Victoria, Swindon 08/11/08 (short)

T r i p D r e s s
By popular demand, a return to the Victoria, Swindon for the cosmic thunder pulse that is Barry Andrews, Pete Cousins and Stuart Rowe’s dirty ’swamp blues’ and hedonistic improvisation collective. Experimental, slightly brutish but sensually hypnotic, TripDress welcomes freaks, loners and deadbeats of all shapes, sizes, denominations or planetary origin.

M a t i l d a
All girl super group causing a joyous stir amongst battling promoters and audiences silenced by the crystal-like purity of their songs, harmonies and unusual instrumentation. An enchanting and highly individual sound, reminiscent of people like Alison Krauss, Joanna Newsom or early Carpenters.
Matilda look destined for bigger and better things

D J _ D u s t
The enigmatic DJ Dust will be reminding people why he’s been rated as one of the town’s most interesting DJs for the best part of a decade. Expect a diverse backdrop of sensual electrop, industrial grooves and dynamic film scores.

Victoria, Swindon 08/11/08 (long)

Swindon music fans looking for something different on Saturday 8th November couldn’t do much wrong if they headed along to The Victoria for an evening that promises to be one of most intriguing and exciting gigs of the winter season.

Kicking the show off are Swindon all-girl supergroup Matilda who have been raising a joyous stir recently, with local promoters battling it out to put them on their bills and audiences silenced by the crystal-like purity of their songs, harmonies and unusual instrumentation. Becky, Emily, Amy and Polly play independently with some of the brightest bands around but have united within this group to create an enchanting and highly individual sound, reminiscent of people like Alison Krauss, Joanna Newsom or early Carpenters. Matilda look destined for bigger and better things.

Following on from the sensitivity and sophistication that is Matilda, Trip Dress are proud to be the complete and total opposite. Barry Andrews, Pete Cousins and Stuart Rowe’s dirty ’swamp blues’ and hedonistic improvisation collective returns to the Victoria by popular demand following a sold-out show earlier this year. That previous gig surprised both audience and band in equal measures, as singer and curator of the group Pete Cousins explains; “Because our stuff is completely improvised we genuinely don’t know what will happen and how it will sound. It’s an event that never happens again. That last gig there was just astoundingly intense, I’m not sure who was most exhausted us or the audience!” Perhaps it’s the experimental nature of their slightly brutish but hypnotic ‘urban fusion boogie’ (as they like to call it) or maybe it’s the mix of throwaway punk philosophy and hippy sensibilities, but the sound these wisened performers generates seems to attract the loyalty of artists, creatives and anyone looking for a real alternative to the norm. “Yeah - that’s just great!”. laughs Cousins “Trip Dress are proud to welcome freaks, loners and deadbeats of all shapes, sizes, denominations or planetary origin”

For the Victoria show, Trip Dress have lined up a variety of additional percussionists, people banging things and other ‘threatened special guests’

Throughout the night, the enigmatic DJ Dust will be reminding people why he has been rated as one of the town’s top DJs for the best part of a decade, by providing an inceasingly intense backdrop of sensual electrop, industrial grooves and dynamic film scores.
Any photographers, film-makers, dancers, journos bloggers or blaggers wishing to be part of the event should contact info@tripdress.com

Doors open 8.30 - tickets (if available) £4 on the door.

29/01/08

TripDress - a Dirty Shade of Blue.

Three of Swindon’s most influential musicians have joined forces to form what is likely to be one of the town’s most unusual and impressive live acts. TripDress, as the group is known, are a collective of musicians dedicated to making live improvisational sounds and music that goes beyond traditional songwriting, genres and band line-ups.

Barry Andrews (Shriekback, XTC, Monstrance), Pete Cousins (Teddy White, The Mill, Zebra coat) and Stuart Rowe (Lighterthief, FSOL, Julianne Bastock ) first got together to jam for a charity gig organised by Robert Stredder. They’d never played together before, but the moment they started it was clear to them and the audience, that their diverse blend of styles was creating something new and very exciting.

Barry Andrews explains the feeling;

I was on an unplanned improv jag (Monstrance -with Andy Partridge-and the Fire Judges -a sonic response to a film with Martyn Barker and Clare Hirst) so it seemed strangely fated that Pete should offer this new outlet for my increasingly over-stimulated make-it-up-as-you-go-along gene.

Unlike the other projects, where anything was fair game, here there was a focus. The stock, the gravy of this music was The Blues but spiked with some bad chemicals and dubious religion. I had never realised before what a very twisted individual Pete Cousins truly is. He led the way (we were only Obeying Orders) he made us play in the key of D all the way through but, ah what’s the point in denying it, we loved it, God help us”

One additionaland unexpected factor helped the seasoned musicians feel at home with each other right away. Hair (or lack of it)

Barry elaborates;

The coincidence that all of our heads were bald -a grotesque parody of a monastic sect -was another sign; the swamp-rattle bad-religion blues-gravy of the sound we made became our battle cry.”

Following that first gig, a few low-key shows have allowed the improvisational and experimental formula to gel even further and the musicians are mad keen to embrace newer, bolder ways of working.

Guitarist Stuart Rowe describes the approach;

Usually when you do a gig - you’re rehearsed to death and know exactly what is going to happen and when. With this thing, the only constant is that we DON’T know what’s happening next. There are no standard chord changes or what you might recognise as ’songs’ - the music just rises and falls.

The first time we played, I asked for a chord chart and Pete gave me a big piece of paper with the letter D on it. The good thing about improvising like this is that it forces you out of your normal clichés and to confront the dark forces of the unknown. Also each time we play, the music will go in different directions- each gig is completely unique”.

So after years of being known for his high-octane but authentic blues and soul performances, how does veteran singer / Guitar player Pete Cousins feel about Barry and Stuart’s involvement? Isn’t he worried that they might be subverting the noble traditions of the Blues genre? Far from it;

Pete enthuses;

It’s great! I’m really excited by what we’re doing here. I’d started listening to a lot of Hill Country Blues and became intrigued by the way many of the songs had no recognizable chord changes. They just seemed to work off the rhythms played over just the one chord. It was a refreshing change from the restraints and rigidity of more traditional song structures.

The music we’ve ended up playing still has that blues pulse, but with the addition of Barry and Stu, it’s mutated into something that’s simply off the leash.”

Pete, Stu and Barry are joined in the band by Brendan Hamley on drums and percussion, Pete Fitzsimmons on Double bass and Mark Gowland on harmonica. You can catch the full band playing their self-proclaimed urban fusion boogie at the Victoria, Swindon on Friday 29th February. They are supported by another rising Swindon band - HipRoute, in an evening that some say could be an early contender for Swindon gig of the year.

Barry Andrews though is quick to dismiss such thoughts, and with a twinkle in his eye concludes;

It is with a certain fearful resignation that I know we will squelch and stridulate at the Vic on the 29th with a terrible authority and gravitas. That much is certain. It’s out of our hands now and I reassure myself, unconvincingly that I am blameless. And besides: how can anything that feels so good, be bad?”