StuartEstell
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Posts posted by StuartEstell
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Other autoharpers/ists in recent years have included PJ Harvey and Eels...
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I don't do uptempo either
Really enjoyed the second version, Johanna - great stuff.
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Just for fun - "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey, recorded on my Jeffries duet. Finding that Eb7 chord at the end of the chorus is a swine.
https://soundcloud.com/5357311/video-games-lana-del-rey-cover
As I've posted on SoundCloud, I don't feel the need to switch gender perspective here - I sing enough folk songs which are narrated by a woman, and as far as I'm concerned this is the same sort of thing.
Great song - really looking forward to her next LP.
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As of this evening, some Lana Del Rey songs:
Born to Die
Video Games
Radio
and the new single West Coast.
I might record "Radio" if I get chance - great song, although it'll come with a strong language warning; I'm not about to censor it as to do so would completely wreck the sense of the song...
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The obvious one for accordion would be They Might Be Giants - they were at it nearly 30 years ago... Birdhouse In Your Soul was a great LP.
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Guess who...a fella on a Mccann duet...
:D ... and well done it is once again, fella!
Ha! Thanks Wolf.
In another musical life I'm a drone/doom metal tuba player (http://oretubadoom.com) - we have frequently played both Seven Angels and Ouroboros is Broken by Earth as a tuba duo with various guests (my favourite line-up was a gig we played in Bristol - two tubas and a contrabass clarinet). Dylan Carlson is a great melodist, I think.
The electronic tanpura I use is the iPhone app iTablaPro as the tanpuras are extremely configurable - plus you can add shruti box and swarmandal if the desire takes you.
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Army of Me - Bjork
That's the one with the Locrian riff, yes? I'd be most curious to hear how that ones comes out. The plodding rhythm could sound slick with concertina pacing.
That's the one. It's a pig to play - keeping the semiquaver bass part going in the verses is, er, fun.
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"Kick out the Jams, er, brothers and sisters..." - I presume we'd have to sing that version on a family-friendly forum such as this...
Various songs I've covered on concertina over the years:
Hurt - Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
Wouldn't You Miss Me - Syd Barrett
Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen
Effervescing Elephant - Syd Barrett
The Gunner's Dream / Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Bill Is Dead - The Fall
Girlfriend in a Coma - The Smiths
Velocity Girl - Primal Scream
Sister Ray / Venus in Furs / All Tomorrow's Parties / There She Goes Again / Waiting for the Man / Heroin (in fact most of the banana album at one time or another) - The Velvet Underground - Sister Ray is particularly hilarious on anglo...
Army of Me - Bjork
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Hello all,
Further to reading the "what pop songs do you play" thread - which I'll go and add to shortly, I recorded this version of "Ocean Rain" tonight just as a bit of fun. I must admit I struggle with the Big Finish, but then Ian McCulloch has to really force his voice up there these days too...
The Bunnymen marketed the Ocean Rain LP as "the greatest album ever made" with typical modesty. And if that's the case then this is the greatest song from the greatest album ever made. Just one verse and chorus, repeated in different moods, perfectly balanced. I love it.
https://soundcloud.com/5357311/ocean-rain-echo-and-the
Played on a 36-key G/D Norman anglo.
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Thanks Matthew. The Jeffries duet just felt right for this song - I had previously been trying it on C/G anglo for fun (still in the original key of F) but there are passages which simply don't work very well on anglo as you end up either with the bellows on the pull for too long, or with some rather unsatisfactory chord voicings.
As for working out the arrangement, I confess I didn't - and often don't - really. I work very much by ear with this sort of thing, I'm afraid - although it could certainly do with a bit of refinement.
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This is great, both - the folk process in full effect!
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It struck me when listening back to this that I haven't really sorted out how to sing Dire Straits songs without the vocal sounding very derivative. It's his rhythms and phrasing, particularly in the unpitched lines - they're so distinctive that they almost suck you into using an embarrassing fake Geordie accent.
Anyway - Romeo and Juliet from Making Movies is one of his songs which is just perfect. For many people of my generation in the 80s liking Dire Straits wasn't really "allowed". I always had a soft spot for Making Movies and Love Over Gold though.
I make no great claims for this, but it's a bit of fun:
https://soundcloud.com/5357311/romeo-and-juliet-dire-straits
I intend to do Telegraph Road at some point
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I agree - even in Dire Straits there was a really strong folk element in Knopfler's writing. I don't know the original of this one, but it feels to me as though it ought to have a similar feel to "Brothers in Arms" (the song) - I agree, I'd take it slower, and possibly strip down the accompaniment a little.
But that aside - nice work Wolf. And you've spurred me into recording a rough draft of Romeo and Juliet, which I'll post separately.
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Mike, Dave - I absolutely accept that mine isn't geared towards playing for the figures of the traditional dance that goes with it, so no criticism taken! To be honest I'm also fairly careless about the use of the B music when I play the tune - often its shape ends up being 2A 2B 2C 2B in my hands.
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Thanks Wolf, you beat me to it! Yes, I'm afraid my ornamentation of this tune might be a bit flowery for some tastes but I like it...
That's played on my C/G anglo (a 30-key, in Jeffries layout, made by Andrew Norman).
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Interesting - you both play it much more quickly than I do - I play it at a sort of Border Morris speed. My harmony is more like Wolf's, though. I'll try to record it this weekend.
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I'll listen to this once I get home - looking forward to it. It's a wonderful tune, and one I've long enjoyed playing.
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I'd offer a note of caution with scale-changer harmoniums - they can be a bit flimsily built, and the scale-changer mechanism can cause more trouble than it's worth. Better just to practise your ragas starting with "sa" as plenty of different pitches.
Incidentally, unless you've got a fully-microtonal set of reeds in there, and the keys on the keyboard to go with them, the usual scale-changer setup will only have the 12 chromatic notes of the usual Western scale. They're not particularly sophisticated - all that happens is that the keyboard shifts bodily to the next lever.
The other thing to bear in mind is that many Indian musicians you speak to will think in terms of 12 steps, not 22.
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Don't worry about flaws, Wolf - practice fixes those with time. The most important thing is that your co-ordination between voice and concertina is just fine, and your singing has real authenticity to it.
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Thanks for your kind words about my recording again Wolf - I like what you've done with this! It's a very different feel from mine - rhythmically it really means business, and I like your ornamentation too.
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Is it permitted to invoke the Riveted Action move and play Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, and 3?
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A bit more Maccann from me - a slightly histrionic version of The Maid Freed From The Gallows, sort of based on a version sung by Peggy Seeger that I only half-remembered the tune for!
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Fantastic Barbara Allan!
Since I'm just making first steps in self-accompanied singing (see link below) I take further inspiration from this. Love that meditative, hypnotic style!
Thank you for sharing!
Best wishes - Wolf
Thanks, Wolf. Glad you enjoyed them.
I'm very keen on keeping accompaniments as simple as possible. It's very easy to over-complicate things, I think, and I've certainly been guilty of that in the past - so I've been consciously paring everything back to essentials only.
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Both recorded on my 'phone with no editing - my trusty Maccann duet being pressed into service...
Barbara Allen: http://soundcloud.com/5357311/barbara-allen-tune-2
A Rich Young Man He Courted Me: https://soundcloud.com/5357311/a-rich-young-man-he-courted-me
Video Games - Lana Del Rey
in Concertina Videos & Music
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Thanks Ruediger - I'm not familiar with either of the songs you suggest but will have a listen. I'm currently working on a rather wayward take on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", though...