The Lady Husk Diaries

Tooth Ache!

2009-04-24T19:38:00.006+01:00

Not had tooth ache in a while, and as I am typing this I feel the pain creeping back in even though I took two codeine half an hour ago! thankfully I have an emergency appointment at the hospital at 9pm, a strange time to be going for treatment but honestly after spending the night in pain, a late night appointment is good enough...

Less of me feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to let you know a remix I did for Bonfire Madigan is available on beautiful clear vinyl and if any of your fancy it please go to her website, I am still waiting to hear from Madigan whether there is a digital version available for all those who threw out their decks a while ago...thankful I never did succumb to that measure, I just could not part with my beloved records after trawling many a dusty second hand store on my many travels around the globe...every piece tells a unique story of how it was found and why I love it so much..
here is the link http://www.bonfiremadigan.com/
Spring has definitely arrived and it feels great to have the sun streaming through my windows, my new pad is just glorious and finally have found somewhere that is pretty quiet, no squeaking floor boards above me along with the crazy neighbour above who had no personal skills what so ever. Thankfully all the other neighbours there were cool peeps.

But living in my new place just makes me really appreciate quietness and how important it is to have that place to think, especially living in a city like London.

Working on some new project ideas and am wanting to create a performance piece but its still just that thought in my head right now and I am trying to think of ways to implement it or make it real..

OK well my tooth is killing me now and maybe I just need to down some more pills to soothe the pain.

April Fools

2009-04-03T21:48:00.003+01:00

There are a few things for you to check out this month, I have a feature on a great blog called Modyfier http://modyfier-modifying.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post_26.html, this has been running for sometime and has a whole heap of archive to wade through. Basically its focusing on what process artists use while creating, and my contribution is the latest of the series so if you have a free minute please go and show some support and spread the word
Secondly I have done a mix for French radio being aired on the 9th April between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, so for those of you in the UK would be 4.30pm. It includes both new and old tracks from my catalogue, and I am pretty happy with it. You can check it out at www.solenopole.org.

Please put the word out, Neotropic is looking for a new home and I have a great new album to boot!

keep em peeled

:)

Its Snowing and London has stopped!

2009-02-02T21:44:00.003Z

February
It has been snowing for two days and the whole of London has stopped, I tried to go to work today, but all the buses were suspended as it was too dangerous..go figure!
So spent the day working from home, in fact got a lot more done than I anticipated.
Also got to sort the shop on the site, so I hope you folks can download all the great new tracks and the ones from the vaults!
I will be up loading some more old and new tunes over the coming weeks, once I have settled into my new place!
A remix will be available on clear vinyl through Bonfire Madigan, please check her website for its release, I believe they were mastering today. So get a copy while you can, she is a wonderful artist and one that has been working hard out there for a good few years!
Also please go a check this wonderful film that I fortunately appear in, it was directed, written by a great girl called Lauryn Siegel.
http://www.vimeo.com/2474977#success

ok that is all for now, am wondering if it will still be snowing tomorrow!
Lets hope so, then I can carry on with my work from home..Yay!

2009!

2009-01-01T23:34:00.004Z

yes yes here it is 2009!
wow i cannot quite believe another year has passed me by.....
but a lot has been achieved and more is to come, i am glad in someways that a new beginning is here...
it almost feels like a clean slate and that is certainly a good feeling to have, even if i am a little hungover from the new years celebration, but i could not of spent it with better folk than that of my good friends, from near and far.
December has been an eventful month and I have many collaborative coals in the fire, and I am raring to go on these, as of yet they are very embryonic and I will divulge more as they themselves grow at a rapid rate!
Best moment in 2008, too many to mention but one highlight is my recent trip to Stavanger in Norway, it was by far one of the best gigs of the year for me and I could not of shared it with anyone better than my two lovely band mates. I am hoping that this will be fruitful in 2009 and more gigs to come, just the beginning me thinks!

Of course I have yet to get this album out and am now on the lookout for a new home for Equestrienne, as it appears the credit crunch has hit us all...but fear not I am not too worried and who knows things may well turn out OK. Squids Eye and Tony have been supreme and I wish that things were different but alas they are not...I just hope that there is someone else out there as great as Tony who can be on board the Neotropic Express for 2009...

Thanks to all of you who have continued to support me and I feel blessed at all the lovely folk I have met over the last year.

I will endeavour to keep you all posted on things, and there are definitely some things bubbling here at Council Folk!

And then there were 3

2008-11-10T20:53:00.002Z

Some great news to share with you all. Neotropic live will now be three with the added new member 10sui (aka Tracie Storey) who is an old friend from the Ninja days, she has been touring the world as a DJ for the last few years, and also producing her own music, any of you interested in her you can check her out on mayspace under her alias 10sui.
We will be playing our first gig in December in Stavanger Norway, please keep checking back for details of the show. Plenty of new tunes will be played and this will give a new flavour to the Neotropic shows, with both Diana and Tracie's input I am so excited to see how it all pans out....

I know I keep saying this but I am almost there with the album and will be recording some brass this weekend which is such a luxury, have been so lucky with the musicians who I have worked with on this album and must thank them all for there wonderful talents.

Check back soon for details of all the love shows that will be happening over the coming months.

Feeling Groovy!

2008-10-15T19:27:00.005+01:00

Yes yes I am back from what seems like a long time away from the blog!
Been a roller coaster and I am still not outta the woods as of yet but life has that effect at times, challenges en route!
But being the kind of person I am, the more challenges the better...

I am finally on the home run with the Album Yay! Its all written and the tracks are pretty much all mixed, just waiting on a few musicians to come and add, things like more drums!, twangy guitar and layered horns! hmmmmmmm looking forward to getting them all down.
I have been working with Christine Hanson who has contributed so many beautiful cello's to the album and I feel blessed that due to the wonderful world of technology that although she is based way up in Scotland we have managed to work like we are in the same studio! Love this, just makes it all the more exciting, never knowing quite what you are gonna get and can swing things in a completely new direction.

Been also working with George Demure, recording lots of vocals for his forthcoming album and what Joy! to be singing some great songs and just so relaxed and fun...HIs new stuff is fantastic and with all the gigs we've been doing, things seem to be looking up on that front for Mr Demure..worth checking out his live shows, worth the trip out on this cold Autumn evenings, next show is in Edinburgh no solid date but its looking like the end of November.

I too am itching to get out on the live circuit and I am hoping this will be the plan for the next year to get out there..

I will also be making a vocal piece for Kaffe Matthews Sonic Bed that is in her art space in the heart of Hackney and will let you all know once I have that done.

Recommendations for your listening pleasure
Fuckbuttons! on ATP if you get a chance to catch these guys live, then do, I know they will be supporting Mogwai. Just loving these guys...

Another band to catch live is Commanechi, 2 piece, girl drummer/singer and boy guitar
awesome!

Currently Listening
Dusty Springfield - A girl called Dusty
The Feminine Complex - Livin' Love

Gigs

I will be djing for Stop the War on the 31st October
aptly called
The Nightmare on Downing Street
Fancy Dress too
8pm - 2am
tickets are £5.00 advance or £6 on the door
The Minories
EC3

Farewell Summer

2008-09-03T18:41:00.005+01:00

Summer is bidding farewell to us, as we head into Autumn, August was not exactly brimming with sunshine, in fact it seemed to rain a lot!
But much has happened over the summer and much to tell.
Firstly I played my first live gig in what seems like a long time ago, and have enlisted the help of Diana guitarist extraordinaire, along with accordion and stomp box which I built with my own fair hands, folk at the Ragged Hedge Fair were intrigued when we rolled up with some bits of wood, not really knowing what it was until we put it together! You will have to come and see our shows to see how great it is!
The people at the festival were so lovely and it was a joy to play and although it was a horrible rainy evening, the folk that stuck around seemed happy with what we did. It was our first gig and only having a few rehearsals it went pretty well considering and not one for blowing my own trumpet, but I had no idea I have such a powerful voice, and live it just seems to boom around the tent, excellent and a great confidence boost...More Gigs Please!
Not only that I am now singing back up vocals for George Demure, which has been such great fun and we have done a few gigs already and are off to Paris in October and Edinburgh in November, he is worth checking out if you are not familiar with his sound and a great showman. Not only that I will be singing on his new album along with the lovely Jules who is the other Demurette. We are also doing a pop promo for an exclusive track only for his podcast this month so check it out, I will be posting a link in the coming weeks.

Hoping to be doing some more shows both with George and with my own stuff in the coming months so keep checking back to see what's happening.
Hoping also to add another new member to the Neotropic live line up to make it an all female affair, 10sui will be joining us in the coming months on beats and electronics.

Still no date for Equestrienne yet but I hope to be releasing it very soon.

From the Horses Mouth

2008-07-22T21:47:00.006+01:00

Last week saw the end of a year long project with a group of young people I had been working with that was part of a project called "There Ain't no Black in the Union Jack" based around a book by Paul Gilroy.

I worked with three groups from 3 different boroughs in London, looking at how through music creation they could vocalise the issues and experiences of what it is today to be a young person growing up in a multi cultural society, it seemed pretty poignant that the final show at Hackney Empire celebrating the work of these groups with yet another person becoming a statistic in knife crime. And part of this project was to highlight some of these issues. It was a great pleasure to work with so many talented bright people, who all shone like the brightest stars on Hackney Empires Stage and I was so hugely proud of how they themselves have come on a journey as have I.
It feels good that I have been able to pass on some of my knowledge and experience.

Since my trip to Tuscany I have been steadily getting back into some writing and re working some of the new stuff and its nice to come back to something and listen to it with an almost untrained ear and realise that if I tried it another way or maybe changed that..So much of my recent work has been just doing that.

I will also be embarking on a few shows over the coming months and will be enlisting the talents of Diana from Candythief to accompany me, and between us we will playing a very stripped down set of all the new tracks from the forthcoming album.

Am also helping out George Demure on back up vocal duties and playing keys, we are playing a few gigs in the coming months, will be posting them up once I get the details.

Other news is I have been doing a number of remixes over the last month or so, I have posted them up on MySpace so check them out. Some are already available others are going to be released in the coming months.

So thats the news for now and I will keep you posted of any developments.

Post Holiday Blues!

2008-06-23T13:15:00.002+01:00

I am sorry that I removed all the previous blogs, had some technical problems! I know some of you have posted me asking about them, well thankfully we managed to save them from the cache so all is not lost...
Am just back from a lovely relaxing break in the Tuscan countryside, spent the week with a lovely bunch of creative folk, my long lost touring buddies Ollo, whom I don't see enough of, guess its kind of difficult since they live in Sydney..but we are going to collaborate on a track together for the next album and am excited by that prospect.
We all decided Castel del Piano is a great place to hold up and write and album, tucked away on a Tuscan hillside at the base of a volcano, how inspirational is that..so who knows maybe my dream will come true.

Have my first live gig in a long while coming up in August, back to my own home ground of the West Country. Plus I will be DJing on a float at Pride this year too, just hope the weather holds up.

Also if any of you wish to buy cd's rather than mp'3s from the website you can do so, just buy in the usual way and then mail me and i will post it to you, there will be a small additional charge for postage, dependant on where you are based.

Remix World

2008-05-30T21:38:00.003+01:00

Am working another remix, this is pretty exciting too, as its for a project called "The Danger Global Warming Project" which is a collective established by Keir Jens-Smith and James Kauty (KLF) calling themselves The Blacksmoke Organisation, with support of many great artists, film makers and musicians.
Heres a little blurb I got sent explaining the purpose of the project.....

"The Danger Global Warming Project, a 100% independent creative initiative... designed, developed and supported by artists worldwide. The influential and respected artists backing this initiative have 'put their money where their mouth is' by creating completely original and brand new material directly inspired by the environmental theme. We have no political manifesto, no corporate agenda and no fund-raising objective. If we are to succeed in encouraging young people worldwide to 'get stuck in' and express their own creative ideas we must prove the people backing this initiative are equally committed."

I am honoured to of been asked to remix for this project as there are some big names who have already contributed...the likes of Rob Playford, Bill Frisell, Beth Hirsch, DJ Pierre, The Micronauts, Trentemøller...

The original track is vocalised by Hugh Cornwall of The Stranglers!

This is my exciting news of the week, looking forward to getting on with it!