Passengers in Time
...Adventures with books, music and time travel
Thursday, 10 October 2024
Good Habits, Richard Trethewey and the Rheingans Sisters – three recent releases to help us recharge our batteries, harvest our plums and synchronise our swimming
Sunday, 28 July 2024
Den Miller and Gabriel Moreno - two singer-songwriters that stand out from the crowd
Den Miller's album 'Join All The Dots' |
But I’m particularly excited about the return to Purbeck of
two of my favourite singer-songwriters, Den Miller and Gabriel Moreno.
I first saw Den Miller on the Purbeck Rising stage two years ago
and was struck by his humour, his songwriting skill and the fact he performed
live, not only with guitar and piano but also with the much-underrated
autoharp. Den is from Keighley in Yorkshire and there’s something in his North
of England intonation that reminds me of the rather unfashionable songsmith
Gilbert O’Sullivan. I’m very fond of unfashionable singer-songwriters and Den’s
style has similarities with other artists from the 1970s and early 1980s, artists like
Duncan Browne, Clifford T Ward and Dan Fogelberg.
Den Miller |
Opening track Too Many Choices is typical of Den’s
skill at making political points with great humour, not to mention his ability to cram as many words as possible into a verse. One of the verses comments
on the current plethora of singer-songwriters: “Once upon a time your tribe sang
songs, a couple of dozen that everybody knew / Each one special enough to hand
on, as each generation came through / and now every dumb singer-songwriter
comes to add to the millions already around / and you cling to the hope as you
listen that it may just be the one that’s saying something new and
profound...”
Den’s forthcoming album, out this autumn, is called Bless
the Rains, many of the songs inspired by the time he’s spent in Kenya. I
look forward to hearing the new songs and to seeing Den live at Purbeck once
again.
Gabriel Moreno |
While comparisons with Cohen are natural, Gabriel has also
been compared (in a sometimes-snooty way) to Peter Sarstedt. Again, as a fan of
unfashionable singer-songwriters, I would suggest there is definitely something
about the timbre of Gabriel’s voice which sounds like Peter Sarstedt – but there’s
more to it than that. Sarstedt was far more than a 'poptastic' one-hit wonder; he
had a talent for striking, poetic lyrics and song titles. For example, in his 1968
song, I Am a Cathedral, Sarstedt muses: “I am balanced well, you see / I am a
Cathedral locked in stain glass windows / I am a Cathedral dimly lit...” Sarstedt
was also a distinctively pan-European singer-songwriter, singing about
boulevards and St Moritz and Don Quixote; he was an internationalist, not just
an English songwriter.
Gabriel Moreno's album 'Wound In The Night' |
It’s fascinating to listen to the songs on Gabriel's Wound in the
Night and to read the poems in Heart Mortally Wounded By Six Strings –
there’s a definite continuity between the two works. A recurring theme
is the tension between making art and needing to make a living. In Gabriel’s
song Suzanne Valadon the songwriter seeks counsel and inspiration from
the ghost of the dead painter but ends up, it seems, being rebuked by her: “She says I’m a fool, a thief and a mule
for I’m stuck to the stool of making a buck – if it’s
not in your heart then don’t stand in the light...” Presumably, if you
stand in the light singing something that’s not in your heart then, to
paraphrase Den Miller, you’re just one
of those dumb singer-songwriters with nothing new or profound to say.
Likewise, in his extended poem Six Strings, Gabriel
underlines the need for poetry and songwriting to be authentic, heartfelt: “Strum.
Strum. Strum. / The blue guitar weeps / ‘coz you love cliches. / A mystic bird
plummets / every time you strum / with a sterile limb.”
Gabriel's poetry collection 'Heart Mortally Wounded By Six Strings' |
Both Gabriel and Den are skilled practitioners of words and music. They often express profound, funny, important things about the position of the artist in a world of inequality and materialism where poetry and music can help us (to paraphrase another of Gabriel’s songs) to open the “shutters on our eyes.”
Den Miller’s Join All the Dots was released in 2021. His new album Bless the Rains will be launched in September 2024. Gabriel Moreno’s Wound in the Night was released in 2023 and Heart Mortally Wounded by Six Strings was published in 2023 by Patuka Press.
Monday, 22 April 2024
Spring Flings, Tibetan skeleton dancers and a few songs at Captain's Bar
Me tuning a borrowed guitar at Captain's Bar, Edinburgh |
In 2022 I went to Newcastle for a gathering of dulcimer players known as the Spring Fling, organised by my good friend Steve Gray. It’s an annual event but I missed it last year so, this year, I decided I’d definitely go and, noting that Edinburgh is less than two hours from Newcastle by train, I made up my mind to follow my visit to Newcastle this time with an onward journey to Edinburgh.
Dodging downpours in Newcastle |
After three days beside the Tyne I left the ‘Spring Flingers’ to continue my journey to Edinburgh. Based on my previous trip, I’d strategically booked into the same hotel on South Bridge in order to be just a short walk from Captain’s Bar. And this time, I had my dulcimer with me!
I could have visited Arthur’s Seat, or Edinburgh Castle, or
taken one of those ‘hop on, hop off’ bus tours of the city but I’m afraid,
after reacquainting myself with the atmosphere, the music, the beer and the
good company at Captain’s Bar, I ended up spending most of my time in
Edinburgh in the cosy surroundings of that wonderful pub. On the first night I
was lent a guitar and ended up playing a few songs. Artists perform unplugged
so you have to project, and the audience is regularly politely reminded to
“shush!”
Edinburgh-based world music duo Rituala |
The cast-iron drinking fountain bearing the inscription 'Keep the Pavement Dry' - would have been useful in the Newcastle rain |
Check out the built-in tuner on this Yemeni folding lute! |
After all that globetrotting and time travel, I was ready to
pick up my dulcimer from my hotel room and return to Captain’s Bar to catch the
session led by Rituala. Eddy played his beautifully expressive viola alongside
the powerful and clear vocals of Brazilian Giulia Drummond (who also played
percussion and shruti box.) Rituala performed a wide variety of songs - including
a Ukrainian lullaby - and made all the other ‘floor spots’ (including me) very
welcome.
A Tibetan skeleton dancer - or me travelling home from Edinburgh? |
For those who like an early night, I feel I should warn you
that Captain’s Bar stays open until 1am so it was a
slightly tired passenger, lugging a backpack, suitcase and dulcimer, who
undertook the seven-hour train journey home. I must have looked not unlike the Tibetan skeleton dancer I saw at the museum the day before. But, for all the vagaries of train
travel in the UK, one thought remains: I must plan another trip to Edinburgh
soon.
Thursday, 4 April 2024
From migratory birds to dream-folk - top music picks from Scandinavia
Some of the most refreshing music of the last year or two has come from Scandinavia. Bands from Sweden like Kolonien, blended Swedish/Norwegian bands like Aevestaden and even the Swedish/Scottish/Finnish/Norwegian melange that is Siskin Quartet. So it’s time to introduce you to some of these Nordic delights...
Siskin Quartet are a melding together of two remarkable duos. English-born fiddler Bridget Marsden and accordionist Leif Ottosson – outstanding proponents of Swedish folk – are joined with Scottish-Finnish-Norwegian duo Sarah-Jane Summers (fiddle) and Juhani Silvola (guitar), whose succession of dazzling albums have impressed music lovers and critics alike.
Their 2022 album, Flight Paths,
takes its inspiration from the theme of migratory birds, reflecting the band
members’ own relocations from country to country. All four musicians contribute
original pieces, and the variety of styles – and birdlife – is wide-ranging,
from Summer’s jaunty opening, ‘The Peewit,’ to Silvola’s gently atmospheric
conclusion, ‘Albatrossi.’
The nine tracks cleverly evoke distinct
characteristics of the wildlife involved. ‘The Siskin Reel’ is a lively little
tune, reflecting the eponymous yellow-green finch, while ‘Firefinch’ (a small,
fiery-red African bird) is appropriately a desert blues polska, showcasing
Silvola’s shimmering electric guitar, with fiddles and accordion darting hither
and thither.
The backdrop is a familiar terrain of polskas,
waltzes and reels but Siskin Quartet show a delightful willingness to
experiment making Flight Paths, like the migratory journeys of the
birds, an adventure in itself.
The first few years of this decade have been dominated by climate change, pandemics, wars... so there’s an urgent need to raise people’s spirits. Swedish band Kolonien, with their 2022 Till Skogen, bring some much-needed joy and optimism. It’s a wonderfully uplifting album, from the opening track ‘Time Will Tell,’ (a determinedly upbeat anthem, despite the climate emergency theme) to the closing ‘Unlearning.’ As invigorating as a cold, sunny, Swedish morning, Kolonien have the freshness of The Cardigans’ early albums while, at the same time, sounding like a Nordic version of Fleet Foxes.
Taking
their name from a Swedish term for community gardening Kolonien is rooted in Scandinavian
traditional folk music and the Swedish Green movement. It’s a family affair -
guitarist brothers Erik and Arvid Rask and their cousin Anna Möller (violin, viola
d'amore and Hardanger fiddle) plus percussionist Mischa Grind. (Anna
has sadly recently left the band.)
For
the most part, the successive tracks on Till Skogen hurtle along, driven
by Grind’s ever-sympathetic and imaginative percussion accompaniment, with an
atmospheric interlude – ‘Nattsudd’ – featuring Möller’s Hardanger fiddle. It’s a
strikingly well-constructed album, the opening and closing tracks are sung in
English, the rest mainly in Swedish, with the vocals and instrumentation
blending beautifully.
There are three elements to Ævestaden’s sound. First, the raindrop-like, ostinato motifs plucked on traditional Scandinavian instruments such as the kravik-lyre and kantele. (Even Levina StorÃ¥kern’s violin is often plucked rather than bowed.)
The
acoustic instruments are underpinned by the subtle, minimalist electronics,
sounding pleasingly gritty and dirty at times, as if produced by an old
analogue synth you might find in Jean-Michel Jarre’s attic.
Finally,
there are the pure, clear vocals, somewhat reminiscent of Vashti Bunyan, that
seem to evoke an atmosphere of lullabies and nursery rhymes. All these elements
combine to make Ævestaden’s dream-folk highly original, deeply atmospheric and
completely enchanting.
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Dorchester Dulcimer Weekend - Good Company and a Good Deal of It
Tony Gillam on mountain dulcimer Photo courtesy of Ross Gooding |
Since Defoe passed through, Dorchester has also become famed as the place where the Tolpuddle Martyrs – early advocates for workers’ rights - were arrested and tried in 1834. The town is also, of course, synonymous with the great novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, who based his fictional town of Casterbridge on Dorchester.
Damian Clarke on hammered dulcimer Photo courtesy of Ross Gooding |
Magdalena Atkinson on hammered dulcimer and guitar Photo courtesy of Ross Gooding |
Many thanks to everyone who made me feel so
welcome in Dorset. Let’s do it again next year!
All photos (c) Ross Gooding (Diffraction Image Ltd.)
Friday, 9 February 2024
Accordions, self-made men and cloudheads
Follow the Passengers in Time blog for more of my ‘alternative Grammy’ recommendations!
Thursday, 28 December 2023
Four seasons in one blog post
I seem to have neglected my blog since the spring and now it’s nearly the end of the year. It’s not because I’ve had nothing to report. On the contrary, I’ve been busy taking in lots of good music, doing lots of writing and travelling quite a bit - but the poor old blog has, like my garden, been left to lie fallow. Let’s hope the quality of the soil will have improved in the interim and the yield will be increased in the coming year.
My latest album, released in June 2023 |
But life has a way of getting in the way of our plans, and so it was that throughout May, the house demanded attention in the form of some significant cracks in the ceilings of the living room and the landing. For days on end my home was taken over by plasterers - and then carpet fitters - so the concentration needed for writing was hard to find. I did manage to attend a Writing West Midlands Regional Writers’ Meet-up in Stratford, which only made me feel more guilty for not devoting more time to writing fiction. Having said that, over the course of 2023, I’ve been more active on the journalistic front, and have had twenty pieces published in a variety of magazines including Songlines and Resurgence so, with hindsight, I can see my writing energies, rather than lying dormant, have simply been redirected into journalism.
In May I also attended the Dulcimers at Halsway weekend, (an annual event I’ve written about in the past on this blog,) but this was the first
time I’d spent the Halsway week sleeping in my microcamper, which made the
event feel more ‘outdoorsy’ (as well as making the trip more economical.) As always, I learnt a
lot from the visiting mountain dulcimer tutors who, this year, were the
wonderful Erin Mae Lewis from Kansas and Thomasina Levy from Connecticut.
June finally saw the release of my album with a launch gig
at the Swan Theatre’s Culture Café in Worcester as well as a radio ‘appearance’
on Black Country Radio (with their incomparable presenter, Billy Spakemon.)
One of the best open mic nights in Cumbria |
Damian Clarke - hurdy-gurdy man - in Worcester |
My August was, like the previous year, largely taken up with the Purbeck
Valley Folk Festival followed swiftly by Shrewsbury Folk Festival. In between
these two festivals there was more drama on the domestic front as my washing
machine gave up the ghost and needed replacing.
So, first, Purbeck...
There can’t be many other festivals where, from the
campsite, you can catch a glimpse of a steam train and have a clear view of a
thousand-year-old castle. Nearby Corfe Castle stands sentinel, guarding the
route through the Purbeck Hills that leads to this gem of a musical gathering.
This year’s headline attractions included English
alt-rockers The Magic Numbers, electro-acoustic whizz-kid Newton Faulkner (who
also shared insights in a guitarists’ workshop) and the ever-popular Seth
Lakeman.
Alongside these big names, Purbeck excels at supporting
emerging artists such as multi-instrumental songwriter Den Miller, a finalist
of last year’s Purbeck Rising Showcase. Miller’s performance, switching
effortlessly from ingenious parody to thought-provoking meditations on modern
life, was testament to Purbeck’s nurturing spirit.
One of the more innovative acts was Mishra (more of which later,) who transfixed
the audience – despite a brief rain shower – with their fusion of UK folk and
Indian classical music. Accompanying themselves with foot percussion and bass
pedals, the duo played banjo, low flute, bombarde and drums – and sang! On
Sunday they reemerged as a full band to satisfy the audience in the Big Barn.
The kora was well-represented by both Senegalese/American duo Touki and by Sousou and Maher Cissoko (Senegal/Sweden) but the festival’s secret weapon came from Brittany in the form of Plantec whose electro-Breton sound had the euphoric crowds bouncing as if spellbound by the unlikely, high-energy combination of bombarde, guitar and laptop-generated beats.
Breabach at Shrewsbury Folk Festival |
Red Guitars in Birmingham |
Mishra at Shrewsbury Coffee House |
November saw, on the domestic front, a major operation involving
thinning out and lopping several overgrown trees in my garden. But I also got
to see Mishra live for the fifth time this year – this time at Shrewsbury
Coffee House with my brother Phil, who took a picture of me with Kate and Ford.
Kate & Ford from Mishra, with your humble blogger |
And then Christmas arrived and I got into my usual flap, writing Christmas cards, buying presents, and trying not to be grumpy. My next blog post will share with you some of the great albums I’ve
discovered in 2023 …and I'll try not to leave it so long between posting. That almost sounds like a resolution. Happy New Year!
About me
- Tony Gillam
- Tony Gillam is a writer, musician and blogger based in Worcestershire, UK. For many years he worked in mental health and has published over 100 articles and two non-fiction books. Tony now writes on topics ranging from children's literature to world music and is a regular contributor to Songlines magazine.