Haunting The Atom

A rather large, evil-looking skull (I'm guessing about 18 inches tall) on top of a crate that's next to a wooden chair. In the background, further inside the shop, are two smaller skulls, plus a calendar showing the date 31 Oct.

Walking home from a gig last night I was stopped in my tracks by this object of beauty, in the window of a shop called Quirky Bits ("quality furniture bought and sold"). To get some scale look at the chair next to it - it's a big 'un! It's also the episode of Bagpuss I didn't know I needed till now.

Gordon Chapman-Fox - aka Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - on stage at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch. Behind Gordon is a large screen showing his accompanying visuals, which at this moment are a girl and a dog, both of whom are looking into the camera's lens. The stage is bathed in green light.

Jo Johnson on stage at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch. Behind her a large screen is showing a swirling, colourful fluid pattern.

Some lovely Friday night electronica at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch (I love a venue that rhymes). Intense hypnotic soundscapes from opener @jo-johnson.bsky.social, and the soundtrack to our urban '80s future, from @warringtonruncorn.com. Plus a bonus dog, 'cos I know that social-media loves a dog.

The view from one end of what looks like a miniature canyon, with trees looming above it in the background. On the ground, in the bottom of the 'canyon', are two large, brown, pond-like puddles. Two indistinct figures can be seen in the distance, standing next to the puddles.

A pic from the late '80s of me and a friend in The Pit: a mini canyon in the woods where my friends and I would hang out, sometimes late at night. I still don't know what The Pit's purpose was. It was human-made but there were no machines around; it wasn't a work in progress. It was just... The Pit.

YouTube video by Deadlight Dance Gloss (official video) - Deadlight Dance

Throwing caution to the wind, I'm gonna bung the video link right here, and quote a couple of reviews for the single:

"...an assault on the lies of the beauty industry, set to a Joy Division meets the Stooges soundtrack."
- Chain D.L.K.

"A dark smile in the face of decay..."
- In The Heart Of Goth

One week today since we released “Gloss”. As well as streaming across all major platforms, it was once again an opportunity to bring some visuals to the song with Haunting the Atom. Check it out over on YouTube #goth #postpunk #darkwave #gothic

That's me done for the day. 😄

Some people are just made of money.

The night before last, I dreamt that Stewart Lee was showing me an overly complicated cassette player. Much better.

Dreamt I was watching my own severed head on a plate, talking. It felt normal until it didn't. I wondered how I was going to dispose of it, so I started slicing bits off. They looked like cheese.

Yesterday I was thinking about thinking, so I guess it's about that: me looking at my operating system.

Yeah, the analogue vibe, and that thing about it being unable to break through your consciousness, hence it appearing as a dream, is really unsettling. I love the clinical phrasing: "transmitting from the year 1... 9... 9... 9." It's just perfect.

Might still be worth an email requesting a partial refund. 😄

Those dream broadcasts are a perfect gothic nightmare. They scared me beautifully on first watch (along with a lot of other stuff in this film), and I still find them really bloody creepy.

Deducting half a star is far too lenient. Should've called the police.

Ah, excellent! It’s a 45-minute walk from me. I love venturing over there to spend some time wandering round.Crystal Palace Park and gazing up at the transmitter. I find it relaxing - it’s my happy place.

When I saw this at cinema, I went in thinking 'how good could a film called Dawn Of The Dead that isn't actually Dawn Of The Dead be?'. I remember my trepidation turning to glee when Johnny Cash kicked in. I've seen it a few times since and, no, it's not Dawn but I have a good time with it.

A red, A5, cardboard flyer for 'Dracula Returns to Derby', an annual celebration of Dracula featuring themed activities and events. The artwork shows a portrait of Edmund Blake, who played the count in a 1924 stage version of the story at the Grand Theatre in Derby.

Ooh, I've got one of those featuring Edmund Blake - also by @matpringle.bsky.social (I've just learned!). I picked it up at Derby station in July this year.

Ah, cool - yeah, I love those things! I've got a big bag of them: a hangover from my fanzine days - interviews with musicians plus with a few terrible-sounding gig recordings (terrible on the part of the tech, not the performers). I had a brief MiniDisc period too.

Thanks - I hope you enjoy it.

YouTube video by Haunting The Atom Is Anybody Here? Talking to the dead with Haunting The Atom (EVP / analogue weirdness)

Almost a year ago to the day I published this: a 14-minute film about an EVP adventure that I had in my local cemetery.

What began as a bit of field-recording fun soon started toying with my sceptical brain, so I turned detective to figure out what was going on...

PS - it's £28 at weekends.

A close-up of the skull of a skeleton that's tied to a stake. Its mouth is wide open, as if in terror. In the background, slightly out of focus, is a museum sign explaining witch hunts.

The outside of The Vaults, a venue beneath Waterloo Station. 'The Vaults' is lit up above the entrance. Below, the doorman speaks to someone on his mobile phone. On the left is a large poster for the exhibition, asking: "Do you dare to explore the occult?" The walls surrounding the entrance are covered in graffiti (its legal and encouraged in Leake Street Arches).

At £23 it's not cheap, but when I think how much I sometimes pay for gigs or theatre shows it puts it into context. I spent 150 minutes there and enjoyed it.

A warning to parents: kids are allowed but I wouldn't recommend it. There's a gory murder scene that will, I guarantee, scar them for life.

From the exhibition's signage: "Simulacrum of Satan on the throne: Life-size representation of the Devil, originating from Northern Italy and used during Black Mass rituals." The creature, which is holding a staff, resembles a long-horned goat with wings and a semi-human body. Behind it on the wall is a red pentagram.

Me standing beside a sepia-tinted painting of the Devil, as depicted on an oversized tarot card. The Devil is in goat-like form and is carrying a lit torch. I'm looking a bit perturbed (so what's new?).

Yesterday I visited Dark Secrets at The Vaults, beneath Waterloo station, for a bit of the ol' Devil worship.

The exhibition houses a large collection of objects, covering the history of the macabre, and is nicely atmospheric. Lots to read too, though not much about where exhibits were sourced.

YouTube video by Deadlight Dance Gloss (official video) - Deadlight Dance

I've made a new video with @deadlight-dance.bsky.social ("Wiltshire #goth boys with synths," as the badges say).

Say the chaps: "Gloss is our dig at the beauty industry and how it treats ageing" - to which I'll add the tag "a face-first trip through the mirror of gerontology that rocks mightily".

YouTube video by Deadlight Dance Gloss (official video) - Deadlight Dance

I've made a new video with @deadlight-dance.bsky.social ("Wiltshire #goth boys with synths," as the badges say).

Say the chaps: "Gloss is our dig at the beauty industry and how it treats ageing" - to which I'll add the tag "a face-first trip through the mirror of gerontology that rocks mightily".

YouTube video by BBC Archive 1962: An Expedition to Post-Apocalyptic Britain | Monitor: The Lonely Shore | BBC Archive

BBC Archive just uploaded The Lonely Shore (1962), a surreal 15-minute short that takes the form of a scientific report from an abandoned and desolate future Britain. Written by Jacquetta Hawkes, an actual archaeologist, and directed by Ken Russell, an actual madman.

A hand holding a Blu-ray of The Eclipse (2009) above a wooden table. The film's cover shows its three main characters in a splintered collage of pictures, and lists the actors who play them: Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle and Aidan Quinn. There are also two press quotes: "A beautiful...ghost drama..." from The Hollywood Reporter, and: "Eerie...amazing...sweetly moving and really creepy," from the Washington Post.

Last night I rewatched The Eclipse, an Irish ghost story from 2009 - my fourth viewing in 10 years. First time I saw it its jump scares sent me through the roof. But it's its subject that I find most haunting and which has me returning to it. Lovely piano/choral score too, by Fionnuala Ní Chiosáin.

I've made a new video with the lovely chaps from Deadlight Dance. If you have a spare 17 seconds, please give the trailer a watch. The single, titled Gloss, will be released on Friday through Ray Records. #goth #darkwave #postpunk

Me underneath/inside a pylon. The photo is taken from below my shoulders and shows my top half, with the pylon's structure above my head.

Been playing by a pylon on the edge of town. It stole my kite but I think I'll leave it. #PublicInformationFilms

A close-up of a hand holding an unopened OMD CD - the Crush: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue, which was released this week. Just the corner of the set, showing a red label on the cellophane, is in frame. In addition to the artist and album title, the label says: "Remastered and expanded + extensive notes. 2nd disc includes seven previously unreleased tracks + B-sides and remixes."

Today's purchase is the freshly reissued Crush by OMD, featuring a bonus disc of goodies. Cover me, I'm going in...

...but not before trimming around the label on the cellophane and slipping it inside the packaging, as nature intended.

In the dying moment of a loud and energetic sneeze, I like to say, in as calm a voice as possible, "arseholes". I find the juxtaposition satisfying: the sudden switch in tone from chaos to formality, with a pinch of transgression. Not sure where it came from - one day, my brain just said: "Do that."