n°5, 8th of October, 2009
Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,
you are more and more to read Awa-news every week. Thank you thank you! Some of you encountered problems with our PDF versions, asking if the failure came from their reader or from our side. Well... I guess it was our fault. :D Gomen...Other news on the music world?
-Chicago (the group) and Earth Wind & Fire release a single together, available online at http://ewfandchicago.com. You can donate up to 3 US dollars against world hunger and then receive the single on mp3 format. It features EWF's "Can't Let Go" (great choice!) played by Chicago, Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here" played by EWF, then both band joining for a brand new song: "You" (which is not EWF's "You" from Faces!). As expected with two bands of that class, it is superbly played. The single promotes the 2009 tour of both bands. Will Bill Champlin be there to play "After The Love Has Gone"? Bets are open.
-Tony Banks will re-release his "A Curious Feeling", apparently remixed. Although I still don't understand the need of remixing everything (it's Genesis' disease: remixing, rewriting their story, denying the truth, overdubbing), if this release offers some opportunity to listen to this wonderful album, then it won't be totally useless.
-Yes is touring without Jon Anderson again. And without Trevor Horn. Anyway...
-Sousbock's new album is planned to be released on... well, we don't know anymore.
OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 5!
Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.
It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!
Things turn out better by accident sometimes. But you can't organize accidents. (Jeff Beck)
A strong opinion is very useful to other people. (Brian Eno)
People who make no noise are dangerous. (Jean de la Fontaine)
What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?
Make this musical slideshow a pandemia!
Friends, co-workers, lovers... who doesn't exchange funny pics, meaningful slideshows or breaking news by email? Slideshows are mainly based on beautiful landscapes, meant to make people stuck behind a screen start to dream and, why not, help them to plan a travel for their next holidays.
Since Mysterious Beppu Nights, Awaken has its own musical slideshow, based on a trip into the depth of the nights in Beppu city. You look for a destination for your next trip? Beppu is the place to go. You need a proof? Jump on the slideshow and spread it among your friends, co-worker, lover(s) and whoever you have email address in your contacts! Make it a pandemia, forget about the flu: Beppu Nights PDF is the new pandemia. Thanks to you!
Mysterious Beppu Nights is a musical and visual experience. Use earphones and concentrate on what you see on the screen. Breathe slowly and deeply. Become a part of Beppu Nights.
Next issue, we'll give you tips to visit Japan. This might be time for you to decide to buy a plane ticket to Fukuoka. But firstly :
Download MYSTERIOUS BEPPU NIGHTS PPS: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NZ53NQNE
Links: http://www.beppunights.com
Inspiration can hide in the most surprising places:
Memories Of A Teenage Cat in the 80's
I still recall that day of March 1989. The sloppy street is still clear in my mind, the grey atmosphere and the palpable melancholy are still coming to my memory from time to time. Ironically, that historic recording session took place in a part of Brussels named... St Gilles !
The AWAKEN project was already more than 1 year old, and several tapes of rough recordings were bashfully circulating here and there, but there was an obvious lack of a real studio recording at the time. Studios were quite expensive and unlike the 2000s and the profusion of VST studios, it was slightly rare to have good electronic material to record a proper song without having a comfortable income then.
Vincent, leader of the band Big Troble (without "u", please), offered me the opportunity of putting a song on tape for an affordable cost, which I still thank him for in 2009. He turned down my request to record "Electric Time", due to the complicated programming of the drummachine, and we both chose an rhythmically-friendlier tune that I just finished writing, "Memories Of A Teenage Cat".
In January of that year 1989, I sat on a tramway that had a long way crossing the "darkest" places of Brussels, where people hardly choose to live for fun. Overflowed by a melancholic feeling, words came quickly and soon the poem was on paper. Back home, I sat on the piano and in a few hours, if not less, "Memories Of A Teenage Cat" was born. Teenage yet still a baby, I naively wanted to make it a "summer slow". It never was, but instead, to my big surprise, that little tune became many AWAKEN's fans' favourite, until recently. It took "Cà Phê And Pizza" and "Beppu Nights" to steal its crown.
Back to the recording session, I should make clear that, even if my role into AWAKEN is (was ?) mainly playing keyboards, most of the synthesizers and rhythms were played (almost improvised) by Vincent. I only played some additional keys and did the whole vocal thing. I'm still pleased by Vincent's arrangement, and by the quick way he put every idea together... and played in real-time !
By the way, musicians who are interested in the gear we used, I can only quote Peter Gabriel to reply: "I don't remember". Sorry.
Later in AWAKEN's life, new versions have been put on tapes and CD, with better skills and preparation, and even a cover was recorded by SOUSBOCK. But to tell the truth, that very first studio take is still my favourite. It carries the mood of the eighties at their ending, the sound of that unique era and the first steps of an already teenage cat... at his birth.
(Snowcat, as published in March 2009)
Links:
-You can listen to this precious 1989 version here, along with a 2001 new take: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/17443
-Our friend Tamu wrote a story around the poem of the teenage cat (in Vietnamese): http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-QDJ4PCYyc6k19_1URVNqYx9x9Am5MqY-?cq=1
-The Tales Of Acid Ice Cream version is on the CD (1996), a bit hard to get but have a look here to try: http://home.scarlet.be/~ping9712/awaken-shop-engl.htm
-And the take on the Numb demo tape (1993) is unavailable at all. Bah...
Our interview:
Squonk66: farouchement individualiste
Although Mr Squonk66 was already active in the 80's, the picture is probably not the man we're talking about. Actually, Squonk66 is as mysterious as the sales balance of a Tony Banks album or the number of records that Mike Oldfield released under the name of Tubular Bells. No one knows. how he looks like
What a coincidence, Mr Squonk66, based in a part of France named Britania, admits to be influenced by Genesis (Tony Banks' group) and Mike Oldfield, to name a few.
Having just released new stuff online, "Dark Side Of Mind" and the long "OsM", collaborating with TrustNo1 (cf Awa-news 01) and Amanyth (cf a future issue of Awa-news), Squonk66 kindly accepted to reply Awa-news' interview. He prefered talking to us in French, which might be challenging for some of you. But after all, isn't music the most important?
-Nice to meet you, Squonk66. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Squonk66: Rêveur, solitaire, triste.
-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Squonk66: J'ai toujours écouté de la musique, depuis petit. Du classique par mon père puis du traditionnel Breton au boogie de Status Quo en passant par la pop anglaise et au "prog". Puis j'ai toujours adoré la batterie, toujours tapé sur tout ce que je trouvais : cuvettes, lessiveuses, barils de lessive, et sur mon frère aussi... Un jour, j'ai franchi le pas en m'achetant un kit, puis me suis mis peti-à-petit à faire ma propre musique. Et depuis peu, à pouvoir l'enregistrer un peu plus correctement. En plus de ça, le fait de pouvoir communiquer, partager et publier sur internet est une bonne motivation pour continuer. Sans ça, je ne pense pas que j'aurais continué à faire de la musique, rien que pour moi.
-Your music is generating images in the listener’s brain, like an imaginary soundtrack. Have you thought of working for TV or for the movie industry?
-Squonk66: J'aurais aimé et aimerais encore mais j'ai rien fait pour essayer. Et je pense qu'il est un peu trop tard maintenant.
-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Squonk66: Celles que je fais en ce moment et dont certains extraits ont déjà été publiés sur Myspace. Une œuvre de jeunesse réactualisée, en quelque sorte.
-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Squonk66: "Back to life", principalement à cause du son pourri...
-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Squonk66: Si je jouais encore de la batterie ? Genesis évidement. Sinon, je ne souhaite pas faire parti d'un groupe : trop farouchement individualiste (en ce qui concerne la musique) pour supporter les égos d'autres personnes. Ce qui ne m'empêche pas de demander à d'autres de participer pour ce que je ne peux pas faire. Les guitares, par exemple.
-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Squonk66: S’ils aiment la musique qui prend son temps, les thèmes qui peuvent être parfois accrocheurs sans être putassiers, les développements d'ambiance, ils peuvent aimer ce que je tente de faire. S’ils aiment suer sur les dance floors, alors, c'est mal barré.
-You’re promoting your music on the growing site Jamendo. Aren’t you afraid that the “Jamendo” brand will become bigger than the artists’ identity, like it happened with some labels or even MTV?
-Squonk66: Ma promotion sur Jamendo ne marche pas tellement de toute façon, c'est un support comme un autre. Il n'est pas certain que j'y publie mon prochain album. Et je ne suis pas un pro de la promo.
-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Squonk66: Bien sûr !!! Ai-je le choix ? Euhhhh, tu parles de l'album de Yes, là ?
Links: http://www.myspace.com/squonk66
http://www.jamendo.com/fr/artist/SquonK66_(3)
What happened on October some years ago?
Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...
30/10/1522: Death of French composer Jean Mouton.
14/10/1968: End of the recording sessions of the Beatles' "White Album". Yeah Ringo's still there.
15/10/1988: Motörhead releases their 2nd live album, "Nö Sleep At All". The title refers to "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith", their 1981 classic live album that was recorded everywhere but in Hammersmith.
You like Awaken? You *will* like this album:
DEEP PURPLE, Slaves & Masters (1990)
After the departure of Ian Gillan, kindly fired by the group or the management (or both), Deep Purple had no choice but evolve with someone new, which hadn't happened since the arrival of Tommy Bolin in 1975. Joe Lynn Turner, already linked to DP thanks to his years in Rainbow, was the one finally chosen. Though most of the songs were mainly written by the three ex-Rainbow Blackmore, Glover and Turner, Lord and Paice have some more space to contribute than in the three previous studio albums (Come Taste The Band, Perfect Strangers and House Of The Blue Light). Turner's style is obviously miles away from Gillan's, bringing something sexier in DP, even darker sometimes. Less experimental than the 1987 effort, Slaves & Masters features some heavier riffs than usual ("Cut Runs Deep" or the Kiss-like "Too Much Is Not Enough") as well as smoother tunes (the lazy "Breakfast In Bed") and a surprising ballad, "Love Conquers All". The arrival of JLT boosts Blackmore's need to write more melodic songs, which shows on the excellent opener "King Of Dreams" or on "Truth Hurts" and its memorable keyboards stacatti. After the ambiguous "Knocking At Your Back Door" in 1984, DP shows obviously horny allusions on "Fire In The Basement", a swinging rock piece slightly inspired by their 1968 "Wring That Neck". Although Lord is lower than usual in the mix, being more part of the sound than a soloist, his organ interventions are always stunning, like is Paice's creative drumming. Turner has the privilege to bring a song on his own, which has not have been co-written by any other DP member, "Too Much Is Not Enough", condensed energy that hasn't been heard on a DP album since "Burn" in 74. Lets' not forget an intriguing "Fortuneteller" and the epic "Wicked Ways", featuring an orchestra, and you have the ingredient of a very tasty cocktail. Tasty yet unpopular: Slaves & Masters is, for irrational reasons, one of the most-hated DP album, and JTL-bashing had sadly become an usual sport among DP fans. This is unfair. Although JLT's stage attitude might have looked like arrogance, he brought some fun in DP, preventing the band to age too fast. Blackmoreregained inspiration and the setlist on tour was quite attractive. Later, the management and some group members asked Gillan to come back, to Blackmore's displeasure. JLT was fired and the S&M era was definitely over. Shame, since the album is truly excellent.
Links: http://www.thehighwaystar.com
What's hot on the web side? Awa-net surfed for you and found this:
Allee Willis' Museum of Kitsch
If you don't know who is Allee Willis, well, you surely know her anyway. You may be a fan of Patti Labelle, Pet Shop Boys, or just someone who watches "Friends" on TV? No? Haven't you danced on the disco of Earth Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland"? You can't forget the "baaadeeeyaaa, dancing in September" chorus of EWF's "September"? Or the unique horns intro of "In The Stone", used in several TV shows like Ardisson's "Tout Le Monde En Parle" ? All this (and much more) is written or co-written by Allee Willis herself. "I'll Be There For You" from "Friends", Pattis Labelle's gospellish "I see Home", the "Neutron Dance" from the Pointer Sisters, or more obscure tunes like Rufus' "Lilah" and EWF's "Evil Roy", again: Allee Willis.
More than just being a songwriter, Allee Willis is a multimedia artist, who, thanks god, never seems to take herself too seriously. Thanks to her, the word kitsch regained a kind of prestige among a population usually too focussed on serious work and reputation. Willis recently launched the Museum of Kitsch, where she daily offers the accurately named "Kitsch Of The Day" , if you register, the opportunity to show your own kitsch to everyone! Faithful Awaken fans already saw some contribution from some cats... well, just check Awa-news n°4 to remember.
In a forthcoming issue, you will read an interview of Allee Willis, but in waiting, visit her Museum of Kitsch and post her best pics of your kitsch stuff online!
URL: http://www.alleewillis.com/museumofkitsch
Our 9 tips to visit Japan, an interview with Sousbock's Nicolas Leroy, a review of Maurice White & Bill Meyer's anime soundtrack, plus our usual philosophy of rock'n'roll and more. See you next week!
email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com
Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be
© AWAKEN-Awanews-
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