Low Culture Podcast: Acid Horsing & 2023

As the year comes to its end, John and Luke discuss their varying ailments, from fading eyesight to which supplements help keep winter’s nasty microbes at bay. Aside from this terrifying insight into their hypochondria, including the time when John had to make a walk of shame back to a venue he’d had DJ beef with to reclaim his reading specs, your tQ hosts discuss some highlights of recent times. Luke recalls being moved by a performance of Faurê’s Requiem at the Barbican Centre, made all the more intense by the accompanying film Sky Burial by the artist Mat Collishaw. John, meanwhile, worries about his attention span and loo breaks at a Morton Feldman performance by Apartment House, but is surprised and blown away by the three-hour minimalist piece, comparing it to the dynamic range of reactions to watching Sunn O))) playing live. Luke blows John’s horn as he won’t, praising the Acid Horse three-day music and culture event that he and Mark Pilkington of The Strange Attractor Press put on at The Barge Inn in the Vale Of Pewsey this summer (pictured above). It featured incredible sets from tQ favourites Microcorps, Hey Colossus, M.L. Deathman, Surgeon, Natalie Sharp, Lias Saoudi, Alison Cotton, Dawn Terry, Shovel Dance Collective and many more. Sound & Vision subscribers will be aware that they are already reaping the sonic fruit of this magical weekend in Wiltshire, as they have recently had a fizzing dose of the said Deathman turn up in their inboxes. And finally, we reflect on John’s 20 years in music journalism and how this, our fifteenth birthday year, ended up being a pretty good one after April’s doom, which leaves us finishing the show with effusive thanks to all of you for subscribing and to Rough Trade Records for putting on a fantastic birthday gig for us. All of this means we’ll be bringing you more top subscriber perks into 2024 and hopefully beyond as we encourage you all, don't be a whopper about the youth.

Thanks to Alannah Chance for producing this edition of Low Culture.