Folking About "Doon The Cellar" Magic in progress...

Cajun accordion? No that's Harry Potter working his keyboard magic. We're back "Doon the Cellar" listening to a track we'll call "Sitting on My Front Porch" - it's the one we mentioned in our first report. There is a real cajun lilt to the music and the accordion is really Harry Potter's keyboard - we're busy hinting that our good mate Ginger may be the man for the job but it looks like they have some other bloke in mind - sorry Ginger but it's - well I can't say - I'd be for the high "Jump!"

This brings two points to mind - the first is the dedication of the SnugL to bring in real musicians to play real instruments, as here with the accordion, it costs too much according to Big Frank, but the better sonic is worth the cost and often this wins out. Elsewhere on this album, we may well be hearing steel drums - real ones of course - played by none other than - Harry Potter!

Which brings us nicely to the second - and that is the integral part that Harry Potter plays in the process of creating the band's sound. My notes are full of quotes about how he is a "genius" and every track we heard - bare bones even though they were - featured yet more of Harry's magic with the keyboards, managing to get a feel for the groove and provide instrument parts that other people will come in and play later, if they can manage that is..... I have - I think - a recall of SnugL saying sometime in the early hours that HP & Big Frank are a genius couple - but Frank is the master and HP will always be the apprentice. Big Frank will always be the master.

The third is the quality of the core band - "hand-reared" is a favourite phrase of SnugL's when discussing them - and they have something special - that mysterious musical intimacy that is only really found amongst players who have played together for years. Frank has had more than his share of managers fall out with him, but he has kept his band - the "girls" - for years, and like Neil Young with Crazy Horse, they add up to more than the sum of the parts.

So with cajun accordion and steel drums are we seeing a return to Big Frank's "One World" era? That may depend on who is willing - and able - to work.

FolkingAbout "Doon the Cellar" is a series of short articles resulting from a series of interviews with those concerned with the making of Big Frank's next CD, and maybe from the one before and a few before that, but mostly this one. Stay tuned for more...

Get well soon Big Frank - from all at Folking About

An Evening With David Sylvian - Manchester Bridgewater Hall - 14/9/2007

It was hard to believe, but it was finally happening. We walked into the foyer at the Bridgewater, tickets in hand, and yes, sure enough - it WAS happening. After 27 years, I was indeed going to witness David Sylvian live on stage. I know he's been around occasionally before, but this time I heard about it and got the tickets in time......

The Hall was just about full - there was an almost church like hush in the auditorium and music played very quietly over the p.a. - so quietly I couldn't really hear it. Add to that a predominance of black-clothed audience, the impressive array of organ pipes and the hard chairs, and it could have been a church. This impression was broken as soon as the 5 band members strolled out onto the stage in the dim light. The crowd applauded - and applauded more- in fact we applauded for some time while things got sorted out on stage.

Sylvian himself - quickly check with the binoculars - yes it IS him - sat on a tall chrome legged stool, centre stage, feet on the rails, perched, almost hunched, cradling an electric guitar, his effects and water bottle laid out before him on a scrunched up black sheet, like a rather well presented busker might appear in fact. The whole band were dressed in black, Sylvian seemed to have a jacket on and a pair of what he would never call "drainies", and a very swish pair of white shoes that later evoked a cry from the crowd: "Where'd you get yer shoes David?"

When they started playing you knew it was going to be just fine. A grand piano, the top strewn with electronics and a further keyboard, sheet music and a laptop nearby with it's own keyboard, an alto sax, bass and a rather sparse looking drum kit with yet more keyboards and a cymbal imbalance completed the line-up behind - no repeat of the "just 4 keyboard's" we, and others we heard, had worried about beforehand. First up was "Wonderful World" - the single from the debut release from Nine Horses - "Snow Borne Sorrow". This was going to be good - the arrangement of the song for these rather more acoustic instruments was sparse and yet the sound was rich and repaid listening. David Sylvian's guitar was gentle and the Takuma Watanabe's piano was just so - the bass and drums providing a good solid base and the lovely sax seemed to weave in and out of the texture laid down by the others.

Bassist Keith Lowe alternated between electric and one of these modern body-less upright jobs - resplendent in kilt and boots and for some reason stationed on his own little plinth, Lowe was seen at one point to duck and weave as if he was - dancing - we'll have none of that here! I have not yet been able to discover who was playing the flute and sax - he is not listed in the tour brochure - (and more on that later!) - but I think it was Theo Travis.

"World Citizen" demonstrated the careful inter-weaving of the band's electronic sound, with "live" percussion from Steve Jansen mixing it with the programmed sounds which I suspect Steve was in full control off from the look of his array of black boxes mixed in with the drums.

It is David Sylvian whose name appears on the tickets - and it is David Sylvian's voice that leaves the biggest impression on the listener - not in a harsh LISTEN-TO-ME-excited kind of way, but a sweet, deep, autumnal and melancholic sound that he produces with hardly any visible effort and reminds one rather of a really good chewy pint of dark bitter. In "Ride" - a song "from the eighties" - released on the 2000 compilation "Everything and Nothing", his vocals were backed by the flute, I just noted down a sigh. I know David has been a smoker in the past, and may still be, certainly his throat sometimes has a sound that may well be a smoke induced growl, yet later he sang - in fact "Atom and cell" ended on - such a low note that came over so smoothly.....

The range of material we heard was impressive too - I had expected to hear a lot of the new Nine Horses material, and there was plenty of that - yet Steve Jansen's latest "Playground Martyrs" was included (to great applause) and we had already had "Ride", so I was delighted - nay thrilled! - when a piece that I didn't know experienced a key change and suddenly there was "Ghosts", but not as I've ever heard it before, with piano and - well it was almost going to be "Nightporter" judging by the sound of it, but "Ghosts" came out and afterwards there was rapturous applause, even my neighbour, who up till then had just been rapt, suddenly burst into clapping mode and we exchanged approval! There was more "old stuff" to come - "Waterfront" and "Mother and Child".

A word for the lighting - or the backcloth projection which was a themed display of abstract images, sometimes still, sometimes moving or slowly changing - all executed in a suitably subdued palette and sometimes overlaid with spots of light, perhaps from a camera aimed at the lighting gantries, but I couldn't be certain. It certainly fitted in well with the atmosphere of the music.

The audience, by and large were enjoying the music and there was a real sense of respect for what was going down here, although a number choose to ignore the requests to stay seated except between songs and to disturb everybody while they edged along the rows to get out - then back in again. Gilly and I agreed later that at the very least we would have preferred a cozy sofa for this gig - even better if it had been in our front room - it was that kind of night - and then they stepped things up a bit in "History of Holes" which built up very nicely with Steve Jansen giving a very sharp beat indeed. Things calmed down again with a return to more historical material - the long flute notes that introduced "Before the Bullfight" producing welcoming applause, and there was "Nostalgia" in there too, both from "Gone to Earth" before the end came (so soon?) with the clock like lilt of "The Librarian" and finally David got down off that stool and gave a slight bow before waving and leaving the stage.

By now the brain was ticking and while we clapped and clapped for more, I wondered what the encore might bring - no need to guess for long as the distinctive opening notes of "Any Colour You Are" drifted up from the stage - it was a beautiful, haunting rendition of this dreadfully sad song, aided by the flute and then to heap sugar onto the pie, there was a verse or two of "Riverman". We demanded - and got - a second encore - after some considerable time and the band rounded the night off with the apt "Wanderlust" which contains the lyric:

And we’re out on the road again

It’s given us this wonderful wanderlust
It’s given us this wonderful wanderlust
It’s given us this wonderful wanderlust
I don’t doubt it, I feel it

I no longer doubted either - I had felt it, heard it, seen it and bought the tour brochure - at 20 quid maybe a bit steep - but with a hard cover and a CD with collectible cuts it seemed a fitting souvenir. Come back soon David.

Folking About "Doon The Cellar" - The Missing Earl?

There's at least one name missing from the credits listed on the album sleeve of "On the Cobbles". James Hooker no less, a keyboard player and singer who "has a very famous history in his own right" according to Nanci Griffith in Dirty Linen - and she should know! The story goes that Big Frank was at a party one night where he ran into Hooker and got reminiscing about their early days and before long had SnugL ordered out of the party (despite loud and persistent protests) and into the studio to record some keyboards. Some of them ended up on "Cobbles" - but - according to SnugL - Tools missed him off the credits.....

Hopefully though Hooker will get his just desserts for his contribution to "the new album". On "Sugar & Spice" he plays a deep, dark clavichord part under the vocals - and they are another story in themselves. Harry Potter recorded the clav on his trusty laptop.
















James Hooker in Nanci Griffith's studio 2004


FolkingAbout "Doon the Cellar" is a series of short articles resulting from a series of interviews with those concerned with the making of Big Frank's next CD, and maybe from the one before and a few before that, but mostly this one. Stay tuned for more...

Folking About "Doon The Cellar" - Saved!

Ireland is the setting for the next tale from our visit to "Doon The Cellar" and illustrates the trials of recording and getting that all important track down:

SnugL had the studio set up in Theresa's sitting room and is getting the beats going, he and Big Frank had already started on the port, and when they found a bottle of potent Wray & Nephew White Rum, they did that too. There was much banging into things and falling about, but Frank started to sing somewhere along the way, the vocal was good and has to be recorded. More chaos ensued throughout the session and finally, after SnugL fell over and banged his head, sleep followed....

.... the next morning, checking the studio revealed the good news - the vocals were saved, despite everything!

"Stand by me" is one of Frank's pain songs - you can feel it in the music, the vocal, no doubt fuelled by the energetic consumption of port and rum, has a mournful edge to it, the lyrics speak of loss and grieving.

Later additions to the song, recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studio, include John Giblin on bowed double-bass giving further depth to the mourning, and a "genius" contribution from Harry Potter, who manages to play a soul-rendering sad electric guitar anguish-howl part over strings - ALL on keyboards.

"That," exclaims our host, "is pure SnugL!" he means the sound - it's all done on his terms, the sonic is as he wants it. The apparent comedic interlude with the falling down water masks a genuine commitment to getting it all down as it should be, and this is a good'un.

Folking About "Doon The Cellar" - The Prophet in the Church With One Bell.

Not long into our visit to "Doon the Cellar" in Birkenhead, producer SnugL underlined his policy on sound recording - "I try to record what's there - I go for the purity" he said, and later we would get to hear some of the results.

What follows is the first of a number of reports stemming from this visit, and a number of interviews and other visits relating to the music of John Martyn today. John has very kindly allowed us a preview of many of the rough mixes from the new album, and we will be telling some of the stories behind the tracks, talking to the musicians, engineers and producers involved and telling their stories too. Some of the names used are the familiar names used by the protagonists.

"This is my gaff." said SnugL leading us into his studio - "more of a cutting suite really.", but this is where it happens. This is where many of John Martyn's songs are assembled; some of the tracks have even been recorded here.

We hope to be able to bring a complete technical description of the rig, and describe some of the processes involved in recording an album in the not too distant future, but for the time being lets just say that the editing is done on one of an ever growing collection of PC's - currently an AMD Dual Core with 8Gb RAM - a significant step up from what SnugL dismissively described as a Pentium II word processor that they used to use. Next in line may well be an anonymous laptop lurking near the desk - "I can do everything on that now - may as well flog this lot." In fact SnugL reports that John has been very keen on using the laptop himself and suggests that HE will produce the next CD, SnugL is fired and Tools can be the tea-boy if he is lucky.....!

We'll start our stories with a trip back in time, 5 years or so when John still had the "Church With One Bell" studio up in Scotland. Big Frank is sleeping up in the church gallery, but is awakened by SnugL and Harry Potter getting a new groove going down in the studio, the air is heady with incense from Scratch Perry's burner as Frank thunders downstairs to find out what all the row is about. Anger soon melts as the incense and the music combine to inspire Frank into a creative mood, and he is soon stood naked and fired up at the ever ready microphone, lyrics tumbling out, Spencer playing along. Some of the lyrics would prove to be prophetic - "How can you stand when you're sitting?" and "Sitting on the porch, me and my little dog."


Events would soon see these premonitions materialise, within months John had part of a leg amputated and now spends most of his time sat down, and he now has Gizmo - his own little dog.

There's more to say here, we fast forward to 2007 and a day's recording in Parr Street, Liverpool. Arran Ahmun and Alan Thompson are laying down drum and bass tracks to this vocal - John is sat there, encouraging, conducting, "master of ceremonies" and "much more like his old self." This is the on day after the band's amazing performance at John's Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall appearance - click here for our review. The results are terrific, soulful vocals follow the groove, the bass impassioned. SnugL suddenly stops it, winds the track back a few bars and laughs - "Listen to that, that's Harry Potter taking the p*ss with his da da daaa, da da daaa... on the keyboard."

It's a small insight into the way a song is born - others follow - some can be told here - stay tuned for more tales from Folking About "Doon the Cellar"

Danny Thompson lights a fire at Cropredy?

A lovely, warm summer's day and the audience at Fairport Cropredy Convention are gathering for a third and final day of this 40th anniversary celebration. The sound crew have relented from playing their compilation CD over and over again and we are being treated to John Martyn's soulful "Rock salt and nails" over the PA. A inner feeling of warmth joins the outer sunshine as we recall that today it is 12 months since John's magnificent gig on this very stage.

"Big Muff" follows and today's compere, Danny Thompson strides out onto the stage to greet the crowd; "Wotcha Cropredy! - How good is it to hear the great John Martyn?" Danny, long time musical partner, drinking partner and frequent sparing partner with John Martyn delighted us with yet more: "I love that man. You know in these days of awards and knighthoods and all that, isn't it time that John Martyn was recognised for his remarkable musical contribution? How many people agree that John Martyn should be rewarded in some way?" A huge cheer rose up from the ever growing crowd - the campaign for Sir John Martyn has started!

John Martyn & John Smith at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall - Liverpool - 1/6/2007

It was always going to be a good night - the last date of the tour, in Liverpool on the first day of flaming June. It proved to be a very good night - meeting a couple of very old friends, making new friends and some very good music.

John Smith sauntered onto the large Philharmonic stage, hands in his suit (!) pockets and harumphed into the mike - there was a pleasingly good sized crowd even at this stage and John got a rousing cheer just for coming on - not bad for a support act - but them he is on his adopted home turf and we have had the pleasure of his playing several times of late, so his following is growing fast. His opening song is the stunning ballad "Cut throat Mountain?". John rips this song out of himself with every performance - such is the venom, angst and regret contained therein, his voice not just raw but seriously grazed sounding, his guitar stroked, stummed, stressed and finally warped to get the sounds he needs. It is a tour de force and deserves to become a folk standard with it's high body count, extreme weaponary, serious love and absolute revenge. He continued with a good variety of songs interspersed with ever more confident banter with the crowd, he comes over quite natural and quietly comfortable on stage, his soft voice and hushed tones giving no hint of the storms in his songs.

The songs themselves are a varied lot, a notable cover in Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" sung with gentle bottleneck guitar, Smith's own "The Green Man" with the bass string being constantly re-tuned to drag out some marvelous sonic effects and ending in a great slap happy descending twang. "Winter" completes many sets with the guitar becoming a percussion instrument and a hammered dulcimer as it is swung onto his lap. John's style is unique, his voice a powerhouse, yet he manages such delicate passages too, and often sighs to himself mid-song.

At the end, to a big cheer, he saunters back off the stage, job done.

A short interval and we are back in our seats, the hall is full, just about sold out I think - we are promised a good night and a few surprises by one who knows and here come the band, and John Martyn wheeled on as ever with his wing arms out, BUT he is clearly in a good mood, "It's a lovely day" he sings as things get plugged in around him, Fender on let's go. "Cooltide". It's the end of tour end of term feeling, things seem well and good, the crowd in good voice give John a good Liverpool welcome, lots of shouting, just like John Martyn crowds used to be, "Come on fatso!" being met with a smile and an admission - "That's more like it!" It's going well, Martin is blowing well on the Sax, Foss Patterson has his eyes closed and head back as "Lookin' On" progresses, Arran Ahmun keeping an almost continuous hi-hat beat with one stick throughout the song, and each of the band took a solo - all well received. The sound was pretty good too, the instruments well separated, although the bass was a bit boomy and the sax a bit quiet - it was good to be able to hear all the instruments even at full tilt.

John's speaking voice seemed clearer than usual too - he even joked about it himself, breaking into complete incomprehensible mumbling deliberately at one point. Introducing the Solid Air section John claimed never to have "stickled" and therefore the album would all be played, but not in the original order. And played it was, in fine style too, with some nice touches including "May you Never" which started out with just John singing with his acoustic guitar and ended up being almost anthemic with the full band joining in as it went along.

The highlights for me were probably "I' d rather be the Devil" which had the full echo effects on and it all sounded just spot on, and "Go down easy" which had a sublime bass part from Alan Thompson and was very gently handled with Martin Winnings playing his surprise "secret weapon" - the clarinet - very sympathetically.

After the title track "Solid Air" John stopped playing any guitars and just sat and sang his heart out on "Rock Salt and Nails" and then "Never Let Me Go" closed the night, John being wheeled off well before the band had finished playing - and with much of the audience on it's feet to bring the tour to an end properly. It was we agreed afterwards a very subtle, melancholic reading of the set tonight, and we were, as is always the case, feeling the loss as the crowd dispersed.

We learned later that the band had been playing under the shadow of tragedy and frankly it was a wonder they played at all, and a credit to them that they pulled off such a good gig in the circumstances.

And so endeth the Solid Air Tour 2007 - the original London gig being extended to an 11 date tour, and then a further 8 being added on as the powers that be came to realise how popular the Great Man still is. More tours are being mooted - lets hope so - John Martyn is a living legend and his music seems timelessly fresh - Solid Air was released in 1973 and can still fill concert halls today - long may he run.

The Cafe with the best view in the country - The search is on!

For some years, it has been a strongly held view in my head at least, that the cafe at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall has the best view in the country - with a fantastic cove, blue or stormy sea, seals, dolphins, the theatre behind - you need to go some to beat it.

However, a late decision saw Gilly and I drive down the road from Broadford to Elgol on the Isle of Skye last week and as a result, the Minack has lost it's crown. The Cuillin View Gallery & Coffee Shop at Elgol has got all of those things, but it also has the magnificent Cuillin and that does it for me! Not only that but John and Gail serve good coffee, play fantastic music and have a warm welcome for their customers. I expect the cakes are good too, but my diet forbade me to try them that day!


Contenders to top all this are welcome to put in a bid, but I don't expect a flood.....

The Isle of Skye Music Festival 2007 - Day 3

The second day of the festival was brighter and less wet, and with a lunchtime start following a 4am-ish finish the night before, we arrived to find a fairly subdued crowd, many probably recovering from the night before. This sad state of affairs meant that lots of punters missed the great set that The Low Miffs put out on the Mainstage in the early afternoon. You have possibly guessed by now that I hadn't done much homework for this festival, in fact I can honestly say that with one or two exceptions I had no clue at all about who the acts were, so it was all a bit pot luck as to who we saw, but this lack of forethought provided a day full of surprises - and this was the first. The Low Miffs are 5 young men, fronted by the diminutive but marvelous Leo Condie from Glasgow, played song after song of energetic music, performed with passion and showmanship, Condie first sitting on the edge of the stage with his silver topped cane, then racing around the stage, next leaping the fence to sing his impassioned appeals to the audience before returning to have guitar duels with his sidesman. Special mention to Thomas Brogan whose saxophone adds major extra dimension to the guitar heavy sound. Besuited and rather like a mini Llewelyn-Bowen, Leo Condie is a star on the rise - his voice is unaccountably large for such a small frame, goodness knows where he gets his energy from, but I hope to see lots more of these Low Miffs and I hope nobody ever tells them to slow down!

From the sublime to the ridiculous - Barry Peters - DJ extraordinaire with his "son" Kevin and partner in dance Derek Japan were pulling in an excited crowd in the non-stop stage tent. Side-splitting humour from Barry ("I've never been on stage this f@@@g early in the afternoon before" ) - who knew everybody and had been everywhere, and amazing dance routines from "Double Penetration" to the very best in disco music kept us rooted as the act unfolded to include a roller skate dance routine, break dancing and finally Barry's return from retirement to dance again as a trio - off came the pants to reveal sparkly gold tights and away they went - you really had to be there, we were, enjoyed a real feast.











After a break to recover from all that excitement we took up position in the Non Stop Stage tent to see the main event. But first there was Mark Olson, a man in an un-enviable position. Mark's music is mostly "acoustic" - guitar, fiddle and a little percussion or piano - and he was in a tent between Mungo's booming bass and the Union of Knives on the Mainstage, plus the crew was busy putting the gear together for the next act, so it was quite a triumph that we could hear and enjoy this lovely set from a man who sings American country style music with heart and soul, and to me he has more than a hint of favourite Dave Mallet in both music and lyric - check out his stuff on MySpace - it really hits a spot for me.






And so to the main event - at 5:45 pm in a side tent, the legend that is John Martyn was wheeled onto stage and set to for an hour - yes we had come some 400 odd miles and spent a small fortune on getting to this place for just this moment... John is nearing the end (Liverpool, Friday, we will be there!) of a hugely extended UK tour performing the album Solid Air in full, topped and tailed by other favourites, and having been to a few of the gigs, we thought we knew what might be coming. First change for this leg of the tour though was the inclusion of Foss Patterson in place of Spencer Cozens on keyboards, Spencer is currently on tour with Joan Armatrading. Foss is an old hand having played with John Martyn off and on for years,so it was good for us newcomers to see him live as well.











Martin Winnings is still doing sax duty, and while he has his detractors amongst some of the cognoscenti, but I like the way he watches John like a hawk and plays to his signals. Martin plays with a real passion too and has been a real asset to the lineup.


















John was on great form and started out as expected, exhorting the band "Come on girls, hurry up!" before launching into "Cooltide" but was soon ripping up the running order, sending back his acoustic guitar so that he could hang onto the Fender to play "Lookin' On" and later "Big Muff". From our vantage point we could see everything going on between John and the band and see the joy and pain in his face, and I hope he saw the tears that he put in my eye's too - tears of joy and wonder - John's music always invokes something in me that is more powerful than the sum of the notes and words alone - and the distance, cost and time were well worth every last bit as far as I'm concerned.














AlanThompson's bass and Arran Ahmun's drumming where as impeccable as ever and after a delighted crowd sang along with "May You Never" it was the passionate, electric, growling "Rock Salt & Nails" that closed this all too short set and left us once again bereft of the great man - at least 'till Friday.

The small tent was packed and the crowd keen and vocal - the sound from where we were - right at the front under John's nose - was less than hifi but good enough considering how everything is put together in the wings and wheeled on without there being time for a real soundcheck, and the reception for John was as huge as ever, we cheered and hollered and we nearly got an encore, but it was just too late for the schedule to be held up.












After all that there was nothing for it but to recover, eat and head back to the Shipping Forecast for some dancing - oh and Seth Lakeman - Folk's new superstar who we have managed to miss up to now - not by design you understand, just never been in the right place. This year though he is following us around the festivals! There was one of those interminable delays while they got the kit sorted out, then suddenly out rushes Seth from behind the stage and they're off on a musical romp with violins guitars and mandolins everywhere, horse hair shredded from his bow, earnest, solid looking and ever so confident, Seth took the big crowd for a white knuckle ride and wore us all out jumping and dancing. I have to confess to being slightly pre-occupied with trying to get the perfect Seth Portrait having found a new setting on the camera (judge for yourselves.....) but Gilly loved it and I promise to pay more attention at the next gig honest.





























What did grab me and hold my attention though was the stunning set played next by Session A9 - four fiddles, keyboard, guitar and new drum hero Iain Copeland on snare - Iain's playing was so laid back yet en pointe - I was captivated - the rest were pretty good too!! Dougie Maclean apparently said they are "the best band to come out of Scotland in a hundred years" - so there!

And that was it - well there was more, but we had peaked and it was time to go wake the campers again back at base. A quick word about catering - there wasn't much, but there was a refreshing mix of decent fast food available, including fresh fruit smoothies, salads, chips, falafel, porridge and baked potatoes - a welcome change from burgers and more burgers! A good day indeed - special thanks to new friend John for the coffee and the special stageside access for Seth Lakeman. We'll be back to the paradise that is Skye for sure, the festival will have to try a little harder though.

The Isle of Skye Music Festival 2007 - Day 2- part 2

The first tent on the right - and certainly the one with most consistent full on bass beat was Mungo's Sound System - a ramshackle booth with genuine tidal debris and some very home made but effective bass bins provided reggae lovers with a permanent haven in which to groove and catch whatever Mungo was serving up at the time. I have to say that Mungo seemed to be a permanent fixture too - a marathon session of mixing that put the other DJs in the shade - those bass bins never stopped pounding, whether the tent was empty, or heaving, Mungo just played on.

As the day wore on, the programme changed tack with rock and pop giving way to big beats, trance, and all manner of DJ sessions.













We caught Pipeheid in the Non-stop tent - 3 screens giving a visual backdrop - often slow motion water drops into puddles - aptly reminiscent of the large puddle at the back of the dance area - whilst the 2 DJs provided a soundscape to dance to - which lots of people where doing and clearly enjoying the mix - it was interesting to see how the 2 guys performed together, a lot of sideways glancing went on to check settings and to syncronise beats. Later on at the Mainstage, Mylo was doing his bit with a cuddly toy collie dog on the desk and a bottle of water on the turntable - once again there were lots of happy dancers.

Happy dancing too back at the Shipping Forecast - all manner of traditional music being provided using pipes, fiddles, whistles, accordions, you name it. One notable instrument was a 21st century version of the pipes similar to Nick Scott's uileann pipes - which always look like the contents of a plumber's scrap bag, but these were all chrome and plastic, and very modern looking. The dancing by the way was frantic by turns, other times it was almost tea dance sedate, but it was always happening and it was very noticeable here that the majority of both players and dancers were very much the young generation. By the time we had finished we had had a turn at the Gay Gordons, witnessed a very eager young lady capably organise a set to Strip the Willow, only to collapse in a drunken heap at the first hint of a swing, and so on and so on.

It was raining quite heavy off and on, but the site was coping quite well when we called it a night, needing our cuppa and a sleep in readiness for THE BIG DAY. Sorry, did I not mention it? John Martyn - oh yes - due up on stage tomorrow evening.....

Pictures by Gilly

The Isle of Skye Music Festival 2007 - Day 2- part 1!

Let's get the moaning out of the way first! FolkingAbout gets about a bit and we are quite happy to rough it out in festival toilets and wade through mud and beer cans to get around, but the organisers of the The Isle of Skye Music Festival could do with a re-think when it comes to camping facilities. We arrived in our caravanette to use the advertised "dedicated site" - only to be guided to the "quarry" - ie a hole in the ground, part filled with water, part with fly-tipping waste and with no water, no toilets and no security - no thanks! No sleeping in the car parks either - a health and safety edict apparently driven by the fear of our setting open fires and burning all the cars down. So we ended up forking out for a berth at a caravan site some 15 miles away, which meant no beer, more money - and our arrival back to the caravan site just before dawn - and even in stealth mode "Harry" is no ballet dancer! The good news is that we had toilets and hot running water - but really we would think more than twice before going back if nothing changes.


The festival itself is run at the south end of runway 25 at Broadford airstrip, the mainstage being on the threshold and the remainder of the site stretching northward along the runway. So there was a goodly amount of solid tarmac under the feet, and where the runway ended, there was fairly well drained hardstanding which got wet and muddy, but not the deep swampy stuff you get in fields - thank goodness because it did rain a bit! The site is also compact with 4 stages and a sound-system tent all within yards of each other, all very handy, but it did lead to problems for musicians not playing with their amps on number10, especially in the traditional music tent "The Shipping Forecast".


All this messing about with campsites had sent us a bit sideways and we needed some music to get us straight again - Step forward Ash who - ok we admit it -we thought at first were Kasabian, 'til they played stuff we knew was by Ash, and who we then managed to miss due to a diary failure! Ash played what the NME rightly called a "rapturously-received set" featuring the hits - including "Girl from Mars" and "Angel Interceptor", and ending the show with "Twilight of the Innocents" - the title track of the next CD - a really exciting and almost prog departure for the trio whose repertoire is mostly guitar based pop songs, they had to resort to backing tracks for this, but we'll let them off because it sounded great and the large crowd really did enjoy it. The set was confident and triumphal, and the new single "Polaris" sounds to be a cracker.

It was a short step from Ash to Fiona Mackenzie who appeared with a guitarist whose name I didn't get, and keyboard player Rick Taylor who was excellent. Fiona sings many of her own songs, often in Gaelic, and her final piece - a trilogy composed by herself with lyrics from her poetic sister was really fine. Fiona has her debut CD coming out "sometime this year".

Outside in the rain, something rather good was going on in an old caravan - the DUKesbox is a mobile folk group with their own stage, sound system and transport all rolled into one - 3 chaps in splendid suits play the audiences choice of cover versions, selected via an old typewriter device, and they played all day and all night in their very own style. Check out that website for more.

Back with more from this day soon.....


All pics on this page - except for the green Ash one which I took - by Gilly.

The Isle of Skye Music Festival 2007 - Day 1

Gilly and I set out for the Isle of Skye Music Festival with plenty of time to spare, making allowance for delays and the ponderous pace of "Harry" the caravanette, so we were delighted when we found ourselves in good time to catch the regular Thursday evening session at the Plockton Inn.











Nine or ten musicians gathered in the corner by the bar and treated us to a range of good music, entirely unannounced, but well received. Highlights included John Prine's "Unwed Father's" and Linda & Richard Thompson's "I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight." Plockton is a great place for music as it houses the The National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music at the High School. Shepherd Neame's Spitfire Ale is also well received at the Plockton Inn.

CD REVIEW - Jon Redfern - May be some time

It took a little while for Jon Redfern to break into my psyche, but once he did, it was a first class seat that he claimed for himself, right there in front of the fire with his feet up and a glass of something very pleasant and no plans to leave! My first real contact was at the Reveal Records gig for Amnesty International at Derby at the tail end of last year where he and his band struggled against some strange sound system problems for a while, but were nevertheless impressive enough to make me fork out for this CD, complete with limited edition bonus tracks and a signature. (Behind as ever, me, Gilly was already a firm MySpace friend and earned a warm smile and handshake while I stood quietly behind....)

The CD is a proper package - The cover image is a striking photograph from Iceland and inside there is a booklet with lyrics and photographs - even time signatures - for the 12 tracks on the album. The additional information for the bonus tracks is cleverly included on the usually redundant back side of the rear cover. I mention all this because too many CDs just have a thin bit of paper with a track listing and nothing else - but not this one I'm glad to say. Rant mode off!

The music (at last!) is just a pleasure to listen to. If this CD had been released in the days when vinyl wasn't just the preserve of enthusiasts and dj mixers, then my copy would already be wearing out fast - few days have passed without at least one play, if not more. Jon is a good writer of both tunes and lyrics, and he takes all the credits for these on "May be some time", as well as joint honours for the string arrangements. The CD opens with "I'm still young" which features no less than ten instruments, including Jon's acoustic guitar. This is a big band and Jon has used it to tremendous effect. It's always tempting to review a CD and say this sounds like a mix of so-and-so and someone else, but in Jon Redfern's case it would be a long, long list, there are so many differing styles here, but let me throw in Nick Drake and John Martyn , laced with a smattering of jazz and a pinch of Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band in this colourful curry.

It's no hodge podge though, the CD flows beautifully, and sometimes even seamlessly, from track to track, the music is mature and very well crafted, with no sign of the current trend for using lots of instruments because we've got them, rather than because they fit in. Jon's lyrics too are memorable, intelligent, snappy, sometimes witty - "Couldn't get rich quick, if you paid me" for instance and "Have you ever been searching, all your life" appealed to me. Track 3 "lost", has a lot of percussion, a bass and two guitars played with both hands up on the neck - mildly distorted vocals which might have been too murky and damp sounding, but the whole thing is brought to life by Patrick Durkan's glockenspiel which sparkles over the top.

Those arranged strings open "All this time 1" on track four which also has the brass section in action again - this is a magnificent piece which builds gently but insistently with the 6/8 beat, a train like rhythm and a swirling guitar over the horns and strings before suddenly fading out like "the dream has gone forever". This is followed by a short but exciting instrumental "Demons I", just Jon's guitar, a snare drum and lots of "orchestral percussion" which has a real firework quality to it, and leads into "Demons II" which continues the musical theme, but also has a delicious sax solo which later turns all a bit Pink Floyd for a minute towards the end.

Lyrically, the whole album has a touch of Peter Gabriel's "Salisbury Hill" to it - "I want to live my life, I don't want to live no other" and also "Got to let go of this feeling" - Jon sounds like a man who has made up his mind where to go and he's on his way - and - well I've been putting off trying to describe Jon's voice because it's just his own really - unique, understated yet powerful, stuffed full of feeling - clear - yearning, certainly never dull - tugging at your emotions all the time, whether up or down.

"Can't take the heat" finds Jon in a Youngish mood with a simple, rhythmic piano part, sung over, beautiful Rockets like violins (Lou Peacock), but with the Redfern touch making it something else altogether - a harmonium unpinning the second half of the track giving it depth and warmth. The harmonium is played by Jon's musical partner - multi instrumentalist Patrick Durkan - and Patrick is also responsible for much of the album's distinctive percussion sound, as well as being the other half of the arrangements team. The band also includes a cellist (Sarah Gill) and assorted brass, bass, piano and a cittern. The single - "I love the sun" is a lovely slow 3/4 instrumental with a short vocal in the middle - a hymn for lost friends perhaps is an absolute delight. This almost merges into the concluding track "Somewhere" with another great beat, more long brass chords and a mournful vocal before the mood suddenly brightens, the pace quickens, the glockenspiel shines again, the tension between the pace of the beat and the long restrained brass holds out to the end when suddenly, as if the clockwork has run out, the brass stops and a slowing rhythm section clatters to a halt and thats it. If you are anything like me, you'll be winding it up and listening again, and again, and again.

Of course if you are lucky enough to have one of the 5000 limited edition copies, you still have 5 tracks to listen to which include a "band version" of "can't take the heat", a complete, and aptly named "Departure" and Jon's heart-wrenching version of "Spencer the Rover" which ranks up there with Beckie Unthank's "River man" for poignancy, backed by Jon's gentle guitar and Roger Illingworth's silken tenor sax. This alone makes it worth tracking down a copy of this edition.

Useful links

Amazon will sell you one here



Jon Redfern's MySpace

STOP PRESS! UltanJohn to feature on BBC Radio2 Mark Radcliffe programme

Great news is that all being well, UltanJohn's much praised new single (see blatant plugs to the right of this article) is being scripted into Radio 2' s Mark Radcliffe show for this coming week - Monday to Thursday 10:30 pm to midnight.

This is all down to Gilly's unrelenting efforts to get the single publicised - so well done Gilly!

Any further information will be posted here.

May I take this chance to wish everbody who bothers to read this a very happy and prosperous new year for 2007 - I have a large backlog of updates in my notebook, and I am hoping to spend a fair chunk of next week catching up - not least because it's back to work, we're broke and we're worn out after a fab holiday period!

Stay tuned

John