Punkt 2010 in AAJ

I had a couple of blog posts from the Punkt 2010 festival a week ago,  but must admit that John Kelman in All About Jazz beats me!  Check out his report from the festival over at AAJ.

Electric Eden

I am a slow book reader these days (blame the computer), but I have finally read Rob Young´s  600 pages of  "Electric Eden. Unearthing Britain´s visionary music" (Faber & Faber 2010).

Here most of you will get to know everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the folk music of Britain, from the early 1900 and to this day.  

The book starts with a fine chapter on the 60s with Vashti Bunyan and Incredible String Band, before we jump back to the old song collectors and composers (you know, Cecil Sharp and Vaughn Williams, and those people), and then come the stories on the revolutionaries (Ewan McColl and comrades), tradition against electricity, the hippies, the festivals and modern rock and pop with traces of folk  (Van Morrison, David Sylvian, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Kate Bush).

Young covers several of this blog´s favorites (of course!) like Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, John Martyn, Waterson-Carthy, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Richard and Linda Thompson.

If you are quite new to this area, my guess is that parts of the book will be a bit too detailed, but what the hell, you may read those parts in some years.  The book has good notes,  bibliography, index and a musical/discographic timeline. You know the angle is not narrow, when you find Aphex Twin and The Orb in the discography.

I have fetched (almost) forgotten vinyl in my basement, borrowed albums at the library and made a list of artists to check out. This must be an inspiring book then. Good job.

More over at electriceden.net.

Richard Thompson: "Dream Attic"

"Dream Attic" (Proper, 2010) is another solid Richard Thompson album. It´s recorded live, with lots of electric guitar, and dark, ironic lyrics! 

You get some really slow, sad songs  like "Among The Gorse, Among The Grey"and "Burning Man", but also folky, good rocking songs that would fit on some of the best Fairport Convention albums.  The song "Sidney Wells" is worth the price of the album all by itself. I´m almost dancing here, but then  I start to pay attention to the lyrics about the murderer who gets punished by his fellow prisoners. 

The band: Richard Thompson (g, voc), Pete Zorn (g, flute, reeds, mandolin, voc), Michael Jerome (dr, voc), Taras Prodaniuk (b, voc) og Joel Zifkin (violin, mandolin, voc).

Too much electric guitar for you? Make sure you get  the double, limited edition with acoustic versions too. The acoustic versions are nice, but this time I will choose the electric Thompson over the acoustic.

Head over to Beesweb to see a video of  "A Brother Slips Away". Sad and beautiful it is.

Knitting concert

Today I attended my first knitting concert ever! Composer Victoria Brännström hired 40 ladies with microphones attached to their knitting needles, to perform in Bergen´s Grieghallen. Ingrid Grønli Åm added electronics and Halldis Rønning conducted.
This was pretty enjoyable, but weird stuff, and I´ll guess they will be invited to play Knitting Factory? More on the project in this Norwegian blog, and here is another video.

Lol Coxhill

 
Check out several new Lol Coxhill videos on YouTube.
Info from YouTube on this one: "Lol Coxhill (soprano sax) and Alex Ward (clarinet) at Fete Quaqua festival of free improvisation at the Vortex Jazz Club, London. Filmed by Helen Petts on the 17th August 2010".

Sekstett

Oh no, another Norwegian improv band for you all! I heard Sekstett live in Bergen on Tuesday. They did some nice improv stuff in front of far too few people. The band was  Frode Gjerstad (clarinets), Håvard Skaset (guitar), Bjørnar Rabbestad (flute), Hild Sofie Tafjord (horn), Børre Mølstad (tuba) and and Guro Skumsnes Moe (bass). 
I suggest you check out their new album "Sekstett" on Conrad Sound (2010). Lene Grenager plays cello here (and Rabbestad is not a regular band member).
Listen to the bass player Guro Skumsnes Moe, she´s tough enough.
Some photos over at Flickr.


Cover design: Lasse Marhaug.

Maja Ratkje at PUNKT 2010

Some of the most exciting concerts at PUNKT 2010, happened at the live remixes. First we listened to the original concert in the concert hall at Agder theater, and then we ran down stairs, to get a seat at the club, where selected musicians had treated the original concert. Maja Ratkje's remix of the Estonian choir Segakoor Norus was one of my favorites at Punkt, and you may take a look at a video on YouTube yourselves. Yes, it's too dark, but take a look still, and blame Svennejanson.