temporalcomet

[temporalcomet]

202310 - Fourth Way

the first in a collection of astronauts’ cover songs

I am so excited about this that I am releasing a blog post to tell you about my current project!

Most of the information is on the Astronauts page on this website - check it out here.

It’s a new project of songs that I am releasing, beginning in October 2023 and continuing into 2024.

The first track is a version of ‘Fourth Way’.

Click the picture above to be redirected to a pre-release page. That means that you can ask the Spotify app to notify you when the song is released, yay.

Listen to the original version of the song here.

The Astronauts are very much front and centre in my life right now, as I rehearse with Temporal Comet for our upcoming show. More on that if you keep reading on…

LIVE CONCERT - October 2023

Celebrating Mark Astronaut, as we did in 2022, Club 85 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire will be playing host once again to the ‘You’re All Weird’ fest.

Playing alongside The Astronauts (songbook), Zounds, Hagar the Womb, and Billy Lunn from WGC rockers the Subways, I’ll be on stage around 3pm. Please come down and expand your musical mind - the songs Mark wrote as ‘The Astronauts’ and ‘The Otters’ are powerful, acid-punk powerhouses which deserve a listen. A link to some of his back catalogue appears in the previous blog...

TICKET link here

As always, I’d love to hear from you! Send me a message/ comment/ intergalactic fax (although those are a bit slow if you’re messaging from further away than Venus.)

[temporalcomet]

202306 - Camping Out...

Little bursts of creativity = the formation of stars.

One minute there’s nothing, and then you blink… when you open your eyes, micro-seconds later, there’s something very gently shining in the darkness.

That’s really just a fancy way of saying I’ve been productive recently!

1 - I’ve finally dug out the other song that Temporal Comet (v1) recorded in Paris in 2015. Only ‘Electrodouce’ was available on Bandcamp until today. It’s roughly the anniversary (7th!!!) of those studio sessions, so I’ve added ‘Temporal Sonnet’ to our Bandcamp profile.

You can have a listen here

2 - I’ve had a song accepted to a Library music service, and hopefully that will create some opportunities to hear the track on some TV and film. Fingers crossed!

The track is hidden on Soundcloud but there’s a private link to the track here - ‘Stand By Me’ by MJ Moon

Let me know what you think!

3 - It’s time to put a live set together again - I was asked to play a gig by the amazing Blood Moon Wedding, and, although it’s not happening in the end, it would be cool to have some gigs over summer, before my potential set (I think I’ve been invited to play again!) at the next You’re All Weird festival in Hitchin (Club 85) this October. If all goes to plan (lol, when does that happen?) then the Astronauts’ covers project I’ve been working on for my own memorial to Mark Astronaut will be ready by then, too

Stay tuned!

Last thing - I’ve been listening to a floaty, mellow, techno/electronica EP called ‘Beloved’. It’s by a friend called Anton, and I really recommend it, cos it’s beautiful. Listen on Spotify here.

If you want to see what else I’ve been listening to lately, here’s my Temporal Sounds playlist on Spotify.

[temporalcomet]

202305 - It's been a long...

Hey it’s me, MJ!

I can’t hide the truth - I haven’t been lost in a black hole, I haven’t come unstuck in deep space, I didn’t lose my moonboots in Alpha Centuri and have to take a nightbus back there to retrieve them…

For all my space-themed gassing (is there gas in a vacuum? I’m guessing not, rather than googling it) there’s been so much going on. And that’s partially because it’s been 25 months since I checked in with you all via blog! In that time, approximately 6 stars have gone supernova and died out in our galaxy…

"The Milky Way produces stars weighing about 3 solar masses (equivalent to 3 Suns) per year. And, stars equivalent to 1 solar mass die evey year."  -- Quora

So, here’s a whistle-stop tour of the past 2 years in the half-life of Temporal Comet:

2021

As we took tentative steps out of lockdowns and away from exponential viral spread, Temporal Comet released its first single in 2 years. ‘Shine’ was well received, but we suffered from a lack of places to play, and so the song didn’t get out to as many people as we had hoped.

Our two main shows in 2021 turned out to be our last. Both were eventful… Firstly, we played in our back garden in Whitechapel E1 with friends ‘Dreampark’ one sunny evening... Our performance could apparently be heard 300 metres away at the Underground station.

In October, Temporal Comet hosted a Halloween Spooktactular in Shoreditch, supported by a few groups I came across on Instagram. The event went well, but technical problems dampened out the fun a little during the gig itself and added a few strains to the working relationship within the group.

Things then continued to take a strange turn. Before Christmas, COVID21 got into some already existing cracks in the band’s dynamic. It soon became clear that differences were irreconcilable, and drummer Hugo was asked to leave the band.

There were some musical differences too - I favoured a drier, more experimental approach to drumming, and it was clear that Hugo aimed to inject more of a ‘rock’ sensibility into the group. At this point I’m much happier with bleeps and bloops than with drum fills and stick-twiddling, but it has to be said, I’m very particular about the music I want to write and the sounds I want to hear. Being solo would give me that freedom, but first I needed a break.

2022

I saw Hugo a couple of times and we wrapped up the business accounts for Temporal Comet. I was solo again, and orbiting without a map. By the way, for astronavigation, I swear by this one:

Although some of the previous songs I recorded were still not released*, I really needed some breathing space, where I could find out again what I wanted to do with Temporal Comet.

And so, by June I had only posted about 3 things to social media, and some of you asked where I had gone. I needed to take a step back - 2021 had been difficult, even aside from the global pandemic-related issues which had taken such a toll on everyone (perhaps even the 1%…)

And then in July, my universe got turned upside down and shaken about a bit. When the dust settled, Jupiter was next to Mercury and Earth looked a little worse for wear.

Jumping back about 20 years, I was playing in a group called ‘The Astronauts’.

I had met Mark ‘Astronaut’ Wilkins in a record shop in my home town (Welwyn Garden City) and he had surreptitiously tried to sell me a Led Zeppelin bootleg. We exited the shop, and got chatting. It transpired that he was also looking for a bass player for an upcoming gig as The Astronauts at Bowes Lyon House in Stevenage. My first gig, at a venue where Jeff Buckley had played 15+ years earlier!

We supported Big Day Out and Jane Bom-Bane, and I passed the audition. I continued to play with The Astronauts for a few years, at punk hotspots such as Hobgoblin in Brighton and Chat’s Palace in London. When I left the group, it morphed into ‘The Otters’, and back again, into another version of The Astronauts.

Mark was always reinventing the band, and his music. Anyway, it was always so varied and diverse that it’s hard to imagine The Astronauts as anything more than a vehicle for the wit and creativity of Mark. I drifted away, but was left with a cosmic hang up for all my subsequent groups - I later formed To The Moon with Dennis White (one time Otters drummer) and later, when in Paris, continued the theme when helping to come up with the name Temporal Comet.

Once an Astronaut, always an Astronaut, I guess…

Spooling back to July 2022, and another lapsed friend and Astronaut, Dom, messaged me to say that Mark had lost his ongoing battle with a long-term illness.

I had lost one of my best, and longest, friendships. It felt like 2016 again, when we lost David Bowie. Mark (like Bowie) was someone who informed my teenage years and musical tastes - without him I would have a different, less compassionate social/ political view, and certainly wouldn’t have discovered half the bands I love today, from Kevin Ayers to Curved Air, from Zappa to Blur…

I have already had the opportunity to write (albeit to a word limit) about Mark, for the Other Lives series in the Guardian (UK) newspaper, but suffice it to mention that without Mark, I’d be on a different trajectory today, no doubt.

Mark’s death in July came just a few months after we’d been to see mutual favourites Van der Graaf Generator at the Palladium in London, and although it pained me to realise that my gig buddy and great friend was gone, there was at least a warm and fuzzy feeling produced when I realised that I had helped him close a loop; Mark’s first gig, which his parents took him to as a child, had been at the same venue, back in 1963!

And in a final action, Mark had nudged the trajectory of my life once again…

It had been years since I had seen most of the faces in our Welwyn music community. In the intervening years since I stopped playing bass in the Astronauts, I had moved first to London and then to Paris, France, and then back to London again. I had lost touch with so many friends (I’m notoriously bad at maintaining friendships because I have a slight self-esteem issue which gets in the way of my relationships.)

Mark’s funeral rolled around, and there, in a packed crematorium near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, were 200+ people that loved Mark and his music. Among them, the community I had lost.

As scared as I was about the prospect of catching up with my past, I wasn’t going to let the day go by without collecting a lot of contact details and promising to myself that I’d do better to stay in touch with all these amazing people, this time around.

2023 As true to my word as possible, 2023 has seen two major changes in my life…

1 - I have joined a band with one of those friends from 15 years ago. Short Rouge is comprised of Dan and Dudu (drums and bass) along with one of those lapsed friends, Lee, who was such an inspiration and great friend back in my youth. I’m playing guitar and we’re making some experimental music which sounds like a mash-up of The Residents, King Crimson, Blur, and This Heat. Not bad! Plus half of these artists are ones that Mark Astronaut introduced me to the in the first place (you see how important he was to my musical taste!)

2 - I have embarked on a project of recording some of Mark’s songs.

The Astronauts (i.e. Mark and whichever musicians he had around him at the time) must have recorded over 100 songs. Largely undiscovered, many of these tracks deserve to have a continuing (and increasing) audience. I know that other friends, such as Dom of the Otters/ Astonauts, and Wasp, vocalist and breath-taking front-person of Rites of Hadda are doing their bit, creating their own versions of Mark’s songs, and between us (and others, including groups ‘Blyth Power’ and ‘Pog’) we will make sure that Mark’s music isn’t allowed to disappear - it always deserved a larger audience than it ever got.

I have started work on 5 Astronauts’ songs, spanning Mark’s songwriting career from the late 70s to 2022. Meanwhile the remaining Astronauts are working to release the final Astronauts album, album 10, which will hopefully be ready by Mark’s birthday on 27 August this year.

I’ve got some stellar help, in the form of Lee Hague (amazing drummer from the Otters/Astronauts) as well as Wasp, and many others. I wouldn’t be able to do this project without Kostas Michaloudis for whom I’m grateful every day!

I don’t have a release date for my covers of Mark’s songs, but I’m also allergic to planning. So stay tuned!

It’s been an interesting few years, in which I’ve lost two friends but gained some great perspective - please tell me in the comments what you have missed out on, what you have enjoyed, what you’ve been most grateful for since the pandemic.

* those songs, ‘Two Sides’ and ‘Silencio’ remain unreleased. Furthermore, my distributor (company that uploads my songs to Spotify, Tidal, etc changed their business model, removing three Temporal Comet songs from streaming platforms in the process. We lost ‘Anticipation’, ‘Falling’ and ‘Rising’… but when I work out the best way to do it (without spending a lot of money and time), they will be back. If you have any recommendations for distribution, please let me know, I’ll be eternally grateful.

In the meantime, you can still play some of the songs on Bandcamp or Youtube. Thanks in advance for having a listen!

[temporalcomet]

Friday Fun in a Pixel-Playground #flashbackfriday to 2021 when this photo shoot was created by Temporal Comet and 📷 @garygaryk https://www.instagram.com/p/CoMmBV1tSO1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[temporalcomet]

I'm really honoured to have been asked to perform at a tribute to my friend and ex-bandmate Mark Astronaut at an event at @club_85_hitchin in November. Stay tuned for more info. It'll only be my second gig of the year as I've been in musical hibernation. 🌌☄️🔭👩‍🚀👨‍🚀 20 years ago, The Astronauts played at Rhythms... Festival in Hitchin, that's me on bass in the last photo! Please no teen-hair shaming 😬😃💚💇‍♀️ (at Club 85) https://www.instagram.com/p/CifNsQwjRxu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[temporalcomet]

'Museum of Music at Bologna post', featuring some weird photos. A scary monster face stares out at you, and there's also a weird dragon-trumpet 😂 (at Bologna, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgtPojVDdL8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[temporalcomet]

What's been going on? I met (a large picture of) my hero, Beethoven, bought some shoes, tried to fix my tape walkman, took a late night bike ride along the Regent's Canal, celebrated Ok Computer's anniversary, and went to see Alt J. Just like any other Londoner, really 😊💂 HBU? (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd-maMkDjTn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[temporalcomet]

MJ spent more time this week (mostly messing around, see clip) at Park Studios in Wembley. Some production work and guitar/bass overdubs (cough cough, mistakes corrected) for some songs we'll be bringing you in 2022. Sounding amazing even if 20% finished, thanks to our amazing team. We can't wait to hear them evolve in the coming months. Meanwhile we're working on new material at home! #newmaterial #newsongs #recording #studio #studiotime #overdub #overdubs #music #playingmusic #recording #Singles #newmusic #inthestudio #parkstudios #wembley #musicstudio #recordingstudio #magic #bts #console #equipment #musicgear #recordinggear #gearporn (at The Park Studios) https://www.instagram.com/temporalcomet/p/CXRowgvsUzq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

15.11.2021 A stellar day at @theparkstudios to record some songs... Stay tuned! 1 - MJ @mj_moon warms up 2 - Hugo @sonicsoulmusic waits for Kostas @kostasmich_music to finish setting up 3 - MJ records bass, using a guitar. (@rolandglobal GR-55 MIDI) 4 - Hugo records drums on a Roland SPD-SX 5 - modular synthesis 6 - marvellous spools 7 - Hugo shows @forbesanderson_music the chorus part, on the studios' @yamahamusiceurope C3 grand P 8 - Forbes in his element. On the floor, with a toy piano (make unknown) We had so much fun, thanks to all these humans, and @giakvia 🙏💚🌌 (at The Park Studios) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWYl5qqMDVP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

We're planning, preparing, memorising our moves.. as well as jumping for joy and clutching for clouds... BECAUSE (?!*) Next week we will be back in a studio! Thanks to @kostasmich_music, we're getting the gang back together to record two new songs, 'Deluge' and 'Through the Trees'. ⚡💚🌌🌲🌳🌧️☂️ "We hope you like our new direction" - #spinaltap 👩‍🎤 * DYK this (?!) is called an interrobang 🧠 @forbesanderson_music 💚 @giakvia 💚 (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWLVC8kMK78/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

One week to go! We're eagerly awaiting @thecourtyardtheatre to make the tickets available - we'll let you know when the link is live. Please join us in welcoming our artists - joining Temporal Comet will be: -Gon Von Zola - Neptune the Mystic 🌌👽 Plus spooky vibes and #halloween fun. Come and get involved next Saturday in London!!! 🚀🚀 (at Courtyard Theatre, London) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVX04WyMLfm/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

Had the opportunity to visit the #stanleydonwood exhibition at Christie's prior to the auction of his works. Some amazing pieces and a real insight into the period before Radiohead's Kid A was released in 2001. Amazing! MJ also had the chance to meet RH super-fan @mariaime1978 which was lovely! (at Christie's) https://www.instagram.com/p/CU7nrqajMyC/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

An oldie but a goodie. We still play this single and will be releasing an updated mix when we've finished recording the songs we wrote in 2020/2021. MJ says: i think people like (if they like the song at all!) the variation in moods, of darkness and light and different shades in between... Well we can all identify with that! If you havent heard it before, we hope you like it! Listen now on Spotify and other streaming platforms... Link in our bio 🔗💕 (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUH6cTTltMo/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

September! As we get back to playing live music (yay!) and the weather gets colder, we look back at what we've been up to recently. Looks like we've been having fun! 1 & 2 - playing for our friends in our back yard 3 - playing at @festivalofjim with @worldwidewelshman 4 - @mj_moon being attacked by some dogs that @dreamparkmusic were looking after 5 - @sonicsoulmusic at work! (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTzNlfVsVd8/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

A little highlight from last Friday's show in our back yard. Those Loopstation effects sure get trippy sometimes! 🌌🌌🌌 Come see us tonight at @thecavendisharmsstockwell for more electronic spacepop #trippy #fx #effects #electro #loops #livelooping #liveinlondon #liveband #space #spacepop #band #music #livemusic #clip #discovernewmusic #londongigs #londonlivemusic (at Whitechapel) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTHNOalDqve/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

Thrilled to be back w @_bambi__band_ this Saturday! Joining us for One Night Mayhem will be @btnbtheband @scottyoverdose @ersh1a and @temporalcomet. The ticket links in our bio now for those that wish to attend and we’re trying to get as many people for this one as possible. Here’s to a night of crazy, in your face, beautiful music and musicians🤘 Shoutout to @azazxl__ for designing the slickest poster 💜 (at The Cavendish Arms) https://www.instagram.com/p/CS7n8jnjDxZ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[temporalcomet]

Flashback Friday! Our last public show, live, in front of people - we boarded a narrow boat and played for the masses at the canal. ⛵ NOW in 2021, we are back with some shows, and more to follow. If you're in Ldn on 20.08 (next Friday), come and see our show with @dreamparkmusic 💚💭🌷 If not, we play an early set at @thecavendisharmsstockwell on the 28th ✌️💪🌟 We'd love to see you! (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSgyfxCjj6k/?utm_medium=tumblr