A day out with Daevid Allen in the Canterbury area

I´m sorry to say that it seems like we have got the final chapter of Canterbury Soundwaves. I haven´t heard much of this last chapter yet, but what do you say to almost five hours of music and a day out with Daevid Allen?

We get Gong of course, Wilde Flowers, Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and lots of other stuff too.

Thanks a lot to Canterbury Soundwaves.

Parker, Edwards, Prevost and Coxon

Oh my! Please check out Evan Parker (sax), John Edwards (b) and Eddie Prevost (dr) at Cafe Oto, August 2012!
And please note, they play at Cafe Oto again February 5th.

Evan Parker and Eddie Prevost also appear on the album "Cinema" (Fataka 2013), with John Coxon (el. guitar, prepared piano).
Fataka seems like an interesting new record company.

News from Rune Grammofon

Let me share some info, taken from Rune Grammofon´s newsletter.

Grand General - Grand General - CD/LP out now.

The band:
Even Helte Hermansen - guitar (Bushman´s Revenge)
Ola Kvernberg - violin
Erlend Slettevoll - keyboards (The Core)
Trond Frønes - bass (Sunswitch, El Doom & The Born Electric)
Kenneth Kapstad - drums (Motorpsycho)

Upcoming releases:

15.02 SPUNK - Das Wohltemperierte Spunk (6CD)

15.03 Hedvig Mollestad Trio - All Of Them Witches

12.04 Motorpsycho - Still Life With Eggplant

19.04 Jenny Hval - Innocence Is Kinky

20.04 Bushman´s Revenge - TBA (Live, LP only)

Que?

Well, even if we hear traces of Ivor Cutler in the beginning there, I have to tell you, I´m in doubt about this version of Robert Wyatt.

Das schlafende Mädchen

It seems like Robert Wyatt has been working on the soundtrack for Rainer Kirberg´s film "Das schlafende Mädchen" that was released a couple of days ago(IMDB on the film).

Info from YouTube:

"For our cinema release of The Sleeping Girl in Germany we composed a new soundtrack!

Especially for the new soundtrack, we founded the project Sleeping Men. It consists of electronic music producer and composer Daniel Paul Behnemann (founder of Berlin House label Cabinet Records), co-producer and music publisher Tøni Schifer (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) and director Rainer Kirberg. Further leading composers were Sascha Gottschalk (Pulsar Mod Club / Thief) and Moritz Reichelt (Der Plan), important protagonist of German New Wave (Neue Deutsche Welle).

With Karl Blake (Shock Headed Peters), another influencial musician contributed to the project's anchoring in an important era of pop history. Finally, the legendary Robert Wyatt (The Soft Machine) strongly supported the musical bridge into the early 1970s".

And a Happy 68th birthday to Robert Wyatt today!

Ode to Kevin Ayers

Seven Scarred Faces released the album "The Grudge" in 2012.

I´m not going to pretend I know this band, but when they have a song called "Ode to Kevin Ayers", they are OK I guess!

The following is stolen from their Facebook page:

"Seven Scarred Faces is a musical project headed by singer/songwriter Kevin Charlton, fusing psychadelia, folk, electronica and indie.
The first album, The Grudge, was recorded between June 2011 and May 2012. Partly recorded on 16 track porta studio in a darkened room, and partly in a professional studio (twisted star studios).
Contributing artists so far, to name but a few, include Jon Marett (The Retro Trade) Astrid Dines (History of Gardening) Nev Stevens (A Man Called Crow) Steve Riley (Singer/Songwriter) Ainz Charlton (The Retro Trade)".

Maja Ratkje på Festiwal Ad Libitum

Maja Ratkje + Aleksander Janicki from naŻywo.net on Vimeo.

Maja Ratkje at Festiwal Ad Libitum (Warszawa) 2012.

Video: Aleksander Janicki.

Charlie and Charlie

A sweet video and a fantastic song, and here we go again with Slapp Happy.
You don´t mind, do you?

Goos and Yves are having some fun in Avignon here.

Slapp Happy! Write it down!

John Cale on producing

Di and Viv and Rose and Wyatt

According to a message on twitter last night, they played Robert Wyatt´s version of "Shipbuilding" during the piece "Di and Viv and Rose" at Hampstead Theatre.

"Di and Viv and Rose" is written by Amelia Bullmore, and you may read a review right here.

I bet you are glad you read this blog post!

Punkt in Milano

Jan Bang (electronics), Erik Honoré (electronics), Arve Henriksen (trumpet, voc, perc), Eivind Aarset (guitar, electronics) and Hamid Drake (drums) in Milano 20 Jan 2013.

And don´t forget Eivind Aarset´s beautiful new album "Dream Logic" on ECM (Free Jazz review), Rune Grammofon´s Arve Henriksen vinyl box set, "Solidification" (The Liminal review).

"Solidification" contains all Arve Henriksen´s solo albums on Rune, with bonus tracks, 2 DVDs and the new album "Chron". "Chron" will probably only be released as part of this box set, or?

At the Stone, NYC - Jan 17 2013

Let´s have a concert today, recorded At The Stone, NYC - Jan 17 2013, and delivered by Don Mount on YouTube.

Joe Morris - guitar
Ken Vandermark - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Nate Wooley - trumpet
Augusti Fernandez - piano
Pascal Niggenkemper - bass
Ben Hall - drums

ONJ in Australia

Orchestre National de Jazz have played "Around Robert Wyatt" at four concerts in Australia lately.

What better then, than to remind you of the album "Around Robert Wyatt" (2009), where several vocalists sang the Songs of Robert Wyatt. It´s on Spotify, if you want to check it out.

Except for a visit from Rokia Traore, who visited Sydney to do other jobs at Sydney Festival 2013, all vocals (including Robert Wyatt´s) were pre-recorded.

I would have loved to see how these ghost singers were doing it live, but still haven´t found any videos.

The Age (17 January) writes about a show in "Band backs pioneer Wyatt, its absent friend", The Sydney Morning Herald (21 January) reviews one here and The Au Review has got a nice review, with a nod to Antoine Carlier for great videos, and some ranting too! Way to do it!

Geilo Ice Music Festival 2013

Geilo Ice Music Festival is happening 24 - 27 January, and you may read the programme right here.

Terje Isungset, Mr. Ice Man himself, is interviewed in the video.

Grateful Dead: Winterland (Rhino 2012)

Any Deadheads visiting? Probably not many I guess.

Let me just tell you that I got hold of "Winterland - May 30th 1971", released for Record Store Day/Black Friday in November 2012. My copy (one of 7500 copies made) has probably been on it´s way to my local record store since then, but finally it arrived.

I have no clue how many live albums the Dead have released, but according to Blair Jackson´s liner notes, this one resembles the double "Grateful Dead" album (aka "Skull & Roses" or "Skullfuck").
"Winterland" has not been released before this, and it´s only on vinyl.

Here are the tracks:

Side One
1. “Sugar Magnolia”
2. “Cumberland Blues”
3. “Big Boss Man”

Side Two
1. “Me And My Uncle”
2. “Deal”
3. “Truckin’”

Side Three
1. “Turn On Your Lovelight”

Side Four
2. “Uncle John’s Band”
3. “Casey Jones”
4. “Johnny B. Goode”

Even if you can´t stand Grateful Dead, you still may enjoy "Deadhead. The Afterlife" by Nick Paumgarten, published in The New Yorker 26 November 2012.

And let´s cite Jerry Garcia from this article: "Our audience is like people who like licorice, not everybody like licorice, but people who like licorice really like licorice".

Nico: Facing the Wind - The Marble Index Trilogy

Let me suggest you visit The Quietus for Mathew Lindsay´s article "Nico: Facing the Wind - The Marble Index Trilogy".

Here are the three dark albums:
"The Marble Index" (1968)
"Desertshore" (1970)
"The End" (1974)

In the video above you will hear "My only child" and "All that is my own", from the movie "La cicatrice intérieure" (1970) by Philippe Garrel. Watch the whole film over here if you dare. Pretty far out, as they used to say!

And since Nico is the topic of the day, the full "Nico Icon" (S. Ofteringer 1995) is out there too.

Fire! Orchestra

Fire! is Mats Gustafsson (saxophones and Fender Rhodes), Johan Berthling (bass, electric guitar and Hammond organ) and Andreas Werliin (drums).

Previously they have released three great albums on Rune Grammofon:
"Fire!: You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago" (2009)
"Fire! with Jim O´Rourke: Unreleased?" (2011)
"Fire! with Oren Ambarchi: In The Mouth A Hand" (2012)

You see they are not afraid to invite guests, but now they have totally lost control!
Check out their guest list for the "Fire! Orchestra: Exit!" (2012), their new Rune Grammofon album:

Mariam Wallentin: voice, Nadine Byrne: voice, organ, Emil Svanängen: voice, Nicolai Dunger: voice, Sofia Jernberg: voice

Niklas Barnö: trumpet, Magnus Broo: trumpet, Thomas Hallonsten: trumpet, organ, Mats Äleklint: trombone, Per Åke Holmlander: tuba

Anna Högberg: alto sax, Mats Gustafsson: tenor sax, Jonas Kullhammar: bass saxophone, Elin Larsson: tenor sax, Fredrik Ljungkvist: baritone sax, clarinet, Christer Bothén: bass clarinet, guimbri

Andreas Söderström: guitar, Reine Fiske: guitar, Sören Runolf: guitar, David Stackenäs: guitar

Sten Sandell: synth, harmonium, piano, Joachim Nordwall: electronics

Johan Berthling: electric bass, Joel Grip: bass, Joe Williamson: bass, Dan Berglund: bass
Andreas Werliin: drums, Thomas Mera Gartz: drums, Johan Holmegard: drums, Raymond Strid: drums.

And they really made a great party, playing big band-free jazz-krautrock, or something you may find in that direction.

Music: Fire!
Lyrics: Arnold De Boer

Go get it!

If you buy one of the 500 copies on white vinyl, you also get the CD.

The album was recorded 13 January 2012. 3 months later Thomas Mera Gartz passed away.

Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt

Yes, a Robert Wyatt biography is on it´s way!

Marcus O´Dair seems to be ready to publish his "Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt" on Serpent´s Tail in April, May or June 2014, depending on who´s info we trust.

Marcus O’Dair has been writing for among others The Guardian, Independent and Jazzwise, and he´s also in Grasscut.

The reason I started thinking about this book again, was a posting on Twitter by Robert Rotifer, where he linked to a strange tribute to Robert Wyatt on his old school!
How about a clock "set permanently at avant-garde time"?

And now, listen again to BBC Radio 4´s "The voices of Robert Wyatt" (broadcasted in October 2012), all legally uploaded I presume, right over here.

Frode Haltli: Arne Nordheim Complete Accordion Works

Check out this one! It´s Frode Haltli on Arne Nordheim, and his new album, "Complete Accordion Works" (SIMAX 2012).

The works: Spur - concerto for accordion and orchestra (excerpts from a concert in the video), Dinosauros, Signals, Flashing.

Frode Haltli (accordion), Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen (percussion), Raoul
Björkenheim (el. guitar), Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Christian Eggen (conductor).

Read more about it on YouTube.

Boneshaker

Oh yes! You just have to check out the new album from Mars Williams (reeds, toy instruments), Kent Kessler (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums, percussion); "Boneshaker" (Trost 2012).

You will hear magnificent, hot free jazz! Don´t let the name "Boneshaker" scare you, the music is not that brutal, and you even get a beautiful and sad track, aptly called "Beauty of sadness".

I´m listening to the mp3 version, and I might not be a sound freak, but this must sound good to everybody? Heh? All instruments sounding so clear, whether the go full speed, or slow down.

Amazon sell both the vinyl and the mp3 version.

If I made a list of the best of 2012 releases, this album would be on it!

At Last I Am Free

Check out George Chesterton´s blog post in The Guardian 10 January 2013:
"Old music: Robert Wyatt – At Last I Am Free - In which a hero of the English counterculture embraces the hedonistic disco of Chic, and plays a blinder".

Robert Wyatt´s version of "At last I am free" is probably streamed close to everywhere (?)(and you may hear Wyatt here and Chic´s original here too), but if you want it on record, you may find the song several places. On the pictures are some of them (see if you find more here):

"At last I am free/Strange fruit" (7" Rough Trade 1980)
"Robert Wyatt" (Rough Trade - Italy - 1981)
"Nothing can stop us" (+/- "Shipbuilding") (Rough Trade 1982, and later on CD and LP)
"His greatest misses" (Hannibal - Japan - 2004)

I´m not sure how Robert Wyatt feels about this, but George Chesterton writes: "Wyatt is one of the great heroes of British counterculture, like a cross between an old English sheepdog and Pan".

Album covers: Alfreda Benge.

All Ears vorspiel in Bergen

The All Ears 2013 festival is happening in Oslo right now, but a vorspiel was held in Bergen yesterday, with solo concerts by Lasse Marhaug, Robert Piotrowicz and Fred Frith.

Great high tech noise from Marhaug og Piotrowicz (who experienced loss of power twice during his set!) was followed by an intense and beautiful set by Fred Frith, playing more or less prepared guitar, using fingers, bow, bowls and rice to get the right sounds.
Absolutely wonderful!

I´m suddenly having trouble embedding a video without playlists now, so head on over here to look for videos if this looks messy.

Fred Frith and Christian Marclay

Cafe Oto released (or will release?) 100 LPs pressed with Fred Frith (guitar, piano) and Christian Marclay (records and turntables), as a fundraiser for Cafe OTO to acquire some new equipment.

And Fred Frith is in Norway these days: Trondheim - Wednesday 9 January, Bergen - Thursday and at All Ears in Oslo the rest of the week.

Almost Wyatt news

David Bowie is back on track. Ghasp!! All of a sudden!

Check out "Where are we now" and the video over at his new site (or on Vimeo).
There are already lots of copies on YouTube, but since he obviously don´t want it embedded here, and it´s his birthday (66) today (congrats!!), I´ll be a good boy.

The album "The Next Day" will be out in March.

I like the new song, and I see that lots of people on Twitter think it reminds them of Robert Wyatt! What do you think?

But even a cool guy like Bowie makes mistakes! In the video he is wearing a T-shirt with the words "m/s Song of Norway" printed on the front. The man will be bothered by Norwegian journalists until he is 70! At least!

Since we are always hunting for all kinds of news on Robert Wyatt, I´m happy to say I have listened to Viv Albertine´s (remember The Slits?) new album "The Vermillion Border" today. Robert Wyatt is mentioned among lots of other characters/characteristics on the track "Still England".

Reticent genius of experimental rock (guess who!)

Orchestre National De Jazz are still playing their Robert Wyatt tribute "Around Robert Wyatt" (2009).

Since they will perform the tribute at the Sydney Festival this month, our man has been interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald (7 January 2013).

Robert Wyatt is being his usual modest self:
"I feel like a bloke on a bicycle in a fast-moving motorway,'' he says, ''ready to pull into a siding at any opportunity - along with the rabbits and the other things that shouldn't really be there!"

Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneers (CD)

A couple of days ago I had a post on the book "Trad Dads, Dirty Boppers and Free Fusioneers", and finally I got the soundtrack too (same title as the book)!

Reel Recordings have made what they call "A compendium of British jazz recordings from the
artists´ archives", presenting the music chronological, from Mike Taylor Quintet (1961) to Graham Collier Music (1975), everything gathered from reel to reel tapes found in garages and behind shelves.

Click on the cover over at Reel Recordings, and you will see who is playing on the different tracks.

You will find (among lots of others!) old friends like Kenny Wheeler, John Surman, Lol Coxhill, Elton Dean and Ian Carr, and you will be happy to see that Robert Wyatt is on this one too!
Wyatt is drumming with Gary Windo´s Symbiosis on "Standfast", recorded January 11th, 1971.

I have only heard the album a couple of times, but it´s thumbs up here, and "Standfast" is a real treat! The same recording was also on Gary Windo´s album "Anglo American" (Cuneiform 2004).
I don´t know if any of the other tracks have been released on other records. Please tell if you know.

And let´s just add that LondonJazz did read the book too, a bit more closely than me.

The art of listening (Lyttekunst)

This one is for the ones of you who are able to read some Norwegian:
Head on over to Wyatting for some info on a new book on free improvisation.

Loads of Norwegian musicians interviewed.

Kiruna: The River

Towards the very end of 2012 Kiruna finally released their new album "The River" (Propeller 2012 - no info on their site so far).

The band is Kåre Chr. Vestrheim (keyb, g), Thomas Tofte (b) and Erland Dahlen (dr), and Vestrheim describes their way of working like this (to the Norwegian paper Dagsavisen: "We meet, start playing, follow a lead, and it turns out what it turns out.." (my translation).

I can´t pin a genre to this music (it would be something like ambient postprog I´m afraid), and I would not have guessed that it was all improvised, so let´s just say there are beautiful and dramatic soundscapes in there! Since they call the album The River, I can see a river on it´s way while listening, but blame me - not the band - for that.

You want this one (LP or files), and you should also seek out "Irun" (Tuba, 2003 (cover by the great Thore Hansen)) and "Tarasaurus" (Plastic Strip 2007).

Cover: Forest.

Ivor Cutler - Looking for Truth with a Pin

I must have mentioned this one already, but let me remind you all about a nice documentary on Ivor Cutler!

The DVD "Looking for truth with a pin / Cutler´s last stand" was released in 2005 (ClapTrap). It is probably quite easy the get hold of a used copy (see Amazon), but you can also watch it on UBUWEB (and in parts on YouTube of course!).

The documentary ("Looking for truth...") includes lots of interviews with Ivor Cutler and friends, among them Robert Wyatt and Alfreda Benge. "Cutler´s last stand" is a recording of Ivor Cutler´s farewel concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in February 2004.

You just have to watch this! And get some Ivor Cutler records too of course!

Hubro 2013

Hubro had a great 2012, with records by (among others!) Jessica Sligter, 1982 + BJ Cole and Ivar Grydeland, and 2013 is looking good too!

In February we may expect Mats Eilertsen Trio (Eilertsen, Harmen Fraanje and Thomas Strønen) with "Sails Set", Splashgirl (Andreas Stensland Løwe, Jo Berger Myhre and Andreas Lønmo Knudsrød) with "Field Day Rituals" and Bly De Blyant (Shahzad Ismaily, Hilmar Jensson and Øyvind Skarbø) with "ABC".