born sandy devotional

back in june of this year i attended a couple of events as part of the sydney film festival
one was to see a preview of the new david lynch film titled inland empire
a 3-hour epic of art-meets-film unlike anything i have ever seen
the other event i attended with some near and dear friends from the 80's
was the official premier of the documentary about the album born sandy devotional by the triffids
one of a series of 4 films from sbs about classic australian albums - with more to come
since that night i have been eagerly anticipating the release on dvd of the film
and tonight was the night it finally showed up in the local cd/dvd store
i loved this album back in the 80's and upon infrequent playing since then
over the last year or so with a new re-mastered version released on cd
i have rekindled the relationship but probably with even more vigour
as it sounds so good, so contemporary, so timeless, so significant
so music (a shameless plug for the shop where i bought the dvd)
opening scene is the band playing at the big 1987 australian made concert
with tongue firmly planted in cheek david mccomb declares the dilemna they faced
of making up the set list because of the hits they had enjoyed in australia
before launching straight into wide open road the one song that came closest to a hit
then cutting to comments from the likes of paul kelly and steve kilbey
in the first of many raves about the song and the album it is from
we go back in time to the late seventies and to perth where the band started
and it occurs to me that the sound of the band then
is very closely related to the early flying nun bands coming out of nz
before long the band is in a van and heading across the nullabor plain
to try their luck in the eastern states and laying the foundation for this album
the band soon relocates to europe where they cracked it big time
1985 being declared the year of the triffids by influential music magazine nme
and that was before this classic album was recorded or released
there's some great historical footage of australian bands living in london in the 80's
and some funny stories about the recording of the album in london
but what works best in this film is the fading in and out of various album tracks
there are snippets of all the songs on the album
volume used to great effect at times to highlight particular riffs, sounds or lyrics
and some fine interpretations and explanations of the lyrics from kelly and kilbey and others
in a not very often seen example of peer appreciation and respect
fellow band members also all speak eloquently and fondly about their 10 years together
and there is a very definite sadness coming from them when speaking about their friend
david mccomb had some very serious health issues leading to a heart transplant
that kept him going for a few years before ironically rejection set it
leading to his premature death in 1999
tender is the night from the album and sung by jill birt seems so prophetic
i knew him as a gentle young man
i cannot say for certain
the reasons for his decline
we watched him fade before our very eyes
and years before his time...
and years before his time
vale david mccomb
this is a fine testament to his legacy

festival in the desert

there's a rumour circulating that i may be off to mali in january of next year
to attend the annual festival in the desert literally in the sahara desert
a couple of hours overland from timbuktu
one of the highlights of my every year is attending womadelaide
a couple of years ago i started venturing further afield and went to the rainforest world music festival
also an annual event in malaysian borneo that confirmed my love of the world's music
i mentioned to max my fellow womad visitor that ha-ha we should go to mali one year
the wheels are now in motion as max is a motivated kind of person
we have a core group of 6 middle aged music industry blokes who have their hands up
thinking back what really spurred me on was seeing tinariwen in concert at womadelaide
they are a tourag band from the sahara and a regular at the festival in the desert
4 gentlemen dressed in traditional flowing robes and full head dress
each with a beautiful shiny electric guitar and accompanied by a percussionist and female vocalist
they play blues-based, rock-oriented, trance-inducing guitar music with indecipheral lyrics
totally stole the show on a beautiful warm balmy evening in adelaide and have been lodged in my head ever since
so when i saw this dvd on sale and noticed said band was on the bill it very quickly transferred to my possession
max sent me a vanity fair article during the week about a similar bunch of music industry dudes
one chris blackwell of island records and another jimmy buffett of carribean soul fame
making the trek to festival in the desert earlier this year and having a brilliant time
i'm now getting very excited about the prospect of the planned trip for next year
so tonight as part of that i once again fired up the trusty projector and indulged myself
the film starts with the construction of the stage literally in the middle of the desert
there's camels, a few large trees and a few more larger sand dunes
sand, sand and more sand it seems as far as the eye can see
and the familiar sounds of tinariwen providing the soundtrack as we witness the preparation of the site
then we're in darkness and presumably underway with the first night of the 2003 festival
tartit open proceedings - an all female vocal group with a single drum delivering a chant like sound
they make way for the beautiful oumou sangare accompanied by ali farke toure (rip)
she the queen of mali music, he the king, presumably collaborating as they often would
there's interviews with both of them and they are both very happy and relaxed
french group lo'jo are up next and deliver a stunning set as they did at womadelaide a few years ago
i can't imagine what the sound would be like at the festival but based on this dvd it is beautifully clean
every instrument used by lo'jo can be heard very distinctly and the vocals likewise are loud and clear
tinariwen are then on stage laying down their familiar groove sound to a very receptive audience
the next performer is no less than robert plant who apparantly is a big fan of all things world (music)
he seems quite humbled by the experience in a brief interview upon arrival at the site
and then he's on stage giving his all with a band obviously also enjoying the moment
the tune is a slow bluesy number with guitar and that voice harmonising superbly
sounds like the kind of thing l z would have churned out but sounding very contemporary
in a great moment of musical interchange we see american indian metal group blackfire on stage
sharing the stage with local djembe (drum) players and talking about their respect for the local culture
a visible and unmistakeable example of the uniting power of music
ali farke toure is featured delivering a stunning set of his west african blues
there's more footage of the festival site
and various spontaneous performances
interviews with musicians, organisers, journalists
i have a feeling this is going to be the experience of a lifetime
hi-ho hi-ho it's off to timbuktu i go
can't wait...

brasileirinho

i'm always on the lookout for interesting music based dvd's
a few weeks back i latched onto one documenting the music of iceland
which turned out to be a real beauty and has now got me started
on a little project of gathering similar such documentaries
seems a great way to learn more about the music of the world
there's also a little project underway to document in this blog
50 distinctive genres of music as identified by songlines magazine
this dvd looked particularly appealing as it is a film about choro music
a genre that i had recently read about and quoted from songlines -
choro is the ragtime of brazil and the mother of samba and bossa nova
for just as jazz lies latent in ragtime, so those later rhythms lie latent in choro
the rhythm grew from a fusion of african and european dance hall styles - particularly polka
so without hesitation the purchase was made and tonight was showtime
the film is centred in and around rio de janeiro
the opening scenes take us on a journey around the city at night
before we are on stage at a concert with a group called trio madeira brasil
3 gentleman playing acoustic guitars and a mandolin
beautiful music and some excellent closeup footage
showing the dexterity of the musicians at work
i think i'm liking this gentle, harmonious brazilian music
the film then cuts to some interviews with the musicians
all in brazilian but the sub-titles are large, easy to read and presumably accurate
i think we go back in time as there seems to a lot of talk and rehearsing
preparing for an up-coming concert which we have had a sneak preview of
there's some stunning shots of the countryside around rio
and music is never far away with various combinations of musicians
practicing, discussing, and rehearsing for the upcoming concert
we also get some relevant history with photos presented and explained
and a visit to snake's armpit a famous choro music club in the 70's
brass is introduced from the trombone of ze senior
at a lovely outdoor rehearsal with the original trio and now a brass section
playing what now obviously is choro - gentle, complex, addictive music
back into concert mode with classical guitar maestro yamandu costa
playing a style of music not entirely classical but brazilian infused
the acoustic end of the scale for choro music presumably
the middle part of the film seems to focus on song and singing
with some fine examples of ladies singing some rather sombre tunes
we are also given exposure to some of the younger musicians of brazil
as they pursue the music and seek to emulate their musical idols
the film very cleverly mixes in some fascinating footage of life in the city
passing trams, cafes, buildings, even aeroplanes are seen
and some interviews conducted in the surrounding hills
with the city for the backdrop giving a sense of being there
it becomes apparant that we are very cleverly being introduced
to all the musicians that are on stage in the final scenes of the film
back to the concert from the opening scenes
but now feeling like we are old friends with those on stage
and it's a great pleasure to see and feel the warmth and happiness
of the music, the musicians and the audience
choro - got it
is good

screaming masterpiece

unashamed music junkie is what i am
i thought it was something that would dissipate with the years
maybe it's just a phase i am going through (i hope not)
but these days i'm almost totally obsessed by the stuff
i have a jukebox on my computer stacked with compilation cds
i have a mp3 player stacked with my favourite albums
i have at least 3 venues within walking distance presenting quality original music
i have a bunch of music shops in my suburb that i have become very familiar with
tonight i had an urge to strap on the iriver and walk
which i did - from one cd shop to another
it's probably not a good idea to go into a music shop
with an mp3 player strapped on and music feeding into your head
kind of walking into a bar already half sloshed
you're not going to not partake in that which is on offer
so feeling in the mode for something visual as well as aural
i scoured the music dvds declining all the usual suspects
then noticed on the new releases wall this very interesting looking dvd
screaming masterpiece
the familiar yet manic bjork gracing the cover
her name and a list of other 9 others listed on the front
including sigur ros which bumped the interest factor off the scale
closer inspection reveals it's a film/documentary on icelandic music
perfect for a world music devotee such as myself
the purchase is made and inspected over a pasta and wine at lucky jim's
then taken home, dropped into the dvd player
projector fired up and sit back to let it unfold
the mind is open (the glass is full)
in between amazing footage of the great outdoors of iceland we see
- sigur ros at full throttle in concert in new york
- mum and slowblow in collaboration bashing things rhythmically
- bardi johannsson making big cure-ish noises to a huge devoted audience
- apparat organ quartet with a full rock band backing doing a fuller kraftwerk
- eivor palsdottir a female electric guitarist with a stunning voice in front of a 4 piece band
- an unnamed string quartet with electronica backing in a cathedral
- bjork singing beautifully with an orchestra at an outdoor concert in new york
- trabant an experimental group performing for the president of iceland in his home
- mugison an acoustic guitarist singing and playing somewhere in reykjavik
- odin's raven magic performing an 800 year old poem with orchestra and choir
- slowblow a lo-fi alternative male/female multi-instrument outfit
- mum presented in video form with a gentle electronica backed tune
- footage from a 1981 film documenting iceland's punk heritage
- archival footage of the sugarcubes in the 80's
- ghostigital a full-on electronic based outfit
- quarashi performing their rap/rock in tokyo
- amina a young 3 piece violin/cello female group with electronica
- dans three an electronic group backing up bjork in new york
- sigur ros performing a beautiful moving piece at an outdoor concert
- singapore sling a hardcode alternative band in a club
- vinyl doing an icelandic version of the birthday party
- minus icelands answer to the ramones
- nilfisk the archetypal garage band picked up by the foo fighters
- a massed choir and orchestra doing something presumably uniquely icelandic
very disparate music but with some things in common
a striking vein of freshness and originality
a dedicated and enthusiastic audience
a society obviously very supportive of their musicians
now get this mind-boggling fact
stats that roll up at one point state iceland is a nation of
300,000 people
90 music schools
6,000 choir members
400 orchestras and marching bands
and an unknown number of rock bands, jazz combos and dj's
sounds like mecca for a music junkie
me wanna go...