A choice between crossing the bridge to our future, or floundering in the past : Noel Pearson

On 14 October, Australia will vote in a historic referendum that cuts to the core of how it sees itself as a nation.

If successful, the proposal – known as the Voice – will recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution, while creating a body for them to advise governments on the issues affecting their communities.

Yes advocates say it’s a “modest yet profound” change that will allow Indigenous Australians to take “a rightful place” in their own country – which has often dragged its heels confronting its past.

But those campaigning against it describe it as a “radical” proposal that will “permanently divide” the country by giving First Nations people greater rights than other Australians – a claim legal experts reject.


“Too many of us have grown up as strangers,” leading Voice advocate Noel Pearson told the Canberra Press Gallery last week.

“This referendum is the largest mirror we will ever look into as a nation… we, the Australian people, face a choice – a choice between crossing the bridge to our future or floundering in the past.” : Noel Pearson

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66944609

Sickeningly it currently looks like failing.


This referendum has made utterly transparent 2 things:

1: How casually Deeply Racist so much of Aust is.

2: How much control over the population the hard right media has.

Double Jeopardy

The aust ‘Voice to Parliament’ vote in Aust (where the predominantly white australian population vote on giving the indigenous population who have lived in australia for around 60,000 years <yes 60,000> an official voice to the govt.

It looks like it will fail because racism in aust is rife, (FARK) …. is on the same day as the election here in NZ where a smug hard right racist pentecostal who’s entire agenda is to gut all social services to provide a a $20 tax break to the general population, but a really large tax break to the weathly, who has a massive advertising budget and looks like winning.

My head is fucking exploding.

2 sickening likely outcomes on the same day.

TASMAN RICHARDSON (is rather good)

This is an extract of his work Firing Squad I first witnessed as a live performance at the Nemo Festival in Paris 2011. I found it astoundingly powerful and really inspiring at the time. I highly recommend having a dive into his work!


Longer cut if its of interest.

https://www.tasmanrichardson.com/

Yet another go at Atmos mixes

 

FFS put on headphones.

Musings on how grotesquely divided the global population is at a time when unity would make such a huge difference to our survival.

Kirke Godfrey: Original Idea, Drums, Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Arrange, Produce, Mix, Master.

James Gardner – FM wrangling, Guitar ‘Figures’.

Jeramy Mayall – Etherial Pianissimo.

Patrick Higgins – Sax(ish)

Jimmie Reid – Monologue

Dan Bridge – Vox

Derrick C – Vox

Nathan Young – Vox

Hill Ryder – Vox

By Request of Bruce Foster : the ‘Mute’ Graphics Version

The current state of the world is incomprehensible to me as what seemed like accepting scientific facts, and expectations of common decency fell away as billionaires, selfishness and disease continue to tear the world apart.

Remembering the first time I heard Gil Scott Herron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ and what an impression that track made on me, and looking back at the last few years, and conversations with fellow musicians it seemed reasonable to voice our discontent. I was noodling around and made a groove to try to relax one afternoon, then asked a few people to add to it expressing their views of…

The State Of Things…

I’m responsible for the banging and booming and clanging noises, Production and Mix…

Dan Bridge wrote and sang his vocals, and  played the guitar  that’s under his vocal.
Nathan Young wrote and sang his vocal
Hill Ryder wrote and sang his vocal
Patrick Higgins provides the mellifluous top line.


Dan Bridge:

Listen to the speaker claim to Cut a little deeper Same people still ain’t equal Promises they’ll be a sequel
But what’s a promise from a criminal And the righteous subliminal It’s only political
There’s gotta be a reason that it rhymes with hypocritical
The water rising, women’s rights flicker like lighting
Children in cages, militias are frightening
The lawnmower trims the blood from the grass leaves And spits out the sins for another school funeral
There’s much too much blood to get blessed
How’s a man to hydrate with all these bullets in his chest
An overhead bowling ball hanging from a string That’s the state of things
Who can marry who What should we do It ain’t nobodys business To judge or to choose Classified emails lock her up Classified documents fuggetaboutit Get wise, inflated chicken thighs Bitcoin highs, Nuclear skies, Ukranian cries
Slip another ship of oil through the embargo
An overhead bowling ball hanging from a string That’s the state of things


Nathan Young:

The revolution will not be televised, it will be livestreamed, tweeted, and viral-ized, caught crooked corporations close door underhanded lies shared and discussed On every social media platform device. a grassroots movement, demanding some improvement from a system formed against us, the disillusioned but now the will of the people will not be denied organized online plugged in and amplified The revolution will not be controlled, By those who seek to keep us from being in the know. toned down freedom of reach This is the state of things, a call to action reduced to hashtags and memes The algorithm schemes to keep some certain things unseen just keep dumbing them down with the next big thing untouchable elite dance their way out of mind with their catchy choreography and throw away lines Times up tik tok, social credit score, ready or not hope you’re up to date with acceptable thought Big tech may try to censor and suppress, But the people will find a way to express the truth.


Hill Ryder:

If you’re talking from prejudice Shut your mouth
If you’re speaking without listening Shut your mouth
If you’re coming from hatred Shut your mouth
If you only got opinions Shut your mouth
If you haven’t done the research Shut your mouth
If you’re shouting over others Shhhh….
If you’re quoting out of context Shut your mouth
If you don’t have the knowledge or experience Shut your mouth


Kirke Godfrey:

Racism!

Human Trafficing
Endemic Corruption
Alternative Truth
Science Denial
Crypto Ponzi
Toxic Positivity
Fascism
Climate Denial
Billionaires
Opiated Masses
Mindless Social Media
Sock Puppet Journalism


Credits:
Released December 23, 2022
Kirke Godfrey: Drums, Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Brass, Arrange, Produce, Mix, Master.
Dan Bridge: Vox Guitar solo.
Nathan Young: Vox
Hill Ryder: Vox
Patrick Higgins: Flugel(ish)
Peter Miller: Assisted with the skilful AI art work prompts!

Perspective shifts… 

“It feels to me in general, and I’m saying this as a 57-year-old man, music used to be the thing; that was what I was doing. When I had time I was listening to music. I wasn’t doing it in the background when I was doing five other things, I wasn’t treating it kind of like a disposable commodity. I don’t go to the cinema and do my taxes while movies are playing. I’m there to watch a movie.

I miss the attention music got; the critical attention music got, not that I’m that interested in the critics’ opinions, but to send something out into the world and feel like it touched places. It might have got a negative or positive [response] but somebody heard it. It got validated in its own way culturally; that feels askew [now]… that feels like a less furtile environment to put music out into, in the world of Nine Inch Nails.”

Trent Reznor from an interview with Rick Rubin: HERE

 

Division 2023

Musings on how grotesquely divided the global population is at a time when unity would make such a huge difference to our survival.

Kirke Godfrey: Original Idea, Drums, Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Arrange, Produce, Mix, Master.

James Gardner – FM wrangling, Guitar ‘Figures’.

Jeremy Mayall – Etherial Pianissimo.

Patrick Higgins – Sax(ish)

Jimmie Reid – Monologue

Dan Bridge – Vox

Derrick C – Vox

Nathan Young – Vox

Hill Ryder – Vox

Option 2: Accept that we are deluding ourselves.

Get Ready for the Forever Plague

Public health officials’ COVID complacency has opened the door to new illnesses and devastating long-term damage.

First read this by Andrew Nikiforuk:

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/07/04/Get-Ready-Forever-Plague/

Then while ya all fired up and trying to reject it:

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/07/08/Forever-Pandemic-Nikiforuk-Replies-Critics/

#ChurArdern

Jacinda Ardern

Given the shattering deluge of violent misogynistic abuse levelled at her by the ‘right wing’ I totally understand why she’s stepping back, but…

 I’m still totally GUTTED!

She’s been brilliant as a PM of New Zealand, and led the world on how to respond to catastrophic  events, while right wing govts and media globally have been been, by their actions and inaction,  directly responsible for thousands of deaths, so of course, the same have spent all their toxic energy trying to undermine her.

She was prime minister through the country’s darkest times. “She did so with absolute dignity while managing to keep our country’s economic status in line with the most successful OECD countries in the world.”

“Prime Minister @JacindaArdern has guided New Zealand through crises and seized opportunities by leading with foresight, integrity and empathy. Her country is better off because of her remarkable leadership—and the rest of us are too.”

A quick look back at … The State Of Things………

Kirke Godfrey: Original Idea Drums, Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Arrange, Produce, Mix, Master.

Dan Bridge: Vox Guitar solo.

Nathan Young: Vox

Hill Ryder Vox

Patrick Higgins Flugel(ish)

Peter Miller assisted with the AI Artwork prompts

Week one of night classes level Video created by Kirke Godfrey :+)

 

The current state of the world is incomprehensible to me as what seemed like accepting scientific facts, and expectations of common decency fell away as billionaires, selfishness and disease continue to tear the world apart.

Obvious tip of the hat to Gil Scott Herron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’

The State Of Things

The current state of the world is incomprehensible to me as what seemed like accepting scientific facts, and expectations of common decency fell away as billionaires, selfishness and disease continue to tear the world apart.

Remembering the first time I heard Gil Scott Herron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ and what an impression that track made on me, and looking back at the last few years, and conversations with fellow musicians it seemed reasonable to voice our discontent. I was noodling around and made a groove to try to relax one afternoon, then asked a few people to add to it expressing their views of…

The State Of Things…

I’m responsible for the banging and booming and clanging noises, Production and Mix…

Dan Bridge wrote and sang his vocals, and  played the guitar  that’s under his vocal.
Nathan Young wrote and sang his vocal
Hill Ryder wrote and sang his vocal
Patrick Higgins provides the mellifluous top line.


Dan Bridge:

Listen to the speaker claim to Cut a little deeper Same people still ain’t equal Promises they’ll be a sequel
But what’s a promise from a criminal And the righteous subliminal It’s only political
There’s gotta be a reason that it rhymes with hypocritical
The water rising, women’s rights flicker like lighting
Children in cages, militias are frightening
The lawnmower trims the blood from the grass leaves And spits out the sins for another school funeral
There’s much too much blood to get blessed
How’s a man to hydrate with all these bullets in his chest
An overhead bowling ball hanging from a string That’s the state of things
Who can marry who What should we do It ain’t nobodys business To judge or to choose Classified emails lock her up Classified documents fuggetaboutit Get wise, inflated chicken thighs Bitcoin highs, Nuclear skies, Ukranian cries
Slip another ship of oil through the embargo
An overhead bowling ball hanging from a string That’s the state of things


Nathan Young:

The revolution will not be televised, it will be livestreamed, tweeted, and viral-ized, caught crooked corporations close door underhanded lies shared and discussed On every social media platform device. a grassroots movement, demanding some improvement from a system formed against us, the disillusioned but now the will of the people will not be denied organized online plugged in and amplified The revolution will not be controlled, By those who seek to keep us from being in the know. toned down freedom of reach This is the state of things, a call to action reduced to hashtags and memes The algorithm schemes to keep some certain things unseen just keep dumbing them down with the next big thing untouchable elite dance their way out of mind with their catchy choreography and throw away lines Times up tik tok, social credit score, ready or not hope you’re up to date with acceptable thought Big tech may try to censor and suppress, But the people will find a way to express the truth.


Hill Ryder:

If you’re talking from prejudice Shut your mouth
If you’re speaking without listening Shut your mouth
If you’re coming from hatred Shut your mouth
If you only got opinions Shut your mouth
If you haven’t done the research Shut your mouth
If you’re shouting over others Shhhh….
If you’re quoting out of context Shut your mouth
If you don’t have the knowledge or experience Shut your mouth


Kirke Godfrey:

Racism!

Human Trafficing
Endemic Corruption
Alternative Truth
Science Denial
Crypto Ponzi
Toxic Positivity
Fascism
Climate Denial
Billionaires
Opiated Masses
Mindless Social Media
Sock Puppet Journalism


Credits:
Released December 23, 2022
Kirke Godfrey: Drums, Percussion, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Brass, Arrange, Produce, Mix, Master.
Dan Bridge: Vox Guitar solo.
Nathan Young: Vox
Hill Ryder: Vox
Patrick Higgins: Flugel(ish)
Peter Miller: Assisted with the skilful AI art work prompts!

Terminal 9

(wallpaper to drink to)

A noodle turned into a track¬
Bass, Gtr, Keys by Kirke Godfrey
Flugelhorn by Patrick Higgins.
Drums by “Levi’
Produced and Mixed by Kirke Godfrey

with some welcome input from Neil Aldridge and David Rolfe

Incredibly proud to have been involved with this #2!

So I said…

It would be great if you guys made a virtual version of your µFreak, since you make such great sounding virtual filters, and the rest is all digital anyway! 

They went me one better!

To be able to have deep involvement in this has been one of the most satisfying experiences in my career.

The miniFREAK-V  killer feature you ask?

The hardware acts as a perfect control surface for the software version so you get all the realtime hands on control of a hardware synth, but the multiple instances of a plugin.

Normally, you buy a hardware synth and have only 1 ‘Instance’ as its atoms!, but… This one…

Buy a very VERY fun poly synth with an incredible array of oscillator types, and a CRAZY useful arpeggator / sequencer, and get a software version you can use in your DAW, giving you as many ‘COPIES’ as your cpu can handle.

MusicTech magazine likes it! 

R.I.P a Gtr hero

Levene said in 2012: “People thought I was classically trained, which was bollocks. I knew the E chord, and ventured into E minor.

In 2021, the website the Quietus described him as “one of the architects of the post-punk sound, his guitar style occupying a space between angular abrasion and pop opulence”.

 

Interview: Keith Levene – the founding member of The Clash and PiL talks about his new book

THIS is a HORROR STORY

I have had quite a few experiences similar to this, but NEVER on anything even close to THIS scale!

Mick Gorden has been through the ringer…

AND A FUCKING HERO FOR STEPPING UP ! 

https://medium.com/@mickgordon/my-full-statement-regarding-doom-eternal-5f98266b27ce

Locals seem pretty smart here!

New Zealanders are known for their ingenuity and many local musicians have taken novel musical approaches to achieve international success. This creative attitude extends to local inventors and entrepreneurs, who have come up with some innovative gadgets to aid and inspire music makers in their creative process. This list attempts to capture some of the broad range of musical products that are designed, and often built, here in Aotearoa.

 

Incredibly proud to have been involved with this:

More than two years ago,  I bought a µFreak, it is easily the most fun synth I’ve had in 30 years… but I had a few thoughts…

So, I had a conversation with the brilliant welcoming people at Arturia.

That ended up with me being quite deeply involved in the development of this absolutely superb instrument.

The Arturia miniFreak,  If your a synth geek, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Arturia's MiniFreak is a 6-voice hybrid synth with analogue filters

 

And the lovely Loopop seems to like it !

 

 

 

 

 

A Slam Edit…  then the Exhausting version… 

A Review!  from the ever inquisitive sonic explorer Marc Weidenbaum who runs  https://disquiet.com/ an essential site and mail list for anyone interested in sonics.

“Thanks. I dig this. It’s spacious and succinct at the same time, It’s got a Bill Laswell vibe a bit.”


Just very VERY poorly edited (NeedleDrop) set of moments from a 2 and a half hour improvisational session with Patrick Higgins, aka…   Badrico.

We are both contributing synthetics, and percussion etc…  Patrick via a wind controller and keys, (I think), im playing Bass, El guitar, µFreak and percussion and sound effects.

Mix is a mess because its a live performance and we have to manage as we go…

Just Hit Play:  and trance out for 23 mins.

 

Or… if your a sucker for punishment, or need a longer time out…

The 90 min version, Still some bad edits…