manassas was in existance from 2001 until 2005 until i relised there was a stephen stills backup band of the same name. the manassas vibe has carried on under the new name of clutter. clutter works with a mixture of found sounds/field recordings and traditional instruments to produce highly textured soundscapes which drift in and out of focus. Sometimes they float beautifully near dub and dance other times they rattle your head. At all times clutter produces works of excellence.
clutter is the brainchild of audio/visual artist shaun blezard who has produced music for film, theatre, dance and art installations. for more information and other sounds/visuals check out www.shaunblezard.com
Disography:
Albums:
Clutter with Ann Wilson - The Resting Bench*
Clutter - Shopping In A Shipyard Town*
As Manassas:
Manassas - Vague Recollection On Lost Highway*
Manassas - Live At The Cavendish*
Compilations/remixes etc:
Adrian Carter - Switchkick : features - Carnival (Clutter's Bombay Mix)*
Little Hero - Until Tomorrow EP : features - Until Tomorrow (Manassas Remix)
*All available for free download with full artwork from www.earthmp.com
Review from North West Evening Mail of Vague Recollections On Lost Highway
Innovative sounds for largest spaces
Manassas: Vague Recollections on Lost Highway, a musical project from Shaun Blezard with collaborations from artist John Hall, had it’s public debut this month.
This darkly claustrophobic yet strangely appealing musical offering was written as a soundtrack for the preview evening of John Hall’s latest exhibition, Figures Crossing Abbey Road, which runs until February 10th at The Dock museum
It is one of the most intriguing and exciting pieces of music I have heard from the Furness scene in the past year, an atmospheric ambient riffing with bizarre industrial samples and loops, which either offers a soothing rattle in your head or drives you insane with it’s sonic clanking depending on your mood.
It is the sort of music you would not want to be locked in a lift listening to but in the brilliant art space of The Dock recently, it made perfect sense; given freedom in a big room it worked, a clockwork banana backdrop which made you look and feel with fresh eyes.
With an increasing market for soundtrack music our Shaun is definitely on to something.
Shaun Blezard is one of a number of local musicians who are able to reinvent themselves, having played bass with country and western band The Clementines and indie pop outfit The Peach Thieves - he appears finally to have found his own voice with this collection of offbeat electronica.
Vague Recollections on Lost Highway holds more complex meanings than many local rock and roll bands and is a sign that Furness musicians are starting to branch out and find their own voice rather than follow trends
manassas membership
shaun blezard - loops, field recording, audio manipulation, guitar, bass, keyborads, mandolin, programming
john hall - loops, vocals, guitar, hoover, melodica, spiritual guidance
ali rigg - vocals, guitar, programming
ben cornwell - guitar, bass
matt cowe - guitar
dan fox - percussion, loops
tom curwen - guitar
jay the juggle - guitar, bass
kate davis - loops, poetry, voice, field recording
ann wilson - vocals, voice, poetry
neil armstrong - guitar
mr tranter - vocals
ian raybould - voice, percussion
Played some gigs around the morecambe bay area, now plying under the guise of clutter
scanner, four tet, the orb, sigur ros, godspeed you black emperor, boards of canada, stephen vitiello, ultra red, tape beatles, vibe cathedral orchestra, lee perry, william burroughs, butthole surfers, philip glass, brian eno, momolab, low, spacemen 3, sun ra, kraftwerk, 3d tanx, king tubby, miles davis, flaming lips, super furry animals, amp studio, sonic boom, spectrum, syd barrett, skam, warp, homelife, dr phibes and the house of wax equations, audiobulb, thinner, clutter, acid burp, 1000 aeroplanes crashing in the night
now recording as clutter, check out - clutter (uk)/a