The Underground of Happiness

A few things of note on the Asthmatic Kitty front. First a new video from the great Shara Worden , that is My Brightest Diamond , taken from the current album All things will unwind (you'll find other Diamond-related info here and here ). At the risk of sounding churlish, I must admit this video gives me a bit of a rash - it's just sooo right-on. However, it's chamber pop, people, and we have religious obligations around here about catchy, effervescent pop tunes played on orchestral instruments. My Brightest Diamond - ALL THINGS WILL UNWIND: High Low Middle from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo . And next to something so bonkers, it makes Gruff Rhys look staid and conformist (which he's not, at all). The name of the group is Pepe Deluxé , new to me. Have a read of this first. This is the first ever composition for The Great Stalacpipe Organ, the largest musical instrument in the world, located deep in the caverns of Luray, Virginia. The Organ consists of hand-tuned anc...

As an adjunct to last week's mention of the new My Brightest Diamond album , some great new Take Away Shows of her ( Shara Worden ) with some friends have just been released by the wonderful La Blogotheque . This first film features her solo with guitar sitting at the bar of the Hotel MichelBerger in Berlin (sounds good so far, says you) singing a song she wrote for her son (if my French isn't mistaken). Apart from being achingly beautiful, it also shows the meaning of "inhabiting" a song, as opposed to simply singing it. Those tears aren't crocodile, girls. My Brightest Diamond | I Have Never Loved Someone | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo . This next one switches to New York (in the park, near water) and features Shara Worden and the yMusic Ensemble , who play extensively on the new album. There are actually two pieces of music here - first a song (she plays an autoharp and suppresses a smile, as if the director was trying to make her laug...

Another notable release this month on Asthmatic Kitty is the new album by My Brightest Diamond , All things will unwind . We opened this week's show with a song from the album, Reaching through to the other side . It's an affecting, fluttering chamber-pop piece, all flutes and clarinets and bending violins, and of course Shara Worden's always engaging voice. It's really beautiful, as you can hear here. Reaching Through to the Other Side by My Brightest Diamond In the past, MBD was/were one of those artists I've admired from a distance, without getting up to my neck in. I might have to change that. Here, Shara Worden describes the background to the visual and other concepts at play on the album, including the funky body-painting art design and superb synthetic hair sculpture. Personal ancestry and the finite nature of the cosmos also feature. My Brightest Diamond - ALL THINGS WILL UNWIND: Visuals from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo . And in this one, Sha...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 191 Tues Oct 4 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/ccr *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/1776308550/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_4-10-2011.m4a Playlist My Brightest Diamond - Reaching through to the other side Julia Kent - Dear Mr Twombly ( playing Cafe Oto, London, Oct 19 ) Roll the Dice - Cause and effect Scott Solter - The great cold The Jezabels - Endless summer Mint Julep - Days gone by Dum DUm Girls - Bedroom eyes ( playing The Factory, Manchester, Nov 13 ) Paul Curreri - Juju ( playing The Crane Lane Theatre, Cork, Oct 9+10 ) Young Knives - Vision in rags Adrian Crowley - These icy waters ( playing Triskel Christchurch, Cork, Oct 6, w/ James Yorkston & Alisdair Roberts ) Alisdair Roberts - The daemon love...