Something for the weekend? For lovers of guitar driven rock two of my favourite bands, which I got to connect with through Bandcamp have recently released some new material, Mouth Reader from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and The Sharp Medicine from Los Angeles, California. Enjoy the noise.
Category Archives: The Sound of Music
Karl Lokko – Cruel to be Kind
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Karl’s latest poem is called ‘Cruel to be kind’ and is taken from the collection, ‘The Butterfly Effect’. The poem is a cry for every ‘villains’ innocence! “We are ALL innocent because at our core the intentions of human beings are good, deception is the real ‘devil’, man is not. We live a life according to our conditioning.” Click here for my earlier post concerning Karl’s work, along with further information.
I AM HUNGER: FILM TRAILER
I Am Hunger is a film, which is in production about some of the outstanding and vital work some of the self-funded independent charities carry out feeding the most vulnerable in society. It is estimated 20% of the UK currently live below the poverty line. That is 13 million people. The combined population of London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester & Glasgow. You can follow the making of the film at I AM HUNGER and do something really simple, but profound by sharing this information.
Today I stumbled upon Hugar
A beautiful collection of songs from Iceland. Hugar are Bergur Þórisson & Pétur Jónsson. Haunting and uplifting tunes, which provides an evocative soundscape to relax too. Þórisson & Jónsson have been playing together for many years in all kinds of different bands but in early 2012 they decided to form a group of their own where they could experiment.
The album is available on Bandcamp on a name your own price basis. The other instrumentalists are, Ólafur Arnalds – Drums, Pétur Björnsson – Violin, Sólveig Vaka Eyþórsdóttir – Violin, Guðbjartur Hákonarson – Viola, Hrafnhildur Marta Guðmundsdóttir – Cello, Björgvin Ragnar Hjálmarsson – Clarinet and bass clarinet.
Karl Lokko – Urine Village
I first met Karl almost eight years ago in Brixton, London. He is quite an imposing person given I stand 6ft, and he still towers over me like a giant from Han Christian Anderson fairy tale. As with many Black kids growing up within our inner cities, Karl had tough choices to make and dangerous lessons to learn. The first day we cast eyes on one another I was in my local government uniform and tie he was wearing a bulletproof vest. He talked rapidly about the life he was leading, the inspirational pastor who was helping him to rebuild his life, his dreams, his aspiration. He was young, but already time was catching up with him. Over the years he stumbled but resisted a return to the life he once led. Today Karl is a husband, poet, activist, influencer, and incredible human being who I am proud to call a friend. This is Karl’s first release of his poetry online. If you want to know more about Karl then click here.
Today I stumbled upon Hope Sandoval
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions (click here) latest album Until the Hunter (November 2016) is an evocative and beautiful landscape of lullabies. Track 4 on the album is entitled Let Me Get There and features the wonderful Kurt Vile in a duo.
Sandoval started her musical career with a friend (Sylvia Gomez) in a folk duo called Going Home in 1986 and would later form Mazzy Star with David Roback and release three albums in the 1990s. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions have also released Bavarian Fruit Bread in 2001 and Through The Devil Softly in 2009. Sandoval also featured on the Massive Attack track Paradise Circus from the 2010 Heligoland album.
Gelatine
This ‘Gelatine’ video tells the reversed story of how gelatine candy is actually produced. Starting from wrapped candy, going all the way back it reveals a detailed and truthful story on daily foods and its origin.
Gelatine is one in a series of reversed stories on food for ‘Over Eten’ (On Food) a tv show focusing on our present knowledge about food, produced by the news department of flemish public broadcaster VRT, Belgium made by Alina Kneepkens who is a freelance director and reporter (click here).
Today I Stumbled Upon: Something Calm
Three record labels each with a roster of artists able to ease you into the darker nights of Autumn and the first signs of winter. Clicking on the headings below will take you to the main website for each of the record labels where you will be able to access the full catalogues on offer. Predominantly you will find a crossover of ambient, electronic and classic styles. Sit back, put on some headphones and enjoy.
Serein
The name Serein was taken from a meteorological dictionary, it is used to describe ‘fine rain falling from a clear sky after sunset’. Located in Wales, Serein features artists from across the world. I came across Serein whilst slumming in my sick bed recently and immediately fell in love with their spectrum of sounds. The label provides an archive of free downloads, which can be accessed by clicking here.
Erased Tapes
Erased Tapes Records is a London based independent record label focusing on releasing avant-garde music which is widely regarded as very diverse in genres and styles. The record company was established in early 2007
Unperceived Records
UP is an independent record label founded by german based composer Hannes Kretzer. Like everyone UP love treasures and that’s what you might find here. The label aims to support freshly hatched artists, grow with them and give more people the opportunity to explore their music.
Sea Child
On the verge of becoming a woman Sora is woken by a nightmare and decides to follow a group of men into the city in the hope of finding her mum. Created from over 9000 paintings, which took 9-months of working 10-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week to complete, Minha Kim’s unsettling animation Sea Child draws you in with its distinct style and then punches you in the gut with the rawness of its narrative. All that hard work certainly paid off for Kim though, her 8-minute animation has gone on to screen at some of the biggest film and animation festivals worldwide before being released online to surprise and enthrall a brand new audience.
Directed by Minha Kim, Produced by Jacob Thomas, Cinematography by Sverre Sørdal, Composer Antonio Nardi, Sound Designer John Cohen.
Click here for the Directors note and more information.
Who Is Poly Styrene?
I recall four female musicians/singers from the glory years of punk in the UK 1976/79. These were Siouxsie Sioux, Gaye Advert, Pauline Murray and Poly Styrene of whom this BBC Arena programme from 1979 is about.
Irregular Frequencies 