Following Buds & Spawn first live stream show on 22nd October featuring VÄLVĒ and Persona, the Sheffield promoters have revealed details for the next event set to take place on 10th December. The 2nd in a series of 4 online shows will feature Liverpool based collective a.P.A.t.T. and Sheffield post-rock/shoegaze outfit New Ghost.
a.P.A.t.T. have been baffling audiences for almost 20 years now, stretching the constraints of what a musician is expected to be whilst constantly pushing their practice into new uncharted areas. The Liverpool based collective are known for a mixture of musical, filmic and multi-disciplinary works, including live soundtracks to accompany films such as Nosferatu; modern classical pieces such as In C by Terry Riley; and in 2013 they performed the premiere of a piece of music composed from the locations of bird droppings falling on large sheets of paper.
a.P.A.t.T. have inspired comparisons with Devo, Metronomy, Frank Zappa, The Residents and Cardiacs, without actually sounding like any of them. In 2016’s Fun with Music, “Liverpool’s multi-genre veterans” (The Skinny) condensed their vision-quest into 45 minutes of hooky, style-busting material.
The band have also released records through Cargo, Upset the Rhythm, aNGRr and POSTMUSIC. They have toured and played with Daniel Johnston, Secret Chiefs 3, The Locust, R. Stevie Moore, Charles Hayward, Lightning Bolt, Icy Demons, Y.A.C.H.T., Health, Chromehoof, Acid Mothers Temple, Upsilon Acrux, and the Sun Ra Arkestra.
General MIDI from a.P.A.t.T. comments, ‘Big big joy coming our way for this Buds and Spawn event! It’s been incredible watching it all take shape and seeing everybody getting involved! It bodes well. Our piece will be festive December mix of dogs, dark poetry, stage antics and erm…music.’
Sheffield’s New Ghost was founded sometime in late 2017, intended as a collaborative musical endeavour by main songwriter Chris Anderson. Citing the likes of Mogwai, St. Vincent, Mitski, Mew, Boards of Canada, and Broadcast as among the groups influences, to name but a few, the sound of New Ghost has been described as progressive pop, shoegaze, glitch pop and art rock among many others. The band is noted for utilising a wide combination of stylistic influences and an emphasis on the free flowing collaborative nature of the project.
Chris Anderson states: ‘I think what the Buds & Spawn team have been doing pre-Covid has been a much needed shot in the arm for the local scene. They’ve been bringing in really interesting left field acts which just enriches everything. Post Covid what they’re doing is essential, and so to be involved in some capacity is a real thrill.’
https://newghostband.bandcamp.com
Buds & Spawn first launched in 2019 bringing a series of semi-irregular nights of semi-irregular music to some of the city’s great independent venue for lovers of the weird and wonky, punky and proggy, choppy changey, twisty turny, off kilter, psychedelic, experimental, math / alt / art / and the just plain awkward.
At the start of 2020 plans were put in place for a programme of gigs funded by the Arts Council ‘Supporting Grassroots Live Music’ initiative. These were planned to take place across the year but then the pandemic took hold and the UK went into lockdown.
Now Buds & Spawn, in place of the events are hosting a series of live stream shows across this year and in to 2021. Each one is a combination of exclusive new pre-recorded performances from each headliner and a local act, along with live interviews, chat and an interactive Q&A. Additionally the aim is to also raise some money for the venues that should have been hosting the original gigs.
Following the success of the recent first event featuring VÄLVĒ and Persona, Buds & Spawn founder Laura Holmes adds,
‘We were absolutely chuffed at how well the first live stream event with VALVE and Persona went. Over 120 people bought tickets to watch the show live or watch it back later, and we had audience members from Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and several from the USA. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with everyone who took the time to share their thoughts saying that they were planning to attend future Buds & Spawn online events.
We raised £275 for the Music Venue Trust #saveourvenues campaign through our Scene Champion tickets and viewers also put generous tips in the artists’s ‘tips jar’ during the show. It’s so heartening to see that people are willing to continue to support artists to produce amazing digital experiences during this period where they can’t get out gigging.
It’s never going to be a replacement for a live music experience, but it absolutely seems to provide something that people are missing. I think in the longer term there is every possibility that we could sustain events like these as a complement to our live music shows – it opens up what we are doing to so many more people and ultimately shares this amazing music even further. Everyone’s a winner!
Tickets for a.P.A.t.T and New Ghost are available from: budsspawn.nutickets.com along with the opportunity to rewatch the first show featuring VÄLVĒ and Persona.
Scene Champion tickets for this show will collect donations for Theatre Deli Sheffield, who were the planned hosts for the original event (https://www.theatredeli.co.uk/sheffield)
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/378563910219404/
The remaining 2 Buds & Spawn shows will take place on 25th February and 10th April with artists being announced over the coming months.
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