It's the End of the World!

My good friends Emperor Yes have just released their new single - The End of The World - and an accompanying video. You might recall I posted a report about the filming back here. I have a small cameo in it as you'll see. Tremendous fun.



You can see their previous two videos - Wasps and Cosmos - here.

I might also point you in the direction of the painting hanging on the wall behind the band. It's the cartoon of Carl Sagan that I did for the launch of previous single Cosmos; the band has an art exhibition for each launch (You can see the artwork I did for the Wasps/Fishes single launch here and some of the other art here).

Well, I did one for the launch of this new single too (launch is on the 27th Feb) and here it is: The End of the World. The exhibition will be on at Lo and Behold, 2b Swanfield St, London E2 7DS from the 28th ... but I'm not sure how long it's on for.

As you can see, two of the band - Ash and Hugo - were delighted with it!

Three Trapped Tigers - New BeatCast Studio Sessions EP

A new three track EP by my good friends Three Trapped Tigers is now available to download through Bandcamp. Pay a quid, pay a tenner - the more you pay, the more you support new music. And now is a good time to latch on to these guys ... a certain Mr Eno has seen their worth and may be involved in their second album this year ...



Here's the Bandcamp link to all of the currently available Three Trapped Tigers goodies.

Video didn't kill the Radio Star

Yesterday was an interesting day. It began at BBC Radio 4 and my appearance on the Saturday Live magazine show with the Reverend Richard Coles and Anita Anand and guest star Richard Osman of Pointless fame.

Great fun and lovely people. We discussed quizzes, Cornwall, policing and the curious subject of cows having regional accents, among other things. You can listen to the show or download it as a podcast here.

I then mooched around some bookshops and was delighted to see that the Connectoscope has started to appear on the shelves. I don't think I'll ever not be thrilled by seeing one of my books in the shops.

 

Then it was on to North East London and a video shoot for the new single by Emperor Yes. I've known the lads - multi-instrumentalists Ash Gardner and Hugo Sheppard and Three Trapped Tigers drummer, the mighty Adam Betts - for a few years. Their videos are always innovative and slightly bonkers, usually involving mad costumes, animation and nods to favourite film genres. Here, for example, are their videos for Wasps and Cosmos:

I won't issue any spoilers about the new video other than to say it centres around an apocalyptic party and some curious men in costumes. My role is the mysterious 'Straws Guy'. Intriguing, eh? I'll link to the video when it's released but, in the meantime, here are a few teaser photos from the shoot (apologies for poor quality - phone camera in low light) ...

Under the costumes you might recognise Museum of Curiosity producer Dan Schreiber (frog) and magician Pete Heat (polar bear). You might also, if you're a regular to this blog, spot my Carl Sagan cartoon behind the band:

More links to Emperor Yes here.

Final Week of Emperor Yes and Friends Exhibition

It all ends on the 29th folks so do go along and have a look at the art exhibition if you can.

It's at the old Top Office Machines premises at 133 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG (Nearest tube station is Shoreditch High Street but it's just a 10 min walk from Liverpool Street station too). Map here). Facebook page is here.

Some top art on display ... including two of mine (see them here).

If you can't make it, you can view the entire catalogue of artworks here.

Emperor Yes and Friends - Private View

I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon and evening at the Private View for an art exhibition organised to coincide with the release of Emperor Yes's first single. The event was hosted in an old computer shop that is being slowly converted into a gallery - Top Office Machines in Bethnal Green Road. It's a huge space with lots of rooms and built over four floors. There was lots of tidying up to do but, eventally, the doors opened, the music started and the beer flowed (a special batch from the brand new Hackney Brewery).

However, before we partied, I went around and took some photos so that I could share some of the art with you. I haven't posted even half of it here but it will give you a taste of the very talented company I was keeping. I am proud to have my art hanging among theirs. Among the artists on display are Low Bros, Billy and Malarky, Mr Penfold, Bromley, MVF, Milo Tchais, Oliver Dorman, Tony Lee, Super Haunted, Anders Furevik, Sephryn Grey, Peter Rossiter, Sam Ballard, Tyler Wallach, Ayano Fukuoka, Paul Shinn, Alec Jones and Collective Era. You can see my two pieces here.

The show runs until the 29th July and will feature live music, a comedy quiz night (with me and Dan Schreiber from QI and The Museum of Curiosity), magic, photography, science experiments and there's a talk by Ben Hardwige about Chinese medicine and the myth that 'sharks don't get cancer' on the 22nd at the venue. It's a tie-in to the Skeptics in the Pub movement.

If you're in or around East London in the next three weeks, why not pop in? It's free! But if you can't make it, the full catalogue of art is here, along with prices.

Cheers!

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?