Spotify Preview and Island Boys purchase links...

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Buy on iTunes

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Buy on Google Play Music

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Buy on Amazon Music

Café Musica - Island Boys EP out on 16-Aug-2019

will be available on all popular download and streaming services...

click here for the Apple iTunes pre-order offer of £2.49 for all 4 songs

with love...

The Rubber Wellies - Pirate Song #TunesDay

Went to see The Rubber Wellies recently at the rather wonderful Folk at the Froize, a monthly or so event in darkest Suffolk which combines live music and delicious food, what could be better?!

I first caught the Wellies at the Greenbelt Festival, at which they will be appearing this year too, and I was hooked. Their song lyrics' apparent charm often camouflage hard hitting social justice messages and therefore their appeal is on multiple levels. The musicianship and relaxed stagecraft is impeccable and ideal for the intimate venue the Froize provides.

I strongly recommend you catch them before they become a distant spec on a massive stage!

P

Jeff Buckley - BBC Soul Music Archive - Take 3

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BBC Soul Music - Dido's Lament

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I'm delighted to report the BBC has increased the duration of the archived pieces from Radio 4's wonderful Soul Music and have included this edition along with many others, link above.

Here's a re-post of what I wrote about this broadcast back in 2010 which includes some of the content discussed with Jonathan Evens in our book 'The Secret Chord':

BBC Radio 4's edition of 'Soul Music' which featured Dido's Lament turned out to be really special! It always gives me enormous encouragement (and pleasant surprise!) to hear top notch classical maestros admitting truths that most of their colleagues would consider heresy.

The program moved from a fairly conventional start covering thoughts from the mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly and the view of the conductor of the band at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Day.

Jeremy Summerly, the big boss of the Royal Academy of Music and a renowned conductor, issued the first challenges to conventional thinking about the approach to singing the piece. He asked how would anyone know how 17th Century singers would sound and then introduced Alison Moyet's version, praising her approach, the clarity of her timbre and the fact that every word is intelligible. For someone of Jeremy's stature in the classical world to say this is really something, especially as he stated that Purcell's masterpiece is 'the great tune of the 17th Century'.

The closing section of the programme introduced Philip Sheppard, cellist and now composer. He spoke about how he was invited along to be part of the supporting orchestra for Elvis Costello's Meltdown Festival in 1995. One of the pieces was to be Dido's Lament which would be sung by charismatic rock singer Jeff Buckley. Although Philip had never heard of Jeff Buckley before once he heard him singing it had a most profound effect on him:

He seemed to screw every ounce of meaning out of the words and physically he looked like he was wracked with pain and anguish as he was singing it. But what was coming out was beyond ethereal his voice had this quality where it meant so much more than when I had ever heard it before.

But then when he sang it it seemed to be a Lament so much more and it really went beyond what I would consider to be classical music...and to date it's actually probably the greatest musical
experience of my life, in as much as it turned my world inside out.

As a result Philip had to admit:

I know NOTHING about music - at all!

Up to that point I was a musican who played through study rather than a musician who played through feel and now I have to say I seek out people to work with who do not necessarily read music who have their first sense is one of 'ear' rather than of 'technique'...

Philip then goes on to say how this became a pivotal moment in his career which helped him to become a composer, enabling him to move away from being 'a player who just repeated other people's music'.

Jeff Buckley died in a tragic accident just two years later in 1997, sunsequently his version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' reached number one in the US Billboard charts and is considered by many to be the definitive version.

Now Philip thinks of Jeff nearly every day and is ever grateful for the effect of the encounter, even though he only met him for around half an hour...

Listening to this has changed me forever, too, thank you so much...

P

Living and breathing the hard day's night...

Whilst it's been a bit of a journey, along with a sometimes fraught learning curve, it really is a great joy to have finally launched our little book, The Secret Chord . This has been a co-authored project with my buddy Jonathan Evens who has been brilliant at curating all my vague ideas into something tangible as well as encouraging me to take the step of now writing words rather than principally music. We have taken heed of others and their projects, too, such as Sam Norton, Kester Brewin and Liz Hinds, as all of whom have completed self managed publishing projects and freely shared their progress.

So far The Secret Chord is available on Amazon Kindle with the paperback hot on its heels for release at the end of this month. If you don't own a Kindle there are some excellent freebie Apps for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and smartphones.

To supplement the book, both in physical form and when reading it on a non internet enabled Kindle, we have embarked on creating The Secret Chord website with all the web links and biographical notes along with some extra goodies. This will be more dynamic as we have plans for lots more content real soon...

We very much look forward to hearing your thoughts, please be gentle!

P

Coldplay put a smile upon his face...

Whilst the London 2012 Paralympic Closing Ceremony could be viewed as a bit old and new age what a gift Coldplay songs were for the creative team to exploit? Without their material so aptly capturing the amazing 'moment' that the games generated it would have all been a bit at the level of a expansive and dramatic variety show. It wasn't just Coldplay's music that lifted the event to a higher plane, it was their committment to the whole evening that was so laudable.

They didn't just come on and 'do' their set, they both played along with the 'superstar' guests and singer Chris Martin actually left the stage to sit amongst The British Paraorchestra for the gorgeous interpretation of Strawberry Swing. What capped it all for me was when up on the screens I spied local boy Mat Fraser, actor, drummer and Thalidomide challenged, drumming on stage with the band as per the clip above. What an incredible demonstration of their lyric 'God give me style, give me Grace'?

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Mumford & Sons - 'I Will Wait' preview...

Taken from the Mumford's new album, Babel, due out Sept 24th 2012... can't wait!

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You are what you Tweet... #openingceremony

Just in case you missed it... some great appearances in my tweetline:

@memorybanks: It's the taking part... Volunteeer actor Neil Smith reveals all: http://t.co/UYhNjYom #olympics

@kesterbrewin: Really spot on review of Olympic #OpeningCeremomy by @sarahlyall: http://t.co/AEzgXOtv < first sentence nails it.

@dpcmike: For those who'd like to understand the the Opening Ceremony a bit more… a superb & quick explanation! http://t.co/ghqWlZD2

@SimonGCutmore: Los Angeles Times review "it was bloody well wonderful.. part Charles Dickens, part Benny Hill". http://t.co/3R3C5k3J

@CityFaiths: Danny Boyle Olympics opening ceremony and Britains cultural landscape http://t.co/mqpsplax via @guardian - Good piece on amazing ceremony

@simonmayo: "Danny Boyle wins the Gold": The New Yorker's brilliant verdict on the humour & generosity of the opening ceremony http://t.co/84KrIIQV

@MartinWroe: 'Bespoke both destiny of Christian elect and pagan air of festival - elegiac, rejoicing.' #openingceremony http://t.co/v0vajpk5

@gtomlin: "A great empire, gone. Military might, ebbing. Sense of humor, very much intact" (Washington Post) #olympics

@dianabutlerbass: Beijing celebrated conformity; Britain celebrates creativity. #OpeningCeremony

@pmphillips: Danny Boyle: "Our show was the volunteers' show. If you want to judge us as an island, these people are the best of us" http://t.co/2iaKtO2W

@maggidawn: This is great: last para of Boyle's programme notes. http://t.co/Cj39Xnt4

@BBCBreaking: In pictures: The Olympic opening ceremony - the fireworks and the flames, David Beckham and Usain Bolt http://t.co/UOCZxcld #bbc2012

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Bishop's Got Talent - NT Does Dylan

N.T. Wright Sings Bob Dylan from Thomas McKenzie on Vimeo

Former Bishop of Durham ends talk with Dylan, wonder if he will do this at Greenbelt this year?!

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We all give God the blues...

From the album Mercyland: Hymns For The Rest Of Us, a collection of 12 songs curated by Phil Madeira by various artists. As well as this song in the style of the Blues there are contributions ranging from traditional, Country and Rottsy folk songs.

This Nashville Scene article explains more, a couple of sentences that challenge are:

a devotional album without all the religious and commercial hoopla

"I think the most visible expressions of Christian faith are very exclusive, and I think that has been a real struggle for me."

P h/t @iancron

You would not believe your eyes...

Video featuring iDrum virtuoso sticksman Dan Abbott along with his pots and pans percussionist Jono breaking out some broad smiles in the metropolis of Londinium with some guerrilla busking. Hailing from my local patch of Colchester iDrum is a drummer's collective headed up by Dan who is also a regular member of Psalm Drummers as well as playing for various bands. Dan stresses that iDrum is primarily about having fun, being a tad different from other buskers and definitely not a commercial masterplan. Love the mime to Owl City's single Fireflies too, pukka performance art!

According to Dan the interaction of the watching crowds makes all the serious effort well worthwhile, with folk saying that stumbling across them playing landed up making their day. Young guns have staged dance offs in front of the band, there have been spontaneous break dances and other pro drummers have stepped up and joined in for impromptu jam sessions. Keep an ear and eye out for them as they perform all over the place, check out the various youtube videos.

Film above created by Timecode Cartel.

P h/t Tim Abbott

Does my bum look big in this?!

I recall it was all a tad stressful as our Ivor had already legged it home to watch the transmission when a technical problem was identified and we were put on standby to re-record.... Fortunately all was well!

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Dustin Kensrue - please come home...

Mixing a familiar parable with a narrative style lyric sung from the Father's perspective in the 1st person, an inspiring piece from Dustin Kensrue, lead singer of Thrice...

But I know what you're thinking
That you've troubled me enough
Nothing could ever separate you from my love
I still stand here waiting
With my eyes fixed on the road
And I fight back tears and I wonder
If you're ever coming home.
Don't you know, son, that I love you
And I don't care where you've been
So please come home...

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Bruce Springsteen taking care...

From Bruce's new album 'Wrecking Ball', another anthem demonstrating his lyrical ability to provoke a challenge in a statement...

Read more from The Telegraph: Bruce Springsteen: I enjoy artists who take on the world

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Revival comes to West Mersea...

Residents of St. Peter's Road receiving the Wood of the LORD this morning.... a parishioner was encouraged by the new and charismatic preacher saying they would fit in well 'as our services are usually a bit wooden'. We're told the reading was from Isaiah 55:12 along with a relevant chorus.

The good news is the message Sufjan Stevens brings us which I wouldn't have found if I'd not searched for the obvious song!

Hands down for coffee...

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Choral Anthems for the rest of us...

A sensitive live performance of U2's anthemic 'With or without You' by the Belgian girls' choir Scala conducted by Stijn Kolacny and accompanied by brother Steven Kolacny on the piano. First became aware of them when they played and sang Coldplay's Viva la Vida during the introduction to the last (2011) BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

P

Advent music with The Killers

The Killers invite Elton John and Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant to provide vocals on 'Joseph, Better You Than Me' with wonderful lyrical and theological insights. Note the subtle change in the refrain as the song develops:

From the temple walls to the New York night: Our decisions rest on a child
When she took her stand did she hold your hand?
Will your faith stand still or run away? Run away?

From the temple walls to the New York night: Our decisions rest on a man
When I take the stand, When I take the stand, Will he hold my hand?
Will my faith stand still or run away?

And my favourite line linking the 40 years and 40 days wilderness times:

And the desert, It's a hell of a place to find heaven

P

BBC's Rev Series 2... can't wait!

The new series of Rev returns to BBC2 next week... Episode 1 transmits at 9:00pm Thursday 10th November. Forthcoming episodes feature a trip to the Greenbelt Festival and none other than Ralph Fiennes as the Bishop of London.

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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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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

P