Sound & Vision: Alexander Nut

Our Favourite Musicians Pick Their Favourite Films

Film, much like music is subjective in nature. The tastes and interests of an individual often reflect their own environment and cast a great influence upon the rest of their creative life and its varying processes. As part of a new feature series upcoming over the next few months, we will examine the tastes of our favourite musicians and artists through the narrative of film. They will guide us through their thoughts, influences and beyond…

To start off the series, in our first edition we talked to Eglo Records frontman and NTS radio host Alexander Nut who brings us his eclectic selection of obscure films. These naturally span all the way from 70s kung-fu fighting disco tales, to documentaries about South Bronx stories of mambo and hip hop and the cosmic visions of Carl Sagan. Alexander Nut will continue his three-month long residency at Stour Space with the next date taking place on August 19th. He talks us through his selections below: 

Disco Godfather (1979)

This one is definitely my favourite Rudy Ray Moore flick, I love this movie. Much like his Dolomite character he plays another crime fighting ghetto super hero. Only this time he's a kick ass DJ and dancer too. There’s an Angel Dust epidemic in the community, and it starts to effect his friends (why Bucky… why!?!?!?) and the people in the club. The Disco Godfather has had enough. So he karate kicks every last motherfu%*er standing.. till there ain't no more angel dust left. Rudy Ray Moore financed the first Dolomite movies himself, with money he made from his self released comedy records, all specialist super X- rated stuff that you couldn't even get in shops at the time. He did it all his way… and that makes him a real life ghetto super hero in my eyes!  I brought this copy a few years back from a small specialist movie shop in Hackney. Shouts to Umit & Son!

From Mambo To Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale (2006)

I really don't understand why this incredible documentary by Henry Chalfont didn't get a proper release at the time of its making. It details the influence and similarity of Mambo and Nuyorican/Latin dance into breakdancing and b-boy culture. Neither the description or trailer does it justice, just find it and watch it. Amongst many others It features Ray Barretto, Celia Cruz, The Fania All Stars, Eddie Palmaieri and the most incredible footage of Tito Puente playing the park and going into some kind of jazz trance, really electric stuff. I managed to get hold of a copy of this after my friend featured on a panel at its premiere, super lucky at the time, though I believe it is now officially available on DVD. Must see.

George Clinton. Parliament Funkadelic. The Mothership Connection Live in Huston, 1976 (1998)

Seeing this one was a real turning point for me. I was already a massive fan of Parliament/Funkadelic. But when I saw exactly how it all worked together live it blew my mind. The level of musicianship, the energy of the band and the direction of the god George Clinton, it's seriously all on another level. The performance is from a show in Texas in 1976. Everyone is clearly high as hell, and somehow they manage to take the performance to an insanely epic place. That shit’s no coincidence, it’s an incredibly refined and well crafted show, with some of the best musicians to have ever graced this green earth. You've got all the original greats in there like Bernie Worrell, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and even Bootsy and Sly Stone make an appearance at the end. It's not particularly hard to get hold of this release online, so i recommend you go get yourself a copy. I remember one Christmas finding a whole batch of these in Fopp, so I brought every copy and gave it out to friends as presents! Xmas needs more P-Funk in it.

La Jette (1962)

Definitely the darkest choice on the list and not one I'll be playing on the night but La Jette by Chris Maker is truly one of the most brilliant things I have ever seen. This is one I found out about whilst studying film at college. Its only 30 minutes long and is made up entirely from still images. Its a really erie and haunting experience. Set in post-apocalyptic Paris it tells the story of a survivor and some scientists researching new ways to time travel. Its super bugged out and unsettling. Apparently this film was the inspiration for 12 Monkeys. 

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan (1978)

It was only a few years ago that I got put on the Cosmos TV series by author, cosmologist and astrophysicist Carl Sagan. It was actually remade and reinvented recently by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, his was called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which is dope too. The original defiantly has a lot more charm, all the old graphics and 70's animation looks great, and to top it off Carl Sagan seems like he was the coolest guy ever! The best science communicator there has been. Carl Sagan’s presentation is super smooth and relaxing in the same way that Bob Ross' The Joy Of Painting series is and all the imagery is really inspiring and trippy. On top of that it’s informative and you learn a load watching it. 

Alex Nut launched his residency at Stour Space on the 22nd of July. The continuing series of events sees him explore music and film. Next up will see him play alongside Andrew Ashong HERE.