Sister Ray Selects: Betamax Vs. Clive Bell, Jelly Cleaver & Man From Uranus 05.09.2022
We are back at the Windmill Brixton on September 5th with another incredible night of new music! We are especially excited to host legendary headliners Betamax & Clive Bell (featuring Raimund Wong), performing their debut father & son album to an audience for the first time ever. Support comes from Jelly Cleaver and Man From Uranus (Vanishing Twin).
Read up on the artists below and check out our event playlist here! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oOMW7A8HY6s6g5hpofcRt?si=lJhhG46rQdigrh2yp2PAVw
TICKETS through Windmill: https://www.windmillbrixton.co.uk/events/2022-09-05-betamax-vs-clive-bell-jelly-cleaver-man-from-uranus-the-windmill
TICKETS through DICE: https://link.dice.fm/J8378ebf5a6d
£6 ADV / £7 OTD
BETAMAX Vs CLIVE BELL
After forming such formidable bands as ‘The Comet is Coming’ and ‘Soccer96’ Betamax has gone on to spawn a collection of esoteric spin offs such as ‘Champagne Dub’ and ‘Coma World’. He now delivers his latest record ‘Betamax vs Clive Bell’, this time choosing to collaborate with his own father, Clive Bell.
Clive, a veteran of London’s avant-garde, attempted to master in his youth the delicate art of the Shakuhachi - the infamously difficult-to-play bamboo flute that whiffs of a certain Japanese Zen aroma. After many years of travelling south east Asia in the 70s, seeking out the teachings of many flute and reed traditions, Clive Bell eventually gave up his quest and returned to London exhausted and confused. Horrified by the omnipresent egos of popular music, he was drawn back towards the dark currents of London’s free-improv gutter, where upon he was encouraged by his peers to live in a squat, and participate in abrasive noise experiments typical of the London improvising epidemic that persisted throughout the 80s.
Whilst immersed by this subculture, Bell was to bear his only child that we know of to this day - Maxwell Hallett, later to be known as ‘Betamax’. Bell immediately refused to teach any music to Betamax, hoping greater things and opportunities might lead Max away to a more financially comfortable and spiritually rewarding occupation. Alas Clive was unable to protect his son from the strong seductive forces of London’s prevalent musical subcultures. Max was frequently exposed to violent forces of free improvisation from such an early age, he subsequently went on to develop malformed musical sensitivities later in life. His obsession with loud drums took its firm grip on him during the late 90s aged only 13, it was perhaps of no small consequence that around this same time his father was regularly performing with dub legend Jah Wobble.
Over two decades later, Betamax was to approach Bell about making a record together. An uneasy Bell eventually agreed to collaborate, perhaps motivated by a sense of guilt or curiosity, we may never know. A seemingly pleasant listen, perhaps there is more going on under the surface with this record. Listen carefully and you can feel family tensions in the air. There is something unsettling in the way Betamax feels a need to drive the music with motoric rhythm when Bell is clearly searching for something more sophisticated. In life there is so much that can’t be said with words that need to be said. This record is perhaps so personal it becomes almost uncomfortable at times. However there is clearly a strong intention to use the music as a positive healing force, and we should all take note that sometimes the most important thing in any relationship is ‘to listen’ to each other.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Uk2WTKFXw
JELLY CLEAVER
Jelly Cleaver is a guitarist, producer and singer-songwriter based in South London and has been called “exceptional” by Clash magazine, “a rising star” by Dummy Magazine and “outstanding… one to watch for sure” by BBC 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson. She's received the Steve Reid Innovation Award, is a Serious Take Five artist, and was nominated for an Ivors Composer Award. Receiving praise from both sides of the Atlantic, she’s previously been KEXP and KCRW’s track of the day, Dummy’s track of the week, and has been interviewed on NPR, Bandcamp, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1xtra, BBC Radio London and Jazz FM.
With a deep and eclectic love of music, Jelly is heavily involved in both the jazz and DIY/post-punk scenes in London. She’s previously released on taste-maker labels Nice Swan (Sports Team, Pip Bloom, English Teacher) and Gearbox Records (Binker and Moses, Theon Cross). She also runs regular jam nights at Windmill Brixton which have been called “joyful” and “intimate” by Jazzwise.
Jelly’s also an activist, and a strain of political dissent runs through her music. During lockdown she helped develop a workshop on Anti-racism which she delivered to Extinction Rebellion groups across the country as well as presenting the workshop at Brainchild Festival. Her recent project Cosmovisions builds from these radical roots, imagining a world where humankind can live in harmony with nature and itself. She’s also a resident artist at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, where she uses music to promote joy for the hospital’s patients and staff.
Alongside her solo project she leads disco/jazz seven-piece All Day Breakfast Cafe (previous cover stars of the Jazz UK Spotify playlist) and spiritual jazz ensemble The Forever Presence, as well as playing guitar for other projects and jam nights.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8kuxECnpdM
MAN FROM URANUS
Man From Uranus returns to Earth with visceral electronic rock and the spookiest outer space sounds. An MFU performance is heads up and trickster, confounding expectations. MFU is X keyboardist of Vanishing Twin with 20 years of collaborations on the London and European underground scene.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN4rxM2ovZI
GRAPHICS: Max Dillon (@maxdillon7)