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It’s the last episode of the first season of Calculating Infinite Tees, but we have an excellent guest to round it off in the form of polemic punk poet provocateur Meryl Streek. His new album, Songs for the Deceased, is released 25th October through Venn Records and it is essential listening.
The show discussed was from American underground hardcore band Gag, at Astoria in Vancouver, Canada on 2nd April 2017. Issues at the Canadian border prevented their vocalist from playing the show, which led to a unique show where devoted fans took turns on the mic so that the Gag gig could go ahead.
Talk inevitably turns to the variety of harrowing events Meryl Streek is raising awareness of through his music, his residency in Vancouver of 8 years, and, believe it or not, Chumbawamba.
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This week, Remfry and Simon sit down with Helen Tytherleigh, bass player for Hundred Year Old Man. Helen's shirt pick takes us to a monstrous five band tour from 2010, topped by Veil Of Maya, but the shirt in question was sold by the opening band, Volumes.
As well as talking about the things that are happening in the HYOM camp, we talk about the birth of the UK tech-metal scene out of tours like this, Helen's involvement in core team organising Tech Fest, and switching from playing technical prog in her previous band to post-metal with HYOM.
Remfry wasn't as deeply involved in the Tech Fest community, so Simon and Helen bring him up to speed, and the wide-ranging conversation also dips into onstage confidence, the experiences of being a woman in a (still) male-dominated scene and plenty more besides.
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On this week's episode, we welcome Erhan Alman, from the British metal band on everyone's lips Heriot on the cusp of the release of their full-length debut album, Devoured by the Mouth of Hell. If Carlsberg did metal album titles ...
Erhan picked a show from one of the UK's premier math-rock acts, Oxfordshire based trio TTNG, from the 15th December 2011 at the historic Thekla venue in Bristol. TTNG (or as they were known then) had three years previous released Animals, an album that is often regarded as one of the best math-rock albums of all time. Their fluid clean guitar licks are some of the most melodious and technically impressive in the whole genre, which is perhaps why Erhan picked up the tablature (that's sheet music for all you non-guitar players) to that very album. Yes that's right, for one week, we are Calculating Infinite Tabs (© Simon Clark 2014)
We delve into Erhan's love of all things math, discuss the rich history of Thekla (which, if you're unaware, is a motherfucking boat!) and try to wrap our heads around the absolute guitar wizardry of TTNG six-stringer Tim Collis.
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It’s the second part of our chat with Asher and Sam from Portals promotions, chatting all things Portals Festival, including the remaining two choices of their favourite sets from the festivals’ past (shout out to Jambinai and Maybeshewill, plus lots of general waffle and chit-chat about the UK post and math rock scene as a whole, including fantasizing about bands long gone that would be a shoe in to headline Portals Festival.
There’s a bunch of great Portals-hosted gigs happening in the upcoming weeks. Here’s info and links to them
Overhead, The Albatross / Codices / Million Moons
Wednesday 25th September, The Lexington
Bicurious / A-Tota-So / Mount Forel
Friday 18th October, The Lexington
Alpha Male Tea Party / Poly-Math / Lost in the Riots / Tough Glove
Saturday 2nd November, Downstairs at the Dome
Portals Festival 2025
Feat. Brontide / Mouse on the Keys / Cats and Cats and Cats / The Fierce and the Dead / The Brackish / Oavette / Fly Fly Triceratops + more to be announced
24th & 25th May, EartH Hackney
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In the first of a two part special, Remfry and Simon speak to Asher Kenton and Sam Festenstein about London-based promoters Portals and their annual festival celebrating the cream of the post and math rock crop.
Sam and Asher both highlight two sets each from Portals Festival history, as well as discussing the genesis and inner workings of promoting shows to a dedicated but niche audience.
Portals is very much a passion project, so we've given Sam and Asher plenty of time to be passionate about it. This week, there's chat about Mclusky and Human Pyramids, and plenty more along the way.
https://www.portalsrock.com/home
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For the second half of our reggae themed week, Remfry and Simon settle in with Alex Hurst of Boss Keloid for a relaxing chat about a show in a historic Manchester venue by dub reggae pioneer and singular lunatic Lee Scratch Perry.
We dig deep into Alex’s love of reggae, take a wander through Lee Scratch Perry’s intimidatingly huge discography, Alex tells us about his direct interaction with the man himself, and of course we spend some time talking about Boss Keloid’s magnificent t-shirt offerings, too.
As those of you who have listened to the Patreon episode earlier this week will know, Simon has been desperate to talk about reggae in more depth. Together with Alex, they lead Remfry on a little voyage of discovery through the history of a genre that many rock and metal fans are unfamiliar with, but may well find much to enjoy.
Lee Scratch Perry & Subatomic Sound System - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)
O.B.F & NAZAMBA - THE GROOVE
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On this week’s episode we’re talking to Liam Knowles, bassist and one of the vocalists with Hidden Mothers. Recently signed to the brilliant people at Church Road Records, the band are due to release their debut album Erosion/Avulsion on 29th November and it’s a proper belter too.
Liam’s pick is a particularly special one as it was the first indoor show he took his son Issac to see. A 10-year old legend with impeccable taste, Issac asked his Dad to take him to see Foxing on 24th January at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. Liam recalls the night and shares some very special memories through the eyes of his son, and as a bonus, we also have a post episode interview with Issac himself who recalls his experiences. BACK TO ME BON BONS!
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On this episode, we talk to Rory Friers from Northern Irish instrumental legends And So I Watch You From Afar on the cusp of the release of their new album Megafauna, a tribute to their home town and the places and formative experiences that influenced their lifestyle growing up. Rory’s pick of show is from cheeky chappie britpop sensations Blur at King’s Hall in Belfast on 21st November, 1995. This was prime britpop mania, with the infamous ‘battle of Britpop’ occurring just a few months before the show, with Blur’s Country House single piping Oasis’ Roll With It to number #1 274,000 copies to 216,000. The show Rory attended was in support of 4th full length album The Great Escape, 1 date from a mammoth 10-date UK and Ireland tour.
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It’s Part 2 of our look back to ArcTanGent 2013, the very first edition of the festival , with James Scarlet and Gavin McInally from 2 Promoters 1 Pod and on this episode, we take a deep dive into the highlights from the Friday and Saturday of that inaugural event. Some of these bands still remain a regular part of ATG line-ups, others are sadly no more. Sets from Baby Godzilla (aka Heck), Poly-Math, The St. Pierre Snake Invasion, The Physics House Band, Humanfly, Manatees, Winterfylleth, Bossk, Rolo Tomassi, Earthtone9, 65DaysofStatic, Cleft, Arcane Roots, Three Trapped Tigers, Nordic Giants, And So I Watch You From Afar and Fuck Buttons are all discussed and dissected.
Our theme was written by James Sherwin. Check out his EP on Bandcamp here
ArcTanGent 2015 - Cleft vs Alpha Male Tea Party riff medley
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This week, we wander away from our regular format to bring you the first half of a special double-episode spectacular, taking a long, loving look at ArcTanGent 2013 with none other than ArcTanGent organizer James Scarlett and Damnation head honcho Gavin McInally.
The pair have recently been spilling all kinds of secrets on their thoroughly entertaining podcast 2 Promoters 1 Pod, and as there was a Damnation-curated stage at this inaugural edition of the festival, it seemed ideal to have them both along for a four-way chat.
For both Remfry and Simon, ArcTanGent is a – possibly THE – mandatory festival every summer, and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to reminisce about what made ArcTanGent 2013 such a memorable and important weekend for us, as well as find out a little more about what went on behind the scenes while we were out enjoying the music.
In this first part, we talk about the origins of ArcTanGent as a festival, how Gavin became involved, the site layout, and the pros and cons of the original Arc stage. We round off this episode talking about the single stage of bands who played on the early bird Thursday. And if you remember what happened at the end of that Thursday night, you probably want to listen to the end.
For the second half, we dig deep into the our thoughts, feelings and memories of the bands featured across the two main days of the festival. So expect plenty of talk about Earthtone9, Nordic Giants and Baby Godzilla, among many others. But you’ll have to wait till next week for that.
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On this week's episode, we welcome guitarist Claire Genoud from Industrial Metal band GLYTSH. Despite forming in 2022, the duo have already achieved airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Total Rock radio, as well as playing support to Brass Against on a six-date tour across the UK. Remfry was so impressed with Claire's unorthodox approach to guitar, he wrote a feature about her for Guitar World, which you can read here.
Claire picks a show from Swedish melo-death metal pioneers In Flames, at legendary London venue Brixton Academy. A formative band in her appreciation of metal, Claire tells Remfry and Simon how she and her siblings became obsessed with the band growing up in a remote area of Switzerland, as they discuss a show that took in songs that stretch across their entire 35-year career.
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This week we invite Matt Sutton from Industrial Noise Pop trio Tayne to throw a stadium-sized curveball at Calculating Infinite Tees to, in the form of one of legendary pop sensation Lady Gaga's London dates of her Chromatica Ball tour in 2022.
It's fair to say that, outside of the hits, neither Remfry nor Simon are at all familiar with the Gaga oeuvre, despite her dominance in the mainstream music world in the 2010s/20s. Matt gently guides our hosts through a world of extravagant fashion, boisterous dance routines and a grandiose show that can rival any music event put on in the world today.
Aided by the recently released HBO Concert Special filmed at the Los Angeles date of Gaga's Chromatica Ball tour, we ultimately discover much to love about Gaga's message and vision, finding some surprising parallels to the heavy music which is our natural habitat.
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On this episode, Remfry and Simon speak to Joe Clayton, mastermind behind Manchester-based post-rock collective Pijn. They discuss the writing and recording behind Pijn's latest masterpiece From Low Beams of Hope and how they've made road-testing new material live a creative part of the writing process, with some songs debuting in the set years before a recorded version is released. Joe has also produced many records from his base at No Studio, including albums by Wallowing, Tuskar, Mountain Caller, Din of Celestial Birds, Hundred Year Old Man, Leeched, Wode and many more.
Joe's choice of show is an early outing from Oathbreaker in Manchester during their tour for their second album Eros|Anteros, a show which he is able to give a unique perspective on as he was one of the people that helped put the Manchester date on.
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For the second preview of what will be our Patreon episodes, we’re talking about Simon’s choice of Faith No More at the Camden Roundhouse, for two nights in June 2015 on the Sol Invictus tour. Remfry was also in the room for the second show, even if he was up in the balcony and Simon down on the floor – which seems pretty on-brand for both of us.
Faith No More are a truly foundational band for Simon, and these two shows give us plenty of opportunities to talk about three full decades of being a fully subscribed Mike Patton fanboy, as well as watching a band that, for some time, seemed like they were never coming back.
Along the way, we’ll be talking about some of Simon’s very earliest encounters with alternative music, touch on the great ‘sitting at gigs versus standing at gigs’ debate, Remfry enthusing over support band Rolo Tomassi, a spectacularly nerdy setlist comparison and a conversation about the patchy success of comeback albums. Among other things.
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Remfry's first Patreon pick is a monumental show from 2002 seeing System of a Down touring Toxicity, an album that has entered the modern metal pantheon as an undisputed classic. At this point, SOAD were untouchable and after the tour had to be pushed back 4 months due to the devastating Twin Tower attacks, anticipation was immense to see the LA alt-metal quartet on their first UK date since Toxicity's release. As a bonus, they also brought New Jersey's The Dillinger Escape Plan with them, who it must be said went over the majority of the crowd's heads (including a 17-year old Remfry) but would one day emerge as a band dear to him, as well as inspiring the name of this very podcast. Simon attended the same tour and is on hand to reminisce on his memories of one of the band's Brixton Academy shows in London a few days later.
Follow our Patreon Page for incoming updates on how you can sign up for more Calculating Infinite Tees content.
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It's the first episode of Calculating Infinite Tees and we are honoured to start the ball rolling with Karl Middleton from prestigious alt metal legends Earthtone9.
Karl has lent his considerable larynx to Earthtone9 since 1998 and in a period of just 4 years, released three albums of blistering progressive hardcore that cultivated a modest yet devoted fanbase, of which both Remfry and Simon are very much a part of. Earthtone9's hiatus in 2002 left room for Karl to explore other musical projects (The Blueprint, Twinzero, Blackstorm ... all excellent by the way) before Earthtone9 reformed in 2010 for a few sporadic shows and a new album, IV released in 2013.
But with their latest album In Resonance Nexus the band sound more fired up than they have done in years, a savage record that keeps one evil crawling eye on the past, whilst simultaneously laying foundations for the band's future.
Karl picked an immense bill for us to discuss, a triple punch of Neurosis, Converge and Amenra which he witnessed whilst living stateside in Detroit, Michigan and produced a mighty fine collab tee for us to coo over too.
In Resonance Nexus is available now and we heartily recommend you pick up a copy
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T-Shirts play a vital role in the eyes (and on the body) of the average underground music fan. In an increasingly digital world, they are tangible, just as a concert is a tangible physical experience in a shared space. For musicians trying to make ends meet in a world where recorded music garners little to no financial pay-off, t-shirts and other merchandise are a vital source of revenue. For many fans, purchasing these ‘tees’ is both a gesture of support and an important part of their identity. The right t-shirt worn in the right place will act as a beacon to the like-minded, drawing them in like moths to a flame ... if moths liked to talk about riffs anyway.
For the past 25 - 30 years, Remfry Dedman (The Independent, Metal Hammer) and Simon Clarke (Heavy Blog is Heavy, The Monolith) have between them watched thousands of bands at hundreds of venues around the world. We've been to a lot of shows, and at a great many of them, we spent a little bit of money at the merch desk. The result is an embarrassingly large and unruly collection of shirts, hoodies, beanies, tote bags and more.
Alongside these two pillars of Economy and Identity, each t-shirt in our substantial collection carries with it something more personal - a memory. The overwhelming majority of the shirts in our collection have been bought at live shows and festivals. The band selling the shirt may have been the headliners or a support act. They may have been familiar favourites, or a brand new discovery at that very show. It may have been the first - or the last - show played with a particular member or the first time certain songs were heard.
Our aim with Calculating Infinite Tees is to explore and celebrate the phenomenon of being a fan, follower and participant in the world of underground music, principally through unlocking the specific memories lurking in the t-shirt collection of our guests. This provides the opportunity to talk about bands at particular stages in their careers, venues, support acts, or anything else which a specific shirt may trigger.
After spending around ten years writing reviews, we wanted to find a way to talk/write about music without it being music criticism. What we want to do is something closer to oral histories, celebrating the condition of being a passionate music fan, the places it can take you and the things you can witness or be a part of through it.
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