Project X Presents
The network was centred on Rich Batsford, Marc Reck, Anne-Marie Pope and Ant Ramm,[1][2][3] who become friends during shared participation in various creative endeavours including the Fierce!
The first event, held at the Epic Skate Park in Moseley, on 8 July 2006, 18 months in the planning and named Like Fxck in recognition of its ambitious and seemingly improbable nature, ran for six hours with performances running continuously on three different stages and a sell out audience located in the space created in the middle.
Performers included The Destroyers a 13 piece gypsy klezmer band who participated in an ‘aural fight’ with pop/punk outfit Koala Grip, stand up comedian Reginald D. Hunter,[1] pianist/composer Rich Batsford, DJ Marc Reck,[7] electronica composer Iain Amstrong, Jazz duo Ralph Allin and Jadie Carey, VJ Chromatouch, an experiment using sound frequencies to physically affect the bodies of the audience,[8] singer/songwriter Richard Burke, Unterwelt, a physical theatre troupe created specially for the event including actress Lucy Holtom, actor Adam Skerrett and performance manager Chris Skerrett,[9] a world music ensemble and techno belly dancers.
[14] The Birmingham Post called it "an intelligent and unique show destabilising the established role of the 'spectator' in performance theatre and drawing you in to an impressively eclectic and complex mix of art forms.
[15] The smaller of two events in 2008, held at Concrete, in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, on 22 February, included an audio/visual performance from VJ Chromatouch and the genesis of the Object X team who created a series of interactive art installations.
A performance from pianist Rich Batsford was transmitted in real time to the venue from Adelaide University via the internet and the music also featured experimental electronica from Steve Loopz and indie pop from Shana Tova.
[16][17] The Digital Dystopia event on 13 September 2008, explored the darker side of the digital revolution including the threats of CCTV, ID Cards and online tracking with music including Subsource (live breakbeat, rave, metal), ambient DJ Mixmaster Morris,[18] ska band 360, romany punk from Daz and Anne from Mamamatrix, downtempo electronica from Arc Vel and burlesque pop from Lil Ms Vix Buzzfox aka Vix from 1980s rockers Fuzzbox.
[19] The "Object X" (David Checkley, Paul Kent, Richard Hubbard) group produced a number of hand held synthesisers nicknamed 'buzz boxes' which were distributed around the audiences to enable them to take part in the event as well as a whole room full of futuristic artistic installations and an entrance piece designed by Tony Coleman and created by Paul Kent in which audience members were interrogated by a virtual "Big Sister" entity.
Images devised by VJ Chromatouch were projected onto two dancers wearing white who had been led to a captive space by cyborg ushers in a scene inspired by Science Fiction film THX 1138.
[24][25] Some of the events took place outdoors including a mobile projection unit powered by a car battery and mounted on a wheelchair which was created by Liam d’Authreau (Blend) and operated by Paul Kent and Charlie Machin.
