field reports from the czech republic : sunken beneath the ancient streets

the train line to brno found me gazing long out of the window, taking in the moravian countryside and penning some words in my trusty tour notebook. as the landscape stretched out before me and my pen moved across the page an image sequence of the last days came upon my mind, a zoetrope montage of sights and sounds in incrementing waves. the passage to brno only serving to reflect and amplify these waves; the beautiful countryside, settlements and industry and finally the ever-building city slowly coming into focus. core members of the staggeringly marvelous keftes party contingent graciously met me on the platform at the hlavní nádraží, offering warm greetings and strong handshakes. we made our way through the busy rush hour streets by tram til arriving at the mighty boro club, perhaps the only alternative venue left in the whole city. we descended stone steps into its maze of underground rooms and passageways, thick with the musky smell of sunken ancient stone. a splendid meal and a few drinks, a little light conversation along with the arrival of the kyklos galaktikos folk saw the evening begin to gather its full momentum, as folk started to arrive and the show started to display signs of impending commencement.

with great gladness, during the souncheck and otherwise, i had managed to strike up something of a blossoming friendship with martin, the very awesome soundman for the evening. we talked long on our mutual musical tastes as well as music productions ideas and techniques, which also involved him revealing to me that the city of brno contains many abandoned undeground buildings, sunken rooms and a labyrinth of passageways. we talked on gathering field recordings down there at some stage, as well as on his experiments with arduino to create software controllers and the ongoing experiment of him building his only multi-band parametric eq. awesome indeed. so, by the time it came to the performance, it was quite clear that we were in very safe hands indeed. kyklos galaktikos took to the stage first and unleashed an awesome set somewhere between electronic alt-rap and full-blown theatrical performance, something very impressive indeed. in speaking to their bold leader, it became apparent that they are indeed from the praha theatre world and the alt-rap side of things is a rather new development, very cool and pertinent information indeed. gladly it was soon my turn to take to the stage too and how the performance was so enjoyable, such a warm crowd, and one keen to listen in to all the various musical selection i had prepared for them. especially enjoyable was my performance of the new 'insect forms' song, produced by the mighty 2econd class citizen, a new live favourite for sure.

still, the show always races by when you are enjoying yourself and, despite us all managing to protract it with an encore or two, it was time to pack away the gear and begin to think about propping up the bar for the rest of the evening. it must be said that the keftes party people are a fantastically decent bunch, a great deal of fun to hang out with and most fascinating in equal measure. our conversations were filled with talk of the wonderful interconnexion of the different folk in the different cities with the underground music scene in the czech republic, on comparative studies of religion in relation to specific elements of beat culture, on the czech gangter-rap scene and on the aesthetic pleasures of the glaswegian accent amongst a myriad of others. time was, as always, against us though as the night steadily pressed on for the small hours. we evacuated the bar en masse and took to the brno streets, our number finding our way back to the hlavní nádraží by tram before being reduced to begin to go our seperate ways via additional buses and trams. i would find myself being very hospitably boarded in a wonderfully old housing block complex, rusted iron door leading into a large hof with small apartments lining three sides. a little juice in the doorway taking in the evening air was very much in order before taking myself away into the slumber, the hour so late already and the next morning's start to be an early one.

i awoke to a gentle murmuring of my name at some very early hour in the morning. not much time til i would have to take the train back to praha. just enough time to jump up, brush my teeth, gather my possessions and then take to the street with the marvelous pavel, who would be guiding me back to the hlavní nádraží. we rode the early morning tram through the bustle of brno as he told me a little of the history of the quarter we were riding through, we talked about the next keftes party and of my hopes that i might return again myself before too long. we arrived in good time and pavel kindly helped me to fix myself a ticket for the journey as well as fixing himself a refreshing drink. all too quickly it was time to say goodbye  on the platform though as the train to praha slowly pulled up. we bid each other farewell as i boarded the train before finding myself a seat and started to anticipate arriving back in praha once more, of the evenings show and of my gladness to see david and veronika again.

so, might i extend my deepest thanks to the keftes party family and all those who made it to the brno show, i am most grateful indeed. thank you to pavel, ondrej, michal, irena, martin, the kyklos galaktikos family and everyone else whose names i did not get to learn... til next time!

next field report : one thousand years on the banks of the vltava

jamesreindeer

field reports from the czech republic : the yugoslav partisan

the train journey to ostrava found me travelling east as the sun slowly begn to set in the west behind me, my path leading out of praha, out of bohemia and on into moravia, to the third largest city and the industrial steel heart of the republic. gladly, i was met at the train station by the very awesome zuzka, who had arranged the show and was kindly affording me a place to sleep for the night. we rode a bus a few stops through the city til finding ourselves arriving at the plan b hardcore cafe, an L-shaped ground floor bar with a small stage at one end and a few fußball tables at the other. i was quickly introduced to a host of splendid individuals and soon found myself discussing english culture as well as assessing the grammar on a philosophical thesis on post-modern culture presented to me on a netbook screen betwixt beer and ashtray. it felt really good to have arrived at last and how the show would commence forthwith.

a few soundchecks snags gave way to what would be a really great evening of music. first to take to the stage was the very impressive mc boss, who delivered a series of less-than-one-minute songs, replete with matching animation projections and words from a small notebook. sadly my incredible lack of understanding of the czech language prevented me from appreciating quite the extent of his talent, which was surely clear to all and sundry around me. ryba v řesu was up shortly after that, a formidable two-man team replete with one plague doctor mask and one suit from another century. something complex and electronic, reminding me of the mighty alitotetro in some ways. already it was time to take to the stage and how it was such an enjoyable performance indeed. the tuesday night drinking crowd were clearly ready to be a listening bunch too, and even ready to dance a little towards the end of the set. i had brought an hours worth of songs with me, but still had to dig around on the computer to find a beat to freestyle over for the last number, gladly a gem from the mighty edison proved to do the trick just right.

the night wove on amidst more drinks and really fascinating discussions on music, the local history, the local underground music history, as well as the importance of language, of the singularly interesting prospect of the english language and the importance of not dumbing it down, of being aware of its possibilities and that they should be exercised, save for it being reduced to a lowest-common-denominator form of universal communiction... time was already racing by, and so zuzka and i took to the street and made our weary way past the empty tram-stop, down near-deserted streets filled with neon-lit bars and nightclubs, beneath the trainlines in fluorescent-lit underpasses, and finally between soaring towerblocks, between talls trees and across mudded lawns. by the time we reached zuzka's apartment sleep was the only thing we were good for, as we drifted away to the low humming sound of the city and gentle breeze coming in through the open window.

the next morning saw me sleep late, late indeed. mid-day has not-long-since passed before i finally stirred to the sound of zuzka typing away on the other side of the room, the light muted from an overcast day. not longing having sat up and got online to post my thanks for the previous night and the anticipation of the brno show in the evening, had zuzka presented me with a formidable bowl of pasta which was quite the welcome breakfast for sure. i took to the balcony afterwards with a little tea, to take in the days air, to study my surroundings, to reflect on the show of the previous night. sadly time was against us and how zuzka kindly lead me back towards ostrava hlavní nádraží to follow the line to brno. a romanian man outside the station told me that i looked like a yugoslav partisan, thinking that the louder he talked, the more i might understand. zuzka and i bid each other farewell on the platform as i boarded the train to head back west towards brno.

so, might i briefly take the opportunity to thank very muchly the kind folk of ostrava for looking after me, for sharing their tales and thoughts and for such an enjoyable show and indeed evening. thank you so very much to zuzka, indoš, osvald, jirka, petr, jonaš, taňa, brda, krystýna, dalibor and all the folk whose names i did not get to learn... til next time!

next field report : sunken beneath the ancient streets

jamesreindeer

field reports from the czech republic : automated sunrise

having returned back safely to the gut city safehouse, rested awhile and attended to all of the pressing decorative stamp-related chores, might i begin to reflect on the facts in the case of the last week, of my first official tour of the czech republic and all that transpired therein. such a wonderful time indeed, to be sure. my mind spirals and reels with the myriad emotions and new experiences now finely caught up within it. i was so keenly looking forward to the tour, not least of all since it has been some long eighteen months since i was last on the road, keenly looking forward to playing a host of news shows, meeting a host of news friends and, how without a doubt, all of my expectation were greatly surpassed in successive waves. i find myself deeply in debt to all the kind folk who helped to make it a possibility and look forward to being able to thank them all directly across this series of reports. it is my intention to post a report a day over the next week to fully detail all of the pertinent events surrounding my travels through the history-steeped lands of bohemia and moravia.

field report number one : automated sunrise

my journey began outside the south entrance of the hauptbahnhof in frankfurt, sitting on a fallen slab of concrete beneath dim fluorescent streetlamps, between empty lots and temporary car-parking sites, awaiting the eleven o'clock overnight bus to praha. just gazing out across the scene, looking up at the lights of the frankfurt skyline; the giant neon yellow pyramid of the messeturm staring back at me, reflecting on my upcoming passage into new territories. gladly, the journey through the night was painless indeed as dawn saw me reach praha in time to gently begin to illuminate the staggeringly beautiful city before us. only my second visit to this magnificent capital, and how keen i was to see more of its staggering architecture, learn more of its rich history and to collect as many field recordings and photographs as possible. my weary way lead me down into the metro system and en route to meet the splendid david zeman, the incredibly talented individual who took the first steps in making the whole tour happen, and who would quite quickly become something of a rather good friend.

david lead me back to his apartment where i quickly found myself laid-out on a fold-out bed for a little further rest after a splendid cup of green tea with jasmine and a slice of fruit-cake. as i drifted back into the dreaming i could hear his flatmates talking and laughing in the next room, just beginning their days, my lack of sleep elongated the scene into a dream sequence before the dreaming took hold. still, mid-day was soon upon me and how i slowly stirred to find myself reasonably lucid and keen to take to the streets to explore the city a little before continuing my journey to ostrava for the evening's show. it was at this point that i happily got to meet david's girlfriend and band-mate veronika as the three of us made our way out into the afternoon sunshine to fix ourselves a spot of lunch.

the weather was very much trying to present itself as spring-like as we strolled up the street, talking jovially and discussing the coming days, for my own part my gaze was attempting to take in every aspect of the city surrounding us, the beautifully ageing buildings, the worn paving stones, the street names. we descended down into a cellar-bar and ate a much needed lunch as david and veronika happily revealed to me tales of their first meeting and of their musical exploits. sadly, time was marching and the hlavní nádraží was calling. just enough time to have a brief wander through a small park near their residence, one featuring a most unexpected huge basilica, somewhat mimicking al khazneh at petra in it's emergence from a steep rock-face. with my bags packed it was time to bid david and veronika farewell for now before boarding the train to ostrava filled with a great gladness at how all was so very calm and well indeed.

next report : the yugoslav partisan

jamesreindeer

insect forms

gentle readers, much would indeed appear to be afoot. i have just yesterday returned from my first official tour of the czech republic and can report that it was an overwhelming success indeed. the limited edition vinyl version of 'foreshore reverie' is at last upon us, i found myself recording a steady series of songs before taking to the road, and the next decorative stamp release is already very much in the works. much to mention indeed. so, please anticipate this being the first of a series of reports i shall be posting throughout the course of this week, in order to try to accurately convey all of the various details of all of the various strands for your reading pleasure, and with a keen view to keeping you informed of all that has occurred thusfar and all that looms ever-closer on the horizon.

so. where to start indeed? ...an inkling creeps upon me. i must confess to being particularly excited about the upcoming album from my dear brother and close-collaborator aaron aka 2econd class citizen, and yet more excited at the release of his 'outside your doorway' 12" which features a wonderful musical collaboration between ourselves, keenly aided and abetted by the astonishing miss jenny blackbird. it has been some long moons since we three have all worked together on a song, and how i can gladly report that the result far surpasses my initial high expectations. it is something really very special indeed and i can scarcely wait til it will be released via the majestic equinox records on 27th april.

entitled 'insect forms', our song is actually a reworking of the track 'identity' from the recently-released and insanely cool vinyl postcard set which naturally sold out in five minutes. aaron sent me the track and suggested a theme for me to perhaps work along, which suited me fine indeed and gave me the chance to word a very specific, detailed lyric sheet. something quite lucid, weighed heavy with clear meaning, yet allowing me room to exercise my poetic wants in equal measure... and how i could never fail to be inspired by aaron's beautiful music and, not least of all, the wonderfully elegiac strings of miss blackbird.

so, please do be sure to keenly anticipate the release date, please do seriously consider picking up a copy of the limited edition vinyl release, and do please find yourself keenly poised for the album itself. have yourself a wander over to the equinox website where you can read all the pertinent facts in the case of the release, and already there would appear to be a splendid review of the 12" over at the mighty beats, breaks & big smiles for your perusal too... and should you for some reason be a little slow on the uptake, make sure to 'like' 2econd class citizen on facebook, bookmark his website and demand he play a show in your town soon!

keep safe, more reports are imminent

jamesreindeer

field reports from the czech republic

although now no longer breaking news, i am still very much keen to share further facts regarding my upcoming tour of the czech republic, to be transpiring between 13th-17th of this month. suffice to say, i am really excited about the prospect of taking to road again, having been cooped-up in the decorative stamp headquarters for what seems like the longest while. but, much further still, i am exciting to get to play a host of shows where i have not played shows before, to meet a host of new friends and to take in a host of new cities, new architecture, new avenues into rich history.

the tour shall be winding its way across the country, taking in ostrava, brno, praha, tabor and plzen; five shows in five days, something of a whirlwind, but one surely to be filled with much excitement and good times indeed. it is a real honour and a privilege for me to embark on this journey, and how i would do very  well to extend my greatest of thanks to sir david zeman for making it all possible. do be sure to wend your way to one of the performances should the distance and finance not be too much of an inconvenience... and do expect detailed field reports, should you be reduced to witnessing the spectacle from afar.

keep safe, be well

jamesreindeer

a native hundred - coming soon

probably the most enjoyable task i have attended to over these long winter months has been my mixing and production work on the forthcoming album from the majestic a native hundred, soon to emerge via our beloved decorative stamp, in but two weeks in fact. for those of you not yet familiar with the name, might i take this opportunity to shed a little light on the subject, whilst also giving myself a chance to outline some of the most pertinent facts in the case.

a native hundred is the solo project from my dear friend rhys jon baker, perhaps better known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and joint-composer within the awesome wild dogs in winter, who are without a shadow of a doubt my favourite uk band, if not my current favourite band full stop. rhys and i met back in the days of the fbcfabric & reindeer live band, and how thankfully, our paths have had many a good chance to cross since then, and so this collaboration can really be seen as a beautiful inevitability more than anything.

last summer i believe, i happened to drop rhys a line to catch up with him and see what he was up to, and to quiz him on two loose native hundred songs i had discovered on his bandcamp page, and whether there were any more in the pipeline and, as if by magic, some weeks later a package arrived at the decorative stamp safehouse with a copy of the first native hundred release, rhys' beautiful book of poetry and a cd-r filled with a whole, seriously good, album's worth of new songs.

naturally, i was somewhat beside myself with excitement and quickly attempted to twist rhys' arm into releasing them on the stamp, and how he was gladly more than willing to get involved. so, some time passed as the organisational cogs slowly turned, and windows of opportunity were opened, til at last i found myself holed-up in the studio with all the stems for all these beautiful songs ready to begin making the mixes. not only that, but we had reached out to the masterful jamie romain who had blessed us with a host of remarkable cello additions to boot. glory days indeed.

still, since rhys is a damned-good sport, and since i simply couldn't resist, he kindly gave me carte blanche to have more than the mildest tinkerings with the songs, allowing me to expand on his original arrangements, introduce additional instrumentation, field recordings, clatterings and bangings et al, in order to turn his wonderful selection of eight songs into the most epic monster album i possibly could, and all in the space of six short weeks. it was a hectic and intense period but one which has certainly yielded such magnificent results.

so now, here we are, all poised to receive the final mastered version back from the exceptional hands of stephen baxter, aka beatoven, aka the electronics-guy in wild dogs in winter, and shall soon be on our way to making it available to the world at large via the mighty stamp. all i shall say is expect something truly amazing indeed; a staggeringly beautiful album where post-rock meets shoegaze, meets indie-folk, meets electronica. without a doubt already one of my favourite albums of 2012. so, be sure to start letting your excitement build, i wholeheartedly assure you, it shall be very much worth it.

keep warm, take care

jamesreindeer