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The Gluts: Café Carbon
5-14
March 2010
We
are artists and musicians
‘Café Carbon’, by The
Gluts was performed (with varying degrees of success) on the streets of
Copenhagen during the climate summit. In Copenhagen, people were asked to
choose a dish from a menu of songs, which The Gluts then performed. Short
starters; Stone Cold Soup, Cheap
Cheap Chicken and GMNO, followed
by longer Mains; Rook Pie with Hoover Sauce and Spaghetti Carbonorama, and sweet desserts such as Arctic Roll, and Passionfruit Pie. Two current favourites are Locally Grown
Worm, Cabbage and Potato
Salad and Hairy Chest Pie.
Hayley and Kaffe are
vegans, they ride bicycles and live their lives in a way that is in tune with
climate activism. They are
concerned about climate change and are keen to do something more to promote
information and action about the surrounding issues. Gina drives her car, is a
big fan of lights, which she collects in skip loads. Gina is concerned about climate change and has done
absolutely nothing about it.
In the beginning, Hayley
Newman asked Kaffe Matthews if she wanted to write the music for her burgeoning
idea of a climate musical, Kaffe agreed. Hayley poured over texts, wrote reams
and reams, threw most of it in the bin, and then came up with some great ideas
and wonderful words. Songs began to emerge, but the idea for a musical was put
on a back burner. Copenhagen was looming and the two of them planned a trip on
the climate train to Copenhagen for the climate Summit and decided to perform
in streets and cafes there.
Meanwhile, they met Gina
Birch when all three were players at Jem Finer’s Longplayer Roundhouse performance in London, last Autumn. Hayley
asked Gina if she would join them in Copenhagen and make a video of the trip.
Gina said yes, wondering how she could really reconcile her lifestyle with this
new role she was taking on and meanwhile Hayley and Kaffe plotted that Gina
would also do some performing.
As she got immersed in
the project, Gina started leaving her car at home, walking a lot more and
changed her lightbulbs, ate less meat and took up knitting. She knew this would make little or no
difference at all, but was aware that her change in attitude was a part of the
whole process of a much bigger change.
So in the beginning,
Kaffe made the music, Hayley wrote the words and Gina made the video, but all
interconnect and change and transform and the resulting work is a collaboration
of all of three, in all areas.
Exhibition produced by AV Festival 10 and Vane. Supported by Arts Council England.
Part of AV Festival 10:
Energy
International festival
of electronic arts featuring visual art, music and moving image
5-14 March 2010
NewcastleGateshead,
Middlesbrough, Sunderland