The Squid's Ear Magazine

Midnight Doctors

Through A Screen And Into A Hole

Midnight Doctors: Through A Screen And Into A Hole (Ourodisc)

A long-term studio project/mutant big band merging collage, scored pieces, structured improvisations, cut-up jams, hi- and lo-fi textures, electroacoustic work, and location recording into large and wonderfully unpredictable compositions with few boundaries.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Phil Begg-piano, electric guitar, harmonium, percussion, tubular bells, eurorack modular radio, electroacoustics

Christian Alderson-drums

Faye Maccalman-tenor saxophone

John Pope-doublebass

Niles Krieger-violin

Rachael Hales-violin

Sean Cotterill-electric violin

Joe Posset-tape jams

Richard Dawson-vocals

Jamie Stockbridge-clarinet, bass clarinet

Laura Davison-trombone


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 0636266764754

Label: Ourodisc
Catalog ID: 05
Squidco Product Code: 21458

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: Great Britain
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Icmus Studios in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, by Phil Begg.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Through a Screen and Into a Hole moves away from the vignette approach of Midnight Doctors' eponymous debut in favour of more focussed and expansive instrumentals. The album continues to mutate and exaggerate various absorbed inspirations from the margins, back-catalogues and bargain bins of culture (particularly soundtracks); the avant-garde (various brow-heights) and traditional musics, but this time is particularly informed by cosmic Impulse! jazz, 60s baroque pop productions and decades of cop themes (all viewed through a skewed psychedelic lens)."-Ourodisc

"Before evolving into a fragile, sporadic gigging entity, Midnight Doctors was born as a long-term studio project/mutant big band- collaging styles and approaches, indefinable by any of its individual constituent parts- which include scored pieces, structured improvisations, (mostly) loving pastiche, cut-up jams, hi-fi and lo-fi textures and electroacoustic flourishes.

Through a Screen and Into a Hole moves away from the vignette approach of Midnight Doctors' eponymous debut in favour of more focussed and expansive instrumentals. Continuing to mutate and exaggerate various absorbed inspirations from the margins, back-catalogues and bargain bins of culture (particularly soundtracks); the avant-garde (various brow-heights) and traditional musics, the album is particularly informed by cosmic Impulse! jazz, 60s baroque pop productions and decades of cop themes (all viewed through a skewed psychedelic lens), but it is equally inspired by the diffuse tradition of artists who have treated the production/recording process as an integral part of the composition itself- particularly the shoestring experimentations of Joe Meek, the studio recordings of Faust & Neu! (with Uwe Nettelbeck & Conny Plank respectively), Wall of Sound, and more broadly speaking, electroacoustic music and experimental cinema sound design.

Bios

The project is led by composer/producer/sound designer Phil Begg, who has worked under the project name Hapsburg Braganza since 2006, gigging and releasing albums of blurry-edged solo electric guitar, electroacoustic composition and experimental electronics- most recently working with modular synth. Releases include the double LP Recurring Dreams on Newcastle's alt.vinyl, Hatchling CD on Belgium's Idiosyncratics Records, and several mini-albums on his own label Ouroboros Recordings (now Ourodisc). As a sound recordist, he has recorded albums for many of the North East's most exciting artists, including Richard Dawson (The Magic Bridge), Rhodri Davies (Wound Response) and Cath & Phil Tyler (The Song-Crowned King; We Sunk The Ship To Get Rid of the Rats).

Through a Screen and Into a Hole features significant creative contributions from a diverse mix of musicians of different musical backgrounds, including drummer Christian Alderson (The Unit Ama, The Long Lonesome Go), double bassist John Pope (who is increasingly working with top improvisers, e.g. Roger Turner, Mick Beck) and saxophonist Faye MacCalman, whose own brand-new quartet Archipelago is making waves in local jazz and improv circles; the tape skronk titan Joe Murray, better known as Posset; and an explosive cameo from Richard Dawson, whose voice soars in full flight on the album's longest track, Climactic Loss."-


Artist Biographies

John Pope: "Who am I, indeed? Well, for starters:

I am a bass player. I play both electric bass and double bass, with a pretty even split in focus.

I am an improviser. Most of the music I make is based in contemporary forms of improvisation, mostly along the lines of ÔjazzÕ or Ôfree improvisationÕ. Of course, my rock or funk sides also like to make their presence known.

I live in Newcastle upon Tyne, in the North East of England. I have done since about 2005.

I believe in magic, and that it exists when performers are given space to make art. Music is my primary way of doing this.

As well as making music IÕm also a devoted fan of comic books, tapletop RPGs and assorted culty, fringe geekery. My life pretty much revolves around those two points, and IÕm equally geeky about both. ItÕs a good way to be!"

-John Pope Website (https://johnpopebass.wordpress.com/who/)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Richard Dawson (born 1981) is a songwriter and guitar player from Newcastle upon Tyne, England."

-Richard Dawson Website (https://richarddawson.net/)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Life And Light Apart 4:01

2. Chump Change 4:32

3. Long Sands Black Labrador 3:19

4. Death Of Similaun Man 3:25

5. Rust Coloured Smoke 3:49

6. My Forsyth (Demonic Frequency) 2:38

7. Climatic Loss 15:49

8. The Slow Way Home 3:28

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Large Ensembles
Organized Sound and Sample Based Music
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