The Exodus Collective are largely recognised as one of the UK's leading examples of a DIY community, providing practical and challenging `downside-up' solutions to social exclusion. Their free community dance events (see free party), social housing projects and city farm have gained recognition and high praise from all around the world.
The effective start of the Exodus free party scene began on 5 June 1992 when Spokesman Glenn Jenkins, DJ Hazad and friends, using equipment reclaimed from a skip, promoted a free party in the woods near Dunstable through word of mouth in local pubs. Raising money through donations at the first and subsequent parties, and reinvesting in equipment, the size of both sound system and attendance grew rapidly from an original 150 to 10,000 by the end of 1992.
They put on free parties most weekends in the grounds of their collective home and then put on larger parties which attracted thousands, every few weeks, in various locations including quarries, woods and other beautiful country spots. Usually following the line of Jungle or Drum and Bass at night and then Techno once the sun had risen, Exodus spearheaded the UK dance music scene for over a decade. Many arrived at the parties in convoy, assembling in an industrial estate and then moving slowly into an empty warehouse or onto open land. The convoy was led by military-type vehicles, including army-type lorries and even a small reconnaissance tank. Local police, largely following a containment or management strategy, allowed Exodus marshals to take over road traffic management in order to avoid traffic chaos.
A influence which is left by the punk / post punk movement is activism as the punks DIY ethics say who ever you are you can do whatever you want you just have to do it yourself! This has then lead to Riot grrls. Showing a very positive effect punks ethos has had on culture.
Riot grrrl is an undergroundfeministpunk movement that originated in the early 1990s in Washington state[1] (particularly Olympia)[2] and the greater Pacific Northwest. It is a subcultural movement that combines feminist consciousness and punk style and politics.[3] It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as its starting point. It has also been described as a musical genre that came out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a musical movement in which women could express themselves in the same way men had been doing for the past several years.[4]
A punk influenced fan zine for music events in Leeds.
http://www.copsandrobbers.net/
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/15/cribs-takeover-fanzines
Cops and Robbers exists as a voluntary run and not-for-profit publication and website to help like-minded promoters and bands let people know about underground/DIY music events in the Leeds area. DIY is a much contested and fuzzy term but we use it to describe events that are:
Not for profit
This does not necessarily exclude gigs that might inadvertently bring in more cash than is required to break even. We believe profit-making shouldn’t be a motivating factor and we champion gigs that consciously exist outside of the professional sphere.
Not for kudos or careerism
Minor Threat (covering the Monkees!) once sang ‘I’m not your stepping stone’ and we think this phrase sums up the DIY approach well. We believe that doing music DIY is an attempt to create a genuine alternative to the commercial music industry and not simply a feeding pool, first stage or stepping-stone towards it.
‘Econo’ and efficient
Another phrase borrowed from the US underground punk scene: this time from the Minutemen. The DIY approach in our eyes is about making best use of resources and not being wasteful so that gigs can be as inclusive (i.e inexpensive) as possible. For example, gigs with guestlists, costly flyers/posters, wristbands, advanced tickets (and their additional fees) tend to make door prices more expensive.
Socially and/or politically aware
It probably goes without saying that we will not list gigs that promote racist, sexist, or in any way discriminatory or deliberately offensive views. We do encourage and support benefit gigs that help counter or raise awareness of resistance to oppression and ignorance in its many forms.
These definitions are not fixed and we welcome discussion around them. However, please do not be offended if we question or do not include submitted listings that appear to conflict with this definition.
Things that might prompt rejection or questioning might include:
High door prices
Whilst we appreciate that some bands have increasing costs to cover and venue hire can be expensive we may question listings that appear overpriced: a gig with a door price above £5 for a gig with just three local bands, for example.
Music press/industry language
Listings that are submitted that imitate, or worse, copy and paste the hyperbolic language of the music press tend to raise suspicion. To us, promoters that write their own descriptions of the bands demonstrate that they know and care about the music they are promoting.
Ethically questionable contentIf you send in a listing for a night of EDL-endorsed Black Metal bands or a Rockabilly night with a wet T-shirt competition in between bands please don’t be surprised if we ask for additional info about the event to justify its inclusion in C and R.
Another borrowing from A Suprematist Tale only now the reds have turned pink. Not a very adept use of typography which is a considerable failing when the book the artwork is copied from contains many better suggestions.
Something Outside (1983) by The Wake. Artwork: Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (1920).
The Wake were signed to Factory Records but their career has been overshadowed by their more successful label-mates. The artwork is El Lissitzky’s famous propaganda poster with the slogans removed.
Here Comes Everybody (1985) by The Wake. Design by Jackie Gribbon & The Wake. Artwork: Part of the Show Machinery (1923).
Six Studies For Piano Solo (1988) by Georg Gräwe. Artwork: First Kestner Portfolio: Proun (1924).
El Lissitzky’s “Proun” on this cover can be seen in miniature on the Wake sleeve that precedes it.
Possessed (1992) by The Balanescu Quartet. Design by T&CP Associates “with a Nod and a Wink Towards El Lissitzky”.
A minimal usage for an album which is predominantly string-quartet arrangements of Kraftwerk songs.
Man-Amplified (1992) by Clock DVA. Artwork: The Constructor. Self-portrait with Circle (1924).
Clock DVA by this point had abandoned their organic Industrial style for total electronics. The album title and the lyrics of Man-Amplified were evidently intended as a kind of cyberpunk upgrading of Kraftwerk’s Man-Machine concept—which may explain the El Lissitzky artwork—but the results sound rather dated today.
Sergei Prokofiev: Le Pas d’Acier; L’enfant prodigue (2003); Michail Jurowski, WDR Sinfonie Orchester Köln. Artwork: First Kestner Portfolio: Proun (1924).
Sergei Prokofiev: Sur le Borysthène; Seymon Kotko Suite; Lieutenant Kijé Suite (2004); Michail Jurowski, WDR Sinfonie Orchester Köln. Artwork: Proun 10 (detail) (1919).
Michael (2004) by Franz Ferdinand. No designer credited. Printed in variant shades.
Many of Franz Ferdinand’s early releases either alluded to or borrowed from the avant-garde imagery and typography of Soviet artists. These two singles take El Lissitzky for a model, with This Fffire being a variation on the Red Wedge design.
This Fffire (2004) by Franz Ferdinand. No designer credited.
No Balance Palace (2005) by Kashmir. Artwork: Design for the Abstract Cabinet (1927).
An album co-produced by Tony Visconti which perhaps explains its guest appearances from David Bowie and Lou Reed.
Man And Boy: Dada – An Opera In Two Acts (2005) by Michael Nyman. Design by Russell Mills & Michael Webster. Artwork: Portrait of Kurt Schwitters.
The Draughtsman’s Contract (2005) by Michael Nyman. Design by Russell Mills & Michael Webster. Artwork: Untitled (Hand with a Compass) (1924).
Swallow Smile (2006) by Franz Ferdinand. Design by Kris Heding.
Ending as we began with a 7″ single, unless there’s more to be added. As usual, if you know of any omissions then please leave a comment.
No B-Side: Malcolm Garrett, Buzzcocks and post-punk sleeve design
In Unit Editions’ new book on punk and post-punk 7″ sleeves, designer Malcolm Garrett discusses the radical visual language he first brought to the band Buzzcocks in 1977. Featured here is his essay from Action Time Vision, alongside the text of his conversation with author and lecturer Russ Bestley
Buzzcocks, Love You More / Noise Annoys (United Artists UP36433), 1978. Design: Malcolm Garrett / Auricular Images
Barney Bubbles
Barney Bubbles (born Colin Fulcher; 30 July 1942 – 14 November 1983) was an English graphic artist whose work encompassed graphic design and music video direction. Bubbles, who also sketched and painted privately, is best known for his distinctive contribution to the design practices associated with the British independent music scene of the 1970s and 1980s. His record sleeves, laden with symbols and riddles, were his most recognisable output.
A plot of the Lorenz attractor for values r = 28, σ = 10, b = 8/3
A double rod pendulum animation showing chaotic behavior. Starting the pendulum from a slightly different initial condition would result in a completely different trajectory. The double rod pendulum is one of the simplest dynamical systems that has chaotic solutions.
Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics focused on the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions. 'Chaos' is an interdisciplinary theory stating that within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, self-organization, and reliance on programming at the initial point known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions. The butterfly effect describes how a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state, i.e. a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.[1]
Small differences in initial conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computation) yield widely diverging outcomes for such dynamical systems — a response popularly referred to as the butterfly effect - rendering long-term prediction of their behavior impossible in general.[2][3] This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved.[4] In other words, the deterministic nature of these systems does not make them predictable.[5][6] This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos. The theory was summarized by Edward Lorenz as:[7]
