Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
DIETER MOEBIUS-NURTON.
DIETER MOEBIUS-NURTON. Although the late, great Dieter Moebius is best known for his groundbreaking work with Kluster, Cluster and Harmonia, he also enjoyed a successful solo career. However, Dieter Moebius’ solo career had to fit round his other musical commitments. So solo albums were sporadic. In total, Dieter Moebius released just five solo albums during …
MARIANNE FAITHFUL-NORTH COUNTRY MAID AND LOVE IN A MIST.
MARIANNE FAITHFUL-NORTH COUNTRY MAID AND LOVE IN A MIST. By March 1964, it was apparent that pop music wasn’t just a passing fad. The Beatles were a global phenomenon, and the British Invasion of the American charts had just begun. Britain was a musical powerhouse, that the world envied. Despite this, many labels weren’t resting …
HOUSE OF NOT-THE WALKABOUT OF A. NEXTER NIODE- PART TWO-SEXUS,
HOUSE OF NOT-THE WALKABOUT OF A. NEXTER NIODE- PART TWO-SEXUS, For many people, the golden age of the concept album was the seventies. It seemed that every self respecting rock band had to release a concept album. This was almost a musical rite of passage. However, rock’s royalty weren’t content to release just one concept …
MOGWAI-ATOMIC.
MOGWAI-ATOMIC. Glasgow-based post rock pioneers Mogwai, are no strangers to the world of soundtracks. They’ve previously released three soundtracks in the last ten years. The first was Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait in October 2006. Just a month later, Mogwai released the soundtrack to The Fountain in November 2006. After releasing two soundtracks in the …
QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT-VINYL EDITION.
QLUSTER-ECHTZEIT-VINYL EDITION. Back in 1969, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius and Conrad Schnitzler founded Kluster, which would become one of the most important groups in the nascent Krautrock movement. Kluster went on to release two albums between 1969 and 1971, Zwei-Ostere and Klopfzeichen. However, in 1971 Conrad Schnitzler announced that he was leaving Kluster. So Hans-Joachim …
ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS.
ONE TRACK MIND- MORE MOTOWN GUYS. For some time, Berry Gordy Jr. had ben thinking of heading out on his own. He was fed up working for other people, and decided the time had come to form his own record company. So using the royalties he received from writing songs for Jackie Wilson, and an …
JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS.
JACK ASHFORD-JUST PRODUCTIONS. By 1966, Jack Ashford was a familiar face in Detroit’s music jazz scene. The Philly born musician had been a member of Marvin Gaye’s touring band before he became a Funk Brother. Through meeting the Motown musicians, Jack decided to base himself in Detroit. Soon, he became part of Motown’s legendary studio band …
LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970.
LOVE HIT ME!-DECCA BEAT GIRLS 1962-1970. The post-Beatles’ pop boom of the early sixties seemed to catch some record labels unaware. They came to the party late. Some label executives thought that pop music was a passing fad, and were reluctant to commit scarce resources to it. This had disastrous consequences. By the time, these …
CALIFORNIA SOUL-FUNK AND SOUL FROM THE GOLDEN STATE 1967-1976.
CALIFORNIA SOUL-FUNK AND SOUL FROM THE GOLDEN STATE 1967-1976. Even today, many people still see California as an idyllic paradise. They see the Golden State as a place where the sun shines all summer long on a sparkling blue Ocean. Meanwhile, the beautiful people arrive at the beach in their Little Deuce Coupe, where they …
KONONO Nº1 MEETS BATIDA.
KONONO Nº1 MEETS BATIDA. In 2008, Konono Nº1 won a Grammy Award for their 2007 album Live At Couleur Café. It was released on Crammed Discs, and was the third album Konono Nº1 had released since producer Vincent Kenis rediscovered the group just a few years earlier. By then, Konono Nº1 were already approaching veteran …
KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971.
KINKED! KINKS SONGS AND SESSIONS 1964-1971. Between 1964 and 1971, The Kinks were musical trailblazers who took Britain and America by storm. Critical acclaim accompanied many of The Kinks’ albums. Partly, this was because The Kinks never stood still musically. Instead, they were musical chameleons. They realised that to stay relevant, that their music had …
SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED-VINYL EDITION.
SULA BASSANA-SHIPWRECKED-VINYL EDITION. Nowadays, most musicians are content to release an album every year or two. It’s a far cry from the sixties and seventies when bands would regularly release two albums a year. That most people thought, was a thing of the past. However, it’s not. Dave Schmidt is proof of this. His three …
DIETER MOEBIUS-BLOTCH.
DIETER MOEBIUS-BLOTCH. Probably, the most overused word in the English language is legend. Recently, it seems, the word has been used to describe overrated musical butterflies, who glibly flit between musical genres. They hang onto the coattails of much more talented musicians, hoping that some of their magic will rub off. When this didn’t result …
MIKE HARRISON-MIKE HARRISON, SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING AND RAINBOW RIDER.
MIKE HARRISON-MIKE HARRISON, SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING AND RAINBOW RIDER. There aren’t many artists who enjoy the longevity that Mike Harrison has enjoyed. His career has spanned six decades. During that period Mike Harrison has been the lead singer of The V.I.P.s, Art and the Hamburg Blues Band. However, Mike Harrison is best known as the lead …
CLUSTER 1971-1981.
CLUSTER 1971-1981. The Cluster story began in the Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin. That’s where Hans-Joachim Roedelius first met Dieter Moebius. Little did they know that they were about to embark upon a musical journey that would last five decades. During that period, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius were part of three of …
SØLYST-THE STEAM AGE.
SØLYST-THE STEAM AGE. Time management is important for any musician. Especially when they’re trying to juggle several projects at once. Some musicians struggle to do so, while others make it look ridiculously easy. This includes Düsseldorf based drummer Thomas Klein. He has been combining musical projects over the last three decades. Originally, Thomas Klein was …
DAN WHITEHOUSE-INTRODUCING.
DAN WHITEHOUSE-INTRODUCING. When Birmingham based Dan Whitehouse came to record his debut album, he didn’t head to one of the city’s many recording studios. Instead, his flat became a makeshift studio. That was where Dan Whitehouse recorded the eleven songs that became his eponymous debut album. It was released in 2012, and introduced Dan Whitehouse …
BLACK MOON CIRCLE-SEA OF CLOUDS.
BLACK MOON CIRCLE-SEA OF CLOUDS. Last year, I described Norwegian space rock pioneers, Black Moon Circle as one of the rising stars of the Norwegian music scene. Since then, Black Moon Circle’s star has been in the ascendancy. Their third album, The Studio Jams Volume I: Yellow Nebula In The Sky was released to widespread …
YURI GAGARIN-AT THE CENTER OF ALL INFINITY-VINYL EDITION.
YURI GAGARIN-AT THE CENTER OF ALL INFINITY-VINYL EDITION. Since the dawn of the internet age, the way music has been made, released and consumed has been totally transformed. For unsigned bands this has been a game-changer. Yuri Gagarin are proof of this. Swedish space rockers Yuri Gagarin were formed in Gothenburg, in early 2012. For …
JON BALKE-WARP.
JON BALKE-WARP. There aren’t many twelve year olds that switch from classical music to the blues. That’s apart from the Norwegian pianist Jon Balke. He grew up learning to play classical piano. However, by the time he was twelve, Jon Balke was ready to turn his back on Bach and Beethoven. The year was 1967, and psychedelia …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 