Ci ha messo qualche annetto, ma alla fine Babbo un desiderio ce l'ha esaudito, propiziando il ritorno di Bad Dream Fancy Dress. Spaziale!

Having gone though a long term arthritic illness and a number of operation to her back, spine and hips, lead singer Cat Rees started writing again and joined forces with partner Jeff (formerly of Some Bizarre’s Foreheads in a Fishtank) and friend musician and engineer Joe, writing new material. The end product was ten original songs that now feature as the Space Goddess album.
The album takes a journey through a number of musical styles and genres, Cat inhabiting a number of Female inspired Diva characters that outline songs about Female self-empowerment. If Space Goddess was a ‘bake off’ the ingredients would be sexual innuendo, rye humor, a hint of politics, a dash of environment awareness, mixed together with a large dollop of Kitsch.

https://www.baddreamfancydress.com
https://www.baddreamfancydress.com/space-goddess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfE7gTkfEAs

Tra le promesse per il 2019 c'è anche il ritorno degli Stereolab ai concerti dal vivo, accompagnato da una serie di riproposte e ristampe scelte dall'ampio catalogo discografico a partire dagli anni Novanta. Apre le danze - e forse torna utile anche per quelle di fine anno domani - un cofanetto con tre volumi antologici apparsi nel 1992 (Switched On), 1995 (Refried Ectoplasm) e 1998 (Aluminum Tunes).

https://stereolab.ochre.store
https://tinyurl.com/ychjqlyy
https://duophonic.ochre.store/stereolab-switched-on-volumes-1-3-cd

Manca all'appello il quinto volume, uscito per altri nel 1988, ma il meglio di quei quattro pazzi album collettivi compilati da Cordelia a metà anni Ottanta è integro e salvo, e ora condensato in un cd dallo stesso titolo di quell'illuminata serie: Obscure Independent Classics 1985-1987.

http://www.cordeliarecords.co.uk
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Obscure-Independent-Classics-Volume-1
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Obscure-Independent-Classics-Volume-2
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Obscure-Independent-Classics-Volume-3
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Obscure-Independent-Classics-Volume-4

Con un box di cinque cd hanno iniziato l'anno (un'esecuzione integrale di Treatise, di Cornelius Cardew), con un box di cinque cd lo concludono (una decina di lavori di John Cage, There is nothing we really need to do that isn't dangerous--Rewilding John Cage). Molti di quelli che ne hanno imparato il nome - esso stesso generatore di rumore - li rivedranno tra qualche giorno dal vivo al Cafe Oto londinese: Gerauschhersteller. cioè Tom Cleverley, Steve Gibson, Adrian Newton e Stuart Riddle. Bravi!

https://www.facebook.com/Gerauschhersteller
https://gerauschhersteller.bandcamp.com/album/treatise
https://gerauschhersteller.bandcamp.com/album/there-is-nothing-we-really-need-to-do-that-isnt-dangerous-rewilding-john-cage
https://tinyurl.com/yattynx5

Le pubblicazioni in digitale del catalogo storico della FMP sono da tempo curate da Destination Out, e nello specifico da Jeff Golick, che richiama all'attenzione degli appassionati le periodiche uscite dell'etichetta anche attraverso l'omonimo programma settimanale della domenica ospitato sul web da WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio. Negli archivi dell'anno che giunge al termine ci sono anche alcuni speciali dedicati a Cecil Taylor, Carla Bley, Keith Rowe e Perry Robinson.

https://destination-out.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.golick
https://www.facebook.com/Destination-OUT-114551651940059
http://wfmu.org/playlists/DO

Gran quantità di titoli classici e nuove produzioni in bella mostra nella vetrina locale e internazionale di Dame (Distributions Ambiances Magnétiques Etc.) a Montréal, tra l'altro con forti sconti natalizi fino a metà gennaio 2019: come resistere?

http://actuellecd.com/fr/accueil
http://actuellecd.com/fr/boutique/rabais

Natale con i tuoi. Fin che puoi.

Following in the footsteps of The Rotters' Club and The Closed Circle, Jonathan Coe's new novel is the novel for our strange new times.

https://twitter.com/jonathancoe

Notizia certa è che i biglietti per entrambi i concerti dedicati a Phil Miller il prossimo 6 gennaio al Vortex londinese sono andati tutti esauriti. Cosa più dubbia è che Didier Malherbe possa ancora essere della partita, dopo la brutta avventura nordafricana occorsagli. Sempre che non decida di disobbedire ai medici... Altre variazioni sono annunciate, assieme però alla rassicurazione che il doppio evento verrà documentato in audio e video e diffuso nel corso dell'anno attraverso il sito web Phil Miller-The Legacy curato da Kyle Mew:

"We are sorry to say that Didier Malherbe is still recovering from his accident and won’t be able to be at the concert. Trevor Tomkins has also had to pull out due to ill health and Paul Booth has accepted an Australian tour which prevents him attending. We hope this does not disappoint anyone too much. We are looking forward to seeing you all on 6th Jan. The concert has been oversubscribed and sadly a lot of people have been unable to buy tickets. If anyone who doesn’t live too far away from the Vortex is interested: the Vortex is going to live stream the music from the concerts to the bar downstairs so that musicians can relax downstairs and still be able to hear when they should make their way upstairs. Also we are having the concerts filmed and recorded and we will be putting this on this site during the course of next year. Commemorative T-shirts will be for sale."

https://philmillerthelegacy.com
https://philmillerthelegacy.com/vortex-jazz-club-commemorative-concert
http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/event/16314

Pete (Pawsey) e Peter (Holsapple) cantano Peter (Blegvad): un'ossessione!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclqxGDF41s

Guardando al 2019 come l'anno in cui potrebbe finalmente esser terminato e pronto Cool Daddio, il docufilm su R. Stevie Moore con il racconto della sua eterna giovinezza (e la tardiva carriera), Weirdo Music Forever fa il punto su progetti attuali e alcune intricate vicende del passato direttamente con l'interessato: https://www.weirdomusicforever.com/r-stevie-moore

R. Stevie Moore isn’t exactly a household name, but he might just be the most prolific musician in America. With a career spanning 50 years and over 400 albums, Stevie is a pioneer of low fidelity music. His love began at a young age, writing and recording tracks out of his basement. Years later, he took home recording to the next level, producing over 4,000 songs and finding fans in bands like the Talking Heads and The B-52s. Now, he’s moving up and out of the basement, playing concerts and festivals around the world...

https://www.weirdomusicforever.com/r-stevie-moore
https://tinyurl.com/y8aub3pa
https://youtu.be/YWJ4cTrmydo

Un'amabile discussione su Eskimo, perfettamente in tema stagionale, inaugura una nuova serie di podcast a cadenza mensile dedicata ai Residents: Home Age Conversations.

The Residents’ true fascination with cultural commentary began with their critically acclaimed 1979 album, Eskimo. On a surface level, the album seems only to consist of grunting sounds and synthesized wind. But of course, there’s a bit more to it. The album is quite notable in its use of creating “soundscapes” to portray the stories told in the liner notes of the album without any English dialogue. But, if you approach Eskimo with a bit of a critical Eye (and some knowledge of vintage ad campaigns), you’ll find that there’s another story to it, buried underneath all that snow.

In this episode of Home Age Conversations, we start with the Residents album that best recreates a “Winter Wonderland” for the month of December (our apologies to those who live in the Southern Hemisphere where it’s currently summer). In the process of going over this semi-fictional world music album, we cover ground regarding the eyeballs, music, accompanying stories, the fate of the album, and last but not least, bottom text. We hope that those new to The Residents are encouraged to listen to the album, and that long time fans can enjoy our in-depth discussion (albeit sprinkled with silly jokes).

https://residents.com

https://homeageconversations.tumblr.com
https://soundcloud.com/homeageconversations/episode-1-eskimo-1979-we-live-in-a-society

Per la notte più lunga dell'anno, accompagnata da una luna bella piena, Matthew Watkins confeziona l'episodio numero sessantasei della sua serie Canterbury Sans Frontières: "Solstice tomorrow (4:23pm UK time), full moon Friday, and so here's the latest CSF for all you good people... The last great Kevin Ayers song, something from Daevid Allen's last band project with the "Weird Quartet", an epic mid-70s piece from Canterbury-obsessed Americans The Muffins, McLaughlin in '69, Miles in '89, Moondog in Europe in the late 70s, Hugh Hopper with a little-known band in Northern France in the late 80s, Henry Cow on Swiss TV in '76, a slice of Caravan's second album, more from the recent "Soft Machine" set in NYC, some archival bits of Hatfield, new Rileyesque psychedelia from San Francisco's Dire Wolves and a seasonal surprise from Robert Wyatt and friends. From the Canterbury of today, more from the latest Lapis Lazuli album Brain, a brand new Koloto remix and some of the Cathedral choir singing a William Byrd mass in the woods last summer."

http://canterburywithoutborders.blogspot.com/2018/12/episode-66.html

Echi del concerto tenuto lo scorso 7 dicembre a Brooklyn (Stati Uniti) da Annette Peacock: "She’s probably the most remarkable - and mercurial - living singer and composer you’ve almost certainly never heard", scrive Giovanni Russonello sul New York Times.

https://tinyurl.com/ybgkqssw
https://tinyurl.com/ydfcn8xq

Buona parte del concerto di Mujician tenuto a Leicester (Regno Unito) nel novembre 1989 è disponibile all'ascolto tramite Inconstant Sol: Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers e il compianto Tony Levin.

http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2018/12/mujician-leicester-1989.html

Per il suo nuovo album Bing Selfish torna in parte sui propri passi, convoca a vario titolo i fedeli Windsors e con loro saluta affettuosamente Simon King, evocandolo tra strade, stradine, parchi e negozi di Wolverhampton: In Off​-​On​-​a​-​Tangent Park.

Recorded and produced by Matt Armstrong in JC Montague’s Shed of Earthly Delights, this is at once the most intimate yet most expansive Bing Selfish album; yeah, even more expansive than Space College. Bing shuffles the members of The Windsors in various combinations, with Matt Armstrong at the controls, and produces a real human warmth on every track, even the ones where he’s slagging off curators, bankers, destroyers of the earth, etc. You’ll be taken from the posh parts of London to the crazed surfaces of Shanghai and onwards, outwards to the shopping centres of Wolverhampton and environs. But don’t worry, everywhere we go, we’ll take you to the park first. Heartbreakingly for us and for you, the final recordings by Simon King.

https://bingselfish.bandcamp.com/album/in-off-on-a-tangent-park
http://www.bingselfish.com/bingmailorder.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pfx00x9T80

Se è pur facile entrare nell'Isola dei Lupi immaginata da Bob Drake - e splendidamente raffigurata in mappa da Joe Mruk - non altrettanto lo è uscirne, tanta la meraviglia e tale il suo incanto. Lo stesso autore indicherebbe Hollowfang’s Tower e Sleepy Critter, o le parti strumentali di Spotty Under the Trees, però titubando. Forse bisogna cominciare a scriversi tutto?

https://tinyurl.com/isoladeilupi
https://tinyurl.com/yb5ma263
https://tinyurl.com/yc24wsro
https://bdstudio.bandcamp.com/track/quintet-1-12-2018
http://www.bdrak.com/sounds/BD-quintet_number_one-12-2018.pdf

Un omaggio a Robert Wyatt si è tenuto lo scorso primo ottobre nel tempio del cool israeliano ('live music shows and good alcohol'), il Levontin 7 di Tel Aviv. Alcune scene sono su YT: Alliance, Memories, At Last I Am Free, Alifib e Sea Song.

https://www.facebook.com/levontin.seven
https://www.facebook.com/events/306009843316686

The Watts (Yumi Hara, Chris Cutler, Tim Hodgkinson) incontrano Haco in una delle date di fine novembre del loro tour in Giappone e quando lei intona Tidal e Shooting Stars in Your Eyes non rimangono impassibili. E' su YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELSsGLb_0ew&t=15s

Per due rapide battute consecutive, una di là (Ramsgate, NJ) e una di qua (Montreuil, alle porte di Parigi) dell'Atlantico, la fazione avanguardista dei Pere Ubu - Moon Unit - si è fatta in quattro, anticipando quel che verrà: David Thomas, Gagarin, Keith Moliné e Chris Cutler.

http://www.ubuprojex.com/calendar.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pEsbCP8QXs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXIJffT5SGg

Una scarsa dozzina di brani d'assalto oggi quanto allora, introdotti da un illuminante scritto di Chris Cutler e raccolti in una confezione acre e pungente finanche al tatto: The Work, con i magnifici Mick Hobbs, Rick Wilson, Tim Hodgkinson e Bill Gilonis ritratti a sbalzo tra il 1981 (Fingers and Toes) e il 1994 (Stone). Quattrocento copie offerte dalla parigina Jelodanti Records. Per far bello l'alberello...

https://jelodanti-records.bandcamp.com/album/compilation
https://www.discogs.com/it/The-Work-Compilation/release/12393535

Tre lussuose edizioni in vinile colorato di Made Available, Repeat/Metal e Live 80-81 completano il ciclo di ristampe dell'imperdibile catalogo This Heat operato da Modern Classics Recordings per Light in the Attic. Per far bello l'alberello...

Formed in 1976 in Brixton, a multicultural, and – at the time – down-at-heel part of south London, This Heat were born into a music scene in rapid flux, first thanks to the punk explosion and then via new wave and its myriad offshoots into pop, rock and art-rock. But while many sought to apply punk attitude to chart-friendly sounds, This Heat were concocting some of the most experimental ideas ever committed to tape, taking influence from musique concrète, krautrock, the burgeoning industrial scene and even the dub reggae blasting out in their home borough.
In many ways, the nuanced sound worlds created in the studio by This Heat are tailor made for sedentary headphone listening. But pulling off such complicated, genre defying compositions live was surely something to witness. Until now, there was no real official document of the group’s live performances. Compiled by Charles Hayward and Charles Bullen from rough cassette tape recordings of European gigs in Tilburg, Nijmegen, Ärhus, Apeldoorn, Vienna and Rheims between April 1980 and June 1981, Live 80-81 is an essential document of This Heat’s powerful live performances.
Following Modern Classics Recordings’ 2016 reissue campaign to mark the band’s 40th anniversary, these new releases Made Available, Repeat/Metal and Live 80-81 round out the story. Each release is sanctioned by surviving members Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward and features newly remastered audio sourced from original tapes.

https://lightintheattic.net/artists/1292-this-heat

La storia dei canterburyani olandesi Supersister nei loro anni cruciali - da Present from Nancy a Spiral Staircase Sass - è raccontata nuovamente nel cofanetto Memories Are New compilato poche settimane fa da Universal Music, con l'aggiunta di qualche singolo e un paio di inediti (e un bel po' di refusi nei testi e nelle immagini del sommario libretto di accompagnamento). Assai meglio sarebbe rivolgersi alle estese riedizioni curate dieci anni fa da Esoteric, ma in tempo di corsa ai regali un box antologico prêt-à-porter fa sempre comodo. Per far bello l'alberello...

Onlangs is er een aantal fraaie boxjes verschenen van Nederlandse bands, waarvan de ene wat meer voor de hand lag dan de ander. Supersister valt in de laatste categorie aangezien het nu niet de naam is die als eerste genoemd wordt als je vraagt naar legendarische Nederlandse bands. Dat dit een misverstand is, blijkt uit dit fraaie boxje waarin alle studioplaten van de band gecompileerd zijn en waaraan bovendien nog een bonus-cd’tje toegevoegd is met singles, een onuitgebrachte single en een lange liveuitvoering van Wow. Het uit 1970 stammende Present From Nancy laat gelijk horen dat Supersister een eigenzinnig band is, die niet alleen virtuoos musiceert, maar daarnaast ook haar eigen pad trekt. Zijn op de eerste plaat de nummers nog veelal kort, op To The Highest Bidder uit 1971 zijn de nummers, op het afsluitende Higher na, lang en uitgesponnen. Pudding En Gisteren uit 1972 is het tot dan toe meest vocale album. Waar Pudding En Gisteren, misschien door de naam, nog wel eens voorbij komt, lijkt Iskander uit 1973 grotendeels vergeten, terwijl dit een fraaie plaat is, Ditzelfde geldt voor Spiral Staircase Sass uit 1974 waarop Cesar Zuiderwijk en Jan de Hont in het nummer Sylvers Song nog een gastrol verzorgen. Hoewel toetsenist Robert-Jan Stips misschien wel het bekendst is, is ook de fluit van Sacha van Geest dominant in het geluid. Met een geluid dat soms jazzy, soms poppy en soms er Zappa-esque is, is Supersister niet echt in een vakje te stoppen. Het is alleen daarom al een plezier om naar deze box te luisteren.

http://www.retsisrepus.nl

Il rinnovato interesse per l'oggetto-audiocassetta sta mietendo vittime anche a Rennes (Francia) presso la patafisica InPolySons, che pure dai piccoli numeri ha spesso tratto vantaggio per le proprie affascinanti produzioni. Ora, esaurita in pochi giorni l'intera tiratura del primo volume di Truc, Cabinet de Curiosités, a qualche bimbo buono resta solo da sperare che un esemplare appaia magicamente in dono, prossimamente. Per far bello l'alberello...

Truc is a series of 9 thematic, curious, frenzied, improbable, crazy, unique and quirky compilations. Truc will take the form of tape boxsets (+ digital download). Truc was born of MonsterK7 and InPolySons’ shared interest in strange music. Truc brings together musicians that don’t care about naming genres. Truc follows its own rhythm: the volumes composing the series will be enumerated according to the Syracuse mathematics sequence. Truc wants to bring about the unexpected.

For this first volume in the series, called “Cabinet de Curiosités”, we asked 22 musicians to rummage through their archives for obscure-music gold: their most startling unreleased tracks. With: A&E, Alain De Filippis, Art & Technique, Carton Sonore, Chow Mwng, Daniel Padden, David Fenech, Domotic, Ergo Phizmiz, GNG, Guido Möbius, Les Tailleurs de Notes, Lionel Fondeville, Look de Bouk, Mami Chan, Micusnule, NIT, Quenotte (aka Madame Patate), Sacha Gattino, Tom Wilson, Toupidek Limonade and Wevie Stonder.

http://inpolysons.free.fr/fr/truc-6-cabinet-de-curiosites.html
http://inpolysons.free.fr/en/truc.html
http://monsterk7.com/catalogue/cabinet-de-curiosites

E da ReR si dispongono in piccola quantità altre perle rare dalla collezione privata di Chris Cutler, due volumi di Missing Chapters in cd-r che vanno ad aggiungersi al primo concesso qualche tempo fa con sigla CC100: stavolta ci sono estratti dal suo primo concerto in solo tenuto in Giappone nel 1998 con batteria e oggetti amplificati, musiche per L’Anatomie d’un Fauve di Josef Nadj, una diversa versione di p53, un incredibile condensato d'origine Art Bears (Three Bear Rooms), un duo con Fred Frith a Tel Aviv e altro ancora con Jean-Marc Montera e Jean-Francois Pauvros, John Greaves, Daan Vandewalle e Jon Rose. Per far bello l'alberello...

http://www.rermegacorp.com

ReR propone anche una simpatica antologia di musica surf sperimentale selezionando otto titoli dalla multiforme produzione di Alan Jenkins: The Kettering Vampires perform Nico and the Velvet Underground, The Best of Aaaaaaaaxb, Culpho Dog Gymkhana 1, That Wraps it Up for The Sea, Considerably further Beyond the Sea, The Magic City, Free Surf Music 3 e Free Surf Music 4. Per far bello l'alberello...

Scrive Cutler: "Some insufferably great music that’s hard to categorise. Somewhere in the mists it evolved away from the classic guitar instrumental, tweaking and stretching and mixing it with psychedelics and experimentalism, offering an alternative evolutionary history of popular music. Alan Jenkins ranks highly in my personal pantheon because he’s funny, very musical, doesn’t much care about what's fashionable and sometimes comes up with the unthinkable. Plus, of course, it’s all a pleasure to listen to. So, in the interests of anyone giving a damn, we decided to put a bunch of these lost gems in a box and sell them enticingly cheap - commissioning a short but illuminating pamphlet from Alan about fractures in the ESM community."

http://www.cordeliarecords.co.uk

Dice ReR che ha ancora qualche esemplare del mitico Rural Class Struggles in Ambridge di Fred Borage, The Book of Leviathan di Peter Blegvad e Nøodutgang Bødo 28.10.11 degli Artaud Beats. Per far bello l'alberello...

http://www.rermegacorp.com

Il gruppo belga The Wrong Object - in cui milita Michel Delville - affina alcune proprie inclinazioni e approda finalmente all'omaggio zappiano, giusto in tempo per il venticinquesimo anniversario della scomparsa: Zappa Jawaka.

Blending the cosmic energies of nu-jazz with modern rock sensibilities and live electronic devices, the music of the Wrong Object is influenced by a vast array of artists ranging from Canterbury Scene prog rock à la Soft Machine and Gong to Squarepusher, Béla Bartok, Amon Tobin, Aka Moon, Sun Ra, Charlie Mingus and Frank Zappa. With their aesthetics still rooted in an array of storied inspirational models, Belgian prog jazz heavyweights The Wrong Object ventures further into hybrid musical territories - pushing the boundaries of progressive jazz, rock and contemporary music.
After more than fifteen years of an existence marked by extensive touring, recording and numerous collaborations with international jazz and rock luminaries (Elton Dean, Harry Beckett , Annie Whitehead, Alex Maguire, Robin Verheyen, Ed Mann, …) and a recent collaboration with the Brussels Philharmonic and the Vlaams Radio Koor (200 Motels-The Suites), Zappa Jawaka marks the band’s first tribute release to the Grand Zazou, one which contains idiosyncratic, fiery version of such favorites as I’m the Slime alongside lesser-known and rarely performed works. This album is sure to please hardcore FZ geeks as well as the uninitiated with a fresh ear for alternative popular entertainment.

http://off-recordlabel.blogspot.com/wrong-object-zappa-jawaka.html

Alcuni musicisti presenti in Ici-bas si ritrovano ospiti anche nel nuovo album di John Greaves, registrato e prodotto all'Elfo di Tavernago (Pc): Life Size.

https://www.manticorerecords.com/life-size

Si rivolge invece a Gabriel Fauré il progetto Ici-bas del quartetto francese Baum (Olivier Mellano, Maëva Le Berre, Anne Gouverneur, Simon Dalmais), con un omonimo album appena uscito per Sony Classics, una straordinaria messa in scena teatrale già ammirata l'estate scorsa al Festival d'Avignone e una lista di ospiti e interpreti da capogiro: Jeanne Added, BabX, Camille, Élise Caron, Judith Chemla, Hugh Coltman, Étienne Daho, John Greaves, Piers Faccini, Philippe Katerine, Kyrie Kristmanson, JP Nataf, Sandra Nkaké, Himiko Paganotti, Brendan Perry, Thomas de Pourquery, Albin de la Simone e Rosemary Standley.

Donner à entendre sous un jour nouveau les mélodies de Gabriel Fauré tout en restant fidèle à l’esprit intemporel du compositeur et à son univers musical, ainsi est né le désir de la création Ici-Bas. Écouter ces mélodies, c’est aussi faire résonner la poésie de Paul Verlaine dont Gabriel Fauré disait qu’elle était «exquise à mettre en musique», celle de Théophile Gautier, Sully-Prudhomme, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, Charles van Lerberghe et d’autres encore… Au cœur de ces textes et de cette musique, nous sommes suspendus, en apesanteur dans un monde lointain fait d’aubes naissantes, de crépuscules orangés, de baisers rêvés et d’amours incertains…

https://www.oliviermellano.com/ici-bas-les-melodies-de-faure
https://www.baum-ici-bas-les-melodies-de-faure
https://www.soul-kitchen.fr/85304-faure-et-le-coeur-fait-baum
https://www.youtube.com/channel/videos

Si rivolge alla poesia di Emily Brontë in occasione del bicentenario della nascita, ad alcuni scritti della prima guerra mondiale e alle cronache di ben tre naufragi occorsi nel 1968 nel porto di Kingston upon Hull il nuovo ciclo di lavori prodotto in forma di trilogia letteraria da The Unthanks: Lines.

The lines in Part One - Lillian Bilocca - were written by actor and writer Maxine Peake and again turned into song by McNally, the songs originally being performed live by The Unthanks in The Last Testament Of Lillian Bilocca, the acclaimed site specific theatre event written by Peake, about the Hull Triple Trawler Disaster of 1968 in which 58 men lost their lives. Taking place in the Autumn of 2017 and set in the atmospheric rooms and corridors of Hull's grand Guildhall, the show came top of audience feedback ratings for all events commissioned by Hull City Of Culture.

The lines for Part Two - World War One, are those of poems and letters from the time. Written and performed in the opening centenary year (2014) for A Time And A Place - a live audio visual work commissioned by Sounds UK and the Arts Council, the songs include writing by Adrian McNally, Sam Lee and Tim Dalling. Of particular note are the poems Socks by Jesse Pope and the startling and heart-wrenching War Film by Teresa Hooley; two poems offering lesser heard female voices from the time, and that speak against war with such humanity that they could apply to any side of a conflict and to any time. The piano for Part Two - World War One was recorded on the very piano that Holst wrote The Planets on, between 1914 and 1916.

The final record in this trilogy is collection of ten poems by Emily Brontë, turned into song by Unthanks pianist Adrian McNally. Commissioned by the Brontë Society to mark Emily's 200th Birthday, McNally wrote and recorded them on her original piano in The Parsonage where she grew up, performed with bandmates Rachel and Becky Unthank. With the Brontë Parsonage now a working museum of course, the writing and recording had to take place after nightfall. Composer, pianist and producer Adrian McNally wrote the music for the whole record in his first evening at Emily's piano (a rare example of a 5 octave cabinet piano probably made in London between 1810 and 1815), before spending the rest of the residency working on the songs by day on a beautiful German upright at his lodgings in nearby Ponden Hall - another house associated with the Brontës. He would then take his work-in progress into the Parsonage to road test them on Emily's piano in the evenings, before weeks later, returning with Rachel and Becky Unthank to record the songs.

http://www.the-unthanks.com

Tre giorni di festeggiamenti per il ventennale della gloriosa London Improvisers Orchestra con incontri, laboratori, prove aperte e concerti pressoché a tutte le ore, da oggi al 3 dicembre negli spazi del Cafe Oto londinese. Con un caro pensiero per gli amici assenti. Auguri!

Improvisation permeates our existence, surfacing in most of our behaviour and interactions: conversation, relationships, work and the market place; in art, in spirituality … (and in conflicts, with their unpredictability and IEDs). Even thinking – taking into account our inner world and our surroundings, both ever-changing, and then trying to reconcile these in a way that creates some meaning and does violence to neither – contains a large serving of improvisation. It is probably the case that the larger the group involved, the more difficult it is to create a collective improvisation that is effective and allows space for everyone. The London Improvisers Orchestra has been tackling this challenge by rehearsing and performing in London once a month for the past twenty years, exploring free, conducted and devised large-group improvisations, and developing an extensive and unique vocabulary of signals for improvising musicians.

For these anniversary events we have brought together a stellar line-up of local and international musicians and composer/conductors who have played with the London Improvisers Orchestra at different times over the past twenty years. Remembering absent friends: Harry Beckett, Lol Coxhill, Tony Marsh, Paul Rutherford, Ray Warleigh.

https://www.facebook.com/londonimprovisersorchestra
http://www.londonimprovisersorchestra.co.uk/20thAnniversary.html
https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/twentieth-anniversary-london-improvisers-orchestra

Compie in questi giorni trentacinque anni di attività l'emittente belga Radio Panik, e li festeggia con numerose iniziative disseminate in tutta Bruxelles, idealmente raccolte sotto il titolo del film su Conny Plank di cui domani sarà offerta proiezione pubblica: The Potential of Noise.

Radio Panik est une radio libre qui se définit comme radio associative d’expression et de création et comme radio multi- et interculturelle. Elle a été créée en 1983 à l’initiative d’un groupe de personnes militant contre le racisme et pour les droits de l’homme. Leurs motivations, toujours actuelles, sont bien résumées dans ses statuts: «L’objet de l’association est de contribuer - avant tout par le moyen de la radiodiffusion - à la promotion socioculturelle de la population dans la région bruxelloise. Elle a comme but l’émancipation réelle des individus dans le respect des différences culturelles et des procédures démocratiques.»
Radio Panik a donc fait partie de cette première génération de radios libres considérées comme "engagées" pour leur action militante en faveur d’une approche critique de l’information. Si son investissement au niveau local, tant au niveau social que culturel, s’est peu à peu imposé comme l’un de ses objectifs prioritaires, elle n’a jamais perdu de vue cette mission "généraliste" et demeure, au sein d’un paysage médiatique de plus en plus uniforme, un outil de communication dont la position marginale favorise la liberté, l’indépendance et la diversité.
Ayant occupé successivement plusieurs adresses à Saint-Josse et à Schaerbeek, Radio Panik a su concilier actualité locale et internationale, information et création, en ouvrant aux diverses communautés qui font de Bruxelles un véritable carrefour culturel, un espace "sans frontières", ouvert à l’expression de "voix parallèles" qui invitent à entendre, entre les ondes, un autre son de cloche. Aujourd’hui, Radio Panik est soutenue par le Ministère de la Communauté française depuis 2006, et depuis 2011 reconnue en tant qu’association d’Éducation Permanente. Depuis 2008 elle bénéficie également du statut de "radio associative et d’expression à vocation culturelle ou d’éducation permanente".

http://www.radiopanik.org/topiks/35-ans

http://www.lesateliersclaus.com/index.php/activities/35-ans-radio-panik-panik-en-ville

Il fugace incontro di Eugene Chadbourne con i newyorkesi Sunwatchers di due anni fa vede la luce oggi in un album dedicato per intero ai repertori di Doug Sahm, Henry Flynt e Minutemen, con solo una breve deviazione ayleriana e l'imprimatur dello stesso Mike Watt: 3 Characters, doppio vinile che Amish Records promuove con intento addirittura etico: "Sunwatchers teamed up with Eugene Chadbourne for two days of recording in October 2016 which resulted in 3 Characters. These sessions were dedicated exclusively to the music of the Minutemen, Doug Sahm and Henry Flynt. Having never played together before, all the songs were completed in one or two takes and the recordings reflect an urgency and immediacy that audiences have to come to expect from these musicians. The three characters invoked on these recordings offer models for our current political and societal struggles. Creating a music that is both personal and political, artistic and activist, these three figures were/are soulful and practical examples of the artist-as-laborer, addressing a call for social justice and musical spontaneity. Chadbourne and Sunwatchers have taken up this struggle, touring and recording, writing and collaborating, throughout their respective careers. Pushing this ethos out into the field and on this recording, 3 Characters is a reverential labor of love, where musical labor becomes a form of both love and resistance. Mike Watt joins the conversation with spoken interpretations of lyrics, poetry, speeches and assorted agit-prop. Having Watt's contemporary voice alongside so many songs that he wrote and defined suggests this, and all artistic collaborations, function as part of a long continuum that inform future callings."

http://amishrecords.com
https://sunwatchers-and-eugene-chadbourne-3-characters

Un paio di video preparati per accompagnarne i brani sono disponibili su YT, ma l'interezza dell'incredibile concerto - più che rarissimo, senza precedenti - tenuto da Renaldo & The Loaf a Vienna il giugno scorso è ora ufficialmente in cd, naturalmente per Klanggalerie: Long Time Coming (Live in Vienna 2018).

Scrive Walter Robotka, con motivato orgoglio: "Renaldo & The Loaf only ever graced a stage once nearly 40 years ago for a 20 minute improvisation. In June 2018 Klanggalerie celebrated its 25th anniversary with a 2 day festival that brought 11 bands from the label to Vienna for an exclusive gig. One of those bands was Renaldo & The Loaf... a great honour for us and a very special event for a lot of people who travelled from all over the world to see them. It was the first time RATL played a proper set and let me tell you, they were beyond amazing. The set consisted of songs old and new, and even a so-far unreleased track was presented for the first time ever. Of course, this unique event was recorded and here is Renaldo & The Loaf live at Klang25 in Vienna in 2018!"

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg288
https://youtu.be/frWSZJV-vLc
https://youtu.be/ZLa4HLwS9Z0

E occasione d'oro per risentire le musiche dell'amato Phil Miller ci sarà a inizio anno, il prossimo 6 gennaio, al londinese Vortex Jazz Club, con un doppio concerto offerto in suo omaggio da tanti tanti amici e colleghi. Informazioni: https://philmillerthelegacy.com/vortex-jazz-club-commemorative-concert

The Memorial concert for Phil Miller (1949-2017) will take place on 6th Jan at the Vortex, Dalston. A long list of over 20 musicians associated with Phil will come together to honour and pay tribute to a sorely missed musician by playing selected pieces from his many wonderful compositions. In no particular order these will include Alex Maguire, Pete Lemer, Mark Fletcher, Fred Baker, Doug Boyle, Simon Pickard, Jim Dvorak, Paul Dufour, Mark Hadley, Jack Monck, John Greaves, John Etheridge, Roy Babbington, Mark Hewins, Patrice Meyer, Carol Grimes, Sarah Gail Brand, NIck Twyman, Jakko Jakszyk, Trevor Thomkins and maybe Didier Malherbe if he has recovered from his injuries.
As there are so many musicians and so much music there will be two separate concerts: the afternoon one at 4pm and an evening one at 8pm. You can buy tickets for one or both concerts (which will be different) from the vortexjazz.co.uk website - look for upcoming events - Aymeric Leroy will be the MC so you will hear a lot about The various bands Phil has been part of throughout his long career and the musicians will be playing music from all these bands: Delivery, Matching Mole, Hatfield & the North, National Health, Shortwave and In Cahoots-the band that Phil led for 30 years before his death in 2017. A film company will be sending in its camera crew to film both concerts and commemorative T-shirts will be available on the day. It will be a very special concert and a chance to say farewell to a very special musician.

Vortex Jazz Club
11 Gillett Square
London, N16 8AZ
020 7254 4097
info@vortexjazz.co.uk

Ancora non si è depositata del tutto la polvere magica lasciata qui al suo passaggio dalla Uncommon Orchestra con Mike e Kate Westbrook che già si annuncia una nuova occasione d'oro, stavolta a Londra: al Ronnie Scott's di Frith Street a Soho, il 12 febbraio prossimo.

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/diary.shtml

Dopo il concerto in solo martedì scorso presso Les Ateliers Claus, Fred Frith è ancora a Bruxelles in veste però di compositore, ospite stasera del festival Ars Musica dove l'Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles diretto da Jean-Paul Dessy presenta per la prima volta il suo Something About This Landscape.

Si Fred Frith s’est fait un nom dans le domaine de la musique improvisée et au sein de groupes devenus légendaires comme Henry Cow ou Massacre, sa plume de compositeur n’est pas à oublier dans l’accomplissement de ce merveilleux musicien. Ainsi, on lui doit des pièces interprétées par le quatuor Arditti ou l’Ensemble Modern, qui marient avec dextérité une rigueur d’écriture et une inventivité débridée, loin des chapelles esthétiques. Fred Frith trace un sillon singulier entre improvisations baladeuses, rock expérimental et musique contemporaine tentaculaire.

https://www.arsmusica.be/fr
https://www.arsmusica.be/fr/events/musiques-nouvelles-fred-frith

Altro album che avrà presto una rilettura integrale dal vivo è Rock Bottom di Robert Wyatt, e come già quattro anni fa a Lione (Francia) per Les Nuits de Fourvière sarà la North Sea Radio Orchestra - con amici di peso - a farsene vanto: al conservatorio Nicolini di Piacenza, il prossimo 30 novembre.

http://www.nsro.co.uk
https://tinyurl.com/y9eyrob5
https://www.facebook.com/events/181015449486643

Un bell'impegno si è preso Jack Steadman - nei panni di Mr Jukes - nel promettere una rilettura integrale dal vivo del Third dei Soft Machine, in programma domani al Rich Mix di Bethnal Green a Londra quale uno degli ultimi appuntamenti del London Jazz Festival 2018. Dice: "It’s been such an important record in my life since my teenage self found it amongst my dad’s LP collection. It’s blown the minds of all the friends I’ve played it to and I’m excited to get to experience it live for the first time." Lo aiuteranno nella non facile impresa Dan Berry e Binker Golding, Sarah Tandy e Max Hallett.

Described as 'one of the most innovative classics of jazz-rock of any era', Soft Machine’s 1970 release is still revered as the definitive statement of an iconic band. Mr Jukes’ affectionate take on its 'sheer beauty, delicate sound landscapes and scary instrumentation' recreates the spirit of the original with the energy of a terrific band drawn from today’s vibrant scene, including saxophonists Binker Golding and Dan Berry, keyboardist Sarah Tandy, and Comet is Coming drummer Max Hallett.

https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/mr-jukes

Non rimarrà riservato a chi aveva atteso invano di vedere e incontrare Daevid Allen nel corso del tour in Giappone del 2014 di You Me & Us - Allen con Yumi Hara e Chris Cutler - e che lo andrà a ritirare in occasione di uno degli attuali concerti del trio The Watts. Promette Yumi che qualche copia del dvd Rain Check, contenente riprese effettuate nel 2013, sarà disponibile anche per la generalità del pubblico: https://yumihara.exblog.jp

Una dozzina di concerti attende da domani in Giappone il trio composto da Yumi Hara, Tim Hodgkinson e Chris Cutler: The Watts.

https://www.facebook.com/thewattstimchrisyumi
https://www.youtube.com/user/Spockminder/videos

E' pronto in cd e in dorato vinile trasparente l'album di Janek Schaefer What Light There Is Tells Us Nothing che contiene il lungo omonimo brano desunto dal Cuckooland di Robert Wyatt e commissionato da Matt Wright per una speciale installazione ospitata dal festival Sounds New a Canterbury nell'edizione del 2014. Lo pubblica Temporary Residence Ltd.

For over 20 years, British sound artist Janek Schaefer has earned significant acclaim and awards for transforming the power of half-forgotten memories into otherworldly works that are often as ambiguous as they are evocative. Primarily occupying the space and similarities between sadness and joy, his compositions relish in the unpredictability of emotional gravity. It is this transience that makes his new album, What Light There Is Tells Us Nothing, so resonant. In 2014, Schaefer was commissioned by the Sounds New Festival in Canterbury, England to craft a new, original piece of music made entirely of elements from Robert Wyatt’s Cuckooland album. Originally designed and presented at the festival as an immersive, multi-channel radio installation, the 21-minute cloud of sound was a sublime meditation on the profundity of Wyatt’s work, and its transporting idiosyncrasies. With Wyatt’s blessing, Schaefer adapted that piece into the side-long opus, What light there is tells us nothing, and complimented it with seven new, original compositions that not only exist in the same wondrous space, but echo its playfully poignant resonance well after the album has ended.

http://www.janekschaefer.com/=Clouds_from_Cuckooland.html
https://www.temporaryresidence.com/collections/albums/products/trr305
https://www.hibou-anemone-bear.com/What+Light

Martin Laurentius era tra il pubblico del festival Leipziger Jazztage il mese scorso a sentire, pur lamentando qualche problema di resa sonora, Max Andrzejewski con il suo quartetto Hütte - per l'occasione un sestetto - rendere omaggio a Robert Wyatt. Ne scrive per LondonJazz: "The festival organizers had originally tried to persuade the young Berlin percussionist Max Andrzejewski make a homage to the work of David Bowie. But with his quartet Hütte, augmented for this Leipzig premiere by keyboard player/guitarist Jörg Hochapfel and vocalist Cansu Tanrikulu, he decided he would prefer to work on Robert Wyatt's songs, with their reputation for being cryptic. Andrzejewski arranged ten songs and stayed surprisingly close to the originals. Only sporadically did extraneous noises disturb the peculiar pull of the Wyatt songs. The sound pressure and volume, which Wyatt's songs require in order to experience the depth of the different levels of meaning and the streaks between text and music, did prove to be a problem acoustically in the tiled, former indoor swimming pool."

http://www.londonjazznews.com/2018/11/festival-round-up-2018-leipziger.html

Mats Morell recupera e pubblica alcune immagini dai concerti scandinavi dell'Orckestra, ovvero la Brass Band di Mike Westbrook assieme a Henry Cow e Frankie Armstrong: esattamente quarant'anni fa.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2207469631
https://www.facebook.com/mats.morell
http://www.ccutler.com/ccutler/bands/group02b.shtml

Approda finalmente anche a Pesaro, in felice coincidenza con la notte bianca della musica e l'anniversario a gran cifra tonda della morte del compositore, la personale rilettura di materiali rossiniani che Mike Westbrook ha concepito e variamente proposto in innumerevoli occasioni concertistiche - e discografiche - fin dagli anni Ottanta. Recuperato in tempi recenti con dicitura Rossini Re-Loaded, il programma di temi e arie dal Guglielmo Tell, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Otello, La Cenerentola e La gazza ladra è affidato stasera per la prima volta alla scalpitante Uncommon Orchestra, cui si aggiunge come ospite Frank Schaefer.

Roz Harding, Pete Whyman, Sarah Dean, Alan Wakeman, Ian Wellens (sassofoni), Graham Russell, Stuart Brooks, Dave Holdsworth, Dick Pearce (trombe), Joe Carnell, Stewart Stunell, Sam Chamberlain-Keen, Ashley Nayler (tromboni), Jesse Molins e Matthew North (chitarre), Marcus Vergette (basso), Coach York (batteria), Kate Westbrook e Martine Waltier (voci), Billie Bottle (chitarra basso, pianoforte, voce), Mike Westbrook (pianoforte e direzione). Ospite: Frank Schaefer (violoncello).

Teatro Rossini
Piazza Lazzarini 1
Pesaro

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/diary.shtml

Prosegue stasera a Palermo, e qui inaugura il cartellone del Nomos Jazz, il tour de force di tre concerti consecutivi amorevolmente offerti da Mike Westbrook all'Italia. Come ieri a Catania con Mike sono l'inseparabile Kate Westbrook, la strepitosa Uncommon Orchestra e gli ospiti Phil Minton e Dominique Pifarely. Il programma è, letteralmente, oro puro: "Westbrook classics from 1975 to 2018 including pieces from Citadel/Room 315, On Duke’s Birthday, Westbrook Blake, The Cortege and A Bigger Show."

Roz Harding, Pete Whyman, Sarah Dean, Alan Wakeman, Ian Wellens (sassofoni), Graham Russell, Stuart Brooks, Dave Holdsworth, Dick Pearce (trombe), Joe Carnell, Stewart Stunell, Sam Chamberlain-Keen, Ashley Nayler (tromboni), Jesse Molins e Matthew North (chitarre), Marcus Vergette (basso), Coach York (batteria), Kate Westbrook e Martine Waltier (voci), Billie Bottle (chitarra basso, pianoforte, voce), Mike Westbrook (pianoforte e direzione). Ospiti: Phil Minton (voce) e Dominique Pifarely (violino).

Cinema Teatro Golden
Via Terrasanta 60
Palermo

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/diary.shtml

Inizia naturalmente da Catania il tour de force di tre concerti consecutivi amorevolmente offerti da Mike Westbrook all'Italia, con Palermo e Pesaro tra gli appuntamenti immediatamente successivi. Con Mike sono stasera l'inseparabile Kate Westbrook, la strepitosa Uncommon Orchestra e gli illustri ospiti Phil Minton e Dominique Pifarely. Il programma è, letteralmente, oro puro: "Westbrook classics from 1975 to 2018 including pieces from Citadel/Room 315, On Duke’s Birthday, Westbrook Blake, The Cortege and A Bigger Show."

Roz Harding, Pete Whyman, Sarah Dean, Alan Wakeman, Ian Wellens (sassofoni), Graham Russell, Stuart Brooks, Dave Holdsworth, Dick Pearce (trombe), Joe Carnell, Stewart Stunell, Sam Chamberlain-Keen, Ashley Nayler (tromboni), Jesse Molins e Matthew North (chitarre), Marcus Vergette (basso), Coach York (batteria), Kate Westbrook e Martine Waltier (voci), Billie Bottle (chitarra basso, pianoforte, voce), Mike Westbrook (pianoforte e direzione). Ospiti: Phil Minton (voce) e Dominique Pifarely (violino).

Teatro ABC
via Pietro Mascagni 92
Catania

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/diary.shtml

Christian Marclay è al centro di speciali attenzioni nell'edizione di quest'anno del prestigioso Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, in calendario dal 16 al 25 novembre prossimi. Tra gli interpreti e i collaboratori in maggiore evidenza al suo fianco ci sono Steve Beresford, John Butcher, Okkyung Lee, Thurston Moore e Shelley Hirsch. Il programma dettagliato è in https://hcmf.co.uk.

The internationally recognised Swiss-American visual artist and composer Christian Marclay is to be Composer in Residence at the 2018 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf//) which runs from Friday 16 November-Sunday 25 November.
Now in its 41st year, hcmf// is the UK’s leading contemporary music festival and takes place across venues in and around Huddersfield over 10 days every November. Regarded as a weather-vane for the state of contemporary music in all its forms, the festival is a must for audiences, composers, ensembles and commentators from all over the world.
Arguably, art and music have been sharing a gene pool since the ‘60s, but the invitation to Christian Marclay represents a yet more radical departure for the 40 year-old festival, which continues to challenge accepted notions of what contemporary music can be.
Over the past 35 years, Christian Marclay has explored the fusion of fine art and audio cultures, transforming sounds and music into a visible, physical form through performance, collage, sculpture, installation, photography and video.
His residency at hcmf// will include the world premiere of a new work featuring 20 pianos – Investigations – produced by hcmf//. The festival will also present an exhibition of graphic scores and documentation of past performances by Marclay running throughout the ten days. Marclay and some of his closest collaborators, including former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, the extraordinary vocalist and performer Shelley Hirsch and master improviser-saxophonist John Butcher, will present improvisations and performances of existing scores.

https://hcmf.co.uk
https://hcmf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/hcmf-2018-programme.pdf