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Ari Up

Marion Brown

Founding member of The Slits, Ari Up, has died aged 48. Born Ariane Daniele Forster, the German born vocalist formed the group with drummer Palmolive (Paloma Romero) in 1976 after having been taught to play guitar by Joe Strummer. Despite much sniping in the music press regarding their technical ability (as if that was ever an issue in punk), The Slits approached their instruments with a freshness and inventiveness which set them aside from many of their contemporaries. The group’s dub, African music and, later, hiphop influences produced an influential punk hybrid. After The Slits split in 1981, Ari Up lived with her family in jungle regions in Indonesia and Belize, eventually settling in Kingston, Jamaica, producing solo efforts as Babi Ari, Madussa and Ari Up. She reformed The Slits in 2005, releasing the well-received Revenge Of The Killer Slits EP in 2006.

Saxophonist Marion Brown has died aged 79. Coming to New York City in the 1960s from Atlanta, he befriended musicians such as Anthony Braxton, Archie Shepp and Ornette Coleman. He famously appears on on John Coltrane’s Ascension (1965), Shepp’s Fire Music (1965) and Harold Budd’s The Pavilion Of Dreams (1978), and released over a dozen records as a group leader, including Three For Shepp, Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun and Geechee Recollections on Impulse! and Why Not? on ESP-Disk. Besides taking an extremely active part in the mid-60s New York jazz scene he also held faculty positions at institutions such as Wesleyan University, Amherst College and Brandeis University.

entry: it’ll be played at the beginning of the show each week, and if that isn’t enough, the winner will be interviewed on air (in the studio or on the phone) about their piece, how they did it, what they were thinking, etc etc. The competition is open to anybody and everybody, and the deadline for entries is 17 December. Go to bit.ly/AIMMtheme for more details.

Genesis P-Orridge has left Throbbing Gristle. An announcement on the Industrial Records website states that on 27 October, Peter Christopherson, Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti and their respective managements received two emails from the vocalist, stating that he was no longer willing to perform as a part of TG and had returned to his New York home. They cancelled their show at Archa Theatre, in Prague on 30 October but performed as a trio under the name X-TG at subsequent dates in Bologna and Porto. It would appear that the remaining members of TG intend to continue without their errant vocalist, stating that they “hope fans will appreciate and enjoy this new project” and that “the trio is looking forward to performing exciting new and radical electronic musics together”. industrial-records.com

Trembling Bells are releasing a 7" single for the Christmas season. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy takes the lead vocal on their song, “New Years Eve’s The Loneliest Night Of The Year”. On the flip, the Bells back The Incredible String Band’s Mike Heron on his own “Feast Of Stephen”. The single will be released by Honest Jons on 6 December honestjohns.co.uk

The Wire is launching a competition to write a new theme tune for Adventures In Modern Music, our weekly show on Resonance FM. The theme can be in whatever style you want, created however you want, involve any instrumentation whatsoever, with the only requirement being that it should be roughly two minutes long. The prize for the best

UK label Stream Records is releasing a new compilation of instrumental works by composer Genie Cosmas. Entitled Cry From The City, it features the singing talents of Robert Wyatt. Jazz musician and MS sufferer Cosmas is known for her works on the label, which has released numerous albums by artists with disabilities, and

Wyatt adds his vocals to four tracks on on the album. streamrecords.co.uk

American Poets is a new three CD compilation of 27 American poets reading their own work. Most of the recordings are available for the first time, and feature figures such as TS Eliot, Robert Frost and Ezra Pound alongside Beats such as Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso and jazz critic turned poet Amiri Baraka. It also includes “Fire Station” and “The Tragedy Of The Leaves” by Charles Bukowski and an unpublished Wallace Stevens work, “Credences Of Summer.” The collection is released by the British Library. bl.uk

Now a trio since the departure of guitarist Bruce Gilbert, post-punk savants Wire are due to release new album Red Barked Tree next month. The group have spent the past couple of years extensively touring to invest their 12th studio album with “the live energy of performance.” Those buying the album from their website will also get the digital download only EP, Strays. pinkflag.com

Otomo Yoshihide and Hiromichi Sakamoto, it also focuses on Tokyo itself, examining how its state of flux and movement has served as inspiration. The film will be shown at London’s Roundhouse on 5 December with an introduction from the directors. A performance by psychedelic Tokyo outfit L?K?O will follow the screening. roundhouse.org.uk

That’s Novel: Lifting Comics Off The Page is an exhibition dedicated to the art of the comic featuring, among others, the work of The Wire’s Savage Pencil. The exhibition promises “searing memoirs to global manga, from The Tower Of Babel to The Walking Dead... the latest, greatest and up-to-datest in comics by leading international innovators and the British cutting edge”, while Savage Pencil collaborates with David Quantick on a graphic novel about British Edwardian cat-loving artist Louis Wain. The exhibition is part of London’s Comica Festival, which takes place across various venues. The exhibition runs until 18 December. comicafestival.com

The compilation Trax 25 celebrates 25 years of Chicago House label Trax Records by compiling re-edits and remixes of some of their most influential tracks. Remixes of tracks by Larry Heard, Robert Owens and Frankie Knuckles come from Mark Broom, JD Twitch and many more. The compilation was devised by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, authors of the book Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. The album will be released in January 2011. djhistory.com

City Slang have marked their 20th anniversary with three nights of performances at Berlin’s Admiralspalast. They continue the celebrations with expanded editions of some of the their best known releases. Lambchop’s Is A Woman, Calexico’s Feast Of Wire and The Notwist’s Neon Golden are being reissued in deluxe CD versions throughout the rest of November and December. cityslang.com

London’s Barbican Art Gallery’s programme for the new year includes Pioneers Of The Downtown Scene: New York In The 1970s, a retrospective of Laurie Anderson, choreographer Trisha Brown and artist Gordon Matta-Clark’s 1970s solo and collaborated works. The gallery will be presenting sculptures, drawings, documentation and mixed media pieces as well as concurrently running a series of films, talks and performances. The retrospective opens in March 2011. barbican.org.uk

The Japanese experimental music scene is the subject of a new documentary We Don’t Care About Music Anyway by Cédric Dupire and Gaspard Kuentz. While the film investigates Japanese musicians such as

ATP have announced Animal Collective as curators of their May weekend (13– 15) festival at Minehead Butlins next year. Alongside the Collective, confirmed in the line-up are Gang Gang Dance, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Broadcast, Black Dice, Meat Puppets (performing Up On The Sun), The Frogs (performing It’s Only Right & Natural), Group Doueh, Zomby, Vladislav Delay, Sublime Frequencies DJs and many more, with more announcements to come. atpfestival.com

Vocalist, performance artist, Metal enthusiast and co-runner of the Von Archives label Nico Vascellari (see Cross Platform, The Wire 310) is one of 21 artists shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize 2010. The group show features works submitted for the competition as well as new pieces and runs until 9 January next year. The winner will receive a prize of $60,000 in cash and $40,000 for the production of new work. pinchukartcentre.org

Harmolodic rock ’n’ roll pioneers Royal Trux are set to have their first four albums reissued: Royal Trux (First Album) (1988), Twin Infinitives (1990), Royal Trux (Skulls) (1992) and Cats And Dogs (1993). Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrera’s influential outfit, initially a Pussy Galore splinter group, achieved notoriety via their, freeform take on classic rock modes, and featured on the cover of The Wire 199. The reissues are due for release on 11 January 2011. dominorecordco.com

Nick Mott, founder member of Volcano The Bear has announced three new vinyl LP releases due at the end of 2010. Planetary irraux( Brown)

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Bethlehem (on Beta Lactam Ring Records) is a brand new and previously unreleased album of collaged Volcano The Bear reworkings, originally recorded during the group’s conception in 1995–1996. The Vanished People (on Alt Vinyl) is by Spectral Armies (Mott alongside Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan of Jazzfinger fame) while These Dark Roots Of Heaven (also on Alt Vinyl) is by Mott’s new post-Volcano group, Skeleton Birds And The Number Of God. blrrecords.com, altvinyl.com

The Herb Alpert Foundation and California Institute Of The Arts have announced the recipients of the 2010 Alpert Award In The Arts, which include, among others composer Lukas Ligeti. Also receiving awards are visual artist Rachel Harrison, choreographer Susan Rethorst, writer, performer and activist Bill Talen and film maker Jim Trainor. Each winner will receive a $75,000 grant. The award is intended to reflect a “shared vision of the transforming power of the arts, and honours artists respected for their creativity, bodies of work, and ability to propel their art in new and unpredictable directions, making something that matters within and beyond their field.” alpertawards.org

Finnish label Fonal are releasing two new DVDs this month. Unien Savonlinna, directed by Lauri Ainala, is a 50 minute ‘ambient film’ telling a story of a musicfilled hidden city within the real city

Savonlinna, located in eastern Finland. Man With A Videocamera is a documentary of a documentary. The film, directed by Petri Hagner, follows director Esko Lönnberg, who left his desk job in Sweden and returned to his home town to film rock group Circle. fonal.com

Wurld by Canadian folk outfit Elfin Saddle is set for a DVD release on Constellation Records. The film is based on a year-long installation developed by group members Emi Honda and Jordan McKenzie in the backyard of their Montréal apartment, and it employs stop-motion video and animated sequences as part of its narrative arc. The 23 minute film premiered at the Vienna Film Festival in 2009 and received a Canadian premiere at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art (MACM) in spring 2010. The release is available as a handmade DVD package containing bonus material and a 10" vinyl version that also includes the DVD. cstrecords.com

Cast aside your iPod, forget about your iPad: the brand new third generation Buddha Machine has arrived. Called the Chan Fang, which translates as Zen Room, it plays a selection of sound loops composed and performed on the qin, a seven-string Chinese zither. It’s available in five calming colours and follows the original and Throbbing Gristle editions of the popular pocket drone device. It is available to preorder from bleep.com

Trip Or Squeek By Savage Pencil

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