malqmilk

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Violin Sect

Photo credit: Steve Jinks

Formed in 1980 and disbanded in 1981, the obscure Welsh post-punk band Violin Sect left behind just one seven-inch, “Highdays and Holidays/Rivals,” documenting their brief existence. In fact, they’ve flown so low on the radar since then that they were even overlooked for the Messthetics compilations, the CD series that brought the sounds of the many forgotten and amusingly-named UK DIY bands of their time and ilk to a (relatively) wider audience. This started to change in 2019, however, when Sect bassist Steve Walker posted a couple of previously unreleased songs that he’d dug up to Soundcloud, where Minimum Stacks label head Joe Piccirillo heard them as his label was just getting off the ground. Fast forward to 2023 and we have the Vile Insect 12-inch, featuring all four songs from the band’s short life transferred from the original ¼" tapes. The result, to Andrew Forrell of Dusted’s ears, is a mix of “dubby rhythms, scratchy post-punk guitar, whimsy and skepticism,” able to stand with Scritti Politti’s “Skank Bloc Bologna” and Swell Maps “Read About Seymour.” And thanks to this release, it’s finally in a position to reach the audience it deserves.

Although Walker’s bandmates — Steve Jinks (guitar), Phil Rimmell (drums) and Hywel Pontin (percussion and backing vocals) — were unavailable to take part, Walker has assembled a list of some of his favorite music, art and literature from his 67 years on earth for Dusted. “A snapshot within a snapshot,” if you will.

The Raincoats

I was lucky enough to catch a London gig by the Raincoats in 1979 around the time they released their first single. This year Gina Birch (bass/vocals), also 67, has released her first solo album, I Play My Bass Loud, and it’s been worth the wait. Here’s an early one from the first Raincoats LP, though.

Mica Levi — “Lips”

I got the same sort of excitement when I first heard Mica Levi, together with their bandmates in Micachu and the Shapes. Their work has continued to grow and encompasses other genres such as film soundtracks (e.g., Jackie).

Sufjan Stevens — “Video Game”

I first became aware of Sufjan Stevens with the release of Illinois and caught him at the end of his UK tour promoting it at King’s College London with a pared-down (although still with those wondrous wings) extra gig. In later years he was in Bristol on the Carrie & Lowell tour. Sublime. Here’s a later track with fabulous dancing.

Saul Leiter — In No Great Hurry: 13 Lessons in Life

I’ve spent a lifetime as a specialist nurse supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities to maintain and develop their independence together with practicing as a part time psychotherapist for the general public, within the UK’s National Health Service. During this time, I’ve drawn, painted, made music but mainly taken photos (since I was a kid with a darkroom). Maybe there’ll be an exhibition of my own one day but, like Saul Leiter, I’m used to “postponing things and seeing no reason to be in a rush.” For me, his exhibitions and photobooks have a magical quality that validate and inspire all at the same time.

Ivor Cutler

Ivor Cutler always had my heart but here’s an epic that didn’t feature on his own albums.

Angeline Morrison — The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience

In 2022 Angeline Morrison released an astonishing album… I’m afraid that I can’t stop myself recommending it to people! If you get a chance…

Paul Wright — Arcadia

Arcadia is a short film that explores Britain’s relationship with the earth, its secret pasts, hidden histories and collective amnesia using old film and TV footage in an exhilarating fashion.

Wet Leg — “Chaise Longue,” live at the BRIT Awards, 2023

A performance from the here and now, incorporating the past with the present in a truly WTF moment at the Brits!

Gretchen Gerzina — Black England

Books… so many books! So, here’s what I’m currently reading.

Anthony Gormley — Another Place

Finally… if ever in Liverpool, visit Crosby Beach and experience Antony Gormley’s sculpture. It consists of 100 cast iron figures facing towards the sea, (gradually becoming encrusted with barnacles, etc.) all modeled on Gormley’s own naked body.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Martin Simpson and Thomm Jutz: A Wider Understanding

Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz's recent collaborative album is specific in scope but infinite in potential repeatability. Both folk singer-songwriters and guitarists are endlessly curious consumers of historical songs from specific regions: for Simpson, largely music from the British Isles, and for the American but German-born Jutz, the American South. (While each has dabbled in studying and recording music from other regions, they've long honed in on England and the States.) Jutz, also a lecturer and essayist, had long been interested in a collection from English folklorist and song collector Cecil Sharp, “English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians," which spans 1916-1918 and was first published in 1932. The 274-song collection is chock full of ballads, hymns, nursery rhymes, and more. Jutz was particularly drawn to the songs of singer Mary Sands and folklorist/singer Jane Gentry. He wanted to do something with these songs, but what?

When longtime British folk music label Topic Records put Jutz in touch with Simpson--an artist he had long admired--they spoke on the phone and came up with an idea: In the spirit of the way in which an Englishman like Sharp ended up collecting songs from Appalachia, what if the two of them picked Sands and Gentry songs and asked various English and American folk artists to sing them over new arrangements? After all, even if the United States and England, throughout the years, have had unique histories, their folklore shares themes of class and archetypal gender struggles. So both Simpson and Jutz picked six songs and asked five artists, from their respective countries, to sing, saving one song each for themselves. The timeline from idea to planning to recording--which took place both in Nashville and England--was mere months. Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, released last fall on Topic, was born.

Indeed, Nothing But Green Willow is an inspired collection, pairing some of the world's finest folk interpreters, singers, and instrumentalists, with Simpson and Jutz's terrific dual guitar arrangements. Some, like Emily Portman, Angeline Morrison, and Fay Hield, who sing on "Far Annie", "The Suffolk Miracle", and "I Whipped My Horse", respectively, approach folk music in their own careers from the same analytical perspective as Jutz and Simpson, and so they were natural fits. Jutz himself emphasizes the beatific nature of a song like "Awake! Awake!", while country singer Tammy Rogers and actress/singer/model/former neonatal nurse (!) Odessa Settles pry at the innate weariness of "Married and Single Life" and "Pretty Saro". Other tunes are more upbeat, from Simpson's spritely guitar workout on "The Wagoner's Lad" to Tim O'Brien's fiddle jaunt on "Edwin in the Lowlands Low" and Sierra Hull & Justin Moses' deft tempo exercises on "Geordie". My favorite songs are the ones on which Simpson and Jutz's interplay even further plays off of the other featured artists, whether that's Cara Dillon's quintessential Irish twang on on "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" or Dale Ann Bradley & Tim Stafford's blaring vocal harmonies on "Jacob's Ladder".

Best of all, and what I gleaned most from listening to Nothing But Green Willow and a phone conversation with Jutz late last summer, is that the record was, truly, a labor of love. "It was nice to sit down and make music without thinking of who we had to please," Jutz said, "or how to craft a narrative around the project." As Jutz is someone who is both an original songwriter and arranger and interested in the technological impact on, and cultural importance of historic recordings, Nothing But Green Willow is an album seemingly perfectly suited for his ethos. And it's also an album whose process can be used to record, rearrange, and re-contextualize songs from any era and place.

Below, read my conversation with Jutz, edited for length and clarity. We talked about his historical relationship with the Sharp collection, his and Simpson's logic in pairing singer with song, and being a folk interpreter in a world of ever-changing technology.

Since I Left You: Around when did you get the idea for Nothing But Green Willow, and when was it recorded?

Thomm Jutz: My original idea to do something with the Sharp collection existed for many years, but I didn't know how to get to it. But when I was introduced to the folks at Topic Records, they introduced me to Martin. Once Martin and I discussed the idea a little bit, it became clear how we wanted to approach it. We had about 2-3 months of warm up time before recording, and that was it. It was recorded [late summer] 2021, half of it in Nashville. Martin was in upstate New York for Richard Thompson's guitar camp, and he flew down to Nashville to record about 7 songs. We flew to England together to record the rest of the album. It came together fairly quickly.

SILY: Do you remember the first time you became familiar with the specific songs on this album?

TJ: With these specific songs, it's a little hard to answer. Some, like, “Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies” and "The Gypsy Laddie", I've known for more than half of my life because of the Carter Family, Bob Dylan, and people like that. About 10-15 years ago, I really got into the Sharp collection and got the books. When Martin and I discussed making the record and focusing only on the songs of Jane Gentry and Mary Sands, I obviously got into [their specific songs] on a much deeper level, hearing the different versions of the songs. It's been a process going on for more than 20 years in one way or another.

SILY: What do all of the featured singers on the album have in common to you? Is there something that ties them together?

TJ: Yes. They all have a deep appreciation for folk music in the true sense of the world, music that comes from the oral tradition. They all come out of that tradition, even the bluegrass [musicians] like Sierra Hull and Dale Ann Bradley. They grew up playing music by ear from people they knew. They didn't study it. Everybody who is on these records love these songs and the true roots of American folk music just as it can be found in English music. It's that love and appreciation that unites these people, but it's also their capacity to interpret them in new ways. There are certainly other ballad singers out there in England and in the United States, but Martin and I didn't want to make this a ballads record where people sang songs a capella. That's been done, and it's great, but we wanted it to approach it a little differently.

SILY: Was it your and Martin's job to pick which singer would sing which song, or did you let the singers pick?

TJ: Once Martin and I looked at all the songs Jane Gentry and Mary Sands had contributed to the Cecil Sharp collection, Martin picked his 6 favorites, and I picked my 6 favorites. I said, "Why don't I [assign] 5 singers here in the States with a song, and you do the same in England." We suggested the songs to the singers, so as to avoid, say, 3 people wanting to sing the same song, or people picking [other] songs from the over 90 songs contributed by these two ladies. We felt pretty strongly about suggesting, "Hey, why don't you do this one!" It's a little risky, but it really worked out.

SILY: What factors did you take into account when making the assignment, from the qualities of each singer's voice to other songs they've sung in the past?

TJ: Not just musical considerations--though that's certainly a part of it--but thematic considerations. In the case of Sierra Hull and Justin Moses, who come out of the bluegrass tradition, I thought it would be interesting to have them sing "Geordie", which had been previously recorded by, among other people, Norman Blake and Tony Rice, which are huge influences in the bluegrass world and had a huge influence on Sierra and Justin. It was interesting to me to see how they would interpret that song that had already been interpreted by two of their heroes. In the case of Tammy Rogers, who is from East Tennessee, she remembers talking to her grandmother, [who would go] to see the Carter Family perform in school houses and court houses. For her, ["Married and Single Life"], which the Carter Family turned into "Single Girl, Married Girl" was interesting to me because of the family connection. Taking the song "Jacob's Ladder", I wanted Dale Ann Bradley to sing that because she's profoundly influenced by the Stanley Brothers, who recorded a version of "Jacob's Ladder" that's very different than the one we have on this album. It's almost like a different song. In the case of Odessa Settles, a wonderful African American gospel singer in Nashville, I thought the lyrics to "Pretty Saro" take on such a profoundly different meaning when sung by an African American person. That was really interesting to experience that.

Martin had his own criteria to pick the British singers, but it's a little harder for me to speak to that.

SILY: Were there any instances where the picked singer was wholly unfamiliar with the original song?

TJ: Oh yes. There were definitely people here in America who weren't familiar with some of the songs or had heard completely different versions. I can't speak to that for the people in England. I think the people in England are from a more serious folk ballad singing tradition, so they were likely a little more familiar with these songs than those on the American side.

SILY: Why did you decide to release "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" as the first taste of the record?

TJ: Cara Dillon's vocal makes such an incredibly beautiful statement. It's traditional, but somewhat contemporary in the way she sings it. She's also a very well-known artist over there, which was part of the consideration. It's also a song that's--I hesitate to use the word "popular"--well-known in the folk tradition in England and still to this day played on the Grand Ole Opry by The Whites in a different version. It's a thematic common ground for the audience. I also thought that the guitar parts Martin and I played on that were part of what makes our collaboration as guitarists interesting. It sets the tone well for what this record is all about.

SILY: Going into the recording, how much did you and Martin work on the arrangements?

TJ: Not at all. Martin doesn't read music, so he had maybe played the melodies to these tunes in their simplest forms without chordal accompaniment. I recorded [some chords] and sent it to him. We both lived with it and didn't do anything before we started playing. The only two songs where we had a little more of an idea [what we were going to do were] "The Wagoner's Lad", because Martin was singing it on the record and had a guitar part worked out, and "The Gypsy Laddie", which I sing on and had a guitar part worked out for it. None of the songs on the record took more than 2 hours to record. It was very much spur of the moment. The singers came in, some not knowing what key they wanted to sing in. Time signatures changed. That's the beauty of it. if you have people you can just sit down with and trust them that it's going to be good, it doesn't require a lot of pre-meditation or pre-production. To me, that's the most exciting way of making and recording music.

SILY: Someone like Fay Hield comes at folk music with both a performance and academic point of view. Does anybody else on here have a similar background?

TJ: I think Emily Portman is somebody who has a very deep understanding of where this music comes from and the different possibilities of interpreting it. Fay teaches music at the University of Sheffield and is an authority. She said a lot of things during the recording session that really opened my eyes and made me think about the music slightly differently. I'm a teacher at Belmont University, so you might call me an academic, though I don't think of myself as such. But I've spent a lot of time with this music and where it comes from.

SILY: How does your unique combination of perspectives affect how you approach these tunes?

TJ: Once you know where you something comes from in terms of place--place not just being a geographical location but in all of its sociopolitical manifestations--you listen to the lyrics differently. You look at the expression of class in the lyrics. Class was such an important factor in England when these songs were originally created, although we can't put an exact date of creation on them. That sense of class was very much prevalent in Appalachia, too, albeit in a different way and political context. The more you know about these places and the people who lived there, you might not understand the music deeper, but you understand it wider and broader.

SILY: Can you tell me about your relationship to the two songs on here that feature your voice?

TJ: "Awake! Awake!" is a song I didn't know before I got into this collection. It wasn't one I had originally selected for this album, and Martin neither, but as I explored, I was captivated by the beauty of the melody. I suggested to Martin when he got to Nashville that we shouldn't leave it out. He was on board, and we came up with an arrangement really quickly. It's a gorgeous lyric. It turns out the title of the album is part of the lyrics to that song. "Gypsy Laddie", or "Gypsy Davy", as a lot of people know it, is a song I've always loved. The opening line of that song--it's a little different in this version--but a lot of the versions I'm familiar with start with, "Gypsy Davy came through the woods, sang so sweet and gaily, made the woods around him ring and captured the heart of a lady." It's one of the most beautiful opening verses of any songs I've ever known. It's obviously not just about a gypsy riding through the woods singing, it's about an archetype, the creator, a sorcerer who can charm not just people but nature with their music. It's such a beautiful representation of making music. That song has always been really geared to me, and it's also a very open-ended song. At the end of the song, we don't know whether the lady is dead, sleeping, happy, or sad. She runs away from her children and husband and with this Gypsy Davy character. That's the beauty of those old songs. They're not so linear. There's a lot of room for interpretation.

SILY: How did the two of you come up with the track sequencing?

TJ: Honestly, I don't think I'm good at sequencing records, but sometimes I have to do it. In this case, it was Martin and me trying to figure out how to not have songs in the same key and tempo back to back. It was more musical than thematic considerations.

SILY: What's the story behind the album art?

TJ: The album art is by the former owner of Topic Records who sold the company but is still very much a part of the Topic family and has become a well-respected painter. He had this painting of this willow tree, so once we came up with the title, the folks at Topic suggested it. I always think it's nice to have original art as part of the musical project.

SILY: Are you planning on playing any of these songs live?

TJ: If the right circumstances come up for me and Martin to play together! It would be very difficult to tour this record because there are so many people involved, but I'd certainly consider playing "Awake! Awake!" and "The Gypsy Laddie" in some of my solo shows.

SILY: In the folk tradition, it shouldn't really matter that you might not be the singer on a specific recording when playing that same arrangement live, but do you think it would do a disservice to the vocalists?

TJ: I don't think so. I think it would add a different character or shade or meaning.

SILY: Ostensibly, you could play all of these songs.

TJ: I guess we could, yes. I don't know if the opportunity is going to come up for us to tour in a way that makes sense, since we're living in different parts of the world, but I'd be interested in pursuing it.

SILY: Do you tend to actively seek out folk songs you're not familiar with or you've never heard before?

TJ: It depends. In the context of American music from the South, yes, because I'm really interested in it. But I'm not a folk song collector or scholar in the sense I'm trying to collect folk songs from, say, a certain part of Mexico. I'm limited in scope.

SILY: On paper, due to technology, this seems like a perfect time for folk music to thrive, because there's so much more at our disposal, so much more quickly. What it is like to be a "scholar" of folk music in this day and age?

TJ: Research, whether listening to music or reading about music, has gotten so much easier because things are so much more accessible. You can look up a word in the dictionary really quickly, but 30 years ago, you had to dig into it, and in the process of finding one word, you find 10 others that are really interesting. Maybe we're missing out on that a little bit. Overall, I feel that we're all very oversaturated musically in the way music is made and consumed. It's not something I'm very interested in. I'm so unplugged from the mainstream that I shouldn't really speak to it. But in terms of accessibility to information about music, I think it's a good thing that so many things are easily available to people. If somebody is interested in the Carter Family, they don't have to go to a store and dig through. At the end of the day, though, if people do that, it might be a good thing.

SILY: It reminds me of what you said about having a wide versus a deep appreciation for music. It's easier these days to have a wider appreciation, but to have a deeper appreciation, you still have to go through the old routes, the exploratory nature of researching one thing and finding relevant tangents.

TJ: Right. Just because you can listen to music widely doesn't mean that you understand it deeply. You still have to do the work as a listener to develop an understanding of the people who made the music and when those songs were recorded. To me, that's endlessly fascinating, so the more information I can get about it, the better.

[bigblue61]

This week a hellified cry into the dark with Lily Palmer, Liv.e, Two Shell, DIVINEANGEL, СОЮЗ (SOYUZ), David Crosby, Joan Reggae Drummer, uh, Hagan, Wu-Lu, Heartworms, Greg Surmacz, Angeline Morrison, Maciej Filipczuk and Triz.

[doberbutts]

OK so I keep getting asks asking me for an update on my music adventure I started before the new year and, based on your suggestions and also people I already had on my playlist:

[obligatory disclaimer: some of these artists I have already deleted because I'm mad about their non-musical actions, others have followed me since childhood, and some I had well before I knew they were black or had black members in the band]

Alex Boye - black, kinda everything but the ones I have are pop - already had

Alicia Keys - black, r&b/soul - already had

Allison Russell - black, pop - still deciding

Amaare - black, r&b/soul/afropop - still deciding

Amythyst Kiah - black, folk/alt-rock/blues - still deciding

Angel Haze - black, rap/hip-hop - still deciding

Angeline Morrison - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Anjimile - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Anna Field - black, alt/folk/indie - still deciding

Arlo Parks - black, indie/pop/folk/r&b - still deciding

Ben Harper - black, raggae/alt/indie - still deciding

Beyonce - black, pop/r&b/soul - already had

Birds of Chicago - black (wife, married), folk - still deciding

Black Eyed Peas - black (mostly), alt/r&b/pop-rap/EDM - already had

Blanco Brown - black, country/hip-hop - already had

BOB - black, rap/hip-hop - already had

Bone Thugs N Harmony - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Brittany Howard - black, alt/indie - still deciding

Candi Staton - black, r&b/soul/pop - deleted, this is more my dad's music than mine tbh

Carolina Chocolate Drops - black, pop/folk - not exactly what I was looking for but I like it

Cee Lo Green - black, r&b/soul/hip-hop/EDM - already had

Chris Brown - black, rap/r&b/hip-hop - already had, deleted long ago after he beat the shit out of Rihanna and then released Fine China, but I do like the sound even if the guy singing it is a piece of shit

Ciara - black, r&b/soul/pop/EDM - already had

Clipping. - mostly nb (black rapper), hip-hop/rap/EDM - deleted immediately, this is way too far into the Just Noise territory and several songs give me a headache

Damita - black, gospel - already had

David Jordan - black, metal/pop - already had

Dead South - mostly nb (black cellist), folk/bluegrass - already had

DEATH - black, proto-punk - honestly debating deleting, not a huge fan

Death Grips - mostly nb (black rapper), hip-hop/rap - same problem as clipping, too far into Just Noise and deleted immediately

Destorm - black, EDM/pop/hip-hop/rap - already had

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - mostly nb (black vocals), jazz/funk - still deciding

DJ Casper - black, EDM/hip-hop/rap - already had because cha cha slide

DJ Mehdi - black, EDM - still deciding

Fall Out Boy - mostly nb (black bassist), alt/indie/pop-punk/pop-rock (collabs) - already had

Fatoumata Diawara - black, folk/afro-pop/blues - liked her in Gorillaz collab, still deciding for her by herself

Flowerovlove - black, pop/indie/trap - still deciding but mostly favorable

Flying Lotus - black, EDM - still deciding

Gary Clark Jr - black, blues/raggae/r&b/hip-hop/soul - not exactly what I wanted but favorable

Genesis Owusu - black, punk/rap/hip-hop - also not really what I wanted but favorable

Gloria Gaynor - black, r&b/soul/disco - already had because I will survive

Iniko - black , alt/soul/EDM - still deciding

Iyaz - black, raggae/pop/r&b - already had

Jackson5 - black, r&b/pop/soul/disco - already had

Jake Blount - black, blues/folk - still deciding

Janelle Monae - black, soul/r&b/EDM - incredibly favorable, probably keeping

Jason Derulo - black, pop/r&b - already had

Jordin Sparks - black, r&b/soul/pop - already had

Joy Oladokun - black, pop/folk/r&b/rock - still deciding

JP Cooper - black, alt-rock/soul/house - still deciding

Kaia Kater - black, indie/folk - still deciding

Kanye West - black, rap/r&b/hip-hop - already had because he has a handful of Christian songs my dad likes, deleted long ago because it's Kanye.

Kid Cudi - black, EDM/hip-hop/rap - already had

Laxcity - black, EDM/lo-fi - still deciding but incredibly favorable

Lil Jon - black, hip-hop/rap/crunk - already had because get low

Lil Nas X - black, hip-hop/pop rap/country - already had

Lizzie No - black, folk/blues/country - still deciding

LMFAO - black, EDM/hip-hop - already had

Lou Bega - black, mambo/hip-hop/ska - already had because mambo no. 5

LustSickPuppy - black, rap/EDM - deleted, immediate dislike

Magnolia Park - black (mixed group), pop-punk/alt-rock - THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!!! Whoever suggested it, thank you!!!!!!!!

Mangodog - black, pop - still deciding

Maroon5 - mostly nb (black keyboardist), pop-rock/soft-rock - already had

Mavis Staples - black, r&b/soul/folk - still deciding

Me'shell Ndegeocello - black, soul/jazz/hip-hop/raggae - again this is mostly Dad Music and not Jaz Music so it was deleted

Michael Franti - black, hip-hop/raggae/jazz/folk - already had a few because I love his sound and didn't realize he was black, whoever recommended him thank you for the new info

Michael Jackson - black, pop/soul/r&b/rock/disco - already had , it's also Dad Music but it's fun

MikeQ - black, EDM - still deciding

MNEK - black, EDM/pop - THIS IS ALSO EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!!!!

Mon Rovia - black, folk/r&b/soul - still deciding

Morcheeba - mostly nb (black vocalist), hip-hop/rock/folk - deleted, Dad Music

Moses Sumney - black, soul/jazz/alt/indie - still deciding

Nelly - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Nicki Minaj - black, pop/hip-hop/rap - already had

Nico & Vinz - black, pop/pop-rock - already had

Nightmares On Wax - black, hip-hop/techno - still deciding but highly favorable

Nova Twins - black, alt-rock/punk/nu-metal - deleted, Just Noise

P. Diddy - black, hip-hop/rap - already had, I'm aware of Diddy's deeds however they sang this version of I'll Be Missing You at my grandfather's funeral and it makes me think of him and cry

Plain White T's - mostly nb (black drummer), alt-rock/indie - already had

POD - mostly nb (black guitarist), Christian nu-metal - already had

Pussycat Dolls - mostly nb (black vocalist), pop - already had

Queen Omega - black, reggae - deleted, not my genre. sorry Odie, she doesn't stray far enough into the genres I do like for me to hold much interest

R Kelly - black, r&b/soul/hip-hop/rap - already had, literally the same thing as Diddy I Believe I Can Fly was played at my grandfather's funeral so I've held onto it

Rhiannon Giddens - black, folk/country - still deciding

Rihanna - black, pop/EDM/hip-hop/reggae/r&b - already had

Rusted Root - mostly nb (one black member) , rock - already had

Santigold - black, EDM/hip-hop - EXTREMELY favorable, very very close to what I was looking for

Shannon Funchess - black, alt/EDM/punk - still deciding

Straight No Chaser - mostly nb (black vocalist) - already had, it's an acapella group that did parody mashups of christmas songs that I find hilarious year after year

Stromae - black, hip-hop/EDM - EXTREMELY favorable, very very close to what I was looking for

Sunny War - black, folk/punk/pop - still deciding

Tanerelle - black, r&b/soul/pop - still deciding

Tank and the Bangas - mostly black, soul/hip-hop - not really my genre but I like it well enough

Teebs - black, EDM - still deciding

The Weeknd - black, alt-r&b/pop/EDM - it's weird bc I either hate the song or I really like it with no in-between so far

Thurston Harris - black, r&b/soul/rock - already had

TLC - black, r&b/hip-hop/pop - already had

Todrick Hall - black, r&b/pop/hip-hop - already had - this particular song of his (Beauty and the Beat) re-opened my relationship with one of my black aunts so I kept it

Toro Y Moi - black, EDM/pop/indie-rock/hip-hop - still deciding

Tray Wellington - black, folk/jazz/blues - still deciding

Tricky - black, alt/indie/EDM - still deciding, but favorable

TV On The Radio - mostly black, pop-rock/indie-rock - still deciding, but favorable

Usher - black, hip-hop/r&b/rap - already had

Vagabon - black, EDM/indie-rock/pop - still deciding

Valerie June - black, folk/blues/gospel/soul/country - still deciding

WHOKILLEDXIX - duo with one black member, punk/rap/rock - I also either hate the song and delete it immediately or really like it with no in-between

Whole Wheat Bread - black, rock/punk/reggae/rap - still deciding but favorable

will.i.am - black, hip-hop/pop/EDM - EXTREMELY favorable

Witch Prophet - black, r&b/soul/jazz - still deciding

Wiz Khalifa - black, hip-hop/rap - already had

Yola - black, r&b/pop - this is also Dad Music but I like it and I think her voice is beautiful so I've kept it

[brokehorrorfan]

Bound in Blood will be published in hardcover and e-book on September 10 via Titan Books. The 357-page anthology of cursed stories is edited by Johnny Mains.

It features stories by Adam Cesare, Eric LaRocca, Zin Rocklyn, Nadia Bulkin, Isy Suttie, Charlie Higson, Angeline Morrison, A.G. Slatter, Priya Sharma, A.K. Benedict, Guy Adams, Lucie McKnight Hardy, Ramsey Campbell, Alison Moore, Laura Mauro, Reggie Oliver, Anna Taborska, and Kim Newman.

A terrifying and chilling anthology of over 20 original stories by award-winning writers exploring cursed and haunted books; featuring malevolent second-hand books, cursed novelizations, unsettling journals and the end of the world. You find it hidden in the dark corner of the bookstore; tucked away in a box in the attic, desperate to be read; lurking on your bookshelf, never seen before. Crack the spine, feel the ancient pages. Read it aloud, if you dare. This anthology brings together horror’s best and brightest to delve into the pages of cursed books, Eldtritch tomes and haunted bookstores.

Pre-order Bound in Blood.

[burlveneer-music]

VA - Q4 Statement, 2023 - a name-your-price sampler from Woodford Halse & related labels

Free/pay what you feel digital promotional sampler featuring physical and digital releases across Woodford Halse, Preston Capes and Fenny Compton. The purpose of this collection is to encourage our followers to investigate further the full WH/PC/FC catalogue by having tasty morsels from each release available in your collection without having to open your wallet. (Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app). Click on the links below to buy the full albums in digital or physical form (where still available). Includes excerpts from: October: The Xenakis Station by Audio Obscura audioobscura.bandcamp.com/album/wf-76-the-xenakis-station Changeable Depths by Greenshank woodfordhalse.bandcamp.com/album/wf-88-changeable-depths-2 It's Not Fine by Angeline Morrison fennycompton.bandcamp.com/album/fc3-its-not-fine November Above Inlets by Duolant duolant.bandcamp.com/album/wf-77-above-inlets Between Shadows And Lore by Pennycross Coven townandcounty-woodfordhalse.bandcamp.com/album/wf-75-between-shadows-and-lore I Don't Want To Worry You Unnecessarily by TVO and The Incidental Crack prestoncapes1.bandcamp.com/album/pct-15-i-dont-want-to-worry-you-unnecessarily December Penny - Original Soundtrack by Maya Hardinge & David Louis Zuckerman maya-woodfordhalse.bandcamp.com/album/wf-87-penny-original-soundtrack

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: march 2023

this is at least 50% copied from twitter, apologies to those who are reading this for the second time

read:

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas - I honestly found it even more gripping than book 1 - probably since I had no previous knowledge of the plot whatsoever. Still extremely funny. Being a single father did Athos some good. Also, Mordred Mordaunt was right, idc

Issues No. 7-8 of the Hellebore zine - still very much enjoying this publication! Issue No. 7 had a lot of fascinating information on (mostly British) folk dances and rituals, an interesting study of the development of the image of the May Queen (the bit on Tess of the d'Urbervilles which I posted earlier is from it), and introduced me to the songs of Angeline Morrison, while Issue No. 8 included articles on many subjects I’m interested in, from fairies to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Blake to Penda’s Fen to, strangely, rock music. Also, both issues had the prettiest art in all the issues I’ve read so far 

The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers - weirdest story collection ever (well, the genre isn't called weird fiction for nothing). The first story plunges you straight into dystopian alternative history which might not even be real bc of the narrator's unreliability, and then it's all cosmic horror except when it's sentimental and funny tales about art students and grisettes. One story is something of a poem in prose/stream of consciousness. One story is a sad and sweet time-travelling romance. I’m still processing it

Sailing by Carina’s Star by Katie Crabb - highly enjoyed the second installment in the trilogy that makes me feel like a kid reading Jules Verne and watching PotC for the first time <3 A more detailed review here.

+ progress on the Vulgate Cycle: finished The Story of Merlin and returned to Lancelot - Part IV read, Part V in progress. Plus I’ve started The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, the last of the d'Artagnan Romances

watched:

Cruel Intentions (1999) - I'm only familiar with Dangerous Liaisons via the 1988 film, but judging by it, this is a very clever modernized adaptation. Loved that in this version, the victims of Merteuil and Valmont don't end up dead or miserable and get to enjoy their revenge

The Borgias (s1-3, 2011-2013) - a pleasure to watch something so well-done. The writing, the acting, the costumes - everything is top-notch. A pity it was cancelled, but what exists is still solid even without the last planned season

Shadow and Bone (s2, 2021-?) - I’ll just leave a link to the post in which I wrote about it before. Probably better not read it if you genuinely enjoyed this season

+ watching s2 Yellowjackets (impressions so far: aaaaa! AAAAAAAAAA), and started s2 of Carnival Row, but I’ve only watched one episode so far, so it’s hard to say anything yet

[mumble-muse]

3, 5, 7, 10, 22, 24 for end of the year ask game 💚

hello lovely! <3 thanks for the ask!! 💜💜💜

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Oh so many! I got into The Bug Club, and Yard Act, and Pillow Queens, and Angeline Morrison, and BODEGA, and Porij, and Adwaith, and Anna Meredith, and Lucy Dacus! And they are all really cool!

5. TV show of the year?

Probably The Sandman! I was really looking forward to it and it was pretty much everything I wanted. I reallly wanna do some more art for the show in the new year

7. Favorite actor of the year?

oooh I think I gotta say - Michelle Yeoh! I loved her before but Everything Everywhere All At Once made me appreciate her even more!

10. Something that made you cry this year?

Parallel Mothers! That film made me weep gently in the cinema

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

I went to a lil seaside town this autumn which was such a peaceful lovely trip. It wasn't anything super fancy but it made me very happy 😊

24. Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

Yes! Did a fair bit of writing and art stuff like I wanted, and a few other bits :) And I'm hoping to do the same again this year 😊

send me an end of year ask!

[legendaryten]

Ian’s Blog 27th October 2024

On the 13th October one of my traditional song recordings was played on the Brum Radio Alternative Roots show with Mike Davies. You can hear it at about 47 minutes into the show. Here is a link to the show and in chronological order the list of songs and tracks which were played:-

www.mixcloud.com/BrumRadio/alternative-roots-with-mike-davies-13102024/

Ellie Gowers - Love In A Park (On A Sunday Afternoon)

Mary Lee Kortes – Born A Happy Girl

Bryony Williams - You Are Here

Peter Sarstedt - Beirut

Catch The Rain  - Catch The Rain

Mary Lee Kortes – Fingernail Moon

Jake Aaron - Watery Moon

Daria Kulesh - Sea To Skye

Luas  -  White Hare

Lowri Evans - Saddle  Up

Janet Devlin – Red Flag

Dotts  O’Connor - What Good Are My Tears To You

Joshua Burnside – Marching Round The Ladies

Mary Lee Kortes - Well By The Water

The Legendary Ten Seconds – My Grandfather’s Clock

Stick In the Wheel - The Cramp

Little Lore – This Building Is Condemned

Red Sky July – Stones & Brambles

Hailey Benedict -  Things My Mama Says

Grayson Capps – Early Morning Rain

Ray Cooper – Falling Like Thunder

Mary Lee Kortes -  A Greater Good

Fairport Convention – The Happy Man

Matt Owens  and Mississippi MacDonald - One Trick Pony

A Tale Of Two – Devil Did The Deed

Jesse Terry - Native Child

Raven Reid – A Johnny Cash Night

Ruby Kelly – St Elmo

Jenny Burtis - Future Homemakers Of America

Angeline Morrison – Quiver in The Heart

Mary Lee Kortes - Green Sand

Kiely Connell  - Damn Hands

Scott McLatchy - Don’t Tell Mum

Brad Strang – Horses And Dogs

Mary Lee Kortes - Will Anybody Know That I Was Here?

Broken David - When You Haven’t Done Well

[art-h]

The first week of the Industry module came with a really strong start - with visiting professionals and brand new mediums. We started the week by having puppeteer Jimmy Grimes coming in and spending a day talking to us about his practice, how he came to be in his field and what his everyday life is like. I found his candour very refreshing for an industry professional; he spoke about his struggles with how he went through learning drama and acting and how that progressed into more behind the scenes work. He then became an assistant director, which he felt quite spare in doing as he wasn't being utilised to the best of his abilities. He practiced his puppetry in his spare time and was later given the opportunity to work as associate puppet director on the West End production of "War Horse" by Michael Morpurgo.

I was particularly impressed by his truthfulness about how much he felt like he had dropped out and felt like a failure. I empathised with this honesty wholeheartedly as I am currently going through similar feelings with quitting my job and starting my degree. In the afternoon of that day Jimmy gave a small workshop to discuss and create rudimentary puppetry mechanisms. I found this inspiring to think about creature movement beyond basic anatomy. It also made me look retrospectively at how some of my favourite Jim Henson shows and films would have been created.

Later in the week we made our own maquettes and played around with sculpture in a intro session with Duncan. I have never really given a lot of thought to using 3D materials in my adulthood. I used to make my own toys using Fimo as a child, but this definitely gave me something to think about going forward.

I also attended a lecture by Angeline Morrison which I found a great interest in; her research into the hidden histories of Black people in Folk music and indeed in hidden UK histories made a fascinating talk. I have always been exposed to folk music from an early age, my dad being quite into Irish folk music especially. My own leanings have spread into folk music from Africa to Scandinavia; during lock-down I discovered the music of Wardruna and found a strong sense of connectedness to this music I couldn't even understand the lyrics of let alone understand what drew me to the sound of the music. Definitely sparked a lot of ideas this week going forward.

[gracedenton]

Katie Toner, 28, from Northumberland was also picked to tell her story, which was taken up by singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Angeline Morrison. Toner runs an inclusive events business, where she organises accessible parties and sleepovers for neurodiverse children. She has autism and ADHD and said typical children’s parties were often overwhelming as a child.

Toner said she was shocked when she found out she had been selected for the project, but felt grateful to be given the opportunity to open up conversations about neurodiversity.

“When it’s your life, it’s just your life. It’s not until you sit back and talk to people that you realise perhaps it’s more unique than I realised it was,” Toner said.

“I’m a really proud ADHD and autism advocate so if I can tell my story and other people’s stories too, that’s even better.”

Extract from Song of a GP: folk musicians tell stories of modern British lives for BBC 9 Jan 2023

[qudachuk]

21st Century Folk paired songwriters such as Angeline Morrison with five people in north-east EnglandA series of contemporary folk songs and short films were released on Sunday as part of the 21st Century Folk initiative to celebrate the lives...

[bigblue61]

This week no artificial processing of Jane’s Addiction, The Stroppies, Wendy Rene, R. Stevie Moore, Ayano Kaneko, Infantry Rockers, Broadcast, Hatfield & The North, Angeline Morrison, Georges Armel, Raury, Masai Bey, QOQEQA, Johnny Clarke, Mi-gu, The Go Go Cult, Ben Auld and Yakov Berger.

[therosydreams77]

Listen/purchase: The Sorrow Songs : Folk Songs of Black British Experience DEMOS by Angeline Morrison

[likeafolkssong]

Books Read in 2021

1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

2. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

3. Maybe This Time by Kasie West

4. Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace

5. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

6. The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth

7. The Enneagram Type 2 by Beth McCord

8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

9. Trade Your Cares for Calm by Max Lucado

10. Everybody, Always by Bob Goff

11. Villette by Charlotte Brontë

12. Dream Big by Bob Goff

13. Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

14. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

15. The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

16. The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford

17. I’ll Go Home Then, It’s Warm and Has Chairs by David Thorne

18. A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

19. Killing November - Adriana Mather

20. The Problem of Pain - C.S. Lewis

21. Hunting November - Adriana Mather

22. You’ll Get Through This - Max Lucado

23. The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz - Jeremy Dronfield

24. The 5 Love Languages of Children - Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell

25. Always Never Yours - Emily Wibberly

26. The Stranger Inside - Lisa Unger

27. The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

28. Be the Bridge - LaTasha Morrison

29. The Pieces of Ourselves - Maggie Harcourt

30. Something in the Water - Catherine Steadman

31. A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood - Fred Rogers

32. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

33. Live Fearless - Sadie Robertson

34. The More of Less - Joshua Becker

35. Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

36. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

37. The Flight Girls - Noelle Salazar

38. The Woman in the Window - A.J. Finn

39. Gentle and Lowly - Dane Ortlund

40. The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard (read 56% then quit)

41. Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

42. Throw Like a Girl - Sarah Henning

43. The Last Summer of Us - Maggie Harcourt

44. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

45. How Happiness Happens - Max Lucado

46. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab

47. A Gathering of Shadows - V.E. Schwab

48. A Conjuring of Light - V.E. Schwab

49. Hunt, Gather, Parent - Michaeleen Doucleff

50. Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid

51. The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes

52. The Road Back to You - Ian Morgan Crone & Suzanne Stabile

53. August and Everything After - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

54. You Have a Match - Emma Lord

55. The Guest List - Lucy Foley

56. Jesus - Max Lucado

57. Field Notes on Love - Jennifer E. Smith

58. Rhythms of Renewal - Rebekah Lyons

59. The Book of Two Ways - Jodi Picoult

60. The Firekeeper’s Daughter - Angeline Boulley

61. My Life with the Walter Boys - Ali Novak

62. The Enneagram of Belonging - Christopher L. Heuertz

63. The Chain - Adrian McKinty

64. The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead

65. Satisfied - Alyssa Joy Bethke

66. Say You’ll Remember Me - Katie McGarry

67. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - Leslye Walton

68. Girl Defined - Kristen Clark & Bethany Baird

69. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

70. The Alice Network - Kate Quinn

71. Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid

72. Why Suffering - Ravi Zacharias & Vince Vitale

73. 5 Love Languages Singles Edition - Gary Chapman

74. The Final Girls Support Group - Grady Hendrix

75. The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

76. More Than We Can Tell - Brigid Kemmerer

77. Confessions on the 7:45 - Lisa Unger

78. The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers - Maxwell King

79. Truly Devious - Maureen Johnson

80. The Meaning of Marriage - Timothy & Kathy Keller

81. The Vanishing Stair - Maureen Johnson

82. The Hand on the Wall - Maureen Johnson

83. The Box in the Woods - Maureen Johnson

84. Animal Farm - George Orwell

85. Alex, Approximately - Jenn Bennett

86. Live No Lies - John Mark Comer

87. God and the Pandemic - N.T. Wright

88. The Secret History - Donna Tartt

89. Peter Pan and Wendy - J.M. Barrie

90. One Day in December - Josie Silver

91. Daring to Hope - Katie Davis Majors

92. The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman

93. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas - Agatha Christie

94. A Castle in the Clouds - Kerstin Gier

95. Take Back Your Family - Jefferson Bethke

[angelloverde]

"Mo Soul" Player Playlist 27 October

1. Lack Of Afro - A Time For 2. Ann Alford - Got To Get Me A Job 3. Funk Ferret - Smash Ya Moustache 4. Jan Kincl & Regis Kattie - Funk Bleu (Instrumental Version) 5. The Funk League Feat. Joyous Juice & Kylie Auldist - Hypnotized 6. Ppp Feat.Karma Stewart - On A Cloud 7. HNNY - Sunday 8. Marion Gaines Singers - Do Your Thing 9. Selah Sue - Crazy Sufferin Style 10. Bill Withers - The Same Love That Made Me Laugh (Scratchandsniffs Extended Re-Rub) 11. Dj Fede Feat. Mao - Lucky Fellow 12. Sass - Do It 13. Detroit Swindle Feat. Mayer Hawthorne - 64 Ways 14. De Phazz - Godsdog 15. Frootful Feat. Angeline Morrison - Fish In The Sea

If you really want to enjoy music and help musicians and bands, buy their lp’s or cd’s and don’t download mp3 formats. There is nothing like good quality sound!!!

(Angel Lo Verde / Mo Soul)