Things Enjoyed by Mathew Clayton in 2010.
Record (new release). Earlier this year i had an idea for taking old recordings of poetry and putting them to music. This project became the Dead Poet’s Society a tipi in the wood at Camp Bestival where my friend Kal and me blasted out Hilaire Beloc and Ezra Pound to the complete indifference of everyone at the festival. A few weeks later Robin sent me a copy of Grasscut album 1 Inch/ 1/2 Mile. They also sampled Beloc and Pound but it sounded 100 times better than my paltry efforts. Mixing voices from the past, distant church bells, snippets of telephone conversations, alongside gurgling analogue synths and galloping drums – as if Iain Sinclair had gone into the studio with Underworld and Robert Wyatt.
Record (revived). Red Snapper’s Pale Blue Dot came out in 2008 but i only recently discovered it. Sounds a bit like i always hoped Barry Adamson would.
Film and TV. I watched a number of mediocre films but lots of great TV. The highlights were Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire – both essentially costume drama for men.
Radio. Jarvis Cocker and Tom Ravenscroft on 6 Music, Rob Da Bank on Radio One, Jon Sa Trinxa on Ibiza Sonica, the Today programme – I listened to more radio than ever this year.
Moment / Event. Dancing to Jarvis Cocker DJ’ing in the Caught by the River tent at Port Eliot was pretty special.