brian eno is undoubtedly one of the all time greats. this is from an article published today and sums up lots of things i always like juggling in our own music.

the full article can be found here. a nice soundbite about the nature of recorded music to finish it off as well.

"I came out of this funny place where I was interested in the experimental ideas of Cornelius Cardew, John Cage and Gavin Bryars, but also in pop music. Pop was all about the results and the feedback. The experimental side was interested in process more than the actual result " the results just happened and there was often very little control over them, and very little feedback. Take Steve Reich. He was an important composer for me with his early tape pieces and his way of having musicians play a piece each at different speeds so that they slipped out of synch.

"But then when he comes to record a piece of his like, say, Drumming, he uses orchestral drums stiffly played and badly recorded. He's learnt nothing from the history of recorde

As Chuck D once put it: 'the rhythm, the rebel'. Way back when, percussion would be used to pass messages from town to town, turning communication into a tribal frenzy. A universal language, there is still something addictive about a tasty rhythm, something irresistible about a solid groove. With a humanitarian crisis mounting in the African nation of Sudan a charity group turned to some of the world's finest drummers for a very special video. Sudan365 contacted Jamie Catto of Faithless fame who assembled a truly mouth watering cast. Contributing to a new percussion only track were the likes of Radiohead's Phil Selway, Stuart Copeland of The Police and many more. Nestled in the centre was Richard Jupp from Elbow, still adjusting to his position amongst the musical elite. With the new video gathering thousands upon thousands of hits, ClashMusic sat down with Richard Jupp to talk about how involvement in this inventive new campaign. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Necks need little in the way of an introduction – which perhaps is simply this reviewer being lazy, or avoiding the potential scrutiny of the conscientious CD reader/listener. One is loathe to be put in the position where they must concisely describe what the Necks are, what their “sound” is, find possible comparative artists, or locate a convenient pigeonhole…because any attempts to do so will fail miserably. Attending a number of Necks performances over the past 20 years, and even interviewing them in 1995 following the release of Aquatic places me in no better a position than the average punter. Over the years, vain attempts to locate their sound somewhere between minimalism, ambient, and European prog jazz have been shot down by increasingly diverse sounds and instrumentation, the involvement of guest artists, and the use of electronic interventions. On first glance, Silverwater is like so many of the The Necks’ past 14 recordings, and reflects the modus operandi of the

Canadian artist Paul Manchin took a love song by John Scott G from the Golosio catalog and created an edgy CHR version of the tune using production from the legendary Matt Forger (Michael Jackson) and drumming from Jon Mattox (Young Dubliners).

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts has opened registration for its winter and spring classes, offering opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to connect with the arts, through family classes, group and private lessons and professional development courses. (PRWeb Dec 18, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Wolf-Trap/Winter-Spring-Classes/prweb3359684.htm

Barry Hogan's intimate gathering has become a cult indie institution. Providing a space for the musical underground to congregate and orchestrating a leftfield revolution in the process, ATP is truly unrivalled by any other festival out there. But it is sometimes criticised for its narrow demographic, where the hirsute muso rules the roost and standard festival goers are often nowhere to be seen. Indeed, these bearded post-rock men are an omnipotent force, but look a bit further and you will actually see a social smorgasbord of alternative types: tattoo clad men frolic with the fashion crowd and Warhammer geeks cower in corners with crusties. And they are all drawn together by an obsession with music which nullifies any obvious aesthetic differences. Yes, the faded band t-shirt is still a ubiquitous sight: adorned by many an ATP goer and judged by virtue of its music related obscurity (100 points for Black Flag, 10 points for Blur) But, wankiness aside, ATP is actually a whole load of fun. Put it this w

"Razor To Oblivion" checks in and out in about 20 minutes, but that is enough time for metalheads to rejoice. Seattle's Black Breath, in four short songs, lays waste to the ears with brutal Slabbaths of riffs and manic drumming. The vocals may be a bit pedestrian at times, but music is such a pile-driver that who cares?The title track would raise you up even at your most listless and limp. The other three, especially "Fatal Error" and "Beneath the Crust," shred with evil grooves. All the songs have a timeless quality, and would hold their own in any rock era. This is a band that knows how to plug in, turn it up, and plow through songs with gleeful destruction, borrowing the best from speed, sludge, and classic metal for their own dark stew.Originally released on their own Hot Mass Records, "Razor To Oblivion" debuts on CD for Southern Lord, that master label known for finding the best of what is left out there in terms of metal and harder rock.Black Breath-and why hasn't someone thought of that name before

Polkadot Cadaver singer/songwriter Todd Edward Smith goes solo here, and makes a statement right off the bat. As El Creepo, and with a record cover featuring a skull-exposed Flamenco guitarist, you know you are heading into a twisted and dark place, but one that might have both some humor and pathos. Dreamlike, acoustic guitar driven murder ballads seems to be the focus here, though Smith (who plays all the instruments aside from John Ensminger's drumming) mixes things up a lot. "Easy Killer," and "The Art of Bullfighting," have a low menace, while "Hot Little Temper" is like OMD on ‘ludes. "Orange Peel Sunrise" has a zoot suit bounce, and the title track even gets a little abrasive and noisy. Cellist Jasan Stepp adds high lonesome haunting to "Bloody Mary." Suicide, death and pain seem to be the gist of the subject matter, and while there is enough lilt to prevent it from becoming morose, the music also eerily comes across as sincere, and therefore disturbing.Grim and perverse as it is, there is also

Nahini Doumbia & Les Espoirs Du Mali Percussion and Songs from Mali (Arc EUCD2245, 2009) On the CD Percussion and Songs from Mali, Nahini Doumbia & Les Espoirs Du Mali present a percussion fest featuring the popular jembe (a.k.a. djembe), bala (a.ka.a. balafon), dun dun (a.k.a. jun jun, doum doum) and the yabara (a shaker related to the Cuban chekere) . Master drummer Nahini Doumbia was born in the Ivory Coast, but he moved to Mali (the land of his parents) during the civil war in 2002. He leads the percussion and dance ensemble, incorporating spectacular jembe solos. The extensive CD booklet provides detailed information about the musical instruments, musical pieces and the musicians. The music selection includes traditional dances from Mali as well as original works composed by Nahini Doumbia. Percussion and Songs from Mali is a great example of the vitality and incendiary power of Malian percussion. Buy the CD: In North America: Percussion and Songs from Mali In Euro

Ramnad V. Raghavan, a widely respected performer of the Karnatak (south Indian classical music, also known as Carnatic) mridangam and long-time member of the Wesleyan University music faculty, died in Chennai, India on November 21st after a long illness. Raghavan was born June 19, 1927 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He came from a distinguished family of musicians that produced, among others, his brothers Ramnad V. Krishnan (vocalist 1918-1973) and Ramnad Easwaran (mrdangamist) and internationally known violinists L. Subramaniam and L. Shankar. Sri Raghavan learned mridangam from his brother Ramnad Easwaran, a student of C.S. Sankarasivam. He served as Artist in Residence in Music at Wesleyan University from 1970-1975, and again from 1988-2000, teaching South Indian drumming. In the years between his Wesleyan appointments he lived in Cleveland, where he was a founding organizer of the internationally renowned Cleveland Aradhana and was an adjunct instructor at Oberlin College. "During his