adamawilliams-blog

[adamawilliams-blog]

Things are going to be different from now on...

[adamawilliams-blog]

Hannah and I got married a couple of weeks ago and went to Rome for a few days to celebrate. The marriage ceremony itself was really cool and we then spent the night at a hotel before heading off in the van to the airport –  there wasn't enough time to drive to Italy.

The weather was (mostly) great and I loved Rome itself. We did all the usual tourist stuff like the Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican, and of course Pompeii's ruins. I honestly didn't want to come back for at least a couple of days and I'm not much of a city person. 

Unfortunately, once I got back, I caught the flu and that developed into pneumonia so we've spent the first couple of weeks as newlyweds with me ill and mostly bedridden, but I'm on the mend now.

[adamawilliams-blog]

I bought a new van. It's a 1971 VW early bay window with a pop-top and a 1600 engine. It's *very* old fashioned compared to the last one I had, with windscreen wipers and even the handbrake located on the dashboard. Love it though.

We're already very excited to go camping in it.

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Have been spending a lot of time listening to the Ex lately. This track in particular has been on heavy rotation.

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(another) work plug ...

I wrote an article featuring the use of shipping containers in architecture. Posting this because it took an inordinate amount of time to get the required permission, and so it feels somehow important that I should share.

Also, I admit, I like shipping containers.  

[adamawilliams-blog]

So we've been back from Spain for a week or two now, but due to one thing or another, I'm just getting around to writing about it. 

The trip went great, my 33 year old VW air-cooled campervan worked perfectly, no issues, even going over the Pyrenees in 35-degree heat. On the way to my grandparents' home, we picked up a German hitchhiker called Leonard who was probably carrying drugs and wanted a lift over the France / Spain border (sorry Leonard! Dropped him off in Perpignan ...), and took it easy – the trip to Murcia region took almost four days and it rained the whole time we were in France. 

The holiday was wonderful, we slept in, got drunk every night and did nothing besides swim all day and read – a much needed rest.

The way back, we had hoped to give Gacougnol a call and meet up for a coffee, but it turned out we messed up the Eurotunnel crossing and needed to get back to Calais quickly or not get back to work in time. This required a 26-hour mad dash, and we made the crossing with just 3 minutes to spare. 

The return trip also involved a very invasive search from French customs at a random service station, they pulled apart the van until they asked where in England I was from. When I said I was Welsh, they laughed and became friendly, then let us go. 

Needless to say, after that I was exhausted and it took a ridiculous 13 hours to drive from southern UK to home. I was so tired by the end that it took me like 10 minutes to park at home. 

Naturally, I've now settled down to work and forgotten most of the details of the trip, I'll probably edit this post multiple times as the details come back ...

[adamawilliams-blog]

The excellent Vital Weekly wrote some words regarding On Recovery. Thanks, as usual, to Gacougnol for letting me know! 

Read here

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The title track from On Recovery was recently played on Paul Gough's "Quiet Space" show, on Australia's ABC Radio National. It's actually the second time Paul's played one of my tracks (last time was for my Hibernate release), and I'm on second, amongst some very talented artists. Listen here

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First review of On Recovery is now up, and it's very detailed too. Thanks to Ambient Exotica!

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We took the recently resprayed vw van to Delamere forest today. Think we're going to go back soon with both dogs and camp for the night

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I have finally released some new music, thanks to Gavin at Twice Removed Recs. It's a two track EP called On Recovery and it's based around guitar and field recordings taken around Prestatyn, Llanasa, Gwespyr and the local area. Promo blurb: "Adam A Williams is a musician based in North Wales, UK, who has previously appeared on Hibernate Recs, Audio Gourmet, Cathedral Transmissions, Feedback Loop, and Flaming Pines. Working with guitar, field recordings, toy piano, and various other bits and pieces, Adam creates melodic soundscapes firmly rooted in the local area. “On Recovery” represents a return to music from Adam after time spent moving house and beginning a new job. The EP charts the illness, and subsequent recovery of, Adam's dog Finley, who fell seriously ill and required constant care. Field recordings taken on the initial days of Finley's convalescence, his first walks, and first visit to the beach feature in the release, and it is intended as an aural document of that time. This release is a 3” cd-r EP which is attached to a postcard and is a numbered edition of 50 copies." Buy here: http://twicerememberedtwiceremoved.bandcamp.com/album/on-recovery

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners for this year's National Awards and EU Awards. I wrote a short article here with huge image gallery containing photos of all of 'em. 

[adamawilliams-blog]

An interesting interview with Chomsky here, concerning his thoughts on anarchism. He references Bakunin, who I've been reading increasingly as of late.

Noam Chomsky: The Kind Of Anarchism I Believe In, and What's Wrong With Libertarians

[adamawilliams-blog]

I've had a slight job reshuffle. I'm still at the same place, but am now taking a crack at being responsible for the majority of our architecture stories – that's all I'll write about from now on. Enjoying it so far, but still quite a lot to learn. Check it out here

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Here's the artwork for my next release, a two-track EP titled On Recovery. Will post more details soon ...

[adamawilliams-blog]

David Yow is releasing his debut solo LP this June 25.

Yow was the frontman for The Jesus Lizard and Scratch Acid, the latter of which is one of the main reasons I learned an instrument, formed a band, and became heavily invested in music.

Colour me excited.

[adamawilliams-blog]

Halcyon Days is the latest release from Savaran/Mark Walters – a musician who manages the impressive combination of being Welsh, very talented, and an extremely nice guy all at once. The seven-track EP is mastered by Wil Bolton and dedicated to Mark’s late dog Tess, a clearly beloved companion. In Mark’s words: “The Halcyon Days tracks evolved over five months between November 2012 and March 2013. For some reason my most subtle, deep, emotional and dark works always seem to be produced in the suppressed light of Winter. Perhaps the enforced isolation and incarceration in the studio due to the inclement weather figures in this, but I know that I also take a lot of visual and audible cues from the landscape and nature at this time. The EP essentially describes a number of locations visited during the Winter months in the UK and my response to them in musical form. ” Halcyon Days was released by the Assembly Field netlabel, and though I confess I hadn’t heard of them before (I haven’t been keeping very current lately), it’s a young label that looks very good indeed, with a compilation that I’m going to be sure to check out next. Anyway, Mark’s EP is great stuff as always and well worth a listen.