The view from here

Eliza Carthy
“Lavenders” (mp3)
from “Dreams Of Breathing Underwater”
(Topic)

Buy at mTraks Download

plus:

Mr Magnifico (mp3)

Follow The Dollar (mp3)

I managed to get out to a bookshop this weekend and couldn’t resist buying this gem: An Incredible String Band Compendium. The Incredible String Band have always exerted an influence that far out-stripped their record sales…even Paul McCartney cited ISB as a favourite in the same year that Sgt. Pepper was released! The book covers it all, from their early years starting out in an Edinburgh folk club to their experiments in theatre, film and lifestyle. This is the first major book written about the ISB.

Writers from award-winning magazine beGLAD present their fruits of a decade of research. Includes interviews with Mike Heron, Robin Williamson and all the key players…also a wealth of reminiscence such as Billy Conolly on their early years in Edinburgh.

If you enjoy ISB this is a great book to revel in those days.

You can purchase it in the store here

I’ve also added some ISB to the playlist so listen out for them!

 
Photo Credit: Derek Speirs

I never met Bob Dylan but I sang with Pecker Dunne - Christy Moore

Pecker Dunne was born into a Wexford travelling family. He was actually born in a horse-drawn caravan in Castlebar, Co Mayo, on April 1, 1932. He tells us in the song Wexford that his father was a fiddle player and was known as “The Fiddler Dunne”. He also says his father taught him how a man will never starve with a banjo, fiddle or song.

Read Bio here

Well for those of you that don’t know, Maddy has just released a new album called “Seven For Old England” which should be on it’s way to me soon from Park records. In the meantime you can enjoy a preview in the Amazon Widget below…from which you can download tracks. Also included Buy links to the station store for the CD and itunes. [Read more →]

Aimee Mann takes a new direction in her latest album, @#%&*! Smilers. This is her 7th Solo release on her own label “Superego”. So what’s different? There’s no electric guitar unlike previous releases and the keyboards take to the fore which creates according to Aimee an ”interesting amalgamation of sounds”.

Produce by Paul Bryan who also plays bass on the album with Jay Bellerose on drums and Jamie Edwards on keyboards. She also duets with Sean Hayes, another favourite artist of mine who’s been knocking out albums off his own back for years.

One to listen out for on the playlist soon.

Jakob Dylan has just released his first solo album, Seeing Things. The album is a step away from the sound of The Wallflowers, Dylans longtime band. The album is almost entirely accoustic guitar although this is also accompanied by bass, harmony and keyboards, all be it in an unobtrusive way . The album was produced by Rick Rubin who is reknowned for his back to basics re-inventions. I’ll be bringing you some tracks from the album soon.

If you can’t wait you can buy it in the store here

We’re still in the best months to hear the  Dawn Chrous at it’s best, normally April to May when both local and migrant birds sing to stake their territiories and to call for a mate. It’s normally kicked off by our blackbirds, robins or skylarks and carries on until mid-day but the best time to hear it is as the sun rises. This is about 5.00am this time of month where I am but this differs across the UK by as much as 30 minutes. So I normally rise at 4.30am to catch it…with a cup of tea in hand of course. It’s a lovely start to the day!

If you’ve never experienced it then set you’re alarm clocks early and head outside or just open you’re window nice and wide to hear it. Some people who have been listening to this incredible spectacle over the ages have said that it has changed considerably. There has been a decrease in some bird species and even the well know sound of the Cuckoo is no longer as prevalent as it use to be. Reasons given include changes in insect population to there being less available nests to take over. 

If getting up at the crack of dawn and heading out is just to much for you to cope with, don’t worry, you can still find out what it’s like by visiting the BBC Breathing Places site where you can select a location from a map and hear a recording of the Dawn Chorus. You’ll also find a handy pocket guide to download which is full of useful tips and information on what you might hear.

The best dawn chorus I ever heard was when I was living in a woodland for a week doing green woodworking. I was sleeping out in the open and I got up before the sun rose and fired-up the brick oven to get the kettle going. I had a nice brew made and the song started shortly after. I sat and listened to it for about an hour before anyone else arrived, no doubt woken by the rising volume of song….

We are continually hearing about the housing shortage, young people being mortgaged up to the hilt and new housing is ugly, over-priced and poorly constructed with little consideration for the environment and the future. There are a number of people that have taken the plunge and built their own houses. This project caught my eye by Simon Dale. He built this amazing family home in Wales in 4 months with the help of his father-in-law and some visitors…he estimated it took 1000-1500 man hours and he has, to this point, put in £3000.

Tools used? Chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel and little else. Simon is neither a builder or carpenter. There are opportunities out there to get involved with similar projects for those that would like to have a go and get the experience.

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We had a real result yesterday, that is me and my wife. We’ve had our names down for an allotment for the past 2 years. We had the day off yesterday so we popped along to the local council offices to see what was happening. We had great news as an allotment had come up which we immediately accepted. It is also just around the corner from us. I could push a wheel barrow there in five minutes. It becomes free in December and it’s a nice site. About 50 other allotments and a great community spirit. When we saw the plot we were grinning like two kids. There was a mix of young and old green fingered enthusiasts about togther with a couple of kids helping their dad and chickens, yes they allow poultry.

I have to admit that we do both feel really lucky as the waiting list in some places is crazy and it’s bound to get worse with cost of food rising the way it is. We sat down after dinner last night to start planning with Andi Clevely’s “The Allotment Book” close to hand.

So plenty of hard work ahead which I’ll keep posted. That leaves me with an urge to get back into breadmaking and green woodworking…there’s something very fulfilling about being able to make something with your own two hands especially in this commercial day and age we now live in.

I caught Chatham County Line on Later with Jools the other week. Their latest release “IV” which is on the Yep Roc label will shortly be in the playlist. What was nice about this clip of the North Carolina foursome was them singing around one microphone. Watch how they play and sing and the changing distances they use to raise and lower sounds…great music. A very nice album as well…more alternative than pure trad…

This beauty goes into the playlist this week and what I forgot to mention on the main site was that it’s actually produced by Ry Cooder. It focuses on songs of the Civil Rights movement and even includes two new original songs by the man himself. It’s good to see Ry Cooder getting his teeth stuck into something like this, especially in the current global state of human rights issues.

Of course, Mavis Staples knows all about Civil Rights struggle. The Staples Singers were taken right into the limelight thanks to her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples who was a close friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. They pretty much became the musical voice of the Civil Rights movement in the mid 1960s and Mavis experienced her own share of racism following her arrest during a peaceful demonstration by a Racist Cop…

Staples has also enlisted the help of the original vocalists of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Community, who were called the SNCC Freedom Singers and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This is a real gem.

A great classic in from next week…All of the 14 tracks were recorded between 1935 and 1938 and capture Blind Boy Fuller at his peak.

One of may favourites that will feature in the new World Music Hour. Check the main site for details of the GlobeTrotter Mix that features world music…

Not the first time Steffen has appeared on this blog, nor will it be the last. The Harmonic Rooms posted this great couple of videos which they filmed onto the forum a little while back. It was a fascinating insight into the mind of Steffen and his work. They make great films at The Harmonic Rooms and this one is one of my favourites. There is no ego with The Harmonic Rooms, they never feature the interviewer in their films.

Also included in this post is a free download of “A Secret Song” which is taken from Last Days of the Dragon which was released in 2006. It has an amazing eastern sound which I’ve always loved and been attracted to. Enjoy it.

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When you run a station like this by yourself it can really stack up on you when you’re not 100% happy with it…especially when you’re investing a lot of time and money every month for no personal gain other than the satisfaction of playing good music to listeners who may never otherwise get to hear it. I spend virtually every spare moment working on this or developing it. It gets tiring I can tell you.

I’ve recently found  myself sat in front of my PC late into the night getting tracks ready or developing the website wondering how to  make it better or more enjoyable. So, I’ve made a few changes although I’m not yet finished as I still need to decide on how best to make it all fit/mix together or not as the case may be (the music types that is, don’t worry). [Read more →]