Albums, soundtracks for documentaries, live shows. Seems like Nick Cave and his bad seed pal Warren Ellis do not sleep a lot
lately.
And they’re not slowing down, yet. A series of 7 spoken word psalms
written by Cave and set to music with Ellis will be released 17th June,
on 10″ vinyl and via streaming services.
The outer sleeve is printed on embossed petrol blue with
a jewel-like title and crucifix rendered in metallic gold.
Cave: “While in lockdown I wrote a number of psalms, or small, sacred songs,
one a day for a week. The seven psalms are presented as one long meditation
on faith, rage, love, grief, mercy, sex and praise. A veiled, contemplative offering
borne of an uncertain time. I hope you like it.”
CHRIS BAILEY was born Christopher James Mannix Bailey in The Colony of Kenya 65 years ago. He spent his childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and moved afterward to Australia. Three days ago he passed away. R.I.P.
A message on the group’s FB page broke the sad news: “It is with great pain in our hearts that we have to inform you about the passing of Chris Bailey, singer and songwriter of The Saints, on April the 9th 2022. Chris lived a life of poetry and music and stranded on a Saturday night.”
With his Brisbane schoolmates Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay he formed legendary punk rock bandTHE SAINTS in the early 70s. Their debut LP I’M STRANDED (1977) is still an all-time landmark punk album with its rolling and roaring title track as their best-known cracker…
And here’s another great Chris Bailey moment to honor this great musician.
In 2003 he joined his friend Nick Cave for Bring It On. A towering goosebumps
single of the Bad Seeds‘ album Nocturama.
Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition is an unprecedented look into
the creative world of musician, storyteller, and cultural icon Nick Cave. With more than
300 objects collected or created by Nick Cave through six decades of his creative and private life brought together in large-scale installations, the exhibition is an artwork in itself.
Created for The Black Diamond of The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, and with
Cave as a co-curator and co-designer, the exhibition is an unorthodox fusion of
biography, autobiography, and fiction, asking what shapes our lives and makes us
who we are.
It covers the journey from Cave’s childhood in 1960s Wangaratta, Australia, through
the chaotic years with his first bands, The Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party, and his relocation to Berlin and then London. Central is the ever-evolving collaboration in Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, from the band’s inception in Cave’s most obsessive period in Berlin, up to their latest release Ghosteen (2019), widely acknowledged as their best work ever. The exhibition reveals how Nick Cave’s life, music, archives and fictions continue to intertwine, inform and inspire each other.
Nell is a 13-year old fan of Oklahoma’s eccentric Lips.
Frontman Wayne Coyne spotted her at one point as she
attended several gigs with her father. They got in touch
and after Coyne found out that she’s a singer he proposed
her to work with the band on a Nick Cave tribute album he
already had in mind for some time.
They got all in the studio and the result is a 9-song Nick Cave
covers album baptized WHERE THE VIADUCT LOOMS with Nell Smith on vocals.
Released: 26 November 2021 Order info (MP3 and cassette): here
Coyne: “It is always great to meet excited, young creative people.
With Nell we could see she is on a journey and thought it would be
fun to join her for a while and see if we could get things going. It was
a great way to connect with her and help harness her cool attitude
to making music.”
(The Flaming Lips – Amsterdam 2018 – photo by Turn Up The Volume)
Smith: “I still can’t really believe it. It was a really steep learning curve
but Wayne was so encouraging when I was struggling with a few of the
songs that I kept going. I hadn’t heard of Nick Cave but Wayne suggested
that we should start with an album of his cover versions, and then look at
recording some of my own songs later. It was cool to listen and learn about
Nick Cave and pick the songs we wanted to record.”
Nick Cave: “I’m a fan.”
Turn Up The Volume: Covers/tribute albums are a tricky thing, certainly
when it’s about songs of a famous artist. In that case, millions know the tunes
grooved in their memory by heart and stick with the original version, like me.
Therefore the majority of covers LPs vanish very quickly into oblivion. But not
this one.
Why?
One: Nell Smith has an entrancing
and starry-eyed vox.
Two: Her near-whispering timbre, her spot-on
phrasing, her overall approach to the chosen
tracks resonates like an experienced pro at work.
Three: The musical framework is vintage Flaming Lips,
fairytale-like and crystal-clear, and never gets in the way
of Nell‘s voice. It’s a match made in heaven.
Four: I’m a devoted Nick and Lips fan.
Five: Kudos to Nell. A teenager taking on Cave songs is simply
sensational as such, and doing it this way – with the majestic
orchestral help of Flaming Lips – is nothing less than maestoso,
also knowing that she never heard of the Australian star crooner
before (or maybe that actually helped?).
I discovered this brilliant post-punk turbo last month at an indoor festival in Amsterdam. The whole crowd went bananas. These motherrockers slash and trash with a burning vehemence and a flabbergasting fervency. Miami Lounge is the crackerjack opener of this year’s released 5-track EP Bad Time.
Now it’s your turn to discover this awesome London squad.
Earlier this month this dynamite hit team blew all punters away with their jaw-dropping gig in my hometown Ghent (Belgium). They razzled and dazzled with ebullient exertion, blistering British bluster, and a fuck Brexit fierceness. The roof went off.
Ded Würst, their newest single, is nothing less
than a nasty and filthy sledgehammer. Das super!
6. ‘His Ilk’ by BRONSON ARM (Kalamazoo, Michigan, US)
From Michigan here come 2 Pc Noisey Slacker Psychedelic Sludge Punks.
They joined Canada-based indie label Off White House Records
this year with a big bang.
Their newest outburst is a riffin’ rollercoaster that makes the hair in
your neck stand up with its metallic resonance and relentless bass
frenzy. Add nightmarish vocals and I’m sure Santa Claus will run
away in fear.
The alias of British singer-songwriter of Bobby Anderson.
Never Ready is a vicious droning blast. Wïlderman rankles,
rages, and has a bad taste in his mouth. Never ready for
her look and her voice. 133 seconds of sonic sex.
Hot groove, hot intensity, hot slam dunk. Fucktastic!
8. I Don’t’ Love You Anymore’ by CHATEAU CHATEAU (Tucson, Arizona, US)
Glam and glitter riot tattoo grrl Blue attracts all attention,
sonically as well as visually. She swirls and scintillates on this
new kick while cursing idiots who hate the LGBTQ+ community,
who hate tattoos, and who hate anybody who doesn’t live by
their ultra-conservative rules.
To hell with all these idiots.
Meanwhile, enjoy this jangly earworm that sticks as
first-class glue and reaches an aural orgasm every
time the chorus pops up.
With Absent Transient they show their masterly skills of writing ear-and-mind
pleasing pop tunes charged-up with rotating riffs and dreamy vocal harmonies.
When an old skool DJ teams up with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker you
get a sizzling acid house corker to start and end all upcoming New Year’s Eve parties with.
13. ‘What You Keep Telling Yourself’ by DOWN WITH SPACE (Montreal, Canada)
The motorik and magnetic rhythm of this electronic exploit makes your head
turn 360°. The catching combination of near whispering vocals, scintillating David
Gilmour guitar vibrance and cybernated elegance create an overall ear-ecstatic
vibe culminating in a dynamic finale.
Expect flashy echoes of the 80s British New Romantics movement with
this instant catching pop spark, fueled with glimmering guitar/play,
impassioned vocals, and a non-stop drum beat.
This sugary pop bliss feels good at first, better the second time,
and the best with all other spins. Great pop-ular music is about
lifting up the listener’s mood to a euphoric level for about
3/4 minutes. Easier said than done, but not here.
Still is a glorious harmonious touchy-feely gem that appeals from
the kick-off with Gardiner‘s tantalising voice and Kuras‘ vitalizing
guitar ravishment. Add a delirious chorus and you have yourself
a 24-Carat top thrill.
This Italian singer-songwriter, born Patrizio Ottavianiiter,
produces a blend of psychedelic rock and Arabic harmonies.
Knight Of Cups is the latest single in a series of monthly releases this year.
Electric dream-pop at its tempting best. Sparkling, spirited, and seductive.
Nell Smith is a 13-year old fan of Oklahoma’s eccentric stargazers Flaming Lips
(one of my all-time fav bands). Frontman Wayne Coyne spotted her at one point
as she attended several gigs with her father. They got in touch and after Coyne
found out that she’s a singer he proposed her to work with the band on a Nick
Cave tribute album he already had in mind for some time.
They got all in the studio and the result is a 9-song Nick Cave
covers album baptized Where The Viaduct Looms with
the nightingale voice of Nell as the heroine in the middle.
You can stream the brand new record on Spotify
One of the standouts is her version of
the heart and soul ballad The Ship Song.
19. ‘Always Together With You’ by SPIRITUALIZED (Rugby, UK)
Jason Pierce and his orchestra have a new LP,
called Everything Was Beautiful coming on
25 February 2022
With this spellbinding symphony, he does what he does so splendidly for so long. This
first new piece is another soulful spiritual growing slowly into a gospel-like trance. Epic!
Last June mega-star-crooner Cave and his bad seed friend Warren Ellis
signed for one of the best LPs of 2021 with their astonishing Carnage opus.
And they’re not done yet. The duo releases the soundtrack they wrote for the French nature documentary Panthère Des Neiges (The Snow Leopard)on 17 December.
Here’s the magnificent taster We Are Not Alone.
A characteristic Cave humdinger. Tender and gripping.
Watch the magic, hear the magic…
See/hear you next month with the best 20 knockouts of 2021…
Nell is a 13-year old fan of Oklahoma’s eccentric Lips.
Frontman Wayne Coyne spotted her at one point as she
attended several gigs with her father. They got in touch
and after Coyne found out that she’s a singer he proposed
her to work with the band on a Nick Cave tribute album he
already had in mind for some time.
They got all in the studio and the result is a 9-song Nick Cave
covers album baptized When The Viaduct Looms covers LP,
with Nell on vocals.
Release: 26 November 2021
Coyne: “It is always great to meet excited, young creative people.
With Nell we could see she is on a journey and thought it would be
fun to join her for a while and see if we could get things going. It was
a great way to connect with her and help harness her cool attitude
to making music.”
Nell: “I hadn’t heard of Nick Cave but Wayne suggested that we should
start with an album of his cover versions, and then look at recording some
of my own songs later. It was cool to listen and learn about Nick Cave and
pick the songs we wanted to record.”
Nick Cave: “I’m a fan.”
A first cover Girl In Amberwas shared a few weeks ago and now we get an
amazing interpretation of one of my all-time Cave favorites The Ship Song
(my wedding song 12 years ago). Smith‘s vocals are just splendid…
The Cave original…
Tracklist
1. ‘Girl In Amber’ 2. ‘Weeping Song’ 3. ‘Into My Arms’ 4. ‘O Children’ 5. ‘The Kindness Of Strangers’ 6. ‘No More Shall We Part’ 7. ‘Red Right Hand’ 8. ‘The Ship Song’ 9. ‘We Know Who You Are’
Today NICK CAVE shared a new track called SHYNESS. A spoken word musing as
an answer to questions he received from two fans, Daniel and Vera, back in 2019.
Daniel: “What is shyness?” Vera: “What was your first date with your wife like?”
Cave responded with the song: “Shyness is the tentative sound of the orchestra tuning
up before the symphony begins. It is a beautiful, fractured piece of music in itself. It is the orchestra attempting to find its shared intent and is over all too quickly if you ask me.”
About his wife Susie: ““My wife, Susie, has a hummingbird shyness. In social situations she displays herself for a magical, weightless moment then darts away. It is as if she is so acutely tuned into the inherent discomfort of others, whether they display it or not, that the situation becomes overwhelming. She is a rare thing, an exhibitionist that hates to be seen.”
My wife and I wish you a fantastic 64th birthday
and on this occasion we want to thank you once
again for writing our wedding song. The lyrics
reflected exactly what we felt then, and still
now.
Love. xxx
Mr. and Mrs. Turn Up The Volume
Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around
