Hallo everybody ...

If you did get one of my cards and then landed here - i don't use this place so v often anymore -
can be reached via 'Stuart Argabright '  @ Linked in, Facebook, there is something still @ Twitter or email me : )

Post Sept. 2014 ...

You know ...
you do a Myspace, a blog , a tumblr ( Japonist )and you write. Something else comes along and you move onto that.
Once in awhile i will look around on FB, check the Danceteria page as we did spend too much time at that club in it's prime.
Currently about 200 pages in on writing up various entries to the Diaries i kept once in NYC.

Pre Futants. My goodfriend Martin Fischer, spotted on his first night @ Mudd.
Ike Yard time. With Madonna's rehearsal studio so close to IY's share, what happened when 2 IY members jammed and someone just might have been listening as I adlibbed "Everybody Everybody Everybody ...get on down" ? One of the rare times we did not have tape running !
Dominatrix time. Nearly getting stuck in the stage apparatus @ Studio 54 not a highlight.
Death Comet Crew - meeting The Rammellzee in W Berlin 1983 and getting him into Unique Studios for some freestyle.

First nights of Mudd Club, Danceteria, Pravda and clubs no one talks about as 'legends'.
TR3 anyone ?

Shout out to all the originals

Fall feeling NYC

A good year so far ...

So many things happening.
And while there are many records still to come,
many have seen release this year.
After returning from Berlin 8/28 and recovering , enjoying the jet lag tiredness ,
there is alot going on in the tech field that still excites.

So if musik has been 'one life' , tech and related works is another.

We saw alot in Japan in July ; the rural fest. took a chance and had Black rain & Regis one night and Ike Yard & Sam Kerridge the next.
Afterwards we returned to Kyoto in deadly heat via nightbus to explore North of the city.
Next was Nara, Nabari, Ise, Mt Fuji area and finally to Chigasaki in time to see hanami exploding over the Pacific Ocean.
After one day at Noyuri's parent's in Saitama, we took shinkensen from Omiya to Karuizawa in order to meet our old friend there for a couple more days in countryside.
This trip proved to me that staying 'in Tokyo' is by now less an attractive option, the summer heat had something to do w that definitely.
The upside being we saw three different lifestyle choices while staying or visiting w old & new friends.

After returning, I got word from my brother in SC that my Father was going into hospital and was not good.
He passed soon after and I was in Berlin by the time the relatives got together in Fla.
Together w the loss of my big sister Brenda last summer , the family is now markedly smaller !

Berlin w Ike Yard for CONTORT night @ ATONAL Fest. was pretty great.
One of the best lineups ever, in one of the great venues ever for this musik.
Saw friends old and new, some new ones from the Japan Fest.
Explored 'deep Neukoln ' as Kirin put it, checked out the good Japanese restaurant near the Canal below Kreutzberg, Thai also in K'berg and another Japanese rest on last night in town w Nino from Shaped Noise.
Spent two fine days working in Nino's Studio in industrial area behind Templehof.
That will be another record to come out on his label.

November will see another string of Europe dates to support Black rain's Dark Pool LP ;
11/7 Rome
11/10 Brussels
11/15 Berlin
11/21 Hamburg
11/23 Moscow
11/28 Stockholm TBC
11/29 Paris
Ending in Paris in order to work on another record, this time w L.I.E.S' Svengalighost Lives

Next records ?

* Ike Yard has a new Ep & Album to complete. It has taken long enough!
* The Ep's worth of musik Seb (aka Vessel), Pete Swanson and I made last Nov. is coming around and we will complete that now that we may have more then a moment's time.
* Original tapes of Black rain early years Vol. 1 & 2 will be transfered soon enough. those will come out on Desire 2015.
* As will BEB's expanded edition of "Now I'm Just A Number : Soundtracks 1994- '95", this time w double the cuts from first edition.
* Relistened to the tracks made so far for my Album and they still stand up, sounding quite good.
* Soundtracks Compilation(s) . Now thinking to do one of the works w Gretchen Bender 1984 -1991 then one of works w Robert Longo 1984 -1992 - the Johnny Mnemonic sdtks pieces will all be on the BEB Black rain reissues.
That would leave more space for all the best'other sdtks' made between 1983 - 1996 or so

New & Next next

End of May 2014 New releases & Next

With Black rain's "Dark pool" now done -
congrats Oliver Chapoy for the recording - engineering & coproduction - and the last NYC show for a while done last Saturday night, it becomes Ike Yard's time again.

IY New Ep and new Album "Rejoy" is underway. Same time preparing for first shows in Japan & fingers crossed on Berlin Aug. There is also the Factory America Comp. and a last IY collab - Orphan Swords "Vassagio" coming in June on desire.
This follows the Oliver Chapoy aka Certain Creatures - IY collab "Sparkle" from Styles Upon Styles NY- the Samuel Kerridge remix is out on the remix EP.
IY's first Ep 1981's "Night After Night" to be reissued on desire 2015.

The JBLA Ep collab w members of Different Fountains & Julian Jockel in Brussels may have a followup comprised of jams ("Phantom Minds") done a year earlier then JBLA in Eupen Belgium.

Sophist Group / Polystyle SA EP & Album underway. Some 'return to clubs' and night moves listening.

SDTKS 1983-1996 Collection TBA including soundtracks for Gretchen Bender, Robert Longo, IBM Advanced CG Div., Innerware "Ambient Lingerie Catalog by Prinzessin" & "Digital Shiatsu" musik w Shinichi Shimokawa ( from Death Comet Crew & Black rain ) among many others

"Low Rise" Book & Musik project w Evan Calder Williams underway ...

NY State O Mind

In the time we call 'the twentyfirst century'... Having survived this far, there is much to be done. New York City moves in a few directions, the talent bank is still so deep. Music still changes here. The art world's current phase i find less interesting then other forms, although of course there are always exceptions. There is alot of *hit and the hard questions seem not to be asked. Needs to step it up. Nearly all the structures, institutions we have created are either already outdated / fallen apart or will soon be changed /'disrupted' / redone. Whether we like it , work in those zones or not ...
Do we remember any 'promising future' ? 'cyberpunk' ? the disruption of 'punk' itself ? the sweet oblivion undercover of night ?

The Happening World ( ref. John Brunner )
Black rain is near completion of the new Album "Dark pool" for Blackest Ever Black. We are good w this label and like the quality.
T shirts and Expanded Soundtracks 1994 -95 Edition coming as well.
"Dark pool" moves as a movie / dream from the watering hole here the new creatures come to drink ... to the mega city, from mech to biologic.
With stops at "BladeRunner 2: Edge Of Human"'s Tyrell Corp. family and "The Windup Girl" N Thai to let our post humans and constructs make plans or refresh.
Guest vocals - special guest is Zoe Zanias aka Alison Lewis.
If you don't know her work yet, you might soon.
We are working w Oliver Chapoy ( Certain Creatures ) on this one in BK and about to go into mixing.

Ike Yard is gearing up to tackle end process' on the new Album "Rejoy".
The Reissue of the Factory America Album from 1982 and the 3 remix Ep's will all be sold out soon.
And it has been great fun to work w Regis , Monoton , Tropic Of Cancer, Recombinant, Powell, Vessel, The KVB , Bandshell , Epilektrician and most recently , Orphan Swords on getting these remix Ep's together.
Coming up is a round up of 9 IY remixes on CD from Desire, also a special edition for Japan w J remixes.
Then we look at transfering the Masters of the 1981 first Ep "Night After Night" and begin another process for reissuing that one.

Dominatrix 30th Anniversary of "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" is now.
Working on the new recombinant live show w new front woman TBA , TBC for mid May. Major reissue w liner notes from David Tompkins and members plus unreleased cuts & cover versions of songs we used to do live circa 1984 -85.
TBA on Traffic/ Phase One /Streetwise.

Death Comet Crew. Out of the blue and into the black vinyl.
The first album ever is out now on Powell's Diagonal w our last tracks w The Rammellzee (RIP) plus Nomi Ruiz , Carolyn Honeychild Coleman and Rammell's friend Rapscallion.
Followed by the citinite EP of post Rammellzee tracks.
DCC live , DCC 1986 - second phase 'machine roc / cyber rock' releases mooted.

I left o13 in Dec.

A v cool comp. of 1980's Japanese music is underway w Mr. Wayne Sterling

Our first Book - working title "Low Rise" is underway w Evan Calder Williams

'Diaries of Nightclubbing 1978 - 1990' underway

'polystyle' SA Ep & album has been in programming for 5 years and god of biomechanics willing a first EP will appear this year, followed by the first Album.
In part , a return to club music. New forms

"The First Nine Billion" near future based book underway

Last night

This old blog has been quiet for a long time.
This morning though it felt like time to update and address some things, news ... occasion being last night's Whitney Biennalle preview party and dinner afterwards.
So many people, long line to get in - thankfully not so freezing as other recent nights.
We went to see our old friend and collaborator Gretchen Bender's art piece "People In Pain" was chosen and featured across one wall - cheers Phil Vanderhyden for the reconstruction & curator Michelle Grabner. When Gretchen passed in 2004, her work was known by some art world, appreciated for what it was by some.
It was difficult to find much info about her work anywhere as time passed though, bar credits on certain music videos, a note here and there about her past electronic theatre pieces @ The Kitchen, video install @ Danceteria, an interview in Bomb by Cindy .
Think for a minute about the artists who have put everything on the line to make their art.
The scientists and engineers who came up w ideas that took decades or longer to seem 'true'.

Phil Vanderhyden found her early audio piece and began examining her other works leading to the restaging of GB's multi channel "Total Recall" @ The Poor Farm in Wis 2012, The Kitchen 2012.
Gretchen's work looked, felt and sounded better then ever.
The world seemed to have caught up with Gretchen's mindset.
Her art blows away the *hit.

Well done Phil - who spent more then a year reconstructing the piece which had been 'destroyed' in time , thank you Michelle & congrats Gretchen !
Taking taxi down Fifth Avenue to Odeon- Robert's old haunt for midnight dinner Noyuri and I were talking w Johnathan Bender and his wife ( never got her name sorry ). You may have seen Johnathan's black suited frame & outstretched tie falling through thin air in Longo's "Men In Cities" B& W works , New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" music video ( by Longo w Bender edit) or Christian Bale's 'psycho killer's art on wall in his apt. Echoed in say, Apple's ads from some years back or "Mad Men" opening seq. We hadn't seen each other in oh 20 years.
He has set up art consultants to help deal w surge of interest in GB's from some cool US and UK institutions.
Johnathan was also involved in Longo's music video productions, "Arena Brains" short movie and beginnings of the lengthy "Johnny Mnemonic" production and now lives in DC w his family.
How many times had we rolled through the city looking out through taxi windows ...

I had met Gretchen at an opening @ Peter Nagy & Allan McCollum's E Village gallery Nature Morte in Jan. 1984 and introduced myself as I thought our works seemed to go together.
We worked together through to her last electronic theatre piece "Aggressive Witness" 1990 or so.
She had alot of art to still do ...

I began working w Robert as i began working w Gretchen on Wild Dead and Dumping Core , we became fast friends, hanging out, seeing the Challenger disaster together on TV down at R & G's South St seaport loft.
And he had me work on his ever larger productions , collaborating closely for another decade through to the opening screening of "Johnny Mnemonic".
So many projects, works, tough sessions, long rehearsals & high times - sometimes nailing what we were aiming for ...
I heard last night that the old 85 South Street building they lived in is being renovated after Storm Sandy fired the wiring in the basement.
One of those building artists happened into , Katherine Bigalow and John Tuturro lived there as well, DCC shot music video w Gretchen there, Black rain edited our video piece for Pepe Moreno's "Hellcab" video game there.
Last night Robert was in rare form, recounting stories of how we lived then, the 'mornings after', Loft fires, rents, cats & yes, rats.
They so graciously took me in when i had no place to go.
We read Robert's Variety, discussing what movies were coming attractions, which were likely to get made, which seemed *hit while wishing it was us making something ...better.
Robert had the script to David Lynch's "Ronnie Rocket" lying around the space. Never got made.
Can still smell the still dust on the wooden stairs ...
"Yer talkin' about memories..."

Ladies, do get checkups from time to time , you never know ...
it could save your life
Do your work , do your art and do it hard.
Before you go

On Violetshaped
A few months ago i was asked by Electronic Beats to review a current release as they do on their pub. One suggestion was Violetshaped . Following is my original text . I prefer it to the published end result.

Violetshaped appears to be Nino. We met last Nov. on a chilly Wroclaw evening as we sat down to an Italian dinner with host Lubo. That night we went on late and it was cold. The sound's a variant of 21st century Tech Industrial, their sound one of giant walls, beams and barriers hulking , oppressing - and at the same time disintegrating as we outlive them. "The Lord Won't Forget" The beat shivers in front of you and inside you. It's not here to make you jump or take you higher, it's here to ground you in the face of what's to come. Notice the rippling layers of sequenced synths moving over the beat scape. Then another. Dubbed out synth bits glint for instant before bouncing off into half light. Collapse of nation -state, middle class and religion is tangible. Ride the synth sequence. Repetition is key. Wipe the body fluid off your pant leg. The Lord Won't Forget. "The Skull In The Cellar" Hovering wobble hangs in space. Machine beat fades in and hooks up into it's place in the system. Through binoculars one sees the target moving faster then the main beat frame. Something racing through the mud and debris. Scanning the scene an open door appears and the beat halts for a moment. You lift your head and the Police ask you for your ID. What is happening in edge musik today - it's reflecting the continued desynchronization within our societies, our tired systems built sometimes so long ago, the loosening of organized , non taxed religion. One still has to actively seek underground edges. Citizens have to decide , do the sheep look up ? or continue grazing. The fact of Vatican Shadow's existence set against backdrop of the recent Pope and Church debacles felt like a well timed inflection point. This musik may well serve as a kind of 'punk rock' , a street musik welling up and into sight. The synthetics will only become more urgent and the beats don't stop any time soon i expect. I can distinquish them from acts whose tracks i try to listen but get only 20 seconds in on. From rather faceless but much hyped product streaming for free before you know if you are even interested. Whereas so many are content to produce 'stuff' that refers too much to the past, Violetshaped and Shaped noise seem to insist on facing forward. With boots on. It's a growing family. SA 5/22/13

most captivating ever

Looking at the Jan. - May period again ... It must be the always less captivating and 'refined' FBook 'User experience' that kept me away from blogging any more often in the last couple years. But was not inclined to always 'work it', connect it, grow it.
More inclined to just ... write.

Left wrist healed - completely ? - after last Oct. quick slip and fall retreating from Mam Tor in the thunderstorm in a hurry. Luggage wheels wore out, thrown out - and not yet replaced. Oyster Card, assorted Swiss Francs, Norweg / Swede / Denmark Kroner and Euro's in plastic baggies pushed further back on shelf.
ZWEIKOMMASIEBEN #6 came in the mail the other day ( Interviews ; Actress, Raime & Black rain, DJ Kaos )- another result of time spent during next to last show in Lucerne w Remo & Sam. Their Ltd Ed. 10" was another fine upshot.

Ike Yard's reissue of the Factory LP on Desire came out well, the remix Ep #1 (Regis / Monoton) collab w BEB super.
We agreed to have "Elysians" appear on Electric Voice Comp. "Shiva Virus" is now going to be "Inside The Volcano" where it sounds quite fine. Look for the Swedish Comp., they did a fine job wid it. W remix Ep #2 about to be released v soon, 10 basic tracks for a whole new album recorded and in middle distance 1981's "Night After Night" EP comes around for reissue & remixing ...

o13's first album "Time wave zero" came out on Desire and has begun getting proper reviews. No, it is not as willfully dark edged as say, Black rain or same fields as say , Ike Yard but o13 was not designed to be those things. Does contain 'Lead' bass, guitars,'songs', 'vocals', 'albums', a'70's' ref. here and there. o13 played the (DJ) Mark Kamins Memorial April 17 where we saw 'Everybody'that came out for the 'party of the last 10 years' Walter pulled - and pulled so more to get together.
Strafe rocked it well.

Black rain's Euro & UK tour Oct. - Nov. was important in that it was the first time I did shows myself - and they did not 'fail'. The collab w Kotra went v well again @ UNSOUND.
3 x over 10 dates found myself distracted / snapped out of perf focus by audience members talking loud enough to follow the conversation clearly onstage. Sorry to Pan Records Bill K in Berlin as after second time focus lost and audience warned, I just stopped, leaving him to scramble into his own DJ set.
But the Bunker show April 5 blew things out a bit more. After trying a few ideas and w no Br members around to join /rejoin i say "Let there be distortion bass" on some pieces. Much more fun for me too.
10 new cuts getting ready for the new Br album for BEB - 'post'post'industrial territory, biomimics, metamorphs and replicant - like humanoids, vocaloids and constructs.
Meanwhile out of our past, Black rain Mach 1 ( 1989 -93 ) & 2 ('94 -'98 ) will appear on vinyl w Desire coming up later in year.
Black rain out West w/ Cut Hands June ? TBA

As on previous 2 tours, stayed around longer to do some recording w Julian Jockel (TBA Mea Kusma) and Michael & Bernardo from Different Fountains. 2011 saw recording w Julian in Eupen after o13 show there ( courtesy Mea Kusma ). Now, best of both sessions will become the "Phantom Minds" Ep by JBLA to be released also by Desire ,w plan for remix Ep w L.I.E.S DJ's to follow ... Ron and Svengalighost attended the IY show in Paris and regaled us w tales of what's up in Belleville that inspired one of the cuts w vocals.
NY Club Diaries 1978 -89 needs Kickstarter vid,
Book 2 underway.
Dev App underway.
Looking at next place to live / work ? underway as the Euro tour did not turn up the one outstanding local.
Many great people and locations tho' thank you