Robert Wyatt portrait

In March we had a post on a portrait of Robert Wyatt made by Sian Pattenden.

Well, she´s at it again with a new portrait for sale over at Raw Art.

Moon Relay and Moe

A couple of Norwegian bands a bit on the noisy side for you today. You better check them out if you are in the mood for something in that field. They are tough enough.

Both are out with fresh abums on the Fysisk Format label.


Moon Relay is:
Daniel Meyer Grønvold : guitar, organ, synth, electronics, percussion, grand piano,marimba
Håvard Volden : guitar, organ, synths, percussion, grand piano.
Ola Høyer : bass, double bass.
Martin Smådal Larsen : drums,percussion

Album: "Moon Relay"

Moe is:
Guro Skumsnes Moe: Bass, vocals
Joakim Heibø Johansen: Drums
Håvard Skaset: Guitar

Album: "Moe 3"

Cover images, info and shopping links over at Fysisk Format.

An Audience with Robert Wyatt

Here is a short clip from "An Audience with Robert Wyatt: In Conversation with Marcus O’Dair" at the Off the Page festival in Bristol last week, to mark the publication "Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography Of Robert Wyatt" written by Marcus O´Dair (Serpent Tail 2014).

I´m hoping to see the full talk (with better sound) of course, and will start reading the book tonight! Looking forward to that.

Added later the same Sunday, another clip:

Earwaves

Stajazz of Stavanger is organizing "Earwaves", a new mini festival of improvised music. This year it´s happening 3 - 4 October.
The program is built around Per Zanussi's new large ensemble Interlocutor.

I can´t find a detailed program, but the list of musicians looks fine:

Sindre Bjerga
Fredrik Luhr Dietrichsson
Morten Engebretsen
Sofia Jernberg (S)
Martin Küchen (S)
Eivind Lønning
Ole Henrik Moe Jr.
Bjørnar Habbestad
Paul Hession (UK)
André Roligheten
David Stackenäs (S)
Raymond Strid (S)
Signe Irene Time
Per Zanussi

More info at Kunsthall Stavanger.

Nils Petter Molvær at Jazzfest Bonn 2014

This is just beautiful! Check out the recording of Nils Petter Molvær at Jazzfest Bonn 2014!

Musicians:
Nils Petter Molvær – trumpet, electronics
Jo Berger Myhre – bass
Geir Sundstøl – pedal steel, banjo
Erland Dahlen – drums

Note to self:
Get that "Switch" album from 2014 right away!

Keith Tippett Septet (1986)

I was really checking if someone had been up all night to edit and post videos from yesterday´s Peter Brötzmann, Steve Noble, Keith Tippett concert at Cafe Oto, but I found this one in stead, a recording of the Keith Tippett Septet in 1986.

These fine gentleman play:

Keith Tippett - piano
Elton Dean - saxello, alto sax
Jerry Underwood - tenor sax
Marc Charig - trumpet
Nick Evans - trombone
Paul Rogers - bass
Tony Levin - drums

Check out @MrPilatusP´s photos from the Cafe Oto concert on Flickr.

Frode Haltli: Vagabonde Blu

Frode Haltli´s new album "Vagabonde Blu" is released in Norway by Hubro 26 September(2014). For one reason or the other the rest of the world has to wait until 27 October, but I´m sure it will be worth the wait.
On this album the accordionist plays works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Arne Nordheim and Aldo Clementi live in Emanuel Vigeland´s Tomba Emmanuelle in Oslo, a room famous for it´s acoustics.

For more info on Frode Haltli´s projects and discography check link to Hubro above and his own site.

Ads

Activists in Bergen have fought a long time to keep Clear Channel and other companies out of town, saying we don´t want huge ads outdoors.

That battle is now lost, and what happens?

Some damned street artist is at it again!

Charlie Haden Interview

Please have a listen to "Jazz on 3" this week! They pay tribute to two great jazz men, Kenny Wheeler who died last week (more will come) and Charlie Haden who died in July. You may hear a Quartet West concert from London Jazz Festival in 2007 and parts of an interview with Haden.
The full interview is on Soundcloud and will stay there I guess.

The program was broadcasted yesterday (22 September 2014) and it will be up for a week.

If you listen carefully around 12 minutes into the "Jazz on 3" broadcast, you will even hear Robert Wyatt talking about his love of Charlie Haden´s music. They chatted with Wyatt last week, and he mentioned that Haden had called him up a couple of years ago (more like five years I believe) and asked if he would sing something at his concert. Wyatt says he does not do that kind of things any more "but for Charlie Haden I would crawl out of my grave to do it".

Watch Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra with Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt at Ornette Coleman´s Meltdown in 2009 here and here.

Eschatology

"Eschatology: A live radiophonic drama about the end of the world, witnessed from a liner adrift on a deserted ocean. Written and narrated by Peter Blegvad, Eschatology is a poetic exploration of the end of everything: of land where we take to ships, of radio contact when white noise fills the receiver; of individual sounds as they echo into space".

First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 20 September 2014, and I don´t know how long it will be available on the net, so check it out soon.

Music and sound effects by Langham Research Centre (Felix Carey, Iain Chambers, Philip Tagney and Robert Worby).

More info and credits over at BBC Radio 3.

I heard this piece at the Borealis festival in Bergen in 2013, and the picture of Langham Research Center was taken there. Peter Blegvad was hidden in the darkness, so I caught him on camera while listening to Richard Skelton and Autumn Richardson afterwards.

Friday Night And Sunday Afternoon (Bergen)

I caught Bergen street artist RC working Friday night (photo OK for him), and checked out his finished work Sunday afternoon.

Anyone recognize what film the image is taken from?


Added 22 September:

The image is from the movie "Come and see" (Elem Klimov, 1985),

M Magazine Playlist

This week´s playlist in M Magazine is dedicated to Robert Wyatt, and they have a chat with him too.
Read here!

"What would you describe yourself as?
I couldn’t possibly describe myself. I’m not introspective enough!"

Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit new release

PNL Large Unit playing "Fortar Hardar" (Norwegian dialect: "Quicker Harder") live at Moers Festival 2014.

The track will be on the next Large Unit release "Erta Ale" on PNL Records (Oct/Nov 2014).
You may pre-order the 4 LP box from Catalytic Sound, oh and even a 3 CD box if you prefer.

Please read this message from PNL Large Unit´s Facebook site:
"A very important announcement about the Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit box sets available for pre-order on Catalytic-Sound - sales of the first 100 boxes will go towards Melaku Belay and Fendika Cultural Club in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The club is facing closure if they don't raise $75,000 before September 30th! Purchase of the LP box set will also give you a photo from Melaku".

Personnel:

Thomas Johansson – cornet and flugelhorn
Mats Äleklint – trombone
Kasper Værnes – soprano and alto saxophone
Klaus Holm – alto and baritone saxophone
Børre Mølstad – tuba
Ketil Gutvik – electric guitar
Lasse Marhaug – turntable and electronics
Jon Rune Strøm – double and electric bass
Christian Meaas Svendsen – double and electric bass
Andreas Wildhagen – drums & percussion
Paal Nilssen-Love – drums & percussion

Terje Isungset and Lena Nymark

Info from YouTube:
""A glimpse of light" is recorded in an ice cave underneath the amazing Nigard Glacier(Jostedalen) in Norway. This video clip is a part of a portrait of Terje Isungset made by French TV in 2014.
Lena Nymark: voice, Terje Isungset, ice, Bernard Svidal: ice carver, Tor Magne Hallibakken: sound engineer".

Please don´t try to go under a glacier on your own! OK?

Bly De Blyant vinyl

We have had some posts on the trio Bly De Blyant and their two Hubro albums in this blog.

Their second album "Hindsight Bias" (Hubro 2014) has been out on CD since January, and now the vinyl is finally ready too.
I heard them last night at the Bergen Kjøtt venue, playing a solid mix of most genres around. Nice!

Bly De Blyant is Øyvind Skarbø (dr), Hilmar Jensson (g) and Shahzad Ismaily (b, synth).

Check them out!

Shipbuilding singles

I have been on eBay again, and thought I had all of the versions of Robert Wyatt´s "Shipbuilding"/"Memories of you" singles (Rough Trade 1982) now.

The covers are details of a painting by Stanley Spencer.

My version of the first one there, up left, is not a fold out, the other ones are.
On eBay it seems like there is a fold out version of that one too. True or false?

And yes, I also have the 12" version with "Round midnight" added to the other two songs, with the same cover as the first one here.


Added later in the day:

Read the comment from Arie and go to Discogs to find 11 variations! Oops!

KÖok

KÖok is Stian Larsen and Jan Erik Ahlsen (both of them: guitars, electronics), and you will probably want to check out their third album "Imber Whiltshire", released by Va Fongool a couple of days ago.

From Va Foongol´s KÖok pages: "In 1943 the citizens of Imber got an order from the British military to abandon the city so allied forces could use it for combat training. The city was never used for its intention and none of the citizens moved back. KÖök tells the story of empty buildings and abandoned homes and farms. On the album ”Imber, Wiltshire” you can hear the sounds of a deserted town".

Yes you can in fact hear the sounds and emptiness of a deserted town, but the soundscapes created here would probably fit as a soundtrack to your own thoughts on a gloomy day too, even if you didn´t know the story behind it.

Guro Skumsnes Moe (b) and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen (dr) play on two tracks each.

Cover: Lasse Marhaug.

Different Every Time Compilation Album

Domino will release "Different Every Time" 17 November, a new compilation album of the works of Robert Wyatt. Curated by Robert together with Domino and Wyatt biographer Marcus O’Dair.

Formats: Double CD, 2 x double LPs and digitally, and even a Dom Mart exclusive version, featuring a limited print. Preorder here.

Robert will appear in conversation with Marcus O’Dair at the following events:

26th September - The Wire’s Off The Page Festival - Bristol Arnolfini

23rd November – Queen Elizabeth Hall – London (tickets on sale on 15th Sept to members, 16th Sept to general public).

Study the track list over at Domino. That´s where I stole all the info!
I´m glad they picked a John Cage piece too (from Jan Steele and John Cage: "Voices and Instruments" on Eno´s Obscure label (1976)). Absolutely beautiful! But no Ultramarine?

¿Dónde está

Marcus O´Dair is presenting the paper "¿Dónde está: the neglected role of Alfreda Benge in the music of Robert Wyatt" on the panel "Collaborative creativity in popular music: ownership, process, constraint and identity" (12 Sept) at International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM UK & Ireland), "Worlds of Popular Music" Conference, UCC, 12–14 September 2014.

Nasjonal Jazzscene

Oslo´s Nasjonal Jazzscene´s (National Jazz Scene) new YouTube channel seems to be worth following!

So far they have uploaded Stian Westerhus & Sidsel Endresen (shown here), Hedvig Mollestad Trio (rocking good!) and a 3 x solo concert with Gard Nilssen, Sofia Jernberg and Morten Qvenild.

Prepare yourselves for some unedited streaming video with pauses (mostly in the last of these three videos) but what the heck, bee positive now! I hope more clubs and festivals will do stuff like this.

Kristoffer Lo and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra

Enjoy two videos from Kristoffer Lo and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra´s commissioned work for the Moldejazz festival in 2014.

Ingrid Helene Håvik - vocals, harmonium
Kari Eskild Havenstrøm - vocals
Mette Rasmussen - alto saxophone
Andre Roligheten - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Eirik Hegdal - saxophones
Eivind Lønning - trumpet
Erik Johannessen - trombone
Kristoffer Lo - tuba, guitar, flugabone
Ola Kvernberg - violin
Petter Vågan - guitars
Gard Nilssen -drums
Pekka Stokke - visuals
Tor Breivik - sound design

Video by André Løyning

New ones from Honoré and Møster! on Hubro

Two quite different Norwegian albums too look out for! Both released on Hubro.

Erik Honoré: "Heliographs". The Punkt man joined by Ingar Zach, Eivind Aarset, Jan Bang Sidsel Endresen, Arve Henriksen (all "Punkt musicians"), and Dutch violinist Jeffrey Bruinsma.

Norwegian release: 05.09.2014
International release: 17.11.2014.

Møster!: "Inner Earth". Kjetil Møster´s project´s second album on Hubro (Make sure you check out the first one too!). The band: Kjetil Møster, Hans Magnus “Snah” Ryan, Nikolai Hængsle Eilertsen and Kenneth Kapstad.

Norwegian release: 12.09.2014
International release: 20.10.2014.

Møster!´s September - October tour:

13 September: Blæst, Trondheim (N)
17 September: Blå, Oslo (N)
19 September: Sardinen, Bergen (N)
20 September: Consul80, Stavanger (N)
08 October: Enjoy Jazz, Mannheim (DE)
09 October: Rumor Festival, Utrecht (NL)

Grasscut: Catholic Architecture / Beacon

"Grasscut, return this October with a new single, a cover of and tribute to Robert Wyatt. A huge influence on the band,.."

Read more and order over at Lo Recordings.

And don´t forget the Grasscut - Robert Wyatt cooperation "Richardson Road" from the album "Unearth" (Ninja Tunes 2012).

Ljungkvist, Broo and Nilssen-Love by Car

You are hereby invited to a car trip in São Paulo with Fredrik Ljungkvist, Magnus Broo and Paal-Nilssen-Love!

Filmed in May 2014, when Atomic played in São Paulo.

After this Nilssen-Love has quit Atomic, and the new drummer is Hans Hulbœkmo.

Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvær

Sly Dunbar (dr)
Robbie Shakespeare (b)
Nils Petter Molvær (tp)
Jan Bang (live sampling, keyb)
Eivind Aarset (g)

These guys are ready for concerts in 2015, playing new material too. Some band!

Via NPM´s Facebook.

Artchipel Orchestra play Soft Machine

Artchipel Orchestra play Soft Machine on a new CD given away with the September issue of the Italian jazz magazine Musica Jazz.

The album might be sold separately later on.

They play big band arrangements of "Facelift", "Kings And Queens", "Noisette", "Mousetrap" and "Moon In June" and "Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening" arranged for four voices.

Thanks for the tip Alessandro.

I posted a live recording of "Moon in June" (Wyatt) in June (!).

Rock Bottom celebration

Here is Jean-Pilippe Ramos´ hommage to Robert Wyatt´s "Rock Bottom" for it´s 40th birthday.

Jean-Philippe says this is a "rough mix" uploaded, since his engineer and producer Philippe Morand sadly died in the beginning of August.

Rocksteady

I´m trying to prolong the summer feeling, by still playing this year´s summer album on my turntable: "Studio One Rocksteady. Rocksteady, soul and early reggae at Studio One" (Soul Jazz Records 2014).

Rocksteady, being a musical bridge between ska (slower and more soul influenced than ska) and reggae, was hugely popular in Jamaica for a couple of years in the mid 1960s.

This is a fine collection of beautiful songs with among others Marcia Griffiths, The Heptones, Jackie Mittoo and Dennis Brown. Full track list over here.

Great liner notes by Lloyd Bradley (author of "Bass Culture. When reggae was king").