Blacksmoke
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Blacksmoke are "an occasional art collective and musical group dedicated to the propagation of audio visual noise". The group are believed to consist of KLF co-founder Jimmy Cauty and James Fogarty, a 24 year old heavy metal musician. Keir Jens-Smith the ex Black Dog/808 State Manager and owner of feedback.com is described as their "project manager". The full membership of the wider organization is unconfirmed, but K Foundation occasional collaborator Gimpo, Cauty's brother-in-law Matt Bowyer and an Alfie Bearand are believed to be involved with the project.
Cauty stated in a music press interview that the project is first and foremost an outlet for his anger concerning the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Among the work so far produced by the Blacksmoke Organisation are limited edition prints of stamps known as The Stamps Of Mass Destruction an EP of MP3s entitled Post Terrorist Modernism DIY MP3 EP downloadable for free from their website along with cover art and the Post-Terrorism Xmas Shop. The anger over 9/11 is immediately apparent in the samples and vocals of many of the tracks as well as the graphics. The music is highly reminiscent of bands like Ministry and The Prodigy's The Fat of the Land album. A full length album was promised for 2004 but never surfaced although a limited edition single will be available on Christmas Day, 2004
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History
The Stamps Of Mass Destruction
Limited edition prints of 1st 2nd & 3rd class stamps featuring the Queen's head with a gas mask on. These were exhibited at the artrepublic gallery in Brighton, until they earned the attention of the Royal Mail. [1] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,970219,00.html) [2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/2963414.stm) [3] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/2994418.stm) All unsold copies of the stamps of mass destruction prints were sent to Royal Mail for destruction. A second series of the stamps were later released - 4th 5th & 6th class which had the queens head completely engulfed in a chemical warfare protection suit and thus were presumably not subject to the legal action taken by Royal Mail.
Early MP3s and radio sessions
The first Blacksmoke releases were a "concept EP" of MP3s hosted on their site collectively titled the Fuck the Fucking Fuckers EP. As the title suggests these are angry protest songs. On 11 September, 2003 the collective released a MP3 called Silent Night, which was hosted on their site for 24 hours before being permanently removed. [4] (http://www.nme.com/news/story.htm?ID=106145)
At 0000 hours on 23 September 2003, BBC Radio 1's Breezeblock with Mary Anne Hobbs show broadcast a 15 minute mix session. The session comprised of the MP3s cut together with samples of mobile phones and Big Ben plus other sound effects. The BBC cut the final 3 minutes 30 seconds from the session due to the post Iraq war political climate. The cut material was Silent Night. A few months later, the collective added an MP3 of the Breezeblock version of "Silent Night" to their website for download. In 2004 Blacksmoke conducted an hour long mix on Resonance FM.
Post Terrorist Modernism DIY MP3 EP
Blacksmoke_Post-terrorism_DIY_EP_cover.jpg
On 5th November, 2003 Blacksmoke made available a DIY MP3 EP on their website which they described as "post-terrorist modernism for the Boom Bang Generation". A Blacksmoke press release drew connections with Bonfire Night and called Guy Fawkes Britain's "most notorious terrorist". The downloadable cover art featured Big Ben exploding like the World Trade Centre and asked if the artwork "depicted the destruction of government buildings in Baghdad or Kabul, would we pay any attention?" There were media reports of "outrage". [5] (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_835646.html)
2004 appearances
In July 2004 Blacksmoke appeared at the The Big Chill festival. Cauty played an eclectic and experimental DJ set, he described as "an updated version of Chill Out", while a film by Gimpo called Docklands Light Railway was screened. [6] (http://www.urban75.org/photos/bigchill/big146.html) An alternative version of the soundtrack to the film was later featured as an hour long mix radio session on Resonance FM on 28th August. This was described as an industrial ambient mix.
Post-Terrorism Xmas Shop
The Blacksmoke Organisation ran a 'Post-Terrorism Xmas Shop' at the Aquarium art gallery, 10 Woburn Walk, London throughout December 2004. Described as a one-stop shop for all your post-terrorism needs, items for sale ranged from silk ties for infiltrating Fortune 500 companies, to strengthened crockery for after the attack. A range of prints of original post-terrorism inspired artwork, and an exclusive single, "I'm dreaming of a black christmas", which could only be picked up on Christmas Day 2004.
Remixes
Blacksmoke have done a number of distinctive remixes of other artists. Some of them have been available for download from their website, others are available on commercial recordings.
- The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends
- Cradle Of Filth - Mannequin
- International Noise Conspiracy - Armed Love
External links
- Blacksmoke official site (http://www.blacksmoke.org)
- Aquarium Gallery (http://www.aquariumgallery.co.uk/)