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London, United Kingdom

Sushi Sake cat and piano house party

All back to mine then.
What was meant to be just a few folks turned out to be a massive sushi fest at mine. Thats me whaling not the cat!

Banger

The newest recruit of the Lone Taxidermist cause.
Hjordis disobeying my orders .

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Location:Camden

Pre Gig antics in Leeds



What a day we had in Leeds.
Falling off Tables, Freezing our Capes off, Phil feeding me cava whilst we waited for the next tour of people to scare

shortly after i filmed this, all hell broke out, I was hoovering up the leftover bits of cat and the hoover cable pulled my entire kitchen dresser over, everything including my novelty teapot collection was smashed to pieces, I tried to remove startled cat who had jumped onto the gas hob almost setting himself on fire, he escaped my grasp by working his way down me back with full claw daggers. I continued cleaning the even bigger mess with a bloody back then the hoover tube snapped out of the pipe. Stated thinking that if i continue more mysterious casualties may happen. So i came upstairs away from the danger to blog to you about it!
As seen on Promo News!

Mel will murder me for uploading this because she doesnt like being filmed, technically speaking its not filming its animating! this was taken shortly after Mel gave at talk at the Whitechapel Art Gallery about her new book This is Performance Art
KRYOLAN in Berlin

The CAT DOG

got meself a new second hand cat called Kimba.
Hes like the cross between a dog and a cat.

The TV Tower

The tallest point in Berlin
We just had to go up


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Berlin is here

Vignettes of Berlin roasting in sunshine . The moral of the story is go easy on the bratvurst

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When in Manchester

Im back on Blogging duties with a bang!
heres the Northerndens answer to Elvis having a bevy in the Wetherspoons joined by myself, Wags and Andy. What a Barnet!

just hung the sign



Signage

I've had little sleep and hot gunned my skin off but the result is a lovely sign. I left off the "ing" from paint the official reason is because it would have lacked symmetry but between us it's because I ran out of budget , glue sticks and flowers

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Turn your phone off!

I think I worked out the chords for new song S L A G, then a text came through. tune in next time to find out what happened!

The big festival

Jamie Oliver hosted a food festival for the folk of Clapham Common. Face extrodinaire Emma Allen asked us to come paint with her in the little dudes tent. One kid asked for a full English breakfast on his face!
Music : the Don by Sisters of Transistors

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Location:Clapham Common

Mad World


ive got no idea why im all sped up like a wound up bunny. this is my third attempt to upload. not even the versaion I wanted to show, But Tom Robinson would say, show it in its original shambolic state so there you go.

The Lone Taxidermist presents Bijoux Boy

The hardest project I ever did and equally the most rewarding is the film Bijoux Boy. for my band The Lone Taxidermist.

The Lone Taxidermist presents a world manifested from surreal imagery and a dazzling Boy she has dreamed up. His beauty is transient, like that of Dorian Gray. He is nothing more than her own glittering fantasy. As the music groans and bellows the Lone Taxidermist rises and falls over the glittering jewel, wooing him, her medusa like movements are erratic yet enticing. Ultimately her dreams escape her as she ends up crushing her own fantasy.

Natalie worked with a strong creative team to devise the unique surreal imagery of the video.

working alongside co director Umut Gunduz, associate producer Christopher Kelly, Cinematographer Laura Bellingham, editor Tom Werber and inspirational model Leo Cohen.

The concept was to create a film for music, rather than a video. Natalie Sharp the Creator of the film took reference from Rene Magritte, Maya Deren and combined surrealism with her unique interpretation of beauty.

This is the first feature music video for The Lone Taxidermists debut Album, which she hopes to follow up with a sequel

A day in the company of Brighton

A whimsy day in Brighton. It's a 45 minute journey from London and small enough to see everything.
Music: PJ Harvey - this glorious land

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Ain't no rain going to stop the garden party!

I had an extreme garden planting session over the last 3 days. Peonies, poppies, herbs, veg roses. What better way to celebrate than invite some friends to enjoy the fauna. However the heavens opened and never closed . So the cold meats and shmorgusboard were served in a Dry kitchen. Music: how it ends - Devotcka

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Location:Not the Garden

Bijoux Boy - A personal story

Back in the early days a video was made by a surrealist film maker called Maya Deren it showed a beautiful woman in palazzo pants chasing a grim reaper figure with a mirrored face into a house the house was full of objects you might find in a reoccurring dream, an Escher staircase, the film itself turned out to be a reoccurring nightmare it's called meshes of the afternoon and it stayed in my minds eye forever after. Along with Jan Svenkmajer and Rene Margritte I begun to talk with my friend and co producer Chris Kelly about making a little film that addresses surrealism to go with the song bijoux boy. I started writing the treatment and realised that the film was going to deal with my own past, becoming transfixed on another then crushing them slowly. 
I abhor the genre of the music video which is why I refer to it as a music film. The artform has become lost in sticky contrived cliches which usually involve a band in a forest singing to camera. I've never understood why as creatives, musicians dont take more ownership in their artistic output. The art doesn't end once the song is recorded. For me it bleeds into every facet of what I do. Which is why I made the costume, wrote the story, created a set and lighting design based on Clouzots L'enfer, painted my face and set about finding a beautiful Jewish prince to play the role of Bijoux Boy. Who for two days was permanently coveted in glitter, head to toe.
As the vision got bigger and more elaborate, Chris and I realised we needed professional advice We asked Umut Gunduz to come in and direct the film with me, and Laura Bellingham to be our Director of Photography. The film started to look a lot more professional and then Tom Werber came in to edit and carfeully hack down two full days worth of footage into 3 minutes 46 seconds. That was the painful part for me.
I also rallied in every close friend and every favour I could pull,  as no one was getting paid I felt even more responsible to make this a worthwhile project. I'm sure I would have made a film without these people but it would not hold the same beauty and richness as it does now.
Four months later and I made something that I feel proud of, something to show the grandchildren. 




The BLOG did a poo crash

apologies to my 8 followers for again not posting. Blogspot has been down for a week.
Ill put a sexy edit of the make up I did at 4 in the am so you can see the results!

Give us a vote!

How good would it be to play at a live festival Live? 
go on make it happen by clicking the link you sexy beasts!

Heres a bit about the Lone Taxidermist sound...


The Lone Taxidermist


{ {  ~ ~ ~ } }

The Lone Taxidermist plays with the macabre and gothic to create a disturbed beauty that exists in the darkest spaces of our minds. This one woman band comprises of saws, organs, bells, broken strings, old blues howling and an exquisite voice.  The sound teeters on the edge of something beautiful and terrifying.
That void where pleasure and pain mingle, tantalizing the ears.

Natalie Sharp cut her teeth as the lead Singer songwriter of the very popular and successful Manchester band The Bottomfeeders. But The Bottomfeeders are now dead.

Having already supported her hero Thomas Truax, as well as Beirut, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Wildbirds and peacedrums, Natalie's reputation as an emerging and uncompromising soloist is growing rapidly across London and the UK.

Natalie's background in fashion and the visual arts infuses itself into each performance, ensuring there is something for the eyes as well as the ears. She is doing something truly unique and possesses a voice, which could raise the dead.

The Lone Taxidermist is being celebrated and exposed by the Likes of Ruth Barnes at BBC 6 Music, the muso nerds behind The Quietus,  the Pagan folk band Tunng  and Specials Frontman Terry Hall.

{ {  ~ ~ ~ } }

myspace.com/taxidermistsmanchester




Slacker

I'm not that slack, it just seems that way because I promised a post every day. But stuff of life gets in the way y know.
Currently locked into ingrid Bergmans curls, got a song rolling round my head that is hanging like a potent arse burp . It won't go till I finish the song. Next week I promise the videos will be in a free flow! Those ants with wings got the better of my sanity this week. I should do what Hank Williams did and stick em in a song.



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Bum bon bum bong bong the new song unnamed

i dont appear to feel much guilt for procrastinating these last 3 days, this is about the only thing ive done since Mon. Not really sure what it is, I just found an old riff from i made ages ago and decided to experiment with it as a looped vocal, I have a feeling this might end up being the Medusa song I wrote last year. trying to get out of my comfort zone of elongated spooky vocal loops and try something more clipped and rhythmical a bit more up tempo. At this rate the Album may end up being a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, who knows, change is exiting its progress but tomorrow I may well be back on to Gregorian chant inspiration. As Ive changed my sound on an hourly basis. 

The Other Woman: TOW presents Madam @The Horatia

The Other Woman: TOW presents Madam @The Horatia: "What: Madam, with support from Emily and the Woods When: Saturday 30 April Where: The Horatia, 98-102 Holloway Road London, N7 8JE How muc..."

Swing lady swing

A rare glimpse of the taxidermist in her natural habitat

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The music studio

After 3 weeks I've finally re - arranged the studio!
It's the 4th and final time and it's looking great.
The idea being that I spend most days in it.
What I like the most is that it works ergonomically when I have fellow taxidermist members in here and were all facing inwards . So we can all see each other. I reason 3 is the most at a squeeze. I'll take photos when the sun comes up !


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Record store day

On sat 16 th April we celebrated record store day.
For the love of vinyl and all aspects of indie music stores. Free cakes , badges , live music and djs. Personally I think it should be record store week !


YouTube Video




Location:Camberwell new road , Camberwell

The making of bijoux boy

I thought I'd give you an update on the film for music I made.
Here's what happened:

Back in the early days a video was made by a surrealist film maker called Maya Deren it showed a beautiful woman in palazzo pants chasing a grim reaper figure with a mirrored face into a house the house was full of objects you might find in a reoccurring dream, an Escher staircase, the film itself turned out to be a reoccurring nightmare it's called meshes of the afternoon and it stayed in my minds eye forever after. Along with Jan Svenkmajer and Rene Margritte I begun to talk with my friend and co producer Chris Kelly about making a little film that addresses surrealism to go with the song bijoux boy. I started writing the treatment and realised that the film was going to deal with my own past, becoming transfixed on another then crushing them slowly.
I abhor the genre of the music video which is why I refer to it as a music film. The artform has become lost in sticky contrived cliches which usually involve a band in a forest singing to camera. I've never understood why as creatives, musicians dont take more ownership in their artistic output. The art doesn't end once the song is recorded. For me it bleeds into every facet of what I do. Which is why I made the costume, wrote the story, created a set and lighting design based on Clouzots L'enfer, painted my face and set about finding a beautiful Jewish prince to play the role of Bijoux Boy. Who for two days was permanently coveted in glitter, head to toe.
As the vision got bigger and more elaborate, Chris and I realised we needed professional advice We asked Umut Gunduz to come in and direct the film with me, and Laura Bellingham to be our Director of Photography. The film started to look a lot more professional and then Tom Werber came in to edit and carfeully hack down two full days worth of footage into 3 minutes 46 seconds. That was the painful part for me.
I also rallied in every close friend and every favour I could pull, as no one was getting paid I felt even more responsible to make this a worthwhile project. I'm sure I would have made a film without these people but it would not hold the same beauty and richness as it does now.
Four months later and I made something that I feel proud of, something to show the grandchildren.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:My head

knights around the Kitchen table GURNING

Myslelf, Paddy, William and Lee talking around the Kitchen table, Im more interested in showing Paddy my impression of Gilbert from the Morgarna show.
This is 2 minutes because its unedited. no time to edit so you're getting the raw footage


Broadway Market stop motion

This was more just to show you the stop motion app.
It's ace, loads of filters, exposures , auto and manual setting, loop, reverse. I think it takes upto 100 frames you can also adjust the fps.
Going to be useful when I get round to face paint animation.
Typical busy day on Broadway Market.

YouTube Video




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Location:Broadway Market

Le Gun






LE GUN is a illustrative annual, its big, full bleed and beautiful, its been turned into a 3 dimensional dream, complete with murals, ouijas and animated womens boobs that turn into a baby and back again.
dicated by Kerouack

Little Moira sat with me a while

This is Moira.
She's been sat with me in the best cafe in London.
E Pelici
She told me how she used to work here and how it hadn't changed in all the time it's been there.
As you see she's as talk standing up as sat down.
There was also an improptu birthday celebration .
This has been a family owned italian restaurant for many many years . It's a bit like walking into the sopranos but without the violence, just little ol Moira

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Location:E Pelici, bethnal green

A tulip for mother

Dont much feel like talking today.
Im also very late with mothers day and mothers birthday.
The music is by Michael nyman
Which also makes up part of the present for mother.


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Rubber nipples


YouTube Video

The post man delivered my rubber nipples and other trinkets for my alter ego


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Let England Paint

I had an exceptional day face painting with a team of 50 painters. The mission was to paint all of Wembley ! our bumbags loaded With obligatory st George cross Colors we set about painting all that flocked the gates. Organised by Bibi freeman at www.facepaint-UK.com ( some images curtsey of Bi bi)

YouTube Video

Its not very often i feel patriotic. But being at wembley during the national anthem and seeing all the smiling faces we had painted gave me a real sense of joy

Music : PJ Harvey / let England Shake

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Poundland


YouTube Video

A lot of folk associate the androgynous, "dalston twat" with Dalston.
But there's a good reason for me to come here, other than cafe oto. Which annoyingly ain't open on Monday's.
But Poundland is. It's a brilliant place , striplights ensure every one in there has a healthy green glow.
I got 13 essential bits and guess what ? It came to 13 quid.



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Location:Barrett's Grove,Hackney,United Kingdom

S L A G live rehearsal

So Phil and I been working on the new song s l a g
lots of howling, it was born out of my loathing for joggers, I saw one once on Regents canal and her top said I heart to jog on the back, my friend Fran calls Hareem pants 'poo pants' which is what the repellent creature was banging her joints around in.
Phil also asked me to cover a great Delta 5 song mind your own business, and Ari Up from The Slits had just passed away, on top of all this id been going to a lot of diy punk gigs like wet dog and always wanted to write a stupid fast song. Usually Lynn latex and I chant the lyrics together, but shes away in India playing jembe, on a hill, in a lotus pose.

BLOBLOGBLOGBLOGBLOG

Patrycja Grimm and I doing what we do best

Pat is a multi talented lady, we have been talking about working together to combine our face makeup magic.
Were on a very similar page with the work were creating. She works very emotively with paint and uses raw energy to keep things moving along nicely.
We were at this till 3 am one day last week.
Its part of an ongoing process in the practice of body painting projection movement and video.
Very short piece of footage from the shoot. Pat is busy editing the rushes which will be coming soon

YouTube Video

I must thank Chris @ the Light Surgeons and William Fontaine for modelling.
Music : Omar k by Rainbow Arabia
Shot on the iPhone using reel director app

Footage from the other woman music and the Girls are

Ruth Barnes & Anette Barlow organised a great free gig @ the old blue last.
The top floor was packed out. Bands
The voyeurist/ the hysterical injury and the Peepholes a night of overwhelming
Phsycadellic:analogue synth : DIY: punk: krunk rock overdrive
I was joined by Leila from Autopirtrait and Bernadette.
Intro music : bizness by Tune Yards
Main music : ladder by the peepholes
Filmed on the iPhone 3GS with magicam app and Splice editor app.

Ruth Barnes @ the Other Woman Music presents a free show TONIGHT!

Going to this tonight, hosted by the Girls are and the other woman music
Ruth Barnes is an incredible woman and shes putting female musicians at the forefront of a male dominated industry. Its a free gig featuring the Peepholes, etc at the OLD BLUE LAST

see you there

Simeon shows his wares

My friend Simeon showed me the mini collection that won him a place on the MA fashion course in Holland.

YouTube Video

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Location:Shoreditch

Tatsuhisa Yamamoto


YouTube Video

Cafe Oto at the Barbican with experimental drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto.
Cafe Oto is a great Japanese cafe and Live music venue in Dalston. Its unique for Dalston not only for it's music programme but it's a twat free zone. Oh and the serve Sake

Fish and chips for Sunday


YouTube Video

A good example of how gentrification is awash in the east London bijoux organic village. A fish and chip restaurant. Where you take some working class food and sell it to the classes. For twice the price. Us suckers bought it as our bellies were empty. Featuring my good friend and ( proper) filmmaker nick Barrett

By way of apology for no posts

apparently this video blog is whats known as a VLOG My friend Chris overheard this as FLOG so my latest flog is by way of apology for not flogging for two days
Yesterday was spent on a busy shoot for two fantastic comedic dancers called the art collective. The Art director has asked that i kindly dont publish footage till the show goes out.
Ive also been busy down at the WOW fest in Southbank.
Brilliant evening of Women in Film. My highlight was watching Seaming perform to a beautiful surreal film. called Meshes of the afternoon Very moving.
Im about to begin painting my entire body with Wode. which is the paint Boudiccas Iceum tribe used to go into war against the Romans.
The reason Im doing this will again become clear later on next week.

Face warpaint

This brilliant new app for the iPhone called splice. It edits together your videos and photos you can include transitions , text and soundtracks from your iTunes library . No computer needed . Here's one I made earlier of some of my warpaint faces. Watch it till the end to see the dance!

Ruth Barnes talks.......

If  you listened to my first ever recording on the Vlog, all those days ago you would have heard Tom Robinson guiding me to pick out Ruth Barnes brains.  So I did. Ruth is responsible for championing the unsung female musician from all over the world, she presents on the 6 music show with Tom Robinson, runs gigs, presents radio shows and runs a fab blog called The Other Woman Music. Our discussion centred around the idea of creating a real life network/ space/ community where female musicians could get together and jam/network/rehearse.exchange and all things musical.
The future of female musicians in London is exiting!

The light manifests

Snippets of my projects over the last few months. Made me realise that there's an ever present need to experiment with qualities of light. Track is Prenzlauburg by Beirut

YouTube Video

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WOW festival SOunds and Silents

This looks really spectaular:
Women of the World festival presents sounds and silents @ the Queen Elizabeth Hall

Seaming and Micachu are both performing. Two very original musicans.

I would really love to go but I've been kindly offered an Invite to the PRS Women in Music also at the Southbank. Who knows the performances might collide

The footage from the Rave in London Bridge

The Legend of a Professional German raver since records began, took Chris and I hostage. We were wedged into a taxi and taken south of the River. The Raver insists that your not a raver unless you last 30 hours. I lasted until 8am so Im a semi-raver. What happened next remains in the club. We were treated to an especially booming set by Berlin Bergains' Stephan, shipped in from Germany. Heres some footage from the night. Song: LFO freak by Simian Mobile Disco.

the whole day was spent horizontal

I have a friend, hes ageless and a professional raver, hes German and hes very efficient. In part I blame him for my first ever omission of the daily video.

He took Chris and I to a dark archway south of the river where we outlasted everyone and pulsated to techno till 8 am today. Despite the fact that im disabled and chris twisted his ankle on a glass bottle we managed to egg on the crowd with some badly synchronised dancing on the stage behind berghaim legend Stephan.  It is not often that i go to raves. About once every 2 years.

There are no working muscles in my body, I will instead present you with footage of the rave tomorrow and leave you with an image of me in a ball pool at the Macbeth Chapel Perilous

Ken Dods dads dogs dead

Afternoon jaunt down't canal, to see what lurks beyond Victoria pk. Found cats, teeth, treehouses and the Queen.

Hyperpotamaus

I saw this fella last night at the Scolt Arms.

He really knows how to get the most out of a loop pedal. I wasnt sure if I should marry or murder him afterward!

Hyperpotamaus



Is it a bob? No it's not!

A sunny but cold walk in London fields at lunch time and the discussion turns to Jennis hair.

YouTube Video

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The man behind the black curtain playing the organ in darkness

I overheard the organ being taken for a test run. So I went to investigate. Imagine getting to play one of the biggest organs in the world in total darkness. Pure gothic drama!

YouTube Video

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lets not see it as rejection

Thought Id share with you another rejection email from the Camden Crawl festival
Luckily for me, I choose not to live my life in music through the approval of others. Otherwise Id me a broken woman.  Heres the generic rejection:


Thank you for your application to play at this years Gaymers Camden Crawl.

Unfortunately unless you have already heard from us you have not been selected to appear at the 2011 Crawl.

The standard of acts submitted was very high and we do listen to EVERY act that applies. Unfortunately due to the sheer volume of applications we receive we cannot give individual critique or responses but thank you for your application and will keep your details on file should any other opportunities to play arise.

Cheers

The Crawl Team
Xx

Goodbye to Dame Vivienne westwoods dress


I went to see Goldfrapp play at the Bridgewater hall ( a favourite venue) a couple of years ago.
Unsure of what to wear I purchased a gold Westwood dresss. You may think this a little extravagant. But at the time It felt apt.
Any road I've decided to sell said dress and this is my little goodbye ceremony .

Patrycja Grimm talks Love Parade



my second video blog day i talk to co conspiritor and  true inspiration Patrycja Grimm @ Dalston Superstore about Love Parade and moving to London.  Watch out for this girl, shes fierce her work in makeup and video deserves to be seen 

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