December 1, 2009
Unfortunately the lure of Christmas has got to the point where we’ve even changed our header to look Christmassy.
So those of you who are yet to do your Christmas shopping (like i am) you might find some ideas in the Guardian’s Box Sets For Christmas article, which features the awesome Proper releases Three Score & Ten: A Voice To The People and Ghana Special 1968-81. It also features 400 Years of Monty Python, although i suspect this might be a typo.
December 1, 2009
Tonight (Tuesday 1st December) at 8pm Bellowhead will be on Radio2, joining Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie. The show will involve some live songs from the band, as well as an interview.
Er, that’s it. Listen to it!
November 30, 2009
A caravan of new releases approaches you today, bejewelled with cool stuff including:
Bellowhead – UmbrellowheadUmbrellowhead is a collection of songs from individual members of the mighty musical juggernaut, Bellowhead. Remarkably, when this multi-award winning collective are not busy touring the world, recording as Bellowhead or appearing in a myriad of musical projects as Band in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre, the 11 band members also find time to explore a range of individual projects. From marimba to fiddle, from the Balkans to Bangladesh and onwards to Japan, some of the staggering range of influences of this accomplished and original group are revealed in this latest album.
November 29, 2009
Esteemed jazz magazine Jazzwise have selected their top ten world albums of the year:
1. Roberto Fonseca – Akokan
2. Staff Benda Bilili – Très Très Fort
3. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba – I Speak Fula
4. Mulatu Astatke / The Heliocentrics – Inspiration Information
5. Oumou Sangare – Seya
6. Kronos Quartet – Floodplain
7. Hah Wobble & The Chinese Dub Orchestra – Chinese Dub
8. Gilles Peterson presents – Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound
9. Jimmy Bosch – ¡A Million!
1.0 Aruna Sairam – Divine Inspiration
Frankly, these three albums that we do are getting so popular and have been in so many ‘best of’ lists that i’m starting to get bored talking about them. So i’ll mention the fact that this issue of Jazzwise has an interview with trioVD, who are ace.
November 27, 2009
[This press release has been copied and pasted from the nice folks at Glass Ceiling PR. For those of you who don't live near London, you might want to consider coming down after you've read this...]
What Bellowhead look like live (from the side of the stage)
Southbank Centre, The Clore Ballroom and foyers at the Royal Festival Hall, from 8pm, Tickets £50
What better way to see out the old year and greet the new than at the helm of HMS Bellowhead – with special guests including comedian Tim FitzHigham, award winning folk musicians Eliza Carthy and Jim Moray and DJs Pete Lawrence and Sam Lee.
November 26, 2009
We are anticipating, along with the rest of our new releases this Monday, the new album Life Goes On by Gerry Rafferty.
Whilst doing my ‘research’ on the internet (i always feel guilty using that term) i found out that Gerry used to be in a band with now-famous stand-up comedian Billy Connolly called The Humblebums (this sounds like something i should have known already but i didn’t. Sorry).
Further intriguing is this video clip i found of Billy discussing Gerry’s expertise at prank calling. Anyone who’s ever seen Billy Connolly before will know that he uses naughty words, so consider this the warning should you be offended by such language.
(Personally i tend to find prank calls fairly tedious but this one is pretty clever and not malicious. I found it funny)
November 25, 2009
The Times Online has published some of their favourite albums of the last decade. They include, but are not limited to:
Staff Benda Bilili - Très Très Fort
November 24, 2009
L -> R: Kathryn Tickell, Kathryn Tickell's Northumbrian Smallpipes
Northumbrian smallpipe player Kathryn Tickell will be featured on BBC2’s Culture Show this Thursday (26th Nov).
She will be playing as part of the backing band for Sting, with whom she will then be touring in various countries. The UK date they will be doing will be at The Sage, Gateshead on Sunday 20th December.
Also featured on the show will be discussions on the decline of pubs and apocalyptic films, Martha Wainwright will be performing and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy will be reading a poem written specifically for the show.
November 23, 2009
A flurry of new releases heads towards you today like a brief snowstorm, including:
The Albion Christmas Band – TraditionalThe Albion Band’s Traditional album is a collection of real traditional music and is the perfect way to start your Christmas, with festive songs, carols and music. The group features the combined talents of Ashley Hutchings, Kellie While, Simon Care and Fairport Convention front man Simon Nicol.
November 20, 2009
Finger-picking guitarist extraordinaire Sam Carter will be joining Mary Ann Kennedy tonight (Fri 20th Nov) on her Radio 3 show. The show starts from 11.15pm and will probably be somewhere between great and fantastic, so listen to it!
Drew Hill
Esther Tewkesbury
Jon Roffey
stevekersley
simon holland
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Dean Owens
folkboy
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