IT NERDS - there ya have it - official confirmation at last !!

KL Update posting 3 - Digital Dudes ???? whatever ...

Another tale of 'Enjoyable Electronica' - yeah right - funny thing is after this gig there was a hotel-room band-smoking session and discussion where dare I say it - I was accused of scaring the shit out of the Malaysian crowd with the slabs of dirty-dark-industrial-ambiance that at times were layed on top of the otherwise funky(ish) beatz ..... "if you are going to go down that route - why not go the whole way and scare the shit out of them..." - I did try and indicate that we were not really trying to compete with the classic Hawkwind first album - which for those of you who have ever expereinced 'Paranoia parts 1, 2, and 3, whilst under the influence of trip-out substances, will know is the ultimate in fear, but as none of my fellow band-mates had even heard a Hawkwind track before I guess 'dark-and-scary' is very much a cultural thing - and as I am the only Brit aboard the DCL-love-boat, then I can only blame the english weather for my taste in 'the darker side of electro-funk...!!"

seems however that 'dirty-dark-industrial-ambience' equates to enjoyment for the KL massive ..



For those of you out there who are dying to experience a bit of what it was like to be at Bliss, Kuala Lumpa - and taste a 1 second loop of the show - then download the following baby - load it up into QuickTime Player - set the movie to LOOP and press play - it is only 300 K - comes with no health warnings - and is guaranteed not to scare you (even if you are allergic to industrial-funk!!) ...

Re.Cord - review from Staalplaat

Recieved a couple copies of the Re.Cord DVD/CD combo from Toby at Cocosolidciti - and a very nicely presented package it is indeed - as I have a somewhat vested interest in this (being invloved as one of the contributing artists, I shall refrain from slapping my own back) .... but will instead reprint the following review from the guys at Staalplaat ..........

BATTERY OPERATED - RE.CORD (CD+DVD by Cocosolidciti)
To fully understand what this is all about, the best thing is to start with the DVD part of it. It has ten tracks from ten artists around the world, who received a black box, in which they had to put their favorite conspiracy theory in sonic, visual and written form. Once that was completed, it was send back to Battery Operated, who initiated the project, who in return made an audio and visual remix of the material. The ten tracks, spanning most continents and each dealing with their favorite conspiracy theory, is a well-varied bunch. From the surprisingly rocky opening by BCD, one of Richard H. Kirk's nicknames to the ambient pieces of Kurt Ralske and Mathias Delplanque, tribal rhythms from Kim Ki-Chul and trip-hop breakbeats from Digital Cutup Lounge, to the more experimental outings of Gate and Freiband and the peeps Sachiko M, this is goes all over the musical place and should offer more than excellent reworkings for Battery Operated.
The audio remix of the material by Battery Operated brings the material back to quite experimental techno beats and crackling static hiss. It's hard to recognize any of the original material in there, but that makes it altogether much more exciting. The remix as a tool is a real expansive one, as once again is proven by Battery Operated. On the DVD part there is also the entire film they made for this work, which is a likewise hallucinatory work of camera's, both in and out of control. (FdW)
Address: http://www.cocosolidciti.com

Dug Out ...

"Every musical history of cities has a club that became emblematic of the developing scene – the Wag Club, The Torch, Erics, Shoom, The Hacienda; Bristol had the Dug Out."

My own personal memories of the Dug Out club - Park row, Bristol - sometime-1980s - stoned, drunk (sometimes dare I admit even tripping!), and up for some punk-funk-mashups .... carpet-uber-sticky .... - upstairs-room-skin-up-area - woodstock-videos - funny at the time it was one of those places you just ended up for a late night session of good music and non-threatening-vibes ... now - a place of urban-tales and long-missed-moments.. and now - a web-site - setup as part of the ongoing Electric Pavilion initiative, run out of the Watershed, Bristol ... click to relive those heady post-punk-neo-funk-DUG OUT dayz.....

KL Update posting 2 - Wong Faye - NOT TO WED

There is a story that goes with this photo (snapped from New Straits Times during a big breakfast session at the Shangri La hotel) - but can't be bothered to attach it to the photo .... so said story shall be replaced by the caption :::

Looking good Faye - looking good.......

KL Update posting 1 - the news that matters...

Farmer glitch - your man in the hot spots of Asia - reporting the news you need to know mostest - fastest - and soonest --- yawn !!

From the Malaysia New Straits Times....



A casual stroll to McDonalds near Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpa, cuased me to lose hard-earned RM30. Apparantly if you are male, you're the target of VCD peddlers who promote the latest in pornography. A peddler approached me and as usual I declined. He tugged at my sleeve annd drew me to a discreet location and went into a 10 minute hard sell of his goods at "best possible value". I made a number of excuses from being broke to saying I had plenty of pornography at home! He was unmoved. I saw no end and decided to part with some money because he was getting on my nerves. Another mistake. I had only RM50 note in my wallet and seeing the amount he persuaded me to part with more for "value for money" goods. I told him I owed my mother RM30 and needed to pay hew back urgently. He said it was better to owe my mother than a loan shark! Although I retrieved RM20, I lost my mood for lunch. Now I am guilty of supporting pornography and piracy. I vow never to set foot in Petaling Street again. Ever.
KY
Kuala Lumpa.

Singapore Wasted

Farmer here is at this moment standing on stage at Gotham club - Clarke Quay Singapore (Laaaahhhh ...) - goddam smoke-machine filling the DCL collection of laptops and assorted high-end electronics to the gills with friggin grey-matter .... arrived here lah this afternoon lah - somewhat worse for wear after an event-filled 3 days in Kuala Lumpa ..... photos and onsite roports (at least those I can recall) to follow (probably...) .....

now for the gig !!

Zipster

Seems Bolan has his pants for sale - not too sure how or why this transaction seems to be taking place - but alas - his threads are for sale - never seen the poster above before - but it sorts of leads nicely into the planned publication of the Farmer Glitch - T-Rex Scrap Book - yes - that 1970s Post Office issue kid scrap book (they still sell them in the local post office here - which says bottles-worth-of-info regarding the type of town I reside in!).... anyway - my T-Rex scrap book is more than ace - it is teenage-obsessive-glam - BEAT THAT KIDZ... it has (as you will be forced to witness - or indeed ignore) - numerous press-cuttings, hand-written-pop-chart-stats, hand-written-copied-direct-from-first-release-sleeve-lyrics, and much-much-much-more... wanna see some scan - .... no - well fine - here are more pics of his trousers -- please note - stain - they were always there !!



and to back-up the stain-claim ..... from the original release ...

Own a genuine piece of Marc Bolan history ~ Marc's famous Trousers

They are ivory coloured satin with an oriental style embroidered stripe down the outside of each leg. They are flared and have a turn up and are labelled "Alkasura Clothing Ltd, 304 Kings Rd, London SW3" - One of Marc's favourite clothes shops. They were recently valued by Bonhams at £1500 - £1800. Originally purchased in the early 80's from Sotherby's, the trousers come complete with a letter of provenance and the two pictures shown with Marc wearing them, (1.) A Diana double page spread (belt not included!) and (2.) A copy of the famous T.V picture. The trousers are in excellent condition for 30 years old except the button hole is not intact and they have some discoloration marks (as they had when they were purchased) which may well come out with cleaning if you wanted to risk that! They are an ultimate collectable for any Marc fan and are probably one of the few items of Marcs clothing which span 2 totally different eras (1974 and 1977) and would look absolutely brilliant framed.


Framed - Framed - bugger that man - I am selling my original copy of Electric Warrior (including poster) - OK this was the first record I ever bought - and to this day, it, makes me remember discussing with my Dad (I was 10 in 71) - "hey Dad - what is all that stuff at the end of "Rip Off" about ..???.. you know that 3 or 4 minutes of classical-drones-do you think there is something strange with the record ???? - ??? " - he never supplied an answer - I still ponder on this question (DAILY) ...... YOU SEE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT RECORD FOR ME ... but damn - the trousers - the trousers - I can see me now - local co-op - 5.00pm - ivory coloured satin with an oriental style embroidered stripe - man-oh-man - will I be tha-zip-gun-boogie-meista !