BLAST BEATS - drumming marathon with FRANKIE

That's right! We're going to stay up all night, then head down to Point Pleasant Park to drum together at a castle for eight hours straight. Lisa Lipton (aka FRANKIE) has been artist-in-residence at the park for the last few months. Many of you probably witnessed her stellar Window Ballet a few weeks ago. She is also doing a performance during our zine fair on June 2nd at The Khyber. She ends this chapter of art making via the most cathartic of jams with each and every one of you OBEY V'ers. Bring drums, food, whatever. Let's take over the park with a deafening pound.

Sunday, June 3rd | 8am-4pm

Blast Beats - public drum marathon with Lisa Lipton

The Gate Keeper's Lounge (5718 Point Pleasant Dr.) | FREE

  

Bloodshot Bill

Bloodshot Bill is a throw back to some of our favorite rock and roll outsiders like Link Wray, Charlie Feathers, and the almighty Hasil Adkins (who is actually a posthumous label mate of Bloodshot Bill's at Norton Records). And yeah, in the tradition of weirdos like Adkins, Bloodshot Bill is a one man band, combining drums, guitar, and unbelievable vocal hijinks. It's a totally irresistible and bizarre sound, honed over a decade of constant touring. Soon after we booked Bloodshot, festival friends from all over the country started getting in touch to tell us about this lonesome rocker's absolutely jaw-dropping live show. Exciting. We have been told to expect an all time OBEY Convention highlight on May 31st. God, what better way to top off opening night!!!!!

Sled Island Presents:
Bloodshot Bill (Montreal)
Guilt
Husband / Knife and the Drone
Random Cuts (ex-Mutators - Vancouver)
Bus Stop Theatre
10PM-1:00AM • 19+ • $10 door
RSVP on Facebook

ERIC COPELAND // OBEY Mix

Kay so it's no secret that we're all super stoked for Eric to come play OBEY V, and he really needs no introduction. (But in case you've been living under a rock: he is a member of the seminal noise-punk art-rockers Black Dice, based in New York, signed to Paw Tracks, and as a matter of fact, will blow your mind during his Saturday show.)

The great thing about Eric's music is that, like his band, it somehow precludes a sense of familiarity or predictability. And in an era of saturated and often "safe" music, it's cool to see true, funky experimentation. I mean, a lot of his music really does sound alien, in the best possible way. New territory gets charted not only with his recorded material, but also in a live context: of-the-moment improvisation is what makes his shows so exhilarating to witness, as some of you may already know. He'll work samplers and effects units-- triggering huge bombastic beats and clipped guitar loops-- while chanting vague syllables into distorted microphones, hypnotically bobbing his torso to the twisted rhythms. Indeed, a mini-journey is undertaken while you're in front of Eric and his gadgets!

He's been working on new material (you may have read the Pitchfork blurb(s) on "Louie, Louie, Louie" or "Car Alarm"-- both from his forthcoming June release, Limbo) so it'll be great to see what he pulls out of his hat, at the upcoming Khyber gig. (Some of the recent material has been released as 7"s-- this'll be a great chance for fans to scoop up some gems on wax, too.) Don't. Miss. Out.

Eric's been kind enough to prepare his own mix for OBEY, via YouTube-- you can stream the entire mix as a YouTube playlist HERE! Enjoy!

Track list:

Bruce Haack & Esther Nelson - Funky Little Song

Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland - 2

Mari Elliott (Poly Styrene) - What a Way
Simon Turner - Baby (I Gotta Go)
Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV

Bill Withers - Harlem - Live

The Keggs - To Find Out

Kim Fowley - Kangaroo
Ernie K. Doe - Here Come The Girls
Willie Harper - New Kind of Love

Jonathan Richman - Since She Started to Ride
My Chemical Romance - Teenagers

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-Saturday, June 2nd -

Eric Copeland (New York) Shearing Pinx (Vancouver)Strong Boss (Montreal)J fm (Toronto) CatbagDJ B Wagg & General Purpose DJVideo manipulation by Robert Drisdelle Turret Room Video Installation by James Gauvreau Khyber Ballroom & Turret Room • 10:00PM-1:30AM • 19+ • $10 advance / $12 door

DJ B Wagg //OBEY Mix

Born and hell-raised in Halifax, 26 year-old Brett Wagg now resides in Montreal, QC where in the last decade has launched cassette & vinyl labels Campaign For Infinity / No Vacation and played in MTL based groups like Ultrathin, The Pink Noise and Strong Boss. This year at OBEY Convention V Brett will be spinning records on the two late events on Friday & Saturday alongside his life-long road dog Ian Phillips (GENERAL PURPOSE DJ). Both DJs hit the stage with our psych concept collaboration project Transfixed on Friday night with Gary War ++ revealing our current evolving connexion. While Campaign For Infinity continues to be inactive, B Wagg puts his creative efforts into the Electric Voice team and joins Transfixed  "on their voyage beyond their own minds"

DJ B Wagg gives us a small taste of what their collection holds for the OBEY Covention V. Left wanting more? A deeper look into the man known as Brett Wagg? Read this interview with B Wagg from the last OBEY Convention in 2010 with B Wagg conducted by Z. Fairbrother while listening to these bangers.

Tracklist // DJ B Wagg Mix


01 - Futurisk - Lonely Streets
02 - Lust for Youth - Neon Lights Appear
03 - The Klinik - Hours and Hours
04 - Nitzer Ebb - Warsaw Ghetto
05 - Trisomie 21 - The Last
06 - Deux - Sex & Trouble
07 - Sudeten Creche - Are Kisses Out of Fashion
08 - Turquoise Days - Blurred
09 - November Novelet - Free
10 - Cluster - Fotschi Tong
11 - Korpses Katatonik - Kcok Transzplant
12 - Coil - Restless Day

Electric Voice Records Presents:
Gary War (New York)
Transfixed & Body Language (Montreal/Halifax)
You'll Never Get to Heaven (London, ON)
Old & Weird
DJ B Wagg & General Purpose DJ
Projections by J. Lachance
Turret Room Video Installation by James Gauvreau
Khyber Ballroon & Turret Room • 10:30PM-1:30AM • 19+ • $10 advance / $10 door

+

Eric Copeland (New York)
Shearing Pinx (Vancouver)
Strong Boss (Montreal)
J fm (Toronto)
Catbag
DJ B Wagg & General Purpose DJ
Video manipulation by Robert Drisdelle
Turret Room Video Installation by James Gauvreau
Khyber Ballroom & Turret Room • 10:00PM-1:30AM • 19+ • $10 advance / $12 door

General Purpose DJ //OBEY Mix

As if we weren't offering you birds enough at The Khyber on June 1st and 2nd!! Along with DJ B Wagg, General Purpose DJ will be guiding all your transitions during those two steamy evenings at our favorite downtown art house. Preview the brew.

Dual Summer // OBEY MIX

Prepare for summer haze (photo by Katie McKay)

I couldn't be more excited about my involvement with OBEY festival this summer. I was out of town for the last one, and with the year off in between, that makes two long years since my ears, eyes and brain have been pummeled/expanded by the glory that is OBEY.

I'm really proud to be working with all the lovely folks at the festival. Darcy has put me in charge of the important-sounding and somewhat mysterious 'Artist Relations'. So far this means borrowing my parents giant truck to haul gear around and organizing this year's merch table that will be located on the top floor of the Khyber all weekend long.

My band, Monomyth, has also been asked to play this year. What craziness! I think our singer, Josh Salter, put it best when he expressed that he never thought he'd be in a band cool enough to be involved with OBEY. I think the whole band shares that sentiment. Looking at the line-up this year full of avant-madness and gutter-punk dementia, Monomyth feels like a lolipop lost in the knife drawer. That being said, some people really like candy and keep their knives on magnetic thingys stuck beside their stoves.

Monomyth in luxurious Montreal. (photo by Emma Senft)

But I digress. What I meant to say when I started typing is this: Here you go, I made a mix for you.

When I first thought about making a mix for the blog, I thought I'd try to make a wacko mix full of strange stuff I'd been listening to lately (like Meredith Monk), but I always err on the side of caution when sharing music with strangers. Then, I thought I'd make a mix that was like 'Hey, here are some things that Monomyth sounds like', but, unlike my bandmates, I do not have the entire Byrds and My Bloody Valentine catalogs internalized and I just didn't know which songs to pick. So I made this one: a mix that says "Summer is just around the corner. It's gonna be bright and breezy, everyone's gonna be riding bikes and swimming. We'll eat ice cream for dinner and barbecue for breakfast. AND, we all get to go to OBEY this year. Hooyeah!"

Dual Summer tracklist:

01. Camper Van Beethoven - Oh No! (1985)
02. The Nerves - When You Find Out (1976)
03. El Michels Affair - Yennicita (2005)
04. Main Source - Large Professor (1991)
05. A Certain Ratio - Shack Up (1980)
06. LiLiPUT - Hitch-Hike (1982)
07. Role Mach - Black Manhattan (2010)
08. Wire - Dot Dash (1978)
09. The Dwight Twilley Band - TV (1976)
10. NEEDLES//PINS - Drop It (2010)
11. Fire Engines - Candyskin (1981)
12. Devo - Girl U Want (1980)
13. The Jimmy Castor Bunch - Potential (1975)
14. Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Stool Pigeon (1982)
15. Charizma - Red Light Green Light (1992/2003)
16. Destiny's Child - Bug A Boo (1999)
17. Parva - Mosem-E Gol (196?)
18. Sharades - Dumb Head (1964)
19. The Pastels - Comin' Through (1987)
20. The dBs - Bad Reputation (1981)
21. Eddy Current Supression Ring - Memory Lane (2008)
22. The Raincoats - Lola (1979)
23. Makeout Videotape - Only You (2010)
24. Homeshake - Moon Woman (2012)


Weird Canada Showcase:
The Pink Noise (Montreal)
The Soupcans (Toronto)
Feel Alright (Calgary)
Crosss
Monomyth
DJ Aaron Levin and host Jesse Locke
The Bus Stop Theatre • 6:30PM-10:30PM • wet/dry • $10 door

http://mmyth.bandcamp.com/
http://themangrovesgoquiet.wordpress.com/

You'll Never Get to Heaven // OBEY Mix

You'll Never get to Heaven is the new ambient, electronic pop project by Chuck Blazevic (aka Dreamsploitation) and Alice Hansen. Their debut LP is slated for release on DIVORCE early this fall, so we're especially pleased that they decided to make the trip from London, Ontario to perform this year. Chuck gave us a solo set back at OBEY Convention 4 and easily brought one of the best performances of the weekend. With the addition of Alice's stunning vocals this time around, we expect something even more remarkable.

It has been so fun getting mixes from this year's artists and organizers. Sharing music is awesome! Chuck and Alice were kind enough to put together a set of their recent favorites for all you fine people. Enjoy!

1. Bibio - Oval Emerald Vertigo (2009) [excerpt]
2. Ennio Morricone - Ninna Nanna Per Adulti (1969)
3. Black To Comm - Hotel Freund (2009) [excerpt]
4. Beat Konducta - Left on Silverlake (Ride) (2006)
5. Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem - Le Brin D'herbe (1977)
6. Franco Battiato - Cafè - Table - Music (1977) [excerpt]
7. TwinSisterMoon - Then Fell the Ashes (2011) [excerpt]
8. Os Mutantes - Dia 36 (1969)
9. The Focus Group - Lifting Away (2005)
10. My Bloody Valentine - To Here Knows When Outro (1991)
11. Ous Mal - Tuulensouja (2010)
12. Husker Du - One Step at a Time (1984)
13. Leyland Kirby - Ruined Visions (2011)

Gary War (New York)
Transfixed & Body Language (Montreal/Halifax)
You'll Never Get to Heaven (London, ON)
Old & Weird
DJ B Wagg & General Purpose DJ
Projections by J. Lachance
Turret Room Video Installation by James Gauvreau
Khyber Ballroon & Turret Room
10:30pm-1:30am • 19+ • $10 advance / $10 door
http://youllnevergettoheaven.tumblr.com/

Robert Drisdelle's Image Control

Robert Drisdelle is a man of many talents. I first knew him as the mastermind behind Halifax's instrumental chamber pop outfit Chanteuse. Their demo from a few years back is one of my favorite Halifax EPs in a long while. They'd be playing OBEY, but we have them featured on another show of ours a few weeks later for Portland, Oregon's incredible Grouper (RSVP here).

But yes, Robert is also an amazing video artist, and he will be providing live visuals during the final Khyber show on June 2nd. The above video is a work he put together during his time at Halifax's Centre for Art Tapes. It involves short video clips overlapped and rearranged to create an entirely new composition. It's a dizzying piece of art that provides a glimpse into Robert's vision of the intersection between image and sound.

I am told that he has big plans for our festival finale. A ton of sound and light gear is on order for the evening. So show up early (and don't blink).

Eric Copeland (New York)
Shearing Pinx (Vancouver)
J fm (Toronto)
Strong Boss (Montreal)
Catbag
DJ B Wagg & General Purpose DJ
Video manipulation by Robert Drisdelle
Turret Room Video Installation by James Gauvreau
Khyber Ballroom & Turret Room • 10:00PM-1:30AM • 19+ • $10

Clocks & Daggers - Introduction // OBEY mix

Hey friends, I've recently started a cassette tape label here in Halifax: Clocks & Daggers. I've been involved in music for years now-- DJing, writing music criticism, covering shows for papers, and being an all around music nerd-- but never in curating or running a label. The appeal of releasing music on cassette is varied, but mostly for me they represent a certain nostalgia; my earliest memories of listening to music is on cassette, as a child. I also remember staying up all night as a teenager making mixtapes for my walkman, to then bring to school and share with friends. Now it's the warm analog goodness that I like-- the complete opposite of tinny, cold (digital) mp3s. And at an average price of $6, they're quite affordable to own. Tapes also represent a stance if you will, on music in 2012: we consume so much music via the Internet-- though we seem to absorb very little. Listening to a tape is about slowing down and focussing on what's coming out of your speakers, is all its hiss-y glory. I love mp3s, but I also hate them. Don't get me wrong: I'm not analog/physical media fetishist or elitist, and I have THOUSANDS of mp3s on my hard drive. I just want to put out music by great people on what I think is a great format.


So far I'm working with about five artists and I'm pretty excited for upcoming releases. During OBEY I will be celebrating the official Clocks & Daggers label launch, as well as DJing the Zine Fair on Saturday AND selling tapes! Stop by to say hello! Joy! I'll also be posting on here in the weeks leading up to the convention-- can't wait!


So the mix below is supposed to represent what Clocks & Daggers is all about. These are some of my fav jams from all over the place-- it's quite messy. The mix is bookended by my first two cassette releases. The first track is by a good friend of mine, Chuck Blazevic, who records as Dreamsploitation (when he's not recording with his girlfriend - the two will be performing at OBEY, btw.) I'm really stoked to put out a tape of his stuff-- it's a really great work showing two different sides of his explorations into guitar texture and composition. The last track is quite different, but I'm equally stoked for its release. It's an excerpt of a heavy jam by Ocean Towers, with tons of gauzy atmosphere-- a real late night, slow burner! I recorded this mix live to cassette (and then ripped it to mp3 for convenience... ironic or what!?). It was improvised and a ton of fun at that. I hope y'all enjoy! - Jon


1 Dreamsploitation – “No More Sunshine”

2 Yellow Swans – “Foiled”

3 patten – “Crown 8vo”

4 Knxwledge – “Jittrs [WellFiguritOwt]”

5 Motion Sickness of Time Travel – “Eight Nineteen”

6 LA Vampires – “So Unreal”

7 Holy Other – “Know Where”

8 Julia Holter – “Goddess Eyes”

9 Andreas Dorau – “Ein Liebesraum”

10 Steve Hauschildt – “Batteries May Drain”

11 Belong – “Perfect Life”

12 Dirty Beaches – “Night Drive”

13 Broadcast – “Michael A Grammar”

14 Ruth – “Mabelle”

15 Kraftwerk – “Sex Object”

16 Monoton – “Water”

17 Hype Williams – “Hype Williams Meets Shangaan Electro”

18 Forrest Swords – “Visits”

19 Ocean Towers – tape excerpt 

Download
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Anchor Archive & OBEY Convention Presents:
Crowd Control Sound & Art Fair
DIY of all kinds - zines, record labels, art, craft+++
Invisible Publishing Presents readings by Troy Richter, John Barger+++
Clocks & Daggers label launch with DJ sets
Khyber Ballroom • noon-4:30PM • AA • FREE
INFO & BOOKING - crowdcontrolsoundandart@gmail.com

clocksdaggers.com

@clocksdaggers

-xo

Bill Orcutt's New Blues

The OBEY Convention has a history of showcasing virtuosity—Paul Metzger, Noveller, Pierre Bastien, Aidan Baker, US Girls, Dirty Beaches, and on and on. We love individual artists who are masters of what they do. It's amazing to watch a lone musician single-handedly destroy a room full of people. And we expect it to happen a lot this year, with many events featuring at least one acclaimed solo artist. High on that list is San Francisco's avant-acoustic guitar ace Bill Orcutt. We were introduced to Bill's amazing The New Way to Pay Old Debts LP a few years ago by longtime festival friend Matt Elliot.  The LP is an absolute groundbreaker for solo acoustic guitar and, overall, one of the most moving new records we've heard in years. Bill was the driving force behind nineties noise rock pioneers Harry Pussy. You can certainly hear that band reflected in his current music—these performances still writhe with a powerful mix of punk aggression and cerebral complexity. But within this stunningly original style of playing, Bill also somehow evokes the spirit, fire, and darkness of early blues and folk, the kind of raw music that Alan and John Lomax went into the field to uncover back in the 30s and 40s. He has tailored an incredible sound that is both personal and absolutely captivating. OBEY and Moncton's Re:Flux festival were able to pair up and finally bring Bill to the East Coast this spring. A performance like this doesn't happen too often in these parts. Not to be missed! Bill Orcutt plays June 2nd at 1313 Hollis St. with Jerry Granelli and Torso. The venue is smaller than it should be for this show! Come early or buy a pass.

"It’s tempting to focus solely on the adrenaline rush of Orcutt’s playing, and let it all fly by like a stoner zoning out to Jackson Pollock’s splattery paintings or Stan Brakhage’s color-filled abstract films. That’s a fine way to experience Orcutt’s music, but there also seems to be a lot of intense thought going on behind his impulsive acoustic clatter. Maybe that’s why his solo acoustic work has so far had a lot more staying power than the fleeting pleasures of a single trip." Marc Masters writing about How The Thing Sings on Pitchfork

“ On A New Way to Pay Old Debts, Orcutt is at it again with a four-string guitar, this time bending blues and folk in ways they weren’t originally meant to go. Wrinkled riffs twist like wayward roots, punctured by thorny protrusions and unexpected potholes. Notes are warped and strangled, rhythms bruised and battered, all resulting in a sound at the outer edges of the Americana family tree… The traditions informing Orcutt’s playing, from those of pioneering bluesmen to John Fahey and other forward-thinking folk, are referenced in fleeting fragments, like images distorted and barely visible in a broken mirror." Review by Adam Strohm in Dusted

“ Orcutt’s playing expands on concrete moments, historical or temporary. There is a grounded, mono-chordal sanity even to his more free pieces, and his periodic non-word moans and shouts bring an eerie hoodoo feel to the set (which The Wire referred to at the time as Orcutt’s “spooky boogie”), as if trying to channel the same angels or demons that Fahey tried to evoke with his motel room Tuva throat singing." Mike Wood writing about A New Way To Pay Old Debts in  Perfect Sound Forever

Electric Voice Records showcase //OBEY Mix

Electric Voice Records has been on fire for the last year. After a slew of killer cassette releases, they topped 2011 off with a lavish 12" single release by '80s synth-pop trailblazers Jeff & Jane Hudson, and it's just a matter of days before their much anticipated 2LP compilation drops. The comp features heavy hitters like Ariel Pink & R.Stevie Moore, D'eon, HTRK, Femminielli, and so many more.

Label boss Matt Samways has helped curate this year's festival, and we couldn't be more pleased with his contribution. Be sure to check out the Electric Voice showcase at The Khyber late night on June 1st. The evening features New York's electro-pop wonder Gary War, Matt's projects Transfixed and Body Language, the new DIVORCE Records signing You'll Never Get to Heaven, Halifax's Old & Weird, projections by Jacqueline Lachance, and DJs B Wagg and General Purpose. Expect a true sound and art spectacle.

Just for the love of music, Matt and partner Courtney Rafuse made you all a mix of some of their recent favorites. PARTAKE:

1 "Poem of a Dead Song" Broadcast
2 "Program me" Bruce Haack
3 "Parks" Drug Train
4 "Tales from Outer Space" Jah Wobble
5 "Lobotomy" Neon
6 "Sly Doubt" Cabaret Voltaire
7 "Nudes In The Forest" Dark Day
8 "Twinkling Stars" Nine Circles
9 "Leidenschaftlich" Sprung Aus Den Wolken
10 "Form" German Army
11 "Thrash Me" Malaria!
12 "Exotika" Chris and Cosey
13 "The Path of Least Resistance" Human League
14 "Solar Lodge" Coil
15 "Days in Grey" Die Werkpiloten
16 "Sincerity" Dave Ball
17 "Lord Can You Hear Me?" Spacemen 3

Download

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Gary War, Transfixed & Body Language, You'll Never Get to Heaven, Old & Weird, projections by Jacqueline Lachance, DJs B Wagg and General Purpose - June 1st, 10:30PM-1:30AM, $10

OBEY Convention Passes, Schedule, Artist Info
Electric Voice Records