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Ben Watts

@benwatts24601

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i am a pigeon who dreamed he was a man and loved it, but now the dream is over and the pigeon is awake

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🐉 see u next year (?) by @benwatts24601

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a month ago

wanted to type more but my thumbnails are falling off lol

if u would like to hear the many stories made in the past few days give me a message and I’ll talk ur ear off

will give it another go eventually but for now at least I can say I rode this one til the wheels fell off 🥲 by @benwatts24601

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a month ago

the beacons r lit!! taken in Poop Mountain by @benwatts24601

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3 months ago

berlin agen by @benwatts24601

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8 months ago

tune into @psyop.radio at 14:00 for my Club X mix
Vibes: minimal techno - hardgroove - electro - UK bass - dubstep

Ft exceptional cuts by: @marceldettmann @dan_jubley @maladmz by @benwatts24601

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9 months ago

This week our family lost uncle Terry. He was a loving, sweet and kind person, and taken from us too soon.

I have changed my fundraiser for next year’s @dragonsbackrace to raise money in aid of @beyondblueofficial , a mental health charity local to Terry and his family. Please consider donating via the link in my bio or via the QR code on this post by @benwatts24601

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10 months ago

Last week, one of my biggest heroes died, aged 90, on my birthday.

Peter Watkins dedicated his life to unfashionably shocking people into thinking about (amongst many other things) the ethics of mainstream media, what he called the monoform, and its consumption.

In doing so he inadvertently created genres that we know today as mockumentary/docudrama - anything from Saving Private Ryan to Borat, Blair Witch to the works of Ben Wheatley, would not exist without Peter.

More importantly though, what he was trying to wrestle our attention towards was the casual horror of how we have come to accept + consume commercial media, in a world where practically all scarcity is artificial and the result of resource hoarding.

What does it mean to spend £100 million on another Marvel film; something which is not necessarily terribly produced, but is essentially an advert for people to buy more stuff; when that same amount of money could be directed towards life saving medical care, or education?

It’s the big fact that we all silently acknowledge day to day and yet can’t speak about at the dinner table for fear of stating the obvious/being a buzzkill/hypocrite or whatever.

But big things only change when we refuse to look away. For 60+ years Peter refused to stop and as a result, for the majority of his career, his films and ideas were deliberately suppressed out of the mainstream (prime culprits include the BBC), and relegated to a small but enthusiastic cult following.

If you are even slightly troubled by the way we live our lives currently, I urge you to go and watch the extraordinary lifetime of work that he laid down for us

To get started I would suggest watching his 2001 interview on YouTube - the urgency and clarity of his voice is really just transformative! In terms of films, these are a good place to start:
The War Game
Culloden
Punishment Park
Privilege

Longer term:
The Journey
La Commune

His blogs are also all gems and can be found at http://pwatkins.mnsi.net by @benwatts24601

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a year ago

(neon) blue steel by @benwatts24601

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a year ago

tehe by @benwatts24601

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a year ago

UNCAGED VOL. 3 LINEUP - words:

After a sun-soaked May at Cafe 1001, he’s back for the heavy hitters (*pause for incredulous gasping*) with nefarious, ungodly blends of techno, hardgroove, electro, 160s, jungle and more - to marry unadulterated darkness of the soul to the euphoria of the dance floor.

19th June from 8pm - 1am @club_makossa_dalston @thefadedcommunity / @benwatts24601

#techno #ukg #breaks #dalston #freeparty #rave by @benwatts24601

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a year ago

still pretty dissociated from this so allow me instead to encapsulate the vibe by quoting Hugh Grant (yes yes via Donne) from the cultural leviathan that is About a Boy (2002) - no man is an island. Ok allow me to elaborate a bit as well lol:

I wouldn’t have made it through the sleep deprivation, hallucinations, destroyed knees, trench foot, biblical weather, failing navigation systems etc. if it wasn’t for the work of innumerable selfless volunteers, medics, racers, friends, and family, whose shoulders I leaned on so heavily to scrape over the finish line. I’ve always thought of running as a way to escape hyper-connectivity and re-centre a sense of self-sufficiency achieved from the body acting in isolation, and this can still be true, but there’s a huge part of the equation I’ve taken for granted:

I know it’s stupidly obvious, but any success enjoyed in life is always built off the back of an untold number of kindnesses, favours, encouragements and material forms of support, and increased success often encourages us to forget who helped us get there. This is a trap.

Amongst many many others, a huge thank you to: my family & dear friends (ykwya), @alex_hodg , @lee.is.running , @missroxyflower , all the insane inspiring folks on the WH group chat and the team from @wildhorse200 . And I’m sure many more.

There are many stories to tell, though am aware of being at hazard to ramble, so if u really would like to be regaled, give me a message and I’ll talk your ear off.

A HUGE thank you to all @medicalaidpal donors - the fundraiser is very much still live, so please do consider donating, or resharing this post/donation link in bio! taken in Worms Head, Rhossili, Wales by @benwatts24601

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a year ago

A spectre is haunting Dalston. The spectre of FREE PARTY HARD DANCE NRG BIG VIBES. And it will achieve corporeality on 19th June from 8pm @club_makossa_dalston

Event link in bio. Artwork by @user_nijhoff

This event is hosted by us but supported by @TheFadedCommunity, this Faded Presents Project is a free initiative for DJs supported by Faded Society herself to help the planning, execution and marketing of throwing your own event taken in Club Makossa by @benwatts24601

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a year ago