Forty Minutes Of Andrew Weatherall Remixes For Convenanza

The Convenanza festival held at Carcasonne in south west France is in its third day today, the first festival since 2019 and the first since Andrew Weatherall died in February 2020. Convenanza started as an Andrew Weatherall and friends three day festival held inside the walls of the Medieval castle, organised by Bernie Fabre with a hand picked line up reflecting Weatherall's singular and eclectic worldview- acid house, dub, space rock, gnostic sonics, leftfield literature, artists painting the castle walls in trippy yellow stripes and performances from Andrew as DJ and as Woodleigh Research Facility with sets over the years from the likes of Silver Apples, The Liminanas, Red Axes, Baris K and Curses. This year the three nights have seen headlining sets by David Holmes with support including Glok, Ian Svenonius, The Utopia Strong, Manfredas and Sean Johnston/ ALFOS. I've never been to Convenanza, it's the wrong time of year for a teacher to be flying to south west France for a weekend of debauchery, but one day I shall no longer be bound by school holidays and if Bernie still puts Convenanza on, I shall be there. In the meantime I live Convenanza vicariously through updates from friends who are there. In tribute to the festival and Andrew Weatherall todays forty minute mix is a Convenanza friendly set of Weatherall remixes from the last decade, the hissy drum machine, space echo, arpeggiator and sequencers all deployed, setting the controls for the heart of le sol.

Forty Minutes Of Andrew Weatherall Remixes

• Group Rhoda: King (The Asphodells Remix)
• Richard Sen: Songs Of Pressure (The Asphodells Remix)
• The Venetians: Son Sur Son (Andrew Weatherall Edition Uno)
• Silver Apples: Edge Of Wonder (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Heretic: Pollux (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• The Twilight Sad: Videograms (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Andrew Weatherall: Intro

We are making our own pilgrimage today, to Childhood Wood on the edge of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. The MPS Society, the charity who look after children and adults born with the set of genetic diseases, have a piece of woodland where they invite families to plant a tree in memory of those who have died. We're going there today to plant an oak sapling for Isaac and to see him added to the memory board. Another moment of grief and remembrance in a year full of them. 

Checkmate

I've been into Mark Rothko's paintings, especially the enormous Seagram murals, ever since I saw them at Tate Liverpool in 1988. I bought a print which was blue tacked to my wall throughout my numerous student/post-student house and flat moves. When Mrs Swiss and I moved in together we went the full hog and bought frames for pictures. A pair of Rothko's have hung above our bed ever since. Finding this photograph on the internet the other night was a little bit of mindblower for me.

There is no real connection between that and this. Today's music is by Kalli Ma, remixed by Timothy 'Heretic' Clerin. It is -
a) obscure (I'd not heard of the artist previously but had heard of the remixer)
b) quite out there sonically
c) unsettling but still danceable- the sounds are disquieting and freaky but the rhythms are for the feet
d) a free download



The blurb says ''Kalli Ma is an electronic ensemble influenced by DIY aesthetics to experiment and create forward-thinking music" and I am in favour of that. 

Don't You Think It's Too Late?

Something brand new, ice cold and moody from Andrew Weatherall- should cool you right down. A remix of Pollux by Heretic, with echoes of early New Order in the first half, oscillating, wobbly synths and a robotic voice in the middle and a drawn out cosmic ending. Vinyl release soon I think.