It’s very early :AM on Wednesday 27th February and I can’t sleep. I have trouble switching off at the best of times but tonight my head is especially busy. So I’m lying there not sleeping, listening to John Williams film scores, playing through images from the day before in my head trying to process what just happened to me…

12 hours earlier on Tuesday I’m in Trafalga Square and I’m bear hugging Sam Fisher. He’s one of the other artists from Noise Festival’s 2006 showcase and we’re lined up in Noise hoodies with the other ‘all-stars’ holding placards of our artwork for a photo shoot to promote the 2008 campaign. We’ve got a lot to get through before our launch party starts at Number 11 Downing Street so we should be focusing but all the two of us can do is chat raw comedy and perve on hot tourist girls. We’ll be at this all day in different locations; security guards will keep harassing us, the photographer’s frustration with London red tape will grow and I’ll keep getting hit in the face with my wooden placard because the wind is strong and I’m not.

Now I’m outside the black gates of Downing Street catching up with Annabel, the woman who first got me to submit my work to Noise and I’m losing my cool. I thought I’d be all aloof and unaffected by it all, I thought I’d remain fashionably cynical but history is coming off the walls and seeping through my parka. I’m about to go as an invited guest into a place that has literally decided the fate of the world, probably on more occasions than any of us will really know and I don’t know what to do with myself.

Radial screen wipe to me dodging Gordon Brown’s kids (or were they Alistair Darling’s?) on the stairs of Number 11 as I’m geeking out over the vintage wallpaper and the framed political cartoons hanging on them. Then I’m getting my wine on in the State Drawing Room surrounded by expensive suits and ties, torn between admiring the gold and black lacquered antique Chinese cabinets or the don-like cool of Wayne Hemmingway as he cuts through pretension with his speech. He passes the mic on to the Noise Artists. I just about keep myself together through Bradley Philip’s speech but half way through Leah Capaldi’s I freak out. What am I doing here? I’m too short to be in this room! Is this what Frodo felt like at Elrond? Leah finishes and I look around at all the Noise artists applauding along with me and it hits me who they all are; they’re ambassadors, representatives, role-models for creative youth… and I’m one of them. I start to feel a little taller.

The rest of it is a montage of photo opps and handshakes and fantastic shoes, hot solicitors and perfect clutch bags and people I’ve only ever read about in the Guardian over the shoulder of some office worker on the 192 bus. Badly Drawn Boy is showing me pictures his kids drew as we parlay about Stockport’s hat museum while Vengeance Cru spit bare grime lyrics in the corner. You couldn’t write this shit better.

As the party finally comes to an end I sit down for the first time of the night on a chair in the hall of Number 11. I catch myself staring at the collection of mobile phones left for safe-keeping on the front-desk, marveling that none of them have been stolen yet and then I hate myself for being impressed by the absence of petty crime. Badly Drawn Boy leaves by the front door and shouts to me ‘keep up the good work mate!’ ‘Yeah, you too mate!’ I shout back in a voice a few notches too loud because of the free wine and I think… is this my life now?

Jump cut to me and artist Jessica Emmett speeding back to Euston in a taxi with Denise Proctor from Noise Festival and I’m racing my mouth off. I can’t stop talking. I keep thinking of the bike ride at the end of E.T and ‘Champion’ by Kanye West and the rollerbladers from Eastern Bloc countries who send me their friends’ rap songs to make up for not quite knowing the English for ‘thankyou, you inspire me’. I’m looking at London at night speed by, high on the power of Whitehall and the mischievous thrill of wearing a FRSH fitted hat, a hoody and Glow Dunks in front of MPs who already knew me as ‘2hands’. It’s dawning on me that I got here because of pencils, I feel like a hero, none of it will fit in my head and I find myself wanting to know what the plural of ‘epiphany’ is.

So I’m in bed again, now at the beginning of the Superman Theme getting chills from the brass crescendo and then the bed starts shaking. Then the bedside table starts shaking. Then the room joins in. I realise I’m in an earthquake and become sharply aware that there’s a bookshelf above my face and I hope I don’t get 11 volumes of Blade of the Immortal on my head, or one volume of The 3 Musketeers, when something else hits me…

There’s a power in what we do creatively. This isn’t a job, it’s not an easy career choice recommended to us at the benefits office, this is power like steam, or chi or fission; it drives and sustains. It moves people and forces change and keeps us awake at night. It doesn’t come from government quotas or an A Level syllabus we generate it ourselves, we channel it, direct it, focus it and it carries us upwards on a spiral. The people at Noise Festival recognised this in all of us, probably before some of us did ourselves. For the past few years they’ve each worked the hours of two jobs with no help to make sure everyone else in the country recognises it too.

The after shocks fade, my bedroom starts to settle again and as the burglar alarms start to go off down the street I realise why I can’t sleep; it’s the power. A while back I doubted mine, I let people convince me it wasn’t there and slowly I started to forget I ever had it but Noise helped me find it again.

I can’t thank them enough.

-2hands

read more of Andrews Blog @ www.wonderfist.net

Guess Who Gave a Speech in Downing Street?
Yes that’s right kids,
I did.

And i had to stop half way through cause i was overcome with emotion.

NOISEFESTIVAL.com put me on at the Liverpool Biennial 06 and are re-launching their site for this year, they had a big publicity day which ended up with two NOISE artists giving a couple of speeches along with Wayne Hemmingway, Yvette Cooper (Chief Sec to the Treasury), Andy Burnham (Sec of State for Culture, Media and Sport) and my new esteemed friend Bradley Phillips.

I still cant believe it, we were walking around London with our publicity crew of cameraman and photographer and organisers and people were jumping out of cars taking photos of us,,,maybe we'll be in next weeks heat magazine. haha. 

It was seriously unbelievable.

Then we ended up in No. 11 Downing Street with Norman Rosental, Tim Marlow, Stella Vine, Badly Drawn Boy and Danny Brown...but to name a few of the hundred people I met that night.

You stand there in a room full of people you read about in Frieze with your expensive wine that you actually really ENJOY drinking and it hits you...

I can actually make a difference, I mean a big difffernce. Look at all these people who believe in me.

And since then I’ve been walking around like i own the world.

 I feel like it's all mine.

xxxx

P.s.

Big shout out to my fellow NOISE artists i met on mon. You all made the experience ground shaking ( like the earthquake later on) . Looking forward big time to hooking up with you in the future.

Massive thanks to www.NOISEFESTIVAL.com. Art friends submit your work and wait for what happens. It's these peoples job to give you the exposure you deserve.

 Photos and speech to come.

On the day that Maoists seem set to join the Nepalese government, Fire on the Lifeboat highlights the role the internet has in maintaining freedom of expression.

Why Nepal? Two reasons:
 

i) Nepal’s situation is one of the political issues of our time. Engage with the world and inform yourself about the climate you live in politically, socially and artistically – the world is a small place. If you are to become relevant in any way to whichever field you choose to pursue, an interaction with the issues of the day are essential.

ii) The range of information. The internet plays host to a realm of opinions, documents, fictions and facts – none or all of which could be accurate. For instance, take at look at Nepalgov and FreeNepal, two websites dealing with the same country and conflict in vastly different ways. Blogging is at the forefront of the push for freedom of information. Radio Free Nepal is a simple, free blogger.com site that can be established within five minutes. And yet, as the blog claims, Radio Free Nepal is one of the only sources of news from within Nepal that is not censored by the monarchy. This interview with one of the authors provides a fascinating insight into its operation.

However, as this fictional blog piece warns, beware of anything that claims to be the truth. There are no facts, only versions of events. However, along with a healthy dose of cynicism, the internet and its spectrum of information is one of the most vital tools in remaining balanced and informed about local and global situations.

So, some advice: Establish a blog, read everything, write something.

(And in the meantime, while you wait for the submission of your new political blog to upload to noisefestival@hotmail.com, investigate the Irrepressible campaign and pledge your support against political censorship on the internet.)

Contributed by Fire on The Lifeboat

The roots of portrait painting are to be found in Prehistoric times, but it came to really flourish as a prominent art-form in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The early twentieth century saw the artists’ portrait repertoire expand even further and, despite a fall in popularity towards the middle of the 20th century, portrait painting has once more undergone a revival at the start of the new millennium.

Eduard Castells NOISE space provides an excellent example not just of how far the portrait has come but also of how the internet is now being used to showcase art,. Taking the Dalai Lama, The Phantom and a wide range of characterised animals, Castells applies a unique touch to an age old process.

His NOISE showcase features a series of caricatures, portraits and studies of a wide range of subjects from superheroes to hipsters to misfits. Pictures of alienation, friendship and vice abound, but one thing really stands out in Castells’ work: personality and character. Idiosyncrasy and individuality shines from each picture, providing us with figures who all have a story.

The narrative aspect of Castell’s work grabs the attention; whether it’s the lechery of sweetheart, the uptight comedy of senhora, or the pathos of bighead, these are beautiful caricatures that have been brought to life by the artist’s talent. Castells shows himself to have a fine grasp of a variety of mediums, experimenting with pencil sketch delicacy as well as refreshing swathes of colour. The artist’s digital collages add an entirely new dimension to his work also, ensuring that he walks an expert line between Marvel comic-art, Picasso’s portraiture and Photoshop kitsch.

Contributed by Fire on The Lifeboat

Seeking to exhibit the very best in young British talent, NOISE blog will serve to communicate, inspire and entertain with a new series of posts highlighting some of the best submissions received by NOISE alongside links to some of the most innovative and challenging online work the web has to offer.

In addition, NOISE blog will keep you informed of all the latest festival happenings, collaborations and events all the way up to the October 2006 NOISE media showcase.

Blogs are the literary medium of the 21^st century. Democratic, functional and unlimited in scope, blogs can be used to showcase art and fiction, host music files and pictures, offer political comment and journalistic insight, or simply act as a filter and hub for information and links. It’s the perfect way to exhibit your talent and signing up for an MSN space couldn’t be easier.

Submit your noise space to noisefestival@hotmail.com and keep checking NOISE blog to see if your site is featured. Remember NOISE festival has no preferences. If you are under 25, creative, and are able to present your work digitally then it is you we are looking for!

Every savvy girl knows that careful accessorising is the key to a sensational outfit. A well placed jewel or scarf can transform an otherwise ordinary ensemble into catwalk chic.

And let us not ignore the efforts of our British boys who are becoming increasingly enlightened to the world of accessorising. Gone are the days when a watch was the only item which would be considered acceptable. Bracelets, chains and scarves are now staples in most mens' wardrobes.

However accessories can also sound the death knoll for style. Remember the horrific plastic jewellery phase? It is truly cringe-worthy to recall the hoards of people walking around draped in illuminous plastic and I shamefully admit that included myself.

With such an important role in the fashion sphere, the design and creation of accessories is somewhat underrated. Of course, we all know about the big designers; most of us are walking around with a fake Louie Vutton bags after all. But sadly, among young, inexperienced designers, accessories often take second place to clothing.

As a passionate accessory lover, I am determined that the Noise Festival will change this trend and unleash a new force of accessory designers for the 21st century.

Here are a few potentials:

PurpleRhian has an extensive collection of beautiful jewellery. The designs are a modern twist on traditional ethnic jewellery. Have a look at Coiled leaf Pendant, which is a skilfully crafted leaf shaped frame, containing delicate green beads. Many items are made with silver, including BaliSilverandAmazoniteBangle. This stunning bracelet sets gorgeous turquoise stones in an elegant silver framework.

22 year old Claire from London also designs quirky accessories. Her collection, consisting mainly of bags and purses, shows she has a keen eye for detail. Check out Dark Pink princess Clutch. This red clutch purse has a delicate lace handle and is detailed with tiny felt birds and rabbits. Autumn Clutch is another great creation, made with floral material and ribbon.

Pearl World has a collection of stunning jewellery which combines pearls with other beautiful stones. This designer has a truly innovative style, transforming the ordinary string of pearls with brightly coloured stones and beads. Take a look at G2250, which is a long necklace of pearls and coloured beads. The large green stone at the base converts an ordinary pearl necklace into a rare and beautiful piece of jewellery.

In a world overwhelmed with identical cheap, tacky accessories, these unique designs are truly refreshing and undoubtedly Noise material.

But don’t take my word for it, take a look and let us - and them - know what you think!

Chloe x

“If music be the food of love, play on” wrote William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night.

In my opinion Mr Shakespeare was bang on the mark with that one. Music and love are often interchangeable, even in the impersonal, dog eat dog world of 21^st century

Britain. Music feeds love and love feeds music.

With such an important influence on the well-being of our hearts, it therefore seems criminal that it is only now that I am considering the talented musicians Britain has to offer, and for that I apologise.

Without further delay, I present to you K8, a 24 year old Londoner who has been making sweet music for 4 years.

K8’s incredibly unique sound lays catchy pop melodies over a combination of rock and dance music. The additional electronica element which features in most of her songs further enhances her originality.

The release of her latest tune Splash brings her total number of singles to 4. Splash is a toe-tapping little gem, with catchy lyrics and hair raising guitar riffs. K8’s pleasantly rocky singing style makes this number and must for your CD collection.

As if that’s not enough, her other 3 singles are equally memorable and I guarantee you’ll be humming the melodies after just one listen.

I know It’s You, her first release, is incredibly infectious. It contrasts soft, lilting, dido-esque melodies in the verses with a strong, electronica chorus. The result is a refreshing and original track which is crying out for clubland.

The net is teeming with talented music makers and I apologise, (again) for not including more of them. However, I was so impressed with K8 that I decided to dedicate an entire blog to her. But I promise to return to music very soon.

K8, you go girl! Get yourself involved in Noise, and let the rest of Britain share your wicked sound.

Chloe x