…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
You are currently browsing articles tagged Celebration.
Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
I posted the following today on the Anam Danu website – for those who like to keep up with such things:
Since ‘Euphoria’ hit the digital download and streaming sites a great deal has been going on. The album received its first – and very positive – review on the well respected Music Review World blog. You can find the whole review here – but here are some tasters:
“Every once in a while, in the world of music, you will come across an act that defies all of your current assumptions and thoughts about the flow of today’s music. They will blow you away, for good or for worse, in their own interpretation of what makes art ‘art’ itself. In today’s review, the act that’ll shatter your own preconceived notions shall grace you with a tapestry of music that I frankly have not heard synthesized in this manner before.”
“The whole album is quite strange to comprehend, because it captures the zeitgeist of a lost art scene and musical sensibility very well in this day and age without compromising any ounce of authenticity.”
“It is also very warm and polished in its execution, making me wonder if this was the missing soundtrack to a revivalist 80s/90s heartfelt movie.”
“The two vocalists’ voices also bear a very interesting contrast, as they possess very different vocal ranges and tone too. It’s an interesting mix of voices, that venture from determined to even slight Irish inflections at times.”
“Score/Excellent: Anam Danu returns with their newest release, titled ‘Euphoria’- an album sure to provide you with Euphoria. It is filled to the brim with serenity and character all in one, within a dynamic musical soundscape that stays true to its thematic origins and intent.
In further interesting developments tracks from the album have received a number of plays on Campus Radio stations across Canada and even a couple in the US. Some of these plays came about as a result of Anam Danu having signed up to Earshot.Distro – the digital distribution service set up specifically to help Canadian stations to source new Canadian music. Other plays, however, came about as a result of the radio presenters’ admirable diligence in seeking new material. I asked Johnathan Whitehorn at Western Radio how they came to play ‘Plant a Seed (and Watch it Grow)’ and he told me:
“I go through new Canadian releases on Bandcamp every 3 days. Around 300-600 releases. A few stick out. Like yours.”
Tags: album, Anam Danu, Celebration, Euphoria, Music
This post has been a few weeks coming.
The recent period has proved emotionally tough for many of us – for reasons that will be obvious to all – and the thought of getting down to compose this difficult and bittersweet missive has caused me to succumb to procrastination. It is, however, something that I really do want to do – so here goes:
Back in the autumn of 2015 – the year that The Girl and I moved to Canada – we attended a musical event at a venue in downtown Victoria. This occurrence was particularly notable for three reasons: First: we had not seen (or heard) this particular musical combination before – though The Girl was already familiar with the work of some of the constituent members. Second: we made a good friend that evening with whom we still enjoy getting together nearly a decade on.
Third: I made no reference at all to the event within the pages of this online journal!
“Well!”… you may say. “That is hardly surprising. You had, after all, just moved into your new home and there was much else about which to write“.
That may be true – but should be set against the fact that since then we have attended what was actually an annual charitable music event every single year – and on each occasion I have recorded the event in this blog (sometimes more than once!). This I have done because we so loved the evenings – the which have acted throughout as a joyous starting gun for the run in to the Christmas season.
I refer – of course – to the magnificent Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express – concerning which I have waxed lyrical on many an occasion.
This year’s four night stint at the Mary Winspear in Sidney by the Sea took place just a few weeks back – and once again our hearts were filled with strong emotions.
“But, hang on” … you cry. “You made mention of ‘bittersweet. What’s up?”
Well – The Girl and I may have boarded the Cariboo Express annually for the last nine years, but Barney and his clan have been touring this charitable show every autumn for the last twenty years. They have somewhat reluctantly decided that – owing to ill heath and other complexities – this should be the final tour. To say that this breaks our hearts a little is no exaggeration. Tears were shed on the night that we attended and – I am sure – in equal measure at the other shows also.
We are really going to miss this beloved event and shout out a grateful “Thank you” to all those who have brought us such joy and pleasure over the years. You will all be missed.
I would feel moved to quote Joni Mitchell:
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone“
…except that – in this case – I think we did know!
Tags: Barney Bentall, Cariboo Express, Celebration, Music
Those who have known me a long time – who have perhaps on occasion delved into this forum – may have noticed that I refrain (these days; wherever possible) from discussing (read: ranting about) politics.
This is undoubtedly a good thing…
It is a lot – however – to ask me to maintain this stance during this particular year in the course of which which there are to be national elections in (amongst other places) the United States of America, the United Kingdom and – indeed – Canada! This will be the first election here since we emigrated in which I can vote – and I will, of course, be eagerly exercising my democratic right.
There are, sadly, many troubles in the world and many good reasons to find everything a terrible struggle.
There are – however – also days on which celebrations are in order, even if the joy that one feels lasts only for a brief moment in time.
Today is one such day – and that is all I am going to say about it!
Hoorah!!
Tags: Canada, Celebration, Modern life, Politics, United Kingdom
“The Orkney imagination is haunted by time.”
George Mackay Brown
Right from the start of of our Scotland trip planning The Girl made a strong case for including a visit to Orkney. Neither of us had been there and her long-standing interest in ancient history marked the island group as a ‘must see’. Orkney is a long way north and getting there and back in a timely fashion – as well, of course, as seeing the sights – is quite a challenge.
What eventually made this part of the trip possible was finding ‘Shorelands’ – a B & B that is also a tour organiser. The excellent Nicky – the proprietor – picked us up from (and dropped us back to) the ferry at Stromness, entertained us splendidly at their place in Kirkwall and took us on a full day’s guided tour of all of the essential sights on the Orkney mainland.
Those from BC will be feel right at home with the most common method of reaching Orkney:
These photos are of Skara Brae – an incredibly well preserved Neolithic village that was revealed during a storm in 1850. It is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza.
I recall – all of fifty years ago now – my father returning from a trip to Scotland with a guidebook to Skara Brae, the which I devoured eagerly. So taken was I with the idea of this Neolithic village rediscovered that I wrote an instrumental piece inspired thereby for the first band that I was in. Sometime later we were playing a local gig at which my father was present. As I announced the piece, explaining its origins, a familiar voice called out from the back of the hall:
”You haven’t been there!”
Well – I have now…!
There are many Neolithic remains on Orkney. This henge and stone circle is the Ring of Brodgar:
To our great surprise this group had come to the ring for a somewhat blustery wedding ceremony!
More on Orkney next time…
Tags: Celebration, Holiday, Orkney, Scotland, Skara Brae, Travel
“Age is not measured by years. Nature does not equally distribute energy. Some people are born old and tired while others are going strong at seventy”.
Dorothy Thompson
On January 7th 2014 I wrote this post whilst sitting in the departure hall at Vancouver International airport, waiting for a flight back to the UK. The Girl and I had been visiting British Columbia for Christmas and the New Year – as well as for a trip up island to Tofino… more specifically to the Wickaninnish Inn. The chief purpose for our trip there was to celebrate my sixtieth birthday – that somewhat scary turning of a decade which is a precursor to impending old age.
Now – it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that – if I turned sixty in 2014 – I must now have finally reached the ripe old age of seventy…
…which is indeed the case.
Our 2014 trip to Tofino was all the more epic because we were still living in the UK at the time. This time round we were not only resident in the country in which we celebrated, but also just down the road from our chosen destination – that favourite of ours, the Brentwood Lodge Spa. Because The Girl was in charge of the details the event turned out to be a slick piece of organisation – and a lot of fun and relaxation to boot.
We trundled over to the spa on Friday for sumptuous ninety minute massages (hmmm! dreamy!) – but came home thereafter to sleep in our own bed. We re-traced our footsteps on the Saturday and checked in for the night to one of what really are very gorgeous West Coast rooms – overlooking Brentwood Bay and the Mill Bay ferry dock.
There was time for lounging in the pool (outdoors, but startlingly warm) and the hot tub before we dolled ourselves up for dinner. We hugely enjoyed a splendid coastal repast with Tuna Tataki, Scallops and mushroom risotto to the fore – supported ably by a delicious bottle of BC Fool’s Mate Chardonnay from Checkmate Artisinal Winery.
Yum!
As for the birthday – job done!
Here are some piccies…
Tags: Birthday, Brentwood Bay, Celebration, food and drink
“He roller-coaster, he got early warnin’
He got muddy water, he one mojo filter
He say, “One and one and one is three”
Got to be good-lookin’, ’cause he’s so hard to see”
John Lennon – ‘Come together’
It is – as I have repeated many times before – my habit at around the turn of the year to look back and ponder on the twelve months that have recently ended, before turning my thoughts toward the nascent year just arriving, there to surmise what might be expected in each of the most important areas of our lives. At around this time last year my wits were full of the then recently taken (and, as it proved, fateful!) decision to mount a trip-of-a-lifetime safari to Botswana. My meanderings concluded thus:
“Such is the mental magnitude of the undertaking that we don’t have much space left in our imaginations at this juncture to conjure up other aims and ambitions for the year – with the exception of a musical ambition on my part. The Chanteuse and I have decreed that this year we should prepare ourselves to perform live. Even should we not manage so to do before the year’s end – we will be ready and raring to go immediately thereafter. More on this also – later in the year”.
So – how did we get on?
Well – we haven’t played live… yet!
These things are complex and take time. Our music is emotional and cinematic and not easily transcribed to a single acoustic guitar and a washboard (neither of which either of us plays). The whole business clearly required careful consideration and not a little experimentation.
What we did first was to release a couple of singles – ‘Perfect‘ and ‘The Journey Home‘ – with the idea of keeping our music in the public eye. Through these releases we achieved a number of firsts:
- We got our first playlistings
- We had our first reviews
- We had the first articles written about us in online blogs
- We appeared on several compilation releases courtesy of the wonderful Aldora Britain Records
- We made our first video to accompany one of our recordings
We also had enjoyed another first… but more of that later.
The trouble with playing complex music live is that there are basically two different ways of achieving it: one can work with a lot of technology – or with a whole bunch of people (musicians!).
Finding the right musicians is difficult. One is asking folk to voluntarily give up a lot of their time and expertise to do something for which the rewards could be precious but nebulous. When one is young finding musicians is easy and in my chequered past I have done so many times. Young people have energy and ideas and want to get involved. They don’t much care about being rewarded and they tend to be only partly formed – which makes it easier for them to adapt and to meld themselves to their chosen project.
Older people tend to be more set in their ways – more cynical – more particular about what they want to do and what they won’t do – and also about whether or not they expect to get paid for it.
In short – putting a band together when you are young happens almost without effort. When one is older – it don’t!…
…hence the interest in the technology. Using all this wonderful gear is very much the thing of now – but it does have down-sides. It is expensive and complex to do well – and it is difficult to get a truly human result unless one is very good at it. We spent a chunk of the year playing around with various setups trying to see if we could get things to work as a duo, but the truth is that our music properly requires real people, playing together.
So – our other first… the first time we played with another musician – the fiddle player who provided a session for one of our singles (thank you)…
…which led ultimately to this year’s really big news: we now have a new member! – who shall, for the purposes of this blog, be awarded the sobriquet – The Jongleur.
This exciting development brings us a most important second voice – the which will be essential for playing live and one which miraculously blends beautifully with The Chanteuse.
Welcome! Welcome!!
Of course, this won’t just affect playing live. The other looking-forward news item is that we are writing furiously and have already compiled more than half the material needed for a new album – the which we anticipate appearing in public sometime around the middle of the year.
So – much excitement – much to look forward to.
Find us here:
Tags: album, Celebration, Music, single
…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
I have previously made mention within these meanderings of the fact that The Girl and I do not routinely read print newspapers here in Canada – a definite and somewhat unexpected change from our previous practice in the UK. Yes – I still read The Guardian and The Observer online – but sitting up in bed of a Sunday morning with an iPad on one’s lap is just not the same as having the multiple sections of a paper strewn around over the duvet.
However – just the other day The Girl returned from a few days in Vancouver where she had been attending an Engagement (what you and I might call a conference) bearing a copy of The Globe and Mail that she had picked up on the ferry. Now – if we did read a paper here regularly it would probably be The Globe and Mail – of which Wikipedia says thus:
“The Globe and Mail is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada’s most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it falls slightly behind the Toronto Star in overall weekly circulation because the Star publishes a Sunday edition, whereas the Globe does not. The Globe and Mail is regarded by some as Canada’s ‘newspaper of record'”.
Irregardless…
The reason for mentioning this at all might just be discernible from the accompanying image – of the front page of this particular issue. The piece referred to concerns the 2023 Canada’s Most Livable Cities survey – in which good old Victoria came out as the overall number one city.
Yaay Victoria!
If one is to accept that the data is accurate (and can indeed be interpreted in the way the the Globe and Mail survey does) Victoria comes out top in many categories – with the notable exceptions of the cost of housing, (which is uncomfortably high for many folk) and healthcare (where, as I have previously noted, there is a continuing shortage of doctors). There are those who gripe about such studies and one should certainly not overlook the problems that many localities face, but I believe that the great majority of those who live here are aware that they are inhabitants of a beautiful city and that to be so is a considerable blessing.
Tags: Canada, Celebration, News, Victoria
I promised gentle readers a couple of posts back that I would write something on the subject of Peter Gabriel’s recent concert appearance in Vancouver – a step along the way on the North American leg of his ‘i/o’ tour – the which is in support of his eagerly anticipated but as yet unreleased new album.
Actually, ‘unreleased‘ is somewhat misleading. Mr. Gabriel has been releasing tracks from the up-coming album on a monthly basis – coinciding with the full moon – since the start of the year… Should one be a subscriber (as, you will be unsurprised to hear – I am) then one gets all of the tracks in a variety of different edits, plus the full collection upon release. What a brilliant notion!
I first wrote about the excellent Mr G. in these jottings back in 2013 on the occasion of our first experience in London (of two!) of the ‘So‘ album’s twenty fifth anniversary tour. That post contained just the first of many PG references to feature within these ephemera and included the following testimonial:
“I do not believe that I have ever been – or could ever be – a party to a serious relationship with anyone who was not an admirer of the most excellent Mr Peter Gabriel. Those with whom I have shared such accord will undoubtedly testify to my continuing enthusiasm for the man and his works over an extended period.
The Kickass Canada Girl and I – naturally – established early on that we were mutual admirers, the chief difference between us being that whereas I have genuinely lost count of the number of times that I have seen Mr G perform live in the flesh, she had not – to the point at which we met – had that opportunity at all.
So it was – back in the summer of 2007 – that the Girl and I found ourselves huddled close together under the pouring rain in the grounds of a stately home in Norfolk. We had trekked all the way up there to catch one of a small number of dates that Gabriel was playing as a warm-up to that year’s WOMAD festival.”
I still can’t accurately recall all of the times that I have seen the estimable Mr. Gabriel, but I believe that the first time I did so was in 1978 or 1979. I am not aware of having missed a tour since then, several times seeing the great man at both the start and end of world tours.
This year’s show was a wonderful mixture of old and new material – and of art and music. Peter’s songwriting is, if anything, stronger than ever – the lengthy genesis of this new album certainly paying off. His voice has maybe lost a note or two in range but is stronger and more emotive than ever. At the age of 73 he is still in extraordinarily good voice.
For more about these excellent shows (the which have, as expected, been exceedingly well received and have gone down a treat in both Europe and North America) here are reviews from The Guardian and the Vancouver Sun.
By the way – I have given up worrying each time I see Mr.Gabriel that it may be the last. I see no reason why we should not be gathering together well into the next decade and more.
Tags: Celebration, Music, Peter Gabriel
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