SnC 148 – Wed 17 Dec 2008

Podcast: Play in new window

Still rather chilly here in Suffolk – a kind of deep persistent cold that permeates the house … and my poor old bones! A pretty impressive sunrise this morning over the meadow with the old oak trees against the sky.The Winter Blues – Robin Grey (Hackney, London, UK)I thought I had played a track by Robin a few weeks ago, but now I can’t find it. I’ve certainly been listening … a lot … having been put onto him, through Jamendo, by Carolyn who points out that he was responsible for mandolin and bass on Ruth Theodore’s excellent album Worm Food which we’ve heard a couple of tracks from on this show as well as playing bass on the Blue Swerver album which, again we’ve heard on SnC. The Winter Blues is from his album I love Leonard Cohen on Jamendo. Robin is normally located in a small white room with a blue door tucked away in a leafy corner of Hackney, East London, where he makes music.Inspired by the timeless work of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Ani Difranco amongst many others, he colours in his songs about love and life with guitar, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, piano, double bass, organ, percussion toys, and any other instruments he can afford and fit into his little studio.Robin has asked if I can recommend any places locally where he could come and play. He is also on the lookout for potential house gigs, so if you have a decent sized room and can muster a respectable size crowd give me a shout and I’ll pass the word on. Alternatively send Robin a message through Jamendo or his site.www.robingrey.comwww.myspace.com/robingreyLadylike – Amber Ojeda (San Diego, CA, USA)I’ll admit to being surprised that I really liked this. I’m not normally a great can of soul and R&B but this is magic. Amber Ojeda is a singer- songwriter based out of the San Diego Metro area. Equal parts talent and ambition Amber has managed to precisely dial into the new digital world of music. She is continuously included on the MySpace Top 100 Artists Charts in the Jazz/Soul/R&B division. Her music can most recently be heard on the Style Networks new hit show "Dress My Nest" in addition to feature film placements. Amber’s musical approach centers around the blending of jazz and soul with hip hop undertones.. Her voice lends itself to the likes of Jill Scott and Alicia Keys with the poetic flow of Erykah Badu. With a growing fan base, looks and a distinctive voice, Amber is destined to be in the R&B/Soul/Jazz annals of music. PLEASE ENJOY FREE DOWNLOADS OF MY MUSIC AT www.trueanthem.com/amberojedawww.amberojedamusic.com/www.myspace.com/amberojedaMessage from Andy Fidler expressing his appreciation for the wax cylinder recording by Madam Pamita on last week’s show SnC147A message from Madam Pamita: Hi Peter!I love your show – thank you so much for including me as part of such a great mix of music…and for reciting my copy with your spectacular brit enunciation! As it should be! As it should be! As an old punk rocker from way back, i feel like i fit right in your show – old time music is punk rock circa 1915!  That’s what’s great about podsafe network… i get turned on to such terrific podshows, such as yours!  Needless to say, I’ve subscribed via itunes, so i’ll be listening in often!yes, i recorded these tracks on real wax cylinder equipment from the late 1800s – absolutely no electricity used in the process! It was an amazing experience. i’ve attached two photos – one of me in front of the recording gear and one of the actual cylinders to prove i’m not making this up.The pix are on the new Gallery page on the main SnC site.I saw a production of "Marie" a one woman show which takes a look at the life of Marie Lloyd, the Queen of the Halls around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, which as a review in The Stage says: "Elizabeth Mansfield, as Marie, describes the music hall atmosphere in three or four lines of dialogue and immediately the audience can see, hear and smell a crowded music hall.Mansfield is as spiky and wonderfully bawdy as Lloyd was. The songs are made very much part of the narrative and many are sung, as was the fashion, with an opening spoken verse. Mansfield has the audience joining in the chorus and, at the same time, enjoying her performance and voice – the very essence of music hall. She confides in the audience just as a music hall star would. When the play is over, the audience leaves with a greater understanding of the impact of Lloyd on popular entertainment."Madam Pamita is planning a trip over to the UK to play a few dates and hopes that one will be near Suffolk. I hope so too. OK This is the pops – Orpheos (Berkeley, CA, USA)Bay Area producer Orpheos DeJournette stands poised to write the next chapter in a revelatory musical journey with the release of his debut LP, The Mirror With No Reflection. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Orpheos first broke ground as co-founder of West Coast dance pioneers, Mephisto Odyssey, enjoying both popular and critical accolades long before electronic music had hit the mainstream.After a string of seminal original productions made their mark on dance floors and in after-hours parties worldwide, the group was chosen to remix the Jane"s Addiction comeback single, So What. The four Mephisto remixes charted on Billboard’s maxi-singles chart for six weeks and remain the only remixes ever sanctioned by Jane’s Addiction. A slew of remix work for Static-X, Los Amigos Invisibles, and Soul Coughing followed.Never one to remain content with past achievement, Orpheos amicably left Mephisto to begin work on his solo artist career. Four years in the making, the LP of his new material infused with shockingly original production work, as the producer has meticulously and single handedly written, produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered every song and created each sound and vocal from scratch.The Mirror With No Reflection LP possesses a sense of craft and an individuality sorely lacking in most contemporary music. That said, listeners will note hints of Massive Attack, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd supercharged with a groove-oriented attack that is immediately accessible, but, ultimately, unique to Orpheos alone.www.orpheos.net/www.myspace.com/orpheosmusicPat Steir – Cagey House (Maryland, USA)Cagey House has been releasing free podsafe music since 2005–through Umor-rex, Nishi, and Jamendo."There’s a new Cagey House album on Jamendo. [which I couldn’t find last month] It’s called Earth Covered A-Frame. Most of the tracks have been up here before. Lots of them have computer-generated vocals. It’s pretty nice, if I do say so myself.”www.myspace.com/cageyhousewww.jamendo.com/en/album/33394I’m always here for you – Josh Charles (Brooklyn, New York)I played Josh"s song The Answer a month ago on 144 but thought you’d be interested to hear something a bit more bluesy with a brilliant deep south piano sound. A very straight recording with no discernable enhancement to the voice – what you hear is what you get."Since I was a kid, I’ve played the gamut — the worst dive bars with piano keys so jagged that I cut up my fingers every night, some amazing concert halls, outdoor festivals, great clubs and even floating theaters at sea. My mentor/teacher and friend is Dr. John and I can say that I am blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from a master."Josh has just released his debut Josh Charles EP which features members of Dr. John’s band, his touring band, and was recorded in New Orleans and New York.www.joshcharlesmusic.com/www.myspace.com/joshcharlesonlineI want your love – Axisgallery (UK and Italy)The nucleus of Axisgallery are Brit Nick C and Italian Paolo Baldini who met in Florence in 2004 while DJing the local nightclubs on a European Tour . Both have a leftfield approach to music and soon started working together on remixes of old rock songs such as Billy Squiers ‘Stroke’ and Black Sabbath’s ‘Neon Knights’ which rocked the local dancefloors . Drafting in old friend and socialite Princess Anya LeGalle on vocals and a boozed out Scottish guitarist Pip ‘maddog’ Kiernan – they set out to create their first album ‘Dynamics Of Synergy’Axisgallery have just released their third album Disturbing Behavior which references their experience of ‘Haut de la Garenne’ and refines their sound to a more mainstream Rock/Dance crossover. www.axisgallery.co.uk/www.myspace.com/axisgalleryMessage from Jez, guitarist, percussionist and formidable harmonica player with the Dana Wylie Band. We’re touring in Asia at the moment, Taiwan to be precise.I just got back from listening to a fantastic Finnish Jouhikko (kind of sarangi/fiddle-like thing) player here in Taipei. He’s called Pekko Kappi, and is quite something.I finished listening to show 144 and will check out some other episodes when I wake up. It’s a great show. Contrast! Colour! Yes! The whole idea of podcasting was immediately appealing, but yours is so f*%king good. Glad to hear such a wide taste in musicks.St James Parish Bus and One Lucky Bastard – Dana Wylie Band (England, Canada, Taiwan) Graham Holland at It’s a Frog’s Life Acoustic Podcast suggest that the band contact me.Moving to Taiwan in 2003 in search of a quiet place to write, she was surprised to find herself immersed in a thriving ex-pat music scene. When she played her demo for Englishman Jeremy Hellard, he said, "I’d have liked that better if I had played on it", and the Dana Wylie Band was born. A swinging drummer, guitarist, vocalist and uniquely expressive harmonica player, Jez proved the perfect accompanist, moving seamlessly between the various idioms in which Wylie chooses to compose.After more than a year of touring Taiwan, including two long-term residencies in Taipei nightspots, they moved to England and joined forces with virtuosic and in-demand jazz bassist, Nye Parsons. Nye has developed a formidable reputation over the last decade, and his lyrical, melodic style hovers between jazz and folk and perfectly complements Dana’s fluid song-writing.www.danawylie.net/www.myspace.com/danawyliebandDo Rasta Works – Jah Jah Yute (Jamaica)From the 2007 album Words Power on Sound.Jah Jah Yute was born with the name Steadman Shearer, in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica in a little district called Rock Spring.His father owned a nightclub with a sound system called Sir King B. Jah Jah was first performing as a DJ, on this sound system.One evening Jah Jah heard the Sound System of Black Star playing and during entertainer time, instead of dj-ing he started singing free style of his spiritual meditations.Jah Jah went to Kingston and was introduced by a friend to the owner of Mixing Lab Studio where he met Bunny Wailer, Yellow Man and others.While visiting Montego Bay he was directed to African Symbol Studio where he recorded his first couple of songs, "Do Rasta Work" and "Too Much Slackness Inna Di Music". www.jahjahyute.com/www.myspace.com/jahjahyute68http://cdbaby.com/cd/jahjahyute