Phillip Marks percussion
David Birchall guitar


RF “... the little step there that he takes off the defender that separates him, there, gives him that little bit of time to be able to get this shot off - watch this step off his right foot to get back towards the ball... bang, there it is... and it's a fantastic finish”

AS “The touch isn't bad either you know, just to set himself up, that one there”

GL “It's one he does regularly, you saw it earlier in the competition with the first goal...”

RF “Did you have to think about your touch in those situations in and around the box, before you set yourself through, or is it just natural?”

GL “I’ve no idea”

Everyone laughs

GL “I was not on the same planet as that fella...”

RF “What I'm talking about, you guys had many opportunities in and around the box…"

GL “6 yard box”

RF “... do you think about it though? or does it just come to you naturally?”

General melee with everyone laughing and making slightly non-committal sounds

AS “No, but the way he works that space, as you highlighted it…”

GL “I can’t do that”

AS “… all of a sudden it just happens for him - it's an unbelievable touch to set himself up, but he way he creates that space for himself is phenomenal”

The above is a transcription of Rio Ferdinand, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer discussing a Lionel Messi goal from the world cup of horror just gone. It’s my partner who follows football nowadays, generally I’m quite happy for my schoolboy experiences of watching the occasional Leicester City match to stay in the past.

However, as soon as I heard this exchange in the post match analysis, I recognised it as exactly the sort of conversation that can happen between free improvisers when someone tries to discuss playing! Some people are really up for this and some people just aren’t. Ferdinand is genuinely keen to know how strikers create space to shoot and whether it’s a thought through or embodied process. Lineker and Shearer who both did exactly this professionally for 20 odd years can’t actually say and try to laugh their way out of the question.

Sometimes it's just that there isn’t the interest to have these conversations, or the physical processes of playing (music or football) doesn’t translate well to language. Sometimes I think there can be generational or class-based elements to it. Sometimes people are involved with free improvisation to specifically avoid conversations about what’s happening and vice versa.

Anyway, one thing that was a pleasure about learning to play free improvised music was that me and Phillip Marks would meet to play at his house in Droylsden every month or so. Phil was always willing to pinpoint what was working, not working, and what could be tried or expanded on when we rehearsed together... talking about the specifics of the music and how we could make it better.
This was something of a revelation to me as most of the conversations I had with pals close to me in age about our improvised practise was along the lines of “sweet jam dude, lets try it again next week.” I mean we knew it was working or we wouldn’t do it again but we didn’t talk about it.
Drawing on a working understanding of John Steven’s teaching, filtered through the Bark! aesthetic, Phil drew me into a subtle understanding of ways we could create subtraction from density, vertical lines with timbral equality and the hard funk mediation you hear on this release.

Recordings are from Phil’s house, punctuated by tea, biscuits and sheep in the back garden, I don’t remember much about the Sheffield gig other than listening to The Fall in Martin Archer's car on the way back to the station. The session on the top floor of the Islington Mill, pigeons had to be chased out of the space the day before. The rest of this Salford session makes up the Hyperpunkt release by Richard Scott’s Lightning Ensemble.
soundanatomy.bandcamp.com/album/hyperpunkt

[David Birchall - December 2022]