BLACK SUN

Granary Theatre | Saturday May 23 | 8pm | €10

Black Sun is a new monthly weirdo/outer limits music event taking place in the Granary Theatre, Cork.

It is being launched this May 23rd and will return in the Autumn with a unique programme.

It is curated by Vicky Langan (Wolflinge, Female Orphan Asylum, United Bible Studies) and co-run by 'Noise/Music A History' author Paul Hegarty (Safe, Working With Children).

Line-up:

Rest: A maelstrom of visceral and monolithic prog-like musical montages.

Safe: Cork throbbing noise veterans with guests Paul Condon (electric guitar) and Wayne Dunlea (drums)

Vomit Nest + Wolflinge: Hazardous swamps of sound and garbled tape manipulation.

First Blood Part II: Spurious bird noises through sax neck, through water, through violin...

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Distros present on the night:

Noise Not Music:

Noise Not Music is a label/distro from Limerick that releases noise, drone, hardcore, punk and soothing tones on cassette. The distro carries tapes and 7"s from labels like Blackest Rainbow, Not Not Fun, GEL Tapes, Hydrahead and lots more.
http://www.noisenotmusic.com/

Rimbaud Records:

Rimbaud Records is a Symbolist influenced D.I.Y. label currently operating out of Cork city. The imprint's alchemy of sounds range from psychedelic doom to ectatic punk rock, moulded by hardcore punk ethics, a love of vinyl and Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud. It is home to a list of Irish and international bands that are pushing the boundaries of their respective crafts. Tunguska, El Bastardo, Hope Is Noise, Kursk, Hey Colossus, Thou, Protestant, De Novissimis, and The Killing Spree are only some of the names the label has worked with. Militant and epic sounds fof those seeking something new, vital and intelligent.
www.rimbaudrecords.com
Bold Lump:

Avant, Doom, Psych, Other.. Vinyl distro from Dublin
http://www.boldlump.com/catalog/index.php

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It was our aim to provide Cork audiences with an alternative space where they can listen to and engage with performers they almost certainly would not have gotten the chance to see otherwise. I feel that at the moment, in terms of hosting really far out stuff, that we are very much an island. Touring performers don't often look into travelling to Ireland while on UK and European tours, and if they make enquiries about it, unfortunately, there are very few promoters willing to take on more unconventional shows. Both Paul and I have each promoted 'unconventional' shows over the years in Cork and we've both recently noticed a small surge in audience numbers compared to gig attendances of let's say 5 years ago. Cork has got a vibrant sonic scene, most of which orbits round our main sphere of influence, Plugd Records. It was when the ball got rolling with this Black Sun thing that I found myself wondering why this hadn't happened much much sooner. After inviting three friends, each of which run very different labels/distros in Cork, Limerick and Dublin to attend and set up stalls in the mail-art exhibition space, I became very aware of how this event really knitted together this one community that extends all across this island. Mailing Irish zine-makers, artists, musicians, friends and family to contribute something to the mail-art exhibition also brought that thought home. Mailing international artists and musicians just blew that whole community open even more. Now we've got loads of amazing artists eager to come visit Cork and a whole new line of communication is opened up for this city.

The launch of the event features Rest, in what will be a rare gig on their home turf. It goes without saying that Rest alone will be enough to have this gig sell out. What I am even more excited about is that a lot of people going to see Rest will have never seen Safe perform before, not to mention Steve from Rest's electronics side-project Vomit Nest. This is also the debut performance of First Blood Part II, a solo treated sax venture from a close friend of ours. Moving away from a rock club setting and into the dynamic space of the Granary will really set this gig apart from others this year. I'm sure that the audience attending Black Sun will be inquisitive, open-minded people, keen to experience and discover new things for themselves. I don't need to tell people how great I think the line-up is, I want them to come and make their own mind up. The audience will bring as much to this event as the musicians!

For me, the best thing about the night will be the opening of a mail-art exhibition I've thrown together in the past few weeks. I've invited loads of friends from all over the world to create and post a postcard sized piece based on the theme of 'resonance'. I have artwork coming in from everywhere. Both Dylan Nyoukis and Karen Constance (Blood Stereo) are sending stuff, Jean Louis Costes (who some may remember from the film Irreversible), Justice Yeldham, Texas band Rusted Shut, Indian Jewelry, performance artists, engineers, photographers, teachers, painters, the list goes on forever... The pieces that make it through the post will be exhibited in the studio space of the Granary, alongside the distro stalls. There may also be a small stall set up for a portion of the night selling this really amazing sticky vegan chocolate cake I make. According to a friend of ours, sound and performance artist Danny McCarthy, the first ever Irish mail-art exhibition took place in the Triskel in the 90's. It's lovely to think that we're revisiting it almost 20 years on, albeit with chocolate on our faces and ringing in our ears... Vicky