Friendly Records to host discussion about art school creativity from punk to new wave

Friendly Records to host discussion about art school creativity from punk to new wave

Posted on: 07 Nov 2022

This Thursday 10 November will see Friendly’s own bartender, shopkeeper and right-hand man in conversation with multi-genre musician and university lecturer Dr Simon Strange, author of Blank Canvas.

 

Blank Canvas paints a vivid portrait of art school Britain in the 60s and 70s, a breeding ground for experimental DIY creativity and explorations into the relationship between art and music.

 

Friendly Record’s in-conversation with Dr Simon Strange is a free entry event although booking is required. Visit Headfirst to secure your ticket.

In this thorough retrospective, Strange depicts a Britain filled with a diverse range of people who, through their craft, broke down the barriers between art, life and the creative self.

 

Blank Canvas weaves a tangled narrative, sewing together the threads of the Bauhaus ‘blank slate’ with that of Velvet Underground’s white heat and the cutting edge of The Slits (pictured below). In this study, Strange uses interviews with a diverse range of creative legends of the period, from Brian Eno to Pauline Black, and Cabaret Voltaire to Gaye Advert.

 

Through this work, the author paints a colourful portrait of the 1960s and 70s; two decades erupting in a devastatingly diverse flow of outspoken artistic radicalism as an eclectic range of musical styles and cultures fused.

Using this historical context, Strange questions modern-day music education and whether it suffocates the creative soul, inhibiting the impact of the bohemian artist and what lessons can be learnt from art school education’s relationship with the cultural evolution of musicians. To learn more about the Blank Canvas and Dr Simon Strange, head to his website.

 

In this Friendly Records event, set for Thursday 10 November, Strange will conduct a reading from Blank Canvas, followed by a conversation with Friendly’s very own Benny Dart. Punk and new wave will then be spun on the decks until close, doors are at 7:30 PM. Tickets are free and can be purchased here.

 

Friendly Records is located at 59 North Street, Bedminster. Opening in 2016, the much-loved record shop has since added a bar space where Benny hosts a diverse programme of intimate live music performances as well as various other events. 

Follow Friendly Records on Facebook to keep abreast of upcoming events.


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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.