Emperor Yes and Friends

My very good chum Ash Gardner - the man behind the House of Strange recording studios - has been part of a brilliant collaborative music project over the past few months. Called Emperor Yes, it's experimental pop of the best kind with trippy little riffs, fun lyrics and great musicianship. It features Ash on keys and vocals, multi-instrumentalist Hugo Sheppard, the mighty Adam Betts of Three Trapped Tigers on drums and a host of guests. Here's a sample track called Fishes:



There's a great interview about the band here.  Anyway, they're having a launch party that lasts a week or two to celebrate the release of the first EP ... and it starts this week. They've asked me and a whole bunch of other artists to create original new pieces of art based on the tracks Wasps and Fishes.

If you're in East London, come an have a gander. The exhibition will be at Top Office Machines, 133-135 Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 7DG. Nearest station is Shoreditch.

Coming to a wall near you very soon ...

I am working on two brand new pieces of art for this exhibition:

Myself, and the other artists concerned, are all creating two artworks each. They are themed on 'Wasps' and 'Fishes' to tie in with the imminent release of Emperor Yes's first EP. You can listen to both tracks for free on Soundcloud here. Emperor Yes is a collaborative music project involving artists from a number of bands and orchestrated by the brilliant Ash Gardner at House of Strange Studios. If you live in London, why not come along?

101 People to Meet before You (or they) Die - Pilot Episode

Here's a little slideshow I've made of the pilot episode of 101 people to Meet before You (or they) Die. It was first broadcast on Resonance FM104.4 (London) on 30th April 2012.

The concept for the show is that we introduce you to some of the world's most extraordinary people: explorers, scientists, artists, philosophers etc. The pilot episode focuses on Venezuelan discoverer and encyclopaedist Charles Brewer-Carias: a man who has led nearly 300 expeditions; has discovered over 100 species new to science; who may have found the world's oldest organism; and claims to know the location of the semi-mythical El Dorado. He is also, allegedly, the person upon whom the character of Charles Muntz (in the Disney/Pixar film Up) is based ... though he isn't a baddie.

Running time 60 minutes with musical interludes by Emperor Yes. Presented by Dan Schreiber. Written by Stevyn Colgan and Dan Schreiber. Music by Ash Gardner and Hugo Sheppard of Carl and the Saganauts. Produced by Dan Schreiber and Ash Gardner at House of Strange Studios.

 

This is a pilot and, as such, something of an experiment. We have already established that interviews by phone are problematic and that the show is better suited to a 30 minute format. But what do you think? We'd be very interested to hear your views. And your suggestions for people we should interview.