Not Applicable

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Not Applicable started in 2002 when the electronic duo Icarus decided to temporarily take on the complete production and release of their own music, enabling themselves to draw a line as freely as possible under periods of musical experimentation by producing a publicly available document. The label itself served as a platform independent of industry dictated procedures, where it was possible to publish work simply and distribute it locally.

The first releases (2002's 'Misfits', 'Soviet Igloo' and '8 minutes') were predominantly experimental in nature and attempted different solutions at packaging in order to reduce overall costs. With the limited coverage they received, owing to vastly scaled down distribution and publicity, these releases could safely be described as underground, aiming primarily at delivering a form of continuity in Icarus's constantly evolving sound world. The internet proved a useful ally to the cause and 'Misfits' gained a degree of classic status in electronic music circles, which ultimately resulted in the duo signing to the Leaf Label in 2003. Post 'I Tweet The Birdy Electric' (Leaf 2004) and its associated accolades, the Not Applicable theme was picked up again to present further sonic evolutions in the form of 2005's 'Carnivalesque', whose packaging consisted of recycling discarded album art from old promo CDs.

The label and the list of cohorts has since expanded as the musical ideas pushed further. 2006 saw the duo working their way from the underground, independent, commercial music world in which they started working, into improvised, academic and research circles, offering different points of view on music and culture. The result of this exposure has led to a set of innovative electro-acoustic collaborations who's documentation has started with the Tom Arthurs and Ollie Bown Electric Duo EP and looks set to continue with releases combining Isambard Khroustaliov, Lothar Ohlmeier and Maurizio Ravalico. 2007 will also see additional touring of the Not Applicable artists with the help of PRSF funding.

(Biography Last updated 17 November 2006)

Latest 8 releases by Not Applicable

‘Nowhere’ by Lothar Ohlmeier + Isambard Khroustaliov

Release date 24 March 2008
CD In Stock £10.00 buy

Over the last few years, the combination of electronics and improvisation has steadily gained momentum, with a number of collaborations between electronic musicians and improvisers coming to light. In the spirit of an approach adopted by Spring Heel Jack's Ashley Wales and John Coxon with 2001s 'Masses', Fourtet's Kieran Hebden ... [more]

‘Explications’ by Arthurs.Høiby.Ritchie

Release date 24 March 2008
CD In Stock £12.00 buy

This exciting trio features three of the UK’s most sought after musicians, Tom Arthurs, Jasper Høiby and Stuart Ritchie. All have their own separate projects but came together as Arthurs.Høiby.Ritchie in 2005.

Their debut album, Explications is simply one stage of what promises to be an exhilarating and ongoing journey for ... [more]

‘5 Loose Plans’ by Isambard Khroustaliov and Maurizio Ravalico

Release date 3 December 2006
CD In Stock £8.00 buy

This recording is a document of the first meeting between Maurizio Ravalico and Isambard Khroustaliov; an exploration into the sonic potential of metric freed percussion and real-time electronics in the context of free improvisation.

The duo take advantage of acoustic sound at its richest and most varied in terms of timbral ... [more]

‘Rubik/Compression/Vero EP’ by Tom Arthurs & Ollie Bown Electric Duo

Release date 16 October 2006
CD In Stock £5.00 buy

'4 stars' Jazzwise (February 2007)

Tom Arthurs and Ollie Bown, have been working together since January 2004, united by common interests in electronic and improvised music and the aim of devising fluid and emotive improvisations between instruments and computers. Predominantly live and experimental, their music receives its first recorded exposure in ... [more]

‘Carnivalesque’ by Icarus

Release date 15 September 2005
CD In Stock £8.00 buy || 2CD In Stock £10.00 buy

Special Offer!

ICARUS CARNIVALESQUE + MISFITS PACKAGE

Icarus Carnivalesque + Misfits for £10 – click here for more information

As Ollie Bown and Sam Britton delve further into their respective academic persuits... (Ollie is currently half way through a doctorate in evolutionary simulation at London's Goldsmith's College, while Sam is packing his bags to spend a year studying composition at IRCAM in Paris), Icarus, their somewhat suppressed collective alter-ego, ... [more]

‘8 Minutes’ by Isambard Khroustaliov

Release date 3 August 2002
CDR Out Of Stock

"I want abstract pop songs, I want to be played in McDonalds"

So go the aspirations of Isambard Khroustaliov. And while there are syndicates of people in Western Europe rallying to bring the hamburger institution to the ground, it seems that Eastern Europe has a much more amicable relationship with such ... [more]

‘Misfits’ by Icarus

Release date 10 July 2002
CD In Stock £8.00 buy

Special Offer!

ICARUS CARNIVALESQUE + MISFITS PACKAGE

Icarus Carnivalesque + Misfits for £10 – click here for more information

Ollie Bown and Sam Britton produce their fourth long player after 2001's 'Squid Ink' (Output Recordings). The result of too much moving house and not enough continuity, 'Misfits' is a minimally-arranged mini LP made with two laptop computers in a vacuum. The artists were not present and neither was the ... [more]

‘Soviet Igloo’ by Icarus

Release date 18 February 2002
12" In Stock £5.00 buy

Soviet Igloo (it's a mix of vodka and polar bear milk) is strangely new material from Icarus, following on from their last full-length album 'Squid Ink' and setting the scene for their next, 'Misfits'.

Benevolent Incubator: a mellow blend of 3, 5 and 7 bar basslines,1, 3, 4 and 6 bar ... [more]

Browse all releases by Not Applicable

Latest News

NOT APPLICABLE: Appliances @ Scooterworks, London

4 March 2008

APPLIANCES

Not Applicable hosts a monthly night; Appliances, on the first (or sometimes second) Thursday of every month at Scooterworks. Presenting new experiments in electronic and acoustic improvised music and inviting different guest performers each time. Scooterworks is an elegant secondhand moped dealer and cafe serving the finest coffee, cocktails and nibbles in the UK, for which you can thank Fifi.

Guests for Appliances #4 on March 6th 2008 are Matt Yee-King and Finn Peters. Matt ... [read full article]

6 Nights of Experimental Music and Electronic Sounds at the Shunt Lounge

29 May 2007

6 Nights of Experimental Music and Electronic Sounds at the Shunt Lounge

June 13-15 and June 20 - 22, 2007

13: Unsound experiments by Goldsmiths EMS, details tba.

14: Ben Drew, Phil Durrant, John Lely, Sebastian Lexer & Mattin; Tom Arthurs & James Allsop

15: Assembly; Icarus ; Badun ; Karsten Phlum ; Eg0

20: Evan Parker, Marcio Mattos & John Edwards; Rhodri Davies, Ross Lambert & Matt Samson; Seymour Wright, Ben Drew ... [read full article]

NOT APPLICABLE Artists and Interlace+Ongaku:enjoy_sound

26 October 2006

Shunt presents:
Not Applicable Artists and Interlace+Ongaku:enjoy_sound

8th - 10th November 2006 :
Installations by Susanne Dietz, Mischa Twitchin, and Britt Hatzius and Fred Labbe

Thursday 9th November :
19:00
David Casal
Interlace+Ongaku:enjoy_sound present
Tom Chant, Ross Lambert, Sebastian Lexer, Mat Milton, Jamie Coleman, Mark Wastell, Seymour Wright, AMM
(The INTERLACE concert series are kindly supported by the Electronic
Music Studio, Goldsmiths College)

Friday 10th November :
19:00
Olivier Pé
Not Applicable Artists featuring Ollie Bown, Sam Britton, Lothar Ohlmeier, Maurizio Ravalico, Tom ... [read full article]

ISAMBARD KHROUSTALIOV (SAM BRITTON of ICARUS) live

18 July 2006

Scooterworks UK , in collaboration with Not Applicable presents:

THE ASYMMETRY OF THREE
new collaborations in improvised music

Wednesday 19 July 2006
7:30 pm - entry £5, includes a drink
(Kir and Pastisse will be served with an appetizer)
at Scootworks UK, 132 Lower Marsh SE1
tel 020 7620 1421
tube: Waterloo

Isambard Khroustaliov – feed-back/feed-forward electronics
Maurizio Ravalico – percussion, found objects
Lothar Ohlmeier – bass clarinet

On the evening of the 19/7 will be ... [read full article]

OLLIE BOWN (ICARUS) live

12 May 2006

The Tom Arthurs and Ollie Bown Electric Duo will be performing a short set as part of the Creative Cyborgs event at the Dana Centre Dana Centre , organised by Blip on the 16th of May. They'll be presenting new material based on recently developed performance software. The performance will be accompanied by projections by Squint and Brittski as the first part of a funding commission from the Lighthouse in Brighton.

The ... [read full article]

ICARUS news September 2005

20 September 2005

1. New Release - Carnivalesque

We're pleased to announce the release of Carnivalesque our latest long player since 2004's I Tweet The Birdy Electric. You can read more about the release, listen to tracks from the record and watch a film to one of the tracks here: http://www.icarus.nu/automatronic/media/carnivalesque.php

Also, Colin Buttimer, writing for the BBC had this to say about it: http://www.eleventhvolume.com/reviews/cds/files/icarus_carnivalesque.html

_________

2. Live dates and Tour information

30th September 2005
Live at ... [read full article]

ICARUS live

15 February 2005

ARg! presents Where Is The Love? Here Is The Love at Hugo's Amazing Speaker Palace, Hackney, Friday 18th February...

Synopsis: Affably uncouth dancable mashup on 18th, with visuals.

In the way of visual projections - 16mm flickerbeams and celluloid scratchings by four quite well-known people: brittski, dc, squint and lalalalalala.

Featuring the Icarus Love Life Set. Motto: "If you're lucky" [see updated www.icarus.nu ]

Plus Dark and Lovely DJ activity from:

Sticky Balls Of Rice:
Congratulations must ... [read full article]

ICARUS and Blurt live

12 July 2003

Wednesday 16th July
Union Chapel Studio
Compton Terrace
London N1 2UN

www.unionchapel.org.uk/location.php

In an unprecedented assault on the senses, ICARUS support BLURT at the Union Chapel for a further twist to the genre bending mayhem both bands are capable of unleashing.

BLURT have over 20 years played in almost every country in Europe including, as they disappeared, Yugoslavia and East Germany, and as they gained their independence, Poland, Hungary, Bratislava and Russia, simultaneously thriving on the threat of anarchy ... [read full article]

Sam Britton of ICARUS live event

31 May 2003

Thursday June 12 & Friday June 13
Hoxton Hall, London, UK

In turns angry, frustrated, analytical and satirical, but always in awe of the absurd manifestation we call human society, the works of Daniil Kharms (1905-1942, Russia) bring to the front of our collective consciousness a final, desperate image of the human condition itself: a well oiled machine driving insatiably towards the edge of oblivion.

'In Kharms Way' presents a snapshot of this reality, animated and reconstructed by ... [read full article]

ICARUS mini-tour

30 June 2002

To celebrate the release of the new LP - 'MISFITS'

4th July - SMALLFISH, LONDON
8pm, FREE, 372 Old Street, London, with support from Sola Adesina (no bar but, you can bring your own beer, etc.)

13th JULY - WORM INTERFACE FESTIVAL, KENT
details TBC

21st JULY - MISO, GLASGOW
doors open 6pm, 2, The basement @ The Captain's Rest, Great Western Road, Glasgow, near St. Georges Cross underground, limited places.

27th JULY - KOSMICHE, LONDON
doors open 8:30pm, 6/5, Upstairs ... [read full article]