John Peel 30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004

Tomorrow, Saturday 25th October 2008, is the fourth anniversary of the death of John Peel. Much has been said about Peel's contribution to music in the UK and there is little I feel I need to add. On a personal note though John Peel is by far the single greatest influence on my musical journey. As music is central to my very existence that makes him very, very important indeed. His influence undoubtedly lives on but nothing has, or could come, close to replacing him. I for one miss him very much.

I have posted a small selection of session tracks. I expect that most of these tracks are already out there and I apologise if I am not adding to the greater sum of Peel show mp3s. This, though, is by way of a personal tribute.

On 19th October 1988 Peel broadcast a Sonic Youth session in which they only played Fall covers. Somehow this seems to encapsulate a great deal of what music meant to me back then.

Sonic Youth - Psycho Mafia

Sonic Youth - My New House

Sonic Youth - Rouche Rumble

Sonic Youth - Victoria

Way back in 1975 (on 19th May), before I was listening to John Peel shows, Can recorded two session tracks; Geheim and Mighty Girl. It would be about 10 years later that I got seriously into Can and othe krautrock bands via a mate's love of all things Amon Duul. Here's Geheim:-

Can - Geheim

A band that I remember Peely having a particular fondness for were Quickspace. They released just three albums but recorded four sessions. For me, they never got the attention they deserved. Here is the last of those sessions from 29th September 1999.

Quickspace - They Shoot Horses Don't They?

Quickspace - The Lobbalong Song

Quickspace - The Flat Moon Society

Quickspace -Gloria Clip

Finally, less than six weeks after John's death the BBC put out a session by Shellac. Their song The End of Radio is incredibly poignant.

Shellac - The End of Radio

THANKS JOHN.

Hagar the Womb - The Word of the Womb EP 1984

One of the earliest releases on Mortarhate (MORT 2) the label founded by Conflict, this is a terrific EP fuelled by anger but never despair. Sometimes it feels almost like an historic document of a time when people still felt thay had the power to change society through positive action and constructive revolt... and through music. But the songs do still resonate today with powerful critiques on celebrity culture and the empty pursuit of fame, the dangers of religious fundamentalism, personal freedom and our unceasing willingness to subjugate ourselves to a flawed system.

As it says on the sleeve: Be aware, be happy, be optimistic - THINK!

DOWNLOAD - Hagar the Womb - Truth

DOWNLOAD - Hagar the Womb - Idolization

DOWNLOAD - Hagar the Womb - Cardboard Theatre

Approximately Infinite Universe

Approximately Infinite Universe (named after the 1973 Yoko Ono album) is billed as A Caravan Of Raw Sound Magic From Finland & The US and reached Manchester on Thursday 25th. Part of an eight date tour the concept is one of collaboration. Centred around the acts on Sami Sänpäkkilä's Fonal Records label these collaborations worked to perfection. Introduced by the films of Sami Sänpäkkilä' set to the music of Kemialliset Ystävät in the lovely setting of the Contact Theatre the evening promised much from the very start. Nor were we disappointed.

First up the combined enormity of Islaya, Blevin Blectum and Samara Lubelski. Islaja (Merja Kokkonen) is/has been part of Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät and Hertta Lussu Ässä. Blevin Blectum is a electronic musician of well deserved renown having released groundbreaking records as half of Blectum From Blechdom. Multi-instrumentalist Samara Lubelski is part of German psychsters Metabolismus and has worked with such luminaries as Thurston Moore, Tower Recordings and Matt Valentine. The three were joined on stage by an unheralded bass player - anyone know who that was? - and produced a beautiful set of tight as a drum quietly funky psych doodlings with some breathtaking Nico-esque vocals from Islaya. Lovely stuff.

Finland's Jan Anderzen of Tomutonttu, Kemialliset Ystavat and Avarus and California’s Spencer Clark and James Ferraro of The Skaters performed together under the Dream Triangle moniker. Their set consisted of a single "song" of complex drone and low end rumblings. Unfortunatley as with much of this type of music it does not always translate to live performance in a larger venue. To fully appreciate the subtlety and complexity of their sound demands close attention and a couple of people in front of me got a little distracted and chatted, quite loudly, throughout which rather spoiled it for me. Grr!!

Es is Sami Sänpäkkilä aforementioned film-maker and Fonal Records head. Fursaxa is Tara Burke from Philadelphia who on her records plays among others dulcimer, accordion and guitar. Taking to a stage fronted by a ring of tealights, Sänpäkkilä and Burke combine to produce beautiful, melodic, rambling songs of a rare intensity.

Kemialliset Ystävät (Chemical Friends in translation) from Tampere, Finland and Axolotl is Karl Bauer from New Jersey closed out the show with a set of motorik krautrock inspired riffs interwoven with folkish detailing that worked superbly well.

No-Signal and Lamb and Wolf deserve all the plaudits for putting together these shows and on the choice of venue in Manchester. I hadn't seen a gig at the Contact before but the place was a brilliant choice for this one and added to the atmosphere and ambience of the evening.

Gigs September and October '08

I can recommend all of the following some of which I am going to and others, unfortunatley, I can't make. If you get to any of these have a good time and be nice. Remember don't continualy talk during the band's performances. I hate that, don't you?


This Thursday 25 September 2008 @ The Contact Theatre, Manchester
http://www.contact-theatre.org/
APPROXIMATELY INFINITE UNIVERSE - A CARAVAN OF RAW SOUND MAGIC FROM FINLAND AND THE US.
The Manchester leg of an eight date tour supported by Contemporary Music Network and sponsored by The Wire Magazine featuring Kemialliset Ystävät, Islaja, Fursaxa, Samara Lubelski, ES, Axolotl, The Skaters, Blevin Blectum and Tomutonttu.
The concerts will be recorded and later released as digital only compilations.

Tickets £10/£6 concessions
http://www.wegottickets.com/
http://www.ticketline.co.uk/
and from Piccadilly Records, Oldham Street, Manchester
See http://www.myspace.com/lambandwolf
or http://www.no-signal.net/aiu/ for more info

You can also catch the tour TONIGHT @
Newcastle - Gateshead Sage

After Manchester the tour continues:
26 SeptemberBristol - The Cube
4 Princess Row, BS2 8NQ
Doors: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12 http://www.qujunktions.com/
and 27 September London - ICA
12 Carlton House Tce, SW1Y 5AH
Doors: 7.30pm / Start: 8.00pm
Tickets: £10 http://www.no-signal.net/

Wednesday 8 October 2008 @ http://www.ruby-lounge.co.uk/ , Manchester
JUANA MOLINA

Tuesday 14 October 2008 @ http://www.musicboxmanchester.com/ , Manchester
THIS WILL DESTROY YOU, DAY FOR AIRSTRIKES, CODES IN THE CLOUDS

Thursday 23 October @ http://www.manchesteracademy.net/ , the University, Manchester
ATP Presents: Mogwai + Fuck Buttons + Errors

Wednesday 29 October @ Kings Arms, Bloom Street,Manchester www.studiosalford.com/kings.h…
JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER, VALET, INCA ORE, GO LEBANON and GNOD
www.myspace.com/wotgodforgot

UK D.I.Y. Post Punk - an update

It was a fantastic surprise to get an email from Geoff Watts once of The Different Eyes and Hibi Yaki who had come across my entry about the Tuzmadoner DIY post punk compilation 'Folk Music'. He very kindly provided additional info about the various bands on the LP and the scene happening in North London in the late 70's and early 80's. I think the most appropriate thing for me to do is to post Geoff's email in full (with a few comments and links added by me). Cheers Geoff:

'Simon Gilham and Royston were at school together in north London, Des McManus and Geoff Watts met whilst working at WH Smith and met up with the other two.
Simon, Des and Geoff (Bass, Drums, Guitar) formed The Different Eyes (later the DIFFERENT I's) and were driven to rehearsals by Royston. The Different I's rehearsed and performed live around North London around 1977-1979, recording various sessions and releasing two records - Shish EP and Folk Music.
As a side project, Royston sang some songs backed by the Different I's but as a different band. Royston never gigged.

The four members were friendly with Scritti Politti and regularly met up at Scrittville in Camden north London and drank and swapped musical tales with the Scrits, Gang of Four, Door and Window as well as many individuals, Simon Booth as well as a net work of musicians including Robert Wyatt. Inspired by the Desperate Bicycles (great link here) this band of merry musicians set about in 1979 to record the London Collective LP. Many bands were at the time releasing their own funded releases. The London Collective was a fraught notion - we spend many months and meeting discussing "why" rather than "how" and as a consequence it was abandoned.

The Shish EP was recorded in an attic room in Streatham, South London, recommended by Robert Jones of The Upset and The Bureau. Two additional tracks remain unreleased, one probably lost forever now.

Simon was now squatting with Mark O Brien, and another allegiance formed - Simon and Des backing Mark on his songs. Again Mark never gigged.

I can't recall how Simon met his partner in in Chancellor of the Exchequer but they took then selves off and recorded the two tracks.

Infra-Red Ice Cubes was Royston's project with Tim and Tom (names long gone) and Des on drums. They failed to record two tracks for the album artwork in time so we gave them names and they recorded songs to fit!

Mark O Brien was responsible for the cover art.

The EP received some acclaim, and fan letters were received from as far afield as Germany and Holland .

The Different I's were the main musical core of the collective and after a break and reunion they went their different ways.

Geoff and Roy as you state to Hibi Yaki who recorded around 3 - 4 demo sessions and gigged in north London. Simon you have the details and toured Canada with Colin Newman of Wire and then formed Interferon (check U Tube)'
There are still 2 free downloads from the Tuzmadoner compiliation 'Folk Music' at www.tearsandmemory.co.uk/blog

UK D.I.Y post punk

The Tuzmadoner label put out just two releases (as far as I can tell) 1978’s Shish EP by The Different I’s and 1980’s Folk Music compilation. The latter a truly fascinating document of the post punk DIY ethic featuring two tracks each by Different I's, Infra-Red Icecubes , Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mark O'Brien.
I can find virtually no information about any of these except Different I’s and I must thank Hyped2Death.com's Messthetics pages for what I do know:
- Simon Gilham, Des McManus and Geoff Watts got together in late 1977 along with 'non musical' friend Royston
- John Peel promptly hailed Shish as the worst record-sleeve he had ever seen
- "This Week" probably features the world's first-ever duck call solo
- Geoff Watts and Royston went on to Hibi Yaki (who are equally obscure), while Simon Gillham played with Colin Newman and later paired with Simon Fellowes in New Wave duo Intaferon who released 3 singles but never an album.
- Tuzmadoner? was the stock response at the corner kebab-stand when the skint band members ordered two small doner-kebabs between three.

All of the 8 tracks share a post punk feel and are characterised by heavy bass, an experimental structure and a genuine musical ambition.

Of the four artists, The Infra-Red Ice Cubes are perhaps the most edgily experimental. Secrets is a 5'22" instrumental piece reminiscent of This Heat and the krautrock of Neu!. Common Garret seems to me to be before it's time with its use of an Eastern European folk style violin sound over drone.
Mark O'Brien offers more immediate song based fare with a pop-(post-)punk flavour.
The Different I's perhaps best exemplify the willingness of these artists to flaunt conventional song structure with their employment of a huge range of styles, technique and instrumentation (including the aforementioned duck call solo).
Chancellor of the Exchequer have elements of Joy Division in Yellow Room but are more interesting on Scientific American which juxtaposes a bewildering array of vocal styles to great effect.

DOWNLOAD:Infra-red Ice Cubes - Common Garrett
DOWNLOAD:Chancellor of the Exchequer - Scientific American

Check out Folk Music in the Tears & Memory Shop

23 May 2008

Various things have conspired to prevent me seeing any live music recently. I did, though, catch the excellent show The Impotent Fury of the Privileged by stand-up stand-up Daniel Kitson. Thought provoking, moving and hilarious - sometimes all at once. If you haven't done so already do try to see Daniel perform, you will not be disappointed.


So with the lack of gigs to review I thought I should post some of the more interesting musical discoveries I have made over the past few weeks.

Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou- It's a Vanity

This is a track from an unlikely album of 70s fusion from Benin and Togo. African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s was released in March on AnalogAfrica and on the strength of this track is well worth checking out.


Autistic Daughters - Hotel Exeter Dining Room

Taken from the second album Uneasy Flowers on the ever dependable Kranky label. Autistic Daughters are a New Zealander Dean Roberts (guitar, vocals) and Austrians Martin Brandlmayr (percussion, computer) and Werner Dafeldecker (guitar, bass).



Five Fold Shade - Girl Loves Me

Terminally obscure late 60s German psych-garage band about whom I know nothing more than what I found on the excellent roots and traces blog where you can find more tracks as good as this raw beauty.


U-ni - Akasanta

From the album Samadhi on Vital Records an offshoot of Poseidon. U-ni is Tatsuhiro Honmura who plays guitar and bass through a series of effects and delays. If you like the motorik charms of krautrock and have psych leanings then you will probably like this.