Take a tour: FUTURE | VISIONS Art at Threshold

The visual arts at this year's Threshold have been gorgeous, challeging and altogether brilliant

Threshold 2014's FUTURE / VISIONS presents a range of works from artists across the UK on the theme of retro-futurism.  

The exhibition is spread across festival venues throughout the Baltic Triangle, including Unit 51, Baltic Bakehouse, District (formerly The Picket) and new venues Palmer Hill and 90 Squared.

Now you have a chance to take a tour of the festival's arts venues with artist and arts guru Jazamin Sinclair. Meet up at Unit 51 on Sunday 30 March at 1pm to take in a vast and fascinating array of creativity including the latest gorgeous piece by Liverpool Arts Prize winner Robyn Woolston and live art by the award winning Tommy Graham.

As you take the tour, you'll also be able to take in the fascinating street art pasted up by a very busy Tristan Brady-Jacobs all along Jamaica Street. 

So grab your funky walking shoes and head on out there.

(Andrea McGuire)

Unit 51 Cafe Unveils it's Threshold Menu!

We're no strangers to a good coffee here at Seba Rashii Culture Zine and we know from experience that a good coffee can last as long in the memory as a kiss, a letter from a loved one or even time itself. 

When we first entered Unit 51, in the heart of the Baltic Triangle, we were drawn down by the prospect of a new cafe to get comfortable in, some excellent coffee and of course the excellent Baltic Creative , home to many creative businesses doing some great work in the area.

Baltic Creative will be an important venue during Threshold as it plays host to a whole host of Spark workshops and panels.The little wooden space adjacent to the espresso bar where once an army of paper figurines lived during the Bienniel (Was it that long ago?!) will feature sessions with Viva Vintage, a Demo Panel from Sound City,Cavern Records and Ultimate Fake, Philanthropy in Music and much more over the weekend.

But we know what will really get your appetites going and it's the food that will be on offer to all those hungry festival goers! Yes, we've got a preview of the menu and it's below.

Pulled Pork and Spicy Slaw on a soft baton

Unit 51 Hot Dog and Caramelized Onion

Special Chilli with a choice of Rice or Jacket Potato

Soup of the Day accompanied with French Corner Bread

So who's planning on being at Unit 51 during Threshold? We know one thing, we will definitely be in for one of the above and an excellent Unit 51 Cappuccino.

"If music be the food of love then play on..."

Words by Sebastian Gahan. Images courtesy of Unit 51. 

Interview with Thom Morecroft

I managed to catch up with Thom Morecroft in Leaf to discuss his appearance this weekend at Threshold. He arrived suitably late but made up for his poor time-keeping with a constant smile and brilliant attitude.

Are you looking forward to playing at Threshold?

Oh definitely, it’s going to be wonderful.

Will you be playing with a band?

Yeah, it’s a five-piece band; we’ve got a bass player now, that’s a new thing, he’s a nice man called Adam. There’s a female singer called Elle Schillereff, the percussionist is Chris Cousineau, and a guitarist called James Baxter.

So do you and Elle share the vocals?

Well, kind of, i’d say that we share them so (shrugs).

Are you going to be playing songs from your new album or from other places?

Probably all the stuff of the new album or just new songs. I don’t really play songs of the old album, it was a long time ago, there’s some stuff on it I quite like but I just don’t play anything off it. I might play ‘Oh Rocko’...

Do you feel like you’ve moved on a bit since then?

I don’t know about that, I think we probably just haven’t got around to playing anything off it because I didn’t know [the band] then.

I hear you’ll be keeping busy across the weekend.

Yeah, i’m doing a 25 minute set for my set and then the Paul Du Noyer thing, so i’m on at 16.55 in the Camp and Furnace on the Paper Garden stage and then Paul Du Noyer is having a book session thing, he wrote for Q and NME and was apparently one of the founding co-editors of Mojo magazine. Actually, I don’t know why I said apparently, it’s not like I don’t believe him. He wrote this book about the Liverpool music scene and he has a list of 100 songs and i’m playing 3 of them apparently for that, well I am, there’s nothing apparently about it.

You’re playing some saxophone as well?

I am, for the Terry Gray band who I think are on sometime after half twelve, at half one I think (The stage time is actually half twelve-CS). All on the Sunday.

Are you planning to make the most of the Friday and Saturday while you have the time?

Definitely, i’m going to make a big point of watching Silent Cities, I mean, I won’t bring banners with me or anything. Robert Vincent, Natalie McCool, there are so many people to see, Chris and Kaya are lovely people, the guys who run the festival. I played last year at the Cafe Bar in the Nordic church quite late on the Saturday night as a 2-piece, it was quite fun.

You’re glad to be asked back then?

Oh yes, i’m so happy they asked me back, I was dancing round the room. The sample of acts that Chris and Kaya have is incredible, they take everything from the up-and-coming alongside people who are more ‘hidden nuggets’, people like Tom George.

Thom Morecroft will be performing on Sunday at Camp and Furnace on the Paper Garden stage from 16.55. He also runs an acoustic night on Tuesdays at Schmooze and can be found at www.facebook.com/thommorecroftmusic and on Twitter: @thommorecroft.

Promoter Focus// The Roost

BILLED as 62 per cent art and 76 per cent music (one per cent miscellaneous),
The Roost add up to an experience not to be missed. The sum of their parts is Michael Stevenson and Josephine Scales. Michael is a musician and founder member of the band Statement Haircut and Josephine is a graphic artist. Together and sometimes with the help of others they create a blend
of both worlds in their stunning events.

Back for the third year at Threshold, they are determined to satisfy this latest
encore with a line up of treats.

Over Friday and Saturday, The Roost will be nested at Camp and Furnace's upstairs Gold Room and filling the whopping 76ft long space with the following line up:

Triphazard
Statement Haircut
So Sexual
Muto Leo
Pixels
Phonetics
Mashemon
beLOey
Orian
M O A T S
Gastric Band
Speed Pets
The Tin Foil Hat Brigade
Antoinette
DJ Karpia

Thresh News//9 Things to do at Threshold 2013!

We know what you're thinking...

There's so much going on at Threshold this year. Where do I start?!

It's only natural to wonder what killer band you're missing or what fascinating Spark Panel  is going on whilst you enjoy the festival elsewhere or searching for your mates because they've got the program. So I thought I'd let you know of some things you can see and do at the festival when that unmissable moment seems truly unmissable. Remember, this is just one list of a million possible combinations of venues, bands, visual arts and funny costumes so go where your nose (or throat or guitar or whatever!) takes you and above all enjoy being in another world for a weekend at Liverpool's best multi arts festival of the first quarter!

1. Visit the Fringe at one of the many wonderful venues including The Womens Institute, The Lomax and the breeziest of them all the Albert Dock with The Maritime Museum, PanAm and Haus among the venues offering a Threshold line up for you on the Saturday and Sunday between twelve and five pm. Listings are coming soon!

2. Remember that big pile of plastic cutlery sculpted into a wave last year? Well guess what... it wasn't just that. It was an installation by then future Liverpool Art Prize winner Robyn Woolston!  Of course, you knew that and this year there'll be another piece of modern art to marvel at. What will it be? You'll have to wait and see!

3. If you like film then there's a screening of Efterklang and Andreas Koefoed's 'The Ghost of Piramida' to feast your eyes and ears on Sunday at The Gold Room that is sure to be exciting. 

4. If the thought of getting down with some vintage is as exciting as the music that makes up seventy percent of Threshold then you really ought to check out the Pillbox Vintage Fair! 

5. How about something vintage yet again but of the more Super Effective variety? if that ticks your box then The Gold Room has  Super Effective Sunday: Vintage Gaming on Sunday from 12pm. How could you resist? 

6. If you're into the sound of fascinating people talking about what they love then the Spark Panels and Workshop program is for you. With true exclusives such as Paul Du Noyer talking about his legendary book on the Liverpool music scene Wondrous Place, some key members of The Giants discussing their role in one of the greatest pieces of street theater in recent memory and much more Baltic Creative or Ioisis Studios are your destination on Saturday and Sunday!

7. Marvel at the beauty of the venues themselves as you take in the festival atmosphere! Discover just why Camp and Furnace has its name or enjoy the legendary surroundings of The Picket. There's also the ever popular Elevator Bar and the gleaming Baltic Creative, housing the excellent Unit 51 cafe. Without venues as amazing as these, there would be no Threshold so show them all the love they deserve!

8. There's over 170 bands playing with some very large choirs making the number of individual artists over 500! And with that much to enjoy, it's time to get yourself to as many of them as possible. We'd like to think that whoever made us gave us the ability to split our bodies into parts so we could go see every band playing at Threshold but that's a theory we'll test on the day...

9. Check out the very funky Threshold Official Blog for our reviews, photography and much more besides on whatever wi-fi loving device you have! As Gil Scott Heron might say, it's a feel good thing...

 Check out full listings right here!

Words by Sebastian Gahan. Robyn Woolston photo by Scattershot Photography.