He died on 31 May 1837 a humble man, barely able to walk as his years of performing as a clown had taken their toll on his body.  However, his dedication to his clowning has not been forgotten. Indeed, his pioneering and creative impact was such that he is widely recognised as the inventor of the modern clown. Specifically, he invented the modern day white-faced clown, and I found this quote about him, by Andrew Stott, which comments on his experimentation with make-up:

“Day after day he sat before the mirror, brush in hand, marking his features, wiping them clean, and starting again, until finally a face emerged from the candlelight that bore a grin so incendiary it refused to be erased.”

A tribute to this great man, in the form of a memorial service, takes place on the first Sunday in February each year, just a stones throw from the Battle Rock as it happens – at the Holy Trinity church on Beechwood Road. After missing the service last year (bad planning…), I was delighted to be asked to attend this year to get some photos for the Hackney Gazette.

You can read a little more about the service in this week’s edition, but to give you a flavour I’ve included a few photos below…

If you’re looking for somewhere to record a song or an album, then what better place to do it than the Bunker in Dalston?!

It’s where I spend most of my time, and it’s where I recorded the songs for the Singing Faces project as well as the debut Belleville record (which is now on sale at Rough Trade if you’re passing by there…).

Once the new Belleville EP is finished, I’m looking to do much more music recording and photography stuff this year, so if you want to work on something together than please do get in touch: contact@battlerock.co.uk

You can get an idea of how other people have found working with me and recording here on the Singing Faces site.

The wolf’s sniffing at the door, so I can’t do too much just for the love of it this year, but if you’re keen to do something I’ll try and do it at a cost which works for everyone

Singing Faces

If you want to record a song and be photographed for the Singing Faces project, then that’s a little outside all this, so please send any demos or emails about that marked Singing Faces to the address above – i.e. contact@battlerock.co.uk

Yes friends, it’s been some time. But, and as its the very start of 2012 (and we’re still hanging on to the holiday season by our fingernails), what better time than to reflect on 2011 with a BUMPER SEASONAL SPECIAL!

It’s been a really good year at the Battle Rock Motel and here’s some of our highlights…

Singing Faces

When I placed an ad on Gumtree for people to take part in a music recording and photography project I had no idea what response I was going to get. Some folk are quite sniffy about Gumtree, but it’s only ever given and given to me, and on this occasion it was particularly generous. Mark, Hilary, Zoe, Will, Barbara, Mide, Nicolette, John and Emma, please take a bow! I invested a lot of time and energy into the project, but thanks to that fine group of people I got out much more – seven beautiful songs, seven great portrait sessions, my first work exhibited at the Strand Gallery, and, to top it all off, a fantastic exhibition and night of live music down at Native Tongue for Oxjam. Thanks for everyone who was part of that night. For those that missed it, and for those that just want to hear the performances again, thanks to the excellent Susana Garcia who did the filming, you can watch the trailer here and some of the songs below (you’ll find many more of them on YouTube too!):

• Mide
• Nicolette Corcoran
• Johnny Black and Emma Scarr
• Zoe Konez
• Mark Durnin
• Hilary Harvey

Belleville and Pick Me Up

I play with Mike and Laura most weeks, and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed doing over the past couple of years. We enjoy creating songs and playing them. This year we did a bit more – we self-released our debut record (which also gave birth to Battle Rock Records!) and played a couple of select and highly enjoyable gigs to launch it – partly through hosting a set of quality live music nights (where we were joined by the likes of Hero & Leander, The First Fleet, Different Cloth and many others – one of the flyers is below).

We’re in the middle of recording a set of five lively songs which we’ll be sharing in the next month or two (to include some songs we’ve been wanting to get down for a fair while) and we’ll be recording the second album when time permits after that (the songs are ready, we just need some blocks of time!). We’re really excited about all that, and we’re also excited about our next couple of gigs – 7th of January at 93 Feet East and The Workshop on 2 February. Be great to see you then.

Photography

I’ve lost count of how many photos I’ve taken this year… Music festivals, gigs, DJ parties, Thriller dancers, family photos, portraits, burlesque performers, enchanted woodlands… Every day’s a school day and I must be making good progress now with getting my first 100,00 out the way!

A few of my favourites below…

There’s lots more I could share, but if you were part of it then you already know about it and, if I stick to my resolutions, there should be plenty more to look forward to from the Battle Rock this year so I’ll try and keep you up to date. If you fancy getting involved and doing a piece, or visiting the Battle Rock for photos, music or anything else, just drop me a line – contact@battlerock.co.uk

Have a great 2012!

One of the highlights of this year at the Battle Rock has been working on the Singing Faces project. Through the project, the Battle Rock welcomed a handful of brilliant London musicians to the Bunker to record a song each (you can and should download all the songs for free here), Mark enjoyed taking photos of each of them in ways which represent the songs (in parts of London close to where they live) and lastly the songs and the photographs were displayed together on the Singing Faces website. Visit the site to learn more about each of the musicians – Zoe Konez, Barbara Cavaleri, Emma Scarr and Johnny Black, Hilary Harvey, Mark Durnin, Nicolette Corcoran and Midé – and read/make some comments.

That’s all good in itself, but we’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the main highlight of the year is still just around the corner…. On the 25th October 2011, all the musicians will be sharing a stage and singing their songs at Native Tongue EC1A 9PN. Each of the portraits will be exhibited too and, as an added bonus, it’s all taking place under the Oxjam banner. That means that all the door proceeds will be going to Oxfam (special thanks to Native Tongue for that – a very welcome gesture) and the framed photos on exhibition will also be up for sale – again, all money received to Oxfam. All welcome and you can buy tickets in advance here.

It promises to be a really special night.

With just over a week to go before the next Pick Me Up, by way of reminder I thought I’d pop the flyer on here and tell people (those I haven’t already) about the night. You can check the Facebook page for updates too if you haven’t sussed that already.

There’s a few changes from last time and we’re trying a slightly new format this month. Partly because our drummer is away, we’ll not be playing a slot, and instead we’ll be hosting in the traditional sense: talking to all you good folk, introducing those of you who haven’t met and generally kicking back and enjoying the music. We’re also just going to have three live slots so there’s a bit more time for chatting and drinking.

One thing we’re not changing though, is the quality and variety of the music, and I’m really excited about the line up:

• Mark Durnin recorded a song for the Singing Faces project and since then I’ve seen him play a couple of times. He’s a hard act not to like – great voice, great lyrics and some quality songs, not to mention a relaxed and friendly stage manner. You can take the lad out of Ireland…Take my word for it and make sure you’re there by 7.30/7.45pm or so.

• Hero & Leander joined the line up slightly by chance. A friend of mine who I used to hang out with as a teenager got in touch and recommended I add them to the night. I like a personal recommendation and you can not see someone for many years but still know they talk sense, so I immediately checked out some of the band’s songs and videos on their great website. They’re another band that it’s hard not to warm to – good songs, friendly style and plenty of energy. Thankfully they were up for playing! I’m sure they will make your Tuesday night a happy one. I can’t wait to see them. Thanks to Caroline (the old friend)!

• Son Belly are the sting in the tail, peddling lively, raw garage rock/blues. They’re right up my street and what’s the point running a night if you can’t pick all the music you really like?! Plus, they’re travelling up from Brighton, all just for your entertainment. Lucky, lucky you.

Thanks to all the bands and see you on the 27th! Hmm, thinking maybe baking some savoury snacks this month

Following the memorable Different Cloth set at the first Pick Me Up, we sat down with Onome (the amazing voice) and learned some more about what makes him tick…

BRM: How do you normally write new material? With such an expressive and personal style, do you tend to start with the lyrics and then build the song from there?

Onome: Normally I start with the lyrics. Before I’ve even picked up my guitar the song will be fully formed lyrically. Lyrics are extremely important to me and the songs that I write are incredibly personal. If you take the lyrics to my song “break” for example; everything in that song literally happened word for word.

BRM: Do you have any musicians/songs that you listen to which give you energy/ideas/inspiration for your own songs?

Onome: I listen to lots of different styles of music and this normally influences me when I’m in the studio producing a track. Sometimes a film or something someone says will give me a lyrical concept that I may run with. I’m a huge fan of Laura Marling and I think she’s arguably the best songwriter out there. I wrote a song called “the echoes” which was partly inspired by her song “night terror”. Just that opening lyric in the song “I woke up and he was screaming” was such an arresting image for me that it fed my creativity.

BRM: How long have you two been playing together and how did you start playing together?

Onome: Nikki and I met about 6 weeks ago through a promoter that we both know. Nikki is incredibly talented and hard working so it was great performing with him. Unfortunately he’s just moved back to Warrington so I’m looking for a new guitarist to calloborate with! If anyone knows anyone who’d be up to it, please contact me!

BRM: Do you have a favourite gig that you’ve played?

Onome: There’s been a couple. I played a charity festival in July called the Compressedfest and I personally think that was my best show. It was the first time I played with Nikki and it was also the first time that I felt pleased with how the show went!

BRM: How do you find the music scene in London?

Onome: I’m still pretty new to the London scene as I haven’t played that many shows (the pick me up night was the 6th show I’ve played in fact!). I’m glad that I’ve been involved with promoters like Chaos Theory and the guys at the Battle Rock behind the Pick Me Up night who just LOVE music and the first priority is to present genuine talent. I mean when I played the Pick Me Up night I was blown away by The First Fleet. They were amazing. And it really shows when promoters are passionate about what they do.

BRM: Any favourite venues, pubs or cafes or that kind of thing that we should know about?! We’re always trying to grow our Battle Rock Guide to London…

Onome: I played a show at the Wilton’s Music Hall in June. It’s really old and it’s barely hanging together structurally; but there is a beauty in that. I want to play a show at the Union Chapel. I need to make that happen. That’s something I’m working on!

BRM: If you could go to see any band with any two supports (dead or alive), who/what would you see?

Onome: Ooh this is a tough one. It would have to be Ray Charles headlining, especially if he performed Drown In My Own Tears, Aretha Franklin in her Dr.Feelgood days, and Nina Simone. I really wish I had seen Nina Simone perform!

BRM: Strong line-up! I can definitely hear something of Nina in your songs, such as Misty which is really nice. Are you working on anything at the moment?

Onome: Yes I’m currently putting together an EP of my early recordings as I think it would be great for people to be able to have a physical, tangible product. That’s really important to me-I grew up going to the record shop to buy CDs and that’s something that I still do! I’m also planning on making a video at some point soon; I’m still working out the finer details. Also I plan on doing a lot more live shows as it’s something that I have the most fun doing and it’s important that poeple get the chance to hear what I do live. It’s very different to the recordings. I’m also planning on heading back to the studio to record some new material.

BRM: Any gigs approaching that you’re particularly looking forward to?

Onome: I’m going to be playing a Candied Nonsense show at the beginning of December which I’m really excited about. I will also have plenty of shows prior to that.

BRM: Thanks very much –  keep up the good work. A real pleasure to have you at the first Pick Me Up too. If you haven’t heard Different Cloth yet, make sure you click on some of the links below. There’s a atrong and diverse set of songs on the Souncloud link…

Facebook

Soundcloud

Twitter

YouTube

Well, the first ever Pick Me Up has been and gone, and we’re left with a happy haze of memories. As they’re hard to share in any sort of detail, there’s a link to some photos here on our Facebook page to give you an idea of what went down…

A big thank you to all the musicians for travelling down and putting on such quality performances. A strong set from Belleville, the hosts, to get the night moving, sweet, sweet soul and reggae from Emma Tansey and First Cut, powerful and unique acoustic soul from Different Cloth, pure upbeat enjoyment from The First Fleet and a lively rock punk set from The Wrecks to aptly end the night. More from some of those on the blog shortly…

Thanks to all of you who came down to listen too. It would have been crap without you (and I’d have got fat eating all the Mars bar rice crispy things…).

The world refuses to stand still, curse it, so the clock’s already ticking to the next Pick Me Up on Tuesday 27th September. Another great line-up (although I’m opting for a little bit less live stuff and some more time talking and relaxing with you fine folk next time) – Irish singer/songwriter Mark Durnin will be playing some of his songs (whilst I don’t care which, they’re all great, fingers crossed for my new favourite Out of Here!), then perfect indie pop from the happy Hero & Leander and finally some raw rock blues from Son Belly. Exciting stuff. How do we manage it?! Whilst Belleville are still hosting it, Drummergirl is sunning it up far away somewhere that week (no idea who approved that one…), so if anything we may play a few stripped down songs.

A couple more dates for your portable technology:

• 25 October 2011 – the best day of the year and, coincidentally, the night when Pick Me Up will play host to the unique multimedia Singing Faces extravaganza. Do not miss this one! Hilary Harvey, Mark Durnin, Zoe Konez, Mide, Nicolette Corcoran, Johnny Black and Emma Scarr all confirmed and we’re hopeful that Barbara Cavaleri will be jetting in from Italy too. Wow.
• 4 November 2011 – the next full Belleville gig. We’ll be asking a couple of other bands to play to maximise your entertainment – news to follow. Needless to say, we’re very excited about this one… Not least as it’s a Friday gig!

The first ever Pick Me Up is now only a week away and frankly we’re getting excited at the Battle Rock…

The hosts, our very own Belleville, will start the night with a a few lively songs to get the night going, and then we have a quality and diverse line-up – laid back reggae and soul vibes from the beautiful Emma Tansey and First Cut, fresh acoustic soul from the unique Different Cloth, up beat folk from the excellent The First Fleet and lastly great garage rock from The Wrecks to close the night down. Rather than sticking to a theme we’ve just gone for good old fashioned quality – so come down, eat cake to sugar rush away your bank holiday blues and savour the friendly Native Tongue delights.

My name’s Mark, Laura and Mike will be about from Belleville too, so come up and say hello and don’t be afraid to grab a word with the musicians once they’ve played too – Pick Me Up’s all about sharing and meeting new folk.

I can’t wait!

On a practical note, we’ll be sound checking from 5pm until 7pm or so, with the live music starting at 7.30pm or so. If you aim for 6.45pm – 7pm you’ll be doing well. It’s £3 in as it’s our first night, which is scandalously cheap given what’s on offer, and there’ll be the normal Native Tongue drinks promotions on too I imagine. Enjoy it.

Native Tongue’s easy to find – head to Barbican tube, come out to the right and start going down Long Lane. The door’s about 30m or so on the right hand side.

STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS… STOP PRESS…

The Singing Faces project is now up and live!

It’s a project which combines a set of musicians and songs with a set of portrait photographs which link in with both the musicians and the songs. We’re really proud of it.

You can look at the photographs and listen to the songs at the same time on the website, as well as learning more about the project and the musicians. They’re  a great and very talented group of people and it was a pleasure to work with them on this project. As well as reading about them on the project website, I recommend following the links to their own websites, listening to more of their music and getting down to see them live.

You can download all the songs for free and in high quality format as an album here.

The finished project is the culmination of a lot of time and work, and it would be great to hear your comments (contact@battlerock.co.uk). I know the musicians would love to hear from you too (please follow the links on the project website to contact each artist).

I have also set up a Facebook page so please Like us there and I can keep you up to date on the project and the upcoming night at which the musicians will play some songs and the photographs will be exhibited. More details on that soon!

Want a night where you can listen to and meet your new favourite bands and musicians? Want cake? Want a regular slot each month you can block out in the diary where you can meet up with those London people you don’t see often enough? Want to discover Native Tongue, a friendly and intimate venue in central London run by musicians for musicians? Want music nights which are coherent and inclusive and not just a revolving door of musicians and their mates? Erm, want to spend more time in EC1?

Well, want no more! Battle Rock have teamed up with the fine folk at Native Tongue to bring you all the above and more. There’s likely to be a couple of regular bands/musicians and some new stuff too each month to keep it friendly but fresh.

So, just keep the last Tuesday of August (30th), September (27th) and October (25th) free and then head down to Pick Me Up at Native Tongue (come out Barbican tube, turn right onto Long Lane and Native Tongue is just there on your right, down some stairs). If you haven’t been there before it’s a great, and in our experience, a fairly unique London venue. It’s intimate, friendly, laid back, and there’s great sound (and a great sound engineer called Chris).

If you’ve got any ideas for the night, questions, or you would like a slot to play, please drop Mark an email: contact@creativecommune.co.uk

Look forward to seeing you all there.

PS Whilst paying for music is getting fairly old school, we’ll be asking for a small entrance fee to cover our overheads and, if enough of you come, pay the musicians too.