Sad Songs 1: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

This is the first post in a new series “Sad Songs” where I will be discussing some of the saddest songs around. Songs that help us when we are feeling down by allowing us to empathise with the protagonist of the song and more often than not stop us from feeling sorry for ourselves by realising that there are many people worse off than ourselves. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? is one such song. An old American folk song that dates back to the 1800’s, it was popularised by the folk singer Lead Belly who went on to influence such contemporary musicians as Nirvana who performed the song on their MTV Unplugged album. The song tells the story of a girl who sleeps “in the pines where the sun don’t ever shine” and she would “shiver the whole night through”, grieving for her husband who has died, as the song eventually brings out, in tragic circumstances. The story is hauntingly told by Lead Belly with just his voice and 12 string guitar.

Lead Belly – Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Lentil & Parsley Soup

I love this soup. It’s a great winter warmer. Red lentils have a very high protein content and are fast cooking (Serves 6).

You will need:
1.5 cups of red lentils, washed
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped and boiled until soft
large handful of finely chopped parsley
juice of half a lemon
can of chopped tomatoes
plain yoghurt for serving
6 cups of chicken or veg stock
2 tsp paprika (preferably smoked)
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin
pinch of salt and pepper
a little hot chilli powder
olive oil

In a large soup pot cook the onion in olive oil until soft. Add all the spices and the garlic. Cook for a few more minutes. Pause for a second, savouring the intoxicating fragrance emanating from the pot and then pour yourself a glass of wine or beer. Next, add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly. Add the lentils, carrots and the stock. Simmer, partially covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may need to add some more water if it gets too thick. When the lentils are cooked add the lemon juice and parsley. Simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes. Serve with a little fresh parsley and some plain yoghurt.

Cold Mountain

Hanshan (Cold Mountain) was a chinese buddhist monk and poet who lived in China some time around the 9th century. He is a legendary figure and details of his life are sketchy. He lived as a hermit in the Taishan Mountains and would write his poems on walls, rocks and trees where he travelled. He is said to have written 600 poems however only about 300 have been collected. Little else is known about him. He would occasionally visit the near-by Guoqing Temple to see his friends and fellow monks.

I first discovered Hanshan in one of my favourite books, The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. The main character, Japhy Ryder (who in real life is the poet Gary Snyder) is studying the monk and translating his poems from Chinese into English. Reading his poems, I am taken by his enigmatic and rather magical descriptions of life in the mountains, grounded in metaphors on Zen philosophy.

A thousand clouds among a myriad streams
And in their midst a person at his ease.
By day he wanders throught he dark green hills,
At night he goes home to sleep beneath the cliffs.
Swiftly the changing seasons pass him by,
Tranquil, undefiled, no earthly ties.
Such pleasures! – and on what do they rely?
On a quiet calm, like autumn river water.

When the men of the world look for this path amid the clouds
It vanishes, with not a trace where it lay.
The high peaks have many precipices;
On the widest gulleys hardly a gleam falls.
Green walls close behind and before;
White clouds gather east and west.
Do you want to know where the cloud-path lies?
The cloud-path leads from sky to sky.

Ensemble Nipponia – The Sound Of Wind Through The Bamboo Leaves

Bollywood Baptism of Fire

I’ve just seen my first Bollywood film – Sholay (Embers) by Director Ramesh Shippy. I thought I’d better start at the top, and this was the film to do it.  Sholay was released in 1975 and after an initial poor turnout at the Box Office has come to be the most successful and famous Bollywood film ever. It tells the story of two crooks (played by Amitabh Bachchan and Dhamendra Deol) who are hired by an ex-policeman to capture a feared bandit who has been terrorising his village. The two crooks initially only do the job for the large reward but end up bonding with the villagers and even falling in love.

At 3 and a 1/2 hours long this is no picnic to sit through but the film manages to sustain interest thanks to a charismatic cast, great camera work (there are beautiful shots of the Indian countryside) and entertaining storyline. Not to mention the soundtrack by R. D. Burman – Imagine combining Ennio Morricone with John Barry, throw in some synthesizers by Giorgio Moroder and mix with the virtuosic playing of Indian musicians. In a word the music was amazing. This was made even better when the actors would break out into a fully choreographed song and dance routine that would put most musicals to shame.

The style of the film draws heavily on Westerns by film makers such as Leone and Peckinpah. The characters take on archetypal roles and are faced with profound challenges and tragedy. Like any good Western, the fight scenes were a real joy to watch – everything done on a grand scale, with great use of slow motion and daredevil stunts. At times I was even reminded of Tarantino such as when an armless man gets all kung-fu on a bandit with a pair of nail studded slippers. If you are skeptical of what Bollywood has to offer, Sholay is a great place to start.

Gypsy Jazz Guitar: Part 2 – Gabor Szabo

Unlike Django Rheinhardt, Gabor Szabo was not actually a gypsy, however his Hungarian origins lent a strong Eastern flavour to his music. Szabo was born in Budapest in 1936. He began playing guitar at age 14, inspired by by the jazz music he heard on the “Voice Of America” radio broadcasts. In 1956 he escaped from Communist Europe and travelled to America where he studied music at the Berklee College of Music. For several years he performed with the Chico Hamilton Quintet before starting a successful solo career. His music is noted for combining jazz, pop-rock and Hungarian folk. His albums range from straight jazz tunes to covering classical pieces and popular songs of the time such as The Beatles’ “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” which he successfully makes his own. The song below is his version of The Fire Dance, from the Opera “El Amor Brujo” by the Spanish composer Manuel De Falla.

Gabor Szabo – Fire Dance

Fever Ray

Fever Ray is the new solo music project by Karin Dreijer Andersson, best known as one half of Swedish electronic outfit The Knife. Her debut self-titled album came out earlier this year and has been making some well-earned waves. Her sound features haunting pitched shifted vocals, accompanied by subtle electronics. Retro drum machines and synthesizers surround her voice in dark atmospherics. The lyrics of the songs tend to be sparse and abstract in nature, which fits the music well. An excellent album, full of subtleties that seep into you on repeated listens.

Wilco by Wilco

Wilco have just released their new album. It’s imaginatively titled Wilco. The first song is called Wilco. Ok, so they may be a getting little cheeky and unimaginative in their titles but it’s a great album. Not as inventive as A Ghost Is Born but much more cohesive than Sky Blue Sky. Well worth checking out. Here’s one of the many excellent songs from it.

Wilco – One Wing

Gypsy Jazz Guitar: Part 1 – Django

In the World of Jazz Guitar one name towers above all others, Django Rheinhardt. Born Jean Rheinhardt in Belgium, in 1910, he spent most of his youth in gypsy encampments near Paris. His nickname “Django” is a Romani word meaning “I awake”. Early on he learnt the violin and then moved to banjo and lastly, the guitar. Despite being badly burned in a house fire at the age of eighteen, which included damage to his third and forth fingers on his left hand, he managed to become one of the first true greats of jazz guitar. He played all his solos with only two fingers and only used his damaged fingers for chord work. At 24 he met violinist Stephanie Grapelli and formed the group “Quintette du Hot Club de France” which featured three guitars, a violin and bass. The rest, as they say, is history.

Many of Django’s most popular compositions have become jazz standards including Minor Swing, Djangology and Nuages. During his career Django performed with other greats including Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and Louis Armstrong. Tragically, in 1953 at the age of only 43 he collapsed and died suddenly from a brain hemorrhage. Despite this, his legacy lives on and his influence can be heard in many contemporary artists work.

What I love most about Django’s music is its overwhelming optimism and playfulness. Whenever I am feeling down I just put some Django on the stereo and it’s sure to make me smile. Just listen to the song below and you’ll know what I mean…

Quintette du Hot Club de France – When Day Is Done

Inch-time Symbiosis Mix

I have done the latest mix for the weekly electronic music podcast - Symbiosis.

Recently I have been going through my crates and finding a lot of gems that were released in the mid 90’s, when I first started DJing and collecting vinyl, a time when different genres were colliding and new ones forming. This podcast features some of my favourites from that era plus a few wild cards too – Enjoy!

Here’s the tracklisting:

1. Miles Davis – So What (Studio Sequence 1)
2. Autechre – Overand
3. Gramm – Type Zwei
4. Moondog – Viking I
5. Pan American – Quarry
6. Spring Heel Jack – Galapagos 1 (Remix)
7. DJ Shadow – 89.9 Megamix
8. Antipop Consortium – Cloneman
9. Riz Ortolani – Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)

Download here
itunes podcast link here

All Is Well In The Chapel

Last night was a rather magical affair in the Union Chapel where composer Nico Muhly and friends (which included Bjork producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, Doveman and Sam Amidon) entertained the enthusiastic crowd. Muhly is a prolific young NYC based composer who has released two albums on the Bedroom Community label and recently completed the soundtrack for the film The Reader. Unfortunately for Muhly, avant garde country singer Sam Amidon stole the show with his commanding stage presence (which included some hypnotic interpretive dancing), subtle guitar playing and heartfelt voice. A highlight was his song All Is Well, the title track from his most recent album. The song slowly built up around his voice and guitar as drums, piano and trombone filled the chapel with a heavenly, joyful noise.

Sam Amidon -All Is Well

New Dabrye

New 7″ out on Fat City Recordings featuring a brilliant new track by Dabrye. The release is a warm up for a compilation CD due out later in the year called Producer No.2 which will feature tracks by Hip Hop producers. After three great albums (One/Three, Intrmntl, Two/Three) and a handful of EP’s and singles the man (Tadd Mullinix) needs no introduction. The song (Walk) is typical Dabrye – electronic instrumental hip hip of the highest calibre. I can just imagine this playing in some smoky basement club punishing the sound system whilst head nodders listen in awe… Turn it up loud.

Dabrye – Walk

Digging In The Crates 8: Klute

I remember the first time I watched Klute, the classic film noir masterpiece from 1971 starring Jane Fonda (who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role) and Donald Sutherland. It left me speechless and still remains one of my favourite films. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, it was the first in his so called “Paranoia Trilogy” which included The Parallax View and All The President’s Men. The story follows a policeman, John Klute, who travels to New York to investigate the apparent suicide of his friend. Along the way he meets a struggling actress and sometime call girl who helps him and with whom he develops an unlikely relationship. The soundtrack was composed by Michael Small who used subtle haunting melodies to underly the tension and suspense in the film to brilliant effect. The album was released by Harkit Records who specialise in Jazz and Film Soundtracks.

Michael Small – Goldfarb’s Dream