2012 – People Like Us (2025)

Introducing the new People Like Us audiovisual performance:

“Consequences”, has two definitions; it is the result of some previous action, and a game (called Exquisite Corpse by the Surrealists) in which a larger picture/narrative is created by assembling subject matter “blindly” in relation to a small amount of information made visible before it as a continuation point. As a result, content surprisingly and sometimes magically changes over a short period of time or space, with every part still connected to that which goes before or after it.

This new audiovisual performance by People Like Us places similar but emerging subject matter side by side to construct the narrative, where a story emerges as a sum of the parts that came before it yet digresses on a tangent. All actions have consequences, and here we see them played out, to wondrous and catastrophic effect!

“The subject of authenticity, the “original” in relation to the “copy” (coming from the word “copia”, meaning multitude and abundance) interest me as an artist working in the field of collage and appropriation. “Original” has limited connection with “quality” or “engaging”, and (at least in the past 300 years) nothing created as an object or product can be traced 100% to an origin – everything is relative, literally – it has a mother and father. Much like speed, dimensions, size, the terms are reliant upon the conditions of the person experiencing it, where they are and when, there is NO absolute. This is reflected when very similar creative works and inventions occur at the same period by people who have no knowledge of each other’s works existence. In Consequences we reflect that no man is an island, but the island has lots of mirror mazes… in fact some mirrors can be walked through.”— Vicki Bennett

People Like Us “Wonderful” [2012]

Trailer and Excerpt:

Performances:
Transmediale, Berlin – 31 January 2013
La Casa Encendida, Madrid – 15 March 2013
XOYO, London – 19 March 2013
Tectonics, Reykjavik – 20 April 2013
Colchester Arts Centre – 4 May 2013
Nuits Sonores, Lyon – 8 May 2013
Only Connect Festival, Oslo – 8 June 2013
Lab Festival, Augsburg – 25 & 26 October 2013
Newcastle Star & Shadow – 31 October 2013 (part of NOTATIONS Tour)
Sound of Stockholm Festival – 8 November 2013
Manchester Kraak – 14 November 2013(part ofNOTATIONSTour)
Leeds Hyde Park Picture House as part of Leeds International Film Festival – 16 November 2013(part ofNOTATIONSTour)
London Cafe Oto – 29 November 2013(part ofNOTATIONSTour)
Bristol Arnolfini – 30 November 2013(part ofNOTATIONSTour)
L’Embobineuse, Marseille, France – 15 March 2014
Hamburg Hörbar – 9 May 2014
Trondheim Electronic Arts CentreHere To Go Symposium – 31 May 2014
Now retired but available as film screenings:
Recombinant Festival 2017, Grey Area San Francisco – October 2017
Other Cinema, San Francisco – 7 April 2018

Press images:

People Like Us DJ set
http://www.transmediale.de/content/bwpwap-soundsystem-blue-hour-pluto
29 January 2013
10pm-1130pm at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
Free – limited entry, arrive early

We are gradually adding more concert dates for our new audiovisual performance, which will appear in the right hand column on our front page. However, worth mentioning here since it’s very soon –

We are DJing at the opening of transmediale on Tuesday 29th January at HKW in Berlin. http://www.hkw.de/de/index.php

Entry to the opening is free but it is recommended that you arrive early since space may be limited. For the full details on the festival opening visit:
http://www.transmediale.de/content/pluto-y-u-no-planet-opening-ceremony-transmediale-2013-bwpwap

transmediale 2013 officially opens its doors
on Jan 29, 2013: 17:30, at the HKW.

PLUTO Y U NO PLANET?
OPENING CEREMONY FOR TRANSMEDIALE 2013 BWPWAP
19:00 TO 20:30 – AUDITORIUM
Welcoming words: Bernd Scherer, HKW
Host: Kristoffer Gansing, transmediale
Special guests: Mike Brown, Lisa Messeri, Gerhard Schwehm
http://www.transmediale.de/content/pluto-y-u-no-planet-opening-ceremony-transmediale-2013-bwpwap

PNEUMATIC CIRCUS
reSource Networks
20:30 TO 21:00 – CENTRAL FOYER
A project curated by Vittore Baroni featuring the Mail Art Network

REFUNCT MEDIA PRESENTATION
RESOURCE USERS
21:00 TO 21:30 – K1
With Benjamin Gaulon, Gijs Gieskes, Phillip Stearns, Tom Verbruggen (toktek), Karl Klomp, Peter Edwards. Introduced by Tatiana Bazzichelli.

Film non-screening (you will have to attend to find out what you are not seeing)
People Like Us
Screening Imaginary Museum
21:30 TO 23.15 – AUDITORIUM

BWPWAP Soundsystem (The Blue Hour of Pluto)
DJ Set by People Like Us
22:00 TO 23.30 – Cafe Global

Festival Program Overview
http://www.transmediale.de/content/bwpwap-program-overview

People Like Us will perform the world premiere for “Consequences (One Thing Leads To Another)” on 31 January 2013 at transmediale 2013,Berlin.

Buy tickets

transmediale 2013is happy to announce a preview of theparticipant highlightsof the one festival week long Pluto day:

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Elizabeth Price, Ian Hacking, Lorraine Daston, Michael Brown, Kenneth Goldsmith, Olga Goriunova, Geert Lovink, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Dennis Adams, John Smith, Sandy Stone, Diane Torr, People Like Us, Boris Hegenbart and Felix Kubin, Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez f/ A Guy Called Gerald, Carsten Nicolai, Demdike Stare and Gatekeeper, official transmediale Miscommunication Platform OCTO w Telekommunisten and raumlaborberlin, three exhibitions under The Miseducation of Anya Major feat. Sonia Sheridan, YoHa, Kim Asendorf, Cornelia Sollfrank.

http://www.transmediale.de/content/bwpwap-program-overview

We’ll be screening our film 4′ 33″ this Wednesday 5th December 2012 at Beaconsfield in London as part one of a two night festival hosted by TOUCH.

Full programme and ticket details on the Touch website.

http://30.touchmusic.org.uk/

The audio from our new DVD“The Keystone Cut Ups”is now available in audio form as an album, in digital audio form! You can download at our label Illegal Art’s site, and good news is they have a “pay what you want” policy – from 0$ to XXXXXX$$$$$$!

Download now: http://illegal-art.net/shop#release131

Simply add to basket, scroll to the mp3 option and then select the amount you’d like to pay. There is also the option of getting the higher quality FLAC file.

The 24 hourDO or DIY program archives remain safe and our 24-hour stream server was broken for several days following Hurricane Sandy, but now it is back! Just in time to take it down again to make an entirely new stream in weeks to come… but more on that later…

Hurricane Sandy also broke a lot of electrical equipment, damaged the WFMU transmitter sites and caused the cancellation of a huge source of income for the station – the WFMU Record Fair. DJ’s houses have been flooded and battered and many are just getting their power back now – and many are still in darkness, without light, heat or any means of leaving. The station is really in need of your support, being listener funded – the running costs for the station are just under 2 million dollars a year – it’s a big set up, and as of the last week we’re running on reserves of the reserves of the reserves.

Station Manager Ken Freedman will do a State of the Station report this Wednesday 4th November, but in the meantime here’s a sort of State of the Station with Prog Rock and Psychoanalysis with Ken and Clay Pigeon.
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/48009

Please help the station – you can even get a t-shirt, DJ premium CD (and other items)… thanks.

PLEDGE NOW!

The Zone will be premiered at Bristol Arnolfini on Friday 2nd November and will be introduced by Vicki Bennett.

Arnolfini:
http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/live/details/1423

The Zone is the first feature-length film by Vicki Bennett a.k.a People Like Us. Running Stalker and The Wizard of Oz side-by-side, it tells one story of two journeys to “the promised land, the world where dreams can be made real and reality is like a dream.” The films sit side by side, staying loyal to the linear narrative, but editing the longer film to the length of the shorter, revealing delightful harmonies and synchronicities both in images and narrative occurring far more than either pure chance would dictate or the imagination construct. The Zone is inspired by the Chance Operations of John Cage, Cut-Up techniques of Gysin/Burroughs and Kurt Schwitters, and single shot/durational films (Andy Warhol, James Benning).

Please note: this film is not being distributed as of January 2013 after a legal claim by Mosfilm, the rights holders of Tarkovsky.

UPDATE (2017) – Turns out the Mosfilm do NOT own Tarkovsky films, nor have they ever!!! We were not alone in receiving take down orders from them, they’d been sending them to many people for years. We were informed of this by Curzon who DO own them, at least now. The Zone is up here:

… on the edge of the Hudson River, Jersey City, NY. Need we say any more? OK then…

WFMU’s Silent Fundraiser is still on, but we’re segueing into Disaster Marathon Mode as we uncover more and more damage at our studios and transmitter sites, combined with an enormous loss we’re taking due to the cancellation of the RecordFair. Because of the Hurricane damage, the silent drive has been extended and is going loud and proud. We only just nudged past the 75% mark of our October goal, which doesn’t even take the Hurricane damage or Record Fair loss into account. Make a pledge now and help WFMU recover from electrical, water and financial damage suffered during the Hurricane. Disaster or no, we have a great new Turntable T-shirt or holiday music compilation, WFMU’s War on Christmas (featuring an exclusive unreleased mix of Big Star’s “Jesus Christ”, plus James Pants, Klaus Nomi and more).

Oh.. and the DO or DIY24 hour stream server is completely fried. Kapotte!

If that ain’t enough, here’s poor Station Manager Ken trying to cycle to WFMU (and failing), leaving his home basement in 4 foot of water.

BUY MOON MAGIC 7 INCH SINGLE NOW

“Moon Magic 7 inch single” by People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz
Release date: 13 November 2012 (presales 13 October)
Illegal Art IA702 http://www.illegalart.net

“Moon” and “Magic” is a AA side 7 inch single, also on the Illegal Art label. Both tracks are taken from The Keystone Cut Ups DVD.

Feature in WIRED

If you live in the US/Canada, unless you are buying other merchandise from us at the same time it will work out cheaper to buy the 7″ direct from the Illegal Art Shop due to the fact that we post from Europe and have to charge for that.

We’ve just done an interview with the WFMU’s Free Music Archive, where we are currently one of the judges in a video competition– take part and have the chance to win an ipad!

Don’t Use Music As Wallpaper

Deadline extended to 11th November 2012.

PEOPLE LIKE US & ERGO PHIZMIZ BRING YOU…
THE KEYSTONE CUT UPS DVD / MOON MAGIC 7″ / THE KEYSTONE CUT UPS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
DVD and Digital Download Release Date: 31 October 2012
7 inch Release Date: 13 November 2012
Label: Illegal Art IA131illegalart.net
https://peoplelikeus-vickibennett.bandcamp.com/merch/the-keystone-cut-ups-dvd

We’re very pleased to announce the release on Illegal Art of a DVD, 7″ single and digital audio album!

When People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz premiered The Keystone Cut Ups at the Berwick Film and Media Art Festival in 2010, it was met with praise and wonder. Invoking a dreamlike atmosphere from the pairing of surrealist avant-garde cinema and silent-era comedy films with the quirky, yet emotionally resonating soundtrack carved out a unique sector of musical entertainment. This project stands tall as a statement against an industry that often flounders in its own creative bankruptcy.

Until now, this experience has only been available to those fortunate enough to see it performed live. But this October, people all over the world can see what all the hype is about for themselves when Illegal Art releases The Keystone Cut Ups on DVD, as well as just the musical portion as a digital download and as a 7′ single.

The festival commissioned the project in July of 2010 as an attempt to achieve something that would excite audiences in ways they were never expecting. People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz composed forty-five minutes of music that is simultaneously whimsical and poignant. Once the soundtrack was in place, visuals were assembled around the audio in order to create a stimulating assault on the mind that evokes a sense of the surreal and fantastical.

Tracklist:
1. Orchestra 2. Hats 3. Statues 4. Thelma Todd 5. Machines
6. Aquopalypse 7. Chess 8. Magic 9. Spinning 10. Moon

The Keystone Cut Ups will play all regions, worldwide.

MOON MAGIC 7″ SINGLEby People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz
Available to purchase from 25 October 2012
Actual release date: 13 November 2012
Illegal Art IA702 http://www.illegalart.net

“Moon” and “Magic” is a AA side 7 inch single, also on the Illegal Art label. Both tracks are taken from The Keystone Cut Ups DVD.

DOWNLOAD THE KEYSTONE CUT UPS AUDIO IN MP3 OR FLAC FORM
From the Illegal Art Shop
http://illegal-art.net/shop#release131

With this release,Illegal Art continues to embrace a pay-what-you-want business model for high-quality downloads. All label releases over the last five years have been issued (or reissued) under a the flexible payment system. People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz also have a history of offering free downloads of entire projects, both new and old.

REVIEWS so far

The WireFeature in WIRED
God Is In The TV