RIP Erreth - my friend Paul...
Goodby Candiflip
A very sad farewell to Paul, aka Candiflip Blackwood, aka Erreth Sondabeng… and many other aliases. Along with Emma funkcutter he created subterfuge, anarchistwood and punkvert so many other projects and names my head spins and I get confused...
He went missing in late 2020. For weeks friends and family searched for him in London and beyond putting up missing posters, engaging local communities. Then on Boxing Day we saw this message:
“The body of our beloved Candi was recovered, lifeless, from a pool in Friern Barnet retail park in North London 26/12/20. The only comfort I can have is that his deep mental anguish is no longer causing him distress. I write this terrible message surrounded by his huge output of music, art and many children and grandchildren that he loved and who love him so much. We will conduct some celebration of a unique life at some point in the future. Until then, Keep Kicking Against the Pricks.
psychedelic felicitation,
funkcutter x”
https://www.punkvert.tv/anarchistwood
As Errith he was the force behind the Rude Mechanicals’ album “The Cyclops and The Wildebeest” which he produced and mixed, got the vinyl pressed, sold and so much more. The result was – in my humble opinion – stupendous: the live feel of the band was caught and the performances feel spontaneous with some songs were completed in the studio. The craft he put into documenting it and weaving the sounds together made it into something very special.
Paul and Emma were among our first friends when we started visiting London, helping myself and the Rude Mechanicals in so many ways. Our first piece of vinyl - the single “Irritating Fly” - was made by them and released on their label Ex Gratia, there was the full length film mockumentary “The Beautiful and The Rare” – allegedly documenting the making of “The Cyclops and The Wildebeest” – shown at the Portobello Film Festival. They arranged gigs and he performed on bass with the band several times.
I will so miss his creative, mercurial energy, talking to him would sometimes leave me struggling to keep up with his ideas and a little confused, but he was always enthusiastic, positive, sweet and outgoing with me.
His funeral was on 21st January. I’ve been thinking of his family a lot and send them my love.
Rest in peace Paul – you are, and will continue to be, so missed.