2001

Looking back in the archives I find that my albums of the year for 2001 were:-

Pascals - “Pascals” (Japanese band using toy instruments)

Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson & Sigur Ros - “Englar Alheimsins”

Led Kaapana & Bob Brozman - “In the Saddle” (Hawaiian guitar duo)

Robert Rich - “Somnium” (his 7 hour sound only DVD of one of his sleep concerts)

Orlando Lopez - “Cachaito” (Cuban bass player)

Brian Eno & J Peter Schwalm - “Drawn from Life”

Momo Wandel - “Afro Swing” (the deepest, most gravelly voice in the world)

Biosphere - “Substrata 2” (reissued album, but greatly expanded)

Blind Boys of Alabama - “Spirit of the Century”

John Zorn - “The Gift”

Gavin Bryars - “Biped”

Orchestra Baobab - “Pirate’s Choice”  (classic from Senegal - reissued with extra material)

Jazz Jamaica All Stars - “Massive”

Nick Lowe - “The Convincer”

Loudon Wainwright III - “Last Man on Earth”

The Legendary Marvin Pontiac - “Greatest Hits” (aka John Lurie)

Little George Sueref & the Blue Stars - “1st”

Fridge - “Happiness”

Tinariwen - “The Radio Tisdas Sessions”

And I have to say, I'm impressed with myself! Almost all of them I'm very happy to play now.

I remember being in Spin Records in Newcastle when the Zorn was playing and asking what on earth it was.

George Sueref (The finest blues man Wales ever produced - whatever happened to him?), Momo Wandel & Tinariwen I discovered via Andy Kershaw's radio programme. (It's time he returned to the airwaves).

Fridge I first heard on the much missed BBC Radio 3 programme "Mixing It".

The Gavin Bryars CD I bought direct from him & so it's a signed copy.

Jazz Jamaica All Stars were one of the great live acts, saw them a number of times.

All quality if I say so myself.

In C(hina)

Travelling music this morning was the Shanghai Film Orchestra's version of Terry Riley's classic "In C".
This performance was recorded in 1989 in Shanghai, and mixed later in Hollywood by Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Riley. It seems there were problems at the recording, partly due to tuning differences between China & Western music but also because the musicians were not used to having a free hand, to improvise the number of repeats of the 53 patterns that make up the piece. This released performance clocks in at 28 minutes, but first takes were only in the region of only 10 or 12 minutes!
It's an interesting mix.
"In C" is perhaps a greater idea than a piece of actual music, but I do like it.
I also have an album that is a Javanese take on "In C", which is perhaps a more natural mix than the Chinese version - "Gamelan of Central Java - XV. Returning Minimalism: In Nem". Recorded in 2009. It's inspired by "In C" rather than a performance of it. A good album.
There is also a purely vocal version available, which intrigues me. I've only heard an extract, but must get the full version sometime.

L Subramaniam

Just been listening to a live recording from 1983 of "Raga Dharmavati" by Indian violinist L. Subramaniam with Alla Rakha on tabla.
L Subramaniam really is a fantastic violinist. Wonderful flowing lines in his improvisations, with lots of "how does he do that?" moments.
I did once see him play years ago at, of all places, Newcastle upon Tyne Civic Centre. Not in a theatre or lecture space but just in a normal room. This caused problems as Indian musicians almost always perform sitting on the floor, so if you weren't near the front you couldn't see anything. Luck for me I could see, and it was one of the most impressive instrumental performances I've ever seen.
I did meet him after the concert, a tiny man, and got his autograph.
It was years after I'd first heard him that I discovered that he is actually the brother of L Shankar the violinist famous for playing with John McLaughlin in Shakti & later working with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Talking Heads to Echo & The Bunnymen. Shankar, as he later became known and now Shenkar, seems to have given up on the classical Indian violin (not forgetting his amazing twin necked violin), or even his fusion stuff which he recorded with the likes of Jan Garbarek, and wants to be a pop/rock singer. Something he's been trying to do for years now.
It seems a waste.
L Subramaniam continues to perform traditional, as well as fusion musics of his own, on his trusty violin. And he is the better violinist of the two.
My absolute favourite CDs of his are a couple of releases he recorded for the Radio France Ocora series. Unbelievable!

Seagull

On the iPod today came a track by Dead Can Dance.
They have, a few times, used bird calls on their music & right on cue today, a seagull flew past at low altitude but in full voice to add his cry to the music.
Perfect.
Must be a fan.

Music for a Found Harmonium

Last night watching a documentary about the first plans for the Channel Tunnel, "Music for a Found Harmonium" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra was played over footage of the completed tunnel with the train speeding through.
Famously composed by Simon Jeffes after he found a harmonium left in the streets of Kyoto, the music has since taken on a life of it's own. Firstly the traditional Irish group Patrick Street played it as a set finale which allowed them to go off in various show stopping directions, before returning to the original tune again and again. So successful was this, and so liked by Irish & Scottish fiddle players that it has become a "standard". Sometimes called "A Tune for a Found Harmonium" and often credited not to Jeffes, but as a "traditional" tune.
A quick look on the internet finds that it has been covered by not only Patrick Street but;
Sharon Shannon, Four Men & a Dog, Moose Hill, Fiddlers Feast, Colin Reid, California Guitar Trio, Todd Hallawell, FBA, New Celeste, Les Violinik, Ochtopus, The Beggarmen, Matto Congrio, Hot Rats, The Fabulous Potato Heads R&B Ceili Band, Mundi, Mithril, Leidertach, Celtica, Steve Pettit, Alabastro Euforico, Anam Keltoi, Meletti Valerio, Rock Salt & Nails, Coila, Rapalje and Phil Coulter to name but a few!
Simon Jeffes was I think, a genius. Not a term I use lightly. His superb mix of classical, world musics, fun & exact arrangements created some of the finest music ever produced. As I say, a genius.
And his son Arthur isn't bad either - carrying on Penguin Cafe and his duo Sundog.

A. Kostis

A few weeks back now, on the free CD that came with my copy of The Wire magazine (The Wire Tapper series), there was one stand out track - "Dertlidikos Horos" by A. Kostis.
This track appears on a compilation "Greek Rhapsody, Instrumental Music from Greece, 1905-1956", a 2CD set with book compiled by Tom Klein. I've yet to track down the compilation, but if it's of the standard of that simple guitar track, it'll be worth getting.
There are lots of these type of releases these days - extensively researched books & compilations of old tracks. They always seem to look fantastic & are very desirable items. The risk is that you play the music once & just keep it as a novelty item.
As for A. Kostis, I gather that he died in 1943 & his real name was Bezos. He was a big fan of Hawaiian music having a band called Bezo's Hawaiian Guitar Ensemble during the 1930s!
World music fusion 30s style.
(The reason for mentioning this now is because that track has appeared twice on my iPod today while playing it on shuffle.)

Cafe Talk

Two old men overheard this morning.
One was trying to remember the name of someone he mentioned in his story.... "Dave...Dave...Dave...like Big Dave. They call him Dan."

Uninspired

Out walking at lunchtime with my iPod on.
But nothing appealed.
Tried it on shuffle.
Tied picking something.

Nothing inspired me today.

Monday

Driving music to and from work today was from "Flip Side (of Sophism)" by Pascal Comelade & Richard Pinhas, this duo's second full length collaboration. A mixture of toy instruments and processed guitar.
Lunchtime had me listening to "Ivor Cutler at 90" a BBC Radio 4 programme for what would have been his 90th birthday. Nice to hear his work again & to hear stories of his time as a teacher. "I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy and I'll punch the man who says I'm not"
Evening music came from Ludovico Einaudi's album "Una Mattina" - mainly solo piano minimalism, and then Charlie Haden and Hank Jones "Steal Away" - piano and bass jazz on old gospel songs and hymns.

Lightwave

A French electronics duo (Christian Wittmann & Christoph Harbonnier), who first came to my attention really, following an appearance on a Hector Zazou album. Followed them quite closely for a few years in the 1990s with their wonderfully dark, spooky & slightly mad albums like "Tycho Brahe" & "Mundus Subterraneus".
They seem to have disappeared these days, but there were a couple of albums from the early 2000s that I never got, not for taste reason, but availability & cost, as they never seemed to be available outside of France for anything like a reasonable price.
Well, only 9 years after it's release, this week I got "Bleue Comme Une Orange".
Listened to it a few times now & while it's a light affair compared to the earlier stuff it's been great to hear it. A great mix of acoustic & electronic. Jon Hassell make an appearance on a couple of tracks & rather than having him over the usual ethnic sounding backing, they make great use of the airer aspects of his playing.
Sorry it took me so long.
Perhaps I should track down that other album now?

After Silence

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music"
Aldous Huxley

Nothing

"When you have nothing to say, say nothing"
Charles Celeb Colton

Mitsuko answers

Interviewed in one of today's papers, classical piano player Mitsuko Uchida was asked (amongst others), these two questions:

What's your advise to young musicians?
"Listen. Keep your ears open"

The greatest danger to classical music?
"Soundbite culture. Music is like a great painting framed in time. You need all of it."

1995

At the end of 1995 I produced the following "Best of" list:-

Jon Hassell - “Sulla Strada”

Bill Nelson - “Crimesworth”

Techno Animal - “Re Entry”           

Ry Cooder - “ Music by” (a soundtrack compilation)           
Sheppard / Vasconcelos / Lodder - “ Inclassificable”

Seed - “ Vertical Memory”

Namlook / Atom Heart - “ Jet Chamber”

John Surman - “ A Biography of the Rev. Absalom”

Emmylou Harris - “Wreaking Ball”

Terry Evans - “Puttin’ it Down”

Passengers - “Original Soundtracks 1”

Woob - “Woob2”

Lightwave - “ Mundus Subterraneus”

Culturemix with Bill Nelson - “ Culturemix”

Baaba Maal - “ Sunugal”

Hector Zazou - “ Songs from the Cold Seas”

A number of surprises given the passing of time. I'd say that 4 of them I doubt I've played since!

Only 1 of them I still say is a truly great album, Emmylou Harris' "Wreaking Ball"(produced by Daniel Lanois). The Hassell, Nelson, Cooder, Sheppard/Vasconcelos/Lodder, Seed, Lightwave & Baaba Maal come close. Can't remember when I last played Woob or Terry Evans or the Culturemix albums. 
As for Passengers, what was I thinking?

I think I should now dig these out & play them again.

(Other years lists to follow in due course. Could be interesting.......)

Bookworms

Overheard in a second-hand bookshop in Penrith today.
An "older couple" come in & start looking at the novels.
"There's a cowboy one for you" she said.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy" she says, as she takes it off the shelf.
After reading the back she says, "I don't think you'll like it", and puts it back where she found it.