Spoken Label - Christmas album (Poetry and Spoken word wanted)

Since its creation at the start of 2016, Spoken Label (my informal Podcast chat series) has maintained its focus to record and release sessions, on an almost weekly basis with local writers and artists and beyond, collecting informal chats about their work and where it came from and if they wish, then providing them with a chance to share some examples of their work.

Although this series will be ongoing for the rest of this year and hopefully next year, from 31st August 2019 Spoken Label, as a special project (hopefully ongoing yearly) is aiming to put together by a poetry / spoken word album on the theme of Christmas, by various poets and writers. Submissions can be made in mp3, m4 and wav etc and can be emailed to Andy N at aen1mpo@yahoo,co.uk and has a closing date of 02 December 2019.

I can do some recordings viva Skype and Facebook and on the telephone (maybe in person too depending on distance), but it is best to check for  availability, if you are struggling to record.

The completed album will go live on Spoken Label's page at spokenlabel.bandcamp.com at the beginning of December 2019. All proceedings will be divided among two charities (details of which will be announced later).

Unexpected change of weather (New Poem)

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Unexpected change of Weather

Left blowing in the breeze
the gate behind us was left dangling open
as a final learning curve
after we passed through it
beckoning us to come back to it
and try and shut it again.

Digging a way in the air to another world
we had just left behind
quivering on the other side of the river
between now and then
bresting the horizons
with the sudden change in weather.

Lapping on auto-pilot
all the way to the next field ,
our feet covered in ice laced leaves
and legs in ash coloured shadows
mid-stride running back
in a soft trot to your car.

Dissecting emotions left out for a eulogy
through another field then another
implanting silent notes of music
over your car window like magic
as the snow signalled the end of Autumn
all the way home.

(Painting is by Victoria Mironkeno and is published here with permission - more of her work can be seen on her instragram page@mironenko.victoria

)

Printed Words live at the festival of Manchester 31 August 2019

A few of you know I have been assisting my always lovely partner Amanda Steel with the production of Printed Words, a new fast growing journal from Manchester featuring various kinds of creative writing.

In major news, as you can see we have been invited to read out at Manchester's Festival of Manchester at Platt fields.

Come along and support us. it's a free event.

I'll be Mcing it and reading briefly during it.

Live Set @ Peterloo Soapbox, 16 August 2019

The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England on Monday 16 August 1819 when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 who had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation.

Two hundred years later, I was invited to do a short set for Manchester Histories in tribute to these events where I read out two new poems 'Peterloo' and 'the day Nicolae Ceaușescu died'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjruu7HGc0E&t=13s

Peterloo Poems by Manchester People (Pictures)

Tuesday night (Well, 06 August 2019) I was very honoured to be part of a major poetry reading in Manchester Central Library talking in poetic terms Peterloo which on 16th August 2019 was two hundred years.

There was a lot of readers there all of who read out to a large crowd (Possibly 100 +)

Ali from Bahrain 

Andy N (selfie) with part of a audience

Andy N

Andy N

Anthony J Parker

Bridie Breen

Charlotte Gingras

Chris Bainbridge

Deborah Edgeley

Emily Graham 

Emily Graham

Gordon Zola

Graham Gillis

Greg Nowell

Greg Nowell 

Janey

Janey

Jess Hulme

Joy Wassell

Judy Morris

Julia Davenport

Margaret Holbrook

Mark Sheeky

Mark Sheeky

Nicola Hulme

Nicola Hulme

Paul Morris

Peter Branson

Peter Branson 

Randy Horton

Sandy Parkinson

Theresa Sowerby 

Ocean in a Bottle - two new releases

Over this year, Ocean in a bottle my ambient / piano / drone project has been burrowing deeper and deeper into the theme of outer space and slowly over time touching on all of the planets, moons and everything that makes it such a beautiful place to look at.

One of my favourite planets growing up was Saturn, the 6^th planet in our solar system and the sings which cover in a stunning beauty of which then made sense to create the first album in this sequence after a ever increasing number of singles / Eps over the past nine months or so.

Released by Persistent Vegetative State Records on 31^st July 2019, the two track album can be downloaded / streamed for free here https://persistentvegetativestaterecords.bandcamp.com/album/on-saturns-wings

‘On Saturn's Wings’ contains two long, epic ambient drones spinning into a more spiralling, freer form and carries its drones across an imaginary journey between beauty and a paradox of what it is seen and what is not seen.

My second release within the space of a few days has come out on the excellent Silbermedia with a piece called 'Birds on the Roof with a bad throat at Manchester Victoria train station just before the moon rises'.

In contrast to 'On Saturn's Wings' this is a strict field recording (of course with a few edits if you listen carefully) recorded at Manchester Victoria Train Station inbetween train journeys going home from work. In contrast to 'On Saturn's Wings', this is a totally different form but something quite different to do, and something that was great fun exploring and I am pleased to announce is part of Silbermedia's August series of Field Recordings. This can be downloaded for free / streamed from:

https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/birds-on-the-roof-with-a-bad-throat-at-manchester-victoria-train-station-just-before-the-moon-rises

Coming next –

Another as of yet untitled field recording from Sillber Media in August 2019

Examining Phobos and Delmos for life (September 2019)

Space graveyard Volume 1 (September 2019)

Waiting to land on Venus (October 2019)

DIH and friends @ Christmas (HICC) (December 2019)

** I am looking for homes for several other releases on the theme of Space - get in touch if curious on aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk **