Song from No Man’s Land

by Better Than TV

An eagerly expected (by me) follow-up to Late — or a complete reboot? Apart from Sergio Contrino who, once again, kindly sent me a physical copy of the album, the line-up of this reincarnation of Better Than TV is totally different from that of their 2015 discographic debut. The continuity, if there was need for one, is provided by Standing with Sally (now with lyrics; cf. its Late version) and Samba per mi as well as by enigmatic black-and-white photos of jumping children. Also, like its predecessor, Song from No Man’s Land steer clears from avant-garde without being anywhere mainstream. Cassie Gorman’s vocal takes some getting used to — I’m still in the process. Sergio’s own (uncredited) voice on Bus Stop Blu sounds very much like it did when he played this song during our jam sessions some 15+ years ago, slightly out of tune. Then again, it’s his tune. My favourites are a delightful swing tune Da lontano and a darkish jazz-waltz L’attesa è lunga, both as atypical as possible (assuming there is such a thing as “typical” BTTV).

Song from No Man’s Land Before I Go Gerico Standing with Sally Da lontano Latin Song Norway Für Louis Hey Joe Samba per mi Bus Stop Blu L’attesa è lunga

All tracks written by Sergio Contrino Lyrics of (3) written with Ellie Warr Latin Song text by Ovid (Tristia, 1.3) better than TV Alastair Appleton: sax Ben Comeau: piano (4, 5, 6, 7) Cassie Gorman: voice Daniel Duffy: guitar Gabriel Bliard: trumpet Joe Davighi: drums Louis Day: trumpet (4, 6, 7) Luke Congdon: piano Rowan Haslam: voice (1, 8) and cello Sergio Contrino: bass Simon Fothergill: trombone Recorded by John Ward and Jes Kerr on September 14th, 2016 and April 30th, 2017 at Anglian Ruskin University, Cambridge Mastered at Metropolis Studios by Andy ‘Hippy’ Baldwin Mixdown Engineer: John Ward Produced by John Ward and Sergio Contrino

Varda por Agnès

a film by Agnès Varda

Another discovery thanks to Cines Babel. I had no slightest clue who Agnès Varda was and what she’s done for la Nouvelle Vague and cinema in general.

If the mission of this documentary was to make me wish to watch all her films, then it was accomplished. Of course, I need to see Cléo de 5 à 7 and Sans toit ni loi, but especially Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma, her box office flop featuring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jane Birkin, Sandrine Bonnaire, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Gina Lollobrigida and Marcello Mastroianni among others — did anyone ever made a film with all these guys?!

Yesterday

a film by Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis

Imagine a parallel universe where The Beatles, Oasis and Coke do not exist but, paradoxically, The Stones, Coldplay and Pepsi do. And why not. Stranger things happen in my own universe. For example, last Friday Tamara mentioned that Riga had been brought to a standstill by Ed Sheeran’s concert. Ed who? The name rang a distant bell. Edward Christopher Sheeran, MBE, that’s who, says Wikipedia. Whatever he did to earn his MBE passed unnoticed by me so far. There’s a ketchup known as “Heinz Edchup”, I learned. Well, I never.

Just five days later, that is, yesterday, I went to see Yesterday in Cines Babel. And there he was, Ed flippin’ Sheeran, quite deliberately making a complete ass of himself playing himself. Not so bad, I have to admit, but the movie would have been great even without him. (Richard Curtis said that his first choice for this role was that of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.) Himesh Patel shines in his debut role, as do most of the cast. Now, who wrote that soundtrack? It’s fantastic.

La biblioteca de los libros rechazados

a film by Rémi Bezançon

When I read on the poster “from the director of The First Day of the Rest of Your Life”, I knew I wanted to see it. The original version was shown in Cines Babel. Unfortunately, my work schedule was incompatible with its screening times, so I watched the film in Spanish. Which is a shame, because the chemistry between the protagonists, if there was any, is totally lost in the dub.

I liked the story although the mystery, in my opinion, could have had a more surprising solution. And by the way, the Spanish title is way better than Le mystère Henri Pick — I probably would pay no attention to the latter. Isn’t it ironic (once again).

Free live music in Las Palmas, June 2019

Some amazing musical events took place in June — many at the same time, so I was able to see but a fraction.

• 1 June: Islazz @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Yul Ballesteros & Friends, a true Canarian jazz “supergroup” closed this Musicando season presenting Islazz, a cycle of eight compositions dedicated to the islands of our archipelago: Fuerteventura, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Graciosa, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Featuring Juan Bosco Arencibia (trombone), Yul Ballesteros (guitar), Jose Carlos Cubas (percussion), Sebastián Gil Armas (trumpet), José Alberto Medina (piano), Gustavo Navarro (theorbo), Gladys Pérez Molina (flute), Yone Rodríguez Monzón (timple), Tana Santana (bass), Suso Vega (drums) and Jose Angel Vera (saxophone).

• 4 June: Exsurge Domine @ Casa de Colón, calle Colón, 1
  A part of the cycle Música antigua en el patio, this recital by the Valencian musician Vicent Bru i Soler was dedicated to the composers of the times of Martin Luther and the Counter-Reformation such as Antonio de Cabezón, Arnolt Schlick, Conrad Paumann, Hans Buchner, Hans Kotter, Francisco Correa de Arauxo y Pablo Bruna. Vicent played a beautiful harpsichord, a replica of the 16^th century instrument.
• 6 June: Seamus Blake @ Teatro Guiniguada, Plaza F. Mesa de León, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  The last masterclass organised by Mousikê La Laguna before the summer break.
• 7 June: Nancy Fabiola canta a Canarias @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Every year, to celebrate the foundation of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (the official date is 24 June of 1478), our city celebrates Fiestas fundacionales. This year, they started with the opening speeches by Dania Dévora (I am sure she is a good producer but man it was boring) and then by our mayor, Augusto Hidalgo (shorter and better). The concert, when it finally started, was quite good. Nancy Fabiola Herrera (mezzo-soprano) was accompanied by Orquesta Sinfónica de Las Palmas conducted by Rafael Sánchez-Araña and guest artists Berna Perles (soprano), Enrique Ferrer (tenor), Silvia Gómez Tuñón (soprano), María del Mar Moreno (baile), José María Curbelo (piano) and Leonel Gasso (bandoneon).
• 8 June: Música en el corazón de Vegueta @ various locations (in Vegueta)
  I just learned that this is the fourth year that patios of Vegueta hosting a number of musical events. As for us, we just discovered it this year. Altogether, there were ten patios and two plazas, but we had time to visit just three. Nayaband were playing in the patio of Fundación Juan Negrín (c/Reyes Católicos, 30); Francisco Navarro (marimba and drums) at Ilustre Colegio de Abogados (Plaza de San Agustín) — jolly good building they've got there, the lawyers I mean — and Abraham Ramos (timple) at Casa de la Iglesia (c/Doctor Chil, 17).
• 9 June: Eme Alfonso @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A brilliant Cuban singer-songwriter accompanied by Kiki Ferrer (drums), Santiago Greco (bass), Israel Sandoval (guitar) and Alejandro Vargas (piano).

• 15 June: Robert Jon & The Wreck and Morgane Ji @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  A double bill of two very different but equally impressive bands. Blues-rockers from Orange County, California, Robert Jon & The Wreck are Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocal, guitar), Andrew Espantman (drums), Henry James (lead guitar, vocals), Steve Maggiora (keyboards, vocals) and Warren Murrel (bass, vocals). The band’s former guitarist, Kristopher Butcher, defined their sound as “Southern cosmic rock’n’soul”, and I think it still holds true.
  Morgane Ji (lead vocals, banjo) with E.r.k. (guitar, keyboards, samples), Olivier Carole (bass, vocals) and Mogan Cornebert (drums), currently on their Woman Soldier tour, play catchy rock/electronica/world music fusion that makes everybody dance.

• 22 June: Lila Downs @ Plaza de la Música, Avenida Roberto Clemente Benijófar (next to Auditorio Alfredo Kraus)
  What a treat! It’s been more than ten years since I saw Lila Downs playing in London — and she is still as young as I remember her. She was accompanied by Nikki Campbell (percussion, quijada), Josh Deutsch (trumpet), Rafa Gómez (guitar), Luis Guzmán (bass), Sinuhe Padilla Isunza (jarana, quijada), George Saenz (trombone, accordion) and Yayo Serka (drums). With repertoire spanning her career, or at least from La Sandunga to her latest offering, Al Chile, Lila and the band were a pinnacle of already fantastic Fiestas fundacionales programme. I didn’t know until now that we have so many Mexicans in Gran Canaria.

Lila Downs’ concert was the last music event I went to in Las Palmas before heading to the Peninsula. It was so good that I didn’t even want to go to any other concert until my departure. Hasta luego, Gran Canaria!