All Ears All Scars

All Ears All Scars, with Lasse Marhaug (noise), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Maja Ratkje (vocal and electronics), dished out som brutally good noise at the Nattjazz festival (Bergen) yesterday. It's damned fascinating to attend a concert where the whole body has to take part in the listening. Nilssen-Love is hard working, Ratkje is whispering and screaming and Marhaug shakes cables and turn knots, and even change the sounds by just moving his fingers. You might have seen stuff like this before, but to me it's electrickery. And yes, it was loud! Around 150 people attended the beginning of the concert, when it was all over 25 were still there. My guess is that some of the people who got a bit scared (or tired) will be back again next time.

Other good bands the same night: Swedish "Angles" (with Magnus Broo from Atomic) and "Maria Kannegaard Trio", who played material from the forthcoming album (august release).

Canterbury Live(s)

We found a live Hatfield and The North album with a Robert Wyatt track on Caslastico's some days ago. Now it's on Elastic Rock with a new cover (same tracks).
Elastic Rock also have a post on the first "Canterbury Live(s) in Concert", a live sampler of old Caravan stuff (1968-1973), where they cover the first Soft Machine single "Feelin Reelin Squealin" twice.
1- Hello Hello (Top Of The Pops 8-19-1970)
2- If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (Top Of The Pops 8-19-1970)
3- As I Feel I Die (Top Of The Pops 8-19-1970)
4- Feelin Reelin Squealin (Top Gear 12-31-1968)
5- Place Of My Own (Top Gear 12-31-1968)
6- Love Song Without Flute (Alan Black Show 3-11-1971)
7- Love To Love You (Alan Black Show 3-11-1971)
8- In The Land Of Grey And Pink (Alan Black Show 3-11-1971)
9- Memory Lain, Hugh (John Peel Show 8-20-1973)
10- L'Auberge Du Sanglier (A Hunting We Shall Go,Backwards) (John Peel Show 8-23-1973)
11- Feelin Reelin Squealin (BBC In Concert 5-16-1971)
12- If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You (Live 1970)

John Hassell

Wednesday evening at the Nattjazz festival in Bergen: John Hassel Marifa Street. That was a fantastic concert. The ambient music coming in waves of beauty, and the volume was closer to one than eleven! That really made the audience concentrated (no drunken troublemakers until later in the evening!), and the sound of ice cubes poured into glasses in the bar fit in just perfect. Norwegian guy Jan Bang was great on sampling and "electronic stuff", Peter Freeman was rock steady on bass and M'Kachiche Kheir-Eddine made some beautiful oriental violin music. Welcome to the fourth world!

Next band out was BMX, a band of young Norwegians Njål Ølnes (sax), Thomas T. Dahl (g) and Øivind Skarbø (dr). Guest musician was old favourite Per Jørgensen (tp, voc). Damned great concert.

In between Hassell and BMX I got a listen to Post Hanne Kolstø (voc, g, pink plastic cassette player), Haldor Røyne (g), Ole Bjørn Atlstad (keyb) and Andreas S. Løwe (keyb). Charming indiepopelectronica with a taste of jazz.

And on our way home in the night, who else but Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek (Kings of Convenience) were sitting on a park bench with baby guitar. Cool guys.

Just her disguise

The beauty of the internet is the possibility of sharing information of all kinds, and even at no costs for the end user (yes I know, let's just forget the ugly parts for a moment). Here is an example: In The University of Oslo's institutional repository (DUO) you may read Tonje Håkensen's masterthesis «Don’t you realize it’s Just Her Disguise? Performances of femininity by Kim Gordon, Tori Amos and Gillian Welch" (University of Oslo 2007). Gender, norms, stereotypes and women in music, illustrated by the artists mentioned in the subtitle. I don't know if it's a good thesis yet, that's not my main point today, but I bet it is! (I found the info on the Norwegian site forskning.no)

Henriksen, Jørgensen and Isungset

Today Arve Henriksen (tp, voc), Per Jørgensen (tp, voc) and Terje Isungset (perc) gave three concerts in the sunny Bergen afternoon. Playful and improvising musicians, free for all, in the sunshine. How much better can it get? During a wonderful version of "Somewhere over the rainbow", where the trumpets really got going, I overheard a Bergen lady of the old kind and a listening guy:
Bergen lady: To me they sound out of tune!
Guy: It's art!
Bergen lady: He says it's art. They're not out of tune!

Pierre Bastien and Robert Wyatt

Pierre Bastien presents "Somewhere in the dark" at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (29 May). He has made an installation that plays a Robert Wyatt song together with his own arrangements of instruments (info stolen from audioculture.org).
I really would have liked to be there. I heard Bastien live in Bergen in November 2006, and that was a fantastic performance. Bastien and Wyatt just have to be a killer combination (or "Killer Bee" as Kinky Friedman says)! If you are in Amsterdam, you know what to do on Thursday.

Hibou, Anemone & Bear

AllAboutJazz present no less than 5 chapters on the Canadian festival "Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville", and bring news on "The Art Bears Songbook", Fred Frith's new band Cosa Brava and a rave review of Norwegian band Spunk!
I was googling for info, and found this through the blog Hibou, Anemone & Bear, that seem to write about Canterbury related stuff. Pity I don't read Italian, but I'll link to it anyway for those of you that do.

Red devil

Arve Henriksen was properly dressed for Sunday, and the concert he was conducting with the help of children he invited up on stage. Look out for the red devil at the next Supersilent concert!

OiOi. What a Saturday

It's impossible to hide from the music in Bergen these days (blame the OiOi Festival). In less than 60 minutes I heard three "concerts":
Eldbjørg Raknes and her vocal guerilla (jazz students from the Grieg Academy) were doing vocal gymnastics in front of Ole Bull and his violin and Marianne Juvik Sæbø were singing folk songs from a manhole ("How deep can you sing?").
Arve Henriksen was singing and conducting the vocal guerilla, and all the saturday shoppers, in the Galleriet shopping centre.

Elephant9

Elephant9 is Ståle Storløkken (keyb), Nikolai Hængsle Eilertsen (b,g) and Torstein Lofthus (dr). The organ trio just released "Dodovoodoo" on Rune Grammofon. It swings and grooves, and has a taste of Miles, Weather Report (two Zawinul tunes) and prog. Tough stuff! At first I got a bit irritated over the quiet, floating parts, but it will be better, I just know it. Let's just float. Back to the 70s everybody!
And Kim Hiorthøy, he must have seen the light. This must be the wildest Rune-cover so far in history.

Woodstock?

A lot of young masters of carpentry (or really artists, designers, architects) have been building in wood the last week, at a site near Bergen's tourist sites Bryggen and Håkonshallen. You may visit The Bergen International Wood Festival the next couple of weeks.See my pictures from the site here on Flickr.
Don't bring any beavers.

Arve all over the place

Arve Henriksen is the OiOi Festival musician in Bergen this year, and the guy is all over the place. Yesterday he was "trumpet player on the roof" with Helge Lilletvedt on church bells (true!), and today the same guys gave a great concert with the Folkophone in the same church as Eldbjørg Raknes. Rumors tell that he has been bothering ice cream eating children and tourists shopping at the fish market too, playing trumpet and asking them to sing for him.

Golden Serenades

The Golden Serenades (Jørgen Træen and John Hegre) have made an automatic noisemaker (two electric guitars, sensors, microphones and so on) together with Roar Sletteland at Lydgalleriet (The Sound Gallery) in Bergen. This is the damned loudest exhibition I have ever visited ( I might have said that before though). They hand out ear protection devices by the door, so it's safe to visit, and please do. (The title on the poster is some nonsense, and a joke on the official Bergen International Festival's own annual exhibition.)

Paste

Billy Bragg's "I Keep Faith" (from "Mr. Love & Justice"), with Robert Wyatt backing on vocals, is on the sample CD taped to the May issue (#42) of Paste.

The Oi Oi Festival

Bergen International Festival's sidekick, The Oi Oi Festival, started off in a church today. They have made a new version of the Folkophone, where persons are asked to sing one note, and this is recorded. You may play the old version here.
This time the singers are the boys and girls of the street, and they got some way of expressing themselves! When you sit in a church and listen to these people and the wonderful voice of Eldbjørg Raknes, you are (that's me really) pretty close to tears. Don't tell anybody!

Richard Thompson, Bergen

Richard Thompson gave a fantastic solo concert in Bergen last night. Alone with his guitar he dished out a bunch of his best songs, and the guitar playing was just unbelievable! He was witty and sarcastic as ever, and kept it going for almost 2 hours. The audience justed loved it (this was during the Champions League final too!). I've seen Thompson live 6 or 7 times, and I believe this was one of the best shows (so far!).
Today I mix up some of the songs he sang, and the ones I was waiting for, but I'm pretty sure about these:

I want to see the bright lights
Crawl back under my stone
Valerie
God loves a drunk
A heart needs a home
Cooksferry Queen
Pharoah ("my paranoid song")
Genesis Hall
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Beeswing
Walking the long miles home
Dad's gonna kill me
Johnny's far away
Walking on a wire
Persuasions
Sunset song

Added after comment on my Norwegian blog:
Why must I plead
I feel so good

Hatfields on the radio and stages

On Catasto's Friendly Fire you may find "CANTERBURY LIVE(S) IN CONCERT Vol. 2: Hatfield And The North 1972-1974", with these tracks:
1-Fitter Stoke Has A Bath ~ Calyx (John Peel Show 11-21-74)
2-Let's Eat (Real Soon) (John Peel Show 11-21-74)
3-Do The Lethargy Shuffle (yea yea) ~ Your Majesty is Like a Cream Donut (John Peel)
4-Oh, What A Lonely Lifetime (John Peel Show 11-21-74)
5-Medley with Robert Wyatt (Paris,France-Rockenstock-December 1972)
6-Amsterdamage (Amsterdam 1974)
7-Shaving Is Boring ~ Licks For The Ladies (BBC Top Gear 3-19-74)
8-Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut (Quiet)~Going Up to People and Tinkling~
9-Nan True's Hole (Kloojenberg,Netherlands 7-7-73

The Musical Wheel

"The Musical Wheel" is a cooperation between Belgian artist Jean Pierre Muller and High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan. The project is a combination of art (paintings on wood) and music, and you may read more about it on Muller's site and O'Hagan's.
The reason I started reading about an exhibition in Bruxells in the Belgian paper De Morgen (20 May 2008, p 24), was that a familiar name caught my eye. Unfortunately it's in Dutch, but here it is: "Intussen is Jean Pierre Muller al volop bezig met de voorbereiding van zijn volgende project, Seven by Seven, warbij zeven componisten betrokken zullen zijn. Muller: "Behalve Sean hebben al Robert Wyatt, freejazzlegende Archie Shepp, Nile Rodgers vab Chic en de Brazilian Kassin hun medewerking toegezegd". Are there some well educated people out there who are able to translate this? (Hey Toon, are you with us?).

A little later in the afternoon:
OK- "Seven by Seven" is the next project then?

Mick Jagger's dog

I visited Galleri Parken in Bergen today, to see Norwegian artist Oddvar Torsheim's exhibition (15 May - 8 June). This guy is something else. He makes wonderful witty drawings and paintings, with titles that will be lost in translation unfortunately. I was lucky and met him at the gallery, and we had a nice chat about women and Rolling Stones (see "Mick Jagger's dog") and we made a deal that we would never color (or is that dye?) our grey hair.
He has made some incredibly weird songs too, that just could be cover versions of Beatles and Dylan songs (they're not of course - legal reasons!), and he even joined a competition to become the official Norwegian talent with his singing. Check out his singing here 1, 2.

Monkey business

The magazines were displayed like that. True!

The Chainsaw Massage

If you are in Bergen for the Bergen International Festival, starting Wednesday, make sure you spend a lot of time walking around. Ole Hamre is organizing The Oi Oi Festival, where you may meet several of this blogs favourites performing outdoors: Arve Henriksen, Terje Isungset, Per Jørgensen and vocalist Eldbjørg Raknes.
One of the happenings is called "The Chainsaw Massage", and the programme explains: "A few years ago, Arve Henriksen delighted both himself and his audience by playing a duet with a chainsaw. He’s never forgotten the energy of that experience, and this time the intention is to combine it with the wide range of sounds that can be derived from sawing and woodcutting. Some of Bergen’s cutting edge percussionists participate. The music is composed by Terje Isungset and Fredrick Schjelderup". If you want to read the bilingual programme, you may check it here (warning: it's PDF).

The Wyatt Variatons

On the 39. Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt 2008 (30.10. – 1.11.) they have an evening dedicated to Robert Wyatt ("The Wyatt Variations"). The festival programme so far:

30. October
* John Surman - Howard Moody Duo: “Rain On The Window“
* Christof Lauer - Patrice Héral Duo
* Mingus, Monk & Me“
– hr-Bigband feat. Bill Frisell, conducted by Michael Gibbs

31. October
The Wyatt Variations – An evening curated by Robert Wyatt
* Max Nagl “Market Rasen“
* Dondestan! – The Wyatt Project feat. Karen & Michael Mantler
* Annie Whitehead's "Soupsongs" feat. Gilad Atzmon

01. November
* Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble
* “Citizen Caine“
– hr-Bigband feat. Uri Caine, conducted by Örjan Fahlström
* The Exploding Star Orchestra feat. Bill Dixon

Since John Surman is playing on the same festival, the night before the Wyatt evening, let me just repeat my old wish (or dream), a Robert Wyatt - John Surman duo album.

Canterbury discography

Since I'm more of a Robert Wyatt fan, than a Canterbury fan (I'm working on that too!), I'm afraid I have not been blogging too much on Aymeric Leroy's fantastic discography at Calyx. Please study here!

Jet-Propelled

In 1967 Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge (as Soft Machine) recorded some demos with producer Giorgio Gomelsky. This material was not issued until much later as "Jet-Propelled Photographs", "At the Beginning or just "Soft Machine". I have to say that this (whimsical?) pop-rock is my favorite Soft Machine material.
Daevid Allen and his University of Errors, who played in Bergen last week, have recreated the album track by track (Cuneiform 2004). Allen claims he had some bad guitar days during the Gomelsky sessions, and wanted to do it better, but he lets Josh Pollock do a lot of the work. Buy both Soft Machine's and Errors records!
Voiceprint just released a DVD with Daevid Allen's University of Errors, where they play a lot of this material, that also was performed during the concert in Bergen. The band is super and Daevid Allen is charming, both as a performer and vocalist. The concert in Bergen was good, but it is nice to see them in front of more people (and with a psychedelic light show) at The Melkweg in Amsterdam (autumn 2006)!

The songs on Jet-Propelled Photographs:
1. That's How Much I Need You Now (Wyatt)
2. Save Yourself (Wyatt)
3. I Should've Known (H. Hopper)
4. Jet Propelled Photograph
(a.k.a. Shooting at the Moon)(Ayers)
5. When I Don't Want You (H. Hopper)
6. Memories (H. Hopper)
7. You Don't Remember (Wyatt/Allen)
8. She's Gone (Ayers)
9. I'd Rather Be With You (Ayers)

Headache anyone?

Today (17 may) is Norway's National Day. Yes, hurray and thank you. It is a day for serious drumming (and don't forget, we party 16. May). What better then, than to celebrate with some heavy drumming. You get a recording of drum and percussion master Terje Isungset (who also is great on instruments made by ice) (London 2003), a recommendation of a Norwegian folk album Rolf K. Seldal: "Trommeslåttar og anna på slåttetromme" (Etnisk Musikklubb 2007)and finally we show you how far this drumming business may go if you don't watch out! Boys from different "Buekorps" (Bow Corps) in Bergen are trying to drum each other out of style.

AllAboutJazz

Some new pieces to read in AllAboutJazz: Nic Jones is interviewing Hugh Hopper and you get a presentation of Smalltown Superjazz, with Joakim Haugland interviewed. From the last one please note: "Upcoming releases include an ambitious box set by The Thing; duet albums with McPhee and Paal Nilssen-Love, McPhee and Gustafsson and Brotzmann and Nilssen-Love; a second album from Original Silence (Thurston Moore, Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen-Love, Massimo Zu and Terrie Ex) and solo albums from Gustafsson and Nilssen-Love".

And let's sneak in JazzNorway in a Nutshell 2008 too.

Eno turns 60

Brian Eno turns 60 years today! Hurray! See The Independent and go visit here.

University of Errors

Professor Paradox and his staff made sure that all their students passed the exams thursday night at The Garage Club in Bergen. A lot of students were missing, but Daevid Allen's University of Errors didn't seem to be put off by that. The students present were enthusiastic! The band concentrated their efforts on the oldest Soft Machine material (i.e. all of "Jet Propelled Photographs", we'll come back to that one in a day or two), but also pumped out some good old Gong stuff. The University of Errors are Daevid Allen (voc, g), Josh Pollock (g), Michael Clare (b) and Warren Huegel (dr). Look for more pictures in my Flickr Canterburians set. You'll find the tour press release here, where Robert Wyatt says: "Thanks for the University of Errors. Great BAND! – please congratulate Josh P. and all the lads!”.

Allen: "Now, what is that makes sweet music?"
Audience: "Love!"
Allen:"Yes, that's right! Love makes sweet music!"

Solidarity, Empathy, Love.

Too good to be true? You may check out "The Karlsøy Festival", not far from Tromsø, 29 July - 3 August. They got a quite good programme this year with Edgar Broughton Band, Strawbs, Daevid Allen's University of Errors, Danish band Savage Rose and more. Read their proclamation here (and see small map to give an impression on how far north you have to travel). You might experience some strange energies under the midnight sun. I hereby declare that I am not responsible for anything that may happen to you.

Canterbury festival

More at Citizen Jazz.

Midnight

It's impossible to get fed up with Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" (1,2). I was taking some photos of Molde in the late evening, and reading the Beat author Bob Kaufmann's poem "Round About Midnight". So here you get Molde, Kaufman and Bobby McFerrin with Herbie Hancock (p) and Tony Williams (dr, cigar). I'm not too happy with vocalists of the virtuoso kind (I often end up asking "where is the song?"), but McFerrin is unbelievable. I guess Kaufman's poem will never end up in the world canon of great poetry, but I think it was meant as a text to improvise around, backed by some hot jazz music.

ROUND ABOUT MIDNIGHT

Jazz radio on a midnight kick,
Round about Midnight.

Sitting on the bed,
With a jazz type chick
Round about Midnight.

Piano laughter in my ears,
Round about Midnight.

Stirring laughter, dying tears,
Round about Midnight.

Soft blue voices, muted grins,
Exciting voices, Father's sins,
Round about Midnight.

Come on baby, take off your clothes,
Round about Midnight.

Bob Kaufman, from "The Portable Beat Reader" (Penguin Classics, 1992)

Wrapped Box 25/4 Lid (with Ribbons)

Delta Saxophone Quartet with music by Yumi Hara Cawkwell, inspired by Soft Machine. The video seems to be made by mixing different takes, since Hugh Hopper is all over the place, with different clothes. I like this music, and get a feeling that they build circles of sound around the listener.
Info from YouTube: "Excerpt from Yumi Hara Cawkwell's 'Wrapped Box 25/4 Lid (with Ribbons)', based on 'Box 25/4 Lid' by Mike Ratledge & Hugh Hopper from The Soft Machine (1st), performed by Delta Saxophone Quartet with Hugh Hopper (b), Simon Pearson (dr) and Yumi Hara Cawkwell (p), live at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, on 8 Feb 2008."

The seventh python

While waiting for the movie on Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band, The Rutles) , called "The seventh python", we kill some time by watching a couple of videos. The first one out is a very boring Batman song ("Boring") and then you get a real protest song ("Protest Song")("I've suffered for my music, now it's your turn"). The last one might prove that Bob Dylan is a quite good harmonica player.

Facelift video

Peer Frantzen's "Machine City" to Soft Machine's "Facelift"

Buy the image

All music styles have their own style and their own poses. The cool jazz guys have their suits and own lingo, and the rockers may have their legs far apart and some weird hair styles. The rappers and hip-hopers are in their own league of course, with gold, muscles, bullet wounds and sexy models all over the place.
We buy a lot of this, but when small countries like Norway import the shit,you may happen to wonder about some of it. See the norwegian magazine Kingsize with artist Name on the front cover. How many of you "buy" the idea or believe in the picture? The answer is not "You´re far too old man!".

Sea Song in the lighthouse

Olive Booger illustrated "Sea Song". Sad and spooky!

Vintage Soft Machine

Only one week left until Daevid Allen's University of Errors play Vintage Soft Machine at the Garage club in Bergen. Here is one who just heard them.

Shoplifters again

Ivor Cutler has been singing ”Shoplifters” in this blog before, but here is another video for you. It will never be too much Mr. Cutler anyway.

The Recedents

Lol Coxhill (ss), Roger Turner (dr) and Mike Cooper (electronics) February 2007.

L'école de Canterbury aux Abattoirs

If you are in the Lyon area 22 May - 24 May, you have to go to Les Abattoirs to join a great Canterbury-happening. Old heroes like John Greaves and Peter Blegvad are there to play Kew Rhone, and perform a with a friend of this blog, Jean Phillipe Ramos. Hugh Hopper and Phil Miller are there too, and several of the mentioned persons are participating in a meeting/debate run by Aymeric Leroy ("Mr Canterbury" and boss over at Calyx). Friday 23 May is "Tribute to Robert Wyatt" day. Sounds like the place to be!

Lemur

Hild Sofie Tafjord, of Trinacria, Fe-Mail and Spunk fame, is in a new band called Lemur. They are touring Norway these days, in connection with a soon to be released album ("7"). They gave a nice concert of imoprovised music Saturday evening in Bergen. We got some changing moods here, with quiet moments where you could hardly hear the flute and some serious attacks on the cello. Hild Sofie Tafjord is always great on the horn. The band is Hild Sofie Tafjord (Trinacria, Fe-Mail, Spunk)(horn), Bjørnar Habbestad (flutes),Michael Francis Duch (bass) and Lene Grenager (Spunk) (cello).

(This is the "Limited edition pre-release version of "7"!, no less!).

Ears and eyes in small bags

Maja Ratkje's new album is out, and later this Saturday I hope to hear Hild Sofie Tafjord play with Lemur (Norwegian) in Bergen. I guess I will be back with more on both these events, but what an opportunity to show some of "Carrying our ears and eyes in small bags" by AGRARE (Maja Ratkje, Hild Sofie Tafjord and Lotta Melin), with video projections by Kathy Hinde!

1. May Soundtrack

Robert Wyatt/Dishari: Grass/Trade Union (1981)
Robert Wyatt: Nothing Can Stop Us (1982)
The Recommended Records Sampler (Wyatt: The Internationale) (1982)
Robert Wyatt/Grimethorpe Colliery Band: The Age Of Self/Raise Your Banners High (1984)
Working Week (with Wyatt): Venceremos We Will Win (1984)
Henry Cow, Wyatt and others: The Last Nightingale (1984)
Robert Wyatt with The SWAPO Singers: The Wind Of Change/Namibia (1985)

"With heads uncovered swear we all
To bear it onward till we fall;
Come dungeons dark or gallows grim,
This song shall be our parting hymn.

Then raise the scarlet standard high.
Within its shade we'll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We'll keep the red flag flying here."
(Jim Connel, The Red Flag, 1889)

Pop-country-legends

Just som lousy pictures for you today, from the Bergenfest, day two. I'll see if I can manage to shine up some pictures later, and put them on Flickr
First one out was Norwegian (up an coming) young pop singer Ingrid Olava . Then some wild rockabillycountry from The Sadies, and I'll have to check out their albums some day.
Last stop (for me at least) was Robyn Hitchcock and John Paul Jones playing a cosy set in a hotel ballroom. As I entered the room, Dave Pegg was guesting on bass, while Jones played dobro.