Shirley Collins :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Shirley Collins The AD InterviewPosted on

Including Shirley Collins' album Lodestar in our 2016 Year in Review feature, we wrote:

"Returning with her first recording in 38 years, song collector, treasurer, and interpreter Shirley Collins unites ancient English folk ballads to Cajun reveries, presenting even Lodestar’s 16th century material resolutely in the present tense. She finds dark humor and pathos in these songs, her voice, regained after years of disuse and sickness, sounding warm and present. Surrounded by fiddle and hurdy-gurdy, Collins presents the traditional as avant-garde and her relationship to these songs goes far beyond singer into the realm of inhabitation."

At 81, Lodestar finds Collins in fine form. It connects to her earliest works -- which helped spark the English folk revival -- but is rooted in the present. AD spoke with her about putting the record together.

Aquarium Drunkard:  Lodestar is a captivating record. You’ve long struggled with dysphonia but began singing again in 2014, at the behest of David Tibet of Current 93. When and how did it start to feel possible for you that you’d make another record?

Shirley Collins: Well I guess after the gig at Union Chapel, London in February 2014, when David Tibet persuaded me to sing after years away from the live stage. David proposed to make an EP of the two songs ("All the Pretty Little Horses" and "Death and the Lady"). But there were other songs I wanted to sing, and with a bit of encouragement, and an offer from Domino, I went ahead.

AD: How did it feel recording again?

Shirley Collins: Anxious at first, but then I really started to enjoy the process as I was working with such good and understanding musicians. Also, the technology had caught up with me, and we were able to record at home. In a way, it was like making a field recording.

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Broadcast :: Black Session (La Maison de la Radio: Paris, France)

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If you never had the pleasure of seeing Broadcast on tour, particularly in their early years with keyboardist Roj Stevens and guitarist Tim Felton, then this is for you. Actually, this is for everyone. It’s a dark and saddening time for fans of the band since the recent and sudden passing of singer/multi-instrumentalist Trish Keenan. But I can’t think of a better way to celebrate her life than to spread the group’s music around to as many . . .

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 465: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Ryo Kawasaki - Raisins ++ Herbie Hancock - The Twilight Clone ++ James Mason - Sweet Power of Your Embrace ++ Talking Heads - Double Groove (Outtake) ++ David Bowie - Fashion ++ The Headhunters - If You’ve Got It, You’ll Get It (AD edit) ++ CAN - All Gates Open ++ Cate Le Bon - Rock . . .

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Gold Star :: Sonny’s Blues

Gold StarPosted on

Gold Star is Marlon Rabenreither. On his forthcoming lp, Big Blue -- named after the ramshackle Hollywood home where he produced and recorded the album -- Rabenreither shines and redefines the sound of his last two efforts. A Los Angeles native, the resulting album is an autobiographical work as indebted to writers Fante, Baldwin and Chandler as it is Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Wilco. Out in March via Autumn Tone, this is the first taste . . .

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Hart Valley Drifters :: Sitting On Top Of The World

Hart Valley Drifters Jerry GarciaPosted on

“My name is Jerry Garcia. I play banjo on the old-timey songs and guitar on the bluegrass songs. And do a lot of lead singing too. Which I am not proud of.”

With a bit of self-deprecation and a guffaw we pay witness to the earliest known studio artifacts of Jerry Garcia. A scant 20 years old at the time, Garcia's group (the formerly named Thunder Mountain Tub Thumpers) included future Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter (on upright bass) and New Riders of the Purple Sage co-founder David Nelson (on guitar . . .

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The End Is At Hand: Volumes 1-3 / A Homemade Psych Compilation

MixtapesPosted on

Our collaboration with BlackForrestry continues. Witness - The End Is At Hand: Volume Three. Similar to volumes one and two, this homemade collection rounds up super-obscure, often private press, outsider psychedelic guitar and folk music from the 60s and 70s…all with the underlying theme of the Jesus People Movement.

During the early 1970s the Movement gained a certain amount of notoriety when mass media (Time and Life magazines) featured iconic photographs depicting throngs of hippies getting baptized . . .

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Neil Young: Don’t Be Denied (BBC Documentary)

Neil YoungPosted on

2009 BBC documentary tracing Neil Young's career, culled from three hours of interviews shot in New York and California. Featuring  Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Nils Lofgren, etc, the doc unearths previously unseen performance footage from Young's personal archives.

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Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge :: Bone Collector

Chris Eldridge Julian LagePosted on

Debussy famously stated "Music is the space between notes." Pioneering sound poet  Joanna Brouk suggested, “If you want to know where my music came from, it was silence.”   Lisa Simpson, seated at the Jazz Hole nightclub in downtown Springfield, explained to a fellow patron that the key to understanding music  was listening to the notes not played. ("Pssh, I can do that at home.") Point here is: things happen in the spaces between phrases. The action's in the space provided.

Guitarists Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge are highly accomplished players. On his 2016 album Arclight, Lage -- a child prodigy known for his work with Nels Cline -- subtly blended country & western and jazz. Eldridge is no slouch either. A full-time Punch Brother, he's worked with artists like Paul Simon, Justin Timberlake, T-Bone Burnett, and Elvis Costello. But on their second full-length collaboration Mount Royal, there's no attempt to outplay or one-up each other. The duo understands the need for breathing room.

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The Proper Ornaments :: Cremated (Blown Away)

The Proper OrnamentsPosted on

Via Slumberland (January 20, 2017), The Proper Ornaments' Foxhole - the sophomore collaboration between James Hoare (Ultimate Painting, Veronica Falls) and Max Oscarnold (Toy, Pink Flames). Riding a wave similar to that of Hoare's latest project, Proper Ornaments glom onto that ambiguous sweet spot residing somewhere between twilight and dusk. Here's the first taste . . .

The Proper Ornaments :: Cremated (Blown Away)

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Syrinx :: Tumblers From The Vault (1970 — 1972)

SyrinxPosted on

A closer look at one of our favorite releases from last year: Tumblers from the Vault (1970 — 1972), the compiled recorded output (and beyond) of 70s Canadian trio Syrinx, whose boundary leaping music was lovingly excavated by experimental New York label RVNG Intl.

Syrinx bandleader  John Mills-Cockell  was a pioneering Moog enthusiast, but these recordings travel a spectrum far broader than ambient exploration. The title track is a widescreen composition of pastoral chamber synth, worthy of scoring a Kubrick film. “Ibistix” slithers and . . .

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 464: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Alpha Beta - Astral Abuse ++ Trinidad And Tobago Steel All Stars - Do Your Thing ++ Unique Madoo - Call Me Nobody Else ++ Tony Sarfo & The Funky Afrosibi - I Beg ++ Sweet Breeze - Good Thing ++ Soul Throbs - Little Girl ++ Talking Heads - I Get Wild/Wild Gravity ++ Dub Syndicate . . .

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Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (25th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue)

Twin PeaksPosted on

"Well, I'm gonna make myself a cup of Good Morning America, ya'll want some?" While the news of last year's reissue of the Twin Peaks OST was cool, this is personally what I've been waiting for: a  vinyl issue of Fire Walk With Me. I was 16 when I picked up the CD upon the film's initial release -- soundtracking and possibly warping . . .

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William Bell :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

The AD Interview William BellPosted on

Deftly fusing blues, gospel, and soul, songwriter William Bell is one of the architects of this Stax sound. Seriously, there's no denying his power: this is the guy who penned "You Don't Miss Your Water," "Everybody Loves a Winner," and "Born Under A Bad Sign."

His  latest, 2016's This Is Where I Live, was recently nominated for two   Grammys, for Best Americana Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. It  touches on the classic sounds and themes he's known for, and was in some ways a homecoming for him,  his first album on Stax after leaving in the '70s.

We phoned Bell  at his home studio shortly after the release of This Is Where I Live for an episode of our Transmissions podcast. You can listen to that episode here, and below you’ll find a minimally-edited transcription of our discussion. The Transmissions podcast  returns in this month with new episodes. Subscribe on iTunes or via RSS feed.

Aquarium Drunkard:  Let's start with the title of your new record, This Is Where I Live. It's a very resonate title and it feels in some ways like it's a comment on the kind of songs you sing, but also on being back on Stax after a long time apart. How does it feel to be back on the label after leaving back in the '70s?

William Bell: It feels great. I'm coming full circle here back on Stax, and I started my career with Stax. It feels good, it feels comfortable.

AD:  You were an essential part of building Stax. When you're a young man, making records and working, I don't imagine that you have much of a sense of how historic what you're doing is. But looking back, signing to the label again, did you take some time to reflect on the legacy and the heritage and the history of what you guys built with that label back when you started?

William Bell: Of course...when we started we didn't have any idea we would have the longevity that we've had. I did [reflect on history]... that was uppermost in my mind and [I was] almost always conscious of trying to -- not to duplicate, but to recreate --  some of the magic and make sure that we had some great songs with good lyrical content, good melodic structure, and all that. Because that's what Stax was about, trying to keep it as honest and real as possible.

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Fair Ends Presents: The Aquarium Drunkard Cap

Fair EndsPosted on

Hey, look - a collaboration. AD and Fair Ends just whipped these up: The Aquarium Drunkard cap. Check your head in 2017 with one of two styles -- a navy wool with the AD letters sewn on in felt, or go tone-on-tone with the off-white twill / felt letters job. Both are limited edition / limited run.

Here's our amigo for life Cold Splinters' Jeff Thrope sporting the navy lid.

**more images after the jump...

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 463: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Harry Nilsson - Many Rivers To Cross ++ David Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging ++ Serge Gainsbourg - Requiem Pour Un Con ++ David Bowie - Win ++ Julian Lynch - Terra ++ Atlas Sound - Recent Bedroom ++ John Cale - Cable Hogue ++ Julee Cruise - Mysteries of Love ++ Marc Bolan - Pain And Love ++ Lou Reed - Ocean . . .

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Posted on SIRIUS