Saturday night in central Newcastle upon Tyne and a small but hyper-committed audience is soaking in a 40-minute playback of melancholic space dub as it soundtracks a century-spanning montage of the north-east’s shipyards, estates, dancehalls and cafes. It is followed by an hour of blissful live ambient music from local duo Golden Shields, then a fearsomely intense set by the Newcastle-based Spanish singer-producer Laura “Late Girl” Stutter García which evokes minimalist composition, early grime and Björk all at once.
We are in World Headquarters, a venue in Curtis Mayfield House, every wall covered in portraits of Black radicals and musicians, anarchist and anti-racist texts, and an command to “love one another”. The event has been put together by Geoff Kirkwood, AKA left-field dance DJ-producer Man Power, head of community engagement for WHQ, and head of the label and promoters Me Me Me. He also played the opening set, under his Bed Wetter alias – a test run for a coming Royal Northern Sinfonia orchestral version, supporting the US ambient trailblazer William Basinski, at the area’s huge arts hub Sage Gateshead later this month.
