April’s Campfire at ditto will be the legendary DJ and Producer, Ashley Beedle. It’s a sentence we’ve repeating rather a lot around here, and the more we say it, the more it seems real. Ashley Beedle is coming to Campfire. Whether its talking about it father’s record collection, producing floor fillers under his myriad names including Black Science Orchestra, Xpress 2, and DarkStarr, or collaborating with the likes of Horace Andy, Ashely’s passion for all things musical it at the core of his existence.
Ashley managed to fit us in for a quick chat recently about what makes him tick, and what the audience can expect from his Campfire in April. Keep your eyes peeled on Radio ditto for Ashley’s incredible Fireside Favourites – a journey through the Ashley’s own life, and the music that is most important to him.
ditto is delighted to announce that in May, our very special guest at Campfire will be Ruth Mackenzie, an arts director with an enviable pedigree. As general director of the Manchester International Festival, Ruth debuted daringly original works including Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s opera Monkey: Journey to the West. She was also director of the Chichester Festival Theatre and headed up the Scottish Opera.
Her biggest project to date, however, is as director of the Cultural Olympiad, which in 12 months’ time will be launching an unparalleled programme of arts events under the banner of the London 2012 Festival. Timed to coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, names already confirmed include Cate Blanchett, Damon Albarn and David Hockney.
Ruth has a wealth of stories and insights to share, from starring as a singing snowflake in The Nutcracker to working with the Gorillaz, so make sure you don’t miss out on what promises to be a very special evening.
Check out our short interview with Ruth here.
Ruth’s Campfire will take place at ditto’s Lighthouse Thursday 19th May – drop us a line at campfire@ditto.tv for free tickets, and we’ll see you there.
March’s Campfire fell on St Patrick’s day, a celebration close to ditto’s heart. So here at the Lighthouse we celebrated in the best way we know – with gallons of Guinness, Irish stew, loads of friends and some music and laughter. Fortunate then that March’s Campfire was presented by journalist, DJ, label Manager, and producer Phil Cheeseman.
If there’s one thing the music industry is not known for, it’s restraint. So Phil Cheeseman is a particularly rare breed. Not only was he at the centre of two cultural storms, in punk and house – he remembers it. We can’t promise you he’s always been a saint, but that alone is an achievement.
Downstairs in our gallery the ditto doors played host to an incredible exhibition: Phil’s personal collection of of punk and house related memorabilia.
The exhibition is divided in three main subjects:
His journalistic days started at the tender age of 15, producing the legendary punk fanzine ‘ Anti-Climax’ in the yards of Ipswich, Suffolk. He went to on to become a fully fledged music journalist, writing for the likes of DJ Magazine. The exhibition features his article ‘The history of house along with the original fanzines, including a lithograph, punk badges, and handwritten letters from fans.
Phil’s adventures in New York led to his running the European arm of Strictly Rhythm Records. The awardwinninglabelfeatured seminal artists, including Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez, Dj Pierre, Kenny Dope, Erick Morillo, Armand Van Helden. Along with personal archive photos of many of these household names, the exhibition includes gold disks, iconic party flyers, and other articles that make this an amazing time capsule of the period’s culture and energy.
The third area is dedicated to the Phil’s inspirations and influences, including Chicago and the UK acid parties, his Dj work, plus the creation of his record label Essence.
We will also sreen a selection of Strictly Rhythm Records music videos from Ultra-Nate, Reel 2 Real, Barbara Tucker Wamdue project, plus two BMP shows with Dj Pierre, Erick Morillo and Phil Cheeseman’s interviews.
Having given guests a chance to grab a glass of the black stuff, some stew, and peruse the gallery exhibition, Phil took to the stage in front of a packed out Lighthouse to deliver his own personal story through music.
Having started out producing fanzines at the tender age of 15, somehow booking leftfield legends like Crass to play chicken in a basket venues in Ipswich, Phil was bitten by the bug. Moving to London at the earliest possible moment, he carved out not just a living, but a life and reputation in music.
Writing for various music and listing publications principally on indie, Phil truly hit his stride when he discovered house music. Writing for DJ Magazine, and producing the seminal History of House Music article, Phil was at the centre of a scene.
For many this would have been the end of the story, but for Phil it was just the beginning of a new chapter, as his path crossed with the legendary house label, Strictly Rhythm Records.
This relationship, begun in the 90’s has resurfaced today, with Phil now the running the European arm of the label that brought you the likes of Armand Van Helden, Masters at Work and Roger Sanchez, and many more. Along the way there where adventures around the world, from run ins with heavies in Napels, to partying with the greats of house in roach invested hotels at the Miami music conference.
Phils’s story was a unique and privileged insight into the wheelings and dealings, the personalities and pitfalls of one of the most significant musical genres of the last twenty years. But don’t worry if you missed out – keep an eyes peeled, as we’ll soon be posting a TV show of the evening, here on the website. Because like the music, this is a story made for sharing.
A very big thank you to everyone who attended the October Campfire, both in person and virtually, and to Jan Pulsford AKA JaNa KyoMooN and all her guests. A dazzling evening of virtual worlds was combined with real world commentary and Q&A to give us all a great insight into Second Life and its usage.
A big thank you to all of you who attended the September campfire and to Martyn Ware himself. We were very happy to have our esteemed guest Martyn into The Lighthouse to tell us his story and provide us with an evening of hilarious anecdotes and fascinating insight into the future of sound.
All at ditto would like to thank Jamie Milne for taking the time out of his quite hectic schedule of helping people learn and appreciate more about whisky and Glenfiddich, to present his story and that of Glenfiddich at our last campfire. A brilliant evening that saw us go from rockets to whisky, many a sample was imbibed and we think everyone walked away with a greater understanding of the drink that is, ‘The Water of Life’ and how to always strive for the things you want most.
The Campfire team caught up with Jamie Milne, brand ambassador for Glenfiddich. Jamie will be presenting our next Campfire on July the 15th where he will not only be talking about his work with the worlds most popular malt whiskey, but also giving us some insight into how he came to being there from a degree in aeronautical engineering and career in IT consultancy.
We would all like to thank Mike London and Richard Norris for taking time out of their busy schedules to come along and chat about their award winning film ‘Hope’ in May. It was a suitably fitting choice as it coincided with the first anniversary of the Roundhouse show where it was originally shown.
From the Wizard of Oz to a naked man in the woods was never going to be a dull tale, add to this a psychedelic soundtrack almost reminiscent of the scene from the film itself and we had all the ingredients for another classic Campfire. Watch below to see the highlights and, of course, the film itself.
The Campfire team caught up with Liam Wells, course leader in Film & Video at Norwich University College of the Arts. Liam will be presenting our next Campfire on June the 17th where he will not only be talking about his work but introducing the second Sunrise Film Festival for ditto.
Mike London visited the ditto team to talk about his upcoming Campfire Session. He will be presenting his award-winning film ‘Hope’ with Richard Norris on May 20th to celebrate his film winning the Best Music Video at the London Independent Film Festival Awards.
