Neotropic

Seaside Collaborators

Neotropic — Wed, 29 May 2013 07:39:25 +0000

Well I have been in my new home by the Sea for exactly one month! and what a joy it has been! I have met so many incredibly talented folk! Of which I hope I to be working alongside some of them in the not too distant future….but to start off here is one of what I hope will be many new forays of collaborative works. This is a project curated and run by the super talent that is Benbo, you can check it out here #AIEEE . If you fancy participating then contact him! Here is our contribution Neotropic & Benbo.

Farewell London Town

Neotropic — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:11:19 +0000

As I sit here in my empty flat with just my sleeping bag and a few things to keep me ticking over until my departure tomorrow. It does feel like an end of an era and the start of a new one! The sun has been shinning on what has been an eventful last day in the flat that has been my home for the last 4 years, and I guess I am kind of shedding a virtual tear! It has been an absolute blast living here and I have met some incredible people, over this time and I will miss them all, but I am hoping they will all come and spend some time by the Sea. I know I will probably make more time to see folk when I do frequent back and forth to the city.

Already I feel there is an anticipation of what the future will hold and I am hoping it will bring a new perspective on life and work.

In the last few days after hauling every possession I own down to the seaside, I did feel a slight pang of what if, but I think that is perfectly normal when moving to a new place. Already it feels like a much easier place to make connections and in general smaller and friendlier, just in the short time I have spent there, I have met some very nice people a lot of whom have made a good life for themselves and are often from London. So who knows what the future holds, I am just happy to be on this new adventure!

So it is farewell Warren House and Stroudley Piazza as we have come to call our beautiful square and its inhabitants and hola to Sunny St Leonards on Sea!

A Change is a Coming!

Neotropic — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:15:01 +0000

Life is about to change quite drastically for me as I am about embark on a new chapter in my life! After some twenty odd years in our fair capital I am about to move to the South East Coast, in fact St Leonards on Sea…. I have often dreamt of being a pirate living my life on the ocean wave. And now it has finally come to pass!

It is all thanks to my friends Tim and Jennifer who have kindly offered me a room at the top, in fact 2.5 rooms in their Victorian Terrace literally a stones throw from the sea…

Of course I am a little sad to be leaving London but in someways I don’t really see it as leaving merely a permanent vacation!

I am hoping the sea air will bring new sonic adventures amongst other things creatively. Already I feel this is a very welcoming place and there is definitely a sense of something bubbling and about to happen. I have only been here a few days working on the house with Jen in preparation for our move and already we met folk here from London setting up cafes and restaurants just around the corner from our place. There is definitely an exodus of creatives heading this way from London.

Ok much more to be getting on with and I need to pack in a few more miles on the road before my first half marathon on the 14th April in East London!

Don’t forget to tune into my radio show on the 14th April at 2pm on Reel Rebels Radio reelrebelsradio.com

I will be sure to keep you posted on all things pirate related over the coming weeks……

Neotropic Live 30th March 2013

Neotropic — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:05:54 +0000

I will be doing a live performance on the 30th March 2013! I am hoping to explore a new side of my performance and this will be the first opportunity to work alongside Sam Fisher from Anomalous Visuals in a live capacity, something we have been trying to orgnaise for quite sometime! The performance will be part of Hackspaces – klangkunst. You can get information and tickets via this link http://ms.stubnitz.com/calendrier/2013-03-30#music-hackship-klangkunst

March is Hare

Neotropic — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:43:24 +0000

It’s another new month and still feels like we are immersed in this grey world, when will Spring ever return I keep saying to myself like a mantra! Time seems to be going slow, and I feel like I am just floating in a void, and every now and then a little glint of light seeps through to keep me from going a little crazy. It’s ups and downs, swings and roundabouts and I am sure this tide will turn, my work is a little laboured and I know this has a lot to do with the current climate of not knowing, and this continual knocking of doors that just seem to have no-one answering! It will pass and this is all power for the cause and I do try to embrace it and remember there is light around this extremely long tunnel.

On the upside I do have a few things happening over this month, I will be giving an informal chat on Thursday 14th at Hackspace more details to be posted on my facebook page. I will also be showing my installation piece Departure Lounge as part of a group show called Synaesthesia and Phonetics please follow the link for more information https://www.facebook.com/events/488276394566169/

I have not played live or performed for quite some time, however on the 30th of March I will be doing something performance related at the http://ms.stubnitz.com/ and have not other details as of yet but will keep everyone posted.

Feast or Famine is February

Neotropic — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:56:15 +0000

The month of February in some ways just feels like the strangest time of year for me, its not really a month in the true sense of the word. I feel its a month for preparation for what hopefully will be the coming months of spring. Whatever resolutions folk have made during the month of January may well be slipping into obscurity and praise to those who have managed to stick to their new regimes however small they may be.

At the end of January I was lucky enough to visit Edinburgh for the first Soundproof event held at the famous Forest Cafe, a not for profit organisation run by people who are passionate about what they do. A refreshing experience to the overbearing commercialism of London that I battle with on a daily basis. It was great to connect with new friends and old and enjoy a few days in a beautiful city.

My installation piece Departure Lounge was installed as part of the festival and I have to thank everyone who helped in making the installation look fantastic, many thanks to Dave, Stephen, Lorcan and Varun who I never got meet unfortunately. Thanks to Charlie for his set and Greg for his wonderful cello piece. Great to meet up with Jon, Stuart and Stewart so lovely to see you all on such a miserable rainy night.

Here is a clip of Departure Lounge from the event, and thanks Diana for the clip and also to her and Conrad for their hospitality.

https://vimeo.com/59230083

I will exhibiting Departure Lounge in London during March and will update you all on the preview and view dates for this.

2013 The Year of Transition

Neotropic — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:15:02 +0000

2013 The Year of Transition.

2013 The Year of Transition

Neotropic — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:13:28 +0000

Here we are in the year of the snake I believe which is meant to be very lucky according to the Chinese, so am hoping some of the luck will come my way! With all the festivities out of the way, its back to work and already things are bubbling away at Neotropic central.

I have just finished my first piece for Tohan Tales and this will be aired as part of Terminal Radio on the 4th February information can be found at http://www.fsolboard.co.uk. For those of you lovely people who contributed to funding my recent trip to the rain forest, I will be sending you all a link after that date for to download. This will be the first instalment of the Diary Box from Tohan Tales, lucky you! I have also contacted those that requested signed photographs to pick your choice and those will be making their way to you shortly.

I am also writing a new installation piece for Clare Blake’s MA project at Central St Martins. This will be showcased in February, no date has been set as of yet. This is a very ambitious project and I am looking forward to seeing how things will develop over the coming months. It is time to take Opera into a new dimension!

I am still looking for work as things are pretty scarce right now, and my two weekly trips to the Job Centre to claim Job Seekers is not exactly inspiring to say the least, such is the life of an artist! I am hoping things will improve over the coming months and things start to shift in my universe.

Well that’s it for now, keep bundled up in these cold months and lets look forward to those warm spring days soon to be upon us.

2012 in review

Neotropic — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:40:04 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 10 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Festive Frolics

Neotropic — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:31:29 +0000

Well as the end of the year draws ever near, this time of year always feels reflective. I feel like so much has happened in the last 12 months and time has certainly flown by. It has not been easy at times, the life of an artist is one of struggle, having to keep many balls up in the air in order to survive. But I am one that has much optimism and keeps striving to move forward without compromise. I like to feel that I am challenged and that I can keep pushing that all important envelope. I know that I have created some of my best work this year, composing my first opera piece which has inspired me to embark on writing a full blown opera or at least look at developing this idea, to make it a much more accessible art form that can be enjoyed by everyone.

My biggest inspiration this year was definitely the two months I spent in Borneo and this week I started to work on the first of what I hope to be many new works created from this incredible journey. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Heart of Borneo for inviting me to participate and be part of the work they are doing in Tumbang Tohan and Tumbang Naan. I feel extremely privileged to of been part of village life, even though at times it was tough. It has made me look at life in a completely different way and really appreciate how wonderful this world we live in is and how important it is to remain vigilant in protecting it. I am very keen on generating some funds for the village so they can buy medical supplies and equipment for the school. So I am proposing to sell some of the photographs I took and will be available online and hopefully a small exhibition of these photographs early next year.If you are interested in purchasing one of these works signed by me please contact me via email and I will send you a link to view them.

I have yet to fully realise my idea for Tohan Tales but things are beginning to take shape, its been a slow road and I think it has been hard to really bring to life a true representation of this incredible place and its people. I hope I can do it justice in the work I produce. I will keep you posted on developments over the next few months.

Unfortunately my home is to be finally demolished at some point early next year, and my time in this great space is shortly coming to an end. I will miss it greatly as it has allowed me to work pretty much full time creatively. Unfortunately London has become so ridiculously expensive to live especially if you are an artist and like many of my very talented peers, we are supporting ourselves by working other jobs to survive. It does not surprise me when I hear that many artists are now moving out of the city and setting up new arts hubs in the South East. So who knows where I will be next year…..Watch this space!

Lastly I want to wish everyone happy holidays and enjoy what ever you will be doing. Thank you for all the kind comments on the blog and of course your continued support it really is appreciated.

Here’s to 2013 and what adventures it will bring.