To the Queen Elizabeth Hall last night for an excellent double-header: Mike Heron, who regular readers may know is one of my all-time heroes, and Trembling Bells, one of my favourite bands of the last few years. And very good it was too.
Mike was his usual endearing but slightly shambolic self. The moment where he was retuning oblivious to what else was going on, then suddenly looked up and went "Oh, I think they might have started" pretty much summed it up.
That happened at the beginning - or, rather, shortly after the beginning - of "Spirit Beautiful", one of two songs on which he was backed by the Bells as well as his band (the other being "Feast of Stephen"). They were both excellent, and among the highlights of the evening.
But the biggest hippie freak-out moment came when Trembling Bells did "Otley Rock Oracle", from their most recent album "The Constant Pageant". The studio version is pretty freaky, as you can hear below, but this was something else. The band went at it full tilt backed by a horn section, an accordion player, a mate of Arthur Brown's on theramin and three female morris dancers brandishing papier mache heads on sticks. It was an audiovisual delight worthy of the Incredible String Band themselves. The lady morris dancers appear as a blur in this photo that Mr F took that I can't work out how to transfer from Flickr (the old boy took some good photos so you might want to look at the rest of them as well).
"Otley Rock Oracle" - Trembling Bells
The Otley Rock mentioned in the title is The Chevin, which looms above Otley in Yorkshire. If you head north-west through the Yorkshire Dales for roughly fifty miles you come to Swarth Fell.
"Swarthfell Rocks" - The Watersons
Let's round things off with some more rock-related tunes.
"Rock In The Sea" - Shocking Blue
"Rocky Top" - The Osborne Brothers
"Spinning On That Rock" - Ramsey Midwood
"The Rocks Remain" - Horslips
And if you head due South from Rocky Top, this is where you end up.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen
I have just come back from a few days in Copenhagen, part work, part pleasure. On Friday night I popped into Wray, a very nice little venue in the Christianshavn district, named after that one-time Copenhagen resident, Link Wray. There were three acts on the bill: So Like Dorian (from Denmark), Comaneci (from Italy) and Mattia Coletti (either Denmark or Italy - it is very hard to tell with a name like that).
It wasn't the best attended gig I have ever been to. I counted twelve people in total. If you take out the bands and the barman that comes down to six. And if you then take out the friends of So Like Dorian it comes down to two, and the other feller sat at the bar with his back to the show most of the evening, so I am not sure he counts. Anyway, on behalf of at least 50% of the non-aligned members of the audience I can say that, while not all the music was to my personal taste, it was a very pleasant way of passing the evening.
For me the pick of the bunch were Comaneci, who are Francesca Amati on vocals and acoustic guitar and Glauco Salvo on electric guitar. When I spoke to them afterwards - in the circumstances it would have been more awkward not to - Francesca was utterly charming. Glauco is possessed of a prodigious beard that put me in mind of a young Ronnie Drew (from the Dubliners). The photo below doesn't really do it justice.
Rather that inadequately attempt to describe their music, here are a couple of selections from their most recent album, "You A Lie", which was released in 2009 on the Madcap Collective label and is available on Amazon and eMusic. They are working on a new one and, judging by the track they played on Friday which featured some very atmospheric guitar work from Glauco, it will be worth looking out for.
"Green" - Comaneci
"Sleep Baby Sleep" - Comaneci
And in the absence of any YouTube clips of Comaneci, here is the young Ronnie Drew. Actually I think Glauco's beard may be more advanced than Ronnie's was at a similar stage in his career, which holds out hope that it may grown into something truly remarkable in the future.
And, by way of a small tribute to the sadly departed Gil Scott-Heron, here he is with one of his many great songs.
It wasn't the best attended gig I have ever been to. I counted twelve people in total. If you take out the bands and the barman that comes down to six. And if you then take out the friends of So Like Dorian it comes down to two, and the other feller sat at the bar with his back to the show most of the evening, so I am not sure he counts. Anyway, on behalf of at least 50% of the non-aligned members of the audience I can say that, while not all the music was to my personal taste, it was a very pleasant way of passing the evening.
For me the pick of the bunch were Comaneci, who are Francesca Amati on vocals and acoustic guitar and Glauco Salvo on electric guitar. When I spoke to them afterwards - in the circumstances it would have been more awkward not to - Francesca was utterly charming. Glauco is possessed of a prodigious beard that put me in mind of a young Ronnie Drew (from the Dubliners). The photo below doesn't really do it justice.
Rather that inadequately attempt to describe their music, here are a couple of selections from their most recent album, "You A Lie", which was released in 2009 on the Madcap Collective label and is available on Amazon and eMusic. They are working on a new one and, judging by the track they played on Friday which featured some very atmospheric guitar work from Glauco, it will be worth looking out for.
"Green" - Comaneci
"Sleep Baby Sleep" - Comaneci
And in the absence of any YouTube clips of Comaneci, here is the young Ronnie Drew. Actually I think Glauco's beard may be more advanced than Ronnie's was at a similar stage in his career, which holds out hope that it may grown into something truly remarkable in the future.
And, by way of a small tribute to the sadly departed Gil Scott-Heron, here he is with one of his many great songs.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Zulu Boys
Zuluboy is one of those hip-hop rapping people. He is also, as the name suggests, a Zulu. He has released a number of albums in South Africa, including "Igoba" in 2009. That is the one I grabbed a copy of while in the decidedly non-urban Plettenberg Bay a couple of months back.
A lot of the tracks are fairly straight hip-hop, of which I have never really been much of a fan (in the words of the late Granny Goggins when I used to subject her to Top Of The Pops thirty or more years ago, "It's all just bang bang bang"). But on some tracks he samples more indigenous sounds, like these two which are reworkings of songs by Bayete and Sankomota - two of the most popular bands in Southern Africa in the 1980s and early 1990s - respectively. Those ones I like a lot more.
"Mbombela - A Touch Of Bayete" - Zuluboy
"Now Or Never - Reloaded" - Zuluboy
From the same part of the world, and with a very similar name - just add "cow" - here is a bonus track from Themba Msomi, the self-styled Zulu Cowboy. It is very mellow stuff. Think Don Williams singing in Zulu, as unlikely as that sounds.
"Abafana" - Themba Msomi
I could have gone from the Zulu Cowboy to Jim Reeves singing in Afrikaans, but I am saving that up for a rainy day. Instead let's go from Zuluboy to the only slightly less authentically African Tarzan Boy.
A lot of the tracks are fairly straight hip-hop, of which I have never really been much of a fan (in the words of the late Granny Goggins when I used to subject her to Top Of The Pops thirty or more years ago, "It's all just bang bang bang"). But on some tracks he samples more indigenous sounds, like these two which are reworkings of songs by Bayete and Sankomota - two of the most popular bands in Southern Africa in the 1980s and early 1990s - respectively. Those ones I like a lot more.
"Mbombela - A Touch Of Bayete" - Zuluboy
"Now Or Never - Reloaded" - Zuluboy
From the same part of the world, and with a very similar name - just add "cow" - here is a bonus track from Themba Msomi, the self-styled Zulu Cowboy. It is very mellow stuff. Think Don Williams singing in Zulu, as unlikely as that sounds.
"Abafana" - Themba Msomi
I could have gone from the Zulu Cowboy to Jim Reeves singing in Afrikaans, but I am saving that up for a rainy day. Instead let's go from Zuluboy to the only slightly less authentically African Tarzan Boy.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Gothenburg Grooviness
It is one of those classic dilemmas for all music fans. You can't decide whether you want to listen to some Swedish prog rock or early Soviet poetry set to music. Well, the dilemma is solved. Just get yourself a copy of "För Full Hals", the 1973 album by Nynningen and now available (at least in Sweden) on CD, courtesy of MNW Music.
Nynningen were what Swedish Wikipedia describes as a "svenskt socialistiskt proggband" (that's "Swedish Socialist prog band" in English, but you had probably worked that out). Formed in Gothenburg in 1970, they made a series of albums in the 1970s.
"För Full Hals", which appears to mean "At the top of one's lungs", was their second album and consists of the poetry of one Vladimir Mayakovsky translated into Swedish and set to music. The man who wrote the tunes, Tomas Forssell, went on to greater success with an outfit called Häjkån Bäjkån, which made albums for children - no doubt full of subliminal Socialist messages - one of which won a Grammy.
Not speaking the language the lyrical content of the album is rather lost on me - I can make out the odd reference to the proletariat and revolutionary committees but that is about it - but I like the groovy organ and flute on these two.
"Vilddjurens Sång" - Nynningen
"Balladernas Konst" - Nynningen
Moving on, it may have come to your attention that a well known musician is celebrating his 70th birthday tomorrow. Never one to see a bandwagon go by without jumping on it, I would like to pay my own small tribute to a man who in many ways defined the sound of the 1960s. So many happy returns to Tony Valentino, guitarist with The Standells. Here they are in action.
Nynningen were what Swedish Wikipedia describes as a "svenskt socialistiskt proggband" (that's "Swedish Socialist prog band" in English, but you had probably worked that out). Formed in Gothenburg in 1970, they made a series of albums in the 1970s.
"För Full Hals", which appears to mean "At the top of one's lungs", was their second album and consists of the poetry of one Vladimir Mayakovsky translated into Swedish and set to music. The man who wrote the tunes, Tomas Forssell, went on to greater success with an outfit called Häjkån Bäjkån, which made albums for children - no doubt full of subliminal Socialist messages - one of which won a Grammy.
Not speaking the language the lyrical content of the album is rather lost on me - I can make out the odd reference to the proletariat and revolutionary committees but that is about it - but I like the groovy organ and flute on these two.
"Vilddjurens Sång" - Nynningen
"Balladernas Konst" - Nynningen
Moving on, it may have come to your attention that a well known musician is celebrating his 70th birthday tomorrow. Never one to see a bandwagon go by without jumping on it, I would like to pay my own small tribute to a man who in many ways defined the sound of the 1960s. So many happy returns to Tony Valentino, guitarist with The Standells. Here they are in action.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
McJazz
I am not a great one for jazz. I am not a great one for the bagpipes either. Put them together, on the other hand, and it is an entirely different mater. Ladies and gentlemen, we present the extraordinary Rufus Harley.
"Sufur" - Rufus Harley (from "Scotch & Soul", 1967)
"Gods And Goddesses" - Rufus Harley (from "Re-Creation of the Gods", 1972)
Rufus wasn't Scottish in the conventional sense, being a half-Cherokee half-African American born in North Carolina, but then they are not all Rob Roy, you know. He sadly died five years ago, and his obituary makes for quite a read.
The cultural exchange worked both ways of course. Check out the guitar stylings on this, and the top jazz beard on the man on the right.
But the best example of cross-cultural collaboration is something I discovered earlier today and can't stop listening to. It is a completely inspired mash-up (as I believe the young people say) of 50 Cent's "In The Club" and Jimmy Shand's classic "Bluebell Polka". Approach with caution - you won't be able to get it out of your head.
"50 Bluebells" - Faither Of E-Jitz
And here is the video.
"Sufur" - Rufus Harley (from "Scotch & Soul", 1967)
"Gods And Goddesses" - Rufus Harley (from "Re-Creation of the Gods", 1972)
Rufus wasn't Scottish in the conventional sense, being a half-Cherokee half-African American born in North Carolina, but then they are not all Rob Roy, you know. He sadly died five years ago, and his obituary makes for quite a read.
The cultural exchange worked both ways of course. Check out the guitar stylings on this, and the top jazz beard on the man on the right.
But the best example of cross-cultural collaboration is something I discovered earlier today and can't stop listening to. It is a completely inspired mash-up (as I believe the young people say) of 50 Cent's "In The Club" and Jimmy Shand's classic "Bluebell Polka". Approach with caution - you won't be able to get it out of your head.
"50 Bluebells" - Faither Of E-Jitz
And here is the video.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Different Disco
I am sure those of you who love the golden era of disco - and who doesn't - will instantly recognise all of the classic disco hits being covered in today's post. Being intoxicated by these groovy sounds I am even willing to offer some sort of prize for the first person to identify correctly the four originals. If you are in the UK I will send you a dodgy CD I no longer want; if you are elsewhere let me know where elsewhere is and I will try to come up with an appropriately themed post dedicated especially to you. Now if that doesn't tempt you, I'm not surprised.
The first two selections are from Thailand, and can be found on "Zud Rang Maa", an excellent compilation of Thai funk and disco from the 1970s and 1980s that came out last year. The other two are from India, and I nicked them from the marvellous Ponytone website, which has enormous amounts of that sort of thing.
"Rus Pu Tin" - Panadda Chayapark
"Chown Tur Ten Rum" - Pranee Thanasri
"Chupke Kaun Aya" - Usha Uthup
"Aaj Sanam Mujhe" - Usha Uthup
As a special bonus, from Ponytone but also fromThailand, here are Preechapone Bunnag and Pranee Nakarawong with their beautiful rendition of "Emotion". Not strictly disco, I know, but it was written by the Bee Gees. In my opinion, this version knocks Samantha Sang's effort into a cocked hat.
"Emotion" - Preechapone Bunnag and Pranee Nakarawong
I don't know about you, but wouldn't it be great to hear Preechaponne & Pranee take on some of the great duets of that era, like "Guilty" and "Reunited". Or, best of all, this one.
The first two selections are from Thailand, and can be found on "Zud Rang Maa", an excellent compilation of Thai funk and disco from the 1970s and 1980s that came out last year. The other two are from India, and I nicked them from the marvellous Ponytone website, which has enormous amounts of that sort of thing.
"Rus Pu Tin" - Panadda Chayapark
"Chown Tur Ten Rum" - Pranee Thanasri
"Chupke Kaun Aya" - Usha Uthup
"Aaj Sanam Mujhe" - Usha Uthup
As a special bonus, from Ponytone but also fromThailand, here are Preechapone Bunnag and Pranee Nakarawong with their beautiful rendition of "Emotion". Not strictly disco, I know, but it was written by the Bee Gees. In my opinion, this version knocks Samantha Sang's effort into a cocked hat.
"Emotion" - Preechapone Bunnag and Pranee Nakarawong
I don't know about you, but wouldn't it be great to hear Preechaponne & Pranee take on some of the great duets of that era, like "Guilty" and "Reunited". Or, best of all, this one.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Doubly Blessed
Very occasionally you go along to a gig to see one act and get blown away by someone else on the bill who you have never heard of previously. That happened to me last night. And we were doubly blessed because the person I had gone to see blew me away as well.
We (the old lag Mister F and I) were at the Cafe Oto in Dalston. I had gone specifically to see Sarabeth Tucek, having heard and really liked a couple of tracks from her current album "Get Well Soon". She pretty much played the album - as the guitarist acknowledged five or six songs in when he intoned "Side 2" - and was every bit as good as I had hoped. It is an excellent set of songs, many of them inspired by the death of her father (including today's selection). And she has a good, strong voice which at times had hints of Natalie Merchant, but which at other times reminded me slightly of all sorts of people from Tift Merritt to old Neil Young. I suppose the lack of easy comparisons makes it distinctive.
"The Doctor" - Sarabeth Tucek
Sarabeth was second on the bill and when she finished I was thinking "mission accomplished" and that it didn't really matter whether or not the headliners were any good. So I was first surprised and then delighted by This Is The Kit. "The Kit", as they are possibly known to their die-hard fans, are primarily a vehicle for the music of singer, songwriter - and possessor of a very practical pouch for taking the weight of her banjo while playing - Kate Stables.
They are essentially a bunch of young old hippies playing what you could loosely call English folk-rock (some have said Appalachian folk, but then Appalachian folk is only English folk with a banjo). The last time I was at the Cafe Oto it was to see Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, and This Is The Kit have something of the same sensibility. As with Sarabeth Tucek, we got a set of good songs well sung. I would hesitate to compare anyone to the incomparable Sandy Denny, but Kate has something of the same sort of tone to her voice.
Here is a selection from their most recent album, "Wriggle Out The Restless", chosen primarily because it contains the phrase "dubbin up your boots". As a bonus I have added a song released by Kate's side project Whalebone Polly, which also got an airing last night.
"Waterproof" - This Is The Kit
"Turnip Turned" - Whalebone Polly
Finally, let us not forget the opening act Liz Janes. She got rather overshadowed by what followed but I thought she was pretty good as well - certainly much better than you have a right to expect of an act bottom of the bill in a cafe in Dalston on a Monday night. I thought I had never heard of her, so imagine my surprise when this morning I found one of her songs on my iPod. It comes from "Achoo!", a 2006 compilation album on Asthmatic Kitty records, and here it is.
"Guitar Guitar" - Liz Janes
Here are a couple of photos I took at the gig last night, the first of Sarabeth Tucek and the second of Kate from This Is The Kit. In the unlikely event you are interested there are a few more over on Flickr.
To finish off, here is a video for a track from Sarabeth's self-titled first album.
We (the old lag Mister F and I) were at the Cafe Oto in Dalston. I had gone specifically to see Sarabeth Tucek, having heard and really liked a couple of tracks from her current album "Get Well Soon". She pretty much played the album - as the guitarist acknowledged five or six songs in when he intoned "Side 2" - and was every bit as good as I had hoped. It is an excellent set of songs, many of them inspired by the death of her father (including today's selection). And she has a good, strong voice which at times had hints of Natalie Merchant, but which at other times reminded me slightly of all sorts of people from Tift Merritt to old Neil Young. I suppose the lack of easy comparisons makes it distinctive.
"The Doctor" - Sarabeth Tucek
Sarabeth was second on the bill and when she finished I was thinking "mission accomplished" and that it didn't really matter whether or not the headliners were any good. So I was first surprised and then delighted by This Is The Kit. "The Kit", as they are possibly known to their die-hard fans, are primarily a vehicle for the music of singer, songwriter - and possessor of a very practical pouch for taking the weight of her banjo while playing - Kate Stables.
They are essentially a bunch of young old hippies playing what you could loosely call English folk-rock (some have said Appalachian folk, but then Appalachian folk is only English folk with a banjo). The last time I was at the Cafe Oto it was to see Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, and This Is The Kit have something of the same sensibility. As with Sarabeth Tucek, we got a set of good songs well sung. I would hesitate to compare anyone to the incomparable Sandy Denny, but Kate has something of the same sort of tone to her voice.
Here is a selection from their most recent album, "Wriggle Out The Restless", chosen primarily because it contains the phrase "dubbin up your boots". As a bonus I have added a song released by Kate's side project Whalebone Polly, which also got an airing last night.
"Waterproof" - This Is The Kit
"Turnip Turned" - Whalebone Polly
Finally, let us not forget the opening act Liz Janes. She got rather overshadowed by what followed but I thought she was pretty good as well - certainly much better than you have a right to expect of an act bottom of the bill in a cafe in Dalston on a Monday night. I thought I had never heard of her, so imagine my surprise when this morning I found one of her songs on my iPod. It comes from "Achoo!", a 2006 compilation album on Asthmatic Kitty records, and here it is.
"Guitar Guitar" - Liz Janes
Here are a couple of photos I took at the gig last night, the first of Sarabeth Tucek and the second of Kate from This Is The Kit. In the unlikely event you are interested there are a few more over on Flickr.
To finish off, here is a video for a track from Sarabeth's self-titled first album.
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