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The Mire

David Stubbs on The Today Programme

A (very) late notice to say that The Wire 's David Stubbs will be appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today programme tomorrow morning to discuss his new book, Fear Of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen . He'll be on at 8:20, I understand.

The Mire

Wrinkles In Time

While I won't claim that early 90s junglists Tek9 aka 4Hero had the power to warp the spacetime continuum, "Del Die Gogo" from their recently reissued early Reinforced material certainly had me checking my iPod and counting out the beats to check it wasn't skipping. I think they've sampled the synth riff of Human Resource's "Dominator", but screwed up into micro black hole.

The Mire

It's The Neu Style

I can't be alone in noticing a subtle shift in the public appreciation of Krautrock. Press release after press release comes into The Wire HQ suggesting a group sounds like Can, Faust and Neu! – a ridiculous claim, as they hardly sounded alike in the first place. Nevertheless, the number of projects coping a Krautrock feel – The Horrors on their new album (after a pretty weak cover of Suicide recently – another act who are threatened with looming canonisation?), the Brand Neu! tribute album (title says it all), featuring Oasis, of all people (Neu! is "great tour bus music", I think Noel Gallagher was quoted as saying), and most bizarre of all, David Holmes . Add Portishead's Third into the mix, and it's almost ubiquitous. Generally they take only the most basic common denominators of German experimental rock – the motorik rhythm, the spiralling guitars, but particularly, motorik rhythm. What's going on here? Krautrock has...

The Mire

Ikki heintaður - non réclamé

Despite our best efforts, efforts to locate the elusive Pom Pom records (see The Wire 303, now on sale) in the Faro Islands have hit a dead end. The search continues...

The Mire

Sunny Murray screening competition

We're running a competition to win tickets for this week's screening in London of Sunny's Time Now , a new documentary about the influential drummer Sunny Murray, with a Q&A; afterwards with saxophonist Tony Bevan and Tony Herrington from The Wire . Here's the details: Win a pair of tickets to the London ICA Screening! The Wire presents: Sunny's Time Now + Q&A; London ICA, Cinema 1 18 April 2009 8:15pm £8/£7 Concessions/£6 ICA Members. "Bang! Let's go on. Like Louis Pasteur. They ain't fucked with the milk since then, except maybe diluted it a little bit." Sunny Murray Sunny's Time Now retraces the rough-and-tumble life and career of influential free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. Directed by Luxembourg film maker Antoine Prum, this documentary includes interviews with key witnesses (including Cecil Taylor, Val Wilmer, Robert Wyatt, William Parker, Grachan Moncur III) and exclusive concert footage of Murray in performance with the likes of...

The Mire

Bushwacked

Good article from the New York Times on Lloyd Barnes of the Wackies label fame.

The Mire

Cath & Phil Tyler's Lovely Molly

A great part of Cath & Phil Tyler gig at Dalston's Café Oto a couple Friday's ago (20 March) was hearing their version of the trad tune "Courting Is A Pleasure" one of my favourite recordings by the guitarist/vocalist/fiddler Nic Jones - a tune from his excellent Penguin Eggs album. Jones's recording is a great example of his impressive guitar skills, with its faultless and quick, almost harsh rhythmic picking complementing and intertwining with his vocals creating an uncomfortable and driving effect. The Tyler's version on the other hand, broke the song down into slowly shifting fragments and a sleepy pace, a great version that translated the song into a kind of lullaby (well, compared to Jones's version...) Either way, the Tyler's show was a great gig, different from the studio recordings I've heard (Dumb Supper) which were far more dry, droning and harsh, than the rounded folkiness I heard on Friday. ...

The Mire

Adventures In Modern Music 26 March 09

Chris Bohn's Adventures In Modern Music show on Resonance FM last night included a mix from Ekkehard Ehlers, with scratchy vinyl delights from Alice Coltrane, Caetano Veloso and more. Other good stuff from the show included The Threshold Houseboys Choir, Trembling Bells and Super Vacations.

The Mire

Adventures In Modern Music 12 March 09

Took a while, but our Adventures In Modern Music show on Resonance FM from 12 March is finally online ready for download etc. Includes tracks from Mordant Music, Evan Parker & John Wiese and Alasdair Roberts. Available here . Sorry for the delay, normal service is now resumed etc.