Issue 49 / October 2014

Bido Lito! October 2014 3
Editorial
I was trawling through Sky Movies the other day and I stumbled across a film I’d never heard of
before called Disconnect, and I decided to give it a whirl based on the précis: “Technology causes
several lives to intertwine with terrible consequences in this compelling drama.” Though I wasn’t in the
mood for much brain exercise, I settled in with it, not expecting to last too long before nodding off. The
story soon split into three different threads following a variety of characters, all running fairly parallel
to each other, and regularly overlapping. Each character’s storyline slowly unspooled, with the plot
based around their various interactions with each other on an assortment of communication devices: a
reporter engaging with a chat-room stripper via a webcam; a prank Facebook Messenger conversation
between students in the same high school; an identity theft chase that leads back to an online support
group discussion. Without being overt, the drama was left to play out in these conversations, leaving
you to wonder where they’d meander. It also brought you in really close to each of the stories, but in
a weirdly cold way. There was little in the way of conventional scenes, actors acting and exchanging
dialogue; instead, the camera was frequently trained on the actors’ faces, blue-lit by the glow from their
laptops, computers or mobile phones. As the text of their various conversations ticked across the screen
in the space over their shoulders, we were left to watch their reactions. It soon became an engrossing
piece, as we almost remotely and voyeuristically watched emotions play across faces as the plotlines
spiralled into ever-weirder territory.
By the time it came to its inconclusive and slightly clumsy denouement I was far past nodding off,
and was struck by the detached intimacy of the way each character had slowly become consumed
by their communication devices. They had also, indeed, become disconnected from their own lives
as they rolled on about them. Perhaps inevitably it made me think about the way I interact with
the variety of ‘social’ networks at my fingertips, and how ingrained each one has become in my life.
Though I’m sure I could survive without Instagram (hmmm…), I’m not sure how I’d cope without the
ability of instant communication. Take this issue for example: three of this month’s features were
set up and agreed upon over Facebook Messenger, while another one was largely done via a text
message conversation. Direct line obtained, information exchanged, job done. But why did I still feel
a little guilty doing it that way?
One thing that Disconnect did leave me to ponder was how all-encompassing our relationship
with social networks can be. It’s easy to get lost in the maze of possibilities that Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram (and whatever else you waste your time on) throws up. Via status updates, links to
songs, liking articles, retweeting words of wisdom, and carefully selecting what photos we’re ‘tagged
in’, each of us who engage with social media is (perhaps unwittingly) building an avatar of ourselves
that we want the rest of the world to see. I see it as like the “residual self-image” of the characters
in The Matrix: a projection of how we see ourselves – or, even, how we want others to see us. People
are so aware about online self-promotion today that I sometimes wonder if they even bother what
someone else thinks.
Of course, it’s all about control. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in micro-managing the small things
of our “residual self-image” that we forget about the bigger picture. We forget to open our eyes and
experience the world happening around us. In Ralph Ellison’s book Invisible Man, the title character
says, “life is to be lived, not controlled”; I’d agree with that, and I’d raise you Tyler Durden (to Tyler
Durden) in Fight Club – “just let go”.
In this I’m reminded of a beloved friend, Yasmin Jones, whose pure nature was to throw caution to
the wind. “Fly away like a butterfly” was a favourite saying of hers; for this, and much more, she will
always be remembered.
Christopher Torpey / @BidoLito
Editor
Features
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
GULF
TEAR TALK
AMIQUE
LIVERPOOL MUSIC WEEK
PEAKING LIGHTS
SILENT CITIES
GOD UNKNOWN
Regulars
4 NEWS
24
PREVIEWS/SHORTS
26
REVIEWS
Bido Lito!
Issue Forty Nine / October 2014
bidolito.co.uk
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Editor
Christopher Torpey - chris@bidolito.co.uk
Editor-In-Chief / Publisher
Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk
Reviews Editor
Sam Turner - live@bidolito.co.uk
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Luke Avery - info@luke-avery.com
Proofreading
Debra Williams - debra@wordsanddeeds.co.uk
Words
Christopher Torpey, Craig G Pennington, Patrick
Clarke, Phil Gwyn, Jack Graysmark, Laurie
Cheeseman, Josh Ray, Richard Lewis, Alastair
Dunn, Maurice Stewart, Dave Tate, Laurence
Thompson, Paddy Hughes, Josh Potts, Paul Riley.
Photography, Illustration and Layout
Luke Avery, Jack McVann, Chris McCoy, Gareth
Arrowsmith, Robin Clewley, Jordan Abraham,
Brian Roberts, Sam Wiehl, John Johnson, Glyn
Akroyd, Stuart Moulding, Adam Edwards.
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views expressed in Bido Lito! are those of the
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