Following its triumphant sold outness back in February 2022 the annual Good On Paper Party returns once again for its seventh outing on Saturday 4th February 2023 across three venues in the centre of Stroud -the Sub Rooms, Tomari-Gi and Weven…
First launched in 2016 the GOP Party (not the American one…) acts as a fundraiser for Good On Paper; a local arts and culture publication (long live the printed word) whilst bringing forth a hoard of artists, musicians, DJ's and more to celebrate the vibrant, creative scene which Stroud is increasingly becoming renowned for. As well as championing all things local the magazine also brings performers from further afield to join the line-up resulting in an eclectic mix of live music, art and spoken word.
- Doors: 18:00 (bars + exhbitions at the Sub Rooms and exhibition at Weven)
THE SUB ROOMS - MAIN STAGE
Each month Good On Paper invites local musicians, DJs, venue owners, festivals, promoters and artist friends to curate a 34 track playlist for their readers and for vol.7 the lineup has been pulled from these virtual mixtapes which includes a headline set by genre-crossing Scottish composer and producer Anna Meredith (Emily Hall’s Playlist, Issue 87), London born now Stroud dwelling multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and producer Cosmo Sheldrake (John Best’s Playlist, Issue 73), Japanese musician and visual artist Yama Warashi (the Prince Albert’s Playlist, Issue 65) and the Stroud and Bristol based folktronica duo Orbury Common (Jazz Stroud’s Playlist, Issue 84)…Stone Club founded by artists Lally Macbeth and Matthew Shaw will also return to Stroud for a DJ set from West Penwith, Cornwall following their appearance at Hidden Notes Festival in September 2022 this time also joined by local all female Morris Dancing side Boss Morris.
ANNA MEREDITH
Described by Pitchfork as ‘one of the most innovative voices in British music’, Anna Meredith is a genre-crossing composer and producer whose work straddles the worlds of contemporary classical, art pop, electronica and experimental rock. She was awarded an MBE for services to music in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. After building an established career in the classical world and releasing two critically acclaimed EPs, she released her much-anticipated debut album, Varmints, on Moshi Moshi Records in 2016. The critical response saw 4 and 5 star reviews across the board from the likes of Wire, Sunday Times, Uncut, Q Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, DIY and the coveted Best New Music on Pitchfork. As well as being Loud & Quiet’s Album of the Year, Varmints also won the 2016 Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award. In 2019 she released the Mercury Prize nominated follow-up – FIBS – to critical acclaim once again, being named Electronic Sound’s Album of the Year, featuring in Pitchfork’s Best Experimental Albums of 2019 and the New York Times, alongside many other End of Year lists including Loud & Quiet, Paste, Stereogum and receiving 4 and 5 star reviews across the board. Anna’s band of virtuosic musicians sees her joined by guitar, drums, cello and tuba, They have spent the last 6 years touring the globe including sold-out headline shows at EartH, ICA, The Scala, Oval Space and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as well as appearances at Glastonbury, Latitude, Transmusicales, SXSW festivals. 22:30 - 23:30
annameredith.com
COSMO SHELDRAKE
Cosmo Sheldrake is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from London. He collects and plays a variety of instruments, from the bass clarinet to the banjo. The music he makes with them, inspired by and often incorporating field recordings and natural soundscapes, is essential listening for anyone interested in hearing truly unique new sounds. Cosmo released his first single ‘The Moss’ in 2014, which was followed by the ‘Pelicans We’ EP in 2015 and his debut album The Much Much How How and I in April 2018. He collaborated with Bernie Kruase at The Great Animal Orchestra exhibition at Foundation Cartier in Paris and in 2019 he released a series of Wake up Calls, pieces composed entirely from recordings of endangered British birds. He has toured internationally, composed music for film and theatre, and in 2015 he ran a community choir in Brighton. He releases music through his own label Tardigrade Records. 21:20 - 22:00
cosmosheldrake.com
YAMA WARASHI
Yama Warashi is the vision of Yoshino Shigihara, a Japanese musician and visual artist whose past projects include cult favourites Zun Zun Egui (Bella Union), of which she was a co-founder. Inspired by Japanese folk dance, free jazz and tribal African music, and heavily saturated in psychedelia, Yama Warashi’s songs are lyrically outlandish and charming, melodically addictive and mythical; the band name translates from Shigihara’s native tongue as “small childlike mountain spirit”. 20:10 - 20:50
yamawarashi.com
ORBURY COMMON
Orbury Common is more than Bristol and Stroud-based musicians Josh Day-Jones and Emlyn Bainbridge. It’s a place rooted in their collective imagination, a warped parallel to our own world, with its own strange cultures, customs, landscapes and landmarks. Of their new EP, the pair say: “This record is an imagining of how the traditional ‘dance’ music of Orbury Common would sound: songs to accompany ecstatic ceremonies and strange, fire-side customs. It’s a bleary stumble through the nightlife of Orbury Common and aims to draw parallels between ancient rituals and raves, between holy temples and the dancefloor. It explores the primitive and visceral impulse to dance, and imagines scenes of communal frenzy, flailing limbs and vague humanoid shapes partaking in warped, beat-driven worship in the dark…” 19:00 - 19:40
STONE CLUB
Recreating prehistory since 2021…
Founded by artists Lally MacBeth and Matthew Shaw, Stone Club was set up as a place for stone enthusiasts to congregate, to muse and most importantly to stomp to stones. Stone Club believes the journey is as important as the destination and encourages people to pause and think about place in new ways; connecting ancient sites through community and conversation aimining to bring new perspectives to prehistory in a collaborative and inclusive way. Follow Stone Club through the prehistoric portal and find yourself transported through music and film to Ancient Britain. In 2022 they performed at various festivals including Green Man, Sea Change, Camp Good Life and Hidden Notes and joined he Mercury Prize nominated Gwenno on her UK tour. For the GOP Party Stone Club will be spinning tunes from around the world from folk to electronica with visuals from their homeland in West Penwith, Cornwall. 00:00 - 01:00
stoneclub.rocks
BOSS MORRIS
Boss Morris is an all female Morris Dancing side that sprang up out of the five valleys of Stroud, Gloucestershire in 2015. The twelve-strong group of dancers now regularly hops and performs across the UK with their unique take on the traditional English Folk dance. Boss Morris is an eclectic group of professional performers, dancers, musicians, artists and a horde of magical beasts who create tailored performances for vibrant and exciting events. Boss is well known by folk and artistic communities alike, with audiences and fans from far and wide. Alongside building strong roots in their local community and the wider folk scene, Boss also work extensively with prominent artists and musicians; touring and performing with bands, featuring in music videos and performing at music festivals.
bossmorris.com
TOMARI-GI DJ SESSIONS
Across the road at Tomari-Gi; a Japanese Kitchen and one of Stroud’s most popular eateries/hubs, there will be a series of DJ sessions in their intimate upstairs space featuring sets by one of Stroud’s independent record shops Klang Tone Records, former radio producer and now Senior Director of Mixcloud’s Creative team Xanthe Fuller, music author/lecturer Ben Wardle (author of Mark Hollis: A Perfect Silence), Jazz from the High Priest and Keep It Cosmic a new duo featuring Kaoru Blackstone and Mat Blythe with more tbc…
Klang Tone Records: Klang Tone Records’ Sean Roe will play a set drawn from his collection of Japanese Records - mixing Jazzy beats, Anime Soundtracks, Psychedelic Pop, ritualistic shaman chanting and Angsty Enka - all stirred together in a hot pot of Nippon flavoured Weirdness. Toe tapping and gentle swaying of the hips will be encouraged! 22:00 - 23:00
Xanthe Fuller Xanthe is a long time music lover and maker of mixtapes. Her clubbing days started in jungle raves and hip hop nights around London until music became her career. For a while she was a radio producer for BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and 6Music and these days she’s Senior Director of the Creator team at Mixcloud. Until recently she hosted a monthly radio show on Soho Radio playing more genres than should be squeezed into a 2 hour set including anything from disco, to balearic to dub. 23:00 - 00:00
The High Priest: Stroud based DJ and Jazz connoisseur the High Priest (aka Derrick McLean) presents a tribute to the late great Pharoah Sanders...20:00 - 21:00
Ben Wardle: Writer and former A&R, Wardle will be playing from a teetering pile of 7"s, many of which you will recognise and start humming along to. You may eventually throw caution to the wind and wave your hands in the air ...21:00 - 22:00
Keep It Cosmic: A Stroud-based audio-visual extravaganza duo, balearic house DJ Mat Balearic and visual and performance artist Kaoru Blackstone. Mat's soulful and eclectic sounds with Balearic vibes spiced up by Kaoru's trippy visuals and earthy handdrumming will take you on spiritual journey...00:00 - 01:00
WEVEN - EXHIBITION/FILM SCREENINGS/Q&A’S
Opposite the Subs and just a few doors down from Tomari-Gi Stroud’s Folk Arts Cooperative Weven will be hosting an exhibition featuring ten different artists, film screening with Lally Macbeth and Matthew Shaw from Stone Club and Q&A’s with artist Ben Edge and morris troupe Boss Morris all held in their brand new space which opened in December last year.
- Please note space is very limited for the Q&A’s + film screening so we suggest you get there early to secure a seat!
GLOAMING
In the midst of some of the gloomiest days of the year let us revel in the dusk and early black. We will bask in the sun's decline and wallow in its weakness. Embrace the Gloaming…
Gloaming is a group exhibition ft works by Alex Merry, Ben Edge, Daniel Sparkes, Georg Wilson, Huhtamaki Wab, Kate Merry, Lily Cheetham, Milligan Beaumont, Rhian Harris-Mussi and Ruby Kester, the first to be hosted by Weven in their new multi-purpose venue in the centre of Stroud. Their shop and workshop space will be transformed into a gallery displaying a combination of painting, drawing and sculpture, with a night of talks and films curated especially for GOP vol7 party ft Ben Edge and Stone Club with workshops running throughout the week in support of the central exhibition. Gloaming will be the moody little sister to 'Estival', Weven's first group show which celebrated the height of the midsummer sun and the joy that its strength can bring. Gloaming will be a brooding and short lived exhibition which celebrates these murky grey days, perhaps lacking light and warmth but still providing comfort in its caliginous blankets. 18:00
BEN EDGE IN DISCUSSION WITH BOSS MORRIS - TALK + Q&A
Ben Edge is an artist, songwriter and folklorist, who over the past 7 years has been obsessively painting and documenting the seasonal folk customs of the British Isles. In 2021 his ‘Frontline Folklore’ series was exhibited alongside, Simon Costin’s ‘Museum of British Folklore’ collection at the Crypt gallery of the St Pancras new church, in an exhibition titled ‘Ritual Britain’ that attracted over 10,000 visitors with extensive media coverage and viral exposure across social media. Ben is currently working on his latest series ‘Children of Albion’ focusing on contemporary folklore practices of Britain, which will feature a painting and film of Stroud’s very own all girl progressive Morris Dancing side, Boss Morris. 20:00
STONE CLUB - SCREENING
A selection of films inspired by the ancient landscape, performance and magic; from megaliths in Kernow to mythical creatures in Cymru…Let Stone Club take you through the portal to Ancient Britain! 18:30
THE SUB ROOMS - GEORGE ROOM
Downstairs in the George Room Good On Paper Covers Exhibition also returns featuring the works of Alex Merry (Gucci, Boss Morris + album covers for Shirley Collins, Sam Lee and Trembling Bells) , Joe Magee (the Guardian, Time Magazine, Bill Bailey), Rosalie Day, Imogen Harvey-Lewis, Emily Joy, Eleanor Harper, Mark Levy, Dan Rawlings and Adam Hinks (Hidden Notes, Good On Paper) who created brand new, bespoke art for the covers of the magazine from March 2022 to Feb 2023, issues 82 to 93.
New for 2023? Steal This Exhibition…Alongside the covers a collection of artworks, posters, photographs and images amassed from the last seven years of the magazine. Prints from previous exhibitions, ltd edition risographs, photos from GOP Parties, lineup posters from events put on by Good On Paper which ticket holders can unpin/unstick/rip off and take home with them, changing the exhibition as artworks disappear from the walls…
THE SUB ROOMS - BOX OFFICE
Busking In the Box Office! Didn’t make the line-up? Here’s your chance to play the GOP Party. Head downstairs for Busking In The Box Office - a take over of the Sub Rooms ticket selling, merchandise room. No buskers licence required (we are in Stroud afterall), backline provided just bring your A game. Music, spoken word, poetry, comedy…And for the audience? Well you might just catch something that will be your next favourite thing. Could be shit, could be great. And for a good cause - a buskers hat will be present raising money for the Trussell Trust.
REFUNDS:
UNFORTUNATELY PURCHASED TICKETS AND BOOKING FEES CANNOT BE REFUNDED. WE RECOMMEND YOU TRY AND PASS THESE ONTO A FRIEND/FAMILY MEMBER OR VIA TWICKETS. PLEASE NOTE WE ADVISE YOU NOT TO BUY TICKETS FROM STRANGERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AS MOST OF THESE ARE FAKE, CANNOT BE VERIFIED AND WILL NOT GIVE YOU ENTRY TO THE EVENT.