Just some thoughts really, Frank Turner, Love Ire and Song...

My friend Paul (see link at the bottom of this blog) recommended a singer songwriter to Bill and myself a few months ago, called Frank Turner- http://frank-turner.com/blog/  and recently one afternoon having done the myspace, youtube searches etc, both being suitably impressed we purchased some of his albums... One of them Love Ire and Song, has several songs that have got stuck in my head, not just for the catchy musical hooks but more for the sentiment and ideas sung out through them... here's the lyrics and video of a song from that album called... Photosynthesis...

Well I guess I should confess that I am starting to get old. All the latest music fads all passed me by and left me cold. All the kids are talking slang I won’t pretend to understand, all my friends are getting married, mortgages and pension plans. And it’s obvious my angry adolescent days are done, and I’m happy and I’m settled in the person I’ve become, but that doesn’t mean I’m settled up and sitting out the game – time may change a lot, but some things they stay the same.

Maturity’s a wrapped-up package deal or so it seems, ditching teenage fantasy means ditching all your dreams. All your friends and peers and family solemnly tell you you will have to grow up, be an adult, be bored and unfulfilled. But no one’s yet explained to me exactly what’s so great about slaving 50 years away on something that you hate, about meekly shuffling down the path of mediocrity. Well if that’s your road then take it but it’s not the road for me.

And if all you ever do with your life is photosynthesize, then you’ll deserve every hour of your sleepless nights that you waste wondering when you’re going to die.

Now I’ll play, and you sing – the perfect way for the evening to begin. I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up, and most of all I won’t “grow up”. FRANK TURNER

So anyway, he says it kinda like I think it at the moment... and so does Howard Thurman... "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive" Dr Howard Thurman, Philosopher...

And Paul (our friend who recommended Frank Turner) has recently made a very good feature film Big Font Large Spacing- well worth checking out http://www.bigfontlargespacing.com/ 

Dust and Gold

Just thought I'd write a few lines about new Dust and Gold album...
Really pleased and excited about the new product...

Tracks:
Child in the Sun
Turnaround Town
Feathers and Flowers
She's OK
Digging Song
Here We Go
Leaning On Nothing
Somewhere In Copenhagen
Sing It Out
Come On In
Dust And Gold
Waiting For You

As an album Dust and Gold is stand alone but also makes up part 3 of a colour themed trilogy of work, (previous releases being my debut, Brilliant Blue and the follow up Red Tree.)....
The Title Dust and Gold is taken from track 11, but in my mind the rootsy overtones of banjo scattered through some of the songs makes for the dusty image while the jazzier sounds of the soprano sax and piano create the shiny gold texture- and this comes together for the very last song with banjo, sax and piano in ‘Waiting for You.

The album has been recorded, mixed and mastered by Dylan Fowler at his studio Felin Fach in Abergavenny here in Wales- it's a beautiful place, an old converted Mill surrounded by trees and a river running alongside. The studio itself was rustic with sloping ceilings (as Bill saw straight away- no straight lines!) Dylan and his wife Gill were exceptionally hospitable and made the whole experience feel more like some creative retreat rather than the time limited pressure of recording that could have been the case! Dylan also took on the role as producer working closely in collaboration with me on arrangements of the songs. We recorded all of my lead vocal with either guitar, banjo or piano parts as ‘live takes' and a number of tracks were jammed and improvised live with percussion/ accordion/ piano adding on additional overdubs later.....

The style and content of the material draws upon folk, roots, blues, americana, jazz, gospel and singer songwriter genres, and is very much a crossover integration of all the above.
Instrumentation includes, acoustic guitars, mandocello, banjo, soprano sax, piano, percussion, cello, accordion, electric guitar, bass, layered vocal harmony, harmonica and more…

visit the Hushland Label Shop to pre- order CD's (pre- orders include limited edition bonus EP) and take a listen- to some of the tracks in the Hushland Listening Lounge www.hushland.com

Sometimes she feels lonely... so she sings

My next door neighbour is a fascinating character, at 82, she's still savvy and switched on, but very frail these days. She was born in Italy and married a Glaswegian (who was stationed in her small town in Bolognia) and so her English is an unusual blended accent of Scottish and Italian. She told me once that she would have liked to have been Opera singer but got married instead! Her kitchen is adjacent to my dining room and often I hear her singing as she makes her meals. I told her the other day how much I enjoyed hearing her tunes, and she replied that 'sometimes living on your own gets you down and lonely- so I sing, I sing so I can hear the sound of a voice out loud'
This morning as I ate my breakfast, she was singing loud and true- it was 'Moon River' and it was one of the saddest and most beautiful renditions of that song that I have ever heard... Later I will tell her again how good it is to hear her singing, but I felt that I didn't want to let that moment pass by with out marking it in some way... I'm always in search of authentic art, art which moves and touches you and leaves you somehow different as a result- and that is exactly what my neighbour has given me this morning...

you tube songs

Bill has just posted the video he made to Please Don't Pass Me By on You Tube- here's a link...

Cunning Plans!

Hey Folks, here’s a belated Happy New Year greeting to one and all- though after the devastating news in the last 24 hours of the Haiti earth quake- all previous thoughts of festivities pale into insignificance…

Anyway these last weeks Bill and I at Hushland Central have been plotting and planning our next bold moves for 2010 and the release of my new CD number final instalment of the colour trilogy- Dust and Gold. (Kudos to anyone who gets the Ani Difranco song reference in that sentence there!)

So here’s a bit of what you can expect to be hitting your inboxes in over the next weeks and months….

New Dust and Gold CD Special Offer Pre Order Packages!
We will be opening up the shop for a limited time period to take pre orders of the new album at the beginning of Feb-
And there will be 2 special offer deals you can buy into both will include a limited edition bonus 4track EP available only with the pre- order deals
We will tell you more very soon!

Brand New Website
Bill is working hard on creating a snazzy new Rachel Taylor-Beales.com website that we plan to go live with in March- and to celebrate this we’ve been busy mixing tracks from 2008’s wonderful gig at The Point- that will become available as free downloads from the new site…

Hushland at Home
After the great success and adventure of invading living rooms across the UK last year, we’ve decided to do it all again and this time put out a general invitation to anyone of you who might like to play host to a Rachel Taylor-beales concert in your home- there will be a page specifically dedicated to the logistics of this on the new website but do drop us a line at anytime if this sounds like something you might be interested in pursuing…

CD Launch Gig
We are planning a big old gig with a host of guest-ing super talented musicians to join with Rachel and form a unique big old band to coincide with the launch of Dust and Gold in May… with a whole load of new visuals to project behind it all…

and there will be more info on all of this to follow soon…

just a few thoughts

So just thought I'd post a few things that I've found interesting lately-
a couple of blog sites... I don't always agree with what's there but like that there is often an idea that will spark my imagination- strike a chord or help me shape my own opinions...


www.sethgodin.typepad.com
Quote that I liked there today-
'The reason they want you to fit in...
Is that once you do, then they can ignore you.'


www.sivers.org.blog
Derek Sivers entrepreneur and creator of CD Baby


and I revisited Leonard Cohen's Lyrics for his song Anthem- from the Future album,
think it sums up a lot of my thoughts really!

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government --
signs for all to see.

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

You can add up the parts
but you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

recent gigs, hushland house tour and ramblings...

I should never say that I'll keep anything up to date- it's instantly cursed to be the opposite... honestly part of the problem is having too many sites to keep up to date these days... but anyway...
it's been a good few months since I last wrote here- May has been a particularly fun month- starting with Bob Dylan concert, (Bill and I were not expecting much from him- but were happily surprised and pleased as thought he performed a great set. ) Also enjoying his new album... My birthday celebrations seemed to last the whole if the bank holiday weekend, much merriment, music making, whiskey drinking and chocolate cake consuming were part of it all... Bill and I also caught a Devon Sproule gig which was great- she's a really engaging performer ...

This last weekend, I went and performed at The Sound City, industry festival in Liverpool- and ironically met a great band from Cardiff there called Toy Horses, who had a very cool electric Ukulele, and played fun quirky acoustic, pop numbers, kind of sounding like Madness meets the Fin Brothers, with a touch of Elvis Costello, and a dash of You Am I- there now I've said all those artists- I guess they just sound like themselves... anyway that was pretty fun, it's crazy that you can be from the same city and it's not till you are else where that your paths actually cross...
Then a lovely little festival here in Cardiff, we had a beautifully sunny day, and it was great to have Stacey Blythe join us on accordion for the set... I'll post a photo, taken by my friend Matt Carr.



HUSHLAND @ HOME
Bill and I have decided to team up (with the ever faithful musical backing and acompaniment of Karen Chalk) for a series of House Concerts, in living rooms, gardens and other similar intimate venues across the UK over the summer months. These will be an evenings double bill of Rachel Taylor-Beales and Sir Silence and The Hush, with our visuals projected behind us. Due to the nature of the venues being homebased we will release address of location via personal email when purchasing tickets, so do get in touch if you want to come along to any of the dates (see my website gig dates) and email info@racheltaylor-beales.com for more info. Visit www.hushland.com to hear some tracks by Sir Silence And The Hush and view some visuals also.

I am planning a similar House Concert solo tour later in the autumn so do drop me a line also if you think you would be interested in hosting one in the future.


RECORDING NEWS
I've now booked into the studio in September to record the next album- part three in the colour trillogy!
I am both delighted and excited to be working with the very talented Welsh musician and composer Dylan Fowler on this next project... so will keep you updated on the progress there... we are thinking that it will be released sometime in the New Year...