Formication Gigs

Live Date :: Supporting Nadja in Nottingham

Formication are pleased to confirm that on Thursday 19th March they will be playing a live set in support of the mighty Nadja at The Old Angel in Nottingham.

All The Empires of the World will be performing at 20:00 followed by Formication at 21:00 and finally Nadja at 22:00. It promises to be a loud and messy evening of high quality, adult orientated volumetrics. Bring a friend.

News :: thecentrifuge.co.uk

Thanks to Wassim and amp; Neutek (and or whoever wrote us up thusly) at thecentrifuge.co.uk< a>:

'Formication are a rare breed in electronic music: technically awesome, creatively breathtaking and aesthetically intriguing, this Nottingham-based duo have been perfecting their sound of deconstructed beats, dark soundscapes and concept studio work. They rarely perform live, but when they do sparks fly! All manner of custom- built and handmade instruments take to the stage, making it a feast for all the senses. It�s no wonder that The Wire Magazine has championed them with a Formication track appearing on the cover- mounted CD �The Wire Tapper� in October 2008.'

Expect a Formication release on thecentrifuge.co.uk netlabel very soon.

Live Date :: Supporting DMX Krew 09.08.08

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Tokafi Dark Ambient Special

Tobias Fischer of Tokafi has put together this excellent feature on Dark Ambient music:

"Reviews, Interviews, Articles, Videos, MP3s: A contemporary look at the Dark Ambient scene."< a>

Formication Interviewed by Regen Mag

Posted: Sunday, February 24, 2008< span>
By: Matthew Johnson< span>
Assistant Editor< span>
Review by: Matthew Johnson< span>< div>

BIOGRAPHY< div>

Exclusive Free Downloads at VIRB
We are pleased to announce that our virb< a> account now contains two exclusive new releases.

The first is a collection entitled 'Lost Icons', unmastered demos from our Lumberton Trading Company debut.

The second is entitled 'The Condemned Piano (Memory)' and represents outtakes from the 'Pieces for a Condemned Piano' sessions.

Both are available as high quality, DRM free downloads right now.

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Formication studio photographs

Here are two shots of our studio, taken during February 2007, around the time that 'Icons for a New Religion' was written and produced. < span>

Ableton Live 6 is running on both the laptops, the Elektron Machinedrum is the midi master controlling the tempo of the setup. The Latronic Notron is feeding sequences and amp; controller information to one Apple Macbook Pro. The Sherman Filterbank takes a feed from a vocal microphone (used on vocals, drums, guitar, zither, tootlin horn and amp; thumpiano) and the output is fed through the TCfx and straight into the desk, but the other Macbook Pro controls the controller curves for both. The two Macbooks are synced over a LAN cable. Our Mackie SRM450 speakers are just out of shot. Not your typical studio monitors....It was a really creative setup, but we'll take it apart and rebuild it a thousand times in the space of a week.< span>

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Live date::: Blueprint, Nottingham, 16.02.07

On the 16th February 2007 Formication performed a one hour long live set at the Blueprint club in Nottingham. < span>

Compared in atmosphere, but not necessarily sound, to Vladislav Delay and Autechre, the piece is entitled 'He is Dying and She Doesn't Care' and we are proud to present it for free download here.< span>

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Click here to download the entire set in mp3 format. It's a 56mb, one hour long mp3 and will take a few of them minutes to download over a fast broadband connection. < a>
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Live Date :::: Orange Tree, Nottingham 13.01.07

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Set List:

'Void' < li>
In The Kingdom of the Electronic Eye' < li>
'The Primal Shrine' < li>
'The Air In Here Is Pure'
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'The Background Noise' < li>
'Faces of Fire' < li>
'When The Patient Stars Breathe'
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Interview by Glen Parver of Leftlion with Formication prior to gig:< span>

'Formication are a Nottingham-based duo who create their own noise, produce it, mix it up and then turn it on its head. The guys involved are Kingsley and Alec and it�s hard to pigeonhole their sound, but there is definitely a bit of ambience and electronica involved. They�ll be serving up a night of eerie soundscapes at the first LeftLion Presents at the Orange Tree of 2007. So we put a few questions to them...

So how did you both meet and who plays what in the band?< strong> < span>
Alec:< em> I don�t remember where we met. I don�t think we ever did. I play the Macbook Pro, occasional Samsung X15, acoustic guitar and amp; bass, drums, djembe, piano, musical saw, Nord Modular, Latronics Notron, broken and amp; fixed drum machines, voice, Cracklebox.
Kingsley:< em> Yeah, we did meet. We must�ve. I can�t remember it either though. Samsung X15 and Macbook Pro as well as occasional tootling horn, drums, yang chin, piano noise, post hunting horn, Cracklebox, tiny drum, voice... hitting things with sticks.
Alec:< em> We create all our own noise, produce it, mix it and then turn it on its head and tear it apart �til we�ve got something that we want to hear... We're very particular. It has to be just right, but it can come from anywhere at all.
Kingsley:< em> Then we�ll often rip that to bits too. We have hundreds of hours of archived recordings, which get recycled distilled purified contaminated mulched and otherwise chewed up and spat out as something completely different.

Where did you both start out in music?< strong> < span>
Alec:< em> Playing organ in a Baptist church in the south east of England, when I was five I began. I�ve sat on the knees of Reginald Dixon and Robert Wolff... during one performance all three of us played �Chariots of Fire� to a packed house on a huge Wurlitzer and string synth - there were hundreds of tiny automated clockwork animals that moved about to the music... incredible to believe, I know, but true. I haven�t found a more gorgeous string synth sound since.
Kingsley:< em> I fainted in the kitchen when I was about 10 and my dad carried me into the music room to recover... I felt really sick for a bit but I�ve loved music ever since.

What�s your favourite of your own tracks?< strong> < span>
Alec:< em> Void< em>, a long and frenetic track from our forthcoming Lumberton Trading Company release that is utterly mental, very intense, especially live. It has a horrible time signature, it veers from industrial acid to screaming ambience and it was great watching people try to dance to it last time we played it live. We made a video for 'Void' as well, which will appear on a computer near you very soon.
Kingsley: Faces of Fire< em> another new track where I sing like a sweet, sweet angel.. Also, The Untitled Wasdale Recordings< em>, our latest release, is still sounding fresh as the day we made it.

< p>What can people expect from the show at the Orange Tree?< strong>
Kingsley: We haven�t decided yet but it will be immense. We�d like to frighten people a bit.. Alec: Or at least intimidate them... confuse them slightly. 'Have they started?' Make them wonder how they could possibly be dancing. Like that feeling when you fall down the stairs and completely have no idea if you are upside down or not... total disorientation. Unless we decide to play an entirely ambient set, in which case we guarantee uneasy dreams.. At the end of our last gig this guy came up to us and said "I heard this noise and I thought 'I wish that was the band on tonight, but it's probably just the air conditioning starting up'" He was genuinely over the moon when he realised it was us. That was a big compliment.

What are your favourite hangouts in Nottingham?< strong> < span>
Alec:< em> Kingsley�s house, Selectadisc, Squeek, Alley Café, disused buildings. I like ponds, rivers, canals and lakes too.
Kingsley:< em> The Tap, The Pit, The Sal, Reflex, Game.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< em> Trying to teach my wife to make a dripping noise with her cheeks. Alec: Watching him try to teach his wife to do that. It�s not easy. We went to see The Mighty Boosh in Derby which was also very funny.

What was the last thing that made you cry?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< em> Trying to teach my wife to make a dripping noise with her cheeks. Alec: When I accidentally drove over a pigeon in town and the people trying to cross the road near my car got sprayed with blood and tissue. They were covered with it and pigeon bits got all over my car. I laughed �til I cried at that. I always thought they would just fly out of the way, but no.

What are your plans for the festive season?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< em> Being continuously drunk to numb the pain.
Alec:< em> I�m going to be in hiding in the studio for as long as possible... I might cook my mum a nut roast, I suppose. Yeah, that�ll probably happen.

What�s the best Christmas present you�ve ever been bought?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< em> I don�t remember any Christmas presents. I don�t mean that I�ve never had any, I just have a really bad memory.
Alec:< em> A remote controlled submarine is. No, that was a birthday present. A good one, though.

What�s coming up for you in 2007?< strong> < span>
Alec:< em> More tattoos. Writing music. Buying records and machinery. We�re about to release a CD called The Untitled Wasdale Recordings which we�re really proud of it. It�s going to be free from our website too.
Kingsley:< em> We're also releasing it as a limited edition of 23 in deluxe handmade wooden boxes, they cost £23.00. More details on our website.'

Live Date :::: Summer Sundae Festival, Leicester, 11.08.2006

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Set list:

1) 'The Sufferers'
2) 'The Line That Divides The Earth From The Sky'
3) 'Backbone'
4) 'In The Kingdom Of The Electronic Eye'
5) 'Void'

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< div>"Utah Saints look-a-likes"? < a>

It wasn't a DJ set...< a>
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"Bastard Son of Autechre"< a>

Cheers, st00ka< a>
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Live Date :::: Drop In The Ocean Festival, Nottingham, 11.06.06

The Formication gig on Sunday 11th June passed off in spectacular fashion for the delectation and delight of all comers, many passers by and the occasional emergency vehicle.< font> < font>< font>< font>< font>< font>

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Set list: (49:06)< span>

- Intro noise < span>
- 'Crossing the Sea by Radio'< span>
- 'The Sufferers'< span>
- 'Baby' < span>
- 'Backbone'< span>
- 'The Void'< span>
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"I was sat outside and I figured the air conditioning must have come on, but I thought to myself "...it would be so great if this was music..." and it WAS!"

"Some seriously chin stroking beats there! Reminded me of Autechre at Stealth last year, how do you get a mac to talk to a PC like that?"

"....it felt like being back in the womb, and then sometimes like being rudely reborn. It felt good."
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Live Date :::: LCB Depot, Leicester, 22.06.06

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Perspective:

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On 22nd June we're playing a three hour live soundtrack for creative types to schmooze to at TBC at www.lcbdepot.co.uk< a>. We're very excited about it; it's a unique opportunity that will give us rare freedom to experiment in a live environment.< font>< div>< font>< font>

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Formication will be providing the live soundtrak to this years TBC Network Social at the LCB depot in Leicester, performing constantly evolving sonic structures twisting together existing releases with exclusive material and showcasing new tracks from their forthcoming Redux EP and more. This event begins at 18:00 and will be a 3 hour long performance accompanied by canapes and a creperie.

People won't be scared, they will be amazed.

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Set list (in alphabetical order):

'Backbone' < li>
'Burning' < li>
'Crossing the Sea by Radio' < li>
'The Side Effects of DHPG' < li>
'It's Lovely, Baby' < li>
'On The Dying Pathway' < li>
'Pink' < li>
'Rise of the Native' < li>
'The Song of Things That Weren't Quite Right' < li>
'The Final Stage of Trauma' < li>
'The Harsh White Light' < li>
'The Line That Divides The Earth From The Sky' < li>
'The Spiral at the Window' < li>
'The Sufferers' < li>
'This Is Madness' < li>
'This Is The Way Things Were Always Meant To Be' < li>
'Void' < li>
'When The Patient Stars Breathe'< li>< ol>
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Live Date :::: Loom Festival, Malt Cross, Nottingham, 26.02.06

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< div>Set list:

1) 'The Side Effects of DHPG' (Excerpt from Derek Jarman's 'Blue')
2) 'Crossing the Sea by Radio'
3) 'Staph Haven'
4) 'The Spiral at the Window'
5) 'This Is The Way Things Were Always Meant To Be'
6) 'When The Patient Stars Breathe'

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Live Date :::: Orange Tree, Nottingham, 19.01.06

Audio and amp; photographs from this gig are available from Dark Winter here.< a>

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At 10.30 on the 19th January 2006, Formication took control of the stage at The Orange Tree< a> in Nottingham, UK. What followed was 71 minutes of deliciously skewed versions of the following studio tracks:

1) Intro - 'The Side Effects of DHPG' (extract from Derek Jarman's 'Blue').< font>

2) 'The Final Stage of Trauma' - restructured from the 'Pieces For A Condemned Piano' project.< font>

3) 'Crossing the Sea by Radio'- a shattered digital interpolation of the original transmission.< font>

4) 'Staph Haven (Redux)' - a radical reworking of the original, barely recognisable.< font>

5) 'On the Dying Pathway' - also reinterpreted from 'Pieces For A Condemned Piano'.< font>

6) 'When the Patient Stars Breathe' - a previously unheard 16 minute piece in 3 parts.< font>

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< a>< div>Interview with Leftlion prior to gig:< a>

'Formication are ambient dub duo Kingsley and Alec from Nottingham. By day they are part of the Nottingham city workforce like the rest of us. By night, however, they are bedroom producers intent on bringing their blend of musical chaos to the Nottingham public. We caught up with them before their gig for LeftLion at the Orange Tree to find out more...

How did you guys first meet up?< span>
Kingsley:< strong> It was years ago at work. We found common ground through our enjoyment of throwing things into the fan in the canteen and got talking about music when we found "Anticon are saving hiphop" graffittied in the lift. It was later changed to "Anticon are saving chip shop" and we no longer felt inspired, so we took a four year break.
Alec:< strong> I realised exactly what needed to happen two years ago at the Green Man Festival. I wanted to play there.

How would you describe your style to new punters? < span>
Kingsley:< strong> A mixture of waters, the Tears of Navarone, A sphere. We don't do things by halves...
Alec:< strong> If it was a vegetable, no an animal, it would be a blue whale but one that could live on the land. It's dark ambient electronica that will make you feel uplifted, but in a downbeat way.

Why did you decide to call yourselves Formication?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< strong> It was a neat trick that only took 6 months to pull off.
Alec:< strong> We bounced 800 names across email for months. And they were all rubbish.
It says a lot about our music: a vague misunderstanding about sex, a general air of queasiness and confusion, leading to embarrassment. People like the way it sounds like a swear word but they can say it out loud. And, of course, it isn't even a swear word.
Kingsley:< strong> We had to get a name going and when we heard about it, we had to have it!

What different qualities do you think each of you bring to the group?< strong>
Alec:< strong> Kingsley brings humour. Not comedy, fluids.
Kingsley:< strong> Alec brings a general vegetarian aspect.
Alec:< strong> Kingsley brings his hair.
Kingsley:< strong> Alec brings hair too.
Alec:< strong> Without Kingsley, the songs would be shorter. There'd be just bass, no treble at all. We wouldn't need tweeters.
Kingsley:< strong> Without Alec the music would be more trebly and a lot longer. We try to avoid our differences as much as we can.

The influences you cite (from NIN and the Pixies to Marvin Gaye and Will Oldham) are pretty eclectic. How do you feel you bring all these elements together?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> We don't bring them together. We are influenced by everything we hear and we listen to a lot, but we like to sound just like Formication.
Kingsley:< strong> I agree, we definitely don't try and bring any of those things together. It would sound hateful.

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What instruments and kit do you use to create the music?< strong>
Alec:< strong> We use real computers and handmade electronic devices. We have got people across the globe helping coordinate the search for the perfect bass drum.
Kingsley:< strong> We use non-electrical sources all the time: voices, djembe, tiny bongos and horns (We like nanotechnology and wood). We recently condemned a piano.
Alec:< strong> We have a very well-equipped studio hidden in the darkest depths of rural
Nottinghamshire. It's got everything in there: compressors, expanders, tubes, radios, floorboards, the works. You'd love it!

If you could get anyone in to hook up on a track, who would you choose?< strong>
Kingsley:< strong> Good question...
Alec:< strong> Vladislav Delay, Kanye West, Timbaland.
Kingsley:< strong> No, that's wrong, don't say them. I think the problem is that if you work with someone, you will probably find out you dislike them. Hang on... No, I can't say Jhonn Balance.
Alec:< strong> Any collaborations apart from the two of us would create friction, chafing. We'd probably split up. We're a delicate balance.
Kingsley:< strong> Hassni Malik of The Vitamin B12.
Alec:< strong> William Basinski.

What other music in Nottingham are you feeling?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< strong> Cable. The Collar of Sound guy, have you seen him walking round Nottingham,
with his amazing collar, a Face-Off patch on his jacket and he plays the James Bond theme quite a lot.
Both:< strong> Modulator ESP. He's a big hairy guy with amazing fingers!
Alec:< strong> There's a great singer in my village goes by the name of Lance. Great voice, just like an angel if angels were hairy men.
Kingsley:< strong> First Blood.
Alec:< strong> Lorna are making some really good chilled out indie... we see them in
Sainsbury's. Does anyone remember 3rd Stone? They were good. And Bob Tilton.
Kingsley:< strong> Also that guy who plays the interesting Chinese instrument near the
Broadmarsh Centre.

What other music are you feeling generally?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> Coco Rosie.
Kingsley: < strong>Adult.. Ladytron.
Both: < strong>Jose Gonzales, William Basinski.
Alec:< strong> I'm getting sick of them and I'm going to delete them from my iPod. But I'm feeling Common's Be< em>.
Kingsley:< strong> Samsa.
Alec:< strong> That whole Dark Winter sound.

What's your idea of a good night out in Nottingham?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> Going to Kingsley's place, making some music, going really far away from Delhi for a great curry. When Stereolab played at the Marcus Garvey, Tricky at Rock City, Catpower at Bunker's Hill, they were great nights out.

Who is your ultimate Nottingham hero?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> I like the Little Fat Sheriff and the Snake of Nottingham.
Kingsley:< strong> Bendigo.

What was the last thing that made you laugh?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> Kingsley saying Bendigo. Serial Mom
Kingsley:< strong> The Mighty Boosh.
Both:< strong> We laugh all the time.

What was the last thing that made you cry?< strong> < span>
Kingsley:< strong> Breaking my toe.
Alec:< strong> The end of Donnie Darko.
Kingsley:< strong> The biting wind.

What was the last film you saw?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> Serial Mom
Kingsley:< strong> Catch Me If You Can

What was the last book you read? < span>
Alec:< strong> Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Review. No.16. The one with the free comb.
Kingsley:< strong> American Psycho and Fluffy (Part One).

What can we expect from your gig at The Orange Tree?< strong>
Alec:< strong> Petulance. Throbbing emotions. Brilliant! I love interviews! The usual happy ambience of The Orange Tree to be brought down a notch or two.
Kingsley:< strong> They do good food - you could have some. Seriously, it'll be a emotional
night of uniquely unsettling entertainment.

Anything else you'd like to say to LeftLion readers?< strong> < span>
Alec:< strong> Keep reading the LeftLion, it's great! Come to our gig!
Kingsley:< strong> Bo!
Alec:< strong> See, we're actually a lot of fun. It's not all dark ambience...

Formication and Modulator ESP play at the Orange Tree on Thursday 19 January 2006'< em>
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