The Book of Disquiet
From jumbled scraps of paper found in the trunk of Fernando Pessoa after his 1935 demise The Book of Disquiet is formed. Written as the character, or heteronym, of Bernardo Soares the book is an intimate diary concerned not with external reality but with the world of the mind. The book has few characters or locations and no plot; each brief chapter is a stand-alone meditation on the human condition. As Soares puts it: “along with all the other great unfortunates, I’ve always believed it better to think than to live.”
Soares often writes of himself as being half awake and half asleep and The Book of Disquiet is characterised by this mood. Soares drifts through the streets and daydreams through his mundane work. Despite the tedium which is the book’s primary concern each page is exquisitely written and is often moving, inspiring and even funny. Ultimately I cannot do justice to the brilliance that is The Book of Disquiet, I can only implore you to buy it and discover for yourself. As Philip Pullman recommends on the cover of my Serpent’s Tail edition: this is the book to read when you wake at 3am and can’t get back to sleep.
“These are the thoughts that occur to me standing at my high window watching the slow end of evening, feeling the dissatisfaction of the bourgeois I am not and the sadness of the poet I can never be.”
If you’re still not convinced you can peruse a chapter or two for free on Google Books.
Clang Sayne at Cafe Oto
Cafe Oto is quiet on this bleak bank holiday weekend night, even the sound technicians are on holiday. My only familiarity with tonight’s artists prior to the show was one gorgeous Clang Sayne track on the Wire Tapper 22. Still, with no other plans for the weekend, a show at Cafe Oto – London’s foremost venue for new music – seemed like a pretty good idea.
The night starts off with Hyperpotamus who builds up funky songs and dreamy ballads with just four microphones, some loop pedals and his own voice. It’s an awesome spectacle to behold as he commences singing a few notes or beat-boxing into a mic and we watch as almost magically they come together to form intricate multi-layered compositions. In between he talks to the audience and introduces tracks with names such as The Unhappy Hedonist. For Someone Somewhere lulls us into a dreamland with its gorgeous rhythms as Hyperpotamus intones “Leave your fucking phone off, no use for that here”. When he finishes a queue quickly forms around the merchandise table to pick up a copy of his 2009 debut CD Largo Bailón along with the complementary clothes peg.
He is followed by James O’Sullivan who performs solo improvisations on prepared electric guitar. The electric sound is a departure from what I’m accustomed to hearing from the instrument. Softly and with great precision James draws a soulful lament from the aether. Whether rubbing the guitar with the head of a drumstick, tapping its strings with a spanner or dragging its head across the floor, each tiny contact births a new and wondrous sound.
James then joins up with Laura Hyland and the rest of Clang Sayne for the main performance. The group are comprised of Laura on vocals and guitar, James O’Sullivan, bassist Peter Marsh and percussionist Paul May and are backed by gorgeous blue projections of organic forms. Blending sounds more often associated with free improvisation with more traditional song-forms the group’s music seems like a natural extension of James’ earlier solo set. It retains the beautiful restrained feel but adds rhythm along with Laura’s emotionally charged lyrics crying out softly into the dark. As the gig comes to a close I pick up a copy of every CD available and head home to listen on loop.
A weekend in Ukraine
I have just returned from a weekend in Kiev with some work colleagues. Having slept at most five hours over the whole weekend, including the occasional nap on a bus or plane I’m incredibly exhausted and conscious of the fact that a two day visit to Ukraine doesn’t allow much time to really explore. Due to arrive late on Friday night our flight was delayed, landing at one in the morning local time. Adding to that the slowest passport control I’ve ever encountered and our taxi running out of petrol somewhere outside Kiev meant we were asleep on the couch (don’t ask) of our hostel at half past four in the morning. That gave us about an hour of sleep before the sun burst in through the curtain-less windows.
For Saturday we had planned a visit to Chernobyl and Prypiat. Chernobyl lies within a 30km exclusion zone requiring permission and a guide to pass government checkpoints so we joined up with a group in Kiev which we had booked prior to our arrival.
The guided tour started in the city of Chernobyl which has some inhabitants who work in the exclusion zone as well as permanent residents who have returned at their own risk. We then make our way to the power plant and subsequently on to the abandoned city of Prypiat stopping at various sites along the way. In Prypiat we walk around the city, crumbling due to a mixture of nature and vandalism, and are allowed to enter a few buildings and even climb onto the roof of the hotel for a panorama of the area. Over two decades since its evacuation the city is a post-human jungle with trees everywhere, even inside the buildings.
On returning to Kiev we are introduced to a local bar by one of the owners of our Hostel. As with the hostel itself the bar is down a dark alleyway with no external evidence of its existence. Somewhat magically we descend some stairs, a door is opened and a burst of light and noise flows from the stylish interior. After several drinks we move on to a club on the outskirts of the city and forsake our second night of sleep.
We awake early on Sunday morning and proceed on a whirlwind tour of Kiev before our 4pm flight. We walk through a massive park taking in various monuments and impressive buildings as well as gorgeous views over the city. At the Holodomor monument we encounter a local girl who gives us a very eloquent and touching account of Ukrainian history. We then carry on to the enormous Mother Motherland statue where we catch a taxi and our short encounter with Ukraine comes to an end.
Along with the locals that we met we encountered a large number of travelers in Kiev. We even met one man who was driving to Mongolia in an old ambulance he planned to donate on his arrival. A weekend break seems much too short in comparison. Perhaps it is an appetiser for a future adventure.
Richard Youngs – Ultra Hits
I found myself in Kilburn on Sunday night, enjoying the local park and pubs while waiting for the Richard Youngs gig at The Luminaire. Richard performed a “greatest hits” set followed by a full performance of the newly reissued Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits, which Richard called the “ultra hits” set. Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits is ostensibly a Richard Youngs pop album, with gorgeous melodies and sing along choruses. Richard even makes attempts at soliciting crowd participation but unfortunately, with a few exceptions, most are too shy to sing along. Regardless, the music is awesome and Richard’s voice is as beautiful as ever.
The set ends all too soon, leaving us hungry for more but Richard simply replies there are only ten ultra hits. That may be true but there is still plenty of Richard Youngs goodness available at Volcanic Tongue.
First few days with the iPad
I gave into temptation on Sunday and picked up an iPad at Apple’s Regent Street store in London. I have to admit I was somewhat hesitant and almost ducked out the queue as I approached the front. A few days on and I’ve been using the device extensively. My laptop and Eee PC don’t even have a look in when it comes to catching up on RSS feeds, browsing the web or even typing emails.
Probably my favourite experience so far has been reading the complementary copy of Winnie the Pooh in the iBook reader which is free to download from the app store. The book looks glorious with lovely full colour images accompanying the text. I’m still not sure if I’m ready to trade in paper books for this thing just yet but the experience is very pleasant and my eyes seemed to have survived the first chapter unharmed. Unfortunately it seems I need a separate app to load PDFs onto the device. The most popular at the moment appears to be GoodReader but the interface is a little clunky in the current version.
By far the majority of my time is being spent in Safari. The browser is fast and the screen is the perfect size for keeping up with the news or Google Reader while reclining on the sofa. There is already is pretty decent WordPress app which I have used to tap out a couple of posts. It could definitely use a few improvements, the addition of formatting options and perhaps a way to view stats which relies on Flash in the web version but it’s usable none the less. For video YouTube plays videos nicely embedded in pages rather than switching to a separate app. In addition Vimeo and BBC iPlayer have Flash-free, iPad friendly videos.
Apps like the Guardian’s Eyewitness Photo App show that there is plenty of scope for creating truly beautiful content and it’s going to be interesting to see how the device grows as more apps hit the store in the coming months. So far it’s my favourite device for watching short videos, reading online content and even writing blog posts and emails.
By The Throat
Part Wild Horses Main On Both Sides kick off proceedings at The Luminaire taking us to another place with flute, drums, sampled birdsong and bells. The crowd sits on the floor meditating as we are pulled into Part Wild Horses’ ritualistic free-jazz. The audience was then asked to stand to let more people in as the next act, Teeth Of The Sea, prepared to begin. Teeth Of The Sea increased the tempo with a kind of prog/punk rock. The drums providing a primal beat on top of which the guitars, keyboard and trumpet created a feedback heavy sonic landscape. Nothing, however, could prepare us for what was to come.
Ben Frost took the stage in his bare feet, guitar around his back. As he built the first sounds of the performance he rocks back and forth before his laptop as if charging it with his energy. He then turns his back on the crowd to play guitar before the two massive amps at the back of the stage. The sound is so intense the whole venue is shaking. Glasses slide across the floor and audience members clutch their heads for fear of exploding. The music shakes us and I find myself moving with the beat. The closest reference point I have is the work of Burial et al through some of London’s loudest club sound systems. Between tracks Ben trades remarks with the crowd telling a fellow Scotsman by my side to “just be quiet” and later announcing “here’s the hit single” before commencing a performance of Killshot. The whole of London seems to be crumbling around us as I begin to feel the title By The Throat is incredibly appropriate. Then we start to smell burning. The set continues as smoke pours from one of the monitors. When I get outside I feel like my entire body has been shook to its core. Nothing will ever be the same again.
The Fall at Shepherd’s Bush Empire
I last saw The Fall on the tour of Imperial Wax Solvent in Cambridge only a few days before I moved to London. Mark E Smith was wheelchair bound at the time and gave an awesome but rather strange performance, at one point singing from behind a door off the back of the stage.
I arrived a little early after work so wandered around the nearby Westfield shopping centre which on two separate occasions has been described to me as a likely site of any future “zombie apocalypse”. Shepherd’s Bush Empire isn’t much better, a medium-sized venue run by O2 with a rather soulless atmosphere. The opening act is inexplicably a teen pop-rock outfit who get complete silence from the audience with the exception of a few hecklers. They are followed by a laptop performance which irreverently mixes video and sound sources from the likes of Elvis and Michael Jackson. A similar performance was given on the last tour and I was somewhat taken aback by the intolerance of the Cambridge audience to anything that didn’t involve guitars; Shepherd’s Bush seems more appreciative but their attention starts to wane about 10 minutes into the set. Not long after The Fall storm the stage and launch into Y.F.O.C Showcase.
Tonight’s set draws mainly from Our Future Your Clutter and Imperial Wax Solvent with Mark E Smith giving the kind of performance he is famed for. The band ploughs through the material as Smith snarls fragments of lyrics which loosely resemble what’s on the album. He wanders the stage turning the volume on the amps up full and when that’s not enough presses his mic against them to give the sound an extra boost. The only quiet moment is when the band perform Weather Report 2, towards the end of which Smith seems to be talking to the audience. As I strain to make out the words all I pick up is Smith stating “This song, Weather Report, is the worst song I have heard in my entire life” before he turns his back on the audience and laughs dementedly into the microphone. The band return for a rampaging encore of Sparta FC and when I reach the underground platform the fans are still chanting its lyrics.
Carla Bozulich
On a cold Monday night we migrate from nursing a pint in The Kingsland pub for over an hour to the short line outside Cafe Oto. After some grumbling about the doors not being opened fast enough we’re on our way in. In the absence of a stamp my wrist is scored with a marker pen and we make our way to a small table right in front of the stage.
The night starts with Jack Shirt who plays a kind of sinister fairground music on a guitar and an array of effects pedals. The music is hauntingly beautiful but the feedback often spirals beyond his control and he finally apologises and gives up. The crowd applaud warmly in support, and Jack looks a little dejected as he packs up. We decide to grab his CD-R, nicely packed in a felt pouch and wait for the main event.
Similar technical difficulties occur near the start of Carla’s set as Francesco Guerri’s cello falls silent and he frantically unplugs effects pedals to try locate a fault. Thankfully with two on stage Carla happily jams away on her guitar until the problem is solved and they launch into the first song. One of the highlights of the night is when Carla lays down her guitar to perform Baby That’s The Creeps. Carla wanders through the audience, brushing past audience members and knocking over furniture, captivating the room with her intense performance. When I start to shiver I’m unsure if it’s really because of the cold.
As the set ends Carla asks if she’s played a good amount, gesturing the length of the set with her hands. After shouts of “more” and rapturous applause Francesco and Carla return for an encore. I’ve put a handful of my photos on flickr.
Life in London
After nine months living in London I’m finding myself in an increasingly reflective mood. Life in the capital is pretty amazing. A trip to one of the many markets always has me returning with something cool like the Stylophone I picked up last week at Brick Lane Market or the yummy cheese and salami we grabbed at Borough Market the week before. The city is full of restaurants serving food from all around the globe and if I had a bit more money I’d probably try and eat through as many of them as I can. However, probably my favourite thing in London is music. Gone are the days when I flicked through the listings at the back of The Wire and lamented the number of cool gigs that I would be unable to go to. I’ve also discovered Cafe Oto and its amazing programme of new music which makes me think about moving to East London more and more each day.
It’s cool to just take the tube somewhere random and go for a walk and see what you find. Quaint little lanes in Chelsea, an independent record shop at the end of Portobello Road, stunning views on the South Bank or the awesome Dalston Peace Mural.
There are downsides to life here too, rent is ridiculously expensive and the quality of housing very low. It seems the demand is so high that landlords can be pretty much guaranteed a particular price based on area and don’t need to bother maintaining their property. My commute, although thankfully brief, usually involves being crammed into a smelly metal tube with a few hundred fellow Londoners. The hectic nature of life and work here can be tiring and a little stressful at times. Despite all this, I think it’s worth it to live in a place where I have the chance to discover something new every day.
Hello world!
So I pretty much gave in and decided I can’t be bothered to maintain my own blog software, hosted wordpress from now on. More soon.
