westworld issue 1
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Westworld issue 1TRANSCRIPT
November 2012Exploring Arts, Culture, Music & Film within Bristol. FREE
WESTWORLD01INCLUDING Uwe English Society's poetryNathan Moss-BezzinaHot ChipBat for Lashes
FEATURED
UWE ARTISTSOliver HamiltonEdwin Fox
Featured UWE artist
Editor
Emma J. Hardy
Contact
Western Eye
Frenchay Campus
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol, BS16 1QY
Contributors
Khoi Nguyen
Owen Chambers
Oliver Hamilton
Edwin Fox
O. J. Tong
Tess Henderson
Ben Squire
Nathan Moss-Bezzina
Special Thanks
UWE English
Society's Poetry
Typeset
Grotesque MT Std
Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk
& Warnock Pro
Creative Direction
& Design
Monica Giunchi
monicagiunchi.com
Myrna D'Ambrosio
mybitsnpieces.tumblr.com
Join us on
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I am a third year animation student at the Bristol School of
Animation.
Although creating animation is a primary goal of mine, my real
passion lies within designing characters and worlds to set stories
in. I also enjoy creating illustrations in my spare time.
My inspiration comes from anything that is playful, strange and
well designed, being an avid hoarder of children's illustration
books and comics.
My ambition lies within working in animation for children, the
pre-production and design stages in particular.
Oliver Hamilton
2
3Music Reviews
MUSIC REVIEWS
Hot Chip makes you dance. That’s one of the undeniable
facts of life. Cats meow, dogs bark, footballers fall over
quite easily and Hot Chip makes you dance. Whether one
remembers this rather loose philosophy when attending one
of their shows will no doubt never forget it by the end of the
night, with their heads still swimming with main vocalist
Alexis Taylor’s smooth vocals and irresistible retro style
dance-pop beats.
Fitting then, that the night got off to a superb start with
an equally impressive new sound by the support band,
Django Django. With their debut album making a lot of noise
within the industry, you couldn’t help but feel that the hype
was justified, as the four-piece band took to the stage with
It is an effervescing and high spirited Natasha Kahn that
takes to the dimly lit stage in Bristol University’s Anson
rooms. Not the sort of entrance you would normally expect
from a performer at the tail end of an extensive UK tour but
then again Natasha Kahn aka Bat For Lashes isn’t a normal
performer.
Over the course of her three albums, the singer has blazed a
trail from freak pop cult sensation to the Coldplay supporting
multiple Mercury Prize nominee she has become today. Along
the way Kahn has perfected some of the most cinematic and
haunting music released this side of Kate Bush’s “Hounds Of
Love” and established herself as the new queen of pop music’s
alternative side.
The above paragraph aside, it’s evident from the very first
notes that we’re in for something special at the gig. As “Lilies”
from the singer’s most recent album “The Haunted Man”
unerring confidence, mixing what will probably be their
trademark of African wildlife sounds and the traditional
setup of guitar, bass and drums, creating a musical force to
be reckoned with. They have been nominated for this year’s
sputters to life amid sparkling synths and a thunderous bass
line, the crowd falls into an awed hush. I’m assuming that
they did this due to the mesmerizing music emitting from the
PA system but it could have just as easily been due to Kahn’s
hypnotically robotic dancing which make her seem like she’s
been wired to the mains. The gig continues in the same epic
vain with rousing versions of “What’s A Girl Got To Do?” and
“Glass” before taking a well needed breather in the form of the
achingly beautiful “Travelling Woman” in which the singer
retreats behind her piano to deliver the ballad from 2009’s
terrific “Two Suns” album with tangible emotion.
Saying very little to the audience but with a permanent
mischievous grin plastered to her face, Kahn cuts an imposing
figure on the darkened stage with the backlighting throwing
contorted shadows of her strange dancing high onto the
walls. New single “All Your Gold” gets a huge cheer as does
“Horse And I” from the first Bat For Lashes album but it is the
knockout blow of “Laura” that receives the warmest reception.
As the song’s opening piano strains echo round the venue,
the backing band exits the stage leaving the singer alone with
the spotlights and the pianist, to give a stunning run through
of what has to be one of the most affecting songs released
this year. She really seems to be putting everything she’s got
into it which results in the audience erupting in clamouring
HOT CHIPO2 Academy Bristol
Khoi Nguyen
BAT FORLASHES
Bristol Anson Rooms
Merucry Prize award, so it is safe to say that we will be
hearing more of these Edinburgh boys in the future. And if
that isn’t enough to convince you, I still stand by my opinion
that one of the members looks like a twenty something
version of John Major. Bizarre, to say the least.
Bizarre seemed to be the order of the night, as Django
Django left to a deserved round of applause, Hot Chip would
then saunter on, looking like characters released onto the
world by Timmy Mallett, but before anyone could sneak in
a ‘You look ridiculous’ comment, Hot Chip hit the ground
running with ‘Shake A Fist’; the album opener from ‘Made
In The Dark’, and pretty much from there, you knew that the
night was going to be a hugely entertaining one.
Twenty minutes later, when they broke into the simplistic
but engrossing opening of ‘One Life Stand’, I noticed a weird
Picture: mihal_o
Picture: Thomas Barnes
Featured UWE artist
Tell us a bit about your background
I went to a very ruff, low-end school in Bristol, and left with
very basic qualifications and not many prospects for the future. I
decided to take the avenue of the working world and see where it
may take me.
What did you start off doing?
My first full time job at seventeen was with a local handmade
shoe manufacture, where I cut the leathers for the shoes. I soon
got bored of this line of work and wanted something a little more
stimulating, creative and perhaps something I could get my teeth
into.
I managed to obtain a position at a school, fulfilling the role
of Technology Technician. I soon discovered my love for
carpentry and general manufacturing/ construction abilities,
so naturally wanted to follow this line of work. Shortly after
making this decision, I wanted to learn more about carpentry and
eventually become a carpenter. So I took on a role at a kitchen
unit manufacture, producing bespoke kitchen units to specific
requirements. This job role instantly didn’t fulfil my creative
needs what so ever, as it was merely a machinist’s job, and didn’t
possess any carpentry aspects to it.
After feeling disillusion with my poor attempt into the carpentry
trade, I fell into a whole array of jobs just to pay the rent.
I worked as a garden landscaper then I worked as a waiter,
barman, salesman, warehouseman and so on, until I came to the
obvious conclusion that I needed to do something with my life. I
needed to get creative again, and do something with my artistic
skills.
After much encouragement from my sister and father, I pursued
the direction back into education. In 2009 I started an Art &
Design foundation course at Filton College in Bristol. I was
finally filling a void in my life that had been there for a long time
and I was becoming artistically creative again.
Edwin FoxAfter my foundation year, I applied for the Graphic Design
degree at UWE, and got in. This is where I started my career as a
Graphic Designer and creative fulfilment.
Who are your influences?
After five years of working in various jobs, I picked up a lot.
Much of the influence I currently use in my practise and many of
the skills will probably continue to be used throughout life. When
designing I take much influence from my other interests and
hobbies, such as my obsession for classic cars. People who know
me, will have noticed that I can’t help but drop in something
about cars into the conversation. I find this as a creative pastime
and it’s most certainly something I will be continuing as a hobby
throughout my life.
What other things interest you?
My other main interests are, music and dj-ing, House, Drum &
Bass, Dub, Reggae and electro 80s such as Kraftwerk & The
Human League. I go travelling where ever and when ever I
can, and have recently been to Abu Dhadi in the UAE. Check
out my motion piece I made of my experience- www.vimeo.
com/36446229
What style do you like to work in?
Where design is concerned, I like to work with an aesthetic
that represents the human touch. I suppose I sometimes work
postmodern in style, as I have always admired the early Graphic
Designers and Artists. A.M Cassandre, Josef Muller Brockmann,
Marcel Breuer and other members of the Bauhaus movement,
and styles such as Russian constructivism.
I often work with photography, as its also one of my creative
passions and find it an extremely creative medium to utilize. I
feel that getting an equal balance of imagery with typography,
Interview by Emma J. Hardy
Graphic Design, UWE Bristol
6
Poetry
In a moment, weary eyes grow
heavy. Staring as I should, at the
sorry procession of black. She
was brittle and translucent, The
paper that bore her image; at
once together and alone. I clasp
my soft tendons, condensing
a form of water. And I saw, in
Running Away
Constantly moving,
Picking up, dropping.
Trying to forget
The time we met.
Leaving behind,
Looking ahead,
Falling into a net,
Pausing to regret.
Various lips,
Wandering eyes
That met
And let
Guilty hands
Feverishly grab
For some respect,
But just regret.
Was it pretend?
The way we were;
Smoothing the sand,
Both of us land
* Let me inhabit vast expanses,
Open doors, empty glances,
I did not ask for dull romancing,
Let her rot and leave her rancid,
Inspiration - do not bother
me, or any of my other
bodies. Bloody, is this Mary?:
Celery and red as cherries.
Security, I'm in-, and very
happy to be here, and wary
of Death's inevitability,
in Life, in Love, in Victory.
P.S, - *
Melons, Cauli-
Flowers within me,
Vegetate my gait
Then tin me.
Pearls of lightning form above you,
A necklace stuck to clouds and rain and endless stars and sky,
Which repeats itself in tears that glaze the corners of your eyes,
Thunder makes you shiver into broken glass,
So let me pacify these fears and overcast
A spell to calm your nerves and sinew,
Let me Kiss you,
Let me Rain inside you,
Let my Tongue reign you,
Then I'll pick up all your pieces and I'll make you into mirror,
So we can reminisce about the times we got reflective,
Which is married to the moment when we found ourselves connected,
Collected, like two carnation pressed inside a novel,
Let me travel down your Highways that are warm and worn and cobbled,
Let me revel in your Meadows, let me battle with your troubles,
Let me squeeze out all your Sadness, watch it float away in bubbles,
This was more than rebel rain cells, was the Hell of all Hails,
Made the whites of the eyes of the whites in the cars wail,
Caster sugar solvent trickled treacle on the pavements,
Clouds spit blue skies, gasp magnificent,
The Sun has got his blowtorch, he's melting all the ice,
The Sun has got his blowtorch, Sugar, everything's alright.
Submarine babies ripped
From wombs that split tectonic plates,
You call it 'Fate', 'An act of God',
I call it 'Iminami', odd
This Babe will burn
All in its wake
Then leave all pure
For goodness' sake.
Seas have salted the Earth,
Praise the Shells in Neptune's Beard,
Seas have salted the Earth,
Praise Shells! Praise Shells!
Variations on a Theme by Lord Byron:
She Sweats in Beauty.
If she walks in beauty,
May she sweat in beauty,
“The UWE EnglishSociety's poetry”
Chestnuts
*****
***
*****
7
8 Creative Writing
Dear Owner,
I do not miss you. That sounds wrong, I know, but I don't anymore. At first I did, at first it ached
to be away from you, you were always hovering at the peripheries. Every single thing I saw sent
you hurtling into my thoughts, everywhere I turned, you were there like a faithful hound, but
not now. See, you were my drug, before I met you I was fairly happy, I was alright,I would've
been okay. But then we met and it felt like my world had been blown into trillions of twisted
fragments. I didn't know how to process this feeling you had instilled in me. I was an unloved
mutt shown a home, every fiber in my body was screaming at me to leave, telling me that this
was too good to be true. Imagine my euphoria when I discovered that my reflexive extinct was
wrong, that it wasn't too good to be true; that you did love me. That feeling didn't last long.
To me, love is chemical. That sounds clinical, almost cold. But that's just how I feel. So when
we happened to be a good match, when we clicked, when my life was consumed with torturous
thoughts of you, I didn't know what to do. It would have been fine if I could've seen you
everyday; my addiction would've been fed. But unfortunately I was a starving junkie falling into
a pit. Every second of my day was dedicated to wishing that I was with you. All other things were
put aside, while my body would be systematically performing a task, my mind would be miles
away, naively floating atop a volcano of adulation, waiting for it to explode.
Reflecting on our time together, I'm unsure of the accuracy of the word 'love'; to me it had
Creative WritingNathan Moss-BezzinaEnglish & HistoryUWE Bristol