31 gennaio 2014


Esce per la newyorkese Mode Records - come già Sketch of Now - un nuovo album di composizioni di Tim Hodgkinson, scritte tra il 2000 e il 2010: Onsets.

"As a composer shaping the conversation and collision between diverse musical voices, I avoid imposing a homogeneous language. I am against purity of method. I am after a kind of hybridity. And I want the listener's assumptions to go wrong at certain points, because this is what seems most to awaken listening...
I can say that music's speciality as an art is its concern with time itself, with unfolding, with how things are expected, remembered, how they appear to cast shadows before and after themselves, how they move in relation to us and we move in relation to them; how they creep up or suddenly burst on us; how they dawn or flood...
I took the title 'ONSETS' for this phase in my work, wanting to echo Hopkins' 'instress', but with the accent now on time, on the arrival of the thing, on how its wave breaks." (Tim Hodgkinson, dalle note di copertina)


30 gennaio 2014

Nels Cline e Fred Frith hanno partecipato pochi giorni fa all'annuale Alternative Guitar Summit presso il club sotterraneo SubCulture a New York. Cline attendeva con ansia l'incontro con uno dei suoi 'maestri': "This will not be my first time playing with the legendary Mr. Frith, a man who started changing the way I think about music and the guitar back in the mid-'70s. But it will be the first time that we have played guitars together, and I am thrilled and honored that curator/guitarist Joel Harrison asked me to do this. You see, other times when I played with Fred he was playing bass in Rova Saxophone Quartet's Orkestrova doing their Electric Ascension, their re-imagining of John Coltrane's epic free-blowing piece. When we first performed it together in San Francisco, I thought to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?!" We did have some great gigs playing this in various locations around the globe, but you know… I love to hear Fred Frith play his innovative guitar improvisations, even though his bass playing with Naked City and in those old duets with Henry Kaiser was and is seriously kickass…. Anyway, I do so enjoy playing in duet with guitarists, as one look at my gig and recording roster the last couple of decades will reveal. So it is with considerable excitement that I prepare to delve into the sound world with the man who, starting for me with his Guitar Solos record then Massacre's Killing Time and his "guitars-on-tables" performances in the '70s, shaped (warped??) my conception of what an electric guitar can do/say: Fred Frith."

Del loro duetto al SubCulture c'è traccia su YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeDOH8NrFVU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELQetKuJOc

Ed è notizia di pochi giorni fa che Frith parteciperà all'edizione di quest'anno del Rock in Opposition France Event a Cap'Découverte il prossimo settembre. Il programma al momento lo colloca - chi lo sa il perché? - lo stesso giorno di Artaud Beats. Hummmmmm...

http://joelharrison.com/alternative-guitar-summit-2014
http://www.rocktime.org/rio

29 gennaio 2014


Chris Cutler ha tenuto il mese scorso in Belgio alcuni incontri con il pubblico, proponendo brevi concerti in solo e discussioni teoriche sul tema del loop: "A loop is glitch in time. It’s a zombie sound that keeps coming back. A loop is not human, it’s an artefact of technology. And loops are everywhere, tirelessly repeating themselves to anyone who will listen. They seem familiar - but they are not; they are profoundly alien. We mostly don’t notice because loops are chameleons as well as zombies. And they can do great good - so long as they are taken one iteration at a time. They can also do great harm - I mean profound, existential harm - which is why we so often associate them with insanity and death. Neither attribute - good nor bad - is anything we can do much about because loops are a plain fact in today’s world - and they’re not going anywhere. But we can approach them with caution."
Un estratto dal concerto del 20 dicembre al Conservatoire royal di Liegi è in http://vimeo.com/82452327

http://www.ccutler.com
http://www.pilmeyer.com/images/ccutlere.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZIJmjv2P-c
http://vimeo.com/82452327

28 gennaio 2014

L'incontro con gli studenti del Conservatorio Nicolini di Piacenza tenuto lo scorso 18 gennaio da Peter Hammill è documentato in video su YouTube. Altrove c'è traccia anche del concerto serale, la cui scaletta comprendeva My Room, Siren Song, Just Good Friends, Don't Tell Me, The Mercy, Unconscious Life, Undone, A Better Time, Traintime e House With No Door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBvmabgsKfw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fidDfWD2lE

27 gennaio 2014

Esce in una coloratissima edizione in vinile - com'è di regola in casa della francese Bloc Thyristors - il concerto tenuto il 5 marzo dell'anno scorso all'Instants Chavirés di Montreuil dall'inedito quartetto L'Étau di Jean-Noël Cognard con Michel Pilz, Paul Rogers e Keith Tippett. A quello si aggiungono le sessioni di studio effettuate il giorno stesso e quello precedente a Châtenay-Malabry: Choses Clandestines, quattro dischi in un prezioso cofanetto a tiratura limitata, con reportage fotografico e libretto a cura di Philippe Renaud di Improjazz.

Rencontre inédite entre deux talentueux musiciens de l'improvisation libre et également merveilleux mélodistes - Keith Tippett, piano & piano préparé et Michel Pilz, clarinette basse. Le quartet que l'on pourrait décliner comme la réunion de deux 'binômes' est complété par Paul Rogers au jeu si particulier à l'aide de sa contrebasse sept cordes, et Jean-Noël Cognard, batterie & percussion au jeu atypique avide de prise de risque, comme en témoignent les précédentes références du catalogue Bloc Thyristors. Les vinyles 0140-50 ont été enregistrés en mars 2013 à l'Auditorium de Châtenay Malabry - studio Pierre Schaeffer - présentant diverses combinaisons quartet / trio / duo / solo. Exploration avec l'enchevêtrement de sons d'instruments acoustiques déclinant écoute, complicité, énergie, interaction et improvisations intimistes. En clôture de cette session, un concert aux Instants Chavirés est présenté dans son intégralité à travers les vinyles 0160-70, complétant un travail global superbe d'une équipe réduite mais tenace pour défendre un plaisir à partager.

http://grisli.canalblog.com/archives/2014/01/18/28970084.html
http://www.discogs.com/label/139775-Disques-Bloc-Thyristors
http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/labels/blocthyristors/cthyr.html

26 gennaio 2014


LondonJazz sente Mike e Kate Westbrook per fare il punto sulle loro prossime iniziative, tra cui l'imminente pubblicazione in dvd di una versione dal vivo di Glad Day, quattro concerti londinesi in vario assetto tra febbraio e marzo e altri in Francia, Italia, Svizzera e Germania. Ai Westbrook, e in particolare all'uscita dell'album The Serpent Hit, hanno recentemente dedicato attenzione in Francia Citizen Jazz e Open Jazz.

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk
http://www.londonjazznews.com/2014/01/interview-preview-mike-and-kate.html
http://www.citizenjazz.com/Kate-Mike-Westbrook-3469612.html
http://www.francemusique.fr/emission/open-jazz/2013-2014/kate-mike-westbrook-croquent-la-pomme-du-paradis-01-15-2014-00-00

25 gennaio 2014


Phil Minton è in concerto stasera a Novara Jazz con il suo quartetto, quello di Mouthfull of Ecstasy (Victo, 1966) e Slur (Emanem, 2006), con John Butcher, Veryan Weston e Roger Turner. A breve seguiranno i concerti di Full Blast (Peter Brötzmann, Marino Pliakas, Michael Wertmüller), Westbrook Trio (Mike Westbrook, Kate Westbrook, Chris Biscoe) e Day & Taxi (Christoph Gallio, Silvan Jeger, David Meier), mentre non è confermata l'esibizione della Nu Band dopo l'improvvisa scomparsa di Roy Campbell.

http://www.philminton.co.uk
http://www.novarajazz.org
https://www.facebook.com/NovaraJazzFanPage

24 gennaio 2014

L'etichetta di Minneapolis Roaratorio specializzata in rarità e ristampe in vinile pubblica un inedito di Sun Ra con l'Astro-Infinity Arkestra risalente a metà anni sessanta, frutto probabilmente delle stesse sessioni di registrazione documentate in Strange Strings, ma con ensemble più ridotto: Other Strange Worlds. Un estratto è in https://soundcloud.com/roaratoriorecs/sun-ra-his-astro-infinity

http://www.roaratorio.com
roaratorio.records@gmail.com

23 gennaio 2014

Cien Fuegos Records sta lavorando alla copia conforme in doppio vinile di un classico Fmp dei primi anni ottanta, conservando in copertina gli scatti originali di Hans Reichel: Opened, But Hardly Touched, con Peter Brötzmann, Harry Miller e Louis Moholo ripresi dal vivo al Flöz Club berlinese il 5 e 6 novembre 1980.

http://www.cienfuegosrecords.com
http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/labels/fmp/fmp0840.html

21 gennaio 2014

Prima di unirsi alla London Jazz Composers Orchestra e di intraprendere la fantastica avventura Mujician, per buona parte degli anni ottanta Paul Dunmall ha fatto parte del gruppo Spirit Level, con Tim Richards, Paul Anstey e Tony Orrell (o Tony Marsh), realizzando con loro le sue prime prove discografiche. Le recupera da fruscianti vinili e spartane audiocassette Inconstant Sol: Mice in the Wallet, Proud Owners, Killer Bunnies e The Swiss Radio Tapes.

20 gennaio 2014


Altro lutto di questi giorni nel mondo del jazz riguarda la scomparsa del trombettista Roy Campbell, che segue di pochi giorni quella del suo anziano insegnante e mentore, Yusef Lateef. Lo ricorda con affetto e grande rispetto sulle pagine del New Yorker l'amico e collega Taylor Ho Bynum: "Campbell was a global traveller and an omnivorous collaborator, working with hundreds of musicians around the world and even living in the Netherlands for a period in the early nineteen-nineties. But at his core he was a true New Yorker, representing a particularly rugged and independent streak of African-American improvisational music that has stubbornly survived in the city despite gentrification and changing trends. Drawing from the ecstatic spiritualism of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane in the nineteen-sixties, which developed in Lower East Side lofts and alternative-art spaces in the nineteen-seventies, Campbell was committed to a kind of free-improvisational music that prized passionate individualism over faceless technique, and advocated for a shared sense of community over the fickle rewards of the music industry."

http://www.discogs.com/artist/222597-Roy-Campbell
http://www.newyorker.com/postscript-roy-campbell-jr.html

19 gennaio 2014

Battiti dedica stanotte una nuova puntata ad Amiri Baraka (in precedenza, LeRoi Jones), poeta, scrittore, controverso intellettuale e attivista politico scomparso pochi giorni fa all'età di 79 anni, figura di rilievo nell'affermazione della cultura e della musica afroamericana fin dagli anni sessanta, idealmente - e spesso fattivamente - al fianco degli amati Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, Sunny Murray e John Tchicai. Oltre alla produzione critica, letteraria e discografica, sono molti i documenti presenti anche sul web utili a cogliere la visione, la forza e le contraddizioni dell'uomo e del suo pensiero:
http://www.amiribaraka.com
http://youtu.be/KUEu-pG1HWw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR5pdz2uGFc
http://www.uhupil.org/challenges
http://tinyurl.com/amiri-baraka-battiti

18 gennaio 2014

Peter Hammill oggi è a Piacenza per un incontro pomeridiano con studenti e musicisti in occasione dell'open day del Conservatorio G. Nicolini (via Santa Franca 35), e per un concerto serale in solo nell'ambito della rassegna Musiche Nuove a Piacenzahttp://web2.comune.piacenza.it/eventi/musiche-nuove-a-piacenza-musica-spontanea
Intanto è pronto per Esoteric Recordings l'album Other World realizzato in coppia con Gary Lucas: il debutto in concerto è all'Union Chapel a Londra, il prossimo 21 febbraio. Un'anteprima è in http://bit.ly/J8vKOJ

Esoteric Antenna are delighted to announce the release of the first album collaboration featuring Peter Hammill, (Van Der Graaf Generator) and Gary Lucas (The Magic Band, Jeff Buckley). 'Other World' is released on 3rd February 2014. The fourteen track recording is a result of an invitation from Peter to Gary suggesting they might convene at the formers studio to see if some musical sparks might fly. Having first met in Aylesbury after a Hammill solo show in 1973, it was not until January 2012 that Gary arrived at the studio armed with instruments and some pieces which might be worth working on. As Peter explains, sparks flew and against the odds, 'Other World' unfolded with seamless speed. The majority of the recordings are produced by Peter and Gary's guitars and Peter's vocal though they are aided by a couple of pieces of found sound and loops.

http://www.sofasound.com
http://www.garylucas.com
http://www.esotericrecordings.com

17 gennaio 2014


Massimo Giuntoli porge omaggio alla cosiddetta 'scena di Canterbury' con Fol De Rol, programma di testi e musiche originali fitto di citazioni da Richard Sinclair, Robert Wyatt, Alan Gowen, Daevid Allen e Pip Pyle. Domani sera all'Arci Pintupi di Verderio Inferiore (LC).

http://www.massimogiuntoli.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/232479773600283/?ref=22
http://arcipintupi.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/pintu.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obpaV8mH1Ho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ag5rEiyjfw

16 gennaio 2014

L'episodio di questo mese di Canterbury Sans Frontières è in buona parte dedicato a Richard Coughlan, batterista dei Caravan recentemente scomparso: "This episode is dedicated to the memory of Richard Coughlan, Caravan's drummer since 1968, who passed away in December shortly before the last episode went out. The centrepiece is an hour of the finest live Caravan recordings I could find from '68-'75, and although Richard hardly ever played with anyone else, there are a couple of other relevant pieces included in this episode". Un concerto in omaggio al musicista si terrà a Canterbury il prossimo aprile.

http://canterburywithoutborders.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/episode-11.html
http://officialcaravan.co.uk/2013/12/richard-coughlan-rip

15 gennaio 2014

Ampi stralci dal concerto di Keith & Julie Tippett tenuto al Conservatorio di Musica 'G. Nicolini' di Piacenza lo scorso novembre sono disponibili su YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Meurglys75
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpwnv_4PN7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxprLe6-a1w

14 gennaio 2014


Different Perspectives in my Room recupera una copia in vinile dell'album dal vivo Diverse di Lol Coxhill, pubblicato da Ogun nel 1977 e più tardi accoppiato a The Joy of Paranoia (1978) nel cd antologico Coxhill on Ogun del 1998.
C'è anche una recensione firmata da Eugene Chadbourne, dove non manca accenno al ruolo assunto - e attivamente accolto dal sassofonista - dalle assi sconnesse del pavimento in legno del club londinese Seven Dials dove è stata effettuata la registrazione (mentre quasi tutti erano al bar):
http://differentperspectivesinmyroom.blogspot.com/2014/01/lol-coxhill-diverse-lp-1977.html

Scrive Chadbourne: "At the time this album was cut, saxophonist Lol Coxhill seems to have had more of a sense of humor than the entire British improvising crowd combined. This much is evident from the amusing liner notes, at one point quoting someone as saying Coxhill's solo soprano saxophone playing is a highlight of western culture and at another admitting that most of the audience was too busy drinking at the bar to listen to the concert that is featured on this 1976 album. The first half is Coxhill on solo soprano. While that is a good idea, a comparison with some of his later recordings, such as the 1981 Dunois Solos, makes the 16-minute "Diver" a bit edgy and incoherent. One obvious distraction is a loose floorboard, and while there is always a certain amount of interest in phenomenon such as this getting captured on record, inevitably listeners will be able to find better example of this man's fine solo saxophone in the Coxhill discography. The floorboard gets in his way, he get in its way. Perhaps a solo recording of the floorboard is stashed in the Ogun vaults somewhere. A quartet convenes on the second side, placing the saxophonist in front of drums, bass, and cello for music that is slippery, surprising, and not entirely successful. It is admirable music, sure, never content to crawl into one extreme corner and stay there like so many groups on the British free improvisation scene. At times, it even seems like the playing might have been more inspired had the players not been relying totally on their improvised wits; Coxhill is certainly a player that can work magic with composed and arranged material, and aspects of his accompanists' playing suggests they share this similarity with him."

http://www.discogs.com/Lol-Coxhill-Diverse/release/488758

13 gennaio 2014


Quarant'anni dopo il concerto di Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Eno e Nico il primo giugno 1974 al Rainbow Theatre londinese, sommariamente documentato qualche mese dopo dall'omonimo album su Island Records, Dave Thompson vi dedica un intero libro, seguendo le traiettorie dei protagonisti fin dal 1965 e ricostruendo l'evento attraverso cronologie, commenti, recensioni, discografie e varie informazioni di contesto aggiornate ai giorni nostri (tanto da includere la scomparsa pochi mesi fa di Ayers, e da citare tra le fonti le due edizioni del testo di Pamela Windo): June 1st 1974.

On June 1st 1974, the Rainbow Theatre in London hosted the first ever performance by what was (at least by those folk who’d heard of the artists) described as the greatest supergroup of the era. In the frontline:
Kevin Ayers, the Soft Machine co-founder who had been winding an ever more idiosyncratic solo career through the first half of the 1970s (and would continue to do so thereafter); John Cale, likewise, via the Velvet Underground; Brian Eno, one of the focal points of the original Roxy Music, now stepping out alone with his first solo record; and Nico, another former Velvet, ex-model, actress and Warhol superstar. In the backing band: Mike Oldfield, creator of the premier rock leviathan of the past twelve months, Tubular Bells; Robert Wyatt, making his first live appearance since the accident that rendered him wheelchair-bound; John “Rabbit” Bundrick, Ollie Halsall, Archie Legget, Eddie Sparrow, Liza Strike, Doreen and Irene Chanter. And on the fringes, at the show or elsewhere, but looking on regardless, an extended circle of friends and family, acquaintances and strangers that encompasses some of the most vital musical and artistic talents of that (or any other) age... Daevid Allen, Gavin Bryars, Tom Newman, Soft Machine, Bridget St John, Annea Lockwood, Fred Frith, Bill MacCormick, Henry Cow, the Velvet Underground, Gong, Lady June, Phil Manzanera, Hugh Hopper, Lindsay Cooper, Francis Monkman, Robert Fripp, Steve York, Tim Blake, Steve Hillage, Lol Coxhill, David Bedford, Gary Windo, Dave MacRae, Quiet Sun, Matching Mole, Roxy Music, Eno's Obscure Records and the International Carnival of Experimental Sound... and a cast of thousands. "June 1st 1974" is the story of one magical evening, and - for the decade on either side of it - the careers that made it possible.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Thompson-Books/354783304532048
http://tinyurl.com/nlvfrp6

12 gennaio 2014


E tornano in pista anche i Gong, versione 2014: con Daevid Allen sono Kavus Torabi e Fabio Golfetti, Ian East, Dave Sturt e Orlando Allen. Nuovo album entro l'anno, e presto nuovi concerti. "Gong has never stopped shape-shifting in its 46 years of touring - from the origins in the Parisian revolutions of '68, through the Virgin years to its newest incarnation. Unorthodox and unpredictable it continues to defy show-biz gravity, most forms of logic, every fad and fashion, and pretty much anything else you care to conjure up. Weeeellll, it is Gong."

Daevid Allen, ironizzando un po' sul suo settantaseiesimo compleanno domani, rilancia un celebre testo a proposito di epoca storica ed età personale:
"I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams orball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air, and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.
Every family had a father and a mother. We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. (...ha ha! something surely happened on the way to the theatre!!). Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country (Australia) was a bigger privilege. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, ITMA, dixieland and Winston Churchill's speeches on our radios and I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey or Woody Herman..... (maybe Billie Holiday though...).
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk. Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a tram or bus, and a soft drink were all a penny. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your penny on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600 ...but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day: "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in and "rockin out" was your grandmother's lullaby. "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office, "chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store and ' ? ? ? "software" wasn't even a word."

http://www.planetgong.co.uk
http://users.swing.be/daevidallen/oldman.html

11 gennaio 2014


Torna in pista l'Artchipel Orchestra con i suoi 'dialoghi con i Soft Machine': Facelift, Noisette, Kings and Queens, Mousetrap e Moon in June, un'introduzione westbrookiana (da Platterback) e una dedica a Giovanni Pillitteri. Oggi pomeriggio alle 17.30, all'Auditorium Di Vittorio di Corso di Porta Vittoria a Milano.

https://sites.google.com/site/artchipelorchestra
https://www.facebook.com/ArtchipelOrchestra
http://www.wom-agency.com/RCS/Sta201314.pdf
http://tinyurl.com/qgw2hg7

10 gennaio 2014


Uno sguardo all'anno vecchio, e a quello nuovo. Robert Wyatt sul Morning Star, sabato scorso: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-9b2d-Looking-ahead-by-looking-back

09 gennaio 2014


Un concertino di Derek Bailey e Mike Osborne tenuto il 6 agosto 1978 a Londra al Soho Poly Theatre, mitico covo letterario underground allora diretto da Fred Proud and Verity Bargate, riaffiora da un'audiocassetta e diviene un pezzo di storia: lo diffonde Inconstant Sol, con l'approvazione di Karen Brookman (Incus Records): http://inconstantsol.blogspot.it/2013/12/derek-bailey-and-mike-osborne-soho-poly.html

http://www.incusrecords.force9.co.uk
http://sohopolyfestival.blogspot.co.uk
http://instituteformodern.co.uk/2012/soho-poly-theatre-festival-june-19th-21st

08 gennaio 2014


Il concerto di Konk Pack - Tim Hodgkinson, Thomas Lehn e Roger Turner - del 18 dicembre 2012 al Cafe Oto londinese è ora su cd per Megaphone / Knock'em Dead Records: Doing the Splash. Così scrisse di quella sera John Fordham: "Konk Pack move irresistibly between moods, and episodes of density and tranquillity, like movements in a composition. So Hodgkinson's spikier pluckings at the lap-steel guitar accelerated the action, and the mesmerising Turner picked up the momentum with precisely struck rolls executed in a blur. Lehn played his old-school synth with a classical pianist's flourishes, unleashing figures that paralleled the narrative logic of conventional runs of notes. High-pitched electronics like gossiping dolphins brought whispering shaker sounds from Turner, slow-bending catlike cries met bell-like chimes from the cymbal-edges, whooshing wind-sounds were accompanied by something close to rock-guitar chords from Hodgkinson. Konk Pack sustained high intensity but with an air of immense relaxation – and the whole set, though spontaneously conceived, had the page-turning seductiveness of a meticulously structured story. It wasn't hard to hear what the fuss about Konk Pack has been all about".

http://www.knockemdeadrecords.com/shop-doing-the-splash

07 gennaio 2014


Sono pronte da Staubgold le annunciate ristampe in vinile e cd di alcuni rari materiali di inizio anni ottanta dei Family Fodder, in sostanza l'album di esordio (Monkey Banana Kitchen), un EP (Schizophrenia Party) e due singoli (The Big Dig / Plant Life e Film Music / Room). La versione in cd di Monkey Banana Kitchen raccoglie tutto quanto, mentre Schizophrenia Party (Director's cut), in tiratura limitata a sole cinquecento copie, espande l'EP originale includendo anche i due singoli.

Family Fodder was originally formed in 1979 by Alig Pearce - with a cast of thousands over three decades. They emerged from the melting-pot of 70s/80s London alongside This Heat, The Flying Lizards, The Pop Group, Slits and many others. The original formula consisted of psychedelic and new wave influences, incisive song-writing, improvisation, experiment and far-out dub mixing. They always managed to evade major exposure, but influenced generations of bands on five continents. Family Fodder was often more at home in the studio than on-stage, but completed several European tours as well as cherished performances in their native London.
The group released a series of compelling, now collectable singles and albums between 1979 and 1983. Described as "entertaining idiosyncratic experimentalism with pop sensibilities", they were best known for indie-chart hits such as "Debbie Harry", "Playing Golf (With My Flesh Crawling)" and "Savoir Faire".
Staubgold proudly presents extended reissues of two seminal Family Fodder albums. The group's debut album, "Monkey Banana Kitchen" from 1980, is for the first time reissued on CD and vinyl. The CD version comes as a lovingly assembled compilation (total running time: 79:52 min !). It features the complete "Monkey Banana Kitchen" LP, the 12" EP "Schizophrenia Party" (1981) and the 7" singles "Film Music" (1981) and "The Big Dig" (1982), all originally released on Fresh Records. Guest musicians include This Heat's Charles Bullen on drums, guitar, vocals, percussion and viola.
For the first time reissued on vinyl in a strictly limited edition of 500 copies and coming with four exclusive bonus tracks, "Schizophrenia Party (Director's Cut)" represents the second chapter in the career of UK underground heroes Family Fodder after their legendary debut. This full-length album features the complete 12" EP "Schizophrenia Party" (incl. the 9min monster tune "Dinosaur Sex") from 1981 and the 7" singles "Film Music" (1981) and "The Big Dig" (1982).

http://familyfodder.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/familyfodder
http://www.staubgold.com/en/album/142/monkey-banana-kitchen
http://www.staubgold.com/en/album/143/schizophrenia-party-director-s-cut
http://www.discogs.com/artist/132796-Family-Fodder
http://www.thesoundprojector.com/back-issues/tsp1/family-fodder
http://itsabigailsparty.tumblr.com/post/66320903052/interview-with-a-fodder-2-alig-fodder

06 gennaio 2014


Due apparizioni (epifanie?) di Françoise Hardy nel catalogo recente della él - da tempo votata al recupero tematico di antichi materiali e non più alla promozione di nuovi talenti - che non avrebbero tuttavia sfigurato negli anni ruggenti dell'etichetta di Mike Alway, perfino accanto a Would-Be-Goods e Bad Dream Fancy Dress: l'album di esordio - del 1962, con Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles - arricchito di numerose versioni in italiano e uno sguardo di insieme alla scena yéyé francese dei primi anni sessanta, Francoise Hardy and Her Contemporaries. "Françoise Hardy breathed new life into the pop scene during the early 1960s. She brought beauty, intelligence, mystery and a disarming naturalness that the public responded to by making her a household name before she was out of her teens. Françoise embodied the style, vitality and attitude of the extraordinary decade that lay before her. She was important then and her personal and artistic influences over the ensuing years would also prove to be considerable."

Across a broad panorama of eclectic taste, the new él combines a sensual, but serious-minded look at history, seasoned with the bravura style of the original label. Diversity is él's great virtue and anyone that might imagine the likes of Joao Gilberto, Gabor Szabo, Monica Zetterlund, Ravi Shankar, Edgard Varese, Sophia Loren, Serge Gainsbourg, Nana Mouskouri, Chet Atkins and Baden Powell to be strange bedfellows, will find entertaining evidence to the contrary here.The new él is only sometimes about flowers and sunshine and al fresco eating, whether the subject is the Voice of Greece, the pioneers of Musique Concrete or a Brazilian guitar master, él's primary concern is with what is poetic and distinctive and compelling and to present it with a little style.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/el.asp
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/el-exd.asp?id=3943
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/el-exd.asp?id=4471

05 gennaio 2014


Questa sera a Prospettive musicali - a Radio Popolare, dalle 22.00 alle 22.30 - va in onda il meglio del 2013 secondo Fabio Barbieri, Gigi Longo e Alessandro Achilli: musiche di Robert Wyatt, David Bowie, Tamikrest, Chumbawamba, Mazzy Star, Frisell-Emanuel-Wollesen, Jonathan Wilson, Francesco Zago, Aoife O’Donovan, Heliocentrics, Stormy Six, Susanne Abbuehl, George Russell, The National Jazz Trio of Scotland, Dobrinka Tabakova, The Necks. La puntata rimane poi in archivio per un mesetto circa in http://prospmus.blogspot.com

http://www.radiopopolare.it/trasmissioni/prospettive-musicali/intro
http://www.radiopopolare.it/trasmissioni/prospettive-musicali/playlist
http://fabiocalling.blogspot.it
http://prospmus.blogspot.com


04 gennaio 2014


Un ampio ritratto di Robert Wyatt curato da Gennaro Fucile è nel numero 47 della rivista Quaderni d'altri tempi, nella sezione monografica Mappe, con articoli, immagini, stralci da Wrong Movements, discografia e selezione video: http://www.quadernidaltritempi.eu/rivista/numero47/index.html

Di Wyatt così scrive Adam Budofsky recensendo '68 per Modern Drummer: "Wyatt is a fascinating figure; pick any period of his long career, and you’ll find unique, powerful music ranging from demanding and abstract extended pieces to bona-fide pop hits; jazz, R&B, classical, avant-garde, and ethnic musics have all contributed to his sound since the mid-’60s".

03 gennaio 2014


Compie quest'anno trent'anni di attività l'etichetta indipendente Cuneiform Records, fondata nel 1984 da Steven Feigenbaum e con sede a Silver Spring (Stati Uniti), punto di riferimento imprescindibile per la promozione a livello internazionale di musiche e musicisti contemporanei in ambito rock e jazz d'avanguardia, oltre che per l'inestimabile lavoro di recupero di materiali storici inediti e rari, con edizioni originali di assoluto rilievo. Sei nuove pubblicazioni da qui a febbraio danno il via ai festeggiamenti: Sonar, Static MotionRaoul Björkenheim, EcstasyThumbscrew, dell'omonimo trio con Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek e Tomas Fujiwara; Oh No! Not Jazz!, con il ritorno a proprie composizioni del più strepitoso interprete di Zappa per grande ensemble, Ed Palermo; due classici Present in versione estesa e aggiornata, Le Poison Qui Rend Fou e Triskaidekaphobie. Tutti titoli già ora disponibili in prenotazione tramite Bandcamp. Auguri!

Cuneiform Records is an independent record label releasing adventurous, boundary-bursting music by artists from around the world. It was created in 1984 by Steven Feigenbaum, who after running a successful mail-order music business called Wayside Music for 12 years wanted to venture back into the music label business. During high school, he wanted to work with musicians and started a co-op label which was able to put out about 12 albums before it disbanded. He first signed R. Stevie Moore who plays "oddball... pop" and who Feigenbaum describes as "prolific and a real talent". The label continues to look forward towards more interesting and divergent music. Feigenbaum added that he "tr(ies) very hard not to look backwards when it comes to music. I don't want to recreate something I liked back then, but find the musicians who make me excited in the same way that old music did."

http://www.cuneiformrecords.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com
http://ymlp.com/zomr1k

02 gennaio 2014


Magma, Offering, Artaud Beats, Doctor Nerve e Stabat Akish sono tra i nomi già certi in cartellone per la nuova edizione, la settima, del Rock in Opposition France Event in programma a Cap'Découverte, Carmaux (Francia) dal 19 al 21 settembre 2014. La prenotazione dei biglietti inizia tra pochi giorni, tramite il sito web dedicato: http://www.rocktime.org/rio

01 gennaio 2014


L'anno nuovo inizia nel migliore dei modi per il Vortex Jazz Club londinese, beneficiario di un cospicuo finanziamento biennale da parte della Paul Hamlyn Foundation a sostegno della programmazione culturale e musicale all'interno del club e soprattutto all'esterno, nell'antistante Gillett Square e più in generale nel quartiere di Dalston. Congratulazioni!

The Vortex is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization, based in the heart of Dalston providing a platform for music outside of the mainstream, including jazz, improvised and experimental music. Now celebrating its 25th birthday, the core of the club’s activity relates to the programme of gigs at its 100 capacity venue within the Dalston Culture House, as well as other larger spaces, which adds up to nearly 400 performances a year.
For 25 years The Vortex has maintained a reputation for innovative programming and has provided a platform for both emerging and established talent in the jazz, experimental and contemporary music scene and is proud of an international reputation that belies the venue’s size. It is consistently selected as one of the top 150 jazz clubs in the world by Downbeat magazine, was short-listed by Music Week as one of the best live promoters of 2011 and voted into the top 10 London venues by readers of Time Out in 2012.

http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk