From the Ecclesiastical to the Educational
VICTORIA KINGHAM
Joseph Stannard loves music and he loves film. When he isn’t carrying out his duties as deputy editor of long-running music magazine The Wire, he is investigating the paranormal in sound, vision and real life. “I’ve always been interested in the supernatural, the occult, weird films and music,” he says.
While living in Brighton, Stannard noticed that a lot of contemporary music was influenced by horror, and that many horror films featured experimental soundtrack music. Accordingly he organised The Outer Church, a series of events which combined the two. The event ran, in the UK and abroad, for about five years, and a compilation was also released. After a spell in London, he wanted to get back to the sea and was eventually attracted by the rich occult history of Hastings.
Watching The Stimming Pool at a screening in London, Stannard noted that the Electric Palace cinema, which appears in the film, was a Hastings institution and a perfect venue, and began planning an event series to happen here. His event names are inspired by the work of comic book writer and chaos magician Grant Morrison, who drew and scripted the Vertigo comics series The Invisibles.
The Outer Church and The Invisible College are conflicting forces within the series. Historically speaking, The Invisible College was a name for the group of individuals, including Robert Boyle, who eventually founded The Royal Society. “It’s good to pay attention to synchronicities,” continues Stannard. On his move from an outer church to an invisible college, he remarks “You could say I’ve moved from the ecclesiastical to the educational.”
The first event will screen the 1993 film Body Melt (“There’s a lot of slime and gruesomeness… it’s very splattery, very DayGlo”, he explains) directed by respected film writer Philip Brophy. The film has been called ‘The Substance before The Substance’ – though on a much lower budget – and addresses the horrors of Big Pharma. One highlight of the film is Ian Smith (Harold Bishop from Neighbours) on a gun-toting rampage.
The evening will also feature live electronic sets from US artists Trigger Object and Dream Skills, both of whom make music that is thoroughly in keeping with the themes of Body Melt. “Everything I book is stuff I genuinely love, and hopefully there are like-minded freaks out there who’ll love it too.”
There is also, of course, a considerable tranche of avant-garde musicians in Hastings who might well be interested in this series, which with Stannard’s combination of enthusiasm and expertise, is sure to be a success.
The Invisible College will present as a special event at the Electric Palace Cinema on Sunday 16 August. For more details see electricpalacecinema.com. For a mixtape of some of the music he will use and a track listing, see the version of this article on our website at tinyurl.com/ysc692pt
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