The Underground of Happiness

A captivating tune from Howe Gelb as he goes back (to the future?) to a piano trio format and back to the atmosphere of the standards he grew up with. He also hooks up here with Lonna Kelley , often time associate of Gelb’s and duetter on ‘Pen to paper’ from the last Giant Sand record, Heartbreak Pass , one of the most glorious vocal performances ever committed to record I still believe. There’s a narcotic effect to this dual vocal, sleepy and late night. But though steeped in later years nostalgia, there’s a satisfying knottiness to the lyric that keeps pulling you back to wide awake. Love was just a just reward just not the thing that your heart could ill afford A beautiful intimate late night experience, this. Track 1 in this playlist

I sat down for a chat with Howe Gelb a few weeks ago. What a pleasure that was for me. He’s a wonderful speaker, a raconteur, you could sit down and listen to him all night. The warm engaging quality you find in his music is all there in person too. He was in town as part of the Giant Sand Farewell Tour which stopped off at Cyprus Avenue in Cork on April 14th. It was a beautiful day, the evening sunny so we sat on the street outside The Oliver Plunkett Bar just across the way from the venue. That's the strains of their regular Thursday night trad session you can hear cranking up in the background. The Farewell Tour was, I gather, a decision not to take to traipsing around the world much anymore (Howe turns 60 soon), although he hasn’t ruled out festival appearances, beginning with a few in Europe this summer. And to coincide, Fire Records are releasing a slew of his back catalogue over the next while, Sun Set , starting with six Giant Sand albums from across the deca...

The centrepiece of this week's show was a snippet of an interview I did with Howe Gelb a few weeks ago, when Giant Sand played in Cork as part of their farewell tour. The full interview is about 30 minutes long and I'll upload the whole thing here soon. He's a fascinating man. Also new music from Rozi Plain (gorgeous kosmische), Britta Phillips (noirish dream pop from her debut album), Cate Le Bon (keeping it brilliantly wonky), Dieterich & Barnes (John Dieterich of Deerhoof and Jeremy Barnes of Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk and a Hacksaw etc, making superb left field improv instrumentals) and XIXA (two of the guys from the Giant Sand band making psych cumbia). And Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld (pic), making vivid compelling chamber sounds, glorious. More on the blog. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy ...

Welcome to Part 2 of my Best of 2015 review. If you're a regular listener to the show, you'll know that folk music in all its forms is a staple of the playlists. And that's where we pick up here with another 22 great tunes. And as usual, it's fascinating to watch and hear what other strands make their way in - lounge, orchestral, whatever. Once again enjoy, and see you all on the other side in 2016. ************************************************************************************************ 1. Alela Diane & Ryan Francesconi – Shapeless (from the album Cold moon , Believe Recordings) A glorious winter entry to start, a collaboration between two fascinating artists in their own right. Like many in this list, it takes folk music and stretches it out until it’s transparent. In this case, classical, choral and tribal music are just a few of the ancestors visible behind Francesconi’s riveting fingerpicked guitar and Diane’s wonderfully pure and clea...

There's a new album from Giant Sand out, Howe Gelb and friends, and as usual there are some beautiful things contained within. We heard 'Pen to paper' from it on this week's show, a gorgeous late night meditation on writing, contact, communication, perhaps travel and ageing even, with sublime filtered piano, shuffling drums and a smoky nostalgic vocal. It's wonderful. Also wonderful is the late Rod McKuen contemplating Haiku poems and waitresses in bandanas over double bass. It's hilarious and poignant at the same time. New music from William D Drake , a great stomping medieval folk number; Orchestra of Spheres getting gloriously funky about the number universe; Virginia Wing with lissome psych pop. Polar Bear focusing on the light of the universe, Rozi Plain dealing a gorgeous kosmische. And Sheffield duo Nai Harvest with a welcome update of Husker Du. More on these pages. May 19 2015 w/ Giant Sand,Polar Bear,Orchestra of Spheres,Virgi...

We're not all that fussed about keeping up with trends, here around the UOH chalet. However, we tend to get excited when new Giant Sand material is announced. Have a listen to this, we played it on the show this week. Giant Sand "Recovery Mission (Radio Edit)" by FortLowellRecords Beautiful or what? I particularly like those lines - They found water on Mars, not much but surely substantial About a pound of frozen tears' worth, as such it's purely circumstantial Wry and poignant would be words. And that children's chorus later on is perfectly judged. It turns out that the tune is Howe Gelb's response to a certain shooting in Tucson, Arizona earlier this year. You'll have heard about it. Here are all the details, quoted from the Fort Lowell Records website, the label on which the compilation appears. (By the way, you'll find eight other tracks from the album streaming on that link - at first listen, they sound really good. In fact, I...