Edinburgh Fringe 09: High Hopes and Let Downs

musicOMH has been here there and everywhere over the last few days. We have been disappointed: Hoipolloi’s The Doubtful Guest at the Traverse (various times) was one of the things we were most looking forward to and it was something of a let down. Based on the world and work of Edward Gorey it was visually spot-on and yet utterly undercut the elegance and concision of the original with a drawn out performance style that had the characters explaining their every action as they carried it out.

We have also been captivated by Accidental Nostalgia, Cynthia Hokins’ barmy musical memoir thingy, also at the Traverse (22.30). We have sympathised with the sad, yearning faces in the Daniel Kitson returns line as they reach the front of the queue only to get turned away. We are tired but not fatigued. We still have hopes of seeing surprising, exciting, hidden things. We’re sure they are out there.

That said we are off to see Frisky and Mannish's School of Pop tonight at the Underbelly (21.00); we know they are good, we know we like them but sometimes the comfort of the famailiar is what's required.

For further information, tickets and things, as ever, see: EdFringe.com.

Patrick Wolf on "c/o pop shenanigans"

At Cologne's C/O Pop festival on 13th August, Patrick Wolf got a bit howly, as has been widely reported.

The YouTube footage (below) shows him hurling a mic and a stand and generally looking a bit menacing after his set is ended before he expected it to be.

Wolf has now apologised. As apologies go, it's a good one, and bears quoting in full:

A public apology to all involved in the c/o pop shenanigans 

I am very sorry that I became too much wolf on stage at C/O Pop. I was singing Shakira’s new song "She Wolf" and I felt my animal instinct to protect my audience. My music is very tribal at the moment, I feel I am protective of all of them. It had been a very long day. I slept well but woke at 4 am to fly to Cologne to start a full day of back to back interviews and photos. My band and crew were setting up onstage and I had no idea of stage times as I do not wear a watch and wasn't informed that my set was being cut short before I went onstage by the relevant parties. 

One of the many people milling around backstage told me that the "music industry conference" had gone on too long. Being someone that thinks the audience comes before the industry, in my tired and promo overloaded tour brain, I took this as a demand for justice for the audience. This is why I directed my aggression, which came at the end of a very heated set, not at a man or woman. I was throwing the stool and the microphone at a black hole part of the stage where no one would get hurt but there would be a statement made... 

The spit did not land on anyone but was in general a display of "I don't respect you". As I said, my show is very tribal at the moment as there is a lot of good in the world to be fighting for. The words "bitch" and "motherfucker" really are not misogynistic words when you live near Soho, London, so let’s put that to rest. My tribe will know that I have over the past 10 years been a public champion for feminism, against ignorance and always fighting in the name of the good fight. 

The very bad footage you see on YouTube does not explain that the lady to my left is Victoria my long term violinist and good friend who I protect like a sibling and is not the one I am directing my words or aim to when throwing a piano stool. I would rather hit myself then see Victoria hurt by anyone, or any of my band. 

I'm terribly sorry if anyone was upset by this display of closure on a show, but as a human who works like a dog to keep myself in music during these hard times in the industry, I do have off days and bad moments like every other person in the world - although I am not sorry that I am passionate enough about music to care that my crowd didn't get their money's worth due to curfews and mismanagement of stage times. I hope you agree. The display of aggression was directed at nobody in particular, just life and darkness and hard times. I'm sorry if any people got in the way and I hope you can forgive me for causing any damage due to excess negative personal emotion. As you heard or saw, the audience was encoring for almost half an hour. 

My next album is about hope and romance and love, so I will bring you a bunch of bright red red roses and a box of After Eights next time from a helicopter when I see you all. 

So, a summary, major miscommunications backstage x lack of sleep due to very busy schedule x singing many songs about battling x an intense education from the extreme parts of London nightlife/wildlife/streetlife as a teenager x Steve Strange going on very late x a full day of cameras flashing and questions x being 26 years old and should have known better = bad wolf sorry. peace. pace. truce. Patrick Wolf

Patrick Wolf plays the Reading / Leeds Festivals over the August Bank Holiday. 

 Check out our interview with Patrick Wolf. 

Patrick Wolf @ C/O Pop, Cologne

Edinburgh Fringe 09: Forest Fringe

Yesterday was the half-way day for musicOMH and we celebrated by lightening our load (i.e two shows instead of five) and going for a nice long walk in the bits of Edinburgh that don’t contain venues. We stopped and had a cup of coffee and, get this, read a book rather than spend the time scribbling down notes about shows we had seen. We tried to empty our heads, for a short while, of things connected to theatre.

Later, when happily caffeinated and sun-fed, we broke our fast with the wonderful Sporadical, part of the opening night happenings at the Forest Fringe (21.00). Sporadical is a folk opera type thing by Little Bulb, the company behind the inventive and moving Crocosmia. This new show is very different in style from their last, a far bigger thing with ghosts and mermaids and music and props made of cardboard and poster paint.

Little Bulb are artists in residence at the Forest and the show will be grow and evolve over the next fortnight. The Forest Fringe has a ridiculously exciting programme: Melanie Wilson, Rotozaza, Action Hero, and it has a truly exciting vibe, an unforced air of creativity and energy. Go visit.

For more information visit ForestFringe.co.uk

UK goes global as World Music Album Chart launches

Once upon a time the UK charts consisted of a top 40 list for albums and singles. It's been getting ever more complicated down the years since, though; with the addition of downloads, airplay and genre charts, there are more chances than ever for PRs to legitimately claim their artist has enjoyed a UK Number 1.

We caught blind aboriginal superstar-in-the-making Gurrumul, or Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu to give him his full name, at Brighton's Great Escape festival back in May. Finally his heartfelt acoustic debut album has been released to Blighty's denizens, long after his countrymen had already decided he'd be a huge crossover hit and showered him with awards accordingly. That slowburning critical success has now been followed up with sales data which declares the Australian's album to be the first ever UK World Music Chart Number 1.

This has been possible since The Official Charts Company, the custodian of many a PR's hopes and dreams, launched two new charts this month. While Gurrumul tops the new Official UK World Music Album Chart, a second list is comprised of world music compilations and goes by the snappy title of the Official UK World Music Compilation Album Chart.

Some shy away from the nebulous term 'world music'. It's as though everything sung in a language other than English should be banished to a corner, away from 'proper music', lest Anglophonic peoples raise their gaze to the horizon and discover with shock that there's a world out there, and in it people play music.

While the Official Charts Company declares that these new charts will "give consumers a practical guide to this specialist genre and provide retailers, labels and distributors with promotional tools dedicated to their market," the debate will likely forever rage about whether such segregation helps or hinders cross-cultural artistic appreciation, or indeed the artists it declares as 'other'.

While I have sympathy with Baaba Maal, Camille, Manu Chao and others who snarl at the use of the term, and while I'm far from convinced that everything ever recorded in a language other than English can realistically be called a "specialist genre", hopefully anything that helps to shine a spotlight on music that would otherwise remain undiscovered is more help than hindrance.

As such, maybe ear-opening labels like Honest Jons and Sublime Frequencies will be able to populate the compilation chart with found songs from 1950s Gabon, 1930s Baghdad, Syrian bazaars and other exotic locales while Wrasse, World Circuit, Six Degrees, Real World and others get some recognition for their valuable support for emerging artists from around the globe.

Check out our recent Africa Special, featuring reviews and features of and on, amongst others, Tinariwen, Oumou Sangaré, Rokia Traoré, Amadou & Mariam, Tony Allen and Fela Kuti.

More on Gurrumul at his MySpace.

Gurrumul: Djarimirri (Live)

MP3: Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words

Radiohead have released their second new song in the space of a fortnight.  Following the British Legion charity download Harry Patch comes the freebie These Are My Twisted Words. Long-time producer Nigel Godrich was once again behind the controls.

On the band's official site Johnny Greenwood said: "Here's a new song, called These Are My Twisted Words. We've been recording for a while, and this was one of the first we finished. We're pretty proud of it. There's other stuff in various states of completion, but this is one we've been practicing, and which we'll probably play at this summer's concerts. Hope you like it."

As hinted just there, the band are expected to play new material at their forthcoming Reading / Leeds Festivals headline slot on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Download the MP3 or the torrent of These Are My Twisted Words at radiohead.com