Looking back and looking forward...

Playlist

Half the year away...

Keeping going...

Big playlist today of singles that made the UK charts back in January 1973...

For no particular reason...

Also worked on brand new mixes of the Crazy Wisdom piece "Cowboys and Indians" and, then, put together mock ups of long and short versions of the possible new Crazy Wisdom album, before which, six EPs are now waiting to be released...

This afternoon, with Anne at Pilates, I compiled, recorded and uploaded the final podcast of the 1st half of 2025 (already!!)...

My albums of the month thus far, have been:-

January - Krokofant/6

February - Dream Theater/Parasomnia

March - Nels Cline/Consentrik Quartet

April - Goose/Everything Must Go

May - Sparks/MAD!

June - GoGo Penguin/Necessary Fictions

All strongly recommended of course...

Baked potatoes for tea, mine with cheese, coleslaw and beans...

Yum...

Some work on getting this up to date, including some posts from September 2023...

Downloaded 12 LPs from Bruit's record label but, as yet, very little listening...

TV watched and bed at 11:30...

Highlight of the Day : Podcasting and creating...

Today's New Music:

Rehearsing two LPs can be fun....

Playlist

Up just before 7, for a day of Crazy Wisdom and Capital Models...

Some work early on on CW then, into the car, and out to Rolsin for 10:15 dropping Anne of at the Gyle on the way...

Today we were rehearsing "Minimal" for Fopp...

...and "TWENTYFIVE FORTYFIVE" for Bathgate - which remains unconfirmed at present...

Home around 3pm...

Some TV to relax then, a tasty tea...

...and to editing the recordings...

 The "Minimal Session" was taken down from 1hr 57 to 1hr 08, while the "2545 Session" went from 1hr 30 to 41mins, so, over all, 3hr 27 of playing produced to 1hr 49 of music, comprising "Minimal" (16 songs) 56 mins; "2545" (10 songs) 35 mins (91 mins) and out-takes (6 songs) 19 mins...

Pretty well played all round considering that was only the fourth time we've played the 10 original canon songs (and the first time since February) and only our second go at the "laidback" set of Lou/Ferry/Eno/Bowie...

Johnny B's new pedal board was a success too...

Late on, furtehr relaxation with a CD bought 2 weeks ago in Newcastle - the Artemis Quartett playing two works written in 1873 - Brahms’ A Minor Op 51 Nr 2 and Verdi’s E Minor, his only quartet...

Recorded at and for Sender Freues Berlin 25 years ago but still sounding as fresh as ever…

...and a CD bought in Antwerp 3 weeks ago today, at Panoply, a solo piano LP from one time Bill Bruford collaborator, Michiel Borstlap - “Blue” is an album of pieces written for his then newborn daughter, back in 2011…

Nice...

Bed around midnight...

Highlight of the Day : Rehearsing

Today's New Music:

Uptown meets...

Playlist

Saturday - up with the larks, though I didn't hear them...

Getting to the end of the month...

Another "new" Crazy Wisdom track, "Origin", worked on for quite a bit of the morning...

Out with Anne and into town...

At 11:30, a meet up with internet chum John Riggs from Broughty Ferry - Anne went shopping and I mad my way to St James Quarter... 

Good chat with JR and his wife, Helen - nice to meet them IRL - and a deal done on the Beatles "Hey Jude" CD, which I bought during the week - turned out, it was the last one JR , a huge Beatles fan, needed to complete his collection of their American releases on CD...

At 12:20 to the tram...

...and back to Haymarket to meet up with Anne and Malcolm for a long lunch at Platform 5...

Home around 3:30...

More work on the new piece and got it all done and dusted and out to Sparky and Talcy...

Then, listening to a sampler from the label that issues French faves, Bruit's music...

Trying to keep track of which bands I might like to hear more of...

Late on this evening, succumbed to some Glastonbury - Neil Young was reasonable...

To bed at the end of his set...

Highlight of the Day : Uptown meetings...

Today's New Music:

A laid back hound can be the centre of attention...

Playlist

Up a little later than usual...

New music Friday an some nice things snaffled...

Breakfast was folowed by listening to the new acquisitions - or tracks therefrom...

Then, set up the gear at the laptop and tried out the new e-bow - much harder to use than I was led to believe but will no doubt be ok with practise...

Played along with the backing track for "The Heavenly Music Corporation" and it sounded not too bad...

An early tasty pasta tea and then out and down the hill for a bus to Haymarket...

And then, a tram to Newhaven...

...where old chum Ian Sclater picked me up and took me to his and Chrissy's new apartment overlooking the Forth...

Franco as as laid back as ever...

Good music chat for an hour or so then, out for the walk to the nearby Harbour Bar...

...where Franco drew the attention of the regulars and visitors...

More music chat and Germany chat and, all in all, an entertaining evening...

A tram back to Haymarket and then a bus to the zoo form a pick up from Annie...

Fang dropped by for some goodie drops - even coming in for a minute or so, before heading off into the night...

To bed at midnight...

Posted this for #CDFriday, even though I didn't actually listen to it...

Highlight of the Day : Out with Ian S...

Today's New Music:

Back to the big house...

Playlist

Up and working at 6:30...

A new version of the Crazy Wisdom track "Fascist God in Motion" adding vocals sampled from one of the the tracks from Malcolm's 2002 recordings...

Worked well...

A break for breakfast at 9:20...

More work and, then, out at 10:45...

Careful not to step on this wee chum as we made our way to the back gate...

25 minutes later we were entering the grounds of Hopetoun House, which we last visited in September 2010...

Many of the pictures this time are almost exactly the same as 15 years ago...

But, back then, with less broadband capability, I tended to post collages when taking 250 pictures in a day...

Not now though...

Brace yourself...

In...

Parked and walked to the main entrance...

..the view to the bridges over the Forth...

Stately...

The house was originally built for the 18 year old son and 17 yar old daughter in Law of wealthy parents in the Hope family - building commence in 1699...

You can read the history here...

And now, a pictorial tour...

This very old clock is "programmed" not to chime after 7pm so as not to wake anyone...

The room which leads to the library and games room...

...is also a library...

A train enthusiast lived here - a Bradshaw's Guide on his desk..

Small children - small, knowledgeable children - were wandering around at the same time as us...

This is the oldest book in the library - an Italian dictionary from 1623...

Already over 75 years old when the building of the house commenced...

Up the stairs...

Until the late 80's the cupula's painting content was covered in white and only rediscovered by chance...

Now, fully restored...

The servants' stairs are less salubrious...

Apparently the TV show "Outlander" is filmed here - and has caused quite an upturn in visitors...

I used the self same mirrors in this room, 15 years ago...

...to take a "reflective" pic similar to this...

My mind has not changed, it seems...

Back downstairs, we found ourselves at the entrance once more...

And now, the front part of the ground floor...

Works adorning the walls include a Rembrandt...

Ancestors populate the walls of this room (their descendants still live at the house - although it's now owned by a Trust)...

Here, the original 18 and 17 year old inhabitants...

The bells that called the servants...

Up to the viewing platform on the roof...

There is a third bridge since we were last up here...

...and down...

Servants' quarters...

...and, in the basement, the butler's pantry...

To the ballroom - with some tasteless hunting trophies from when the family "ran" India...

Lunchtime - to the converted stables...

...for tasty home made leek & potato soup with artisan bread...

Then, out for a walk around the grounds...

...preceded by a visit to the Ranger's office...

Off we went...

There were supposed to be deer here...

Anne had just finished lamenting their absence when two ran across the path right in front of us...

There was a big bee under these leaves...

Over on the river side of the estate, we did finally spy the herd of red deer...

...in the distance...

Back towards the house...

...for coffee and cake...

Orange and almond...

And, finally, back to the car, past a herd of black sheep...

And home...

More work before sending the tracks worked on today to Eddie and Talcy...

Fish n chips for tea...

...and an evening of telly and listening before hitting the sack just before midnight...

Highlight of the Day : Hopetoun House and music work...

Today's New Music: