Griff says; Welcome to a separate reality - Colorform and Sarah Valeri

Good news, Streetlampers! Our long-time, favourite NYC band, Colorform, are poised to release a new EP. Cue much joy at Streetlamp HQ. Unfortunately, due to the presence of the pesky Atlantic Ocean, we won't be able to attend the EP release party tomorrow, but those of you in and around New York City may be interested to know that the band can be found at the Parkside Lounge (317 E Houston btwn B and C) tomorrow night. Guest performer Khaled is on at 8:00 p.m. followed by Colorform themselves at 9:00 p.m.  Entry is a mere $5 and, what's more, everyone attending gets a free copy of the new EP. It's Colorform's last show of the year, so get yourself down there!

To get you in the mood, here's a track named Separate, from the new EP, released as a teaser and available as a free download on the band's soundcloud page. :






If you've read my previous writings on Colorform you'll know that I find this band particularly intriguing due to their synaesthetic merging of music and visual art and to their inclusion of cello as an integral part of their sound. That cello, by turns intimate or fiery, but always graceful, is weilded by the lovely Matt Logan, who as well as being a cellist is also a photographer, political activist and producer of the excellent ventilate blog.

As intimated above, Colorform's company also includes a visual artist, in the shape of Sarah Valeri. It is this integration of improvised visual art that adds another whole dimension to the Colorform experience and sets them apart from other bands. Before any live performance, and even in rehearsals, you will see a blank canvas laid out on a wall or the floor. Over the course of a set, this will be transformed into a full work, inspired by the music and the energy of the room.

Sarah's work can be found at her wordpress site  and, in particular, I'd like to draw your attention to her current work in progress 'The Fugitive's Astronomy Club'. This is a series of  drawings that Sarah hopes to transform, sometime in the future, into little art books, probably with stories attached.
The Fugitive's Astronomy Club drawings feature characters who Sarah imagines as anarchic wanderers, and as part of a unique exhibition project she has been sending selected reproductions through the mail to recipients all around the world, one person at a time. I am rather pleased and proud to say that I have received some of these reproductions here at Streetlamp HQ, which fittingly are from the story of Hester, who collects sounds. They really are very beautiful and have received wonderful comments from my rather envious friends. Here are some of the Hester images for your enjoyment:

Whatever happened to Hester’s house?

 Hester Empty Handed

 Hester in the park

Hester on the Staten Island Ferry

Thoughts in Hester's House

Hope you loved those as much as I do. Keep checking the Streetlamp for more details of the new Colorform EP and for the future adventures of The Fugitive's Astronomy Club.

Griff

xx