Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts

Saturday 31 October 2020

MUSIC 2020

 



Christine and the Queens – what style, musicality and joy. Young French singer, who combines melody and funky dance beats. 

 

Bob Dylan’s new album – Rough and Rowdy Ways. His first album of original composition since 

 

Blue Rose Code – New Album - Healing of the Deepest Kind

 

Bandcamp Fridays – when you can contribute all your money to the artists you support.

 

Top 100 albums Rolling Stones

 Includes 

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Marvin Gaye – what’s going on Joni Mitchell - Blue

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks





**Celtic Connections 2021 announces its first live digital festival from 15th January to 1st February 2021

Offers a unique content online fro the very first time, hoping to reach an even wider audience. With special collaboration and workshops. Folk music is about the community and is inter-generational. The old plus the new.

Celtic connections is Europe’s largest winter music festival – welcoming over 2K artists over 300 events. 2021 will be the festivals 28th year.- with some of the biggest names in Scottish music scene and beyond. The full program will be announced in early December – with some fo the well-known and bets-loved acts that have graced the festival stages.

 

Roots music is always at the heart of the festival that unites with cultures and music world wide. The festival will focus on creating new digital content commissioned projects filmed over some fo Glasgow’s iconic venues. To support and encourage creative industries and to protect Scotland’s rich musical legacy. 

A number of international artists will be filmed remotely and added to the line up. Shows will be available for a week .

Funded by Glasgow life, creative Scotland and the Scottish government. https://www.celticconnections.com

 

 

We continue to enjoy the entirety and story of the album.

The album, as musician Pat Kane writes – “can contain express and captures a whole imaginary world or a rich slice of their era – and sometimes they can do both at the same time. “

 

Tuesday 30 June 2020

Scots Top Ten!



According to the Sunday Times recently - 

Top Ten Films
Local Hero
Gregory’s girl
Whisky Galore
Prime o miss Jean Brodie
Trainspotting
Wicker Man
Braveheart
Shallow Grave
Geordie
Restless Heart
Del Amitri

Top Ten bands 
Proclaimers
Simple minds
Deacon Blue
The Blue Nile
Travis
The Waterboys
Runrig
Belle & Sebastian
Del Amitri
Iain Banks & Alex Salmond
William MclLivanney
Top Ten authors
Robert Louis Stevenson
JK Rowling
Walter Scott
Iain Banks
William MclLivanney
Muriel Sparks
Irvine Welsh
Alasdair Gray
John Buchan
Lewis Grassic Gibbons
Top Ten Artists
Charles Rennie Macintosh
Henry Raeburn
SJ Peploe
JD Fergusson
Joan Eardley
Jack Vitrianno
Eduardo Paolozzi
Alison Watt
Margaret Macdonald
John Lawrie Morrison

Top Ten Scots Songwriters
Robert Burns
Gerry Rafferty
Annie Lennox
Lewis Capaldi
Ricky Ross
Lulu
Fran Healy
Proclaimers

Wednesday 26 June 2019

Edinburgh International book festival blog 2019


We Need new Stories 
THREADS FOR 2019 INCLUDE – 
Fragile Planet, Indigenous Voices, Her Story, Stories that make Scotland. Amnesty International Imprisoned writers series, music and more.
Contributors in 2019 – Val McDermid, Deray McKesson, Eilidh Muldoon, 
Famous names attending EIBF 2019 – Salman Rushdie, Elif Shafak, Naomi Wolf, Kevin Barry, Ian Rankin, Ben Okri, Cathy Newman, Kirsty Wark, Fintan O’Toole. Alexander McCall Smith. 


Through understanding our past stories: and as Rab Noakes says, "a future with no past has no future." New stories can emerge through the exchange of ideas, new stories may emerge.
Karl-Ove-Knausgaard
Brian May
Chelsea Clinton
Murray-Lachlan-Young
Ruby Wax
BOOKS are the keys to empathy, understanding, otherness, journeys of imagination, we could never otherwise take. A love of books begins before a child can walk or talk, by the joy of bedtime stories.

EIBF welcomes children authors, illustrators, academics, politicians, novelists, scientists, journalists, travel writers, musicians, artists, poets,


Famous names attending EIBF 2019 – Salman Rushdie, Elif Shafak, Naomi Wolf, Kevin Barry, Ian Rankin, Ben Okri, Cathy Newman, Kirsty Wark, Fintan O’Toole. Alexander Macoll Smith. Roddy Doyle, Kate Atkinson, Joanne Harris, DelRay McKessan (black lives matter) 
Sporting heroes – Chris Hoy, Katherine Graniger, Doddie Weir, 

A talk on homes for Migrants and Refugees – with Val McDermid, singer songwriter Karine Polwart, author Ali Smith, and Nayrouz Qarmour, (will speak of a Damascus refugee camp) who will discuss why people have to leave their homelands. The UK is a nation of immigrants (as is the US). What do we really mean by fear of immigrants? Is it a result of Blair’s uncontrolled influx of secret huge numbers of migrants. 

This year as well as main sponsor Baillie Gifford, the book festival has teamed up with the New York Times,with several of their journalist’s and writers – Naomi Wolf, Laura Watts, Yanan Yang, Adam Satariano, Josh Haner, 
*Music – Beerjacket, Tracy Thorn, Stuart Cosgrove, James MacMillan. 

More than ever we need ‘open spaces’ to discuss new worlds, adaptability, progress, to build bridges and for accountability. How do we encourage healthy, informed debates. 

**The joy and love of books in central, and EIBF also has a large Children’s book festival. 
EIBF celebrates the written and spoken word in the perfect setting of Charlotte square Edinburgh. EIBF is a celebration of books, written words ideas, spaces to collaborate and exchange views, inspiring stories. retrieving and renewing. 

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL - 11th to 27th August 2018




How do new stories evolve? 

Through understanding our past stories: and as Rab Noakes says, a future with no past has no future. New stories can emerge through the exchange of ideas, new stories may emerge.

Professor Tom Devine writes, in his latest book, The Scottish Clearance: A History of the Dispossessed, that until the 1960s, there were few academic studies on Scotland’s history after the Union of 1707.((there were more on Yorkshire)
Is democracy failing today, with the rise of populism, and as people seem to have lost all trust and faith in the system? Military expert now say its all about counterintelligence – Russia and China are experts in this field. Its no longer about huge warships and its about who controls information flows. With the rise of cyber warfare and online propaganda, how can we protect our freedoms and democracies. How can we regain trust?

We in Europe must remember we do have the rule of law, some accountability measures of free press, vibrant arts and quality universities. Knowledge is the key – reading stories, creativity, collaborations and understanding our past.  

**I am encouraged that Scotland’s first minster is a keen reader. But equally dismayed to read that neither Trump or Corbyn are readers. In fact Trump has fake book covers lining his walls. Says it all really. 

Most Scots have pride in their Scottish culture: from our highland glens, ballads and poetry, Edinburgh enlightenment, border hills, western isles, imposing historic castles and ever changing skies. We’ve had turbulent histories: William Wallace, John Knox, Mary Queen of Scots, Bannockburn, Reformation, Jacobites. We are known for our whisky, Clyde ships, fish, oil, tweed, tartan, golf, poetry and song.

We’ve given the world the great songs of Robert Burns and other great writers. And innovations such as Penicillin, steam engines and more. The traditions are continued by powerful troubadours of folk music with popular live acoustic music and world scale festivals such as Celtic connections and Edinburgh festivals – the world’s biggest arts festival. 
I am encouraged that Scotland’s first minster is a keen reader. But equally dismayed to read that neither Trump or Corbyn are readers. In fact Trump has fake book covers lining his walls. Says it all really.  

Our national poet Robert Burns was a ferocious reader and read at the dinner table. He enjoyed his aunts stories, his mothers songs and his fathers reading and conversations. Famous fashion designer, Karl Lagerfield, valued his vast library of books above all else. Francoise Frenkel, fled the Nazis  (author of No Place to Rest my Head) - and it was her books and poems that kept her hope alive. When the Communist regime in Russia wanted to control arts and thought, they exiled any free thinkers, writers and artists on the Philosophy steamer. 

Saturday 22 December 2018

Scottish Collaborations: Medici Intersection


In Edina at the Mercat Cross, the great and good gathered -  from all walks of life and it was a great melting pot of ideas. They met near William Creech’s publishing house, in the time of great men such a David Hume, Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, Robert Burns, Alexander Nasmyth, and many others. 

During the renaissance the Medici family provided opportunities for people from different disciplines – artists, writers, scientists, engineers, natural philosophies – to all come together, in a space where they could work together to solve problems. All the labs in England and Wales are commercially driven and are completely privatised. Whereas in Scotland we have  a more cohesive organisation, not driven commercially.”
‘its partly our philosophy of working together, which comes out of the Scottish enlightenment. The enlightenment here emerged in a different way than it did in England and Wales and France and elsewhere, because instead of just having scientists and natural philosophers working together to solve problems we also had artists and writers and poets and we brought them all together in some sort of a rammy.” Forensic scientists Dundee centre, on their multi disciplinary approach. "  
Namh Nic Daeid, Dorector Forensic centre Dundee

Medici intersection

Thursday 29 November 2018

Welcoming Different Cultures

It makes me unspeakably angry. The two big events I attend, take photos at and greatly enjoy each year – Celtic Connections and Edinburgh international book festival - are solidly based on diversity, inclusion, openness and collaboration from different cultures.

Since the Brexit vote it has become impossible for some international artists to travel to these festivals. This year several major African artists have decided it is far too difficult to try to attend Scottish festivals. 


The visa application process for artists, musicians and writers has been made so difficult by the UK Home Office, that many are now deciding its not worth the hassle. Donald Shaw (director of Celtic Connections) and Nick Barley (director of EIBF), both report that Britain is now a closed gate, particularly for African visas, and that festivals here will now have to be less international. Celtic Connections has been running for 26 years and EIBF, the oldest UK book festival since 1982; as well as hitting the main Edinburgh International festival.  

What will it mean for international festivals if our doors appear closed? Breixt sends out totally the wrong message. As Pat Kane puts it so well (National November 2018) – "Scottish nationalism is a cosmopolitan nationalism, as some German academics recently described their own country’s mainstream identity."  


British Nationals misunderstand Scottish Nationalism – which is not about isolationism but about democracy: its about all voices having a say, inclusiveness, more local government, equality and not isolation at all!?

Many artists, musicians and writers depend and thrive on cultural exchanges. Creatives value the ‘Four Freedoms’ – free movement of goods, services, capital and people. The academics, entrepreneurs and financial sectors also do. 


African acts were also unable to attended Peter Gabriel’s Womad festival, ‘ Do we really want  a white breaded Brexit flatland? A country that is losing the will to welcome the world?”

The withdrawal of the acts, from Mali and Senegal, has emerged months after Mr 
Shaw warned the festival may have to become less international in future over concerns Brexit would create a financial and logistical “nightmare.” 

Shaw has previously had to scale back his programme due to the plunging value of sterling since the EU vote. Celtic Connections has been hit months after the Edinburgh International Book Festival revealed up to a dozen authors had faced prolonged problems. 
Director Nick Barley warned the “humiliating” process – including demands to provide bank statements and birth certificates, and undergo biometric tests – would deter artists from visiting the UK in future. 

Mr Shaw said: “We had two quite large world music acts who I had pencilled in to perform that both pulled out about six weeks ago due to the hassle and stress of the visa application process. 

They just felt it wasn’t worth the grief. The application process was made so difficult for them they decided not to persevere. “These are top-class musicians who have been travelling around the world for 20 years. Britain now has a very solidly-locked gate, certainly in terms of African visas. 
“The whole thing undermines us as a Scottish festival with an international outlook. We always looked to embrace an internationalist programme. Anything that restricts that is disappointing. I don’t see any good reason for it.” 


Monday 20 March 2017

Suppression of Scottish Culture - Writers and Artists

Robert Burns statue bottom Leith walk
A recent tv program documented Burns success in American. There are 15 Statues of Burns there, more than to any other writer or musician. Yet in Scotland’s capital, which is covered in unionist statues along its Hanoverian new town streets there is one statue hidden away down the bottom of Leith walk. I was over for the Edinburgh festival and noticed all the George St statues, shockingly there is little on Scotland’s most famous son. 
This happened to the world’s greatest poet who was dismissed as simply a ‘heaven taught ploughman poet’ – when in fact he knew five languages and was a ferocious reader of the classics, philosophers and of the Scottish enlightenment. 

There has been devious, underhand, manipulative moves - not only to ignore the Scottish contributions to the world of the arts, writing, history, and science -.but to whitewash them out of history by those who support the Unionist establishment, the Anglicised Scots of all things English, who see their future in a House of Lords!

**As an example in 1854 the Irish poet Oscar Wilde was born and his mother named him - Oscar Fingal Ossian - ‘Isn’t that grand, misty and Ossianic” she said - yet today who has heard of James MacPherson's Ossian poems? More recently the 1980s there were moves by the English controlled Arts council to close the Scottish National portrait gallery and ignore Scottish art, which was strongly opposed, and thankfully has instead been refurbished and is flourishing today.

Oscar Wilde
This happened in Scotland’s schools where practically no Scottish history was taught until recently – nothing on the Scottish enlightenment, nothing on the great inventions, nothing of great Scottish writers, nothing of the medical inventions.

What I did learn was of Tudor England and of English writers such as Shakespeare, Wilfred Owen and some American writers. My only lessons in Scottish history were a couple of Burns songs with the Primary schools choir – Ca the Knowes, Comin Through the Rye. I was hooked. I feel angry that at school and college in Edinburgh, I learnt of French, American and English writers – but nothing on the great Scottish writers! Hopefully today with Scottish studies at our universities, this has improved in our schools too.

We need to ask - Why have we Scots forgotten? The idea has been to suppress the subordinate cultures such as Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Writers likes Burns and others fought against this in the years after the forced union. I was reading of the origins of Romantic poetry after I picked up a book at the National portrait gallery London on Romantic poets – of the Ossian poems of James MacPherson (read by Napoleon and worldwide), Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, Walter Scott, and of course the unparalleled Robert Burns - there was no mention - the international success of Scottish writers has been suppressed.

A few years ago my son graduated at the Royal college of Surgeons Edinburgh, where I was surprised to learn that we have the oldest centre for medicine in the world! There have also been many great Scottish scientific and medical innovations.


Artist and teacher Alexander Moffat and poet and lecturer Alan Raich, write in their informed book, Arts of Independence –“In most countries in their national galleries, half are devote to International Art and the other half to the Art of that nation itself." This is not the case in Scotland where Glasgow artists have been neglected too, as recently as the 1980s and they had to go to New York for recognition.  

I sat beside an Irish woman at a Celtic Connections concert once and I mentioned the wonderful Irish Writers museum in Dublin and by contrast  the tiny Scottish writers museum in Lady Stairs Close. She wondered, perhaps there are only a few great Scottish writers and she may well wonder….where are they and how are they remembered?


“Scots suffer from “virtual universal historical illiteracy’, says historian Tom Devine, “ perhaps that’s why they’ve struggled to engage with the Referendum campaign." 

I believe it is not only very important, but also time we honoured our great Bard, with a statue of him in St Andrews square (and not the other forgotten tyrant Dundas).
And that we also honoured Fergusson (Burn’s muse), Allan Ramsay and the many recent great Scottish writers along with the manygreatrecent authors with a decent Scottish writers museum.

Nationalism understandings matters – it matters to know and understand our roots, heritage and the stories that inform our nation. To understand the places and streets we walk upon. And not in an exclusive way but an inclusive way.
Hugh MacDiarmid
***The great Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid wrote, “To be truly international, you have to be national to begin with, to see the entire Scotland – and not an Anglo-centric or Anglo-American perspective that dominated media and 20th century cultural analysis.“

“The idea that national self-determination can fuse and ignite art, safeguard its provision, be the ground from which self-knowledge, love of others and the optimism of curiosity grows.”