DIY Is Good - DIT Is Better

 

I came across the trailer for this documentary earlier this week, and have spent the consequent time trying to find out what the hell it's all about. Do It Yourself is a collective of youngsters based in Amsterdam who create new media and organise events, bringing together creative people who like and make honest and independent art. Yet the endeavour is to stress that this is global. Currently, their main project is a documentary [named, funnily enough, Do It Together]. It explores the life of independent artists who struggle to survive making music in a changing world, with a large number of DIY artists taking part, giving their opinions and ideas of where this medium is heading to, along with plenty of great live performances. The movie is focused on the DIY ideology and the artists' independence, today's music industry issues, copyright matters, young artists barriers, the experience that people have and new ways they find to spread their art.

Take a look at the collaborators: So far we have many artists involved in this film. To name some:
- Devo [US]
- Steve Albini [US]
- Flux Information Sciences [US]
- Shipping News [US]
- David Yow /The Jesus Lizard [US]
- Lite [JP]
- John Dikeman [NL]
- Adebisi Shank [IE]
- Hella [US]
- Julien Fernandez [IT]
- Polvo [US]
- Tera Melos [US]
- Giraffes? Giraffes! [US]
- Chevreuil [FR] - Deerhoof [USA]
- The Ex [NL]
- Knalpot [NL]
- Le Singe Blanc [FR]
- Boutros Bubba [NL]
- Petrol [RS]
- Parts & Labor [US]
- Aural [UK]
- Deformica [ARG]
- Pneu [FR]
- Aucan [IT]
- Dan Deacon - [US]
- Part Chimp [UK]
- Al Scorch [US]
- Nelson Can [DK]
- Hurtmold [BR]
- Gijs Gieske [NL]
- The Bulletproof Tiger [CA]
- Kit [US]
- Selfkill [TWN]

That's a mere fraction. With the documentary due out in March, the collective aim to conduct some workshops to teach people how to do audio engineering and lights at shows, to get people more involved in their respective DIY communities. I'm very keen to see how this progresses, and what local communities already in existence think of this. You can visit their website here, and by all means, leave your thoughts below. You can also email them here if you are interested in finding out more.

Shipping The News Never Gets Old

A mainstay of Touch & Go Records (well, its sublabel Quarterstick Records), Louisville post-rock sluggers Shipping News released One Less Heartless To Fear, their first album in five years, for Noise Pollution Records (AfricAntApe and Ruminance will distribute it in Europe) mid November last year. Im a latecomer to Shipping News, never having made the jump from the band's 90s predecessor Rodan. But when I heard 2003's Three-Four only last year, I was hooked. I only managed to pick this one up last week.

So how does the new LP sound? Having been recorded live in two very different locales (Skull Alley in Louisville, KY and the O-Nest in Tokyo, Japan), we can expect more sprawling and devastating compositions... Er, no. Although the sense of urgency, angst and unease runs through One Less Heartless To Fear like a thick ribbon of coal underneath the surface, its the tightly coiled songs themselves that prove to be the biggest change since the band's hiatus. Songs like 'This Is Not An Exit' and 'The Delicate', utilising sound more like Shellac or Gang of Four than they do like their previous leanings into Slint territory, with a liberal dose of Fugazi thrown in for good measure. Indeed, it is the abrasive post-punk math overtures here that most impress, showing that nothing will slow down Shipping News' verve and drive (founding member Jason Noble has been battling cancer for some time). And even if there are some instrumental tracks ('Half A House'), they are reined in to under five minutes. Whats more, though there is some crowd adulation, its on the whole difficult to fathom this is a live album, so meticulously is it recorded and produced.

Shipping News then have forged out of the blocks here wielding much agression and anger - yet there is vim and vigour that enlightens. There is much life and energy left in the tanks. And just ponder on the bands that Shipping News rose from like a phoneix from the ashes - Rodan, The For Carnation, June of '44. And the fact that they named their band after E. Annie Proulx's brilliant book (one of my all time favourites, a definite top ten). This is a class act. Grab this - now. Then, if you havent already, collect their whole discography, plus those of the preceding acts. Its never too late.

Shipping News - The Delicate

Shipping News - Half A House