Stuart Eglin Online

Stuart Eglin Online

Posts Tagged Music

After years of resisting iPod

Jan 30

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

For years now I have been a resistor of the Cult of iPod. Everyone I know has an iPod – most of them have large capacity iPod Classics. I bought an iriver H340 nearly 5 years ago. I struggled with it at first because it has an awful user interface. Then along came Rockbox, an Open Source firmware which can run on the iriver (and on some ipods too) which gives much more flexibility to using an mp3 player. It made the machine fly – and I really enjoyed using the machine for listening to music, running playlists, listening to podcasts, and recording short memos when I was travelling and had ideas.

Well, I ran out of capacity on the 40GB machine some time ago, and hunted for a replacement. After a long time hesitating, I decided to jump in the Apple pool and an iPod Classic 160GB came my way for Christmas.

Am I enjoying it? Yes, I am. I still don’t have all of my CD collection on there yet – but it’s doing all the things I wanted.  A relatively new feature, Genius playlists, is particularly brilliant for mixing a playlist based on the track currently playing. It also has Genius Mixes which puts together streams of tracks based on a particular theme – which is determined by the content of the player.

I was a reluctant user of iTunes, but it works well even if it is a bit slow (probably because my laptop is ancient!) It handles podcasts beautifully. And the iPod’s handling of video is fantastic.

I was also really pleased to see that I can also record on the iPod. I bought a little plug in microphone on Amazon for just £4 and it opens up software which is already on the machine. I can record memos on the go and then listen to them back. I’ve also used this feature to record ambient sounds when out walking.

As I write this I am listening to a Podcast from WFMU called Downtown Soulville (obscure soul 45s). All in all I am impressed.

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A lifetime of ECM

Nov 2

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Books and Book Reviews, Music | No Comments

ECMBack in the mid-70s when I was at school, a friend of mine (hi, Peter) gave me a tape which had on it an album by Jan Garbarek and one by Keith Jarrett. This was the beginning of an obsession with the music to be found on the ECM label. I have continued to be a collector of music by both Garbarek and Jarrett, as well as many other artists on the label including Terje Rypdal, Ketil Bjornstad, John Surman, Misha Alperin and Dino Saluzzi.

ECM is unusual in the world of record labels because it has such a strongly defined aesthetic. The label produces an incredibly diverse range of artists, but there is always that ECM sound which is difficult to define, but very easy to identify.

So, after so much music, I am writing about ECM again now because they have just produced two wonderful albums:

  • Jan Garbarek Group -Dresden
  • Keith Jarrett – Testament: Paris / London

Both are live albums. I was surprised to realise that this is the first live album for Garbarek. It’s a double album, and captures the excitement of seeing him live. The group has gone through some changes over recent years, partly because of bass player Eberhard Weber’s stroke. He is replaced by Yuri Daniel. This is a tough place to fill – Weber’s playing is so distinctive. Daniel’s playing is beautiful, lyrical and underscores Garbarek’s saxophone perfectly. The other change is Manu Katche on drums – he has worked with Garbarek a lot recently. He replaces Marilyn Mazur. She was always more of a percussionist than a straightforward drummer. Katche brings more of a rock drummer feeling to the music. Between them, Katche and Daniel make for a very different rhythm section which brings some different interpretations of some of the older material. Rainer Bruninghaus remains as the keyboard player, his playing ranging from the frenetic to the achingly lyrical.

The Keith Jarrett album is a triple album covering two live concerts from last year. I’m always amazed by Jarrett’s live work. The idea that he appears on stage to improvise new compositions then and there is remarkable. He says that he always begins with an empty mind – no preconceived ideas. Then, through a series of pieces (short for Jarrett)  he builds a collection of 20 remarkable performances. They are incredibly diverse. The two concerts are very different. As ever, Jarrett is at his best when he searches out a rhythmic melody and then works it to a beautiful conclusion. This is an extremely emotionally laden collection – his best work for years.

So, from two artists who I first heard nearly 35 years ago, come two beautiful albums. A real treat.

If you like the work of Garbarek, and would like to read a book about his music, I think the best book available is probably Michael Tucker’s “Jan Garbarek: Deep Song” – the book focuses on the music of Garbarek but it is also a marvellous exposition of the broader work of ECM.

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David Sylvian – Manafon

Oct 11

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

david_sylvian_manafonRegular readers of my blog over the last few years will know that I love the music of David Sylvian and have been a big fan since the early days of Japan back in the 70s. His solo career has been an eclectic and diverse mix of albums with a stunning array of musicians from jazz, avant garde and ambient.

His latest album was talked about on internet based mailing lists for the few weeks before release, and there were clips on his website to listen to. It was clearly not going to be an easy listen. Alongside Christian Fennesz who worked with Sylvian on his last solo album (the stunning track “Fire in the Forest” from ‘Blemish’) are a wide range of avant garde musicians including Evan Parker and John Tilbury.

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get to listen to this album properly. It is not the sort of album to put on in the background. Over the last few days I have listened to it on headphones. Sylvian’s voice is placed way up in the mix and the other instruments create a subtle soundtrack in the background. Most of this is missed unless you use headphones. It is a difficult listen, but one that is rewarded massively. The sounds are so stripped down that it takes a while to figure out what is going on. But there is structure here, and the lyrics and voice of Sylvian hold the whole thing together. Many critics, including Ian Penman writing in the latest issue of The Wire, say that they have lost it with Sylvian. They think that he has pushed his music into a cul-de-sac. I don’t agree. I think this album is a staggering achievement. To take the fractured, fragmented and skeletal sounds of the two groups which he worked with on this album and craft the resulting work, is remarkable.  I feel like I have really only scraped the surface of the nuances in this music. It is a work that truly repays the effort put in.

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Friday Playlist #5

Oct 9

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Playlists | No Comments

A lot of posts to this blog are about music at the moment. There’s a lot of stunning music around to listen to. Here’s a Friday playlist:

1. Porcupine Tree – The Incident

Already reviewed this. It’s their best album to date. The range of music and variety from intense to melodic.

2. David Sylvian – Manafon

Review coming – music that requires effort to listen to. Worth it for the pay-back.

3. Jonsi & Alex- Riceboy Sleeps

Best ambient album I have heard in a while.

4. The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Duckworth Lewis Method

An album about cricket from two Irishmen! Neil Hannon from Divine Comedy shows what a great lyricist he is. It’s ELO meets 10CC.

5. Madness – The Liberty of Norton Folgate

A concept album from Madness – whatever next. Great tunes and a massive track to finish the album.

6. Bach – Mass in B Minor

Listening to this is like a marvellous antidote to modern living.

7. Porcupine Tree – Stupid Dream

An older album by the band – not as good as the new one, but great tunes and it really rocks.

8. A-ha – Foot of the mountain

I’ve always loved the music of A-ha. This new album by them is a return to form (a cliche I know, but it is!)

9. Jan Garbarek Group -Dresden

If you search for Garbarek in this blog you’ll find earlier reviews including a live concert I saw. This new double live album is wonderful. Eberhard Weber is still not around, due to having had a stroke, but this new line-up produce great music.

10. Keith Jarrett – Testament: Paris / London

ECM go from strength to strength. This is a live triple CD of two concerts. Spontaneous composition / improvisation. Beautiful melodies plucked out of the air by Jarrett.

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Porcupine Tree – The Incident

Sep 18

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

PTreeJust a couple of listens so far, but the new album by Porcupine Tree is a wonderful thing to behold (whose line is that?)

It’s a two disc collection – the first disc comprising an extended piece of 55 minutes. In the form of a suite of 14 songs, the music and lyrics are the reflections of Steven Wilson arising from an accident he observed whilst waiting in a traffic jam. The title comes from the road sign “Police – Incident” which he thought was a really cold way to describe what was happening.

This disc does bring us to the realisation that prog rock is well and truly back. The idea in the 70s that punk swept away prog excesses with the return of the 2 minute hit (‘New Rose’ by The Damned had a cover of ‘Help’ by The Beatles that went so fast it was under 2 minutes!) – was never very convincing when you look at the speed with which bands like Public Image were experimenting with form and length.

Porcupine Tree have always pulled themselves in two directions probably led by the fact that Steven Wilson seems to like melody and noise in equal parts. At its most pop, this album is beautiful – at its noisiest it does something wonderful too.

The second disc is a short EP-length work of 4 tracks. The whole thing needn’t have been spread over two discs but I think it works better that way. I’ve listened half a dozen times so far, and am getting hooked into this album…

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Jonsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

Aug 28

Posted by Stuart in Music | No Comments

jonsi

A couple of weeks ago I bought this album, just as it came out. I have been a big fan of Sigur Ros since I first came across their music a few years ago in Wire magazine. I love Wire magazine – every issue introduces you to heaps of bands and musicians you will never have heard of. They push the musical boundaries (sometimes too far, but that is the point!) Anyway, after hearing a track by the band on a compilation CD given away with the magazine I set off to explore their music. This was around the time of their untitled album known as () which I bought and thought was the most original music I had heard in years. So why am I telling you all this? Well, having continued to follow their music and their ascent to wider fame I was very interested when this new album came out. Jonsi is the lead singer in Sigur Ros and Alex is his partner. It’s a deeply ambient album. On first listen I was struck by the subtlety of the music – there’s immense depth but it is masked within a deeper wash. There are tracks that are very reminiscent of the work of Brian Eno – but, whereas Eno uses repetition and mechanistic approaches, this music has a deeper layer of emotion.

 After many listens now, I sat down last night to listen to the album again – but this time through headphones. It was a revelation. There is so much going on in each track which is simply lost to the room when listening with speakers. It opens up a whole different perspective to the music. Each track creates a stunning soundscape which depicts a combination of melody (just, as far as is possible in the domain of ambient), rhythm and a backdrop of found sounds which prompt visual imagery in the listener. The use of children’s choir on a couple of the tracks is breath-taking.

I know it is tempting to stop liking a band when they become so popular that they can be heard behind countless trailers on the BBC, but I am still in love with the music of Sigur Ros, and this album shows that the band members are still pushing the boundaries and prepared to explore new challenges.

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ambientblog

Aug 21

Posted by Stuart in Music | 1 Comment

ambientblogambientblog.

Follow the link above to find a blog which belongs to Peter van Cooten. From the website, the following:

“Starting in 2000, I have created quite a few ambient mixes that were presented on dutch radio. The earlier ones were created for uninterrupted four hour broadcasts (!!!). More mixes were to follow, but the radio shows that hosted them gradually became shorter and shorter. Four, Three, Two and finally One hour per show. Still a good length for an ambient mix, by the way. But is proved to be a sign: in october 2009, the radio show I was co-compiling was finally terminated.

That was the moment to find another platform to present this beautiful music. Not only for the older mixes (that will obviously prove to be worth listening to still), but also to create new ones and share them with ambient music lovers worldwide.

Locally, interest in drone/ambient may be sparse, it’s considered a ‘niche market’ that most record stores don’t even bother to stock. But on the internet this musical subculture is very much alive. So a weblog linked to a podcast presenting the mixes is the most obvious choice.

Starting in june, 2009, I will publish all previous mixes on this weblog/podcast. I will publish them in chronological order, starting from 2001, until now. And of course this will be the place to publish new mixes too!

What all of these mixes have in common, is that they are not restricted exclusively to the music defined as ‘ambient‘ or ‘electronic‘. Mixing this music with other music from different genres often enhances the ‘cinematographic feel’. Some of them may prove to be accessible (meaning ‘listenable’) even to people that are new to the ‘ambient’ genre. For those that consider themselves experienced listeners the combination of fragments may sound quite different than the separate parts in itself. To me, every mix seems to tell a story.”

It’s a fantastic resource. Go on, download a podcast or two, darken the lights and sit back. Each one lasts an hour or so and drifts through so many of my favourite artists. If you like what you hear, listen to the rest. What a treat!

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Friday Playlist #4

Jul 24

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Playlists | No Comments

It’s been a while since I posted a Friday Playlist. Here is a list of the albums I am listening to at the moment:

1. Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

I have their first two albums – I love the way their music is developing. The psychedelia of this one particularly attracts me. The track ‘Fire’ brought the crowd to their feet at Glastonbury.

2. Eels – Meet the Eels: Volume 1

I loved ‘Novocaine for the Soul’ when it came out. This is a retrospective which shows just how talented Mark Oliver Everett (E) is! A great songwriter.

3. No-Man – Schoolyard Ghosts

I’ve been following this band for a while – this recent album is stunning. Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) makes great music and Tim Bowness sings in a beautifully fragile voice with great lyrics.

4 . Jon Hassell – Last Night the Moon Came Dropping its Clothes in the Street

The unique path that is Jon Hassell continues to become more mesmeric and spell-binding! The use of the studio as an instrument is becoming more astounding in his work.

5. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

It’s like Neil Young starting again – with a broken heart and an acoustic guitar.

6. Steven Wilson – Insurgentes

Wilson’s solo album has fantastic big tracks with great guitar work and frequent collapses into brain-shattering noise. He really understands how to shift from beauty to chaos.

7. Tom Waits – Small Change

Early album – I’m gradually buying up the back-catalogue whilst waiting for the new one!

8. Doves – Kingdom of Rust

Fourth album shows how tight their music is – a three piece with soul and prog all mixed up.

9. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

Reminds me of A Certain Ratio meets Jamiroquai (the good bits of each!) I love the innocent energy and infectious dance-ability of this album.

10. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light

OK, everyone says about the voice, but what about the stunning album cover, the arrangements and the range of this album. In a world carved out for itself.

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Nil Recurring

Mar 5

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

The album I am really enjoying listening to at the moment is the new Porcupine Tree album called ‘Nil Recurring’ – it is more of an EP than a full album with just 4 tracks and a running time of 30 minutes. These are pieces that were worked on at the same time as the last album ‘Fear of a Blank Planet’ – they are marvellous pieces of music – from the first instrumental track to the catchy chorus on the second track. There’s plenty of creative guitar work, really tight work by the whole band and some wonderful soloing on the first track from Robert Fripp. All good stuff. I also have 3 other albums to listen to which feature Steven Wilson – Blackfield, the first Porcupine Tree album and an electronic solo album.

This is in addition to the last couple of albums by the band – ‘Fear of a Blank Planet’ and ‘Deadwing’ both of which are geat listens. Give them a go!

I am becoming a big fan of both Porcupine Tree and the work of their guitarist Steven Wilson who is incredibly prolific. I am looking forward to hearing the new album by No-Man which is his collaboration with Tim Bowness. That is due out in the spring. I came to Porcupine Tree because their keyboard player is Richard Barbieri who was in Japan. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been into Japan and David Sylvian since the 70s.

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Best of 2007 – albums

Dec 23

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Playlists | No Comments

I know everyone is doing it, but here is my list of favourite albums bought in 2007 in no particular order:

1. Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet
2. Rush – Snakes and Arrows
3. Joanna Newsom – Ys
4. David Sylvian – When loud weather buffeted Naoshima
5. Robert Wyatt – Comicopera
6. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sands
7. Tracey Thorn – Out of the Woods
8. Sigur Ros – Hvarf / Heim
9. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
10. Robert Fripp – At the End of Time

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The Folkways Collection

Sep 10

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

The Folkways Collection

‘The Folkways Collection’ is a 24 part series available as a freely downloadable podcast. Each episode is an hour long. Here is what the site says:

“This series of 24 one-hour programs explores the remarkable collection of music, spoken word, and sound recordings that make up Folkways Records (now at the Smithsonian as Smithsonian Folkways Recordings). The music of modern day giants like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Ani Difranco is interwoven with original Folkways recordings to demonstrate the lasting legacy that Folkways Records has on popular music. Recent and archival interviews with Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Mickey Hart, Studs Terkel, and others help reveal the remarkable human stories behind this equally remarkable collection. The series was produced by CKUA Radio in Alberta, Canada and originally aired in 1999.”

I’m about a third of the way through the series. The sheer diversity of material collected is astounding. Well worth a listen!

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Diaries of Robert Fripp

Jul 27

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Things I found | No Comments

I have been reading Robert Fripp’s online diary for a few years now. It is a fascinating source of information about touring, making music, running a music business. Oh, and the obsessions that Fripp has developed over the years – not being photographed, having been ripped off a few years ago by his management. He also talks about the Guitar Craft Workshops which he initiated and which happen around the world.

Fripp’s rants are well worth a read. But it is also worth reading his considered thoughts on the process of living and creating. The site also generated frippisms which are good fun to read. For example:

“The question is its answer” and “Just below the surface of our everyday world lie riches”

These frippisms are randomly generated at the bottom of each page.

In recent months the number of photos he posts each day has grown, so that the site is also becoming a visual record of his day to day life.

It’s also worth giving a quick mention to Sid Smith who is the webmaster of DGM Live – which hosts the diary, as well being a download site for the work of Robert Fripp, King Crimson and associated projects.

[from the 'Things I found' archive]

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The Open – The Silent Hours, Statues

Jul 20

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | 2 Comments

Last year I posted about the Liverpool band, The Open, several times. I thought their two albums were fantastic. The first, full of catchy pop songs – and the second reaching out into diverse influences like free jazz, reminded me of Talk Talk (another big favourite).

I’ve just been listening to the two albums again, and decided to do a bit of net searching to see what’s going on. I drew a blank everywhere I looked. The band’s own site now re-routes to Polydor records, and the fan site has been taken over by a golf site! (Yes, I understand the link!)

I’ve tried searching for Steven Bayley (singer, writer, guitarist, pianist etc) but can’t find anything. Does anyone know what has happened to him and the others in the band. Are they making music? I have this romantic notion that Bayley will reappear to make a solo album. Now, when Mark Hollis made his solo album some years after Talk Talk split up, it was a work of remarkable genius. So, I remain optimistic. If you have any information, please leave a comment.

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REM – something for free whilst the new album is being made

Jul 17

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Things I found | No Comments

R.E.M.hq: EXTRAS-REMix

When the last REM album (Around the Sun) came out a couple of years ago, I saw the video to the first single, – ‘Leaving New York’.

It was nothing startling or different, but then why would REM want to do that when they have a formula that works. As with much of their best work, the lyrics tug at a melancholic feeling that connects us together. After watching the video I visited their official website for the first time. And found that they have a load of remix downloads available which are worth a listen. They can be downloaded for free – just follow the link.

REM have just finished a series of dates in Ireland to test out new material and are now in a studio in that country working on the new album.

[From the 'Things I found' archive - with an update!]

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Editors – An End Has a Start

Jul 6

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

Last weekend I bought the second album by Editors, a band from Birmingham in the UK. It is a really accomplished piece of work. I always wonder how bands manage to pull together their second album when they are busy touring and promoting the first one. I guess this problem gets more acute by the time the third album comes along and any material which was ready before the recording contract has been exhausted – hence, the difficult third album!

I saw Editors as a support band last year when Franz Ferdinand played Manchester. It was one of those gigs where the support band have half the PA system and almost no lights, but they still played a blinding set. I thought I had spotted a real gem that evening. They were a marvellous mix of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs and The Cure (all bands I saw in Liverpool in the late 70s and early 80s).

It was great to hear all of those bands from my formative years melded together into something new and shiny. It’s a great album and I was positively so surprised to see this new album leap into the charts last week in the UK at number one. The album has slipped to number two this week, being displaced by the new album from reformed Crowded House, but I guess it is still selling well. Go listen – and enjoy…

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Elephant Talk, a King Crimson website – now it’s a Wiki

Jun 5

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Things I found | No Comments

ETWiki Home – ETWiki

Elephant Talk was a regular newsletter for some 15 years which updated the fan / fanatic about the activities of King Crimson, all of its members through the years and their own solo activities. It took the form of a discussion list, so there were many diverse views in each edition. At times Robert Fripp himself posted entries to it.

Anyway it ceased publication as a newsletter recently, and has now entered the world of Web 2.0 by converting itself into a Wiki using the same technology as Wikipedia itself. It’s worth a look if you are curious about any of this branch of music. There’s probably the answer to pretty much anything you might want to know in the pages of the wiki.

Now, I’ve been thinking for a while that there must be some really useful applications of wiki technology. I have started to experiment again with WikidPad which is really easy to use and has moved on a lot since I last used it. Of course, it is always important to avoid the trap of finding a useful piece of technology and then hunting desperately for something to use it on. It should be the other way round! That said, I will be experimenting with the whole wiki approach because I really like the intuitive and flexible approach.

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May – a quick music update

May 25

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Playlists | No Comments

I have a heap of fantastic albums which I am listening to at the moment. They include:

  • The Guillemots – Through the Windowpane
  • Badly Drawn Boy – Born in the UK
  • Duke Special – Songs from the Deep Forest
  • Tracy Thorn – Out of the Wood
  • Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet
  • Rush – Snakes & Arrows

This is a post on the run, so no detail. But, go explore – you won’t be disappointed…

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Paris Transatlantic magazine

Mar 9

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Things I found | No Comments

‘Paris Transatlantic’ is an online magazine. I originally found it and posted a link to it a couple of years ago, on an earlier weblog.

If you are interested in new music, contemporary, electronica and jazz it is well worth a visit. It would appeal to anyone who wants to explore sounds and names that they are unlikely to have heard of before. The editing of the magazine is handled by a team of people including Nate Dorward (who also edits an excellent poetry magazine) and Dan Warburton who has written for Wire magazine for a few years now. Dan Warburton has also produced music for the online stasisfield music label, which I love.

The magazine comes out monthly and is worth a surf when you have a few minutes to spare.

(From the ‘things i found’ archive)

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Friday Playlist 3

Mar 2

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music, Playlists | No Comments

It’s been a while since I did one of these – a list of the albums I am listening to at the moment. (Earlier ones are here and here).

The music which is forming the soundtrack for my life at the moment is:

1. Nine Horses – Money for all

I bought the original album ‘Snow Borne Sorrow’ a while back when it came out. This new release is a mixture of new tracks (3 of them) and remixes of tracks from the album. David Sylvian works well in the mix with Steve Jansen and Burnt Friedman. It’s a CD which slowly burns into your memory banks and demands replays.

2. Tom Waits – Orphans

This had such amazing reviews, that I couldn’t wait to get hold of a copy. I got it for Christmas, and have been dipping into it ever since. Three hours of Tom Waits, meandering all over his various muscial styles, voices and topics. The third CD is probably the weirdest (saying something where Waits is concerned!) as it mixes stories, poems and soundtrack outtakes. The whole CD set is a mammoth thing which surprisingly hangs together.

3. Ketil Bjornstad /David Darling – Epigraphs

This is a stunning album of improvisations between piano and cello. It shifts from modern ambient, cool jazz to echoes of Bach and Mozart. Great music for thinking and creating.

4. Joanna Newsom – Ys

It’s an epic album, full of stories and threads of ideas. The orchestration by Van Dyke Parks is amazing and the whole thing is a labryinth which reveals new secrets on each listen.

5. Joanna Newsom – The Milk Eyed Mender

Well, the new album took me into the first one. This is a much starker arrangement. Her voice is somewhere between Bjork, Kate Bush and Tori Amos. But it has its own unique territory too! I love the lyrics, and I love the arrangements for each song.

6. Badly Drawn Boy – About a Boy

I know he has a new album out – and no, I haven’t heard it yet. But I saw the film of which this is the soundtrack again recently, and was drawn back to this album. Damon Gough carves out his own furrow. But above all else, he writes great melodies. I absolutely love the song ‘Silent Sigh’, used at a particularly painful moment in the film.

7. Fennesz – Endless Summer

I came to Fennesz’s work through a collaboration he did with David Sylvian. He is a guitarist and laptop improviser from Austria. This album is truly beautiful – it rises gently out of a backround of noise and captures you like a stunning sunrise on a crisp morning.

8. John Cale – Black Acetate

An eclectic mix of styles, some killer riffs and a giant bag of seething energy. And the production is stunning. I’m not particularly precious about production values – but this one just reaches out of the speakers and grabs you by the throat.

9. Paul Weller – Stanley Road

I’m not sure how I missed this when it first came out. Last year I bought the anniversary edition and have listened to it so many times since. What a classic album!

10. Sigur Ros – Takk

I know I have chosen this album before on this blog, but it really does tease out new things on each listen. Earlier this week I spent an evening listening really carefully to it through headphones and there is so much going on in the mix that I hadn’t heard before.

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He’s Mark Rushton, He makes music and art

Feb 28

Posted by Stuart in Blog posts, Music | No Comments

I have been following the work of Mark Rushton for a couple of years now. He used to run a website called ‘Hooray for Vouvray’ and then migrated all of his activities to his own domain. As well as creating ambient and drone music, he is also a painter. He produces a new podcast every month or so with samples of the music he is working on. Well worth a listen.

One thing I particularly like about the site, is watching someone who is clearly following their passion.

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