Un paio d'anni fa fu l'Halloween zappiano del 1977 a New York a esser documentato in ogni particolare (sei concerti in chiavetta USB, più maschera e costume), quest'anno è quello del 1973 a Chicago (due concerti in 4 cd, più maschera e guanti). Ed è subito strenna...

https://www.zappa.com/news/frank-zappas-halloween-shows-recorded-live
https://hifi247.com/halloween-77-box-set.html

Già un anno è passato senza il caro Hardy Fox (1945-2018). Klanggalerie lo ricorda affettuosamente compilando un album con i principali brani prodotti in vita nascosto - si fa per dire - dietro uno dei suoi tanti pseudonimi, Black Tar And The Cry Babies: "The Tar projects were generally created to help raise money for needy projects for poverty, mass destruction in fire, and to fight the evil of Trump uprising. Season Of The Witch was released for Halloween 2015 and was available from October 17th to November 2nd of that year as a download only. Left With The Fires was published two years later and was available as a free download from Hardy's bandcamp page. Any donations given were matched dollar by dollar by himself and used to help the Sonoma Humane Society who cares for pets during wildfire disasters. After this, six more songs were released as freebies with the Hacienda Bridge newsletter, but these were ironic soundclips often not even using Hardy's own music. So the three tracks compiled on this album are the complete works composed by Hardy as Black Tar with the exception of 13 Tiny Tunes for Hallow's Eve which were all published on the Eggs collection. Hardy never saw this music as a commercial product so we are releasing this for Halloween 2019 as a small run CD on Klanggalerie and Took in an edition of 300 copies only."

http://hardyfox.com
http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg311
https://meettheresidents.fandom.com/wiki/Hardy_Fox
https://www.hibou-anemone-bear.com/search?q=hardy+fox

Fresh Hell in Fits, di Steven Cerio. Una storia dei Residents piena di esagerazioni, menzogne e parole in libertà. Seriamente!

Four years in the making, Fresh Hell in Fits – counterfeit tales and miraculous events – a falsified history of The Residents is 40 pages of finely detailed visions of a singular world done in Cerio’s unmistakable style. This narrative comic records Cerio’s falsified retelling of the impossible evolution of performance art magnates The Residents. A bold and wildly inaccurate travel journal along an asynchronous timeline losing you perilously in a superstitious fog. All predicated on nary a single kernel of truth, this wandering evolutionary tale of a blinkless spirit trying to find the right body. A story influenced by the group’s early releases that inspired the artist as a teen in the suburbs of New York with their spirit of free adaption and fruitful exploration. “The spirit and the music were both so looming and beautiful… like open doors” said the artist.

https://residents.com

https://www.psychofonrecords.com/product/fresh-hell-in-fits-a-falsified-history-of-the-residents

Dopo quella presentata in forma sperimentale a Bourges lo scorso aprile ci sarà presto una nuova versione dal vivo del controverso album dei Residents, God In Three Persons, prodotto nel 1988. Al progetto stavolta collabora strettamente l'artista multimediale John Sanborn. Sede della presentazione potrebbe essere il MoMA newyorkese, ma su questo c'è ancora pieno mistero.

The Residents, in collaboration with media artist John Sanborn, are creating an extraordinary live video/theater version of their legendary 1988 album God in 3 Persons - the story of a disgraced evangelist and his twisted obsession with a pair of gender fluid conjoined twins. This innovative live work will premiere in New York on January 24 and 25, 2020.

"A Tale of Faith, Confusion and Lust". God in 3 Persons is a journey into the darkest reaches of the human soul. Beginning with a series of flashbacks, our unreliable narrator, Mr. X, tells us of his discovery of a pair of conjoined twins he believes to be miracle workers. As they tour the revival tent circuit, the relationship between the twins and Mr. X shifts from paternal to something more sinister, as he becomes convinced one of the twins desires him.  Framed by folksy memories, Mr. X pretends that his lurid obsession was simply a regard for the health and safety of these faith healing twins, until his libido bursts like a flood swollen dam, causing a dire release and realignment of the twins’ connection. It does not end well.

https://www.residents.com/news
https://igg.me/at/G3P
https://youtu.be/pd2zTFr7_lQ

E ad accompagnare l'uscita del nuovo album dei Negativland True False c'è una decina di concerti in Europa, a partire oggi e domani dal Cafe Oto londinese: No Brain, con le incredibili immagini create dal vivo da Sue Slagle (Sue-C).

Negativland's new album is True False, and their new live show is No Brain. Teaming up with hands-on video artist Sue C., the legendary sound collage groups new performance project is about our nervous systems, our realities, and the evolving forms of media and technology that inevitably insert themselves between them. Original music, found sounds, unique visuals, Boopers, and a few surprises... No Brain will all make sense eventually.

https://www.negativlandtruefalse.com/no-brain-2019-european-tour
https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/baba-yagas-hut-presents-negativland

Il primo dei due album che segna l'atteso ritorno in attività dei Negativland si intitola True False, per la prima volta pubblica i testi dei brani (alcuni sono quasi delle canzoni), recupera alcuni nastri degli esordi e stralci dalla serie Over The Edge, riprende tra le altre le voci degli scomparsi Don Joyce, Richard Lyons e Ian Allen, ed è un macigno nello stagno delle fake news: "True False musically tackles concerns that will be familiar to any surviving fans of the band: our nervous systems, our realities, and the evolving forms of media that inevitably insert themselves between the two. A series of seemingly random topics are slowly woven together: shootings, bees, the right's rules for radicals, climate control, dogs pretending to be children, the oil we eat, and the right of every American to believe whatever they want to believe - your brain's ear lets nothing remain entirely random. It’s not the content, it's the edit that shows us what we all know to be true, and it's the things that one is most tempted to enjoy as harmless entertainment that often turn out to be living animals. Splicing together Occupy mic checks with US militia rallies, Fox news hosts with ecoterrorists, and your own sanity with the home viewing habits of Negativland's lead vocalist, the Weatherman, when you put the word True next to the word False, a broader reality reveals itself."

https://www.negativlandtruefalse.com
https://www.facebook.com/Negativlandland
https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/negativland-share-latest-album

Non ci sarà un'edizione numero tredici del Rock In Opposition France Event. Lo ammette Michel Besset, lanciando comunque uno sguardo al futuro: "C’est avec beaucoup de regret que je dois vous annoncer aujourd’hui que la 12ème édition du Rock In Opposition France Event qui s’est tenue à Bourgoin-Jallieu et Lyon en mai dernier est la dernière du nom. En effet, compte tenu du changement de direction de la scène de musique actuelle Les Abattoirs, et de la mutation complexe des missions de son équipe, il serait très risqué d’envisager une prochaine édition. A l’issue de l’arrêt du R.I.O. de Carmaux, nous avions, José Molina (directeur des Abattoirs) et moi-même fait le maximum pour maintenir cet évènement unique sur le territoire national. Aujourd’hui c’est la fin de cette magnifique histoire. Et c’est avec beaucoup de peine, à la fois pour les organisateurs, bénévoles, techniciens, artistes et public que nous devons prendre cette décision. Pour ma part je continue à travailler sur d’autres projets dont, j’espère, j’aurai l’occasion de vous parler très prochainement… Merci à vous tous pour cette fabuleuse aventure. Et Vive la Musique."

http://post-rock.lv/riofest.htm

Tre giorni di concerti da oggi a sabato al Cafe Oto londinese a sostegno di Resonance FM, anche in vista delle spese per l'annunciato cambio di sede nel 2020: l'appuntamento ha il nome di Resofest e ci saranno tra gli altri Eliza Carthy, Gavin Bryars, Anthony Moore, John Butcher, Max Eastley con Terry Day, Yumi Hara con Atsuko Kamura, Nicolas Collins, Edwin Pouncey e i rinati Kenny Process Team. Info: https://bit.ly/2lL94NP

https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/resofest
https://www.resonancefm.com
https://www.facebook.com/resonancefm

Si scopre domani a Londra al 39 di Gerrard Street - dove oggi c'è un ristorante taiwanese - una delle mitiche targhe blu atte a commemorare luoghi di particolare interesse storico e culturale della città: fu lì la prima sede del Ronnie Scott’s Club, inaugurato appunto da Ronnie Scott e Pete King il 30 ottobre 1959. L'evento viene salutato da due testimoni d'eccezione, Richard Williams (Ronnie Scott’s at 60), che però non riuscì mai ad entrarvi, e Mike Westbrook (At The Old Place), che vi suonò spesso con le sue band - finanche l'ultima sera d'apertura del locale, il 25 maggio 1968 - gettando le basi di Release, Celebration e Marching Song. Mike sarà presente di persona alla cerimonia, e ricorda: "A commemorative blue plaque at 39 Gerrard Street in the heart of what became London’s Chinatown, is a permanent tribute to Ronnie Scott and Pete King, whose vision it was to create a jazz club in London to match those they had seen in New York. For me the plaque is a reminder of the countless hours spent in that basement, first as a listener then, when it became The Old Place, as a performer. I remember the stable mates with whom I had the privilege of sharing that small stage and mourn all those we’ve lost, including, from The Concert Band, Mike Osborne, Paul Rutherford and Harry Miller. And John Jack who held everything and everyone together. The ramifications of the music of the Old Place generation continue to spread far and wide. It’s good to be reminded of where it all started".

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/smithsboard/index.shtml
http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/oldplace_cd.shtml
https://thebluemoment.com/2019/10/18/ronnie-scotts-at-60
https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/static/assets/ronnie_scotts_history.pdf

Torna disponibile in un'edizione di soli duecento esemplari uno dei lasciti più importanti del compianto Peter Kowald (1944-2002), la collezione di dialoghi strumentali realizzati con innumerevoli musicisti amici e colleghi in ogni angolo del mondo nella seconda metà degli anni Ottanta e documentata a più riprese negli anni successivi da Fmp: Duos: Europa · America · Japan.

Edition of 200 copies, clear vinyl, it comes with a 4-page insert. This is the fourth release in BeJazz reissue series of long-lost classics from the legendary vaults of FMP Records, presented in restored original packaging and newly remastered for optimal sound. The masterpiece of Peter Kowald, one of the great spirits of Free Music, and pinnacle of the 20th century Improvisation canon. From the legendary vaults of FMP Productions, presented in restored original slipcase packaging, newly remastered for optimal sound and pressed on clear vinyl in a limited edition, the Duos: Europa · America · Japan box-set is finally here. On this 3LP-set, Kowald is locked in conversation with a collection of artists which is second to none: Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Han Bennink, the legendary Jeanne Lee, as well as Diamanda Galas, Fred Frith, Andrew Cyrille, Zeena Parkins, Julius Hemphill, Akira Sakata, Keiki Midorikawa and Takehisa Kosugi, and numerous others.

http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/mkowald.html

https://duos-europa-america-japan-3lp-box/pid/36694

Henry Kaiser volge nuovamente lo sguardo ad amici scomparsi e maestri ispiratori con un aggiornamento al suo già ampio catalogo di memoriali: More Requia--In Memory of Great Ancestors (Metalanguage, 2019).

"Inspired by John Fahey’s 1967 Requia and Other Compositions for Guitar Solo album on Vanguard, Henry Kaiser recorded his own Requia and Other Improvisations for Guitar Solo back in 2013 for the Tzadik Label. Having lost several friends and heroes in the past few years, Henry's mind turned again to 'guitar requia' for the departed. This time he invited some friends and heroes (nine living, one dead) to join him for the recordings, composed/improvised by the performers except for an amazing reimagining of Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia's “What's Become of the Baby” from AoxomoxoA by the Grateful Dead. Each of the nine tracks here are dedicated to someone who influenced Mr. Kaiser, the list includes guitarists: Sonny Sharrock, Hans Reichel, Davey Williams, Albert Collins, Derek Bailey, Larry Coryell & Jerry Garcia (all deceased). The other dedicatees include: Cecil Taylor, Lloyd Austin, Paul Hostetter (a luthier, who died in February of this year, 2019) and Gene Wolfe (sci-fi writer). The pieces range from solo electric & acoustic guitars to duos, trios and quartets. As always, Mr. Kaiser, turns his guitars inside-out and takes us to far away planets." (Bruce Lee Gallanter)

http://www.henrykaiserguitar.com

Torna a farsi sentire - e vedere - la Granite Band guidata da Kate Westbrook, con la partecipazione questo pomeriggio alla trentesima edizione del festival Teignmouth Jazz & Blues, poco distante da casa, nel Devon. Il festival ha tra i suoi punti di forza una costante attenzione alla presenza di donne musiciste leader e interpreti. A questo aspetto fa riferimento Kate nel suo scritto Jazz Women Jazz proposto pochi giorni fa attraverso lo Smith's Academy Notice Board. Con Kate e Mike Westbrook fanno parte del granitico settetto Roz Harding, Jesse Molins, Matthew North, Billie Bottle e Coach York.

"We are delighted to welcome back the acclaimed Kate Westbrook after some years away from us with a second cycle of songs dedicated to a Devonian theme. Kate is an internationally acclaimed singer and librettist: “one of the most unique, expressive and flexible voices one could find between the Atlantic and the Urals” (Jazz Magazine, France).
She presents Granite which is an epic and ground-breaking work inspired by her love of Dartmoor and its granite quarries. Her text conjures up the mythical figure of a quarry worker, labour, love and death in the vast Dartmoor landscape haunted by the absence of the curlew’s cry. Kate’s astonishing vocal range and strikingly original lyrics are matched by composer Mike Westbrook’s genre-busting score and her brilliant Granite Band."

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/katewestbrook/granite.shtml
https://www.teignmouthjazz.org/festival-sunday

Tre appuntamenti a Tokyo, tutti al Moon Romantic, ormai imminenti: ma nell'agenda di Dave Stewart e Barbara Gaskin ci sono anche altri concerti nei prossimi mesi, forse non soltanto a Londra. E un nuovo album! Lo si legge in una recente intervista concessa a un affezionato ascoltatore, Kanyo.

The Stewart / Gaskin band return to Japan in November 2019 for live concerts at Tsuki-Miru Kimi-Omou, Aoyama, Tokyo. Featuring Barbara (vocals / keyboards), Dave (keyboards) and Beren Matthews (guitar / vocals), the band will play songs chosen from their entire catalogue (including some never played live before) and will also preview several new unreleased songs. The concert dates are Friday Nov 8th, Saturday Nov 9th and Sunday Nov 10th. More live gigs are planned for 2020, details to follow later this year.

https://www.davebarb.com

https://burningshed.com/store/davebarb

http://www.moonromantic.com

Herm Mew ricorda oggi il secondo anniversario della morte di Phil Miller, suo marito, pubblicandone un ritratto completato di recente e invitando tutti a riascoltare I Remain, uno dei brani più belli di Split Seconds: "Phil may have died but his music remains alive". Verissimo.

https://philmillerthelegacy.com

Ora che gran parte degli album dei Westbrook degli ultimi anni sono rintracciabili anche tramite Bandcamp - benché alcuni ormai soltanto in formato digitale - l'auspicio è che accanto ai titoli maggiori non vadano trascurate alcune preziose rarità che per vario motivo hanno avuto a suo tempo poca (o nessuna) esposizione. Per esempio Five Voyages, o Tamar River, un After Smith's Hotel rimasto a lungo inedito o una deliziosa Piove (Ciao, ciao, bambino) messa segretamente in coda all'eccellente Good​-​bye Peter Lorre di Kate. Imperdibile tra tutti è in ogni caso A Little Westbrook Music (1983), il gran debutto del Trio - Mike e Kate con Chris Biscoe - con i magnifici versi di Eluard, Rimbaud, Blake, Bertolt Brecht e Adrian Mitchell.

https://mikewestbrook.bandcamp.com

Il magnifico concerto rossiniano tenuto da Mike Westbrook con la sua Uncommon Orchestra a Pesaro l'anno scorso a novembre va in onda questa sera alle ore 20.30 per Radio3 Suite: Rossini Re-Loaded.

https://www.raiplayradio.it/articoli/2019/10/Fano-Jazz-Network

Life Is A Killer

(John Giorno, 1936-2019)

E' ormai pronto l'album Decoherence con cui vedono ufficialmente la luce le registrazioni tratte da alcuni recenti concerti di Yumi Hara con Tim Hodgkinson e Chris Cutler nel trio The Watts: al Cafe Oto londinese (giugno 2018 e marzo 2019) e al RIO Festival a Bourgoin-Jallieu (maggio 2019).

https://www.facebook.com/thewattstimchrisyumi

Inizia oggi una breve serie di presentazioni pubbliche del libro di Benjamin Piekut Henry Cow-The World Is A Problem: intervengono questo pomeriggio al Cafe Oto londinese David Toop, Chris Cutler, Tim Hodgkinson e Georgina Born (e forse altri). A Milano domani (Standards, via Maffucci 26) con l'autore ci sarà Franco Fabbri mentre il 16 ottobre a Roma (Blutopia, via del Pigneto 116) ci sarà Alessandro Achilli.

“In this landmark monograph, Benjamin Piekut offers a stunning new theoretical framework for writing the history of ‘adventurous’ music in the late twentieth century, realizing that theory in practice by replicating in his graceful prose the improvised relation to the world he seeks to illuminate. Through his gripping account of the band Henry Cow, he reconstructs the cultural space of what he calls the 'vernacular avant-garde', where musicians learn from records rather than in institutions, live uncertainty, cross genres, improvise responses to novel situations, work with and against record companies, and embrace avant-gardism without negation. It is rare to finish a monumental monograph with a gasp. A must-read intervention and instant classic!” (Tamara Levitz)

https://www.dukeupress.edu/henry-cow
https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/henry-cow-book-launch
https://www.facebook.com/events/519289635283601
https://www.facebook.com/events/2363826170497176

Ed è proprio Bob Drake ad aprire domani la settima edizione di Alterazioni, presso la Sala della Musica di Villa Litta a Lainate (Mi). A dirigere la rassegna è sempre l'ottimo Massimo Giuntoli.

https://www.facebook.com/AlterazioniRassegna

I primi cinquanta a prenotare in anticipo una copia del nuovo CD di Bob Drake hanno ricevuto in omaggio un cartoncino artistico unico e originale appositamente realizzato dal musicista. La serie (quasi) completa dei preziosi manufatti si può ora ammirare in https://bdphotos.piwigo.com

"In September 2019, I made 50 of these cards, one of which accompanied the first 50 orders of my album The Gardens of Beastley Manor. Made by tearing and cutting construction paper, with bits snipped from old magazines and catalogues, and a touch of watercolour and ink."

http://www.bdrak.com/sounds/beastley.html
https://bdstudio.bandcamp.com/album/the-gardens-of-beastley-manor

Cammina cammina, piano piano, The Necks arrivano domani a Trento, ed è la sola tappa in Italia del loro attuale itinerario europeo: al Teatro Sanbapolis, con inizio alle ore 21.00.

http://thenecks.com

Quando finalmente capitò di vedere l'episodio della serie Bedrock - prodotta a Nottingham da Central TV a cavallo tra gli anni Ottanta e Novanta - dedicato agli Hatfield and The North, fummo in molti a rimanere delusi, per vari motivi. Ma ancor più deluso fu Phil Miller, che dalla versione televisiva finale vide esclusi tutti i brani di sua firma. Qualcosa venne recuperato nelle edizioni audio pubblicate successivamente da Demon Music nel 1993 e nel 2015, qualcosa di più completo lo offre oggi il sito d'archivio Phil Miller-The Legacy, mettendo a disposizione la registrazione integrale delle prove.

In 1990 Hatfield reformed for a one-off appearance for Central TV. Dave Stewart wasn’t available and was replaced by Sophia Domancich. After the concert the recording was edited by Central TV who managed to remove all of Phil’s tunes. Very sad for Phil who not only had his tunes removed without notice but, unlike all the other musicians, received no royalties as a result of the TV exposure which would have been considerable. For those of you who have not heard the bootlegged recording of the run-through the day before here is your chance to hear all the tunes that were intended:

https://philmillerthelegacy.com/music/hatfield-and-the-north-central-tv-1990

E' pronto per WhyPlayJazz l'annunciato album del batterista Max Andrzejewski dedicato a Robert Wyatt, presentato dal vivo in numerose occasioni, con versioni di The Duchess, Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road, You You,  Little Red Robin Hood Hits the Road, Cuckoo Madame, Grass, N.I.O. (New Information Order), Instant Kitten e Starting in the Middle of the Day We Can Drink Our Politics Away affidate al proprio quartetto Hütte con l'apporto di un paio di ospiti.

http://maxandrzejewski.de
https://huette-band.de
https://whyplayjazz.de/releases/WPJ052

Il nuovo numero della rivista Luncheon, l'ottavo, offre spazio a una recente conversazione di Martin Clark con Robert Wyatt e Alfie Benge e ritrae alcune opere di quest'ultima: https://www.luncheonmagazine.com

Ci fosse qualcuno che ancora non ha colto il nesso tra Alvin Snow e il prossimo album dei Residents (Metal, Meat & Bone) glielo spiega Homer Flynn...

https://residents.com

Gli avventori del Globe Inn di Chagford, nel Devon (Regno Unito), saranno i fortunati testimoni di un'importante azione di recupero di uno dei più bei programmi di jazz cabaret ideati in anni (relativamente) recenti dai Westbrook: Love Or Infatuation, ovvero The Hollywood Songs of Friedrich Hollaender. L'omonimo album (Asc Record, 1997) venne realizzato in duo, per voce e pianoforte, la versione di domani sera offrirà invece nuovi arrangiamenti per quartetto: Kate, Mike, Roz Harding (sassofoni) e Marcus Vergette (contrabbasso).

Scrive Mike: "We’ve returned to the piece from time to time, latterly with the addition of saxophone and double bass. It still feels relevant. It seems important that these songs should be heard and we are possibly the only people performing them. The show is still about "Falling in Love Again", but raises questions, not only about the nature of Love, but also about the nature of jazz and the potency of ‘cheap music’. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it Art or merely entertainment? Is it Entertainment or merely Art? Is it Love, or is it Infatuation?"

http://westbrookjazz.co.uk/smithsboard/index.shtml
http://westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/loveinfatucd.shtml

Una dozzina di concerti in Europa, con sola tappa italiana al Conservatorio L. Campiani di Mantova il 12 ottobre: torna una delle più classiche piccole formazioni di Carla Bley, il Trio con Steve Swallow e Andy Sheppard. Non mancano in scaletta ogni sera due recenti composizioni, Beautiful Telephones - ispirata al celebre commento dell'attuale inquilino della Casa Bianca al suo ingresso nello Studio Ovale - e l'articolata Life Ges On.

https://www.saudades.at/en/home/6982/index.html?tournr=6982

Uno dei capitoli migliori della seconda vita dei Muffins è ora ufficialmente disponibile in digitale presso la casa madre Cuneiform: Double Negative, prodotto nel 2004 dal classico quartetto (Scott, Newhouse, Swann, Sears) assieme a un nutrito numero di ospiti, tra cui Marshall Allen.

Double Negative is The Muffins' second studio recording released since reforming and possibly the most ambitious work of their career. Featuring 75 minutes of music spread over 17 songs, Double Negative is The Muffins' most compositionally diverse work, featuring pieces that vary in style and tone greatly, but which are always theirs (although they might fool you for a bit here and there!). The Muffins have long been noted for the way they craft memorable themes with adventurous musical structures and this is no exception. In addition, it is the band's most instrumentally rich work, featuring an unprecedented number of musical guest appearances. Two principal members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott, play sax on several tracks, while longtime Muffins contributor, Doug Elliott, contributes excellent trombone parts to half the pieces and string players also contribute.

http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/muffins.html

https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/double-negative

E in via di pubblicazione è anche l'atteso album d'esordio per The Watts: Yumi Hara, Tim Hodgkinson e Chris Cutler.

https://twitter.com/YumiHaraMusic
https://www.facebook.com/thewattstimchrisyumi
http://www.yumiharacawkwell.co.uk/HTML/THEWATTS.htm

C'è un nuovo interessante progetto di Mick Hobbs in fase di realizzazione, interamente dedicato a Cornelius Cardew: si chiama Paragraphs and Principles e riporta in primo piano la gloriosa sigla Officer! Per ora lo anticipa un brano, Para 2, che fa da lato B al singolo dall'assai appropriato titolo Brexit Means Toxic. Si trova tramite Bandcamp.

With Boris Johnson floundering and hopefully soon to be found “dead in a ditch”, and with still no sign of imminent resolution – whoever ends up in charge – to the UK’s ongoing political fuck-shambles, Mick Hobbs' Brexit Means Toxic 7” is well-timed, even if, like many a protest song before it, it’s preaching to the converted. Anyway look, if it takes a constitutional crisis to bring Officer! out of hiding – it’s a price worth paying.
Hobbs has always been an old folkie at heart, it’s the tension between that and his more disruptive, surrealist impulses that animate the best of his key '80s work, and make him such a brilliant and peculiar songwriter. Joey Stack handles vocals here, sounding wonderful as ever, her breezy Raincoats-y delivery inevitably recalling the stellar heights of The Lo Yo Yo. But for us, the B-side is where it’s at… whatever “it” might be… a tribute to Cornelius Cardew, and a trailer the forthcoming Officer! album Paragraphs and Principles, which is made up entirely of Cardew pieces performed/reimagined by by Hobbs and his cohorts. Para 2 finds Hobbs narrating the essence of Cardew’s epic The Great Learning, “to illustrate illustrious virtue / to renovate the people / and to rest in the highest excellence.” The music harks back to the RIO of Biota, Henry Cow, Art Bears et al, as plumes of reverberant ambience build to a maelstrom of piano, reeds and massed voices – bonkers, and exhilarating. Say what you will about Europe… there’s a certain kind of madness that will always find its fullest expression in England.

https://mickhobbs.com
https://officer-official.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/11th-september-2019
https://youtu.be/5vGl3ubtQDs