For those who jammed and noodled their way into the small hours it was a short, slumberous hop into the second day of proceedings at the 2010 Academy. For others, like a certain migratory Glaswegian whose prior engagement with Match Of The Day led him to a nearby pub, it was a bright-eyed start back at the Tooley Street studios.

After appetites had been fulfilled with a sufficiently brain-fuelling breakfast, it was time for a get-together in the Lecture Hall to familiarise Academy participants with their peers and collaborators for the coming two weeks.

DJ Klem offered up a schooling in pidgin English alongside a spirited impression of a post-coup Nigerian leader; Flava D talked about working alongside East London grime artist and Eskibeat owner Wiley; Teri Gender Bender described how Malcolm X led her to question notions of gender; while unflummoxable host Akshun Schmidt struggled to figure that Italian lethargic-disco producer Venice was in fact from… yep, you guessed it… erm, Rome.



Newly accustomed to the passions and parlance of their fellow academicians the crew
converged on the studios and lunch tables and collected themselves for their imminent encounter with Cosey Fanni Tutti.

As one quarter of ‘70s band Throbbing Gristle, Cosey Fanni Tutti was instrumental in pioneering the sound of industrial music. Cosey’s creative drive and musical approach is a deeply personal one and made her inceptive lecture of the 2010 Academy both fascinating and idiosyncratic. She outlined the prescription of her band’s performance technique and described its effect on the music - their visceral sonic approach seeking to punch a reaction out of the audience.

Acknowledging the influence of the seminal 20 Jazz Funk Greats on the works of Carl Craig and the like, Cosey explained that Throbbing Gristle’s sound, as well as that of Chris and Cosey, her duo alongside Throbbing Gristle electronics whizz and long-time partner Chris Carter has long-been aroused by the technology at their disposal. Chris and Cosey had been some of the first artists in the UK to employ future dance staples such as the 808, Akai sampler and various drum machines. Accordingly, it was less than surprising when Cosey described, with a flourish in her eyes, the experience of hearing the first utterances from the acid house scene in the late '80s and having arguably produced its prototype years earlier, she recalled wanting to drop everything and jump headfirst into its revelry.



The final leg of the day comprised a listening session in the downstairs bar. Amidst the detritus of spent beer bottles and leftover rhubarb crumble, all 29 participants looked on fervently as each of their companions showcased a short selection of their music. “I-woke-up-with-your-name-on-my-lips” rang out through seductive four-four sub-bass, followed by retro-futuristic electro-house like a crazed He-Man theme, and consummate neo-soul musings from a guy barely old enough to own a driving license. And that Flava D tune, Bang Bang!... official nightshift office anthem already.

G'night.

BONUS: Daily Note #3/24