This is just a very quick post to note this date and time. As I post this it is ten twenty-two on the 22nd of February of 2022. Simply put, it is 22:22 on 22/2/22. I thought that was worth noting.
That’s it.
Month: February 2022
Nonclassical: Listening to Place at the Barbican
I found out about this event from an email from ‘Cities and Memories’, and, as someone who is very interested in field recording I was keen to go along. Also as a Londoner I need little persuasion to head to the Barbican.
This was more than just a performance though. This was a whole day about field recording, comprising multiple performances and a panel discussion as well. There are a few details on Nonclassical’s site. Personally I was most interested in the panel discussion, which was interesting, but mostly because of the contributions of Robert Worby from the Langham Research Centre. He had some really useful insights into the practice of field recording. Food for thought.
The performance was a bit of a curate’s egg on the whole. Some very good pieces, some less successful in my opinion. I particularly liked the performance by Li Yilei which I thought integrated field recordings most successfully. Kate Carr’s work was also very good, but it felt like it lacked a direction, or at least it every time it felt like it was going somewhere interesting she changed direction. Just my opinion of course.
The Langham Research Centre was a high point for me and I’m looking forward to listening to more of their work in the coming days.
These kinds of events are few and far between, and for the most part I usually hear about them long after they’ve happened. So I was really glad to actually make it to this. I really enjoyed the whole day, and it was both interesting and inspiring.
Well done to Nonclassical and the Barbican for organising it.
Blancmange: Nil by Mouth IV and V
I have been listening to Blancmange since the 1980s. In recent years, I have found their (his) music much more introspective at times, and especially this series of instrumental albums ‘Nil By Mouth’. In this latest iteration, albums four and five arrive as a double album, and both live up to the previous quality.
I wrote about the first ‘Nil by Mouth’ back in 2015. I have bought all of them so far, and I expect to buy any that get released in the future.
When I was listening to these two (IV and V) I found, much like with the previous albums, this music seems to fit my mood very closely.
At some point, and possibly on a long journey somewhere, I might listen to all of them in one go.
I am Ashley Elsdon 