A feature of the present lockdown experience has been the creative ways in which musicians have continued to pursue their art. Whilst we have been having zoom minutes and Facebook Live get togethers, some folk have been arranging performances of great complexity. The Symphonie Confinee are forty-five musicians and singers are brought together in a […]
Ievan’s Polkka
Today I want to take you on a musical journey with one of the catchiest earworms you will ever come across. It is entitled ‘Ievan’s Polkka’. It is a popular Finnish song with lyrics written in the early 1930s by Eino Kettunen to a traditional Finnish polka tune. The song is sung in very heavy […]
The Hot Sardines – Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen
Having begun this blog with a song sung in French, I am now turning my attention to a piece sung in German. However this was not the original language of the song. It began life in 1932 as ‘Bei Mir Bistu Shien’ (Yiddish) written by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda. However five years after its […]
Rachel Croft – I Said Wait
I have been meaning to post about our friend Rachel Croft since I started this blog. Rachel, who is based in York, is a multi-talented musician and artist who began as a busker and who’s career has progressed steadily from there. This video is one of her recent singles. When the world was normal, she […]
Pirates of the Caribbean – Rhapsody Philharmonic
I have to admit to be a real devotee of the flashmob. It might seems a little passé these days, but there is something wonderful about music suddenly being made in the midst of a crowd and then as abruptly as it began it is gone. It seems (that although the music itself might last), […]
Bring Me Sunshine – Yan Tan Tether
It has been such a miserable day – weather wise, that I was reminded of this recent offering for Make Music Day from our friends Yan Tan Tether. I hope that despite the effects of the blustery day on which it was recorded that it might cheer your day. There will be more from YTT […]
Honey and the Bear – Dark Heart
One of the brightest spots of this period of lockdown has been the weekly Sunday night concerts from Honey and the Bear. We came across them when they played at the Topic Folk Club in Bradford. A certain amount of serendipity was involved as they were standing in at short notice for another act. Each […]
The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain – Shiver Me Timbers
To lift our spirits during the lockdown the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain have been issuing a weekly music video. They are wonderfully fun group of people as can be seen in these offerings, particularly in their choice of music. So far they given us their versions of Kraftwerk’s The Model, Hawkwind’s Silver Machine and […]
Le Vent Nous Portera
The hardest part of any journey is where to begin. Bilbo Baggins understood the enormity of the first step. So where should I start? This seemed as good a place as any in my quest to introduce new sounds to you. Mea Culpa Jazz hail from Quebec and this is their somewhat hypnotic intrepretation of […]