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Exodus art and Plague Songs

Saturday 30 September 2006 Exodus Day in Margate. Commissioned and produced by Artangel

My name is Pharoah Mann and I’m going to change the world. And I’m going to start now by doing what politicians never do. I’m going to say sorry.
Pharoah Mann, Margate 30 September 2006

Plagues of lice, locusts, frogs and flies, a 25-metre high sacrificial sculpture and a cast of thousands will dramatically transform the south coast town of Margate into a colourful and contemporary setting for an epic film inspired by the Old Testament Book of Exodus, in which the town’s residents will play all of the parts.

The Margate Exodus brings together international artists led by Penny Woolcock, including sculptor Antony Gormley, and songwriters Rufus Wainwright, Brian Eno and Imogen Heap, alongside local musicians, singers, actors, costume-makers and set-builders to create a timeless story of identity, migration and the great movement of peoples across the world in search of a promised land. Written and directed for Artangel by acclaimed filmmaker Penny Woolcock, the story of Exodus is told for the present day as a feature film for theatrical release and Channel 4 broadcast in 2007.

Exodus Day on Saturday 30 September takes place in Margate’s town centre, at the Winter Gardens, along the Seawall, through the streets and in the Dreamland funfair. The day opens with Pharaoh’s impassioned election victory speech and ends with an epilogue of fire and water on the coastal path. High above Dreamland towers Antony Gormley’s ominous Waste Man, a giant combustible thrift store sculpture, standing 25 metres tall. Filled with the collective detritus of consumer society and hand built by the local community using abseilers and pulley systems, Waste Mansignals a decisive turning point in the Exodus story and an enduring beacon for Exodus Day.

During the day, a cycle of Plague Songs written by international singer-songwriters and inspired by the ten biblical plagues in the Book of Exodus, are performed by local musicians and singers at the Winter Gardens. A diverse range of musical forces from hurdy-gurdy to hip-hop have been uncovered through auditions held by voice coach Mary King of Channel 4’s Operatunity and musical director and multi-instrumentalist David Coulter. Rufus Wainwright has taken a personal approach to the Death of the First-Born whilst Scott Walker brings about Darkness. Cody ChesnuTT communicates a higher authority with Boils and Martyn Jaques of The Tiger Lillies evokes Hailstones. Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt take wing together for Flies, Laurie Anderson mourns the slaughter of cattle for Death of Livestock and Imogen Heap conjures up a swarm of locusts in the ecstatic Glittering Cloud. A CD of the songs performed by the original singer-songwriters will be available for Exodus Day and on general release in October on 4AD.

The large-scale photographic project Towards a Promised Land, by Wendy Ewald also plays a part in the day’s events. These banner photographs of children who have relocated to Margate from places near and far are sited in various locations around the town. The audience follow an audio trail of the photographs by collecting a headset from a central pick-up point in town or downloading the audio trail as a podcast from the Margate Exodus website. A book of texts and images co-published by Artangel and Steidl, will also be available.

It is anticipated that a great many people from Thanet will take an active part in this ambitious project and that Exodus Day will attract a substantial audience from Kent, London and beyond.

Klashnekoff : Blood [Plague of Blood]
King Creosote : Relate The Tale [Plague of Frogs]
Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields) : The Meaning of Lice [Plague of Lice]
Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt : Flies [Plague of Flies]
Laurie Anderson : The Fifth Plague [Death of Livestock]
Cody ChesnuTT : Boils [Plague of Boils]
The Tiger Lillies : Hailstones [Plague of Hail]
Imogen Heap : Glittering Cloud [Plague of Locusts]
Scott Walker : Darkness [Plague of Darkness]
Rufus Wainwright : Katonah [Death of The Firstborn]

www.themargateexodus.org.uk

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Generative culture
• Wyatting
• The Drift by Scott Walker
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Chris Corsano again

Out again to see world-class drummer Chris Corsano play another stunning improv set. This is his last appearance in Manchester, unfortunately, prior to relocating to Edinburgh. Impossible to describe the full range of Corsano’s performance (although I made an attempt earlier). Suffice to say you really ought to try and see this guy play live if you get the chance.

iTunes 7

Finally, us poor CD designers are being treated with a bit more respect in the digital music world. Lots of improvements in the new iTunes (is it my imagination or is the sound processing better in this version?) but best of all is the splendid Cover Flow feature which allows you to select music by flipping through the album covers.

Very smart indeed although the graphics processing required is making my old G4 groan a bit. You also need to have artwork attached to all your ripped albums otherwise you’ll be looking at a lot of black squares with quavers on them. iTunes can get the missing artwork for you but only from the iTunes Store which rather limits the field; the more eclectic your taste, the more you’ll have to search for the covers yourself.

Another very welcome new feature: you can finally hear continuous tracks without gaps or clicks, something I’d complained about since v.1. It remains to be seen whether bands and record companies (and Apple, of course) are going to work out a way of giving us the rest of the album artwork but for now this is keeping me happy.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Neville Brody and Fetish Records
• The lost art of sleeve design

Helios in Manchester

Of all the releases I’ve heard so far from the excellent Type record label (who are now based in Manchester), my favourites have been Seawards by Sickoakes and Eingya by Helios. So it was a pleasure this evening to see Helios perform in a tiny and rather crowded bar, even if the enjoyment was compromised by a portion of the clientele who seemed to regard live music as a novel backing for their own chatter. Naomi Kashiwagi gave support with a presentation of her unique DJ set which involves playing antique 78s on equally antique wind-up gramophones.

Keith Kenniff (above) aka Helios (he also performs as Goldmund and Sono) was accompanied by his younger brother with both playing guitars and taking turns with keyboard duties. A laptop provided some pre-programmed rhythms and Keith also played live drums. As far as I could tell they played most of the wonderful Eingya album although some of the musical detail was difficult to hear over the glass-clinking rabble. Here’s hoping they return to Manchester again soon and receive a more attentive reception next time.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Seawards by Sickoakes

A Lazarus Taxon by Tortoise

After 12 years of expanding the definition of rock music, Tortoise will release a highly anticipated box set. Lazarus Taxon is the paleontological term for a species that disappears, then reappears in the fossil record; its namesake is this collection including rare singles from foreign releases and tour EPs, compilation tracks, previously unreleased material and the out-of-print 1995 album Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters. The set contains three CDs and one DVD, which features most of Tortoise’s music videos and extensive and rare live performance footage.

Shortly following Tortoise’s 1994 self-titled debut, the band asked some friends to remix several tracks, resulting in RR&C, a 30-minute continuous disc. The packaging was made and assembled by hand and the limited pressing sold out in the first year of release. At the time, remixes were the tool of the DJ and found most commonly in the dance-music world. RR&C and the 12″ series that followed—some of which you will find in the set—set off a wave of remixes and remix albums in the rock community. A remix intended for this collection by Mike Watt makes its debut in A Lazarus Taxon.

The photography that appears in the album artwork is the work of Arnold Odermatt, a retired Swiss police officer-turned artist. Assigned to document auto accidents and police training, Odermatt’s photos were far more than documents. He often photographed the accident scenes again after all the officers had left and the clutter had been cleared. His photos were uncovered by the Springer and Winkler Gallery, which had Odermatt reprint them in limited editions. The photographs were an instant sensation and garnered Odermatt wide acclaim. Several books have since been published of his work. He has had solo shows at The Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and The Art Institute of Chicago. The Springer and Winkler Gallery and Odermatt graciously allowed Tortoise to use photos that they had selected for this package.