Theatre, arts and culture are under attack. Creatives, artists, institutions and structures which foster theatre, arts and culture are facing down the immediate effects of the Coronovirus… Read more “Theatre, arts and culture”
Category: Music
The Moon Shines Bright
Sam Lee is a celebrated folk singer, collector, interpreter and revivalist of old folk songs. With ‘The Moon Shines Bright’, Sam borrows from the Gypsy and traveller tradition a song which asks us to stop and see what our increasingly standardised world is doing to us.
On ‘The Moon Shines Bright’ Sam’s joined by Elizabeth Fraser who weaves a magical fragment of the Scottish folk song ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ into ‘The Moon Shines Bright’.
With themes of dark, short days, the end of one year and the start of another, of the Winter Solstice, of the impermanence of life and need to love, be loved, forgive, hope, nurture and connect with nature, this is the perfect song to herald the New Year.
Wishing love and peace.
Find out more about Sam Lee and the recording of ‘The Moon Shines Bright’ – here
Hear an earlier version of ‘The Moon Shines Bright’ recorded four or five years ago, sung at Winchester Cathedral without Elizabeth Fraser – here
Find out more about Sam Lee and his forthcoming tour – here
More about Elizabeth Fraser – here
Download ‘The Moon Shines Bright’ – here
Natacha Atlas – Strange Days
I heard a live preview of Natacha Atlas’s album STRANGE DAYS at an intimate gig in Blackheath earlier this summer. It was an extraordinary experience, hypnotic, transporting,… Read more “Natacha Atlas – Strange Days”
Happiness
Happiness (below) is a short film made by Steve Cutts. It’s a masterpiece.
We live in a society where the focus on well being and mindfulness is in the ascendant. It’s the natural corollary to lives lived in the shadow of an exploitative system – where what we buy is, we are told, what defines us. Th film looks at the myths we are sold – about the true path to happiness being just ‘x’ or ‘y’ and hang the consequences. It asks questions.
Perhaps the true path to happiness doesn’t lie in unrestrained consumption, but rather in developing yourself and your own resilience?
Happiness, by Steve Cutts
Clarion Call
Clarion Call was a large scale sonic artwork along Ipswich Waterfront in October 2018.
Rent Parties
Harlem. The 1920s. ‘The Hustle’ was all that was on people’s minds because money was, literally, too tight to mention.
Aretha Franklin Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)
Aretha. Sublime.
Swirl by debbie tucker green
A soaraway vocal provides the backdrop to a sweet, tender story of friendship
Don’t Bother Calling
A lament? A song of victory? A passionate plea? It’s probably a mix of all these and more – and it is enigmatic and remarkable.
Moses Sumney: Don’t Bother Calling … and yes, those are his high notes.
Elizabeth Fraser: Voice & Magic
For me, few voices are as magical as Elizabeth Fraser’s. The former Cocteau Twins vocalist has also worked with Massive Attack, Future Sound of London, Craig Armstrong… Read more “Elizabeth Fraser: Voice & Magic”
