Good to see you back. I went to Hundred n the Sunday & picked up 300% Dynamite, Mark had pretty much sold. everything else I thought the Beth Gibbons single was incredible , but the album isn’t quite doing it for me at the moment, just streaming it. I own nothing by Harmonium..must arrest that!
Thanks for the new records (and CDs) update. I'm not familiar with any of them but they all sound interesting. I'll be interested to see the used records. Rock on Dale!
Nice pick ups Dale. That "Inventions For Radio" sounds right up my alley. A nice companion piece for the RSD Radiophonics Workshop CD boxset you mentioned. I've listened to a few clips on youtube. Very interesting!
Cool ! Showing RSD finds way after the fact.. Love it ! There is such a glut of video's during that week, anyway. Interesting.. New Beth Gibbons and Camera Obscura , I will listen.. 😎
I listened to " Lost Changes" .. I think it's off of the newer Beth Gibbons ? Really very good, remindes me of PJ Harvey.. A little bit.. I used to listen to Rusin Man back about 20 yrs. ago.
Hello Dale. I love the esoteric "music" you present. You definitely have your own corner on the VC, where your Bandcamp and other choices always intrigue. Invensions For Radio sounds fascinating. It clearly owes something to Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker's late 50s Radio Ballads. I was familiar with Barry Bermange's name as a writer of radio plays, after coming across him during the research for my masters thesis. But I wasn't able to source any of his plays. I'm not sure if by the time of the early 60s if the division in the BBC between the Radio Drama and Features department was still in place. Generally the output from both was very different, but at times the Drama department felt they were having their toes trodden on. Perhaps one of the best known BBC radio play productions is Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood broadcast in 1954, was actually a product of the Features department. I know the Radio Ballads was also a product of the Features Department, so it would be safe to assume Invensions For Radio also was. I did find a reference to Invensions For Radio in the book, British Radio Drama, but it's not a glowing endorsement. David Wade writes of the use of the Radiophonic Workshop in practice; "Radiophonics is, or ought to be, an immensely powerful aid to certain kinds of imaginative, invisible drama - creation sounds that never were to evoke worlds that might be; yet it has proved extremely difficult to produce convincing results, and this seems to be chiefly because electronic sound, being itself artificial, tends to dehumanise. This was apparent even in such remarkable features of the early sixties as Barry Bermange's Invensions For Radio, where a background of electronic sound set against snatches of recorded interview,though spellbinding to begin with, gradually bled the human voices of all meaning." We'll, there you go. I'm sure you might have a counter take, probably as your interest is primarily the landscapes. Or do you? As someone whose interest in Radio Drama waned after spending the best part of eighteen months listening to, researching and writing about radio plays a features, I'm not sure if I'd take to these Invensions For Radio? Sorry of the info dump, but I thought you might find it if interest. Cheers - Hedley
Hi Hedley - great insight, thanks for taking the time to capture it, very interesting. I guess I would add two points to what was said at the time. 1. The music was in its infancy then and has influenced the development of modern electronic music since, so I think fair to regard it in that light. Maybe also there was a snobbishness about this crude approach elbowing out the more established, and costly, orchestras. 2. On the radio show itself, as well as the Radiophonic Workshop connection, I think it also has the added benefit of being a time capsule of social history now. This might add some importance now, compared to when it was just another contemporary piece of art...cheers Dale
Hi dale , I’ve listened to Beth’s album a few times while working but it’s not connected yet ..it may do in the autumn I’m not sure it has a summer vibe ☀️.. I know what you mean about getting back on the vc horse ..the vc is like the hotel California ,you can check out any time you please but you can never leave ..😃
Nice pick ups Dale. Interesting to hear you explain about the Delia Derbyshire recordings..as you say, a cultural as opposed to musical experience. Never really listened to Camera Obscura, I should remedy that. All the best Rob.
Some nice finds there. I really like that Harmonia record. I'm sure a Delia Derbyshire film was recently released - need to chase it down. Love looking at old footage of her being interviewed. It is rubbish that she was not credited on a lot of recordings. Have a nice weekend.
Hi Steve, I think there was a Delia Derbyshire film recently. I did watch the one put together by Caroline Catz which was pretty good. not sure if that's the one you mean...cheers Dale
Good to see you Dale. I really dig Harmonia's "Musik Von H" Reworks. I was lucky to find an original copy of the 74 release on Brain a few years back for $65. I think the price went up a bit since then. I did not even know the album when I bought it. Someone in the VC showed it about twelve years ago. How does it sound overall? Going to check out the Camera Obscura album. Thanks a lot D~ Rob/Boston
Hi Rob - Well done on finding an OG press of the Harmonia album, I'm not sure I've ever seen one. I have a couple of original UK Can albums and I had to pay a pretty penny for those...I hope you enjoy Camera Obscura...
I liked the different filming location while the Dale den was being hoovered. 😅 Had not heard about the Inventions for Radio box set. Your description makes it sound very attractive. Hope all is well. Good to see you.
We all go through such periods Dale when it's hard to muster up the energy to record a video - I know I do which is why I could never stick to a schedule like many video makers. Most people online seemed to think RSD was good this year, but for me not so. I only picked up one item - post the actual day - and that proved to be a big mistake! That Inventions in Radio sounds intriguing, but not one I'd probably listen to again after it's initial play. The Harmonia album is excellent - not sure though that I'd be interested in the additional album of reworks though. All the best... Pete
Hi Pete - Harmonia is a great addition to the collection. I agree on Inventions in Radio not being one I'll revisit often but interesting none the less. Take care Dale
Find that mojo Dale! I had just seen that Harmonia album and was wondering what it is about Krautrock. The cover design had grabbed my attention on it. I will have to stream some of that
There is no record store that does RSD any more in Bakersfield. So skipping RSD has been made easy for me. Inventions For Radio sounds like a one time listen for me. Two at most. Similar to how I feel about comedy or spoken word releases. There were a few RSD releases that I was interested in. I only picked up one, Wall Of Voodoo Live. This release is not only good but I think the best RSD release I have ever picked up.
I've followed Camera Obscura too. All things considered, I really wanted to like this new one, but I thought it pretty weak. The song writing sub par and the new keyboardist is no Carey Lander, who I reckoned was pivotal for the direction and sound of the band.
Interesting you think it's weak, I wasn't getting that...I'll have to see how it stands-up over a few years to be really certain I guess...I know I don't revisit Desire Lines as much as the earlier albums...
Nice selection Dale. I'm really loving Beth Gibbons latest. Cheers Mike
Hi Mike, I think the Beth Gibbons is a grower and perhaps more suited to the autumn and winter...
Good to see you back. I went to Hundred n the Sunday & picked up 300% Dynamite, Mark had pretty much sold. everything else I thought the Beth Gibbons single was incredible , but the album isn’t quite doing it for me at the moment, just streaming it. I own nothing by Harmonium..must arrest that!
Thanks for the new records (and CDs) update. I'm not familiar with any of them but they all sound interesting. I'll be interested to see the used records. Rock on Dale!
Hi Randy - hopefully I will get round to sharing the used finds soon-ish...
I wouldn't be too disheartened making videos they do ebb and flow from time to time. The box set of Deidre sounds amazing.
The box is great. Yes the ebb and flow of video making. Hopefully I'll find a flow soon...
Welcome back Dale - nice finds again 🎉
Thanks hopefully more to come soon
Nice pick ups Dale. That "Inventions For Radio" sounds right up my alley. A nice companion piece for the RSD Radiophonics Workshop CD boxset you mentioned. I've listened to a few clips on youtube. Very interesting!
Hi I think you can sample some of the Inventions for Radio on Spotify and yes it's a great companion for the other RSD box...
Cool ! Showing RSD finds way after the fact.. Love it ! There is such a glut of video's during that week, anyway. Interesting.. New Beth Gibbons and Camera Obscura , I will listen.. 😎
Thanks JT, I hope you enjoy the Beth Gibbons and Camera Obscura albums when you get a chance to listen, cheers Dale
Camera Obscura was excellent, pedal steel guitar on the nicely written tune I listened to. The new Beth Gibbons, I'm checking out now
I listened to " Lost Changes" .. I think it's off of the newer Beth Gibbons ? Really very good, remindes me of PJ Harvey.. A little bit.. I used to listen to Rusin Man back about 20 yrs. ago.
Hello Dale. I love the esoteric "music" you present. You definitely have your own corner on the VC, where your Bandcamp and other choices always intrigue.
Invensions For Radio sounds fascinating. It clearly owes something to Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker's late 50s Radio Ballads. I was familiar with Barry Bermange's name as a writer of radio plays, after coming across him during the research for my masters thesis. But I wasn't able to source any of his plays.
I'm not sure if by the time of the early 60s if the division in the BBC between the Radio Drama and Features department was still in place. Generally the output from both was very different, but at times the Drama department felt they were having their toes trodden on. Perhaps one of the best known BBC radio play productions is Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood broadcast in 1954, was actually a product of the Features department. I know the Radio Ballads was also a product of the Features Department, so it would be safe to assume Invensions For Radio also was.
I did find a reference to Invensions For Radio in the book, British Radio Drama, but it's not a glowing endorsement. David Wade writes of the use of the Radiophonic Workshop in practice;
"Radiophonics is, or ought to be, an immensely powerful aid to certain kinds of imaginative, invisible drama - creation sounds that never were to evoke worlds that might be; yet it has proved extremely difficult to produce convincing results, and this seems to be chiefly because electronic sound, being itself artificial, tends to dehumanise.
This was apparent even in such remarkable features of the early sixties as Barry Bermange's Invensions For Radio, where a background of electronic sound set against snatches of recorded interview,though spellbinding to begin with, gradually bled the human voices of all meaning."
We'll, there you go. I'm sure you might have a counter take, probably as your interest is primarily the landscapes. Or do you?
As someone whose interest in Radio Drama waned after spending the best part of eighteen months listening to, researching and writing about radio plays a features, I'm not sure if I'd take to these Invensions For Radio?
Sorry of the info dump, but I thought you might find it if interest.
Cheers - Hedley
Hi Hedley - great insight, thanks for taking the time to capture it, very interesting. I guess I would add two points to what was said at the time. 1. The music was in its infancy then and has influenced the development of modern electronic music since, so I think fair to regard it in that light. Maybe also there was a snobbishness about this crude approach elbowing out the more established, and costly, orchestras. 2. On the radio show itself, as well as the Radiophonic Workshop connection, I think it also has the added benefit of being a time capsule of social history now. This might add some importance now, compared to when it was just another contemporary piece of art...cheers Dale
Hi dale , I’ve listened to Beth’s album a few times while working but it’s not connected yet ..it may do in the autumn I’m not sure it has a summer vibe ☀️.. I know what you mean about getting back on the vc horse ..the vc is like the hotel California ,you can check out any time you please but you can never leave ..😃
Hi Rob - I definitely agree the Beth Gibbons album is no summer banger and maybe will be stronger as we head into autumn. cheers Dale
Nice pick ups Dale.
Interesting to hear you explain about the Delia Derbyshire recordings..as you say, a cultural as opposed to musical experience.
Never really listened to Camera Obscura, I should remedy that.
All the best
Rob.
Thanks Rob, I hope you give Camera Obscura a listen, cheers Dale
Some nice finds there. I really like that Harmonia record. I'm sure a Delia Derbyshire film was recently released - need to chase it down. Love looking at old footage of her being interviewed. It is rubbish that she was not credited on a lot of recordings. Have a nice weekend.
Hi Steve, I think there was a Delia Derbyshire film recently. I did watch the one put together by Caroline Catz which was pretty good. not sure if that's the one you mean...cheers Dale
Good to see you Dale. I really dig Harmonia's "Musik Von H" Reworks. I was lucky to find an original copy of the 74 release on Brain a few years back for $65. I think the price went up a bit since then. I did not even know the album when I bought it. Someone in the VC showed it about twelve years ago. How does it sound overall? Going to check out the Camera Obscura album. Thanks a lot D~
Rob/Boston
Hi Rob - Well done on finding an OG press of the Harmonia album, I'm not sure I've ever seen one. I have a couple of original UK Can albums and I had to pay a pretty penny for those...I hope you enjoy Camera Obscura...
I liked the different filming location while the Dale den was being hoovered. 😅
Had not heard about the Inventions for Radio box set. Your description makes it sound very attractive. Hope all is well. Good to see you.
Thanks John, I've had a word with the staff and should have my room back soon. All good here thanks, hope the same with you...
That's a cool Kate Bush record. I'd love that Harmonia LP. I keep meaning to investigate Camera Obscura.
I think you'd like Camera Obscura Brian. let me know how you get on...
We all go through such periods Dale when it's hard to muster up the energy to record a video - I know I do which is why I could never stick to a schedule like many video makers.
Most people online seemed to think RSD was good this year, but for me not so. I only picked up one item - post the actual day - and that proved to be a big mistake! That Inventions in Radio sounds intriguing, but not one I'd probably listen to again after it's initial play. The Harmonia album is excellent - not sure though that I'd be interested in the additional album of reworks though.
All the best... Pete
Hi Pete - Harmonia is a great addition to the collection. I agree on Inventions in Radio not being one I'll revisit often but interesting none the less. Take care Dale
Find that mojo Dale! I had just seen that Harmonia album and was wondering what it is about Krautrock. The cover design had grabbed my attention on it. I will have to stream some of that
I'm trying to find it Steve...Interested to know what you think of Harmonia...
There is no record store that does RSD any more in Bakersfield. So skipping RSD has been made easy for me. Inventions For Radio sounds like a one time listen for me. Two at most. Similar to how I feel about comedy or spoken word releases. There were a few RSD releases that I was interested in. I only picked up one, Wall Of Voodoo Live. This release is not only good but I think the best RSD release I have ever picked up.
Yes not sure how often I'll play Inventions for Radio but it is quite a hypnotic listen...
I've followed Camera Obscura too. All things considered, I really wanted to like this new one, but I thought it pretty weak. The song writing sub par and the new keyboardist is no Carey Lander, who I reckoned was pivotal for the direction and sound of the band.
Interesting you think it's weak, I wasn't getting that...I'll have to see how it stands-up over a few years to be really certain I guess...I know I don't revisit Desire Lines as much as the earlier albums...