Not bad considering! I feel like we're all in a pretty good place at the minute. We've been writing loads over the past few months and finally getting the ball rolling with different creative projects, side-projects and collaborations. 

 

It certainly took us a while to get back into our groove but it was nice to take some downtime and reflect on the past few years in such a positive way, I guess we hadn't really had any time to slow down, being forced to stop was difficult but we all definitely needed it. 

 

I actually managed to avoid watching that! I saw the first few episodes and it just wasn't for me. It made me too sad to see the animals locked up in cages with some maniac supposedly 'caring' for them. The Tiger King hype seems like years ago now, you've just unearth a happily buried memory from early lockdown days. 

 

 

Was so lucky to jump on the Mubi subscription when it was just a quid, so I definitely binged sooo many films on there. Before they opened the 'library' feature of the app, you only had a choice of 30 films a month (they left the website after 30 days) so having little choice meant that we'd watch almost everything that was offered to us. Good times. Watched an amazing film recently called Gushing Prayer, a classic piece of Pinku Cinema set in a socially tense and unstable 70s Japan, where particularly the youth were forced to assimilate to Western ideals. A great watch! 

 

Also binged all of World War II in Colour, a pretty rogue choice for me but enjoyed watching this with my housemate and we found ourselves hooked pretty quickly.  

 

I think between the three of us, we attempted to make a huge range of classic cupboard/jarred products. From oat milk to kimchi and everything in between, we consumed a lot of our own cooking, which was nice! It's so good having a lot of time to cook and get creative in the kitchen, it is a lot like music or painting, constantly evolving and changing direction with every addition. 

I became a regular at my local independent liquor store (lol) and drank a lot of cherry beer.   

 

Sat in the back garden all day, scorching hot, shooting the breeze with housemates, cherry beer and homemade cocktails, grilling veg on the fire, watching the sunset, staring at the stars, dancing till the early hours in the cool still summer air, just the three of us forgetting about our worries for a moment.   

 

 

I have been teaching myself piano, which has been very rewarding and a lot of fun! I have just started doing a bit of painting too. I'm not sure how much of what I'm doing will ever be seen, but it has been a very meditative and enjoyable pastime, an interesting and alternative way of exhibiting my emotion and creativity whilst i've not been able to jam and write with the others.  

 

 

Read so much that I can barely remember what was read during quarantine and what wasn't! I read a handful of music biographies/memoirs, most notably Gil Scott Heron's and 'Hold onto Your Dreams', the Arthur Russell biography which focuses on his impact and contributions toward the Downtown NYC music scene in the late 70s. 

 

I have really been enjoying the poetry and prose of Audre Lorde of late and urge everybody to read her book, 'Zami: A New Spelling of my Name'. Faultless, poignant and so ahead of its time.

 

    

Definitely has to be the debut record by Bristol based Tara Clerkin Trio! Heavy, heavy rotation in camp Orielles. Its blend of tripped out avant-garde with jazz keeps you constantly picking up on the well-crafted nuances this band have, whilst leaving so much excitement and room for future projects. Like a blend of Arthur Russell, Can and Alice Coltrane, this record is already ticking all the boxes for us! Can't wait to hear what they do next. 

 

 

Sharing art and creating memories with friends, being in the tour van (and Travelodge believe it or not!!), eating in restaurants with loved ones, travelling, going to gigs/DJ sets and dancing, feeling alive.