Chiudo l'anno leggendo e. e. cummings e ascoltando I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, nella versione per voce e pianoforte offerta da Louis Philippe, un'anteprima dal suo imminente doppio album dal vivo (la si sente intanto in http://www.myspace.com/louisphilippemusic). Ciao.

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men (both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed (but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then) they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men (both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

Nel numero di gennaio 2007 The Wire ospita i tedeschi Faust nella sezione Invisible Jukebox. Parte della conversazione, guidata da David Stubbs, si può anche sentire - nel trambusto tipico di ogni intervista con il gruppo - in http://www.thewire.co.uk/web/tape.php. L'ascolto di War (da Henry Cow - In Praise of Learning) offre lo spunto per commenti, giudizi e ricordi legati alle esperienze Virgin e Recommended, con un diretto raffronto tra idee, ideali e idealismi di Richard Branson, di Chris Cutler e degli stessi Faust.

Aymeric Leroy pubblica oggi su Calyx 'R.I.P. Pip Pyle - A Souvenir Portfolio', una selezione di immagini e scritti raccolti in occasione del funerale di Pip Pyle.

http://calyx.club.fr/pipfuneral/index.html

L'insuperabile Ensemble Modern e un gruppo di virtuosi indiani sono protagonisti del concerto messo in onda domenica prossima, a partire dalle 20.30, da RadioTre Suite e registrato a Venezia per Biennale Musica 2006 lo scorso 2 ottobre. Dirige Kasper de Roo.

Rasalîla - il gioco delle emozioni - è il risultato delle collaborazione tra l’Ensemble Modern, formazione tra le più note e apprezzate per la musica contemporanea, e alcuni grandi interpreti della musica classica indiana. L’opera ha le proprie radici nella tradizione del paese asiatico e usa il linguaggio dell’avanguardia. Quella indiana è ritenuta la sola musica classica tradizionale che continua la propria evoluzione in modo indipendente dalla concezione musicale occidentale.
Direttore artistico del progetto è Sandeep Bhagwati, compositore che da tempo lavora in Europa. L’idea ha preso forma durante una serie di workshop coordinati da Bhagwati nell’arco di un biennio, che ha raccolto famosi musicisti indiani a comporre una serie di brani per l’Ensemble Modern.

http://www.radio.rai.it/radio3
http://www.ensemble-modern.com

Le ristampe su CD di alcuni classici Soft Machine - gli album dal 3 al 7 - sono annunciate per febbraio 2007.

"Sony BMG is proud to present five reissued masterpieces from genre defining pioneers of psychedelia, Soft Machine. Remastered from the original master tapes and sounding better than ever, these classic albums are essential for all fans of both Soft Machine and Robert Wyatt and staple listening for anyone with an interest in 1960/70's experimental jazz/rock.
Exclusive bonus material is included in the form of an additional disc containing the BBC session 'Live from the Royal Albert Hall' which is included with the 'Third' album, and the previously unavailable alternate take of 'All White' featured on the 'Fifth' album.
Featuring the legendary Robert Wyatt, Soft Machine exploded on to the scene in 1966 alongside Pink Floyd who they often played with and were likened to. In the history of rock music few bands underwent such a stylistic musical transformation as Soft Machine. Starting life as a band that absorbed Soul and Jazz influences, the group became one of the first to embrace psychedelia before heading off on a jazz influenced tangent. In hindsight Soft Machine's evolution could have only taken place in the musical free thinking environment that was the music business of the late 60's / early 70's. It was an evolution that would produce some of the most startlingly brilliant and innovative music of the period. With constant support from John Peel's Radio London `Perfumed Garden' show and through a series of underground happenings where they played alongside The Who, Jimi Hendrix (who they also supported on a 1968 US tour) and Eric Burdon and the Animals, they became one of the most respected and influential bands of that time."

Un importante riconoscimento ha ricevuto Graham Bennett per il libro Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous, pubblicato l'anno scorso da SAF:

"SAF Publishing are proud to announce that Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous, the definitive history of British jazz–rock pioneering legends Soft Machine, has won a 2006 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research recognising a work of exceptionally high quality. "The goal of the ARSC Awards Program is to recognise and draw attention to the finest work now being published in the field of recorded sound research," says Brenda Nelson-Strauss of the ARSC Awards Committee. "We congratulate you on your achievement in this field." Graham Bennett has been invited by the ARSC to the presentation banquet to be held in Milwaukee on Saturday May 5, 2007, to collect his award during ARSC's annual conference. Begun in 1991, the awards are presented to authors and publishers to recognise outstanding published research in the field of recorded sound. In giving these awards, ARSC recognises outstanding contributions, encourages high standards, and promotes awareness of superior works."

SAF Publishing London UK
http://www.safpublishing.com

Hux Records annuncia l'uscita di On the Radio per Matching Mole (Peel sessions del 1972 e dello stesso anno il concerto per la BBC già pubblicato da Windsong nel 1994) e Soft Mountain per l'omonimo quartetto comprendente Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Hoppy Kamiyama e Tatsuya Yoshida in una session finora inedita dell'agosto 2003.

Robert Wyatt formed Matching Mole in 1972, shortly after he left Soft Machine and just before launching his solo career. Matching Mole bore some similarities to his later work with Soft Machine. In fact, Wyatt came up with the name 'Matching Mole' as a subtle pun on the French translation of 'Soft Machine' - 'machine molle'.
Matching Mole released two great albums in 1972, before Wyatt disbanded the group and set out as a solo artist. But it is this Hux compilation which Wyatt now describes as the definitive Matching Mole album.
'On The Radio' is a compilation of rare BBC recordings, including 3 John Peel studio sessions and a live concert. The band includes Dave Sinclair (ex Caravan), Phil Miller (Hatfield & The North and National Health), Bill MacCormick and Dave MacRae
This special 'digi-pack' format features an original cover photograph by Robert Wyatt, who also compiled the running order. The accompanying 12 page CD booklet features extensive liner notes by Matching Mole bassist, Bill MacCormick, plus rare period photo's and comprehensive recording details.

Legendary Soft Machine veterans Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper joined forces in 2003 with wildly creative keyboardist/composer Hoppy Kamiyama and master drummer, Yoshida Tatsuya to create Soft Mountain. Their debut recording is now released here for the first time.Elton Dean & Hugh Hopper are well known amongst jazz rock fans. In addition to forming half of the ‘classic’ Soft Machine line-up (with Robert Wyatt & Mike Ratledge) they have also worked with Brotherhood of Breath, Keith Tippett & Long John Baldry's Bluesology (Dean) and Stomu Yamashta, Kevin Ayers & Isotope (Hopper). Soft Mountain named themselves after Hoppy Kamiyama, whose name translates into ‘God Mountain’ in English. Hoppy has made about 200 CDs over a nearly 24 year career, so it’s hard to say which is the greatest and most influential recording by this musician, who practically invented the modern concept of the keyboardist/composer/producer. Tatsuya Yoshida was without doubt one of the most important drummers on the Japanese scene in the final decades of the 20th century, having spearheaded at least half a dozen of that country's most important groups, including Acid Mothers Temple & The Ruins. This limited edition digi-pack features a liner note from Hugh Hopper.

http://www.huxrecords.com

Stasera, e ogni sera fino a venerdì 15, appuntamento imperdibile in radio (Fuochi, RadioTre, dalle 23.30 alle 24.00) con Paolo Chang che presenta "John Greaves & Peter Blegvad: piccole cosmogonie musicali". Queste le scalette dei brani proposti:

Lunedì 11 dicembre
SLAPP HAPPY, Little Girls World, da "Sort Of" - Blueprint BP318CD
SLAPP HAPPY, A Little Something, da "Acnalbasac Noom" - ReR SHCD
SLAPP HAPPY/HENRY COW, Bad Alchemy, da "Desperate Straights" - ReR HCSH1
HENRY COW, War, da "In Praise of Learning" - East Side Digital ESD 80502
JOHN GREAVES/PETER BLEGVAD/LISA HERMAN, Seven Scenes From The Painting "Exhuming The First American Mastodon" By C.W.Peale, da "Kew. Rhone." - Voiceprint VP200CD
JOHN GREAVES/PETER BLEGVAD/LISA HERMAN, Good Evening, da "Kew. Rhone." - Voiceprint VP200CD
JOHN GREAVES/PETER BLEGVAD/LISA HERMAN, Twenty-Two Proverbs, da "Kew. Rhone." - Voiceprint VP200CD

Martedì 12 dicembre
PETER BLEGVAD/JOHN GREAVES, Like a Baby, da "State of the Union" - Atavistic ALP69CD
JOHN GREAVES, Milk, da "Accident" - Blueprint BP234CD
JOHN GREAVES, The Price We Pay, da "Parrot Fashions" - Blueprint BP233CD
SLAPP HAPPY, Everybody's Slimmin' (Even Men and Women), da "Acnalbasac Noom" - ReR SHCD
PETER BLEGVAD, How Beautiful You Are, da "The Naked Shakespeare" - Virgin Records CDV 2284
JOHN GREAVES, How Beautiful You Are, da "The Trouble with Happiness" - Le Chant du Monde 274 1199

Mercoledì 13 dicembre
PETER BLEGVAD, Special Delivery, da "Knights Like This" - Virgin CDV 2352
MICHAEL ZENTNER, Parts, da "Present Time" - Red Records VR22615
GOLDEN PALOMINOS, Strong, Simple Silences, da "Blast of Silence" - Charly Records CPCD 8225
THE LODGE, The Song, da "Smell of a Friend" - Antilles/New Directions 7 90691-1
JAKKO, A Grown Man Immersed In Tin Tin, da "Are My Ears On Wrong?" - Resurgence RES110CD

Giovedì 14 dicembre
PETER BLEGVAD, Card To Bernard, da "Downtime" - East Side Digital 81192
PETER BLEGVAD, King Strut, da "King Strut & Other Stories" - Silvertone ZD74731
PETER BLEGVAD/JOHN GREAVES, The Only Song, da "Unearthed" - Sub Rosa sr 75
JOHN GREAVES, Rose C'est La Vie, da "La Petite Bouteille de Linge" - La Lichere CD LLL 117
NATIONAL HEALTH, Binoculars, da "Complete" - East Side Digital ESD 80402/412

Venerdì 15 dicembre
JOHN GREAVES, Kew.Rhone., da "Songs" - Resurgence RES112CD
SLAPP HAPPY, Child Then, da "Ça Va" - V2 VVR 1001662
PETER BLEGVAD, Loss To Mourn, da "Hangman's Hill" - ReR Megacorp PB3
JOHN GREAVES, ÉLISE CARON, Effilochée, da "Chansons..." - Le Chant du Monde 274 1261JOHN GREAVES, I Wish You Love / Que Rest-T-Il De Nos Amours?, da "On The Street Where You Live" - Blueprint BP346CD

Don Paterson, scrittore e poeta scozzese di lustro (ma anche musicista in una formazione minore di jazz-folk), ricorda su The Sunday Times di ieri l'incontro di gioventù - e i suoi benefici effetti - con l'album Rock Bottom di Robert Wyatt.

http://tinyurl.com/y95ppn
http://tinyurl.com/w7hck

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, una delle più geniali creazioni del compianto Vivian Stanshall, è da qualche settimana in distribuzione online ma anche nei negozi tradizionali. La pubblicazione in DVD, oltre 25 anni dopo la realizzazione del film, è stata salutata da proiezioni nei cinema britannici e da una festa a Piccadilly lo scorso ottobre; di questa si vedono alcune immagini in http://tinyurl.com/scwb5.

Digital Classics, che ha prodotto il DVD per Charisma, ha in catalogo magliette e memorabilia per l'occasione. Un'estesa recensione, con un utile riassunto della storia (quello scritto dallo stesso Stanshall, due paginette date da leggere al pubblico dopo la visione del film, è tra i bonus del DVD), si legge in http://tinyurl.com/yybupk.

Louis Philippe pubblica su doppio cd un estratto dai concerti del 2005 a Londra e Brema; l'album sarà pronto nei primi mesi del 2007, ma lo si può già ora richiedere prenotandolo attraverso il sito di Philippe, Sunshine. La prima tiratura è limitata a 500 copie. Nulla si sa invece circa la pubblicazione dell'altro album in programma per il 2007, The Huddle House, con Stuart Moxham.

http://www.louisphilippe.co.uk

Il nuovo album di Phil Miller - In Cahoots si chiama Conspiracy Theories, e dopo la falsa partenza dovuta ad errori nella prima tiratura è pronto ed in distribuzione dal sito del chitarrista http://www.philmiller-incahoots.co.uk

Così lo presenta lo stesso Miller:
"The project for recording the CD Conspiracy Theories was started in Nov 2004 and completed in July 2006. In this time In Cahoots has morphed into a multifaceted group with a more varied personnel. The band redefines itself by what is written for and attempted by it and who is in it.
Out of interest all the initial track laying and majority of the music on this CD was recorded at Eastcote Studios but most of the overdubs and all the mixing was done in my own studio. I wanted to have as much interplay as possible in general but in particular on solos. So this necessitated there had to be a good monitoring for the band playing live and Eastcote provided this.
Fred Baker, Pete Lemer and Mark Fletcher are still at the heart of the group and therefore this CD. Their presence ensures that I can write and record complex material and have it accurately played in the time allotted.
However in a way the seeds for this project were sown when working with Didier Malherbe in Short Wave. I had sketched out the pieces – 5 & 7, Crackpot, Find Press Enter and Freudian Triode with him in mind. In those days he played all the reeds and flutes and in the studio was a one-man wind ensemble. These dense and elaborate orchestrations happened to be compatible with some other compositions I had been writing in the last few years and the project took shape from there. However these days Didier Malherbe concentrates on the Doudouk, Soprano Sax,Ocarinas and various flutes. He rather eschews his former jazz self these days to concentrate fully on his band Hadouk. Anyway having persuaded Didier that this recording date could be the exception to the rule things soon took shape. On 5 & 7 Didier plays Alto Sax which today he no longer does. His sax and flute parts on 5 & 7 were recorded some time ago .To realise this project I augmented the band with Annie Whitehead (Trombone) and Simon Finch (Trumpet & Flugelhorn). They are members of the Zappatistas and therefore clearly don’t mind a challenge. I heard them play various Frank Zappa pieces with aplomb and thought they would play my parts quite easily without much rehearsal, which they duly did and much more.
Simon Picard made his contribution to the project after the initial track laying in Nov 04. He played with In Cahoots in July 05.His sound and melodic sense is renown and blends well with Didier’s Soprano.He forms a brilliant front line with Simon Finch for the band as it will appear in December.
With Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin providing the tuned percussion and vocals parts the piece 5 & 7 harks back to our collaborations on Figures of Speech (Cutting both Ways).
On this same tune Doug Boyle plays the majority of the guitar parts including some rather fast and tricky ninetuplets. Doug’s supple legato technique makes them sound clean and natural.
Richard Sinclair makes a cameo appearance of on Fretless Bass on Lydiotic.
This tune is an acknowledgement, although heavily disguised, in the direction of George Russell and his book the Lydian Chromatic Concept that was interesting reading for me at the time of Matching Mole.
Orinaca, which is written by Pete with Didier playing on Ocarina. It is a sort of world music departure for In Cahoots and features a powerful solo from Pete.
Fred’s piece End of the Line was written for his father who was a guitarist of stature and has a flowing solo from the author with intricate brushwork accompaniment from Mark Fletcher. Extreme virtuosity in the bass department is required on bass tune feature Flash Point which ends with an emphatic drum solo from Mark Fletcher. On the title track Conspiracy Theories Didier’s solo shows him in fine form while Mark negotiates the rather frequent tempo and feel changes with consummate ease."

Gong @ Monserrat 1973 (and Other Stories) è il titolo di un DVD appena pubblicato per Gong & co, che si può reperire all'indirizzo www.planetgong.co.uk del sito dedicato al gruppo.

Oltre al raro filmato del titolo - una mezzoretta circa dei tempi migliori - ci sono numerosi altri video più recenti, alcuni disponibili anche sul sito di Daevid Allen. Inutile però negarlo, si va a vedere anche - e tra le prime cose - un breve estratto Soft Machine all'UFO Club, epoca 1967...

Essential footage of 1973 Gong at play and live + much more
The Holy Grail for many Gongsters is footage of the band in the '70s. Such material is very rare indeed, so to be re-untied with a complete 25 minute professionally shot and edited film from the time is like manna from heaven. You simply will not believe your eyes. Add to that new high quality specially shot films of some of daevid's recent work and some long lost Soft Machine UFO footage direct from Mark Boyle's archive - a must have DVD.
With a 12 page booklet by daevid explaining all about this bizarre Gong gig and the other films included in this collection.

Gong @ Monserrat 1973 - A Film by Esteban Marguilles
Big Tea 1996 - A Film by Andrea Heinrich
Conscience Strike 2006 - A Film by Stefanie Petri
Arrest Me - A Film by Stefanie Petri
Gaia - A Film by Stefanie Petrik
Tick'O'Cock - A Film by Micheal Balson
Garden Song - A Film by Gary Fick
AMG at RFH 2002 - 'The Marriage of Cotton Casino'
Soft Machine - UFO Club 2.6.1967