Tír Na HiFi

mcq wrote: ↑Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:00 am As ever, Dermot, thanks for your kind words.  Regarding that extraordinary cover shot, here's what Laura had to say about it in a recent interview:

"That was a photo by this incredible Latvian photographer that I discovered looking through archives in a gallery in Portland. I was like, 'That's, how my soul felt while I was making the record.' It just felt right. I felt so obsessed with wolves and dogs because wolves weren't in Oregon — the last wolves were killed decades ago, and they've slowly been making their way back from Idaho. Just last summer, Mount Hood had their first mating pair of wolves. I did a lot of solo hiking and felt like the wolf became this spirit for me. 

"When my dad was in the hospital, I remember very clearly he kept thinking our family dog was at his feet, because he was in and out of consciousness and maybe on whatever they'd given him for pain. I've thought about that forever. I don't know what part of his mind made that happen, but I've thought about people seeing dogs a lot. When I finished the record, I hiked up to Everest Base Camp and back. There's all these adorable stray dogs along the trail that'll sometimes walk with you for a while. It's this beautiful, strange thing that happens."

mcq wrote: ↑Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:42 pm

mcq wrote: ↑Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:27 pm The new Hedvig album, Smells Funny, is another stunner, Dermot.  It is quite a canon of work that this band have been putting together since Shoot, patiently supported and encouraged by Rune Grammofon every step of the way.  I would love to see them sign with ECM  -  partly because of this label's association with major Hedvig influence, Terje Rypdal, and partly because of the increased worldwide visibility that this would bring to these artists, but also because of the opportunities for collaborating with other artists on the ECM roster -  but I feel that there is a sense of loyalty to Rune Grammofon, whose artistic ideals as an artist-led label are to be admired and have much in common with those of Manfred Eicher.  

Smells Funny is a further refinement of the Hedvig sound, a world where texture and tone are valued above shallow virtuosity.  The empathic cohesion of the interplay between the three musicians is strongly in evidence here, with each player actively listening and responding to each other in the moment.  Best track here is the ferocious crunch of Bewitched, Dwarfed and Defeathered, which features one of Hedwig's fiercest solos and which recalls the work of Sonny Sharrock with Last Exit  (and Ellen Brekken's bass playing also brings to mind Bill Laswell's contributions to that incredible group).

Oh, how I would love to see Mary Halvorson sit in with this band (and, indeed, Hedwig sitting in with Mary's band would produce something quite extraordinary).  I really want to see Hedvig collaborate more with musicians outside Norway, in much the same way as Mary has collaborated extensively with her peers in New York.  This is the way, I strongly feel, for Hedvig to reach Her Goal's Beyond (to paraphrase one of the finest albums by one of her greatest influences, John McLaughlin).  Compare and contrast her story with Mary Halvorson, who  -   despite never managing to work with her most direct influence as a guitarist, Derek Bailey  -   has worked with Marc Ribot, Elliot Sharp, Joe Morris, Bill Frisell and Noël Akchoté and has established an extraordinary discography since 2003 (according to her website, she has been involved in 97 separate releases and 9 alone in 2018).  Perhaps we are talking here about two distinct musical personalities but I really hope that their paths cross at least once in their respective lifetimes.  These are two of the most breathlessly exciting musicians working today and, rather than continue to deify the musical heroes of the past who have received their dues many times over, we should acknowledge and cherish the greats of the present who are still with us.

mcq wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:14 am As you rightly say, Dermot, the possibilities in the future are indeed endless and, personally speaking, I do get very excited about the extraordinary achievements of young musicians and singer-songwriters who are making wonderful, genuinely important and lasting music right now.  They appear to be arriving fully-formed, possessed with a deep and thorough knowledge of the musical canon that precedes them, but not weighed down in any way by their predecessors' achievements, but, rather, emboldened to stretch their wings and find new and interesting ways to express their innermost passions.  I truly believe we are living in a golden age for music and I take immense pleasure in stumbling upon a new discovery and immersing myself fully in their music.  The future seems so very bright for music right now but it is so very important to support these artists by buying the physical CD/album, going to their concerts and breathlessly spreading the word to other like-minded music lovers.  So much of this great music still exists under the radar and the word has to get out there and spread.