Interrobang Interrogation – Aurora Engine

It’s almost time to journey into inner and outer space! INTERROBANG: Lost in Space?! blasts off tomorrow – Saturday, 29th April at 2pm, to be precise.

As evidenced by our Lost in Space Interrobang Interrogations, we’ve assembled something of a dream line-up. We’ve been mad keen to have the brilliant AURORA ENGINE on the bill since we were blown away by her at the Hidden Door festival‘s contributors’ party!

(3) Awesome dresses!
Things INTERROBANG?! love: (1) harps; (2) Aurora Engine

Aurora Engine is a harpist / singer-songwriter / electronic musician living and working in Leith. Originally from County Durham, she sings in her dialect – something between Geordie and Pit Yacker. Her live performances bring harps, loops, effect pedals, vocals and synths, woven together to create ethereal sounds. She has over 100 songs, some in her head, some in the cupboard at home and some on general release.

Aurora Engine loves the north, steam trains and the stars. Which seems fair enough, right?! You can find her at www.auroraengine.com and on the Tweetie Box @AuroraEngine.

And here’s how she answered our questions:

?!:  You’re packing before blasting off with the Interrobang Space Cadets. What item are you taking with you to represent the human race?

AE:  A harp of course! I have a flight case.

?!: Sitting on the launch pad, you feel like you’re starring in a sci-fi movie. What’s your favourite piece of science fiction?

AE:  Does Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind count? If yes, then that. If not, Batteries Not Included.

We'll have a cracking time!
Of course it counts!

?!:  Bring them both – it’ll free up packing space for Interrobang! As the Space Ship Interrobang pulls away from the Earth, you look down and see the curve of the planet. You play a piece of music to accompany this incredible moment. What is it?

AE: Samuel Barber’s Dover Beach.

?!: Matthew Arnold’s poem could hardly be more a propos.

?!:  The world lies before us like a land of dreams, indeed! When the track ends, you look down again and see home is a little blue marble. For some reason, you’re hit by a vivid memory of a time you lost something down there. What was it?

AE:  Probably my purse and keys.

Star Child! What have you done with my keys?!
Have you tried behind the bed?

?!:  Back on the spaceship, you’re looking forward to presenting a piece of poetry or prose or music to the weird-looking people you’re going to encounter with the Interrobang crew. Without being too spoiler-ific, what can you tell us about it?

AE:  It’s straight from space!

Thanks a lot to Aurora Engine for indulging the INTERROBANG?! Interrogation. We want to see your faces when you hear her, so come along to INTERROBANG: Lost In Space?! at The Biscuit Factory on 29 April (admission free, £5 suggested donation). Thanks!

UPCOMING: Lost In Space?! 29/04/2017

Hi, folks!

We enjoyed the INTERROBANG: A New World?! show so much, we wanted to keep shaking things up for the new show. So here’s the skinny on Lost In Space?!

Good luck with that!
#1: We’re banning Ricky from making ancient references.

Never fear, we have the traditional line-up of awesome writerly talent:

  • JL WILLIAMS joins us as her third collection, After Economy, prepares to hit the shelves?!
  • EVER DUNDAS, a writer specialising in the weird and macabre, should fit into the INTERROBANG?! vibe perfectly. Her first novel, Goblin, will be published in May. You can find out a little more about that here?!
  • CLAIRE ASKEW, Bloodaxe Books poet, writer in residence at Golden Hare Books, and Jessie Kesson Fellow 2017, is dropping a fresh new set. How exciting is that?!

As well as all that, we have the awesome AURORA ENGINE and MATT NORRIS bringing the choons. We’ve been angling to have them both in for a while, and having them both in the same bill is gonna be incredible!

But, wait! There’s more?! If you can’t take the Bing Crosby/Walt Disney joke again, we present an actual, honest to goodness comedian.

  • Beth had the good fortune recently to catch GEMMA FLYNN as part of the Dangerous Women Project, and knew we had to have her at INTERROBANG?! Gemma performs stand up comedy regularly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and is part of the alternative comedy collective Chunks, as well as host of the academic pop culture podcast Dash Kapital?!

And of course, the theatrical stylings of our resident short-form playwright, JACQUES TSIANTAR and his notorious JACQUES’ BIG TWO-HANDER! Will YOU be one of the volunteer actors who gets to be Edinburgh-famous for fifteen minutes?!

Ooft. Queen Bitch, much?!
“Yeah. Make that *Bonnington*-famous” – Andy

We’ll be releasing some awesome Interrobang Interrogations with our guests this week, but for now, know these further exciting developments:

  • Lost in Space?! will be on a Saturday, starting at 2pm. This means you can supplement your Interrobanging with a swing through the Edinburgh Indoor Market – great food, fab art, and Ricky’s still banging on about the candles he got last month from The Soap Farm. QED.
  • With the market taking place downstairs, we’ll be upstairs. If you haven’t seen the upstairs at the Biscuit Factory yet, you’re in for a treat. New INTERROBANG?!, new vibe?!

We’re looking forward to seeing you!