SPEKULATION: "Because We Never Know When"

We have had SPEKULATION in this blog before, with the fine album"Smoke `em if you got `em" (2011), remixing and rapping to The Jason Parker Quartet and Nick Drake. Now he´s here again, with his EP "Because We Never Know When", where he works on "Songs and poems for solo cello" by Philip Glass!

The music is commissioned for Serendip Modern Dance Company, and SPEKULATION describes it like this: "The new EP combines samples of Glass’s compositions with synthesizers and drum machines to create a continuous mix of bass-heavy music".

Head over here to listen, or download for as much as you want to pay.

The Matriarch And The Wrong Kind Of Flowers

Oh my! Please check out Stian Westerhus´ new album: "The Matriarch And The Wrong Kind Of Flowers" (Rune Grammofon 2012)! He "plays guitar" and sings (!), making soundscapes that are hard to believe. Warm, cold, sad and mighty moods will wash over you, while you listen. (Hard to describe, as you will understand!)

The music is partly recorded at the Emanuel Vigeland mausoleum in Oslo, with it´s massive reverb, and Westerhus even makes it sound like there are violins and organs in here too.

Mostly improvised I believe, but there are melodies, and nods to the music history too. Listen to "Shine", with the guitar sounding like it is made of glass or ice, and see if you will imagine "Pink Floyd on ice" too (more glacier than Disney I believe!).

And don´t forget Stian Westerhus´ previous album: "Pitch Black Star Spangled" (Rune Grammofon 2010). You need both of them.

The album should have been released on black vinyl, with 100 copies extra on blue vinyl to satisfy the crazy collectors. But a mistake was done, and all of the albums were pressed on blue vinyl, forcing Rune Grammofon to order 100 copies on red vinyl for the collectors! Fun heh? Mp3s can´t compete with this!

John Cale - "Face To The Sky" (Official Video)

John Cale´s "Face to the sky" has just been released as a single, and is a a teaser for the new album "Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood", to be released in October.

Video: Tom Scholefeild

The EX & Brass Unbound - Live a Chiasiellis - 1-06-2012

The Ex are: Terrie Hessels (guitar/baritone guitar) , Andy Moor (guitar/baritone guitar), Katherina Bornefeld (drums/vocals), Arnold de Boer (guitar/voice/laptop)

The Brass Unbound are: Mats Gustafsson (sax), Ken Vandermark (sax), Roy Paci (trumpet), Wolter Wieros (trombone).

Party on!

Streifenjunko: "Sval torv" (SOFA 2012)

The Norwegian record company SOFA released their first vinyl record a couple of days ago.
And we get no less than a double album by the saxophone-trumpet duo Streifenjunko.

Eivind Lønning (tp) and Espen Reinertsen (tp) play really slooow improv, with drone like parts, sirene sounds, beautiful melodies, lots of breathing, and sometimes it sounds as they play the same instrument, mixing their sounds good.

Eivind Lønning and Espen Reinertsen have been in this blog before, just check out Koboku Senjû. The title on this new album "Sval torv" means something like "Cool peat", while Koboku Senjû´s album was called "Selektiv hogst" ("Selective logging") (SOFA 2010) and the two musicians also played on the SOFA album "Varianter av døde trær" ("Variants of dead trees") (SOFA 2008).
All titles fitting well with this slow moving, organic music.

Play loud in a room meant for music listening! I usually like listening on my iPod on the streets and inside buses, not minding the blending of music and sounds of the city, but too much of "Sval torv" gets lost.

Cover: Kjell Bjørgeengen/Rutger Zuydervelt.

Shop the vinyl version at SOFA and at streifenjunko.bandcamp.com.
On the bandcamp site you may altso have a listen, and download the album for at at least 50 NOK (about 5 GBP).

Robert Wyatt on Jean Pierre Muller´s "7X7"

Robert Wyatt from www.summerhall.tv on Vimeo.

Robert Wyatt on his contribution to Jean Pierre Muller's exhibition "7 x 7" (previous blog post).

Sharon Gal: "Sea Song" cover

Sharon Gal has released a 7" (100 copies) called "Melancholic" on American Tapes, with a cover of Robert Wyatt´s "Sea Song".

Hear it here.

I Want The Beatles To Play At My Art Center

I seem to post a lot about the Henie Onstad Art Center (see some of the previous posts), but we´ll have another one too!
28 October the art center will open the exhibition "I Want the Beatles to Play at my Art Center", something Sonia Henie probably (?)said.

In connection with the exhibition a publication called "Mot det totale museum" ("Towards the total musem"), a double DVD and a double LP with previously unreleased material will be released.

A picture of Soft Machine illustrates an article in this autumn´s program paper and the museum´s web sites, but I don´t really don´t know if that means we will get more from Soft Machine´s visit in 1971.

Don´t forget Soft Machine´s album "Live At Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971" (Reel Rec 2009, Smalltown 2 X vinyl 2010).

Panzerpappa: "Astromalist" (Rune Grammofon 2012)

Norway´s best (?) prog-/Canterbury-band will finally release a new album, this time on Rune Grammofon, six years after their phenomenal "Koralrevens klagesang".
"Astromalist" is out on Octber 5th.

These guys are in the band: Jarle Storløkken, Steinar Børve, Trond Gjellum, Anders Krabberød and Hans-Petter Alfredsen.

More info (in Norwegian) on Facebook.

Live at Henie Onstad

Nils Petter Molvær Trio with Nils Petter Molvær (tp), Stian Westerhus (g) and Erland Dahlen (dr).

Jenny Hval (g, voc) with Håvard Volden (g) and Kyrre Laastad (dr).

Both trios recorded at the Henie Onstad Art Centre (Oslo) 10th June 2012.

POPOFONI

Rare Norwegian record gets new relase on Prisma Records! POPOFONI (Sonet 1973) features works by Arne Nordheim, Terje Rypdal, Kåre Kolberg, Gunnar Sønstevold and Alfred Janson, with music by an extended Jan Garbarek Quintet.

And make sure you read the full story behind this record over at Prisma´s blog!

At Discogs i found this crew:

Bass – Arild Andersen
Guitar – Terje Rypdal
Grand piano – Gunnar Sønstervold
Grand piano and organ – Bobo Stensson
Sound – Jan Erik Kongshaug, Meny Bloch (tracks: 3)
Organ – Terje Bjørklund
Cover – Sidsel Paaske
Prod – Kåre Kolberg
Resitation – Kåre Kolberg
Willow flute and ring modulator – Arne Nordheim
Voice – Karin Krog
Synthesizer – Kåre Kolberg
Tenor saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Jon Christensen

Lars Mørch Finborud and Lasse Marhaug produced the reissue.
Might be worth fighting for this one?

Added 19 January 2013:
Karin Krog is not credited on the new release. Don´t know why.

The 78 Project

The 78 Project: Richard Thompson - "The Coo Coo Bird" from The 78 Project on Vimeo.

Check out The 78 Project! Inspired by Alan Lomax (we had a post on him in March) musicians of today record timeless, old music on recording equipment of the past.

Here you go, with one micropohne and direct to disc, with a Presto from the 1930s.

Antony and The Johnsons: Cut the world

I have been playing Antony and The Johnsons´ latest album repeatedly for about a week now. "Cut the world" (Secretly Canadian/Rough Trade) was recorded live in Copenhagen with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, and we get very fine versions of songs from Antony´s previous albums (Cripple And The Starfish, You Are My Sister, Swanlights, Epilepsy Is Dancing, Another World, Kiss My Name, I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy, Rapture, The Crying Light, Twilight), and the title track "Cut the world", written for Robert Wilson´s piece "The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic".

Willem Defoe played in Robert Wilson´s piece, and is also one of the two main characters in the intense and brutal video for "Cut the World" (Directed by Nabil), with Carice Van Houten.

Prepare yourselves for the track "Future feminism", a speech "Addressing the affects of patriarchy on the global ecology, Antony explores the possibility of shifting towards feminine systems of governance in a gesture to restore our world" according to the record company.

The album is available as mp3, CD, or beautiful double vinyl with CD or download code. Way to do it!

Fingerpuppets!

It´s about time for a blog post with fingerpuppets in it! I bet you have been waiting for that?
What better then, than a video for "2 To Mugen No Torihiki" with Derek Bailey (g) and Keiji Haino (voc)?

I found this one over at Hibou, Anemone and Bear.

Lifelike fingerpuppets and animation by David Keffer.

Other sites to visit for news on Robert Wyatt

Just a short list of sites where you may happen to find new and old stuff on Robert Wyatt and friends.

Calyx (with the forum "What´s Rattlin´").
Canterbury Soundwaves (Long podcasts).
Hibou, Anemone & Bear (Italian).
The Polite Force (seldom updated).
Stongcomet´s "Eterni-Tea" forums (not very active).
Wyatting (Norwegian version of this blog, with even more local stuff from Bergen and Norway).

Please comment, or mail me a long list of other sites that should be included!

Lol Coxhill Remembrance Concerts

According to The Wire there will be two concerts in memory of Lol Coxhill in London this autumn. These artists are mentioned: Eddie Prevost, John Edwards, Phil Minton, Trevor Watts, Tony Bevan, Pat Thomas, David Toop, Mark Sanders, Veryan Weston and others (Cecil Sharp House 19 September) and Steve Beresford, Veryan Weston and Dave Stephens (more to come) (Cafe Oto 31 October).

On Mike Westbrook and Gail Brand´s web sites I also spot: Gail Brand, Roger Turner, John Russell, Ollie Brice, LIO and Mike Westbrook Brass Band (to perform at the Cecil Sharp House concert).

On the video you see and hear Lol Coxhill with Guillaume Viltard in 2010.

Lol Coxhill died 10 July 2012.

The Unthanks with brass

Finally, The Unthanks have released vol. 2 in their "Diversions"-series: "The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band" (Rabble Rouser Music 2012).
We get old folk tunes with brass arrangements, never before recorded by The Unthanks, and several tunes from previous albums by The Unthanks (and Rachel Unthank & The Winterset) arranged for brass.

Even if i don´t jump for joy to all tunes here (a. o. the show version of "Queen of Hearts"), most of the music is absolutely beautiful. To cite what Adrian McNally writes in the liner notes: "Folk song and brass music may be different musical disciplines, but often both were designed to speak for and be spoken by the same people. Similar heartbeats, similar content". Sounds true!

The video below is "The King of Rome" (the album´s opening track) filmed at the Cambridge Folk Festival 2012.

Cover: Becky Unthank.

And please don´t forget vol.1 in this series: "The songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons"!

Tenor Battle at Øyafestivalen

I have mentioned Håkon Kornstad´s jazz and opera project several times in the blog (recently from Moldejazz), and here he is again with Tenor Battle at the Øya Festival (Oslo) this summer, doing "Marechiare" by Tosti (1886).

Håkon Kornstad (sax, voc), Sigbjørn Apeland (org), Øyvind Skarbø (dr) and Per Zanussi (b).

Robert Wyatt and Marie-Antoinette

Steev Lemercier made this video tribute to Marie-Antoinette, with a cover of Robert Wyatt´s "Sea Song" (even if he is called Peter Wyatt in the video!).

Weird but nice?

Peter Brötzmann: Solo + Trio Roma

If you are into Peter Brötzmann, you better check out his "Solo + Trio Roma", recorded at Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in May 2011, and released on Canadian Victo (2012).

You get one CD with varied and fine solo playing by Peter Brötzmann (ts, as, clar), where he is ending the show by playing Ornette Coleman´s "Lonely Woman", and one CD with Paal Nilssen-Love (dr) and Massimo Pupillo (b) from a concert where the walls must have been shaking!
The 69 minutes long "Music marries room to room" is a noisy and energetic party, and they are not relaxing much in the encore either.

The music was recorded a couple of months after Brötzmann celebrated his 70th birthday!
Great stuff!

Bergen Street Art: The Paint Factory

Today I attended an almost illegal street art exhibition in an abandoned factory building.
Great works by artists Argus, Habitus, JohnXC and others.

Feel free to check out more pictures on Flickr.

Golden Brown

I don´t know if many of you have been waiting for some Mariachi here in Wyatt and Stuff, but finally, this Friday we´re on!
How about Mariachi Mexteca and Hugh Cornwell doing Stranglers´ "Golden Brown"? I thought so!

Let me also recommend Dangerous Minds, where I found this video.

Celer - Machinefabriek

Video: Marco Douma

I have not been swimming at all this rainy summer, but these last days I have been bathing in ambient/electronica from Celer (Will Long) and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt).

They both seem to have released a whole bunch of records, but I have to admit they are new to me.
I have checked out several of Celer´s albums, and like the floating and melancholic mood of the music, like on "Evaporate and wonder" and "Lightness and irresponsibility", and his use of samplings from movies (i believe!), as the Japanese chat on "Redness and perplexity".

To me, ambient music may last forever, when I´m in the mood, but Machinefabriek and Celer made it fit the 7" format too!
Get yourselves the beautiful "Hei"/"Sou", either the digital version or the limited vinyl edition (250 copies. It´s even on Soundcloud.

Lo´Jo

LO'JO Teaser CINEMA EL MUNDO by 2LR

Since I´m feeling a bit French today (just kidding!), I want to tell you that Robert Wyatt is on Lo´Jo´s album "Cinema el Mundo", scheduled for release in September.

I´m sure this is interesting stuff, from their site:

"Tableau premier : la nuit ouvre la voie à un nouveau jour. Les grillons écorchent la douceur nocturne de l'air tropical. Nous pourrions être sur l'ile de La Réunion, à Bamako, dans les profondeurs du Caucase. Cela importe peu. La voix de Robert Wyatt ouvre le disque : « Au début, des comètes balbutiaient, ni poissons, ni rades, ni horloge, ni mesure»".

Tom Waits - "Hell Broke Luce"

What a video! Made by Matt Mahurin for the Tom Waits song "Hell broke Luce", from the great "Bad as me" album (2011).

Canterbury Soundwaves - Poetry and spoken word special

Here you have Canterbury Soundwaves #22, a "Poetry and spoken word special".
You may listen here too, and read a short abstract of the show.

All details here.

Robert Wyatt guesting

Robert Wyatt´s solo release schedule is pretty relaxed, but he seems to be quite willing to join other people on their records.

Below are three Wyatt-related albums (I´m a bit late with one of them!), and don´t forget Get The Blessing.

Please study Une Discographie De Robert Wyatt, the place to visit when it comes to matters like this!

Dave Formula: "Satellite Sweetheart" (Wire-Sound 2010).
Wyatt with vocals and cornet on "The World Behind Your Eyes".

Philippe Barbot: "Point Barre" (Believe 2012).
Barbot is singing his own lyrics to the instrumental "Raining in my heart" from Robert Wyatt´s album "Cuckooland" (Hannibal 2003).

Grasscut: "Unearth" (NinjaTunes 2012).
Wyatt with vocals and cornet on the beautiful "Richardson Road".

Metal!

The Thing is Paal Nilssen-Love (dr), Mats Gustafsson (sax) and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (b). You all knew that. Most of you also know this is one of the toughest trios around, but have you heard their new double vinyl on No Business, with Barry Guy (b)?

It was released some months ago, and only 600 copies are pressed, so just get one as soon as possible. Seems like there is no digital release.

How many people buy albums like this? 600 copies might not be that few, or what do you think? "Limited edition" releases often make me shop, but then I see the same records for sale several years later (still no regrets from me!).

The album is called "Metal!", and the tracks (except a cover of Lightning Bolt´s "Ride the sky") are named after metals, and are organized after rising atomic numbers, from Lanthanum (track one) (57) to Dysprosium (66).

I have probably mentioned this several times, but I really like The Thing when they go full speed, and we get that, but also lots of more relaxed improv (if "relaxed" may be used about The Thing?).
My favorites are two duo improvisations (the whole of side 2) with Barry Guy and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten ("Praseodymium"), and Mats Gustafsson and Paal Nilssen-Love ("Neodymium").

The recording was done in Saint Catherine´s Church in Vilnius, and please watch the two videos below.
You might also benefit from a close study of The Perioddc Table, for a full understanding of this music.

Concert for Fukushima

Pan Rec and Trost Rec will release a benefit concert film with Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet and guests, from the Music Unlimited Festival (Wels, Austria) 2011.
Proceeds from the concert and film go to the Japanese organization "Save Takata" and to "Project Fukushima!" (launched by among others Yoshihide Otomo).

Musicians: Johannes Bauer, Jeb Bishop, Peter Brötzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Per-Âke Holmlander, Kent Kessler, Toshinori Kondo, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Yoshihide Otomo, Akira Sakata, Ken Vandermark, Michiyo Yagi, Michael Zerang.

More info on the film and support projects on YouTube.

Robert Wyatt pictures

Yesterday we had a blog post on Robert Wyatt and Archie Shepp in Edinburgh, and Wyatt has been caught busking too!

Marc Marnie took som great photos of Robert Wyatt, both portraits, with Archie Shepp and with a street singer.

I got permission to post a couple of pictures (thanks!), but make sure you check out the rest of them too at Marc Marnie´s Flickr.

Ivor Cutler advertising?

We worn our elbows down to the bone for you. from Top Dollar on Vimeo.

The video is called "We worn our elbows down to the bone for you" and the music is Ivor Cutler´s beautiful "I worn my elbows" from "Dandruff" (1974).

This seems to be an advertising video for the Swedish company Top Dollar "..a full value marketing, advertising and design agency".

Ivor Cutler in advertising? I didn´t see that one coming!

Check out Isabell Garrett´s video "A Linnett" too, for Phyllis April King´s poem. It was released on Ivor Cutler´s "Jammy Smears" (1976).

Robert Wyatt in Edinburgh

It has been festival times in Edinburgh again, and at the Fringe an installation called "7 X 7" by Jean Pierre Muller was exhibited. Robert Wyatt has made music for "7 X 7".

As if this was not enough, Robert Wyatt attended a concert with Archie Shepp and Tom McClung, where they played his piece live.

Check out great pictures of Robert Wyatt and Archie Shepp by Marc Marnie over at Flickr, both of them here and a Wyatt portrait here.

From the Edinburgh Festival Guide:
"This year's Fringe sees Shepp contributing to Jean Pierre Muller's 7 x 7 Street, a sound and art installation which also features music by Robert Wyatt, Nile Rodgers, Terry Riley, Mulatu Astatke, Kasin and Sean O'Hagan. To launch this project, Shepp will be performing a special duo set with pianist Tom McClung in the unusual setting of Summerhall's former dissection lecture theatre".

"Robert Wyatt will be in attendance on the night and Shepp has been asked to play his contribution to 7x7. It's not Shepp's first encounter with Wyatt's music. In 1982, Shepp played on a version of 'Memories', a song written by Hugh Hopper but popularised by Wyatt, with the young Whitney Houston as part of producer Bill Laswell's Material project".

In this interview you may also learn that Archie Shepp and Robert Wyatt first met when they were honored at the University of Liège in 2009. Alfreda Benge´s pictures from that happening in this old blog post.

Kevin Ayers interview

Kevin Ayers on the sixties, Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett, LSD, the rip-offs etc.

Blow Out! 2012

Are you going to Oslo this August? You will have to make some choices about what concerts to visit. You might want to visit not only the Oslo Jazzfestival (13 - 18 August), but also the exciting Blow Out! festival at the venue MIR (15 - 18 August).

I nicked the Blow Out! program from their blog.


WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST!

KNYST!
(Kasper Værnes, Christian Meaas Svendsen, Andreas Wildhagen)
STEN SANDELL SOLO

DAVE DOVE / HÅVARD SKASET / DAG ERIK KNEDAL ANDERSEN

BLACK MOTOR
(Sami Sippola, Ville Rauhala, Simo Laihonen)



THURSDAY 16 AUGUST!

JAAP BLONK / DAVE REMPIS / LASSE MARHAUG / PER ZANUSSI / TOLLEF ØSTVANG

JON RUNE STRØM

VCDC
(Frode Gjerstad, Ståle Liavik Solberg, Stine Janvin Motland, Fred Lonberg-Holm)
JASPER STADHOUDERS / OLE MORTEN VÅGAN / PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE



FRIDAY 17 AUGUST!

JAAP BLONK / STINE JAVIN MOTLAND

LENE GRENAGER solo

BALLISTER
(Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Paal Nilssen-Love)

TRESPASS TRIO
(Martin Küchen, Per Zanussi, Raymond Strid)



SATURDAY 18 AUGUST!

STEVE BERESFORD / MARTIN KÜCHEN / STÅLE LIAVIK SOLBERG

TESTICKLE HAZARD
(Tommi Keränen, Lasse Marhaug)

TOBIAS DELIUS TRIO

BABA RAKU ORCHESTRA