Yestreen

 I’m very excited because tomorrow is a very special day for me, the release date for my first album, Yestreen.  

 It’s been a long time since it’s conception. I first decided to make an album at the end of 2006, but then spent 2007 & 2008 experimenting with musical forms and working out how I wanted the album to sound.   It was at the beginning of 2009 that I formed Bearcraft, within 6 months I had my album planned; two singles, eight album tracks, and a satellite, (the Longest Frontier).   I’m so lucky to have the wonderful and lovely Jessica Akerman giving each release it’s own visual identity based on Yestreen’s themes.   

The Werewolf

I sent the final mixdown of the album to Hottwerk records at the beginning of 2010, and the last eight months have been all about the waiting.   

It’s amazing how long these things take. I thought the album would be out in summer 2007, if you want to make something great, sometimes that means taking your time.  I’m really proud of the album, and I am cheered on by the good reviews it has received, such as this and this.The two wilderness years have already been spent, so I’m expecting the follow-up will spend shorter in the womb. The title track of the next release is already recorded, and those who have heard it love it.

Dark Night

If, for whatever reason, I don’t release any other music, I won’t mind. I’m really excited to have Yestreen out there, and although there is so more I want to say, so much more music to be made, Yestreen is a little gem I’ll always be satisfied to have made.   

Yestreen

  Oh, and you can buy it from here or get free tracks from here, here and here.

So last weekend I visited Whitstable to check out the eagerly anticipated installation by Cave People during the Whitstable Biennale. The work is called “Songs of Salt” is an incredibly immersive piece of art which to me felt a lot like I was gate crashing a sailors dream. Lying on a bed in a quiet and dark (I mean really dark) beach hut, the sounds of a sailors life at sea came drifting in from underneath the pillow. As the sea crashed and lapped against the side of the boat the sound of a lone sea shanty singer came in. This, along with the swinging lantern, suspended from the centre of the room, projected a kind of nostalgia for the sailor’s life, a memory that I didn’t have, of being a sailor on the ocean. Over time the memory became more focussed, my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and saw that the lantern was projecting an image of sailors working side by side, and I could clearly hear a sailor singing “Spanish Ladies”, a sea shanty.

The person who went in after me came out saying “I feel sea-sick”, which was understandable, despite the beach hut being firmly anchored to the sand. A lovely way to start the weekend.

I met up with my friend Pablo about 15 minutes before Argentina took on Germany in the World Cup. We were both keen to watch it, and Pablo, being from Argentina, was especially keen. But where? We looked down a beach and saw a wall with the word “BAR” written across it. Surely it won’t be showing it? That would be too easy.

I was taken aback when, after about 30 seconds walk, we found ourselves in a wonderful beach-side sports bar, with World Cup moving picture on every wall! You couldn’t avoid the match in there even if you wanted to (and at times I expected Pablo to want to avoid it). The match was very exciting, and I was pleased to see that it’s not only England that could be sliced open so clinically by that young German team.

After the match, and feeling a little merry we went back to the beach hut, and ate chips. Suddenly the cider barrels were opened and we were joined by “Dead Horse Morris” and “The Shipwright Shanty Crew”.

I enjoyed the cider for the first time since I was fourteen, and listened to the wonderful shanties, fourbitters and chorus songs. After a few I found myself singing along in the choruses, despite having never heard most of them before. It was wonderful. The sun was settings behind us, and a very Hackney crowd was sitting around enjoying the most wonderful folk music.

After the end, I had not had enough. We invited the Shanty singers to the pub with us, and sat among surprisingly un-bemused locals, singing shanties at the tops of our voices. Such wonderful stories are contained in these songs, and Marc, one of the shanty singers, apparently can recall over 300 of them. I hastily tested his memory with a few randomly selected folk titles I could muster, and sure enough he sang them note for note, as much as a traditional song can be sung note for note.

What a lovely day.

The Sunday was lovely too – I went for a lovely long walk along the beach, which was just so quiet. Knowing what Southend beach is like on a hot summer’s day, I was shocked to see just how secluded it was.

And then I enjoyed some of the other wonderful works of art around – including this wonderful knitted bicycle cover.

Watching last night’s Question Time I was surprised at how many people were shocked that Nick Clegg and David Cameron were willing to enter a coalition.  “He wants the power” they said of Cleggy. “He’s desperate to be PM” they said of Cammers.

This annoyed me. Of course Nick Clegg wants power. Of course David Cameron wants power. Without power our political parties are useless. Once in government, a party can employ the policies that you voted for! That’s a good thing! Duh!

I’m very excited about this new coalition, and about this consensus based politics. Of course I am wary of the power the Conservatives hold, and I don’t trust this new centrist sheen, but this coalition could do amazing things for Tories all over the country, and also for the rest of us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the average hard-working, Tory-fearing, Tory-hater. (I don’t hate those who vote for them, although I do find that habit irksome. See this Charlie Brooker article for an eloquent summary).

But perhaps the reason they’re so universally hated outside their ranks is because they have the habit of getting 100% of the power. Quite often it’s only 40% of us who have had reason to or have been duped into voting Conservative, but that has led to them being able to boss the remaining 60% of us around.

Imagine if we had a system where you couldn’t win 100% with less than 50% of the vote. Imagine if government was always formed by coalition. We might not hate them so much if we could temper them a bit, just like the Lib-Dems have been doing over the last week.

Imagine if we had Proportional Prepresentation under Thatcher.

“What’s that you say? Poll tax? We’d better not I think. Sounds unwise.”

“Transition to a service economy? Well ok, but gently does it there, we don’t want 
to upset the miners now. Oh, you do? Lucky we’re here to appeal to your better judgement.”

The Tories could be tolerated and even loved by the rest of us, as I think they should be. We will see as they really are; the honest farmers; the eccentric aristocracy, the “wary-of foreigners” elderly, the addicted-to-outrage Daily Mail readers, the small business owners who just want an easier job balancing the books, and yes, the greedy rich. We might not like all of their views, but that doesn’t matter because it’s only the sensible views will influence laws.

We could no longer see them as a threat. No longer a minority who wield untold misery on the rest of us, but just people who need a bit if policy every now and then, which of course will be passed, if it’s not too evil.

If we build these coalitions based on shared values we could have such a great, civilised democracy. Surely this is the future.

Our neighbours in Europe are able to conduct their politics in a more grown up fashion. Their systems of proportional representation, while not perfect, lead to a politics built on mutual respect. And they come across much more civilised.

I imagine that’s why so many MEPs were aghast at watching Nigel Farrage throwing an undignified tantrum at that Belgian fellow. Nigel thought he’d give him a bit of the Punch and Judy politics we see at Prime-Minister’s questions. To the Europeans he just looked like a crazed thug.

Cameron keeps espousing that our antiquated first-past-the-post system is more likely to give us a strong government, and this is what is needed. But a strong government is not good for the country. It was a strong government that took us into the disastrous and illegal war in Iraq, while the rest of us saw it as a sham. It was a strong government that Thatcher presided over.

There’s nothing wrong with a strong government in itself. But it is dangerous and immoral when it only represents a minority of us. What we have now is a coalition that represents 59.1% of us. And strong enough to face the severe economic challenges ahead. But the majority of us are going to be represented when the axes start falling.

And that’s why electoral reform is as important as the current economic crisis. We should worry less about the markets and more about our democracy. Our problems must be solved through building consensus. We, the electorate, know better than the market fundamentalists about how to achieve the society we want. It was the markets that got us into this mess. And it’s a mess we will solve by working together. Two ideologically different parties coming together to work it through.

I’m not going to guess whether this coalition will work or not. I didn’t expect a Lib-Con coalition when I saw the results roll in. But now we’ve got one I feel quite good about it. No more shall we allow a minority to dictate policies to the rest of us. This has to be the future.

Bearcrafters

More Bearcrafters

We showed the Werewolf video in full which had a rapturous reception, to the relief of me and director Chris King, who sheltered behind the buddleia during the showing.

Watching  The Werewolf  

 And this was followed by a drunken and passionate Bearcraft performance, joined onstage by some publicity seeking spiders, imported from the buddleia and lowering themselves into the limelight on their wickedly woven webs.

Bearcraft live - Photo by Nick Davies

Adding to the performance was the encroaching buddleia, which joined in on a keyboard solo, smothered me during the Werewolf.

Bearcraft in the Enchanted Forest – Photo by Nick Davies

It was great fun though, and really spooky, like really trying to play a gig in an enchanted forest, with all the trees and creepies coming to life to join in the music.

 The night was mired/enhanced (delete as appropriate) by some well timed rocknroll violence at the end of the evening. The organisers of the party, N+K were in a backstage room when I carried my equipment in, away from the maelstrom of the party above. They were arguing about something or other (I won’t tell you what, but it’s hilariously brilliant) and then suddenly it got a bit out of hand and punches were thrown. I felt the need to intervene. I tried to get them to make up but the apologies extracted were said through gritted teeth, and my continued reconciliation attempts only suceeded in causing another explosion of rage. Storming out of the room, shouting “Don’t give me this hippy shit”, K slammed the door so violently that it stopped being a door. The party-goers upstairs felt the shockwave apparently.

The door stayed shut and I relucantly climbed out of the window too. It would take power-tools and sobriety to open it the following day. After the tears had dried and the alcohol worn off we all hugged and said sorry, shook, made up and reflected on how alive those wicked werewolves are.

Bear Craft

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – No More Shall We Part (2001)

See also: The Boatman’s Call (1997) and Nocturama (2003)

Nick Cave continued to disappoint his traditional fan base with another album of ballads and tracks of a more soft and sensitive nature than his usual frantic style, and I’m sorry, trad Cave fans, but I’m so pleased he did. In my opinions, “No More Shall We Part” is the pinnacle of Nick Cave’s experiments into this softer genre, and sees him reach the apex of his song-writing craft.

The melodies and harmonic progressions on this album are worthy of mention, but it’s the lyrics and the atmosphere conjured by Cave and the Bad Seeds that lead you deep inside. “As I sat sadly by her side” tells of a discussion about determinism and divine intervention in stanzas that just want to lollop in your mouth and off your tongue.

She said, “Father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
Soldier, sailor, physician, labourer, actor, scientist, mechanic, priest
Earth and moon and sun and stars and planets and comets with tails blazing
All are there forever falling, falling, lovely and amazing”

Semi-autobiographical songs like the frantically paranoid “Oh My Lord” and the personally apocalyptic “Hallelujah” take us into Cave’s haunted world, where Kate and Anna McGarrigle are wisps in the frozen night, and the torment suffered by Nick Cave’s struggle to overcome heroin and alcohol addiction while writing the album comes to the fore. And then it dies down into beautiful ballads like “God is in the House”, which I once saw performed so delicately by Cave and his piano that the entire audience of thousands held their breath not to break the silence.

Jessica and I were so inspired by this album that we travelled on a kind of pilgrimage to “the ivy coloured windows of the Angel” in Bury St Edmunds, the place to which Nick Cave retreated when battling heroin, as documented in the “Gates to the Garden”. Its atmosphere followed with us throughout the decade. This album is a masterpiece.

1. Super Furry Animals – Rings Around the World (2001) 5/5

See also: (Any SFA Epic Era album 2001-2005)

Super Furry Animals opened their Epic Records era with their luscious “Rings Around the World”, where high-production budgets seemed to liberate their song craft. The sound reproduction on their three Epic Records albums has been such an ear-opener for me, but I’ve picked out “Rings Around the World” due to its sheer accessibility and the impact it had on me when it arrived.

In contrast to their thrashy guitar indie that they made with Creation records, their new style involved deploying lots of strings, pianos and brass to compliment their guitars and techno-breakdowns. The album goes from the mellow and psychedelic “Alternative Route to Vulcan Street” and “A Touch Sensitive” to the indie-disco-pop anthem of “Juxtaposed With You” via the identity crisis of “Receptacle for the Respectable” (hard-rock mashup meets easy listening) without anyone getting injured on the sharp turns. It’s more exciting for these angular genres, like their rich parents (Epic) have let them go running with scissors. The title track, “Rings Around the World” shows us what magnificent harmonies SFA could produce, sounding like the Beach Boys would have if they were a rock band. A great rock band. One that really rocked. These rich harmonies continued through the rest of the album and into the others they made whilst signed to Epic.

Highlights are “Presidential Suite”, which takes us back to the days of the good old fashioned sex scandal with the Clinton/Lewinsky affair (Remember that?) “Honestly! Do we need to know if he really came inside her mouth?” and the delay laden melodica and steel-pedal infused “Run, Christian, Run”, which softly looks forward to the next decade of religious fundamentalist suicide. “With guns to our heads for we know that heaven awaits”

Lyrical content aside, what you’ll find in strength in this genre-collecting album is in SFA’s ubiquitous beautiful melodies surrounded by luscious arrangements, and liberated by a generous production budget.

1. Toxicity (2001) 5/5

See also: Steal this album (2003), Mesmerize (2005)

I had this album in mind for the “Sublime section” but harboured doubts at its strength in context of this category. I hadn’t listened to this album for a year or two – how could it be one of my favourites. I decided to give it a listen and was instantly reminded of how good it was. It is amazing. It’s unrelenting in its quality, and will be the kind of friend that isn’t scared to pick you up by the hair and shout its brilliance in your ear.

So this album is unique in this list due to its genre. It’s shouty loud guitar music, which is a genre enjoyed almost exclusively by teens, right?

No – it is so much more than that. It’s intelligent, catchy, melodic, harmonic, right-on shouty loud guitar music, and the best I’ve ever heard. SOAD draw on influences from all over the musical world. Spend some time in this album and you’ll experience gypsy folk, L.A. hippydom and Cossack breakdowns.

SOAD have achieved a higher degree of musical proficiency than any of the other artists listed here, but this album isn’t just a display of sports musicianship. Amidst the sea of detuned guitars synched perfectly with the semidemidemidemi-drum beats are really catchy and playful melodies which hook you like playground chants, and bravely intelligent pop songs. Which other metal bands release singles composed in 6/8 time, like SOAD do with “Toxicity”? A shouty metal pop song which ends with the psychedelic shouts of “When I became the sun I shone life into the man’s heart!”

1. Kate Bush – Aerial (2005) 5/5

That Kate Bush returned after 12 years with something that sounded fresh, original, relevant and distinctively Kate Bush is testament to her stature as an artist. This album has the quality of a “best of” compilation of these 12 hidden years, except for the way it weaves each song into another with a fluidity and consistent atmosphere which builds and persists unlike a greatest hits compilation.

“Aerial” is the most mature album that Kate Bush has produced, and the fervour and angular squiffiness of her earlier work has simmered into this gentle collection of songs, where Kate invites us into her castle-home, where she brings the magic out of motherly tasks and introduces us to her little Bertie.

Listening to the album feels like an we’ve been let into the private world of Kate Bush, where she shares her own memories and dreams, and her wonderful perceptions of life and things such as PI (“a great big circle of infinity”) and the creative process of the pavement painter (“A flick of the wrist, that bit there – it was an accident. He’s so pleased. It was the best mistake he could make”). She takes us into her summer garden, (with birdsong to accompany), and then on a countryside walk through the gloaming to a desolate beach. The atmosphere of Kate’s shyness

“Which one of us will dare to break the silence?”

The music and production is luscious, and softer than Kate’s previous albums, but the sense of spirituality in Kate’s music is as present as ever. “Aerial” is Kate Bush’s masterpiece.

1. Bat For Lashes – Fur and Gold(2006)

I was so underwhelmed when I first saw Bat for Lashes play at the Green man in 2006. “Why bother?” I thought whilst traping through the mud from the performance, “We could have just listened to a few Kate Bush and Bjork albums, rather than this pale imitation”.

Oh how wrong I was.

Luckily Jess persisted and bought “Fur and Gold”, and although I winced in the car-seat at the spoken opening to “What’s a Girl to Do?”, I was gradually sucked into the magical world of Bat For Lashes, casting my aspersions and prejudices aside along the way. And now I listen to it as one of my favourite albums of all time. I can listen to it at any moment and it never fails to fill up my spirit.

So it may seem like an obvious thing to do, combing folk instruments and drum machines, and I’ve heard it done many times. But never as well as Natasha Kahn does in “Fur and Gold”. When she’s being folky it sounds contemporary and when she gets with the buttons it sounds like circuitry was invented by druids. The music sits behind the album’s atmosphere, and Natasha displays a master class of song writing and minimalist composition. Highlights of this are “Tahiti”, where she plays an unchanging arpeggio piano riff on her right hand throughout the song, whilst bringing in an octave bass motif on her left hand for added drama every now and then, relying on her soft whispery vocals and accompanying autoharp to hint at the harmonic progression. And “Sad Eyes”, which runs amok with that “cliff-edge melodic resolution” I was talking about in the description of “Funeral”. In “Sad Eyes”, Natasha portrays such a yearning loneliness in her voice in a heart-breaking tale of unrequited love which encompasses the magic of Bat for Lashes whilst also bringing in down-to-earth imagery of washing dishes and making dinner. The song comes awake at the coda with great positivity when the protagonist brings out the mantra to help cope “Trying to hold it together, keep my love as light as a feather.” It’s such a great line which so accurately communicates the dilemma. It’s so beautiful.

The album’s singles continue in the same atmosphere but add strength in their poppy catchiness. The epic “What’s a girl to do?” combines big pagan drums with the 808 kind and “The Wizard” has the best opening melody I’ve ever heard. Ever. “Prescilla” has a Wicker Man style stampy-clap-along beat and a sing-along refrain of “Queen of the highway” which will gently animate the sleepiest zombie. There’s a great use of reverb which haunts the production of the album and Natasha shows she has a great sense of dissonance. There’s even a fantastic bum note in “Bat’s Mouth” which confirms “Fur and Gold’s” status as the greatest album ever made.

The Brilliant

1. The Strokes – Is this it? (2000)

OK, it’s an obvious choice but it just has to be in the list. The Strokes set the tone for the coming decade with “Is This It?” and it’s unique mesh of styles, but it’s actually the great songs and musicianship that will give this album its longevity. Their lo-fi production sound, with Julian Casablancas’ cool distorted vocals were mimicked in studios all across the world, including mine, and I was stunned by that effortlessly cool reinvention of the cadence: “Hey kids, don’t do a I-V-I! That’s soooo Mozart! Just get the bassist to go up a note and then back down again!” Good on them.

2. The Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

“Funeral” is another stunning debut album that seemed to come out of nowhere. I remember listening to it for the first time, and being lost in the relentless tirade of anthems that somehow I already knew and loved. Josh Deu had a way with melody, not resolving his phrases the old fashioned way but leaving them hanging on a cliff edge, or resolving them where no resolution should be, like at the leading tonic. It sounded so fresh and this technique was something I later heard Bat for Lashes employ perfectly.

3. Sufijan Stevens – Come on Feel the Illinoise (2005)

“Come on Feel the Illinoise” became the perfect gift in 2005. I gave it to my sisters; I gave it to my friends. I would give it to grandparents or a teenage Goths, and feel confident that it would be loved by all. Sufijan showed us through soft vocals over delicate arrangements that music composition isn’t exclusive to the classical world. He squeezes the history of Illinois into an accessible form but also manages a history’s worth of melodies into one album. Also, I love that he can mix renaissance strings with bluegrass banjos and rock guitars without a hint of “fusion”.

4. The Blood Sugars – Fine Fine Fine Fine (2006)

“Fine Fine Fine Fine” contains such great song-writing and musicianship that it should have been given the marketing push of a major label. The “all in the red” production sound gives this album a unique flavour which suits Jason Rabinowitz’s effortlessly well developed songs. Beyond the catchiness of the opening track, “Bloody Mary” there are deeply original tracks such as the creeping “A Lot to Ask” and one of my favourite songs of the decade, “Part of a Brigade”.

5. Scritti Politti – White Bread, Black Beer (2006)

What scares me so much when I think of how close I came to not having that chance meeting with Green Gartside in the pub is that I may not have heard this album. Going on tour with Scritti Politti was one of the most amazing experiences which will stay with me forever, but the music is something that is important on another level. Green has a sense of melody, harmony and modulation which is unparalleled in the pop or indie world. He covers vast distances through his songs with the gentlest of changes and encompasses so many different styles without sounding at all clunky. This is an album that seems to roundup popular music of the last few decades and also hint at its future.

6. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away (2007)

This album cures headaches. It is gentle, lapping, lushly produced indie, with melodies that meander, twist and turn, and seem to never end. I once listened to it on headphones whilst lying on a bed trying to get rid of a headache before a DJ gig, and it so worked. It’s soft without being sappy and upbeat without being too full-on. I don’t know much about the Shins, but when you lay back and listen to this on headphones they take you gently along the river and out to sea without you worrying once about their intentions.

7. Jeffrey Lewis – 12 Crass Songs(2007)

I have always loved Crass, or rather, I have always wanted to love Crass, but could never quite get to the music through those DIY production values. Sorry. I got there on songs such as “Penis Envy”, and “Do They Owe Us a Living” was obviously a great song striving to be liberated. In 2007 Jeffrey Lewis came along and did just that. The irony that Jeffrey Lewis, known for his anti-folk lo-fi production, painstakingly off-kilter arrangements and croaky vocals, took 12 Crass songs and made them accessible to the masses is one that actually makes complete sense. It couldn’t have been any other way. Jeffrey Lewis deserves an honorary knighthood (more irony FYI) for bringing these anti-establishment songs to another generation, and doing it in a way which brought the song to the fore, to reveal the sensitivity and emotion that existed only subtly in the original. Jeffrey’s version of “Where Next Columbus?” made me cry.

8. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires (2008)

I don’t think a dance-indie crossover album has inspired me this much since “Screamadelica”. There are great pop songs here, with Ed Macfarlane putting a bit of soul back into indie, but what amazed me was Jack Savidge’s drumming. In “Jump in the Pool” he seems to be doing a drum fill throughout the whole chorus, but it doesn’t sound cluttered. He’s off his leash but amazingly it doesn’t matter. In “Friendly Fires” the beat is honoured over all else but there is no neglect of the melody. This is a great listen whilst still being fabulously danceable.

9. Metronomy – Nights Out (2008)

Chip-tune has come of age. Metronomy have done something very unique in “Night’s Out”. They’ve taken the motherboard of a nerdy adolescent from the early 80s, an out-of tune guitar from a crap indie band, mixed them together in a night-club mop bucket and produced the sexiest collection of music to come out of the 00s. “Night’s Out” so confidently off-kilter that it seems like you’re peeking into their reality from your own crazed state. Songs are opened by quirky bass lines that make no sense until they’re in context. Some of the tracks sound like they’ve been remixed thrice over. Most instruments sound detuned, retuned, chopped and sliced, but between the somehow wonderful self indulgent electronic wobbly plinky-plonky stuff you’ll find pop songs of the highest quality that make Hackney seem the sexiest place in the world.

10. Lykke Li – Youth Novels (2008)

Those seeking out new talent in indie singer/songwriters in America need to also check the other side of the British Isles, where lies the rampaging world of Scandinavian Indie. Leading the charge is Sweden’s Lykke Li. Produced by Björn Yttling (of Peter, Björn and John) fame, “Youth Novels” has his fingerprints all over it, such as the out of tune vocals sung so beautifully by Lykke. It amazes me how they make out of tune sound so good. It’s the antidote to the auto-tune filled chart music of today, and Lykke’s babyish vocals hit the spot that Joanna Newsom’s only glanced at. It’s sultry, cool, subtle and sweet.

11. Tim Ten Yen – Everything Beautiful Reminds Me of You (2008)

The singing salaryman, Tim Ten Yen, is the lost pop sensation of 2009. His album, “Everything Beautiful Reminds Me of You” is a collection of new pop classics which combine long chord progressions with short sharp shocks of melody. Tim Ten Yen’s auto-karaoke style has been a great inspiration to me, especially seeing him fill big stages with just an iPod, a microphone, a stuffed cat and a smartly dressed man. This bunch of songs is so catchy that they take no time to sink in. He’s kind of re-invented “anti-fashion” with this album, and doing so has become the most sought-after live act in Shoreditch. His album has legitimised MIDI (a good thing), celebrated the middle of the road, swing horns and faux-reggae (I know!) but he’s made them sound so cool, and has done it on top of really good quality pop songs. Although some are ridiculous (“Bear and the Fox”), attractively naïve (“Radio Nowhere”), profound (“Sea Anemone”), or mysteriously narrative (“Girl Number One”), they are all catchy, sing-along tracks that are well developed, arranged and have a sense of depth. It’s an album that you could have a blast of on a Monday morning. It will get you going. Try it.

So relying on my laptop to provide the backing tracks and all the sounds for my keyboard for when I’m gigging , I expected there’d come a day that I would stand on stage surrounded by all emptiness where beautiful synths and drums should be.

Chances are it wouldn’t happen at my first Bearcraft gig. That would be really unlucky. Wouldn’t it?

If Ronald Eustace Psmith had been reclining by the stage at the Cross Kings venue watching me frantically pull things out and plug things in, rebooting and reinstalling, he would have reminded me never to confuse the unusual with the impossible.

Somewhere between my flat and the venue my laptop and audio interface had fallen out. This only became evident amid the frantic whirlwind of cables and noises of the soundcheck. I spent an hour and a half trying to get them working together before a wave of nausea signalled that I had to form a plan B.

Luckily I had a few backing tracks on my iPod, and the extremely kind Steve of Zwah offered to let me use his keyboard, even reprogramming it a bit.

It meant I had to get up on stage without a soundcheck and use unfamiliar equipment, guessing which synth sound may work ad-hoc, but it also meant that the calmness of the aforementioned Psmith took me. I could have no further nervousness, as the impossible had already happened. If a passing circus had loosened a real bear onstage, perhaps even a grizzly one, I would have simply shrugged and given him an instrument for accompaniment. It wouldn’t have filled me with the dread I felt earlier. Well perhaps some startlement, but it’s an unlikely occurrence.

In the end the gig went well, the adversity conquered. Here’s a film of one of the songs from the performance, Out on a Limb. Please enjoy while I try to formulate a more reliable plan A, and invest in some sort of bear-catcher.

Bearcraft – Out on a Limb @ Cross Kings, London

I was especially pleased to see Tim Ten Yen on the bill, the one man pop whirlwind who has just released his debut album of especially catchy melodies and lyrics. He first caught my ears when we played on the same bill at Good Grief, and I was astonished by his songs and skilfully choreographed and executed dance moves.

Seeing him again caused my enthusiasm to bubble over and I couldn’t help but join in with the moves. “Oh my pretty I’m so silly” – put your thumb to your nose and wiggle your fingers. Oh he’s so much fun. I can see him in the future playing to a whole audience of finger wigglers and shoulder shakers. At this gig it was just me, sitting on a stool, although the rest of the audience seemed enthralled.

I button holed him afterwards, starstruck, to ask him what the lyrics to Girl Number One were about, and he managed a suitably deflective answer. I don’t blame him for wanting to keep it a mystery, but I’m eager to find out the meaning behind the song. Any ideas?

Tim Ten Yen – Girl Number One