RIVAL SELF

Last week’s show was unbelievable. Kind of feels like a dream.✨ Enormous heartfelt thanks to @furrowedsound for putting together such a mind blowing and inspiring couple evenings of experimental sonics at @the_rose_hill - I’m honoured to have played a part.👌🏻 First time I’ve ever collaborated on a routine… and it was a mammoth routine that I’d need to write several essays to explain. 😂 Aside from the main show, this was the first time I’d ever improvised with a bunch of musicians. 🤔 Which was bonkers, somehow really easy and thoroughly enjoyable. Maybe I’ve been approaching this stuff wrong all these years. Nah. Also the first time I’d bled all over myself, my equipment and the stage mid show. ROCK! 🤟🏻💀🩸 Great to meet and play alongside so many incredibly talented people. @dalefrostmusic @alexander.painter @rachael__finney @buntylooping Jules @nimzostudio & Jim on the sound desk. 🙏🏻 Definitely going to forget people who rocked up so apologies in advance - 😬 The wife @thirteenscorpios who patiently supported me through my usual silent and anxious pre show days. @aroe_heavyartillery and his customary enthusiasm, @djformat who caught the wrong half, @strictlykev and @hannahbrown5555 for making the pilgrimage, giving me gifts and being great, @wyclefgenre , @wyndhamearl_time_spun_records , @recordshopper , @alitollervey & @cherryshakewell , @visiononmusic … good lord who knows. 🤷🏻‍♂️🧐 Thanks to all who showed up. Was truly banging. 💥

Flashback to the opening night of the incredible @aroe_heavyartillery show down at @helmgallery_ ✨ Shout out to Louis @rookrecords for the super kind words on the @killakelaofficial podcast. Much appreciated. 🙏🏻 Full episode on the Kela YouTube channel should you wish to hear more of my pre performance rambles. Great to see you again brother. ✌🏻 Such an excellent night. @djformat and @thirteenscorpios smashed it too. FANKS!

“Hailing from the south coast of England, producer, DJ, turntable musician, cassette looper, and artist, @rivalself has been well known within hip hop circles since the mid 90s 20th of October sees the highly anticipated release of his self-titled debut LP — a meticulously detailed field trip through an immersive soundscape that encapsulates the spirit of early Shadow for the art loving crate digger. Heavily influenced by his love of psychedelia and the spirit of jazz, he has crafted a deeply personal sonic documentation of change.” Visuals by @al_hodgson

Old clip of a bit of pre-show freestyle practice / decision making process over a grubby 4 second cassette loop using the INSANE religious preacher record that the wife discovered for me a while back. 🙏🏻 It’s pretty rare too from what I can gather so I thought it best to chuck cue stickers all over it. 😂 Side B especially gets more and more intense before it mutates into full pelt distorted yelling and singing in tongues. 😬 I’ve got quite a bit of mileage out of this particular record on the new album…. 👌🏻 Thanks to @thirteenscorpios for the digs. X

Belated joys. I’m just about recovered from four days up North last week but definitely haven’t processed it all yet. 🤩🙌🏻 Glorious company with exceptional human beings playing esoteric sonics together in Stockport, Manchester, Liverpool and finally the absolute treat that is TREE MUSIC - the best event/venue/people/forest in the universe as far as I’m concerned. ✨🌲 Also this was where the good wife laid down her first ever performance of her original material. Incredible as predicted and her acapella take on “Let no man steal your thyme” amongst the trees and bird song may have brought a tear to my eye - and I suspect many others in attendance. 👌🏻 MEGA OOF! 🤯 Couldn’t be more proud of the absolute life weapon that is @thirteenscorpios 🧡 Humongous non-reggae thanks and hugs to @mrandyvotel and @starbeak for making this truly soul nourishing event a reality and for inviting us on yet more mad adventures. ✌🏻 Was a real pleasure travelling about with the beautiful added crew of @don_leisure_ @cmoriginalpress and sharing smiles and hangs with @boneyvotel @fritzgreatlakes @lucyksheehan and far, far, far more excellent people that I won’t even attempt to tag as I absolutely will miss a bunch of peeps. Last photo is of one of the SIX record boxes we took finally giving up on the way to the car right at the very end of the last day… thank you for your service. 🙏🏻 @red_bull_hillgate @yes_mcr @strinesnightingale

First one DUN ✨ Super fun records and crew on the amazing sound system at @red_bull_hillgate ✌🏻 Never used a rotary mixer in my life but it turns out you can double up breaks on one if you’re needlessly stubborn and quick enough. 😂 Great sonics from all involved. Inevitable wantslist growth activated. On to B-Music next at @yes_mcr this evening. Going to be sick. 🙌🏻

Four days of glorious insanity playing records and sharing smiles with excellent humans ✨ Liverpool, Stockport, Manchester and my all time favourite event @treemusic_nestival 🤟🏻 Absolutely cannot wait. 🌲 🎶

Well now… bet you weren’t quite expecting that. 😂 Huge thanks @thelowendtheory for the invite and to all the kind and/or mad folks in attendance for my chaotic sonic architecture - I appreciate the smiles. ✌🏻

Year later Honeymoon action with the god tier human @thirteenscorpios ✨🧡 Best time I’ve ever had with her. Which is very much saying something. X Netherlands was spectacular. Lots of stories. Lots of laughs. Excellent food. Excellent company. Art. Music. Love. Many steps. Hot tub. Danger. Yodelling. Minimal reggae. 🙏🏻 The incredible overwhelm that is @recordplanet ensured that we got on the return flight with two additional suitcases of records…. Can’t wait for some time to go through that lot. 👌🏻 What an absolute mind melt. 🤩 Worth the gruelling few months and me seeming to vanish off the radar. Jacuzzi weighs a ton. ✌🏻

Year later Honeymoon activated. 💥 Amsterdam experience was utterly and beautifully perfect. 🤟🏻 Next stop Den Bosch. Empty suitcase and soon to be empty envelope of cash ready for the record convention. Absolute life goals exceeded with the god @thirteenscorpios ✨🤟🏻🧡 Arts, music, poetry, love.

Last minute, late night improv session with @furrowedsound ✨ I came home, filled a box with odd records and then set off again with zero preparation before recording one continuous hour and a half take - which turned out to be bonkers! 🤩 Big stuff soon. Been off here a while because… well… have you seen the world recently. 😬 Hope you’re all doing well friends. ✌🏻

Happy new year gang! ✌🏻 Superb first weekend/gig spent in the company of the Northern crew. 🤟🏻✨ Esoteric sonics supplied by @thirteenscorpios , @veristheprogram , Paul, @mrandyvotel and myself at the brilliant antique cabin that is @milkreading with @barry_manalog @timloopt and other folk I’ve definitely forgot soz.👌🏻 Many thanks for the invite and bonkers level hospitality. Haven’t laughed so much for a while and I’ve no idea what the hotel “bar” staff made of all of us sat there yabbering nonsense until 4am. 😂 Even had a real life creepy as hell Baby Reindeer type couple (?) latch on to the group which added to the collective weirdness. Nearly died from posh Sunday roast with AV the next day, took a million wrong roundabout turnings on the way home and I’m still tired two days later but worth it. The end. 🙏🏻