TEA London News & Views

DAY 2- Curated by Battles

Walls

With their 2010 self titled album picking up Mojo Electronic Album of the Year, what could possibly go wrong with the duo? The answer is, absolutely nothing. With my eyes closed and bum planted on the carpet, their emotional soundscape took me to Norway, Berlin, Hull, Royal Oak (don’t ask me why), and many other places and spaces. It was beautiful, it was lush, it was the perfect start to Day 2.

Washed Out

The electronic theme continues with Washed Out. And basically if you take Walls, turn the encapsulating soundscape down a couple of notches, strip everything else down a little, add in some vocals and then cut everything up into 10 individual songs, and you’ll get Washed Out. It’s a pop version of Wall if you like and I meant it in a good way.

The Field

More electronic..The Field have exactly the same set up as Wall on stage but that’s where the similarity ends. Though both are in the genre of electronic, The Field are a lot dancier but definitely not better. I find their sound tired and dated. It’s like listening to a DJ spinning club music. I got bored very very quickly.

Gary Numan

Is it wrong to say bad things about Gary Numan? I mean he is Gary Numan after all..? Well to be honest, it wasn’t very interesting. Looking very much like Brian Molko (or rightfully the other way right), his new sound is goth. Nothing new, and nothing more. With the exception of Cars in the early part of the set, I felt like I stood there for 40 mins just to listen to Are Friends’ Electric. Sorry…

Cults

Oooh.. I was very much looking forward to see Cults after coming across some of their tracks a few years ago. Live, her voice sounds a lot sweeter and definitely a lot more bedroom pop. Although they didn’t blow me away, I still love what they do and to me, they are what pop music should sound like. Note: I’m still humming ‘Most Wanted’.

Battles

Curator for Day 2, the Battles were fantastic and boy do they work hard! The result; a musical sound that is amazingly dense and frantic with beeps and bleeps coming out of everywhere, followed by rolling thunderous drums and every little squeak an instrument can make. Yes there were moments when it lingered a bit on the same spot but there were many other moments when it felt like all the pinball machines and video games have come alive in an arcade and proceeded to have a full blown sing-song. And that’s what make the Battles a damn worthwhile band to watch.

(And who cares about not having a lead singer when you can just stick people into screens- genius!)

Underground Resistance presents Interstellar Fugitives

Detroit has a saviour and they come in many guises under the banner of Underground Resistance

or is that supposed to be Interstellar Fugitives? Frankly, I haven’t got a clue and the little write up in the booklet just confuses me even more. I don’t really know why but I keep thinking I have seen them before. But anyway, they are pretty good, in a sense that I wouldn’t mind seeing them again but I wouldn’t be rushing out to buy the record or ticket.

And that ladies and gentleman is the end of Day 2.

BE

ps. I did sneak into a DJ session again.. but when Mr. DJ shouted Un, Dos, Tres.. I couldnt get away faster enough.

Disclaimer: The views of Bunny Ears is not necessarily that of TEA London’s; or that of anyone else’s for that matter. (especially the bit about Gary Numan – Ed)

Yes yes .. it’s the ATP again. And for someone who generally do not make sweeping statement like ‘This is the best ATP ever’, this indeed has been a very very good one.  Below are my two and a half cents on acts that I saw on Day 1.

Day 1: Curated by Les Savy Fav

Marnie Stern

My first act for the weekend. I actually quite like her sound- it has all the kicks and the energy but vocally, it was a bit of a let down. It’s simply too 90′s indie girl-esque for me and severely lacks the punchiness and urgency to move along with the music. And as I stood there, I remember thinking to myself- how great they would sound, if only Karen O is on vocals. Is that a bad thing to say?

Surfer Blood

First saw them when they opened for Interpol at Brixton Academy. Then, I thought the music was ok and they were kinda fun so I thought I’ll check them out again. And I have to say it’s a little disappointing. They look tired and sounded tired, which is not good especially if they don’t want to be just another indie band.

Before you read the next review (and a few more for the weekend), I have to confess that this bunny is not a jazz bunny, a soul bunny nor am I a funk bunny. So, any bands that fall into these genres, I am sorry if I am a little prejudiced. Sorry, I simply cannot help it.

The Budos Band

The first of the many jazzy act for this weekend, The Budos Band is supposed to have fused jazz and rock or something like that. But to me it’s still jazz with your usual break-it-down, break-it-down and what not. Someone once said all musicians make/play music for others, but a jazz musician, they only play for themselves. What can I say? Judging from the crowd, they must be pretty good. It’s men blowing their on horns, what more do you want?

Wild Flag 

RRRiot! My first exciting act!! These girls rock! They are tight as a group and their sound is brash and choppey. I really love their energy but kinda feel they are holding back a little. At the moment, they have Carrie and Mary (both on guitars) taking turns on the mic. And I sense that this is to ‘balance’ their sound. But I would say-Girls, forget balance and go hard. Cos that’s what makes you hot!!

No Age

OMG! OMG! Do you sense my excitement? How should I put it.. OK. If there is an unholy union between John O’Neill(The Undertones) and The White Stripes(both of them) and the ménage à trois somehow produced two offspring, they(the offspring) would be No Age. This is exuberance of youth at its best. If John Peel was there, he would have risen and said, ‘ Let’s hear that one more time’.

Hot Snakes

Ok, I know I blabber on a bit about energy this, and energy that. But the matter of fact is, there are energy this and there are energy that. There are energy that give you the teenage kicks (see what I just did!) and there are energy that is so raw, it’s indigestible. Hot Snakes for me, is not quite 100% indigestible, but because it’s so furiously fast but more or less just stays at the same pace, I just kinda switched off after a few songs. Seems like a nice bunch of people though.

Les Savy Fav 

The curator for Day 1 and boy o boy…Was that a show? or Was that a SHOW??!!! Tim Harrington is God and Les Savy Fav has just officially knocked Ash off my all time ‘Enjoyment Maximus’ gig list. Definitely a must see for all able bodies, as moshing is indeed a pre-requisite. Visually it was a feast, the silver-ed up stage, glitter, sequins, gimp suit, glitter, balloons, more gimp suit, even more glitter and underpants- what more does a bunny need? It was a showman at his best and the music was pure joy. Never a dull moment, the music and energy simply feed you and carry you through to the very end. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Damn, just go see them!

BE

ps. The bunny did sneak into Simian Mobile Disco after that but wasn’t really feeling the music. Yawn yawn…zzz

Disclaimer: The views of Bunny Ears is not necessarily that of TEA London’s; or that of anyone else’s for that matter.

Tea London's Elton gives some thoughts on the future of home automation, and how the humble PC can play an important role in changing your TV viewing habits.

From a young age I have always been surprised how ideas and concepts imagined by the fertile minds of Science Fiction authors and scriptwriters became to be realised as significant technical accomplishments later on. I have come to understand that pretty much anything is possible if we have the vision to imagine it and the willpower to accomplish it.

Nowadays home automation presents home owners with the level of automation and integration so advanced that it is not so much what it automate for you, but more a case of how much you can invest in it. With the advent of affordable home control system products such as the hardware based Control4 systems to software driven systems like Stardraw Control, the notion of installing a home automation system no longer exclusively applies to the incredibly wealthy. It now puts it within reach of those consumers who can comfortably afford to buy, say, a Mac notebook computer.

In addition to installing home automation control systems, I still see the PC as the essential piece of 'kit' as the centre of any home AV system, and will likely will win out over more complicated and specialised home control systems as time goes on. It already provides a compelling array of Media storage and delivery services. Windows Media Centre, which is a 'built-in' feature of most versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, provides you with a media-centric, intuitive user interface that is designed to be displayed and comforttably on flatscreen TV's.

We are looking forward to the next release in Windows 8, which is currently in test or 'preview' stages of development. The first version of the new Media Centre Metro application included in the latest preview release.

Some reasons why Windows Media Centre is good for you:

•  Simplified file sharing. File sharing is not a big deal, it can be achieved with most computers or even with NAS drives, however something like recorded TV is not something that is typically shared. Using Media Centre to record TV, means that recorded TV is stored as a video file, that can be opened by any other system capable of running Media Centre. If you imagine how, for example, SKY+ operates, where recordings are only accessible on the box that recorded a programme, you may being to understand how this subtle difference can bring about significant advantages to you.
• Windows Media Centre typicall supports 4 tuners of any type or combination. So it is possible for you to have 'PVR' that is capable of receiving and recording both terrestrial and Satellite TV. Normally a PVR is restricted to only receiving signals from either source.
• With satellite tunes, Windows Media Centre supports DISEqC switching. This allows you to connect either a motorised satellite dish or an array of fixed position satellite dishes to one tuner.  Again this does may not sound like a big deal, but it is possible for you to have up to 4 'positions' configured per satellite tuner, each position relating to a dish that is aimed at a different broadcast satellite. This greatly increases the number of TV channels you can view. Windows makes the selection of this various satellite dishes transparent, these positions are selected simply by you changing channel. Usually TV content is limited to 'unscrambled' channels only, but it is possible to get some PayTV or scubscription based TV services working on this system, if the encryption system used by the broadcaster is more 'open'. Sadly SKY is not one of them - we suspect that even if people wanted to pay a premium to watch their services on a system on this, they will never allow it to happen. Using a simple 2 dish configuration with a TV antenna, comprising of FreeSAT (ASTRA2) and a dish aimed at European TV Services (Astra1), you will have in excess of 1000 free-to-air TV channels at your disposal. A surprising number of them are broadcast in HD, with more and more broadcasters launched HD services on a regular basis.
• Although Media Centre can't natively decode scrambled services like SKY and Virgin, it is still possible for you to connect our set-top box to a Media Centre PC. The Media Centre PC will provide you with full TV listings in its programme guide, and can change channels on the set-top box automatically. The only real weakness in this ability is that it deliver video in full HD quality. You certainly can view and record HD channels, but the viewing experience will always be in standard definition. The ability to connect HD devices for the purposes of recording still remains a sensitive issue for the likes of Hollywood, so this is more political/business restriction, rather than a technological one.
• The killer feature of Media Centre is its fully interactive TV programme schedule guide. It will provide you with one, fully consolidated programme guide of all of your TV channels - regardless of whether it is a foreign satellite service or FreeView/FreeSAT services. It provides you with a 2 week guide that you can look browse not only in chronological order by category, genre, actor, director and using text searching. You can for example, browse for all films that will be broadcast across all of your available TV channels for the next two weeks. By selecting to record any of the films that suit your tastes, you can rapidly build up a movie library at no cost and perfectly legally. Remember the rest of the home can share and access these recordings too. The guide fundamentally works the same as any other interactive guide, however its two week time line and its flexibility in how you can browse the guide makes it by far the best interactive programme guide we have ever used.
• I don't think I need to remind people how easy it is to rip music CD's and built-up a music library. You can also rip DVD's and Blu-Ray content, but this is a more complicated area which also has copyright implications.
• As Windows Media Centre is a PC. This means it can playback all mainstream media file and disc formats. It is a truly universal media player, wiping out the need for you to adopt one video or audio standard or install additional equipment for the purposes of playing specific media (it makes installing a separate Blu-Ray player, DVD Player, CD Player, AppleTV, or media streamer redundant). It can play proprietary content such as Windows Media or Apple iTunes content as well as all other open video and audio file formats. Of course it can also access web based services, giving you access to a vast array of online, on-demand video and audio sources.

Internet TV and other on-demand service clearly will become more popular with consumers than traditional off-air TV viewing (broadcast TV).  All mid-ranged or better flatscreen TV's have networking capabilities. They have buildin-in 'apps' that will give you access to online services like YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Skype, even access to LoveFilm's online content. This to some extend negates the need for a media PC to be attached directly to the TV. You could access media stored on the PC using DLNA. Flatscreen TV's are becoming 'smarter', and they are progressively becoming purpose built 'appliance computers'. Soon plugging your laptop into the TV will become a thing of the past.

The manner in which TV and PC's are merging it would make sense to only install one or the other in any room - why have both?

Tablet PC's  will ultimately become your remote control that can handle almost all control of your home automation system. From TV remote control to the light switch. You can view your CCTV cameras, or answer your door phone from the same device. Perhaps you might want it to open the window for you and automatically turn off your air con at the same time.

The automated stuff we used to watch in Sci-Fi movies is becoming reality. Things that seem far fetched today will more than likely be accomplished sooner than you think.