Black Comedy
Peter Shaffer (1965)

From the playwright who brought us Equus and Amadeus, Black Comedy is a one-act farce written to be staged under a reverse lighting scheme – the title is a pun. It opens to a darkened stage, playing out in complete obscurity until a record player causes a fuse to short circuit.The stage is then illuminated as the characters are plunged into a “blackout”. It is a visual paradox, creating a descrepancy between audience and characters as the balance of what each party sees or doesn’t see is confused.

Seeing Things
Seamus Heaney (1991)

Heaney’s ninth collection is preoccupied with exploring the relationship between the imaginary and real. The poems merge mythical otherworlds where dead and living merge with images of Heaney’s own past. The title poem is a snapshot image of a boat ride to church, with “the deep, still, seeable-down-into water” holding the same terror as the waters of Hades. Heaney ends with telling us that ‘it was as if I looked from another boat’ – he surveys the domestic scene as though from a Godly height.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross
Salvador Dalí (1951)

In a parallel to “Seeing Things”, this painting from the godfather of surrealism depicts Christ on the cross from an extreme upward angle, as though from the perspective of God, or of the altar where such a figure would hang. Christ is seen floating in a black sky over a body of water in which can be seen boats and fishermen. Unlike usual images of the saviour, Dalí’s Christ is devoid of crown and wounds. Both this and the unusual angle of the painting allegedly came to Dalí in a dream.

Leonardo da Vinci spent years of his life obsessively studying the structure of the eye, and the difference between monocular and binocular vision. He questioned the way in which artists depict three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Ever since the Renaissance, artists following in Leo’s footsteps have examined the subjectivity of the human visual process and its effect on art practice.

One artist who has revolutionised the way in which art deals with perception is Bill Viola.Over the last four decades Viola has experimented with videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances and flat panel video pieces. Indeed, many consider him to be the father of video art.

Viola received a BA in visual art and electronic music. In his work he fuses these two mediums, creating pieces which confront all the senses. His installations are all-encompassing environments which envelop the viewer
in image and sound, exploring aural as well as visual perception.

In one of his video pieces, Walking On The Edge, two men side-by-side are seen gradually walking towards the camera on the backdrop of a hazy mountainous dessert. They seem not to be advancing, yet they imperceptibly become closer. Mid-way through the video they cross over each other’s paths. Viola plays with our perception because the exaggerated slow motion makes it diffi cult for the viewer to detect the gradual movement

In this surreal mirage-like setting, the figures walk in a repetitive continuum, seemingly without beginning or end, neither forwards nor backwards. Both the figures and the landscapes are obfuscated, which makes them seem transient and immaterial. Interestingly this piece has no sound accompaniment, which adds to the surreal sense of setting.

In Ascension, the shot opens with a dark expanse of water, punctuated by a shaft of piercing sunlight. The tranquillity of this image is disrupted when a fully clothed man plunges into the pool, his arms raised to his sides like Christ on the cross. Dreamers, consists of seven individual screens which depict underwater portraits of people who appear to be sleeping.

These paradoxical moving stills are accompanied by the sound of water, gently gurgling. As ever with Viola’s work the colours and textures
are hyper-real. The ten-minute long clip evokes historical and religious imagery and raises metaphysical questions about the human experience. Viola often depicts the presence of humans in material worlds enclosed by water, fire or darkness. When exhibited these seven screens create an immersive subterranean environment.

Viola incites experiences which are both intangible and inexpressible in language. The art is as much about the viewer’s reaction as it is about the piece itself. It is left up to the viewers to interpret the work through the lens of their own perspective. The artist does not see himself as the creator of stories, but rather as a ‘secret observer’ who uses his video camera to let the viewer into his process of perception.

They’re the 00s favourite Romanian red-heads that left Louis Walsh speechless. This week Where Are They Now discusses the Cheeky Girls’ career after their seminal release, ‘Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)’. They were an overnight chart topping sensation after auditioning for Popstars: The Rivals with a europop track written by their mother. However, it was not quite enough to avoid their now defunct record label, Telstar Records, getting into debt and failing to pay them £2.2 million.

But with great bums comes great responsibility, and the Cheeky Girls have stayed resilient in the face of adversity. It’s been a reality TV roller-coaster for these two, having appeared on Braniac, The Weakest Link, and Snog Marry Avoid, where they were named “Transylvanian horrors.” They even auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent, but failed to make it to the semi-finals. Also, one of them went out with a Lib-Dem MP, and then got cautioned for stealing from her local Sainsbury’s.

For some HTML goodness, check out www.cheeky-girls.co.uk. It hasn’t been updated since 2003.

Two Stars

Whether you like it or not, there is no denying that Dolly Parton is an icon. Her impact on country music will be everlasting. Anyone who claims to have never enjoyed dancing to the thrillingly cheesy tones of ‘9 to 5’ on full volume is 100% lying. She once said “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap,” and sure enough, her platinum locks, love of denim and sizeable assets will forever make her the face of the genre. But with Blue Smoke marking the 42nd release by the Tennessee musician, it’s inevitable that not everything Dolly does is golden. In other words, Blue Smoke is bad. Very, very bad.

Maybe Dollywood is running out of funds, or maybe the star needs some more botox. In any case, it feels as though Ms Parton’s latest release has come, not from the heart, but more financial requirements. Imagine: an intelligent monkey has been given a keyboard that perfectly assembles country songs when you press buttons that provide the ingredients, that’s Blue Smoke: completely devoid of creativity, or originality. You can forget about hearing any of the classic “songwriting Dolly delivered in her heyday. As I listen to the album to write this review, the friend sitting next to me asks, thirty minutes in, whether I’ve been playing the same Dolly Parton track in a loop. He even missed the cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ amidst the swirl of country commercialism that coats each track.

‘Lover du Jour’ is an especially low point. Dolly sings addresses a “luhvurh boy”, and maintains she “is naht for yourh amoosement!” She insists that she is not a “starter” or “after dinner drink,” but the real deal; a filet mignon rather than prawn cocktail, so to speak. She even attempts to speak some “frayunch” herself, but reveals in a giggly vocal message as the music peters out that her “frayunch is oarfuhl,” but her “lurve iyus oarsuhm!” Christ.

But there is no denying that ‘Lover du Jour’, though awful, is fun. And does Dolly Parton really try to be anything else? Granted, Blue Smoke is not a musical masterpiece or instant classic: there is no ‘Islands in the Stream’, or ‘Jolene’ and God knows, there is definitely no ‘I Will Always Love You’. But it is sort of enjoyable (in limited doses), if nothing else, as something to laugh at, not with.

Lighght, pronounced “light”, is both the title and content of a one-word poem by Aram Saroyan. Kishi Baski, AKA Washington-based indie pop artist and multi- instrumentalist Kaoru Ishibashi, is now using it as the title of his second release.

The decision to use this as the title for his second LP is intriguing; there’s none of the apparent simplicity of the poem in his music. It’s busy and up-tempo, almost frenetic at times, but sounds radiant, as if the luminosity intended in Saroyan’s piece was given aural form. From the outset, staccato violin and vocals are spun and layered, to create a glorious anthemic sonisphere that screams of summer.

However, the most wonderful thing about the album is how un-selfconscious it sounds. Saroyan’s poem sparked huge debate, not only about the merit of a one word poem, but also the question of what gives something artistic value at all. Ishibashi seems entirely uninterested in this question; he doesn’t care what you think pop music should sound like, and so becomes more sincere than some of his musical counterparts.

It’s unconventional and ebullient; some of the most straightforwardly jubilant music I’ve heard in a while, and it’s infectious.

Whilst the album fails to maintain these qualities towards the end, this does not affect the experience of the record as a whole.

Love is the fourth studio album from Amen Dunes, the solo project of Philadelphia based musician Damon McMahon. While his first solo effort under the mysterious moniker came as a result of Walden-style self imposed isolation, it seems that this album of dreamy folk rock has been produced as a result of a more orthodox approach to recording.

This fact may not be so obvious, given the characteristic wear of dissonances, reverberation and lo-fi distortion that many of the songs don, most obviously exemplified in the opening song ‘White Child’. In essence, the album makes for pleasant listening. McMahon’s high-pitch voice is characteristically monotonous, often cutting through a repetitive guitar or piano riff.

Apart from the odd choice of ‘I Can’t Dig It’, a song which doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the tracklisting, the second half of the album is more interesting, musically and lyrically, a phenomenon that culminates in the title track. This, unfortunately is not saying much, given the bland lyrics detracting from the minimalist, pseudo-psychadelic charm of many of the songs.

While Love has much potential, it feels as though the discord between these two features of the album lets it down.

In the cosy upstairs of the Cape of Good Hope on a Thursday evening, the acoustics are surprisingly satisfying, though the music is quieter (as one might expect) for those supping their drinks right at the very back. Occupying the corner of an L-shaped room built around the bar, the stage is less a stage than a mic-stand and some very big speakers, and one-man-band Gang of One (real name Jan Jay) was at the same height as his audience.

Interacting with them easily and raising a few laughs as he charmed them between songs, he worked the crowd like a seasoned pro – as he is, a familiar face to those who were in the city in 2008/2009 as the frontman of Silvanito, who gathered national interest with their fantastically popular Silvanito Nights at the Jericho Tavern. Playing his solo material, Jan was able to build up a real rapport with his audience. With his melodic voice and incredible range, Gang of One showcased songs that pirouetted from soulful and rhythmic acoustic ballad through to his pop-rock Eurovision song (the devilishly handsome native Finn having been in the running to represent Finland a couple of years ago).

The lyrics were clever and unceasingly poetic – even in the self-deprecating, laughter-raising song ‘One-Eyed Gigolo’ – and the acoustic guitar perfectly complemented the rich tones of the vocals as it alternated from spirited and fast-paced strumming to some pretty fancy fretwork from song to song, notably the delicate finger-picking of ‘Stony Ground’, a haunting song that demonstrated the singer’s range and vocal dexterity. 

A few songs in, Jan made an apology to his audience for the pieces being “sadder than normal” and attributed this to a winter spent freezing in the Finnish cold – and indeed the newer pieces seem to have been inspired by this Scandinavian tour. Mixing in comedic value even to his more sombre songs, he dedicates ‘Stony Ground’ to his “favourite Reindeer” (purportedly all he had for company), Sasha. Towards the end of the gig, Gang of One wheeled out some genuinely beautiful tracks which showed all the marks of time and dedication, with two songs about heartbreak – the rhythmic ‘Summer Rain’ and the slower, soaring ‘Thirty Blue Roses’.

Gang of One played a great gig, all in all – unfazed by the tiny technical hiccup of a spectator tripping over a wire and temporarily muting proceedings, and his velvety vocals well-loved by all in the crowd from students to pub regulars and families out with three generations in tow.