Sonics Boom
TOBY BULA-EDGE
Emanating from French’s on 14 and 15 February will be a selection of unusual and surprising sounds. That is, very different noises to those that normally exude from a pub in Hastings at the weekend.
Courtesy of Sonics, the avant-garde, eclectic and electric is hitting Robertson Street with full force. The collective, which has been running as part of Fat Tuesday since 2015, will be hosting two days of “fringe, experimental, underground music and art” in February.
Speaking to James Weaver, who runs the collective alongside collaborator William Bunch, he tells me of the history of Sonics and where it is today. It was started by artist Danny Pockets, who died in 2018, when he approached Fat Tuesday to put on experimental live music, art and performance. It’s been a part of Fat Tuesday ever since.
In 2017, James got involved in organising, having performed as part of Sonics and putting on his own underground shows. Since then, they’ve branched out, now becoming independent partners of Fat Tuesday, and becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC) – having their own events throughout the year.
The aim has been “for it to always be fun,” says James. “There’s always been a slightly punk attitude to it in terms of the DIY aspect. We’ve predominately done it without funding, with low budgets, doing it ourselves. It’s very much a collaborative, co-operative process.”
This year is no different. On the Saturday, they have two live electronic acts, followed by DJs playing “underground electronic music” throughout the night.
On the Sunday is the collaborative, longform experiment which is Spin Cycle. Not a long lecture on washing machines, it is instead a creation of James’ which encourages “participation by anybody” and explores “longform performance.”
What is “longform performance”, you may ask? It’s a challenge to put succinctly in words, and the process of organising it involves a large piece of paper, a wad of post-it notes with names on them, and then a big headache trying to work it all out. Essentially though, it is a series of rotating trios spread across two hours, where each person plays an overlapping 15 minutes.
“In itself it’s an experiment,” says James. “It’s about listening, looking, not drowning each other out. There are no rules as such, aside from collaborating with other people. Some people will be more experienced than others. Some people will be terrified of it, but it’s a really big thing for them to do.”
This is the fourth time Spin Cycle will run – the process being perfected each time with feedback from performers and audience members. James encourages more people to join in as well, constantly looking for people to work with Sonics, not just in Spin Cycle, but also for future projects and events.
What about the sceptics? The people who walk past and think a hoard of angry children have taken over the stage, or that the band have listened to so much noise they’ve gone deaf and can no longer hear what they’re doing – while in actual fact they know exactly what they’re doing. James recounted a story of a band he was in being told to “stop” by an audience member mid-performance. He thought: “It was great.”
“It’s not about ego; it’s not about making it big. Sonics has always been about doing stuff differently and really pushing lineups,” he said.
To him, and to the people who collaborate with him, it’s important to challenge people and open them up to “different ways of doing things” because “without that things become safe and limiting and… boring.”
Things certainly won’t be boring on 14 and 15 February at French’s. Entry is free, with a suggested donation of £3 on the Saturday night for the DJs. It promises to be an exciting and eclectic weekend and part of Fat Tuesday.
Sonics would like to thank local record shop Wow and Flutter for being their sponsor and Fat Tuesday for their continuing collaboration.
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