2011 Most Played

Server problems continue to plague Optical, but fear not. There is still the podcast to be enjoyed.

Here are the Odd Girl Out top five most played artists of 2011:

1. AGF
Incredibly prolific, with numerous solo and collaborative releases, expat German wordsmith/musician Antye Greie had another sparkling year. I particularly recommend her poetry-inspired Gedichterbe.

2. Jude Cowan
A London-based multi-threat, Jude came into the studio to play live and we hit it off immediately, going on to collaborate on a short film cycle. In addition to the remix version of her William Blake project, she produced a stream of improvs based on news stories.

3. Planningtorock
W was my favourite album of the year and numerous remixes also did the rounds, courtesy of Janine Rostron's Berlin-based alter ego.

4. The Dark Shadows
The Sydney trio released some limited edition vinyl and finished up the year with an EP, 11:11, in two different versions.

5. Rebecca Clamp
The Helsinki-based British folk artist also visited the studios for a chat to discuss her latest album, The Keys to the City.

Here is a video from one of AGF's projects, Beatnadel.

AGF: Beatnadel 2011, Introduction from agf Pro on Vimeo.

Technical difficulties...

Looks like the server problems are persisting, so no show today and perhaps not on Sunday, either. Curses!

This week's repeat: show five

After server problems disrupted last week's show, I am hoping show five will go out as planned this week. This show from November 2009 features an interview with Bettina Köster and a feature on The Slits.

Here is Bettina performing her cover of "Femme Fatale".

This week's repeat: show four

Show four features interviews with artist Verena Kyselka and Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Fraser.

Here is a video for "Half Gifts", one of Liz's most revealing lyrics.

Odd Girl Out podcast 1

Here is a sampling of recent interviews and encounters with arty folk in highly condensed form. This may be a regular or occasional feature. Guests are Jude Cowan, Jasmina Maschina, Carol Morley, Susie MacMurray and The Dark Shadows.

Odd Girl Out podcast 1 by Val Phoenix

This week's repeat: show three

Still in autumn, 2009, show three featured hot-off-the-press-interviews from the London Film Festival with directors Shirin Neshat and Jane Campion, as well as a little Berlin set, featuring a chat with Gudrun Gut.

This is actually a reconstructed version of this show, as the original was destroyed after it was recorded.

Here is the trailer for Shirin Neshat's film, Women Without Men.

Women Without Men Trailer from Transmission Films on Vimeo.