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St Arbogast
The new recording ‘St Arbogast’ is now out as a physical and digital album both here on my site and also on my Bandcamp page. A free 4 song EP exclusive to newsletter subscribers is also available now. Here’s all the links and some words about the heavy thing.
I was invited to participate in the Arbogast folk festival in Austria at the end of June 2019. A three day, two night event in and around the grounds of the St Arbogast church and the different, interesting spaces there.
The weather was incredibly warm, it was the first time the festival had taken place and some scheduling hiccups meant that somehow over the weekend I really didn't get to play to so many people. I think all in all I played four little sets when the plan was for eight or so. At one of the concerts I had one guest.
Anyway, late on Sunday evening, when mostly everyone had left I went into the church to try to make something, or rather, try to give something. If the invitation was to come down and make some work and perform there I was feeling that I hadn't really had the opportunity to fulfil my side of the deal.
I recorded for two hours into a Zoom H5 audio recorder. Very simple, stereo microphones, no headphones, standing in front of the altar. There are fourteen complete songs - these ten that seem to go together and the others anyone can hear online separately.
To begin with I thought I'd get two or three songs. Thought of doing everything in C, church band style. Concept.
I didn't want to put the lights on and make anyone feel that they could come in. I took pictures with my phone of the big dark room, neat rows of white chairs and the big glass doors. Two months later hard drives were stolen so I lost these and actually for a week feared that I had lost the audio too. But I found out it was still on the SD card in the recorder so we have that and one picture I had already uploaded to my blog the morning after recording.
More and more I'm interested not so much in making recordings but in recording performances. Recording rooms and trying to be open to how things come out and can sound. I had a strange couple of hours in this dark space and when I listen now I can hear that feeling somewhere. At first I was scared to make a noise, quickly loved that noise and then later was scared again when I thought I had lost it.
Anyway, just some thoughts about this thing I made.
Many thanks to Johannes for the invitation and to everyone that weekend who made me feel welcome down there.
Stephen
Here’s the Bandcamp release, with immediate download:
As I wrote above also available is the four song EP ‘St Arbogast +’ with songs from the same session that weren’t included on the regular album. This a free download to anyone subscribing to my newsletter, which you can do so here.
Here’s a video Selina and I made in a couple of hours a few weeks ago in the Fürth forest.
I think Spotify and everything like that will come in a week or so, no rush. The last week or so has been very busy and I’m ok with not trying to put new music in every corner of the galaxy right away.
Thanks to everyone who already picked this up - I’ll send the physical copies out in a couple of days. Have a lovely week!
Stephen
St Arbogast - part three (free download)
Back home yesterday evening and will be here for a few days, principally to wash or burn all the clothes I’ve been wearing in the heat of the past week. I have concerts in Freiburg, Thun and Schaffhausen next week and in between a drive down to Italy to buy teaspoons. Yep.
Back to wrap up my time at the Folk Festival in Arbogast and the Sunday found me scheduled to play a concert in the Dunkelkammer, or the photography darkroom. Taped up windows and no light getting in and sure enough pitch black and couldn’t even see my hands. I was set to play at 3pm and by quarter past I had an audience of 2. The sun was high and hot and other music being played outside and really no surprise that most people wouldn’t want to shut themselves in a black room with me and listen to me in my element. It was dark, somehow it went darker.
After ten minutes one of my audience had to leave (she did well to last that long) and so I gather it was me playing to one lady. It was like playing alone, but with a purpose. I lost myself a little and had such strange fun. Felt my way through everything, tripping up from moment to moment but no matter and it’s really just the shape changing all the time.
Shortly after this the heat got to me so I took a nap in my room. When I woke two hours later the audience had completely changed, most of everyone that I had got to know over the previous two days had left and there was a string group playing lovely African music in the sunshine in front of the stage. Backstage was deserted, the fridge empty and catering nowhere to be seen. I missed something for sure.
To be honest over the weekend I had sometimes felt that I was missing out on playing and on a couple of occasions my slot just vanished. When I had been scheduled to play 6 concerts over two days I had only played 3. It was a bit weird to not be able to play to people as often as I had liked to or as often as had been planned, but of course I understand that festival programs have a habit of changing and there are always casualties.
But I was conscious of being invited to be in residence there so it was important for me that I really made something of my time. That I was productive if not giving a concert. So at around midnight I took my things into the chapel up the hill and set up at the altar. Deathly silent outside and full of warm, fat echo within I recorded in it’s own particular darkness for two hours. I was anything but quiet and I do believe I have another album out of that time. This will have to wait.
Anyway if anyone connected is reading this then I’d like to say thanks to all who made me feel welcome and in good company. Particularly Johannes for the invitation of course - will visit you next year if not before.
Have a nice evening all
Stephen
ps - seems like I appeared on Austrian television which you can see here. I’m told that’s something.
St Arbogast - part two (free download)
Backstage at golden hour.
I have showered 4 times each day and sit here now in my darkened room dripping and sliding about the place. We have shade under the trees but the sun burns through. The heat is incredible, I suppose this week the most common thing to say and hear pretty much anywhere in Europe.
I’m still at St Arbogast Folk Festival - it’s Sunday afternoon but I’m going to write some words about Friday night and Saturday here and then I’m off to find ice cream and the breeze. I remember such a thing.
Friday night Buntspecht played on the main stage in the evening and killed it. Fantastic players, brilliant performance all the good stuff and I’m already looking forward to seeing them again in a couple of weeks somewhere in Germany. Some of the performance stuff is a little too cabaret for my taste but they all play so well and this night it just grew and grew and had such momentum and dynamics. Amazing.
Earlier Paul Plut had made a great racket too and basically I have been well happy to be surprised with enjoying hearing new people for the first time. I don’t really get to go to festivals and generally tend not to like most music I hear played live. I’m sure I don’t try hard enough to make the effort and I suppose I have a bit of a grumpy attitude problem.
Anyway at some point in the afternoon, I’m not sure when but the sun was certainly high and hot, I played under the linden tree to a lovely little crowd gathered in it’s shade. As I wrote yesterday I’ve been approaching this weekend with the idea that I could play different songs and it’s true that’s been happening. That being said here’s a song I know by now recorded under the tree.
Right after this, another shower and then I played back up the hill in the woods. A scrappy, messy set and little worth sharing from this I’m afraid. Can listen again and check later. Met some fine people up there and it was nice enough. Afterwards I retreated back to the dark room, another shower of course and then I recorded some songs in here for an hour and I think I’ll have stuff to share from that in the future.
I hope you’re having a fine weekend too,
Stephen
St Arbogast - part one (free download)
I’m at the Folk Festival in St Arbogast, near Götzis, Austria for the weekend. It’s absolutely scorching hot, people are being super nice and the area is very beautiful. I have a three day residence here and trying to play and write as much as I can - the weather and the countryside are distracting and inspiring in equal measure.
I played a short set in the woods yesterday afternoon and here are a couple of recordings from that. I’ve been preparing some folk songs and unfamiliar material to play for this weekend and if ‘The Royal Canal’ isn’t so new for me at least ‘Soldier Johny’ isn’t a song I’ve not really played before and is kind of based on a traditional song. This was a simple acoustic concert, sitting on a log in front of 20 people in the middle of the forest and perhaps there are photos and videos to follow but this should give some impression if that’s what you’re after.
I’ll write some more words about the weekend when I get the chance but I’m scheduled to play three more concerts today, more again tomorrow and there are some locations here where music could sound grand so hopefully more recordings to come from this most pleasant place.
Anyhow, good morning and more later. Have a lovely Sunday,
Stephen