Sea Song / Ocean In The Distance

As I already told you I had put in an order for Daevid Allen and The University of Error´s "Sea Song" cover, and it didn´t take long before I had it.

What a beautiful release this is! Great version of "Sea Song" and a fine "Ocean In the Distance" on side b, and check out the photos of Daevid Allen by Ricardo Lionhearto (!)! Innercover to the left there.

Seems like they still have some of the 445 copies (!) for sale over at Planet Gong Bazaar.

University of Errors: Sea Song (7-inch, 45 RPM)

I just put in an order for The University of Error´s 7" version of Robert Wyatt´s "Sea Song" with "Ocean In The Distance" on side B. You may do exactly the same over at "Planet Gong Bazaar".

"Sea Song" is a previously unreleased studio version, and this record was made to make sure that the "first of Daevid's birthdays minus the man himself would not pass un-marked".

Short sample here.

Giorgio Gomelsky (1934 - 2016)

Giorgio Gomelsky died of cancer on the 16th of January.

Gomelsky, a club owner (Crawdaddy), manager (Yardbirds) and producer in the early 60s also produced Soft Machine´s first demos. These demos were recorded in April 1967, but after three days the sessions were aborted and Gomelsky kept the mastertapes. The recordings appeared on records for the first time in 1971 (Rock Generation vol 7 and vol 8 on BYG), and later on several CDs and vinyl albums titled "Jet-Propelled Photographs", "At the beginning" or just "Soft Machine". See different versions on "Un Discographie De Robert Wyatt".

These recordings are pop Soft Machine, and not considered to be among their best, bet me I like them a lot. The raw 60s feel sounds good to my ears and heart!

Here is what´s printed in Graham Bennett´s book "Soft Machine. Out-Bloody-Rageous" (SAF 2005):
"The immediate impression on listening to the tracks is that the production went to great lengths to obscure the band´s best qualities: their performing energy, the predominance of improvisation and their hybridization of disparate musical styles are conspicuous by being almost totally absent from the demos" (p 106 - 107).

OK, you are warned, but give it a try!

Dangerous Minds on Georgio Gomelsky right here and the NYT obituary here. RIP.

The Canterbury Scene In Prog Magazine

Prog magazine (Issue 55 April 2015) is focusing on the Canterbury Scene.

What you get is:

- "The Sound Of The Underground" - A canterbury guide by Sid Smith.
- "A Life Less Ordinary" - A piece on Robert Wyatt by Rob Hughes.
- "Second Bundle" - The new canterburians by JK.
- A tribute to Daevid Allen written by Sid Smith, with interviews with Steve Hillage and Mike Howlett, and Robert Wyatt´s last e-mail to Daevid.

The Daevid Allen tribute is a fold-out with a poster of the cover of Gong´s "Camembert Electrique" on the back.

There are also pieces on Camel (only almost Canterbury??) and the record label Deram (and a huge amount of more prog of course).

And please note:

Aymeric Leroy (visit Calyx) will publish the first volume of his Canterbury history "Legends In Their Own Lunchtime" later this year.

Camembert Electrique

A re-issue of Gong´s "Camembert Electrique" (BYG 1971) is out again, remastered and restored from original BYG 1/4" master tapes.

More info on Planet Gong, and please note this: "The only way the musicians or their families will any benefit from the sale of this release in any way is if you buy it here. They will receive no royalties on sales or on publishing".

See list of different versions over at Discogs. My photos are from my Virgin 1974 issue.

Personnel (copied from Planet Gong):

Bert Camembert (daevid allen) {Guitars, Vocals}
Bloomdido Bad De Grass (Didier Malherbe) {Saxophones, Flute}
Pip Pyle {Drums}
Shakti Yoni (Gilli Smyth) {Vocals, Space Whisper}
Submarine Captain (Christian Tritsch) {Bass, Lead Guitar on 'Tried so Hard'}
Venux Du Luxe (Francis Lindon) {Switch Doctor and Mix Master}

And the smallest guy on the back cover is Robert Wyatt´s son Sam.

Daevid Allen interviewed

In March (2015) Australia´s Radio National replayed a 15 year old great interview with Daevid Allen.

Allen was then in Finland to play on a Big Band Festival!

Link to audio right here (let´s hope it will stay there for a while).

Thanks again to "What´s Rattlin´?".

Romantic Warriors III – Canterbury Tales

"Romantic Warriors III – Canterbury Tales" (USA/2015/118 min.) - DVD now available at www.progdocs.com.

Prog documentary series's directors: Adele Schmidt and José Zegarra Holder.

The film highlights these bands:

Wilde Flowers, UK
Soft Machine, UK
Caravan, UK
Gong, France
Delivery, UK
Egg, UK
Matching Mole, UK
Hatfield and The North, UK
Gilgamesh, UK
National Health, UK
In Cahoots, UK
Quiet Sun, UK
Supersister, Netherlands
Moving Gelatine Plates, France
Forgas Band Phenomena, France
Glass, USA
The Muffins, USA

Gong: Occupy

Check out this video by Cyriak for Gong´s latest album "I see You" (Madfish 2014).

Info from Cyriak on YouTube:

Daevid Allen: bi-focal local vocals n gliss
Orlando Allen: beat/crash/kick
Dave Sturt: bass & invisible operas
Kavus Torabi: crunchbox & scythe guitar
Fabio Golfetti: winged guitars/glissando
Ian East: sax

Produced by Orlando Allen with Daevid Allen and Dave Sturt
Composed by Daevid Allen, Dave Sturt and Ian East

Pretty nice way of using whatever loose change he happened to have in his pocket!

Daevid Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015)

R.I.P. Daevid Allen and thanks a lot!

The Guardian, Pitchfork and UDiscover on the news of his death.

Daevid Allen - Pizza Paradiso - Feb 2015

Daevid Allen reads from Khalil Gibran´s "The Prohet" at a "Poetry tribute to Daevid Allen and Gilly Smith" in February 2015.

Playa de Formentor

How about this one!? Daevid Allen & Robert Wyatt are extras in the Spanish film ‘Playa de Formentor’ (1964), directed by Germán Lorente! (YouTube).

They seem like cool guys and Daevid Allen even enjoys a dance (or do we expect some trouble coming up?).


Here is another clip (10 minutes), but without Allen and Wyatt.

Has anybody out there seen the full movie, and spotted our heroes in more scenes?


Added 10 February 2015:

And the full movie is up on YouTube today.

A message from Daevid Allen

I guess most of you already knew that Daevid Allen had cancer, and today I first saw sad messages popping up on Planet Gong´s Twitter concerning the development of the disease.

The news may be as sad as they come, but the full message on Planet Gong News from Daevid proves that he is still THE man!

(The picture is from an University Of Errors concert at Garage in Bergen (Norway) in May 2008).


"daevid allen - a message
[posted Thr 5 Feb]
Hello you Kookaburras,

OK so I have had my PET-CAT scans (which is essentially a full body viewing gallery for cancer specialists) and so it is now confirmed that the invading cancer has returned to successfully establish dominant residency in my neck. The original surgery took much of it out, but the cancer has now recreated itself with renewed vigor while also spreading to my lung.

The cancer is now so well established that I have now been given approximately six months to live.

So My view has Changed:
I am not interested in endless surgical operations and in fact it has come as a relief to know that the end is in sight.

I am a great believer in "The Will of the Way Things Are" and I also believe that the time has come to stop resisting and denying and to surrender to the way it is.

I can only hope that during this journey, I have somehow contributed to the happiness in the lives of a few other fellow humans.

I believe I have done my best to heal, dear friends and that you have been enormously helpful in supporting me through this time

So Thank you SO much for being there with me, for the Ocean of Love
and Now, importantly, Thankyou for starting the process of letting go of me, of mourning then transforming and celebrating this death coming up - this is how you can contribute, this would be a great gift from those emotionally and spiritually involved with me.

I love you and will be with you always - Daevid xxx -"

Stoned Innocent Frankenstein

"Stoned Innocent Frankenstein", a double album of unreleased alternative versions and different mixes of Gong man Daevid Allen´s first solo album, is scheduled for release 27 October 2014.

The first solo album is better known as "Bananamoon" (1970).

More info on Planet Gong Bazaar, where I copied this about the three tracks with Robert Wyatt participating:

Memories (alt. mix) - [3.35] (H. Hopper)
Who wouldn't be happy with an un-heard mix of Robert Wyatt singing Hugh Hopper's beautiful song with clearer vocals and guitar.

Out Of Here (alt. version) - [5.37] (C. Tritsch)
The most startling difference here the use of Robert Wyatt's high, angelic-sounding solo vocal for the chorus line as a counterpoise to daevid's deliberately gruff, rough delivery of the verses. On the released version that idea was abandoned and daevid sang all the lyrics in the throaty style.

Instrumental In The Land Of Flip - [11.58] (d. allen)
The clarity and crispness of Robert Wyatt's drumming and Gerry Field's violin playing are the standout features on this layer of the 'Land of Flip' strata, in essence it's the drum track. The drumming is so good and sharp that it makes one wonder that had this been available years ago would it have become one of those eagerly sampled drum tracks?

Hoping Daevid Allen is doing fine!

Bone: The Gift of Purpose

The Bone´s album "The Gift of Purpose [Hopper Family Benefit Album]" is now on Bandcamp.

From Bandcamp:
"Cuneiform has collaborated with two members of the Bone trio – guitarist Nick Didkovsky and drummer John Roulat – to release a benefit album to help the family of Bone's third member: bassist Hugh Hopper, who died of leukemia in 2009. Hugh was known to many as the legendary bassist for Soft Machine. The album is called 'The Gift of Purpose,' and features a live concert that Bone performed at Baltimore's Orion Sound Studios on Feb. 16, 2008, during Hopper's last tour of the States, in addition to a bonus track by Didkovsky, Roulat, Colin Marston (Behold....the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Krallice) and Daevid Allen (Gong, Soft Machine, etc)".

Pay $7:99 or more.

Gong

Isn´t it about time with some Gong again in this blog?

Here is half an hour for you, with songs from "You" and "Angel's Egg", recorded in São Paulo 24 May 2013.

The songs: "Flute Salad", "Oily Way", "Outer Temple", "Inner Temple" and "Master Builder".

These days Gong is:
Daevid Allen - guitar, vocals
Dave Sturt - bass
Fabio Golfetti - guitar
Ian East - sax, flute
Orlando Allen - drums

All info from YouTube, and there are more videos out there from the same show too.

And how about Daevid Allen!? Still lots of energy and fun there!

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.

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.

proto Soft Machine

People, you just have to read (or better participate of course on) the Canterbury forum "What´s Rattlin´".

Recently they have been discussing a Russian release on B 13, proto SOFT MACHINE - "The Earliest Recordings", with material "recorded live in London in the early sixties" (scheduled for release in July).

Musicians are Daevid Allen, Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper and Brian Hopper, and the music has probably been released earlier on Daevid Allen Trio "Live in 1963" and the "Canterburied Sounds" collection, both on Voiceprint.
See if you can find them on the Calyx discography site!

Soft Machine Turns On vol 1 & 2

You may now pre-order old Soft Machine material from Amazon. "Turns On" volum 1 and 2 are released again 7 March on Evangaline. They look just like the ones that were released in 2001 (Voiceprint).
The band is mainly Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge and Kevin Ayers, with Daevid Allen on some tracks on volume 1 (according to ProgArchives, I do not own these albums yet).

You will find info on the Soft Machine albums with Robert Wyatt on them over at "Une Discographie De Robert Wyatt" and the Calyx Canterbury discography.

When the fire grows cold

Hey, what´s this? A new record with Robert Wyatt singing: Last Man Standing: "The fire grows cold".
It sounds great, but this is all I know. Anyone better informed?
Check out Last Man Standing on MySpace.

Added 17 January: I stole this info from their Facebook profile:
"LMS have come to the conclusion of a 3-4 year-long recording project. We are mixed, mastered and armed with 18 fantastic new tracks with special guests Robert Wyatt and Daevid Allen. Seeking a record label and a tour agent".