#Ben Hampson

[nofatclips]

Super Moon Machine by Rachael Dadd from the album FLUX

[twinkandwink]

Projector totally exceeded my expectations, from start to finish they were spot on. Clearly influenced by The Pixies but they've also got their own thing going on. Great version of The Pixies Tame though.

Pics & vids - Tracks - Tastes Like Sarah

Projector - The Lanes, Bristol 22/3/24

[senorboombastic]

What’s On Michael Portillo’s iPod: DITZ

What’s On Michael Portillo’s iPod: DITZ

Here at Birthday Cake For Breakfast, we like to get to the heart of what an artist is all about. We feel that what influences them is just as important as the music they make. With that in mind, off the back of releasing their debut album ‘The Great Regression‘ last year, we’re delighted to have DITZ guitarist Jack Looker and engineer and producer Ben Hampson talk us through a number of records…

[jkflesh]

GODFLESH 1992

Photo by Ian Tilton

[dedibelyegei]

No hát egy egészen nagyszabású sorozat egy részét vesszük górcső alá, mely évtizedeken, államalakulatokon és pénznemeken is átívelt. Németországról van szó, annak is - egy darabig - a nyugati feléről. 1986-ban indították el az NSZK-ban a 'Híres német nők', vagy 'Német nők a történelemben' sorozatot (mindkét néven hivatkoznak rá), melyet egészen 2003-ig adtak ki, mindig új és új hölgyekkel, de változó intenzitással és darabokkal. Volt amikor kimaradt egy év, például '90-ben, volt hogy három is a '90-es évek második felében. Jellemzően 2-6 bélyeg jelent meg egy évben. Ezek amik nekem vannak is mind különböző évjáratból származnak. Érdekesség még, hogy ugye a Német Egység mellett, történt más is: átállt az ország a vége felé az euróra. Így tehát '86-tól 2000-ig a németeknél megszokott pfenningben feltüntetett értékek szerepelnek a bélyegeken a pénznem jelzés nélkül, 2000 és 2001-ben már kettős értékek voltak, pfenningben és euróban is feltüntették, míg 2002-től jöttek az eurós bélyegek. Ez a sorozat hatalmas példányszámban készült, szóval jórészt nem nagyon értékesek a példányok, bár vannak azért különbségek, illetve azért egyben a teljes gyűjtemény már értékest képvisel. Kicsit nézzük az enyémeimet részletesebben:

Dorothea Erxleben (60 pf) - 1987

Ő nem más, mint az első német orvosnő, édesapja is orvos volt és hamar észrevette lánya érzékét és érdeklődését a természettudományok iránt, így együtt tanította fivérével aki orvosnak készült. Ekkoriban nők még nem járhattak hivatalosan egyetemre. A fivér, Christian 1731-ben el is ment a hallei egyetemre, Dorothea pedig apja mellett maradt, és a gyakorlatban már kezelte az egyszerűbb eseteket. 1742-ben aztán kiadott egy értekezést, mely amelett érvelt, hogy a nők is járhassanak felsőoktatásba. Végül II. Nagy Frigyes porosz királytól kapott kivételt, és 1754-ben első nőként elvégezte a hallei egyetem orvosi szakát. 1761-es haláláig kiterjedt praxist folytatott szülővárosában, Quedlinburgban.

Bélyegügyben együtt 'jelent meg' egy 40 pfenninges darabbal melyen Maria Sibylla Merian illusztrátor látható.

Luise Henriette von Oranien (100pf) - 1994

Azaz magyarul Lujza Henrietta orániai hercegnő. Holland származású, Hágában született 1627-ben, az Orániai-Nassaui királyi ház leszármazottja. 19 évesen hozzáadják Frigyes Vilmos brandenburgi választófejedelemhez, annak ellenére hogy másba szerelmes :( Házasságuk első évei után költöznek Brandenburgba a fejedelem székhelyére. Henrietta minden utazására és hadjáratára követte a férjét, férje politikai tanácsadójává vált az évek során, például ő maga érte el a lengyel királynővel való levelezés útján, hogy Lengyelország ismerje el Poroszországot, cserébe ők is elismerik a Lengyel Szövetséget. Származása miatt szövetségi szempontból is értékes volt a házasság, pl. a holland támogatás Pomeránia elfoglalásához, vagy a francia-holland háborúban történő közös fellépés okán. Kortárs iratokban így hivatkoznak rá: 'Kevés fejedelemasszonynak volt ekkora befolyása.' A munka mellett szerencsére jutott idő másra is, habár nem szerelemnek indult, végülis a leírások szerint példás házasságban élt a pár, és hat gyermekük is született, köztük I. Frigyes porosz király is. Sajnos a többiek még kisgyermekként/babaként, vagy kora 20-as éveikben meghaltak. Etéren Henrietta sem volt nagyon szerencsés, mindössze 39 éves volt mikor elhunyt, a Berlini Dómban temették el, és a mai napig ott nyugszik. Agaras képet hoztam viszont:

Őt is párban adták ki egy 80 pfenninges Rahel Varnhagen von Ense írónővel együtt.

Therese Giehse (100 pf) - 1988

Müncheni zsidó-német családból származó színésznő, eredetileg Therese Gift néven született 1898-ban. 1920-ban lépett először színpadra, hamar Németország szerte (el)ismert sztárrá vált, a '20-as évek végétől egészen 1933-ig mind színpadon, filmen mitöbb a politikai kabaré műfajában is. A nácik hatalomra kerülése után rögtön Zürichbe távozik, és itt folytatja karrierjét elsősorban. '36-ban hozzámegy John Hampson homoszexuális angol íróhoz, így hozzájutván a brit útlevélhez, mely miatt a nácik nem tudják elhurcolni. 1941-ben a zürichi színházban ő játssza először Kurázsi mamát Bertolt Brecht híres darabjában. '45-ben a háború után aztán visszatér Németországba, és a vasfüggöny mindkét oldalán játszik, de legtöbbet szülőföldjén, Bajorországban. A számtalan színházi fellépés mellett több mint 20 filmben, és tv műsorokban is játszott. Otthonában, Münchenben éri a halál három nappal 77-edik születésnapja előtt.

'88-ban három ütemben is adtak ki Híres német nős sorozatokat, Giehse egy négyesbe került, együtt Hannah Arendt filozófussal, Mathilde Franziska Anneke valamint Hedwig Dransfeld írónővel.

[operacomments]

Screenshot of Thomas Hampson as Figaro in the Barber of Seville. The color balance is a bit off, so his skin looks pretty orange. Comment, from Ben Angell, reads: Amazing rendition. Even if he does look like the world’s tallest Oompa Loompa

[theroyalsandi]

Mike Tindall joined Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway on Friday’s Good Morning Britain to discuss his annual charity golf day to raise funds for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust and The Matt Hampson Foundation. However, when Ben quizzed Mike, who is married to the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall, on their children’s role in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the former England rugby player shut the GMB host down. | May 13, 2022

[psychogirl94]

THE BEST TEAM SLASHER:

TEAM A: Michael Myers, Leatherface, Harry warden AKA the miner killer, kenny hampson (terror train killer), Ben willis AKA the fisherman, gutterballs killer

TEAM B: Jason Voorhees, Ghostface, Alex hammond (prom night killer), the soldier (the prowler killer), jeremy melton AKA cupid killer, the pool movie killer

who is the best? TEAM A OR TEAM B  

[ditz-band]

The Warden out now on Alcopop records. Stream here: https://ffm.to/ditz-thewarden Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXrVODZnfAc Engineered + produced by Ben Hampson Mastered by Katie Tavini Artwork + video by Jay Bartlett

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Month of New Operatic Works, Round 2, #19: Hérodiade (1995 Plasson recording)

Owing to a headache arising from my sleep schedule going completely bonkers last night (passed out sometime around 9 PM, woke up about 2 hours later, and have not been able to fall asleep since), I opted to listen to this recording instead of watching the 1984 Liceu production of this, the most famous Massenet opera with which I was by and large unfamiliar (I’d only heard two of the opera’s big arias, “Il est doux, il est bon” and “Adieu donc, vains objets”). 

Update: uhhhhhhhh so this is how my initial experience went

me: *curls up on the sofa in the living room with a blanket and Hérodiade*

me: ah yes this is the perfect arrangement *types out the first paragraph of this post and saves it during the first few minutes of the opera*

me, 10 minutes later at like 7:30 PM: *passes out from sheer exhaustion*

me, 2 hours later: *wakes up with the music STILL PLAYING and listens to Cheryl Studer and Ben Heppner sing the hell out of an awesome duet and then immediately proceeds to pass out again*

me, waking up again 4 hours later: ...oh COME ON

so that was how my first attempt went and I say that not as a dig on Hérodiade, which it is not, but as an explanation as to why this took so long. anyway, on to the review!

This is definitely now Up There on my list of favorite Massenet operas.

So I listened to this recording from 1995 conducted by Michel Plasson with Cheryl Studer as Salomé, Nadine Denize as Hérodiade, Thomas Hampson as Hérode, Ben Heppner as Jean le Baptiste, and José van Dam as Phanuel. Unfortunately, it is not available on Spotify (seriously???); the only available one has (on the upside) Renée Fleming as Salomé and Dolora Zajick as Hérodiade, but (major downside) has The Tenor Turned Baritone Who Shall Not Be Named as Jean. 

The cast is marvelous top to bottom; Nadine Denize is a new name for me but she was excellent. The other four leads were excellent as always. I’m a huge fan of Plasson’s work.

Anyway, this opera is extremely interesting. It doesn’t follow either the original tale of the death of John the Baptist or the Wilde play that became the Richard Strauss opera. It’s quite different.

The backstory: years before the action of the opera, Hérodiade abandoned her daughter Salomé (who has no memories of her mother except that she was abandoned) in order to marry Hérode. in the intervening time, Salomé has found comfort from Jean and his preaching (as well as fallen in love with him) and heard a voice telling her to come to Jerusalem in order to find her mother. she has followed and become friends with Phanuel, who’s an adviser kinda in everyone’s business. Jean has been busy insulting Hérodiade, which has the completely expected effect of making her severely PO’d. meanwhile Hérode has seen and fallen in Opera Villain Lust (TM) with Salomé. also there’s an attempted revolt going on against the Romans.

The plot, very shortly: Salomé dreams of both finding her mother and furthering her relationship with Jean. Hérodiade asks Hérode to have Jean executed; he says no. Jean calls Hérodiade out a bunch and it’s awesome. Later, at a party or something, Hérode is horny and drinks a potion that makes him have erotic visions of Salomé. Phanuel tells him about the political situation and Hérode, in order to become more popular, allies himself with the revolt. However, unexpectedly the Roman official Vitellius shows up and Hérode changes his tune real quick. Jean comes on with his followers and Salomé and basically disses everyone. Hérodiade notices Hérode making eyes at Salomé and tells Vitellius that Jean is bad news, hoping to get someone to help her get Jean executed.

Hérodiade then pays Phanuel, who apparently is also an astrologer, a visit and asks him to tell her what the stars hold. Because this is an opera, there is a whole lot of blood and destruction in those stars. Phanuel also tells Hérodiade that her star is linked to that of her abandoned daughter and that said abandoned daughter is nearby. Hérodiade is overjoyed at first but when Phanuel points to Salomé outside, she’s horrified and her joy turns to hatred. Salomé tries to find Jean inside the palace because he’s been captured, but Hérode finds her first and essentially all but sexually assaults her. Then Jean is put on trial; Hérode offers to pardon him if he helps him overthrow the Romans. Jean says no. Salomé then asks to die alongside Jean. Everyone’s like “wtf?!?!?!” and Hérode, realizing that Jean is his rival, sentences both to death. Hérodiade, who wants to dispatch both the man who insulted her and the woman who’s drawing her husband’s wandering eye, thinks this is convenient.

Jean angsts in prison. Salomé finds him and declares her love, and at last he too declares that he loves her. But in a twist, Hérode pardons Salomé (and her alone) and summons her to the palace. She is carried off as such against her will. Jean is executed. The Romans have crushed the rebellion, and Hérode (who just goes with what’s in vogue) holds a banquet to celebrate along with Hérodiade. Salomé interrupts the festivities and asks that either she die with Jean or Jean be saved because Jean was the only person who truly cared for her after her abandonment by the mother she despises. An executioner announces that Jean is dead. Salomé realizes that Hérodiade is responsible and goes to stab her, but Hérodiade reveals that she is Salomé’s mother. Salomé, in despair, kills herself instead. The end.

It’s really an extremely sad opera. All Salomé wanted was to have someone truly care about her. And in pursuit of a man, Hérodiade ruined her life twice over and became directly responsible for her death. And yet she isn’t completely a monster either; she’s a complicated woman who wants to keep her husband from straying, which is understandable given what she gave up to be with him, though she went about it all wrong. Hérode is almost certainly worse, with little to none in the way of redeeming qualities. Jean is a Good Tenor who doesn’t want Salomé to get hurt. Phanuel is just trying to keep everything together but he’s failing miserably. It’s really very compelling.

The music! My God, the music! Massenet writes so beautifully and has a rare gift among composers: to maintain a distinctive style while still fully immersing the listener in the distinct soundscape of the world in which the opera takes place. And since this is Massenet, the score is marvelous start to finish, though several moments stood out at first listen:

all the arias (in particular, I had no idea Salomé got a second marvelous aria in Act III after her iconic “Il est doux, il est bon” 15 minutes into the opera)

the Act I trio for Hérode, Hérodiade, and Jean

I didn’t realize the tune from the orchestral intro to “Il est doux, il est bon” was a motif for Jean!

those dreamy harp arpeggios leading into and out of Hérode’s vision

the entire Salomé/Hérode duet (Salomé is such a badass)

the Act III danse sacré

the moment when Salomé publicly declares her love and admiration for Jean

the ensuing ensemble

the entire Salomé/Jean duet

from Salomé’s final entrance to the end of the opera

anyway, marvelous opera. even though I’m technically one short, I think this is a good place to end this month’s experiment. it’s been fun. :)

[nofatclips]

Palaeontologist by Rachael Dadd from the album FLUX - Directed by Sam Wisternoff

[senorboombastic]

This One Song… DITZ on Ded Würst

This One Song… DITZ on Ded Würst

Tell you what – we love hearing from artists when things go right. We equally love hearing from artists when things go dreadfully wrong. A song that was a piece of piss, written in 20 minutes? Or years in the making and a bastard to write? Whether it’s a song that came together through great duress or one that was smashed out in a short amount of time, we’re getting the lowdown from some of our…

[jkflesh]

A couple of Godflesh rarities from Simon Young. Taken in France during the Pure era with Robert Hamson, 1992.

[wecouldstillbegreat]

Pheobe Waller Bridge won Best Actress in a Comedy Series at the Critics Choice Awards. 

So far, Veep has lost every single award it has been nominated for except for the AFI Television Program of the Year (along with Chernobyl, The Crown, Fosse/Verdon, Game of Thrones, Pose, Succession, Unbelievable, Watchmen, When They See Us and a Special Award for Fleabag).

Here are all the awards that are left:

1. Producers Guild Awards (January 18, 2020)

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television

Comedy

●     Barry (Season 2)

Producers: Alec Berg, Bill Hader, Aida Rodgers, Liz Sarnoff, Emily Heller, Julie Camino, Jason Kim

●     Fleabag (Season 2)

Producers: Phoebe Waller‐Bridge, Harry Bradbeer, Lydia Hampson, Harry Williams, Jack Williams, Joe Lewis, Sarah Hammond

●     The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 3) 

Producers: Amy Sherman‐Palladino, Daniel Palladino, Dhana Gilbert, Matthew Shapiro, Daniel Goldfarb, Kate Fodor, Sono Patel

●     Schitt’s Creek (Season 5)

Producers: Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, Andrew Barnsley, Fred Levy, David West Read, Ben Feigin, Michael Short, Rupinder Gill, Colin Brunton

●     Veep (Season 7)

Producers: David Mandel, Frank Rich, Julia Louis‐Dreyfus, Lew Morton, Morgan Sackett, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Jennifer Crittenden, Gabrielle Allan, Billy Kimball, Rachel Axler, Ted Cohen, Ian Maxtone‐Graham, Dan O'Keefe, Steve Hely, David Hyman, Georgia Pritchett, Erik Kenward, Dan Mintz, Doug Smith

2. Directors Guild Awards (January 25, 2020)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series

●    Dan Attias

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “It’s the Sixties, Man!” (Prime Video)

●     Bill Hader

“Barry,” “ronny/lily” (HBO)

●    David Mandel

“Veep,” “Veep” (HBO)

●    Amy Sherman Palladino

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “It’s Comedy or Cabbage” (Prime Video)

●    Daniel Palladino

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Marvelous Radio” (Prime Video)

3. Writers Guild Awards (February 1, 2020) 

Comedy Series

●   Barry

Written by Alec Berg, Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Emily Heller, Jason Kim, Taofik Kolade, Elizabeth Sarnoff; HBO

●  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Written by Kate Fodor, Noah Gardenswartz, Daniel Goldfarb, Alison Leiby, Daniel Palladino, Sono Patel, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Jordan Temple; Prime Video

●  PEN15

Written by Jeff Chan, Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, Gabe Liedman, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Andrew Rhymer, Jessica Watson, Sam Zvibleman; Hulu

●   Russian Doll, 

Written by Jocelyn Bioh, Flora Birnbaum, Cirocco Dunlap, Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Tami Sagher, Allison Silverman; Netflix

●   Veep, Written by Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg, Rachel Axler, Emilia Barrosse, Ted Cohen, Jennifer Crittenden, Alex Gregory, Steve Hely, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, David Mandel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Mintz, Lew Morton, Dan O'Keefe, Georgia Pritchett, Leila Strachan; HBO

Episodic Comedy 

●  “Here’s Where We Get Off” (Orange Is the New Black)

Written by Jenji Kohan; Netflix

●  “It’s Comedy or Cabbage” (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino; Prime Video

●  “Nice Knowing You” (Living With Yourself)

Written by Timothy Greenberg; Netflix

●  “Pilot” (Dead to Me)

Written by Liz Feldman; Netflix

●  “The Stinker Thinker” (On Becoming a God in Central Florida)

Written by Robert F. Funke & Matt Lutsky; Showtime

●   “Veep” (Veep)

Written by David Mandel; HBO

[shemakesmusic-uk]

Lazybones release latest track ‘Trash Talk’

Formed in late 2017, Brighton-based alt-rock trio Lazybones have shared their latest explosive track ‘Trash Talk’.

‘Trash Talk’, recorded by Ben Hampson of Agricultural Audio (Noel Gallagher, Bloc Party), is about “That moment when you know you’re about to say something you’ll regret, when you’re right on the edge and you just can’t stop it,” vocalist Candi Underwood explains.

Inspired by the likes of Black Sabbath, Sex Pistols and Chas & Dave, using a fuzzy bass guitar, an amplified organ and drums, Lazybones create a trashy, unapologetic, to-the-point British sound.

[tech-news99]

Robotic Rat Climbs, Crawls, Turns on a Dime

IEEE Spectrum

Michelle Hampson

April 20, 2022

Qing Shi and colleagues at China's Beijing Institute of Technology built a rat-inspired robot that can squeeze through tight spaces, which could be used to assess disaster zones or pipelines. The SQuRo (small-sized Quadruped Robotic Rat) can walk, crawl, and climb over objects, as well as being able to turn sharply and recover from falls. The researchers modeled SQuRo's architecture, movement patterns, and degrees of freedom (DOFs) on x-rays of actual rats' joint structure. The robot features two DOFs in each limb, as well as its waist and head, enabling its spine to move in the flexible manner of an actual rat. Said the Institute’s Ben Shi, “To the best of our knowledge, SQuRo is the first small-sized quadruped robot of this scale that is capable of performing five motion modes, which includes crouching-to-standing, walking, crawling, turning, and fall recovery.”