Writer Emily Doyle / Photographer Jess Whitty
We live in heavy times, and so heavy sounds are called for. You want squalling guitars? Sledgehammer drums? Acerbic vocals? A ludicrously noisy cover of Peaches’ opus, ‘Fuck The Pain Away’? You want DITZ.
Well, Lottie Canto did; the local collage artist created this piece as soon as they got home from seeing DITZ at the Hare and Hounds back in March.
“I tried to capture the effortless but dark coolness of the show.”
DITZ’s first LP, The Great Regression, came out last month on Alcopop Records and it’s ten tracks of mangled, fuzzed up post-punk. A twin attack of chunky guitars and primal drums call to mind Fugazi or Sonic Youth, while glitched out processing gives it a hyper-pop tinge. (Lead singer Cal Francis is on record as being a big SOPHIE fan.)
In late March DITZ brought their abrasive sound to the Hare and Hounds. Venue 2 was already packed – on a Monday night as well – when local post-punks Mutes kicked things off, followed by a barrage of high powered grunge from ones to watch Total Luck.
For Canto, DITZ’s performance is riveting: “To hear an album you recently listened to for the first time, played so well, is a real pleasure,” they said, reflecting on the show afterwards.
Canto’s artwork is varied and they undertake everything from electronics to photos and websites. They also regularly self-publish collages under the alias Eliminating Ghosts.
Canto’s collage work is typically black and white, as is the case with their DITZ piece. Yet, strong splashes of colour are still reserved for select pieces with particular moods.
Canto takes analogue and digital pictures of specifically vintage magazines (in the case of the DITZ piece not so vintage mediums) and creates mood provoking collages. They were quick to publish their artwork in relation to DITZ, uploading the collage to their page the next day. Which is unsurprising considering the performance DITZ gave not so long ago.
Frontman Francis spent most of the set turned away from the crowd, secure in the knowledge that DITZ had their undivided attention. Drummer Jack Looker was the real star, holding the whole band together with relentless, math-rock precision.
The band conjured swells of noise from the sea of pedalboards at their feet, and Francis wandered into the crowd every few minutes, piling the microphone lead on top of their head like a crown of thorns. So, it makes sense that inspiration was quick to strike local artist Lottie Canto.
For more of Lottie Canto’s art visit www.lottiecanto.com or their Eliminating Ghosts blog www.instagram.com/eliminatingghosts
Check out DITZ here www.ditzband.com
For more on the Hare & Hounds visit www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk