the mandarins were in the
fridge (where I wanted them)
I took them and put them
in a bowl (to gather the skins)
there is a sugar rush that comes
from eating mandarins (but my dad
doesn’t believe that fruit has
sugar, or else his doctor-friend
would have mentioned it one
night, over tennis…surely…)
Now. Where was I? Oh yes…
Mandarins…(mmmmmmmm)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dirt Does Dylan
MRI
There could be an entire section of Dylan Covers Albums – if not in a music store, then certainly in my record collection. I’ve bought and sold many. A few stick around, most recently I’ve loved what both Bettye LaVette and Emma Swift had to say, and the way they said it – not least because they looked wide within that vast catalogue and found surprises, chose wisely. Read More
Halloween Kills
Director: David Gordon Green
Universal Sony Pictures P/I
I finally caught up with Halloween Kills – now streaming and on DVD, I had missed its brief cinema run and was disappointed, having rewatched most of the franchise in anticipation. Read More
Music for Sleep
The Healing Power of the Moog
Rohs! Records
Music for Sleep is one of the monikers used by Sardinian composer, record label owner and photographer, Andrea Porcu. He is a prolific creator of minimalist music and The Healing Power of the Moog is a single, album-length track of improvised music inspired by Randall McClellan’s book, The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory, and Practice”. Read More
Steve Moore & Bluetech
Liminal Migration
Ovoid Crafts
Liminal Migration is the first full collaborative album between Steve Moore (Zombi) and (Evan) Bluetech, though they have contributed to tracks together ahead of this. But here we get the synth-y soundtrack feels of Moore, couched in the comforting electronics of Bluetech. It’s a showcase for both their styles (Moore on opener Gutter Talk, Bluetech on downbeat tempo throwback Entrain Light) and a chance to hear how they combine those elements (Memory Beta) with the title track perhaps offering the perfect snapshot into this new world. Read More
Zombi
ZOMBI & Friends, Volume 1
Relapse Records
The prolific Zombi (Steve Moore on bass and synths, Anthony Paterra on drums) reached out to a few friends (members of Trans Am, The Sword Zao and Pinkish Black) to help them realise a few choice power-pop and prog-lite covers. It’s a wonderful range of music that explores the synth-y or boosted by their synths outer limits of what was trendily dubbed Yacht Rock a few years back. So, Eagles, Alan Parsons Project and Michael McDonald-era Doobies then. But also Eddie Rabbit, Dionne Warwick and more. It’s a brilliant selection of tunes, winningly kicked off by a soulful and stirring version of the Barry Gibb/Barbra Streisand duet, Guilty. Read More
Daniel Pemberton
Slow Horses: Season 1 (ATV+ Original Series Soundtrack)
Apple Video Programming LLC/Jackson River Films Limited, Polydor/Universal
I’m a big fan of the show Slow Horses – genius writing, casting, excellent source material, the look and feel of it is perfect too; a winner. And Daniel Pemberton’s score is instantly part of that magical, memorable for the action-frenzy cues (Airport Takedown, Floor By Floor) as well as the slinky accommodation of Mick Jagger’s sly theme tune (Strange Game appears in full at the top but Pemberton, co-writer, infuses it in some of his own cues, Slough House for instance). Read More
Prince
Tokyo Dome 1990
Timeline
In 1990, Prince’s Nude Tour was an interesting culmination of the various live experiences he had offered to date; it wasn’t quite a pivot, but then it wasn’t really ever in celebration of either of his recently released studio albums. Yeah, you could hear a track or two from both his Batman “soundtrack” and Graffiti Bridge, but you weren’t getting layers of new songs and just a hit or two. At the same time, it wasn’t quite a greatest hits set – because some of the hits were reworked anew (Little Red Corvette) and some of the new songs were treated like giant hits (Partyman). Read More
Francis Harris
Thresholds
Scissor And Thread
We’re barely hanging on, and so is this music. Must be why ambient feels – more and more – the perfect fit in this day and age. Francis Harris is an artist, DJ and producer and Thresholds is his latest set of ambient excursions. Where previously, there might be a universal theme holding an album together, Thresholds feels more like a series of musical polaroids, arranged after to create the equivalent of a photo-essay. Read More
Garageland: Last Exit To Garageland 25th Anniversary Tour
San Fran; Wellington
Friday, April 29
Contrary to what you might think, given my obvious size and shape, I was always a fast runner. At high school I was more athletic, very busy with sports and though I was big I was quick. In the relay running team – and fast over 100m. Read More
BOX OF HAMMERS
Fallen Star: death of a Space Tourist
(Independent/Bandcamp)
Wellington-based guitarist and sonic landscaper John Kingston records and releases under the name BOX OF HAMMERS. His latest EP continues his work exploring the space and texture that lies in the wake of an electric guitar when it’s layering sounds through a maze of pedals, effects and channeling the mind of the creator as he weaves a science fiction story, wordless and told through the shimmer of guitar debris. Read More
Nicholas Britell
Succession: Season 3 (HBO Original Series Soundtrack)
Home Box Office, Inc, under exclusive license to Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Succession has stayed in my mind across the last four years – there was a long wait for season three (due to the pandemic halting filming) and as well as rewatching favourite episodes from seasons one and two, I would go back to the soundtracks for a little reminder, a little salve. Nicholas Britell’s music for the show was instantly appealing both in the context of the show and as an album of soothing, piano-based modern classical music. There’s dramatic edge, but there’s also soft corners. You can listen to this music as the soundtrack to your dinner, your reading, your daily life and you can let people into that world that have never seen the show. Read More