COLUMN
Dispatch
Roddy Woomble reveals his fascination with the village people. The people of the village of London that is.
I I've been spending some time in London finishing off a new ldlewild record. which has been. by all accounts. a successful foray back into the world of rock music. I used to live in London. but hadn't spent any proper time there really until recently. When I moved there. I remember someone telling me to imagine it as a series of villages squashed together. which at the time I thought was a strange thing to say. Now. I agree; it's a city with no real centre. Instead it has about 40 different centres. This time we were staying in East London with its well designed boutiques and bars. and old east end granddads shaking their heads at the passing fashionistas. It's quite a fun mix. but there's no getting away from the fact that it's still a hard part of town. I saw a fight between two women at 103m. and almost got hit myself. for the sin of smiling. the day after. It’s a strange world when a smile becomes a bone of contention.
The studio we were working in came complete with it's own bar. which is dangerous. I'm not much of a beer drinker by trade. but I‘ve discovered a very strong Belgian bottled ale brewed by Monks. I was having some strange visions walking back up Kingsland road at night I can tell you. The hangover makes you want to be frugal and worship. Maybe that‘s the grand plan of Brothers Mark and Simon.
The next thing on the cards is a trip up to Iceland. We're going whale watching. which is exciting. I‘ve done it once before and it's quite a sight to behold. Whales are like the sea come to life. the perfect mix of the physical and spiritual power of nature. That said. the last time. out on the Pacific. the sea was so choppy that I spent a good bit of time avoiding the vomit that was blowing around on deck.
I Roddy Woomble's solo album My Silence is My Secret is out on now Pure Records.
60 THE LIST 5—19 Oct 2006
PUNK liUNK ERASE ERARATA Nice'N‘Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 17 Oct
Whether it’s new rave, nu-metal, emo or screamo, scenes invented by lazy hacks and twitchy hangers-on in overly-styled clothing don’t have a habit of sticking around for long. Thankfully the best of the bunch lumped into them do, and this inventive San Francisco trio thrust into the limelight in 2003 on the back of the punk-funk movement are one of the acts in it for the long haul. Where the now obsolete Radio 4, Moving Units and Hot Hot Heat failed by being unable to adequately follow up the records that catapulted them to success, Erase Errata have made the LP of their career in the recently released Night Life, even if it took them three years to do it.
Formed back in 2001, and quickly gaining a faithful legion of devotees with Other Animals and At Crystal Palace, the band now find themselves on the respected Kill Rock Stars roster (home to such treats as The Gossip, Sleater-Kinney and Elliott Smith over the years), yet one member down after guitarist Sara Jaffe left for grad school in 2004. The departure forced Jenny Hoyston (vocals, guitar), Ellie Erickson (bass) and Bianca Sparta (drums) to re-think everything, even rehearsing with a male singer at one point, but as
BIG BIG WORLD JAZZ OMAR SOSA-DHAFER YOUSSEF TRIO
Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. Wed 18 Oct; Tolbooth. Stirling. Sat 21 Oct;
Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow. Sun 22 Oct
The Scottish Arts Council's Tune Up touring scheme has illl'O‘JJlI up some very intriguing collaborations in its short but influential history. man‘, of them emanating from Big Big World promoter Billy Kelli, in Glasgow. His latest offering brings together not only pianist Omar Sosa and oud maestro Dhafer Y0usset. but also American percussion ‘.'."l/_'ElF(i Marque Gilmore in a
truly stellar trio.
Billy has already promoted both Sosa and Youssef indiVidually. and felt that bringing them together would be 'a magical combination. They are working on a new set of material for the tour. which opens in Aberdeen the night before the Edinburgh date. and also takes in a gig in Shetland.
Sosa is rightly regarded as a major innovator in combining Jazz with influences not only from his native Cuba. but the whole African heritage of the muSic. That long-standing interaction With African roots has included collaborations With many leading musiCians from both Africa and South
America.
It seemed natural enough. then. to team up With the Tunis‘ian Singer and Oud player. another exploratory figure on the i.-.ior|d-ia;/z scene. As Sosa sees it. in today‘s fluid muSical mindset they can take their muSic in pretty
much any direction they choose.
'For me. nothing is avant garde today. Exemthing is already on the table Garlic. onions and rice can go together in so many different ways. The Spirit people put into the food when they cook is always unique from one place to the next. That's pretty much how I feel about the ihuSiC.‘
(Kenny Mathiesoni
"4‘.
4”:
f. if Sparta explained recently it gave them the impetus to come back even stronger. ‘We had a lot of practices of just playing and playing, hating the band, doing a lot of work to get solid. Then all of a sudden it started clicking and we ended up writing really quickly. It was fluid and relaxed.’
Happy musicians make happy fans. which Erase Errata’s third effort will prove. It‘s a political hurricane of an album fuelled by discordant buzzing riffs, juddering basslines, danceable drums, compelling ice cool vocals and thought-provoking lyrics covering everything from war and romance to the frustration caused by capitalism in the western world. It's intelligent, but most importantly it’s catchy, rhythmic and raging with passion and energy. Hoyston recently claimed, ‘My lyrics are about the government, political disillusionment, and the things that keep us from thinking about what is really going on - being distracted by night life, consumerism and celebrity watching.’ Polemics aside, in polishing up their frantic art punk racket, Erase Errata now sound like an act fit for much more than simply cult status. And if more people cotton on to this culturally significant bunch, that’s when the real differences will be made.
(Camilla Pia)