“JUNK ROCK TV” goes live
Dirty Films presents a travel docuseries directed by the creative powerhouse YOUTH HYMNS following the incredibly skilled LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER around four different cities (Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam & London) building peculiar musical instruments out of junk within a 48-hour challenge.
Each of the four episodes were released weekly to Look Mum No Computer’s 500k YouTube subscribers starting from Wednesday 7th September, with new episodes released every subsequent Wednesday evening, wracking up 180k+ views.
The trailer can be viewed HERE.
The “ROBOTO GUITARO” Barcelona episode is HERE.
The “WURST KEYBOARD IN THE WORLD” Berlin episode is HERE.
The “CLEVER CLOGS” Amsterdam episode is HERE.
The “ROYAL FLUSH” London episode is HERE.
Excerpts can be found HERE.
Check out Look Mum No Computer’s YouTube and Instagram for more.
The show follows LMNC (Sam Battle) searching each city for: junk shops, recycling centres, car boot sales, scrap yards, skips, flea markets, dumpsters and whatever else can be found on the street. Various musical and YouTuber guests appear in interviews and music-making sessions in their studios, hackspaces and community organisations giving us local and educational insights into the region and helping Sam reach his lightbulb moment when thinking about what instrument to make.
With environmental responsibility and the importance of recycling being a central theme throughout, the show combines Sam’s genuine love for junk with the thrill of rescuing bygone items destined for the landfill. The results: self-playing-audience-led acoustic guitars, a synth made of actual pork sausage keyboard keys, a tap dancing clog machine and a theremin made out of an old bog.
The mixed-media show itself retains the zany, DIY and punk rock tone Sam has established for his brand, but frames it within a fun docuseries format, complete with 2D animation, plenty of pranks and mishaps and learnings from the road. For existing fans of Look Mum No Computer, we see the return of Sam’s trusty animatronic mate Kosmo, who is called upon when the going gets tough and provides comical local knowledge or some wacky inspiration.
The challenge angle to the show sees Sam building the instruments comprised of scrap from each city in 48hours, visually explained by way of fun animations that break down the construction stages of his Junk Rock TV master plan, nodding to shows of the past like Scrap Heap Challenge (with tongue in cheek humour).
Contributors from across the series include Berlin-based cult synth artist Hainbach, Barcelona-based flamenco hero Pedro Javier Gonzalez, theremin specialist (and Granddaughter to the theremin inventor, Leon Theramin) Lydia Kavina, Amsterdam-based sound artist inventor, Fedde ten Berge, not forgetting our chorizo champion “The Sausage Man Never Sleeps” in Berlin… as well as local institutions such as Befaco (Barcelona), Common Ground (Berlin) and Red Bull Studios (London).
See below for a few online relations and stills from the show. For more information, please contact Ben Parkin, Executive Producer and co-founder of Dirty Films: ben@dirtyfilms.uk.
Series Credits
Written & Directed by Youth Hymns
Cinematography by Youth Hymns
Production Company – Dirty Films
Executive Producers – Ben Parkin & Alex Bedford
Producer – Mike Carr & Kristina Epenetos
Production Assistants – Edvin Dubrovskiy, Ryan Nuamah & Lucy Bilcock
Trailer Editor – Ella Scanlon
Appearances
Look Mum No Computer (Sam Battle)
Kosmo
Pedro Javier Gonzalez (Flamenco guitarist)
Manu Retamero (Befaco Representative)
Hainbach (Stefan Goetsch)
The Sausage Man Never Sleeps (Simon Ellery)
Vincent Cornelissen (Clogs expert)
Fedde ten Berge (Musican & inventor)
Lydia Kavina (Theremin performer)
Nervous Squirrel (Dave Cranmer)
Audio Engineer (Sam Houselander)
Post Production
Illustration by Russell Taysom
Editing, Audio, Animation & Colour by Youth Hymns
Original Music by Look Mum No Computer
Special Thanks
Oli Martin
James Davidson
Sabine Knoche
Daniel Strobl
Big Life Management
Sara Guastevi at The Museum of Music
Lluis Nacenta
Ugo Riboni at MADE Makerspace
Estrella Damm
Jose Miguel Garanto at The Curious Festival
Euro Flohmarkt Beliner Hofe
Kunst Stoffe
Erchinger Fleisch und Wurstmanufaktur
Wouter Jaspers at Koma Elektronik
Justin Kooijman at Wooden Shoe Workshop
Lisette Janssen
STEIM Foundation
IJ-Hallen Flea Market
Flagship Amsterdam
Sam Powell at Broken Bogs
Deptford Market
The Crypt
