A Sunday special to celebrate the release of two new records – Hermione Johnson & Stefan Neville’s ‘Scrum’ LP on Feeding Tube Records (Florence, MA), and OKSUN OX (Ben Holmes)’s new 8″ album ‘Dreamboat Screams’ on NZ-based Stabbies etc..
Hermione & Stefan carve lumpy tumbling improvisations for prepared piano & drums. They throttle, fuss, bother and itch their instruments into clumps of serene distress and huckory entropy. The debut album “Scrum” was recorded in Waiatarua & Auckland on a dump shop 2 track reel to reel tape machine with singstar microphones. It has been released by US label Feeding Tube records.
Ben Holmes (The Hoolie buzzes /Drorgan /Spacesuit..) will be performing his one-man-band act OKSUN OX : live finger beats, foot thumping, twanging, moaning, hard out riffs, dodgy singing, casio boogaloo, sound fx to the maximus + heeeeaps more. He stamps his foot & bellows a passionate croon. He plays keyboard notes with a plastic finger attached to the end of a tiny guitar which he is also playing. He frowns cos it gets funky. It is odd, precious & unique music. Like a cross between Prince & Pumice.
Of the Johnson/Neville release Byron Coley of Feeding Tube Records observes:
“On this duo improv set, HERMIONE [JOHNSON] plays prepare piano on most of the tracks, and STEFAN [NEVILLE] … mostly playing drums. It’s a highly intriguing format for performance, and while the music feels more contemplative than explosive, the engagement is deep and the motion is weirdly great.”
Ben Holmes/OKSUN OX’s 5 track 8″, DREAMBOAT SCREAMS UP THE RIVER OF BLOOD, was recorded, mixed, and produced by Stefan Neville will be out soon on Stabbies etc recordings.
Sunday 4 October @ Audio Foundation, doors open 4pm
$5 // no presales
Oksun Ox, ‘Dreamboat Screams Up the River of Blood’- $15
Hermione Johnson & Stefan Neville, ‘Scrum’– $25
Hermione Johnson & Stefan Neville, ‘Scrum’ (Feeding Tube Records, 2016)
Oksun Ox (Ben Holmes), ‘Dreamboat Screams Up the River of Blood’ (Stabbies etc., 2016)