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Journal
Rome fan video
As a Cherry Tree fan club member, I receive live recordings from The National each year, but the new Rome public release stands out, capturing the fizz and occasional chaos that surprises first-timers. They’re forever one of my fave live bands, revelling in an energy that recent studio recordings tend to suppress.
A good touring band fosters a loyal community and joyful connection that strengthens with every show (something I’ve also experienced with The Cure). For me, seeing this band each year is a chance to get down the front, jump up and down and sing my heart out. And usually, we’ll grab a few videos.
And so, it’s nice to have a few of our personal moments preserved as an official part of the band’s history. Before releasing Rome, they put out a call for fan photos and videos, so I submitted a few clips. The result is this mammoth scrapbook, featuring several of our videos:
- 0:01:34 — First part of our fave, where Matt grabs Geri’s phone and records an incredible clip, Nottingham December 2020.
- 1:25:33 — Second part of that clip, featuring a lovely close-up of Geri.
- 0:04:38 — From the I Am Easy To Find launch, Royal Festival Hall, April 2019.
- 0:48:50 — A similar clip from that Royal Festival Hall show.
- 1:25:03 — Matt wading through Mancunians, Castlefield Bowl, July 2019.
Anti-social behaviour
My final months at the design agency I co-founded were horrible. In particular, I recall all sides firing off a few cryptic tweets. I think my own shots probably alternated between denial, thinly-veiled accusations, and cries for help.
Djrum
I listen to new music obsessively but occasionally fail to truly connect with artists that have much to offer me. This was the case with Djrum, whose music blends drum & bass, techno, downtempo and more. His 2018 album Portrait With Firewood expanded his palette to include delicate piano alongside guest vocals and cello. It made that year’s top 10, but I let it slip away.
Last month, after a long gap, his new album/EP, Meaning’s Edge, arrived. Though more intense, I was hooked. There’s so much going on, often all at once, and it takes several plays for the beauty to shine through. I especially love the bonkers percussive rhythms that pile up and the shakuhachi and bansuri flutes that appear throughout.
Anyway, it’s led me back to Portrait With Firewood, which is fast becoming one of my favourite albums. If you’re curious, I’m compiling a Djrum playlist (Apple Music) spanning his entire output.
Accumulated instinct
I’ve always kept screenshots and bookmarks of interesting visual ideas, but I’ve noticed this habit diminishing with each passing year. Now, when I encounter something visually captivating or potentially useful for future reference, I tend to admire without collecting.
Deleting 16,479 tweets
It’s now two years since I wrote Farewell, Twitter, not long after Porridge Musk bought it. I tweeted only twice more — once on my 50th birthday and once to advertise my availability for work. As I’ve barely been using social media as @colly for some time, it was pretty easy. (I have a long draft about my current attitude to social media, but it needs toning down a little before I share.)
Anyway, I backed up and then deleted all my tweets to (hopefully) prevent misuse of my archive. And because someone will always make a show of asking why we don’t delete our accounts: I’ve experienced a couple of impersonators, so hanging on to my username is non-negotiable.
I continued posting to my music account (mostly promo tweets) because literally nobody in my music community (and none of the labels, publications, etc.) left Twitter until very recently; I could only get certain information, reach enough people, or chat with some collaborators there. I finally stopped tweeting as @sitenonsite in July, and didn’t even promote my last release there. The app is deleted from my phone and I no longer visit for any reason.
Nala Sinephro
I adore Nala Sinephro’s 2021 debut, Space 1.8, and this year’s follow-up, Endlessness, is equally captivating. I’ve wanted to see her play live for some time and her mesmerising show at The Barbican didn’t disappoint.
Move
One day with Ableton Move and I’m hooked. It’s way more capable, versatile and intuitive than it looks and suits my workflow (sofa, studio or outdoors) perfectly.
I think carefully before buying new gear, and I researched Move’s scope for two days (I think YouToobers are revealing its abilities better than Ableton’s own material does). I made a long list of I/O and setup scenarios to test and so far, it’s exceeding all expectations. Highlights for me are: immediately sampling anything via internal mic or cable, the 256-step sequencer, transferring projects to Note/Live, and connecting a MIDI keyboard to create a mini-synth.
Tip: if you get one, keep wired earbuds and relevant input/MIDI cables in a little pouch and keep it to hand, ready for anything.
Move won’t suit everyone (it’s received some gleeful criticism, largely from outside Ableton’s user base, for only having four tracks) and it isn’t the most feature-rich stand-alone, but Ableton knows its audience and the device’s constraints suit me.
I’m making detailed notes about interesting ways to use it with tape machines, sequencing other gear, etc., and will probably post a deeper dive soon.
Delia’s Fourth Happening
Delia returned to the intimate By Our Own Hands We Make Our Way for its Fourth Happening. The evening began with ambient bliss from C5&C6, followed by a fascinating talk from Caroline Locke about her sound artworks. Headliners, The Low Drift, performed an evocative set of songs about land and place. As ever, host Simon Rudkin tied things together with poetry and storytelling. I love being a part of this community gathering around art and music, and it was fun to see friends old and new and chat about new possibilities.
Perfect Days
We finally watched Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, an ode to solitude starring Koji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner finding happiness in doing things his way.
Wenders told Frieze: “The spirit of the film is in the fact that everything feels almost holy because that’s how he looks at everything.” We’re encouraged to embrace life’s simple pleasures and routine, to leave the past behind and appreciate the current moment — life as a simple philosophy.
Of course, I particularly loved the movie’s appreciation for cassette tapes, and I'd love to browse Hirayama’s shelves. I wonder if he’s been to Waltz?
Spinning around
I’m honoured that Tokyo-born, Berlin-based artist Tot Onyx included my song Paper Cranes in her deeply moving Hiroshima/Nagasaki mix, an hour of “Nuclear Age” music remembering the devastating events of August 1945 while also contemplating the present.
Making this mix gave me a quality of time to reflect the ongoing genocide and atrocities that are taking place right now. It proved to me that sometimes music can tell stories better than the language.
It’s also my first play on NTS. Alongside regular shows and guest playlists, the station excels at deep-dives into specialist topics and archive material. But I discovered I’d appeared via Apple Music for Artists’ new Radio Spins feature. Random Shazam spikes always made me curious but the data only offered a broad location (e.g. “Bellingham, USA”). Now, I can cross-reference with a list of stations that’ve played my stuff (mostly college radio, in my case). I’ll look one up, say KUGS 89.3FM, see that it broadcasts from Western Washington Uni — in Bellingham — and satisfy that curiosity.
I do love that something I’ve made can have this free-floating existence outside of my control, occasionally sending back little bits of data about its travels.
Ten years
It’s ten years to the day since I married my favourite person, and I still can’t believe my luck. I’m more grateful with every passing day xx
I’m releasing a live album
Live at Delia's Third Happening features six fresh arrangements and two new songs and I’m really proud of it. Months of work went into the show and I was unexpectedly happy with everything captured on the night. The recording has been mixed and mastered with great care, and feels like a fitting conclusion to the first chapter of Site Nonsite.
The album will stream everywhere from 6th September. For now, you can pre-order the download or cassette on Bandcamp and hear a sparkling nine-minute, multi-part rendition of Moss Garden.
Rebuild and refocus
I can’t remember when I last wrote an update about making changes to this website. I still love writing and need to document things, but the thought of tackling structural issues and refactoring code brought no excitement whatsoever.
I played my second show
On Saturday, I played a 45-minute set at Delia’s Third Happening. The audience, which included many friends old and new, was lovely, and the venue was beautiful. I was extremely nervous, but I did it. The recording needs a little work, but sounds good; I hope to release it later this Summer.
A few days up North
Photos from a short trip to Edinburgh, Dundee and Newcastle. Five days encompassing long drives, gigs, exhibitions, architecture, unrivalled baked goods and plenty of rain.
DJ Shadow
The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. Having recently rediscovered a radio edit of his epic Rock City gig twenty-two years ago, I was eager to see him again.
The National
Edinburgh Castle. My twelfth show, but not one of the best, thanks to an exceptionally frustrating crowd. We moved twice, but arseholes were everywhere, and the whole vibe was off.
Delia’s Third Happening
Not long now, Nottingham! Join us in beautiful St John’s, Carrington, on Saturday 20th July and witness The Young Vanish perform the Lost in Translation OST, preceded by a 45-minute set from me, captivating songs from Eleanor McGregor and considered selections from Van Allen. Tickets.
Spirited Away
We went to see Spirited Away at the London Coliseum with good friends. I love the film (although my fave Ghibli will always be Mononoke), and enjoyed the stage reimagining overall. The design was innovative and playful and the Japanese actors were excellent. My highlight was the rotting spirit bath scene, the cast thrillingly engulfed by the detritus from his stomach.
However, the production didn’t blow me away, with several key scenes lacking the visual impact or subtle handling I’d expected; most notably, the train scene fell short. Being in the very back row didn’t help, as I often struggled to match the dialogue to the appropriate characters on a busy stage full of actors and animators. Also, the desire to recreate the film scene-by-scene made it feel sluggish, and I occasionally lost interest.
When leaving the theatre, I checked my phone and was thrilled to see the exit poll predicting the Labour landslide and Lib Dem/Green gains. After 14 years of hurt, it’s good to see our new government wasting no time getting things done. Reform’s rise worries me, but the spiriting away of the Tories will deliver significant benefits to my mental health.
The path we chose
Designers signed their own execution warrants in large part due to uncritical, pandering adoption of design systems.
I’m in agreement with Cennydd’s response to Tan Renzu’s post reminding us that our industry’s preference for regurgitating the same increasingly simple patterns will allow AI to adequately perform many product design tasks. I stopped talking about systems a decade ago, aware that the unstoppable pursuit of prescriptive, cumbersome frameworks was at odds with my old-school appreciation for looser, more holistic guidance.
