Stressed and blessed...

Friday 19th June 2006

The events of the last 48 hours have begared belief.
At 2 points on Wednesday I thought that the planned mini tour in Croatia and Slovenja were not going to happen. The lack of a vehicle to get 5 people to the airport until 5pm that day (I praise and worship Nelly and Commercial Garage in Narberth!) and then another total f*#°k up which cannot actually be mentionned for legal reasons made for the most stressful start to a tour in my touring history.

But oh wonder of wonders and delight of delights, last night we took to the stage in Gala Hala, Ljubliana, Slovenia and had a sweet, inspirational, musical, uplifting and generally top experience. Thanks to all who came and supported.
Fell happily into bed at about 2 this morning having had 4 hours sleep in 48 hours. Am typing this direct in the lovely Gala Hala band room as the rest of the crew snore in the background!

We are the champions again...

Saturday 13th May 2006

I don't love Raffa Benitez and Peter Crouch.
I do love Stephen Gerrard, Sammi Hyypia, Jan Arno Riise (sorry for spellings!) and Liverpool Football club.
I have a soft spot for West Ham now (something I thought I'd never ever say!).
WHAT a cup final, what a rollercaoster of emotions, what a RESULT!!!
2 texts I got from fellow fans sum it up:
˝Never EVER say die! We said to Jake (my cousins 2 year old) we'd let off party poppers for every Liverpool goal... the place looks like a ticker tape parade went pas. F*#°k me I'm buzzing˝.
˝I have just cum real hard...again! LFC have the finals in operatic stylee always!˝

Speak out

Tuesday 9th May 2006

Not blogged for a while as life´s felt like there couldn't possibly be room or time, which is a daft head state to be in because there always is but once you start to get a backlog of what you think you want to say in your head you feel that you don't have time but if you just post something quickly as I'm doing now and get back on it then you're in the zone again. Clear? Well that made sense in my had.

Anyway the thing that's forced me to speak out is the selection of the England squad for the world cup. I love and support Liverpool football club but how the hell is Peter Crouch selected over the likes of Wright-Phillips, Harewood and Bent???!!!
And as for the fact that calamity James is in the squad - does Sven never learn, how many cock ups does a goalie have to make before he's chucked out?
And is Owen Hargreaves Sven's bastard love child and due to some mad blackmail plot he has to be selected to play for England?
I can't believe it.

Number 1!

Sunday 19th March 2006

The Versionist download chart came out today and 'Heart of Dub' is at number 1. Maximum thanks and respect to all the dub download crew.

I really wanted to sing a song about music a couple of years ago and talked to Colin about what I wanted the lyrics to express. I went off to Tesco and came back to to a song called "Magic". It's been through several incarnations and the latest one (tune number 2 off the new album ) is now available dubwise onVersionist.

Decided I'm going to make a series of podcasts about the story of tunes. It's taken a long time for the solo project to properly gel and therefore some of the tunes have gone through several different styles/phases with different musicians having different takes on them. Fascinating to me and hopefully the world at large!

First new tune available...

Sunday 5th March 2006

Just put the first dub of the first mix of the first tune from the "Molara Meet's Dubmerge" album on Versionist.
Very exciting - firstly to have new music out there and secondly to feel like my solo project is really starting to bear fruit.
:-)

Free!

Sunday 1st January 2006

I love those days like Christmas Day and New Years Day when you know that the world is sort of shut down and nobody's plotting to send you an evil bill - the world is in free fall slow motion and it's peaceful like no other days (I appreciate this is my subjective and idiosyncratic world view).

Anyway to cut a long story short I received an email from DJ Perch which illustrated to me how different our perspectives on our personal and working relationships were, and as a result of this I decided to quit Zion Train. Much as I love performing live, going through the motions of something which originated in the heart at another time with other people was becoming hollow. To continue doing it just for the money would not reflect the spirit of what I do, and the vibe of the audience versus the vibe of the people I was working with wasn't enough to sustain the desire to be involved.
Zion Train for me was music originated by Cod, mixed by Perch and performed live by at least Perch and myself (and ideally a brass section), so for me Zion Train is no more – whatever continues using that name will be something new and different.

Tune of the day

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

by Cat Stevens
This is going to be the last "Tune of the Day". I think I'm going to do a feature in my "Music" section called i&itunes (my iPod is called "i&iPod" so all essential listening will be covered there and I'll do a centralised round up of top listening:-)

Back on the outside...

Sunday 27th November 2005

Big D’s birthday so off ten pin bowling tonight – in Milford Haven. Sound incongruous?
We have been snowed in since Friday so should be looking forward to seeing the outside world, but in fact it’s much nicer to have an excuse not to have to interact with it! (For a few days anyway).

We all had Horlicks for breakfast today. I loved it as a child with the lumps it used to form but nowadays it has a special agent (probably some hideous chemical) that makes it mix smooth. Bring back the old style. And Horlicks tablets while we’re at it.

Colin has suggested I am a gay man inside a woman’s body. He could be right.

Tune of the day

Blitzkrieg Bop

by The Ramones

Baka Narberth...

Saturday 12th November 2005

Great day today.
Did a workshop (no lathe) with Su and Denise from Baka Beyond - Baka and Bayaka songs, African dance to hand drumming. Loved the singing and was dreading the dancing but in the end really got into it and enjoyed. Great day.
At the end of the workshop this guy who'd been to my gig the other week said to me "why don't you start a choir?"
I thought - why not? I'd love it. Songs from around the world, lots of people to sing them. So I'm going to do it! Wow.

Tune of the day

La Londe

by Baka Beyond

***

Summer stress subsides!

Wednesday 21st September 2005

I’ve been resisting writing in a petulant sort of way – it’s felt like too much history to attempt to relate and not enough time.
Then tonight, as Man City went 1-0 up against Doncaster Rovers in the league cup, I thought “now is the time”(though they subsequently lost on penalties sadly).

Main features
*My 500g niece is now 1.5kg, breathing for herself, feisty, and a total superstar.
*My girl is now 3 and my boy is now 5! Where did the years go? Incidentally how fantastic are the summer holidays – only this year have a truly appreciated the wonder of lie ins and having my children around 24-7.
*The vocal I did of Joy Division's 'Digital' for DJ Methodist is now out on a 7".
*2 close friends have been to see a psychic with amazing results – 99% accurate information, incredible revelations and apparently we ALL have a spirit guide. I’m going to go and see her myself and will keep you posted…
I am seriously hoping that neither of my Grandmothers are my spirit guide a) because they were both dour to put it politely and b) there are some things in life that one does not want ones grandmother to be witness too, even from the spirit world!
*Got bl**dy nits again. It’s not fair. If anyone near me has them (even when no-one I know has them) I always get them. Had to use the hideous chemical ‘Derbac’ twice, and for at least 6 weeks after I used it, every time I sweated – particularly after gigs – I could smell it. Horrible.

Gigs
*My two favourite Zion Train gigs of the summer were Ashton Court Festival in Bristol and Rhythms of the World in Hitchin. Both of them were just out there, thousands of people (me included) high on life together and just going for it big time.
Both were shortly after the July 7th London bombs and it was as if there were a visceral need to come together, unite as people of different colour skins and religions and dance wildly!
It was particularly moving in Hitchin that the local Vicar (whose office was our dressing room), Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist leaders went on stage together to denounce the bombings and call for unity. Rhythms of the World really is a very special festival, and genuinely involves the whole community.
*Loved the Molara band gig at Seasplash Festival in Croatia. Bonuses to this were guesting with Love Grocer the night before we played, and being followed on stage by Twinkle Brothers.
How amazing a voice, an energy, a presence Norman Grant is only seems to increase with age. If there were anyone on the roots circuit I aspire to it would be him. As for his band, the vocal combination of the lovely Jerry Lyons, Black Steel and Dub Judah was just amazing, and the rhythms were as tight as a gnats chuff.
The comedy journey there with an initially distressed and shouting Daddy Freddywas entertaining and eventful to say the least! After raging against all who had diss'd him, he went on to mention his love of Elton John (and other members of the gay community), Michael Jackson and how much he fancies Sarah Fergusson! He restored my faith in Jamaican humanity.
*Notable mentions Festival au Bout du Monde, Crozon, Bretagne – lovely mainly world music festival although bizarrely enough we went on after Joe Cocker. I was a bit concerned that the musical styles were a little too far apart for us to be appreciated, but all 15,000 people stayed and went wild. Vive les Bretons!
Also got in a trip to the beach which was stunning.
We finally did the first ever Zion Train gig in Spain – Tarrega near Barcelona. Lovely people lovely vibe. Also the first ZT gig featuring Earl 16 at Feeste in het Park, Oudenaarde, Belgium.
Rototom in Italy was a really nice sunny rootical day.
*Must mentions Vostrov Reggae Festival in Czech Republic, Hodokvas Festival, Slovakia and Endorset Dorset. All bouncy, positive and uplifting.
Molara band at Glastonbury was short but sweet if a little confusing!
*Better left unmentioned Sicily (the third 10 hour+ journey of the weekend combined with food poisoning and disorganised chaos made this a total nightmare. Thanks to all who did help).
The Powersteppers gig at Glastonbury was the day of the torrential rain so was sadly washed out.

Thoughts
*Plastic surgery has always given me the heeby geebies – unnecessary pain, cuts and bruises. But as I take to the stage these days or look in the mirror when wearing a vest I could well live without the bingo wings. I have learned to love and appreciate my Nigerian bum and thighs and can even generate affection for my post 2 caesarians belly. The scars on my face are my history, part of me. But the bingo wings, yuk. Still not been to the gym in 2005…
*What a joy it would be if Boris Johnson was elected tory leader. He’s such a twat.
*Lots of people seem to be wearing fur again particularly “supermodels” and American rappers. The latter are in general rich, conservative and stupid enough to possibly be excused, but what was the point of the campaign in which models denounced the wearing of fur in the 1990’s if only a decade or so later they are all wearing it again? Do their food starved tiny little brains not remember? Clearly it was fashionable then and isn’t now. Pathetic.
*When we were in Poland Perch was shown the internet video of one of the Americans kidnapped by the Iraqi militants having his throat cut. He was really shocked and horrified by it but said that everyone should see it because it was unimaginable.
I can’t agree. What he described to me I put images to which disturb me to this day, even though they are only from his description.
I hope never to see anything like that in my life.
I don’t hide from such realities and I do feel that everyone needs to know that these things are happening in the world we live in.
Those images will disturb him and he will never forget I’m sure, what he told me was enough for that to be true for me. I fear that actually seeing those images could push someone like me into a very extreme state of mind.
I cannot cope with fake violence in films never mind horror films – in which I cannot take the physical or emotional violence of the situations in which characters find themselves trapped. It’s not that I’m scared of blood, but that I abhor violence.
It profoundly disturbs and upsets me.
I hate big knives, guns, anything that human beings can kill each other with.
Every fibre of my being feels it’s not right.
*Women are weird.
I am one and therefore subject to some of the emotional territory - the stress, the obsessions, the jealousy, the mind games.
I’d feel sorry for men but they have their own set of built in baggage.
Furthermore it starts from birth – well at least 18months. My daughter and her girlfriends are already doing what women do!
The worst thing is that we are programmed to want and then entice/coerce/bully men into settling down to build homes and make children, and looking at my peers, when we get to the point when the men have finally said yes this is great this is what I want too and we have it all, we want something else.
Why are we like that?
It would be SO much easier all round if we could just be consistent. Just be satisfied with what we have when we’ve got it.

Revelations
*Podcasting. How great exactly? Adam Curry rock on. Dawn and drew are too whiney for me. Chef Mark Tafoyer has become most quoted in our kitchen. Respect to Trucker Llew. My two most enetertaining podcasts of the summer have been goyfire (anti Jewish/black/anything other than the Arian race). The goyfire news report had me falling off my chair with laughter, it was so funny, and they really mean it! Whorecast too is wonderful, SO dry, so wild in a totally ordinary kind of way and at times very very funny.
*Mashuptown.com - long may it continue.

Tune of the summer

Hope There’s Someone

by Anthony and the Johnsons

***

Best birthday present my sister ever had…

Monday 20th June 2005

My niece rocks.
She’s tiny. She’s hooked up to all sorts of machines, but she’s there in the incubator with her tiny arms and legs kicking.
She’s a fighter.
Wow.

Tune of the day

Zion

by Lauryn Hill

***