I have just ordered the latest work by Richard Skelton. Richard lives in Cumbria and runs a press with his partner Autumn Richardson called Corbel Stone Press. They produce finely printed collections of poetry and prose as well as CDs and downloads of Richard’s music. The music is ambient, gentle washes of sound that build … Read more
If you have been following this series, you will know that my tastes in podcasts are somewhat eclectic. I like podcasts to amuse me, educate me, and introduce me to new music. The choice today is ‘Headphone Commute‘ which is an irregular podcast (every couple of weeks or so) featuring a mix of music. The … Read more
Subtitled, ‘Manafon Variations‘, this album takes tracks from David Sylvian’s last album and combines them with new ones. The songs are restructured from the voice upwards using two different approaches. For some of the songs, the composer Dai Fujikura has developed string pieces. Working with a string quartet, but using treatments and microtonal layers together … Read more
There’s this idea which I subscribe to that if we spend too much time looking at the TV, it saps our imagination. All the work on building images in our head is done for us by the image on the screen. So, we just go into passive mode. Well, if you want to reconnect with … Read more
For years now I have been a resistor of the Cult of iPod. Everyone I know has an iPod – most of them have large capacity iPod Classics. I bought an iriver H340 nearly 5 years ago. I struggled with it at first because it has an awful user interface. Then along came Rockbox, an … Read more
Back in the mid-70s when I was at school, a friend of mine (hi, Peter) gave me a tape which had on it an album by Jan Garbarek and one by Keith Jarrett. This was the beginning of an obsession with the music to be found on the ECM label. I have continued to be … Read more
Regular readers of my blog over the last few years will know that I love the music of David Sylvian and have been a big fan since the early days of Japan back in the 70s. His solo career has been an eclectic and diverse mix of albums with a stunning array of musicians from … Read more
A lot of posts to this blog are about music at the moment. There’s a lot of stunning music around to listen to. Here’s a Friday playlist: 1. Porcupine Tree – The Incident Already reviewed this. It’s their best album to date. The range of music and variety from intense to melodic. 2. David Sylvian … Read more
Just a couple of listens so far, but the new album by Porcupine Tree is a wonderful thing to behold (whose line is that?) It’s a two disc collection – the first disc comprising an extended piece of 55 minutes. In the form of a suite of 14 songs, the music and lyrics are the reflections … Read more
A couple of weeks ago I bought this album, just as it came out. I have been a big fan of Sigur Ros since I first came across their music a few years ago in Wire magazine. I love Wire magazine – every issue introduces you to heaps of bands and musicians you will never … Read more