G((o))ng Tomorrow

Hey, any readers present in Koncertkirken in Copenhagen 23 October during the "G((o))ng Tomorrow" - festival?

Part of the program here:

20.00 Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen & Jomi Massage

Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen; Jomi Massage, solist; Martin Nagashima Toft, conductor.

New works by:Henriette Groth, Peter Bruun, Regin Petersen og Morten Olsen
Based on music by Nico and Robert Wyatt.


Robert Wyatt /Peter Bruun:
Free will and Testament
Sight of the Wind

Nico /Henriette Groth
Evening of Light
No one is there

Robert Wyatt /Regin Petersen :
A last Straw

Morten Olsen/Jomi Massage: Nico
I. The Beginning – prelude
II. Song number one: As a Child
III. The Middle: Interlude
IV. Song number two: Who Am I
V. The End: this is the end, my only friend, the end

Danish paper Weekendavisen didn´t seem all too happy (Danish link), saying that that the main purpose seemed to be to "add some classical elegance to the original songs" (my not too good translation there).

More reviews somewhere?

40 years since "June 1, 1974"

Time flies! Today it is 40 years since the concert at The Rainbow Theatre headlined by Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, and also with artists like Robert Wyatt and Mike Oldfield.

The live album "June 1, 1974" was released by Island 28 June the same year. I can´t remember when I bought it, but my guess is a couple of years later, and it became one of my favorites, since I had been listening a lot to the involved artists from the early seventies. And it still sounds great!

I have been celebrating by playing the album this weekend of course, and i also read Dave Thompson´s self published book "June 1st 1974: Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt: The Greatest Supergroup of the Seventies" (2013).

The book is more than 300 pages long, and I was hoping for a detailed story about the event, but only 12 of the pages cover the concert and the album! The rest of the book is filled with discographies and description of concerts concerning the main people involved.

According to the book, these are the songs that was played at the concert but didn´t make it to the record: "Buffalo ballet" (Cale), "Gun" (Cale), "Das Lied Der Deutschen" (Nico), "Baby´s on fire #2" (Eno) and the Kevin Ayers songs "Didn´t feel lonely..", "Whatevershebringswesing", "Interview", "See You later", "It begins with a blessing...", "Confession of Dr. Dream..." and "I´ve got a hard-on for you baby" (G. Dobb).

Marcus O´Dair: Different Every Time

And we are still waiting for the release of Marcus O´Dair´s Robert Wyatt biography "Different Every Time" (Serpent´s Tail 2014).

New publication date: 6 November 2014.

While you are waiting, listen to both Robert Wyatt and Marcus O´Dair on Grasscut´s "Richardson Road", from the album "Unearth" (2012).

Checking Amazon for the biography, I noticed a book I have missed this year, and just have to order too: Dave Thompson - "June 1st 1974: Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt: The Greatest Supergroup of the Seventies" (Create Space Independent Publishing Platform 2013).

Any views on that one out there?

John Cale on producing

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.

Life along the borderline

John Cale has been around with "Life Along the Borderline: a Tribute to Nico" lately. "Here Comes The Flood" did post some set lists and videos, but I just am not able to link to the posts today
We let Nico sing "Das Lied vom einsamen Mädchen" live in Tokyo i 1986, to start the Easter.

Listened to and liked

Arild Andersen, Paolo Vinaccia, Tommy Smith: "Live at Belleville" (ECM 2008). Bass, drums and saxophone, that's good enough.

Lars Andreas Haug Quintet: "Fabatune" (Curling Legs, 2008).
Swinging baroque jazz with a twist. Tuba rules.

Susanna Karolina Wallumrød: "Flower of evil" (Rune, 2008).
Cover songs by Lou Reed, Thin Lizzy, Roy Harper, Nico, Sandy Denny and more. Even metal and a dark Nico is turned into something beautiful. I don't mind. Guest: Bonnie "Prince" Billy.

Ole-Henrik Moe: "Ciaccona.3 persephone perceptions" (Rune, 2008). To say that i "like" this one, might be pushing it quite a bit, but it is some impressive extreme sport for solo violin.
Violin: Kari Rønnekleiv.

Songs they never play on the radio

James Young's fine book "Nico. Songs they never play on the radio" is being republished. James Young was Nico's keyboard player in the last part of her career, and the book focuses on the period 1982-1988 (when Nico died). This is no standard A-Z rock biography then, but more like a warm (!)story about being on tour with a junkie. John Cale, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and John Cooper Clarke and more show up, and what a tiresome trip it must have been.
As far as I can see, the book will be published by two different companies, Fortune Teller Press (20 November) and Overlook Press 30 December.
I have mentioned this book earlier in the blog too.
For a library person like myself, the first sentence of the first chapter is something of a reminder: "Libraries are where you go when you're afraid of your dreams"!