I recently decided to go through some old boxes of CDs containing my musical sketches of the late 90s / early 00s. Some of them reminded me that songs from the past definitely sound better in memory, while others reminded me just how much I have carried particular ideas and melodies from my teenage years through to now (teenage dreams, so hard to beat).

One of the disks I came across contained this recording of a live show that a mate, Brewin, and I performed at a Newcastle student art gallery during our university days in 2003. Listening back to it reminded me of what a good time we had creating these sounds - Brewin on guitar, me on piano, organ and laptronica, both of us contributing found recordings and musique concrète. Our favourite musicians of the time were post-rock shoegazers and IDM knob twiddlers, the influenced fusion of these resulting in this performance.

I remember one of the artworks from the exhibition, a tiny square of newspaper that the artist had drawn a funny miniature domestic scene on with a black pen. Of all the works in the gallery that night I remember liking it the most - if memory serves me right, it won a prize, perhaps a people's choice award. I also remember an artist, a girl in overalls, was living in a plastic box for the month of the exhibition. Watt Space is still around, although I have not visited for nearly twenty years.

I have remastered the tracks a little, but fortunately they didn't need much - I'm surprised in the quality of the recording to be honest, the guitar sounds better than I can capture now, and the percussion, such as the typewriter and drinking glass, ring as clear on these tracks as when I initially hit them.

I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with me, even though for you it will be the first time. I hope you can hear a little of 2003 in there, whatever that conjures for you.

Craig

*

Wrenasmir: Piano, Organ, Laptronica

Brewin: Guitars

Both: Field Recordings, Musique concrète

*

On Bandcamp.