WR

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: - WHAT'S RATTLIN'? - :: :: The "Periodical" Digest for Canterbury Music Addicts :: :: Issue # 192 :: :: Friday, April 12th, 2002 :: :: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, Well, in spite of some contributors' best efforts WR seems to want to settle on a more or less monthly periodicity. The main news on the live front is Caravan's upcoming Italian tour (their first-ever!). There have been a few interesting releases recently such as the remaster of Henry Cow's "Western Culture" with new sleeve notes and bonus tracks; John Greaves and Pip Pyle's "Pig Part Project" with French multi-instrumentalist Philippe-Marcel Iung... Recommended Records have just begun an extensive Fred Frith release programme combining reissues of Fred's classic albums (beginning with "Gravity") and previously unreleased projects. I have contributed liner notes to a forthcoming Soft Machine CD, "Backwards", to be released by Cuneiform Records on May 7th. Combining a live set from May 1970, septet radio tracks from November 1969 and Robert Wyatt's legendary "Moon In June" demo from late '68, this is probably the single best Soft Machine archive CD, and I heartily recommend it! In other news, Hugh Hopper is collaborating with Nick Didkovsky of Doctor Nerve on a duo project, while continuing work on his third CD with singer Lisa Smith Kloessner. The "PolySoft" ensemble that performed classic Soft Machine material in '98/'99 will be resurrected in September for at least one concert in Paris, featuring Hugh and possibly Elton Dean. Pip Pyle has finished composing instrumental material for a new solo project and is currently in the process of selecting musicians for the recording. John Greaves is concentrating on an acoustic trio with Sophia Domancich and cellist Vincent Courtois, but is also doing quite a bit of bass playing in various projects, including a trio with Joseph Racaille and Chris Cutler that promises to be a highlight of this summer's MIMI festival in Marseille. That's about all I know at this point - the rest is in the 'live dates' section at the end of this issue. Meanwhile I am continuing work on my Canterbury book as time permits. I am still busy with research and interviews, and the actual writing of it progresses rather slowly. I still welcome any help, especially from musicians or musicologists with an ability to contribute enlightened comments on compositional aspects. Apart from this I have assembled quite an extensive archive of press articles, mainly from the 1970s; I think I have covered most of the French, British, US, German and Dutch press. But Italy in particular is still pretty much uncovered, so, dear Italian friends, if you know of any way to access archives of 1970s rock magazines like Gong or Ciao 2001, please contact me at once! These are specific research areas, but generally I just welcome any exchange of ideas on any subject related to the book. Last thing - I have finally solved the 'Calyx guestbook' problem, so you can again drop me a note about the website if you feel like it... and read other people's messages of course. Bye for now, Aymeric ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jonny Greene <jonny@planetgong.co.uk> Subject: GONG - NEW MOON NEWS (PP) Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 20:59:45 +0000 Well hello! Soooooo good to be mailing you after such a long gap! I do hope that you are all well and well smiley - and if not quite that - then that you are nurturing and being nurtured (top tip:- these last two go hand in hand). Phew! Where to start? I'm a bit out of practise at this... WEBSITE PROBLEMS Deepest apologies for the 'disturbance in the Force' on the website over the past few weeks. If you don't need or want to know what happened skip to the last paragraph to see where it's all at now. It started with ISP problems (apparently an ISP 'down the line' >from my ISP disappeared without notification). As most of the 'tags' or page addresses on the Planetgong site had been built with 'absolute' rather 'relative' tags all manner of chaos ensued. It mean that even if you did manage get to the site all the address to call the pages and the parts of the pages were pointing no-where. We had vanished. So all the tags had to be changed and there were 100's of them. Some, like the html ones could be changed with a search and replace procedure, but many, like the cgi scripts, we had to hunt for and change be hand. Some of these were visible and others 'invisible'. For example each Kasbah page has 5 or 6 tags, sometimes more. It meant that most of the structure of the site had to be rewritten. This would have been a big enough task by itself with the full-time help of the person who had originally built the site. But as Wes, the webmaster, had just decided to experience a series of life-changing events, vanish from Glastonbury and become all but impossible to contact, this wasn't going to happen. The final piece of the jigsaw of doom was that Wes had also been the tech-guy for the local ISP. We were truly stuffed - it was a train wreck. A temporary fix (which itself took 16 hours to do) by Graham Hinton and myself, was a great stop gap for a few days, but it also revealed some of the deeper problems that had to be fixed. But... never fear the Wolf is here... Dr Wolf Thandoy (man of many parts, including being the owner/driver of the bus on past US Gong tours) heard my sobs, and being in the UK came to help save the day. He has been working phenomenally hard for the past few weeks with a major rebuilding and reorganising program for the entire site. It has been a learning curve like the north face of the Eiger (in winter!), but it seems that in the past few days we have broken through to the sunny uplands of smoother running, and any remaining problems diminish day by day and step-a by step-a. Hurrah! Many good things, indeed vital things, have come out of all this upheaval. We have reconstructed the site in a way that will enable us to move it to a new server, if the need arises, at very little notice and with a minimum of work or disturbance (you shouldn't even really notice). We have lost many of the dead links carried over from the very first Gong website, and any we haven't dealt we are aware of. So it should now be possible to access the large amount of historical and biographical work that Tim Flatus did for the first Gong website. We have ironed many of the quirks and are fully aware of the areas that need working on. Perhaps we are actually flying this teapot again for real! DAEVID After all the Gong touring in Europe and University of Errorring in New York Daevid just about got back to Australia in time to celebrate his 64th on 13th January (only another 30 to go till 2032!). RECORDING - GIGS He is now immersed in familial duties and pleasures, recording with Mikey Cosmic, and appearing at some intriguingly diverse gigs in and around Bryon Bay in Australia. These include a new incarnation of the daevid allen trio with Japanese bassist/multi instrumentalist KAZ and drummer percussionist Maxwell Stokes, plus... working 2-3 nights a week as performance poet SUBTERRANIA DVD COVER Daevid has also finished designing a cover for the Snapper Gong Subterrainia Gig DVD, a version of which is in the news section on the website. Last week Mike Howlett and Theo Travis finished the 5.1 surround sound mix, so it looks like the proposed release date of mid to late May might be achieved. The planned 'extras' for the DVD include the strange edited highlights of interviews Daevid conducted with our friend Harry from Norway. NEW ETERNITEA CD COVER? Due to the general disappointment in the cover of the Zero/Live Gong budget double CD issue, 'From Here To Eternitea', Daveid has offered to produce a replacement cover and edit the original liner notes for Snapper. GONG DREAMING II David Gregson, co-designer with Daevid of Gong Dreaming I, is now living in Bryon Bay, Australia close to the alien. This of course means that further progress is being made right now on this project. So much so that within the next week we shall be posting a some sample pages and a subscription page with details of how to go about reserving a copy. A tall thin man in Australia sez... "Who would like a personally dedicated copy in return for advance payment. Yes folks! This is how we fund it!!" POEM MOVIE Giorgio Gomelsky's Digital Movie of Daevid performing his notorious poem predicting 11th sept 01 drama recorded in NY on 5th sept 01 will soon be available from GAS poetry is the enemy of work GILLI GONG 2001 LIVE CD Gilli has compiled the most wonderfully affirming Gong live CD from recordings made on the recent tours. With the invaluable help of Orlando she has spun a most magical, musical invocation with which I'm impressed. She set herself the brief of using only the freest jamming, the most scintillating solos and the most atmospheric passages from the recordings she had. Not serving up yet more versions of much too well known songs. And I think she has succeeded. It certainly made these over-Gonged ears sit up, take notice, smile and enjoy. Find out more on the website. GONG MATRIX Gilli also reports..."I am working really hard with Pierce on the Gong Matrix CD... had to rewrite some of the lyrics because of Sept 11th... which has changed the political picture, particularly in U.S. where it is orientated. Pierce is sending me rough mixes of the music to put on vocals here. Will happen this year, probably about September. GODLY TALK Gilli is now writing the sequel to Godly Talk on the vagaries of religious experience. Godly Talk is now available in the Kasbah. TALIESIN DVD Jen has more or less finished Taliesin on DVD and expects it to be out in next couple of months....." THEO TRAVIS The by turns mysterious and jewel-like ambient Cipher CD, known in past as 'Alien Cipher' but now called 'One Who Whispers' has been fully mixed and has reached the artwork stage. Daevid's glissando guitar, which is an integral part of 6 of the 9 tracks, has been beautifully recorded and sounds simply gorgeous, fitting in perfectly with the other atmospheric themes. There is also a Porcupine Tree connection on this release as Richard Barbieri guests and Steve Wilson mixed and was a co-producer. Theo Travis/ Mark Hewins CD to be released in April/May 2002 called " Guerilla Music". Guerilla Music is an album of improvisations that will be released on Burning Shed Records. It features Theo on alto flute and soprano saxophone and Mark Hewins on acoustic, electric and harmonic guitars and samples. Find out about Theo's other gigging activities at http://www.theotravis.com MIKE HOWLETT Has been been reassembling... well everything really, after the disastrous fire in his newly constructed studio/office/shed which happened while we were away on tour. As relaxation from that grind has be been recording with Lyn Dobson and has been having some fun mixing the Dolby 5.1 surroundsound for the Gong Subterrania DVD soundtrack, which is almost finished. He is full of talk of figure of eight and diagonal swoops. DAEVID ID Superb switch doctor that he is, the one and only David Id is in demand for his skills all over the place. One recent job was the Iron Maiden benefit gigs in London and he reported thus:- "Most surprised and tickled I was to find a Camembert Electrique t-shirt queuing up for the Iron Maiden concert the other night. He must have been the absolute only alternatively clad fan in the building, so dedicated and conformist the I.M'ers generally are. He was very brave, or experimental, or, as somebody explained it - since he is a gong fan, he probably doesn't know where he is anyway...I for one cannot really place an appreciation of both musics within the same set of ears. Oh well, the wonders of the human race eh......" Come on then who was it? THE UNIVERSITY OF ERRORS There is a French tour budding for later in the year, around Sept-Oct time. And there is real interest in promoting UofE gigs in Norway and Spain as well. Bassist Michael Clare is the man at the helm of this venture and I can put you in touch with him if you think you can help in any concrete way. As he says:- "What we really need is a QUALIFIED Sound mixer who can walk into any venue and make the sound great --- who also doesn't mind a bit of humping and can drive and is totally responsible and reliable --- not too much to ask is it??? Oh, and he also has to want to come for expenses and whatever we can afford to pay at the end --- I would be the perfect guy for this if- a. I were a qualified sound mixer. b. i were insane and not playing in the band.Oh, yeah, if he can speak 5 languages that would help too and put up with our personalities for 7-8- weeks in a van." The mixing of the UofERR3 CD, working title 'Ugly Music for Monica', is currently being finished in Brooklyn. By all accounts is yet a further great leap forward in their strange odyssey. I'm sure they are right - but I haven't heard it yet.. The next issue of Expose Magazine will come with a free BayProg Compilation CD, featuring a number of San Francisco, Bay Area bands. There's a different version of one of the Spirit Burning II tracks. Called Clear Audient, V2.5, it features a sextet of Daevid, Michael Clare, and others." http://www.expose.org NEW PAYMENT METHODS The Kasbah can accept Maestro and Solo card payments - apparently it always has been able to. Hard to keep abreast of all these plastic payment variations!...A free CD to the first person who walks through the office door with a very large turnip as payment - Ah good old-fashioned barter, I understand that. GONG WORDS Music Journalist, Lars Fahlin has had his Daevid/Gong article/interview published in the latest issue of Rock 'n' Reel, No. 35. And there is a small article on the recording of Flying Teapot in the May issue of Mojo. * * * * * * PLANETGONG WEBSITE UPDATES Lyric library entries:- Gong's Angel's Egg in French (thanks to Benoit Godfroy)Daevid's Dreamin' a Dream in French (thanks to Benoit Godfroy)Gilli's It's All a Dream in English - finally! (Luc Pilmeyer helped get this together) The next couple of weeks will see us delve into Italian lyrics as in the pipeline are more of Toni Colina's Gong & Daevid translations. But where are all the ace German/Norwegian/Finnish etc. translators? GAS Archive new entries:- Daevid Interview 08/2001 Daevid Question & Answer session Daevid Interview: On recording Flying Teapot Next it's updating the return of the band and musician biographical pages, more image galleries, expanded discographies, how to draw the Gong Mandala using sacred geometry and as always keeping you up to speed with all the Gong and related releases in the Kasbah. * * * * * * OTHER WEB NEWS If you find interesting Gong family and related bits out there anywhere please share them with us and we can pass them on to everyone. Don't assume that we know all the pages and sites. UofE webmaster Luc Pilmeyer has been busy helping construct and develop Gilli's new site and gorgeous and entertaining it is too - see for youself. http://www.gillismyth.t2u.com There is a new potheadpixie mailing list, Potheadpixie2. To start sending messages to members of this group, simply send email to:- potheadpixie2@yahoogroups.com There is now a Gong site in Polish (I think you can option English as well). http://www.venco.com.pl/~bartkey/Gong/ Before giving the Gong site emergency resuscitation Dr Wolf had been working on Nik Turner's new site, check it out. http://www.nikturner.com Review of the Gong gig in Turin appears in the current issue of No Warning! http://digilander.iol.it/anewland/nowarn.htm * * * * * * BEFORE WE WERE INTERRUPTED GAS MEMBERSHIP Okay so the whole concept running the GAS membership scheme obviously seems to have become totally beyond me. For various reasons it's a ball that slipped through my fingers in the ongoing GAS juggling act some time ago. And although I keep looking at it lying there on the floor I can't seem to be able to bend down and pick it up for worry of dropping all the other balls. So I surrender. Therefore, Friday, who worked full-time for GAS for a couple of years (and she still comes to help with accounts and VAT) has agreed to take it on. So although patience may be stretched to the utmost, and there is every variation of 'membership' (and non 'membership') you can think of going on at present - just a tiny bit bit longer please. It will be worth it, and any outstanding confusions you (and I) have will be gone. We will mail you with the masterplan. Daevid has compiled a wonderful members CD full of Gong Family jewels, many of which have never seen the light of day, which will be off to the pressing plant very soon. GILLI'S GONG RARITIES To those of you who expressed interest in Gilli's ultra-rare Gong posters and artifacts, haven't forgotten about them and they haven't been sold. In fact they were next on the "to do" list when the website went screwy. We should be posting the images on the site in about this week. * * * * * * GIGS and EVENTS SUBTERRANIA SUNDAY MELLOUT- UK, London Ex Here & Now/Moodswinger Grant Showbiz co-hosts this club on the second and last Sunday of each month. "9 hours of chilled DJs, performers, psychedelics, trance'n'shrooms dance, poeticians, visuals, vision and true reunion with your creative elf" 28 Apr - with Cipher (Theo Travis & Dave Sturt) 6pm-7pm. £6/£4 con. From 4pm to midnight. No kids under 14 - sorry. Subterrania, W 11 Acklam Rd, off Portabello Rd (nearest tube Ladbroke Grove) http://www.idspiral.org DIDIER MALHERBE - French Dates-Spring HadoukTrio - Malherbe-Ehrlich-Shehan 24 Apr Paris 19, Porte de la Villette, Glaz'Art17 May Faches-Thumesnil, Centre Musical "les Arcades " 16 rue Kléber 59155 KANGAROO HALF MOON Mark Robson and Dave Williams 19 Apr Wookey Hole Inn21 Apr The Harrow Inn, Wanborough, Nr Swindon23 Apr Swindon, The Old Town, The Beehive 01793 523187 KANGAROO MOON - Summer Tours Much more to be added. 02 May West End Centre, Aldershot 01252 330040 http://www.westendcentre.co.uk03 May Flowerpot, Derby 01332 834 438 http://www.rawpromo.co.uk06 May Dorchester Festival, Corn Exchange 01305 266 92610 May Kulti, Wetzikon 01 932 6602 15 May Switzerland, Fribourg tbc.17 May Switzerland, Kofmehl Solothurn, 032 621 2060 http://www.kofmehl.net 18 May Switzerland , SAS, Delemont 032 422 0377 http://www.hugo.ch/clubs/sas 28-30 Jun Glastonbury Festival05 Jul Telfords Warehouse, Chester 01244 390 090 tbc.06 Jul Trades Club, Hebbden Bridge 01422 845265 tbc.20 Jul Sesiwn Fawr Festival, Dolgellau , Wales tbc.04 Aug Switzerland, Open-air Emmen, Luzern, 041 2604460 http://www.comamusic.ch CIPHER - Film gig Theo Travis and Dave Sturt. Live performance with classic German Black and White silent short films by Karl Valentin "The Desk" and "The Mysteries of the Hairdresser's shop". Book early as this will sell out! Jun 13 - London SW7 , Goethe Institute, 50 Princes Gate, Exhibition Rd [tel: 0207 596 4000] EX-GIRLS One of Gong's fav support acts on tour all over Europe http://0505.net/ex-girl * * * * * * IMMINENT RELEASES CD: Gong - Glastonbury Fayre (GAS-ARC CD001) I've just been proofing the final artwork for this exciting archive release. Find out more at the updated Future Releases page in the news on the website. CD: Kangaroo Moon - Between Two Worlds (Klangbad) New album to be released April 22 this year - Klangbad is the label of the legendary German band, Faust. CD: Spirits Burning - Reflections In A Radio Shower (Gazul) features Daevid Allen, Robert Calvert, Thom The World Poet, members of Mushroom, ICU's Judge Trev, Don Falcone and others. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Roger Farbey" <r.farbey@bda-dentistry.org.uk> Subject: WR Nucleus gig,etc Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:57:21 -0000 Aymeric, There is a very rare opportunity to see Ian Carr's Nucleus at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London on Thursday 18 April 2002. The concert consists of Ian Carr's Nucleus playing the first half, and a complete performance of Neil Ardley's Kaleidoscope of Rainbows rescored for a new band and containing a short section that was not included on the original album. The all-star band features: Ian Carr (trumpet and flugelhorn); Tony Coe and Phil Todd (reeds); Billy Thompson (violin); Alex Wilson and Geoff Castle (keyboards); Mark Wood or John Parricelli (guitar); Jon Hiseman (drums); Trevor Tomkins (percussion). Please note that Jon Hiseman (of Colosseum fame) will be 'guest star' with Nucleus too. Details are at the South Bank Centre website at: http://www.sbc.org.uk/ Also, may I take this opportunity to say what a great job Cuneiform Records did with Brotherhood of Breath's live album 'Travelling Somewhere'. The sound quality is stunningly good for a live album, the musicianship is, as ever, superb, the liner notes are very informative and the whole thing is just brilliant. I single out 'Kongi's Theme' as the most irritatingly persistent riff of the whole CD - irritating in a good way that is, if that isn't a contradiction in terms (which it is)! But most of the other tracks are just as memorable. And what a line up! Harry Beckett, Mark Charig & Mongezi Feza (trumpets), Nick Evans & Malcolm Griffiths (trombones), Mike Osborne, Evan Parker, Dudu Pukwana & Gary Windo (saxes), Chris McGregor (piano), Harry Miller (double bass) and Louis Moholo (drums). Cheers Roger Farbey ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Daniel Mathys" <damabon@hotmail.com> Subject: Absolute Zero Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 07:25:22 +0000 Hi Aymeric, Here's news. My friend Enrique Jardines (bass player in Absolute Zero) told me their new album "Crashing Icons" is ready to be released. On drums there's Pip Pyle. They're a brilliant band in the Canterbury-King Crimson-Magma direction but with definitely a style of their own and highly original. All the best from Danny ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: niko.paech@gmx.de Subject: Magma Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 14:57:31 +0100 (MET) Dear Aymeric, As far as I know, a MAGMA concert in Germany is planned for the 4th of May in Würzburg. Check out this link: http://www.artrock-festival.de/ Thank you very much for the wonderful work! Greetings, Niko Paech (Oldenburg, Germany) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "mike.johnson1" <mike.johnson1@tinyworld.co.uk> Subject: Canterbury DVDs Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 22:15:14 -0000 Aymeric, Thanks for issue 191. Still much appreciated even if we are not contributing enough material. Here is an interesting snippet which I don't think you have mentioned. A company called Classic Rock Legends has released DVD/videos of Gong, Hatfield & the North and loads of other intersting bands. They have a great website where you can watch teasers from the videos. Perhaps you could put the link in the next newsletter. Bye. http://www.classic-rocklegends.com Mike Johnson Wokingham UK ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Kenneth Egbert" <invizzigoth@earthlink.net> Subject: Review of Richard Sinclair's new CD, LIVE TRACKS Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 22:17:25 -0500 How do, Aymeric: You asked for reviews and opinions from all the Rattlers, so to prove no honest request should go unpunished, here's a CD review. Best regards, and hopefully it's not too long. RICHARD SINCLAIR:Live Tracks (Sinclair Songs, UK; not yet in release, see below for info) Canterbury's lone ranger rides again, in a celebration of how the CD-burning technique is now well within the affordability of most musicians. LIVE TRACKS has a jerry-built feel, like a confection of the moment, yet in it there is a possibility of the Canterbury scene's reimagination much as the one we recall Richard, Heather Kinnear, Teatse Vogelaar and friends advancing when they assembled the Canterbury in Harlingen Festival in '96. Over the last seven or eight years I've noticed Daevid Allen's many Gongs touching down in the US, and a new Caravan releasing fistfuls of studio, live and archival recordings, and it's good to see these fellows out and about but it is 2002, isn't it? And is any band formed to last forever, or am I relying too heavily here on the Beatles' template (break up at the height of your powers)? I can't be the only one who wonders what Dave Sinclair's got in his music folder that wouldn't do for Caravan, can I? Bands are composed of individual artists all on their way somewhere together (much as Caravan originally viewed itself to be, thus the name) and as such I have to wonder. Richard Sinclair doesn't care to take this well-traveled route, he does here and has in the past and will continue to flesh his music and his bands out any number of ways, much as Phil Lesh has through his various incarnations of Phil Lesh and Friends made a sort of repertory of the Grateful Dead's music and re-introduced the idea that this music can be played in infinite rearrangements. Thus on LIVE TRACKS we see him improvising lushly on solo acoustic guitar, making up lyrics on the fly ("Raga In The Key of D Pieces"), showcasing his still-formidable bass technique ("Rifferama," interpolating "Nan True's Hole"/"Oh, Lens Nature!") with drummers Andy Ward and Dave Cohen on board, and a definite treat: Sinclair warbling "What in the World" to the tune of old friend Dave Rees-Williams on the pipe organ in Harlingen's Grote Kerk on the second day of the aforementioned Harlingen Festival. Seems that Sinclair does his best work with keys players named Dave, and this is lovely; Rees-Williams, a chorister by trade, inserts all sorts of obbligatos and melodic turnarounds one never would have expected until Richard let him loose on the chord sequence. "What in the World" has a certain ecclesiatical feel to it ("Surely peace must be the way") so this take fits the tune better than the original on R.S.V.P. There's admittedly an 'odds and sods' air to the proceedings here, as if to contrast the 'document' attitude of AN EVENING OF MAGIC (the cheery air of the music assisting ably) but the 1994 New Morning Jazz Club tracks are the heart of the CD. These feature Rees-Williams on tasty piano, Tony Coe's soprano sax-like clarinet and Pip Pyle's ever-transcendental tubs, and the quartet jounce genially and often heated through "Barefoot," "What's Rattlin'", "Over from Dover" and a spirited improv that somehow (thanks to Richard's vaunted irresponsibility) ends up working over the theme to the American 1960s cartoon show "The Flinstones" some 9 minutes later. See if you can tell where thecorner turns into that infamous melody: I can't find the trigger anywhere!And "Over from Dover" is especially revelatory in that there is an evident and lush Brazilian feel of saudade (in Sinclair's vocal scatting, especially) that has lurked beneath the surface of many Sinclair tunes since the original "Bossa Nochance" (why didn't I see it before?); but then my old friend and fellow Rattler Michael Bloom has often pointed out the Canterbury/Brazil connection and how it goes beyond the oh-well-tomorrow's-another-day attitude that both categories employ. Not so interesting (but a must for Caravan completists) is a decent take (from the COOL WATER sessions) of "Down On the Farm" (first seen on Camel's 1976 release BREATHLESS) Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan give the proceedings a pass/fail sort of effort while Jan Schelhaas twirls and twists his synth into all sorts of curlicues around and between the chords. Sinclair is in excellent voice and as in the Camel take you can hear all the words and have a good laugh. I notice that my favorite line ("Sneak out the back way with Nellie the barmaid...") is missing in this take, but we can't have everything. And yes, if you'd like another "Disassociation/Two Feet On the Ground" ("There's a place where I can go...") and "Land Of Grey and Pink" they're here too. A fine return to recording for Mr. Sinclair, and a hopeful possibility for the future. Any time you're ready, Richard. (For info on when the CD will be out, or the final track list, check out http://www.sinclairsongs.fsnet.co.uk) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Anthony Shaw" <tonyshaw@clinet.fi> Subject: Matching Mole - Smoke Signals Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:39:25 +0200 In response to Aymeric's call for reviews, a few words following recent receipt of MM's latest/last(?) release on Cuneifom - Smoke Signals, a collection of classic tunes from their second phase(with Dave McRae replacing Dave Sinclair as full time keyboardist) and 'recorded in Europe during 1972'. It's 50-plus mins of classic Canterbury fare, gathered from concerts during their hectic year on the road, as chronicled in liner notes by our esteemed list moderator. High quality live recording reveals that the band had come a long way from their origins as backers of a Robert Wyatt solo effort. I'm not familiar with any of RWs comments on this product, but fellow members Phil Miller and Bill MacCormick sound inextricably in the groove, reproducing very faithful yet looser versions of the acclaimed studio arrangements largely from their second LP Little Red Record. For connoisseurs of 'classic Soft Machine' - loose, keyboard-led structured improvisations? - there is much to offer (March Ides 1 & 2, Brandy as in Benj, Smoke Signals), as well as very tasty snippets of RW's drum and vocal solos, and his classic Frenglish band introduction. The tracks are mainly McRae's offerings (+ 2 Miller's), which prompted me to realise that RW had not written anything on the band's second LP. Hmmmm. [except all of the lyrics, that is - AL] Releases 30 years after the event may suggest nostalgia, but to me this stands up as a rock solid link between the 'adolescent Wyatt' and everything that flowed from Hatfield to the present day. Forget accusations of completism - this is a good buy, and excellent listening. All the best - Tony in 'sinki ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rick Chafen <rchafen@yahoo.com> Subject: A different sort of Rotter's Club Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 10:34:27 -0700 (PDT) Hi, Aymeric and fellow rattlers, Haven't seen any mentions of this here, so I'll start. There's a new novel by Jonathan Coe which other rattlers may discover they should read, exactly forthe same reasons I knew I had to read it. The book is entitled "The Rotter's Club." That alone was enough for me. But to discover that a character in that book has a favorite band, a band called Hatfield and the North, sealed the connection. Over the last couple of days, I read the book without convincing myself I actually liked it. But, when a Brummie character goes to see the local stop on the Virgin Crisis tour with Kevin Coyne, Miller/Coxhill, and the Hatfields, he says that "with God at my side, I found a home in that music." Well, I could definitely relate to that part. And, somewhere in a revelatory penultimate sentence sprawling across 34 pages, Benjamin finally gets it. The words "Now I realize it's generosity that turns me on," descend into his consciousness. His friend Philip, by the way, missed a great opportunity to see National Health at University College, choosing instead a Rock against Racism gig instead. On the whole, I found the writing confusing and tedious, but the few inside chuckles it provoked as well as the subject matter kept me going right through its 400-plus pages. (The schoolmates of both kids from a family named Trotter rename them as Rotters. Ben becomes Bent Rotter, and his sister Lois becomes Lowest Rotter. Eventually, they come to see that they are the Rotter's Club. Hmm. Anyway, I found it in an American library, published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2002. I'd be curious if anyone in the know enjoys it more than I have. [Well, I for one really liked it, aside from the Canterbury references - of course we wish there were many more of them! I think it's a very interesting document of what it was like being a teenager in pre-Thatcherite England... Having had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan Coe recently (he's just released a CD of excerpts of his book set to music by French artist Louis Philippe, and performed it in Paris) and the sequel to "The Rotters' Club" should contain quite a few more. But we'll have to wait until 2004 at the soonest, I understand - AL] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** FORTHCOMING CANTERBURY-RELATED CONCERTS ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [for more info : check out the 'Concerts' page of CALYX] http://perso.club-internet.fr/calyx/index/concerts.html ==> CARAVAN <============================================================ Apr 17 - ROME (Italy), Don Bosco Theatre / Apr 18 - SARZANA [La Spezia] (Italy), Jux Tap / Apr 19 - RIMINI (Italy), Io Street Club / Apr 20 - ANCONA (Italy), Barfly Jun 30 - TRENTON, NJ (USA), NEARfest 2002 website: http://www.nearfest.com Aug 23-25 - CANTERBURY SOUND FESTIVAL Line-up: Pye Hastings, Dave Sinclair, Richard Coughlan, Geoff Richardson, Doug Boyle, Jim Leverton, Simon Bentall ==> Hugh HOPPER <======================================================== May 11 - St.JEAN-AUX-BOIS [nr Compiègne] (France), Les Naïades HH 'French quartet' with Patrice Meyer, Jean-Rémy Guédon & François Verly Sep 14 - LES LILAS [nr Paris] (France), Le Triton [details tba] with POLYSOFT playing the classic Soft Machine repertoire ==> DIDIER MALHERBE & HADOUK TRIO <====================================== Apr 24 - PARIS (France), Glaz'Art / May 17 - FACHES-THUMESNIL [nr Lille], Centre Musical 'Les Arcades' / May 30 - PARIS (France), Satellit' Café HADOUK TRIO - Didier Malherbe, Loy Ehrlich & Steve Shehan More info: http://www.malherbedidier.com ========================================================================= * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** AND OTHER GOOD GIGS... ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ==> Peter BLEGVAD Trio + Karen MANTLER <================================= Jun 14 - FERRARA (Italy), Aterforum Festival ==> Bill BRUFORD's EARTHWORKS <========================================== Apr 22/23 - OSAKA (Japan), The Blue Note [info: 03-5474-1395] / Apr 24/25 - TOKYO (Japan), Sweet Basil [info: 06-6347-5195] May 05 - MAIDENHEAD, Norden Farm Arts Centre / May 06 - CHELTENHAM, Jazz Festival / May 08 - TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Trinity Arts Centre / May 09 - COLCHESTER, Arts Centre / May 11 - FAREHAM (Hants.), Ashcroft Arts Centre / May 12 - LONDON, Jazz Café May 16 - BOSTON (MA), Sculler's Jazz Club / May 17 - HUNTINGON (NY), I.M.A.C. / May 18 - NEW YORK CITY (NY), B.B. King's ==> Chris CUTLER <======================================================= Apr 18-27 - CORSICA (France), details tba [Cornelius Cardew1s Treatise project, with Helene Br, Daan Vandewalle & Jean Marc Montera] / Apr 28 - MARSEILLE (France), Treatise / May 15 - NANCY (France), Festival Musique-Action [solo] ==> SOPHIA DOMANCICH <=================================================== Apr 27 - PARIS, Maison de la Radio [SD Quintet] / Jun 13 - AVIGNON, Théâtre du Chène Noir [Didier Levallet Quartet] SD Quintet: S.Goubert, C.Tchamichian, J-L Capozzo, M.Marre ==> John ETHERIDGE <===================================================== Apr 10 - STAFFORD, Gumbley's Jazz Club [trio with Dudley Phillips & John Marshall] / Apr 19 - LONDON, Vortex Jazz Bar [with Theo Travis, Dudley Phillips & Nic France] / Apr 20 - HARLECH (Wales), Theatr Arduch [Sweet Chorus] / Apr 25 - OXFORD, Zodiac Club [Zappatistas] / Apr 26 - PETERBOROUGH, Great Northern Hotel [Sweet Chorus] / Apr 27 - SHERBOURNE, Jazz Club [with Steve Lodder] / Apr 28 - LONDON, Pizza Express Dean Street [Sweet Chorus] ==> Fred FRITH / MAYBE MONDAY <========================================== May 16 - VICTORIAVILLE (Québec), FIMAV / May 18 - MARSEILLE (France) / May 19 - BRUXELLES (Belgium) / May 20 - VANDOEUVRE-LES-NANCY (France), Festival Musique-Action / May 21 - BORDEAUX (France) / May 22 - LILLE (France) / May 23 - FRANKFURT (Germany) / May 24 - CERKNO (Slovenia) / May 25 - INNSBRUCK (Austria) / May 26 - BIELEFELD (Germany) / May 27 - ZURICH (Switzerland) MAYBE MONDAY: Larry Ochs (sax) & Miya Masaoka (koto & laptop) ==> OZRIC TENTACLES <==================================================== Apr 25 - AMSTERDAM (Netherlands), Melkweg / Apr 26 - ZOETERMEER (Netherlands), De Boerderij / Apr 27 - BRUXELLES (Belgium), VK Club ================================================================================================================================================== END OF ISSUE 192_________________________________________________________________________ WHAT'S RATTLIN'? - WHAT'S RATTLIN'? - WHAT'S RATTLIN'?_________________________________________________________________________ CALYX - The Canterbury Website http://perso.club-internet.fr/calyx WHAT'S RATTLIN'? BACK ISSUES - ONLINE ARCHIVE http://musart.co.uk/watrat/watrat.htm + search engine : http://musart.co.uk/ssearch.htm BACKWARDS - LISTE DE DISCUSSION 'CANTERBURY' EN FRANCAIS Pour s'abonner: mailto:backwards-subscribe@egroups.fr * To subscribe, send me an e-mail with 'WR sub' in the subject line.* To send a message for inclusion in the next issue, send it with 'WR: [subject]' in the subject line.* If your e-mail address changes, please notify me and mention both your old and new addresses so I can remove the old one and add the new one.* If you can no longer receive WR or don't want to anymore, don't forget to unsubscribe! (i.e. let me know)* All contributions are welcome! Please write to: CALYX@club-internet.fr_________________________________________________________________________