Four Things #12
Four things #12..
Feels strange to wish you all a Happy New Year, seventeen days into 2020, with the US having narrowly warded off an armed conflict with Iran and Australia trying to control forest fires the size of a European country. Holland is promoting The Netherlands and want you to forget about Holland as the country name, even though everyone knows us as Holland, except for some who know us as The Netherlands, and even fewer who know we're The Netherlands and Holland's just a part of The Netherlands, unless we're talking about Holland in a historic manner, because The Netherlands didn't exist?!? Anywayyy...
My year has started well, with a couple good gigs already under my belt, and a nice mix I recorded for my German colleagues at Ilian Tape, that has been gaining some traction. You can listen to that right here. But let us get to these Four Things. If you enjoy reading this news letter, feel free to pass on the link to your friends, or check out the archive right here https://tinyletter.com/Martyn-Deykers.
Martyn
Jan 17, 2020
FIRST THING: ROGER ROBINSON
The first time I met Roger Robinson I remember quite well because I almost went deaf - not because of Rogers' conversational tone in the backstage area of Concorde 2 in Brighton, a nice concert venue on the British seaside. No, it was the audio assault on the ears that came shortly after the chat, by his band King Midas Sound and in particular the sonic terrorist behind the buttons (I say this with love), Kevin Martin (The Bug). Earlier that year the band had recorded one of my favorite songs, "Lost", graced by Roger's eerie falsetto vocals. Over the years I've tried to follow his lyrical and musical work, such as "Survivor" (for the Grenfell survivors) and his "Think Like An Artist" project that has been especially helpful to me personally. I'm so happy that his poetry bundle "A Portable Paradise" recently won the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize.
SECOND THING: PHASE 2
New York Graffiti originator Michael Marrow a.k.a, Phase 2 passed away on December 12th of last year. He was generally credited as the inventor of the "bubble letter" in the early 70s; a revolutionary new style in graffiti, mostly seen on the city's subway cars. Later he joined the United Graffiti Artists, (with writers like Taki 183 and Mike 171) which was one of the first crews that gained national attention in the media for subway art. Besides walls and subway cars, Phase 2 was also a crafty flyer designer for hip hop parties. Here is a nice profile on Phase 2, some more on his flyer design, and I also found a great interview with him by Adam Mansbach. (pic from NYT)
THIRD THING: THE JUNGLE PRINCE OF DELHI
Absolutely love this longread by Ellen Barry in the New York Times about an Indian family who, for more than 40 years, claimed to be the kin of the ancient Royal Oudh bloodline that supposedly disappeared after India came under British rule. Was Prince Cyrus of Oudh an impostor, or a relic of a different age? Regardless, the mystery remains even after all the details are uncovered. Fascinating stuff and amazing writing!
FOURTH THING: ALICE CLARK
This week I recorded another episode of my Darkest Light show on NTS, highlighting a label I've been obsessed with called Mainstream Records. This 60s/70s jazz label was headed by producer Bob Shad who recorded a sizable catalogue of quality jazz sessions somewhere on the axis of sweet jazz funk and more modal styles. His grandchildren, Mia and Judd Apatow (THAT Judd Apatow) and WeWantSounds have recently revived the label with some quality reissues (vinyl and Bandcamp), including an ultra-rare jazz dance classic by Alice Clark, known as the "holy grail of Northern Soul". There's a nice background article by Harold Heath about this amazing soul voice and that particular record here, and you can listen/buy it on Bandcamp now. My show airs Monday the 20th, here's "Charms of the Arms of Love" by Alice Clark: