Announcing the Single Series on Linear Obsessional.
Downloads of 7″ single duration, with A and B sides and cover, sold at a classic 7″ price.
No music.
Curated by David Little and Richard Sanderson
Richard Sanderson
A View From A Hill – Linear Obsessional Recordings
This is becoming a much loved Christmas tradition. This years album has been compiled by David Little and is probably the best yet.
The theme for this year’s compilation was really the first thing that occurred to me – maybe the time of year puts me in mind of MR James – the title comes from one of his ghost stories, or maybe because when I volunteered, I’d just spent a day in Hebden Bridge, nestling amongst the Pennines. Anyway, the theme seemed to suggest two things close to my heart – landscape / countryside; and eeriness.
I’m very pleased with the results and I hope you are too. Some artists have concentrated on the Jamesian aspects of the title, recorded or interpreted landscapes of importance to them, or combined both. I’ve loved hearing results from artists living down the road to me (almost literally in some cases) to ones from the other side of the world (Australia, Asia and the United States to name a few).
This album was sequenced in submission order – so listen to it in whatever order you see fit.
A huge thanks to all the artists who took part.
David Little, 22 December 2017.
Happy New Year
I’d just like to wish all my readers a very Happy New Year and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. 2016 has been a pretty fruitful year for me, I started the year curating The Black Path exhibition at the House of Blah Blah gallery and finished the year with the release of the music from the project.
I’d like to thank all the people who have helped and inspired me throughout the year and look forward to continuing in 2017 where we will see the start of a new project and hopefully an exhibition in 2018.
All the best for 2017
Gavin
I wish you a merry Christmas,
And a happy New year,
A pantry of roast beef,
And a barrel of beer
*
Trad – Cleveland
Source W. Henderson 1879
Tonight is the New Year’s night, tomorrow is the day,
And we are come for our right and for our ray,
As we used to do in old King Henry’s day.
Sing fellows, sing Hagman heigh!
*
If you go to the bacon fitch, cut me a good bit,
Cut, cut and low, beware of your man;
Cut and cut round, beware of your thumb,
That I and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, sing Hagman heigh!
*
If you go to the black ark, bring me ten mark,
Ten mark, ten pound, throw it down upon the ground,
That I and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, sing Hagman heigh!
*
Trad – North Yorkshire
Source W. Henderson 1879
Utterances
For the fourth year in a row, and rapidly becoming a Christmas tradition, Richard Sanderson has released a themed compilation of tracks on the wonderful Linear Obsessional label. The collection is described as The fourth of Linear Obsessional’s annual “Open Access” compilations of tracks exactly two minutes long. This time the theme was the human voice.
112 tracks from around the globe exploring all manner of approaches to the sounds of the “first instrument”
The collection is free to download and can be found here
The Black Path – The Album
Linear Obsessional is proud to release this compilation of pieces that almost accidently refer to the demise of the once great steel making tradition on Teesside, in the North East of England.
“The Black Path” was an exhibition held at the House of Blah Blah in Middlesbrough in January 2016. This CD is a recording of sounds, music and poetry from that exhibition.
The download includes a 24 page PDF booklet of notes, photographs from the exhibition, and an essay by Alistair Nixon.
released October 21, 2016
The Black Path is an ancient route. It has been many things: the northern boundary of an Anglian Kingdom, a medieval sailor’s trod, and a convenient path to work for the steelworkers of Middlesbrough.
The Black Path Project commenced in early 2015 as collaboration between Chris Whitehead and Gavin Parry, they soon realised that a number of other artists in the area had also created work based around the path. They then set about contacting artists and asking them if they would be willing to join the project with a goal of producing an exhibition. Once assembled, they approached the House of Blah Blah, who were very enthusiastic about the project and agreed to work with the group.
The goal of the project was to present a contemporary response to the Black Path, at the time no one could have predicted what events unfold over the following months in terms of the collapse of the steel industry. This project now has an added poignancy; it has accidentally captured the end of an era.
The exhibition and show features, field recordings, paintings, photographs, sculptures and music, all created as a response to the Black Path. The exhibition commences with a performance by two groups of musicians, Ammonites and Warped Freqs. both of who have written music especially for this occasion.
The Smell of Water 