Saturday 27 November 2010

The Thrill of New Music.

This is one of those red letter days when I discover some exciting new music. Andrea Kiss recommended that I listen to The Mediaeval Babes, so I did. Sexy music, sexy women, absolutely my kind of thing. Many thanks, Andrea. If I had a Christmas wish list, one of their albums would be at the top. I don’t, because there’s nobody to read it. But, never mind. I’ve added one of their tracks to my playlist. I love finding new music. Is there no end to the power of musicians to create magic?

5 comments:

Della said...

I'm a big fan of the Mediaeval Baebes, Jeff (not because they're sexy, though they're a little weird which is nice – especially if you look at the photos on the inside sleeve of Mirabilis). I have that one and Mistletoe & Wine which is a Christmas compilation of their earlier songs. I just love their spirited approach to medieval music, so much nicer than the stuffy conventional interpretations you find in the classical section (sorry). When I was in England this summer I hunted for their CDs and got blank looks from the staff at HMV, I don't know why. All their CDs are actually available on Amazon I've since discovered. On a related point, if you like their music then type it into Last.fm and it will play you similar artists. I've actually discovered a lot of German and European groups this way doing Celtic and medieval music with a raucous twist – you might also like Faun, for example, or Stellamara.

JJ said...

I agree about the spirited approach, Della. That was why I used the word 'sexy,' because there's a mediaeval earthiness about the way they sing. This is also a rare example of choosing a live performance over the recorded version which was rather more formal and restrained. I would love to see them live.

Will look out for Faund and Stellamara. Have you come across any Basque Celtic bands?

andrea kiss said...

I'm glad you like them. You can watch videos of live performances on YouTube. I think they perform a lot in the UK, so you should check out their site... maybe you can go to one of their shows.

Della said...

I wish I could see them live as well, Andrea, but I don't think they have such a big following here in Berlin. Basque Celtic bands, you say Jeff? Not that I know of, but will keep a look out.

JJ said...

I did watch several of the You Tube videos, Andrea, and I discovered they'd done a live performance near here only last week. Must look out for them when I come out of hibernate mode.

Della: I had a track by a Basque band on a compilation album years ago. The music was recognisbaly Celtic, but subtly different from the Gaelic form. Must Google the subject. I've only had broadband for less than a year, and I'm not used to being able to Google everything yet!