Saturday 18 May 2024, 7.30pm
Fourth Dimension Records and its sister label join hands to bring together a few of the artists/groups they have been working with during the last few years. This is the third such event in London for Fourth Dimension Records since late 2018, where the debut was also hosted by Cafe OTO and included Alternative TV, who also headline this time alongside sets from Edward Ka-Spel, Splintered and a special guest tbc. All four of the artists feature with an exclusive contribution to the When Worlds Collide 2LP compilation that will be released (by both FD and LTCo) to tie in with this event.
Mark Perry’s long-running group Alternative TV emerged from the vibrant cultural shift of the late ‘70s and since then have embraced everything from song-based material to impovised music and the avant-garde. The very latest album, Direct Action, released by Fourth Dimension Records in October 2023, witnessed the group utilising electronics, occasional drums and strings to create six instrumentals of an improvisational nature aimed more towards confronting than conforming to expectations. As with the previous two appearances in London at events under the same label banner as this time, the group will doubtlessly blend mostly newer material with a dash of old in order to play a set as dynamic as it is exciting.
During the autumn of 2023, a book called Lost in Room: Mark Perry, Alternative TV and Related, 1977 - 1981 was also published by Fourth Dimension and garnered favourable reviews.
Where to start with Alternative TV? Most know that Mark Perry, founder of Sniffin’ Glue fanzine, formed the group either due to or as a response to punk in 1977. Since the debut ‘How Much Longer’ 7” released that very same year, however, Mark has remained the sole surviving original member and driving force. Not one to stand still, he has taken the group through a succession of lineup changes embarking on a wide spectrum of styles since then; including the blend of igneous rock bludgeon and amalgamation of stripped electronics that informs the ‘Dark Places’ 12” e.p. on Fourth Dimension and released in April 2018.
ATV will be in group mode (featuring Dave Morgan and Clive Goblin besides Mark Perry) on the Cafe OTO night, doubtlessly playing new songs as well as several from their considerable back catalogue.
“ATV’s long-awaited 10th, Opposing Forces, suggests Perry’s back in the game with a fresh sense of purpose. He’s fronting an all-new five-man line-up (including ex-The Loft/Weather Prophets drummer Dave Morgan) and, for the most part, he sounds wholly reinvigorated. Accordingly, Opposing Forces presents a riveting programme for seasoned ATV watchers. The spiky, militant titular song quickly demonstrates that Perry and his latest charges are in the rudest of health; the lusty, swaggering French Girls and ballsy Hello New York are both unashamedly anthemic, and The Visitor’s ghostly minimalism is genuinely eerie.” – Record Collector (2016)
Bass Communion is the solo electronic music endeavour of Steven Wilson. Existing since the late 1990s, it focuses on his interest in ambient, drone and noise music, making use of heavily abstracted and processed instruments, as well as field recordings and pure electronic sound. Since the outset there have been many albums released under the name, as well as collaborations with many major names from the experimental music scene. For this extremely rare live appearance at OTO he will be joined by his friend Frans de Waard in his Modelbau guise for a 40 minute set based on works from the first all-new Bass Communion album in 12 years, The Itself of Itself, which will be released mid-May 2024 on Fourth Dimension’s sister label Lumberton Trading Company. Comparatively noisier and more impressionistic than previous Bass Communion works, it promises to be an intense listening experience in a live setting.
For a number of years now Splintered have been playing very sporadic shows in both the UK and Poland, although their very latest album, and the first since 1997 (outside a reissue of Moraine which appeared in 2017 and included some new bonus material), is due for release in spring 2024. Having originally formed at a time at the very end of the 1980s when so-called ‘noise-rock’ was creating a tiny storm in more subterranean waters with groups such as Head of David, Godflesh, Headbutt, Loop, Terminal Cheesecake, Ramleh and Skullflower each being considered a component, Splintered always deployed electronics and other instrumentation alongside a rock set up which often went beyond and into a hypnotic setting.
Mostly known for his work as founder, vocalist and main songwriter for The Legendary Pink Dots, Edward Ka- Spel has long forged an equally prolific career as a solo artist given to sometimes exploring similar sonic realms as his group but clearly working at such a pace the need to channel ideas and songs in this capacity must be enforced. And just as well too, because Edward Ka-Spel is one of those rare and exceptional artists whose high workrate doesn’t betray a keen sense of quality control. Long known as somebody unafraid to venture wherever he pleases, his work has for a few decades now long traversed the more outward-bound or so-called ‘fringe’ areas of electronic music, psychedelia, hypnotic rock, kosmische sounds and the avant-garde. Heartily sewn into all of this is Edward’s fantastic grasp of spinning a twilight tale or spiraling deep into the mind’s recesses to craft a song from comparatively nimble melodies and words of Kafka-esque proportions. It’s a strikingly rich blend that’s always deserved far more attention than the cult audience it thankfully at least has.
Leaving his group behind for a rare solo performance, Edward Ka-Spel appears at this event following a couple of releases on Lumberton Trading Company during the past two years that include the recent LP Tales from the Trenches made available in late 2023.
