A slow build takes place in just three short songs performed at the NPR Music offices in January 2012 – from a guitar instrumental to the final primal cry of “Jezebel”. Calvi plays three songs from her self-titled debut in this powerful performance at the NPR Music offices: “River To The Sea”, “Surrender” and “Jezebel”.
Category Archives: music
bill callahan – tiny desk concert
Recorded live at the NPR Music offices in July 2009, this triptych is really worth a listen – the man formerly known as SMOG writes exquisitely. The three songs performed are “Jim Cain”, “Rococo Zephyr” and “Too Many Birds”. More information HERE.
grinderman – palaces of montezuma
ukulele orchestra of great britain – pretty girls
nadine shah – are you with me?
“Shah is a singer-songwriter of Norwegian and Pakistani parentage from a small coastal village in the north-east of England, but she could just as easily be the result of a steamy union in the capital some time in the early-90s between Polly Harvey and Nick Cave. That’s the lineage to which her dark tales of lust and loss, revenge and regret belong, although she also cites as influences everyone from Philip Larkin and Frida Kahlo to Interpol and Arthur Russell (something in the tremulousness of her voice bears the latter out) as well as the religious Sufi songs that her father would play during car rides and the ghazals he sang in Urdu around the house… There is romance in her backstory, even if it’s not of the troubled variety. Shah grew up on a rocky cliff overlooking the North Sea. Her mum was a sea captain’s daughter, and her dad was the exotic stranger who stole her heart. Her debut album will be called Love From Dum And Mad, its title capturing the intriguing split in Shah’s character between loving family girl and avenging banshee.”
– Paul Lester, The Guardian
The Aching Bones EP was released on 19 November 2012 by Label Fandango. More from Nadine Shah HERE.
music for its own sake
“Life is like music for its own sake. We are living in an eternal now, and when we listen to music, we are not listening to the past, we are not listening to the future, we are listening to an expanded present.”
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
~ Alan Watts
lhasa – anywhere on this road
From The Living Road (2003).
“unbound” tonight at greatmore studios’ 2012 showcase
Fleurmach highly recommends that you check out Greatmore Studios‘ Showcase 2012, particularly tonight’s live improvisational performance, entitled ‘Unbound’. Don’t miss this once-off collaboration, involving sound by musicians Alex Bozas, Garth Erasmus and Niklas Zimmer, dance by Jacki Job and photography of the performance projected live by Noncedo Gxekwa.
When? Wednesday 28 November (TONIGHT!). Doors open 18h00. Live performance commences 18h30.
Where? 47-49 Greatmore St, Woodstock, Cape Town. Map HERE.
The live performance will accompany an extensive exhibition by resident artists, visiting artists and guests, which promises to be really worthwhile. More info HERE.
Greatmore Studios is an artist-run initiative based in Cape Town. It revolves around a pool of permanent artists, an international visiting-artists-in-residency programme and a range of workshops and other activities. This initiative forms part of the Triangle Arts Trust, a United Kingdom-based organisation that facilitates an international network of artist-led workshops and residencies. This association affords artists access to information and opportunities to exchange ideas and skills with other artists around the world.
depeche mode – waiting for the night to fall
From Violator (Mute/Stumm 64, 1990)
“And when I squinted, the world seemed rose-tinted
And angels appeared to descend
To my surprise, with half-closed eyes
Things looked even better than when they were open…”
lil louis – blackout (1989)
shakespears sister – black sky (the black dub)
From Shakespears Sister (sic) “Goodbye Cruel World” 12″
Label: London Records – lonx 309, London Records – 869 199-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Limited Edition, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1991
i’m glad i never…
“I’m sure glad I never… Ain’t you glad I never… Be glad I never owned a gun.”
Lee Hazlewood cover by Lambchop. Original HERE.
the breeders – wicked little town
Beautiful cover version from Wig In A Box – Songs From And Inspired By Hedwig And The Angry Inch (2003).
gr†llgr†ll – if u cAn dR3Am – pRinc3ss3s
more HERE.
baloji with konono n°1 – karibu ya bintou (english subtitles)
From the album Kinshasa Succursale (Crammed Discs, 2011)
Video shot in the streets of Kinshasa.
Electric thumb piano (likembé) played by Konono N°1, the legendary Congolese band whose junkyard sonics and trademark “Congotronics” sound has had a major influence on the electronic and indie rock scenes.
Directors: Spike and Jones
DOP: Nicolas Karakatsanis
Producer: Annemie Decorte (Dr. Film)
Styling: Ann Lauwerys
Mask: Katrien Matthys
More info:
http://www.baloji.com
http://www.crammed.be
sweet smoke – just a poke (full album) – 1970
Studio album, released in 1970
Tracks
1. Baby night (16:24)
2. Silly Sally (16:22)
Total Time: 32:46
Musicians
– Andrew Dershin / bass
– Jay Dorfman / drums, percussion
– Marvin Kaminowitz / lead guitar, vocals
– Michael Paris / tenor saxophone, alto recorder, vocals, percussion
– Steve Rosenstein / rhythm guitar, vocals
Release information
LP EMI/Electrola 1C 064-28886 / LP EMI/Electrola 1C 062-28886 / LP EMI/Harvest 054-24311 / CD EMI CDP 538-7 48871 (1990)
micachu – turn me well (2009)
“Get to me and turn me well; I’m a tired soul.”
Album: Jewellery
Label: Rough Trade Records/Accidental
Video Director & Editor: Joan Guasch
great southern land
john jacob niles – look down that lonesome road
tricky & martina topley bird – suffocated love
“I think ahead of you… I think instead of you.”
Performed live, the disjointed conglomerate of sighing, stuttering samples becomes a sunny little menace on Later… with Jools Holland, 1996.
why the caged bird sings
“[A] caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing…”
From I know why the caged bird sings – Maya Angelou
björk in conversation with arvo pärt (1997)
“I like your music very, very much, because you give space to the listener. He can go inside and live there. But a lot of music from the last few centuries, you just have to sit, and listen.”
Björk interviews Arvo Pärt for the BBC program ‘Modern Minimalists’ (1997).
the exotics – i was alone
US garage psych from 1966.
my autumn’s done come (letter to romy)
Based on the unfinished film by Henri George Clouzot, L’Enfer” (Inferno), with the beautiful Romy Schneider. Music by Lee Hazlewood.
feedbackpiece
An improvisation with microphone, guitar effects pedal and bongos.
sezen aksu – hıdrellez (1997)
Turkish language version of the Roma song “Ederlezi”, made famous outside the Balkans via Goran Bregovic’s version in Emir Kusturica’s film, Time of the Gypsies.
The song got its name from Ederlezi (Turkish: Hıdırellez) which is a spring festival celebrated by Roma people in the Balkans, Turkey and elsewhere around the world.
From Wikipedia:
Hıdırellez or Hıdrellez (Turkish: Hıdrellez or Hıdırellez, Azerbaijani: Xıdır İlyas or Xıdır Nəbi, Crimean Tatar: Hıdırlez, Romani language: Ederlezi) is celebrated in Turkey and throughout the Turkic world as the day on which prophets Hızır (Al-Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on the earth. Hıdırellez starts on May 5 night and falls on May 6 in the Gregorian calendar and on April 23 in the Julian calendar. It celebrates the arrival of spring and is a religious holiday for the Alevi as well. Đurđevdan or the Feast of Saint George is the Christian variety of this spring festival celebrated throughout the Balkans, including Serbia and Bulgaria, notably in areas under the control of the Ottoman Empire by the end of the 16th century.
There are various theories about the origin of Hızır and Hıdırellez. Ceremonies and rituals were performed for various gods with the arrival of the spring or summer in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran and other Mediterranean countries since ancient times. One widespread belief suggests that Hızır attained immortality by drinking the water of life. He often wanders the earth, especially in the spring, helping people in difficulty. People see him as a source of bounty and health, as the festival takes place in Spring, the time of new life.
English translation:
Spring has come,
I’ve tied a red pouch on a rose’s branch,
I’ve vowed a house with two rooms
In the name of a lover
The mountain is green, the branches are green
They’ve awakened for the bayram (festival day)
All hearts are happy
Only my fate is black
The scent of jonquils is everywhere,
It’s time.
This spring, I’m the only one
Whom the bayram has not affected
Don’t cry, Hıdrellez
Don’t cry for me
I’ve sowed pain, and instead of it,
Love will sprout, will sprout
In another spring.
He has neither a way (known) nor a trace
His face is not familiar
The long and short of it,
My wish from the God is love.
I don’t have anyone to love, I don’t have a partner
One more day has dawned.
O my star of luck,
Smile on me!
(Translation based on the one here; not sure how good it is!)
tiqqun – la congiura sacra – san francisco bay blues
Tiqqun – La Congiura Sacra – Operation Acephale 2 – San Francisco Bay Blues
end of the century – the story of the ramones
the birthday party – junkyard (live)
Birthday Party appearance on Gotterdammerung, German TV.
ACHTUNG: Watching this video could make you pregnant (all that thrusting and grinding).
katibim (üsküdar’a gider iken) – my scribe (going to üsküdar) (1929)
Folk song, recorded in 1949 in Istanbul. Sung by Safiye Ayla. Played with violin, kanun, ud and clarinet. This recording is in the public domain. You can download it HERE.
Background
Üsküdar (Scottary), now a section of Istanbul on the Anatolian (Asian) side, used to be a village/town across the Bosphorus from Istanbul proper, where nursing began during the Crimean War (British and French assisted Turks against Russia, 1854-56).
There is much fascinating debate about the origins of this song. Whose Is This Song? is a documentary made about the subject by Adela Peeva in 2003. Here’s the blurb:
“In her search for the true origins of a haunting melody, the filmmaker travels to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria. The trip is filled with humour, suspense, tragedy and surprise as each country’s citizens passionately claim the song to be their own and can even furnish elaborate histories for its origins. The tune emerges again and again in different forms: as a love song, a religious hymn, a revolutionary anthem, and even a Scottish military march. The powerful emotions and stubborn nationalism raised by one song seem at times comical and other times, eerily telling. In a region besieged by ethnic hatred and war, what begins as a light-hearted investigation ends as a sociological and historical exploration of the deep misunderstandings between the people of the Balkans.”
You can watch the preview HERE.
Lyrics
Here’s a translation of the Turkish version’s lyrics (a compound I have made from various versions I found online), which have been credited in some places to Nuri Halil Poyraz (1885 – 1950) and Muzaffer Sarisozen (1899 – 1963):
On the way to Üsküdar, it started raining
My scribe (katip) wears a frock coat, its long skirt muddied
He has just woken from sleep: his eyes are languid
The scribe is mine; I am his; hands will intertwine
It looks so lovely on my scribe, that starched shirt of his
On the way to Üsküdar, I found a handkerchief
I filled the handkerchief with Turkish delight (lokum)
As I was looking for my helper, I found him next to me
The scribe is mine; I am his; what is it to others?
It looks so lovely on my clerk, that starched shirt of his.
fleurmach 