'Burlesque' by Bellowhead

24 October 2006

There are exciting things happening in English folk music. My latest enthusiasm is for Bellowhead - the folk 'big band' created by two of the stars of the new wave of folk musicians, John Spiers and Jon Boden. I first encountered Bellowhead through their showstopping performance at the 2005 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. I saw them live at WOMAD in July 2006. Now I am enjoying their first album, 'Burlesque'. In Bellowhead the fiddle and accordion of Spiers & Boden are augmented by a host of musicians including a great brass section featuring that quintessential English folk instrument, the sousaphone! Their take on a range of traditional tunes is fast, furious and funky - great stuff.

'Past Half Remembered' by NIE

23 October 2006

We nearly saw the play 'Past Half Remembered' at the Edinburgh Fringe in August where it was well reviewed. Last Saturday we got another chance as its tour reached the Hat Factory in Luton. 'Past Half Remembered' is the tale of a 100-year old Russian woman reflecting on her life - including experiences of the First World War and the 1917 revolution. But the show is more about how the story is told - as 6 actors compete with each other to act out the tale. The company, NIE (New International Encounter), specialises in bringing together actors from across Europe and this production was performed in Czech, French, English, Norwegian and Russian. The multi-lingualism is seemlessly done and extremely entertaining. The playful approach to storytelling - with great slapstick, live music and hilarious crosstalk - is extremely theatrical. A really enjoyable evening - added to by being serenaded into the theatre at the beginning after we had been plied with complementary vodka and Russian tea poured from a samovar. It was just a shame there wasn't a bigger audience: this was very much an Edinburgh fringe show - close, intimate, with a minimal set and lasting just over an hour - but out of the fringe context it seems difficult to draw sufficient audiences for this kind of work. If you have a chance to catch the current tour please do.

'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami

19 October 2006

I first discovered the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami through David Mitchell whose novel 'number9dream' (a favourite of mine) was heavily influenced by Murakami's 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. I've just finished reading Murakami's latest novel 'Kafka on the Shore' (translated by Philip Gabriel). Like most of his books it centres on a young protagonist in contemporary Japan (in this case a 15-year old boy running away from home to try to escape an oedipal prohecy) but the modern, urban, commercial setting is gently invaded by hints of surrealism, magical-realism or maybe the spirit-world. There are many explicit and hidden references to popular and classical music as well as elements of Greek tragedy. Two apparently disconnected plots gradually (and satisfyingly) converge with a strong underlying momentum of fate and destiny. I can see why Murakami is seen as a hip, cool writer but I also find him compelling, immensely entertaining and very funny. He creates some wonderfully quirky comic characters - bits of this novel reminded me of Douglas Adams' 'Dirk Gently' novels. I love Murakami's style, playfulness and mystery - even if I'm not sure I always understand him. 'Kafka on the Shore' is 500 pages long but I would have liked 500 more!

Helsinki

9 October 2006

I've had a really enjoyable few days in Helsinki at the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage conference - my first trip to Finland. Helsinki is a wonderful city - beautiful buildings, a harbour right in the centre of the city, fishing boats selling herring on the quayside, a wide tree-lined esplanade, a mixture of Russian and Scandinavian influences, and polite, helpful people. Culturally, the towering figure of Jean Sibelius (one of my favourite composers) seems omnipresent: as I came up the escaltaor at the Central Railway Station (itself an amazing cultural icon) I gradually became aware of the faint strains of a busker playing something vaguely familar on a recorder - by the time I reached the top I realised it was the slow, gentle Finnish folk tune that Sibelius used in 'Finlandia'. At the conference we were treated to a performance by a local choir representing Kassandra - an organisation that brings together immigrants to Finland from different cultural backgrounds. The choir sang in a wide variety of styles including Bulgarian and South African songs which it had learned from members from those countries. Finally, in Helsinki Airport awaiting my return flight I picked up a DVD of my favourite Finnish folk/rock group, Värttinä. I'm looking forward to returning to Helsinki for a longer visit sometime soon.

'Overtaken' by Alexei Sayle

4 October 2006

I had read and enjoyed Alexei Sayle's first book of short stories, 'Barcelona Plates' and was looking forward to this, his first novel. Having finished it I'm not quite sure what to make of it. The setting (a group of thirtysomething friends in the North West of England in the early years of the 21st century) and the style had me comparing it with Nick Hornby or John O'Farrell but Sayle takes us into darker territory: violence, revenge and grotesque characters. But there is also some really interesting stuff on the power of art, the nature of friendship, addiction, grief and guilt. He also has some great wordplay and running jokes which are subtle and easy to miss. Though there was humour he seems to have backed away from comic set-pieces. I read it very quickly and it held my attention but I felt a little disappointed at the end. I'm not sure whether the ending was a fantastic coup-de-theatre which I haven't yet understood or just a running out of steam. Intriguing, thought-provoking and unpredictable.

'The Producers' by Mel Brooks

24 September 2006

I'm not a real fan of musicals but we have had some of Jeannie's relations from Montana staying with us and 14-year old Gabrielle was determined to see a big West End show during her first visit to London. So we queued at the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square and came away with tickets for 'The Producers' - Mel Brooks' musicalisation of his much-loved 1968 film. I knew the show had received very good reviews but even as it started I was still sceptical. By the interval I was completely won over, and by the time we got to the 'Springtime for Hitler' mock Busby Berkeley routine there were tears rolling down my cheeks - it was fantastic! The most fun I've had in a theatre for years - absolutely brilliant!

'Never Let Me Go' by Kazuo Ishiguro

22 September 2006

Kathy H. is 31 and looking back over her life, particularly her days at Hailsham - a boarding school for very special children. Much of her story is a recognisable tale of childhood but beneath it there is an nagging feeling that all is not quite what it seems: this is a parallel universe and these children are being prepared for a very special purpose. 'Never Let Me Go' is science fiction, I suppose, but extremely subtle science fiction. Ishiguro has a particularly measured style: you feel that each word has been very carefully and deliberately chosen. Kathy's reminiscences are not linear and you gradually build up a picture of her life as she flits backwards and forwards in recounting her history. I have really enjoyed Ishiguro's other novels - including 'When We Were Orphans' and even the impenetrably surreal dreamworld of 'The Unconsoled'. This book has a similar tone but is much more straightforward in terms of plot. Essentially it's a love story - gentle, moving and very very sad.

'The Dusty Foot Philosopher' by K'Naan

19 September 2006

I'm really enjoying 'The Dusty Foot Philosopher' - the debut CD by Somali/Canadian rapper K'Naan. Andy Kershaw starting championing him some months ago on his Radio 3 show and I saw part of K'Naan's set at WOMAD in July but I wasn't sure it was my kind of thing. Nevertheless I thought I would give the album a go and it's really hooked me now. As a young boy K'Naan escaped war-torn Somalia on the last commercial flight out of Mogadishu in 1991 and eventually settled in Canada. Now he is rapping in English with a Canadian accent (which reminds me of another Canadian rapper, Spek) about his childhood and the plight of his homeland. 'The Dusty Foot Philosopher' is a refreshing mix of styles and approaches but still feels like a single rounded work. There's a little swearing here and there but this is intelligent, revealing, funny and very catchy rap. "Why are his feet so dusty?!"

'The Plot Against America' by Philip Roth

11 September 2006

It is 1940 in an America remarkably similar to the one we are familiar with - but here aviator Charles Lindbergh sweeps to victory in the US Presidential election, develops strong links with Hitler's Germany and keeps America out of the Second World War. The creeping anti-Semitism of the Lindbergh administration is seen through the eyes of a young Jewish boy and his family in Newark, New Jersey. This is a nightmare vision played out very carefully and subtlely by Roth. He resists the temptation to tear his imaginary world too far away from the real thing and the closeness to real events and real people makes it all the more believable. His prose is dense with meticulous attention to detail and his first person narrator - the boy Philip with an adult hindsight - often flits back and forth chronologically in retelling particular incidents, all of which makes this a book which demands your attention - but is nontheless gripping. Occasionally I found the jump away from domestic family life to the macro political story a little too disjointed (as was also the case in Louis de Bernieres' 'Captain Correlli's Mandolin'). But viewing the small incremental changes in American society through the local life of the boy's family and friends provides a fascinating insight into how such apparently 'evil' regimes win popular acclaim. I was reminded of Edgar Reitz's 'Heimat' which shows the development of fascism in Germany through the eyes of a small local community. But as well as demonstrating the ways in which fascism could take hold of a democracy in the 1940s, 'The Plot Against America' is also (perhaps primarily) a post-9/11 novel drawing parallels between Jews then and Muslims now. A clever, chilling and thought-provoking work.

'Tamburlaine Must Die' by Louise Welsh

28 August 2006

"I have four candles and one evening in which to complete this account" - writes Christopher Marlowe at the start of the novella 'Tamburlaine Must Die' by Louise Welsh. Well it only took me one candle to read it! This is a very short book but a believable trip into the dark streets and noisy taverns of Elizabethan London. I was hoping for a few more twists and turns in the plot but it was interesting and well-written. Would make a good radio play.

‘Dore’ by Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion

24 August 2006

I've also been listening to the album ‘Dore’ by Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion which is incredibly varied and interesting – a really eclectic mix of rock, folk, country, pop and more – with an equally wide-ranging instrumentation including saxophone, brass, pedal steel guitar and harp. Intriguing and accessible – it’s really growing on me. Listen to samples at www.tradtunes.com

‘Gweini Tymor’ by Siân James

24 August 2006

I’ve been listening to some contemporary Welsh music this week. I’ve tried ‘Gweini Tymor’ – an album of traditional Welsh folk songs arranged and performed by Siân James. These are beautiful, quiet, contemplative songs with sparse accompaniment featuring some lovely harp playing. You can hear samples of this album and many more at www.tradtunes.com

Edinburgh Festivals 2006

17 August 2006

Just a brief visit to the delights of the Edinburgh Festivals this August but still time to pack in something like 15 shows. Particular highlights so far (at the time of writing) include a wonderful performance of Beethoven's 'Eroica' symphony by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Sir Charles Mackerras at the Usher Hall on Tuesday, the live broadcasts of BBC Radio Scotland's 'MacAulay & Co' at the Spiegel Garden, Tony Benn talking about democracy at The Radio Cafe - and loads of great Fringe theatre. We particularly like the intensity of high quality performances in small, out of the way venues. Yesterday we saw 'The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches' - an adaptation of the Quebecois novel by Gaétan Soucy at the Underbelly - inventive, funny, strange and fantastically acted. Still not sure exactly what it was about but we were still talking about it for hours afterwards!

'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare

17 August 2006

On Saturday we were in the lovely village of Alderton, just off the A5 north of Milton Keynes, to see an open air performance of Romeo and Juliet by the touring company Heartbreak Productions. Unfortunately the weather wasn't ideal - and the wind in the trees made some of the dialogue difficult to hear - but it was still a very enjoyable evening. It was an energetic and enthusiastic production with some inventive devices. I particularly liked the idea of having the Montagues and Capulets in colour coded football shirts with the characters' names written on the back.

'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver

11 August 2006

I have been reading 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver - an amazing novel. It takes the form of letters from the mother of a teenager who has committed a Columbine-style high school massacre to her estranged husband. Much of the subject matter is distressing and makes for uncomfortable reading - though it is not without humour. But I found it completely compelling - very clever and well-written - a gripping and emotional ride that made me feel like I had been holding my breath throughout - and made me burst into tears after finishing the final page - brilliant!

WOMAD Festival, Reading

4 August 2006

I had a wonderful weekend at the WOMAD Festival. I saw 16 full performances and dipped in and out of many more – seeing a total of 39 bands in 3 days! Loads of fantastic music and a lovely atmosphere as always.

The highlights for me were the beautiful, haunting sound of the Chinese bamboo flute played by Guo Yue, eclectic dance music with a political message from Mexican band Los De Abajo, exquisite Indian classical music from the maestro of the slide-guitar Debashish Bhattacharya and the amazing sound of Mitsoura – electronic dance music combining traditional gypsy music from Hungary and Rajasthan.

But I think my favourite was the great Finnish folk/rock band Värttinä, whose music I have enjoyed for some years – it was fantastic to finally see them live. The three female vocalists produce scrunching harmonies against complex syncopated rhythms in a truly theatrical performance. If, like me, you got a bit bored with rock music and fancy something accessible, catchy but refreshingly different you might like to try Värttinä. I would recommend starting with their 2003 CD ‘iki’ which you will find in the World Music section of most larger music shops – or see www.varttina.com for more details.

‘Inside Job’ by Brian Clemens

27 July 2006

Last weekend we had a lovely couple of days staying with friends in Norfolk – including a trip to one of our favourite places, the old fashioned seaside town of Sheringham. We rounded off the day with a visit to the Little Theatre in Sheringham which always has a summer repertory season. We saw a thriller called ‘Inside Job’ by Brian Clemens which was good fun with plenty of plot twists – and it was only at the end that we remembered we had seen it before some years ago (probably at the Little Theatre, Sheringham!).

‘The Sunday Philosophy Club’ by Alexander McCall Smith

21 July 2006

I’ve just finished reading ‘The Sunday Philosophy Club’ by Alexander McCall Smith – an enjoyable, genteel mystery from the author of ‘The Number One Ladies Detective Agency’ which shows a much nicer side of Edinburgh than Ian Rankin – more Miss Marple than Inspector Rebus.

Croydon Summer Festival World Party

21 July 2006

On Saturday we were at the Croydon Summer Festival World Party – a super free festival in Lloyd Park, Croydon which we first discovered three years ago. Three stages, plenty of exotic food and drink, fairground, flags and sunshine – and some great music from Nigeria, Spain, China, Senegal, Romania and Croydon! (They always showcase the winners of the local unsigned bands contest – who invariably bring a big crowd of supporters and often make a point of thanking their school music teacher.) The main attraction for me was Ojos De Brujo – the flamenco hip-hop collective from Barcelona – exciting stuff! But I also enjoyed some of the performances on the small ‘almost acoustic’ stage – particularly Chi-2 – two Chinese violinists weaving haunting melodies over electronic beats provided by Oivind from Norway and his laptop!

‘Victory for the Comic Muse’ by The Divine Comedy

14 July 2006

I’ve been listening this week to ‘Victory for the Comic Muse’ – the new album by The Divine Comedy. Regular readers will remember that I only discovered TDC last year and have been catching up on their back catalogue. I think the new CD finds them still in good form – maybe not their best but there are some fantastic lyrics – who else would write a song called ‘Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World’?