James Lightfoot is an electronica/dance/drum&bass artist based in North West England. He often goes under the alias of ‘TNJX’ and ‘Deep Technology’. His latest album features the high-flying sounds of old alongside more mystical explorations, ‘Exo Crystallis’ is a adventure through melody and magic
TNJX have made hyper-melodic technicolour tunes to lift the spirit since 2005.
Check out tnjx.bandcamp.com for more info.
2016 (What The Fuck Is Going On?). Last year on the eve of Harpo Marx’s assassination the Cube Cinema in Bristol made a time-stretched and burnt sample offering to one of the all time best pop bands in the world. Forever Justified & Ancient.
Along with the burning of 1K that night, an hour long mysterious mix of K related footage flickered onto the cinema’s screen. The 3rd Eye space now & for eternity presents a rare chance to reView.
The Cube is a Microplex Cinema, Arts venue, adult creche and progressive social wellbeing enterprise in Central Bristol, England. It was formed in 1998 by 4 artists who had no idea what they were getting into. Idealists, amateurs, fools, material positivists, stilt walkers, film directors, screen writers, occultists. But not even running illegal cinema speakeasy events in Bristol (Club Rombus) could prepare them for the monster they gave birth to one cold and rainy October evening in 1998.
Dave Pepper has been performing his own style of performance poetry since 2002. It began with a slot at Moksha Medicine. A cabaret night at The 491 Gallery in Leytonstone, that was, in part, the heart of the incredibly bright and beautifuly bonkers community that had produced ‘The Warp’ only a few years before.
Since then a whole universe has opened up with performances up and down the UK, suporting many community events.
From the Galactic Federation to receiving a Bardship and apearing at Stone Henge and Glastonbury many times. Performing to thousands at demonstrations or working one to one in communication training with Marie Curie.
He has appeared with some of the country’s finest: Salena Godden, Kate Tempest, Yap,
Daisy Eris Campbell… At many fine and reputable establishments: BBC R4, Resonance FM, ILL FM, NTS Radio, Reel Rebel Radio, Reprezent Radio. Bimble Bandada, Secret Garden Party, Sunrise, Small World, Buddha Fields, Hackney Wicked, Magic Garden Pub, The Others.. As a solo artist, and with his band Vibe Machine.
Bang Crosby is a punk trickster and clown, exploiting archetypal and elemental energies to create cabaret from chaos. His work is heavily influenced by vodou and chaos magick, creating a hilarious tapestry of light, sound, sex, and death, framed within the cosmology of the fool.
So here’s another big one you lucky people. Drum roll please…
Mr Alan Moore. That’s right THE Alan Moore! Writer, mage and counter culture aficionado. The term genius is often bandied around but here at Festival 23 we feel it’s an apt appellation for the man frequently described as the best graphic novel writer in history. His work in the 80s on works such as the ‘Watchmen’ series and ‘V for Vendetta’ made an entire industry shift focus, causing publishers to target comics at adults as well as kids. Always demonstrating the highest integrity, and firmly embedded in the underground, when wider audiences picked up his writing he edged away from the mainstream, developing such an aversion to corporate America that he has since declined large payments for Hollywood adaptations of his work.
Alongside writing, Alan is an occultist, ceremonial magician and anarchist, and these themes feature in such works as ‘Promethea’, ‘From Hell’, and most recently his Lovecraft inspired ‘Neonomicon’. Alan’s work outside the comic world includes novels (Alan is currently finishing the million word novel ‘Jerusalem’) performing avant-garde spoken word occult “workings” and writing scripts including ‘Show Pieces’, a short film series directed by Mitch Jenkins.
His personal take on art as magic, his concept of ideas space and his passion for speaking his mind mean it’s always a joy to hear his take on the world. Alan is recording an exclusive interview for Festival 23, which will be aired on the weekend. We’re so pleased to have his patronage and can’t wait to hear what he has to say.
“Jesus, you’re not easy to describe, you know? Okay, let me think.. You’re like a Muppet version of a Philip K. Dick novel… A Mr Vast gig is similar to that moment when you realise you’ve been secretly filmed by Derren Brown for the last six weeks…One of my mates thought you were well dodgy while the other insisted on paying you double for your CD!? How’s that?” John Higgs.
“He’s a preacher, a screecher, an Archie Leacher An artless dodger, a limelight hogger, a dead horse flogger. He‘s the genial game-show host whose mind is toast. The quiz-master with all the wrong answers. The life coach on the National Express. The high-street shaman in the sequinned dress. This is his sweat lodge seminar, his powerpoint aberration, the shotgun in his shell suit, the seamonkey on his back A burnt-out, blurted-out, beercan-touting carry-out cabaret.”
Henry Sargeant trained as an actor and “dark clown” before veering off into music as frontman of the legendary Wevie Stonder, dubbed by the BBC as ‘the Monty Python of electronic music’ They went on to record 5 albums and two Maida Vale sessions. Mr Vast is his solo project and without the band he has heightened the theatrical/comedy elements to new bewilderingly ecstatic levels.
Salena Godden is one of Britain’s foremost spoken word artists and poets. A regular performer at
literary festivals in a career that is now entering its third decade, Salena tops the bill at literary
events both nationally and internationally. She’s appeared as a guest and writer for many BBC
Radio programmes including The Verb, Saturday Live, Loose Ends and Fact To Fiction and she
has written and presented several arts documentaries and a play for the BBC too. Burning Eye
Books published her first full collection ‘Fishing In The Aftermath: Poems 1994 2014’ marking
twenty years of poetry and performance, with the majority of the work included previously
unpublished in book form. Her literary childhood memoir ‘Springfield Road’ was successfully
crowd funded and published with Unbound Books in 2014. Widely recognised as a trailblazer for
fellow performers, Salena has also dedicated herself to mentoring newcomers to the scene. Her
voice is distinctive and unique, her performances are electrifying, hilarious, intensely powerful and full of warmth.
Waiting For Godden: www.salenagodden.com
Poetry here >> ‘Fishing In The Aftermath poems 19942014’ published by Burning Eye Books
Memoir here >> ‘Springfield Road’ published by Unbound Books
Poems and songs >> https://soundcloud.com/salenagodden
BBC Radio and audio archives >> https://www.mixcloud.com/salenagodden
Jezebel Halewood-Leagas has worked as an accomplished artist and prop maker for many theatre productions in Liverpool. She made many of the props for Daisy Eris Campbell’s Cosmic Trigger in 2014, including the gate to Chapel Perilous.
Matt Smart is an artist and sculptor experienced at producing high quality, large scale outside works. Shows include a solo show at The Turrill Sculpture Garden, and he has previously exhibited at Supernormal Festival. Through his work he explores notions on sustainability, and social treatment of tribes, diasporas and gender. He established and ran a South London gallery, exhibiting group and solo shows of artists with clinically diagnosed psychiatric conditions.
Not only will Matt be bringing his installation work to Festival 23, he will also be giving a talk in the 3rd Eye space callled “Dig up a lost princess to make sculptures with molehills”!
Liz von Graevenitz is a Contemporary Artist who works from a studio based in the heart of Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter. She has exhibited both locally and internationally. As co-curator for the International Artist Exchange Program Regular Line in Sheffield and Slovakia, she has worked alongside fellow artists, musicians and actors.