hello from David McFarlane + šš»sounds like
some news / some events / some reviews
šš»
Hello!
Iāve been thinking about starting a newsletter sort of thing for a while now
If youāre reading this:
you will have already put the puzzle pieces together to realise that this is it. Itās in front of you right now. This is that newsletter
either
youāve subscribed (thank you!)
oryouāve clicked through of your own free will (thank you!)
orI have boldly assumed you might want to read and added you to the subscriber list myself (youāre welcome/sorry)
Whichever of the above three categories youāre in, youāre very welcome to reply to this email with thoughts/recommendations/demands for more/demands to be unsubscribed/abuse/praise/hot takes.
Hereās what to expect:
things Iām up to
bits of writing about music/tech/art etc.
recommendations
bullet points
If you arenāt subscribed already click here to seal the deal, otherwise scroll down for
Some February Events happening in Manchester
Some things I liked in January
Some February Events
Iāve got two events coming up, and it would be lovely to see you there if youāre around Manchester!
One is an event preview and panel discussion:
š¹ Only A Game
š HOME, Manchester
š February 25th + 26th
and the other is a gig that Iām playing in and Iām really excited about:
š· Pierre Flasse Ensemble
šThe Carlton Club
š February 28th
More info belowā¦
Only a Game
At the end of March, Iām taking part in an AI art festival in Bangalore called FutureFantastic, organised by BeFantastic and FutureEverything. Iām involved in two projects ā Asthir Gehrayee, which is an interactive installation all about climate change and plankton, and the other is Only A Game, which is (can you see a trend?) an interactive installation all about climate change, in the form of a game people can play by moving their body around.
For Asthir Gehrayee Iām making an interactive interface which controls the music and visuals by tracking peopleās faces, using Max.
For Only A Game Iām writing the music and sound designing, which is (fingers crossed, please god) MUCH more straightforward.
Bangalore is very, very far away, but this preview on February 25th + 26th is very, very close to my house, at HOME in Manchester.
Thereās going to be a prototype of Only A Game and one of the other projects on display for people to have a go with.
Iām talking about both the projects Iām involved with on a panel discussion at 3pm on the 25th, come hear!
Pierre Flasse
Pierre Flasse is a fantastic composer, and heās been writing some beauuuutiful music. Iāll be helping him play it as part of his band at The Carlton Club on February 28th:
Pierre Flasse himself on trombone
Tom Drew on saxophone/clarinet
Will Shaw on drums
Claire Cope on keyboards
Dan Springate on cello/electric bass
me on electric mandolin/electric guitar/bouzouki
what does it sound like? oh god good question
I called this newsletter sounds like after the charades signal because itās about sounds, music, sounds I like, things I like, things that sound like other things, etc., but now Iām at the point of describing some sounds and Iāve come over all unsureāwhenever anyone asks Iāve said āIām playing electric mandolin in a contemporary jazz ensembleā, which is, both at once, incredibly specific, and telling you barely anything about what the experience of listening will be
As you can see from the instruments itās not the most standard lineup (I am particularly excited someoneās writing me some music for mandolin and bouzouki), but at various points it sounds:
jazzy
folky
heroic
melancholy
groovy
complicated
simple
chaotic
electronic
acoustic
bouncy
sharp
thereās a bit that really reminds me of Fleetwood Mac
there are at least two bits that remind me of the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack
thereās one entire piece that I think sounds like an 80ās cop show, but itās in 13/8 time, so if you watch closely when I play it I am muttering āONE-two-three-four-five-six-ONE-two-three-four-five-six-SEVENā over and over for the entire piece
Pierre, if youāre reading this, you are welcome for this first review of your music, feel free to put it on the album sleeve
I am really delighted that our first gig is at Brume, a monthly gig in Manchester for new and experimental music, including all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff ā all the info here:
SOME QUICKFIRE REVIEWS FROM JANUARY
š¬ The Menu: didnāt realise this was a comedy until halfway through, when I did I enjoyed it a lot more. It should have committed one way or the other to being a comedy or not, it sort of lands inbetween in a way that doesnāt quite work either way, overall a good watch I thought
š¬ Triangle of Sadness: like The Menu (āarenāt rich people bad at being rich?ā) but much better
š¬ TĆ”r: What IS that app they keep using that has texts AND video calling at the same time?
App aside: Cate Blanchett is very very good, it was a long film but held my interest the whole time, and I agree totally with its central message ā composers and conductors are all, with no exceptions, terrible people (only joking (some of them are alright))š¬ Aftersun: god how have did I see four entire films in January? I thought this was really beautifully shot, very subtle, DID make me well up a bit, would recommend
š Leonard and Hungry Paul: My friend Ellen who reads more books than nearly anyone I know recommended this to me, and she was so right to, what a lovely, funny, beautiful book about very little happening
šŗ The Sopranos: God Iām late to the game here, shocked to discover itās as good as everyone says, I have not shut up about it
šØ Dramaturgy Of Autumn: This is a piece of writing by my friend James Varney, a writer/dramaturg/theatre maker in Manchester. As with the rest of his writing itās twisty and interesting and weird, and blends together lots of topics to make a delicious chunky soup about theatre, spiders, workshops, and a useless, revolting future
šØ Lizzie Wrote This: Towards the end of last year my friend Lizzie started a newsletter of āoccasional musings on cooking, eating, reading and drifting through Brussels, not always in that orderā. I particularly liked her writing on coffee, a subject close to my heart, but seeing as these are January reviews, hereās her January post on coffee cake. Equal parts (š°) practical, thoughtful, thought-provoking:
Alright thatās all for now, tune in next time for more sounds, more things I like, more things that sound like other things, šš» bye!
This is such an exciting development! Welcome to the club, and thanks for the shoutout š I also had the exact same app-based bemusement watching TĆ”r!
Congrats on the first edition and I am already looking forward to the next!