Fantômas LIVE at Montreux Jazz Festival 2005

In 2005, with Dave Lombardo on tour with Slayer, Mike Patton recruited virtuoso drummer Terry Bozzio into the fold of his all-star band Fantômas. The dates they played included the Roskilde Festival in Denmark (of which a great interview clip and an electrifying rendition of 'Twin Peaks' exist) and the world-renowned Montreux Jazz Festival in Canada. The latter has been preserved in its entirety and is a good snapshot of the comic, horror film, surgical & cartoon-inspired brand of insanity these guys pump out (don't be fooled by the playlist, tracks from 'Suspended Animation' are included here).

We've had the pleasure of seeing them in concert 4 times now and they are arguably the most exhilarating live band, period. While there's no deny the sheer force and precision that Lombardo delivers to this music, it is fascinating to see the intricate and embellished improvisations that Bozzio brings to the work. The guy has the most ridiculously large kit (unfortunately obscured by the darkness in the video below but shown in all its monstrous glory in the Roskilde interview).

Apparently the next album will be electronic-based (and we wait with bated breath!) followed by a sixth album that focuses on improvisation (which Patton has hinted may see the return of Bozzio). Fantômas amenaza al mundo!

In 2023 we invade Mars

Recently, a team from the Netherlands entitled MARS ONE have announced that their private enterprise intends to land astronauts on the red planet in 2023. A cohort of the first 40 intrepid voyagers will be selected next year (2013) from public submissions for what will be a one way trip. The initial launch will be in 2016 when a supply mission sends the beginnings of what will become the outposts infrastructure. The whole thing will be broadcast as reality TV which will also act as a methods of generating funding. This is one of the most exciting things to happen, not only in our lifetimes, but in the whole of human history! We will be watching with anticipation.

I, Cyborg

In the near future, possibly in our lifetime, humans will merge with technology to a degree in which our intelligence and lifespan may be supplemented indefinitely. Already breathtaking experiments have been carried out, such as those done by Kevin Warwick, in which the human nervous system has been interfaced with electronics. Robot arms have been controlled, via the internet, directly by a human brain. The neural signals from one subject have been transmitted into the circuitry of another so as to provide a sort of telepathy. Only recently New Scientist reported that mobile phones embedded under the skin of cadavers operate with the same functionality as those held in the hand and one only has to consider the brilliance of the Cochlear Implant (a device which restores hearing to the deaf) to postulate that telephony will, with a simple implant, soon be indistinguishable from telepathy. Rats can be controlled remotely and moths are being grown with chips in their brain in order to act as spy planes. Once you dig deeper into the subject you'll realise we are standing on the precipice of abilities that will make us god-like. The mind boggles at the ethical issues that coincide with it all. On the world stage these concerns are being debated by figures such as Warwick, Ray Kurzweil, Hugo de Garis. Is it just us, or does Garis feel like the evil scientist of the bunch? : less successful, more apocalyptic, defecting to the Chinese government (with their track record for human freedom)...

We for one welcome the next phase. This isn't science fiction. This is Transhumanism. This is H+.

Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley: the last polymath? Crowley was an expert mountaineer, sexual libertine, poet, artist, and the foremost occultist, arguably in history. His synthesis of scientific empiricism, philosophies of east & west, and the phenomenology of religious/mystical devotion is a revolution that foreruns the 'use it if it works, discard it if it doesn't' angle that would be adopted by the rising cult of Chaos a century after his birth.

Crowley was perhaps the first rock star of the 20th century (as evidenced by his inclusion on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's) and smashed through so many of the taboos of Victorian England.

Richard Kaczynski's biography of this most remarkable and often confronting man is the definitive picture of his life & exploits. A new edition has been released to much acclaim.

For those who find the idea of magic(k) too rooted in fantasy, one should realise that Crowley's revolution is one of discarding any intrinsic reality to things like demons, etc. Rather, ritual and its incantations & entities are simply tools used to execute ones will. Confused yet? Seek on....

The Art of DM Cook

David M. Cook is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work we have fallen in lust with. It's full of geometridelic robot skulls, serpentine chimeras with rainbow boners, saggy tits & tattoo flash. When he's not making 2D artwork he's creating 3 dimensional 3D glasses with bat faces. It's a wonderful world thanks to David Cook! His artwork is featured on recent Converge shirts too!...

'Watchmen' Motion Comics

Alan Moore took comics to a new level when his acclaimed Watchmen series exploded onto the scene in the mid '80s. It's this series that spawned the concept of the graphic novel, comics as a serious literary & artistic medium rather than a childhood novelty. Its effect can be seen in the homes of today, with progressively older adults tuning their TV into animations that focus on increasingly adult themes. This book went on to be the basis for the 2009 feature film.

In 2008, an extremely faithful 'motion comic' was released. Though transitions from one scene to another often feel rushed, it is nonetheless entertaining viewing.

For us, the character of Dr Manhattan is so resonant. Who resonates with you?

Salvador Dali explains Alka-Seltzer

The master of surrealism himself explains the mechanism of action of antacids. Perhaps a little reminiscent of Jurgen Haabermaaster & Howard Moon's plug for Windy Blast Fast? Use only as directed.