Return To Y'Hup - The World Of Ivor Cutler

"Chemikal Underground takes great pleasure in announcing the upcoming release of Return To Y’Hup: The World of Ivor Cutler; a celebration of the life and work of an artist of unrivalled musical and poetic vision. 26 of Cutler’s choice compositions are presented by Citizen Bravo, Raymond MacDonald and a host of friends...".

With "distinct Scottish voices alongside new arrangements of Cutler’s music, featuring a large number of high profile guest artists, including: Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Tracyanne Campbell (Camera Obscura), Kris Drever (Lau), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian), Pictish Trail, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Karine Polwart, Rick Redbeard (Phantom Band) and James Yorkston. Visiting the island as distinguished guests are two English vocalists, Phyllis King (Ivor Cutler’s longtime companion and collaborator) and living legend, Robert Wyatt".

Vinyl, CD and download out on 24 January 2020. Looking forward to this one!

Robert and Alfie in LUNCHEON Magazine

Check out Martin Clark´s interview with Robert Wyatt and Alfreda Benge in LUNCHEON N.8 AW 2019-20:"Robert Wyatt and Alfie Benge" (p 90 - 101).

Great photos by Kuba Ryniewicz.

I don´t know how big this magazine is, but here in Norway it seems to be for sale in one place only! Since I was in Oslo for the weekend I found it at Narvesen kiosk/Continental, where they had copies with 2 of the 3 front pages available.

Sur FIP le 4 décembre en direct, Tribute to Robert Wyatt.

Pardon my French, but this seems to be a live tribute to Robert Wyatt by North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza, broadcasted on fip.fr December 4th 2019.

Taken from this site.

My Fleeting Trio cover "Maryan"

My Fleeting Trio cover "Maryan" (Wyatt/Catherine). Arranged by Pablo Roquefort, performed by Clement Brajtman (Vocal, Drums), Armand Dubois (French Horn), Pablo Roquefort (Guitar).

Carla Diratz / Pascal Vaucel "pRéCis​.​AiMaNt"

Check out this album: Carla Diratz / Pascal Vaucel "pRéCis​.​AiMaNt" (2019) on Bandcamp. They do a fine cover version of Robert Wyatt´s "Sea Song".

Ivor Cutler - A Doughnut In My Hand (MUSIC BOX)

How about this cover version of Ivor Cutler´s "A Doughnut in my Hand"?!

Lyrics may be found below the video on YouTube if you want to sing along!

I´m still hoping someone will write a fine Ivor Cutler biography!

Squid performs Robert Wyatt’s “Pigs…(In There)”

"Squid performs Robert Wyatt’s “Pigs…(In There)” at End of the Road Festival 2019, as part of a secret session for The Line of Best Fit" (from YouTube).

Check out Squid on Soundcloud.

Info on musicians from Facebook:
"anton pearson on guitars - arthur leadbetter on synthesiserz and cello - louis borlase on guitars and bass, occasionally sings - ollie judge drumming whilst singing loudly - laurie now on synth but eternally cornet".

Lindstrøm

Norwegian "contemporary disco" artist Lindstrøm´s new album "On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever" is out 11 October on LP, CD and digital on Smalltown Supersound.

He cites Robert Wyatt as an inspiration for this album, so check out the track "Deep snow", or wait for the full album to hear if you recognize some Wyatt vibes in there! Pre- order on Bandcamp.

"On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever (a title inspired by the 1970’s musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Barbra Streisand). “I’ve listened to Robert Wyatt’s solo albums and his Matching Mole’s debutalbum a lot lately. It so effortless, fearless and free. And not insisting. I was very inspired by this”.

Pierre Bastien and Robert Wyatt

Pierre Bastien is doing the "Invisible Jukebox" in The Wire no.426 (August 2019), the column where a musician is trying to recognise or guess what is being played.

After hearing "Cuckoo Madame" he recognises Robert Wyatt and starts telling about an installation they made together for the Bienale de Lyon in 2001. Robert sent a cassette and P.B. selected "Locomotive Song" ("It was easy to make an orchestration for that with my mechanical machines").

Finally the installation was sold to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, where it is kept in the archives.

Pierre Bastien installations on pierrebastien.com

Rock Bottom interviews (Aymeric Leroy)

OK, I really am a bit slow, and hadn´t even subscribed to Canterbury expert Aymeric Leroy on YouTube.

Now he is posting a series of edited excerpts from a 2001 interview that deal with Robert's masterpiece "Rock Bottom" (part one embedded here).

And please check out The Canterbury Scene group on Facebook.

Max Andrzejewskis Hütte plays Robert Wyatt - "Robin Hood" & "Cuckoo Madame"

Video from the premiere at Leipziger Jazztage on October 19th, 2018

Johannes Schleiermacher - Saxophone
Tobias Hoffmann - Guitar
Andreas Lang - Bass
Max Andrzejewski - Drums, Arrangement
Cansu Tanrikulu - voice
Jörg Hochapfel - keys, git

After two successfull albums of the band plus vocal ensembles („HÜTTE und CHOR“ (Traumton 2014) and „HÜTTE and The Homegrown Organic Gospel Choir“ (Whyplayjazz 2017)) the highly energetic and award winning quartet is going to release the Robert Wyatt Tribute album in September 2019, on the label Whyplayjazz. This album features two guests, the young turkish singer Cansu Tanrikulu, and the keyboard and guitar player Jörg Hochapfel.

Info from YouTube.

Folly Bololey At Cafe Oto 27 June 2019

"Audience Recording of the succesful gig of North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza and Fred Frith as special guest At Cafe Oto 27 June 2019 presenting the Dark Companion album FOLLY BOLOLEY - Songs from Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom.
©2019 Dark Companion Records Ltd". (Youtube)

Caroline Kraabel "Last1 And Last2"

Robert Wyatt´s prerecorded vocals are on both compositions on Caroline Kraabel´s album "Last1 And Last2" (Emanem 2019).

Info stolen from Emanem. Go there for a list of musicians, and place your order:

"LAST is part of a series of CAROLINE KRAABEL pieces mixing live improvisation (sometimes controlled and prepared) with pre-recorded material that reflects its own condition. A few years ago, Kraabel asked ROBERT WYATT if he'd sing a song for this purpose, and after hearing some other work of hers he agreed. The song was written for his voice, but also to be fragmented, interrupting live acoustic music.

CAROLINE KRAABEL conducts 15 improvising musicians on LAST1 (for large ensemble) in one of the most imaginative conducted improvisations ever recorded. They rehearsed without the recorded voice, so none of the musicians had heard the song until they were actually playing LAST1 live.
The quartet in LAST2 (for small ensemble) all knew the voice recording very well. Featured are superlative unaccompanied solos by percussionist RICHARD E HARRISON and saxophonist CAROLINE KRAABEL, as well as a duo of vocalist MAGGIE NICOLS and bassist JOHN EDWARDS - all four improvising at their best.

Both of these concerts, conceived and directed by CAROLINE KRAABEL, were performed at London's Cafe Oto, to raise money to support migrants in northern France. Musicians' profits from sales of the CD will be donated to CARE4CALAIS and Utopia 56".

The Souvenir

Robert Wyatt´s version of "Shipbuilding" is used in Joanna Hogg´s movie "The Souvenir" (not in the embedded video).

This is from the review in Rolling Stone: "It takes a while before you even realize where you’re at and what time period the story takes place in (bulky Bolex cameras, the IRA bombing of Harrods department store and Robert Wyatt’s extraordinary 1983 mope-ballad “Shipbuilding” eventually IDs that it’s Thatcher-era Britain). You feel like you’ve been dropped into a flashback already in progress". (Not that I know what a mope-ballad is).

Release date: May 17, 2019
Director: Joanna Hogg
Cast: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke, and Tilda Swinton.

LAAMB Introduces .. Robert Wyatt Covers

I found this show via the Hibou, Anemone & Bear blog today.

Better check out LAAMB (Lincolnshire Arts and Music Bulletin) on Mixcloud, because this is part one of four podcasts with Robert Wyatt covers.


1
Intro
LAAMB
2
Alliance
Annie Whitehead + Friends
3
Sea Song
Carla Diratz & Pascal Vaucel
4
Just a Bit
Gharbzadegi aka Rick Morris
5
Free Will and Testament
Kinfolk
6
A Last Straw
North Sea Radio Orchestra
7
Oh Caroline
Yumi Hara

At Last I Am Free

You just have to listen to Fire! Orchestra´s version of the old Robert Wyatt hit "At Last I Am Free" (Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers)! It´s on the band´s recent album "Arrival" on Rune Grammofon.

Check out The Free Jazz Collective´s review of "Arrival" (also for a list of musicians).

Folly Bololey

More on the album "Folly Bololey" by The North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza over at Dark Companion Records. Track list, personnel and all!

Songs from Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom
Release date: May 17, 2019
Limited hand-numbered edition in
500 audiophile blue coloured LP
999 golden audiophile CD

North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza

North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza perform Robert Wyatt´s "Rock Bottom" at Rock in Opposition May 11th and at London´s Cafe Oto June 27th.

As mentioned earlier in this blog a new album called 'Folly Bololey' is soon out on Dark Companion Records.

Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem

This book should be of interest to a lot of you: Benjamin Piekut: "Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem" (Duke University Press 2019). To be published September 2019.

Frédéric Lo - Hallelujah!

Robert Wyatt is on the track "Eno song" on the French singer Frédéric Lo´s album "Hallelujah!" (Warner 2019).

I´m listening on Spotify.

Yoichi Hirai Group with Masanosuke Hanasaki

Listen to Yoichi Hirai Group with Masanosuke Hanasaki cover Robert Wyatt´s "Last Straw" at the Pit Inn (Tokyo) (starting 21:30).

The band: Yoichi Hirai(G) Masanosuke Hanasaki(Vo) Hiroki Uezono(Tp,Flh,Frh).

[TRIBUTE] – ‘ELEGY FOR MARK HOLLIS – A LIFE (1955-2019)’

One Robert Wyatt track ("Maryan") found it´s way to this Mark Hollis tribute from Musicophilia on Mixcloud. Follow link for track list.

The racks are chosen because they "focuses on music roughly contemporaneous to Talk Talk and ‘Mark Hollis,’ from the 1980s and 1990s", and also taken from their site "this mix is comprised of artists and sounds that I’ve loved for many years that have taken me near that singular place, and given me some of same the unnameable mix of joy, sorrow, hope, longing, mystery and meaning. They possess something of the spirit Mark Hollis gave to the world. ‘Elegy‘ is contemplative, sometimes mournful and often haunting. But like Mark Hollis’ music, I hope it will bring you joy through the shadow of sadness, hope in the face of loss".

London Bossa

London Bossa | Mônica Vasconcelos & The London Bossa Collective from Mônica Vasconcelos on Vimeo.

"London Bossa" Mônica Vasconcelos & The London Bossa Collective (DVD 2014).

"London Bossa features 6 specially recorded performances where the band is seen playing original songs on a stage, 3 audio-only tracks, and the hour-long documentary '20 Years of Us'. What is this about? The attraction of Brazilian music to musicians all over the world. The model of togetherness that jazz offers the world. English humour meeting Brazilian. Stories behind the songs. Mônica’s family life and the eye condition which affects her and her brother. People they met along the way, this includes a guest appearance by rock and jazz legend Robert Wyatt."

Box 25/4 Lid

Here is a cover of "Box 25/4 Lid" (Ratledge/Hopper) from the first Soft Machine album (1968) by Beauty is in the distance. They are:

Federico Zenoni - drums
Dave Newhouse - electric piano and reeds
Luciano Margorani - bass

Found it on The Canterbury Scene´s Facebook site.

North Sea Radio Orchestra plays "Sea Song"

North Sea Radio Orchestra plays "Sea Song" by Robert Wyatt with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza

Info from YouTube:

"Performed by North Sea Radio Orchestra with John Greaves and Annie Barbazza.
Coming soon for Dark Companion Records.
(Audience recording from the gig at Conservatorio Nicolini in Piacenza for the "Musiche Nuove a Piacenza" festival. November 30, 2018)"

RIO 2019 : PRESENT, ROCK BOTTOM par THE NORTH SEA RADIO ORCHESTRA

RIO 2019 : PRESENT, ROCK BOTTOM par THE NORTH SEA RADIO ORCHESTRA

More info on the Rock In Opposition happening (11 May 2019) here

"This arrangement of Robert Wyatt’s masterpiece, Rock Bottom by Greg Fortman and his contemporary ensemble, as well as being critically acclaimed, will be the finale of this twelfth edition of the Rock In Opposition Festival. On this occasion, the group is enriched by the presence of the collaborator Wyatt, founder of Henry Cow: John Greaves on bass and vocals and a rising star: the singer Annie Barbazza".

The Future Eve featuring Robert Wyatt

The Future Eve featuring Robert Wyatt - KiTsuNe / Brian The Fox. This is a project we have mentioned a couple of times before (here and here), and if I understand this right, we can soon get it on CD and vinyl from Flau records (Japan).