Another Evocative & Thought Provoking Trip Down Memory Lane @_The_Public with Cipher’s Past Lives Tour.

The Public, West Bromwich.

Last Friday I attended another fantastic screening of Cipher’s Past Lives Music to Archive film performance, this time taking place at The Public, in West Bromwich. It was a wonderful opportunity for members of the surrounding West Midlands communities to come and see some of the home-movie film gems that have been found by the Full Circle groups from across the East and West Midlands.

“We all really enjoyed Friday evening’s performance.  You had done an amazing job with the film, touching, amusing, evocative in turns, with some beautiful faces, and really summoning up what it was to live in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.   The music provided a terrific backdrop, really enhancing what was on the screen by creating just the right atmosphere.” Sarah Bradley, Full Circle Depositor

The Public’s Past Lives audience were treated to poetic family scenes from the 1950s to 70s, shots of Balsall Heath William Edward Street, Woodside, Dudley, The Black Country, Town Sparrows, Percy Thrower Gardens in Edgbaston, Hop Farming in Herefordshire, a trip to the East Midlands coast, kamikaze motorcycles, and much much more.

All accompanied by Cipher’s specially composed live musical score.

If you’ve not yet managed to attend a Past Lives event, then try and pop down to:

• 7 July Derby – The Quad, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby DE1 3AS (01332 290606) derbyquad.co.uk
• 8 July Cromford – Gothic Warehouse, The Arkwright Society, Cromford Mills, Mill Lane, DE4 3RQ (01629 823256) arkwrightsociety.org.uk + Workshop
• 19 July Stamford Arts Centre – 27 St. Marys Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL (01780 763 203) stamfordartscentre.com

Watch this space for a Manchester date in September too!

Cipher’s Dave Sturt and Theo Travis with Full Circle Depositor Sarah Bradley and her brother Robert, whose father Christopher Whitcombe’s family films are one of many to play a big part in the Past Lives Performance.

A scene from The Whitcombe Family Film Collection that has been digitised by MACE’s, Heritage Lottery Funded Full Circle film search project.

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Coming soon! – “Past Lives” performance: archive film footage and live musical accompaniment

Dave Sturt and Theo Travis of 'Cipher'

We are thrilled and excited to be working with Cipher’s musicians and artists to present this wonderful film heritage and musical event. Cipher have collaborated with visual artist Anthony Hatton to produce a thought-provoking and engaging visual and live musical experience using little seen footage from the Media Archive of Central England, including local images of Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, West Midlands and Nottinghamshire. 

Tour Dates:

08/03/12 - Lincoln Performing Arts Centre T: 01522 837600

09/03/12 – The National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford      T: 01529 308710

27/03/12 - South Holland Centre, Spalding T: 01775 764 777

25/05/12 – Holymoorside Village Hall, Chesterfield  T: 01246 567118 or 861997

27/05/12 – The Broadway, Nottingham T: 0115 952 6600

30/05/12 – Solihull Arts Complex T: 0121 704 6962

24/06/12 – The Ritz cinema, Belper T: 01773 822 224

27/06/12 - Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry T: 024 7652 4524

29/06/12 – The Public, West Bromwich  T: 0121 533 7161

07/07/12 – The Quad, Derby T: 01332 290606

08/07/12 – Gothic Warehouse, Cromford  T: 01629 824297

19/07/12 – Stamford Arts Centre T: 01780 763 20

http://www.cipher.f9.co.uk/index.htm

The music is composed by renowned musicians Theo Travis (flute, sax – David Sylvian, Steven Wilson, Robert Fripp) and Dave Sturt (fretless bass/sound design – Gong, Steve Hillage, Bill Nelson). They will perform with guest musicians Deirdre Benscik (cello) and Clare Bhabra (violin) from the renowned Sinfonia ViVA

Capturing moving images is now commonplace with mobile phones and pocket cameras, but before the digital age it wasn’t so easy. Small format movie  cameras were the liberating technology of the mid-20th Century, giving ordinary people the chance to record everyday events on their 8mm and 16mm cameras.

a bit about Cipher……
Dave Sturt and Theo Travis have been developing their own original film scores since 1996 utilizing contemporary digital sound-processing techniques, acoustic instruments, voices and natural sounds. Their music features the use of looping technology, effects, improvisation, and melodic composition. The music is intense, emotional, often dark, spontaneous and lyrical.http://www.cipher.f9.co.uk/reviews.htm

the workshops…….some venues will be running workshops on the day of the performance – please ring to check.  They will demonstrate how to create a soundtrack and will give people a chance to play to a scene from the film. The workshop will include basic improvisation techniques, ‘capturing a mood’, exploring musical themes, using music technology in live performance and discovering the hidden potential of musical instruments. Interested musicians of all ages and all standards welcome.

our sponsors…….

A very big thank you to the following sponsors who have helped make this happen – Arts Council England, Derbyshire County Council and The QUAD, Derby