Cerysmatic.Factory

Tracking the Thrill

2013-10-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

Recently, whilst on holiday in New York City, I was fortunate to attend an exhibition walkthrough with Ike Yard's Stuart Argabright of 'Tracking the Thrill' at The Kitchen, one of NYC's oldest non-profit art spaces. This was a selected retrospective of the influential video work of Gretchen Bender (1951-2004), the centrepiece of which was 'Total Recall' (1987) a multi-screen installation set to a superb soundtrack of by Mr Argabright.

Apparently back in the day the whole thing would be cued up on banks of video players and the play buttons would be pressed in sync. Nowadays it's driven by computers but the TV screens are resolutely old school cathode ray.

There are a couple of Factory-related videos in the rest of the exhibition:

Gretchen Bender did the title sequence for the America's Most Wanted TV show (UK readers think 'Crimewatch' in terms of content, but without Nick Ross) and the soundtrack for that was by The Other Two. Bender's cut-up style quickly became the norm for many a show.

Robert Longo's video for New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle (FAC 173) is also included. Gretchen, who was Robert's girlfriend, did the again rapid-fire editing. More on the making of that video by producer Michael Shamberg over at a New Order Discography. According to Stuart Argabright, Gretchen herself is in the video.

The exhibition has now finished (as has the holiday) but this short clip below gives an idea of the overall experience.

The Other Two T-Shirt

2013-05-25T19:08:00.000+01:00

Official Other Two T-Shirt in orange-on-navy blue featuring Peter Saville-designed "O2" wireframe logo.

Swing O.S.T. by Gillian & Stephen

2011-07-30T16:04:00.000+01:00

Released by Gillian and Stephen on their own label, a 12" vinyl previously only available at Art Institution FRAC Champagne-Ardenne along with an extended CD featuring 3 remixes by the fantastic Factory Floor, who've collaborated with Gillian and Stephen since first meeting in early 2010.

The music was originally conceived and written as a soundtrack to Anna Blessman & Peter Saville's exhibition “Swing Project 1” between October 2010 and January 2011 at FRAC Champagne-Ardenne in France.

Stephen Morris describes the concept thus: "The original idea for the music was that it should give the impression that some sort of European Techno party was going on in a nearby room. So that while wandering around the show you would be enticed by this non existent dance floor."

The artwork is designed by Saville Available as a Vinyl/CD package in a limited edition run of 1000

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More info at theothertwo.co.uk.

MOSI Talk

2009-12-06T23:00:00.000+00:00

It was good to see the Bad Lootenant management team accompanying Steve and Gillian to the MOSI talk last week - they even took time out to canvass opinion as to the next BL single from Cerysmatic's own Steve Aldcroft!

The hundred-odd guests were treated to some rare footage from the Gretton video archive - including the ACR Celebration footage and some Joy Division Here Are The Young Men out-takes - before being escorted to the magnificent Power Hall for the talk itself.

Ex-Hacienda house DJ Graeme Park introduced the guest panel, made up of ex-Factory designer Peter Saville, ex-Joy Division, ex-New Order and ex-Other Two member Steve Morris, James Nice of ex-Factory artist record label A LTM, Manchester nightclub entrepreneur Ross Mackenzie and the Manchester spin meister himself: Andy Spinoza.

Strangely, even though there was general agreement over the importance of Factory's influence on subsequent world events, and the bemoaning of a lack of permenant space dedicated to this legacy, no mention was made of the massively important - and rapidly expanding - Factory Records archive that is housed not a hundred feet from where the debate was held!

Bizarre.

The Other Two plus one free disc

2009-11-21T11:07:00.000+00:00

Further to the recent announcement of their remastered reissues, a full length free bonus CD by The Other Two featuring rare mixes and unreleased material is available only to LTM mail order customers who buy The Other Two & You and Super Highways together.

LTM and The Other Two... & you

2009-11-18T23:51:00.000+00:00

LTM has announced full details of its reissues of the two albums released by The Other Two, the band formed by Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of New Order in the Nineties.

The Other Two & You and Super Highways are both remastered with extra tracks, new artwork and detailed sleevenotes.

Both albums are released on 25 January 2010 and are available from usual stockists and LTM Mail Order.

Tracklisting

LTMCD 2551 The Other Two & You

Tasty Fish [3.47]
The Greatest Thing [3.39]
Selfish [4.09]
Movin' On [4.44]
Ninth Configuration [4.19]
Feel This Love [4.26]
Spirit Level [3.51]
Night Voice [2.05]
Innocence [5.46]
Loved It (The Other Track) [4.46]
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Tasty Fish (Pascal Mix 12") 5.20
Selfish (That Pop Mix) 5.28
The Greatest Thing (Pascal Mix) 3.30
Movin' On (Moby Mix) 5.50
Tasty Fish (Almond Slice Mix) 4.35
Selfish (Junior Style Dub) 9.02

LTMCD 2553 Super Highways

You Can Fly [4.55]
Super Highways [5.05]
The River [4.17]
One Last Kiss [5.05]
Voytek [4.57]
Unwanted [4.26]
New Horizons [4.07]
Cold Feet [4.34]
The Grave [6.49]
Hello [3.49]
Ripple [3.50]
Weird Woman [4.22]
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Super Highways (Votel Mix) [5.40]
You Can Fly (Cevin Fisher) [8.53]
Tasty Fish (K-Klass Mix) [6.48]

Four Factory Records

2009-07-07T07:00:00.000+01:00

From thedurutticolumn.com:

The next album release by The Durutti Column is a 6-CD limited edition box set on Kooky Records entitled 'Four Factory Records'. Containing the first four classic albums released on Factory Records, all newly remastered by Keir Stewart from the original master tapes, the set comprises:

The Return Of The Durutti Column
LC
Another Setting
Without Mercy

There are also two very limited bonus CDs:

Demos/Studio - demos, versions and outtakes from the period
Live - recordings from London, Glasgow, and Brighton 82/84

All this plus a package of interviews with the key protagonists from the period including Vini Reilly, Bruce Mitchell, John Metcalfe, Keir Stewart and Tim Kellett.

Advance copies will be available for sale at the Manchester International Festival shows 15-17 July 2009. It will then be available in all good record shops (actual and virtual) and direct from Kooky from September 2009. The project will be a total edition of 1,000 copies of which a limited number will include the two bonus discs.

Kooky has tried to make this lavish package available at a sensible price. If you can't make the MIF shows, please check back at the end of July when Kooky will start taking pre-orders for mail order.

Auteur Labels @ LTM

2008-06-09T12:41:00.000+01:00

LTM presents the ongoing compilation series Auteur Labels which profiles independent record labels with a unique and enduring sound, vision and design sensibility, usually guided by one or two directors, and concerned more with art than commerce. Each release, summarised here by Frank Brinkhuis at the Crepuscule and Factory Pages, comes with extensive liner notes.

Auteur Labels: New Hormones 1977-1982 (LTMCD 2492)

New Hormones was founded in 1977 by Buzzcocks and their manager Richard Boon to release the epochal Spiral Scratch ep. The label released approximately 25 records, the catalogue combining post-punk, pop and avant-garde by Ludus, Diagram Brothers, Biting Tongues, Dislocation Dance and Eric Random.

Auteur Labels: Les Disques Du Crepuscule 1980-1985 (LTMCD 2517)

Profile of Crepuscule's 1st phase. The label was founded by Michel Duval and Annik Honoré with the release the epochal cassette From Brussels With Love (TWI 007). The chic, cosmopolitan label went on to assemble an extensive cross-genre catalogue, much of it dressed by celebrated designer Benoit Hennebert.

Auteur Labels: Factory Benelux 1980-1985 (LTMCD 2521)

Factory Benelux was a collaboration between Factory Records and Les Disques du Crepuscule. Early releases were 'spare' recordings by A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column and Section 25, after which Factory Benelux released a mixture of all-new recordings by Factory artists and licensed repertoire.

All formally released on 7 July 2008 or available now direct from LTM Mail Order.

A bit cheesy

2007-06-05T19:49:00.000+01:00

The Serif gets Peter Saville to chip in his two-pennorth on the new London 2012 Olympics logo.

He says "I find it a bit cheesy. Those rings don't sit happily within that angular form and the typographic expression of London is a little insecure and apologetic. On the other hand, it's incredibly noticeable, brave and confrontational. Designs which are effective are abrasive on our sensibilities initially, that is how they work. It doesn’t have to be nice because they are familiar, while a great design forges a new aesthetic. It's real job is to be a catalyst for awareness of the Olympics and it's doing that already".

Goldplated credits

2006-10-20T08:59:00.000+01:00

The music and titles for new Channel 4 series 'Goldplated' ("Set in the 'golden triangle' of Wilmslow, Prestbury and Alderley Edge, Goldplated lifts the lid on a world of conspicuous consumption in which wealth – or at least the appearance of it is everything.") are the work of Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert (The Other Two) and Central Station Technicolour (Pat Carroll and Karen Jackson) respectively.