I have added an extra tracks section to the Music/Video part of my site. The first track is an improvised piece from Lich in Germany recorded for radio in a restored synagogue. Mary Barnecutt is on cello.
I will try to get tracks up as often as possible. These are free to download under a creative commons license, which means you can download and pass them on. So enjoy and spread the music amongst your friends. It really helps!
Mary and I had a day to rehearse and work out some material with the amazing Queen of Mbira, Chiwoniso, from Zimbabwe. No one knew if it would work at all. We picked 3 songs each to collaborate on. Chi let me write some extra verses for a few. Her lyrical content is razor sharp and political and beautiful and strong. I normally find it really hard to share vocal ideas and sing other peoples lyrics , but this was just like finding a page of my own from an old notebook.
Out voices were perfect together and it was amazing to hear her sing the verse on Apple tree ( i wish she was around for the recording) and play mbira on Throw your arms around me. Mary’s cello was spot on as usual and after a first few song jitters we all enjoyed ourselves and Chi had the entire audience singing along.
It was an honour to share the stage with her and i can’t wait for the next show. A very special night.
I’m off to the airport at stupid o’clock in the morning with Mary on cello for a some shows in Germany and The Netherlands. I’m really looking forward to trying out he new songs on a live audience and jamming with Chiwoniso. It will be great to see familiar faces and new. Come up and say hello after the show.
I found a place that sells really good Yerba Mate tea from Beunos Aires in big cocaine sized blocks. Cruz de malta rocks. I hope everyone is feeling good and things are flying for ye…
This animation was lost for a good few years…I think it was the second one I had made…Pass it on…
Rick Rubin is now co-head of Columbia records. I find everything hilarious at the moment. The music “industry” is on fire and people are pouring petrol on it. No one knows what to do as the ship sinks slowly. It is utter chaos and no one has any saviour answers or solutions. There are no “ABC” routes anymore. It is not just change, but constant change. All business models and marketing models are out the window and people are terrified…the great hope of the internet as the indie panacea never materialized. It is not cds being replaced by something else. It is a fundamental constant shift in economics and delivery.
Who the fuck pays for cds anymore? Who the fucks pays for downloads? the new ipod is 160 gigs, at $1 a pop for a song who would spend $20,000 to fill it?
I don’t have any answers…i am still recording and making music. I am still touring. I have had two distributors of my music go under and withdraw from selling cds anymore. I live from my live shows and sales of cds at shows. I will keep doing this as long as i can. I am not scared. I will still make music one way or another.
It is scary to see special voices like Kristin Hersh questioning wether or not it is still possible to continue making records and touring. She can’t afford to pay her musicians etc. She has just launched a new initiatiive on her site which i hope works for her. Her Blog is worth a read.
Ash have decided they will no longer record albums and will just release music online in groups of 3-4 songs.
Anyway the ship continues to burn. To be honest with you, right this second, I don’t really give a fuck. I am putting my heart and soul into these new pieces of music and treating them as if they are the last collection of songs I will ever write. The same as always.
It’s ok folks…I’m laughing…see you on the road. Come up and say hello. I’m the big fucker with a guitar.
I just spent the weekend working on outline scripts for a company pitching a children’s TV series on BBC. It looks like it will get picked up. I have just seen he animations for the series i helped write last year. It’s a trip seeing what i wrote being interpreted by others and turn into animated characters. It’s called funky fables and should hit your screens next year. I like when i travel round and see these things in other languages.
I’m rehearsing for the next few days and working some new songs into the set. I’m looking forward to trying them out.
I will be playing shows with Chiwoniso and we will be doing a 30 minute show together in the middle of our sets. I have no idea what it will be like yet. We meet a day before the show for rehearsals to jam some things out. Should be a lot of fun. I will post up the results here.
This has made my morning. I’m still smiling…
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