Barbican Bash

From modernist architecture last Friday to brutalism today, or at least a band named after one of the best-known brutalist buildings in Britain. I am talking of course of Barbican Estate.

Regular readers may recall me raving about the band when I went to see them live earlier in the year. I'm pleased to report that not only are they going back on the road soon but they will be bringing a brand shiny new album with them. If they are playing anywhere near you then you must go. They are a fantastic live band, as the video at the end proves, with great hair action.

The new album is called "Rock Drill" and the first single, "Song For Derek", came out on Friday. I am reliably informed by their very nice PR man that the single is "a joyous call to arms [that] captures them at their most immediate: propulsive, unruly, full of momentum, turning their noise-driven approach into something unexpectedly celebratory". And he would know.

At this point I would imagine you have three questions: When does the album come out? Where are they playing? And who is Derek? Well:

1. "Rock Drill" gets released on 6 November but is already available to pre-order on Bandcamp. 

2.  The tour runs from 8 November, starting in Glasgow and ending in Brighton with six other stops in between. Not quite full details of dates and venues are on Songkick. In addition to the gigs listed there they are apparently playing Ramsgate Music Hall on 12 November and Night And Day in Manchester on the 16th.

3.  As for Derek, I can't tell you. If I was a betting man my money would probably be on the late avant-garde guitarist Derek Bailey. But it could perhaps be Derek Bell of the Chieftains and unfortunately named solo album fame, either one of the acting Dereks (Nimmo and Jacobi), the great cricketer Derek 'Deadly' Underwood or possibly even Bo Derek, after whom fellow Japanese noisemakers Bo Ningen are named.

Whichever Derek it is, Barbican Estate provide a worthy tribute. And having been lucky enough to hear an advance copy of "Rock Drill" I can confirm that the rest of the album is just as good. 

So make sure that come November you buy the record and go to the gigs if you can. And if there is a special Derek in your life call him right now and let him know you care.

"Song For Derek" - Barbican Estate

Return Of Walking Man

Regular readers may recall when I regaled you with tales of my rambles around London. 

Please now pause briefly to admire the alliteration and internal rhyme in that opening sentence. I spent hours crafting it.

Anyway, one of those walks involved visiting various modernist buildings in Hampstead and Kilburn. Inspired by them I bought a copy of a pocket-sized guidebook called 'Modernism in Metro-land' with the aim of using it to plan further walks.

I did the first walk last week, straddling the two upper branches of the Northern Line by walking from Hendon Central station to East Finchley station, taking in such delights as Hampstead Garden Suburb, the Great North Way (which links the M1 to the North Circular Road) and the world renowned Dollis Valley trail en route.

There were plenty of interesting buildings to admire and I have put a selection of them up on Flickr. The hotspot for modernism fans is the bit of Hendon that butts onto the south side of the Great North Way. These two - The White House in Downage and Hendon Hall Court in Parson St - are just a few streets apart. 

In between them is Ashley Lane which was wall to wall modernist houses and apartment buildings back in the 1930s. Unfortunately most of them have since been either demolished or redesigned, like this one which some bright spark felt could be 'improved' by putting a proper roof on top.

The redesigning works both ways though. The East Finchley Picturedome (now the Phoenix Cinema) opened in 1912 and was one of the very first purpose-built cinemas in the UK. In 1937 it was given a fresh new Art Deco look that it retains to this day, and which has led it to appear in almost as many films as it has screened - 'Interview With A Vampire' and 'Nowhere Boy' to name just two.

East Finchley can lay claim to many celebrity residents including George Michael, Peter Sellers, Jerry Springer and Will Self. The best the page on Hendon in Wikipedia can come up with is Benji the Binman but further research reveals a cast that includes Denis Compton, Susheela Raman, Oliver Postgate and David Bedford (the musician/composer who worked with the likes of Kevin Ayers and Mike Oldfield, not the runner). 

Here are a selection of songs and videos celebrating the Hendon - East Finchley Massive, including a lovely duet from Madeleine the rag doll and Gabriel the toad. The last video is for Benji, in case he gets sad.

"The Denis Compton Calypso" - Lord Kitchener

"Mamavatu" - Susheela Raman

"The Miller's Song" - Sandra Kerr & John Faulkner

"Sad And Lonely Faces (featuring Kevin Ayers)" - David Bedford

Pun Fun 8: The Results

Ladies and gentlemen, the results of our dips and sauces challenge are in. Joining George and C as a two-time winner is:

The Swede with "Non, Je Ne Vinaigrette Rien".

In the early stages it looked like this would be a very close competition, with nine of the 17 entries receiving at least one first place vote. But during the course of the week the top two gradually pulled clear of the rest, and in the last couple of days The Swede was able to build a lead over JWA. Things were much tighter further down the field, with just three points separating third and fifth and the chasing pack snapping at their heels.

Here is the top five in full:

1. Non, Je Ne Vinaigrette Rien - Edith Piaf (The Swede)
2. Aioli Have Eyes For You - Art Garfunkel (JWA)
3. Bechamel Golly Wow - The Stylistics (Rol)
4. Gravy's On The Road Again - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (Charity Chic)
5. Pass The Chutney - Hummusical Youth (George)

Congratulations to our chart-toppers and many thanks to everyone who took part and helped to produce such a saucy selection.

The provisional plan is to dip back into the world of puns on Monday 26 October (I have all sorts of international mystery activities to deal with before then which mean I may not have enough time to undertake the extensive scrutineering required for Pun Fun). Until then, here is Edith lamenting the lack of her favourite dressing.

It's Time For Titi

There was a time when my first port of call every Bandcamp Friday was the Sahel Sounds page where I would take advantage of their generous offers on their back catalogue. But not anymore.

That is not because I have gone off them, its just that I now own their whole catalogue. So for the last couple of Bandcamp Fridays - and probably the next few - I have started my trawl by visiting the equally generous folks at Nyege Nyege Tapes.

Of my latest batch of acquisitions I am particularly taken by "Molende", the 2023 album by Kinshasa born and now Kampala based Titi Bakorta. According to the label's blurb: 

"Bakorta offers his own unique take on Congolese pop and folk sounds, weaving traditional elements through a psychedelic lattice of guitar loops, mangled voices and eccentric beatbox rhythms on his debut full-length". I'll let you judge that for yourselves. 

"Grand Kasai" - Titi Bakorta

"Motema" - Titi Bakorta

If you have nearly 23 minutes to spare you might enjoy this video of Titi jamming with one Ale Hop on a barge in Utrecht. If you are in a hurry we also have a three minute option from Junior Walker (no relation) & The All Stars. Now if you have 26 minutes to spare...

Gigs A Go Go

It was a busy week on the live music front last week. I took in three gigs. After that and the football I had to have a bit of a lie down.

On the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend we paid our annual visit to the Clerkenwell Festival where, as always, the crowd were almost as entertaining as the bands. The minor celebrities, dandies and dickheads were all there in abundance. 

This year's headliners were Swell Maps. Sadly two of the three original members - Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks - are no longer with us, leaving only Jowe Head (he's the one in the Jowe Hat). A few years ago he decided to revive the name and gathered together a group of like-minded souls to honour his fallen comrades and develop new material. They released an album called "C21" earlier this year. 

The live set was a mix of old and new material. It was a bit low energy to start, not helped by a dreadful sound system, but then Luke Haines came on to sing a couple of songs (as he does on the album) and gave proceedings a much needed boot up the backside. After that everyone else went up a gear and by the end the band and the audience were all having fun.

From old familiars on Sunday to newer favourites on Wednesday. The excellent Yalla Miku were back at the Shacklewell Arms for another night of music that is indescribable (in a good way) - think Can meets Stereolab meets Eritrean traditional music, if that is something that is capable of being thought.

Since we saw them in the same venue this time last year Yalla Miku have released their second album, the first with this line-up. It is called "2", presumably because they had exhausted their imaginations creating the music it contains, and that provided the bulk of the set. They put on a great show, undeterred by the clammy conditions. Here's bassist Louise Knobil taking a well-earned break to cool off under the fan.

To complete the triumvirate we headed to Milton Court Hall (tucked away inside the Guildhall School of Music and Drama) on Saturday to see Bedouine. I have raved about her here previously and have seen her do a live guest spot, but this was the first time I have been to a full show. I enjoyed it a great deal. She has a wonderfully warm voice that makes the world seem a bit cosier for a while.

Bedouine was over in Europe promoting her latest album "Neon Summer Skin" which is full of reflections on family and her eventful childhood. She is of Armenian heritage, was born in Syria and spent some of her early years in Saudi Arabia before moving with her family to the US, so there is probably a lot of reflecting to be done. 

On Saturday she played the new album in full and followed it with some old favourites. Stylistically the new material is much the same as before with the exception of an Armenian samba that includes a whistling solo that would warm Walter's heart. The album is well worth checking out.

I am pretty convinced Bedouine is a time traveller from the 1970s. After the show on Saturday we were trying to think who her voice reminded us of. We didn't resolve that but all the names we came up with - Karen Carpenter, Rita Coolidge and Phoebe Snow among them - were from that decade. The dress and the pleasure she gets from tapping a triangle seal the deal.

Enough of me droning on, its time for some music. We have two tunes each from Swell Maps and Bedouine - one old and one new in both cases - sandwiching Yalla Miku with a track from "2". Take a big bite.

"Helicopter Spies/ A Raincoat's Room" - Swell Maps

"Vertical Take Off And Landing" - Swell Maps

"La Tour Eiffel" - Yalla Miku

"Dusty Eyes" - Bedouine

"Deghma Cheega" - Bedouine

The ever helpful Retromanblog65 has posted a video of one of the Swell Maps/ Luke Haines numbers from the Clerkenwell Festival, so that is the obvious way to kick off the video section.

Pun Fun 8: The Contenders

Voting is now open for Pun Fun 8.

This time out you were challenged to insert a reference to either dips or sauces into a popular song title. And between you you've come up with something for every palate. Which flavour will you favour?

Here are the contenders:

1. A Horseradish With No Name – America
2. Aioli Have Eyes For You - Art Garfunkel
3. Tahina! - The Champs
4. Gochujang On To Yourself -  David Bowie
5. Non, Je Ne Vinaigrette Rien - Edith Piaf
6. Pass The Chutney - Hummusical Youth
7. The Wind Cries Mayo - Jimi Hendrix
8. Bearnaise Recipes - The Jungle Book
9. Hollandaised And Confused - Led Zeppelin
10. Dream A Little Cream Of Me - The Mamas & The Papas
11. Gravy's On The Road Again - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
12. Salsa Sprach Zarathustra - Richard Strauss
13. Sympathy For Vinaigrette - The Rolling Stones
14. How Soon Is Knorr - The Smiths
15. Tracklements Of My Tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
16. Bechamel Golly Wow - The Stylistics
17. (Hoisin If You're) Glad To Be Gay - Tom Robinson Band

Voting is open to all readers not just those who entered. Let me know your top five in order of preference. I'll award 7 points for every first choice, 5 for second and then 3, 2 and 1 for the rest.

The deadline for voting is next Sunday (13 September) and the results will be announced a week today. You can either submit your votes in the comments section below or by email to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk. There have been a few problems with leaving comments on blogs using Blogger (like this one) recently but fingers crossed they have all been resolved.

My Greek connections are disappointed that none of you took up the taramasalata challenge. In an attempt to placate them here are Kuza and his chums singing the praises of another Greek dip. 

Oldies But Goodies

I saw a band from back in the day last weekend - details will follow at some point next week - and it prompted me to dig out a bunch of old favourites of a roughly similar vintage i.e. late 70s and early 80s. Four spiky, one poppy. 

Inexplicably none of them topped or even touched the charts. Most of them have appeared here before but not for a fair while, so treat them as you would returning friends.

"Paraffin Brain" - The Nightingales

"The Fish Needs A Bike" - Blurt

"Expert" - pragVEC

"Sticky Jack" - Warm Jets

"Baby I'm A U-Boat" - The Fire-Hydrant Men (featuring the Fabulous Fezettes)

I read an interesting interview with the remarkable Ted Milton of Blurt a few months ago - you can find it here if you enjoyed "Fish", but also if you didn't. Ted and Blurt are still going. The video dates from about 15 years ago.