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2004-03-29 - 9:31 a.m.

Old Sarum is massive � it is on the alignment of the Roman roads thereabouts and was the site of a Norman castle and cathedral, subsequently resited down in the valley. The site of the new cathedral and the old famously align with the Iron Age clump on the far skyline and Stonehenge. Lunch by the Avon � not the one here but the pure chalk filtered stream that drains into the Channel near the Isle of Wight then up the valley to a mill nearly as far as the dry valley which leads from the Avon up to Stonehenge. This approach is much neglected in the literature if you ask me. Saulisbury Plain rightly compared to an ocean of chalk.

There is some grand theory that has materialised � about six note chords � formed from two sets of stacked fourths � a fourth on a fourth and a fourth on an augmented fourth. The theory concerns relationships between chords formed by two sets of stacks � a second or a major or minor third apart � and the treatment of such chords in harmonically rich media � the CZ101 fed through the Behringer � or in Wavelab building from a single guitar tone. I have one cycle so far � a familiar starting point.

On the CZ101 there is a parameter which modifies the interval between the two sets of three notes � on the fly. That particular pathway goes in the direction of the set NYC0303 currently festering in a cubbyhole in my car. I also began to see how that approach links up with the aesthetic of Jeff Lloyd�s lullabye.

James went to the boat race so I suppose he considers it a worthwhile trip

Here's a review of CV at the opening of a Belgian Arts Centre in 1979. R Burroughs and Joy Division also on the bill:

The venue actually was a sugar refinery, newly converted to use as an Arts Centre, though the conversion amounted to nothing more than the provision of a stage and three bars. Otherwise it was just stone floors and peeling whitewashed walls. There were four floors, the bottom one being a concert hall and the other three reserved for films, lectures and performance art. This was the opening night, and the star attraction wasn't Cabaret Voltaire or Joy Division but some writer called William Burroughs, who, I am assured, is one of the most influential writers of modern times, second only to me...

...The Cabs were on stage at 10.45, by which time there were about 800 people in the concert hall, no mean turnout in view of the fact that Wire and XTC both pulled less than 100 at recent gigs nearby. Apart from a few authentic looking young punks, complete with Clash badges and home made bondage trousers, the audience were mostly art student types in their twenties though that didn't imply any lack of enthusiasm.

Credit where credit is due - these foreigners know good music when they hear it. The receptions accorded the groups tonight proved that much. Apparently things were much the same when they played in Paris earlier this year, with the Cabs facing the definite possibility of being lynched if they didn't come back for an encore. The Belgians didn't go quite so wild. There was no encore because they left a tape running at the end of their set and consequently the audience drifted off slowly in the direction of the bar. Cabaret Voltaire were as good as I've ever seen them, with the sound and atmosphere perfect, equipment breakdowns a thing of the past and the slides projected from such a distance they covered half the hall, a curious effect.

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. MEMORY LANE ARCHIVES: Here's an early membership list for Henry Cow:

. 1968 May Henry Cow is formed by Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson First line-up : Andy Spooner (harmonica), Rob Brooks (guitar), Joss Grahame (bass) and David Atwood (drums)

. October Andy Powell replaces Grahame on bass

. November [--] Cambridge, Architectural School [supporting Pink Floyd]

. December Spooner, Brooks and Atwood leave, and the band carries on as a trio (with Powell doubling on drums)

. 1969 September Powell leaves. John Greaves joins on bass, and the drum stool is occupied by Sean Jenkins, then Frank Perry, then Ashley Brown

. Andy Powell was in the same year at Kings Wimbledon as Cathy's dad. He went on to produce the first Kate Bush album and then mysteriously disappears from view until some recent Tim Souster albums.

Ashley Brown would often sit in with the Steve Pheasant bebop quintet at the White Hart Drury Lane in the 1970s.

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