In Another Lifetime I Could Have Been…(1)

On June 7, 2023 By Mick CanningIn dreams, music24 Comments

…a folk musician.

There are any number of reasons why I haven’t become one in this lifetime, only one being a lack of any obvious talent. Perhaps if I hadn’t gone abroad when I did, I might have inveigled myself into a group of musicians and played a little more, and a little more regularly. Perhaps if I’d practised more I’d have been a little better! Perhaps if I’d actually learned to read music properly I could have learned more tunes properly. Who knows?

I could play both the guitar and mandolin fairly competently, if nothing more. It has been many years now, though, since I owned either – or a fiddle or a whistle either, come to that, both of which I had pretensions of being able to play, at least a little. I still play a pretty mean air mandolin, though, and my air guitar licks would put Richard Thompson to shame, although so far I’ve had limited success with my Henry Parker air guitarwork – unfortunately he uses a different tuning. I am occasionally tempted to buy another mandolin, or perhaps a guitar, but if I’m realistic I have to admit I would never devote the time to them that would be required. It’s going to remain one of those dreams realised only in my imagination.

But a note for that other lifetime: I’m not one of those folk who have to be the very best at whatever they attempt, otherwise they feel it isn’t worth the effort. I wouldn’t have to be a star, I’d be content to be a session musician, a backing musician. Just to make a living doing something you love is awesome and something not given to many. Or not even to make a living, perhaps, just to make music with others is a delight and I could still be happy with it being a spare time occupation.

So, sticking to going to gigs and listening to CDs this time around.

Chanctonbury Rings

On July 1, 2021 By Mick CanningIn Chanctonbury Rings, concert, music, Spoken Word12 Comments

This Tuesday evening just gone. Brighton. 7.30pm. I’m here with my friend Mark to see a gig for the first time since the Pandemic began, a gig I had planned to see last year for my birthday, but which was cancelled – due to the Pandemic, of course. Chanctonbury Rings is a collaboration between writer Justin Hopper, musician Sharron Kraus, and visual artist Wendy Pye, based on extracts from Justin’s 2017 book The Old Weird Albion.

Chanctonbury Rings was released (on CD, vinyl and download) by Ghost Box in 2019, and is described on their website as ‘A spoken word and music project by writer Justin Hopper and folk musician Sharron Kraus. It also features Ghost Box’s own Belbury Poly. Based on live performances of Hopper’s 2017 book The Old Weird Albion, it’s a poetical, autobiographical and psychogeographical account of his experiences at Chanctonbury Ring…‘ It goes on to state: ‘The album is a blend of folk, electronic music, poetry, prose and environmental sound. Kraus’s electro-acoustic soundscapes and songs interweave with Hopper’s rich, intimate narration.’

I first learned of The Old Weird Albion a couple of years ago when I was emailed by a reporter writing a review of the book for the Caught By The River website (which I must post about sometime), who had come across one of my blog posts on Chanctonbury Ring, a prehistoric hill fort on Chanctonbury Hill, part of the Sussex South Downs. In conversation, he told me of both the book and the music project. Naturally, I ended up buying both. (My review of The Old Weird Albion is here if you wish to learn more about it. Of course you do.)

When I heard it was being performed live, I decided I would have to go to see it. Then the Pandemic intervened and it would be over a year before I had another chance.

So on Tuesday we are in the Brighton Spiegeltent, part of the Brighton Fringe, awaiting the show. Outside, pouring rain and a lot of rather drunken football-related chanting. (I believe there was a game on somewhere.)

Inside, though, Chanctonbury Rings. The piece is built around the section of the book where Justin visits Chanctonbury Ring one May Day, to watch both the sunrise and the Morris dancers celebrating Beltane, the ancient name for the festival held that day. It combines personal experience with myth and legend, Sharron’s music both punctuating and supporting the narrative, and Wendy’s visuals projected on a screen behind the performers.

Incidentally, Sharron is a musician I had not come across before hearing the album, but I have since been captivated by her own stunning albums. If you have any interest in folk, I’d recommend you give them a listen.

Wendy’s visuals were well-judged photographs and film of Chanctonbury Ring and the surrounding area, at times deliberately grainy and vague and at others lusher, although there was perhaps something ghostly about all of them, each choice inevitably suiting the mood of the narrative at that point.

The spoken words, the music and song, and those visuals weaved around each other and blended happily together, elegantly constructing the world as it appeared to one viewer that May Day morning and projecting the audience, for the duration of the performance, into that world too.

It was magical.

More Random Stuff; this time, Artworks

On December 2, 2016 By Mick CanningIn Art, Painting32 Comments

Creatively, for me this week has been rather a damp squib.

I have managed a little writing and research on ‘The Assassin’s garden’, but I’ve not had a very good week, one way or the other, and am just not up to writing a blog today.

So, the easy way out.

This is a somewhat random mix of some of my paintings from the last 10 or 15 years.

rock-no1

An oil pastel painting of a rock structure a few miles away from where I live – it looks to be a heavily abstracted painting, but is actually reasonably accurate!

chestnuts