Tag Archives: thc

Steve Spon Solo projects

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Spon’s input on the Diamond Seeds Label

DOOMSDAY DOT COM....NEW ALBUM BY NOSTRAMUS, coming to a planet near you soon!DOOMSDAY DOT COM….NOSTRAMUS
Is this the end of drum and bass as we know it?

A sound concept tapestry with a strong musical current, including samples which expose media hysteria amongst both dark and light themes. Nostramus comments on the phenomena that shape our early 21st century; times where fear is founded for some, and a plaything for others. More info.

Tracks – 12
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2011
CD Album Price – £9.99 inc shipping* BUY NOW
Digital Download – I Tunes | CD Baby
Sample clips on Soundcloud

Earthlights 2010 Remastered. Click to buy CDEARTHLIGHTS REMASTERED…..NOSTRAMUS

Described as ’21st century pagan drum and bass’, the ‘Earthlights’ album by Spon’s alter ego Nosramus was released in 1997 by Recordings of Substance in the UK and Shadow Records in the US to critical acclaim. Now remastered in 2010. More info.

Tracks – 10
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2010
Price – £9.99 inc shipping* Buy CD
Digital Download – I Tunes, E Music, Amazon
Sample sound clips here

DARK AMBIENCE PROJECT…..THE HIDDEN CORE

A feast of sound-scarped nightmare visions and eclectic journeys. Culled from the darker psychotropic-fueled imagination of The Big Eye, Bud Brothers and Nostramus’s  Steve Spon. More info..

Tracks – 13
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2011
Price – £10.00 inc shipping* Buy CD
Digital Download – Available soon
Sample sound clips – Available soon

STEVE SPON PRODUCTIONS : ELLA JO’S ALBUMS

LIMITS OF MILKWEED…..ELLA JO

Ella Jo provides melodic nutrition for a runway to the stars.
This album’s sound-scape provides a rich feast good enough for a Space Shuttle journey. In the Universal Soup of Life, it makes a seriously good sound track. More info..

Tracks – 10
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2008
Price – £9.99 inc shipping* Buy CD
Digital Download – I Tunes, Amazon, CD Baby
Sample sound clips here

ALTER EGO…..ELLA JO

Following the Soul’s whisper, Ella Jo gives clues in this album as she reflects on a hard world, but refuses to be beaten. Here there are tuneful explorations of serious issues, interwoven with the joyous stuff of dreams. More info..

Tracks – 10
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2008
Price – £9.99 inc shipping* >Buy CD
Digital Download – I Tunes, Amazon, CD Baby,
Sample sound clips here

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING…..ELLA JO

This album is like a porthole where beauty is borne of trouble, and passing through it is a cleansing, uplifting experience. Work well crafted will always channel human experience into sweet depths, for those brave enough to share it. More info..

Tracks – 10
Label – Diamond Seed Productions
Year – 2010
Price – £9.99 inc shipping* Buy CD
Digital Download – Available soon
Sample sound clips – Available soon

* January 2011, Subject to slight fluctuations owing to currency conversion rates. CD’s available from Kunaki USA priced at $9.80 plus $4.20 shipping, total price $14.00 (UK = £10.00, Euro 10.80) Delivery to UK and Europe around 8 to 14 days. Payment via PayPal and most major cards.

Steve Spon’s solo projects…a brief biog

Since the demise of UK Decay and then IN Excelsis back in 1985,  Spon has continued producing music for himself and others.

As the resident engineer/producer at ’33’ Recording Studios he worked for a decade on a wide variety of different genre’s. He helped produce many post-punk bands in the eighties and nineties, including Click Click, Karma Sutra, Passchendale, Party Girls, Irritant, Crowe Jayne amongst others. He also produced numerous commercial recordings for the ’33 Jazz’ label, as well as co-producing many underground dance tracks for the emerging DJ culture.

Bass lines and drops that Spon helped produce rocked many a dance-floor at that time.The surge in technology in the art of music production during the late eighties saw Spon honing his music production skills. In 1990 he teamed up with ex Click Clicker’s Derek ‘E’ Smith and Graham Stronach to form a new band called ‘The Big Eye”. Described by the band at the time as “Techno–with-guitars”, TBE played a handful of live shows, produced a couple of EP’s and an Album, (both on vinyl and CD) over three years for the London based Hydrogen Dukebox label. Most of these are now out of print, and like a lot of Spon’s past material, are very rare to track down.

Spon latched early onto Jungle – the emerging Drum and Bass genre of music. During the early nineties he crafted a collection of tracks of his own. His material aimed to create a more thoughtful and ‘intelligent’ spin to counter the frantic naivety of the early hardcore rave sound. During this period the classic ‘vocal-lyrical’ approach had taken a back-seat to the repetitive and minimalist sound scape. This suited Spon’s eclectic and original use of samples to create mood shifts that mold deep, optimistic and relaxing sonic journeys. This was Spon’s first major ‘solo’ project with guest vocalist Prince Malachi, MC13, Caroline Nische and Natasha D, the proposed album was to be called ‘Earthlights’ under Spon’s new artist name; ‘Nostramus’.

This was released in July 1997 by London label, ‘Recordings of Substance’ and licensed to the US ‘Shadow Records’ label. ‘Earthlights’ went onto sell a respectable 6000 copies world-wide and tracks from the album were seen on many a ‘chilled–d & b/electronica’ type compilation album. In 2010 Spon re-engineered and re-mastered ‘Earthlights’ for the Diamond Seeds label (there is a link to further information and sound clips of the album above)

Spon continued producing and re-mixing for others up to the end of the nineties but aside from a limited edition Exodus Festival album, ‘Bomb Babylon‘ (a DIY darker, pertinent and bombastic affair – that, in Spon’s own words was, “unfinished”), there was no further Nostramus release until the 2003 ‘Hero of Bamboostick’ EP on Jolt Records.

In September 2011, Nostramus released  ‘Doomsday Dot Com’ and unlike in the case of the the ‘Earthights’ album, Spon has introduced his guitar sound on some of the tracks. Another project has involved re-mastering some of Spon’s more esoteric and subliminal work from the nineties. He has produced an album called ‘Dark Ambience’ by ‘The Hidden Core’ (or THC for short!), containing largely ambient and beat-less material, but with brooding, sometimes menacing sound collages. You wont find much guitar in this mix, but UK Decay and IN Excelsis listeners may be familiar with some of the darker sonic dream sequences, a style used in the UK Decay’s ‘Werewolf‘ and ‘Unexpected Guest’ introductions for example. This is all available on the Diamond Seeds Label.

Spon’s production work with Ella Jo

Early in 2004, a singer songwriter Ella Jo knocked on Spon’s door. She had been looking for him since the ’33’ studio shut down in 1998. EJ promptly readied her old battered guitar and promptly sang him a handful of songs that she had wanted to record for a good number of years. She also explained that she had spent several years backpacking to far slung places across the world on her own.

This obviously impressed Spon enough embark on a musical relationship that would last until the present day. The end result was a collection of three classic albums incorporating many differing styles ranging from Pop, Neo Folk, Acupela, Avant Garde, Gothic, Drum and Bass and Electronica. Arguably the Ella Jo sound is perhaps not what one would expect from the guitarist of UK Decay at first listen but it shows off Spon’s deftly touch on music production.

Ella Jo’s music is eclectic and shows an inner wisdom that only someone with her wide travelling and life experience can reflect. It journeys through genre’s and styles with utter contempt for the narrow marketing niche, instead celebrating the oratorical rhythms and cadences of modern everyday life from a female perspective.

Although largely musically driven by Ella Jo, Spon has contributed to all three of Ella Jo’s albums with keyboards, bass, drums and other orchestrations as well as producing the overall sound. On the third album ‘Attitude is Everything’ he plays guitar on a couple of tracks with UK Decay bass-man Ed Branch also contributing.

We could sum up Ella Jo’s music as pure, captivating, elevating and an enigma to the preconception and cliché’s of a male dominated business and listener ship. She avoids overplaying that card here, transcending the open minded listener, male or female, to a greater purpose; a true artist.

More details on Ella Jo’s three albums here.

LINKS

Discog: | Steve Spon at discog | The Big Eye at discog | Nostramus at discog |
Steve Spon – Nostramus Interview: | “Where the worlds of drum ‘n’ bass and post-punk and goth collide, stands a man like Spon” |
Nostramus at WordPress: | Nostramus World |
Nostramus at Myspace: | Nostramus at Myspace |
Nostramus at Diamond Seeds: | Nostramus at Diamond Seeds |
Nostramus old site: | Nostramus old site |
Nostramus at Facebook: | Nostramus Facebook page |
Ella Jo Interview: | Diamond Seeds talks with Ella Jo about her groundbreaking trilogy of Album’s |
Ella Jo at Diamond Seeds: | Ella Jo’s home page at DS |
Diamond Seeds Productions: | Diamond Seeds home |

News update for Diamond Seeds

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English Winter Weather Dec 2011

English Winter Weather Dec 2011

What a winter!

After re-locating to the English countryside, it became painfully clear that we had one wood burner to warm the whole house through the most severe winter since 1963! The burner, like a hungry dragon, needed nourishment day and night; so valuable time was spent, seeking, gathering, and sawing wood. Not only did the fire need to be fed regularly, but with sensitivity (damp wood did not catch alight and dry wood burned too fast) – it was quite a responsibility, which could not be neglected and took a lot of coaxing. Although our fire strategies worked, there was little time for much else, so Diamond Seeds was put on the back burner while we sustained life through the cold.

Ella Jo’s winter gigs

Having missed a gig at Bedford Esquires with the Nimblewits, and another at the Hat Factory in Luton, Ella Jo hauled herself to Luton’s Castle Tavern on December 11th. Relieved to see some friendly faces, her gig was like a coming home party! Familiar with the Lutonian banter, Ella Jo hailed the spirit of the crowd and banged her way through some songs without a set list. The anarchic atmosphere in the pub brought out her busking character – the crowd picked up on her cheerfulness and agreed that it had been worth getting out of bed for!

EJ Castle Tavern Dec 2010

EJ Castle Tavern Dec 2010

The Castle Tavern gig was arranged by Marianna – the promoter and arranger of Luton Aid, a day of live music held to raise money for charity. Back in the summer of 2010, Ella Jo had played for this event at Luton’s Hat Factory to a very attentive crowd – the character of the audience made her feel as if she was performing in an auditorium! This was a high point in the summer, as Ella Jo felt that audiences were beginning to connect to her performances and enjoy her material as a folk artist….

The ghoul of winter flu and colds hacked our lungs as we spluttered our way through Christmas, and a couple of Ella Jo’s gigs got cancelled…..only a back log of the Peep Show series could cheer her up and things looked better as the New Year rolled in…..Although the winter season isolated us and tested our strength, we were still able to appreciate it’s beauty, and fiddled with our projects whenever our frost bitten fingers thawed a little….

Winter Haw Frost in December 2010

Winter Haw Frost in December 2010

In February Ella Jo met up with the Nimblewits again as she supported them at the Foresters Pub in Bedford. Her gig did not go as she expected….The Nimblewits were using disco lights and the box was placed on the floor to the side of EJ’s performing space. The main lights went out and the disco lights jumped into life. Ella Jo proceeded into her set blinded and distracted, finding it hard to see her set list! In a noisy pub atmosphere this gig was a bit of a challenge – but then, that’s what playing live is all about….

Richard, the drummer of the Nimblewits remembered a song from years ago and requested ‘God Made Television’ – Ella Jo performed these two verses acappella, the first time to an audience for over 20 years – it can be found on her album, ‘Attitude is Everything’…

Ella Jo supported Seth Lakeman at his gig at the Hat Factory Arts Centre in Luton in March 2011

Ella Jo supported Seth Lakeman at his gig at the Hat Factory Arts Centre in Luton in March 2011

Her latest gig to date, (March 11th 2011) has been to support Seth Lakeman, when he played at Luton Hat Factory whilst on tour of the UK. Seth Lakeman, from Devon, is an English folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist – playing the violin and guitar amongst other instruments. Being nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize it was no surprise that the gig sold out – and Ella Jo played to her largest audience yet….. It was an invigorating experience, with a welcoming audience and good technical support….

Having damaged her thumb five weeks before, and being unable to practice for the gig, she bit the bullet for this one – but she found herself at home with the audience, feeling a connection and getting comfortable to play for forty minutes. Reflecting on those precious moments on stage, she is philosophical :

‘Although the audience want to know the artist, the ultimate relationship lies between the listener and the song’s performance. In that forty minutes the songs were all that mattered. I put my heart into manufacturing these entities of expression, in the moment, to connect to those who were ready to listen. Nothing else mattered as we shared in the music – it seemed that many in the crowd felt my passion and understood. – it was a very special time….Seth Lakeman and his band played a fantastic gig that night and it was a real pleasure to support him, I recommend his music to all those who love feisty folk music!’

Nostramus Spin off project - Dark Ambience - The Hidden Core THC Album

Nostramus Spin off project – Dark Ambience – The Hidden Core THC Album

Recently released – THC (The Hidden Core) Dark Ambient album is a spin off project by Nostramus. ‘A feast of soundscaped nightmare visions and eclectic journeys. Culled from the darker psychotropic-fuelled imagination of the Big Eye, Bud Brothers and Nostramus’s Steve Spon – edited and re-mastered in 2010 from tracks originally recorded from 1990 – 1996.’

Nostramus Drum and Bass

Nostramus Drum and Bass

The fantastic ‘Doomsday Dot Com‘ by Nostramus will be the next release on Diamond Seeds – a prophetic gathering of Drum and Bass tunes and samples. After the Japanese earthquake it seems that time has overtaken some of the themes and has left Spon from Nostramus wondering what the reaction will be to his material. He says that all the material on the album pre-dates the horrific events that have burdened Japan. The album is a tapestry with a strong musical current, including samples which expose media hysteria amongst other, lighter themes. The album itself is a comment on the phenomena that shape our early 21st century; times where fear is founded for some, and a plaything for others. He exposes the human responses to dealing with a world that we cannot control including elements of superstition, anger and the need to release stress in a musical whirlwind of joy. Nostramus encompasses all these emotions, waltzing the listener through a reality check – reminding us to question our distorted world, keep our feet on the ground and trust our senses. The delight in this work is the unceasing movement between light and shade, the highs and lows, the scowls and the smiles…..Was Drum and Bass ever supposed to go this deep?

As for Ella Jo, history has inspired her to write an album about the Anglo Saxon era. As no music survives from this time, there is much room to be imaginative and she has invented songs about Anglo Saxon events. This folk album will be named ‘Almost Anglo Saxon’ so that purists will not be offended, and she has already had a lot of fun composing songs for this project…With a handful of songs left to write, recording should begin in late 2011.

Matthew Adams Folk Artist from Devon

Matthew Adams Folk Artist from Devon

Exposure for new musicians

People may be aware that we want to support up and coming musicians especially in this time when the industry is so difficult to break into. We are pleased that Matthew Adams has been in touch with us, and coming soon is a review of this up and coming folk artist….

Good News about our album prices

Last but not least, we have recently revised the prices of our albums when purchasing physical CDs from the supplier, www.kunaki.com

You can now obtain each album for approx £10 – inclusive of shipping – making them a great bargain for music lovers!

www.diamondseeds.co.uk

Update – the news from Diamond Seeds this Autumn

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Well it’s been a few months since we had the chance to update this site – it’s been a busy old time! The summer is nearly over and we are settling down to web stuff yet again.

The hard work has been paying off and there is now another book available on Diamond Seeds Publications, the second issue of Tarot Decoded – for the High Priestess Tarot Card. The research for this book by Ella Jo Street resulted in giving more than a simple explanation for the card; it is probably best described as a pagan source book. Reading back the proof copy has been a pleasure – this book really is indispensable for understanding the meaning behind the card and gives a complete mythology into the background behind magic with a factual look at witchcraft, designed to educate and widen the horizon of those with an interest, and enrich a reading for anyone training in the art of Tarot Reading!

Next up we have not one but two CD albums now available from the genius fingertips of sound-master Steve Spon. He tells me that he will be writing a new album with his band UK Decay this year, so we are lucky he has made time to re-mastered and release two eclectic albums first conceived in the 1990’s. It seemed touch and go to the outsider who may have wondered at leaving one CD in the freezer for a week, but when it was time to dust it down and record it onto modern equipment the icicles dripped dry and the music was re-born!

First album to hit the light of day was the Nostramus Earthlights album. A long process of digging out the masters and re-booting them for today’s technology began in December 2009, but this summer all was completed and the world was blessed with some magnificent intelligent Drum and Bass – reborn. There are classical elements in this album which makes no apology for having a life force all of its own. As with all of Nostramus’ material it enriches the everyday experience of music into a festival of warped realities and harmonic vapour trails. Listening to it I firmly believe that Steve Spon writes sound tracks to sci fi movie’s that haven’t been thought of yet! The tunes and the sound-scapes create inspiration for anyone with a vision for art or film; in short, he is way ahead of his time.

And it’s not like the stuff I’m hearing is complicated. It goes from pretty moments to dark tragic times – all eventualities may be present, yet it is timeless and simple without being repetitive. Spon’s other new album, under the name THC, is called Dark Ambience, and I swear it actually breathes. For my taste, the music really has reached another level with this album – and I think the genius was born of pain and passion which was sieved and refined into the most delicious mix of tunes and rich instrument sounds – as if it were a magic music box found in Merlin’s cave – reflecting the future into the present whilst mixing up sound elements from the past; there’s something reassuringly recognizable – only to disappear into weirdness that is nearly hypnotic. My copy of this CD is already nearly worn out!!!

The summer was topped off by a couple of gigs that went well – UK Decay played again at Blackpool’s Rebellion festival, this time in the picturesque Winter Gardens, and Ella Jo played an enjoyable hour at Luton Fringe Festival giving her songs an acoustic airing to an appreciative crowd.  She said, ‘I got to the bottom of what caused my legs to shake on stage – it stopped when I stopped wearing heels, and I do so love my boots, but in the end, wearing sandals cured the problem!’

Nostramus back-catalouge available soon on Diamond Seeds

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The Nostramus back-catalouge, will shortly be available on Diamond Seeds via online fulfillment service.Earthlights UK version
This will include a re-tweaked and mastered version of the 1997 release of ‘Earthlights’.
Also included will be the ‘Bomb Babylon’ album material, which came out to mark the artist performance at the legendary ‘Free The Spirit Festival’, hosted by the ‘Exodus Sound System’ in 1999 at the Long Meadow farm, Charlton, north Luton. This legendary live performance will become available on the new service.

The ‘Bomb Babylon’ album was scheduled as a follow-up to ‘Earthlights’ and there were only 50 copies ever made, the process was beset with problems. Since then, Nostramus has moved onto other projects including the 2003 ‘Hero Of Bamboo Stick’ EP and many remixes that have seen the light of day on various releases. Nostramus is now consolidating this ‘lost’ material into format for fresh release utilising the latest ‘web 2′ fulfillment technology.

Nostramus director Steve Spon, shall also be presenting the earlier ‘Dark-Ambient’ ‘THC’ (The Hidden Corporation) archives on the new Diamond Seeds website in the near future.