My thoughts on "holding on letting go" by Peter James

I was very fortunate to make the acquaintance of Peter James after I reviewed his album "memento" recently. He's a really nice chap and was kind enough to send me a copy of an earlier album of his... "holding on letting go".

I have been listening to it for most of the weekend and have been blown away by it's beauty, grace and eloquent expression.

In fact, a phrase that keeps circling my head is "the unforced rhythms of grace". This album epitomises this thought... there is nothing hurried, nothing forced in the drones and soundscapes... they are gifts freely given... providing rest for those who are weary.

I found this album to be remarkably peaceful... it brought considerable calm to me and helped me to really rest... to switch off and allow myself to be enveloped in the soundscapes... to be immersed in the drones.

Some people may find that surprising considering the darker, more dissonant, elements of tracks like "in the face of loss" and "crossing through"... but the light is never far away on this recording and it becomes all the clearer and all the dearer after spending time in these darker nooks.

I particular like James' approach to music-making... and am in awe of his use of real instruments to create the drones on this recording. He brings a sense of the organic to the table, which I really like... and consider inspired.

I could list each track and recount all the desirable qualities that they individually contain... but this is an album that needs to be experienced... it needs to be felt in deeper most recesses of the soul.  It would be inappropriate for me to do so... I would prefer that you discovered it for yourself.

I would thoroughly recommend this album. I have gained through listening to it. I can see it staying on my most immediate listening devices for sometime to come.

Tx

My thoughts on... "M Savers"

I got a flyer through my door yesterday that was advertising Morrison's rebranded 'value' range... "M Savers". Normally I don't take time to examine junk mail... but something in the presentation made me stop and look.

I really like the simple, clean white packaging with a bold graphic that, in most cases, clearly and concisely represents the product... apart from the blue dog on the nappies... that is unless they are nappies for dogs?

I'm not a huge fan of 'quirky' fonts but the font used in the description really works... especially alongside the helvetica of the "M Savers" brandname.

I did some digging and found this article on packagingnews.co.uk... which names Cole Porter Bell as the agency responsible for the rebranding of 350 of Morrison's value products.

In the article representatives of the agency talk of creating "engaging designs"... on instilling the products with "charm".

“Morrisons’ new positioning is all about food culture and a human touch. These designs , which look handcrafted and quirky , contribute to the feeling that even Morrisons’ most humble products have been cared for by people.”

I like the sentiment... albeit it is obviously a response to growing trends for all things handmade. And whilst these products weren't handmade... their redesign is a welcome one for me... its nice to see some thought going into the value range... especially around such simple yet strong and effective graphics.

Have a wee look below to see what I mean.

Tx

PS... this article is not an endorsement of these products but a recognition that their design is indeed charming.

The illustrations in the end credits of "Rango"

Just finished watching Rango. Its a good film and well worth watching for its imaginative update of the Western genre.

What really impressed me were the end credits... which can be viewed above. The illustrations used are just superb, in my view, and well worth sharing.

Enjoy.

Tx

Seven questions... with Richard Roberts aka Zero Ohms

Yesterday I posted a link to my review of "Worlds, Afterworlds" by Zero Ohms from the Relaxed Machinery netlabel. In a word, I thought it was excellent.

I caught up with Richard Roberts aka Zero Ohms over on the ning site Relaxed Machinery run (http://relaxedmachinery.ning.com)... we connected and I asked him if he wouldn't mind responding to my wee interview. I was delighted when he did... here's what he had to say:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
Zero Ohms aka Richard Roberts, I play a lot of flutes and other wind instruments, including wind-controlled synthesizers, and I record them into beatless ambient music ranging from the ethereal to the occasionally experimental.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
At this moment I am taking several weeks off from recording, after doing the three albums last year. The first of them, “Worlds, Afterworlds” by Zero Ohms is out now on Relaxed Machinery. And then I have just completed my third collaboration with Craig Padilla, called “When the Earth Is Far Away”, and it’s tentatively slated for release this fall on Lotuspike. The third is another solo album called the Process of Being which I am re-working and should be finished with in the next few weeks.


3) Who inspires you?


- Name an artist who has inspired you.
There are so many who’ve opened my ears, so to speak! But to choose only one, I’d say flautist Paul Horn. I heard his “Inside the Great Pyramid” album in ’86. The sound of his solo flute in that space was so pure, so beautiful! And I thought, “I could do that!” So I went out and bought a DAT recorder and mic, and set about recording in anyplace that sounded interesting. I also began playing out live solo, with four flutes, a good reverb unit and tiny PA system, playing more or less like Horn had played on that album, and selling cassettes of my recordings, too.


- Name place that has inspired you.
Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. It’s the highest point in the USA east of the Mississippi River. The views are spectacular, the place smells like Christmas trees, and the sweet silence up there is so profound, it’s a deafening roar! It really recharges my batteries. In that silence, I can hear melodies and chords pouring through so easily at times, that have been the beginnings of many pieces.


- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
Again, so many things have given me inspiration, the space program, stargazing through my telescope, red-tailed hawks soaring, but to narrow it down to one single thing, it’d have to be the bass flute (see picture above). I was aware of the bass flute for years, it was a staple of 60s television soundtracks, Ray Thomas of the Moody Blues used it extensively on their studio albums (but never live, to my knowledge); I even heard Johnny Almond play one when the Jon Mark-Johnny Almond band played in Memphis in the 70s. But the first time I played a bass flute – wow! The feeling was astounding, overwhelming, and as I played, I tried to pin down the feeling, to name it, asking myself what does this feel like? The one word that returned by was of answer floored me: ‘home’. This felt like home. Which is a little odd, as I never felt home associated with a geographical coordinate, like most folks do with a home town or a particular house, and so forth. My home is in a sound.


4) What drives you to do what you do?
That still, small voice within. A hope that things can be better. A belief that what I do can make a positive contribution toward that betterment.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
To slow the vibes down a bit, to facilitate a sense of timelessness in the listener, discovering themselves being more than they perceive, by creating other worlds with sound and inviting the listener along to explore those worlds.


6) What role does community play in what you do?
Well, without community, everything I do would be the sound of a tree falling in the forest. Community provides feedback, a sounding board, a reflection. It allows me to perceive ‘me.’ And in so doing, provides the community with a reflection of itself as well.


7) What is next for what you do?
To begin again. More field recordings, more studio work. More worlds to create and explore.

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Thanks Richard! I particularly love your answer to the sixth question... "community allows me to perceive 'me'" (if I can paraphrase slightly).

Please check out "Worlds, Afterworlds" by Zero Ohms... and do your bit to support truly independent music.

Tx

Books with great covers... part 2 :: Alexander McCall Smith

I found this book - "The Girl who married a Lion" - in the same charityshop that I found "At the End of the Rainbow". The Amazon blurb describes it as follows...

"The Ndebele people of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, from whom these stories originate, are renowned as the proud descendants of the Zulu nation. They are also the possessors of a language rich in beauty and musicality. From animal fables to mysterious forces residing in the landscape, this collection demonstrates the wealth and variety of African folk tales and the particular magic of Africa's spiritual roots: a sense of unity with the environment. Simple, surprising, cruel and humorous, these beautifully rendered tales remain as fresh and vital as the original African idiom."

I can't wait to delve into it.

Anyway... it got me thinking about how awesome the covers of Alexander McCall Smith's African books are. They are bold, vibrant and really give a sense of the story within... so it made sense to feature them in my "books with great covers" series.

Apart from "The Girl who married a Lion"... the remaining books should be in chronological order:

























I hope you agree they are bold, vibrant and give a sense of the story within?

I'll post some more soon... but for now, enjoy them.

Tx

My review of "Worlds, Afterworlds" by Zero Ohms is now up on Alternative Matter

"/...And excellent it is… a beautiful expression of ambient electronic music. Wonderfully and unashamedly longform… at least in part… and adeptly presented. 

The opening track – “Translation” – is a masterpiece of a pastoral soundscape… it evokes the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere… not the menace of being alone but the quiet but jubilant elation of being one with nature… one with Creation in all her glorious expression. Birds cheap. Planes fly overhead. You, the listener, are immersed in a safe pocket of wonder and awe. Truly beautiful and coming in at just over 28 minutes… an example of how great longform ambient soundscapes can be.../"

Read the rest over at Alternative Matter

"At the End of the Rainbow" with illustrations by Jan Kudlacek

I found this awesome book in one of my local chartyshops this morning... it caught my attention with illustrations that just enthralled me. I had to have it... and I had to share these illustrations with you.

The book is entitled "At the End of the Rainbow"... it contains folk tales from throughout the world retold by Jiri Serych and has numerous extraordinarily beautiful illustrations by Jan Kudlacek. It was published in 1984 by Orbis Publishing in London with graphic design by Ales Krejca... albeit there is no mention of the font it is set in (its Baskerville Regular and Baskerville Roman, I think).

Enjoy some of the illustrations contained within...

Media Surfaces... a couple of interesting videos from Dentsu

Media surfaces: Incidental Media from Dentsu London on Vimeo.


Media surfaces: The Journey from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

I found these videos really interesting and wanted to share them... I particularly liked Dentsu London's communication principles...

We used some principles in the brief to act as constraints to help our thinking. These come from a belief that the growing ubiquity of media surfaces is something that could be dreadful, but could also be brilliant – and perhaps magical. They were that communications should: 

• Allow for agency – the ability to control and affect your own and your shared environment in the face of communications. Magic, play and information is a choice, never an infliction. 
• Be polite – earning or winning attention (as opposed to interruptive media). 
• Be sensible to their environment and human context – i.e. the antithesis of spam. 
• Contribute culturally – considering and enhancing their context, seeking to be creative and magical (not merely efficient, efficacious, expedient).

Dentsu London - Making Future Magic: Media Surfaces

I am intentionally trying to engage less with Twitter & Facebook during the day... taking "fag breaks" every-so-often to catch up but not jumping every time I hear a buzz or a chirp. In fact, I lock my iPhone away in a hacked floppy disc holder (it has a proper lock with key) and use my first generation iPhone during work-hours. Only my work and my immediate family have that number... and it doesn't have any money on it so I can't dial out or connect to media.

That said... I like the "Trickle" apps on my iPhone and iPad... Trickle for Twitter... and Trickle for Facebook. I use them regularly when I am on my MBP. I glance at them the way I glance at a clock.  I like the idea of ambient news sources that provide short bursts of information... and the integration with personal media sources seems like the next thing. Dentsu London's principles are essential for these sources to work... I don't want spammed at... I want to choose when to interact and will only interact with media that has not only earned my attention but will enhance my life in some way. I hope Apple take this into account if (or more likely when) they bring their TV to the market.

Anyway... I liked these videos... they got me thinking... and I hope they make you think too.

Tx

(with thanks to Russell Davies for posting the videos)

Three recent reviews...

"To Forget is stunning… a masterpiece of atmospheric expression. Their use of more acoustic instrumentation and percussion to create such a vibrant melancholia is truly inspired… and the pairing of West Thordson and Sonja Larson is simply meant to be."

Alternative Matter

"On this EP, Khan has created four guitar-orientated ambient pieces that are as subtle and delicate as a field of wild flowers and equally exquisite."

The Future Elements

"Overall, I wasn’t disappointed with this compilation… it contains moments of excellence with some superb, predominately post-rock, soundscapes and a considerable amount of good that really bodes well for the future of music from China."

The Future Elements

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I am really enjoying reviewing albums for both Alternative Matter and The Future Elements... I've been very fortunate in that what I have been assigned has been, in the most part, really rather good. It's been a great experience so far.

Tx

What I listened to this month... January 2012

Please Note: these 'plays' are taken from the plays scrobbled to my last.fm account (MBP, iPad, iPhones & iPods) and don't include music played on my hifi or in the car.

What are you listening to?

Tx