3rd December 2004 : All good things...
Following a period of much reflection, the current incarnation of T-Bass has decided to disband.
External commitments have meant that the current members are unable to continue with the band for the forseeable future and have decided to call it a day.
T-Bass would like to offer sincere thanks to all of those fans who have supported the band over the years, either by buying the discs or attending the concerts.
The T-Bass project will continue and may be resurrected at some point in the future although we don't know when or if this will happen.
T-Bass discs will continue to be sold in the on-line shop until the current stocks are exhausted.
8th October 2004 : Newcastle Astonomical Society
A couple of months ago we received an invitation to present a short talk to the members of Newcastle Astronomical Society. This was originally scheduled for March 2005 but the event was brought forward because the original lecturer for the October session, my old friend David Sinden, is a bit poorly. Get better soon David! Hope you're feeling better!
The lecture was entitled The Sounds of Space, a subject I've been interested in for the last twenty years. As you may know, Space is kind of silent so it was going to be either a very short lecture or something a bit unusual. It turned out to be the latter and the members of society were bombarded with a quick succession of weird and wonderful noises abstracted from all manner of astronomical data. The evening culminated with a performance of a slightly reworked and significantly shorter version of the SkinMechanix track Waving at Mono.
We were completely amazed by the response of the audience, a mixture of complete enthusiasm and genuine warmth. Lord above, we even sold some CD's. Compare and contrast this with some of the EM gigs we've done in recent years.
8th October 2004 : Inkeys 18 (part 2)
Not long ago, Andi Garibaldi told us about his plans to revive the Inkeys project. We thought that this was a pretty good idea and were pleased to offer Andy a couple of tracks to help get the project moving. Obviously, it's in our interests to do so because it's publicity for the band and publicity equals sales. Or so you would think.
But Andy now tells us that support for the project amongst some of the retailers has been poor and, whilst Andy will probably continue on regardless because he's just completely enthusiastic about all forms of music, this sad state of affairs doesn't help anyone very much at all.
This is where we need your help. We need fans to get in there and support Andy. Without you, the fans, this scene will Die!. What's the title of that Gary Numan song? "I die, you die".
How can you help? Well, it's easy. Go and buy Inkeys 18 from our online shop or ask for it at SMD or Groove or CDS. It doesn't cost much, under a fiver. Go and buy it before Andy and outfits like Infection Music just STOP producing music. If they do then all you'll be left with is the same old tired crap that is constantly recycled as "the next best thing".
Then again, if you're happy listening to the same old amateurish crap over and over again then please feel free to skip past this notice. Do I sound bitter? Yes, I am bitter. Fans constantly moan about a lack of decent electro-music gigs but, when you organise an event, nobody bloody shows up, even if it's just down the road. Or when you put a new CD out which gets good reviews right across the board, it's more than a little disappointing NOT to have anyone buy the f*cking CD!
So, ladies and gentlemen, if you want an electronic music scene that is alive and vibrant and active and not stuffed full of self-important, self-deluding, home-made marketting bullshit then get off your f*cking arses and do something about it. Buy the discs. Come to the gigs. Support the scene. Or pretty soon we'll all be listening to more Kylie, Jason and Bwitney. Or, worse still, more ********* (reference deleted).
Here endeth the rant.
1st October 2004 : Sound-on-Sound Magazine
As previously mentioned, the November issue of Sound on Sound magazine features an interview with avid synth collector and enthusiast, Philip Taysom. The magazine costs around four quid and is worth the asking price just for the interview.
26th August 2004 : Inkeys #18
The track Gazing at the Edge of Forever features on the latest disc in the recently revived Inkeys series, released by Andy Garibaldi on his Dead Earnest label. There's some information about the history of T-Bass plus commentary on the band's music. Copies of Inkeys #18 are available from the On-Line shop.
18th August 2004 : Dave Speaks!
As some of you may know, Dave had, for a long time, some fairly major aspirations as a writer. He was a contributor to the magazine Sound-On-Sound between 1987 and 1992, briefly in 1993 and then again in 2002. He's also contributed to numerous fanzines around the net (Zenith, Sequences etc) for the last ten years. Rumour has it that Sound-On-Sound are going to publish another piece very shortly so, well, a small selection of pieces can be found somewhere on this site but we won't tell you where cos' we want you to spend time (and money) hunting for them. We're nice like that. Happy hunting.
5th August 2004 : Know Fear Promo Movie
Whilst searching for some free space on our old studio Macintosh, I came across a promo movie I had started working on back in 1999, probably around the time of the ill-fated Generator album. Composed in Bryce 3 and running for around 50 seconds, I wondered why I hadn't bothered showing it to anyone else. The backing track is an early version of Know Fear which later appeared on The Fabulous Neutrinos.
KnowFearPromoMovie QuickTime format, 7.9 Mb
17 May 2004 : Dare To Be Different
The track Dare to be Different has been released on Sequences 29. The magazine, which features a special on Girl Power in Electronic Music, should be available from our online shop by the end of the week.
15 April 2004 : Classic Rock Society Gig Live Tracks
I finally found the sound desk tape from the Classic Rock Society gig from October of last year. Silly me had stored it safely away in my guitar case and then safely stored that away in the loft! Oops! Here are four of the tracks played that night...
Click here to view further images from the Classic Rock Society by CRS photographer Pete Bowler.
9th April 2004 : Two new reviews from Compact Disc Services
T-BASS UK: Infection of Time
From the opening track, you'd be forgiven if you thought that you had stumbled accross an early Mark Shreeve album, with its driving electronic and percussive rhythms, its soaring melodies and solos, and an overall full-sounding depth as sequencers, electronic drums, wailing leads and horizon-stretching keyboard layers all combine to provide a really strong and solid start. The seven and a half minute 'Tranquility Bass' opens slowly before building up a new head of electro-percussive rhythmic steam and this time soars up into a sparkling and solid world of multi-synths melodic power, changing shape as it progresses, but remaining exceedingly Shreeve-like, and no bad thing, because this is superb stuff all round. The five-minute title track is slower rhythmically, but still a forceful piece of music with some soaring synth soloing in the middle that's positively anthemic in its sound and pace. Throughout the album there's all the required elements of depth, strength and emotion, while the multi-layered mix of synths, electronic drums and sequencers is played to perfection. If you enjoyed the follow-up to this album, 'Fabulous Neutrinos', or like the early-mid 80's Mark Shreeve albums, you'd do well to check this out.
To buy this album from Compact Disc Services click here
T-BASS UK: Media Evil
Contains over an hour of mostly previously unreleased tracks, including T-Bass tracks recorded live on the BBC in 2001 and at the "EMMA Festival in 1997 as well as a 'live' Skin Mechanix track from 2002, together with a multi-media portion of the disc featuring over two hundred images of the band on stage. Musically, however, it's all you'd now expect from the T-Bass UK/Skin Mechanix outfits, with a plethora of tunes, melodies and rhythms all performed in the customary punchy manner. However, there does seem to be a lot of Mark Shreeve influences at work here, with thunderous drum programmes, scorching guitars and acres of panoramic backdrops on show as the lead synth melodies hurtle through the airwaves. Several tracks are either slow burners or more atmospheric, but all possess a fantastically solid structure, with compositions that have real purpose and design. The seven-minute 3rd track is one of these big building style pieces that adds layers and layers as it weaves its spell, while track 4 is right out of the mid-80's Shreeve style of things. Track 6 is a beautifully subdued number with tasty chunky percussive rhythms, tinkling mallet-percussion surrounds, train-like electronic rhythms and some superb surround-sound synths filling in the mix - At three minutes it's like a truncated 70's Kraftwerk, and far too short. Track 7 sets the "Berlin" sequencers for the heart of the sun as this pure 70's Tangerine Dream style rhythm soars out of the speakers, then gradually adds layers and develops, with a chunky electro-percussive rhythm also adding to the dynamics and drive of the ever more powerful and multi-textured piece. For the next ten minutes it twists and turns through a myriad melodic/ rhythmic/ atmospheric paths and is a huge composition overall. The album ends with two more beefy tune-dominated tracks to close what is a superb album without a less than engaging track on the whole thing.
7th April 2004 : Ashley Franklin
A review by Ashley Franklin has been added to the Reviews section.
The Neutrinos are Fabulous, indeed. This is one of the most thrilling and soulful synth-rock albums I've ever heard, the sort that leaves you reeling with excitement yet writhing in anger as to why this kind of exhilarating electronica lurks in the shadowy underground while lesser immortals like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher enjoy sunshine and big bucks.