News from Guy

I've just received this email from Guy Connelly (Clock Opera). He has had some fantastic ideas about potential projects in the summer. Here goes:

Hi Jon

Thanks for all this.

We'll be playing a few small festivals in April & May, one or two in London, so I'll be sure to let you know!

You have some really exciting people involved. I love DJ Tendraw's approach and would love to work with him. I've wanted to learn more about circuit bending for a long while.

I didn't get around to seeing David Byrne's installation at the Roundhouse, but thought the idea was fantastic. Did you see it? Perhaps a similar idea to what Nick's been doing. Would love to know more.

Wasn't aware of The Happiness Project, but really like the idea. A great way of generating melodies. As well as my own music, I love to chop up vocals when remixing, to come up with new melodies and lyrics, so this is right up my street. I remember the great reaction we got from the hidden speakers broadcasting the group's thoughts about home to students arriving and leaving school. It would be fantastic to generate music from thoughts about the school eventually to create a Tallis theme.

Perhaps we could invoke Burroughs & Bowie and have chop-up lyric workshops too, where printouts of thoughts are combined & rearranged to create unexpected lyrics for Tallis songs.

Last year, we didn't get chance to realise the idea of the ghost steel pan band. It'd be great to give it a proper try this year. To refresh your memory, inspired by a moment in Lynch's Mulholland Drive and by a sequence in Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit (at the National Theatre again now, do you know it? Can't recommend highly enough), the idea was to record the band, then, towards the end of a live performance, the band would gradually stop playing, lay down their beaters and walk away, whilst the music would continue. Ideally, the sonic transition would be smooth enough to create a memorable illusion, and I think would fit with the theme of the festival very well.

I love methods that create ideas quickly, and show how easy it is to get started on new projects and avoid the stumbling block of a blank canvas. In this vein, another project I'm involved in at the moment is Dance Spinner (with Jonathan Goddard of Rambert) whereby sequences of movement are generated by a sequence of spins on a board. A bit like twister crossed with choreography! Now we've adapted it to facilitate and inspire music and rhythm. We were in residency at Sussex Downs college late last year and will be running a course at The Place this summer. I don't know how much dance is taught at Tallis, but perhaps something for another occasion?

http://www.dancespinner.com/

I'll look into the possibility of Clock Opera playing too!

Look forward to speaking to you soon.

Guy