the vibes

My video for The Found Sound Orchestra

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Mark

I made this as a tribute to The Found Sound Orchestra, who make great tunes out of bits of old records from junkshops. I decided to make a video using the same collage technique, and trawled YouTube for bits of found footage. The young people call it a video mash-up. The 2001-style time tunnels are my own creation, as are the platform boots and the lips…I was born in the sixties. Babyfood was obviously different then.

Check out The Found Sound Orchestra and download all their music for nothing! It’s perfectly legal. And the best tunes this side of a mojito and a sun lounger. If nothing else, try Memorabilica…

“Its the sound of the sun shining that little bit brigher. Its the sound of butterflies in Spring time. Its the sound made by soft toilet tissue on a smooth bottom. Its a sound you remember but have never heard before. Its the sound of three hundred and forty two records, tapes and found sound recordings being played over the top of one another.”

Press play and brighten your day.

Getting Closer (to the End) – The Found Sound Orchestra

You might also like- Found Sound Orchestra Mix – Once Round the Dancefloor and Home

Categories: Music, Vibe Monitor, Video | Tags: mashup, Music, remix, The Found Sound Orchestra, Vibe Monitor | 1 Comment

The Devious Corporation

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Mark

Long ago in the mists of the nineties, I formed a band with David Crimes. We were called Pluto for a while, and then the media revolution hit Manchester. It was all mobile phones and paninis. People would actually strut up and down Canal Street with head-mikes and clipboards. Being important. We became The Devious Corporation, teaming up with singer Neil Roberts. For five years we toured the city, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Boy George and George Michael. Rumour has it we almost signed to Sony for an obscene figure, but pulled out at the last minute due to a crisis of conscience. The other rumour is we were crap.

Our best known track was a cover of a bluesy old soul number by Yazoo, called Midnight. Alison Moyet wrote the tune, and Neil Roberts sings on our version. Judge for yourself…

Midnight

The real reason we never got signed to a major!

Inevitably, scandal stained our reputation. Unfortunately, during our Pluto incarnation, we plastered indelible stickers over every available surface in town, and fell foul of Stella Blanchflower, who ran a gown shop in Sale. She had this to say:

Stella Blanchflower Goes To War

I don’t like to name drop, but it took us a while to work out that Ms Blanchflower was a wind-up. A nom de fume. It was none other than Tony Warren, MBE, creator of Coronation Street.

From The Manchester Evening News. They spelt my name wrong. And David’s! What a trip…

Still averse to name-dropping, but Sir Ian McKellen requested we donate our song Free to The Albert Kennedy Trust to use as their anthem which was an honour. We were produced by Ritchie Birkett who polished Pet Shop Boys, Mary J Blige and K-Klass (remember Rhythm is a Mystery? If I say saxophone solo and piano-in-a-tumbledryer you will.) Boy George threw our 12″ single over his shoulder when we asked him to feature it in his DJ set. Again, an honour. And I bumped into George Michael during our live transmission for BBC Music Live. He wasn’t actually in attendance – I literally bumped into him as he rushed to Mash & Air next door for a baguette.

Categories: Music | Tags: Coronation Street, David Crimes, Devious Corporation, Midnight, Music, Neil Roberts, nineties, Sir Ian McKellen, Tony Warren | Leave a comment

Over the Edge

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Mark

This is Sparky’s final resting place, up on Alderley Edge, near The Wizard’s Well, sprinkled liberally on a warm spring day. It felt quite liberating in a way. Rounded things off with ice cream and a bit of mountaineering. Sparky was my loyal ginger rescue cat who passed away shortly before Christmas 2010. Incidently, Alderley Edge is traditionally the heart of English folklore, and legend has it that Merlin the Wizard lived here, destined for greatness after King Arthur rode through the Edge on horseback, and the rest is history. There is actually a natural spring, gushing from a carving of Merlin’s face, hidden deep in the hillside. I thought this was a fitting grave for such a legendary cat.

There’s not much of his face left, but you could be looking at the ancient Magus of pagan Britain…

It was a beautiful day- a real break from the city. There were Porsches in the car park and proper elocution coming through the trees. Someone called Helena, who only lasted three years with the flute glided past with a giant poodle… that kind of affair.

Sparky lasted seven wonderful years with me. Now I have a place I can visit, without having to worry about anyone building a conservatory over him. As an update, although the ferns have grown around him, you can still see his ashes on the ground. He finally got to be an outdoor cat.

The Piglet. Possibly singing, more likely running a food cartel in the kitchen. Rest in peace X