Music

r/l’l Hit/ll} l l/«l- JAZZ. El. ECTDONIC LE WEEKEND

Cowane Centre, Stirling, Fri 24-27 May.

If you need an example of the change in musical appreciation, if not music itself, that has occurred over the last half decade, look no further than the continued growth and success of Le Weekend. A small but perfectly formed Stirling-based event that, over the past four years, has introduced a genre-defying range of Japanese turntablists, electro- deconstructivists and the far reaches of the clumsily-labelled post-rock fraternity, all nestled together in a suitably non- metropolitan setting caught in the middle of nowhere.

This year kicks off with ex-Pere Ubu soothsayer David Thomas, who brings his ‘Mirror Man’ project to town. Described as ‘A Geography Of Sound In Two Acts’, its ambitious, quasi-beat song- cycle is an eerie freewheel drive- by of latter-day American mythology. Also on show will be the Tortoise-associated Chicago Underground Duo, saxophonist Peter Brotzmann dueting with drummer Hamid Drake, while the Stirling/Japan connection is forged even stronger by guitarist Makoto Kawabata. Stirling’s very own Situationist sound terrorists, Diskono, will host a night of sonic dissonance from three Hamburg artists, while the grand finale finds legendary Japanese psych-drone crazies Acid Mothers Temple joining forces with Spiritualised’s ThighPaulSandra and no less a personage than Julian Cope for what’s destined to be a trip into free-form freakery.

‘We’ve become more confident over the years.’ admits Le Weekend programmer Jackie Shearer, ‘and that’s come out of musicians coming back and trying things out in different contexts. Being smaller and out of the city too makes it special. Because you have to travel

issue: Four Tet

the past.

EXPOSURE

In order to sate your jangling nerves worrying over which new bands‘ name to drop at 1‘4:in " 1'. ‘~ " -' m It:- the local shandy boutique this in N I . ~ ' I weekend, we do the hard work Him... ; ...r 1,1": I . and pick ‘em out for ye. This . ,, / , , -

So what’s up? F0u." Tet. the r'nsfgw ~' rather wonderful solo [)l()l(}(ll of u. up: «a: f .1 ’lw' Kleran Hebden. member of “'~ trwz- pioneering electro outflt Fridge. Never heard of them. Not the best known band in the world admittedly but they spent 1200p touring the UK. Europe and Japan " w _

as Badly Drawn Boy's lite band 5:. " : :2 '-,-: _.'.:'. and. math their own Eillll)l(3lll—J£l/.’ "(iu'Il : v ' ° rock type thing, have supported l lv Godspeed You Black Emperor? !'l F’a-t- '

Having to Cope with The Acid Mothers

and to make an effort to get here, it makes it feel more of an event.’

The Acid Mothers/Cope collaboration came about after a surprise phone call from Cope, a long-time advocate of all things musically wayward, asking if he could play with his favourite band. For nothing.

‘You don’t say no to things like that,’ Shearer says, ‘We don’t know yet what structure it will take, but two sets and something together at the end would be nice, and they’re going to spend the best part of the Sunday practicing. Which is great, to have musicians of that calibre, playing together for the very first time in a community centre in Stirling.‘

What to expect of the result, Shearer isn’t sure. ‘My God, it’ll be fantastic, but I don’t know whether I’m looking forward to it or dreading it.’ Whatever, just don’t go asking for any old Teardrop Explodes numbers. (Neil Cooper)

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That’s outrageous . . . Mind you he’s still just a bloke with computers, isn’t he? Can’t se him ‘working it’ live. H :T' we

So this is more of the same, is Mm: : 4:.1' : .s .- I: ° it? Not on yOur nelly. FOur Tet ow”: ' ' ' ' purveys Sumptuous electronica : z ~ ' that combines the pastoral "

lusciousness of the stuff on O"

innovative label Leaf (who Hebden " has done remixes fort and the

Respect due. . '

i" ’5‘“ more llldLlSlllal SOund I Available for Christmas championed by Warp. 7.1.7.. ', . , ,,_. . parties, bar mitzvahs, Not more of that bloody (3 H.- x

christenings . . . plinky-plonky weird stuff? EiiS‘..

48 THE LIST .5“. May—T Jun 2001

DIALOGUES III

Matthew Gallery. Chambers Street St Cecilia‘s Hall. Cowgate

Reid Concert Hall. Bristo Square. Sat 23 May—Sun 1 Jun.

New sounds uncaged