Hello, time for another Sundaze and as hi summer is behind us now i notice a return to regular visitor numbers not that the drop was very dramatic, considering you can visit from the terras or the beach, obviously smartphones can be used these days but as i read last week the frequent use of those is really bad for your eyes and its expected the number of shortsighted people will rise dramatically in the coming years-so buy specsavers shares- really Google glasses or the like maybe a better option what to think of the upcoming watches more fidging, then there are those phone gloves these will give talking behind your hand a real new meaning . Tablets on the other hand seem to still lack phone functionality- deliberately until the smartphone market is saturated, yes the customer isn't king.
So have any of you enlisted into the Mars One project the enlisting closes this month a 100,000 candidates have already stated they would like to die on Mars (as it is a one way trip), silly if you ask me, a month on the moon yes, but a moonbase still isn't on the cards, this when the technology is availlable apparently it makes more sense to spend money on ways to kill/subdue humans. Looks then that it will be a chinese/russian coproduction that will claim the moons resources as Europe lacks the money and the US, controlled as it is by the militairy industrial security complex, has no use for it.
As announced last week a second post on a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, coldwave, dark wave and ghostrock. While the most recent releases have seen them operating with a traditional band format, they originally started their career with the intention to base their recordings around their small nucleus and whoever else would like to contribute. ... N'Joy
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Due to a wide range of influences, restless/relentless creative energies, and a supporting cast that's too numerous to list in full, random peeks into the catalog of the Glen Johnson-helmed Piano Magic -- from super limited-edition singles on Spanish independents to full-length soundtracks -- rarely result in the same thing twice. Started in the mid-'90s by Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance with the intention to base their recordings around a small nucleus and whomever would like to contribute -- using 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell's This Mortal Coil as something of a template -- the material released by Piano Magic has ranged from arty baroque pop to childlike electronic knob-twiddling and whatever points you can and can't think of in between. The lone thread running through Piano Magic's records, aside from Johnson's presence, is a sense of wistfulness. Johnson has explained his desire to soundtrack memories, and with that, Piano Magic has found their niche.
One early hope of Piano Magic was to avoid the live element. However, when their first single, 1996's Wrong French, was awarded Single of the Week in Melody Maker, the initial trio felt obligated to play out in support of it. Along with Paul Tornbohm, the group played their first gig and opted not to play any of the material found on their records. They also made no attempt whatsoever to sound anything like their records, so odds were pretty good that a few curious concert-goers were perplexed after returning from the shops and hearing the studio incarnation of the outfit.
"Signed" to Che, the label that released Wrong French, the group kicked out two more singles (with one issued on Wurlitzer Jukebox) prior to releasing their first full record, Popular Mechanics, in November 1997. Including some of the additional personnel featured on the preceding singles, such as vocalists Raechel Leigh and Hazel Burfitt and instrumentalist Martin Cooper, the record threw together some previously released material along with a clutch of new songs. As uneven as the record is, its mysteriousness provokes replay after replay. The band left Che, having been frustrated with their lack of effort. Not surprisingly, the constant financial flux soon got the best of the label.
In 1999, a crazy slew of singles and EPs for labels like Staalplaat, Darla, and Bad Jazz -- including a split single with Matmos for Lissy's -- surrounded the release of the second album, Low Birth Weight (Rocket Girl). Thanks to just a little more focus and a higher level of quality from beginning to end, the record is often regarded by fans as their best work. In addition to most of the prior suspects, Caroline Potter, Alexander Perls, Matt Simpson, Jen Adam, Simon Rivers (Bitter Springs), David Sheppard (State River Widening), and Peter Astor (the Weather Prophets, the Wisdom of Harry) figured into the process of making it.
The following year was one of Piano Magic's least prolific, but it still spawned a remix EP for Germany's Morr Music and the rather conceptual full-length Artists' Rifles, which bases its subject matter in the first World War. It's the group's most consistent work in terms of sound. It features none of the electronics heard on prior releases, instead focusing on delicate interplay between drums, guitars, and the cello work of Adrienne Quartly. At some point prior to its recording, Miguel Marin was added to the group's lineup apparently as a permanent member.
In 2001, Piano Magic was commissioned to score Spanish director Bigas Luna's Son de Mar. The director had heard Low Birth Weight in a record shop and was impressed enough to ask them to provide music for the film. Peaceful, lulling, breezy, and completely instrumental, the score demonstrates Piano Magic's astonishing range. Released by 4AD, Son de Mar spawned a deal between the two, and the group began working on the proper follow-up to Low Birth Weight later in the year. To satiate fans and irritate hardcore vinyl collectors, Rocket Girl released Seasonally Affective, an exhaustive double-disc compilation of singles. Writers Without Homes was eventually completed and released in mid-2002. Piano Magic left 4AD soon after, releasing The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic in 2004 on Spain's Green UFOs label.
Cedric Pin joined Piano Magic in time for the 2005 album, Disaffected with a melodic, nearly "pop" sound, featuring more guest vocal contributions from John Grant of The Czars and Angèle David-Guillou of Klima. It appeared to confirm a return to their 'exile' status gaining significant attention abroad (including, for example, full feature in the French daily Liberation[13]) but with no coverage at all in any UK broadsheet or music magazine. With the exception of a few brief stops in Russia, Portugal, and Belgium, the band spent the majority of the following year touring Italy. Another 12" vinyl record, Never It Will Be the Same Again (featuring contributions from conceptual artist Bojan Sarcevic), was released during this time. Piano Magic returned to the studio in late 2006, and their ninth full-length, Part Monster was released in 2007 produced by Guy Fixsen of Laika.
In 2008, Piano Magic moved to Make Mine Music, an artist-run, artist-owned label collective and released a new EP, Dark Horses, the last release to feature Cedric Pin. In 2009, Piano Magic released their 10th official album Ovations with contributions by Brendan Perry and Peter Ulrich of Dead Can Dance. In June 2012, the album Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet was released. Among the guests is Irons' Josh Hight - voice on The Animals, Judas and A Secret Never Told.
The band's last line-up was Franck Alba, Angèle David-Guillou, Glen Johnson, Alasdair Steer and Jerome Tcherneyan.
According to Glen Johnson, Piano Magic disbanded in Summer 2013 with a 2cd compilation "Heart Machinery - A Piano Magic Retrospective, 2001-2008".
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
A less than engrossing record from Piano Magic was bound to happen at some point, one could think that they were stifled somewhat after being picked up by 4AD. Clearly it didn't yell and this was to be their only album 4 4AD. There's a fine line between fragile and frail, and this album is much more the latter than the former. Tragic words that are spoken -- like the ones that relate an experience of watching an old film and delivering a personal epitaph upon the realization that the furry critters in it must be dead by now -- might not look bad on screen or page, but when they are stated plainly with an accompaniment of impossibly precious, twinkling melodies, they're hard to take seriously or stomach. The best example of Writers Without Homes' attack on the nerves is actually right at the beginning. "(Music Won't Save You From Anything But) Silence" is Piano Magic's own "Rat Salad" or "Toad," a furious instrumental with the drums taking center stage. But instead of bridging two songs with a brief burst or closing out the album, it blasts for nearly seven minutes and sets up a whole lot of not very much.
Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes (228mb)
01 (Music Won't Save You From Anything But) Silence 6:40
02 Postal 3:08
03 Modern Jupiter 4:41
04 1.30 1:30
05 The Season Is Long 8:44
06 Certainty 3:13
07 Crown Of The Lost 4:14
08 It's The Same Dream That Lasts All Night 0:56
09 Dutch Housing 3:15
10 Already Ghosts 4:49
11 Shot Through The Fog 6:42
Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes (ogg 103mb)
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After the Son de Mar score and the Writers Without Homes, Piano Magic and 4AD split, much like a romantic relationship that probably made too much sense to truly benefit either party. Thankfully, Glen Johnson's group bounced right back -- it landed on Spain's Green UFOs label and quietly released this, its seventh album in as many years. One of the benefits of being a group with an ever-shifting lineup of semi-regular contributors and one-off collaborators is that it can take on a number of shapes and sizes; in this case, it takes on the version of the band that picks up right where Artists' Rifles left off. One way or another, the sentiments here -- the familiar Piano Magic circuit of obsession, heartbreak, detachment, death -- strike sharply. One important factor is the return of Klima's Angele David-Guillou, who is the most expressive, complementary vocalist (neither twee nor overly dramatic) the group has counted as a member. The three songs featuring her on lead vocals are all central to the album, and they're also the most spare, whether the backdrops involve dexterously tangled acoustic guitars or heavily echoed throbs. She doesn't steal the whole show, however. Opener "Saint Marie" is one of several songs where Johnson takes the lead; beginning desolately, with nothing more than a voice, a sparingly plucked guitar, and the presence of open space, it winds itself up into a duel between spirals of fragile, Durutti Column-like guitar and a stuttering drum machine, which carries throughout the remainder of the song. If this should become the group's final album, as it has been intimated, Piano Magic went out in fine style. Come to think of it, this might be their best overall.
Piano Magic - The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic + Saint Marie EP (431mb)
01 Saint Marie 5:40
02 The Unwritten Law 3:21
03 Speed The Road, Rush The Lights 7:44
04 Help Me Warm This Frozen Heart 4:32
05 I Am The Teacher's Son 6:30
06 The End Of A Dark, Tired Year 5:01
07 The Tollbooth Martyrs 5:18
08 When I'm Done, This Night Will Fear Me 5:06
09 Luxembourg Gardens 7:28
10 Comets 3:46
EP
11 Saint Marie 4:52
12 Fantasia On Old English Airs 4:50
13 Dark Ages 3:44
14 Lalo 2:32
15 Wrong Turn 7:22
16 Kind Theme 3:09
Piano Magic - The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic + Saint Marie EP (ogg 175mb)
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Although two exceptional EPs came out between The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic and Disaffected, an entire year passed -- for the first time since Piano Magic's inception -- without an album-length release. (Piano Magic say this is their sixth proper album, meaning they're probably not counting the Son de Mar score and the two-song A Trick of the Sea.) Glen Johnson's group returns as inspired as ever, turning in a work that matches and occasionally exceeds Low Birth Weight and Artists' Rifles. Some of their other albums have suffered from mild to acute stray-idea syndrome, but they've found a way here to bundle up a number of disparate approaches while keeping it all focused and linear. The most striking songs on the album are "Disaffected" and "Deleted Scenes," where the usual (some might say redundant) round of Factory and 4AD inspirations shifts to the likes of Section 25 ("Looking for a Hilltop") and Abecedarians ("Smiling Monarchs"), with moody electro-pop translating to the dancefloor as easily as the bedroom. The synths remain in the background during the opening trio of Johnson-led guitar-dominated songs, all of which are taut and remarkably dynamic, practically busy by the group's subdued standard. The Czars' John Grant, who guested on lone Writers Without Homes highlight "The Season Is Long," returns for the elegantly dreary-dreamy "Your Ghost," another draw. (It's not a Kristin Hersh cover, but it's a good way to bookend a mixtape titled "Wallowing.") Since Disaffected seems to address each of the criticisms thrown at any of the group's past releases, it just might be the album that pushes several listeners off the fence.
Piano Magic - Disaffected (285mb)
01 Saint Marie 5:40
02 The Unwritten Law 3:21
03 Speed The Road, Rush The Lights 7:44
04 Help Me Warm This Frozen Heart 4:32
05 I Am The Teacher's Son 6:30
06 The End Of A Dark, Tired Year 5:01
07 The Tollbooth Martyrs 5:18
08 When I'm Done, This Night Will Fear Me 5:06
09 Luxembourg Gardens 7:28
10 Comets 3:46
Piano Magic - Disaffected (ogg 124mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
So have any of you enlisted into the Mars One project the enlisting closes this month a 100,000 candidates have already stated they would like to die on Mars (as it is a one way trip), silly if you ask me, a month on the moon yes, but a moonbase still isn't on the cards, this when the technology is availlable apparently it makes more sense to spend money on ways to kill/subdue humans. Looks then that it will be a chinese/russian coproduction that will claim the moons resources as Europe lacks the money and the US, controlled as it is by the militairy industrial security complex, has no use for it.
As announced last week a second post on a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, coldwave, dark wave and ghostrock. While the most recent releases have seen them operating with a traditional band format, they originally started their career with the intention to base their recordings around their small nucleus and whoever else would like to contribute. ... N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Due to a wide range of influences, restless/relentless creative energies, and a supporting cast that's too numerous to list in full, random peeks into the catalog of the Glen Johnson-helmed Piano Magic -- from super limited-edition singles on Spanish independents to full-length soundtracks -- rarely result in the same thing twice. Started in the mid-'90s by Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance with the intention to base their recordings around a small nucleus and whomever would like to contribute -- using 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell's This Mortal Coil as something of a template -- the material released by Piano Magic has ranged from arty baroque pop to childlike electronic knob-twiddling and whatever points you can and can't think of in between. The lone thread running through Piano Magic's records, aside from Johnson's presence, is a sense of wistfulness. Johnson has explained his desire to soundtrack memories, and with that, Piano Magic has found their niche.
One early hope of Piano Magic was to avoid the live element. However, when their first single, 1996's Wrong French, was awarded Single of the Week in Melody Maker, the initial trio felt obligated to play out in support of it. Along with Paul Tornbohm, the group played their first gig and opted not to play any of the material found on their records. They also made no attempt whatsoever to sound anything like their records, so odds were pretty good that a few curious concert-goers were perplexed after returning from the shops and hearing the studio incarnation of the outfit.
"Signed" to Che, the label that released Wrong French, the group kicked out two more singles (with one issued on Wurlitzer Jukebox) prior to releasing their first full record, Popular Mechanics, in November 1997. Including some of the additional personnel featured on the preceding singles, such as vocalists Raechel Leigh and Hazel Burfitt and instrumentalist Martin Cooper, the record threw together some previously released material along with a clutch of new songs. As uneven as the record is, its mysteriousness provokes replay after replay. The band left Che, having been frustrated with their lack of effort. Not surprisingly, the constant financial flux soon got the best of the label.
In 1999, a crazy slew of singles and EPs for labels like Staalplaat, Darla, and Bad Jazz -- including a split single with Matmos for Lissy's -- surrounded the release of the second album, Low Birth Weight (Rocket Girl). Thanks to just a little more focus and a higher level of quality from beginning to end, the record is often regarded by fans as their best work. In addition to most of the prior suspects, Caroline Potter, Alexander Perls, Matt Simpson, Jen Adam, Simon Rivers (Bitter Springs), David Sheppard (State River Widening), and Peter Astor (the Weather Prophets, the Wisdom of Harry) figured into the process of making it.
The following year was one of Piano Magic's least prolific, but it still spawned a remix EP for Germany's Morr Music and the rather conceptual full-length Artists' Rifles, which bases its subject matter in the first World War. It's the group's most consistent work in terms of sound. It features none of the electronics heard on prior releases, instead focusing on delicate interplay between drums, guitars, and the cello work of Adrienne Quartly. At some point prior to its recording, Miguel Marin was added to the group's lineup apparently as a permanent member.
In 2001, Piano Magic was commissioned to score Spanish director Bigas Luna's Son de Mar. The director had heard Low Birth Weight in a record shop and was impressed enough to ask them to provide music for the film. Peaceful, lulling, breezy, and completely instrumental, the score demonstrates Piano Magic's astonishing range. Released by 4AD, Son de Mar spawned a deal between the two, and the group began working on the proper follow-up to Low Birth Weight later in the year. To satiate fans and irritate hardcore vinyl collectors, Rocket Girl released Seasonally Affective, an exhaustive double-disc compilation of singles. Writers Without Homes was eventually completed and released in mid-2002. Piano Magic left 4AD soon after, releasing The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic in 2004 on Spain's Green UFOs label.
Cedric Pin joined Piano Magic in time for the 2005 album, Disaffected with a melodic, nearly "pop" sound, featuring more guest vocal contributions from John Grant of The Czars and Angèle David-Guillou of Klima. It appeared to confirm a return to their 'exile' status gaining significant attention abroad (including, for example, full feature in the French daily Liberation[13]) but with no coverage at all in any UK broadsheet or music magazine. With the exception of a few brief stops in Russia, Portugal, and Belgium, the band spent the majority of the following year touring Italy. Another 12" vinyl record, Never It Will Be the Same Again (featuring contributions from conceptual artist Bojan Sarcevic), was released during this time. Piano Magic returned to the studio in late 2006, and their ninth full-length, Part Monster was released in 2007 produced by Guy Fixsen of Laika.
In 2008, Piano Magic moved to Make Mine Music, an artist-run, artist-owned label collective and released a new EP, Dark Horses, the last release to feature Cedric Pin. In 2009, Piano Magic released their 10th official album Ovations with contributions by Brendan Perry and Peter Ulrich of Dead Can Dance. In June 2012, the album Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet was released. Among the guests is Irons' Josh Hight - voice on The Animals, Judas and A Secret Never Told.
The band's last line-up was Franck Alba, Angèle David-Guillou, Glen Johnson, Alasdair Steer and Jerome Tcherneyan.
According to Glen Johnson, Piano Magic disbanded in Summer 2013 with a 2cd compilation "Heart Machinery - A Piano Magic Retrospective, 2001-2008".
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
A less than engrossing record from Piano Magic was bound to happen at some point, one could think that they were stifled somewhat after being picked up by 4AD. Clearly it didn't yell and this was to be their only album 4 4AD. There's a fine line between fragile and frail, and this album is much more the latter than the former. Tragic words that are spoken -- like the ones that relate an experience of watching an old film and delivering a personal epitaph upon the realization that the furry critters in it must be dead by now -- might not look bad on screen or page, but when they are stated plainly with an accompaniment of impossibly precious, twinkling melodies, they're hard to take seriously or stomach. The best example of Writers Without Homes' attack on the nerves is actually right at the beginning. "(Music Won't Save You From Anything But) Silence" is Piano Magic's own "Rat Salad" or "Toad," a furious instrumental with the drums taking center stage. But instead of bridging two songs with a brief burst or closing out the album, it blasts for nearly seven minutes and sets up a whole lot of not very much.
Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes (228mb)
01 (Music Won't Save You From Anything But) Silence 6:40
02 Postal 3:08
03 Modern Jupiter 4:41
04 1.30 1:30
05 The Season Is Long 8:44
06 Certainty 3:13
07 Crown Of The Lost 4:14
08 It's The Same Dream That Lasts All Night 0:56
09 Dutch Housing 3:15
10 Already Ghosts 4:49
11 Shot Through The Fog 6:42
Piano Magic - Writers Without Homes (ogg 103mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
After the Son de Mar score and the Writers Without Homes, Piano Magic and 4AD split, much like a romantic relationship that probably made too much sense to truly benefit either party. Thankfully, Glen Johnson's group bounced right back -- it landed on Spain's Green UFOs label and quietly released this, its seventh album in as many years. One of the benefits of being a group with an ever-shifting lineup of semi-regular contributors and one-off collaborators is that it can take on a number of shapes and sizes; in this case, it takes on the version of the band that picks up right where Artists' Rifles left off. One way or another, the sentiments here -- the familiar Piano Magic circuit of obsession, heartbreak, detachment, death -- strike sharply. One important factor is the return of Klima's Angele David-Guillou, who is the most expressive, complementary vocalist (neither twee nor overly dramatic) the group has counted as a member. The three songs featuring her on lead vocals are all central to the album, and they're also the most spare, whether the backdrops involve dexterously tangled acoustic guitars or heavily echoed throbs. She doesn't steal the whole show, however. Opener "Saint Marie" is one of several songs where Johnson takes the lead; beginning desolately, with nothing more than a voice, a sparingly plucked guitar, and the presence of open space, it winds itself up into a duel between spirals of fragile, Durutti Column-like guitar and a stuttering drum machine, which carries throughout the remainder of the song. If this should become the group's final album, as it has been intimated, Piano Magic went out in fine style. Come to think of it, this might be their best overall.
Piano Magic - The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic + Saint Marie EP (431mb)
01 Saint Marie 5:40
02 The Unwritten Law 3:21
03 Speed The Road, Rush The Lights 7:44
04 Help Me Warm This Frozen Heart 4:32
05 I Am The Teacher's Son 6:30
06 The End Of A Dark, Tired Year 5:01
07 The Tollbooth Martyrs 5:18
08 When I'm Done, This Night Will Fear Me 5:06
09 Luxembourg Gardens 7:28
10 Comets 3:46
EP
11 Saint Marie 4:52
12 Fantasia On Old English Airs 4:50
13 Dark Ages 3:44
14 Lalo 2:32
15 Wrong Turn 7:22
16 Kind Theme 3:09
Piano Magic - The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic + Saint Marie EP (ogg 175mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Although two exceptional EPs came out between The Troubled Sleep of Piano Magic and Disaffected, an entire year passed -- for the first time since Piano Magic's inception -- without an album-length release. (Piano Magic say this is their sixth proper album, meaning they're probably not counting the Son de Mar score and the two-song A Trick of the Sea.) Glen Johnson's group returns as inspired as ever, turning in a work that matches and occasionally exceeds Low Birth Weight and Artists' Rifles. Some of their other albums have suffered from mild to acute stray-idea syndrome, but they've found a way here to bundle up a number of disparate approaches while keeping it all focused and linear. The most striking songs on the album are "Disaffected" and "Deleted Scenes," where the usual (some might say redundant) round of Factory and 4AD inspirations shifts to the likes of Section 25 ("Looking for a Hilltop") and Abecedarians ("Smiling Monarchs"), with moody electro-pop translating to the dancefloor as easily as the bedroom. The synths remain in the background during the opening trio of Johnson-led guitar-dominated songs, all of which are taut and remarkably dynamic, practically busy by the group's subdued standard. The Czars' John Grant, who guested on lone Writers Without Homes highlight "The Season Is Long," returns for the elegantly dreary-dreamy "Your Ghost," another draw. (It's not a Kristin Hersh cover, but it's a good way to bookend a mixtape titled "Wallowing.") Since Disaffected seems to address each of the criticisms thrown at any of the group's past releases, it just might be the album that pushes several listeners off the fence.
Piano Magic - Disaffected (285mb)
01 Saint Marie 5:40
02 The Unwritten Law 3:21
03 Speed The Road, Rush The Lights 7:44
04 Help Me Warm This Frozen Heart 4:32
05 I Am The Teacher's Son 6:30
06 The End Of A Dark, Tired Year 5:01
07 The Tollbooth Martyrs 5:18
08 When I'm Done, This Night Will Fear Me 5:06
09 Luxembourg Gardens 7:28
10 Comets 3:46
Piano Magic - Disaffected (ogg 124mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Great Band. Great Sound.
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