Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song / Travelling Riverside Blues

 Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song

 

 Led Zeppelin - Traveling Riverside Blues

 

Immigrant Song: The "land of ice and snow" is Iceland, where the band played in June 1970. Robert Plant explained: "We weren't being pompous. We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be canceled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. 'Immigrant Song' was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different."
One of the lyrics became part of Led Zeppelin lore. The line, "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands" got many of their fans referring to Zeppelin's sound as the "hammer of the gods." The phrase was used by author Stephen Davis as the title of a book about the band.
Led Zeppelin meant for this song to be somewhat humorous, relating their adventures on the road to the Vikings who fought the hordes to conquer new lands. They weren't known as a funny band, so a lot of their fans took it quite seriously.
The hiss at the beginning is feedback from an echo unit. It was intentional.
Robert Plant's love of history played into the lyric, as he was thinking about explorers like Marco Polo and how they must have felt in their travels. Just as he felt pressure to top the previous album, he wondered if these explorers felt pressure to find even better lands after a big discovery.
Until the Zeppelin boxed set was released, the fan favorite "Hey, Hey What Can I Do" could be found only on the flip side of this single. In Japan, the single was mistakenly released with "Out On The Tiles" as the B-side. That one became a rare collectible.
The line, "Valhalla I am coming," refers to Norse mythology. Valhalla is a hall in Asgard where the souls of fallen warriors are taken by the "Valkyries," which are spirits of war who carry up heroes who have been slain. Only heroes are taken to Valhalla, where they will wait for their certain doom. 

To get permission to use this song in the movie School Of Rock, the star of the movie, Jack Black, videotaped himself singing in front of a huge crowd of people, begging Led Zeppelin to let them use the song in the movie. They succeeded, and the song was featured in a scene where Black sings along to the tune when it comes on the radio in his van, which he is using to transport his students.
"It may seem corny, but it worked," Jack Black said on the DVD. "The moral of the story is, Don't be too proud to beg."  From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/led-zeppelin/immigrant-song

 

Czarny Bez - Łysiec

You combine folk metal with a post-apocalyptic narrative. Where did the idea for such an unusual combination of worlds come from?

This is the result of collecting elements that interest us, first of all me and our bass player, because we created this project. Ciechan likes post-apocalyptic climates. I wanted to discuss Slavic topics related to the period of the early Middle Ages, pre-Christian – I am interested in this era of history. In addition, I really like electronic music like rave, trance, industrial, so I wanted to combine stronger guitars with its elements.

Weren't you afraid it was going to be too much for one band?

This common vision began to slowly create for us and in parallel we created an alternative story about the team. We didn't have a long history as Black Without, so we decided we'd make it up!
According to her, we are part of a tribe that in the distant future has survived cataclysms, wars, the fall of humanity, and it is then, as newly reborn people, that we return again to the original needs of man, that is, to life in harmony with nature, the return of human bonds, ethnic beliefs and the tribal system, and ancient traditions. Such regression, but in completely different circumstances. And while there are new technologies in this dystopian world, yet we feel the need to be and live according to what nature is giving us, approaching involuntarily what is primal, ancient... Perhaps this awaits us in the future? This is an important element – like the forefront of a film, without which you will not understand our universe.

This is a fairly original concept, but maybe thanks to it you stand out among others?

This “mix” at first is hard to understand, but if you go deeper into the subject matter, everything clears up and arranges – then it seems logical and consistent. It's a Slavic Madmax! (Laughter). It's just that time has come round. I hope that this idea is fully reflected and not a blatant connection. Our listeners often say that they have not encountered such a thing before.

Interest in Slavic culture can be seen in your texts. Why is there so little talk about it in Polish schools?

There are several factors that affect this state of affairs. The Slavic subject matter appeared again in the salons at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. There were some spurts that promoted her, but they were often associated with ideas that were not aimed at really increasing cultural awareness, but rather realizing political ambitions. For example, in the time of the Tsar, it was attempted to promote Russia as the main Slavic country, with ambitions to subjugate other nations. Of course, we know what purpose it was supposed to serve, and the idea itself was not positive at all, because it was about domination, not about unification.
Although as Poles we try to be part of the West and function in the orbit of Christian countries, in my opinion we are a country naturally immersed in the Eastern tradition. Besides, this is due to our history and we will never be part of Western Europe, regardless of the number of signed alliances, concluded agreements or invoking the baptism of Mieszko I. I think that maybe it is the aversion of the rulers to this subject that causes that Slavic culture – the pre-Christian one, is not more widely promoted? Perhaps the Church, as an institution, has too much influence on education in Poland? Or is there another reason I don't know about?

Do you feel that this is still a bit uncomfortable for the rulers?

There is a widespread belief that there are very few testimonies, that there was such a thing as Slavic culture in a broader sense. It is often said, duplicating some of the long-overdue theories that the Slavs did not bring much into history, only a few holidays or traditions that we know today. However, when we delve into this field of history, it turns out that we are dealing with many new discoveries – both archaeological, ethnological or related to linguistics. Currently, 250 million people speak Slavic languages in Europe.
Going back to your question, I think there could be a little more material in schools about Slavic history and old beliefs. Of course, the fact that children will learn Roman, Greek and even Egyptian mythology is not bad. This is a very important aspect of education, because on this basis you can also build something that will help you understand our own culture. Even the first chroniclers compared the Slavic deities to the Greek or Roman gods.
It is definitely worth mentioning that the publishing market is starting to abound in books on this topic. There are more scientific studies that explore these issues, as well as popular science books. The assumption that folk culture has stored ancient traditions and can be partially “screwed”, of course, skillfully deciphering the cultural code. This is a complicated subject, requiring hard interdisciplinary work. Many traditions have survived – for example, in the popular Christian rites, where you can see the preserved primacy that has its roots in our Slavic past.

Let's get back on the musical tracks. In addition to folk metal, electronic sounds are an important element of your music. What attracts you to them?

I like mechanical music. The trend that began to unfold in the 1980s, though I most value the achievements of the late 1990s. I'm talking about electronic music, about techno, especially the one that uses sequencers, samplers and trance beats that work with me, harmonize with my body. They are original and natural, although artificially produced, programmatically. To this day, I still listen to this type of work, I have a few favorite artists. I am a guitarist shaped by heavier music. I thought it would be a great idea to combine these two worlds. There are teams that have been doing this for a long time, such as Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails or Senser. They combine industrial atmospheres with strong guitars.

Weren't you afraid some fans would just not buy it?

I think this synthesis comes from my love for both types of music – both for electronic sounds and for heavy guitar riffs. It's hard to part with one or the other, so I decided that they need to be joined together. In our music, we try to give some of each of these elements, weave them into our style. There is folk metal. In this genre, you can often hear the influences of power metal, sometimes death metal or black, combined with elements of folklore, and often folk instruments from different parts of the world. For fans of this trend, our music is sometimes a surprise – “How? That's not how you play folk metal!' For some people it is difficult to pass, for others it is even fascinating. You can see that mixing genres can still be a great way to reach people who need interesting and good quality music.
We treat folk as an important addition that enriches our work. Luba is his huge fan, which is why she often introduces folk accents to our songs, such as white singing, folk songs, specific syncopated rhythms in vocals. So we feel connected to this trend. I hope that our listeners recognize that although we are not strictly folk, we understand this aesthetic. We are somewhere between different music worlds. We are not trying to limit.

I remember your great concert at the Zwierzyniec Rock in 2021. Which performance do you consider to be groundbreaking?

This concert was one of the first of our career. You could say that since then we have made a lot of progress. If someone saw us then and sees us now, they will definitely notice the difference – both in our stage behavior and in the game itself. Since then, we have played five concert tours, the material has stacked up and matured. Our singer has found her own style, which she now applies on stage. For example, it uses scarves, which, using fans, float in the air together with her hair, which gives an interesting effect. You can say that the fan has become a member of our team – it always rides with us in the bus! (Laughter).

Did the audience quickly catch your stage atmosphere?

Certainly during this time we became a better band, better musicians, we played a lot of concerts together. Today, listeners expect not only good music, but also the visual side of the concert. When you come to a performance, you take it not only with the sense of hearing, but also with your eyes. That's why we make sure our stage setting is interesting. We use masks which I hope affects our visual layer and reception by the audience. This is an important element of our stage – the male part of the band performs in them. They are steampunk, futuristic, with elements of rave stylistics, so the whole has
specific character. We take care of the details, so that not only the music, but also the visual side of the performance is consistent. We hope it succeeds and that the audience appreciates it. And the best performance at Rockowisk the day we played there? I think the concerts of the Materia and Hate groups.
 
Your stage costumes are impressive – where did the idea come from and how do you withstand them in the heat?

I’ll start from the end [laughs]. We're used to being hot in them, but the beginnings were hard. The biggest problem was seeing. At first, I had glasses made of thick metal mesh, through which I could barely see the stage or the guitar griffin. They also disturbed my perception. I had to eliminate them, so now I'm painting around my eyes black creating the effect of empty eye sockets.
As for the masks, we thought that every person in the team should create their own identity, character. For example, I chose an ethnic motif, something more Aztec, like a skull motif with a plume, and I decorated the mask with paint for a better effect. Bassist – Ciechan chose a gas-style mask with decorative welding glasses. The drummer – Nadar also has an interesting “look” – the warrior’s cold face, silver, looking a bit like metal. The singer – Luba does not wear a mask, which has its justification. The Slavs used them mainly for ceremonial purposes, especially in the context of rituals related to the spirits of ancestors. Masks perform a protective function, but she herself, being a witch, does not have to protect herself from witchcraft. Besides, he's the face of our team - the prettiest one (laughs).

How do you look at the debut album “People, Ghosts, Gods” today? What has he changed in your musical journey?

It seems to me that we are moving forward all the time and still new people are discovering our album. It's interesting, because promotion these days is difficult if you don't have massive advertising. You have to have a lot of money to do it, and we act with our own means and often ourselves. Our label helps us a little bit, but in general we do most of the activities on our own. Also thanks to the music videos available on the web, we can promote the album and reach a wider audience.
Of course, performances in front of the audience are also a key element. From the beginning, we assumed that this concert activity would be the main way to promote. We have already played a lot of them, we are planning another tour in the summer, and in the autumn another, after the release of a new album.
I think that since the release of the debut album we have taken some important steps forward. I hope that the next album will help us to develop even more. We are planning our own tour, because so far we have performed mainly with other bands. Of course, we do not give up concerts with other groups, but this tour will be fully organized by us.

Translated from: https://videobrothersmusic.pl/roland-langer-wywiad/ 

Loaded Honey - Love Made Trees - Video Album

Organically born from Jungle’s J Lloyd and Lydia Kitto, Love Made Trees is a space where Loaded Honey have not only explored new ideas, but formed a new world for their music to grow.
Of course, there will be comparisons to Jungle’s discography, it would be remiss not to, but what Lloyd and Kitto have created really does sing to its own tune. Where Jungle are the dance floor fillers, Loaded Honey is the slow dance at the end of the night that makes you realise what it’s all about. “In Your Arms” sets this standard with its repeating “I belong, in your arms” motif – affirming the record's mission with classic romanticism that could otherwise only be felt at a wedding’s first dance. Across the tracklist, what begins as blissful infatuation gradually gives way to longing, reflection, and finally acceptance, like watching a romance unfold on the silver screen.
The duo states that Love Made Trees wasn’t confined to studio sessions or strict scheduling; rather, the record was made through natural feeling together over time, and it shows. Not a moment feels forced, not a melody feels overthought, and as they drift through all aspects of love and relationships, it feels effortlessly blissful – even the more turbulent tracks. “Don’t Speak” is a great example as it tells the yearning of a jealous lover, but its lyrics return to the album’s romanticised form with “Don’t speak (I will love you) / Need me, you need me.” “Lessons” then takes this idea and softens it, this time focusing on a couple trying to sort things out, but once again remembering “no one can hold me / the way that you do” – and the unmissable ‘pom-pom-pom’ arpeggios decorating the track with a hook you can’t help but bounce along to.
1950s and old-timey production decorate the album’s tracklist, with “Over” being one of the most apparent. Kitto’s lower range makes a rare appearance here, embellished with her higher trills towards the three-minute mark – gorgeously spread across the track’s repeating two-step drum and strummed bass. It’s no easy feat to reinvent music that’s been played for three-quarters of a century, but Lloyd and Kitto’s twist keeps it so fresh that you just want more. “Hello Stranger” closes the record similarly, but this is where hints of Jungle can be found – interesting use of sampling and repetition keep this song flowing for its sub-two-minute runtime, harkening back to the opening track to round off the record.
“Tokyo Rain” is probably the most ‘Jungle’ you’ll get, with its broader, upbeat and grand scale to its instrumentation, but even at the highest moments it is gentle and soft in a way that Jungle haven’t ever needed to be – adding depth to the quiet moments and colour to the louder ones. Other tracks like “Cisco Bay” and “Really Love” keep up this mid-tempo Jungle style and flavour the album as you make your way through the tracklist (think a slower “Let’s Go Back”) but where the duo shine is on the track with their namesake, “Loaded Honey.” This lullaby of a sad song packs in so much punch with its minimal arrangement, its yearning guitar strums, and flowing strings – and to really ram it home, instead of optimism, the cinematic romanticism for this one lies in its sadness.
Love Made Trees, at its heart, is about romance. It comes across in its music, its lyrics, its emotive storytelling and natural flow from track to track. “Bullet” encompasses all of this, and as Kitto’s distorted vocal sings “If I'm lonely I'll be thinking 'bout you”, you can’t help but drift off into the cinema of the love song. This record achieves everything it strives for and remains true to its core, all coming back to the relationship between its two makers. Like the best kind of love, Love Made Trees doesn’t need to shout to be unforgettable – it just needs to sing.  From: https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/albums/loaded-honey-love-made-trees-as-effortless-as-love-itself

 

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - Full album

 Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - Full album - Part 1

 Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - Full album - Part 2

 

01 - Mr. Self Destruct
02 - Piggy
03 - Heresy
04 - March Of The Pigs
05 - Closer
06 - Ruiner
07 - The Becoming
08 - I Do Not Want This
09 - Big Man With A Gun
10 - A Warm Place
11 - Eraser
12 - Reptile
13 - The Downward Spiral
14 - Hurt

 

Nine Inch Nails exploded out of the gate in 1989 with their stellar debut disc Pretty Hate Machine, then satiated fans with the scorching industrial EP Broken, but by the time 1994 rolled around, fans were more than ready to see what would be Trent Reznor's follow-up act.
Surprisingly to some, it was not a crushing yet danceable Pretty Hate Machine II, but rather a harder edged, aggressive conceptual album called The Downward Spiral. As Reznor explained to Select Magazine, "The idea behind the album is of someone who sheds everything around them to a potential nothingness, but through career, religion, relationship, belief and so on. It's less muscle-flexing, though when I started it I didn't know what I wanted it to sound like. I knew I didn't want to be a full metal album, so I tried to address the issue of restraint. It was a long process."
Reznor set up shop at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, initially claiming he was unaware of the significance of the address when he rented the house, but as many are aware, it is the home where Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered in 1969 by members of Charles Manson's family. The home had a studio dubbed "Le Pig" that Reznor used for recording both Broken and The Downward Spiral.
Speaking to Guitar World, Reznor stated, "I wanted it to be a departure from Broken, where I wanted to make a real hard-sounding record that was just one big blast of anger. Not necessarily a well-rounded record -- just one ultra-fast chunk of death. This time I wanted to make an album that went in 10 different directions, but was all united somehow. I didn't want to box Nine Inch Nails into a corner, where everything would be faster and harder than the last record -- where every song had to say, 'Look how tough we are.' I don't think that's really me ... Or rather, there are lots of times when I'll come up with musical ideas that don't fit that mold. On this record, I was more concerned with mood, texture, restraint and subtlety, rather than getting punched in the face 400 times."
Digging a little deeper he added, "The record also looks at certain vices as being ways of trying to dull the pain of what this person is hiding. Of course I'm talking about myself. So that was the general theme. Not that that's any great leap for me, thematically. The reason why I hope people like Nine Inch Nails is the lyrics. I think that's the element I care about most on this record, in terms of honesty and nakedness of emotion." Reznor would not only use his own issues for inspiration, but would also rely upon some influences, citing David Bowie's Low and the music of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed for helping to fuel his creative fire.
By the time, Reznor got ready to record, he assembled an interesting crew of musicians to help him in the process. Co-producer Mark "Flood" Ellis worked in coordination with Reznor and The Downward Spiral would become one of the in-demand producer's calling cards for years to come. Reznor also had Sean Beavan, Bill Kennedy and Alan Moulder working on the mixing for the effort. On drums, programming and sampling, Chris Vrenna held things down. Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins came on board to drum on the track "I Do Not Want This." Longtime Nine Inch Nails collaborator Danny Lohner lent some guitar work to the disc, while drummer Andy Kubiszewski and programmer Charlie Clouser also made contributions to the disc. But perhaps the most intriguing name in all of that was King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew.
"His name just popped into my head. I called my manager and two days later he was here. As it turned out he was already in L.A., working on something else," Reznor told Guitar World. "We basically told Adrian, 'Just play whatever you want and we'll piece it together however we see fit. Maybe stuff from one song will fit into another.' We did about six or seven songs with four or five passes each. One time we'd tell Adrian something like, 'Concentrate on a rhythmic part.' Another time, 'Think in terms of countermelody.' Or, 'Think in terms of no pitch at all, just noise.' He pulled out a bunch of great sounds that he never gets to use."
With a stellar crew surrounding him, Reznor was able to create in ways he had previously only dreamed of. "On Downward Spiral, I got to explore making an electronic sound that doesn't sound electronic for some parts of it. We did things with drums that I don't know if anyone has really done," said Reznor to Spin. "We sampled drums in stereo with stereo mics and discovered if you play them on keyboards it sounds like you're sitting behind the drums for real. On 'March of the Pigs,' 'Eraser' and those songs, there's no live drums, but it alluded to being real because it didn't sound like a machine. No way someone could play that like that. It further added a kind of mind f--k to it. Instead of falling into a Ministry-type trap of how can I make things harder and harder, it's scarier to have something creep up on you."
By March 8, 1994, Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails cohorts finally released The Downward Spiral. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, bested only by Soundgarden's Superunkown in its opening week. But it didn't have a hot song right out of the gate.
The thrashy industrial rocker "March of the Pigs" was released a week ahead of the album's street date, but only managed to climb to No. 59 on the charts. It wasn't a natural song for radio play, but was definitely embraced by fans of the band in the live setting who loved the high energy BPMs that bridged the song's piano breakdowns. Adding to the song's legacy was the single-camera video for the track, which simply had the band rambunctiously performing on a white soundstage, with no mic stand in site safe. While the track set things in motion for the album, no one could have predicted what would come next.
In May of 1994, Nine Inch Nails released a funky single called "Closer" that needed major edits in order to be aired both on MTV and radio. But there was no denying the infectious nature of the song. With the memorable NSFW line, "I want to f--k you like an animal," Nine Inch Nails had a hit on their hands. "The song started with that line. Everything else kind of got pieced around that," said Reznor. "I was trying to get a vibe something like the song 'Nightclubbing' from Iggy Pop's album The Idiot. I don't know what it sounded like when it came out. But now it sounds like a real obvious, cheesy, almost disco, song--but in a cool way."
And while the song needed edits to cover the curse words, the video needed much more work before it could air. The singer told Spin, "I thought, f--k it, instead of the Super 8 video directors we've used in the past, underground people, let's go with Mr. F--king Gloss, Mark Romanek, who just did that Michael Jackson piece of s--t. But he could do a beautiful shot, Stanley Kubrick-like in its attention to detail. So we decided to spend some money and go to ridiculous lengths to recreate some works of artists that we liked, from Joel-Peter Witkin to Man Ray, Brothers Quay, this hodgepodge of stuff. The video was great. It was cool as f--k looking. Right away, MTV said, 'Can't have that, can't have that.' Now okay, there was naked p--sy. We knew that was going to get cut. And then we got complaints that people still found the video disturbing. 'Well why?' 'Well, we don't know why, but it seems satanic and evil.' And then I thought, 'Great, we did it.'" "Closer would fall just shy of breaking the Top 40 on Billboard's Hot 100, but did climb to No. 11 at Alternative Radio.
The album featured three more key tracks. "Piggy" was pure Reznor, with the song sauntering along while Reznor played guitars, bass, piano, organ, synths, drums and percussion while also singing on the track. The song is one of the few on the album to feature live drums as the singer liked the sound that emanated as he set up the mics in the studio. The track would crack the Top 20 at Alternative Radio.
The somber, gut-wrenching song "Hurt" was released in April of 1995 and climbed to No. 8 on the alternative chart. It also received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song in 1996. Sean Beavan told us of the session for the song, "We recorded 'Hurt' in Studio B at A&M studios (now Henson) because Bob Seger was on Christmas break so the room was available. Seger's microphone was still set up with it's pristine vocal chain, but when it came time to record Trent's vocal he didn't want to sing through that big polished setup in the beautiful live room. Trent preferred to sit at the console and sing through a handheld Shure SM Beta 58 so he could connect more intimately with the lyrics of the song."
He continued, "It was just the two of us in the room, sitting side by side. We did three takes, each one was incredible, I remember being in tears most of the time, and I think we just used the third take in it's entirety. Trent never wanted to do much comping, no single word edits. We always had to use whole phrases so the emotion came through. He believed the voice and the guitars were the human aspects, the emotional touchstones and that they shouldn't be perfect, they should be honest, to provide a counterpoint to the relentless machinery of the rhythm section."
While the Nine Inch Nails version of "Hurt" is the original, Reznor would later agree to let Johnny Cash record it as one of his final releases. The singer said of his decision to let Cash record it, "I pop the video in, and wow … tears welling, silence, goosebumps. Wow. I felt like I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. That winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning -- different, but every bit as pure."
Rounding out the key tracks, "Mr. Self Destruct" opened the album on a high note, pushing the pulse with a high energy feeling. The track is one of the ones that Reznor turned over to Belew to lend a hand on, and the guitarist came back with the song's ending. The guitarist said of Reznor, "Trent has an astounding command of technology, old and new. He's such an intriguing person to work with, but that may have helped in some way. The music just lent itself to so many ideas that are in my realm."  From: https://loudwire.com/nine-inch-nails-the-downward-spiral-album-anniversary/

Although considered to be one of the greatest “industrial rock” albums of all time, the record defies genres, yet definitely showcases some post-punk and true industrial roots in its creation, evident with such as remix and video collaborations with Peter Christopherson of Throbbing Gristle and Coil, and an actual cover of Joy Division recorded around the same time.
The Downward Spiral was conceived while Trent Reznor was living at 10050 Cielo Drive—the home where Sharon Tate and three others wer murdered by the Manson Family. Moving into the house was a decision Reznor would later regret:
“While I was working on Downward Spiral, I was living in the house where Sharon Tate was killed. Then one day I met her sister. It was a random thing, just a brief encounter. And she said: “Are you exploiting my sister’s death by living in her house?” For the first time, the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, “No, it’s just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I’m in this place where a weird part of history occurred”. I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don’t want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, What if it was my sister? I thought, Fuck Charlie Manson. I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who supports serial-killer bullshit. I went home and cried that night. It made me see there’s another side to things, you know”-Trent Reznor via Rolling Stone
Sonically, The Downward Spiral was heavily inspired by David Bowie‘s Low and Scary Monsters (standalone Bowie single “Crystal Japan” shares some tonal similarities to the fully instrumental “A Warm Place”).The album also features a sample of Iggy Pop’s “Night Clubbing” from his Berlin era album The Idiot in the now iconic piston-like percussion in the single “Closer.”
“Closer” is perhaps one of the most misunderstood songs of the 90s era, as unlike the surface interpretation of the song’s refrain, the song is more of a meditation on self-hatred and obsession, which could be expressed through drugs, s&m, and sex, among other things.
The video for “Closer” was directed by Mark Romanek and is one of the most iconic music videos of all time. It has been made part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The video displays events occurring in a dusty laboratory setting with imagery relating to religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror controversial imagery included a nude bald woman with a crucifix mask, who covers her face with a Buffalo skull, a monkey tied to a cross, a pig’s head spinning on a machine, a diagram of a vulva. Reznor himself can be seen in the video wearing an S&M mask while swinging in shackles, and wearing a ball gag, as well as wearing goggles in a wind tunnel, or rotating supine on wires.  From: https://post-punk.com/nine-inch-nails-the-downward-spiral/

 

Wovoka Gentle - Punxsutawney Phil

British experimental folk group Wovoka Gentle are taking Europe by storm through their challenging of the borders around musical genres. Made up of William J. Stokes and twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, I was lucky enough to interview the band as they embark upon their upcoming tour.

How did it all begin for Wovoka Gentle?

We were playing in separate bands- Imogen and Ellie’s band were booked to support William’s band in Edinburgh. We got on well and did some recordings together, and after those projects began to unwind we naturally came together and started to work together as a three. Our first official piece was creating a live electronic and soundscape score for a dance/performance art group called Stasis at the Edinburgh fringe in 2014.

Ellie and Imogen, you two are twins, does this impact the way you interact musically? Are you similar in your musical taste?

Being twins obviously means we’ve sung and played together for as long as we can remember- a lot of playing in a band is about reading each other well and being sympathetic to what everyone else is doing, so in that sense it definitely helps. We find it natural to blend our voices as well, although they each have quite distinctive tones. We both have the same musical background of course, for example a lot of English folk like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, but when you get older and discover music independently you start to formulate your own taste, so there are areas of overlap but there’s definitely a wide range between us.

While your songs are very much grounded in the tradition of folk music, they seem to deviate from the genre – what direction do you see the music magnetizing to?

We’re not trying to fundamentally subvert traditional forms of songwriting, as if to say they’re somehow stagnant, but at the same time hopefully we are making something that’s of NOW, of the twenty first century. A lot of it is really to do with instrumentation- about what happens if you were just to replace an acoustic guitar with a Korg MS-20, but keep it in the same spirit and the same roots-y setting, and also the inverse: what would happen if you were to take a fiddle playing slides and double stops into a setting more associated with electronic sounds and experimental music. It’s essentially this ongoing process of branching out and coming back… maybe one day we’ll branch out too far and forget where we started.

How has your music developed since you first formed?

We started off experimenting in this very aggressive way, using a lot of different points of influence and really piling sounds up into these really dense arrangements… Since then we’ve definitely developed more of an idea of what we actually sound like and where our strengths are. We’re maybe more respectful of sparsity for example, and allowing certain parts of the arrangements to feel very exposed and explored as valuable points of interest in themselves.

What was it like working with Gareth Jones for your new single “Branscombe”?

Gareth is amazing at what he does and is so experienced. It’s almost halfway between working with a producer and having a studio mentor. He has this great respect for the sanctity of a sound or a part created in a certain place or in a certain way- even if it’s something you made in your bedroom that you never intended to be used in the final mix, he’ll tell you to think carefully before throwing it away because it’s this magical moment of creativity you’ll never be able to recreate exactly.

When I saw you play in Scotland a few years ago, all three of you switched around instruments throughout the set, it gave the songs a more sporadic and performative nature – does this mean you don’t have specific roles in the band?

We definitely have our individual strengths and weaknesses, but fundamentally no, none of us have set roles in the band. We all sing, we all write songs and no instruments are off limits to anyone.

From: https://altcitizen.com/wovoka-gentle-interview/ 

Wilson Pickett - Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)

Wilson Pickett was an American singer-songwriter, whose explosive style helped define the soul music of the 1960s. Pickett was a product of the Southern black church, and gospel was at the core of his musical manner and onstage persona. He testified rather than sang, preached rather than crooned. His delivery was marked by the fervour of religious conviction, no matter how secular the songs he sang.
Along with thousands of other Southern farmworkers, Pickett migrated in the 1950s to industrial Detroit, Michigan, where his father worked in an auto plant. His first recording experience was in pure gospel. He sang with the Violinaires and the Spiritual Five, modeling himself after Julius Cheeks of the Sensational Nightingales, a thunderous shouter.
Pickett’s switch to secular music came quickly. As a member of the Falcons, a hardcore rhythm-and-blues vocal group, he sang lead on his own composition “I Found a Love” (1962), one of the songs that interested Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler in Pickett as a solo artist. “Pickett was a pistol,” said Wexler, who nicknamed him “the Wicked Pickett” and sent him to Memphis, Tennessee, to write with Otis Redding’s collaborator, guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG’s. The result was a smash single, “In the Midnight Hour” (1965). From that moment on, Pickett was a star. With his dazzling good looks and confident demeanour, he stood as a leading exponent of the Southern-fried school of soul singing. His unadorned straight-from-the-gut approach was accepted, even revered, by a civil-rights-minded pop culture.  From: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilson-Pickett

Juliana Hatfield - Universal Heart-Beat

Juliana Hatfield has reached what she considers her artistic ideal–for now. The 27-year-old has taken the success of her previous album, Become What You Are, and used it as a stepping stone to introduce a heavier brand of music, reminiscent of her days with the Blake Babies. Only Everything‘s denser sound stems from Hatfield’s own tastes.
“I really only listen to heavy and strong stuff, but all the music I’ve been making up until this point has been much lighter, so I decided to start making music like the stuff I’ve been listening to,” she says over the phone. This doesn’t mean pop has been removed from her music, it’s just a little more camouflaged under this new and more aggressive instrumentation. This is by far her favorite of her three albums. “The record was just handed to me as a payoff for all the creative frustration I’ve had. After eight years of waiting it finally happened.”
Following Hatfield’s work with the Blake Babies she went solo with the 1992 release of Hey Babe. This provided a foothold for her next offering with the Juliana Hatfield 3, Become What You Are, in 1993. Only Everything is being credited as just Hatfield’s album, with a variety of backup musicians including Hatfield 3 bassist Dean Fisher. She plays both the bass and the guitar, but has been playing the guitar on her past three albums because, she observes, “Guitar players get noticed. Nobody ever seems to see the bass player.”
Hatfield’s lyrics are often perceived to be autobiographical, due to their heartfelt nature, but much of her material is derived from hypothetical situations or sometimes from just a word or incident. Inspirations on Only Everything include a song inspired by a photograph, and another one about a fight that Hatfield imagined between a fictional couple. The first single off the album “Universal Heartbeat” tells the listener that a ‘heart that hurts is a heart that works,’ implying that people need some pain in their lives to carry on living. But Juliana is a hard nut to crack, and she isn’t going to give up anything to those who try and analyze her lyrics.
Hatfield herself is guarded, answering questions and giving subdued replies: yes or no answers, ummms and ahhhs, never speaking when not spoken to. Hatfield’s apprehension is understandable, considering that she is one of the most misquoted people in the music industry. She has been victim to speculation on many topics ranging from her virginity to her relationship with Lemonhead leader Evan Dando. 
This month she heads out on the European leg of her tour and will most likely fall victim to the scheming hands of the British press, a lot she finds particularly bullish. “They make England such a bad atmosphere for making music. They’re so obnoxious.”
The personal information she does reveal seems painfully normal. She has left Boston for Manhattan’s West Village, staying in the northeast so that she can return home every now and then. Like many devoted music fans her band obsessions change every week, but she says “I really like Sunny Day Real Estate right now. Have you heard their album? It’s really great.” When asked about the current ‘re-birth’ of ‘punk,’ she sighs before answering. “Yeah, I like punk. But I think it’s really become irrelevant. It’s already happened. that’s not to say it wasn’t a wonderful thing, because it was. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it weren’t for punk.”
As a celebrity she seems to be weathering the publicity well. She’s accepted her role as an indie poster girl. “I’ll never be able to shun that image, so why sorry about it?” She maintains the same attitude towards people labelling her music: “I don’t let it bother me. I can’t describe my music myself, but if people want to then there’s nothing I can do to stop it from happening.” She’s even able to handle her reviews, no matter how much pain they might cause.
It looks like Juliana is growing up. But not all the way, not just yet. When asked who her favorite Sesame Street character was, there was no holding her back. “That brown, furry elephant guy that they could never see…what was his name?”  From: https://theeyeopener.com/1995/04/only-juliana-april-12-1995/

 

Sterbus - Maybe Baby

Musical definitions – who needs ’em? Actually a lot more folk than you’d think. So, this Sterbus thing, what is it? Clever pop is what it is. Starting with the wordplay of the title; “estate” is Italian for summer, and “inverno” is winter, and through the split between the two seasons and associated moods and emotions, with a CD for each, right up to the last notes of the highly-sprung Trapeze, there is a deep pop knowledge and a sharp intelligence at work here.
Drawing on all the right influences ancient, middle aged, and not so old, this double helping of poptastic pizzaz will put the belief back into any jaded spirit that there is a hope that burns bright out there despite the seeming never ending shitstorm of soul-sapping bleeeuuchh we are subjected to on an unending basis in these days of social media dumbing down and governance by inane and ignorant soundbite. 
Real Estate is an album of love, that shines through in the lyrics to many of these songs, whether penned by the male or the female half of this irrepressible Italian duo. Having seen Emanuele Sterbini declare undying love on stage to his partner in life and this music, Dominique D’Avanzo [see live review], it is maybe not surprising that a majority of the heart-on-sleeve lyrics come from his pen. Obviously a large serving of the amore on display here is down to the writers’ personal circumstances, but being Italian and romanticism being a national character trope, the uplifting nature of this record is undoubtedly a combination of the two. This sets the album apart from the lyrical angst and navel gazing tendencies of its Northern European contemporaries on the pop-for-brainiacs scene. All this whimsy is held in check by third and essential member of this combo, the former Cardiacs’ skin-basher Bob Leith.
While Real Estate is a Frisbee skimming across summer’s beaches between playful lovers, all wrapped up in a thoroughly enjoyable poptastic blanket, Fake Inverno is a more considered affair. The Waterloo Sunset to CD1’s Victoria if you will. Less brash and bouncy, we start with a Latin incantation of all things, something went awry in 1347 it seems. Winter is an introspective season, but Fake Inverno cannot completely restrain this band’s natural ebullience as the full-on punkarama of Stoner Kebab bears witness.
The many guest players on this album are essential ingredients to a cocktail of all kinds of delights, and their added and occasionally exotic instrumentation gives the songs a depth that can only be missed in a live setting. This is a studio album and there’s nothing wrong with that as the band that kick-started this pop thang, at least this side of the Pond, proved again and again.  From: https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2018/10/27/sterbus-real-estate-fake-inverno/

Whimsical Creature - The Stargazer

Whimsical Creature is the latest outlet for the songs of Michael Whiteman, whose prolific writing brought us I Am The Manic Whale, as well as Spock’s Beard keyboard maestro Ryo Okumoto’s most recent solo album. Here he teams up with the talented Ella Lloyd, for a more acoustic approach in his very recognisable writing style. Wistful Thinking is their first album; Ella plays soaring flute, shimmering autoharp, and glockenspiel as well as singing, and Michael does everything else, but in an acoustic setting.
As is usually the case, Michael Whiteman tends to write on diverse and unexpected subjects, unearthing stories which are often obscure, but always entertaining. The soundscape is based around acoustic guitar, flute and piano in the main with a folky vibe, but often incorporating tricky little moments of prog complexity, just to keep things fresh and exciting. In Ella Lloyd, Michael has found a musical partner who complements his style, and adds her own personality, often carrying the melodic sweep of the songs with scintillating flute playing which epitomises the character of Whimsical Creature.
The songs cover a range of thought provoking subjects, from his amusing take on AI (Better Than This?), and the sublime story of the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly (A Journey of Five Lifetimes), to a song about the channel tunnel (The Undersea Tunnel) and an account of a great twentieth century hoax (A Way With The Fairies). Each has been researched and written with attention to detail, but in a way which entertains and informs at the same time.  From: https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2025/08/31/whimsical-creature-wistful-thinking/

The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine / I Want to Tell You / She Said She Said

 The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine

 The Beatles - I Want to Tell You

 The Beatles - She Said She Said

The song, “Good Day Sunshine,” was chosen to open side two of the album undoubtedly to pick up the level of positivity and create an artistic contrast within the framework contained on the LP. While it was true that Paul was the last holdout of the group to experiencing the “higher awareness” of acid at this point, he apparently still chose to get his high from taking an innocent walk in the park with his girl on a “sunny day,” as depicted in this track.   
“Wrote that out at John’s one day…the sun was shining,” McCartney remembered in 1984, adding: “influenced by The Lovin’ Spoonful.” He elaborates further in his 1997 book “Many Years From Now”: "It was really very much a nod to The Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Daydream,’ the same traditional, almost trad-jazz feel. That was our favorite record of theirs. ‘Good Day Sunshine’ was me trying to write something very similar to ‘Daydream.’ John and I wrote it together at Kenwood, but it was basically mine, and he helped me with it."  From: http://www.beatlesebooks.com/good-day-sunshine

Songs like "I Want to Tell You" and the entire "Revolver" album as a whole marked a shift in the Beatles. More of Harrison's contributions made the final cut than in past albums. This trend continued throughout the rest of the band's time together. 
Aside from mind-expanding lyrics, George Harrison had to do some musical expanding to complete the song as well. "I realized the chords I knew at the time just didn't capture that feeling. So after I got the guitar riff, I experimented until I came up with this dissonant chord that really echoed that sense of frustration" (per Far Out). Therefore, the lyrics convey a difficulty in communicating one's feelings, as does the melody which accompanies them.
The chord in question is Harrison's own invention. However, not all listeners seemed to notice. In Harrison's 1992 interview with "Guitar World," the interviewer pointed out the chord at the end of the song. "I'm really pleased that you noticed that. That's an E7th with an F on the top, played on the piano," Harrison explained. "I'm really proud of that, because I literally invented that chord." Despite the achievement and the band's fame, few other songs have used the chord. However, fellow Beatle John Lennon used it for the song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."  From: https://www.grunge.com/1136472/the-story-behind-the-beatles-song-i-want-to-tell-you/

Regarding “She Said She Said,” John remembers: “That was written after an acid trip in L.A. during a break in The Beatles tour where we were having fun with The Byrds and lots of girls. Peter Fonda came in when we were on acid and he kept coming up to me and sitting next to me and whispering, ‘I know what it’s like to be dead.’ He was describing an acid trip he’d been on. We didn’t want to hear about that! We were on an acid trip, and the sun was shining, and the girls were dancing (some from Playboy, I believe) and the whole thing was really beautiful and Sixties. And this guy, who I didn’t really know - he hadn’t made ‘Easy Rider’ (yet) or anything, kept coming over, wearing shades, saying, ‘I know what it’s like to be dead,’ and we kept leaving him, because he was so boring. It was scary, when you’re flying high: ‘Don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to know what it’s like to be dead!’” 
Peter Fonda gives a more detailed interpretation of this incident in his book "Don't Tell Dad": “David Crosby came and got me, I don't know why it was me, and said, 'George is in trouble...' So I had to go over there and say, 'Don't worry about it, George, this is what this drug does...It unlocks the doors of perception.'...I remember sitting out on the deck of the house with George, who was telling me that he thought he was dying. I told him that there was nothing to be afraid of and that all he needed to do was to relax. I said that I knew what it was like to be dead because when I was 10 years old I’d accidentally shot myself in the stomach and my heart stopped beating three times while I was on the operating table because I’d lost so much blood. John was passing at the time and heard me saying ‘I know what it’s like to be dead.’ He looked at me and said, ‘you’re making me feel I’ve never been born – Who put all that sh#t in your head?’…When I heard ‘Revolver’ for the first time I knew exactly where the song had come from, although John never acknowledged it to me and I never mentioned it to anyone”. From: http://www.beatlesebooks.com/she-said-she-said

 

Lamb - Cotton Wool

Mancunian duo Lamb have achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with their distinctive, ever-evolving sound which combines passionate, heart-on-sleeve songwriting with unconventional arrangements informed by jazz, drum'n'bass, classical, and other genres. Lamb dwell in brash musical contrasts and, occasionally, contradictions that make their songs as musically complex and exploratory as they are vocally catchy. The duo's self-titled 1996 debut, an arresting mix of jungle and trip-hop, contained the heartbreaking single "Górecki," a Top 30 U.K. hit which would eventually be featured in several movies and TV shows. The duo pushed their sound further with 1999's Fear of Fours, nodding to their penchant for highly complex time signatures. Expanding their sound to incorporate more live instrumentation, 2001's What Sound contained the haunting ballad "Gabriel," which became a chart-topping hit in Portugal. Following 2003's Between Darkness and Wonder, the duo broke up; singer Lou Rhodes released a series of folk-influenced solo albums, while Andy Barlow produced material for other artists. Lamb returned with the full-length 5 in 2011, and continued touring and releasing studio and concert albums throughout the decade, while additionally pursuing their respective solo outings.
Formed in 1994 by producer Barlow and vocalist Rhodes (the former an in-house engineer for So What management, the latter a daughter of folk singer parents and a budding songstress), Lamb nailed a contract with Mercury subsidiary Fontana almost straight out of the gate. The group's debut, the "Cotton Wool" single showed that field-leaders such as A Guy Called Gerald and Fila Brazillia were on their side (each contributed a remix). But if anything, it was the untouched title track that illustrated Lamb's commitment to keeping the music interesting (the track rows along on a thick double-bass sample and absolutely brutalizing drum sequences) while filling it out with a big dose of tunefulness. An additional single ("Gold") followed, with Lamb's self-titled debut released in September of 1996 to widespread acclaim. Like the previous singles, much of Lamb explores song-oriented deployments of jungle, but the album also adds elements of downtempo and ambient-ish electro-jazz as well. Fourth single "Górecki," which sampled Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, was released in 1997, and became the duo's biggest hit in their home country. The pair also added touring to their repertoire (Lamb's release was followed by a European tour with labelmates Galliano), combining their electronics-heavy productions with live instrumentalists.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lamb-mn0000127301#biography

St. Johns Wood Affair - Can I Buy Your Thoughts

Can you tell us about the new expanded edition of St Johns Wood Affair’s LP and what we can expect from this version?

Hi Jason, we recorded the original St Johns Wood Affair album and released it ourselves in 2016. It received some good reviews. I was posting copies all over the world, plus selling a lot at gigs. I was contacted last year by Roger of Think Lke A Key Music label, he was reissuing a Nirvana album, called ORANGE AND BLUE. I have been playing with Nirvana since 1980 (the psychedelic group, not the grunge group). I have a lot of material in my archives, photos, videos and rough mixes of various groups I have been involved with. I supplied Roger with outtakes and photos of the album sessions from 1995. We got chatting, I sent him our album. I was so impressed by the remastering of the Nirvana album, I wondered if he could do the same with ours, plus I liked the label and the roster of artists and bands on there, a great eclectic mix.
For the St Johns Wood Affair reissue, Roger put together some interesting demos recorded at my home studio, plus two cover version songs that were never released before. The whole package sounds so fresh now, the remastering has brought it to life. I get e mails from people who have both albums, telling me how much they enjoy the recording, plus the demos too. Roger updated the artwork to include a booklet of photographs taken recording the album, and some gigs, plus the lyrics! All in all a really impressive package. A week after the albums release, Roger told me it was the label’s best seller. It had sold out in a week, and more copies of the album were produced to cover the interest.

Could you share some insights into the unreleased tracks and why you decided to include them?

I always loved Sky Saxon and The Seeds, we originally came together in the studio to record a cover of Where is the Entranceway to Play? I had been approached by a record company in America and asked if I would like to cover a Seeds song for a Sky Saxon tribute album. The recording turned out really well, and the musicians I got together enjoyed the sessions. I also wrote a song about Sky Saxon called Sky Foreve. We recorded that too. The SKY tribute album has not been release yet. We have been waiting since 2010! Hawkwind, Iggy Pop, Davy Jones of the Monkees and the Bangles have all recorded tracks for the album. I had a different mix of Where is the Entranceway to Play in my archive, so thought it would be nice to let people hear it, especially as it was the catalyst in bringing St Johns Wood Affair together. The Nirvana song St Johns Wood Affair was a cover recorded for an album a released in 2020 of Nirvana cover versions called Yesterday's Sunshine. It’s quite a whacky track, backwards guitars etc. Again another mix I had in the archive. I thought it would be cool to have that as a bonus track on the album.

“Sky Forever” is described as an ode to Sky Saxon of The Seeds. Could you share the inspiration behind this song and its significance to the album?

I have quite a few Seeds albums, and Sky Saxon albums. After recording Where is the Entranceway to Play? I sat down and wrote the song for Sky. A few unusual things happened during recording the demo, the phone rang. It was Patrick Campbell Lyons of Nirvana. It was in time with the music, so I kept it in. When I rerecorded the song in a studio, I sampled the phone call and put it in the song. Similarly, I was playing the keyboard part in my home studio, when I fell on the keyboard and landed on a strange sounding chord, I kept that in too. The lyrics are about some of the Seeds songs, if you are a fan of the group, you can pick them up. I sent a copy to Sky’s last wife, Sabrina, she really liked it. We always play it at our gigs, when I mention Sky, he gets a cheer!

So how did the members of St Johns Wood Affair come together, and how did the band’s shared love for psychedelic music influence your and the group’s musical journey?

As I mentioned before. I was approached to record a Seeds song. I didn’t have a group at the time, so I drafted in a musical friend, Anne Whittet on keyboards. I have played in a group with her before. She brought along Carlton Jarvis to drum, another friend John White played bass and my wife Francine (who records with me at my home studio) supplied backing vocals. We all had such a gas, we thought it cannot end here. I wrote more songs that we recorded, and we went out gigging them. The response was very good. Since I was at school, I have had a love of music, travelling back in time, discovering Beatles, Early Pink Floyd, early Who, Small Faces, Kinks, early Bowie, then when I was about 13 years old I started writing and recording my songs. I used two cassette tape recorder to do this in a very primitive way. The results were quite good, I still have them in the archive.
St Johns Wood Affair

Could you introduce the members of St Johns Wood Affair and tell us about their roles within the band?

The current members of St Johns Wood Affair are Keith Smart – Lead vocals/guitar, Anne Whittet – Keyboards, Carlton Jarvis – Drums, Francine Smart – Backing vocals and Adrian Hillier – Bass/backing vocals. That line up works really well. We had a few bass players before this line up, including John White, Pat Martin (from Unicorn, a band produced by Dave Gilmour).

Patrick Campbell-Lyons gave the band its name. Can you elaborate on how that conversation led to the name St Johns Wood Affair and its connection to the music?

Patrick was at our home in Surrey, we were running through songs for a gig Nirvana were playing in Spain at Felipop (Francine and Anne both played with us at that gig). I mentioned I was trying to think of a name. He said why not St Johns Wood Affair? I thought, well at least there would not be another band with that name. People have their own ideas of why the band is called that, I think that is good. Patrick is a dear friend I have known since the 80s, we speak the same musical language.

You’ve had a diverse musical career, from M.I.5 to Eye to Eye. How has your past experience shaped your approach to songwriting and performing with St Johns Wood Affair?

St Johns Wood Affair is really my ideal group. In previous groups I have always had to compromise. I do not do that now, I write the songs I want and I know SJWA can interpret my ideas. We play mainly our original songs, we do play a few covers, SEE EMILY PLAY by Pink Floyd (Anne replicates the amazing keyboard part that Richard Wright played), Lucy in the Sky with diamonds by the Beatles (Adrian has nailed Macca’s beautiful bass part), Moonage Daydream by Bowie (imagine playing that in front of Bowie’s drummer Woody Woodmansey and bassist/producer Tony Visconti – we did that at a Bowie festival in London). As well as 60s groups, I was brought up on Sex Pistols (I never imagined then, I would play with Glen Matlock), Stooges, Oasis, they are all in my DNA.
keith smart St Johns Wood Affair

M.I.5 spent two days recording at Ringo’s home studio Tittenhurst Park, what do you recall of that experience?

I recall those days in every detail! I could write a few pages on that alone. Of course I was aware of the history of that studio, John Lennon’s old Ascot home, I had seen it in the promo film for Imagine. It really was a rock star’s mansion, though a little tired when Ringo owned it. In the lounge, they still had the shutters that Yoko closes in the film of Imagine. There was a huge stainless steel industrial washing machine cover on the wall, when you opened it, a fire was inside. Upstairs in John and Yoko’s bedroom, the light switch did not have “On” and “Off” on it. It had “John” and “Yoko”. The headboard of the bed had jack sockets, so you could lay in bed and be connected to the studio downstairs. I write more about it on my web site www.keithsmart.co.uk M.I.5 section.

As a guitar historian, you’re the custodian of Mike Oldfield’s Fender Telecaster and Ronnie Lane’s Zemaitis Resonator guitar. How do these iconic instruments influence your music, and what stories do they carry?

I always like to say I am a Custodian, those guitars are treasures to enjoy while you have them. The Mike Oldfield Tele, Mike writes in his autobiography how he got the guitar from Marc Bolan, so it has been owned by two amazing artists! I recorded quite a few SJWA songs with that Telecaster, you can hear it on the album. They have a Mojo about them. Sadly, they had to go to pay some bills. I do have another interesting Telecaster now, it belonged to Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac! That has tons of Mojo too! The Peter Green Tele is being recorded for the next St Johns Wood Affair album!

From: https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/keith-smart/ 

Vas - Izgrejala

The musical group Vas has a goal to create a new definition of "world" music. From their stunning debut recording Sunyata to the progressive and diverse Feast of Silence, the band has woven together a subtle sound tapestry of otherworldly spiritual verve and atmosphere that sets it apart from almost everyone else. Founded in Los Angeles in November 1995, they signed a record deal with Narada in 1997 and we have been mesmerized ever since.
Singer Azam Ali, who was born in Iran and grew up in India, has the most beautiful, ethereal voice in music today (only Uzbekistan vocalist Sevara Nazarkhan comes close). It is a voice that can make the soul shudder in remembrance of its former self. She is also a very talented hammered dulcimer and santour player and has studied for five years with Persian santour master Manoocher Sadeghi. She recorded a wonderful solo record, Portals of Grace for Narada, and both Greg and Azam contributed to the splendid 2003 Triloka Records recording Hookah Cafe, which included such renowned world artists as Egyptian musical legends Hamza El Din and Hossam Ramzy, Palestine's Simon Shaheen, India's Jai Uttal and Senegal's Youssef el Idrissi.
Greg Ellis grew up in Los Gatos, Calif. He began playing the drums at age 13 and studied classical percussion while attending San Jose State University. He eventually felt constrained musically by the school's rudimentary approach to percussion and left for Los Angeles in 1984. He began his musical career touring and recording with artists including David & David, Mark Curry and Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens. Greg even appeared on a VH1 reunion special with Billy and Steve. His percussion work is the backbone of the Vas sound. He has also ventured into the solo artist realm with the wonderful recording Kala Rupa: Explorations in Rhythm, also on the Narada label.

Michael Lohr: What influences have found their way into your music? What musician's work inspired you the most? Why?

Azam Ali: Having been born and raised in the East has probably shaped me both as a person and artistically as well. Although Persian music was the first music I ever heard, my strongest early memories of music are the Indian devotional chants and songs I heard from the Hindu temples in the little town (where) I grew up in India. Even though I don't approach singing in a traditional way, my intent is directly influenced by Indian music in terms of its sadness and deep sentiment of longing. And when I came to the West I discovered the music of Hildegard of Bingen and other music of that time period, and I found those same sentiments in that music as well, even though it was a world apart. Medieval music is most responsible for me pursuing singing seriously and really working on my voice, because in order to sing that music your tone has to be so pure like a bell and that takes work. As far as artists go, I have been influenced by too many to name individually.

Greg Ellis: I find myself being more influenced by a great performance than a particular style or technique. The ones who really taught me are Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ravi Shankar and tabla master Zakir Hussain, to name a few. Live performance is where it's at, though. That's the only way you're able to experience the soul of a musician. All traditional and classical ethnic music exhibits this. All great jazz and rock records as well are all based around live performance. I'm more inspired than influenced by musicians.

ML: A friend once told me that his Shamanic circle listens to Vas recordings to help cleanse the mind of clutter and become more focused on the spiritual. Do you agree that your music has an underlying spiritual verve to it?

GE: I think if it does, it's merely a reflection of our own devotion to our music. To me, any music in its pure form is spiritual, as long as the performer is clear in his or her intent. We do what we do without any preconceived notion of where it will end up, and we really try to keep that element of discovery throughout our recordings so each time you listen, you find something new. I love the fact that people are responding to our music on that level.

AA: For us, the process of writing and recording our music is like an exorcism. It is in the process of doing that, that we are able to undo our spiritual blocks and work through our fears and pains and undergo huge transformations. My need to do music is basically a selfish one; I would go insane if I didn't. For me singing is like praying, no different. And the fact that I don't sing lyrics I think allows the listener to roam freely in that realm without having to think about what I'm saying. And of course the power of rhythm is something that is just beginning to be explored here in the west.

ML: Greg, your percussion style possesses a tribal, almost shamanic feel to it. Have you studied ritual or shamanic drumming?

GE: My entry into the incredible power of drums and rhythm was Mickey Hart's book, Drumming at the Edge of Magic. His bibliography and recommended listening sections alone are worth getting the book. I would go down the lists book by book, CD by CD, and discovered a whole universe of rhythm. It changed my life. Each CD I found was like a master class in whatever style of music it was.
The one that sent me over the top though was The Master Musicians of Jajouka. There was something in those rhythms that resonated in my soul. It tranced me out for days. That was the first of many experiences to follow.
I got into the power of long, repeated phrases. I heard rhythm differently after that and my playing took on a completely new dimension as well. I began using rhythms in the same way a mantras and chants are used. Up until reading that book I was only playing drum set. I rarely touched any hand percussion. I think I inherently knew how deep these drums would take me and it scared me a bit.
As Azam said, the power of rhythm is just beginning to be tapped into here in the West. The book talks about the responsibility a drummer has to get into "The Zone," as he calls it. That's the place where your body attunes itself to the pulse of the rhythm being played and that's when it feels like you've entered into an altered state of consciousness. This can happen with any kind of music.

ML: Greg, you have described your music in the press before as "alternative world." What is your definition of alternative world music and who else do you believe is on the cutting edge of this musical sub-genre? Have you ever listened to other alt-world groups such as the Afro-Celt Sound System?

GE: Alternative world is music that is neither geographically nor culturally specific, yet incorporates elements of many cultures. There are so many artists out there who would fall under that category. Afro-Celt Sound System definitely fits. There is a great group from England called Alien Soap Opera that is co-produced with the great Egyptian musician Hossam Ramzey that blends electronic and traditional music beautifully. Talvin Singh is another great example of that. There is a group Ekova, whose singer sings in her own language and uses Persian percussion. In Turkey there is a group called Kardes Turkuler that is just incredible. It also would help artists from other countries to be found in a category other than their country of origin.

ML: I have never viewed Vas music as, dare I say it, new age. I have always seen your music as more Eastern in flavor, and possessing far more spiritual depth than most standard new age music. Has it been a struggle to break free of this label?

GE: It started because retail stores just assumed any Narada release would be a new age record. At first it was very frustrating but now all we care is that our music gets out and whatever category it's found in ultimately doesn't matter, as long as it's in the store.

AA: It has been a struggle, no doubt, but in the end I think the music speaks for itself. There will always be the purists who will negate our work, but for me personally, when I love a band and I go the record store to buy their album, I couldn't care less what section it is filed under.

ML: Azam, you learned to play santour (an instrument similar to hammered dulcimer) when you were young. You then progressed on to becoming a very skilled hammered dulcimer player. What motivated you to learn the santour and hammered dulcimer? Have you ever thought about doing a solo hammered dulcimer recording?

AA: When I turned 19 I decided I wanted to learn to play an instrument and I wanted it to be something unusual. I didn't really have any interest in learning any Persian classical music, but I loved the sound of the santour and since I love percussion so much it seemed to be the most natural choice for me -- because it is such a percussive instrument. My teacher, Manoocher Sadeghi, was a family friend of ours, and his son and I used to hang out in the same circle, and one day I was over at their house and as soon as I saw the santour I knew immediately that I had found my instrument.
The progression to the hammered dulcimer was quite natural, because it is so much more durable than the santour. Instead of four strings per note it has two, so for live purposes and travelling it works much better, but also for me the santour sounds so classical, more like a piano, whereas the dulcimer sounds more folky and raw, which suits our music better.
I have never thought about doing a solo dulcimer record. I have just resumed studying with my teacher again and I have two more years of intensive work ahead of me, so until then I am still a student.

ML: Greg, I know you were the drummer for Steve Stevens, Billy Idol's guitarist, as well as other rock acts. What advice would you give to any aspiring musician wishing to break into world music or the music business in general?

GE: Assuming an aspiring musician has the talent and fortitude necessary for whatever facet of the business they're trying to break into, so much of it is just being in the right place at the right time and always being ready for any opportunity that arises. The trouble is that there isn't any logic to the music business. I would give very different advice to someone looking for a record deal than to someone looking to be a sideman or session player. The hardest thing for me when I moved to Los Angeles was deciding which direction I wanted to go.
The trick is training your intuition to be focused solely on the goal at hand and don't get distracted. The ability to adapt to any situation helps as well. It's hard to narrow it down to a few sentences. I love talking to young players one-on-one about this because then I can really share my experiences extensively.

ML: Greg, what was the situation with a producer of a hunting documentary using a Vas song as background music during the gutting of an animal? Did this shock you that someone would use your music in such a visceral way?

GE: It was actually a PBS film based on the life of a hunting guide in Montana. I was hired to compose the music. When I met with the director, he told me he had been using our song "Refuge" from our first album in a scene of the hunters gutting a deer. At first it did shock me quite a bit. I saw it out of context and I have my own visual of the song, which is the polar opposite of what this scene depicted. I had worked with the director before and he said that if it upset us too much he wouldn't use the song. When I finally saw it in context though it really did work. It was almost like the song became a prayer for the soul of the animal. It was pretty intense.

ML: Azam, I know you sing the lyrics of your songs using your own developed language (I call it "the language of a whispering soul," because it seems as if you tap into the spiritual "ba" of the universe when you sing). What is the inspiration for those words? Do they just flow from you in a phonetic sense and then you sing them as you here them?

AA: When I work on a song, the first thing I do is press the record button and completely let myself go. Then I go back and listen and I look for those moments when I feel I have tapped into the emotion I want to convey, and the words and melody that I have used there become the frame work from which I start to weave the song. I then experiment with every sound and syllable until I find the one that expresses the melody best, because my ultimate goal is to express the melody and not have it be encumbered by words.

ML: Greg, I have heard that you have a rather sizable percussion collection from around the world. How many pieces do you have and what is the most unique instrument in the collection?

GE: It's growing all the time. I have over 100 pieces from over 20 countries. I can't stop! Each drum has such a unique voice and history. The most unique I would say is a horn I got in Nepal called a kangling, which is a hollowed-out leg bone wrapped in silver and copper wire.

ML: Describe your creative process when it comes to writing for a new recording. Is it something that just flows from you or is it more of a start-and-stop kind of procedure based upon your muses? Do you do any research for your songs, musically wise or conceptually wise?

AA: As I mentioned earlier, the beginning of the creative process is all about letting go and improvising until I tap into the soul of a piece, because music has a life of its own; it cannot be created or steered in a direction it does not want to go. It is a force that is already there, and if you don't think about it too much and just let it take you, instead of the other way around, then it creates itself. For us it is all about tapping into the soul of a piece and sometimes that happens right away and sometimes it wants to be left alone and it takes time. We never conceptualize our music although we do draw inspiration from records that we both love.

GE: Once we do tap into something, then it's about finding the right combination of instruments that work with and support the melody. It's definitely about connecting to the muse. The hardest part is usually deciding when a piece is complete. The most magical part for us is hearing something back and saying it's done. Actually I think it was Artie Shaw who said, "a work of art is never finished, only abandoned."

From: https://www.rambles.net/vas_interview04.html