and lack of concreteness of Lynch's narratives. Where there are gaps, there are places to enter. There is something important to be said. continue to blog:

'Until We Sleep'

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:01:30 -0700

Stills from video projection © Matt Warren 2008/2009

STILLE

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:54:58 -0700

Gino

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:21:53 -0700

Matt and Noodle

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:21:49 -0700

Noodle

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:21:42 -0700

Suspension of Disbelief web flier

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:02:02 -0800

Channel (excerpt) 2006/2007

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:58:01 -0700

Single channel video based on 365 'blind' self portraits, ritually drawn everyday throughout 2006. Sound is based on a daily non-sensical vocalisation recorded everyday for 6 months in 2006. Animated and mixed 2007.

Nocturnal (documentation)

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:21:49 -0700

Outdoor sound and video installation by ReesVellaWarren 2005.
Kelly's Garden, Salamanca Arts Centre.

Cantus 35 (excerpts)

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:31:12 -0700

Excerpts from surround sound installation, "Cantus 35" at Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania for "10 Days on the Island" festival.

Whitepinkblack Noise (documentation)

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:53:21 -0700

Documentation of work-in-progress installation. Entrepot Lounge Gallery, Hobart. February 2008

Stoic Rhythms - part 1

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:15:00 -0700

See: http://matt.vkool.com/stoic.html
for more info.

Travelogue 2003 Part 4 (3:31 mins)

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:08:28 -0700

Covers;
Munich, Dinkelsbühl - Germany.
Prague, Tábor - Czech Republic.
Frankfurt - Germany.

Travelogue 2003 Part 3 (4:21 mins)

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:04:54 -0700

Covers;
Munich, Bingen, Thale, Hamburg - Germany.