TRMW Archives

* Hello there! You've stumbled onto the archived bloggage of TRMW aka The Real Matt Wright (wait... who?). This site contains posts from my stints blogging at Metempsychosis and Urban Honking, before I moved TRMW over to it's current home. Enjoy!

April 18, 2002

Safely back in London now, and the weather is superb. Good thing too, because after all the sun I saw in Italy and Greece (I’m super tan now), the usual greyness would have been hard to come back to. Greece was amazing. Do you, theoretical reader of my web page, want to know more? Well, read on!

Athens: Very strange mix of Western Eurpean urbanity and quasi-third-world trashiness. In a good way. Somehow ended up there at the right time to see my old London favorites, Warp Records, work some magic at this geekfest/rave thing called BIOS02 (I told you it was geeky). Richard Devine and Prefuse 73 were the only Warp people there, and although their respective musics have never really turned me on, I thought they both put on great shows. I especially liked how the former got all crazy, gratuitous signs-of-the-beast included.

Santorini: This is one of the Greek Cycladic islands. It is also one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my short life. The whole thing used to be a huge volcano, which exploded leaving a crescent shaped island centered around the it’s now-rubble-ish volcanic remains. Add picturesque little cliffside villages, amazing sunsets, and loads of blooming wildflowers to this, and you’ve got something really special. Loved it.

Delphi: This was the rural part of the Greece tour. Delphi’s claim to tourist fame is that it contains the ruins of the temple where the Oracle (of Delphi, duh) used to reside. Pilgims from all over Greece used to make pilgrimages (like pilgrims often do) to have her tell their fortunes. So, yeah, those super old pillars and rocks were pretty cool to see. The real highlight was the amazing scenery. The town is nestled up in Mount Parnasos and overlooks a huge valley leading to the Gulf of Corinth. The goats I saw, complete with quaint sheperd boy and man, really completed the pastoral paradise vibe of the place. Nice.

And, sigh, now I am back in London. Just got some cheap new clothes at a “sample sale” right by my school, courtesy of these people. Twenty pounds for a sweatshirt and a t-shirt. Not too shabby at all. Now… about that crappy Differential Equations homework…

View Comments • greece • raves • warp records

April 4, 2002

Just completed a two day ferry voyage from Venice, Italy to Athens, Greece. As I type this, I still feel a very stong sensation of floating on the ocean, and it’s kind of sickening. This combines with the fact that I can’t read anything written in Greek, and can only speak one word (yalas = hello). All in all, things are a little wierd right now, but only in the best way. I have friends who are also visiting Greece right now, who I managed to meet up with given only the name of their hotel. I am a travel master! Oh yeah, if I need to say this: I am having bucketloads of fun.

Books I read on the ferry:

Difficult Loves by Italo Calvino : Set of short stories by wonderful Italian author. Gets really nice in the section on “Stories of Love and Loneliness”.

This is It by Alan W. Watts : Really insightful Zen-influenced philosophical musings.

View Comments • alan watts • books • greece • italo calvino

March 17, 2002

Just wrote a really long, thought-out summary of my weekend to put up here, but somehow the internet flipped out on me and it has disappeared into the digital ether. We both lose out, and I feel really frustrated. So, let’s just say: dancing lesbians, robotic cocktail waitresses, a naked Irishman, beer, clubbing. Goodnight.

View Comments • london

March 11, 2002

Just found out that Metempsychosis has lost it first member. Yes, Daniel Burzynski aka Contax has left our ranks, due to time constraints and such. Sad to see him go, but he is always with us in spirit. Of course, I could call him up on his mobile right now, since he resides in London, but that would just kill the drama, wouldn’t it?

This week finds me slip-sliding away towards my magnificently long three week Spring Break. I will be visiting friends in Italy, France, and Germany. I have some pretty worldly friends, don’t I? Very much looking forward to that. In the meantime, I will be trying to rid myself of this cold I seem to have come down with. Sadly, this may mean sleeping at normal hours and drinking less. What kind of a life is that?

On the music front, I have many new sounds in the pipeline for you all (yeah, that’s right all of you!) to hear, but, with no internet connection at home, who knows when these will find their way online. Just so you know, I have done two remixes of the Zelda theme song, one remix of “Blue Penumbra” by Satori, and a new original creation in a very chill dowtempo, dubby style. Working title: “Aquatic Railway Jazz”. Keep those ears peeled!

View Comments • c0ntax • metempsychosis

March 2, 2002

Waking up in Canterbury, the sun is incredibly bright coming through the big square window. It pleads with us to wake up, but we resist, clinging to dusky noontime sleep. I finally wake up, and lazily finish off a book I have been reading (Tunnel Visions by Chistopher Ross, pleasant read). After one of the most soothing low-pressure showers I have had in a long time, I type into this machine and recount the very mellow events of the day thus far.

I am visiting a very old friend, Sierra Fisk. It’s really good to see her again, and the sun is shining. Today feels good.

View Comments • canterbury

February 27, 2002

“Matt my friend,
To the bitter end,
with hair that smells like spice,
and an ass that is oh so nice,
With a chest like a barrel,
and a spirit that’s ferral.”

That is by my dear friend/soul brother/boyfriend (is that incestual?) Fred Holman. He is an English major!

View Comments • poetry

February 21, 2002

Mmmmmm, life tastes pretty good right about now. Just got back from Saint Pauls Cathedral, and my what a gorgeous building that is. Climbed up all 500,000,000 steps to get to the top (or as close as I could) and looked down on the vast expanse that is London. Wonderful views, probably the best you can get in the city. Also enjoyed the colorful mosaics that were put up by Queen Victoria and her posse (probably more her posse than her really). Worth a visit for sure.

In other news, I recently made a wee visit down to the lovely (I think England makes me want to use words like “lovely”…. also “quite”) city of Brighton, had some great nights out courtesy of Mr. Scruff and Warp Records, and ate a banana. You can see some pictures from these events (save the banana eating event) in the pictures section. The picture right above this is from the Warp event where, among other things, I met the legendary Aphex Twin. And the funny guy (the one with the glasses, not me) in the pictures section is none other than Metem‘s very own Contax. And what a nice guy he is.

Yesterday I read some articles about how weblogging (you are reading a weblog right now) is dominated by people who crave attention and feel a strange compulsion to document their lives to strangers. I suppose I fall into that category, don’t I? Why should anyone care about my life? But wait, that argument would have us believe that all art and communiction is a waste of time. As human beings we love to connect to each other, however possible, and many of our inventions are used specifically for this (like the internet). So there, I have justified the above ramblings. I’ll give myself a pat on the back and exit the computer lab. Thanks for indulging me.

View Comments • afx • blogs • c0ntax • london • mr. scruff • warp records

February 12, 2002

Excitement! I got a call from BBC Radio today, and it seems that they are interested in training me in thier studios, where I would be helping to create thier various radio programs. They were impressed by things I have done in the past, like my continuing participation in the (admittedly wondrous) Metempsychosis project, and my work on the board of KLC Radio in Portland. They will be hiring sometime within the month, at which point they will call me, so that I can begin the application process. This kind of work is right up my alley, and I am buzzed as all hell about it. Wish me luck!

View Comments • klc radio • london • metempsychosis • the bbc

February 3, 2002

Still having a great time in London. Today was probably my first day that was just about normal. I just did some wash and hung out, feeding myself when necesary. Had some great fajitas thanks to two cool guys named Ryan (yeah, both of them), and worked on my nearly completed remixes of the Zelda theme. Sadly, I am not sure when you, the public, will get a chance to hear those, since I have no internet access at home, and no CD burner. And you’ll have to excuse me if this page gets updated a little less, as my life is just way too cool to type into this screen everyday. Doesn’t that sound snotty. Well, it is. Nah! Ehehehehe.

View Comments • london • music making

January 25, 2002

I have now safely landed in London and I am beginning to settle in. I have a very cozy little flat that looks out on a community garden and what I believe is one of the towers of Westminster Cathedral. As I type I am in an internet cafe on Merylebone Street. Tonight I am celebrating the birth of a certain Daniel Burzynski aka Contax at a pub in Hoxton. Life is suddenly not at all boring. Quite to the contrary actually. Wish me luck as I begin to get my bearings.

View Comments • c0ntax • london