The Underground of Happiness

Chapter 16 I finished July with Peter Broderick in Plugd . This was a highly entertaining evening featuring – as well as the expected heartfelt alt folk songs – an overhead projector presentation of Peter’s book Bob and stuff. A book of his drawings. Rudimentary would be a word. But it’s a children’s book so it works. I bought a copy along with a few other nuggets from the well stocked merch stand. I was glad to contribute to Peter’s burgeoning cottage industry. My 11 year old enjoyed the book but thought it was more a downstairs book than an upstairs book. Musically Peter seems to be in a happy place although I wonder if his material was stronger when he seemed to be on more of an adventure – searching, restless – as opposed to having arrived at journey’s end. Just my impression. Having said that his cassette of Arthur Russell covers is very beautiful. And he is a wonderful piano player. A word on Peter’s tour companion McCloud Zicmuse , apparently an ex-pat American long b...

A thoroughly spellbinding piece of somnolent meandering folk music from the Galway singer recorded with Peter Broderick in Oregon. A simple guitar strum at walking pace, a chord and a half, a soaring reedy voice pure and bracing as a north wind (if the wind was a reedy thing). Later bending violins making eyes at Bollywood (well if it was contemplative rather than frisky). Rushes of swirling backing vocals. It’s a thousand yard drone that you realise was a waltz in another life before being replayed in slow motion with an ancient stoic voiceover. The voice up close – insistent, deep, nonchalant somehow. Touched by something. Gripping drama and texture. A wonderful creation.

Photo: Antje Taiga A couple of weeks ago, I did a phone interview with Nils Frahm for WeAreNoise . He was in London, in the middle of a tour, which would take him on to Cork and Dublin later that week. As with all the Erased Tapes artists, it seems, he came across as a thoroughly nice, rounded individual, genuinely concerned for and interested in the feedback and reaction of fans to his music. Interesting also to hear him talk about discovering something by accident (in rehearsal) but then running with it. I didn't get to see him play, unfortunately, but I believe it was pretty special. First published at http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/11/nils-frahm-interview/ . Hi Nils, can I ask you first about your new EP, Screws , which you recorded while you had a broken thumb earlier in the year. How did you come to record an EP in that state?! It was against doctor’s advice to rest, wasn’t it? Yeah that’s right. It wasn’t really planned to become an EP, I just thoug...

Two pieces of clapping music to start the show this week, from Dirty Projectors and Pollens (who sound like they are influenced by the Projectors, and that's fine by me). Just from Chevron could be a modern form of the protest song. New music from two fine English bands, Dutch Uncles and Fossil Collective ; two great slices of prog pop, from windings and Wires Under Tension , the latter with a great orchestral heft to it; the latest in both the Collision/Detection and Days & Nights at the Takeaway (pictured) series; Ariel Pink pondering international espionage, that Peter Broderick gospel mantra I can't get out of my head and two absolutely wonderful brass arrangements, from Myles Manley and David Byrne & St Vincent . You can't beat a bit of brass, in fairness. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 241 Tues Oct 30 2012 11.00am-...

Nestled in the middle of Peter Broderick's new album is an unassuming 2 minute track with the weighty title Proposed solution to the mystery of the soul . Let me try to sum it up. It's like an evolving gospel refrain fed into a meditation mantra (" first you've got a soul that's awake while you're asleep "), complete with finger cymbals and the convex sound of a glass bottle of water being struck. That's all. Just a number of Peter Broderick vocals to fill it out, and rounding off with a second refrain - " I love when words ring out true ". It's intoxicating, basically. I can't get enough of it. Even embedded in an album that is full of surprises - Broderick delves into beatboxing and RnB rhythms, a capella recitals and semi-sound design style dual conversations - I'm finding I can't get past this song. The album began life as a series of home recordings some of which he offered to fans for free on his flickr page. The ...

As mentioned a few weeks ago, Peter Broderick's new album comes out next month on Erased Tapes , These walls of mine . In case you didn't come across it already, he recently released this live video of one of the standout songs from it, I've tried . It has some of the vocal looping that Broderick has come to be known for, but employed in more of a beatboxing fashion. This gives the song, and much of the album, an intriguingly RnB flavour (flava?). That's one direction I didn't see coming. Regardless, it's still brilliant. More of the album on the show, and here, over the coming weeks.

The first show back after the "summer" recess was yesterday and it featured some great new music from Mumblin' Deaf Ro, Laetitia Sadier, Sone Institute, Ariel Pink, Efterklang and Peter Broderick (check around the blog for more info on those albums). We also had a couple of stunning oldies from Cocteau Twins ( 4AD released a retrospective compilation of their career earlier this year, spanning and titled 1982-1990 ) and Lee Hazlewood duetting with actress Ann Margret from a great lost classic of an album, The cowboy and the lady (1969). It was re-released in 2000 on Smells Like Records , the label run by Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth, which is when I picked it up. I'm calling it cowboy lounge, and that's one lounge I wouldn't mind lounging in. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 233 Tues Sept 4 2012 11.00am-12.00pm (repea...

Jesus, there's no stopping Peter Broderick . After already releasing a new album this year on Bella Union , the excellent http://www.itstartshear.com (yes, it's a web address, try typing it in your browser, and more here ), he's now announced another new album to come out in October on Erased Tapes . These walls of mine is the title. Here's some background from PB. “I had recently been experimenting at home with a microphone and a laptop, recording and uploading new songs for free online, each one alongside a photo and some words, and open to comments from the outside world. At some point Robert (Erased Tapes label founder) started listening to the music and felt compelled to encourage me to compile an album with all this material. His reaction to ‘These Walls of Mine’ (the song, not the album) was exactly how I felt about the music. I wasn’t sure if I loved it or hated it. But I loved the feeling of that uncertainty, of surprising myself and others around me. A...

One of my favourite labels, Erased Tapes , celebrates 5 years in business. It's been responsible for some of the best music of the last few years, music that I'm fondest of, that's really stayed with me. The first time I came across the label was when I interviewed Peter Broderick in 2009 when he played in Cork. After the interview, as we were passing the merch stand, he handed me a CD copy of Music from Falling for Trees , a soundtrack to a recently composed dance piece. It was quite brilliant, I soon discovered. And that lead on to Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, World's End Girlfriend , and so on. To mark the 5 years, the label are undertaking a landmark tour with three of the aforementioned. Here are the details. London/Berlin-based record label Erased Tapes celebrates five years of fusing classical and contemporary music. To recognise this milestone, Erased Tapes label founder Robert Raths has set up a number of events and releases...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 217 Tues Apr 17 2012 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *no podcast this week Playlist Alisdair Roberts & Mairi Morrison - The whole house is singing ( playing The Slaughtered Lamb, London, May 23 ) M Ward - The first time I ran away Julia Stone - Let's forget Katie Kim - Pause ( playing The Unitarian Church, Dublin, Apr 21 ) Hooray for Earth - Bring us closer together It's a Musical - Point back The Chap - Rhythm king Father John Misty - Nancy from now on AU - Old friend ( playing Shacklewell Arms, London, Apr 25 ) Peter Broderick - Colin Kevin Tihista - Taking it to the streets (again) Fenster - Oh canyon Spiritualized - Hey Jane Lightships - Sweetness in her spark *next week's show will feature music from Tanlines, D...

Peter Broderick returns with his follow-up vocal album to debut Home in 2008, and shows the influence of his copious instrumental and soundtrack work in the interim, with (he tells us) no restrictions placed on arrangements or sonic direction this time. Straightaway I am piano has an air of Music for Confluence (one of PB’s dance soundtrack commissions – more here ) about it, in its gentle foundation of swinging violin. That’s followed quickly by A tribute to our letter writing days , the lovely group choral backdrop the perfect setting for its communal nostalgia. At this point, I began to form the impression that the album lacked the immediacy or the arresting beauty of Home . However, he then hits on a fascinating new direction on the title track, creating a backbeat from an insistent picked electric guitar figure and some whipcrack guitar effect decay. Later in the same tune, there’s a gorgeous, ascending violins-with-choir section. The song also contains the line “ maybe you ...

Peter Broderick has a track record of speaking directly to his fans, literally - in the past he has recorded his answers to fan questions and uploaded the audio to his website, a particularly lovely personal touch. You get a gist of this kind of personal attention too in this interview I did with him when he played at the Crane Lane Theatre in Cork in 2009. http://theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com/2011/06/peter-broderick-interview.html His new "vocal" album is just out on Bella Union (as opposed to his many soundtrack and instrumental/collaborative projects). It's called http://www.itstartshear.com . That's right, it's a web address. Why? Rather than me explaining, let me hand you over to the man himself. How do you feel about music downloading? It is a common question addressed to musicians and one that I have been asked several times in interviews. My response has always been that it doesn't bother me. It is unavoidable. And in the best case s...

One of our favourite labels around here is Erased Tapes , home to some of the most beautiful records of the last few years - Peter Broderick's soundtrack work, Nils Frahm's solo piano (and collaborative) albums, Olafur Arnalds' chamber music and, most recently, A Winged Victory for the Sullen's swoonsome, ambient instrumentals, to name just a few ( the latter's gig in Cork a few weeks ago was also up there for me among my all-time highlights of gigs in this, or any, city). Well, they're celebrating their 5th birthday and to mark the occasion they're giving away a free sampler featuring everyone on the roster. You can sample the sampler below, to avail of the download just register on their website . There was apparently a surprise party for label founder Robert Raths in Berlin , some of which was recorded - have a look at Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm and friend Martyn playing here. "Erased Tapes: Five Years Old!" from Erased Tapes on Vimeo...

Another notable release from the prolific Mr Broderick. It’s a double A-sided single featuring the only sung track from Music for Confluence (album reviewed here ), backed with an instrumental from another soundtrack he’s found time to work on, Grace and Mercy , a documentary about Haiti after last year’s earthquake. Purchasers of the single get the added benefit of a digital download of the full 14-track soundtrack to the latter. Having heard it - it’s another hauntingly beautiful series of piano and guitar-centred instrumentals wrapped in an ambient gauze - I recommend you do the same. The man’s ability to evoke a range of emotions from a few (deceptively) simple materials is quite amazing. The wonderfully woozy Fibromyalgia , with a chorus of sliding, drunken violins, is my own favourite. Peter Broderick – Old Time (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo . Grace + Mercy. A Film of Haitians helping Haitians. from luis pena on Vimeo . Confluence (Official Trailer) ...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 197 Tues Nov 15 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/3963518144/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_15_2011.m4a Playlist Richmond Fontaine feat. Deborah Kelly - Inventory Bill Ryder-Jones - Leaning (Star of Sweden) Crystal Stilts - Dark eyes *d'load i'view with Crystal Stilts here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness2/crystal-stilts-interview Diagrams - Tall buildings (radio edit) Peter Broderick - Old time (from the soundtrack of the film Confluence ) Nils Frahm - Keep Roll the Dice - Calling all workers ( playing ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas, Minehead, Dec 9-11 ) Yann Tiersen - I'm gonna live anyhow ( playing Jeff Mangum's ATP, Minehead, Mar 9-1...

Another set of sublime neo-classical instrumentals from the Berlin resident, which shed new light on the full dynamic range of the piano. By close-miking the instrument from the inside, and playing the keys softly (it’s practically his signature style), Frahm exposes an unexpected set of sounds. Actually, the album almost qualifies as a field recording where the field is the inside of a piano, and the listener is surrounded by the sounds of the room fed through its natural reverb and decay, at least as much as the notes coming from the keys. The resulting arrangements feature microscopic rumbles and creaks and clicks as a kind of supporting orchestra arrived from the wings, and headphones are recommended/essential to get the full benefit. The title apparently derives from Frahm’s need to quieten the piano notes to show consideration for his neighbours during his nocturnal practice sessions. To achieve this effect, he layered thick felt in front of the piano strings. At times though ...

A new soundtrack work by the now Berlin resident (following last year's Congregation and 2009's Falling from trees dance soundtracks, both also on Erased Tapes ), this time to a film documentary by Jennifer Anderson and Vernon Lott about a cluster of unsolved cases of missing and murdered young girls in Idaho around 1980, and the main suspect that links the cases. With subject matter like that, and track titles like She just quit coming to school , Until the person is apprehended and Circumstantial evidence , you might expect something dour, serious, hopeless. Far from it. Broderick manages to maintain a delicacy and lightness of touch about the arrangements, without sacrificing a certain ominous quality in keeping with the subject matter. Broderick’s main instruments (if it’s fair to call them that, he seems to play everything, including vibes and steel drums on stage with Efterklang in Cork last July), piano and violin, are most prominent, to plaintiff and moving effect. ...

We were talking last month about a new album due out on Erased Tapes , the self-titled debut from A Winged Victory for the Sullen , the collaboration between Stars of the Lid founder Adam Wiltzie and L.A. pianist Dustin O'Halloran . That's a band name which could go either way, ambitious or pompous, depending on the content of the music. You can test the question now by listening to it in full on this link. A Winged Victory For The Sullen (EXCLUSIVE FULL ALBUM STREAM) by erasedtapes You'll notice early on that it's completely instrumental and conducted at a moderate to slow pace. I think it's a monumental piece of work, personally. It feels like it has the power to divide the world between the time before you heard it, and the time since. There's a kind of floating, unearthly beauty about it. Starting immediately with the plangent piano chords of We played some open chords and rejoiced... . And the strings with ambient soundscape melancholia of Requi...

We always look forward to e-mails from Erased Tapes here at UOH HQ, but a particularly nice one arrived today. Have a listen here while reading below - rather than make up a load of other stuff, I've just copied the very well written press release. It makes more sense anyway, because there's a bit of a backstory, which you'll notice includes the late Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) , as well as Peter Broderick , two of the people we love most in music. A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Steep Hills Of Vicodin Tears by erasedtapes CONTENT: ‘ A Winged Victory For The Sullen’ is the first installment of the new collaboration between Stars Of The Lid founder Adam Wiltzie and L.A. composer Dustin O’Halloran . The duo agreed to leave the comfort zone of their home studios and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, hunting down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end. Other traditional instrumentation was...

So Efterklang came to town over the weekend (that's Rasmus and Casper on stage in the photo above). They brought some friends with them - about 17 in fact. Here's the crowd from a photo taken before their February performance at the CrossLinx Festival in Holland . I found that photo on Morris Kliphuis' blog, http://morriskliphuis.blogspot.com/2011/07/efterklang-in-cork.html , who was part of The Messing Saxes onstage, I believe. That's Daniel Bjarnason in front, centre of that pic. He's the one who made these arrangements for the Efterklang songs, and also played a Rhodes (I think it was) onstage. Aswell as Casper, Rasmus, Mads and Thomas, the core members of the band, there was also Daniel James (aka Canon Blue ) on guitar, Peter Broderick on marimba, violin, vocals, steel drum (has he been listening to Wildbirds & Peacedrums I wonder?) and very possibly some other stuff, Heather Woods Broderick on keys, vocals and flute and a second marimba player who...