Monthly Archives: March 2014

03.20.14
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Will Varley – Weddings and wars

Here’s a fabulous video that’s been doing the rounds a bit recently. 

I know very little about Will Varley but I know he made the video to go with his song, ‘Weddings And Wars’. If Super Mario Bros was ever to chronicle the history of the world then it might look something like this. I bet this must have taken an absolute age to make but it’s a fine way of introducing an intelligent song.

 At times, Will goes a little bit Mumford/Passenger on us but rise above that and you’ve got an entertaining few minutes in store whilst watching this… 

 

03.14.14
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Romantic socialists are the best kinds of people

Strangely overwhelmed by the news that Tony Benn has passed away.

I remember drunken days in the Leftfield tent at Glastonbury where it became something of a ritual to hear him speak and shake his hand. When I went on student marches in the late 1980’s it was Tony who spoke, agitated and inspired. 

I learnt today that he proposed to his late wife after knowing her for nine days. That sounds impulsive but my sense is that he simply knew it was right. If only life was that simple…..

 

 http://open.spotify.com/track/5ZMISzukHBQ9cOkcJe5jN6

 Alan Bush is worth reading about. A quick internet search reveals that he was a ‘romantic socialist’. I think that might be what I am – maybe I’ll even change the name of this blog to reflect. His work is truly lovely, a precursor to Lionel Bart overtures and the stuff Dickens would have produced if he was a musician. Epic.

 

http://open.spotify.com/track/3wjaMoMLULftJaPrePoO8Y

03.12.14
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The Native

I’ve lived in Leicester for over ten years now – and have found it a wonderfully welcoming place. I’ve always gone to gigs in this lovely city and have seen many, many great acts over the years. There’s websites that promote the local scene and I’ve no intention of duplicating what they do well but from time to time when I hear a track or see a band that I want to write about then I’ll post details of them here.

I first saw the Native over a year ago – except they weren’t called The Native then. They were simply called Ben and Chloe. Ben’s vocal style reminded me of Coner Oberst. Chloe stood looking nervous waiting to complement on vocals and to accompany on violin. They’ve improved in the year since and this track has been played on Dean Jackson’s BBC Introducing The Beat. Both Ben and Chloe are still in their teens. Ben’s latest song is an ode about narcissism. 

03.12.14
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Kishi Bashi

You know what? It’s proving much easier to get up on these crisp, bright, Spring  days that we’re currently having. There must be a birds nest near to my bedroom because for the last few days I’ve been woken at six in the morning by birdsong. It really does not bother me. In fact, it makes me smile.

Just like this track that popped up in my mailbox last week. Kishi Bashi used to be a full time member and co-producer with Of Montreal so the pedigree for making music to alleviate frowns is clearly deep-rooted. This is a joy. The album, Lighght (pronounced “Light”) is being released on May 12th and I cannot wait to review it….

03.12.14
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Metronomy Interview

 

I’ll be using this blog to write about all sorts of music related things. I have an outlet for my gig  and festival reviews at egigs.co.uk and efestivals.co.uk but I don’t have anywhere to write about the great new music I hear.

Sometimes, a band or a press agency sends me a link to a fantastic piece of music and I want to share it. This seems like a great way to so that…

Anyway, whilst that’s all developing, here’s my recently published interview with Metronomy at the 6 music festival. Their new album ‘Love Letters’ really is a stunner….

 Metronomy Interview