PLAYLIST 07: SUMMER

 

Caroline Quigley of Derry, age 7, was recorded in 1971 singing this famous little song from the early days of the "Troubles" in the six occupied counties of Ireland.  It stems from the bitter "Battle of Bogside" in Derry city when the residents of the Bogside (the main "nationalist" area) for three days successfully fought off the attempts of the Police to enter the neighbourhoods in 1969.  Her mother was Helen Quigley, a very fine singer and a well known member of the Republican Movement in Derry. This is a live recording made at The Bogside Inn in Derry at a special concert organised by members of the Official Republican Movement.

Flaming Tunes was a collaboration between Mary Currie and Gareth Williams, and was originally released on cassette in 1985.  The album was recorded after Gareth left This Heat in the early 1980’s and returned from the first of several trips to India.  Except for its initial release there has been no official edition of FT, although a bootleg CD from the late 1990’s included the tape in its entirety.  It was misleadingly described as "This Heat’s final demo recordings" which was a great cause of annoyance to Gareth.  He considered the Tunes album a deliberate attempt to create a music with a different mood and texture to the often harsh and uncompromising This Heat recordings, whilst giving full reign to his eclectic tastes and distinctive musical stylings.

The Tower Recordings were a group of friends in Brattleboro, Vermont. Revolving around Matt Valentine (featuring at times, PG Six, Helen Rush, Tim Barnes, Samara Lubelski, S. Freyer, Esq., Andre Vida and Dean Roberts), they were one of the more innovative groups bundled under the ever-growing umbrella of the psychedelic folk scene (or "New Weird America" as The Wire would have it). Although they have been largely overlooked in the wake of the bands who were better placed when the media began to take an interest, they’ve consistently been viewed by musicians and discerning fans alike as one of the psych-folk underground’s best kept secrets. With an encyclopedic knowledge of blues and folk traditions and a fascination with the avant-garde, they created a suitably far out sound filled with brittle acoustic picking and mind melting experimentation. The recordings often involved retiring to a suitably isolated and atmospheric location and playing with a tape rolling.  Gradually they folded, with Matt Valentine evolving and creating beautiful work under the MV & EE collective umberella.

The Books are an American duo, formed in New York City in 1999, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong. Their releases typically incorporate samples of obscure sounds and speech.  They have released three critically acclaimed albums on the German label Tomlab, and recently released their fourth studio album, The Way Out, on Temporary Residence Limited. 

Movietone is an English post-rock band.  They formed in Bristol, England in 1994.  Core members are Kate Wright and Rachel Brook (now Rachel Coe).  Brook was also a member of Flying Saucer Attack during the first few years of the band's existence, and Wright is also currently the bass player for Crescent. Other musicians have included Matt and Sam Jones (both of Crescent), Matt Elliott (The Third Eye Foundation), Chris Cole, Florence Lovegrove, Ros Walford and Clare Ring.  2003's The Sand and The Stars was recorded almost entirely live on a beach. 

Ernst Reijseger (born November 13, 1954, Bussum) is a Dutch cellist and composer. He specializes in jazz, improvised music, and contemporary classical music and often gives solo concerts. He has worked with Louis Sclavis, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Misha Mengelberg, Gerry Hemingway, Yo-Yo Ma, Albert Mangelsdorff, Franco D'Andrea, Joëlle Léandre, Georg Gräwe, Trilok Gurtu, and Mola Sylla, and has done several world music projects working with musicians from Sardinia, Turkey, Iran, Senegal, and Argentina, as well as the Netherlands based group Boi Akih.  He has made numerous recordings, both as solo cellist and with other groups, and has been the subject of a documentary film. He has also written several film scores, including scores for two Werner Herzog films: The Wild Blue Yonder and Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

DOWNLOAD THE MP3s:

Caroline Quigley — The Bogside Man
Flaming Tunes — Restless Mind
The Tower Recordings — Ray of Reynardine
The Books — All You Need Is A Wall
Movietone — We Rode On
Ernst Reijseger and Mola Sylla — Su Bolu'e s'Astore

PLAYLIST 03: SUMMER

VOICEsVOICEs is a two piece from Los Angeles, comprised of Jenean Farris and Nico Turner.  From their MySpace page: "VOICEsVOICEs create a sempiternal space filled with sounds and imagery that defy what they've been taught, and challenge what you know. A captivating experiment where two drummers, knowing nothing of the machines and instruments they chose to adopt, construct such hauntingly beautiful music, they awaken even your most subconscious dreams and aversions. A sort of existential realization can occur when these two lovely girls envelope you in their rapturous style of melodic, and at times, rough soundscapes."

Dirty Projectors are a Brooklyn-based experimental rock band led by Dave Longstreth. They have released seven full-length albums through 2010. The band currently consists of Longstreth along with Amber Coffman (vocals, guitar), Angel Deradoorian (vocals, keyboard, samples, guitar, bass), Brian McOmber (drums), Nat Baldwin (bass), and Haley Dekle (vocals). This collaboration with David Byrne is from the Red Hot compilation Dark Was The Night.

The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.  This Italian version of "You Can't Hurry Love" comes from the recently reissued double album "Motown Around the World," a collection of Motown's greatest stars struggling to sing classic soul hits in foreign languages.

Molobali Traoré was born on the Niger river in Macina, and a strong defender of the traditions of the Ségou region. Contrary to many artists of her stature she refused to move to the capital Bamako, and instead settled with her husband in Niono. Ironically it was in Bamako where she died of typhoid on September 16, 2009, at the age of only 43. She leaves behind a husband and two children.  Although she hardly performed outside of the Niono cercle, she was very popular in the whole of Mali. Her songs were mostly moral, directed at the common Malian. If she was a griot, she was a griot of the common man. The heroes of her songs were farmers, workers of the land.

The Books  are an American music duo, formed in New York City in 1999, consisting of guitarist and vocalist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong. Their releases contain a combination of electronic music and folk, typically incorporating samples of obscure sounds and speech.  They have released three critically-acclaimed albums on the German label Tomlab, and are currently preparing for the release of their latest studio album, The Way Out.

Gareth Williams was a British musician best remembered as the bassist and vocalist for the experimental rock group This Heat, and his project with Mary Currie, Flaming Tunes.  From the Flaming Tunes website: "This was a track made by Gareth during the period after the release of the original FT cassette. Again it is built on a fairly cerebral, even mechanical base, with a repeating arpeggio and a descending figure over 12 bars, but the ease of the melody, the humour in the lyrics and the passion of delivery lift it into being one of his most effective songs."

DOWNLOAD THE MP3s:

1. VOICEs VOICEs - Origins
2. Dirty Projectors & David Byrne - Knotty Pine
3. Diana Ross & The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love (L'Amore Verra)
4. Molobali Traore - (traditional)
5. The Books - Beautiful People
6. Gareth Williams - Nothing On