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slow go the dark days
Last night in the room where I recorded ‘bottle the grief” - to be released this Friday the 1st of May. If you feel like pre-ordering it now that would be super good and if you feel like subscribing to receive the physical edition and a whole bunch of other music from me that would be even better. Either way, stay well and stay in touch please.
S
bottle the grief
Hi everyone
I have a new album of eight quiet songs that’s available for pre-order now and will be released Friday the 1st of May.
‘bottle the grief’ was recorded over three evenings in the back room of L.A. Signorina in Stuttgart a few weeks ago. One or two of the songs were written just after Christmas but most of them come from the first days of the lockdown when I was in Switzerland and then Stuttgart.
I have in mind to record some of these songs again with other musicians when we’re all able to move about a bit easier and these nights were always just about trying some new things in a good sounding room. The songs came full of words but light on tunes and it’s not perhaps the most sonically exciting thing to listen to. But as with all things it’s just a record and what was written and made and there’ll hopefully be more to come soon.
The album is available digitally through Bandcamp here and this time the physical edition is exclusive to those signed up for the Bandcamp subscription. There’s a few reasons for this - clearly putting together a physical release is a little difficult at the moment and I also just wanted to make something very intimate in a small edition. I’m also obviously not playing concerts at the moment so there’s really little opportunity to sell a lot of CDs. But if you choose to sign up for the 15€ subscription I’ll send you a copy, plus you get 6 albums to download from my back catalogue and the previous two subscription only releases. If you stay subscribing you get a new release every month. I think it’s a fair deal and it certainly helps me out a lot at the moment.
Please click here for more information at Bandcamp.
If you would prefer to use Paypal that’s absolutely possible and I have a page with a button here.
Anyway, the album is available as a hand stamped CDr with a hand typed cover and lyric sheet in a 100% recycled sleeve, sent to you wherever you are. You’ll also get a digital download of the album in a choice of formats whilst you wait for that to arrive.
A song ‘a carrion call’ from the album was posted to my Bandcamp last week as free download. I wrote this and played it twice and this is the second take. Didn’t have a final verse, just goes like that. You can listen and grab that here:
Here’s a very simple lyric video for the Youtubes.
All in all I recorded about twenty songs in the restaurant and the other half of them will most likely be next month’s Bandcamp subscription. Acoustic, different versions of songs I’ve previously recorded, like ‘The Hills Are Alive’, ‘Boys, I Am Worried’ and ‘SUPER GOOD ADVICE’. They all hang together as another thing somehow.
This is what I’ve been doing, hope some people are into it. Let me know please how you are doing and if you have any questions about any of this stuff.
Take care
Stephen
'Winter' by The Diamond Family Archive (free download)
At Prinz Willy
Winter is indeed upon most of us and yesterday I slipped and sloshed through the first snow I’ve seen fall. I’m home for a few days and reflecting and listening on what I’ve been making the last weeks. To start with, here’s a couple of things around a song by The Diamond Family Archive that I’ve been playing in the recent concerts.
At Prinz Willy’s wonderful corner bar in Kiel I played a rather quieter concert that was very enjoyable. Held the songs close and tried not to let things get too loud or unhinged. By the end of the night I was fit to burst and sure enough lashed out a bit at some innocent members of the nice audience. Apologies and whiskies went some way to fixing things, as is often the case.
Anyway, here’s from earlier in the set - ‘Winter’ by The Diamond Family Archive played spontaneously and a little wobbly true enough.
And here’s Laurence’s original, spectral version to listen and download:
Years ago in Brighton we even played it together:
I urge you all to go and listen to more music by this band, always so magic.
The Diamond Family Archive on Bandcamp
The Diamond Family Archive on Spotify
Have a nice weekend, speak soon
Stephen
PS
I believe this is @marshasdad_outside, whose point of view you can see here.
Zürich and Luzern
So I get to El Lokal, a beautiful old bar, restaurant and music venue in a military building in the centre of Zürich, surrounded on both sides by water and busy streets. I’m perfectly in time of course and we start an easy soundcheck. My friend Sophia arrives halfway through to join me on violin and then we sit upstairs and enjoy a fine dinner before the concert.
I’ve played here once before, a couple of years previously and the experience confirmed what I had long suspected - it’s one of the nicest places to play in the country as far as I’m concerned. It’s super friendly, nice and small, sounds brilliant and everyone there seems to do everything right. Their program is imaginative and brave and many people I respect and listen to have played there - Will Oldham, Damien Jurado, Jason Molina, Lambchop... This month Scarlet Rivera will bring her violin to the little stage, C.W. Stoneking is back - it goes on.
Anyway, I’m fortunate enough to have a nice audience this Sunday night and, although Sophia and I don’t play our greatest ever concert, it’s a super warm and friendly time on the island.
Later, I stay at Timo’s house and we sit up talking for a couple of hours before I sleep the sleep of death in a most comfortable bed. Delicious breakfast and then back to the venue for lunch - lunch too! It’s too much. I stagger out of the door to catch my train just as Maclcom Middleton turns up. Wish him a fun evening and then kind of skip down to the station.
I arrived in Luzern as the weather turned dark and the rain came. Opted for a bus ride up and over the hill to Nade’s house for a little Wohnzimmer concert she had arranged for me that night. Normally I’d be at her Phrontistery in town, but we thought we’d try something else and I think it was a change for her to invite people to her beautiful apartment.
We sat and talked before the guests came and then I played a kind of quiet set of songs, not all the usual things I rely on. Was refreshing and enjoyable. My buddy Karl turned up in time and was a fine evening.
Next day a wash out but also a day off so I kept warm and dry for as long as possible before making a dash for the station and a short ride back to Aarau for an evening off. Would be at Garage Bar the next night so this was a chance for stinky raclette and early to bed.
I realise normally I’d be uploading recordings from these shows and sharing them here. I have been taping everything and recordings will come but I haven’t quite managed an easy method to edit live recordings and get them up here without my laptop right now. I have everything I need except the desire to sit at my iPad for an hour importing and learning a good way of managing it. Perhaps tomorrow morning, let’s see what sort of a late night we have here in Bern. I’m at Zar bar, starts in an hour or so. Come quick.
Anyways, be well all, thanks for sticking with this.
Stephen
Empty Room
Empty room in my flat this weekend so this was my Saturday night. I think it’s a six song EP coming at some point but will have the St Arbogast church recording ready before then. Soon.
Two songs from VV X this weekend (free download)
Photo: @vincent_von_flieger
Bit of a full weekend down here in the south with a sweet little concert at MUZ in Nürnberg on Friday night and then the main event - Vivian Void’s 10th birthday party concert at the Desi.
VV hadn’t played a concert for over a year (babies, house moves, job changes, concerns and commitments of daily life) but they had been planning this show for a while. After an emotional speech from Stefanie from the band I played a bunch of heavy songs, including this.
She also joined me to sing ‘SUPER GOOD ADVICE’ as she often does but a few days before I’d realised that the rhythm of this was pretty much the same as their ‘STRETCH ACROBATIC’ song.
So, without telling her I stuck it on the end and everything went noisy and fun.
Carsten came down from Berlin for this concert and he uploaded plenty videos of us all too:
Now I get sick and have to make my tax return and try to book concerts. A come down and it goes slowly.
Stephen
Two concerts in Nürnberg this weekend.
Despite living here, I rarely play concerts in Nürnberg or Fürth - usually just if it’s something a friend is organising or a benefit concert or something like that. This is not to suggest that I’m charitable or particularly fussy but I hold to the old adage of not shitting where you eat. It’s also so much more enjoyable and exciting to play in front of strangers and to keep a little distance between the home life and the music life. A splash zone.
That being said this weekend I get to play two concerts 10 minutes from my bed, which is a fine, rare thing at times.
The first thing is tonight at MUZ in Gostenhof, Nürnberg. I’ll play an acoustic set in their tiny studio room (capacity 20?) as part of the city’s Stadtverführungen event - a weekend of walking tours through the town that take in different cultural and historical sites and happenings. I thought it sounded interesting and simple. Naturally as it’s such a small room it’s sold out but let’s see.
Saturday night is a big night in town as the 14 legged monster that is VIVIAN VOID are ten years old and will celebrate with an evening at Desi. I get to play too and part of the deal is everyone has to cover a song of theirs so there’s that as well. Again, let’s see. I am looking forward just the same.
More details about the concert are here and this is from their latest album ‘Rhododendron’ out a couple of years ago. They rehearse every week and have a wealth of material but it seems actually committing things to release comes harder. VV is a slippery beast.
For my part, here’s the only remix I ever made and so much fun with this my word.
Hope to see some familiar faces this weekend then - have fun all and speak soon please.
Stephen
Potraits by Anke
Just two portraits by my dear friend Anke, from her house in Dresden earlier this year.
Atelierkonzert in Stuttgart last night (free download)
Photo: @helle.helle.helle
I played a concert in Dirk and Danielle’s studio yesterday evening down here in Stuttgart. First gig in a couple of weeks - was wonderful to be invited (perhaps I invited myself) and a very enjoyable evening.
I played kind of ok, the room was high and open with a lovely wooden floor so I played most of the set acoustic. Some new songs got out of the house for the first time and here’s a free download of the first performance of ‘It Don’t Stop The Bleeding’ from the new album.
I’m here for a couple more days and then will play a short set in Fürth on the 12th of August with dear Julia Laura at the Babylon Kino. A handful of dates at the end of the month in the north of Germany to come too. It all goes on.
Have a lovely Sunday,
Stephen
ps - adding this one too, which was dedicated to Dr Lamb and whose good stuff is here.
'It Don't Stop The Bleeding' video
Here’s something Selina and I filmed a couple of days ago for the song ‘It Don’t Stop The Bleeding’ from the new album ‘A Day’. Thanks to her for patience and for understanding something of what I was getting at with this one.
Making things is fun, more coming soon then.
Have a lovely evening,
Stephen
'A Day' - new album available now
My latest album ‘A Day’ is now available to listen and buy at https://thegreatpark.bandcamp.com/album/a-day.
‘A Day’ was recorded entirely on the 14th of May in a tiny hut in the countryside near Baach, Germany. I had written a bunch of things that I thought could be put down but when I got there a lot of it changed and I spent an afternoon and most of the evening writing and playing as I went. The album is a loose thing, as most of my things tend to be, and perhaps I’ll get the chance to record some of these songs later and with other people. I suppose I work better when I’m inspired by a place and have a limited amount of time there, so I thank Martina for giving me the chance to hang out in this wonderful little space and wander about in such beautiful surroundings. She also took the photos you see here and the one on the cover, whilst I filmed some for the simple video below:
Of the songs, I think these sit in an in between place for me. I have an album of kind of playful things, light, often saucy text written over the last few years and I’ve recorded some of these songs in different places already without putting them out. But I also had these new ones and it didn’t feel like the right time or place for anything else. At least three of these were written on the day (‘now we know how we won’t’, ‘a kind of dog is not a cat’ and ‘what you fear to be the end comes around’ for sure) whilst the others had melodies and most of the text set beforehand.
I’ve been playing a few of these at the recent shows and they seem to be coming out different already, which perhaps goes to show what a collection of sketches this is.
Anyway, this is what I make.
Thanks for listening,
Stephen
Claude Hurni
A couple of portraits by Claude Hurni taken in the grounds of the beautiful Löwendenkmal in Luzern earlier this year. Claude has a website here and his Instagram here.
These were posted to my Instagram here, where there’s quite a bit more of this sort of thing.
'Now We Know How We Don't' from 'A Day'
A simple video filmed where I recorded ‘A Day’ which is now available to pre-order here:
I was going to wait a few more weeks before I made this but then I realised that I have a little time right now so it didn’t make sense to sit around looking at the stuff and listening over and over to the thing.
So, you can buy it now and you’ll get a download of the song ‘Now We Know How We Don’t’ today and the rest of the album on the 21st. I’ve made a physical edition too which will be sent out at the same time. I’ll write more about that in a few days but this morning it looks like this:
If you’ve signed up to the newsletter I’ll send you a free download of an exclusive track before the album is released and you can do that here.
Recording this album was an intense, joyful experience. A concentrated but loose 24 hours. Writing fast and seeing how things fell. I really try not to think too much or try to make perfect music but rather keep a record of how things go and this is certainly one of those.
Anyway, more later as ever - have a lovely weekend.
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
UPDATE - Newsletter Exclusive #1 - April 2019
There was an error with this compilation but this is just a quick update to say I got on it and I’ve fixed it and now all songs are where they should be and hopefully working as intended.
Apologies for the break in service and please download again.
That is all, love from the sunny west of Austria where I will have more to share later.
Stephen
Newsletter Exclusive #1 - April 2019
Recently I wanted to put something new together for subscribers of my mailing list so I thought I’d start making regular compilations that will change every couple of months. Exclusive mixtapes, downloadable diary entries, what have you. This here’s the first - a 14 song set of songs played at various concerts in April 2019. I played a bunch of enjoyable shows that month and these recordings are from nice nights in Karlsruhe, Luzern, Bern, Thun and Baden. The track list goes like this:
The River Of Men Flows Without End (Karlsruhe)
The Royal Canal (Luzern)
Boys, I Am Worried (Baden, with Sophia Basler on Violin)
Pretty Peggy-O (Luzern)
Here (Luzern)
Song For Fee (Karlsruhe)
Suit Of Stones (Thun)
If You Build It They Will Come (Baden, with Sophia Basler on Violin)
Make Each Other Anew (Thun)
There Is Joy Yet Between The Pages (Luzern)
Super Good Advice (Luzern)
We Could Have We Should Have We Didn’t (Bern)
Annabel (Bern)
We Swam A Little Song (Karlsruhe)
Whilst there aren’t any train wrecks here I didn’t pick these as any kind of perfect version or anything like that - rather there was something about each one that I liked and felt was worth keeping. Some of them are recorded purely acoustic in the room, whilst others are with a mixing desk and microphones and all. I’ve tried to put it together so it flows but no one’s going to think this is a seamless single concert. It’s a collection of moments I enjoyed at tasty places. Hopefully there’ll be more in the future.
Previously when people subscribe I’ve been giving out download codes for the Stitch compilation, but that feels a little out of date now and not really how things sound these days. My plan is to change it every 3 or 4 months and it will only be available to people on the mailing list. It’s free to sign up and I don’t spam people with emails every week or anything like that. If you like the sound of this the form is below. I’ll send a mail out on Sunday with the password to grab this release.
In other news I hope you’re enjoying the summer and getting out in it as much as you can. Take care and be well,
Stephen
The Woods (free download)
I’ve just released a new EP as a free download over on my Bandcamp site here. ‘The Woods’ was recorded a week or two ago in the forest near Baach, Germany. I set my audio recorder on the Hochsitz you see in the cover photo above and played for fifteen minutes or so. Three songs, including one that I also recorded for the new album coming next month. Much birdsong, a bee on the microphone, a plane overhead - all the good stuff, basically.
Here’s a simple video of the new song for those of you that can only listen whilst watching pictures move:
As with all this stuff, if you enjoy it please think about letting me know and if possible, share it somewhere online. All much appreciated.
That’s it, have a lovely Sunday evening.
Stephen
Baach
Photos by @mart.schneider from a couple of weeks ago in the countryside around Baach, Germany where I’ve been recording recently.
