Today brings the sad news that the great Monty Norman has passed away, at the age of 94. His greatest gift to us, of course, will always be the James Bond theme, later arranged (but crucially not composed) by John Barry. It remains one of the most evocative and distinctive pieces of 20th century music. Here it is in all its glory:
Here, too, is the music Norman wrote for the famous scene in the Dr No film where Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerges from the sea, sung by Cibelle:
A nod in the direction of the Awamu Together festival, due to take place over the long weekend of 29-31 July 2022. All profits from the festival go directly to the Awamu charity’s work with vulnerable women and children in Kampala, Uganda, which explains the festival hashtag, #fundraving!
Together 2022 will once again be set on a farm surrounded by the Chiltern hills, with the location made available to ticket holders nearer the time.
The line-up is tempting to say the least, with – among many others – Echaskech, BUNKR, Steve Cobby and Alucidnation all confirmed. The instruction on the festival website is to take Monday off, with appearances from Bunty & Jomotopia, The Mauskovich Dance Band, Bill Brewster, Yidah and Tom Blip all scheduled on the Sunday.
For more information, and to buy tickets, head to the festival website
Arcana bring good news to fans of Stereolab – having just announced a new album, the band are going back on a European tour in the Autumn.
The album first – and it’s the fifth in the popular ‘Switched On’ series that Warp Records have been exploring. Pulse of the Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5] will be released on September 2, via Warp Records and Duophonic UHF Disks. It will include some intriguing and desirable miscellany from the band, with its lead track, Robot Riot, a previously unavailable piece of music which was written for a Charles Long sculpture:
Also on the tracklisting for Pulse of the Early Brain are two Nurse With Wound collaborations from 1997, a second commission for a Charles Long sculpture, Unity Purity Occasional, and two tracks, Spool of Collusion and Forensic Itch, that made up a rare black vinyl 7” with the Chemical Chords LP in 2008.
This release includes both old and new, however, going back to the Low Fi EP, released on Too Pure in 1992, for four tracks (Low Fi, [Varoom!], Laisser-Faire and Elektro [he held the world in his iron grip].
And so it continues – for a total of 16 tracks. For full details visit the Stereolab Bandcamp site…and for a review of the album when it drops make sure you check back to Arcana!
Last year saw the inaugural New Music Biennial weekender, and now to celebrate the initiative’s 10th birthday PRS Foundation and Southbank Centre are presenting a whole weekend of essential new music. You will require tickets for each visit to the three-day festival, but the good news is that those tickets are FREE!
Two shows have already sold out – Coby Sey’s From The Vestry and Anna Meredith’s HandsFree – so well done if you’ve already bagged a ticket for those. There is however a whole heap of good music still on offer, including:
New works by composers and music creators such as Yazz Ahmed, Paul Purgas, AFRODEUTSCHE, Martin Green, Rakhi Singh / Vessel, Keeley Forsyth, Coby Sey, Roopa Panesar, Toby Young and Philip Herbert. The full list is as follows:
The Moon Has Become, commissioned by WOMAD, written by British-Bahraini trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed
Tape Music, commissioned by Supersonic Festival, written by sound, performance and installation artist, Paul Purgas
He Sings Over Me, commissioned by Manchester Camerata and NEWFORM, written by composer, producer and DJ AFRODEUTSCHE
Split The Air, commissioned by The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and Lepus Productions, written by Martin Green
It commissioned by NYX Electronic Drone Choir, written by Rakhi Singh, Vessel & NYX Electronic Drone Choir,
Bog Body, commissioned by Sound UK, written by composer, singer and actor Keeley Forsyth
From The Vestry, commissioned by Serious and written by vocalist, musician and DJ, Coby Sey
The Crossing, commissioned by Opera North and written by the sitarist Roopa Panesar
Breathlines, commissioned by Armonico Consort and written by Toby Young
Towards Renewal, commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra and written by Philip Herbert
AFRODEUTSCHE – Unquiet (credit Vivaldi Rocks)
There will also be a selection of highlights from the last 10 years of the New Music Biennial, in the company of Anna Meredith, Brian Irvine and Jennifer Walshe, Daniel Elms, Errollyn Wallen, Philip Venables and David Hoyle, Aidan O’Rourke and Kit Downes, Jason Yarde, Jessica Curry, Arlene Sierra and Gazelle Twin. Here’s the full list:
HandsFree, commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, written by Anna Meredith and choreographed by David Ogle
13 Vices, commissioned by Moving on Music and written by Brian Irvine and Jennifer Walshe
Bethia, commissioned by BFI and written by Daniel Elms
Mighty River, performed by National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and written by Errollyn Wallen. Originally commissioned by The Rector and PPC of Holy Trinity Clapham Common and the Revd. John Wates
Illusions, commissioned and co-promoted by London Sinfonietta and written by Philip Venables with performance artist David Hoyle
One Story: 365 Words, commissioned by the Edinburgh Arts Book Festival and written by multi-instrumentalists Aidan O’Rourke and Kit Downes
Skip, Dash, Flow, commissioned by Wonderbrass and written by composer, producer and saxophonist, Jason Yarde
She Who, commissioned by National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and written by English composer, radio presenter and BAFTA winner, Jessica Curry
Urban Birds, commissioned by INTER/actions Festival of Interactive Electronic and written by Arlene Sierra
The Power and the Glory, commissioned by BBC Concert Orchestra and written by performance artist, composer and producer, Gazelle Twin
The festival starts tomorrow, Friday 1 July, and runs through until Sunday 3 July. For more information head to the Southbank Website
Pieces from the New Music Biennial will also be available through NMC Recordings. As well as releasing the new pieces at this year’s festival, and to celebrate this milestone in the partnership, NMC is re-issuing the ten existing works being performed this year. This special re-issue bundle entitled Celebrating 10 years of New Music Biennial, is available for download from the NMC online shop at a discounted price, providing a lasting legacy for this new music.
by Ben Hogwood
What’s the story?
Roger Eno has been recording music for nearly 40 years. We first heard from him in the form of a shared credit with brother Brian and Daniel Lanois in their Apollo soundtrack, after which he wrote a series of albums for the revered All Saints Records, either in a solo capacity, in collaboration with the likes of Kate St John or Peter Hammill, or as part of ambient supergroup Channel Light Vessel.
Now he has moved to Deutsche Grammophon, Eno is taking the chance to assess some of his solo work while making new compositions too. He describes The Turning Year as, “A collection of short stories or photographs of individual scenes, each with its own character but somehow closely related to the other”. It is an album of observation, describing a natural cycle but also effectively documenting his own musical evolution. For example the oldest work, Stars and Wheels, is a solo organ piece of 20+ years, but was re-imagined for this album as Roger worked with producer Christian Badzura.
What’s the music like?
Eno is a consistent composer, and his brand of pastoral ambience is very easy on the ear but surprisingly difficult to imitate. The Turning Year captures his voice beautifully, unfolding at an easy pace. The creation of mood takes greater importance than that of melody, but the two nonetheless work closely together, with simple phrases that undergo development to produce music of subtly powerful feeling.
It is to Eno’s credit that he never crosses the line into sugary sentiment. Right from the start, the evocative A Place We Once Walked is attractively coloured and slightly wistful in its contemplation. The title track has a greater sense of purpose, while Bells is deeply personal, its slow piano revealing intimate thoughts and designs. On The Horizon is notable for a really nice clarinet colouring, while a slight chill lies in store on the autumnal Something Made Out Of Nothing.
Stars and Wheels is rather beautiful in its new clothing, panning out with some remote sounds that at the same time are extremely comforting, recreating the feeling Apollo gave of travelling slowly through deep space.
Does it all work?
Yes. Eno really flourishes in this company, and the scoring really does his keyboard-sourced music a good deal of favours.
Is it recommended?
It is. Although arguably Roger Eno’s best work remains in his earlier albums for All Saints, the move to Deutsche Grammophon has really given him the opportunity to blossom, a chance he is taking with both hands.
Listen
Buy
There are several options for purchasing and streaming The Turning Year, which you can explore here
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