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Project Adorno: Facilitating
the flow of information, imagination and ideas through the fusion of pop, performance
poetry and song |
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The Early Years |
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It started, ironically, with a poem called "Shallow
Circles". The poem became a song which eventually became
the title piece to an "album" (or at least a rag-bag collection of
songs haphazardly recorded in the bedroom) and also spawned other
artistic ventures, namely a series of paintings. Inevitably, there
was a lot of teen angst coming through in the early work as we
scribbled down bad but intimate poetry and strummed hopelessly on
acoustic guitars, groping for impossible chord
changes.
 Everyone's too
busy, criticising everyone else, to notice
themselves
Falseness is
a way of life round here, acceptance of face value
facts
Why can't people
say what they mean, instead of spewing out endless
streams....
Living in a
twilight zone, we roam, grazing with the herd in the field on the
hill
Moving around, we
follow the crowd, forever in eternal shallow
circles
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This was all a
million light years away from what Project Adorno was to
become. Nevertheless it was an essential part of the process.
Back then we had a plethora of pseudonyms, the most memorable
being "the Keynotes". Influences were variable, one day we
wanted to be The The or Sonic Youth, another, the Beatles or
Frankie Goes To Hollywood. But, ultimately it didn't really
matter. What was important was the drive to create and get the
"stuff"
out! | |
"Shallow circles"
was the first coherent piece of work, the first thing that at least
had an air of completeness to it. It included songs such as "All
things must change" (still a favourite), and our anti-Gulf war songs
imaginatively titled "No more war (parts 1 and 2)" - oh yes, we were
political as well!
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The Shallow Circles
Painting Series: |
The paintings were more a tableaux -
graphic representations of the songs and their subject matter. The
one that started it off - the initial "shallow circles" painting
(3rd from left above), was in fact painted on a concrete paving
slab. |
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unreleased (as it should be), which of course seemed a
travesty at the time. With the world largely ignoring our
first "masterpiece" we continued undeterred. Back to the
creative workshop, like Rhubarb knocking around in his shed,
we finally emerged with "Society's World", another collection
of songs, which were, if anything, more highly charged and
politicised than the first. (Teen angst turning outwards,
where the first had been inward). If this one wouldn't do
it.... |
Early cover art for "Society's World"
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Of course, it didn't. At
least not at the micro level. But looking at the larger
picture, Project Adorno simply would not have happened without
these haphazard, crude fumblings. Well, that's one
justification anyway.
There was still a long way
to go of course. Christmas ‘93 and the "December Days" EP -
fashioned under formidable time constraints and hand delivered
to "the lucky ones" (various friends and acquaintances) at
midnight, as Christmas eve turned to day.
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"Band" rehearsals (for
non-existent gigs) began to take place in a nearby church hall - the
natural reverb was amazing - something Phil Spector could only dream
of. Here we contrived the "No need to worry" film and the aborted
live album "Seeing red, feeling blue" (the "abortion" being integral
to the recording - it wouldn't have happened
otherwise).
SM, drummer
for the day. Note the "No more war" T
shirt.
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 Many of the songs from
these early "albums" eventually turned up in a slightly less chaotic
form on the final "No need to worry" soundtrack. And yes, this
film does exist in a slightly physical sense (we remain eternally
grateful to camera man, Ed). Furthermore, we can be justly proud of
it (though difficult to watch by those involved) and the songs too,
remakes of "Shallow circles", "All things must change", "Coping",
"Romantic sense of place" and "Society's world" - as well as newer
ones written specifically for the film which showed a certain
maturity: "Memories of now", "Day off", "Heat of the moment",
"Waiting in vain". Good times... They're all out
there now, living some sort of half life, waiting to be re-recorded
at any rate.
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 Matt Johnson,
on the bridge to
nowhere and everywhere..... |
So where did
the inspiration come from and what exactly was our sound? Matt
Johnson's "Burning blue soul" LP was one major well spring -
or more accurately, the inner sleeve with its hand written
lyrics. As for "Our sound", this is probably best summed up in
the poem "The Other Ones" (1999) which reveals that we were in
fact striving to be "the Morcambe and Wise of the pop world
scene". | |
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Note Oscar (pictured far left), always the "third Keynote" |
"The other ones" is in a
sense a summation of this period (and later) written from
afar. It brings us neatly back to where we started - from a
poem to a poem with something "other"
in-between.
The memories remain
sweet. | |
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"Time it was, and what a time it
was, A time of innocence, a time of
confidences Long ago, it must be, I have a
photograph, Preserve your memories, they're all
that's left you" Paul Simon
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