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i here by open a new world of words, images, mood and light hearts……………….. i will try, to fill up the space in cyber world with a chunk of my grey matter translated into this form…hello.
It’s been a while since my last “newsletter transmission”. Since the last one, I’ve seen some of you during the May “Bass – Synth – Visuals Tour” in Europe, others during my Trio of AMAZING summer festivals in my homelands of Switzerland & Canada and the rest of you I’ve pretty much had no contact with, unless you’ve been in tune with my #felinefridays on xMAdMxTwitter … silly, but I cannot hold back my love of felines!
Since last year’s full steam ahead OUT OF OUR MINDS 2010 journey, I’ve been pretty much out of the blog, youstream, music loop. I have been building life. I am due to bring a new female life into the world this week. Perfectly timed for my favorite October Rust season. The “Future HER” will transcend from the other side, carrying wisdom from the beyond, in miniature fingers and black & white blurry vision eyes. This “creation” process has been heavenly for me. I’ve been extremely fortunate to LOVE being pregnant. It’s the most psychedelic and alien transformation of the body, which is leading up to the most extreme physical days of my life, while opening a new portal and gift of LOVE. What a trip.
As I’ve been focusing on the inside and “home” roots, I’ve been very inspired in this last month by the rise of human protest and “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations happening in the outside world. It has been an extremely disappointing year (or decade) as far as politics, progress and much needed CHANGE. The rise of corporate greed and our western world’s “civilized” current political administrations, general lack of concern for basic human and environmental well being has been extremely concerning. It is difficult to imagine individuals having an impact on such powerful mass organizations, but to be apathetic can kill our spirit from the inside. To feel us unite in these masses, can nurture, the individual fire and the spirit to fight for change in whichever small or big ways we can implement. Although I am home, sitting on this couch, with a cat on my lap, waiting for the future woman inside to arrive, I’m out “there” in spirit with you.
EXPRESSION! Now is the time to get out there and speak your mind. Follow the waves here…. Occupy Wall Street (go! go! go! Madrid and Rome! Amazing!)
2012 is around the corner – the Mayan calendar predicted a “Quickening” during these months, leading up to the end of an era and the opening of a NEW consciousness come 2012 …. Not sure where these exterior protests are leading to, but it’s a good start. I will be paralleling from the inside …. looking forward to connecting with you on the Other Side x
SWITZERLAND – ITALY – GERMANY – AUSTRIA – UK (Iceland vacation on the way home!!!!)
hello x it’s mid june 2011. the summer has begun in the north east. i’m preparing for a perfect trilogy of summer music festivals next month SEE SUMMER FESTIVAL NEWS but first i must recap the sweet spring holiday tour of fun we experienced with some of you.
it started, back in my homeland of schwyz switerland. the small town in the alps, that my grandfather and our line of Auf der Maurs have been born and bread for 100’s of years. i first became acquainted with the town and some of my distant relatives during my the tour for my first album. it was very brief day trip and walk through the Auf der Maur family tree book and town but it left an impression. so i planned my return last november during the OOOM 2010 tour, we had a day off, so we made the bus and band take a detour to the picture perfect land again…. 2010 Schwyz Day Off NOW it’s 2011 and we returned to celebrate an Auf der Maur love union: my second cousin Fred married Nicole, a local musician and music journalist – they met during my visit last year. we joined them for their wedding party, then they organized a show for us to play in neighboring town of Brunnen. a beautiful 90 year old female Auf der Maur was in the crowd and came to meet me after the show with photos of her and my grandfather to prove the relation. cousin veronika! very very sweet indeed. next stop ROMA! we had the luxury of having 2 ays off to walk the streets and endless churches of rome….. back to the music. rome show was at beautiful venue circle degli artisti, it was only our second show of this experimental set stripped down to just bass, guitar & synths. we were still finding our musical footing, but as always the roman open hearted, expressive passionate ones, made us feel great. gratzie my roman clan of lovers of sound. there was an honorary polish lover of sound there, przemyslaw! same video man who made the BEHIND THE OOOM IN POLAND tour report in 2010. this time he flew to ROMA and made MAdMRome document for us!
next! sardinia! this was the most southern and isolated parts place i’ve played in a long time…. getting there was old fashioned and surreal: 17 hour ferry ride, each way! there and back! amazing late 80’s kind of Shining-esque boat. we went a bit loopy, watched a polish thriller POSSESSION (isabelle adjiani’s fist film, holy fuck!!!!) anyhow – the people of sardinia were warm and appreciative and we played a brand new modern community performance space . great facility. gratzie!
please imagine what a week in italia means, primarily! amazing food, pasta up to three times a day and lots of jokes about their absurd president’s sex life. it was my first time in TUSCANY too! wow. livorno is an interesting port town. within an hour of being there we went for a walk on the beach, and a young man recognized me, welcomed us and said “you will like it here, the history is all pirates and prostitutes” i do love a freaky transient place! the venue “THE CAGE” was amazing, an old art deco era theater on the grounds of an abandoned fancy old tuberculosis hospital. toto was the fun promoter, who filled us with delicious food and wine and told us about the left wing socialist history of the city. shellac was playing there the following week….
next stop! italian swiss land! ascona, lovely community theater: teatro de gatto. hosted by not a concert promoter, but a music fan architect! ALEX CROW & JEFF LOUCH joined me on this experimental sound spring vacation. they were perfecto blond twins with great chops, good attitudes and matching slick hair! thanks guys for coming on the trip x
next! germanic zig zag. in and out of austria and germany before you could even stop us from getting ticketed on the austrian freeway for not having a “highway pass”… oh no actually they did stop and fine us for that. too bad. VIENNA was a grand highlight of the tour. we played a classy jazz club called “porgy & bess (not sure what that means…) and the crowd was as intense and fantastic as we remembered them from the OOOM TOUR – VIENNA danke! i also learned that fleischer means butcher in german! also, very talented rock photographer RENE HUEMER joined us to document the show. this black & whites are thanks to him that night x
BACK INTO SWISSLAND! yes this was a swiss heavy tour, very very interesting for the family roots research… x in st gallen we played switzerland’s first punk club. still funded by government arts & culture grants, but looking more like a perfect high end music venue by north american standards… amazing organic foods, juices, gear and all that a musician can want. we learned that the sweet bartender next door came from a town that did not grant women the right to vote til the 1990’s…. excuse me??????????????????? ouch. conflicting feelings in my swiss blood right now. the next day was DAY OFF W/ HR GIGER & QOTSA! what would your redhead writer call a dream day off? picturesque french switzerland countryside, intimate 1500 person outdoor festival with Queens headlining (with perfect loud drone of the SWANS playing before them) – playing their first album head to toe, then an hour of diverse other songs from their catalogue – all happening 40 minutes away from my favorite sci fi fantastical visual mastermind HR GIGER’s (see ” i need i want i will” from my first album) museum in a small castle in the historic town of Gruyere. 24 hours of perfect sound & visual inspiration affirmation. (i love giger’s BABY MACHINES above) leading us to the last of the swiss shows – to carry us over to the end of the mini tour: LONDON. our show ended up being the same day as the BIG deal final football match (ever heard of manchester united? well they got beat by barcelona that night) not far from BUSH HALL, the beautiful baroque small theater we were playing. this did not affect or penetrate the intimacy and sweetness of this show. london town, you felt like even more of a home coming than a tiny town in switzerland. so open. so receptive and attentive. aren’t brits supposed to be highly intelligent, emotionally chilly, really clever funny pup dwellers, with little time for romanticism and emotional stuff? not this crowd… after i sang “father’s grave” a woman from the crowd said “your father would be proud”. thank you for sharing the intimacy of music with me. end of the spring tour……… next icelandic 3 day detour of amazing landscapes, people, lambs & horses. within the first 6 hours of being in reykjavik, i got me an icelandic wool poncho and had a bjork AND jonsi sightings! we rented a car, saw baby spring lamps everywhere, small fishing villages with nothing but a dock and church. rented a car to visit the small, but the most “cosmic” of the glaciers : snaefellsnes. day light for 23 hours. we are seduced to return for more one day.
beyond the amazing viking history lesson, the highlights in the icelandic museum were the old icelandic woman’s riding outfit and an ornate drinking horn… heaven!
it was time to fly home, after a perfecto sonic experimento and spring vacationo…
while flying over greenland, i had time to reflect on my first time alive and playing music with a second heartbeat inside…. i am building a creature child in my center! mother to be, just in time for October Rust… Libra / Scorpio cusp.
A little spring update – the OOOM chapter is over and tiny glimmers of new sounds and projects begin. This new chapter marks a new direction for my live performance. We have created a more intimate show for this upcoming May tour of select cities in of Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and England. Replacing drums with synths and programmed rhythms I will explore new themes and sonic textures, creating a more ambient atmosphere. I will experiment with my own repertoire and pay tribute to influential works of others. Visual projections will also be incorporated into this unique show – created in collaboration between OOOM film director Tony Stone and Montreal super team FOUMALADE.
There will not be many shows this year, as I dig into new sounds and projects but for those of you in Europe and London I hope to see you this May – otherwise for the Canadians there is always HEAVY T.O. in July!
UNDER A SUPER FULL MOON, TONIGHT, THE TIDES TURN AND THE NEW SEASON COMES IN. THE SYMBOL OF THE FISH GIVES WAY TO A FIERY RAM…. a new chapter, this time compounded with the biggest moon in decades. i feel the pulse of life inside fueled by the sun, the moon and a pounding heart. i have a blog report from the NYC and MTL shows on its way, but first let’s take this weekend to enjoy the turn.
our thoughts are with the people of japan who are struggling in a way that the majority of us cannot imagine. reports of admirable behavior and people working hard to help one another gives us all hope.
100 YEARS AGO…. The Fight for Equality began – we’ve come a long way girls, but there are still centuries upon generation of patterns to break even in the most progressive modern societies… still there is violence and abuse happening behind closed doors and of course there are foreign countries where archaic oppression and disrespect of women are still the norm. The world has historically been defined by men, but since my mother’s pioneering and adventurous generation who paved the way for modern women like us, we’ve made leaps and bound, but it will take another few generations to counter balance the inequality of the past…. the fight goes on, and comes from STRENGTH, POSITIVITY AND HOPE HOPE HOPE to make the world a better place for future generations.
ANOTHER POINT FOR FINLAND, IN THE RACE FOR THE COOLEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! The first European country to introduce women’s suffrage was the Grand Duchy of Finland and that country, then a part of the Russian Empire with autonomous powers, produced the world’s first female members of parliament as a result of the 1907 parliamentary elections. The predecessor state of modern Finland, The Grand Principality of Finland was part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917 and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. The Parliament Act in 1906 established the unicameral parliament of Finland and both women and men were given the right to vote and stand for election. Thus Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament. In elections the next year, 19 female MPs, first ones in the world, were elected and women have continued to play a central role in the nation’s politics ever since. Miina Sillanpää, a key figure in the worker’s movement, became the first female minister in 1926.
Women in Finnish Parliament 1907!
CANADA has had a good track record for recognizing women, and a good organization heard my 2011 new years eve, to find a Youth and Women’s organization i could participating in….. Girls Action Organization called, and now i am a SPARK in their LIGHT A SPARK CAMPAIGNlaunching today! thanks for having me aboard…. THE YOUNG WOMEN OF CANADA have access to the world’s highest quality of life. there is no reason why, the future of the world, can not be shaped by the strong, hardworking women of CANADA. GO GO GO! you get my vote!
Let’s light a spark under the asses of all the women we love today. light it with love and encouragement to follow you inner dreams and make a difference – life is short, make the most of it today!
too many beautiful moments of OOOM Tour 2010 to embody on this here blog, but thanks to amazing people we met along the way, and our own inner team, we managed to capture a lot of it to share with you at home… and the ones who have not yet seen OOOM in flesh and blood. the beauty of the snow and cold sun in january 2011, is building up inspiration for the next chapter of sounds, but for now, we still have ooom songs to listen to loud and clear…. a few shows left in her for 2011 too!
take a look at what the lovely polish friends we made put together… thank you weronika & przemek & poland!!
ISTANBUL: THE NEW ANCIENT CITY AT THE END OF THE OOOM DREAM TOUR….
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. BAZAAR, FELINES, ANCIENT MOSQUES & MOSAICS, WILD STREET & NIGHT LIFE, UNDERGROUND CISTERN BASILICA, FEASTS, PASSION, POMEGRANATE JUICE & MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER DREAM OF IN AN URBAN SPIRITUAL HEADQUARTERS …. we could almost stop here…. but impossible. the man matt & his camera feasted on the unbelievable and unstoppable scenes that unfold around every corner. THE ISTANBUL FOUNDATION FOR CULTURE & ARTSwere the most gracious hosts a team of people could ever hope for. an impressive institution in the heart of the TUNEL district, this foundation hosts local and international arts of all kind, and we were lucky enough to be part of the program. we were assigned two perfect dream like hosts to guide our enthusiastic wide eyed OOOM team around day and night activities… introducing, honoring and thanking our hosts: ZEKI AND AIDA we asked questions and favors for over 48 hours of heaven… like any tourists we wanted to see the most famous of the mosques Sophia & Blue Mosques, the mysterious Cisterns with upside down Madussa head and the Palace Museum …. here’s a slice of what we saw after the ancient mysteries were visited, the day unravelled into the streets towards the grand bazaar. as if to push my heart into its final longing and withdraw of my felines waiting for me at home 48 hours way…. there were the FELINES OF ISTANBUL (thanks for the book!!!), not the mention the dogs, which will live on a canine lovers blog somewhere one day (will?) …. and the “children” and endless hallways and stuff of the grand bazaar bazaar… he barely had time to jump in the air for the ritual of jump split, but he did. the rest of the time was devouring the streets, et voila… MATT’S FEAST ON ISTANBUL STREETS: smell the Raki and split dive in… THEN THERE WAS THE SHOW…. the music as our magic carpet ride to turkey…. and our SPECIAL VIKING GUEST! BLACKJAZZ ANYONE? JORGEN MUNKEBY, MASTER SAXER, FRIEND & VISIONARY took up our invitation to join us for the weekend. SHINING played istanbul a couple of years ago at club babylon, and left the city, as we have, with a special feeling for it. we always have room for jorgen on stage with us, so this weekend was a perfect final show of 2010 and encore for all. the weekend was as magical as we dreamt it would be… to share it with friends and musical peers was PURE HEAVEN HEAVEN HEAVEN … i can barely stop… this tour, this weekend, this team, this life are pure bliss heaven on earth. thank you to all who took part of this chapter with me. i am in love with life and refreshed after a long leave of hibernation and recreation. i am alive in the outside world and back from the underworld. ancient cultures helped me get here, swelling deep inside. isis the feline and the goddess helped poke me awake along the way. i have visited beautiful places this past year, that have meant more than any trips i’ve ever taken before. this year was the year of drinking the fruits of my deepest labor. feels so much better when it goes directly from my bloody fire heart to yours. thank you for receiving. i will be back again and again and hopefully EGYPT (and south america!) for a first time… if i play my desire deck cards right. LOVE LOVE LOVE xMAdMx
PARIS! VOILA OH LA LA X SCHEDULED TO BE THE “LAST” SHOW OF THE OOOM TOUR 2010, but a last minute invitation to ISTANBUL turned out to be the final weekend celebration (stay tuned for next and LAST blog tomorrow). PARIS, as always, classy, polite and romantic. MERCI. tony had never been to paris, so as i stayed tucked away in the TRABENDO busy with interviews and packing, MATT and he set out to see the usual impressive sights … … the extra large beautiful beast and unimpressed parisian with big ass bumper sticker were the icing on the cake. meanwhile, back at the red box, tech checks were made, and it was the last day with full OOOM team. Ashley did her last projection show and merch mania duties, while ross did some tricks and last light show with his magic fingers… the team begins to unravel, tour coming to an end, charging phones, backing up hard drives, ridding ourselves of special traveling absinth bar, squishing dan’s head and HOME is getting closer for all….. LOVELY CROWD, SOME TRAVELED FROM UK AND FAR, THANK YOU! our team had big group photo and hug x ross gave our fearless and bossy german busdriver KALI a wet kiss Auf Wiedersehen! x TIME TO PACK FOR TURKEY…… X xMAdMx
IT’S COMING TO THE END OF THE OOOM LINE. 3 shows left, but endless fire and heart to give, sooo we have to make the most of every last drop of sharing. often, me and the team need o stay back at the venue to soundcheck, tech check, do interviews, shower, laundry etc… MATT like a good docu photographer should… and brings us back a piece of the city…. absolute beauty, and one of those rare cities i’ve seen none of except the music room and the people, that’s my top choice as it were, but the rest of this place seems exceptional. thanks you for coming out to the atlier mes amis!!! we played a show… xMAdMx
MOTHER OF THE TREES embracing Bizantine era mosaic basilicas! small italian town with a lot of heart, pasta and wine in the historic region of ravenna italia…. end of our italian perfect weekend. thank you all for coming out to receive the music and give love x hot hot show full of much energy, then came meeting the real flesh and blood madonnas face to face. italian women are a passionate dream x gratzie no italian weekend is complete without a 2am home cooked meal by a rock music inspired chef! CHEF DAVIDE did just that.. brought us home to mama, the sister, the brother and dog to feed us! thank you italian hearts! too good to us, so we will be back sooner than you’d think. in the meantime happy winter solstice, christmas and new year!
