CFON//Merch

Synth meet in Coventry on Sunday the 26th March 2023. This is part of The City is Full of Noises event running that weekend at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum.

Synth meet – bring a synth and get involved.
Live demos – throughout the day.
Makers market – a number of top manufacturers have confirmed. So some along and try before you buy, or just look at what’s new and available.
Mechanical modular – Leon Trimble and The Gravity Synth.

To book a table for the synth meet contact thecityisfullofnoises@gmail.com or synthcurious@yahoo.com
Not essential, you can come along on the day, but recommended if you’ll need a bit more space.

The City Is Full Of Noises//Delia Derbyshire Film Screenings

Posted on March 6, 2023 by synthcurious

8 March 2023 12.00pm – 3.00pm

Join us to celebrate International Women’s Day with a look back at the ground-breaking work of Delia Derbyshire, the Coventry-born electronic music pioneer who inspired The City is Full of Noises Festival.

In honour of the occasion, we’ll be screening Kara Blake’s 2009 documentary The Delian Mode and The White Noise: An Audio Feature in Stereophonic Hell, produced for Delia Derbyshire Day 2019.

THE DELIAN MODE (2009)

Taking its name from a piece of incidental music written by Derbyshire in the 1960s, The Delian Mode is an award-winning, experimental film profiling the pioneering Coventry composer Delia Derbyshire, who is now best remembered for her work on the Doctor Who theme tune. Created in the spirit of Delia’s unique approach to audio creation and manipulation, Blake’s 25-minute short illuminates her soundscapes on screen while paying tribute to a woman whose work has influenced electronic musicians for decades.

The film features interviews with Brian Hodgson and Dick Mills of the now defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the founder of Electronic Music Studios Peter Zinovieff, musicians Peter Kember (Sonic Boom), Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Ann Shenton (Add N to X) as well as other friends and colleagues of Delia.

THE WHITE NOISE: AN AUDIO FEATURE IN STEREOPHONIC HELL (2019)

The White Noise: An Audio Feature in Stereophonic Hell is a collage of audio arranged and edited by David Butler with video by Andrea Pazos produced for Delia Derbyshire Day 2019, which honoured the 50th anniversary of An Electric Storm by White Noise (Island Records, 1969). The 23-minute film is made in the spirit of the four Inventions for Radio, a collaboration between Delia Derbyshire and the dramatist Barry Bermange. Using sounds and voices, the illustrates the story of White Noise’s album – how it came to be made, its distinctive qualities, cultural significance and ongoing influence on artists today.

All the voices were recorded from life and arranged in a setting of radiophonic sound in twelve movements. Drawing on music and sound design by Delia Derbyshire, Brian Hodgson and David Vorhaus from the Kaleidophon years when An Electric Storm was made and released, the feature includes interviews with Ian Campbell, Chris Carter, Ian Heliwell, Suzy Mangion, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Adrian Utley, Martyn Ware and Mandy Wigby as well as an original arrangement and performance of ‘Firebird’ by Morris Clarke.

CFON

Modular Monday//Dark Carpentry

Posted on March 5, 2023 by synthcurious

Thanks to everyone who came alone last Monday. It was great to see so many people taking an interest in what we were doing.

Visual Sequence and S-AMM.

Electro257.

Tomorrow it’s the turn of Dark Carpentry, Simon Forsyth and Martin Swan (below).

12 noon onwards.

CFON

CFON//Modular Monday

Posted on February 23, 2023 by synthcurious

The build up to this years The City is Full of Noises event kicks off on Monday 27th February.

Visual Sequence, electro257 and s-amm will be playing short sets upstairs at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum for the first Modular Monday, 12noon(ish).

CFON

The City Is Full Of Noises Celebrates Electronic Music In 2023

Posted on November 26, 2022 by synthcurious

Following a successful pilot earlier this year, The City is Full of Noises returns to the Herbert in 2023 with a month-long celebration of electronic music, culminating in a weekend of workshops, networking and concert performances on 25 and 26 March.

First held on Saturday 21 May 2022, The City is Full of Noises was set up to celebrate the legacy of Delia Derbyshire, an early pioneer of electronic music born and brought up in Coventry. Today, Derbyshire is best remembered for her work on the original Doctor Who theme music during her time with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 1960s, but her impact on popular music today is wide-ranging, with her innovations having influenced artists from Paul McCartney to the Chemical Brothers.

This year’s festival included modular synth workshops with Rick Holt of Frequency Central, a “synth meet” for artists and interested parties to gather and share ideas, and an evening concert with performances from Rick Holt, Aaltonen, Stone Anthem, Mashed Swede Café Orchestra, Rhiannon Bigham and Ian Campbell, and Finlay Shakespeare.

In 2023, the extended festival will see a range of activity taking place at the Herbert throughout the month of March, with full details to be confirmed soon. The final weekend will include workshops aimed at beginners and experienced sound-makers alike, and will spotlight both established and emerging synth artists in a series of concert performances.

Visitors will also be able to browse and purchase equipment from a “Makers Marketplace”. Traders interested in booking a stall at the market can email cfon@cvlife.co.uk to enquire.

The City is Full of Noises is a collaboration between the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Frequency Central and Coventry University, with contributions from Dr Benoit Granier, Rick Holt, Aaltonen, DivKid, Ben Weatherill, Leon Trimble, Ian Campbell and Rhiannon Bigham.

Creative Events Producer Kirstie Lewis said: “We’re really excited to be bringing The City is Full of Noises back for an even bigger synth celebration in 2023, and can’t think of a better time to announce this news than on Delia Derbyshire Day on 23 November – a day dedicated to the trailblazing work of a homegrown electronic artist.

“Delia’s childhood in Coventry had a huge impact on the work she would go on to create, particularly her experiences during the Second World War. As an adult, she would cite the noise of the air raid sirens she grew up hearing as an important influence on the kind of abstract sounds she was drawn to, so it feels especially fitting to be celebrating her legacy here in her hometown.

“Coventry still has a thriving electronic music scene today, and we hope this new festival will help to nurture and champion some of the incredible talent the city has to offer, as well as drawing in artists and visitors from further afield.”

The City is Full of Noises returns to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in March 2023. A full schedule for the festival will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information or to express an interest in attending, please email cfon@cvlife.co.uk.

CFON23

Visual Sequence//Brume

Posted on June 4, 2022 by synthcurious

Visual Sequence, also known as Rhiannon B. is a visual and sound artist, living and working in Coventry (the birthplace of Delia Derbyshire). It’s hard to believe that this collection of four perfectly-mastered pieces, inspired by the different states of sea mist, is her first official release.

The composer used primarily the Lyra 8 & Pulsar 23 analog synthesizers. The delightfully capricious nature of these instruments, developed by SOMA Laboratory, injects an organic component into the music. Immerse yourself in the splendid and mysterious soundscapes, which are adorned with profound textures, ethereal atmospheres, and emotional harmonies.

Recorded at Eastern Telephone Works, Coventry.

err-rec

Visual Sequence