Mothballin'
Ah yes....things round here have slowed up. Did anyone notice? Anyways, I've decided to concentrate on brazenly showcasing my musical activities in a (slightly) more professional manner over at marshmusic.org, so please go there if you like for all the latest showbiz news...
Wyatt Riot
I've been listening to this excellent podcast from The Wire, where Robert Wyatt talks to Tony Herrington about...well, everything, really. There are few people on the planet who appear as sincere, honest, self deprecating and insightful as Mr Wyatt, and he's one of those musicians who inspires something approaching love in my withered old heart (not just because we're from the same neck of the woods). His music seems to have been with me for ever, which I suppose it has.
I was going to write a long rambling post about my favourite Wyatt moments etc but instead I'll just quote Andie, who said the other night that his voice reminded her of 'an Autumnal hug'. I think that just about sums it up. Gawd bless 'im.
I was going to write a long rambling post about my favourite Wyatt moments etc but instead I'll just quote Andie, who said the other night that his voice reminded her of 'an Autumnal hug'. I think that just about sums it up. Gawd bless 'im.
two recent things
a couple of weeks ago myself and Paul May were booked in to the excellent Onecat studio for a session with Wigdump, a new quartet put together by saxophonist Julie Kjaer with trombonist/euphonium player Ian McLachlan. I was quite excited about this as it's a corking little ensemble and one of my current faves, but sadly Ian was ill and couldn't make the session, leaving Paul and I with some studio time on our hands. Julie refused our offer of a trio for some reason, so we drafted in pianist Mark Ball who's a regular at our Stockwell jazz extravaganza. A set of rather peculiar unplanned improvs emerged, which I've been toying around with on one of those computer things.
The first thing happened while we waited for Mark to arrive, and we had no idea it was being recorded. It features my nice new Fender Precision, which I am starting to fall in love with a little bit. I added more stuff later.
The second thing was recorded about 7 seconds after Mark arrived and sounds like EST on some horse tranquilisers. The double bass was added later and replaced the Precision as it needed something slightly more vague sounding...
Apologies in advance but there may be more of this...
The first thing happened while we waited for Mark to arrive, and we had no idea it was being recorded. It features my nice new Fender Precision, which I am starting to fall in love with a little bit. I added more stuff later.
The second thing was recorded about 7 seconds after Mark arrived and sounds like EST on some horse tranquilisers. The double bass was added later and replaced the Precision as it needed something slightly more vague sounding...
Apologies in advance but there may be more of this...
Elvers at Club Integral, 5/4/12
Elvers play a rare gig at the always excellent Club Integral in a couple of weeks. We'll be joined by Chris Cornetto from Sound Of The Sun... Details
Found Drowned
just to say this trio now has a Bandcamp page here with a couple of live tracks for free download. the album we recorded last year will finally emerge here and not on Forwind, so keep em peeled.
Oramix
A few weeks back I came across The Science Museum's Oramix competition - the challenge was to create a new piece out of samples of Daphne Oram's work. Having nothing better to do I ended up constructing something out of a couple of short samples of what sounded like a zither which had been sped up massively and soaked with tape echo. It took me a few hours and I posted it on the relevant Soundcloud page and forgot all about it. I didn't think it was up to much really, but I never do.
Last week I got an email from the Science Museum and this is what it said.
Dear Peter,
The results are in and after adding up the scores it turned out we had a ‘photo finish’ on our hands. Unfortunately you didn’t win, but we would like to give Orbit a special mention, because it still had an impressive overall score and Brian Eno called it “very engaging, intricate and complex in mood. I wanted this to go on and on.” We think that’s still a pretty amazing result. Of course we understand that you wanted to win OraMIX, but the competition was incredibly tough. We want you to know that we think you submitted a great track.
Which is all very lovely. Now I looked up this Brian Eno chap on the internet and apparently he's very famous. I think he likes my track because it sounds like one of his. Ahem.
More here. The winning track is very lovely btw.
Last week I got an email from the Science Museum and this is what it said.
Dear Peter,
The results are in and after adding up the scores it turned out we had a ‘photo finish’ on our hands. Unfortunately you didn’t win, but we would like to give Orbit a special mention, because it still had an impressive overall score and Brian Eno called it “very engaging, intricate and complex in mood. I wanted this to go on and on.” We think that’s still a pretty amazing result. Of course we understand that you wanted to win OraMIX, but the competition was incredibly tough. We want you to know that we think you submitted a great track.
Which is all very lovely. Now I looked up this Brian Eno chap on the internet and apparently he's very famous. I think he likes my track because it sounds like one of his. Ahem.
More here. The winning track is very lovely btw.
Bass/Metals
Another podcast this time of stuff made primarily by the double bass, accompanied on occasion by percussion, metals, tape and prepared piano. Includes Dumitrescu's Cogito, which is as dark as proverbial pitch. A guaranteed floorfiller.
photo by Rosie McLaughlin
photo by Rosie McLaughlin
Bass/Metals by Astrogarage on Mixcloud
Obscurities
Obscure Records was set up in 1975 by Brian Eno. Effectively it was a subdivision of Island and later Polydor Records. It lasted three years and put out ten records, one of which was by Eno. Nine of them were produced by him (the other one had him down as 'executive producer'). Even given that this was the Seventies, Obscure was a brave venture. After all, Eno had only been in the public consciousness for three years or so, and that was mostly as a glam icon making funny noises on synth and churning out futurist avant pop gems.
Yet here he was, allowed to put out whatever he liked, on his own label. And the stuff he did put out sounded like it belonged on labels like Deutsche Grammofon or Incus or FMP or ESP or on Audio Arts cassettes. There wasn't much in the way of electronics or interesting haircuts or feather boas.
For the most part Obscure acted as a home to a hub of English 'experimental' composers. It was the first time the work of Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, David Toop and Christopher Hobbs could be heard outside of their usual small run cassettes or vinyl. This was a nod to some of Eno's immediate influences, many of whom he played with in the Scratch Orchestra.
The records were made quickly and cheaply and not all of those involved were happy with the results (Tom Phillips' Irma seems a case in point, and it is pretty awful), but at its best Obscure showcased a range of peculiarly English experimentalism that fed on Cage, free improvisation, 'world' music and jazz. With the exception of Eno's Discreet Music and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra album, most of the Obscure releases have been sporadically available, with many not making it to CD. This mix highlights a few of my favourite party starters from the label.
Yet here he was, allowed to put out whatever he liked, on his own label. And the stuff he did put out sounded like it belonged on labels like Deutsche Grammofon or Incus or FMP or ESP or on Audio Arts cassettes. There wasn't much in the way of electronics or interesting haircuts or feather boas.
For the most part Obscure acted as a home to a hub of English 'experimental' composers. It was the first time the work of Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, David Toop and Christopher Hobbs could be heard outside of their usual small run cassettes or vinyl. This was a nod to some of Eno's immediate influences, many of whom he played with in the Scratch Orchestra.
The records were made quickly and cheaply and not all of those involved were happy with the results (Tom Phillips' Irma seems a case in point, and it is pretty awful), but at its best Obscure showcased a range of peculiarly English experimentalism that fed on Cage, free improvisation, 'world' music and jazz. With the exception of Eno's Discreet Music and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra album, most of the Obscure releases have been sporadically available, with many not making it to CD. This mix highlights a few of my favourite party starters from the label.
Obscurities by Astrogarage on Mixcloud
