HALF A REVIEW OF HELL AND COLUSSUS

Current mood: RECOVERING Category: RECOVERING Music After the run in with the medical warehouse I had a few hours of spazzing around the house and prop preparring and then I was out to the launch of an exhibition depicting the artwork of Gigolo Records in The Art Vinyl Gallery, Broadway Market.. This label, setup by DJ Hell, is one I'm not overly familiar, though as i browsed the record sleeves i found i did in fact know most of it's protagonists in one form or another. We're talking people like Miss Kittin, Fischerspooner, Alan Vega, DJ Hell etc.. The Art Vinyl Gallery is basically a shop with hardly anything in. It's located in the devastatingly trendy Boradway Market area of Hackney. I'm not a fan of that part of town. It's kind of a snobbier version of Brick Lane/Shoreditch. It's a bit more villagey. It's full of new media types with reusable canvas shopping bags. It has a wholesome food market - all of this amidst one of the poorest areas of London.. Why poncey rich media types choose to live amidst the poor is never been something i've understood or condoned - It's far better that such folk be banged up in new media prisons like the one on Fish Island that I live in.. Anyway, The Art Vinyl Gallery's claim to fame is that it invented a type of picture frame for the wall of your swanky flat in which you can display a 12" record sleeve. The clever bit is that it is openable in such a way that you can easily pull the record out to play it... It's an interesting idea, and one I might buy at some point. I have an excellent Fela Kuti record. It depicts him playing his sax in a colourful pair of speedos, bare chested infront of a fence of smiling people. It's the best record cover I've ever seen... The launch was your usual fayre: A few free dinks, people standing around looking and pretending to look at the art/record sleeves... I was feeling colouful. In fact, I've been feeling that way for some time. I was in the red trousers and the yellow kappa tracksuit top. I clashed with the pinks and oranges of the gallery, but no-one else had a patch on my honely style. The artwork was reasonable enough, but I'm not one for getting excited abut commercial graphics. I find it very hard to tell a good record sleeve. I can only recognise exceptional ones and I didn't feel any of the Gigolo stuff was exceptional.. So, i knocked that off in about half an hour, repaired to the off licence and meandered the bike along the canal toe path, Kronenberg in hand, towards my rendezvous with Colussus.. You know when i get excited about a band, because I ramble on about them all the time. With Colussus, it was a slow developer, but once I got what they were at, I've become and remain thoroughly impressed. Now, having met them, I can confirm that this band have the swagger, the songs and the confidence to go all the way to Wembley Stadium. We wandered around clutching and drinking the beers i'd bought from an Off Licence called CHEAP BOOZE! Those drunk, we spent time in the basement of The Foundry, spun the wheel and argued and discussed music past present and future... The full piece on this band will soon follow, meanwhile go check them out... I won't say anymore now other than to say that by the end of this informal interview, I was cantankerously drunk - quite how so I'm not sure, I drank no more than normal... Currently listening : The Best of Groovin' in Style 1967-1973 By Ken Parker Release date: By 24 June, 2003 15:34 - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

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