Peter Gabriel - New Blood in two halves

No one could ever accuse Peter Gabriel of not being adventurous and the second outing for the New Blood Orchestra provided some unexpected surprises. I caught the previous tour at the 02 back in early 2010, effectively promoting his Scratch My Back orchestral covers album which I reviewed in some depth here. This show (Wed 23rd March 2011) at the Hammersmith Apollo mainly featured orchestral versions of his own extensive repertoire.

The first surprises were in the first set. To kick off with 'Intruder' seemed a strange choice with all its dissonance and harshness. However, on reflection, it was a good choice to both enable any settling down to take place and keep any hiccups hidden behind the sonic assault the piece has. However, that didn't work as the next song, 'Wallflower' PG actually had to stop after a disastrous start. Even after the restart things still sounded awry with tuning problems and PG's voice barely audible. It seemed the cellos were not playing from the same score, such a massive shame as they stole the show during the 2nd set with a stunning rhythmic part for 'Red Rain'. I sunk into my seat both with embarrassment for the man himself and also in case my good buddies were wondering why on earth I had encouraged them so enthusiastically to accompany me into London for the day!

Strangely, another surprise, it was the back to back selection of the Scratch my Back songs that eased the show back on course despite PG's vocal still being too low in the mix. The empty and plaintive 'Boy in the Bubble' was followed by the dramatic 'Après Moi', then 'The Book of Love' with 'The Power of the Heart' completing the Scratch my Back selection. Another one of PG's more strident pieces, 'Darkness', was shoehorned in before the final surprise of the first set, a brilliant and moving version of his timeless classic 'Biko'. Here the overhead and back of the stage carried a simple film of some candles burning along with a monochromatic picture of Stephen Biko himself. Until then the graphics had been noticeably out of sync with the music, a technical surprise, but once Biko had finished the sense of joy and delight that being part of the Peter Gabriel congregation had returned in abundance.

The second half was blissfully transcendent!

Peter Gabriel is an extraordinary encourager, whether that be of his noticeable support of World Music, cornerstone of The Elders peace initiative and of his music collaborations. So the romantic in me imagines a serious yet inspiring team talk at half time as the all round improvement was staggering! It seemed everything was sorted and now PG's vocal soared... clearly a gig of two halves!

The set started of with San Jacinto and moved through Digging in the Dirt, Signal to Noise, Downside Up, Mercy Street, Rhythm of the Heat, Blood of Eden, Red Rain and finishing with the evergreen favourite: Solsbury Hill. We were then treated to encores of In your Eyes and Don't Give Up with the wistful instrumental The Nest That Sailed the Sky finally sending us on our way. My posse was split on singer Ane Brun's interpretation of Kate Bush's memorable vocal on the original Don't Give Up, personally I thought the girl did great, made it her own with perfect control and diction.

In his March Full Moon video Peter says this whole New Blood project will be put to bed once the last handful of North American dates are complete. We can look forward to both the album and the DVD filmed at the Hammersmith shows, if you can make the real thing I so strongly recommend it. I had not even planned on going, it was all a last minute moment of madness and, despite the gremlins in the first part, I cannot fully express how special it was. Like many established artists PG now has less constraints to find new ways of expressing his creativity even if some think it is merely whimsical. His voice just keeps getting better, his music never ceases to amaze and now John Metcalfe's brilliant arrangements provide another dimension for our listening delight.

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Scratch my Back... Peter Gabriel preview

Peter Gabriel's latest project is a suite of cover versions recorded with an orchestra. Some of the songs are in a very stripped down style, giving huge emphasis to the lyrics. One of the joys of this is tracking back to some of the original versions, especially of some by lesser known artistes. All the composers are returning the compliment by recording a Peter Gabriel song themselves.

Check out a video mini documentary of Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon discussing their respective approaches to 'Boy in the Bubble' and 'Biko'.

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Top 10 album listening during 2011 meme...

Compiled mainly from instinct as well as a detailed perusal of my iTunes stats and Spotify playlists... have stuck to albums that I listen to all the way through, as it is important to appreciate the the complete 'work' these artistes have created:

1. Peter Gabriel – New Blood.
   At the moment this is the CD I'm listening to the most and I cannot stress how much I absolutely love it! I am very much one of the compact Peter Gabriel (PG) post Genesis appreciation society that is delighted he is no longer part of his prog rock heritage. Apart from the hints in PG's evergreen 'Solsbury Hill', he very much chooses to leave the past where it belongs. Now his lyrical focus is less personal having become predominantly concerned with topics of international justice.
   
   This latest collection forms the 2nd part of this major orchestral project, the 1st release, 'Scratch my Back', featured covers from a variety of artistes who, in turn, would release covers of their fave PG song. New Blood is an intriguing selection right across PG's solo career, a subset of songs that were filmed in March this year (2011) for the DVD/BluRay and 3D concurrent release.
   
   As mentioned in my reviews, (Scratch my Back - New Blood) John Metcalfe's arrangements are seriously stunning, Tom Cawley's piano playing sublime and, along with Peter's brilliant vocals, they are the standout elements that make this such compelling listening. It is also important to note these arrangements are in a full, classical symphonic format. This is NOT Peter Gabriel's songs simply accompanied by orchestra, it is a much more significant piece of work than that. A surprising outcome is that some pieces that were favourites on his original recordings have been overtaken by some of the ones that, perhaps, were not appreciated so fully. For example, the wedding favourite 'In Your Eyes' is outshone by the more epic 'San Jacinto' and 'Digging in the Dirt', the latter my current top choice.
   
   Both 'Scratch my Back' and this 'New Blood' project have puzzled some of PG's ardent 'rock' fans, yet throughout the 3D filming session at the Appollo I noticed there was a more rapturous reception than at the initial outing in the 02 the previous year. Furthermore it is clear that this has gained PG a additional audience that now have now been seduced by the depth of his musical art through this adventurous and risky exploration of a radically different approach. It is a bit of an irony that such an established rock icon has found that this more orthodox classical accompaniement has enabled him to express himself with greater clarity than ever before.
   
   There are a number of formats to buy this fantastic release, with or without DVD, a version with instrumental only recordings on a bonus CD and a deluxe edition all packaged up together (yes, you've guessed, that's what I went for!)


2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs.
   This year I went to see Arcade Fire with another one of my fave bands, Mumford and Sons, perform in Hyde Park. Along with a supporting cast which included the very wonderful Beirut it was a seriously splendid eve! There is something unique about Arcade Fire's music which sets them apart from many other bands. There is a sense of 'musical' anarchy where both instrumentation and song arrangements do not, in any way, follow the usual tried and trusted paths. The overall impression one gets listening to them live is how much energy comes over from an essentially acoustic line up: great vocals, great sounds and thoughtful lyrical ideas. I have already featured an excerpt from the album here, the transcendent 'Sprawl (Flatland)'


3. Hope & Social - April.
   I saw this band at this year's Greenbelt Festival and they completely blew me away. With many bands that can really deliver live, hearing the recorded output can be tinged with disappointment, yet Hope & Social do not suffer from this problem. The band have set up their own studio and are clearly masters at capturing the characteristics of their endearing live performances. If you see they will be playing nearby, do not miss it, they are seriously good and superb fun. Fave track currently 'A Darkness Now Is Coming'.


4. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What?
   The Beeb recently ran a documentary about the album 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' that both lifted Simon and Garfunkel into the music biz stratosphere yet paradoxically became their swansong as a duo. This prompted me to re-discover their output and Paul Simon's repetoire of solo work. His new album is delightfully quirky, utilising a return to basic methods of recording which gives it a freshness that more produced work would not have. And, of course, if you want some evergreen Paul Simon, you need look no further than the influential Graceland album.


5. Jónsi - Go.This is the solo output from the guitarist and singer of cult Icelandic megastars Sigur Rós. Do check out the videos of the stage show, an assault of jaw dropping lighting and projected imagery that becomes one with the band of multi instrumetnalist musicians. I find the music deeply moving, the kind of music that 'gets to you' despite, on the whole, being created with an array of electronic synth type gizmos.


6. Brandon Flowers - Flamingo.
   The Killers front man has turned in a really respectable solo effort and, despite the expectation of it being a 'Killers Lite' soundalike, allows Brandon to express more of himslef than he might do otherwise. So not only is he a great front man with a wonderful voice he now shows that he is a man of considerable depth. The lyrics include many religious references which the handful of videos made to promote this release bear out, see earlier post here.


7. Coldplay - MYLO XYLOTO.
   Yes, OK, I confess, I actually like Coldplay! Although their latest offering seems to play very much into the stadium rock genre (including songs for the acoustic section in the middle of the set!), what entices me is the optimism of their music. It is as though they are done with experimentation, they've found their sound and now they can create song after song that seems to celebrate our very existence. Even the potentially sombre 'Fix You' from the X & Y album has hope for the future and lifts the spirits, whilst MYLO XYLOTO packs a joyful, foot tapping punch all the way.


8. Owl City - All Things Bright and Beautiful.
   Whilst many music pundits think that Adam Young's voice is yet another Autotune special the simple fact is not only can he sing but his voice actually sounds like his recordings! The Owl City concept is very much his and indicates what a prodigious young talent he is, which I discussed briefly here. I love 'Deer Caught in the Headlights' with its audio, lyrical and visual nod to the 80s, and I'm sure I recognise those synth riffs?! Check out this unplugged version, too. I love the finely crafted tracks this guy produces, not too dissimilar to the amazing Imogen Heap, another artiste for whom it will be equally intriguing to see how they develop over the next couple of decades.


9. Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel.
   I remember it was one of those wonderful moments making a long journey that one of the Soul Music series on BBC Radio 4 covered this piece. It was rally interesting to hear directly from violinist Tasmin Little about how she approached this minimalist music score. Of course, its simplicity masks the technique needed to allow the very beauty of its emptiness to lift the listener into the emotional heights which,ironically, reach down into your very core enabling succour to the spirit. It is, what I may venture to call, 'universal music'. By that I mean that it would be appreciated by folk from different cultures, disparate status and by every musician regardless of their chosen genre. Something to listen to either lift or soothe the spirit.


10. Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More.
    I have to include this, despite its 2009 release date, as I still listen to it so much! It's an amazing debut album, it doesn't suffer from many band's first studio efforts when they are prone to try lots of different styles and techniques once given the freedom of the recording process. I love the depth of the lyrics, love the energy that comes over even as an acoustic band and having heard some of their new songs live in Hyde Park very much looking forward to their next release.

Over to you, look forward to reading your compilations?

P

Peter Gabriel, Wallflower, lest we forget...

To view the song only, it is also on YouTube here: Peter Gabriel - Wallflower (piano version)

Peter Gabriel's December message in which he talks about a number of projects he has been involved such as Witness and also bigs up Emmanuel Jal's 'We want Peace' project. Towards the end of this video he performs an exclusive, informal version of his 1982 song 'Wallflower' which was inspired through seeing the work of Amnesty. This simply features PG accompanied beautifully by pianist Tom Cawley. 'Wallflower' is one of PG's songs selected for the 'New Blood' record featuring full orchestral arrangements. It is in support of Mary Robinson, one of the innovative peacemakers, The Elders.

My highlight of 2010 was experiencing PG's Scratch My Back concert which I reviewed extensively here, so inspiring, so moving and the most significant spiritual refreshment of the year...

You can still preview the whole Scratch My Back album here too

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Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back with New Blood

An artist of the stature of Peter Gabriel is often caught between a rock and a hard place. Even his post Genesis solo repetoire extends back to the 70s with so many massively popular songs it is inevitable that when you try something new your stalwart fans may initially be a bit puzzled. Equally, just rolling out the back catalogue you run the risk being criticised for not offering something new! His latest venture combines the two in an inspired way and manages to deflect either opinion.

His latest 'Scratch my Back' project takes other artists songs (who will, in return, record their version of a PG song) arranged for a full 54 piece orchestra (no drums and guitars!) delivered in a format that is far more akin to a classical music recital than your usual stadium rock approach. The first half comprised ALL the tracks from the CD album in the same track running order whilst the post interval 2nd half saw the orchestra playing arrangements of PG's own songs.

The songs, or pieces, were all supported by simple yet stunning 'arty' graphics which included some video elements (on an array of LEDs rather than projection screens) the focus was clearly the music, with conductor  Ben Foster at the helm, supporting vocals from Peter's daughter Melanie with a charismatic Norwegian lass, Ane Brun and a brilliant pianist Tom Cawley. The opening was David Bowies 'Heroes' which started with one of the LED screens obscuring the orchestra displaying very sparse graphics totally synchronised to the music which eventually raised to reveal the orchestra and PG himself stepping onto the front part of the stage.

As mentioned, the set list followed the running order of the Scratch my Back album, check out the player on my blog here. Highlights were the whole drama of the opening with 'Heroes', the starkness of 'Boy in the Bubble', 'The Power of the Heart' and 'Book of Love' which had a witty and self deprecating sequence on the displays killing off any thoughts of sentimentality! PG found his stride in 'The Power of the Heart' with a passionate and committed vocal performance that drew the most applause in part one. Gabriel fans are very respectful so although the response could not be called rapturous, it was polite even if sometimes puzzled.

For me personally I found it immensely stimulating and inspiring yet very much with the classical music concert similarity to the fore. Often attending classical recitals you are not as familiar with the material, so it is an adventure which may not always be delightful and can sometimes be quite arduous. The lack of familiarity, at times, didn't make for easy listening, not a bad thing in my book, regardless John Metcalfe's arrangements and orchestration throughout were brilliant! I would say the 'high brow' factor placed it somewhere twixt Classic FM and Radio 3 with PG's grace and gifts building an accessibility bridge to the essentially Radio 2 audience.

The genius was saving the familiar material, albeit with the previously unheard orchestral versions, as the whole of the second half. Again the arrangements were stunning and gave new textures to the Gabriel catalogue, with the extensive suite of texture and dynamics an orchestra can deliver new facets of PG's songs appeared. This time it was the audience who found their stride, clapping along, cheering, mimicking PG's gestures and even standing in appreciation!

'Solsbury Hill' was the clear 'clapometer' favourite and along with 'In your Eyes' plus the pre-encore set closer 'Don't Give Up' being my own personal 2nd half highlights. Selecting 'Don't Give Up' felt significant, whether by design or default I don't know. The whole of the 'Scratch My Back' CD is very much a Lament for the world (more on Steve Stockman's Blog here), where we have screwed up environmentally, ecologically, tribal / civic wars, corruption, terroism, ethnic cleansing, shock and awe etc. Therefore including 'Don't Give Up' so brilliantly gave hope and encouragement for the future.

To be nitpicky I cannot say it was all perfect. The orchestra was not tight, it did not groove and or have the feel that PG's band excels at, the sound was a bit harsh and sometimes some cues were missed. Equally these points are much more noticable in an orchestral format so overall it did not tarnish or diminish my enjoyment. I am so glad I was able to go and experience this firsthand, a very special and memorable eve. If you get the chance, there are not many dates left and only in North America, don't miss it!

The Voice Project with Peter Gabriel

Using music as a tool for social change is one description of this brilliant video of Peter Gabriel covering Tom Waits song 'In the Neigbourhood' for The Voice Project, a strategic alliance with Oxfam America:

The Voice Project is a song-driven movement inspired by the women of Uganda who are using their voices as vehicles for change in the war-ravaged region of Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Eastern Congo, an area that has been marred by violence for the last 24 years. The Voice Project is an attempt to support these incredible women and the peace movement in the region, and an effort to see how far a voice can carry.

It transpires, on reading more about this project on the Gabriel website, that one of the The Voice Project's founders is Peter's daughter Anna:

"Music has always been a part of my life and I believe it's one of the most powerful and effective tools to bring about change. My father has inspired me with his humanitarian work and has always been supportive of my work as a film maker so shooting this video bought together all aspects of my life in an amazing way."

P h/t @martinwroe

Peter Gabriel - Thought for Sunday

The story behind the song 'In Your Eyes' in the build up to the release of his New Blood CD where Peter Gabriel's songs have been re-interpreted with orchestral arrangements. Peter talks about ambiguity in love songs, of hearing a spiritual 'layer' in addition to the literal interpretation. The topic of 'Redeeming Culture' has been tackled in a number of previous posts including:

• We might as well be strangers - A song from Keane interpreted as the topic of the nativity
• Hymns and Spiritual songs - Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood 'In the presence of the Lord' 
• Music is a Voice of God - Billy Preston and Mary J Blige 'taking it to church' 
• Redemptive Rock and Spiritual Songs - 30 Seconds To Mars music, lyrics and engagement 
• Art, Music and falling short on GodPod - "There's got to be a better song to sing than this?" 
• Redeeming Culture - a video explaining the thinking behind curating mainstream music for church services of worship

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Peter Gabriel talks New Blood orchestra

Peter Gabriel gives an overview of his recently released orchestral project, New Blood, and gives insight into the extensive creative process involved. I was privileged to attend the Hammersmith Apollo for the recording of the DVD, which I reviewed here. Have only been able to listen the previews because the deluxe edition I've ordered includes the DVD which has a release date of 24th October whilst the CD came out on 10th October - the extra wait is proving a tad trying...

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BBC Desert Island Discs... The Challenge

Found I couldn't resist the challenge of trying to come up with just the eight requisite number of pieces of music to post on the BBC Your Desert Island Discs page despite knowing how difficult it would prove to be. So I settled on attempting to pick pieces chronologically that had affected me in some profound way, regardless of whether they were actually real favourites. This meant there were far more that, sadly, had to be dropped and so they simply got away! The final list I submitted, after much deliberation:

The Beatles - In My Life
Wendy (was Walter, at the time) Carlos - from Switched on Bach - Brandenberg Concerto No.3 In G Major 1st Movement
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - from Pictures at an Exhibition - The Great Gate of Kiev
Queen - These Are The Days Of Our Lives
J S Bach - from the St. Matthew Passion - Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder
Peter Gabriel - The Power Of The Heart
Coldplay - Fix You
Sir Edward Elgar - from The Enigma Variations - Nimrod

with the Peter Gabriel track as my favourite

Now, as mentioned these all mean a great deal, even though I appreciate some are very popularist choices and will potentially bring down scorn upon my cultural taste. So to get around the strict eight disc rule here are some more from the shortlist in a similar chronological order:

Easybeats - Friday On My Mind
Fleetwood Mac - I need your love so bad
The Nice - Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite
Carl Orff - from Carmina Burana - Fortune Plango Vulnera
Bob Dylan - When He Returns
Van Halen - Jump
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Arcade Fire - Intervention

Again, even this more esoteric list leaves out many I would love to feature... oh woe!

I have discovered you can see who also picked the songs you selected, quite alarming in some cases! Try out the searches in the section Find castaways and choices.

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Some of it's just transcendental...

A little Easter Sunday treat! The Peter Gabriel cover of Lou Reed's 'Power of the heart' from the 'Scratch my Back' album... enjoy!

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A year in the Sphere...

I started this blog in June last year (2009) and included code to record statistics 6 months ago. It has been an interesting journey, have learnt a great deal and would have chosen my categories differently if I knew then what I know now! I have found it immensely cathartic to record my thoughts before recursive brain whirr destroys my grey matter, that has been a personal and tangible benefit. I have to confess writing does not come easy to me so the discipline has been good. It is clear that the posts where I have been as original as possible and made the effort to knuckle down and get on with writing without letting 'it' take over have yielded the most response.

So here goes, a double statistic celebration, my first year on Blogspot:

1 Why modern worship songs are crap - my most read post ever!

2 BBC Radio 4's 'Soul Music' on Dido's Lament featuring Jeff Buckley

3 The 'Sunday's Coming' video depicting consumer style worship stuff

4 My review of Peter Gabriel's 'Scratch my Back' concert at the 02 London

5 Let me through I'm an Anglican... not!

6 One of After The Fire's youngest fans comes up with a brilliant CD design

7 Back to Pub Sunday - how the pub gets it right whilst the church gets it wrong

8 Ashamed Anglican? Bravo Father Tim and shame on you Archdeacon of York - should have stood by your man

9 Art and music discussed 'There's got to be a better song than this'

10 Art and Christianity - Antony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles'

11 Angels from the realms of... er, Norway! Breathtaking and truly wonderful music

12 After The Fire becomes International Rescue as ATF ring tone finds mobile in snow drift

13 Mumford & Sons, music to mend and inspire!

14 Great tidings of joy in the Brit film Nativity!

15 Whilst we allow poverty through inequality we are culpable for disasters like Haiti - Thank God for cancellation of Haiti's debt since

16 Brilliant article in blokes mag Esquire by Greenbelt Festival speaker Shane Claiborne

17 The Carbon Calculator revealing issues with Tory and Labour Green attitudes

18 Pete Rollins in full flow on camera - Insurrectionist Theology

19 YouTube video explaining the total idiocy of the Digital Economy Bill passed in the wash-up in the last Parliament

20 On maintaining the tradition of saying grace at mealtimes

And some of my sub top 20 favourites:

24 Art and Christianity - The transcendental music of Bach's St matthew Passion

27 The BBC's drama 'All the Small Things' really matters - Choirs and stuff

28 Explanatory chart and definition of Progressive Rock

51 My Memorable Musical Moments Meme - pieces that knock you sideways

59 Video interview 'Redeeming Culture' covering After The Fire's Bradwell church service

84 Baptism - When best laid plans fail, mystery can take over

91 Rob Bell's incredible talk about maturity at Greenbelt 2009

98 5 deeply de-Christian doctrines meme

107 Nova Scotia's incredible 'Ice Cream Church' near Halifax and also here (#118)

110 The Devil Inside - The unbelievable Christian Rock equivalent of Guitar Hero

Top referring blogs excluding Google, Facebook and Twitter

1 theartistandthetartist.blogspot.com (James & Maggie)

2 elizaphanian.blogspot.com (Revd Sam)

3 philipstreehouse.blogspot.com (Phil Ritchie)

4 evangelistchanging.blogspot.com (Joe Haward)

5 cyber-coenobites.blogspot.com (Archdruid Eileen)

6 diggingalot.org (Graham Peacock)

7 davidkeen.blogspot.com (David Keen)

8 theconnexion.net (Richard Hall)

9 churchmousepublishing.blogspot.com (The Mouse!)

10 joinbetween.blogspot.com (Jonathan Evens)

Memorable Musical Moments Meme...

Think of eight memorable musical moments, not necessarily all time favourites, but those when, for example, you felt compelled to wait in the car when listening to this amazing song on the radio because you just had to know who it was by. Or the piece you heard on the tv in a drama that drove you straight onto iTunes to download... (remember once we spent the princely sum of 6s 8d on a vinyl single?!). Optional details for each song give where, why and Spotify or youtube links...

I hereby tag: Maggi Dawn, +Nick Baines, Richard Hall, Jonathan Evens, Tim Chesterton

The Promise You Made – Cockrobin (view)
Inside of you - Alice Martineau (view)
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap (wow!)
Quanta Qualia - Patrick Hawes (listen)
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm - Crash Test Dummies (view)
Don't Give Up – Peter Gabriel and Paula Cole (view)
While You See a Chance – Steve Winwood (view)
Belief - John Mayer (listen)

The shuffling first fifteen meme...

 

1) Turn on your MP3 player or music player on your computer.
2) Go to SHUFFLE songs mode.
3) Write down the first 15 songs that come up–song title and artist–NO editing/cheating, please.

1. The boy with no name – Travis
2. Are we alright? - Show of Hands
3. Bring 'em all in - Mike Scott
4. He never said - Martyn Joseph
5. Blood red sky - Seth Lakeman
6. Why does my heart feel so bad? - Moby
7. Superhuman touch - Athlete
8. I grieve - Peter Gabriel
9. Black swan song - Athlete
10. Also Sprach Zarathustra - 2001 Space Odyssey
11. Chasing cars - Snow Patrol
12. You (Live 2008) - After The Fire
13. Somebody told me - The Killers
14. '40' - U2
15. Walking into battle with the Lord - Chumbawamba

I supposed I am slightly puzzled this list is relatively contemporary yet my overall library is substantially more varied Intriguing that over 50% are bands that have played at the Greenbelt Festival over the years...

Thanks for the tag Phil, if you haven't been tagged yet, go for it anyway (that's you, that is!).

The ONE artist meme...

 

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, answer these questions. Be as clever as you can. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think...

Pick your Artist: Peter Gabriel

Describe yourself: Across the River
How do you feel: Down To Earth
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Mercy Street
Your favourite form of transportation: On The Air
Your best friend is a: Kiss Of Life
You and your best friends are: Heroes
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Shock The Monkey
What is life to you: The Book Of Love
Your current relationship: The Power of The Heart
Your fear: Here Comes The Flood
What is the best advice you have to give: Love To Be Loved
I would like to die... Home Sweet Home
Time of day: Big Time
My motto: Don't Give Up

h/t Rev Sam and tagged by Canon Phil

I tag: Pastor John, The Artist and Tartist, Jon Evens, Tim Abbott and RJ (when love comes to town)

Emmanuel Jal - Savvy Peace Soldier...

Last night I was privileged to attend the Get the Youth Talking event in Camden, organised by a handful of charities linked together by the extraordinary and charismatic singer Emmanuel Jal. The evening was effectively in four parts commencing with a lively panel discussion on how to engage the far flung young and exiled Sudanese to work together to stimulate peace in their troubled land. As well as Emmanuel the contributors included representatives from Amnesty International (student section) and Jeremy Gilley from Peace One Day.

The video above can only give some idea of the fragile situation in Sudan since South Sudan declared independence last year on 9th July, hence the mobilisation to engineer the rallies outside embassies on the anniversary in one week's time on Monday. The panel and audience discussions were revealing, encouraging and sought to gain positive ground with insightful and well informed views.

Part two of the evening was spend enjoying East African cuisine from one of the sponsors, restaurateurs Abyssinia, and very splendid it was too!

Before the host took to the stage the seating was cleared away and Congolese poet JouJou Bola painted a moving picture of reality in African countries plundered for their conflict minerals.

One of the first surprises was to see a full band in action behind Emmanuel rather than the usual decks and tracks accompaniment. Emmanuel appeared at the back of the venue, clambered through the expectant audience bounced and onto stage before proceeding to lead the band through a seriously energetic performance. The set list comprised a selection picked mainly from War Child and his forthcoming CD, See Me Mama, the latter scheduled for an August release.

Throughout the set high energy levels were maintained, the band cooked, the drummer being the star player, and everyone couldn't help dancing to the groove. It was exuberant, colourful, moving and anthemic with the musical direction tipping a big nod towards reggae rather than solely hip-hop or rap. To Emmanuel's surprise and delight the audience was mainly Sudanese, whereas he usually plays to predominantly European or American punters.

After the show I was able to grab a few moments with him and he stressed the We Want Peace movement is an ongoing initiative despite the immediate focus on the worldwide rallies on July 9th and the follow up concert in South Sudan linking in with the Peace One Day 2012 on 21st September. Emmanuel is known worldwide as an activist, he now wants to mobilise people with the same vision as 'Peace Soldiers'. The downside is that all this activism is mainly self financed which has prompted him to start ringfencing his music work, his own label Gatwitch Records has been formed to consolidate this.

See Me Mama will be his fourth full CD album, he categorised his previous work as follows:

1. Gua (2005) - Expression to God, giving thanks
2. Ceasefire (2005) - exactly that (also a collaboration across religious divides)
3. Warchild (2008) - telling my story and developing as an artist

Undoubtedly War Child is his best known album as that was created once sufficient time and healing had elapsed for his remarkable story to be revealed, the song Forced to Sin effectively encapsulating it in a deeply moving, hip hop elegy. As well as the radio friendly title track another song about his late rescuer, Emma McCune, received recognition as it was introduced at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday gig by kindred spirit, non other than the venerable Peter Gabriel.

Emmanuel's music deserves much more commercial success, one of the down sides of achieving almost cult status as an outspoken activist is that does not translate into sales. However, listening to the advance copy of the new CD on the way back the move toward the sing-along, anthemic style is a potential winner along with the grooves and unique voice. Furthermore, the growing interest from his fellow countryfolk may mean he can overcome the challenge of being a prophet in his own land...

Other important Emmanuel Jal links to check out:

Gua Africa
Lose to Win
Blog post on We Want Peace video

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Blind Boys of Alabama in the Real World...

From the Real World Gold collection, Peter Gabriel's label, recorded when the Blind Boys of Alabama were on the label. The song was originally written and recorded by Ben Harper but this version demonstrates a real connection to the song. Read more on the collaboration on Canada's CBC Music article here.

Another theme we touch on in our book The Secret Chord...

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I Wish So Bad...

The Voice Project is a brilliant website that was setup to support Northern Ugandan women that have suffered much over the last few years. On a visit by The Voice Project the ladies sang their local songs and then asked to be taught one by their visitors. They learnt 'Suitcase', written by Joe Purdy, which was filmed as they sang it a capella. This video was eventually shown to Joe and the idea of filming artists performing, typically, an unplugged version of another artist's song which would then be then passed along as a 'baton' in a musical relay to the next artist.

As well as some rock premiership names including Peter Gabriel, which I featured here, and Mike Mills of REM who, impressively, recorded one of Billy Bragg pieces there are number of excellent lower league contributions as per the video above.

I find these very uplifting, as, taking The Shivers (above) for example, the performers clearly love the song they've chosen and their interpretation is uniquely special. They take ownership of the song giving these candid films a moment which captures the passion and emotion they pour out of their spirit.... Wonderful!

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Gabriel's Anthem for Father's Day...

Whether recently parted, as for Peter G, or for a longer time, miss you so...

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