a different tune

“Created some time ago in 2005, The Spooky Men of the West is Stephen Taberner’s twisted vision for the western chapter of the The Spooky Men’s Chorale.

This now rogue chapter has expanded its repertoire with their own musical masterpieces, drawing on personal feelings and other things.

The Spooky men of the West seems to have been formed with no end in mind - luckily, cos there’s no sign of stopping them now…”

“We never meant to come here” is the brand new EP from The Spooky Men of the West. A sixteen voice male acapella choir, the Spooky Men of the West explore (or should that be “subjugate”?) a range of musical styles from traditional Georgian table singing to contemporary and original works. Their sound has been said to be “gentle and sad, even sweet, but also sexy, powerful and unmistakably male”. One newspaper report aptly describes them as “a group of wierdos who sing”.

“We Never Meant to Come Here” includes six new songs that depart from Stephen Taberner’s Spooky repertoire. “Navigation” is an original song by the Spooks, with music by Spookmeister Ryan Morrison. “Delilah” (Mason & Reed) and “When You Sleep” (CAKE) are surprisingly recognisable after being given a Spooky makeover. “Varjele” was written by Digby Hill, loosely based on a Finnish folk song, and “Mirangula” is a traditional Georgian lament. The “Norwegian Sailors Chorus” is Wagner as you have never heard him before, and possibly never want to hear him again.

Rather than trying to explain what this is about, check this out:

“When You Sleep” is Simon Nield’s beautiful interpretation of the song by CAKE. To call it a cover is almost unfair because this version actually has a melody, something that is missing from the catchy but rather tuneless original. I guess this song appeals to my sense of strange, which makes it a personal favourite. Another stand-out track for me is Digby Hill’s rousing arrangment of “Varjele”, which perfectly sets the mood for marauding. And who else but the Spooks could turn a Wagnerian drinking chorus into a treatise on the demise of bathtime. I hope they’re not suggesting we drink the bathwater…

I have just two tiny criticisms of this album. Firstly, the opening track “Navigation” is too short. Just as the song gathers momentum its finished - perhaps that’s the point the song is making, but I felt I wanted more of the wonderful “home is where I hang my hat” motif. Secondly, while the CD sounds great it lacks some of the energy of the live performances, but I guess this is always the trade-off with studio recordings.

My advice is to get this CD but go see them live if you can, because part of the Spooky experience is that dissonance between the warm, wonderful evocative sound and their strange understated deadpan humour. If you’re in Western Australia you can catch them at the upcoming Denmark Festival of Voice, and at the odd gig around Perth. For details and CDs, check their web site.

With the Australian Federal Election looming, Stephen Taberner, has hit the campaign trail with some advice for voters. Considering how hard it can be to sing outdoors, I think these “flash mob” choral performances are pretty good. Check out the original Spooky Men’s Chorale version below, or on their album Tooled Up.

Well, if I wasn’t convinced before I certainly am now…

Update: actually, we did vote the bastards out. The first acts of the new Rudd government were to ratify the Kyoto protocol, apologise to the Stolen Generations, and consult the people on the nation’s future. Seems like a good start to me.

Norman Fairbanks has released his latest album “7 Days Microsleep”. Eight tracks are available for free download from his web site. Its pure electronica - calming, mellow, yet full of motion and melody. For some reason I’m reminded of gamelan.

What’s unusual about these compositions is that they are produced entirely on Yamaha’s new gesture-based synth, the Tenori-On. Designed by Toshio Iwai, the Tenori-On is a hand-held device boasting a 256 pixel (16×16) LED display. By touching the display in different ways, the performer can build sequences of sounds that can be layered into complex soundscapes. The novelty of the interface is that it allows relatively complex sequences to be controlled through intuitive gestures. Unlike a traditional multitrack sequencer, the Tenori-On is a live performance instrument. This stuff is all real-time.

This video shows some of the different gestures that can be used to generate tone sequences : Score Mode, Push Mode, Changing Loop Points, Bounce Mode, and Solo Mode. Yamaha have some neat videos explaining these and other interactions here. Some technical details are available in this NIME06 paper.

I was quite intrigued by this gadget when it was released earlier this year, but I admit to being underwhelmed by some of the demo music I heard. Having listened to Norman’s album a couple of times now its definitely growing on me. The standout tracks for me are “The Glam Machines Arrive” and “The Freedom Loop”, but all the tracks have something to offer, sharing a unique tranquil hypnotic style. If you like this sort of thing, or are simply intrigued by the possibilities of this instrument, give “7 Days Microsleep” a try. A brief interview with Norman Fairbanks is available at Create Digital Music.

Crowded House are back. They farewelled the world in 1996, and now they have reformed with a new line up : Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod.

Last night Crowded House performed to a packed Supreme Court Gardens in Perth. The concert was a mixture of classic pieces, along with some of the songs from their new album “Time On Earth”. The band gave a solid performance and encouraged the audience to sing along with favourites like “Fall At Your Feet”, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, “Weather With You”, “Four Seasons In One Day”, and “Better Be Home Soon”. Of course, these were the songs that got the biggest reaction, but folks were also singing along with the new songs too.

Many of the songs from “Time On Earth” deal with loss, and are no doubt at least partly inspired by the sad passing of drummer Paul Hester who took his own life in 2005 after a battle with depression. Songs like “Nobody Wants To”, “You’re The One to Make Me Cry”, “People Are Like Suns”, and “Silent House” reflect on the transience of life. While not popular themes in pop music these are things which eventually we will all experience. It’s great to see someone prepared to tackle them head on. On the night Neil said in his introduction to “Nobody Wants To”:

“We want to sing about everything. There are no no-go zones with Crowded House. We’ll sing about anything or anyone or anytime, anyhow”

That’s one of the things I love about Neil Finn as a songwriter. He’s not afraid to write about whatever is on his mind, no matter what that is. People respect that, because it comes across as honesty and openness. There’s a little touch of insanity there too (”Hey don’t look now but there goes God with his sexy pants and his sausage dog”…WTF?) but that adds to the general level of mayhem - there’s nothing worse than predictability. There are definitely niches in rock that have become very manufactured and formulaic. Crowded House provides a refreshing alternative to this trend.

The evening was peppered with moments of musical mischief. Mark gave a brief rendition of “Oh Susannah” on the harmonica before cranking up “There Goes God”. Also fun was a lead break on the melodica in “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. Neil introduced “When You Come” with the line “This song is not about sex, or maybe…” which of course just confirmed what I had always suspected. At one point, Nick Seymour chased onto the stage a small pack of greyhounds in red racing jackets. This was a great absurdist moment, but also a set-up for the line “Nick Seymour, Best in Breed”. A highlight for me was the juxtaposition of two of my favourite songs: “Distant Sun” and “People Are Like Suns”. During the final number “Pineapple Head” a “half naked man” climbed onto the stage only to be escorted away by security guards. Ever the showman, Neil worked it into the chorus so seamlessly that I was left wondering if the whole thing had been staged.

(Download 1Mb) Half Naked Man On The Stage
(Download 2Mb) Half Naked Man On The Stage (extended with entire chorus)
Recorded in glorious 8Khz mono on my cell phone.

Here is the set list from the night. I for one enjoyed not just the songs but the energy and humour.

Great work guys! I hope to see you back some time soon.

1. Private Universe
2. Mean To Me
3. Don’t Stop Now
4. Fall At Your Feet
5. Everything is Good For You
6. You’re the One to Make me Cry
7. Nobody Wants To
8. When you Come
9. Silent House
10. There Goes God
11. Don’t Dream It’s Over
12. People are like Suns
13. Walked Her Way Down
14. Distant Sun
15. Weather WIth You

1st encore

1. Locked Out
2. Something So Strong

2nd encore

1. Fingers of Love
2. Four Seasons in one day
3. Better be home soon

3rd encore

1. World Where You Live
2. Pineapple Head

“The Silence” is a new orchestral work by Iain Grandage : a narrated story with libretto by Humphrey Bower. Its designed specifically as an introduction to the orchestra for children in upper primary / lower secondary school.

The story tells of a boy who wakes up to find that he is the only person left in the world. The theme obviously allows for the exploration of a range of emotions and situations.

I was immediately reminded of two things. The first was Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”, the classic childrens orchestral story that I remember from my own childhood. The second was “The Quiet Earth”, a strange and beautiful film in which a man wakes up to find himself alone in the world. Its a powerful theme, and makes us question how much our own identity depends on those around us.

Heard recently on Into the Music. The audio may be there for a few weeks. Its great to hear some of the kids reactions to the piece. I hope we see this performed in Perth soon.

The cassette tape is rapidly becoming a “vintage” audio technology, but some of us who have a reasonable amount of material in this format. And part of my collection is a box of damaged and disembowelled cassettes waiting to be repaired. For at least a few of these patients, the wait is over.
Continue reading ‘Cassette Surgery’ »