A little film Unfolding...

On the evening of March 15th, whilst we were in Rotterdam there was a wonderful event organised by De Player which showcased our new pop-up book alongside some rather fantastic forms of entertainment... (which I shall elaborate on when I'm not supposed to be finishing the edit of a new film that's premiering on Saturday night).

This is a little rather beautiful video made from the event and as you can see, myself, the fella and our kids pop up throughout...


unfolding (fragment) from fcr on Vimeo.

Also, if you're in or around Bridport, it'd be wise not to miss our next event this Saturday. It'll be the sixth IF evening and it seems to be becoming more and more popular as the month's go by. Our New Year IF (The End is Nye) was a huge triumph and even included a marching band to the local square to celebrate the chimes of the bells at midnight.

Here's a nice little video from the last IF (NYE)...



This time around.... this is what's happening...

Bridport's popular “IF” evenings of music & entertainment from the wrong-side of the tracks continues in its 6th incarnation on Saturday March 22nd at the Chapel in the Garden, East Street.

Following the success of their epic New Years Eve party, IF returns with special guests VIALKA, a music & theatre group hailing from France, presenting their “A l'abri des regards indiscrets – a Minimalist Dinner Opera” - “palaver, cuisine and sex are melted into sounds, rhythms, and a particular transnational sense of humour, a breathless, ridiculous and nasty dual in which things no longer seem to make sense and both parts are slowly destroyed.”

Also served on the menu are Greater Than or Equal To (the duet of Simon Mathewson and Bridport's most famous man Flora Bertolli), in a special collaboration with local musical wizards Robert Lee and Jane Saunders.

For dessert, a slice of composer, writer and collagist Ergo Phizmiz, performing his usual broth of songs, readings, cover versions, gramophone records, and goodness knows what else.

Don't miss this opportunity to taste this fine menu of contemporary art, theatre and music, with the customary dose of mischief and playfulness that makes these evenings so unique. If you value surprise, unpredictability, and invention, don't miss out. Tickets for this banquet of ideas are £5, including a lovely finger-buffet. How can you resist?

Oh...and a little 3 minute treat frrom Martha Moopette and Nicky Mathewson

I'm hoping to make a treat of a video after the event, but it'd be even better if you can make it!

Hope to see y'all there. There's a blog all about the IF parties just here!

UOEPOPIAUPERA - Finished POP-UP Opera Book

We've made it!! After lots of hard work from everyone involved we have our finished product.

UOEPOPIAUPERA - Limited edition (12 pieces) pop-up book, notes / performance score, and transparent 10" lathe-cut vinyl, developed, built and released with the marvellous folk of DePlayer, Rotterdam.

We get the overnight ferry back tonight and our Rotterdam pop-up book making week will all seem like a wonderful hardworking dream.... aaaah. That is life.

Hallo from Rotterdam again...

Well hallo there.

I haven't been around for a very long time and it's been a very crazy and full 5-6 months.

Coincidentally though, I was talking all about the yodelling show (UOEIA) we were performing last year, in the very last blog post I did. And it just so happens that we're in Rotterdam again and this time we're here to make a pop-up book with Deplayer.

Here are a few photos of today's activities...

Laying the prototype pages out

Concentration!

And more!

The kids hard at work...

Table sitting

More table sitting and more helpers

Yes

Him

Them

We only arrived yesterday morning, straight off the over night ferry and on with the ideas/planning/techniques. Today was mostly elaborating on the basic ideas from yesterday's very basic "mock-up pop-up" and working on the more intricate designs of each page and figuring out how the pop-ups will actually work. We made quite good progress today and will begin with the proper printing tomorrow morning and begin making the 10-12 books (we had originally thought it was going to be 40 - but as we only have until Saturday 12 is much more realistic!) to be exhibited this coming Saturday at an event at Deplayer called (un)FOLD(ing).

So...that's that. And we're here. And you're there. And I'm going to be now. Night night.

All photos were taken by Koos Siep

It's all jolly good...

Hello out there.

I've not been around for a while again, so here I am.

It's all good around these parts. The weather's been amazing. I'm rather brown. We've been enjoying many barbecues and too many spritzers.

Hugely excited for the kid's summer holidays and the long days of fun, picnics, making and generally relaxing without having to be anywhere.

I have mainly be doing this recently...

Drinking too much of this.

Finding this on Bridport market for a fiver.

Dressing like a humbug with a skirt I found in a charity shop.

Finding these for a measly fiver in the sale today to show off my cankles.

Finishing off the teal and tangerine corner with a lamp donated by crazy friends.

Finding this Romanian plate for 50p

And bobbing out of long.

And also, we performed the UOEIA Operina in Bridport (the one we did in Rotterdam) at another IF event at the end of June which went really well...

Enjoy!!!

More preparations to do for a workshop I am leading at Bridport Arts Centre for Small Things right now...

Hope you're all enjoying the weather.

How Rotterdam Went...

I've gone and stolen his blog post again, partly because I'm being extraordinarily lazy and also because I'm going to yoga in thirty five minutes and if I get stuck into writing a blog post, I will naturally be late...as I often am... So from hereon, it's him... 

Swiss Family Phizmiz performance of "UOEIA", favola in jodel, at Operadagen Rotterdam, 2013. A commission of DePlayer, part of the evening "That Global Glottis". 


Two different cameras, both slightly incomplete. You can piece the whole thing together in your head by seeing both. If you're so inclined.


Fragments, or most of, of "UOEIA" from the camera of DePlayer's lovely Koos. 






Most of "UOEIA". Filmed and edited to fit Youtube by bart plantenga , author of the books "Yodel in Hi-Fi" and "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooo", from which this operina takes it's theme and inspiration.






You can watch more from yodelling event That Global Glottis at bart plantenga's Youtube playlist, including Andrea Wittchen, Phil Minton, Danibal, Myriam van Imschoot, and Kutzekelina.



Photographs by Martha Moopette (mostly). Swiss Family Phizmiz adventure.

That's it then...

Bisous.

The Cubes, Breakfast & The Red Bridge

When we were away in Rotterdam (feels like a year ago now!) we stayed in an amazing hostel. Cube houses! It was pretty normal inside, just like any hotel with separated rooms, but with a lot more sloped ceilings than you'd normally find...

I think I had a permanent grin from ear to ear, during the whole trip and especially when I discovered where we were staying.

It was even more surprising to find out it was an eco-hostel and they were really on top of reducing energy used throughout the building. (Restraining applause).

When Erik (Bumbledonk) showed us where we were staying, I didn't quite believe him at first...

Oh yes, and we all shared a room, all eight of us. Which I found quite funny, until I discovered that it was impossible to get to sleep with three of the gentlemen's harmonic snores, synchronising into some kind of experimental sound art, ebbing and flowing up and down, up and down.

Breakfast was a great selection of breads, cheeses, fruit, meats, cereals, juices and whatnot. I was going to say Continental style breakfast... but I can't remember the exact description... although it may well be the same thing...

This cheese was... interesting... almost tasted like it had curry spices in it...

We noticed at one point, that Erik (otherwise known as Elivs Herod) was obviously trying to imitate the huge red bridge... so we took photographic evidence...

I do hope none of you are eating...anything.

Oh yes... and... if I'm brave enough over the Christmas holidays... I'm going to dye my hair red. Bright red. Bright bright red. Any thoughts on that one? Shall I do it or chicken out??

Hope all your Christmassy holidays are splendid!