Monday's Long Songs For Isaac

Trying to think positive thoughts on the worst Monday of the year, while getting back into the commute and work groove. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts... 

When Isaac died my friend Chris Rotter (Chris Mackin) recorded a song for Isaac, a twenty three minute version of his song 86'ed (which I'd first heard when Andrew Weatherall played it on one of his radio shows. Chris recorded as Bad Meat Club and was also a former flatmate of Lone Swordsman Keith Tenniswood and the guitar player in the garage band version of Two Lone Swordsmen, not to mention the man whose guitars adorn Andrew's 2008 solo album A Pox On The Pioneers). At the time when Chris re- recorded 86'ed, we'd never met but had been friends online. Since then we've met a few times, usually at Todmorden's Golden Lion. 

Poet Or Prayer and 86'ed (on Andrew Weatherall 6Mix, 8th August 2010)

Poet Or Prayer is from Andrew's unreleased second solo album, a record that became the subject of a dispute between Andrew and the engineer Steve Boardman (who wanted co- writing credits and who took the hard drive hostage, at which point Andrew walked away, onto the next thing, later saying he quite liked the idea of having a legendary, lost and unreleased album. Laugh Myself To Sleep has never seen the light of day although the title track appeared on David Holmes' album Blind On A Galloping Horse, covered by David with guitar from Tim Fairplay). Chris plays banjo on Poet Or Prayer. 

Chris' new version of his song, 86'ed (For Isaac) is still up at Bandcamp, soaring instrumental cosmische with the proceeds going to The MPS Society (the charity that looks after families affected by MPS diseases and funds for research into cures and treatments). 

The MPS Society

Last week Chris released a new series of tracks for Isaac. This was a complete surprise to me and a lovely thing to do. Chris also sponsors a dolphin, Rainbow, so the new album is under a new guise, Dölphin Plays Music For Isaac. There are five long pieces of instrumental music, all variations on a theme, starting with the thirty minute long Ocean Droog (a minimalist piano and synth excursion, the perfect backdrop to thinking positive thoughts), and then Cowboy Droog (echo, lonesome guitar, glorious synth drones), Beautiful Droog (horns, swelling synth choirs), Space Droog (cosmische synths and Vangelis vibes) and finally Cosmic Droog (piano, space, more horns, fuzz guitar). The whole album is at Bandcamp. It's a pay what you want/ free deal but if you can Chris has asked people to donate to The PMS Society by way of payment. Thank you Chris- it's beautiful that Isaac is still being remembered in this way. Positive thoughts. 

Rotters

Chris Rotter and Pati Yang have two new songs out, both available at Bandcamp and both sending any monies raised to Medical Aid For Palestine. The first is The Killer Inside- synths fade in, a tambourine rattles, the bass throbs and and Pati sings. It's got that woozy, shimmery, shoegaze feel, a pop song wrapped up in a hazy guaze. Pay what you want, raise money for those in need, find it here. 

The second is Gravity (Take Me Home), a long lost, unreleased Rotter/ Yang song, now out in the wild and looking for a home. Acoustic guitar layered over a bed of synths, Pati singing of memory and loss. Again, pay what you want, find it here. 

Chris' brother Roger is the guitarist in The Early Years, a cosmische band from Hackney whose single Complicity in 2011 caused a stir, was played on the radio by Mr. Weatherall and led to 6 Mix and then remixing Paul Weller during his Sonik Kicks period. In 2017 they released an EP of remixes of songs from their album II which included two Andrew Weatherall remixes and an Andy Bell remix. Both Weatherall remixes are stunners obviously but Remix I is especially stunning, an exercise in krauty hypnosis, repetition, bleepy melodies interrupted occasionally by the sound of speeding cars. One of those remixes which is a little overlooked in the back catalogue. 

Hall Of Mirrors (Andrew Weatherall Remix I)

Bad Meat, Lucid Dream

Chris Rotter was the guitarist on the live band version of Two Lone Swordsmen and plays on the Wrong Meeting albums and Andrew's solo record from 2009 A Pox On The Pioneers. He has his own outfit, The Bad Meat Club. This song, 86'd, was previously only available on one of Andrew's 6 Music 6 Mix shows, a shimmering, pulsing piece of music from the point where kraut, psyche and shoegaze crossover. With the blessing of Andrew's family Chris has made it available at Bandcamp with the proceeds going to MIND. It's five and a half minutes of joy that you'll come back to time and again.



Play it back to back with this for some Friday in lockdown fun. The Lucid Dream, Carlisle's finest acid house/ noise rock four piece, had plans to release a new album this year which have been scuppered by Coronavirus but they've put out a new song anyway, something to whet the appetite. Sunrise is seven minutes of acid house, thumping drums, acid squiggle madness, synthlines and energy rush.

Nocturne

Chris Mackin (also Chris Rotter of Le Volume Courbe, the live band version of Two Lone Swordsmen and his own Bad Meat Club) shared this over Christmas and then it got lost in amongst all the merrymaking. Eleven and a half minutes of sonic adventuring and dancehall vibes, turning cosmiche at five thirty and then building.

Swordsmen On The Road

Back in the middle of the last decade Two Lone Swordsmen mutated into a live garage rock 'n' roll band with Andrew Weatherall on vocals, Keith Tenniswood on guitar and a bunch of friends helping out including Chris Mackin (Chris Rotter) on guitar and Nick Burton on drums. I saw them play at Sankey's but have no photographs. Who took pictures at gigs in 2007? Not me. These two live songs from when they played Brighton have come my way recently and thought some of you might be interested. First up is their speedy cover of the Gun Club's Sex Beat, which in studio version was on The Double Gone Chapel album.

Sex Beat (Live in Brighton)

Feast was on the Big Silver Shining Motor Of Sin ep, a four track vinyl release in 2004, a scuzzy, amped up tale of handing over cash to the doctor, over a building wall of sheet metal guitar noise. 'Ein, zwei, drei, vier...'

Feast (Live in Brighton)

The Volume Curve

The weekend and the presentation went very well. We caught up with lots of families we've met before and got introduced to new ones, dealing with diagnoses and disabled children and life limiting illness. It's good but I'm feeling knackered and drained already and that's not a good way to start the week.

Chris Rotter, round here recently as a member of The Patti Yang Group and Two Lone Swordsmen's guitar wrangler,tipped me off to this song he's involved with by Le Volume Courbe. Led by French-born, London-based singer Charlotte Marionneau, Le Volume Courbe play sweet psychedelic pop and have previously recorded with Kevin Shields, Hope Sandoval and members of Primal Scream. This song, The House, is a beauty, all sun dappled and full of gorgeous melodies.

Ready For Dub

Last week I posted The Patti Yang Group's I'm Ready, a smashing slice of summery house from Chris Mackin, Matty Skylab and Jagz Kooner. Quite a few of you seemed to approve. Chris has since provided this dub version, the romantically titled I'm Ready For Love Bog Dub

Wrong Meeting

In the middle of the last decade Two Lone Swordsmen moved from making high quality machine funk to adding live guitars and bass and digging out the rockabilly and garage band influences, with Weatherall singing. In 2004 they put out From The Double Gone Chapel (which had a cover of the Gun Club's Sex Beat) and then in 2007 the Wrong Meeting double set of albums in a lovely box with an art print and a t-shirt. In 2005 or 2006 they did a short tour as a 'proper' band including a gig at Sankey's Soap which I attended. The picture shows them playing in Edinburgh. The Soundcloud player below is a live recording of the band playing the title track from Wrong Meeting at the Bloc Weekender, posted by TLS guitarist Chris Rotter. Very good too- dirty guitars, rolling rhythm, sleazy fun.



I think there was video footage of this somewhere on the net at some point but I can't find it at the moment.

Wait Until Spring

Is today spring?

Chris Rotter has been Andrew Weatherall's guitarist, playing on both Two Lone Swordsmen and more recent solo stuff. I think he's played with Death In Vegas as well but might be wrong. The Bagging Area sub isn't here to fact check for me. Mr Rotter has his own band/project, The Bad Meat Club, who have released two e.p.s worth of material through Bandcamp. Try here and here where you can download nine songs for the cost of at least two British quid (one quid per e.p.). Mainly instrumental, a bit demo-ish in parts, there's rockabilly, garage, surf and post-punk influences going on, and a good dash of the Wrong Meeting and Pox On The Pioneers sound.

Wait Until Spring