vi . vi . vii

vi . vi . vii

music player

Sunday 30 December 2012

josef motley : 1982 - 2012



as this long and strange year finally begins to draw to a close, i would very much like to take the opportunity to say a few words in honour of our now truly-legendary captain josef motley, who very sadly left this mortal coil under such desperately tragic circumstances at the beginning of the summer. captain james p honey and myself consider ourselves so very fortunate to have been able to become friends with josef back in the myspace days and had the very good fortune of collaborating with him on what should have been the first of very many songs. in truth, we both very much considered him to be the 'third man' when it came to the uk alt-rap scene and, while our paths sadly never crossed in person, we very much saw him as a close acquaintance and a fascinating artist indeed. his passing is a truly cruel blow to the world and how we can only know that he will be so dearly missed by so many.



josef's creative output was always something very much worth paying close attention to. from his own solo releases, to the storming power of his 'swampglow' group, to the richly bizarre world of the 'tortoiseshell male' to his work on his album collaboration projects with both dCABB and thelostandfoundsound, there was always more than enough to entertain, bemuse and satisfy the most-curious of listeners. josef's talent lay in his incredibly adept ability to filter the mundane sham of everyday life into a strange and captivating series of cut-up words, sounds and images to a standard that burroughs himself would surely have approved of. sometimes 'unlistenable', sometimes wonderfully 'catchy', oftentimes absurd, and joyfully daft, his output so perfectly mirrored this farsical 'everyday life' which the western lands have steadily built-up as 'reality'. the world is a poorer place in his absence, but we will be sure to celebrate his works until the very end, so grateful that he would have given us the chance to do so. an incredible artist and a noble captain indeed. he will remain in our thoughts for all-tme

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 1 October 2012

das fest - marathon man 7" - out now

yet another staggering release emerges from the thick of this strange and long set of recent moons. yet another release buried long without the production stages, but finally seeing the light of day as a highly limited and very beautiful seven inch vinyl via the almighty postrap collective, we are indeed talking about the astonishingly powerful 'marathon man' and its accompanying remix, from the majestic das fest and featuring guest spots from my humble self alongside babelfishh and james p honey, not to mention the omnipotent audio88 on the original mix.


'maranthon man' is something of a long-time anthem which first emerged some years ago and was very much a part of the debut das fest album. still, when fishh, honey and i found ourselves honoured to share three shows with misanthrop and omega takeshi in the winter of 2010, we were deeply grateful to be given the opportunity of revisiting the song with a view to preparing a remix version for this forthcoming special release. thusly, we are over-the-moon that, almost exactly two years later, this mighty piece of vinyl might be able to greet the world. be sure to fix yourself a copy directly.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Sunday 30 September 2012

poem für elisa


poem für elisa...




you sang to us of the tiere, of the meadows and the shimmering waters.
you traced the outline of my cheek with your fingertips and
understood that i had wept.
my heart filled with warmth and beautiful sadness.
in your kind embrace i was the frightened fox finding a moments peace.

-

finger on tallinn - facebook / soundcloud



keep safe and warm

jamesreindeer

Monday 24 September 2012

throne burner - sky burial - out now

gentles readers, how with much fear and awe, we can swiftly reveal the debut release from the darkly-disturbing throne burner project between myself and the almighty babelfishh. in anticipation of his return to the old world this summer we tentatively began plans for a long-overdue collaboratory project between the two of us and were eager to release some initial musical treats sooner-rather-than-later, so therefore the outrageously heavy 'sky burial' single was born.


throne burner will indeed be an ongoing project between the two of us, with this summer having given us ample time to discuss and hash-out the themes we wish to collectively explore across our eventual slew of releases. there will be much to remind the listener of what they might anticipate from a babelfishh/reindeer project, but at the same time we imagine there shall come to be a few unexpected corners turned along the path.


but, until then, might we wholeheartedly recommend you secure yourself a copy of the digital single, now available as a free download via the splendid decorative stamp, fall away into the sinister world which we have seen fit to create, spread the word, 'like' the facebook page, try to catch one of our few remaining shows this year, and steadily anticipate a continuing host of wrongness to emerge over this long, dark winter ahead of us, and into the still-darker future.

keep warm

jamesreindeer

Friday 14 September 2012

facts in the case of goat's gloom

finally, the unrelenting terror that is the first ep from the very sinister goat's gloom is at last upon us and now available as a highly limited-edition 7" vinyl via the astounding divergent series. to the uninitiated, goat's gloom is the stunning collaboratory project between decorative stamp's very own babelfishh and dug yuck, alongside the almighty frkse. the murkiness of time makes it slowly become unclear as to when the project first arose, but if memory serves i believe the vocal recording sessions for the ep took place in the spring of 2010 at the seattle residence of dug yuck during the abortive 'galloping halfwits' tour, when james p honey and i were due to travel to the pacific northwest but had our plans torn asunder by the volcanic ash cloud which grounded all european flights for the better part of a week.


still, for my own part, i was also extremely honoured to be invited to guide the ep through the mastering stages and have thusly been heavily exposed to the desolate material contained therein. it is always a privilege for me to reveal that dug yuck and babelfishh are quite easily two of my favourite writers and vocalists, and how this collection of maddening compositions really does show them at the height of their most darkly-disturbing powers, channeling the most ominous of energies through the unrelentingly devastating musical turns of the hallowed frkse. might i strongly suggest then that you secure yourself a copy of this truly mind-altering release. it is very surely not something for the feint-hearted, but those of you bold enough or adept enough will surely revel in the murky depths of this fascinating collection of blackened materials.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Friday 7 September 2012

tell - das jüngste mikrowellengericht - out now

finally, after what has been the longest of journeys, we can at last collectively announce that the very amazing ep from the mighty tell, aka trip and nimrod from saarpreme is at last upon us, entitled 'das jüngste mikrowellengericht' and now available as a limited edition cd from the mighty postrap collective. seven songs taking us on a stirring musical and lyrical journey, also featuring guest appearances from the exceptional manuscript as well as myself alongside james p honey for the first time in what seems like many a long year.


in truth, the collaboratory track 'zeitsoldaten', on which honey and i feature is something of a 'lost gem', which we have always been very proud of, and have eagerly been anticipating the release of, ever since we recorded it in what may well have been the summer of 2009. it is so strange to think back so very long ago, to think of how much water has passed under the bridge, but at the same time to marvel on how fresh and relevant the song still seems, both in terms of our own writing, and in terms of the musical climate of this modern age.


i am very lucky to be able to consider myself good friends with both trip and nimrod and how much of an honour it is for me to have been able to participate in their release, and how i can wholeheartedly recommend you fix yourself a copy, whether you are able to understand deutsch or not, as it really is a staggeringly well-realised piece. so, do be sure to fix yourself a copy of the limited edition cd, or even simply a digital download. but, either way, be sure to get involved.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 27 August 2012

twenty years of abuse and still broke - first flickerings

it recently occured to me that this year of our lord 2012 actually marks my twentieth anniversary of making beats and writing rhymes and how, to that end, i thought that it might be wise to mark the occasion with a series of field reports outlining some of the more distant facts in the case of my ongoing creative enterprise. i shall thusly attempt to spend some time reminiscing on the early years, perhaps shedding a little light on my humble musical beginnings as well as unearthing some rather embarassing and/or surprisingly still good photographs, videos and songs for our general amusement.

so, might i start at the almost very beginning. 1992 was a glorious year indeed, not least of all for my own young self as i somehow, after much long persuasion managed to convince my dearest mother that we really needed a soundcard for our home computer, which was without a doubt my first real step into the world of music production. naturally, being that this was still the stone ages in terms of digital audio manipulation, the technology was not quite up to what my imagination could conceive, but working with sounds at 8bit, 11k in mono really wasn't so much of an hindrance.

my closest musical companion at this time was my high school friend by the name of matt. he and i were already becoming pretty well known at school as the kids who listened to the weirdest music. we had known each other from the age of three, but our friendship really got into full stride when we realised we could trade albums and share all this amazing new music together. we were pretty much into hip hop, death metal and anything you could pre-fix with 'industrial' at this stage, and how that was very much the direction of our first band, 'meat turbine'.

my first official 'promo shot', circa spring 1993. bless

'meat turbine' existed for a wonderfully short period and produced one cassette tape of almost unlistenable experimental sound collage/montage material, chiefly built from a blend of hip hop beats, death metal riffs, field recordings and 'controvesial' vocal samples. a succession of 'solo' projects followed under a myriad of names i can now scarcely recall; 'car crash', 'infanticide', 'half dead', 'unexplained', 'traumatic'; one lurid title after another. still, it all began to wind down for a while as my computer began to show signs of ageing and my interest in collecting vinyl and 'turntabalism' increased.

1995 into 1997 was spent strictly riding bmx, buying vinyl and freestyling around campfires in the woods, if my rose-tinted memory serves me correctly. matt and i were still buying up as much vinyl as we could, although i have moved much further into underground hip hop whilst he steadily explored the newly emerging drum & bass sounds coming from our part of south london. we talked endlessly of music and of making more music. all we needed was access to some better technology and all would be in hand.

finally, in the summer of 1997 i found myself very fortunately having access to a brand new top-of-the-range pc, largely due to my uncle's intervention who, in returning briefly from his residence in africa, insisted to my mother that we needed a 'proper' computer to work with, and how i somehow again managed to insist that we would also need a 'proper' soundcard to go with it. suddenly, as if by magic, in the space of a few short weeks i was back in business.


this time-frame also happened to coincide with the establishing of my ongoing musical relationship with two of my closest friends, andy skopes and michael rea. we met at sixth form college in the autumn of 1994 and ever so slowly came to become closer and closer friends which eventually lead to extensive musical collaborations from 1997 onwards. the first two years spent working on a seemingly endless series of hip hop tracks under a series of amusing monickers, some too cringe-worthy to mention. but the music was promising and wonderful relationships were cemented.

finally, in 1998 fate would have it that my path would cross ever-so-briefly with fbcfabric in a dingy college in wandsworth, sound london. we were both studying 'music technology' of some sort and only walked passed each other in the corridors a few times, but how a mutual friend and he happened to have a conversation which happened to lead to another meeting again in 1999 which lead to fbcfabric placing a phone call to me to talk about maybe working on some music at some point, and how the seeds were soon sown for what would become the basis of all that i have been trying to achieve with my artistic work ever since. strange twists of fate indeed.

it seems so strange in looking back, how the path leads from there to here, from then til now. how we slowly tread the boards, sometimes with keen intention, sometimes stumbling a little out of step, always the same age in our minds, while our bodies slowly begin to describe to us the long seasons. i often reflect on these formative years and how they would have lead to where i am today. it is a truly strange life indeed, a truly remarkable existence. but let us never forget that we are all experiencing these fascinating moments together, that we can extend a glad hand and utter a hopeful word and commune even in the darkest of times. here's to the ongoing experience indeed.

keep safe, take care

jamesreindeer

Monday 20 August 2012

throne burner - european tour

gentle readers. with much excitement we can announce that, whilst babelfishh remains in the old world, he and i are currently booking shows for a throne burner european tour to cover as many miles as possible in the time that we have before his departure back to the states.


our time is of course limited, and with many other commitments besides, but we are so very keen to take to the road together again and yet more keen to share our latest musical endevours with as many of you as possible. so, stay tuned for more updates in the coming few weeks.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 13 August 2012

video evidence from stö6, leipzig

gentle readers. might i delightedly reveal this very awesome piece of video footage which was captured on the leipzig leg of my most recent tour of deutschland, as part of the 'summer of discontent' proceedings alongside the mighty babelfishh, winterismyname and oskar ohlson.


wonderfully capturing a solid performance of 'helicopter gunships', the video really does splendidly convey the dream-like atmosphere of the stö6, a surely very special place indeed, and might i take a moment to extend a big 'thank you' to ronnie for keeping the lens steady.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Friday 10 August 2012

mism split 7" series no.7

gentle readers. might i, slightly-belatedly, but with huge excitement, announce the forthcoming release of mism records split 7" series number seven, soon to be available as a highly limited edition of just 103 individually unique copies in cork sleeves with the titles burned into them.


for our own part, the legendary captain meienberg and i have combined our forces to create the song 'automated sunrise', a bleak, dystopian diorama set within missile test site desert sands and featuring a perfectly-sparse and cold sonic landscape on which i have layered my lines.



the mighty bit-tuner, alongside fai, has also contributed a masterful dark tome to the processdings too, creating something of a towering release. so, be sure to have yourself a listen and keenly start to anticipate fixing yourself a copy as soon as the release date rolls around. get involved.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Saturday 28 July 2012

blast furnace

gentle readers, might i unexpectedly announce that i have assembled a brand new 'tour only' cd release entitled 'blast furnace' which features ten short instrumental compositions, constructed over a number of years, but now finally collected together in a cohesive form.


naturally, this is a highly limited release and will indeed only be made available at live shows over the coming moons. so, should you be in the vicinity of any jamesreindeer or throne burner performances this summer or fall, then be sure to score yourself a copy.

keep safe, take care

jamesreindeer

Friday 27 July 2012

summer of discontent tour

gentle readers, might i somewhat belatedly take the these moments to officially confirm that i shall indeed be joining babel fishh, oskar ohlson and winterismyname for certain stints of their ongoing 'summer of discontent' tour throughout europe over the next few moons. i have thusfar been confirmed for five shows across next week and shall be sure to attempt to elbow my way onto any more that may or may not transpire as the season continues.

so, do be sure to keep your eyes on the facebook event page, which contains all of the relevant information and stay poised to anticipate updates as more shows become booked between now and october. and might i also be so bold as to reveal that i amongst lucky others have had the chance to see the newly reassembled fishh/ohslon/winter live show and how it is simply staggering indeed, you must take the opportunity to catch them at some point before babel fishh heads back to texas in the autumn.


-

tour dates thusfar :

02.8. eisenberg - tba
03.8. leipzig - stö16
07.8. saarbrücken - dock iv  [a band of buriers / babelfishh / jamesreindeer]

-

also. since it seems like a most poignant time, might i also encourage you to very, very keenly anticipate their forthcoming 'we'd rather not' 10" vinyl, which shall be appearing shortly via knertz shortly. i am lucky enough to have heard the almost-final mixes and how it really is something of an astounding release indeed. two years in the making, featuring a raft of knertz contributors, vocal spots from a host of cleaver-leaguers, winterismyname absolutely killing it, not to mention babel fishh and oskar ohlson in full control of their formidable artistic powers.

still, finally. it might be only fair of me to also offer a dire warning that, naturally this upcoming stint of shows shall see babel fishh and i in close proximity, and therefore we are very much on the verge of unveiling the first throne burner material on thusfar unsuspecting audiences along our travels. i shall say no more, but it would be wise to anticipate the possibility of the unrelenting blackening darkness to swarm out from various locations across the old world shortly.

keep safe, be well

jamesreindeer


Wednesday 25 July 2012

initial facts in the case of throne burner

gentle readers, might i stop to take a moment to begin to outline the initial facts in the case of the 'throne burner' project which babelfishh and myself have just unleashed upon the world. everything is true, everything is permitted. after long years of friendship, touring and collaborations, the two of us are finally sinking our teeth and nails into a full, ongoing project together under the throne burner banner and shall be revealing a sinister collection of musical, literal and visual works over the coming three moons and long after.



some kind of project between us had long been on the cards but the throne burner came quickly as an unexpected force of nature which has swept us up into the darkest-black turmoil of the chew and drone. at this stage we are gathering materials, writing, developing different waves of the terror, but will keenly be unveiling our first single in the coming few weeks, as well as an audio-visual collaboration with one of our favourite maniacs as well as formulating discussions with others besides.



so, stay poised for imminent developments, be sure to 'like' the facebook page to keep up to date with all that shall soon transpire, be sure to spread the word, cower not in terror, but rather walk out into the blazing heat, soak up the sinister drone and bathe in the blackest-radiance. six hundred and sixty-seven black candles flickering on a raised dais.

keep 667

jamesreindeer

Monday 2 July 2012

leaving gut city


gentle readers. might i take this opportunity to reveal that i have, somewhat suddenly, found myself leaving darmstadt permanently, due to circumstances perhaps beyond my control, or perhaps otherwise. please forgive my vagueness regarding the actual facts surrounding the case, but know that all is as much in hand as it possibly could be under the circumstances. i currently find myself safely housed with the wonderful oskar ohlson and winterismyname in their mainz residence which also serves as the knertz collective operational headquarters, until i managed to secure myself a residence for the coming moons. it is indeed my intention to remain in germany, due to my current project commitments, but also due to feeling somewhat 'at home' in the rhein-main. naturally, this also means that decorative stamp is currently without a headquarters, so please forgive any slight delays, periods of silence and other unwanted ephemera that may result.


still, might i also take a moment to reflect on my time in gut city, and how it was a curious and certainly eventful period indeed. i was lucky enough to have made a good deal of friends and acquaintances during my tenure there, and shall miss being quite so close to a goodly number of them, kind souls for sure. the city itself was always something of an enigma, so close to being a really nice place to live, but scarred with small-city blights, wants and worries. i am certainly glad of the time, greatly enjoyed being within bicycle distance of the mighty oetinger villa and getting to see so many wonderful and fascinating artists perform, revelled in the acres and acres of woodlands, lakes and fields surrounding the city and loved to study the geometry of the few buildings left that withstood the brandnacht... and how there were very certainly so many beautiful moments to be found under the warmth of the hot hessian sun and in the tranquil quiet of the long nights.


i am indeed writing these lines with a heavy heart, but hope that the coming moons shall allow new avenues to open up and might find me soon embedded in a new safehouse somewhere within mainz city limits. i must confess that i am dearly looking forward to the arrival of babel fishh in just one week and keenly anticipate getting to spend much time with his bold self, along with the mighty oskar ohlson and meike winter, perhaps even finding opportunities  to take to the road with them during their 'summer of discontent' tour activities. i am also intending to spend a good deal of time working on my own musical endevours, continuing to press on with my writings, particularly my second book, whilst attempting to finally publish the first, not to mention keeping a steady hand on the reins of the decorative stamp enterprise and other aspects besides. a turbulent time for sure, but one that i hope will finally result in further advances towards a better tomorrow...

keep safe, be well

jamesreindeer

Monday 25 June 2012

a distant place - feat. the poetry of jamesreindeer

gentle readers. might we stop to announce a really nice piece for your listening pleasure, something beautifully soothing for the ongoing summer months perhaps. the very splendid souls at folk radio uk have seen fit to assemble a mix of songs inspired by my 'shallow pools' spoken word release, which you can read more about right here.


an hour's worth of glorious folk music, inter-cut with excerpts from the 'shallow pools', featuring beautiful musical works from a host of artists including decorative stamp's very own band of buriers, not to mention the near-legendary meg baird, amongst a wealth of others. be sure to listen in, it is something rather wonderful indeed.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Friday 22 June 2012

fuzzier dismemberment logic

dear readers. might i briefly draw your attention to the splendid 'fuzzier dismemberment logic' extended remix, featuring myself alongside the masterful trip from saarpreme over the chryso-produced beat, a re-working of the original track taken from his 'demon's run' album.






now streaming, and now also available as a free download from chryso's bandcamp page, be sure to have yourself a listen as well as fixing yourself a free download... and do be sure to secure yourself a copy of the album, available now from the mighty postrap collective.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 11 June 2012

amidst the grease and chaos - second edition - out now

might we gladly announce that the ultra-limited hand-crafted second edition of the staggering and highly-praised 'amidst the grease and chaos' album from the mysterious iron filings and sellotape collective is now available to order from both the decorative stamp online store as well as my own bandcamp page.


already heralded as a 'classic' from many quarters, the album is a twenty track hallucinatory, psychedelic journey through field recordings, found sounds, manipulated loops, drones and distorted drum-sets. a darkly disorientating collection of sound-pieces indeed.


the second edition features the same tracklisting as the first, but with completely new album artwork, prepared in collaboration with the raindrop watchers and providing yet another enthralling set of images to complement the sounds therein. be sure to investigate immediately.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Friday 8 June 2012

chryso - demon's run - album out now

with much enthusiasm and after what seems like the longest of waits, we can at last collectively announce that the astonishing debut album from the mighty chryso is at last upon us, entitled 'demon's run' and available as a limited edition cd and download, featuring sumptuous artwork from albane, from the masterful postrap collective. spanning fifteen tracks and featuring a host of vocal collaborators including the likes of the mighty misanthrop, soda, qwer, noah23, myself, nimrod and more, and drawing us along avenues of staggeringly varied and fascinating production work, moving effortlessly between electronic and organic, the album is something of a great success to say the least. be sure to think about fixing yourselves copies directly, there is a wealth of treats to be found within this release indeed.


for my own part, i had been aware of chryso's work since first hearing his amazing collaboration with soda on the 'feat. soda' album, and since then had known he was a name to keep an ear out for, but had never really had the chance to cross paths with, until i most unexpectedly and gladly received an invitation to get involved with the 'demon's run' album project. i eagerly anticipating hearing the selection of beats he sent over to me to audition, and gladly found one which inspired me to word the text that became 'fuzzy dismemberment logic'. a fitting title for sure, as the track provided me with the perfect backdrop to word an equal lurid, psychdelic piece spanning a host of absurdist images in rapid sequence. a good deal of fun to write and something a little out of the ordinary perhaps.


since this fine collaboration i can gladly report that chryso and i have become something of good friends and have managed to cross paths at a number of events, inclduing the 3rd skribble gebibble birthday party, as well as the 3rd 1,2-piecefest, and how i can effortlessly report that he is a really wonderful guy, the kind of guy where you immediately know that he is a really good man and a really decent person. so, do be sure to check out the album, support the artists involved, 'like' chryso on facebook, bookmark his website, swing past his bandcamp, and generally get involved. good times indeed.

keep safe

jamesreindeer


Monday 4 June 2012

iron filings and sellotape - re-release coming next week

ladies and gentlemen. with great enthusiasm and excitement we can announce that, this time next week, decorative stamp shall be re-releasing the highly-acclaimed debut album from iron filings and sellotape as a further limited edition of just fifty hand-crafted copies, featuring entirely new artwork designed in collaboration with raindrop watchers.


already heralded as something of a classic, including being voted as 'album on the month august 2011' by trip-hop.net, and making  a lot of 'end of year lists' for 2011, might we strongly suggest that you think about securing yourself a copy as soon as next monday rolls around, as we are anticipating that they shalln't be available for too long. get involved!

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 21 May 2012

shallow pools - out now

gentle readers. might i happily report that my official debut spoken-word album, entitled 'shallow pools' is out now, and available as a limited edition hand-crafted cd and digital download from both the decorative stamp online store and my own bandcamp page.


each copy of the album also comes with one of the unique original hand-typed poems in the series, something rather special indeed. do think about securing yourself a copy, should time and funds permit, i would be most grateful indeed.

keep safe, be well

jamesreindeer

Sunday 20 May 2012

video evidence from the 1,2 piecefest

very happily i found myself invited to play at the very awesome 1,2 piecefest at the oetinger villa in darmstadt last weekend, a splendid affair, now in its third year, and curated by the very awesome adrian woodhouse and scarlet scamper from the knertz collective. a raft of amazing artists graced the stages, all of whom were absolutely smashing it indeed.


for my own part, i had the opportunity to be the first to take to the stage and got to perform a really enjoyable set of my more uptempo tracks as well as a number of really enjoyable freestyle pieces, one of which was captured by the steady hand of the mighty chryso. be sure to have a little look, should time permit.

keep safe

jamesreindeer


Tuesday 15 May 2012

shallow pools - coming soon

so. might i very excitedly take this opportunity to announce that, in completing the series of one hundred 'shallow pools' poems, i took it upon myself to record them with a view to creating my first official 'spoken word' album, already completed and ready for release on decorative stamp next monday.

spread over ten tracks, and hovering around the forty-five minute mark, the album is, what i personally believe to be, a really nice collection of moods, images and tones, and one that continues to carry the kind of sentiments that i have sought to convey with all of my musical enterprises.



due to the fact that the poems were originally composed as a series of one hundred hand-typed pieces, i have seen fit to prepare a limited edition series of one hundred copies of the album on cd, and shall make each one available with one of the unique poems.

so, please do begin to anticipate having yourself a listen and perhaps fixing yourself a copy when next monday rolls around, the album is really nicely packaged and something of a collectors treat with the unique poems accompanying them.

keep safe

jamesreindeer


Monday 14 May 2012

helicopter gunships

albeit somewhat more-belatedly than planned, we can at last unveil the marvelous video of my a cappella performance of 'helicopter gunships', created in conjunction with the very awesome adrian woodhouse for the knertz icings blog some moons ago when the winter still had a strong grip over the new years slow building.

i had been very much aware of the very cool icings blog since its inception and was over the moon when adrian invited me to get involved too, and since i was not so pressed for time as other 'on tour' contributors, being a darmstadt resident, i was keen that adrian and i take a decent amount of time to come up with something extra-special.


still, we are possibly two of the busiest individuals in gut city, so it was pretty tough to get our schedules to co-incide, in fact i think it took four or five moons even, but at last we managed to gather together in the basement of the decorative stamp compound to put together this rather sinister treat, something amusingly dark in comparison to that which adrian might normally be known for.

so, please do have repeated viewings, please do check out the icings blog, make friends with adrian on facebook, check out some more of his work, as well as that of the knertz collective more generally, and do anticipate some more iron filings and sellotape related news shortly.

take care

jamesreindeer


valve in forearm

an impossible to anticipate monday morning field report indeed. might i be so bold as to reveal that i have just now returned home from a most unexpected four-day episode spent recovering in a hospital bed from a relatively serious throat infection which beset me with great discomfort and high levels of fear and panic in the small hours of wednesday-night into thursday morning having returned home from a meeting with the wonderfully talented paulina stulin to aid me with the completion of my final 'nova conditions' manuscript.

i feel the need to share this information with you all, if only to explain my absence from all things decorative stamp and jamesreindeer-related since the middle of last week, a frustrating truth, largely due to the fact that there are serious amounts of projects afoot and not a moment to lose in working on them. sadly, a good deal of moments have been lost, but i am once again at near-full-strength and eager to bring everything back up to date over the coming days, so please expect a lot of news to emerge from both here and the decorative stamp as we wend our way towards mid-week.

so, might i just now briefly hint at some of what is in store, including revelations of the next three decorative stamp releases, including the first official 'jamesreindeer' solo release [of sorts], some seven years after my first commercial available musical outing, another very special and highly limited re-release of an unexpectedly very popular album from the decorative stamp and the next offering from everyones favourite anti-rap-alt-folk duo... shhhh...

so til then, might i leave you with this small prose-poem i found myself assembling in the early hours of last night, a mildly-fictionalised and overly-dramatic version of the events of my last four days and a very clear indication that i am certainly far from the best patient one could hope to be... my intense fear of hospitals something of a burden at an instance like this. enjoy! or, cringe in horror...

...and, might i also be so bold as to offer some personal 'shout-outs' to the very, very awesome and very very patient miss nadia d'alò, for visiting me on a daily basis despite her chaotic university and work schedule, for bringing my lots of tasty treats to supplement the hospital food as well as some essential english-language reading materials and for putting up with my abysmal mood. to the equally cool miss wirginia lewandowski for sending me wonderfully kind sms wishes and whom i still owe a telephone call, and the very, very, very wonderful oskar ohslon and winterismyname for hailing me on my cellphone at regular intervals to keep my spirits lifted, and to one herr schmidt, my room companion who was most kind a supportive despite our language barrier... i am most grateful indeed... and to my dearest mother, father and sister, i must sincerely apologise that this may be the first you're hearing of this, but i really, really didn't want you to worry unnecessarily! 

keep well

jamesreindeer





valve in forearm

gentle readers. we find ourselves in foreign hospital bed, valve in forearm staring long at the words emerging on the page before us. insect chirps and birdcalls in the night. distant trailing language rising up from unknown rooms below us, the droning hymn of the occassional aeroplane sailing by, the rattling of mechanical blinds in the evening breeze, intermittent bleeps and hospital noises from behind the closed door. at some stages laughter and grim moans coming in. 

we have been trapped here for the longest while, a seemingly simple ailment soon becoming a matter of utmost urgengy; infection, blood tests, antibiotics fed intravenously. the gim food arriving on plastic trays three times a day, the sound of herr schmidt* dying slowly in the bed next us. we feel utterly lost and alone in this dark, strange place. there is a silence in the still of the night, in between the cackling and whining, in between the rattling and heavy breaths of the sick and helpless. 

we feel our way through the night, each sigh a step closer to complete abandon. we are watching the grey paint of walls, the rounded corners of the plastic light switch, the geometry of the waste-basket by the doorway. our mechanical bed groans and purrs with each press of its automated button panel. our water and salbei tea in rectangular glass jugs, white plastic lids, brown plastic mug, dropper, tablets laid out in blue plastic containers, foggy air inhaler attatchment resting in grey card kidney bowl. 

we gaze long into the silence and curse our luck, curse our failing body, wish that we could escape into the cool of the night. to race out within the green of the forested hills surrounding the hospital, ride the tramline back into the city, back to the calm solitude of the safehouse, our plants laying dying on the windowsill, one already tossed down to the courtyard through lack of water to stabalise itself amidst even the gentlest of winds. 

there is a strange long misery that holds us. we long for escape, but slowly cannot be sure what we want to escape for. what is there beyond these four walls, beyond the corridor that leads us to the bathroom, to the inhalation room, to the consultation room, even to the elevator that takes us down to the lobby and the few lonely benches sitting idle at the foot of the vast concrete building. 

where are we going to indeed. what ride are we hoping to take. we long to rush out into the night, but are more and more filled with the strange unfolding misery that there is indeed nothing else beyond this place. we are destined to feel hopeless and lost after this strange interval. we may leave this place but our path has been irreperably broken, or skewed in some awful fashion that cannot repair itself. we have somehow been shifted off our course and can no longer find our way back to that simple moment before the affliction of grim infection bore down upon us unexpectedly in the night, reducing us to a scarcely breathing panicked wreck, a pathetic shambles of skin and bone trailing unknown miseries into the spring night. 

we are frightnened and lost and clambering wildly at some unknown in the hopes of finding solace amongst the half-sleep, that it might lift us up into the miracle abandon of some impossible plain beyond all this worldly sorrow and corporeal grit. we are desperate to escape, to pass out into the open sky, to leave this sick and frail body, a frightened spirit emerging from valve in forearm.

-

*it seems only fair to mention that herr schmidt wasn't dying at all, although it really did sound like it at intervals. he was a very lovely, kind man and, despite the serious-sounding nature of his ailment, he actually got to go home before i did... setting the record straight in his honour.

-


Thursday 3 May 2012

initial facts in the case of shallow pools

as those of you who follow my posts on facebook will already be aware, i have taken it upon myself to word one hundred poems under the collective title of 'shallow pools', which i intend to be revealing to the world before too long. still, before i do, i wanted to spend a moment briefly outlining the facts in the case and offer some insight as to my motivation behind the project as well as a little insight into my methodology and practice.

by pure happenstance, i find myself temporarily in the possession of an old mechanical typewriter, and wanted to take the opportunity to put such a glorious device to use, by way of utilising it to compose some new literary pieces. there is surely some truly wonderful tactile pleasure to be had in tapping away at the clattering keys, not to mention the delight of being able to produce entirely unique results with each new piece of paper.

still, the typewriter offers me a slightly different ingress into my own creative enterprise. my thoughts are drawn to david cronenberg's film adaptation of william s burroughs' 'naked lunch' and specifically the scene in which our fictionalised versions of kerouac, ginsberg and burroughs are collected in their favourite cafe and discussing the nature of 'true writing', if i recall correctly. ginsberg cannot be sure if 're-writes' can be seen as acceptable, as 'true', or if kerouac is right in saying that they are a form of self-censorship, of denying the truth. naturally burroughs then weighs in with his 'destroy all rational thought' motif to swamp their debate.


for my own part, i have always erred closer to the ginsberg methodology; initially outlining my themes, wording my text and then returning to perform, usually minor 're-writes' to achieve my desired aim, and how the modern personal computer is by far and away the perfect tool for this approach to working. we can clatter away, filling up whole virtual reams of paper, whilst safe in the knowledge that limitless editing options are available to us after the fact.

the typewriter, however, holds sway over our work in a very different way. this permanence of every keystroke, this rigid pattern of indelible words forming across the page, each one set in stone from the very first moment, not allowing us to go back, to make alterations, save for bringing correction fluid into play. we are forced to work with how the words first arrive on the page, and that is something very different indeed.

so, these 'shallow pools', this series of one hundred poems, is an exercise in my trying to lean further towards kerouac's approach, to let the words arrive as they do, in the order that they do, not looking back, not allowing myself to perform 're-writes', to dilute the 'truth' of the lines as they leave my fingers. it is a strange and fascinating exercise for me, and one that i keenly look forward to sharing with you all in due course. til then, 'destroy all rational thought'.

take care

jamesreindeer


Wednesday 2 May 2012

outside your doorway - vinyl out now

with much enthusiasm, we can at last announce that the amazing new 12" vinyl EP from the masterful 2econd class citizen is at last upon us, via the very wonderful equinox records, entitled 'outside your doorway' and now available to purchase from a wide variety of sources.


featuring three new songs from the wired-folk master himself, not to mention stunning contributions in the form of remixes from the near-legendary buddy peace and dday one, as well as the staggering miss jenny blackbird and my humble self reunited with our bold captain after some long moons on the epic 'insect forms'.



so, be sure to fix yourself a copy of the vinyl, or a digital download, should it be more suited to your particular needs, and be sure that your appetite has be whetted for the upcoming new album; 'the small minority', coming at the end of the month.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

Monday 23 April 2012

freelance writer for hire

anyone of you who is a regular reader of my posts here will surely by now be aware that i harbour something more than a deep fondness for the written word. a fondness that quite possibly even eclipses my fondness for producing musical works. facts i would surely not shy away from, rather glowingly reveal at any relevant opportunity. to that end, whilst also working on all of my musical projects, i devote a great amount of time to my writing, both here in the online world and across a myriad of notebooks, scraps of paper, digital document files and the like. it is certainly my desire to press on in these directions and, to that end, with a view to 'expanding my portfolio' as well as being able to pay my rent, as of today i am officially offering my services as a 'freelance writer for hire'.


so, should you be in the need of any english language works, from articles, reviews and essays, to promotional materials and interviews, to lyrics and poems, or simply song titles and copy-writing. naturally i am most open to suggestion and can surely come to amicable arrangements regarding rates, time-scales and the like. i would be most keen to undertake all manner of commissions and would encourage you to consider my talents for your particular needs, as well as kindly asking you to perhaps also recommend my services to anyone and everyone whom you think might benefit from my professional assistance. i hope that this course might help me a little to keep a roof over my head and food in my mouth and, moreover, the chance to expand my written enterprises, allowing my words to find their ways into wider circles.


any interested parties please send word to : jamesreindeer@hotmail.co.uk


sincerely,


jamesreindeer


Thursday 12 April 2012

a voice on a gramophone

gentle readers, how time races by indeed... and such an incredibly busy month to be sure. having returned from the czech republic it was all about the skribble gebibble birthday party and, since then, vast amounts of organisation surrounding all the various decorative stamp strands have taken place. i have been in the last day or so pooling over what shall be the release roster for the upcoming six months and how i can assure you all that there is a whole raft of high quality material being slowly assembled in the wings. in truth, it is starting to look like we have more releases scheduled than we have months left in the year, so i rather imagine we will have to step up our game to get as much of this new music out there as possible before this still waxing year begins to wan into the darkness of next winter.


but, with much gladness, i have also been rather fortunate enough to spend some time in the studio myself, ostensibly lending my lyrical and vocal attempts to a number of really very awesome songs indeed. i must be careful as to what i reveal as it is always difficult to be sure as to what is and isn't top secret. but, without giving the game away too much i can surely reveal that i have been honoured enough to contribute verses to two staggering epic posse-cuts which, combined, feature something of a 'who's who' within the alternative rap scene, as well as having the honour of collaborating with three outrageously talented producers to create three exclusive new songs for your listening pleasure, one of which to be released on a cd album soon and the other two making their way onto different sized pieces of vinyl, perhaps even as we speak.


i must confess that i take great pleasure in over-seeing the various releases that decorative stamp are getting out into the world, but there is still so much pleasure for me to be found in working on penning and performing lines for amazing compositions myself. dare i mention that i have even been able to turn my attention a little towards some of my own music and shall endevour to take much more serious steps towards completing my first 'solo' album, which might hopefully be ready for release this time next year. not only that but i have been in serious talks with one of my all-time favourite producers regarding a full collaboratory album, as well as being in the thick of another full-length release with certain members of the knertz collective. glory days to be sure.

still, less vague updates soon! take care

jamesreindeer

Monday 2 April 2012

three years of skribble gebibble

so, the party of the year has now been and gone. without wanting to wish our lives away, it was so hard to not keenly anticipate the third skribble gebibble birthday party directly after the second. still, a full year had to be permitted to pass and how last saturday finally saw the third birthday party upon us, and how astonishingly amazing night it was indeed, all that we could have hoped for and more. should you still at this juncture be unaware of quite how important the skribble family are, please understand that they are a group of the most wonderful, talented individuals who have been putting on great nights and bringing amazing artists to oberhausen for the past three years. it is always such a great atmosphere when they take control of the druckluft, such good times and so much fun in ascending waves. i cannot emphasise enough how special the evenings they create are, and would seriously recommend a road-trip to find yourself in attendance at some future event, you shall not be disappointed.

so, the third birthday party was always in the backs of our minds as last year slowly turned into this new one, and how, as the time grew closer, it began clear that they had set in motion yet another amazing line-up and another unforgettable party was looming on the horizon. as the party began to motion its way through the planning stages, the very exciting news that decorative stamp's own a band of buriers would be confirmed as performing crept across the internet and how it would fantastically mean that captain james p honey and i would at last be crossing paths again for the first time in eighteen months, a reason for our own personal excitement, but also a wonderful turn of events that would see the twin-james' reunited on skribble turf, a more fitting location there could not be. a lot of biding time had to transpire in such keen anticipation until finally the time was upon us and we all gathered ourselves up from our various corners and started the pilgrimage to oberhausen.


for our own part, we had assembled a three-person, gut-city contingent in the form of myself, the awesome miss nadia d'alò and our wonderful associate, the very talented miss paulina stulin. we fixed ourselves a weekend train-ticket and made our way slowly along the rhine, following the valley and the flowing water, passing through bingen, koblenz and bonn before the line stretched out from köln into the more industrial north-west, onto düsseldorf and finally oberhausen. we arrived at the druckluft to immediately find the buriers and some of the skribble family outside, vast hugs and the widest of smiles ensued, and how we immediately knew that we were all back home again together again. excitingly we were also notably joined by the very awesome chryso and antonia from saarland for the evening, most welcome additions to our number. all was very much well as the soundchecks, drinks and reunitings began to transpire. it was so, so wonderful to see everyone again, so many great friends, so many wonderful people.

still, the time would race by as always, and before long we were in the thick of the evening, the druckluft swarming with hundreds of guests, the skribble dj's spinning endlessly amazing songs for our listening pleasure, the wohnzimmer filled with folk drawing amazing images, thick and heavy beats arising from the dancing folk in the basement, and soon the main room to be filled with the big names of the evening. we all took in the wonderful atmosphere and moved between the rooms, wide smiles on all our faces, happy times and the warmest of vibes. still, the main event on a lot of people's lips was the mighty performance from the buriers and how the time was soon upon us. a huge crowd of folk were eagerly gathered by the time that james and jamie took to the stage and how their performance was staggering indeed. a chew-heavy set filled with some of their biggest songs, and how the crowds lapped it up so enthusiastically. perhaps the most awesome moment was to be found in my being invited to join them onstage for a splendid freestyle as well as a performance of the mighty 'float'. james and i had not rapped together in so long and yet we immediately fell into the amazing synchronicity which we so gladly share. a real treat to be able to perform again together, but moreover that it would be onstage at the skribble birthday party for the oberhausen people, planets align indeed...


still, there was much more to be had of the night. more amazing performances, more astonishing beats from the skribble dj's, the cutting of the birthday cake and the drinking of champagne, a futher acoustic performance from the buriers to a fortunate few, a further james & james freestyle session, yet more smiles and drinks, cakes and keen conversation as folk continued to draw amazing images in the wohnzimmer, as amazing sounds stretched out from the main room and the thick, pulsating rhythm continued to creep up from the basement. honey and i talked long into the night, sat at the foot of the skribble dj's just catching up late into the night, surrounded by a changing combination of wonderful friends and loved-ones. i know that i so keenly speak for the both of us when i talk of our continued, shared astonishment and appreciation of how lucky we consider ourselves to have been able to cross paths with these amazing people those long years ago.

sadly the night wore on so late and trains, planes and cars needed to be sought on the morrow. our taxi was awaiting us as we bid farewells to the family and made our weary way back to mülheim as a splendid group of the buriers, nadia, pauli and myself, as very glad and grateful guests of the astonishingly wonderful sinja and sabrina. the night was absolutely finished off to perfection when honey and i got to taste an amazing cupcake each from sinja's baking efforts before sleepytime. it must be quite seriously mentioned that the cake situation and the skribble family is something of a legend it its own time. if you are even remotely interested in cakes, then even let that alone be a reason to find yourself at the next party... we slowly all crept into the dreaming with but a few hours til dawn and the sadly inevitable beginnings of the goodbyes.


we arose from temporary slumber to being immediately reduced to saying goodbye to james and jamie, tender hugs and weary-eyed but wide smiles indeed. it was so, so nice to see them both again, and how we all dearly look forward to regrouping again before too long. we shall see where and when across the coming moons. pauli, nadia, sabrina, sinja and i rested awhile longer before slowly gathering ourselves to head off to a splendid brunch with the family. we arrived at the wonderful residence of elisa and friends and spent the next hours gathered around a long table, just eating our fill, taking tea and coffee, reflecting on the previous night and talking long on a host of other subjects besides, whilst reluctantly saying a host of farewells as our numbers began to dwindle. for our own part, the hauptbahnhof at oberhausen beckoned and we made our way back to the druckluft with jakob for just a spell to cross paths with the mighty dyxz and the awesome julia for a little more cake and a few last smiles before the final farewells.

our path back to hessen and decorative stamp headquarters was a smooth and relaxed one indeed, our minds filled with a wonderful haze of fond memories from the night before, how the party had exceeded all expectations which is simply always the case with skribble parties. might i boldly, and on behalf the decorative stamp family also, offer once more our huge thanks and appreciation for being able to travel into the awesome world in which we create, to thank them for so many amazing nights, so many amazing shows and to wish them the happiest of birthdays and so much luck and encouragement for the next twelve months, more good times indeed... and, please be sure to keep the skribble name on your lips, offer support, 'like' them on facebook, bookmark their website and try as best as you can to find yourself one day at the druckluft in oberhausen for a magical, magical time indeed.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

vi . vi . vii

vi . vi . vii