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On Thursday 29th July 2010, over 150 people turned up to enjoy the music and creativity of Iain Archer, The Social Services and Lovers Electric. The night was a great success, organised by the new moot lounge operations team, so thanks to Aaron, David, Jonny, Meghan and Jemima.  Thanks to John for being an expert sound man, and to all the other mooters who helped out.  A little taster of what we want to happen with the Arts Cafe Lounge Project.

We have a Moot Flickr Photo pool group if you have pics you want to add – please do – see here.

POSTED 01.08.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (1)

So, with the Big Pearly Gates! gig featuring Iain Archer, Lovers Electric and The Social Services in a mere 2 days time (you have got your tickets, I hope), I thought I would post the third and final blog on the various acts that are performing that night.

The Social Services are bringing their amazing brand of Alternative/Lyrical/Melodramatic pop to our venue just next to Bank Tube Station . It took me a while to find a video of theirs, but find it I did, and it’s at the top of this post.

Whilst I didn’t know much about them before, I have come to love them. Part Swedish, part Scottish, their track “The Baltic Sea” in the video above has an underlying cheeky humour to the lyrics and music. In fact, anyone who can record Europe’s “the Final Countdown” as an acoustic waltz deserves a listen just for having the balls to attempt it. Give it a go, you won’t regret it. In fact you could play it now as your working day comes to an end – you can do so for free via their myspace page.

I found a couple of reviews for their stuff on stereokill.net and SwedesPlease, so you don’t need to take my word for it!

And guys (as you all seem to know about The Social Services already) you really need to tell me when you find music this good!

Tickets still available but selling fast.

POSTED 27.07.10 BY: artbizness | No Comments

As the band “Lovers Electric” are playing soon at Big Pearly Gates! (have you got your ticket yet?) I thought I’d google them or look for them on youTube.

I must confess that I wasn’t too sure about a band that I’d not heard of before. However, I was forgetting one crucial thing. Lovers Electric had been found by mooter Aaron Kennedy, who has the most impeccable ears for new, upcoming and indie music.

I have to admit that I had to pick myself up off the floor after watching the video above. Lovers Electric are really good! I suppose that you could call them Electro-Pop, but they do seem to be much better than that – like most genre names, it’s a handy label, but the best bands rise above their genre (which is usually given to them by the record company anyway).

Lead singer Eden Boucher’s voice is not like anyone else I can think of, which is always a good sign in my opinion. From the highly charged livening flow of “Honey” (currently my favourite), to “You Got it” (a instant lyrical idea which belies the poignancy of the music), to the swirling synths of “Could This Be“, I’m beginning to wonder why I don’t own the album…

As far as credentials go, they are signed to Sony Australia (the band hail from Adelaide), have toured in support of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and have had their track “Closer” (which is the quietest thing I’ve found of theirs so far) appear on US TV show “The Hills“. I also came across a video of Eden interviewing Cyndi Lauper which is good fun.

In short, I’m really looking forward to this gig, and so should you be. The best test of a good band is live, and I can’t wait. Catch them before they’re big. Really big.

POSTED 21.07.10 BY: artbizness | No Comments

I’ve been listening to a lot of Iain Archer lately, in anticipation of his upcoming gig with us at Big Pearly Gates in a couple of weeks.

If you haven’t heard of Iain Archer, then a) play the video at the top of this blog, and b) You haven’t heard of Iain Archer?! Seriously?!?

You can have a listen on Last.fm, or Spotify, or iTunes to get a sense of his work if you’re not familiar with it.

To fill you in on some background: Iain is someone who has been around for quite some time, knocking out brilliant singer-song-writer-y tunes since the 90s. I have some good memories of him – I can remember seeing him floating around Greenbelt when he first started out, and I have the dubious honour of once ending up drinking cocktails with him on a boat at 2 o’clock in the morning in Thames Ditton (maybe if I ever get as drunk as I did then, I’ll tell you the whole story).

Anyway, he disappears off the radar every now and then, and next thing you know he’ll be jamming with Snow Patrol, or writing songs with Peter Buck from REM. Yes, really. He’s that good.

So good in fact, that he was awarded an Ivor Novello for songwriting duties on Snow Patrol’s “Final Straw” album, as well as having his songs pop up on shows like Grey’s Anatomy.

He’s playing Big Pearly Gates, which is a new moot event. If you like what you’re hearing, it’s going to be a fantastic intimate little gig, with tons of atmosphere, right in the middle of London. Tickets are selling pretty fast already, so make sure you get in now before they all go.

Also playing are Lovers Electric and The Social Services who are also very good, and I’ll be blogging about them next week.

POSTED 15.07.10 BY: artbizness | No Comments

Jennie Hogan has just written a great article for the Guardian, on the subject of the new ar installation at St Paul’s Cathedral. Check out the article here.

POSTED 14.07.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (1)

On Friday last week, I had the very great fortune to meet Ricardo Cinalli, an Argentinian Contemporary Artist whose incredible studio is in an ex-Hugenot weavers shop in Spitalfields.  We talked about life, the problems facing humanity, and his passion for art.  Cinalli is known for his style and passion for the renaissance painters, but then draws this form into contemporary thoughts, scenes and issues.  He is very interested in contemporary humanity, how we are driven by incredible passion and creativity but at the same time, such brokenness and destructiveness.

Cinalli has contributed a considerable number of pieces of work both as paintings, sculpture and frescos.  The most famous is the fresco in the Duomo of Terni in Italy.  Ricardo is very interested in our Arts Cafe Lounge, and is keen to exhibit in it if and when it gets set up – which would be fantastic!

Ricardo is intending to come to Moot sometime, so keep an eye out for him.  We will be exploring the possibility of a podcast and possibly an evening discussing art in the fullness of time.

Find more art like this on b-uncut.net

POSTED 09.06.10 BY: ianmobsby | No Comments

Some more poetry for you lot. Missing all you guys. It gets fairly boring when you are the only one left at University.

Here’s the poem:

Highlights and Brightlights

Superficial

It takes time for these wounds to heal,

the scars of love

the kiss of poison.

This is no generation anthem

because fuck it! I can’t help ‘em

No words that I could say would help them

today.

The law says make them pay,

because the binge drinking law went down in two glugs,

along with the drugs.

Let’s put it this way,

we look back and recognise what is seen,

not what could have been.

Mistakes and half-baked schemes,

hitting the bars in teams.

Let us not look at the bad,

because bloody hell it can get awful sad.

Remember the highlights and brightlights of that far away town.

POSTED 05.06.10 BY: Definition_1990 | Comments (1)

Hello everyone.

I thought I’d let you know that I’m going to be exhibiting my artwork at the Urban Art Fair 2010 in Brixton, as I did last year.

It’s one of those lovely quirky annual London-type events. Held in Brixton in July, a street is closed off to traffic, and artists are given a pitch to hang their works.

As the website say: “For the ninth year running the residents of Josephine Avenue will be transforming their sleepy, tree lined street into a bustling exhibition space. With a hundred and fifty photographers, printers and painters exhibiting this is our biggest event yet. Entry is FREE and with prices ranging from under a tenner to over a thousand pounds this makes it a truly affordable event for all art lovers, whatever your budget.”

A percentage of the proceeds from sales on Sunday goes to the Trinity Hospice and the British Home.

The event is held on 17th & 18th July, 10am-6pm in Josephine Avenue, London SW2.

Do drop by if you’re in London then – would be lovely to see you all!

Video above is from last year’s fair.

POSTED 05.06.10 BY: artbizness | Comments (1)

Here’s a bit of poetry that I came up with the other day. I just started playing with words and within the space of an hour I had two poems. I’m gonna save the other one for another post/time, but here’s the first one I wrote, entitled: One foot in the grave, one foot on your head

Would be interesting to know people’s opinions.

One foot in the grave, one foot on your head

Limericks so lucidly lie,

When it comes to black hearts and bomb battalions

One for the heroes and fallen.

An evil,

Not necessarily, but I say verily

We are the custodians of the wounded

Profits and policy.

Whitehall and wankers,

Bravado and Bullshit.

Yet we cry,

Another way surely?

Motivate yourself,

take a long hard look, because for this remedy there is no book.

Tell me why?

This dove,

A symbol of love so misplaced,

An empty symbol of flesh and feathers,

or is it the hope inside that weathers?

Humans are a complicated sort,

especially when it comes to cruelty for sport.

Sometimes when silence is about

All you want to do is scream and shout, but…

We do not realise we are the ointment,

because If we were made in the image of a deity

We are a serious disappointment!

POSTED 27.05.10 BY: Definition_1990 | Comments (6)

Encountered this sign on the train from Waterloo to Clapham Junction, grafitting the space usually taken up by an advert. Given all the uncertainty following the election, ecological, economic and other concerns, I think we are seeing an increased search for meaning in the UK. People are increasingly finding a culture defined by the market and a life style dependent on consumptive gratification as unrewarding. I hope this questing will open up the spiritual landscape.  Given all the uncertainty, this is an opportunity for the church to start talking about a more virtuous society and that would called hope.

This Sunday is Pentecost, the third great celebration of the Christian Year – where we remember the work of the person of the Holy Spirit. What would Britain look like if there was a movement of the Spirit now?  That would be interesting…

POSTED 21.05.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (4)