All Things Considered

Blue Monday
Posted by Simon Lewin

Supposedly, today is the most depressing day of the year.

Hopefully Nouvelle Vague can cheer us all up with this New Order cover...

Posted by Simon Lewin on January 16th, 2012

Ben Bryden
Posted by Simon Lewin

Now living in New York, saxophonist and composer Ben Bryden is back in Scotland for an appearance in Edinburgh on Saturday night.

Ben has collaborated with poet Rab Wilson on 1957 Flying Scot, a book and CD set celebrating Glasgow's great heritage of building high quality racing and touring bicycles. The eponymous marque was once the dream and aspiration of many working class boys in Scotland. They were incredibly expensive, exotic and desirable objects in their day.

Rab's sonnets feature both in the book and read on one of the CDs. The second CD features music inspired by the work, composed and performed by Ben.

The book and CD set is illustrated throughout by Hugh Bryden and published by his Roncadora Press.

On Saturday 7th January 2012, Rab and Ben will launch the edition from 7pm at Ronde Cycle Café, 66-68 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5AZ.

Whilst in New York, Ben also collaborates with fellow tenor saxophonist Steven Delannoye on the Bright Noise project.

An EP of new material has just been released, with an illustrated sleeve by our mutual friend Jonny Hannah. Full details via Ben's website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on January 6th, 2012

Neil Cowley Trio
Posted by Simon Lewin

Here the Neil Cowley Trio perform 'Rooster Was A Witness' from their forthcoming album 'The Face Of Mount Molehill', out on 23rd January 2012 on Naim Jazz Records. The video was shot at the Nelson Brewery in the heart of Chatham's historic dockyard.

The album is available for pre-order now - and the first 50 copies ordered from Proper Music will be signed by the Trio.

The Trio will tour the UK from 15th March 2012, starting at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Full details from www.neilcowleytrio.com

Posted by Simon Lewin on December 17th, 2011

El Tren Fantasma
Posted by Simon Lewin

Chris Watson was a founding member of the influential Sheffield-based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire but you'll now often come across his name within the credits of various natural history programmes on TV and radio.

'El Tren Fantasma', (The Ghost Train), is Chris Watson’s 4th solo album for Touch, and his first since Weather Report in 2003, which was named as one of the albums you should hear before you die in The Guardian.

Andrew Weatherall has reviewed Watson's latest recording over at Caught By The River...

"Trying to describe Watson’s work would be like sharing last night’s dreams and you don’t want to hear about my suppressed feelings of wistful romantic regret, fear of ageing [that's the teeth falling out one], fear of the future or be taken on my erotic flights of fancy. I’ll stick to a sonic description and let you dream your own dreams."

Read the review in full and purchase a copy from the Caught By The River online store.

And you can find out more about Chris Watson's work from his website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on November 14th, 2011

Ghosts of Gone Birds
Posted by Simon Lewin

Several St. Jude's artists are taking part in Ceri Levy's Ghosts of Gone Birds project, a series of multimedia exhibitions that breathe artistic life back into extinct bird species.

Later in May the Liverpool School of Art & Design will host the first event with established artists, like Ralph Steadman (below), Jamie Hewlett, Billy Childish, Charming Baker, Kai & Sunny, Olly & Suzi and Marcus Coates all creating their own particularly unique artistic memorials to the birds we have lost over the last two centuries. As well as paintings, sculptures and installations, there will be talks, poetry and live performances. Plus Ghost soundtracks created by Will Sergeant (Echo & The Bunnymen) and Jimi Goodwin (Doves).

Find out more at the Ghosts of Gone Birds Facebook page.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 27th, 2011

The Monroe Transfer
Posted by Simon Lewin

I came across The Monroe Transfer via Nick Gill who works at Hand & Eye Letterpress.

Nick's a member of The Monroe Transfer, a 7-piece instrumental group making “sad, angry, melancholy, triumphant instrumental music”. I'd recommend their 2008 release "I dreamt I was a hammer & everything was glass".

Although it's not out for a little while, the artwork for their forthcoming album "Trials" has just been been featured as one of the records sleeves of the month over at Creative Review.

I've yet to see a copy but it looks like a lovingly created piece of print, designed, screen and letterpress printed the TMT's Nick Gill and Daley Walton. Read the CR blog in full.

For up to date news re. the album's release and forthcoming gigs, keep an eye on The Monroe Transfer's website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 14th, 2010

Dieter Rams
Posted by Simon Lewin

We're hoping to get along to the Dieter Rams exhibition at the Design Museum in the next few days. First became aware of his work through Vitsoe (we've developed a bit of an addiction for his shelving system) though as a kid I remember Dad having one of his Braun alarm clocks.

Particularly like Dieter Rams' Ten Principles of good design:

Good design is innovative.
Good design makes a product useful.
Good design is aesthetic.
Good design makes a product understandable.
Good design is unobtrusive.
Good design is honest.
Good design is long-lasting.
Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
Good design is environmentally friendly.
Good design is as little design as possible.

The exhibition runs at the Design Museum until March 2010 (if you visit before the end of January you'll also be able to see the show about the work of architect David Chipperfield). Here's a film about Rams' work for Vitsoe:

Posted by Simon Lewin on December 30th, 2009

Tomasz Stanko Quartet
Posted by Simon Lewin

Another musical interlude... Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko will be appearing as part of the London Jazz Festival on Saturday (though the gig has now sold out). Here he performs with his quartet.

Posted by Simon Lewin on November 13th, 2009

David Byrne – Playing The Building
Posted by Simon Lewin

My post below about the Bow Gamelan Ensemble has in turn reminded me of David Byrne's Playing The Building project. Byrne created the installation at the Roundhouse in Camden in August, but here's some footage of the project in New York.

Posted by Simon Lewin on November 10th, 2009

Bow Gamelan Ensemble
Posted by Simon Lewin

All of these autumnal pyrotechnics put in my mind of the Bow Gamelan Ensemble who I saw a few times in what must have been (from memory) the mid-late 80s.

In 1983 Paul Burwell, Richard Wilson and Anne Bean formed the Ensemble, described in Burwell's 2007 obituary in The Independent as "a multi-media urban-junk-and-pyrotechnics percussion trio".

Here the Bow Gamelan Ensemble reunite with others to perform on Wilson's boat the Slice of Life (a slice of a tug boat on the river Thames in London). More about the Ensemble

Posted by Simon Lewin on November 7th, 2009