This is another, different example of combined English folk music with a brass band. Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band are one of the leading concert brass bands, so I am told by my niece who plays in a concert band, and the Unthanks are a major female (sister) vocal duo. This album has the emphasis more on the band as a support, or for some tracks, supported role, rather than totally integrated as with Bellowhead, but it is a fine line.
@BTcertainly, but in the labyrinth of my mind "klezmer music" doesn't sound like "folk music". I get that there's a large category called "folk" in which one could and should throw a wide variety of ethnic musics, but in terms of what I associate with the label, "folk music" has more specific connotations. (Not offering this as a music theory, just as a report of experience as generated by accidental history).
ETA, I am not sure it's just me (even though I am not out to defend what is surely an inaccurate perception). I wonder how many people would listen to Alamaailman Vasarat and describe them as "folky"? In a sense they are, but...
This one has been hibernating ever since I grabbed it from Amie Street:
Casino Versus Japan - ST
- "Once upon a time, in a small town huddled along the western shore of Lake Michigan, a young boy began recording episodes of Miami Vice on a portable cassette player. Propping the recorder near the speaker of his television, he anxiously awaited the scenes in which Jan Hammer's music took center stage. The tapes were then collected for repeated listens, often times played over and over again against the backdrop of a wide variety of other musical genres.
After a brief stint with model railroading, such experiments with tape grew less and less obvious. Bits were collected from a range of sources, and eventually mixed with meager homespun recordings. Choosing to play the massive grand piano in the often- empty auditorium of Lincoln High School rather than attend classes, he slowly taught himself chord progressions. During the same period he learned the basics of other instruments including guitar and drums in an effort to put together simple songs. By then, other formidable influences began to take hold.
Casino Versus Japan (recording as Radiogate in 1996 and 1997) found many creative friends and grew into a very supportive and integrated underground electronic music community in Milwaukee. His tenure at Atomic Records, along with writing for the alternative fanzine Milk Magazine, kept him informed of the exciting developments within many styles of innovative, exciting music. While being a rabid music consumer and collector, all of these points became the ingredients of a dedicated music hobby. The rest of the story and in-between are now open for investigation and interpretation."
- Carpark Records
How This Ends is the 12th solo album by Chris Connelly, and it is certainly the most extreme. Picking up from where 2008's Forgiveness & Exile tailed off. In some ways, this is an extension of that, where Chris uses an ensemble cast of musicians, orators and non-musicians to produce something that vacillates between an almost serenely melancholic paradise, and a terrifying hellish vortex of noise. There are no songs on How This Ends - rather one long poem that is both spoken and sung by Chris and his collaborators.
"I wanted to compose without any regard to the song-form. I enjoy writing songs, but I've done it, and I want to try and move forward. To me, my work now is all about the words, and coming up with the best sounds to augment these words. It doesn't have to be a musical instrument. I have in my mind a very clear image, almost like an impressionistic film of what it should be like. The hard part is making sure that nothing is wasted, that every word can carry it's own weight, and that the people I have asked to help are the right people".
And the subject matter is no less grave than Forgiveness & Exile. Forgiveness (sic) was about torture and people being displaced from their homes in trying to escape fascism. How This Ends is about death, genocide, homicide by corrupt powers upon innocents. It's about the people who didn't make it, the ones who either tried, or were taken by surprise."
Whilst getting the above image from Amazon, I checked to see how much their 'new' album is on Amazon, having waited months with emusic for it to be available here. I thought I ought to do another emusic search before downloading, having checked virtually every week for 3 or 4 months. This time I did a title search to find it dropped last week, but it does not show up under either artists' names! One point to note however is that the sound quality is not as good as the free track off the album I got from a Motema sampler - 205 Kbps VBR compared with 320 Kbps VBR. It really is time emusic did something about sound quality of their products.
PDX Jazz Project is an organization for youth ages 13 to 18, designed to preserve & forward the history of jazz music through performance, education and community events
@greg, how does the new cissoko/goetze compare to the earlier album? (That earlier one is one of a few albums that I've bought based on frequency of mention on this thread by others, and have not regretted).
@GP - in many ways it is very similar to Sira; like you no regrets at downloading that album, and I think this will be the same. In some respects I suppose it is really an extension of Sira, and perhaps they might have progressed a bit more. Maybe a second listen later will add to my views.
Sounds worthwhile. Personally I care little whether people progress if what they were doing the first time around was really good - within certain limits more of a good thing is a good thing.
Just had a pleasant surprise. I bought this a while back, added it to iTunes, but apparently got distracted before I completed the tagging steps that would feed it into my smart playlist rotation. So there is sat unlistened to and forgotten, until it became an unexpected gift this morning.
Yes, similalry I downloaded this in July, just before going away. I'd played it once, and forgot it, do discover again, via BN, last week. And this is just beautiful in the Ablaye Cisokko/Volker Goetze mode. (If one can describe music as beautiful?!)
Here's a good Guvera pick; the late great Fred Anderson, with Hamid Drake on drums, plus other AACM cats. Two live shows from 1979. There's a Fred "Live in Milwaukee" disc to be had too. These are on the Atavistic label, need to investigate what else there is to be found...
Comments
This is another, different example of combined English folk music with a brass band. Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band are one of the leading concert brass bands, so I am told by my niece who plays in a concert band, and the Unthanks are a major female (sister) vocal duo. This album has the emphasis more on the band as a support, or for some tracks, supported role, rather than totally integrated as with Bellowhead, but it is a fine line.
ETA, I am not sure it's just me (even though I am not out to defend what is surely an inaccurate perception). I wonder how many people would listen to Alamaailman Vasarat and describe them as "folky"? In a sense they are, but...
From the box set thread. Was expecting more dixieland, but there is a great deal of classic rock / pop here.
Casino Versus Japan - ST
- "Once upon a time, in a small town huddled along the western shore of Lake Michigan, a young boy began recording episodes of Miami Vice on a portable cassette player. Propping the recorder near the speaker of his television, he anxiously awaited the scenes in which Jan Hammer's music took center stage. The tapes were then collected for repeated listens, often times played over and over again against the backdrop of a wide variety of other musical genres.
After a brief stint with model railroading, such experiments with tape grew less and less obvious. Bits were collected from a range of sources, and eventually mixed with meager homespun recordings. Choosing to play the massive grand piano in the often- empty auditorium of Lincoln High School rather than attend classes, he slowly taught himself chord progressions. During the same period he learned the basics of other instruments including guitar and drums in an effort to put together simple songs. By then, other formidable influences began to take hold.
Casino Versus Japan (recording as Radiogate in 1996 and 1997) found many creative friends and grew into a very supportive and integrated underground electronic music community in Milwaukee. His tenure at Atomic Records, along with writing for the alternative fanzine Milk Magazine, kept him informed of the exciting developments within many styles of innovative, exciting music. While being a rabid music consumer and collector, all of these points became the ingredients of a dedicated music hobby. The rest of the story and in-between are now open for investigation and interpretation."
- Carpark Records
How This Ends is the 12th solo album by Chris Connelly, and it is certainly the most extreme. Picking up from where 2008's Forgiveness & Exile tailed off. In some ways, this is an extension of that, where Chris uses an ensemble cast of musicians, orators and non-musicians to produce something that vacillates between an almost serenely melancholic paradise, and a terrifying hellish vortex of noise. There are no songs on How This Ends - rather one long poem that is both spoken and sung by Chris and his collaborators.
"I wanted to compose without any regard to the song-form. I enjoy writing songs, but I've done it, and I want to try and move forward. To me, my work now is all about the words, and coming up with the best sounds to augment these words. It doesn't have to be a musical instrument. I have in my mind a very clear image, almost like an impressionistic film of what it should be like. The hard part is making sure that nothing is wasted, that every word can carry it's own weight, and that the people I have asked to help are the right people".
And the subject matter is no less grave than Forgiveness & Exile. Forgiveness (sic) was about torture and people being displaced from their homes in trying to escape fascism. How This Ends is about death, genocide, homicide by corrupt powers upon innocents. It's about the people who didn't make it, the ones who either tried, or were taken by surprise."
NYOP at Bandcamp
See Bandcamp Jazz thread -first of three very pleasant jazz vocal EPs
@GP - in many ways it is very similar to Sira; like you no regrets at downloading that album, and I think this will be the same. In some respects I suppose it is really an extension of Sira, and perhaps they might have progressed a bit more. Maybe a second listen later will add to my views.
See Bandcamp Jazz thread for details
Orchestral music by Erkki-Sven Tüür. Two tracks on Guvera. I guess I'd call this Neo-Fin de Siècle.
Just had a pleasant surprise. I bought this a while back, added it to iTunes, but apparently got distracted before I completed the tagging steps that would feed it into my smart playlist rotation. So there is sat unlistened to and forgotten, until it became an unexpected gift this morning.
Yes, similalry I downloaded this in July, just before going away. I'd played it once, and forgot it, do discover again, via BN, last week. And this is just beautiful in the Ablaye Cisokko/Volker Goetze mode. (If one can describe music as beautiful?!)
This is very pretty, thanks Greg, BN, and anyone else in the chain.
Black Beach by First Nations: like a conflagration at a gaming establishment. Was NYOP, but it seems to have disappeared.
Currently:
More from this Estonian composer. A convenient 6 tracks at Guvera.
This has been in my wish list ever since it came out in January. Just now downloaded it. Very, very good southern bluesy roots rock.
Bandcamp
Then
Just downloaded:
Yet another Jonah rec!!!!!