I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Tag: music

I love music. Making music, listening, talking about it and anything else too.

How I listen, how I want to listen, how I should listen

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Back in May I had a rare opportunity to spend some time just listening. Not doing anything else, just listening to an album. It was wonderful. It made me think a lot about how I listen to music on a regular basis, which in turn made me realise just how poor my listening experience is on a regular basis.

So I started thinking about how I listen now, how I want to listen and the gap between those two. It’s a big gap actually, sadly.

For the most part I listen to both music and to audiobooks on the go. Walking, on trains, tubes, buses etc. That makes up the vast majority of my listening experience. It isn’t a great experience at all. Mostly there’s lots of background noise, lots of distraction and it isn’t easy to concentrate particularly, but that’s the way it is. I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of people. What’s missing of course is that deep and focused listening experience. It requires time, it requires space and concentration. The time and space elements are things that I can’t find easily, not these days anyway.

So I need to find a way to bridge that gap, and to have the space to listen creatively. Not easy really. But it will be really worth it if I can. Having that experience, even every now and then is like a little oasis.

WOMAD memories 1: Mitsoura

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As I was thinking about WOMAD I started remembering some of the high points over the years and I thought I’d share them. One such high point was when WOMAD was back in Reading, before it moved to Charlton Park in Wiltshire. I remember seeing Mitsoura for the very first time there. They were amazing. Something truly new and completely different from anything I’d heard before.

I went to see them again after that and bought their only two albums. I was disappointed that they didn’t do more. It was a shame that they only made those two albums, but that’s how it is. Even so, I’m glad I know their music. Glad I had the chance to see them live a couple of times. That was all down to WOMAD.

A day at WOMAD

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Obligatory WOMAD flag picture
Obligatory WOMAD flag picture

I wasn’t able to spend the whole weekend at WOMAD this year, I was only able to go for the day this year. Which was ok. The weather was pretty awful on the Friday, so the Saturday was a good option in the end.

So as always here’s the obligatory photo of the flags. I think you have to take one as part of the terms and conditions of the ticket. I heard a few interesting things on Saturday. Possibly the most interesting was Hannah Peel, who I’ll be listening to some more of soon enough.

It was also good to see Hossam Ramsay doing a workshop at WOMAD this year. Quite a while ago I did a workshop where Hossam taught for a day, and that was excellent. I really enjoyed it.

Hossam Ramsay at WOMAD
Hossam Ramsay at WOMAD

So I’m glad I went. It was good to meet up with some old friends and see how the festival has come on in a year. I’ve been going for a long time now, not as long as some of my friends though, and it’s sort of become an annual tradition.

I like WOMAD, but this year it felt a little crowded. I’m not sure why. It was good to go for the day, this year that was enough for me.

Uncommon Deities … a work of incredible beauty

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IMG_6619

I’ve had this album for some time but never spent enough to really listen to it deeply, but I did that the other week and found it was a work of almost intense beauty and depth. The words and the concepts are unique and wonderful and executed in such a subtle way it has to be one of the most thought provoking albums I’ve heard in ages.

I really want to listen to it again, in the same sort of environment, with the same attention to listening. It isn’t always something that’s easy to do.

Wishing that Unknown Public was still a thing

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Cassette inlay
Cassette inlay
Unknown Public cassette
Unknown Public cassette
Unknown Public information
Unknown Public information
Inside the Unknown Public Box
Inside the Unknown Public Box
Unknown Public: First Edition
Unknown Public: First Edition

But it isn’t and hasn’t been for a long time now, which is such a shame. It was such an interesting idea and such a good package. Of course it was in a time before music discovery on the internet was a thing. Before Spotify was a thing. Back then, stuff like Unknown Public (although there wasn’t really anything like it) was a really good way to discover new music, new artists. It worked like that for me.

So in many ways it doesn’t have a place in terms of today’s music world, but I think we’re poorer for it. A lot of the enjoyment from Unknown public was in how it was put together. The beauty of the package and its contents. You can’t make that on the internet. Maybe someone should try.

Listening to Greg Haines

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Since seeing him live at Denovali Festival at the weekend I’ve been interested to hear his recorded output. So I found him on Spotify and had a listen. Well, I’ve been really enjoying his album ‘Where we were’. I’m fairly sure that a lot of that is what he was playing at the Festival.

I think I could really get into this actually. It has nice way of evolving from one track to another and flowing subtly. It also has quite cinematic overtones too, which I enjoy a lot. So I think I may have to listen to some more of his back catalogue on Spotify and hear what else he’s done. So far so good.