Dark, experimental and avant-garde: stars line-up for Oxford's Audioscope all-dayer

Ten bands playing one stage over 12 hours — and raising thousands for charity; when it comes to Audioscope, the figures speak for themselves.

Starting life 14 years ago as a one-off fundraiser for Shelter, this annual all-dayer has mushroomed into one of the most respected events in Oxford’s musical calendar.

Since that first show in 2001, it has raised more than £27,000 for the homelessness charity, while treating gig-goers to some legendary figures in the worlds of electronic, experimental and avant garde music as well as smaller and local artists.

This year they include cult sample-loving electro act Public Service Broadcasting; space-rockers Silver Apples; dark folk star Matt Elliott; and Wrangler, featuring Cabaret Voltaire founder Stephen Mallinder. Also playing are shoegaze guitar band The Telescopes, folk artist You Are Wolf, beats and synth outfit Circle Traps (which boasts two members of Portico Quartet), Australian murder-ballad masters The Doomed Bird of Providence, Oxford electronic upstart Kid Kin and local psych-rockers The Neon Violets.

It would be an impressive line-up by anyone’s standards, but for a charity gig held in the intimate upstairs room at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern, it is nothing short of miraculous, considering the artists play for expenses, or nothing at all.

It follows previous sets by Wire, Four Tet, Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, Clinic, Pram, Explosions in the Sky, and and Michael Rother and Damo Suzuki of, respectively, Deutsche-rock bands Neu! and Can. Locally, it has played host to the Mercury-nominated Young Knives, and The Edmund Fitzgerald, featuring Yannis Philippakis and Jack Bevan who went on to form Foals.

Stuart Fowkes, who runs Audioscope with fellow musician Simon Minter, is delighted with the line-up, but insists its enduring appeal is obvious. “Many bands are sympathetic to the cause of homelessness, and want to get behind it.

“Also, because we’ve been going for 14 years, that’s long enough for us to have built up a reputation for putting on exceptional bands. People know it’s good and want to be a part of it.”

Co-organiser Simon Minter agrees. "What makes Audioscope a success, year after year, is the generosity and creativity of everybody that takes part.

"Since helping to launch the festival in 2001, I’ve never stopped being impressed by the positivity shown by hundreds of bands and musicians, and thousands of listeners, who have attended our gigs and bought our records.

"Sadly, homelessness and bad housing persists, but we continue to do whatever we can to help and support the work of Shelter."

This year’s big draw is Public Service Broadcasting, who make their Oxford debut. Playing live electronica, ambient pop and hard rock to a mash-up of public information and wartime propaganda films, collaborators J Willgoose Esq and Wrigglesworth have gone down a storm at festivals from Glastonbury to Bestival, sold out their own headline tour and made history with a show at North London’s RAF Museum.

The set comes ahead of their second album, the follow-up to EP The War Room and full-length debut Inform Educate Entertain.

“We end up talking to some bands for a few years,” says Stuart. “Often they can’t do it but love the idea and agree to come back when the timing is right. PSB are one such band. They really support Shelter and this is a great time to have them.

“But it’s not just about them. We’ve got legends like Silver Apples who have been doing it since the ’60s, and Stephen Mallinder from cabaret Voltaire — another influential band.

“We’ve got the history of electronic music from the ’60s, through the ’80s, and right up to date with PSB.”

Sonic pioneer: PSB's J Willgoose Esq

But, he insists, Audioscope is about more than electronica. “We’ve got mind-melting psych-rock, shoe-gazing guitar music, and Australian murder ballads. We’re always keen to get local bands too, so I’m pleased to have Neon Violets and Kid Kin (Peter Lloyd) whom I have supported since he moved to Oxford.”

He says the line-up perfectly matched the audience. “Audioscope crowds are polite and super-attentive,” he says. “And when we get a quiet band on, you can hear a pin drop in the room. It’s an eerie silence, and you don’t get that at many other gigs.

“Because of what we’ve done before, people know that, even if they don’t know the bands, they’ll be interesting and they will discover things they’ll love.”

And who is he particularly looking forward to seeing? “I’m really excited about The Doomed Bird of Providence,” he says. “What they do is great, they are a seven-piece and tell tales of shipwrecks, pirates and murder. It’s dark stuff!”

He goes on: “I can’t overstate what a coup it is to have Silver Apples’ Simeon though, as he doen’t play very often. To have someone of that stature playing our room is amazing. He is still making incredible music, and being in his ‘80s he also breaks the age record, which was previously held by [64 year-old] Damo Suzuki.”

Organiser: Stuart Fowkes

For only the second time in Audioscope history, Stuart won’t be playing; his band Listing Ships having decided to drop anchor and disembark. “We had a good run and called it a day,” he says. “Our guitarist had severe tinnitus and was told he can’t play music at the volume we did.

“But then the only reason Listing Ships played Audiscope anyway, was because we didn’t think anyone else would want to play at 1.30pm — when you can still taste toothpaste in your mouth!”

Audioscope
Jericho Tavern, Oxford 
Saturday, November 8 
Tickets sold out
Visit audioscope.co.uk

Audisocope headliners Public Service Broadcasting are on a mission to the stars. J Willgoose Esq tells us about his cosmic new project... click here...