SEVEN WONDERS - The Rules
- It has to be seven things you've discovered in the last month
- It has to be seven things other people can find
- It has to be seven things that have inspired or caused a reaction.
- It has to be a paragraph on each
It doesn't have to be music, it can be a film, a play, a painting, a cartoon, a different take on the familiar etc, but it does have to comply to the rules.
Sometimes we'll have guest features, but we want your inspirations. Submit here.
Go seek them out
SEVEN WONDERS
Seven things that have excited Tony Birch this month….
Tony Birch, super gigger, photographer, music fan.
Andy Warhol @ Tate Modern
With the reopening of the Tate galleries I got a chance to see this major retrospective of one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. Warhol was a complex character; the son of working class Slovakian immigrants his early life influenced many of his works. For him a tin of Campbell's tomato soup was aspiration; in his youth tomato soup was watered down ketchup. Visiting the exhibition you will also discover why he painted a Cola-Cola bottle and why his studio became known as The Factory as well as discovering something of the man himself. The exhibition has been extended until 15th November but booking is essential.
Lauren Eva Ward - EP
Lauren is a flautist from Devon now based in London. I've seen her a couple of times so was awaiting her début EP - called EP - with some anticipation and I was not disappointed. The five tracks have all been arranged by her and she has a co-write credit on two of them. As a flautist she has a wonderfully light touch and the music feels very buoyant, with good accompaniment from Jacob Houghton (Guitar) and Laura Hewison (Cello). This will get played a lot. https://laurenevaward.bandcamp.com/releases
The Lasses
I actually got to a festival! It was in the Netherlands and organised by the superb Gitta de Ridder who provided an excellent day of music. All of the acts, due to travel restrictions, were Dutch based but in varying styles and I enjoyed them all. Particularly good were The Lasses (Sophie Janna & Margot Merah) who have played in the UK in the past and will hopefully return again in the future. Singing mostly in English, with a mix of traditional British and American songs, their close harmonies and string based songs are well worth listening to. https://www.thelasses.nl/
Ma Polaine's Great Decline - City of Love
A new album from Ma Polaine's is always going to be a treat and City of Love is no exception. The combination of Clinton Hough's guitar with Beth Packer's vocals, harmonica, accordion and bass is one that raises the hairs on the back of your neck and immediately transports you to a speakeasy somewhere on the wrong side of town. Following on from The Outsider in 2018 it retains that atmosphere of music with a dark edge and is highly recommended. https://www.mapolainesgreatdecline.com/
Annie Dressner - Midnight Bus
Annie is a singer / songwriter originally from New York but now living in Cambridge. Like many her year has been severely disrupted with the new album and accompanying tour having to go on hold for a while. That's a great shame because I enjoy her music, with its Greenwich Village sound and subjects that are very close focused; love, love lost and family feature large. However, she has released a single and the album is now available. Midnight Bus keeps the familiar themes but the studio production gives a much fuller sound which builds throughout the track. http://www.anniedressner.com/
The Seekers
Wandering around on YouTube I came across The Seekers singing The Carnival is over. That started a happy night of memories and there are still things they can teach performers. The clarity of the music, the beauty of Judith Durham's voice and the way the instruments support the vocals makes for great listening.
Cathedrals
With not much chance to get out of an evening I've been watching a lot of TV and amidst the dross I've found some real gems. One of them was a history of monasteries in Britain on BBC 4, presented by art historian Dr Janina Ramirez . Two of the places she visited are an easy drive from home so I made a road trip to visit Ely and Bury St Edmunds. Ely Cathedral, in the fens of Cambridgeshire is a true application of the word awesome. Rebuilt from an early Anglo-Saxon monastery it remains visible for miles. A truly impressive building, with its famous octagon tower and beautifully painted ceiling. It's has also had its problems. The statues in the Lady Chapel were knocked about a bit bu Henry VIII. Bury St Edmunds is a much newer building, mainly Tudor, and only became a cathedral in 1914. It has a much simpler, cleaner style but Bury St Edmunds has a lot more archaeology above ground so you can get a much better feel of how big these monasteries were. Part of their problem was wealth; they became huge corporations, in effect, and at Bury upto 40 monks worked full time in administration.
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Corsair is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
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