Kairos, August 2017 on Concertzender by .No

It's that time of the month again, with a slight delay because of his holidays, that Wo. delves into Kairos the radio show on Concerzender made by .No. A musical trip that usually takes Wo. far beyond his musical comfort zone. Despite the fact that because of the two working together on this blog there undoubtedly is some interaction where their musical tastes collide or Wo. twists .No's arm just a little, on average you do not find this music in Wo.'s man cave nor in the rest of the house. Except on these pages, where things come together. Let's see where Wo. is taken to this month.

Martin Pals? Now I know Auke. Are they related? Who knows. I am hearing something that on the one hand is modern and on the other ageless. This song could have been on several albums I own or have heard. From Fairport Convention/Richard Thompson to Led Zeppelin. Something with British folk in other words. Yes, I like it.

'Bhava' by The World of Dust was reviewed on these pages about two months ago. Stefan Breuer's tour de force was commented on in a very positive way. The short composition 'Sun' is over before I knew it, but fits rather well after 'Sensas Weapons'. As does the next song, Bruce Cockburn's 'High Winds White Sky'. Again there is a clear folk influence. Cockburn's voice is leading accompanied by his guitar, with a second guitar in a lead role. Beneath is a third guitar, which steps up in some parts to lay down some strong accents. A serious song, like British folk tends to be. The guitar work totally reminds me of what Jimmy Page did in Led Zeppelin's folk songs, but knowing his reputation for lending from other artists' songs, my guess is that this is one of his sources.

The song is cut off for more esoteric sounds. Synthesizers, treated voice and a mysterious bell like sound. Again a snippet of 'Bhava' comes my way. To short to have a real impact, enough to totally upset the sonorous mood created by Bruce Cockburn. The surprise is that this mood returns immediately. With a lot more, well different instruments Corin Dingley creates an extremely serious mood. The music seems to hover behind her voice. A voice that also hangs in the balance. 'Burn Me Again' is a modern song. Singer-songwriter in essence with an arrangement behind the artist. There is no acoustic guitar of the artist in hearing distance though. At the same time the music has a jazzy influence of the late night sort. I'm intrigued by Ms. Dingley, although the song may take a bit long.

The mood of the song totally changes around 11.00 minutes into the show. Yes, it is .No's mixing skills. Emiliani Torrini's voice has taken over. With a lounge like track, lazy beats and all, 'Until The Morning' is a perfect track to unhaste with. Far from unique, but it works, like Kovacs' songs work. The Icelandic singer with Italian roots really sets a nice mood together with the rest of the band Thievery Corporation.

Other music fades in, in a perfect way mixed with Torrini's song. The World of Dust returns. This time with a longer song. Dark and moody with elements of progrock, but much slower and too electronic to be shelved in this corner of modern rock. An electronic guitar does enter the whole playing very rhythmic, upsetting the general mood of this Kairos again some. In a pleasant way though.

By now a veteran of Kairos as he is on Kairos for months on end now, Richard Bolhuis returns with his House of Cosy Cushions. A show in Groningen that I missed due to circumstances that .No attended has impressed him quite clearly. The review is on this blog. My experience with this band is mixed. A beautiful dark mood is presented. Little musical motives step forward from the musical darkness hovering in the background of 'Haunt Me Sweetly', a song very aptly titled I find. It's exactly what is happening here.

Minco Eggerman also returns with a song from his album 'Kavkasia'. Kafka in Asia? We move to 'Mount Ararat'. Isn't that the mountain Noah's Arc stranded after the great flood? With all the water in my mind's eye of all the floods around the world, I have a clearer view of how much water it takes to make a flood the seize of biblical proportions. The song is about rain, "forgotten and stumbled upon". Mystical is the best word to describe 'Mount Ararat'. The title of the former song could have worked here as well.

It's two years since 'Supermoon'. So is new work by Sophie Hunger underway? Here we are presented one of her Swiss-German songs from the album '1983'. Also a song with lots of space in the mix of the music. A dark, jazzy song, with a lot of atmosphere which I find irresistible. As I do most songs by Ms. Hunger. She steps beyond all the little idioms that pop music is put into. She does what she feels like to express herself and that leads to something beautiful called 'D'Red'.

Also Sophie Hunger has to move over. How close her music is to the classics is proven by how well a Bach composition follows hers. Both have an eternal inner beauty I find. This is not just a Bach rendition. In 'Ach das ich Wasser gnug hätte", the Holland Baroque Ensemble recorded with jazz trumpet player Eric Vloeimans. These leads to a classic composition sounding just this little different. In fact I'm remembered strongly of Ekseption's 'Air', a major hit in 1969. I think the trumpet replaces a horrible sounding soprano and makes the beauty of the composition come out, just like the trumpet of Rein van den Broek and Rick van der Linden's keyboards did with 'Air'.

We move further into classical (sounding) music. I hear Tigran Mansourian's 'Five Bagatelles for Piano Trio (1985). Part 1'. Although, I'm hearing the violin and cello most of the time. The piano accompanies this bagatelle. The mood changes, the cello takes over and I'm in another piece already. Dark, darker with rays of sunlight in the high string section. It is also the first longer compostion on this episode of Kairos. Jherek Bischoff 'Cistern' is a piece which repeats a single theme over and over. Things change because a tension is built into the whole by adding more and more sounds and playing louder. The tension is released when all drops away for the cello, playing a minor variation to the theme solo, before the other sections of the orchestra come back in again, playing (their variations to) the central motive of 'Cistern'. It is far from hard to imagine a rock version of this composition. A great chorus would be welcome though. Still, I can understand this impresses when viewed live.

When the sounds become a near quiver I am awaiting the mix, knowing .No's way of working quite well by now. Again there's no way of telling when the move really took place. Only when a piano enters the sound it is clear to me that 'Defeat' has started. Yet, the song is also sonorous. There's simply not a lot of joy present and that goes wider that just this composition. Oliver Alaray's work is not hard to be captured by. In fact I kind of like what I'm hearing.

The same goes for the, again, dark sounding composition by Manuel da Falla. ‘Suite Populaire Espagnole’ is played by Larissa Groeneveld & Gwyneth Wentink. The cello and harp sound sonorous. There is that word again. I guess you know what theme I found for this Kairos? This is so serious, so devoid of smiles and joy. At the same time it is graceful and full of style. Like people can be at a funeral. Bereaved but full of dignity and grace.

So it is not a surprise that Silmus returns to Kairos once more. In 'You Are Tenderness' Silmus lays down mood, melancholy and atmosphere. The piano escapes the whole with sparse notes that grace the whole. Slowly the composition takes us through time, as if it is able to stop time. So tranquil and relaxing.

The song slowly morphs into another composition from the album 'Kavkasia'. There is a link between Silmus and Minco Eggerman. He worked with Gert Boersma on both his albums. That shows a little in 'Hidden In Clouds'. The atmosphere in the background certainly have some similarities....

... I thought. Again I was tricked. I did not really notice that I had moved into a new song and wrote on Eggerman, while in reality I had moved into another song. A song that I had played earlier this week and still.... I had to go back and see if I could detect the change. It is in a moment of silence. The background could have been a part of what went before. It is the high voice of Ryan Karazija that ought to have given him away to me. A guestsinger on 'Kavkasia'?, I thought. 'Without You' is a song from Low Roar's latest album, 'Once In A Long, Long While'. A small song with a considerable emotional impact. What it shows, is that a good song does not always need loads of instruments, wild guitars, etc. to have an impact. It's nice to be remembered of that every once in a while.

Next up is a classical Spanish guitar. Usually not my cup of tea, but I have been brought into the mood for it in the past 50 minutes, I notice. An improvisation on Thelonius Monk. It takes too long though and the capture does not hold for this long. This changes when the trumpet enters and I'm drawn back in again. What tv show theme sounded like this decades ago?

An electric piano moves right into the classical guitar and takes over. The show ends with a singer from California that I reviewed about a year ago. Shelby Figueroa released her first EP called 'Highwire', produced by Shane Alexander. I was quite impressed with both her songs and her voice. To me it stood out. It was a while back since I listened last, but again I'm gripped immediately. The accompaniment around Shelby Figueroa is windswept, sounds move in and out around her, again creating a mystical atmosphere this Kairos is so full of. A singer that deserves more people to listen to her.

No, I wasn't exactly challenged this month. Too much recognition, but also touched. I find that I'm left behind a bit sad. That's a change from being set free, which also tends to happen after an hour of Kairos.

Wo.

You can listen to Kairos here:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_407766/

This month's tracklist:

00:08          Martin Pals (text: C. Jinarajadasa). Sensas Weapons. Monad (Rosan Vloedgraven, Martin Pals). Private recording.

02:07          Stefan Breuer. Sun. Bhava. Album ‘The World of Dust’. Snowstar Records/Tiny Room Records.

03:17          Bruce Cockburn. High Winds White Sky. Album ‘High Winds White Sky’. True North Records TN 3.

06:08          Stefan Breuer. Womb. Bhava. Album ‘The World of Dust’. Snowstar Records/Tiny Room Records.

07:05          Corin Dingley. Burn me again (fragment). Alpha. Album ’The Sky is Mine’. Don’t Touch Records DoToCD011.

11:08          Rob Garza/Eric Hilton/Emiliana Torrini (text: Emiliana Torrini). Until the morning. Thievery Corporation. Album ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’. ESL Music ESL0060.

14:21          Stefan Breuer. Decay. Bhava. Album ‘The World Of Dust’. Snowstar Records/Tiny Room Records.

17:27          Richard Bolhuis/House of Cosy Cushions. Green eyes blazing. Album ‘Haunt me Sweetly’. Outcast cats records CAT 0C01.

20:28          Minco Eggersman. Mount Ararat. Album ‘Kavkasia’. Volkoren 73.

23:28          Sophie Hunger. D’Red. Sophie Hunger & band. Album ‘1983’. Two Gentlemen Records, twogtl 009-J .

26:30          J.S. Bach. Ach dass ich Wassers gnug hätte. Holland Baroque Ensemble & Eric Vloeimans. Album ‘Old,New & Blue: Holland Baroque Society Meets Eric Vloeimans. Channel Classics CCS SA 35613.

28:24          Tigran Mansurian. Five Bagatelles for Piano Trio (1985). Part 1. Movses Pogossian, violin, Edvard Pogossian, cello, Judith Gordon, piano. Live recording. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI3e1GgfZ_o.

30:40          Jherek Bischoff. Cistern. Album ‘Cistern’. LEAF.

36:24          Olivier Alaray. Defeat. Album ‘Fiction/Non Fiction’. FatCat Records CD 13-24

39:04          Manuel de Falla. Asturiana from ‘Suite Populaire Espagnole’. Larissa Groeneveld & Gwyneth Wentink. Album’chanson Exotique’. Private label.

40:35          Gert Boersma. You are tenderness. Silmus. Album ‘Shelter’. Volkoren 58

45:32          Minco Eggersman. Hidden in clouds. Album ‘Kavkasia’. Volkoren 73.

46:27          Ryan Karazija. Without You. Low Roar. Album ‘Once in a long, long while’. Nevado Records 823674059620.

50:11          Axel Herman Wolf/Thelonious Monk. Improvviso & Round Midnight. Axel Wolf/Hugo Siegmeth.Album ‘Flow, Jazz and Renaissance – from Italy to Brazil’. OEHMS classics OC 1826.

55:16          Shelby Figueroa. Blue Rain Bird. Album ‘Highwire’. Private label.

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_407766/

.NoWordsNeedeD. 30-08-2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZoQOOlKGKc

.No

.No's July Kairos reviewed by Wo.

Foto: Wino Penris. Bewerking: Astrid van der Meijs

Once a month .No hosts a radio show on Concerzender called Kairos. It is a meditation music. Wo. lets this radio show take him totally out of his comfort zone and submerges into classical, new age, church choirs and zen chanting. It was not exactrly "fun" .No wished him is his email announcing the new Kairos. So, dear reader, together with Wo. brace yourself for what is about to come.

That nepotism goes a long is proven once again as Hans Kockelmans has found a place again Kairos. One time publicist in WoNo Magazine and family member of .No. If it weren't for the fact that Kockelmans can play a very nice 'Prelude', in this case "114", I would directly file a complaint with the appropriate authorities, if I knew where and what, but I could find out, couldn't I? But no, the music of Hans Kockelmans deserves to be heard, so enjoy!

The short prelude is mixed into Isaku Fujita's 'To holy Land'. This is a piece for clarinet and synthesizer. The traditional eastern sounds come from an undoubtedly far-eastern assembled digital instrument. The seemingly simple melody is extremely serene. Giora Feidman and Manny Katz play the lead respectively the counter melody, where the latter at times seems to run into the limitations of his synthesizer. As if the instrument needs restarting every once in while. For the rest, typical church music not played on a church organ.

The next piece of music is a lot more mysterious. Tin Hat Trio's 'Old world' by Ara Anderson starts rather frighteningly. Weird sounds, not a melody in ear shot. That changes quite fast. A sad, melancholy melody on a violin plays itself out in a surprisingly touching and beautiful way. Something I'd never expected on the basis of the beginning of the song. Freaky!

The first three compositions fit extremely well together. That also goes for composition four. Again we meet Cees Sax, this time accompanied by Erik Ypma. Together they play  one of Enrique Granados' 'Valses Poeticos'. There may be the tiniest mistake discernible, it is clear these two gentlemen can play and only because the home recording is so clear. The light melody is countered by a darker undertone, that is allowed to take over towards the end, changing the mood and pace of the composition.

Things get a little weirder in 'Afar Alone'. Are these bottles that I hear as an instrument? Tal Weiss' singing is not unlike what many folk and singer-songwriters produce by the thousands, it is the totally broken down melody and music that makes the song very estranging for the average listener. I can't say an unique approach, but for a folk artist it is. With not a guitar in sight. It is the bottles and a horn of some sort that make 'Afar Alone' stand out, but I still don't know what to think of it by the time the recording ends.

What happens next is not unlike opening the door of a cupboard and all the content falls out and crashes around one on the floor. From the extreme silence of Tal Weiss to a cascade of sound that evolves into the opening notes of 'Die Ganze Welt', one of the songs on Sophie Hunger's new album 'Supermoon'. For those following this blog not an unknown artist. In my opinion Sophie Hunger is one of the great talents in pop anno 2015. So there's my influence on Kairos as I'm not alone on this. 'Die Ganze Welt' is dark, moody, mysterious and still all about love.

Ólafur Björn Ólafsson is a veteran of Kairos. This time we hear 'So very strange' from his album 'White Mountain'. The distorted guitar notes t the end of Sophie Hunger's song fade into the soundscapes of the Icelandic musician. Like with many of his compositions 'So Very Strange' gives me the impression that most of the original song has been taken out. A guitar chord here, some voice there. Every time there is the inclination towards a song it is mixed out again, leaving the drones on other instruments to continue. I have a hard time with this. Caught between "get on with it" or forcing myself to surrender and really start listening, for which I do not have the patience tonight.

A piano comes into the drones, breathing and oohing and experience with Kairos tells me that a change is going to come. It is Matthew Bourne with 'XIV Knell' from his album 'Montauk Variations'. After a book called 'Montauk' now music and didn't The Rolling Stones practice there before going on a 1976 U.S. tour? This is not easy music. The sparse notes Bourne plays, tell no easy story. Fluentness nor pleasing seems to be his aim here. Better beware for who likes to hear an instrumental piano driven ditty. I'm not feeling my way into 'XIV Knell' and am pleasantly surprised when the now well known, sonorous voice starts reading another poem by Anita Frenks. Voice and piano mix as if made for each other. Well done.

'Cyrhla' by the Thomasz Stanko Quartet is next. The change is hardly discernible. Not until the trumpet sets in that is. We're into late night jazz territory again. Jazz from eastern Europe, mixed with another sort of piano, that could just as well be on a Tom Waits album, but then with weird rhythms around it and what not. 'Cyrhla' is quite pleasant on a late evening. The composition changes along the way. A drum gives it pace, while the piano does a sort of 'Take five' kind of melody. It is the trumpet though that gives 'Cyrhla' its mood and that is one of late evening, early night relaxation. The drum may try different what it likes. It doesn't succeed to really change the course of the song.

Nearly seven minutes later we move to the harp. Gwenael Kerléo plays 'L’appel de l’océan' from her album 'Terre Celte'. The harp just isn't my instrument. So there's nothing much to say. The main melody faintly reminds me of 'Tubular Bells', but that is about it. When the rhythm all of a sudden changes the likeness to Mike Oldfield grows even more.

Simeon ten Holt's. 'IV Semplice e un Poco Rubato 'from '20 bagatellen' is played by Ivo Janssen, followed straight away by 'IV Lento Sostenuto' from 'Natalon in E' by the same composer. Two compositions for or on piano that are different in mood. The first lighter, the second more serious and slightly darker. I can live with this, without getting it into the home. The second part of 'IV Lento Sostenuto' is quite alright actually. It is not hard to hear a whole orchestra playing the intricate (counter) melodies, played here with just the fingers of the left hand. Janssen does this all on his own. And it could well be turned into a Sophie Hunger song. Points scored here. Although it goes on a bit too long to my taste.

May you live in interesting times, is something wished upon people at times. 'Without God' is an interesting title for a song in this context. Ben Lukas Boysen and Vic Bundy present this song to us. Droning sounds drown out Janssen's piano. Go away, it's our turn they seem to say, while engulfing the last note of the piano. Washing over it like the sea the shore, covering it with water and sand. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on the tones and the airwaves created by the instruments. In the end it is just too hard to do. Why make something like this?, I can't help wondering. There must be some kind of market for it, as .No brings us a new artist making this sort of music with nearly each Kairos. It is beyond me.

Nils Frahm is another veteran of the show. This time with his song 'Do' from the album 'Screw'. A very slow and extremely empty composition. Frahm is not afraid of silences here. Although he allows some percussion into his work. (Either that or .No is playing with us, as it just doesn't seem to belong.)

This month ends with a man who filled the Ziggo Dome twice last month with this band Fleetwood Mac. Here he plays a composition called 'Street of dreams' in an unplugged radio session for '2 Meter Sessions'. A Spanish classical even flamengo approach showing that he can do a lot more than play rock guitar. I think an impressive session at the time and a fitting ending for this months Kairos.

"Fun" is always the wrong word for my venture into .No's record collection, but yes, I enjoyed listening to most of the music of this month's edition.

Wo.

http://www.concertzender.nl/programmagids/?date=2015-07-02&month=1&detail=79206

Somos (2). Jarabe de Palo

Single 'Somos' came by a few weeks ago on this blog and here is the album. And boy oh boy is this a fine record. The high standard 'Somos' set for my expectations have been totally met. Somos swings, Somos rocks, Somos raps, Somos steps back and relaxes and Somos has its moments of Latin swing. All the ingredients that make a great Jarabe de Palo album have been put into the right blender and came out as Somos.

Jarabe de Palo and I go back 17 years this summer, a chance meeting in the disco's of Salamanca, the beautiful university town in mid-west Spain, where I wound up more or less by chance after the wedding of a friend in Guadalajara. Two midday nights dancing and drinking till more than late. A thousand times 'La macarena' came by, the Spice Girls and this Spanish song that was just so good. Thanks to the dj, high up against the wall, reachable only though a steep stairs, who wrote the title down for me, I bought the album. 'La flaca' is still one of my most favourite Spanish songs. 'Grita' I played for years with the cover band I used to play in, with Dutch lyrics attached, as 'Vaal licht'. I would never have heard of Jarabe de Palo, were it not for a more or less last minute trip to Spain.

So much for history, back to 2014. Pau Donés and I have clearly aged since. It doesn't seem to matter if I hear him rocking out and me enjoying it, a lot. After the fantastic 'Adelantando' (2007) I had the impression that Jarabe de Palo was a bit in a dip formwise. First a rehash album in 2009 ('Orquesta Reciclando' that I bough in the same store as 'La Flaca' 12 years later) and the little bit disappointing '?Y ahora que hacemos' in 2011. All doubts can be cast aside as Somos brings it all. The opener and title song swings, rocks and gets close to rap. A combi that is familiar if you know the band. Isabela Raygoza stars along Pau Donés in 'Somos', a collaboration of the kind that also defines Jarabe de Palo. The band does not mind sharing a star spot with someone else. Varying the songs on offer and usually making them better.

Listening to Jarabe de Palo is not always a pleasure. At times something is missing in the melody, a lacking of variation that doesn't allow singer Pau Donés to really go full out. In those songs, listening to his voice is not a pleasure. There is no such song on Somos. The band has come a long way since recording La flaca in 1996. It has simply become better at what it does. In writing songs, in arranging them and playing them. No matter how much I like 'La flaca', Jarabe de Palo is a better band since. Somos shows that the whole way. What has also clearly changed, is that Jarabe de Palo is world top act, touring in the Americas as well. Having won the Latin Rock Grammy award. I can only hope that the band will tour north-west Europe as well.

In general Somos rocks a little harder than ever before is my impression. A tough guitar sound is often brought to the front of the mix. It shows how hard Jarabe de Palo can rock and get away with it easily, adding blues rock rhythm elements for more swing. This edge makes Somos come alive just this little bit more. The rocking sound seems to have been won over keyboards, as they are less prominent on Somos. Not disappeared but less used. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me, as keyboards were an integral part of Jarabe de Palo's sound. The saxophone introduced on Orquesta Reciclando, is still there. It adds to the flavour, but does not really do something for me personally. The drole reggae 'A donde va?' for me is the odd track out on Somos, although Jarabe de Palo clearly gets away with a reggae song.

Do I have to say more? Somos is up there with 'La flaca', 'De vuelta y vuelta' and 'Adelantando', my most favourite albums of Jarabe de Palo to date. And this was clear to me while listening to the album for the first time. Where usually I have to get used to a new album by a very favourite band, I knew straight-away that it doesn't come better than Somos, believe me.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Somos' here.

Somos. Jarabe de Palo

Just one very short comment. Following the Barcelona band since the summer of 1997, I just checked the website to see if there's a new album coming up and found this single. It just blew me off my feet. Somos is Jarabe de Palo at its best. Swinging, cross over, happy sounding, yet urgent and a fine rock element to wrap things up. Somos sounds like a fine single to introduce the new album with.

Here, take a listen yourself: Somos.

Wo.

Cave rave. Crystal Fighters

In the summer of 2011 'Plage' was a single that was unavoidable on Dutch 3 FM radio. The up beat song did not so much chart high, but sort of hung in there for ever. Nearly a half year. The album that it was drawn from, 'Star of love' did not impress me much. That being the reason that Cave rave remained on a big pile of albums that I intended to listen to, that sort of never happened. When my MP3 player mysteriously went from album to shuffle, as it is sometimes prone to do, this fun upbeat song came by: 'LA calling' by Crystal Fighters. That was the beginning of the fun trip called Cave rave.

Crystal Fighters is a band from London that also gets the mention that it is a UK/Bask band as there clear links to the Bask province in Spain. The band presents a modern mix of pop and electronic dance without being afraid to bring in rock guitars as well. Next to that the folk rock explosion has not gone by unnoticed to Crystal Fighters either. The influence from Edward Sharpe and ...Of Monsters and Men is quite obviously. Boy - girl singing, high sounding acoustic guitars, up beat and happy. It suits Crystal Fighters quite well.

Cave rave lets a few different songs loose on the listener. The slightly exotic sounding songs, the folk rock and beautiful ballads like 'Bridge of bones'. It is a song like this that totally won me over to Cave Rave. Piano driven, the song stands out. If anything it is close to a James Blunt song, but better than anything I ever heard from him (with a nod to his number one hit 'You're beautiful' from me here.). 'Bridge of bones' is a fine crafted mini opera. Not because of any high brow sympho rock antics, no because of the turns the song leads us on and the way it is spread out from piano to full out mid-tempo rocker. Live it should be a killer if the audience kicks in at the end.

'Plage' is a sort of dead weight on the necks of Crystal Fighters' song writers. How to top a novelty hit? A band usually can't and shouldn't try to do so. This band seems to have tried a middle way on Cave rave. A song like 'Love natural' seems to try to evoke a 'Plage' atmosphere. As far as I'm concerned it succeeded. 'Love natural' has more depth and is more varied. It shows that Crystal Fighters is trying to find its way in the long shadow 'Plage' is throwing over Cave Rave. This second album of the band is one giant step forward. Together with producer Justin Meldal-Johnson (Paramore, M83, Neon Trees and a near endless list of studio credits) Crystal Fighters has found a beautiful pop voice that makes it a lot of fun to listen to. A perfect summer record and undoubtedly a great record to fight off the darker days that are coming towards us in an unstoppable way. The intricate vocals of 'These nights' virtually guarantee it.

The further I get into the album, the more pleased I become. Also I'm just about convinced that the first single of the album 'You & I' is one of the weakest tracks on it. Perhaps radio friendly, but Crystal Fighters shows the world that they can do a lot better. One of the better pop records of 2013 of this year, competing with Mister & Mississippi for best folk rock record of 2013. No small words are used here and deservedly so.

Wo.

You can listen to 'You & I' here.

Grandads rocking. The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury 2013

No, I wasn't at Glastonbury, I even missed the TV broadcast on the BBC, but did watch it on the internet this afternoon. Whatever some people may have written on the Stones tour in the US, this show rocked and the band plays totally convincing. There's nothing more to conclude having watch the show. Despite the fact that I was at one show during every tour since 1982 and vowed not to go to another again, I noticed that I was sitting with a big grin on my face during the whole broadcast. No matter what happens, the music of The Rolling Stones is a part of my DNA. Music I grew up with consciously ever since 'Honky tonk women' was released in 1969 and rode the Top 40 to the number three spot.

Yes, the Stones tour 50 and counting is a greatest hits tour with hardly any songs from past 1981. The two new songs of 'Grrrr' being the exception to the rule. With no one most likely wanting to hear them, really. Some songs of the 90's are being neglected which shouldn't be. 'Love is strong', ' Anybody seen my baby' and especially the greatest Rolling Stones song of the past 32 years, 'Saint of me'. Greatest hits that the world wants to hear and pays money for to hear. The band supplies and is again riding the waves of popularity and attention. Eight years after its last album release.

There's nothing more to say. The rest you can see for yourself. Old guys rocking out, that they are human and make small mistakes and that they swing like hell. Listen here and 50% of the show is on view here.

Wo.

Eurovision Song Contest 2013

You can listen to 'Only teardrops' here.

Being at a birthday of family made me look at and listen to the European Song Contest for the first time since I do not know when. In the 70s I was stuck to the tv, like everyone else of my generation that grew up with two channels. We saw Vicky Leandros win, Anne-Marie David, ABBA, Teach-In, but after that it slowly becomes a blur and not much later a total no-go zone. The music was not to my taste, so why watch? In the past ten years I saw headlines complaining on the east-Europeans supporting each other to victories with horrendous show songs of no quality. Blissfully it all went past me, including the Dutch delegation that never reached finals any more. (People, as Doe Maar sang in 1982: "There's a button on your TV!) So here I am in 2013. The first birthday I was at for years also in which we watched tv. What conclusions did I arrive at?

A show is a show. The Swedish organisation knows how to make a show. The Malmö Arena was packed and the visuals were all well done. Some corny tries at humor aside, the show part was flawless. Directed well and aimed at presenting a huge party to the audience and viewers. No complaints there.

The first entry, by France, surprised me. This lady, Amadine Bourgeois, rocked pretty hard and I found myself appreciating the song to some extend. I've heard better songs like this one about hell (l'enfer), but she rocked in music and voice. Looking back this may have been my winner, although it is hard to pick out one song of 27.

Straight away I noticed a big difference with let's say 1980: the entries could have been play-backing. The huge orchestra with a national conductor per song in front of it had been let go and replaced by a tape or cd. Just singing and backing vocals, nothing else. If there were instruments on stage, some were bands, it was all playback. Another major difference was the show element. All the dancing, the gimmicks, etc.. There was a lot that had nothing to do with singing, but with show. 1800 drummer boys, small stage elevators enveloped by endlessly long dresses, Japanese drumming, a giant carrying the singer, nothing was too weird. Azerbaijan was best. The caged image to the singer was very well thought out and executed. The spider man got the girl, that was surprising. I'm sure that if the Greek Gogol Bordello-like entry had had an inflatable boat to do some crowd surfing in, it would have become second. Almost all hated this song, but I thought it pretty good. A combination of traditional Greek music with punkrock, sheer fun.

The bottom was reached with Romania. I suppose this is what people call camp, but a castrato singing opera over a modernised disco beat is what I call plain stupid, especially wearing a Dracula cape and being elevated on stage, long cape and all, in the same way as the fellow Romanians from Moldavia. The only thing I could do to save myself was scream back at the tv screen.

What I also noticed is that the countries accused of gimmicks had some real European songcontest songs. Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaidjan, Estonia, all had serious entries and what I call European Song Contest songs. What we call in the Netherlands neither fish nor meat, but well sung. There were some modern dance influenced songs, like Germany, Denmark. The last one, as we know now, won. Denmark delivered a diddle, a catchy melody, but absolutely nothing worth memorising or spending more than a second on. Some did "power ballads". The Scorpions found out that they ought to be very popular in Armenia. (Better send System of a Down next year.) In Italy the songs haven't changed in thirty years. Zucchero must be happy. Finland was still bringing political messages. This time pro gay marriage.

In the scoring was some matchfixing if I ever saw one. If things were only as obvious in football... The scoring never really got exciting. Denmark got on top and never really was in danger. Clearly it is possible to predict the winner. As my son said, they better hire these bookmakers than the current research agencies predicting political outcomes.

And Anouk? When I heard the song for the first time I thought: this will make the final. 'Birds' is a special song, a weird one, but not a good one. It is impossible to memorise, hard to sing along with and infinitesimally sad. But 'Birds' has quality and is a daring entry. The ninth place was well deserved. Anouk sang well, with a slight quiver in the second line, but after she that relaxed, seemed sure of her self and she looked happy to be there. I found that she is able to smile. Didn't know that, actually. 'Birds' stood out, but was not a winner. Anouk is more famous in Europe now, with a somewhat a-typical song for her. She looked pretty, authentic and carried this song that could be on the repertoire of someone like Frank Sinatra very well. I like some of her rock tracks a lot better.

So, you just learned of my unsuspected tv adventure. Don't expect reports in the coming years though.

Wo.

?Y ahora que hacemos? Jarabe de Palo

Yep, alles wordt gezongen in het Spaans en ik versta er op een enkel woord hier en daar na niets van. Toch is Jarabe de Palo uit Barcelona sinds de zomer van 1997 een van mijn meest favoriete bands. Dat zit zo. In juli 1997 trouwde mijn oud-huisgenoot Aaike in Spanje en we besloten met een hele groep uit mijn oude studentenhuis af te reizen naar Guadelajara om het trouwfeest bij te wonen. Nadat Aaike met zijn bruid was afgereisd naar Cuba, waar Pau Dones de inspriratie opdeed voor La Flaca -toeval bestaat niet- trokken wij via Madrid door naar Salamanca. Laten we het er op houden dat dit mijn laatste “studentendagen” waren. Tot diep in de nacht in de disco rondspringen en een gat in de dag slapen. In beide disco’s die wij bezochten achter het Plaza Major, werd heel veel Spice Girls gedraaid, na een paar uur kende ik de “Macarena”, maar ook een Spaans nummer, dat diep indruk op mij maakte. Uiteindelijk ben ik over een hekje geklommen,een steile trap op die aan de muur vastgeplakt zat, naar het platform van de dj. Met handen en voeten heb ik hem duidelijk gemaakt wat ik wilde hebben. Er stond “La flaca” op het briefje dat hij mij gaf en met dat in de hand liep ik de volgende ochtend een platenzaak in. Bingo! (12 jaar later kocht ik in dezelfde zaak Jarabe de Palo’s een-na-laatste plaat ‘Orquestra Reciclando’). Sindsdien heb ik steeds wel een manier gevonden om zijn platen in handen te krijgen, al werden er vanaf ‘Bonita’ nummers op de Nederlandse radio gedraaid en zelfs in kroegen en restaurants. Tot een echte doorbraak kwam het niet. Dat vind ik nog steeds ietwat onbegrijpelijk.

Tot mijn schande moet ik toegeven dat ik het uitkomen van Y ahora que hacemos? ("En, wat doen we nu?") heb gemist. Hij is al bijna een jaar uit. Soms gaat dat zo. Ik heb hem in nu huis en ben er ronduit blij mee. Wat mij opvalt is dat de plaat enorm energiek is, met veel uptempo rocksongs. Hij spreekt me enorm aan en is al ettelijke malen in mijn speler voorbij gekomen. De gitaren zijn absoluut dominant op een groot deel van dit album, strak, gedempt, met stevig scheurende solo’s. Al ziet zanger Pau Dones er op recente foto’s uit als een zwerver -dat vinden de meisjes niet leuk- hij rockt met de band als de beste op deze nieuwe plaat. 'Alas' kan funky genoemd worden, met een steeds opspringende gitaar eruptie. Hiermee heeft de band er een echt topnummer bij. Dat geldt ook voor 'La quiero a morir' dat hij zingt met Alejandro Sanz, een Spaanse zanger met tien eigen cds op zijn naam.

Bij betere beluistering blijkt al gauw dat niet alles rock is wat de klok slaat. ‘Frio’, de titel lijkt het al te suggereren, is zelfs iets te rustig, maar 'Niña Sara' is precies raak. De melodie is bijzonder prettig, terwijl Pau zijn eigen stem eerst twee, vervolgens verschillende keren laat harmoniëren. Dit is sowieso een trademark van hem. Daarnaast zingt hij meerdere duetten op deze cd, hetgeen zorgt voor een goede afwisseling. Zoals in 'Fin' met Carlos Tarque - McIan. Als vervolgens in 'Hice mal agunas cosas' in een heuse bluesrocker wordt losgebarsten is het feest compleet.

Y ahora que hademos? afluisterend, kom ik al snel tot de conclusie dat de band het hoge niveau van ‘Adelantando’ uit 2007 moeiteloos heeft vast gehouden. Dat betekent dat in mijn ogen er nu vijf absolute topalbums op naam van Jarabe de Palo staan en twee die niet aan deze hoge standaard voldoen. ('Orchuestra reciclando' tel ik als recycle album niet mee, al is het erg goed.)  De plaat eindigt met het stijlvolle, ietwat hoekige en daardoor Jarabe atypische, 'Breve historia de un musico persona'. Meteen zet ik het spetterende ‘Yep!’ weer op. Het is feest: yep yep yep yep yep yep yep! Jarabe rules en nu afwachten of hij in 2012 weer naar Nederland komt. Echt iedere keer weer een feest.

Wo.