The Quietus | Film | Film Features | Sound and Vision: Imogen Heap On A New Score To A Surreal Classic
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
Album of the Week : Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
The album's title, tracklisting and cover art were "accidentally" revealed by frontman Guy Garvey on December 22, 2010. It is said to be influenced by lead singer Guy Garvey's childhood, as he moved back to the area he grew up in before the album was recorded, and is aimed to appease both their traditional fanbase and those who took a shine to the arena anthems of The Seldom Seen Kid.
The band's success, according to Guy Garvey, made it difficult for the band to continue in the same vein when it came to lyrics. For, as Q magazine put it, "...when heartbreaking melancholia is your currency, success and contentment can be a problem." The group's frontman admitted that due to being "too happy" he had to "look elsewhere for lyrics." "I can't sincerely write about where I'm at because I'm doing OK. It wouldn't work."
Elbow began writing new material and reviewing stuff they'd made on the road in January 2010, while on the Isle of Mull. It was there and then that the new album's major motif began to take shape: that of nostalgia, missing family life and detesting the feeling of being unable to settle in. "In essence, they realised they've grown up, and the thought set Garvey on a nostalgic, reflective course," according to Q.
The agenda, both thematically and musically, was set by "Jesus Is a Rochdale Girl," a minimalist, Eno-esque track based on Garvey's earlier poem he wrote about his first love. "I think our records have always had light and shade to a degree, this one more so than the others", commented Garvey. A couple of times, when struggling with lyrics, he made trips to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Wiltshire to "share thoughts" with its owner. On such occasions the frontman communicated via video calls with his band, which, on some occasions, had to place the laptop on top of the piano and play the latest versions of songs to virtual Garvey.
"Lippy Kids', according to Q, was a key song: it was written in defence of the British teenager, victim to, as Garvey put it, "the anti-hoody shit that goes on in the media, the thought that if you hang around on a street corner you're a criminal." Speaking of the overall sound and its apparent lack of radio-friendliness, Garvey commented: "We could write deliberate radio hits until the cows come home, but I think you can hear it really obviously when a band has done that." The singer mentioned the relative easiness of the atmosphere in which the album was recorded. "It's the first album we've made without the comedy anvil hanging over our heads," he said
Marques Toliver - Butterflies Are Not Free
Marques Toliver an artist to watch and listen to in 2011 highly orginal
3652011 Track of the Day : Nitin Sawhney - Letting Go
Nitin Sawhney (born 1964) is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically-acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality. Sawhney is also active in the promotion of arts and cultural matters, and is a patron of numerous film festivals, venues, and educational institutions.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Steel City DH Gallery
Singletrack | Steel City DH Gallery
20 Sec Reading
Often we are inclined to give, give, give without every asking anything in return.
We may think this is a sign of generosity or even heroism.
But it might be little else than a proud attitude that says:
“I don’t need help from others. I only want to give.”
When we keep giving without receiving we burn out quickly…there is a time to give and a time to receive.
We need equal time for both if we want to live healthy lives.
Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey
Occasional Series : Track from way back
I really liked this track first time not least for its highly creative title simply brilliant
Roy Harper (born 12 June 1941) is an English rock / folk singer-songwriter / guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s. Harper has described American blues musician Leadbelly and folk singer Woody Guthrie as his biggest musical influences when he was growing up. As a musician, Harper is known for his distinctive fingerstyle playing and lengthy, complex compositions. He has released a large catalogue of albums as an artist, most of which are available on his own record label Science Friction.
His influence has been acknowledged by many musicians including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Pete Townshend of The Who, Kate Bush, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, as well as more recently by Californian harpist Joanna Newsom. Harper also sang guest lead vocals on Pink Floyd's song "Have a Cigar", and inspired the title of the Led Zeppelin song "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper".
3652011 Track of the Day : Feist - Sacred Heart
Leslie Feist (born 13 February 1976), known professionally as simply Feist, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and is a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. At the 2008 Juno Awards in Calgary, she was the top winner with five awards, including Songwriter of the Year, Artist of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Watch: Colin Stetson Take-Away Show
Watch: Colin Stetson Take-Away Show | One Thirty BPM
Colin Stetson, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a bass saxophone player and touring member of Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre. In addition to saxophone, he plays clarinet, bass clarinet, french horn, flute, and cornet.
Stetson has brought his unique voice on winds and brass to stage and studio with dozens of artists, including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, Bon Iver, My Brightest Diamond, Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Jolie Holland, Sinéad O'Connor, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, Kevin Devine and Anthony Braxton. His solo album New History Warfare, Vol 1. was released in 2009.
3652011 Track of the Day : Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Right Now A-Roaming
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.
He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and musical styles. Before that, he had fronted the group The Birthday Party in the early 1980s, a band renowned for its highly dark, challenging lyrics and violent sound influenced by free jazz, blues, and post-punk. In 2006, he formed the garage rock band Grinderman that released its debut the following year. Cave's music is generally characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences, and lyrical obsessions with "religion, death, love, America, and violence."
Upon Cave's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, ARIA Awards committee chairman Ed St John said “Nick Cave has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of popular music. He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist—beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute."
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Wanted to Findout More About : Skylar Grey - Great Vocal
Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), better known by her stage name Skylar Grey (formerly Holly Brook), is a Grammy-nominated American multi-instrumental singer, songwriter and record producer. Grey was signed to Machine Shop Recordings and performed on "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor under the name Holly Brook. She released her debut album Like Blood Like Honey in 2006. She co-wrote the three versions of "Love the Way You Lie" with Alex Da Kid who signed her to his Wonderland Music label. She was featured as a guest vocalist on Diddy-Dirty Money's single "Coming Home", Dr. Dre's and Eminem's "I Need a Doctor" and Lupe Fiasco's "Words I Never Said"
Band to Follow : Admiral Fallow
Admiral Fallow (formerly known as Brother Louis Collective until 2010) is a Scottish musical group formed in 2007 by singer/song-writer Louis Abbott. Citing influences including Tom Waits, Elbow, Low, Midlake, King Creosote, and Bruce Springsteen, Admiral Fallow adds clarinet, flute, stand up double bass and four vocalists to the usual indie line-up to create their joyous, orchestral-tinged pop songs.Admiral Fallow
Letters of Note
Letters of Note is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at. Updated every weekday. Edited by Shaun Usher.
Letters of Note
Letters of Note
Monday, 7 March 2011
3652011 Track of the Day : Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics - Cha Cha
Mulatu Astatke (born 1943; surname sometimes spelled Astatqé on French-language releases, and ሙላቱ አስታጥቄ in his native Amharic) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz.
Born in the western Ethiopian city of Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he combined his jazz and latin-music interests with traditional Ethiopian music. Astatke led his band while playing vibraphone and conga drums—instruments that he introduced into Ethiopian popular music—as well as other percussion instruments, keyboards and organ. His albums focus primarily on instrumental music, and Astatke appears on all three known albums of instrumentals that were released during Ethiopia's Golden ’70s.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
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