Beard radio 19.05.08 - win tickets to Le Weekend!

Evan Parker

Hamid Drake & Raymond Boni

This week I'm joined again by Mark Haydn, who has brought his lovely tunes and dulcet Northern tones for your aural stimulation. Listening back to the show I realise we forgot to turn the jingle channel off during our opening bit of chat. Oooops!

We're previewing Le Weekend, Stirling's No Limits Music Festival, which kicks off at the Tolbooth on Friday 23 May, with a smattering of tunes from acts performing at this year's festival, as well as highlights from previous years. So that means William Parker, Hamid Drake, Evan Parker, Bill Wells, The Pastels, Thurston Moore and Borbetomagus. Tasty!

Win a Le Weekend festival pass!!!

Which of the following artists has Evan Parker not worked with?

(a) Robert Wyatt
(b) Charlie Watts' Big Band
(c) Michael Parkinson's House Band

Email your answers to beardmag@yahoo.co.uk

Here's our playlist, with Le Weekend connected artists highlighted.

De La Soul - Buddy (Three Feet High and Rising, 1989)
RZA - A Day To God is 1000 Years (Birth of a Prince, 2003)
Richard Thompson - Roll Over Vaughan Williams (Henry The Human Fly, 1972)
Ennio Morricone feat Edda Dell'Orso - Alla Serentina (Dell'Orso Sings Morricone, 2005)
William Parker & Hamid Drake - Sky (Summer Snow)
Tape - Sponge Chorus (Mileu, 2008)
Ex-Models - Chrome Hearts (Troubleman 2005)
The Blow - Fists Up (Paper Television, 2006)
Microphones - Bass Drum Dream (Song Islands
Roland Kirk - I Say A Little Prayer (Volunteered Slavery)
Tim Buckley - Starsailor (Starsailor, 1970)
The Pastels - Leaving This Island (Illumination, 1997)
Evan Parker Electro Acoustic Ensemble - Drawn Inward (Drawn Inward, 1999)
Richard Crandell - Etude in E (Spring Steel, 2007)
Reiko Kudo - Mrs Wheeler - (Rice filed silently riping in the night, 2000)
Noviciat de Soeurs Missionaires de Notre-Dame d'Afrique & four religious drummers - Yesu Mkwbaze (Lipa Kodiya City Council)
Jackie De Shannon - When You Walk In My Room (Her Own Kind Of Light, The Best of)
Thurston Moore - Neverday (Trees Against The Academy, 2007)
Alex Chilton - Alligator Man (Like Flies On Sherbert, 1980)
National Jazz Trio Of Scotland - Phantom Pain
Borbetomagus - Pink Pants

Beard radio 12.5.08

Mats Gustaffson & The Thing

Charlemagne Palestine

The Subcity Radiobot has now updated the links, so you can listen to the latest show right here!

Ably assisted by my good chum Gary, we bring you some face melting Egyptologist black metal, vampire porn soundtracks, golden age hip-hop, heavy jazz action, Portuguese fado, some gorgeous minimalism, neo-prog from Richard Youngs and Andrew Paine, sweet pop, molten Japanese noise rock, and other curiosities. Yowza!

Keep an ear and an eye out for our competition to win a pass to Le Weekend, Stirling's Outer Limits Music Festival.

Erik B & Rakim - Microphone Fiend (Follow The Leader, 1988)
Divine Styler - Ain't Sayin' Nothin' (1988)
Beat Happening - Noise (You Turn Me On, 1992)
Pissed Jeans - Ice Cream (Hope For Men, 2007)
Boxcutter - Mya Rave (Planet Mu/Plan B comp 2008)
Carlos Ramos - Torre De Belem (Victrola Favorites)
Jonathan Richman - Corner Store (Jonathan Goes Country, 1992)
The Vampire Sound Inc - The Lions and The Cucumber (Vampyros Lesbos OST)
Portishead - Hunter (Third, 2008)
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath - Nick Tete (Eclipse At Dawn, 1971)
Ivor Cutler - Life In A Scotch Sitting Room Vol 2 Episode 12
Melechesh - Tablets of Fate (Sphynx 2005)
Charlemagne Palestine - Excerpt 2 Duo Strumming For Two Harpsichords(Continuous Sound Forms, 1974)
Bill Wells Trio - Inadvertently Stolen (Live at Banchory, 2006)
Keiji Haino & Boris - From The Distance, with their own gentle eyes always fixed on us, they are affectionately gazing at the Black Implication Flooding (Black Implication Flooding, 1998)
Invisible Conga People - Cable Dazed (Italians Do It Better 12", 2008)
The Thing - Chiasma (Action Jazz, 2007)
Teiji Ito - Tenno III (Tenno, 1964)
Ilk - Honour's Prospect (Canticle, 2004)
Diamanda Galas - Iron Lady (Live, 1998)
Birthday Party - Sonny's Burning (The Bad Seed EP, 1983)

Beard Radio 5.5.08

I'm joined this week by Mr Mark Haydn, who has brought in some marvelous tunes from Bill Callahan (in wonky Afro-pop mode no less!), Orchestre Regional de Kayes, Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Luftkluster and more! Today's show also featured further goodies from Dust To Digital's amazing Victrola Favorites collection, as well as kick ass new stuff from the Fall, some slow disco from Glass Candy and Chromatics, and some beautiful calypso from Lord Kitchener.

Guided By Voices - Tractor Rape Chain (Bee Thousand, 1994)
The Fall - Wolf Kidult Man (Imperial Wax Solvent, 2008)
Ramones - Gimme Shock Treatment (Leave Home, 1978)
Lord Kitchener - London Is The Place For Me (London Is The Place For Me, Honest Jons comp)
Bill Callahan - Taken (Diamond Dancer EP, 2007)
Orchestre Regional de Kayes - Nanyuman (S/T, 1970)
Charles Mingus - Freedom (Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
Chromatics - Night Drive (Night Drive CD, Italians Do It Better 2007)
Mico - I See A Soul (Monika Barchen: Songs For Bruno, Knut & Tom, Monika Enterprise 2008)
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Arkansas Coal (Did You Ever?, 1971)
Religious Knives - The Sun (It's After Dark, 2007)
Parliament - Little Ol' Country Boy (Osmium, 1970)
Howling Hex - Activiy Risks (All-Night Fox, 2005)
Glass Candy - Computer Love (2007)
Luftkluster - We Pulled Roots (Oscillatone Records, 2006)
Noble Sissle Orchestra - Basement Blues (Victrola Favorites)
Tav Falco's Panther Burns - She Wants To Sell My Monkey (Pantherphobia, 2001)
Blind Mamie Forehand - Honey In The Rock (Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music)
Tara Jane O'Neill - Phoenix (To Trace A Raveling, 2007)
Vishnudan Shirali - Tabla Taranga (Victrola Favorites)
Babenzele Tribe - Four Voices Song (Bayaka)
Tom Waits - I Don't Want To Grow Up (Bone Machine, 1992)

The Herald hearts Beard

Beard gets a mention in The Herald, Scotland's leading quality newspaper. Thanks Simon!

Mogwai and friends, Tramway, Glasgow
SIMON STUART

Star rating: ****

THE last-ever Triptych Saturday began by illustrating the key flaw of its successor, the fans-choose-the-bands experiment that will be the Tennent's Mutual. Who - other than Mogwai or the staff of the estimable Beard magazine - would suggest the little-known RememberRemember to open a 10-hour music show? Graeme Ronald's web of loops was a breathtaking reminder of why curating is best left to curators.

The rest of the bill was short on surprises but exquisitely assembled. The only quibble being that the acoustic set from arch-miserablist Malcolm Middleton, while gorgeous, might have been better earlier in the evening. It was also a shame that whoever did the live mix for the borderline-godlike Errors apparently had no idea what they're meant to sound like: hear those slabs of skull-splitting synth? No, us neither - but their upcoming album should be one of the year's best. Frightened Rabbit, meanwhile, just get better and better: Celtic drone-folk (to coin a phrase) with - yes - a drum solo.

Watching Clinic power through their angry staccato stomps, a thought occurred: they should be The Fall. Seriously: next time Mark E Smith sacks his band, he should give them a call - and a much-needed kick up the backside. Still a great band, but one desperate for a sense of direction.
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I've been writing about Mogwai for 10 years now and have run out of superlatives. After a decade, one could take them for granted; here, though, in a majestic set bravely dominated by new material (all awesome, some transcendent) they were simply monumental. As one of Tennent's rivals might put it: probably the best rock band in the world.

Beard radio's panoply of esoteric and archaic delights 24.4.08

This week's Beard radio is one of our least rock orientated shows ever. Chinese opera, Buddhist Monks, Turkish surf-rock, Belgian chansons, fiery free improv blurts, kora laments, haunted electronics, Radiophonic mindfuckery, early jump blues, Easter Island singing groups, Sacred Harp singers...

Brigitte Fontaine & Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Comme A La Radio (Comme A La Radio, 1971)
Jacques Brel - Chanson Des Vieux Amants (J'Arrive)
Slim Lamain Orchestra - Memphis Step Up (Victrola Favorites)
Getachew Mekuria - one of his tunes from the Ethiopiques series
Black Future - Eu Sou O Rio (Nao Wave: Brazilian Post-Punk)
Benga & Coki - Night (Diary Of An Afro Warrior, 2008)
Deerhunter - Lake Somerset (Cryptograms, 2007)
Paul Flaherty & Chris Corsano - The Great Pine Tar Scandal (Beloved Music, 2006)
Alabama Sacred Harp Singers - Present Joys (Goodbye Babylon)
Lorke Lorke - Silvetler (Hava Narghile: Turkish Psychedelic Rock)
Easter Islands Men's Group - Hotu Matua (Secret Museum Of Mankind V)
Toumani Diabate - Ali Farka Toure (Mande Variations, 2008)
Mordant Music - Plant Room (Dead Air)
Delia Derbyshire - Pot Au Feu (Music From The Radiophonic Workshop)
Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Troupe - The Crow Flies Back to the Forest (Victrola Favorites)
Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Reese Pt 1 (Reese & The Smooth Ones, 1971)
Blind Boy Fuller - Step It Up (Victrola Favorites)
Yukie Kubo - Shin Shin Tankoubushi (Victrola Favorites)
Pere Ubu - Humor Me (The Modern Dance)
Chinese Buddhist Monks - Chanting The 10 Vows (Victrola Favorites)
Crevecouer - La Pievre (www.myspace.com//wearecrevecoeur )
John Jacob Niles - The Cherry Tree
Quack Quack - The Great Catsby (7" on Run of The Mill, 2006)
Loren Mazzacane Connors - The Death Of Shelly (Airs)

Club Swallows & Amazons

Come to this! I'm DJing!

Beard radio 21.4.08

We're back! A solo show, but one of my better ones, ie not too many ums and ers, and only a little bit of technical incompetence! So, what have we got for you this week? Deeply weird dubbed out psychedelic country doom from Porter Wagoner, who I had down as a mainstream 60s Nashville kinda guy. The incredible analogue synth pop of Bruce Haack. Some glorious reggae, highlife and Nigerian disco-funk. And as it's Triptych this weekend, we're playing some choice cuts from Wu Tang, Magik Markers, Sebadoh, Michael Hurley and James Blackshaw. Our customary really long track is an extract from Avro Part's masterpiece of Holy Minimalism, Tabula Rasa. Written for strings and prepared piano, it's deeply beautiful, resonant stuff. We always like to bring you unsigned and underground Scottish acts, and this week it's Edinburgh hyper spazz-pop trio Super Adventure Club - imagine Malkmus jamming with Zappa and Bis and you're halfway there. To set you up for the mighty Black Static Transmission, the show ends with the intense drone track from Kevin Drumm's incredible Sheer Hellish Miasma, a strong candidate for best psychedelic free noise album ever!

Bruce Haack - Electric To Me Turn (Electric Lucifer, 1970)*
Wu Tang Clan - Unpredictable (8 Diagrams, 2007)
Magik Markers - Taste (Boss, 2007)
Sebadoh - The Freed Pig (III, 1991)
Sepultura - Refuse Resist (Chaos AD, 1993)
John Coltrane - Naima (Giant Steps, 1960)
Tony Allen & His Afro Messengers - No Discrimination (Afro Disco Beat)
Quack Quack - Bravo 150 (myspace.com/quackquack)
A Certain Ratio - Do The Du (Early)
Michigan & Smiley - Nice Up The Dance (The Studio One Story)
Jack Rose - St Louis Blues (S/T, 2008)
Avro Part - 1. Frates (Tabula Rasa, 1977)
Silver Jews - What Is Not But Could Be If (Lookout mountain...2008)
Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room (The Rubber Room, 1968)
DJ Scotch Egg - Scotch Chicken (KFC Core, 2005)
Super Adventure Club - Built In Redundancy (myspace.com/superadventuremusic)
Collins Oke Elaicho & His Odologie Nobles Dance Band - Simini Yaya (Nigeria Special)
Gang Gang Dance - Nicoman (Rawwar EP, 2007)
Michael Hurley - Werewolf (Armchair Boogie, 1971)
James Blackshaw - Running To The Ghost (The Cloud Of Unknowing, 2007)
The Poets - That's The Way It's Got To Be (Nuggets II)
No Age - Teen Creeps (Nouns, 2008)
Kevin Drumm - Inferno (Sheer Hellish Miasma, 2002)

* just noticed that the stream cuts this off, so tune into the previous show, Night Time Tales and skip forward to the last few minutes to have your mind blown by Bruce Haack.