This Window
Encyclopedia
This Window was formed by Peter Bright around 1985; earlier tape experiments exist from 1979 to 1984. These tape experiments formed the basic philosophy
of This Window. The analogue
tape machine became the main instrument used to create ‘songs’. This interest in experimentation had been nurtured whilst being a member of the Exeter
College of Art bands, T.34 (1978 – 1980) and The Urge (1979). The Urge supported Adam and the Ants
and Bauhaus
and were offered a record contract with 4AD
but decided to split up and consequently didn’t sign. In A Glass Darkly (1981) was a project with the lead singer from The Urge, Russell Young and two ballet
dancers who performed to a tape backing track
of a dripping tap
, only a handful of gigs were played in London
. This project ended and Peter later joined Finish The Story
(1981 -1986) as guitarist.
The perfect conduit for This Window’s music and art was the Cassette Culture
and Mail Art
scenes. These network
s of artists and musicians encouraged an early form of open source
cooperation
, with projects being shared and created. This methodology
fitted in with This Window's approach to creativity
.
This Window released two solo cassette albums ('Hope' & 'Jude The Obscure') in the UK and several albums were released in Europe, the most successful being 'Extraction' & 'Extraction2' (1989 & 1995) both of these were released by EE Tapes (Belgium). Other releases include: Igniton Mix on Old Europa Cafe
label, 'En Face' (France
) and 'Morning' (Germany
). This Window were one of the leading exponents of the 'Cassette
Underground', with radio play in both Europe and America. Critical acclaim was received from both sides of the Atlantic
.
Live performances have been sporadic, a notable one was, the 3rd mail-art festival (1990) at OJC Clichee in Sint-Niklaas
. This festival was a multimedia
event, a combination of a postal art (Mail Art
) exhibition, live music event and live radio show.
After a ten year gap, a CD
was released (together with Finish The Story
) in 2005 called 'The Sampler #05', which was a collection of old and new material. This CD
was received very well in the media and was followed up with two more solo CD-R
releases in 2007.
In December 2008, Electro Arc label release ‘Where Is My Jesus’ on their Net.Ware Stimulation compilation album
. In January 2009, ‘Cassette Culture 1989 – 2009’ was released as a commercial download. This project contained remixes of a series of demo recordings made in 2008 and a section of the live Plac.Art.X set that was streamed over the Internet to Regensburg
Germany in August 2007. This release also contains a complete remix
ed version of 'Extraction' which was originally released in 1989. These remixes were by Jake Bright.
Over the years This Window became the pseudonym
of Peter Bright.
(cdmred320) 2007
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of This Window. The analogue
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
tape machine became the main instrument used to create ‘songs’. This interest in experimentation had been nurtured whilst being a member of the Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
College of Art bands, T.34 (1978 – 1980) and The Urge (1979). The Urge supported Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
and Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
and were offered a record contract with 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
but decided to split up and consequently didn’t sign. In A Glass Darkly (1981) was a project with the lead singer from The Urge, Russell Young and two ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancers who performed to a tape backing track
Backing track
A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording that musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live.-Uses:...
of a dripping tap
Tap (valve)
A tap is a valve controlling release of liquids or gas. In the British Isles and most of the Commonwealth, the word is used for any everyday type of valve, particularly the fittings that control water supply to bathtubs and sinks. In the U.S., the term "tap" is more often used for beer taps,...
, only a handful of gigs were played in 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...
. This project ended and Peter later joined Finish The Story
Finish The Story
Finish the Story were formed in Evesham in 1981. The original members were Nicola Mumford, Garry Smout and Peter Bright . Finish the Story were very much a part of the 'Evesham Scene' which included bands The Photos and The Dancing Did...
(1981 -1986) as guitarist.
The perfect conduit for This Window’s music and art was the Cassette Culture
Cassette culture
Cassette culture, or the cassette underground , refers to the practices surrounding amateur production and distribution of recorded music that emerged in the late 1970s via home-made audio cassettes...
and Mail Art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
scenes. These network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
s of artists and musicians encouraged an early form of open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
cooperation
Cooperation
Cooperation or co-operation is the process of working or acting together. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a...
, with projects being shared and created. This methodology
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
fitted in with This Window's approach to creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
.
This Window released two solo cassette albums ('Hope' & 'Jude The Obscure') in the UK and several albums were released in Europe, the most successful being 'Extraction' & 'Extraction2' (1989 & 1995) both of these were released by EE Tapes (Belgium). Other releases include: Igniton Mix on Old Europa Cafe
Old Europa Cafe
Old Europa Cafe is an Italian independent record label and mail order service specializing in ambient music, noise music, electronic music, and industrial music. It is based in Pordenone. Originating in the early 1980s Old Europa Cafe began as a small cassette label. Some of the original Old...
label, 'En Face' (France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) and 'Morning' (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
). This Window were one of the leading exponents of the 'Cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
Underground', with radio play in both Europe and America. Critical acclaim was received from both sides of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
Live performances have been sporadic, a notable one was, the 3rd mail-art festival (1990) at OJC Clichee in Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
. This festival was a multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
event, a combination of a postal art (Mail Art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
) exhibition, live music event and live radio show.
After a ten year gap, a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
was released (together with Finish The Story
Finish The Story
Finish the Story were formed in Evesham in 1981. The original members were Nicola Mumford, Garry Smout and Peter Bright . Finish the Story were very much a part of the 'Evesham Scene' which included bands The Photos and The Dancing Did...
) in 2005 called 'The Sampler #05', which was a collection of old and new material. This CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
was received very well in the media and was followed up with two more solo CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
releases in 2007.
In December 2008, Electro Arc label release ‘Where Is My Jesus’ on their Net.Ware Stimulation compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
. In January 2009, ‘Cassette Culture 1989 – 2009’ was released as a commercial download. This project contained remixes of a series of demo recordings made in 2008 and a section of the live Plac.Art.X set that was streamed over the Internet to Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
Germany in August 2007. This release also contains a complete remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed version of 'Extraction' which was originally released in 1989. These remixes were by Jake Bright.
Over the years This Window became the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Peter Bright.
Articles/Reviews
- Review in German magazine 'Epitaph' 1991, contains list of solo releases from 1988 - 1991 http://www.thiswindow.org/image/EpitaphSummer1991.pdf
- Review and interview with the BBCBBCThe 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...
in 2005 about the release of 'The Sampler #05'.http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2005/09/26/finish_the_story_profile_group.shtml There is a link on this page to an audio clip of the interview. - Review by Mick MercerMick MercerMick Mercer is a journalist and author best known for his photos and reviews of the goth, punk, and indie music scenes. He has photographed the bands Tragic Venus and Blondie in the UK and Europe.He publishes a monthly online magazine called "The Mick"....
: http://mickmercer.livejournal.com/718772.html in 2007 - Review in Grave Jibes Fanzine (RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) February 2010 http://gravejibes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Grave_Jibes_Fanzine_7_en.pdf pages 64 to 71. This includes an interview and a review of 'Cassette Culture 1989 - 2009' - Article on early experiences of home taping http://www.doncampau.com/livingarchivePeterBright.htm from the 'The Living Archive Of Underground Music'
Music production
- Produced the Finish The StoryFinish The StoryFinish the Story were formed in Evesham in 1981. The original members were Nicola Mumford, Garry Smout and Peter Bright . Finish the Story were very much a part of the 'Evesham Scene' which included bands The Photos and The Dancing Did...
Track on Gunfire and Pianos (SITU 17) released by ZigZag/Situation TwoSituation TwoSituation Two, aka Situation 2, was a record label created in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the larger Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet records were distributed by WEA Records; so, to appeal to the indie audience and to get releases into the indie charts, the Situation Two...
in 1985 - Engineered and remastered The Dancing DidThe Dancing DidThe Dancing Did were a British post-punk/folk punk group formed in Evesham in 1979, who were described as "a cross between the Clash and Steeleye Span". They released an album in 1982 and split up the following year.-History:...
live tracks on Cherry RedCherry RedCherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...
Records' release And Did Those Feet
(cdmred320) 2007
External reference
- List of releases and contributions to the mail artMail artMail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
and cassette cultureCassette cultureCassette culture, or the cassette underground , refers to the practices surrounding amateur production and distribution of recorded music that emerged in the late 1970s via home-made audio cassettes...
scenes. http://www.discogs.com/artist/This+Window - 3rd mail-art festival 1990 at OJC Clichee in Sint-NiklaasSint-NiklaasSint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
contains link to images of performance. http://users.telenet.be/eetapes/festivals/1990thiswindow.htm - Link to the placard headphone festival (le Placard) Plac.Art.X (August 2007). Several artist based in different countries streamed their audio and video over the Internet to Regensburg, Germany where the audience listened through headphones and watched on video screens. http://www.leplacard.org/2007/Plac.Art.X/
Trivia
- The singer songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Clifford T. WardClifford T. WardClifford Thomas Ward was a popular English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist.-Early life:...
was Peter Bright’s English teacher at North Bromsgrove High SchoolNorth Bromsgrove High SchoolNorth Bromsgrove High School is a High School and Sixth Form Centre located in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. It offers education for GCSE and A level courses... - Peter Bright helped design and make John BonhamJohn BonhamJohn Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
's gravestone - Peter Bright made page two of The Financial Times on 3 May 2000 with an Internet project InMemoryOf.co.uk http://www.inmemoryof.co.uk
- Married to the author and TV script writer Veronica HenryVeronica HenryVeronica Henry is an author, TV script writer and journalist. She has written seven novels, published by publishers including; Penguin Books , Orion Books and Random House ....