Driving while listening to Radio 4 - an increasingly common choice from the handful of available stations remaining after an unwise carwash decision, I caught the end of an interviewee passionately discussing the art, works & life of artist Frank Auerbach who's death the previous day had been announced.
I didn't recognise the name and was unsure of its spelling given its, to me, unusual pronunciation but the passion of the interviewee and her assurance that his art would survive him caused me to make a mental note to check him out. Doing so I discovered that he had indeed lived a remarkable life but it was the description of his painstaking method of painting that really stood out, the habit of starting each day by scraping off the paint of the day before and starting afresh on the same canvas, continuing the laborious process for weeks, months, sometimes years until the raw truth of the subject was revealed to him.
Almost as remarkable was the realisation that in searching for images of his paintings, I immediately recognised the style, being identical to the cover of a long treasured album from the band Japan, Oil on Canvaspictured above. Sure enough the release had used one of his paintings, Head of J.Y.M II created in 1980, a couple of years before the album's 1983 release.
I was not a huge fan of Japan at the time but for some reason I had bought and enjoyed this double album and the subsequent Exorcising Ghosts compilation on release. I eventually replaced it with it's CD re-master in 2003, which on checking doesn't appear to credit Auerbach as the artist, although the original vinyl sleeve may have?.
(This incredibly insightful article goes into great detail about how Sylvian may have first encountered Auerbach's work and how it led him to use it on the album).
The Oil On Canvas album ultimately led me in the early 2000's to belatedly follow the solo releases and career of Japan's lead singer, David Sylvian which I continue to find rewarding, (along with the music of Vangelis), as a motivating soundtrack to my own creative endeavours.
However it is only now, sadly on his death, that I now know the name of the enigmatic artist behind the album's distinctive artwork which has been in my collection for more than 40 years and I look forward to discovering more about the man and his art, Frank Auerbach.
Oh gee, just seen sad news that another musical
legend has left us, Ryuichi Sakamoto.
He was a hugely talented
composer, musician and humanitarian and I'm sure much will deservedly be
written about him in the days and weeks ahead.
I came to his music
through the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence soundtrack
back in 1983. Only really coming to that movie through its David Bowie
connection, in which both Bowie and Sakamoto acted in pivotal and memorable
roles, making a large impression on youthful me.
I was also aware of Sakamoto
through his work with the band Japan and particularly it's front man David
Sylvian, with whom Sakamoto would sporadically collaborate with over the years,
most recently I think with the track, World Citizen.
While I was originally drawn to
the bewitching Forbidden Colours track between them from the Mr Lawrence
soundtrack, it was really the rest of the album's haunting score which made the
lasting impression and one of the few albums that I had on both vinyl and CD
back in the day.
Unlike Mr Sylvian, other than the occasional compilation
album, I didn't really keep up with Sakamoto's prolific solo work which over the
years, balanced experimental work with movie scoring, most notably, that
of The Last Emperor, for which he won an Oscar, but I would
regularly listen to what music of his that I had.
Fittingly, it was David Sylvian's
shared social media post and image above that brought the sad news of
Sakamoto's passing to my attention, so I will again turn to his music as I
carry on working, noting that one of his favourite quotes was;
I've been slow with any 2014 'best of lists' so here instead is my 2014 playlist as far as I can recall from my 'go to' pile of CD's. Those who follow such things can check out previous lists for 2013 and 2012 - gosh that sounds so old now doesn't it!
1. DAVID SYLVIAN: Gone To Earth (2006) 2. KARL JENKINS: River Queen (2005) 3. JOHN BARRY: Mary Queen of Scots (1971)
4. JOHN BARRY: Out of Africa (1985)
5. DEAD CAN DANCE: Anastasis (2012)
6. DEAD CAN DANCE: Wake (2003) 7. DOUGIE MACLEAN: Essential Too (2013)
8. LONDON GRAMMAR: If You Wait (2013)
9. KATE BUSH: Ariel (2005) 10. KING CREOSOTE: Scotland With Love (2014)
Mmm, another eclectic mix of soundtracks and old favourites with just a sprinkling of contemporary-ish albums, guess that says a lot about me! Still really enjoying David Sylvian's re-mastered double Gone To Earth album which seems to suite any mood. It originally came out in 1986 and, not being a Japan fan particularly, I missed his solo career only 'discovering' him much later through the excellent Everything & Nothing (2000) retrospective. I'm still short of a couple of early releases while his later work became too experimental for me after Blemish (2003).
I do play soundtracks a lot and find myself listening to classic FM more and more these days - along with BBC 6 Music of course! River Queen was a Classic FM discovery and is great background music with some stirring moments. The movie it comes from is an odd beast, starring Samantha Morton and Kiefer Sutherland in Victorian New Zealand and the turbulent Anglo-Maori wars. It doesn't quite deliver on its promise but is interesting and both it and its music are worth tracking down.
Through Zulu of course I've always been a John Barry fan with his short Somewhere in Time soundtrack a clear favourite but I finally caught up with his lavish Out of Africa and lessor known (to me) Mary Queen of Scots soundtracksthis year, enjoying them both. Out of Africa is a very watchable movie with music to match, although the CD mood is slightly spoiled by a soft-rock number tacked on! I've not seen Mary Queen of Scots for years but the music has it all, bagpipes, recurring themes, stirring motifs even Scott Walker on vocals and has been a delight. It was though very difficult to track down the whole album with a shorter version (without Scott Walker!) more readily available.
Still enjoying my Dead Can Dance brace of albums and last year's London Grammar with this year's big new discovery (to me!) Kenny Anderson aka King Creosote and his From Scotland With Love tv/documentary soundtrack album. I guess this is his most commercial offering but its been the reason for me to finally embrace his music and I've just picked up his acclaimed Diamond Mine(2011) album with Jon Hopkins so not a bad thing - maybe a bit like David Sylvian, I get there eventually!
My other favourites were the two artists I saw perform live in 2014, Dougie Maclean and of course a certain Kate Bush! I've been lucky to see Dougie many times, (I think this was the 6th!) and its always a joy to hear and meet him - he normally pops out afterwards to chat and sign CD's etc. He was in demand last year with his famous Caledonia song performed en masse at Glasgow's Commonwealth Games ceremony so this was a special treat.
Much of course has already been said and written about Kate Bush and her totally unexpected return to the stage after some 35 years or so! The performance was very, very special and it was a privilege to witness. Needless to say Kate did not pop out afterwards for a chat but she did seem to enjoy herself and be truly astonished with her rapturous response she received. The show was the excuse I needed to revisit her albums with Ariel, which formed much of her setlist, a favourite.
I mentioned that I wasn't quite done with 2013 so here's my wee list of favourite CD's from last year, not necessarily released in 2013 but they all helped form my soundtrack to the year, (and checkout 2012's list here!);
1. DAVID SYLVIAN: Gone To Earth (2006)
2. DEAD CAN DANCE: Anastasis (2012) 3. THE BLUE NILE: Walk Across Rooftops (2012)
4. DEAD CAN DANCE: Wake (2003)
5. DAVID BOWIE: The Next Day (2013)
6. DAVID SYLVIAN: Brilliant Trees (2006) 7. PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING: IEE (2013)
8. LONDON GRAMMAR: If You Wait (2013)
9. ENNIO MORRICONE: Good, Bad & Ugly (1967) 10. THOMAS DOLBY: Floating City (2011)
I came comparatively late to David Sylvian's solo career via his first excellent retrospective Everything & Nothing (2000) and resisted his earlier works thinking that all the best tracks were already on this collection and its ambient companion Camphor (2002) but finally succumbed in 2013 and while there is a little overlap with those releases, both the Gone To Earth and Brilliant Trees remasters are unexpectedly wonderful and kept me returning to them many times during the year.
As did the remaster of The Blue Nile's debut which I'd never previously had on CD despite proudly owning on vinyl back in the day! I would still say that Hats is their best but I was surprised how fresh Rooftops sounded, including the various bonus tracks.
After the excellent Albert Hall gig last year I continued my fascination with Dead Can Dance but so far have not dipped into their back catalogue thinking again that Wake will have all the best tracks, but maybe like with David Sylvian, I'll be proved wrong?
My other favourites, with the exception of Ennio Morricone, were all pretty much contemporary releases for me headed of course by Mr Bowie! What a wonderful surprise his return was and while not a true classic, The Next Day is a strong contender and contains many worthy additions to the Bowie songbook. It was also a great reaction by the man himself to move forward while everyone else was looking back at the excellent V&A retrospective, proving that as usual Bowie's at least one step ahead!
My other 2013 favourites were mainly discoveries through the increasingly essential BBC 6 Music shows and the live circuit where I managed to see both Public Service Broadcasting and Thomas Dolby perform, separately I should add! P.S.B kept in character during their performance accompanied by the vintage information films which give them their name and are well worth checking out as is their earlier The War Room E.P which preceded their Inform, Educate and Entertain album.
We caught erstwhile 80's star and pop eccentric/genius Thomas Dolby at a small local intimate venue with maybe 100 or so people on his short Invisible Lighthouse Tour where he provided a live narrative and soundtrack to his recently completed movie about the closure of his local lighthouse and it was really quite something special. He even took a short Q&A session in between encores talking about his inspiration, his music and experiences, a humble and very talented man who, perhaps like Mr Bowie (who Dolby of course accompanied at Live Aid), has not yet turned his back on creating inventive music.
