Andrew Liles - Live Manc

Paris - 2007 - Photo by Eric Chevalier

Current 93 - London - 2008 - Photo by Schrollum

Current 93 - London - 2008 - Photo by Malachi

Ghent - 2007- Photo by Matt Waldron

Hvar - 2008 - Photo by Melon Liles

Nurse With Wound - Moscow - 2007 - Photo by Geraldine Fagan

Current 93 - Berlin - 2008 - Photo by Martyn Flash

Moscow - 2007 - Photo by Geraldine Fagan

Nurse With Wound - Backstage - Ghent - 2007 - Photo by Andria Degens

Faust - London - 2007 - Unknown Photographer

Brighton - 2007 - Photo by Melon Liles

Porto - 2007 - Photo by Matt Waldron

Nurse With Wound - Donau Festival - 2007 - Photo by Ronaiandras

Nurse With Wound - Donau Festival - 2007- Photo by Ronaiandras

Donau Festival - 2007- Photo by Matt Waldron

Nurse With Wound - London - 2007 - Photo by JPaul23

Nurse With Wound - London - 2007 - Photo by Matt Waldron

BRAINWASHED REVIEW

Nurse With Wound and Christoph Heemann
3 March 2007, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Written by John Kealy
Monday, 05 March 2007

Nurse With Wound's long overdue return to the stage finally saw them make their London debut. Steven Stapleton was calmly and amiably wandering the venue prior to the show, so evidently it wasn't making him as nervous as the hype machine surrounding the night would suggest. Nevertheless, this concert more than lived up to both the hype and my expectations (which were well and truly blown out of the water).

Nurse With Wound were not the only performers making a rare live appearance, Christoph Heemann was drafted in by Stapleton to provide support. Barely acknowledging the crowd, he took his position behind his table cover with neatly arranged electronics and began his performance. Proceedings were gentle for the first few minutes, recordings of traffic sounds murmuring through the hall. Gradually Heemann upped the ante and intensified the sound in both volume and texture, smoothing the traffic noises into a powerful set of drones, always slightly out of key leading to beating between the notes. The result was a splendidly rich sound which is how I imagine God must experience tinnitus. It was nearly too much for my ears thanks to one of the speakers being pointed directly at my head but after a few minutes, Heemann relented his assault on my eardrums and focused on a softer sound.

With my ears able to relax I was then able to pay more attention to what he was doing on stage. Most of the sounds seem to be pre-recorded as he was mixing different CDs together and tweaking them from a mixing console with various processors sprouting from it. This was a little disheartening that most of what we were listening to was not of this moment but the quality of the sounds and the power of their delivery more than compensated. He again brought his performance to boil towards the end the set, the sound perfectly complemented by colored lights searching around the stage like spotlights dotted along prison walls. Although this time Heemann launched a painless attack, the PA was not sounding the best as it spluttered trying to cope with some of the lower frequencies. On any other night this would have been a great headlining performance but the evening was just getting warmed up.

The five members of Nurse With Wound's live line up took to the stage to a surprisingly muted applause. Colin Potter jokingly asked the crowd to settle down in his best schoolmaster’s voice, class was now in session. For an hour, Stapleton and company voyaged through an A-Z of odd noises. Many of the sounds were familiar from the Nurse With Wound back catalog but were used out of context which freshened them up no end. The stage was set up like a long work bench, with each member tinkering away on his chosen toys. Stapleton spent a long time bowing a guitar, creating a hypnotic swirl of sound. Andrew Liles and Potter both seemed to be concentrating on the technological side of things; although it was difficult to figure out what they were actually up to. Potter in particular was dwarfed by a stack of rack equipment and a laptop; he seemed to be pooling everything together, sampling different elements and playing them back later (sometimes in a mutated form). Marcus Ripley’s percussion was subdued and impeccable, he brought just the right amount of extra atmosphere to the already heavy mix of sound.

Special mention goes to Matt Waldron who was the star of the show in terms of physical performance. He seemed to have brought Mary Poppins' travel bag as minute after minute he pulled out some new item to make completely unexpected sounds from. It is hard to pick one highlight from his performance but his singing while bashing his own head in with a little drum and later his vocalizations through the tube of a gas mask were definitely two things I will remember fondly. The gas mask in particular was surreally funny and eerie at the same time, a description that summarizes the entire performance. David Tibet made two appearances during the night to sing his parts on “The Dead Side of the Moon” and “Two Shaves and a Shine.” The former did not quite gel together right for me, in retrospect it was a great take on the piece but at the time it was not what the set needed. “Two Shaves and a Shine” on the other hand was fantastic. It was slowed down and stripped of its guitar and bouzouki, shards of noise instead breaking up the bass lines.

After about an hour of getting my mind massaged and fucked in equal measure, the group began to gear down. It seemed that would be our lot for the evening but then a familiar creaking sound began to emerge from the speakers. The performance was already one of the best gigs of my life but finishing with a nearly full rendition of “Salt Marie Celeste” was the finest icing this cake could be topped with. It was hard to tell how long it lasted, it must have been at least half an hour but felt like longer (in a good way). Seeing the group perform this piece explained some of the mysteries behind the sounds, such as the clacking noises of the ship’s timber being a mechanical wooden whale toy. Each member of Nurse With Wound came into their own here although for most of them it was hard to discern what they were doing. The sound that came from the PA was full and immensely powerful, I found it hard to sit still as the sound washed over me in waves.

When the good ship Nurse With Wound finally set sail, I wandered out of the venue stunned at how unbelievably good tonight’s gig has been. Either "Salt Marie Celeste" or the preceding performance alone would have made it worth my time and money venturing to London but the two combined made it special beyond words. The heavens obviously were in harmony with the performance, when I left the Queen Elizabeth Hall I noticed that the lunar eclipse had turned the moon the color of dried blood. A fitting reprise of “The Dead Side of the Moon” to say the least!

Nurse With Wound - All Tomorrow's Parties - 2006 - Photograph by Julia Parsons

Nurse With Wound - All Tomorrow's Parties - 2006 - Photograph by Herrhanz

Nurse With Wound - All Tomorrow's Parties - 2006 - Photograph by Matt Waldron

Nurse With Wound - San Francisco - 2006 - Photograph by Nebulagirl

Nurse With Wound Entourage - San Francisco - June 2006

Palermo - 2004 - Photograph By Melon Liles

Portland - June 2006 - Photograph by Melon Liles

St. Polten - Austria - 2007 - Photo by Walter Robotka

Faust - London 2008 - Photographer Unknown

Scribble 7 - Preston UK - 2006 - Photo by Adrian Ball

Scribble 7 - Preston UK - 2006 - Photo by Paul Bradley

Review
from Rotten Meats

Intergration 5
Fri 3rd March 2006 - Intergration 5 [ Scribble Seven ]
Steven Stapleton, Colin Potter, Matt Waldron
Freida Abtan, Maja Elliott, Andrew Liles
Joolie Wood and Monos @ St Peters Arts Centre
Preston Lancs

Andrew Liles started off the proceedings with a short set, bleach damaged archive footage supported his nocturnal atmospheres, glimpses of the original films spookily broke through the ‘23 Envelope’ textures. Sonic textures switch bladed, previously introduced elements blossomed then were cut over by others.

I enjoyed the Eastern vibes that went with the silhouetted camel trail on the horizon of dunes, the sound swaying around exotically as the film was buried in a blizzard of decay. Strange echoes of conversation bounced between the speakers and equally strange noises emitted from his equipment, creeping round your ears in macabre shadows.

Three guys, collectively know as Monos took up the reins after Mr Liles, with Colin Potter at the helm. Starting from the slow building of sliding textures, the music grew organically as star shapes flickered over a blurred skyscape.

Light broke through trees to a cacophony of crows squawking from within the electronic flux. Meditative drones mimicked the pristine shapes that formed and dissolved before my eyes. Superimposed impressions complimented the sound's multi-layered density. Somebody on screen was tinkering with a guitar, the image split then patterned into a geometric kaleidoscope of possibility as the sound disjointed into a multitude of colour. The Monos sound was incredibly optimistic, radiant and soothing, but never feeble or prone to slipping into anonymity. They captured a prevailing flow that was as alluring as bright sunshine on a crisp winter’s day, possessing a burnished brilliance that was truly engrossing.

After a long break, filled with strange 'John Lacy' luggage obsessed film work, the highlight of the evening began to gather - The Scribble Seven, comprising of the cream of the sonic underground.

Two absolutely beautiful Joolie Wood songs (highlights from her forthcoming debut) began the set, with Maja Elliot providing backing on piano and the rest of the contributors giving a subtle electronic presence to Joolie’s flute and violin accompaniment. This was closely followed by a full-on continuous improv that filled the rest of the evening’s performance.

Everything seamlessly gelled together. Droning electronics punctuated by the masterful Matt Waldron, Joolie scratching her violin strings and Maja Elliot teasing stuff from the innards of the piano (although she was obscured from view a lot of the time) and at one point slamming the lid with a large crash that was quickly taken up by something Matt was fiddling with at the time. Colin pulled out a ‘Dr Seuss’ like stripy horn, mixing breathy moans into the scrawl. Steve Stapleton's hand hovered over an electro-sensitive box, the other twisted the sound shapes this way and that. The dense construct finally came to a close with Maja stroking her keys and Joolie plucking her violin. They were just fabulous and frankly words fail me when it comes to describing the bizarre concoction of sounds that flowed with breath-taking ease that night.

I'm still pinching myself with dis-belief...
posted by Cloudboy @ Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Crooked Stylus

On Friday the 3rd of March, 2006, about 90 people gathered at St. Peter's Church in Preston for Intergration 5.

On the bill; solo performance from Andrew Liles, the first live appearance of Monos (Paul Bradley, Colin Potter and Darren Tate) and the enigmatic Scribble Seven (Liles, Steven Stapleton, Potter, Matt Waldron, Maja Elliott, Joolie Wood and Freida Abta)

Before I go any further I want to make it crystalline that this was NOT a Nurse With Wound performance and that the Scribble Seven are a self-autonomous group comprised of people to whom improvised music making is second nature.

First up was a 20 minute set from Andrew Liles that was both humorous amd disturbing (a bit like the man himself) and involved him embellishing pre-prepared tracks with various processing techniques and makers of noise. On a huge screen behind him were projected some very beautiful, old and decaying black and white film pieces which seemed tailor made for the music. Scratches and holes in the celluloid competed for attention with the actual images filmed and sent the subconscious mind into overdrive, the imagination filling the gaps with…well, it depends on the type of mind you are blessed with!

Next up were Monos. This was their first live performance and the first time that Darren Tate had ever been on stage, He told me he would be playing guitar and a left-handed one at that. Then he said that he didn't know how to play guitar anyway. I only wish I couldn't play as well as he does! He coaxed some truly ethereal sounds from it whilst Colin and Paul provided the substance of tone. Darren, being nervous, had hidden away at the back of the stage but his stab at anonymity was thwarted when a piece of film of him playing guitar in his flat appeared on the 20 ft screen behind him. The piece they played was a stripped back affair with more space than NASA could dream of. Blissful.

One short interval later and the main event began. Step up Scribble Seven. The first two songs were penned and sung by Joolie Wood and accompanied by Maja Elliott on piano. Both of them play together as part of Current 93 and this shone through in the economy of notes passing between them, each one counting and none surplus to requirement. The rest of the Seven were an exercise in restraint during these pieces, adding just enough to underline the melodies of Joolie and Maja.

After these unexpected musical bonuses were done, the main Scribble Seven experience began. It would not only be lazy but also wildly inaccurate to compare what was heard to any extant Nurse With Wound piece (Oooooh, it sounded a bit like Salt Marie Celeste getting the Angry Eelectric Finger…..)
The 40 odd minute symphony was unrehearsed and on the fly (I am told) but sounded seamless and completely intentional. As you can imagine it is virtually impossible to describe in words something that is difficult to grasp and comprehend with your ears. To see the noises being made was an interesting expeience in itself – Matt Waldron, the one-man avant band with his collection of bicycle pumps, kazoos, magnetized hematite clackers, kitchen sink…..Mr. Potter overhearing everything from behind his glorious mixing desk, occasionally rattling and tweaking various mystery items, Andrew Liles a' scratching and a' scraping with malice aforethought, Freida absorbed in the glow from the screen of her lap-top as she processed and manipulated away, Steve feeding CDs into the mix through his unique blend of sonic spice and Joolie and Maja using their respective instruments in ways certainly not intended by the manufacturers! All those sounds you wonder about (What the fuck was that?) made apparent and all by people with big fat grins on their faces! Scary stuff indeed.

Unfortunately, due to a hard-drive mishap the event wasn't recorded as a desk mix but luckily Matt and myself came away with some very decent mini-disc recordings so all is not lost.

All in all this was an experience I am so glad not to have missed – I travelled up from Brighton which I thought was quite dedicated until I met the guys who had travelled from Sweden and Poland just for the night. I doff my hat to you sirs. Mostly though, I bow in respect to Scribble Seven – long may your pencil-cases be full of crayons.

Darius Akashic (06/03/06ev)

Krakow - Poland - October 2005 - Photo by Kasia Wieczorkiewicz

Andrew Liles Britons Protection, Manchester 13/11/04
Photo By Adrian Ball - Still from video footage

Karl Blake, Andrew Liles & Colin Potter, Britons Protection, Manchester 13/11/04
Photo By Tim Jones

Vienna - 2005 - The Guided Tour - Photo by Hagen Stockhausen

Vienna - 2005 - Photo by Matt Waldron

Vienna - 2005 - Photo By Hagen Stockhausen

Vienna - 2005 - Photo by Melon Liles

Review from Brainwashed
Contributed by András Rónai
Sunday, 08 May 2005

Friday, May 6th, Anatomical Museum / Narrenturm, Vienna

The organization of the event was perfect, from the presonalized tickets to the special CD-R.
The show took place in a little room on the 3rd floor, no real skeletons there, just same bizarre black-and-white drawings about deformed skulls etc. on the wall. The Little Dipper Minus Two (Echo Poeme Sequence 1), the special CD-R is one track, less than 20 minutes, with a black-and-white cover by Babs. After the first listen I would say it's the usual quality expected from Nurse With Wound: amazing, but at the same time without any big surprises.
Colin Potter started. I was totally unimpressed with his show. His set consisted of some drones, strange sounds etc, with ocassionally totally pointless beats dropped in. There were only a few good moments and lots of commonplaces, without direction or sense. He was standing behind a large electronic rig, and the only visible performing was when he occasionally touched the cymbal-like thing or moved his hand around it (a bit like around a theremin). During his set a window made very annoying sounds, but later the organizers removed it.

Andrew Liles was pretty amazing. He was sitting behind a little table with some electronic stuff and a cymbal with a microphone. He played a lot of prerecorded stuff, but was very busy turning knobs for filtering and effects, and made nice drones with his little synth. He sometimes touched his cymbal and scratched the arm of the mic with a stick. The music was very much along the lines of My Long Accumulating Discontent: very nice, clear yet strange and disorienting at the same time.

After a 30 minute break the NWW members took to the stage, all dressed in medical coats (so the Potter/Liles duo didn't play contrary to what was announced). The line-up was Steven Stapleton, Diana Rogerson, Colin Potter, and Matt Waldron with Andrew Liles (him being the bonus to the announced quartet). Stapleton was sitting next to Potter's large rig behind a table with a discman and a what looked like a Pioneer DJ CD player—sometimes with the latter and sometimes adjusting things on Potter's equipment. Steven didn't appear to do anything spectacular, it was Potter who behaved more like a conductor, but these two talked a lot, so who knows. Diana played the accordion in the beginning, then read something from a paper, than made sounds with a dish, which I couldn't tell if there was water in it or not. Matt Waldron played tabletop guitar with lots of kitchen utensils and other things (including a yellow ballon at one point) while Andrew Liles did basically what he did in his own show. A film of ocean waves was projected behind them, but it was very pale.

The music was droney with the amazingly (un)structured noises Waldron and sometimes Rogerson and Liles added. There were other noises, squeakings, etc. from Stapleton and/or Potter; sometimes it seemed that they used noises recorded during the show itself. There were a few technical mistakes (feedback etc.), a few surprises, but mainly they sticked to the drones and noises structure. For the first few minutes I thought that "it's good, but I have heard music like this hundred times before," but then I found myself totally immersed in the sound, and realized that I could listen to it for hours. It had a strange, subtle, elongated cathartic effect on me. It lasted about an hour.

A lot of people were taking photos, I saw one guy recording the show with a mic on minidisc and one on video. Colin Potter also recorded it (as he told Diana not to start playing the accordion - "I'm not recording it yet."). I took photos as well: see http://ra.underground.hu/nww_main.htm for my set. On the ground floor there was a merchandise table with black & white T-shirts made for the occasion, lots of NWW, Potter and Liles-records (I had to spend a lot of money on them...) and some of Klanggalerie's releases. All the people were very nice.

Vienna - Rhiz - Ocotber 2004

Freek Kinkelaar, Frans de Waard, Andrew Liles - Cleveland, Ohio, USA - 2003
Photo by Melon Liles