Obituary: Bill Withers
“It matters not where I come from in relation to the world, as long as the world and I arrive at a common point at a common time”. So say the sleeve notes on Bill Withers’ debut album ‘Just As I Am’ (released on the dubious Sussex Records, the same that made a mint from …
Album Review: Roger Eno and Brian Eno – Mixing Colours
Brian is unarguably the better known of the Eno brothers, mainly for his metamorphosis from priapic glam-peacock synth boffin to visionary producer and ambient music pioneer. Roger though has discreetly carved out a career as a creator of instrumental music with an impressive back-catalogue of over thirty albums. This album isn’t the first time the …
Not Forgotten: Zombie Zombie – plays John Carpenter
This 5 track mini-album from 2010 is a synth slice of sonic delight. French electro-pop duo Zombie Zombie, comprising of Etienne Jaumet and Cosmic Neman (though these days they are a trio, having been joined by a Dr. Schönberg) decided to go for the jugular of their influences. Namely the minimal haunting analogue throb of …
Album Review: The Orb – Abolition of the Royal Familia
When George Harrison wrote ‘It’s All Too Much’ after encounters with LSD, he was voicing that feeling of overwhelming-ness the drug induced in him. That same feeling would later be experienced by late 80s/early 90s ravers, and led to Alex Paterson inadvertently inventing the “chill-out room” to sooth their melting heads. One album that greatly …
Live: The Lost Tapes/ Reservoir, Le Garage, Liège, Belgium
Local duo ‘Reservoir’ open tonight’s show with a lush guitar-driven set, oozing post-punk Manchester. With left-handed bass and right-handed guitar they even evoke that visual Beatles symmetry, and throwing in a cover of New Order’s ‘Ceremony’ is a smart move and beautifully executed. No-one else is mining that rich seam of indie bliss in these …
TRACK – 4’33 – THE NORMAL
Despite creating Mute Records, launching Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode, and then blazing a trail with Yazoo, The Birthday Party and a zillion more to become the indie label of all time, founder Daniel Miller’s moniker, The Normal has been strangely quiet since 1978. His one release, ‘TVOD/Warm Leatherette’ that initially launched the label was …
Live: Best Kept Secret Festival, NETHERLANDS – 31 May – 2 June 2019
The Best Kept Secret festival in Hilvarenbeek is an absolute pearler, and believe me I’ve been to a few. From the life-affirming, (Glastonbury in the ’80s) to the life-threatening, (Treworgy Tree Fayre ’89 – two dead, two hundred arrested and a dead sheep in the water supply). Constructed around a lake in a forest, the …
Live Review: Electric Soft Parade/Julien Bouchard – Flat Sessions, Fallais, Belgium. 03/05/2018
A former cow shed in the Belgian countryside isn’t every band’s idea of a dream booking, but with London venues closing in their droves, savvy artists now need to look further afield (ouch!), and they could do a lot worse than chez Calo and Murielle in the pastoral village of Fallais. From modest beginnings, these …
W Fest, Amougies, Belgium 15-19/08/2018
W Fest in deepest Belgium, sits 30km from the French border, and now in its third year is becoming a major draw for music fans of all ages with a dark side (with a strong showing of 50-somethings). My failed attempts to land the job of stage presenter resulted in me being offered campsite manager, …
The Damned – Melkweg, Amsterdam 27/05/2018
There’s nobody like The Damned. You couldn’t make ’em up. A Nosferatu frontman, and a guitarist half Danny Kaye and half Honey Monster. Original punk innovators who did everything first but somehow got pushed aside, for not taking themselves too seriously. Amidst the posturing and posing of The Clash et al, they were the custard …