valve in forearm

an impossible to anticipate monday morning field report indeed. might i be so bold as to reveal that i have just now returned home from a most unexpected four-day episode spent recovering in a hospital bed from a relatively serious throat infection which beset me with great discomfort and high levels of fear and panic in the small hours of wednesday-night into thursday morning having returned home from a meeting with the wonderfully talented paulina stulin to aid me with the completion of my final 'nova conditions' manuscript.

i feel the need to share this information with you all, if only to explain my absence from all things decorative stamp and jamesreindeer-related since the middle of last week, a frustrating truth, largely due to the fact that there are serious amounts of projects afoot and not a moment to lose in working on them. sadly, a good deal of moments have been lost, but i am once again at near-full-strength and eager to bring everything back up to date over the coming days, so please expect a lot of news to emerge from both here and the decorative stamp as we wend our way towards mid-week.

so, might i just now briefly hint at some of what is in store, including revelations of the next three decorative stamp releases, including the first official 'jamesreindeer' solo release [of sorts], some seven years after my first commercial available musical outing, another very special and highly limited re-release of an unexpectedly very popular album from the decorative stamp and the next offering from everyones favourite anti-rap-alt-folk duo... shhhh...

so til then, might i leave you with this small prose-poem i found myself assembling in the early hours of last night, a mildly-fictionalised and overly-dramatic version of the events of my last four days and a very clear indication that i am certainly far from the best patient one could hope to be... my intense fear of hospitals something of a burden at an instance like this. enjoy! or, cringe in horror...

...and, might i also be so bold as to offer some personal 'shout-outs' to the very, very awesome and very very patient miss nadia d'alò, for visiting me on a daily basis despite her chaotic university and work schedule, for bringing my lots of tasty treats to supplement the hospital food as well as some essential english-language reading materials and for putting up with my abysmal mood. to the equally cool miss wirginia lewandowski for sending me wonderfully kind sms wishes and whom i still owe a telephone call, and the very, very, very wonderful oskar ohslon and winterismyname for hailing me on my cellphone at regular intervals to keep my spirits lifted, and to one herr schmidt, my room companion who was most kind a supportive despite our language barrier... i am most grateful indeed... and to my dearest mother, father and sister, i must sincerely apologise that this may be the first you're hearing of this, but i really, really didn't want you to worry unnecessarily! 

keep well

jamesreindeer

valve in forearm

gentle readers. we find ourselves in foreign hospital bed, valve in forearm staring long at the words emerging on the page before us. insect chirps and birdcalls in the night. distant trailing language rising up from unknown rooms below us, the droning hymn of the occassional aeroplane sailing by, the rattling of mechanical blinds in the evening breeze, intermittent bleeps and hospital noises from behind the closed door. at some stages laughter and grim moans coming in. 

we have been trapped here for the longest while, a seemingly simple ailment soon becoming a matter of utmost urgengy; infection, blood tests, antibiotics fed intravenously. the gim food arriving on plastic trays three times a day, the sound of herr schmidt* dying slowly in the bed next us. we feel utterly lost and alone in this dark, strange place. there is a silence in the still of the night, in between the cackling and whining, in between the rattling and heavy breaths of the sick and helpless. 

we feel our way through the night, each sigh a step closer to complete abandon. we are watching the grey paint of walls, the rounded corners of the plastic light switch, the geometry of the waste-basket by the doorway. our mechanical bed groans and purrs with each press of its automated button panel. our water and salbei tea in rectangular glass jugs, white plastic lids, brown plastic mug, dropper, tablets laid out in blue plastic containers, foggy air inhaler attatchment resting in grey card kidney bowl. 

we gaze long into the silence and curse our luck, curse our failing body, wish that we could escape into the cool of the night. to race out within the green of the forested hills surrounding the hospital, ride the tramline back into the city, back to the calm solitude of the safehouse, our plants laying dying on the windowsill, one already tossed down to the courtyard through lack of water to stabalise itself amidst even the gentlest of winds. 

there is a strange long misery that holds us. we long for escape, but slowly cannot be sure what we want to escape for. what is there beyond these four walls, beyond the corridor that leads us to the bathroom, to the inhalation room, to the consultation room, even to the elevator that takes us down to the lobby and the few lonely benches sitting idle at the foot of the vast concrete building. 

where are we going to indeed. what ride are we hoping to take. we long to rush out into the night, but are more and more filled with the strange unfolding misery that there is indeed nothing else beyond this place. we are destined to feel hopeless and lost after this strange interval. we may leave this place but our path has been irreperably broken, or skewed in some awful fashion that cannot repair itself. we have somehow been shifted off our course and can no longer find our way back to that simple moment before the affliction of grim infection bore down upon us unexpectedly in the night, reducing us to a scarcely breathing panicked wreck, a pathetic shambles of skin and bone trailing unknown miseries into the spring night. 

we are frightnened and lost and clambering wildly at some unknown in the hopes of finding solace amongst the half-sleep, that it might lift us up into the miracle abandon of some impossible plain beyond all this worldly sorrow and corporeal grit. we are desperate to escape, to pass out into the open sky, to leave this sick and frail body, a frightened spirit emerging from valve in forearm.

-

*it seems only fair to mention that herr schmidt wasn't dying at all, although it really did sound like it at intervals. he was a very lovely, kind man and, despite the serious-sounding nature of his ailment, he actually got to go home before i did... setting the record straight in his honour.

-

initial facts in the case of shallow pools

as those of you who follow my posts on facebook will already be aware, i have taken it upon myself to word one hundred poems under the collective title of 'shallow pools', which i intend to be revealing to the world before too long. still, before i do, i wanted to spend a moment briefly outlining the facts in the case and offer some insight as to my motivation behind the project as well as a little insight into my methodology and practice.

by pure happenstance, i find myself temporarily in the possession of an old mechanical typewriter, and wanted to take the opportunity to put such a glorious device to use, by way of utilising it to compose some new literary pieces. there is surely some truly wonderful tactile pleasure to be had in tapping away at the clattering keys, not to mention the delight of being able to produce entirely unique results with each new piece of paper.

still, the typewriter offers me a slightly different ingress into my own creative enterprise. my thoughts are drawn to david cronenberg's film adaptation of william s burroughs' 'naked lunch' and specifically the scene in which our fictionalised versions of kerouac, ginsberg and burroughs are collected in their favourite cafe and discussing the nature of 'true writing', if i recall correctly. ginsberg cannot be sure if 're-writes' can be seen as acceptable, as 'true', or if kerouac is right in saying that they are a form of self-censorship, of denying the truth. naturally burroughs then weighs in with his 'destroy all rational thought' motif to swamp their debate.

for my own part, i have always erred closer to the ginsberg methodology; initially outlining my themes, wording my text and then returning to perform, usually minor 're-writes' to achieve my desired aim, and how the modern personal computer is by far and away the perfect tool for this approach to working. we can clatter away, filling up whole virtual reams of paper, whilst safe in the knowledge that limitless editing options are available to us after the fact.

the typewriter, however, holds sway over our work in a very different way. this permanence of every keystroke, this rigid pattern of indelible words forming across the page, each one set in stone from the very first moment, not allowing us to go back, to make alterations, save for bringing correction fluid into play. we are forced to work with how the words first arrive on the page, and that is something very different indeed.

so, these 'shallow pools', this series of one hundred poems, is an exercise in my trying to lean further towards kerouac's approach, to let the words arrive as they do, in the order that they do, not looking back, not allowing myself to perform 're-writes', to dilute the 'truth' of the lines as they leave my fingers. it is a strange and fascinating exercise for me, and one that i keenly look forward to sharing with you all in due course. til then, 'destroy all rational thought'.

take care

jamesreindeer

outside your doorway - vinyl out now

with much enthusiasm, we can at last announce that the amazing new 12" vinyl EP from the masterful 2econd class citizen is at last upon us, via the very wonderful equinox records, entitled 'outside your doorway' and now available to purchase from a wide variety of sources.

featuring three new songs from the wired-folk master himself, not to mention stunning contributions in the form of remixes from the near-legendary buddy peace and dday one, as well as the staggering miss jenny blackbird and my humble self reunited with our bold captain after some long moons on the epic 'insect forms'.

so, be sure to fix yourself a copy of the vinyl, or a digital download, should it be more suited to your particular needs, and be sure that your appetite has be whetted for the upcoming new album; 'the small minority', coming at the end of the month.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

freelance writer for hire

anyone of you who is a regular reader of my posts here will surely by now be aware that i harbour something more than a deep fondness for the written word. a fondness that quite possibly even eclipses my fondness for producing musical works. facts i would surely not shy away from, rather glowingly reveal at any relevant opportunity. to that end, whilst also working on all of my musical projects, i devote a great amount of time to my writing, both here in the online world and across a myriad of notebooks, scraps of paper, digital document files and the like. it is certainly my desire to press on in these directions and, to that end, with a view to 'expanding my portfolio' as well as being able to pay my rent, as of today i am officially offering my services as a 'freelance writer for hire'.

so, should you be in the need of any english language works, from articles, reviews and essays, to promotional materials and interviews, to lyrics and poems, or simply song titles and copy-writing. naturally i am most open to suggestion and can surely come to amicable arrangements regarding rates, time-scales and the like. i would be most keen to undertake all manner of commissions and would encourage you to consider my talents for your particular needs, as well as kindly asking you to perhaps also recommend my services to anyone and everyone whom you think might benefit from my professional assistance. i hope that this course might help me a little to keep a roof over my head and food in my mouth and, moreover, the chance to expand my written enterprises, allowing my words to find their ways into wider circles.

any interested parties please send word to : jamesreindeer@hotmail.co.uk

sincerely,

jamesreindeer

a voice on a gramophone

gentle readers, how time races by indeed... and such an incredibly busy month to be sure. having returned from the czech republic it was all about the skribble gebibble birthday party and, since then, vast amounts of organisation surrounding all the various decorative stamp strands have taken place. i have been in the last day or so pooling over what shall be the release roster for the upcoming six months and how i can assure you all that there is a whole raft of high quality material being slowly assembled in the wings. in truth, it is starting to look like we have more releases scheduled than we have months left in the year, so i rather imagine we will have to step up our game to get as much of this new music out there as possible before this still waxing year begins to wan into the darkness of next winter.

but, with much gladness, i have also been rather fortunate enough to spend some time in the studio myself, ostensibly lending my lyrical and vocal attempts to a number of really very awesome songs indeed. i must be careful as to what i reveal as it is always difficult to be sure as to what is and isn't top secret. but, without giving the game away too much i can surely reveal that i have been honoured enough to contribute verses to two staggering epic posse-cuts which, combined, feature something of a 'who's who' within the alternative rap scene, as well as having the honour of collaborating with three outrageously talented producers to create three exclusive new songs for your listening pleasure, one of which to be released on a cd album soon and the other two making their way onto different sized pieces of vinyl, perhaps even as we speak.

i must confess that i take great pleasure in over-seeing the various releases that decorative stamp are getting out into the world, but there is still so much pleasure for me to be found in working on penning and performing lines for amazing compositions myself. dare i mention that i have even been able to turn my attention a little towards some of my own music and shall endevour to take much more serious steps towards completing my first 'solo' album, which might hopefully be ready for release this time next year. not only that but i have been in serious talks with one of my all-time favourite producers regarding a full collaboratory album, as well as being in the thick of another full-length release with certain members of the knertz collective. glory days to be sure.

still, less vague updates soon! take care

jamesreindeer

three years of skribble gebibble

so, the party of the year has now been and gone. without wanting to wish our lives away, it was so hard to not keenly anticipate the third skribble gebibble birthday party directly after the second. still, a full year had to be permitted to pass and how last saturday finally saw the third birthday party upon us, and how astonishingly amazing night it was indeed, all that we could have hoped for and more. should you still at this juncture be unaware of quite how important the skribble family are, please understand that they are a group of the most wonderful, talented individuals who have been putting on great nights and bringing amazing artists to oberhausen for the past three years. it is always such a great atmosphere when they take control of the druckluft, such good times and so much fun in ascending waves. i cannot emphasise enough how special the evenings they create are, and would seriously recommend a road-trip to find yourself in attendance at some future event, you shall not be disappointed.

so, the third birthday party was always in the backs of our minds as last year slowly turned into this new one, and how, as the time grew closer, it began clear that they had set in motion yet another amazing line-up and another unforgettable party was looming on the horizon. as the party began to motion its way through the planning stages, the very exciting news that decorative stamp's own a band of buriers would be confirmed as performing crept across the internet and how it would fantastically mean that captain james p honey and i would at last be crossing paths again for the first time in eighteen months, a reason for our own personal excitement, but also a wonderful turn of events that would see the twin-james' reunited on skribble turf, a more fitting location there could not be. a lot of biding time had to transpire in such keen anticipation until finally the time was upon us and we all gathered ourselves up from our various corners and started the pilgrimage to oberhausen.

for our own part, we had assembled a three-person, gut-city contingent in the form of myself, the awesome miss nadia d'alò and our wonderful associate, the very talented miss paulina stulin. we fixed ourselves a weekend train-ticket and made our way slowly along the rhine, following the valley and the flowing water, passing through bingen, koblenz and bonn before the line stretched out from köln into the more industrial north-west, onto düsseldorf and finally oberhausen. we arrived at the druckluft to immediately find the buriers and some of the skribble family outside, vast hugs and the widest of smiles ensued, and how we immediately knew that we were all back home again together again. excitingly we were also notably joined by the very awesome chryso and antonia from saarland for the evening, most welcome additions to our number. all was very much well as the soundchecks, drinks and reunitings began to transpire. it was so, so wonderful to see everyone again, so many great friends, so many wonderful people.

still, the time would race by as always, and before long we were in the thick of the evening, the druckluft swarming with hundreds of guests, the skribble dj's spinning endlessly amazing songs for our listening pleasure, the wohnzimmer filled with folk drawing amazing images, thick and heavy beats arising from the dancing folk in the basement, and soon the main room to be filled with the big names of the evening. we all took in the wonderful atmosphere and moved between the rooms, wide smiles on all our faces, happy times and the warmest of vibes. still, the main event on a lot of people's lips was the mighty performance from the buriers and how the time was soon upon us. a huge crowd of folk were eagerly gathered by the time that james and jamie took to the stage and how their performance was staggering indeed. a chew-heavy set filled with some of their biggest songs, and how the crowds lapped it up so enthusiastically. perhaps the most awesome moment was to be found in my being invited to join them onstage for a splendid freestyle as well as a performance of the mighty 'float'. james and i had not rapped together in so long and yet we immediately fell into the amazing synchronicity which we so gladly share. a real treat to be able to perform again together, but moreover that it would be onstage at the skribble birthday party for the oberhausen people, planets align indeed...

still, there was much more to be had of the night. more amazing performances, more astonishing beats from the skribble dj's, the cutting of the birthday cake and the drinking of champagne, a futher acoustic performance from the buriers to a fortunate few, a further james & james freestyle session, yet more smiles and drinks, cakes and keen conversation as folk continued to draw amazing images in the wohnzimmer, as amazing sounds stretched out from the main room and the thick, pulsating rhythm continued to creep up from the basement. honey and i talked long into the night, sat at the foot of the skribble dj's just catching up late into the night, surrounded by a changing combination of wonderful friends and loved-ones. i know that i so keenly speak for the both of us when i talk of our continued, shared astonishment and appreciation of how lucky we consider ourselves to have been able to cross paths with these amazing people those long years ago.

sadly the night wore on so late and trains, planes and cars needed to be sought on the morrow. our taxi was awaiting us as we bid farewells to the family and made our weary way back to mülheim as a splendid group of the buriers, nadia, pauli and myself, as very glad and grateful guests of the astonishingly wonderful sinja and sabrina. the night was absolutely finished off to perfection when honey and i got to taste an amazing cupcake each from sinja's baking efforts before sleepytime. it must be quite seriously mentioned that the cake situation and the skribble family is something of a legend it its own time. if you are even remotely interested in cakes, then even let that alone be a reason to find yourself at the next party... we slowly all crept into the dreaming with but a few hours til dawn and the sadly inevitable beginnings of the goodbyes.

we arose from temporary slumber to being immediately reduced to saying goodbye to james and jamie, tender hugs and weary-eyed but wide smiles indeed. it was so, so nice to see them both again, and how we all dearly look forward to regrouping again before too long. we shall see where and when across the coming moons. pauli, nadia, sabrina, sinja and i rested awhile longer before slowly gathering ourselves to head off to a splendid brunch with the family. we arrived at the wonderful residence of elisa and friends and spent the next hours gathered around a long table, just eating our fill, taking tea and coffee, reflecting on the previous night and talking long on a host of other subjects besides, whilst reluctantly saying a host of farewells as our numbers began to dwindle. for our own part, the hauptbahnhof at oberhausen beckoned and we made our way back to the druckluft with jakob for just a spell to cross paths with the mighty dyxz and the awesome julia for a little more cake and a few last smiles before the final farewells.

our path back to hessen and decorative stamp headquarters was a smooth and relaxed one indeed, our minds filled with a wonderful haze of fond memories from the night before, how the party had exceeded all expectations which is simply always the case with skribble parties. might i boldly, and on behalf the decorative stamp family also, offer once more our huge thanks and appreciation for being able to travel into the awesome world in which we create, to thank them for so many amazing nights, so many amazing shows and to wish them the happiest of birthdays and so much luck and encouragement for the next twelve months, more good times indeed... and, please be sure to keep the skribble name on your lips, offer support, 'like' them on facebook, bookmark their website and try as best as you can to find yourself one day at the druckluft in oberhausen for a magical, magical time indeed.

keep safe

jamesreindeer