Abi Rhodes' Zigzag Wanderings

A Matter of Labelling

Rebecka Larsdotter: Feathers & Concrete

Prophone: PCD113

It’d be interesting to know how this excellent album will ever find its most appropriate audience as record company Prophone classifies it as ‘Swedish Jazz’ – which might be OK for many parts of Europe but I feel English listeners would possibly be more inclined to classify it as singer/songwriter soft progrock/funk slow groove easy listening.

Although some of the instrumental sections do sound a bit Weather Reportish the songs themselves largely sound more in a Carole King/James Taylor bag to me and Rebecka’s fine voice is definitely more Maria Muldaur than Cleo Laine.

This just highlights the problems surrounding labelling music into the ghettos we call genres. Prophone is already saddled with the somewhat esoteric Eurojazz epithet, so I feel UK audiences would probably never come across this superb album. I know of no outlet which is liable to highlight it to any but the most tenacious of bulldog-like musical explorers. I would never have expected such material on this label and had Naxos not sent it to me for review I would never have discovered it.

Whether or not it is really the current sound of Swedish Jazz is irrelevant; my point is that this album deserves a much wider audience than the genre will earn it. It deserves to be aimed at a more general adult pop/rock public than it will be with this release.

Maybe if this ‘review’ stirs a big enough body of listeners  to explore the album or even buy it, then Prophone might think again and give Feathers and Concrete a second more general launch and I shall have done my duty.

 

Go to http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Prophone/PCD113 to give the album a listen

and find Rebecka on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/people/Rebecka-Larsdotter/1108793727#!/profile.php?id=1108793727

Edward Burra @ Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

On Sunday, we took a day out to The Pallant House Gallery in Chichester to check out the Edward Burra Exhibition which runs  22nd October 2011 — 19th February 2012. We enjoyed our last visit to see their Freida Kahlo show very much but found the publicity hoo-ha that surrounded it somewhat ovwer the top given the very small extent of the exhibition. We were hoping that this event wasn't to be similarly overrated.

We were very pleased to say that this truly is a major show, covering at least 4 rooms and including a very good video presentation too.

 

 

There are well over 70 paintings on show and I was amazed by the vast subject matter and styles Burra covered and how the artworld managed tocategorise him in practically every -ism  that popped up through the whole of  20th century art with the p[ossible exception of the YBAs.

He flatly defies any one categorisation, did not embrace any particular religious or political philosphy other than the cult of Burra. He painted all aspects of his life - in fact he often anticipated the next phase of his life by paintings images gleaned from cinema before actually travelling to the place represented as is the case with his is romance with the life and times of New York's Harlem.

 

He had a marvellous and weird sense of humour and a special eye for the grotesque. The theatre was a particular interest of his and the complement was returned in that he was particularly successful with costume and set design in top class drama, ballet and opera.

 

Besides the paintings we have the opportunity to read a number of his quite expressive letters to friends, in which no holds are barred and often fascinating little sketches are inserted to ram home a point. There are a number of sheets of his collected period photos of friends and acquainyences and of course the highly revealing and amusing video of the man giving a TV critic a very hard time for an attempted portrait show.

Edward Burra made his home base iN Rye, East Sussex and besides providing material for his longtime interest in sailors and the sea, it also gave him access to the countryside which gave him another world to explore.

 

I cannot recommend this exhibition too highly - it is thoroughly entertaining and shows how much a truly great artist has been relegated by the artworld, allowing many people to associate his name with no more than the cover artwork on some 1960s Penguin paperbacks.

I SHALL REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

 

 I SHALL REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

BREMF 2011 Event 22

 

The Telling: Vision

The Imagined Testimony of Hildegard von Bingen

 

Thanks to my old schoolmate "Harold," Hildegard was the first contact I had with really early music. Over 25 years ago we used to meet up a couple of times a year, have a family meal, go for a country walk, chew over various cuds and show off our latest musical discoveries - anything from Philip Glass and Steve Reich to Diamanda Galas and Laurie Anderson on my part - from Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi to Palestrina and Hildegard on Harold's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdVcKfAZJMU

One weekend, at his home in Aldershot, Harold suggsested I take a listen to Emma Kirkby singing on the 'Feather on The Breath of God' CD. I was  instantly drawn in and spent several following months seeking out similar music which was pretty thin on the ground in those days - even on the record shop shelves.

 

It was particularly with this in mind that I felt drawn to volunteer with BREMF this year, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the multi-media presentation 'Vision' on the festival agenda. The programme notes don't actually ue the phrase 'multi-media' [perhaps it's not a cool term nowadays] but essentially this is what the show is with its use of music, narration, lighting and dance - it only needs the inclusion of film and performance art to go the whole hog to become The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

 

The Play 'Vision' is written and produced by Clare Norburn, who is part of The Telling and Musical Director of The Brighton Early Music Festival. This production is pretty enjoyable and totally original. I did wonder during the first third of the performance whether we had been sold a dummy. I felt at this point the story relied perhaps too heavily on the narration and some repeated 'meaningful' walking the length of the venue by a couple of the singers.

I thought the visions experienced by the infant Hildegard would have been better illustrated by some proper acting or dance - even some sort of sonne et lumier. But then the plot hotted up a bit from thereon and the final quarter positively sparkled - it literally shone.

 

The singing by Clare Norburn and Yvonne Eddy and instrumental work from Joy Smith [harp] and Layil Barr [recorder] were utterly beautiful.  Nuno Silva's modern dance performance, leading Hildegard to her appointment with her Saviour was  both moving and magical. The lighting effects, which utilised the setting of St Bartholemews Church to its utmost were simple but very, very effective and the haunting voice of Patience Tomlinson as the voice of the dying Hildegard was perfect.

 

I'm not sure whether there are plans to take this show on the road or not, but I would venture to suggest that if it were to be toured in its present form it would be a moderate success in a niche market but with some of the kinds of modifications suggested above it could be a crossover hit in a much wider market that could raise the profile of not only Hildegard but that of Early Music in general.

.....BUT SHALL I REMEMBER THE 4TH OF NOVEMBER?

 

 

.....BUT SHALL I REMEMBER THE 4TH OF NOVEMBER?

BREMF 2011 Event 20

 

The Sixteen: THE CHORAL PILGRIMAGE - Hail Mother of The Redeemer -Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)

St Bartholemew's Church, Brighton

 

The Venue: St Bart's provides the most stunning location for music - certainly in Brighton. It remains the tallest Parish Church in England, despite having been finished off in a hurry by it's mid-Victorian builders as they ran short of cash. It's interior would be entirely bare dark engineering brickworks - fitting in with that of the nearby imposing 23-arch railway viaduct which dates from the same period. It is however fitted out with the most amazing marble canopy over a tapestried gold encrusted altar area [please forgive my woeful lack of knowledge of the correct ecclesiastical terminology!] Being of the Anglo-Catholic [smells and bells] tradition, there are a number of side altars - more simply adorned with paintings [some rather poor, all in a sorry state of repair] and an interesting series of built-in carvings depicting The Stations of The Cross. The seating is by mainly ageing uncomfortably-wobbly wooden chairs which would surely prevent the congregation falling asleep during a boring sermon, although there are a set of more modern plastic and tubular metal chairs which are wheeled out to accommodate the posher part of the audience on occasions such as this. The floor is mainly of plain terra cotta and black tiles which tessilate in a rather ordinary way - but hey, it's for walking over not looking at! The overall effect of the edifice is one of impressive power as the height of the roof disappears into Darkness, the cold austere walls crowd in from the sides and one's attention is drawn inevitably towards the splendid magnificence of the alter, where tonite, The Sixteen will ply their trade - hopefully providing a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

 

The Music: Tomas Luis de Victoria has the reputation as probably Spain's most accomplished composer of the later Early Music period. My knowledge of his work is limited so I came prepared -no, expecting to be impressed. Polyphony is almost an avant-garde formof music where all known boundaries of musical lore are pushed to extremes by its almost magical power to defy commonsense by making different people sing different words and different tunes at the same time and create an effect that defies explanation by being even more impressive than those individual songs. It's Gestalt Music.

 

The Sixteen: On this occasion, unfortunately, Sir Harrry Christophers - the usual director[conductor] of the Group was indisposed with  flu. So his deputy Eamonn Dougan stepped up from the ranks to take on the Director's role for the evening. And a splendid job he did too!

The Sixteen [eighteen , actually] are an incredibly well-known and respected internationally renowned band and probably don't need too much direction onstage once the green flag has been waved but I'm sure he was able to indicate minor adjustments to be made as the ambient nature of the venue dictated.

The dress code was maybe somewhat strange in the confines of this setting. The men were wearing standard evening dress - consisting of black tail-suits  and white bow-ties - which were uniformly all the same except that notable variations in stature and girth of some of the wearers created a noticeable difference in how these vestments hang and therefore appeared to the observer. The women have a slightly more relaxed dresscode - it seems they are required to don a black jacket or shawl but may wear an evening dress of choice underneath - so we have a variety of quite muted colours - one lady even sporting a glittery grey frock - I wonder whether there might be suitable (!) cause for investigation under sexual equality legistlation here.

 

The Performance: The performance was predictably exquisite. The Sixteen delivered on the promise of their reputation and the many recordings one has heard by them. The only hitch came just as the band were readying themselves for their second piece of polyphony - there was a series of bangs from outside - given the date, I suppose we might well have anticipated that fireworks would have been going off now and then but it was somewhat surprising that their noise could penetrate such a stout and solid building as St Bart's quite so effectively. A bit later on there was quite a tirade which nearly developed into Blitzkeig but we soon learned to shut it out by concentrating on the music.

One was left wondering if this was anything like the sort of sound [minus the fear, of course] one lived with during the Bombing in cities [indeed here in Brighton on some occasions -one in particular when the viaduct was hit by a  large 'bouncing' armament] in WWll.

 

 

The Verdict:  I'm sure most of the 600+ members of the audience went home really satisfied with a great night out having heard some superb music delivered by a world-ranking band of singers. And I must admit having been somewhat enraptured and entranced at the time with the whole event myself. However, as a responsible 'critic,' I feel the obligation to look beyond this simple judgement.

I'm sure for someone for whom this was a rare sort of event, the show will remain in their memory for a long time to come.

However my suspicion is that for some regular concert-goers of discernment, there might have been a slight disappointment attached to this performance, which might leave questions to be asked as to how it might have been improved.

Firstly, allthough the music was unquestionably beautiful, it did seem rather short on the kind of particularly dramatic moments that one hears in works such as Allegri's Miserere or some of Palestrina's compositions, where the music can soar and would be particularly suited to such a venue as this. Victoria's offering only reached these heights on one or two occasions and then in very short bursts.

On the whole I think the effect was uniformly pretty flat - there were very few,if any, moments when the WOW! factor occurred and there was any reaction  forthcoming from the audience. There was no emotional variation given out byThe Sixteen at any time and in general, they were completely unanimated. There was no sense of humour attached to the random occurrence of the fireworks - not a word from the Director - it happened and was immediately swept under the carpet (or would have been had there been one.)

To be frank, the audience's applause at The End of the performance was generous rather than perfunctory  but it was certainly NOT rapturous.

It left me wondering if spending the ticket money on a recording of Victoria's music might have been more rewarding than sitting uncomfortably for an hour and a half watching  a dozen or so guys in penguin suits and ladies fairly dowdily attired singing some fairly ordinary sounding church music, albeit a work of complex polyphony pretty well delivered by a very accomplished group of singers.

At least with a CD or vinyl disc, one can shut one's eyes and be transported wherever the beautiful music takes you. Perhaps if The Sixteen had been dressed in monks habits, cowels and hoods then the live experience would have helped take us to such a place.

As it was, I think the event will go down in history as one that was enjoyable at the time but it could well be that one will hardly be able to recall it in any significant detail.

GIRLS, GIRLS,GIRLS!..... And a few token BOYS!

GIRLS, GIRLS,GIRLS!..... And a few token BOYS!

Events 17 & 18: Sunday 21st October 2011 St George's Church, Kemp Town , Brighton

Event 17: The Dancing Girls of Granada: Joglaresa

 with belly dancing by Galit Mersand and her students.

Joglaresa - 'professional singing girls' in the language of ancient Arab-Andalusia - are a band of consummate musicians, who really know how to put on show.

Directed by the very personable Belinda Sykes who clearly manages to rein in the potential egos of several obvious virtuosos in their own fields with a fantastic list of credits from across the board to their names [Lord of the Rings soundtrack, Boyzone, Transglobal Underground, Hossam Ramzy, Lol Coxhill, The Dankworths and Loose Tubes to name but a few].

On this occasion, every now anf then,  they widened the musical field of action by calling on the Brighton Community Choir to add their own special brand of backing singing....

They perform music from a wide spectru m of the medieval Arab/Hebrew/Moorish/Spanish world including a number of surprising hybrids of these sub-cultures.

Belinda introduces each piece with a story, well-told, which explains, in easily understood terminology, its genesis, language and history. Each member of the ensemble gets a chance to show off the range of their abilities from almost unbelievably gorgeous vocals, through exquisite harping to sublime oud playing, all held together by some of the finest drumming I've ever witnessed outside of a top rock or jazz band.

 In several numbers, the band was joined by the belly dancer Galia Mersand who gave a stunning exhibition or her Art.

In a few of these she brought on some of her students who were able to show what can be achieved with even a small amount of learning and practice in this field.

It really was all very impressive - often quite exhilarating. This was a truly amazing show with brilliant singers, wonderful musicians and spledid dancers. I can think of no better combination for a thoroughly satisfying night out.

www.joglaresa.com         www.galitmersand.com

 

Event 18: The Singing Girls On Tour: Galan

Galan comprises 3 sopranos - Alison Hill, Katy Hill and Lucy Page - acompanied here by Chris Bucknall on Harpsichord and Manuel Minguillon on Theorbo.

The event is subtitled 'from Ferrara to Paris via Rome!' reflecting the musical 'journey' taken by the group as they sing their way from one composer to another as they go through the programme - happiy it also mirrors some ot the places Galan have travelled to in the acquisition of their collective trades.

Now, I have to say that I have little previous knowledge of this kind of singing and only knew the names of about half of the dozen composers covered and on the face of it the programme looked rather dry to my inexperienced eye.

Happily I have to say that my eye was proven totally wrong in its estimation on this occasion.

Each and every one of these young musicians turned out to be really top notch players and the music was totally enriching in its quality.

The songs covered the whole of the seventeenth century and a little bit either side and included works by the likes of Monteverdi, Charpentier, Rameau and Couperin.

The sopranos sang solo, all combinations of duet and as a trio - failing to disappoint in all formats. Although I have never understood the seeming random repetition of phrases in these songs and the sometimes strange vocal contortions gone through to make the lyric fir the music, I felt these young singers carried it all off with panache and aplomb, giving no cause for complaint whatsoever.

 The harpsichord playing was superb despite a panicky quarter of an hour at the outset when a couple of strings broke and needed the technical assistance of a couple of large paper clips to aid in the repairs.

The Theorbo - I hadn't a clue what this might be before it appeared on stage - happens to look like a lute with a set of sympathetic strings and has an unbelievably long fret and it was enchanting.

As I said my experience of this kind of music is limited to nil - so I can hardly compare with similar groups but if Galan are anything to go by, I have a lot of very pleasing musical times ahead of me.

Eclipsed

Eclipsed

 

Yesterday, I volunteered my help at the concert detailed on the poster. I got myself involved in stage construction and preparing and positioning lighting prior to the event and programme selling and ushering at the start of the concert, then various clearing up activities afterwards. I must say that the atmosphere among those involved in the organisation –  BREMF officers, committee members and volunteers is extremely friendly and co-operative and I can thoroughly recommend joining the team to anyone looking for an activity at this time of year. Not only does one get the satisfaction of making new friends and the rewarding feeling of a  job well done, but one gets to see and hear some jolly good music into the bargain.

Moving on… Eclipse is a thoroughly accomplished group of musicians in their chosen field – which seems to be international secular music of the Baroque Era.

 

As you can tell from the poster they play a variety of folk and popular songs and tunes, which they present in the context of story-telling and dance routines.

 

The band [ http://eclipsefusion.com/ ] is led by 2  virtuosos -  harpist Joy Smith and recorder/viol player Layil Barr, both of whom appeared in stunning evening gowns Zandra Rhodes would have been proud of. The line-up was completed on this occasion by Nicholas Hurndall Smith [tenor] and Steven Player [guitar and baroque/modern dance].

 

For one piece in the programme and for their encore number they welcomed a guest African dancer, who for the duration turned the show into an Afro-Celtic dance fusion.

 

I must say that I was completely enthralled by the show and felt that I and the audience came away feeling we’d had a pleasant and entertaining evening.

 

However, on reflection, I feel that the presentation was a little bit lacking in the polish that is required to make it a truly memorable show.

 

I felt that although the musicianship was unquestionably fine, the links, the story-telling and the humour of the presentation was a little limp. By working on these I feel the band could be so much more well known across the musical spectrum. The baroque label they have given themselves is maybe too much of a niche market. By improving the show in a holistic way – maybe by using a more scripted approach – they would be a great enough act to crossover into the folk market – I was surprised they drew a mainly early music crowd on this occasion. They need to update their website and give themselves an eminent [visible] profile on Facebook.

 

Had these things been in place prior to the concert, I’m sure we would have had a packed sold-out show with a much wider audience who would have gone home thoroughly satisfied from an event that would stick in their memories for many years to come.

OIL GEEV EET FOIV

 OIL GEEV EET FOIV

Krzyszof PENDERECKI: Viola Concerto, Cello Concerto No.2

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit

Grigori Zhislin, Viola  Tatjana Vassiljeva, Cello    NAXOS 8.572211

 http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572211

When I come into contact with a recording of a Penderecki piece I'm not familiar with, I usually stand in awe and put it to one side before I get to give it a listen. This is because I still think of his work as being somewhat inaccessible and difficult. In this case I have lingered even longer because I had it in the back of my mind that if I didn't make a decent fist of reviewing this CD, I'd probably give up reviewing as a bad job for good [if you see what I mean!]

So encouraged by a recent remark by one Mr Daniel Marcus Clark, musician, poet/songwriter and storyteller extraordinaire that he'd missed reading my reviews as they'd given him some enjoyment in the past, I decided to wait for a day when I had satisfied myself that I could write something and be at least half pleased with it and then get out the Penderecki and give it a shot. That day has come......

                                  ...and do you know what? I'm not finding listening to the disc and finding something intelligent [at least I think so] to say too difficult at all. I have taken the easy route. Instead of listening from the start which means tackling the Viola Concerto first, I've kicked off with the Cello Concerto as this is my favourite classical instrument [possibly excluding timpani and gongs] and number the Elgar and Dvorak cello concertos among my favourite works.

The work is almost easy listening by Penderecki standards. Yes it resounds with all sorts of squeaks and honks, and vast sudden differences in volume and intensity, as one might reasonably expect from this composer but the flow of the piece seems to fall into something of an easily identifiable 'narrative' which leaves one feeling empathetic with and uplifted by the writer's intentions even before reading the programme notes to see if it's actually about anything in particular, which I will leave you to find out for yourself.

The Viola Concerto starts off with an altogether darker, I might say even morose, vibe about it. We're in far more familiar Penderecki country here. But even here there is excitement and storytelling - an almost filmic approach to composition, I feel. i'd love to see the short movie of this one - even in a purely abstract form - you know - one of those 50/60s jumpy black and white arthouse things with all squiggles and dots interspersed with underexposed flashes of pervy men in raincoats and trilby hats peering round doors into darkened rooms...

Getting back to some sort of reality - I think this is just about the most instantly accessible Album by Penderecki I've come across - and would recommend it on the strength of this alone - it would make a gentle introduction to a very complex and sometimes downright difficult composer who is well worth the effort getting to know. Further than that, the sound quality is top notch and the performance is great too. If I were the star-awarding type, I'd have no hesitation in giving this one five.

  

A DAY OF ENLIGHTENMENT

I have recently volunteered as a helper for The Brighton Early Music Festival and it was with the usual sort of trepidation I approached my first day, wondering quite what I had let myself in for.......

 

My first BREMF gig was on the morning of Saturday 22nd October and excitingly turned out to be a live broadcast for BBC Radio 3 - The Early Music Show presented by Catherine Bott. The venue was The Sallis Benney Theatre located in Brighton University's College of Art. I helped out  by being a general gofer, bringing in a harpsicord, putting up notices and posters and finally, before the start of the show, I manned the door, greeting and directing members of the audience as they arrived.

These preparations were pleasantly accompanied with random musical sounds coming from the adjoining art gallery where an exhibition of intriguing machines was being held. These contraptions produced electronic responses as hidden microphones and light sensors were set off by passing viewers triggering various sonic and optical devices.

The format of the show was Catherine hosting a panel consisting of the 2 co-directors of BREMF and Alison Bury, leader of The BREMF Players, discussing the history, events and workings of the festival organisation, especially emphasising the mentoring scheme for young musicians.

The make-up of the BREMF Players include regular performers from such noted bands as The Academy of Ancient Music and The Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment. These performers act as mentors for younger players in the band - tutoring them in the skills of their instruments and how to deal with the intricacies involved in getting on in the Music Business. The success of this scheme was impressively proven by the performances within the talk of 2 such bands of young musicians Les Melomanes and The Musicians of London Wall, who both appear in BREMF events in the remaining weeks of the Festival.

I found the show to be both entertaining and informative, and the bands' performances to excel all expectations - they both presented several varied pieces by Enlightenment Composers which perfectlyshowed the music to be far from dry bones being exhibited in a museum, rather full-bodied living dance music capable of getting anyone's feet tapping and body swaying. All in all, it was a brilliant advertisement for the whole festival.

My final task here was to transport various equipment from this show to St George's Church in Kemp Town ready for the evening event ' A Song and Dance With The BREMF Players' - the very same outfit described above. For this performance they were to be joined by noted Soprano Julia Doyle for a programme of dance oriented concertos and arias by Bach, Lully, Handel and Corelli.

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon watching the band rehearse these in preparation for the show.  And this was truly an education - seeing them work out the logistical complexities thrown up by the composers in their various styles demanding great individual skill and cooperative strategies to bring their works to life after centuries in which patterns of  living have changed so dramatically that merely reproducing the notes as they appear on the stave mayn't convey that much - they need knocking into a shape recognisable by a modern audience, and not just the cogniscenti of the early music world.

The evening's performance brought fruition from the seeds sown during the rehearsal - the pieces were displayed in all their magnificence. I found the  works which most impressed were both from the quill of JS Bach - one including the soprano and one without.

The first of these was The Wedding Cantata BWV 202  and the stunning feature of this was the interplay between the singer and the obo during the recitiatives - seldom have I witnessed anything quite as sublime as this.

The other was Bach's Suite no.3 in D major BWV 1068 that features the ever popular Air [on a G-string] - which used to be jokingly referred to as the piece a cultured person could listen to without thinking of Hamlet cigars, no longer the case since the demise of tobacco advertisement. This Work was rousing and displayed the full 22 piece orchestra alone for the first time as it was joined by [valveless] trumpets and percussion and brought the programme to a stunning close.

They players and singer returned for a brief encore when the much deserved applause refused to die - after this we all trooped out into the night convinced that there's still plenty of life left in that old dog Enlightenment Music.

 

Zombie Walk: Not for the likes of me...

I had hoped to go on The Zombie Walk in Brighton on Saturday, but my new relationship with BREMF - the Brighton Early Music Festival - made my participation impossible as I was committed throughout the day.

 However around lunchtime I was stabbed with a few pangs of regret as I saw numerous Zomboids heading for The Town dolled up to the gills in blood and gore and sporting their best ripped bedlinen, excitedly anticipating the day's events. Momentarily I wished I could have been amongst them, doing the Shuffle of the Undead.

 Later in the evening I didn't feel so sad when I saw any number of Doubly Zombified wrecks stumbling homeward doubt feeling the effects of several hours of Undyingly Bad Behaviour.

Abi has been very much amused by reports that Ikea is to build a village in the Olympic area of East London. On behalf of anyone who has ever had the pleasure of constructing one of their flatpacks I hope they are able to follow the instructions which come in the box.

Abi is much saddened by the news that Country Legend and Beach Boys collaborator, Glen Cambell is in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's Disease. I hope very much that his London Performance this weekend went well and those present will have a beautiful lasting memory of a truly legendary gig. I wish Glen and his family every good fortune for their time together in whatever is to come.

Not for the faint of heart

Frederik Magle:Like A Flame

Proprius PRCD 2061

One of the joys of being a music explorer is that I often have no idea what I am about to hear when I put on a record I’ve been sent in the post or picked up at a charity shop.

I received this one in the post this morning in a parcel of 3 CDs and plopped it into my machine on the basis of the cover illustration, which seemed to have a somewhat Science Fictiony air about it.

　

　

The very first chord sent a shiver down my spine. I was hooked.

It has to be said that this sort of music is not for the ears of just anyone. I’d say you have to be a certain type of listener to want to have to travel the path that Frederik lays down. He is a composer/player of great depth – his instrument is the organ which he dominates with the control of an ubermeister.

 

And the path you are led on is similar to Bilbo’s experience traversing The Mirkwood in 'The Hobbit' – you are alternately shaken and stirred by dark, DARK, images which fill you with dread – afraid even to cast a glance over your shoulder sometimes for fear of that which you might glimpse darting into the shadows there….

The mood is not totally unrelenting. There are lighter moments – by this I mean there are moments in which the horror is not quite as daunting and omnipresent….

I cannot say a lot more by way of description. Looking back at what I have said - it clearly a very subjective reaction to this excellent music you’ve read here. I daresay a different reviewer – perhaps one with a vast experience of listening to organ music – might have quite different things to say and opinions to express. But mine is this….

Here is a deep dark recording of absolutely top value. Listen to it carefully – just in small chunks if you’re a person of nervous disposition and certainly not as something to lull you off to sleep. It could give you NIGHTMARES.

 

Shona Foster: The Moon & You

Went to see Shona Foster launch her fab new LP 'The Moon & You' @ The Brunswick, Hove last night. Her band is looking increasingly like a prog-rock outfit although much influenced by folk, country & world sounds to name but a few.

•  

  The Moon & You, by Shona Foster

   The boys in the band are all distinguished practitioners on their own instruments and the Divine Miss Foster continues to develop her soaring vocals fast propelling herself into the heights previously occupied by the likes of Kate Bush, PJ Harvey and Clare Torrey. The album is very good indeed but I have to say that the band's live performance is even better. So my advice in three easy steps is this; 1) Download the album. 2) Learn the songs. 3) Go along to the next Shona Foster gig in your area and have yourself a fucking great night out!

Richly contoured

Twirlygig

here's another

new werk

Dance of Defeat - Yet More Haunting Music from Amy's Ghost

About 10 days ago I suddenly became very excited. I'd just started using the dreaded Facebook, having sworn on my ancestors' remains I would never commit such a digraceful act.

But on realising Myspace was being deserted by droves of former compadres I decided not to be the last rat on that sinking ship and deserted, and in one fell swoop went over to the other side....

When I got there, I immediately started renewing former friendships and acquaintances - one of whom was the illustrious Amy Barton, front(wo)man of the magnificent Amy's Ghost,  of whom I have waxed [and probably waned] lyrically more than once in the past - including quite recently.

The news that made me so excited was that the aforementioned female apparition was due to appear down at one of my local pubs, The Hydrant  aka The Hare & Hounds, the very next evening. The rumour was that this particular haunting was to take place around 9pm rather than the customary midnight.

I duly ventured out next night armed only with The Holy Book, a clove of garlic and a sharpened stake [ I wish it had been a peppered steak].

Safety in numbers dictated that I drag along my friend DJ Paul Wilson de Ears Wide Open from Radio Reverb 97.2fm [www.radioreverb.com] and his drinking buddy Phil Le Phluter.

As I had suspected on the strength of my vast experience of such primaeval gatherings, the haunting was delayed somewhat by the tedium of fussy engineers and musicians being overparticular about ritual preliminaries known in the jargon as soundchecks - they're the only ones who really care if a C# sounds  like a Db or not.

Anyway I took the chance to admire the guitar prowess of a certain Nelson Day

 
of another other-worldly outfit The Beautiful Word who were also disturbing the ether this particular evening.

 
They turned out to be a band of some notoriety having recently featured in a crime so dastardly that it made the Headlines of no lesser a periodical than The [Evening - as was] Argus! Their spookily tiny piano had been stolen and miraculously returned and to the joy of all was given pride of place on this evening's stage. The Beautiful Word are a surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable pop band in the modern idiom [whatever that means and might be] and entertained us all rather well, I have to say. Unfortunately, their style is not quite the correct setting in which to see the young Nelson strut his stuff to full effect so I had to be content with a few choice licks during their warm-up [or soundcheck as the pros insist on having it].

 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677461786#!/thebeautifulword

Anyway, on to the dirty business we had come to witness - a performance by the flimsy shadowy presence that is Amy's Ghost. The recent departure of their long serving [or should I say suffering? - ha-ha - sorry - my little jest] drummer led the band to announce they would be playing an acoustic set. No-one actually told them this meant they didn't need to plug anything in. Anyone witnessing their electric performance, please beware - you'll need to cower in a bunker about five miles from the band's locus operandi if you are to stand any chance of survival.

 

Initially, the band really had to struggle against a sound system which insisted on giving out frightening whiplash cracks every time Ms Barton approached the  mike stand and grumbled angrily each time the bassist tried to pluck a note or two. But consummately professional, and  doggedly determined not to be beaten, they cranked up their acoustic efforts and blasted the hell out of the poor suffering sound man until he was floored and trodden underfoot. In other words Amy's Ghost walked, nay, trampled triumphant over the ears of everyone present this fateful fitful night.

They wuz fab.

As a footnote I publish a couple of piccies which should stand as a warning to you all not to mess with the aforementioned DJ Paul Wilson...

 
Notice how the dastard raises his experienced southpaw towards the innocent unsuspecting Ms Barton's pretty face, delivering a proper haymaker in the well-worn professional bare-knuckle style...

 
...leaving the poor lass with a couple of dreadful black eyes.

The man is an out-and-out villain. He needs taking down a peg or three and to know this is a totally unacceptable way in which to treat a young lady!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To round the evening off in fine style Amy handed me a copy of the latest hot wax pressing of the band's record album entitled 'Dance of Defeat'

It's a fine record of the band's work but I won't review it here in detail as several of the tracks have been dealt with by myself elsewhere. All that is necessary to be said is if you haven't yet jumped onto the large wooden-wheeled bandwaggon that is Amy's Ghost train, this is a great place to start. The album will be your ticket to frighteningly fine entertainment and will stir in you such enthusiasm that you will need to follow up by acquiring further material to feed your ever increasing appetite for the wonderful and addictive experience that is Amy's Ghost.

 

www.myspace.co/amysghost

 

Selplnig

It's jsut not ture taht thnigs are eaiesr to read and udnersntad if they are sepelld cerroclty. In atcaul fcat we all raed usnig a vaerity of storhucts emplyod by our brians to smipilfy the tsak once we hvae matsred the art. One is to reigster the lettres persnet and geuss the wrod we are raednig usnig our itnellignece and kownledge of the Egnilsh lnagugae. In the smae way the porper use of aporstohpes is eqaully uminprotnat.

this week's offerings

 
vibrancy

 
rainbow spring

Circular Tour

circular tour

Oh! What a Night! It Really was Such a Night.

The Howling

Wednesday 11th November 2010 @ The Komedia, Brighton  The Komedia Upstairs is quite a peculiar venue by Brighton standards.

 

There’s nothing warm and friendly about it. Arriving early, as we did, really drove this point home. The Auditorium was empty except for about a dozen or so high tables with 3 or 4 bar stools arranged at each. Apart from this – emptiness.

The positive point was that we were able to grab a table and establish ourselves and wait for our friends – meaning us old folks didn’t need to stand all night and worry where we could put down our drinks while we bopped or hopped off to the little boys’ or girls’ room. Luckily it wasn’t long before more people started arriving, taking the chill out of the atmosphere. But imagine how my heart sank when I witnessed the arrival of a couple of clowns in the centre of the dancefloor.

 

If there’s one thing to upset my applecart, it’s the threat of people purveying Circus Skills! This turned out to be our MsC for the evening – a duo glorying under the epithet Foster and Gilvan [http://www.myspace.com/fostergilvan].

Mercifully, they merely did their thang for only a handful of minutes and, actually, turned out to be more than just mildly amusing – performiing a little bit of mime, a bit of audience intimidation and a song before introducing the evening’s first band, Bunty Le Jule [http://www.myspace.com/buntylejule]. Their MySpace Page fascinatingly bills them as being “2-step / Korean Pop / Zouk” but my description of their act might be experimental folk rock.

 

I presume they are quite a new/young band as although I found aspects of their presentation interesting – even intriguing – I feel they have not yet arrived at the level of performance that would make me want to rush out and see them.

They have written some nice songs and the instrumentation is imaginative and adventurous. But I feel they’re probably trying to cover far too much ground and appear incredibly versatile at a stage in their development when they should be perhaps honing and polishing some aspects of their act and letting some others sit on the back burner till later.

All through the performance, whilst being, constantly impressed by the arrival of yet another new instrument or style, I felt there was something lacking. On reflection I think it’s more than one thing, but it’s mainly some sort of cohesion.

The best bands exhibit some sort of Gestalt - the band is bigger than the individual contributions. In this case our attention was repeatedly drawn to one band member or instrument rather than seeing the whole picture of a band gelling together and making a marvellous sound.

If the foregoing sounds hard and over-judgmental, I apologise but would excuse myself by saying this band exhibits such promise and potential, that I’d like to see them go places with some of the original ideas they clearly have on offer. I hope they do not think that they’re yet firing on all cylinders. I’d like them to take a step back and take a good look at themselves and identify their greatest strengths. They might then be able to develop these into a highly polished act, which will stand out from the crowd and allow them to move beyond a niche market in which I fear they would otherwise be ghettoised and languish.

 

After a further dose of Foster & Gilvan, we came onto The Moulettes [www.myspace.com/moulettes ] who most definitely did have that missing gestalt. In fact, they have to be just about one of the most complete bands around at the moment. Not only do they have both cello and bassoon as part of the regular line-up, they are positively overflowing with different vocal talents and know how to put on a jolly good show.

 

The Moulettes cover a huge range of genres – folk, jazz, rock and classical – but are primarily entertainers and as such have developed their act according to their strengths and have built from there until they know just how far they can go before falling flat on their face. This takes talent, practice and time.

 More MC madness…

 

...before… The Muel [www.myspace.com/samwalkers ]. I’ve written many times, it seems, on various projects Sam Walker has been engaged in and rarely have much to complain about. Whatever he does seems to be well thought out, pushes boundaries and he never fails to entertain.

 

Turning Green [http://www.myspace.com/turninggreen ] has most probably been his most successful venture – and remains one of my very favourite all times bands. But this was a joint undertaking with a co-operaative group of equals each bringing individual skills to produce an ensemble whole. He’s never really tasted the big time success with one of his more personal ventures that he deserves – popular wherever he goes, yes – but not quite a household name.

 

However, this line-up – Sam [The Muel] with a big band of excellent musicians providing the backing for his own distinctive brand of powerful pop and rock, is the format with which I feel he’s most likely to grab some attention from a wider musical hinterland.

 

The songs were much the same as he’s been performing in more intimate venues either solo or with 1 or 2 collaborators – such as with The Adventurists. But this line-up which included guitars, strings and brass with Sam in his natural element – drums and percussion – works so well. I’d love to see him make this his main project for the near future. He seems perfectly at home directing the band in the style of Frank Zappa or Nigel Kennedy!

 

This really was a perfect night out. At every turn there was a new delight on which to feast one’s eyes and ears.

All Killer – No Filler.

 

2 new drawings

 
besmirched

 

 
sparkler