Loving ... Shawn Hazen's Bookworship

I love well designed book covers ... and particularly love it when I stumble across a site dedicated to showcasing the very best covers. Its like having the books but without the grief that comes from the SO when you buy them.

bookworship is one such site ... and what a site it is!



I've added a few faves that stand out ... including a mandatory Pelican classic.



If you like a well designed book cover then I would highly recommend checking out bookworship.

Shawn Hazen, the graphic designer behind the project, explains his rationale in the 'about' section:

"This site represents the obsessions of an atypical book collector. While I certainly love “valuable” books, that’s not necessarily what you’ll see here. For the most part, these are graphically interesting, but otherwise uncollectible, books that entered and exited bookstores quietly in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I read a lot of these books, but my motivations for posting them here are primarily visual, since I’m a graphic designer. That’s why it’ll be a bit of a mixed bag."

I like your mixed bag Shawn ... thank you for sharing these books!

Tx

Note: All images taken from bookworship

Seven questions with ... Michel de Jong aka Arafúra

Facebook's "Other Messages" folder has a lot to answer for. Michel de Jong, the man behind Arafúra and member of IZAH, made contact a while ago and I missed it.

I only found out about this folder last night ... and when I did, I had a number of people to contact and apologise to ... including de Jong. We got talking ... I told him how much I enjoyed his EP "Humores I - IV" ... and asked him if he'd consider answering a few questions. This is what he had to say:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
I'm Michel de Jong, conceptual creater and owner of the organic ambient project called Arafúra. I'm also part of a sludge/post-metal sextet called IZAH, wherein I play guitar, keys and software programming. Audio engineering and sound design are part of my freelance jobs and besides music, which is a huge part of my life, I'm also a social worker.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
Currently I'm working on the Arafúra debut full length, which is a pretty grand endeavour. I'm also setting up plans for getting Arafúra ready to be a live experience.


3) Who inspires you?
- Name an artist who has inspired you.
There are a few that have inspired me; Jónsi & Alex, Sigur Rós, Hammock and Björk are a few that have been a constant thread in my life.

- Name a place that has inspired you.
Having lived on the streets for six months when I was 18 years old has been an experience that I'll never forget. It's therefore 'the streets' I'd have to name as a place that has inspired me and affected me the most.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
The feeling of loss and tied to that; hope. Bliss in sadness.


4) What drives you to do what you do?
An urge to create, in all honesty. It's a primal force that I can't seem to shake. Music, for me, is one of the most rudimentary forms of art when it comes to the tying into of emotions. Moving people is an extremely humble experience, something which I'm extremely grateful for every time I hear someone wholeheartedly embracing what I create.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
Accepting the cyclicality of life. Birth and death are the most unmovable forces of life and I think Arafúra reflects this cyclicality while feeling that all hope isn't necessarily lost, quite the opposite, actually. It's makes the journey all the more meaningful due to its inevitable end and I feel that feeling is conveyed quite strongly.


6) What role does community play in what you do?
A huge role. I keep close contact with people that operate in the ambient community and I feel we're a pretty tight group that keeps in contact as much as we can. It opens possibilities regarding helping each other out. For example, I mastered Orbit Over Luna's latest release - "Transit" - and Shannon Penner, in return, has done a few visual things for Arafúra. I also keep close contact with the Tasselmyer brothers of The Sound of Rescue / HOTEL NEON and talk on a semi-regular basis with Bob Guido to see how we're coming along with our work and our lives. I've also collaborated with Rhian Sheehan and was featured on his latest release - "Stories From Elsewhere".


7) What is next for what you do?
Finishing the Arafúra full length is definitely high priority, next to that bringing Arafúra to the live stage is something that's an important part of the future journey of Arafúra as well. Besides all that, I try to keep an experimental workflow to see if I can surprise my listeners, but mostly; surprise myself.

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Thanks Michel!

I have imbedded "Humores I - IV" to let you hear why I really, really like it as a piece of music.

Loving ... "Sick Glass" by Cutty's Gym

As a band Cutty's Gym have a fluidity, a movement that is infectious, and this comes out in their debut EP "Sick Glass". This energy is impossible to resist and while I can only imagine their antics in a live setting, they have captured something of their expression on the four tracks that make up the EP.

Cutty’s Gym are a two-piece guitar (Craig McIntyre) & drums (Iain Stewart) combo that play a progressive, groove-orientated instrumental Math Rock. They are a tight unit and it shows with all the twists and turns they pour into their tracks.

Their sound reminds me of a stripped-back The Fierce And The Dead with McIntyre, the guitarist, hinting at the genius of Matt Stevens.

They are not TFATD nor are they The Black Keys or The White Stripes ... Cutty’s Gym have their own sound and have all the potential to become their own unique musical force. Their debut EP "Sick Glass" points to this potential and, with hard work & a bit of luck, they will realise all they are capable of.

I look forward to hearing more from the duo, especially in a live setting where I think they will really come alive.

I would recommend "Sick Glass" to anyone with a passion for progressive, groove-laden, guitar-orientated Math Rock ... take  a wee listen below to hear what I'm talking about. If you like it then please support Cutty’s Gym as best you can.

Tx

Seven questions with ... Craig McIntyre from Cutty's Gym

Every-so-often someone finds the ol' nanolog by accident, they dig what I'm about and ask me to check out their music ... and every-so-often their music clicks with me and I want to know more.

Case in point is Glaswegian two-piece rock outfit "Cutty's Gym". The girlfriend of Craig McIntyre (the guitarist in the band) found the blog using the following terms - blog, glasgow, southside & Tycho - and liked what she saw ... and told McIntyre.

McIntyre got in touch ... I checked out their music and really, really liked what I heard. I do have a soft spot for The Black Keys and other two-piece outfits (White Stripes, anyone?) ... I dig the energy and immediacy of this style of music ... it acts as ginger to cleanse my palate from all the tasty ambient and post-rock soundscapes I consume on a daily basis.

McIntyre came over as a sound bloke so I asked if he'd be interested in telling me a wee bit more about what drives his creative expression ... he responded almost immediately and then was very quick in responding with the following:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
I am Craig McIntyre I'm 24 from Glasgow, Scotland and I play guitar in the two-piece "rock" band Cutty's Gym. This band is now one year old, and we recently released our debut EP Sick Glass on Bloc+Music. I would describe the music as experimental, dancey, rock.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
Having completed the writing of the EP some months ago we have begun writing our first album, its a relatively slow process as we always like to try new approaches to writing music. The band was started based on improvisation, and the first few shows were exclusively improvised. Now that has evolved into a way of improvising upon basic structures of songs that we write and record one particular way, but can play in all sorts of different ways live.


3) Who inspires you? 
- Name an artist who has inspired you.
- Name place that has inspired you.
- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.

I am continually inspired by music I hear, artists I see, or read about. Sometimes just by the approach an artist has taken more than the end result. I alway searching for something just a little different, more recently for me I have been listening to a lot of jazz, and some blues and folk. One artist in particular would be Charlie Parker the saxophonist, who was entirely influenced by everything that came before but using it and playing it in his own way.

I wouldn't necessarily say there is a Scottish influence on the way our music sounds, but growing up and living in Scotland has definitely influenced the two of us, and always seeps into the more of the feeling behind the music.


4) What drives you to do what you do? 
I just get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction out of writing and performing music, and have always ensured I can do this as much as physically possible.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
Our music has a lot to do with the live performance as well as the recording, and with the live show we are always hoping people can engage with the show and it's all about a good fun time. As daft as that might sound a lot of what I did in the past was driven by a lot of negativity surrounding the music or ethos of the band, this got very tiring and I wanted to make my new band have a more positive effect.


6) What role does community play in what you do?
Glasgow as a community of musicians is very important. I have toured quite extensively in England and throughout Europe and I always feel when I return home that Glasgow has something special. Being so small, but teeming with creativity it is hard not to be affected by that and it encourages you to involve yourself in that community.


7) What is next for what you do?
We have been to France and Belgium a couple of times now in the past year so we intend to continue playing around Scotland and England more this year and finish writing the album. Once written we will try and see if there is anyone interested in working with us to release it.

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My thanks to McIntyre for his response ... and to his girlfriend (whose name I don't know) for pointing him over here. It is appreciated.

Have a listen to Cutty's Gym's EP ... and, if you like what you hear, do your bit to support independent music:

May 2014's Wallpaper

The wallpaper for May 2014 was taken during our Easter break at Rouken Glen park in Glasgow. I have a thing for daffodils and thought they looked rather special on the top of a hill.

Usual flavours are available below.

Tx

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What I listened to in April 2014 ...

Being off my work has had an effect on my iPhone / iPod listening ... with the majority of listening done in the car or on my  hi-fi.

That said ... Row Boat's new album - "In Between" - is a cracker that I simply couldn't get enough of as I struggled to review it for This Is Not A Scene. Same goes for Twincities' and Matt Stevens' new solo album ... both cracking listens. I also was given the privilege of revisiting "Transit" by Orbit Over Luna for Echoes and Dust.

I've attached a few Bandcamp players below to give you a feel for these artists.

John Debney and Peter Gabriel also feature for their 'Easter' music ... their soundtracks for "the Passion of the Christ" and "the Last Temptation of Christ" respectively.

Tx

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Loving ... "variations for the celesta" by Twincities

"variations for the celesta" by Twincities is a truly magical experience. From the opening sounds of 'prelude in E major' to the closing reverb of a bell on '(sings)' I was gently held under Fletcher McDermott's spell.

When you consider all the tracks were based around recordings of an old celesta that McDermott personally made and that approximately 80% of the audio on “variations for the celesta” is originally from the celesta, it is easy to consider why one would become so easily entranced.

The soundscapes presented on this, the first release on the fledgling microlabel "eilean rec." from Mathias Van Eecloo of Monolyth & Cobalt, are stunning. They bewitch the listener with their subtlety and effortless grace. It seems ironic how utterly effortless these tracks sound considering the effort McDermott has actually put into them ... but they are. The music seems almost natural as if it is an expression of the natural world, an expression that just needs to be found and heard.

No single track stands out to me on “variations for the celesta”  because all the tracks work together to form a body of work that is simply magnificent. Through the exemplary electronic manipulation of the sounds, the listener is given an immersive body of work to rest within and experience.

And I think this is the key to the magic of this album, it needs to be experienced. While “variations for the celesta” can and does work well as 'background music' it deserves so much more ... it deserves the listener's attention. Like all the best magic tricks, the listener needs to suspend their disbelief and allow themselves to be enveloped. This is headphone music of the very best sort, it deserves attention and rewards this attention with some of the very best ambient soundscapes I have heard in a long, long time.

Highly recommended.

Tx

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Tracklisting
1. prelude in E major 03:03
2. evenings wait; the morning’s break 07:59
3. early ferns 04:08
4. the sun looks quite ghostly when there’s a mist on the river and everything’s quiet 03:46
5. faint whirs of the smallest motor 03:55
6. they carried teapots and tiny gas canisters 01:30
7. a ship’s bell (sings) 05:06
8. the weight of the frost on a branch 05:59
9. and the guitar plays war hymns 06:23
10. (sings) 06:22

Loving ... "A good land, an excellent land" by Tiny Leaves

I'm not entirely sure what prompted me but I picked up "a good land, an excellent land" by Tiny Leaves ... I realised that I didn't have it and wanted to hear it. I had the album on my iPhone thanks to my Rdio subscription and it was one of the few albums I missed when I killed my sub.

I did a Seven Questions with Joel Pike aka Tiny Leaves last year (link) but never followed it up with some thoughts on the album ... so I thought I would after Pike kindly upgraded my purchase to include the CD as well as the download (thanks Joel!)

"a good land, an excellent land" by Tiny Leaves features some exemplary neo classical soundscapes ... with Pike playing piano and guitar on all 8 tracks, Susie Shaw playing cello on 5 out of the 8 tracks, Marianne Windham playing double bass on 3 tracks and Rob Wilson playing violin on 4 tracks. Shaw's cello is particularly haunting ... as Mark Wardale mentioned to me this morning when commenting on the above photo in my Facebook feed.

I would go so far as to say the whole album is haunting ... certainly in the way that it stays with you long after it has stopped playing.

It opens with 'beginning' ... an atonal droning introduction that subtly shifts into chords from all four players. It is a marvellous start to the album ... that moves to a piano, cello and violin track entitled 'speaking of things as yet unseen' ... an elegant track with the most exquisite of melodies, one that lightly dances upon the listener's conscious and entices them to listen like a Siren of old.

From here we move to 'my hand in yours' where Pike goes it alone ... just him and his guitar at the start - a remarkable slice of ambience ... with layered guitars and reverb - before Pike's piano melodies come in to liven the mood.

'Weight / Wait' - the 4th track - is an altogether more rambunctious affair and pleasantly so ... it is a track that brings all four players together again to create a rather joyous expression with a refrain played on the cello and mirrored on the violin. It changes into a more reflective piece about half way in ... which shows the talent and restrain of Pike as a composer as well as a player.

'Minuet' is a delightful cello and piano piece with hints of guitar in the background ... the rivalry between the cello and piano for supremacy is a delight to observe, they toy with each other for the uppermost place and, in doing so, work together to make the track come alive.

From there we then slide into 'Abraham' ... a gorgeous piano-only piece that is simply alive with feeling. Watch this to see what I mean:


Tiny Leaves - Abraham from Andreas Theophanatos on Vimeo.

The penultimate track - 'a good land, an excellent land' - brings the team back together for one final joyous outing ... and what an outing it is. A bright, vibrant, upbeat piece ... full of life and energy. It has an almost folky refrain coursing through it's veins from the violin that is foot-tappingly exciting. As is Pike's want, the train changes around the 1:45m mark to become more introspect and restrained. This is both disappointing and a delight ... but, knowing Pike, nothing happens by chance and as the violin and cello begin to accompany the piano, you know the energy is still there. This track is an utter delight and a worthy holder of the album's name.

The final track - 'leaving' - is a sombre affair ... just Pike, his piano and the space between the notes. It is an eloquent ending to the album.

"a good land, an excellent land" by Tiny Leaves is an exceptional neo classical expression from an exceptional musical talent, one I would highly recommend. Have a listen below and do what you can to support independent music.

Tx

Some photos from my recent Easter break

Last week I was off with my family for our Easter break. The weather was kind to us ... so we managed to get out and about.

I've posted a whole heap of photos over on Flickr > https://www.flickr.com/photos/headphonaught/ < and I thought I'd share a few on here in no particular order.

Tx


































https://www.flickr.com/photos/headphonaught/

An interview with Amon Tobin

I love the music Amon Tobin creates. He is a true visionary and, as such, I found this interview fascinating.

Enjoy.

Tx

((My thanks to Micah Templeton-Wolfe for the heads up!))