New music
CD: Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 - From Africa With Fury: RiseFriday, 01 April 2011
Alarm bells went off when I learnt that Brian Eno was co-producer of Seun Kuti’s second album. The last thing the son of the legendary Fela Kuti needed was his personal brand of Afrobeat to be given a distancing sheen, or diluted by some space-age... Read more... |
Top of the Pops: The Story of 1976, BBC FourFriday, 01 April 2011
Thank goodness for selective memory, because although I remember that pop music had something of a mid-life crisis between the sequin explosion of glam rock and the spittle tsunami of punk rock, I had been blissfully spared comprehensive recall of... Read more... |
CD: Low - C’monFriday, 01 April 2011
Low undeniably create a music of rare beauty. Elegiac and affecting, their unhurried evocations of intimacy urge reflection. They've ploughed this furrow for a while though. C’mon is Low’s ninth album. Their first was issued in 1994. Things are... Read more... |
Jesca Hoop, Hoxton Square Bar and KitchenFriday, 01 April 2011
Of all the unlikely musical pairings in recent times, Jesca Hoop and Guy Garvey deserve special mention. The genial Elbow frontman, all northern charm and indie anthems, is like a favourite bitter. Hoop, on the other hand, former nanny to Tom Waits'... Read more... |
Piccard in Space, Queen Elizabeth HallThursday, 31 March 2011
I reviewed excerpts of Will Gregory's new opera, Piccard in Space, last year. His funky, plushly Moog-ed, concerto-like suite struck me as rather tasty. I even said that I couldn't wait for last night's fully worked-out operatic world premiere at... Read more... |
CD: Glasvegas - Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\Thursday, 31 March 2011
This is the sound of a band who want to be big. Really big. Produced by Flood (The Killers, U2 etc) and recorded in California, the second outing from Scotland’s Glasvegas bursts with epic widescreen soundscapes, its chiming guitars designed to... Read more... |
CD: The Ian McMillan Orchestra – Homing InWednesday, 30 March 2011
Having chosen John Cage's 4' 33" as his number one Desert Island Disc, and a tandem bike with wooden models of his family on the front as his luxury, it's fair to say that poet, comedian and broadcaster Ian McMillan has a highly developed sense of... Read more... |
Elbow, O2 ArenaTuesday, 29 March 2011
Is Guy Garvey really as lovely as he seems? I hope so. Last night, on the first of two nights for the Bury band at the O2 Arena, their lead singer, this big bearded bear of a man, came across as clever, funny, confident, warm, positive and... Read more... |
Out Hear: Exaudi play John Cage Song Books, Kings PlaceTuesday, 29 March 2011
At its best, and most preposterous, John Cage's work can be a mind-cleanser. The overwhelmingly silly randomised conjunctions and ontological punning of the great Zen master of the 20th-century avant-garde can coax and trick you into letting go of... Read more... |
CD: Katy B - On a MissionSunday, 27 March 2011
Katy B has something of the everygirl about her. Part of her appeal is that, unlike Ke$ha, The Saturdays and so many other female pop stars, she hasn't embraced pole-dancer chic, nor does she appear to be gagging to be spread over the pages of... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Tallinn: Music Week in the European City of CultureSunday, 27 March 2011
It’s an important year for Estonia. The Baltic nation celebrates 20 years of independence from Russia. Capital city Tallinn is European Capital of Culture for 2011. It’s also 10 years since their Eurovision win. theartsdesk is here for Tallinn Music... Read more... |
CD: Micachu & The Shapes and London Sinfonietta - Chopped & ScrewedSaturday, 26 March 2011
Forget Lady Gaga – Mica Levi, aka Micachu, is modern pop’s true maverick. More likely to sport jeans and T-shirt than frock of flesh, she’s a skinny, scruffy tomboy who can hold her own in a game of keepie-uppie. Her take on music is similarly... Read more... |
