Blacksmoke
Encyclopedia
Blacksmoke a.k.a. The Blacksmoke Organisation are "an occasional art collective and musical group dedicated to the propagation of audio visual noise". The precise creative membership of Blacksmoke is a closely guarded secret. It is documented that a founding member is The KLF
co-founder Jimmy Cauty
. Heavy metal musician James Fogarty
has also been extensively responsible for their musical output. Keir (the ex Black Dog/808 State Manager) has been described as their "project manager". K Foundation
collaborator Gimpo who is organiser of the annual "M25 SPIN" was the inspiration for an early Blacksmoke track "Gimpo Gimpo" but, contrary to reports, has never provided any vocals. Cauty left the organisation in 2005 to work on other projects . Blacksmoke output currently includes music (original, remix/production for artists and TV/Film composition work), artwork (including photography) and video material.
Cauty stated in a music press interview that Blacksmoke is first and foremost an outlet for his anger concerning the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Among the work so far produced by the Blacksmoke Organisation are limited edition prints of stamps known as The Stamps Of Mass Destruction the Post Terrorist Modernist EP, and the Post-Terrorism Xmas Shop. The anger over 9/11
is immediately apparent in the samples and vocals of many of the original tracks as well as the graphics.
Limited edition prints of 1st 2nd & 3rd class stamps featuring the Queen's head with a gas mask on. These were exhibited at the artrepublic gallery in Brighton
, until they earned the attention of the Royal Mail
. All unsold copies of the stamps of mass destruction prints were sent to Royal Mail for destruction. A second series of the stamps were later released - 4th 5th & 6th class which had the queens head completely engulfed in a chemical warfare protection suit and thus were presumably not subject to the legal action taken by Royal Mail.
s hosted on the Blacksmoke website, the tracks including "Gimpo Gimpo" and a remix of same entitled "Fuck the Fucking Fuckers". On 23 September 2003, BBC Radio 1
's Breezeblock with Mary Anne Hobbs
show broadcast a 15-minute mix session. The session comprised the MP3s cut together with samples of mobile phone
s and Big Ben
plus other sound effects. The BBC
cut the final 3 minutes 30 seconds from the session due to the post Iraq war political climate
. The cut material was "Silent Night", one of the previously available download-only tracks. A few months later, the collective added an MP3 of the Breezeblock version of "Silent Night" to their website for download.
On 5 November 2003 Blacksmoke made available an MP3 EP on their website which they described as "post-terrorist modernism for the Boom Bang Generation". A Blacksmoke press release drew connections with Bonfire Night and called Guy Fawkes
Britain's "most notorious terrorist". The downloadable cover art featured Big Ben
exploding like the World Trade Center
and asked if the artwork "depicted the destruction of government buildings in Baghdad or Kabul, would we pay any attention?" There were media reports of "outrage".
festival. Cauty played an eclectic and
experimental DJ set, which he described as "an updated version of [The KLF's ambient album] Chill Out
", while a film by Gimpo called Docklands Light Railway was screened. An alternative version of the soundtrack to the film was later featured as an hour long mix radio session on Resonance FM on 28 August. This was described as an industrial ambient mix.
The Blacksmoke Organisation ran a 'Post-Terrorism Christmas Shop' at the Aquarium art gallery
in Woburn Walk, London
, throughout December 2004. Described as a "one-stop shop for all your post-terrorism needs", items for sale included silk ties for infiltrating Fortune 500
companies, strengthened crockery for after the attack, and a range of prints of original post-terrorism inspired artwork. A full length album was promised for 2004 but never surfaced, although a limited edition single, "I'm Dreaming Of A BLACK Christmas", was made available for collection from the Aquarium only on Christmas Day 2004.
The Blacksmoke Organisation were commissioned by Disney to rework the original theme tune to their 60's movie "The Love Bug" for a 2005 remake entitled "Herbie: Fully Loaded". Blacksmoke produced two versions, appearing within the movie and on the Fully Loaded
.
In May 2008 The Blacksmoke Organisation exhibited a new artwork entitled "Tom & Jerry" at the Photo Fictions: New Narrative Photography exhibition, held at the Show Cave Gallery in Los Angeles.
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
co-founder Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
. Heavy metal musician James Fogarty
James Fogarty
James Fogarty is an English multi-media artist. Concentrating mainly on music crossing over between metal and sampled based music, his projects past and present are The Blacksmoke Organisation, The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom, Ewigkeit, Jaldaboath and producing occasional releases for Death To...
has also been extensively responsible for their musical output. Keir (the ex Black Dog/808 State Manager) has been described as their "project manager". K Foundation
K Foundation
The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF income...
collaborator Gimpo who is organiser of the annual "M25 SPIN" was the inspiration for an early Blacksmoke track "Gimpo Gimpo" but, contrary to reports, has never provided any vocals. Cauty left the organisation in 2005 to work on other projects . Blacksmoke output currently includes music (original, remix/production for artists and TV/Film composition work), artwork (including photography) and video material.
Cauty stated in a music press interview that Blacksmoke is first and foremost an outlet for his anger concerning the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Among the work so far produced by the Blacksmoke Organisation are limited edition prints of stamps known as The Stamps Of Mass Destruction the Post Terrorist Modernist EP, and the Post-Terrorism Xmas Shop. The anger over 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
is immediately apparent in the samples and vocals of many of the original tracks as well as the graphics.
The Stamps Of Mass Destruction
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, until they earned the attention of the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
. All unsold copies of the stamps of mass destruction prints were sent to Royal Mail for destruction. A second series of the stamps were later released - 4th 5th & 6th class which had the queens head completely engulfed in a chemical warfare protection suit and thus were presumably not subject to the legal action taken by Royal Mail.
2003 music
The first Blacksmoke releases were MP3MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s hosted on the Blacksmoke website, the tracks including "Gimpo Gimpo" and a remix of same entitled "Fuck the Fucking Fuckers". On 23 September 2003, BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Breezeblock with Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs is an English DJ and music journalist from Garstang, Lancashire. She launched a new Primetime show on Xfm on 9 July 2011-Early career:...
show broadcast a 15-minute mix session. The session comprised the MP3s cut together with samples of mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
plus other sound effects. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
cut the final 3 minutes 30 seconds from the session due to the post Iraq war political climate
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. The cut material was "Silent Night", one of the previously available download-only tracks. A few months later, the collective added an MP3 of the Breezeblock version of "Silent Night" to their website for download.
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
Britain's "most notorious terrorist". The downloadable cover art featured Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
exploding like the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and asked if the artwork "depicted the destruction of government buildings in Baghdad or Kabul, would we pay any attention?" There were media reports of "outrage".
2004 onwards
In July 2004 Blacksmoke appeared at The Big ChillThe Big Chill (music festival)
The Big Chill is an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August...
festival. Cauty played an eclectic and
experimental DJ set, which he described as "an updated version of [The KLF's ambient album] Chill Out
Chill out
Chill out may mean:*Chill out music, a laid-back style of music*Chill Out, an album by KLF*Chill Out *Chill Out, an album by John Lee Hooker...
", while a film by Gimpo called Docklands Light Railway was screened. An alternative version of the soundtrack to the film was later featured as an hour long mix radio session on Resonance FM on 28 August. This was described as an industrial ambient mix.
The Blacksmoke Organisation ran a 'Post-Terrorism Christmas Shop' at the Aquarium art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
in Woburn Walk, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, throughout December 2004. Described as a "one-stop shop for all your post-terrorism needs", items for sale included silk ties for infiltrating Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies, strengthened crockery for after the attack, and a range of prints of original post-terrorism inspired artwork. A full length album was promised for 2004 but never surfaced, although a limited edition single, "I'm Dreaming Of A BLACK Christmas", was made available for collection from the Aquarium only on Christmas Day 2004.
Herbie: Fully Loaded (soundtrack)
Herbie Fully Loaded is the soundtrack album to the 2005 film of the same name, it was released on June 21, 2005. It includes Lindsay Lohan's third single, "First", and remakes of classic songs by Hollywood Records artists including Aly & A.J., Caleigh Peters, Ingram Hill and Josh Kelley, and big...
.
In May 2008 The Blacksmoke Organisation exhibited a new artwork entitled "Tom & Jerry" at the Photo Fictions: New Narrative Photography exhibition, held at the Show Cave Gallery in Los Angeles.
Remixes
Blacksmoke have done a number of distinctive remixes of other artists. Some of them have been available for download from their website, others are available on commercial recordings.- a-haA-haA-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
- "Cosy Prisons (Aha inhale Blacksmoke)" - Bloodhound GangBloodhound GangBloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
- "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo" - EmperorEmperorAn emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
- "I Am The Black Wizards" - Blonde From Fargo - "Hey! Hey! Hey!"
- Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
- "Black Night" - DJ PierreDJ PierreDJ Pierre is the stage name of Nathaniel Pierre Jones, a Chicago born DJ and performer of house music. He helped to develop the house music subgenre of Acid House, as member of Phuture, whose 1987 E.P...
- "No More War" - Cradle of FilthCradle of FilthCradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
- "Mannequin" - Gay for Johnny DeppGay for Johnny DeppGay for Johnny Depp was a hardcore band formed in New York, USA. Members were: Sid Jagger , Marty Leopard , Chelsea Piers , JJ Samanen...
- "Shh, Put The Shiv To My Throat" - Gogol BordelloGogol BordelloGogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music...
- "Immigrant Punk" - Heloise and the Savoir FaireHeloise and the Savoir FaireHeloise and the Savoir Faire are a punk outfit based in Brooklyn, New York. Fronted by Heloise Williams , the band's live lineup was originally composed of Williams singing over a pre-recorded track and was accompanied by the dance stylings of Joe "Juge" Shepard and Sara Sweet Rabidoux...
- "Odyle" - Les SixLes SixLes six is a name, inspired by The Five, given in 1920 by critic Henri Collet in an article titled "" to a group of six composers working in Montparnasse whose music is often seen as a reaction against the musical style of Richard Wagner and impressionist music.-Members:Formally, the Groupe des...
- "Died In A Day" - Prada Meinhof - "Hannah Have A Guinness"
- Sébastien TellierSébastien TellierSébastien Tellier is a French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, French and Italian.-Biography:...
- "Wonder Africa" - The Dandy WarholsThe Dandy WarholsThe Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
- "We Used To Be Friends" - The (International) Noise ConspiracyThe (International) Noise ConspiracyThe Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...
- "Armed Love" - iamamiwhoamiIamamiwhoamiiamamiwhoami is an electronic music and multimedia project headlined by Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee. Videos released from the project's YouTube channel have spread virally. The first clip was uploaded on December 4, 2009, and was forwarded to a number of music journalists and blogs. Another...
- "U (by The Blacksmoke Organisation)"