RBMA: Lonnie Liston Smith at The Planetarium

That would be me at the entrance...Eager Beaver.

Lonnie Liston Smith. In the At-Bristol Planetarium. Literally four rows in front of me. Being interviewed by Gilles Peterson about his life in music and casually talking about working with Ray Charles and John Coltrane and so many others... What? Is this my life?

That was what kept going through my mind as I sat there bathed in inspiration and awe. The whole evening felt like a dream. You don't even know the meaning of 'intimate gig' until you're within spitting distance of Lonnie Liston. Madness.

The evening started off with a discussion between Gilles Peterson and Lonnie Liston Smith about Lonnie's career and the journey that he's been on which as a musician was fascinating in itself. He spoke about the constant need to be able to improvise because Ray never wanted him to play the same thing twice. Apparently he never really wanted to have a band but was forced to when people wanted him to start releasing his music - he had to have people to play it!

Most memorable for me though was how he painted a picture of New York in the 1960s. The evolution of jazz and funk into this new genre that was all about mind expansion and taking yourself into a new reality.

He spoke of walking into his regular record/book shop and seeing his friends in there where they would all recommend books to each other from philosophy to astral projection and how that influenced his sound.

Now I know Lonnie Liston from hearing him as a child but I haven't listened to his albums from start to finish and in some ways I was so happy of that when him and his band began to play because my God.

Having Lonnie Liston Smith and his band playing my songs that I recognized from being sampled in so many songs for the very first time in a Planetarium is something I am unlikely to forget.

I was sat right in the middle so that when I looked up all the projections felt like they were breaking on top of my head whilst this music transported me into the images.

The whole thing was a trip - even the band were looking at the projections and the build up of every song seemed to partner perfectly with the ever changing images. Sometimes intergalactic, sometimes text, sometimes shapes moving in and out of each other with 'expand your mind' being sung in the background. It was hypnotic.

When it ended and we all made our way out of the Planetarium there was not one face that did not look blissfully changed. We really had experienced Lonnie Liston Smith in a way that can't really be described (despite me trying right now) and when I went to sleep that night all I could see was stars.

For everyone screaming in frustration at missing a pow wow of epic proportions, fear not. View below for words of wisdom and an insight into Mr Lonnit Liston Smith.... Cheers then RB.

There was, of course, a standing ovation

RBMA: Kings Weston House

If you have an over-active imagination like me, you could imagine pulling up to Kings Weston Hosue, built in the early 18th century, in a horse drawn carriage and stepping out in layers of unnecessary fabric for a civilized cup of Afternoon Tea. Olde English traditional beauty, perfect for wedding receptions or filming for period dramas.

When it got billed as one of the venue's for the Red Bull Music Academy where Novelist, Mumdance and Danny Brown would be playing to name but a few I was shocked. Grime rave in a Manor House? WHAT?! Are you NUTS??

The Square

Obviously it sold out. I think everyone was interested to see how the house would end up by the end of it.

Would there be sick on the nice carpet? Graffiti on the walls? Slashed leather sofas? That's what I was picturing in my worst case scenario.

Thankfully there was none of that, everyone was incredibly well behaved.

Mumdance

I can imagine this was mainly because the rooms hadn't been overfilled and there were security everywhere. Red Bull - 1 Carnage - 0

The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed, maybe because of this. Everyone was smiling wandering around and generally soaking up the good vibes. 

I personally didn't see any altercations which is always nice because there is a common misconception that surrounds grime. That is always comes with aggression. And it doesn't. It comes with ENERGY.

There was a lot of that in the main room (can't say I really ventured into the other room so there may have been bucket loads in there too) from the audience and the performers.

You can't stand still watching Novelist and The Square getting hyped up on stage. The energy was high to the point that the floor had to be practically mopped after every song because of drinks flying about from the room bumping.

No-one saw Danny Brown before his set. He had a pimped out caravan out the back of back stage (VVVIP) and a personal portaloo - that's when you know you've made it kids.

The tension as he walked onto stage was palpable, all the people who had nipped out for 'just one more fag before Danny' were left pissed when the bouncers blocked the door once the room was full (but still with dancing room for us inside - win). 

Understandably the room erupted as soon as Danny kicked off and the bass blasted. I tried to take videos longer than 15 seconds but the excitement levels were too high.

As was to be expected as soon as Danny left, most people left. For the ones that did stay; we were treated to some old school jams. We got some Missy, OutKast, Dr Dre - all them classics. 

Overall I'd say raving in an 18th century Manor House was one of the more bizarre concepts I've heard in a while, but definitely worth the trek.

I also remembered as soon as I got there that it was where I'd had my prom almost a decade ago!


Thankfully I didn't fall down the front steps this time...

Denai Moore

You could be forgiven for thinking that Denai Moore is simply a beautiful voice.

If you know her from soundcloud (as I did) it is possible you listened to her electronic based music and assumed that she is another producer based artist - you would be wrong. I was wrong.

I love The Lantern at Colston Hall, it has the ability to feel intimate as well as spacious and the sound system isn't too shabby at all. I don't know what any of us were expecting in the wait for Denai to come up on stage but when Kendrick Lamar started booming out of the speakers I thought OK... Prepare to be surprised.

I don't know what it is about an artist jumping between instruments that makes them that much more interesting - maybe its because you can see their art form and visualize the music making process.

Beginning on the piano before moving to the electric and then acoustic guitar - at the risk of sounding about 20 years my senior, its so nice to see the younger generation still playing instruments! We get so drowned out in EDM culture and even though I love elements of electronic music, I have to say I respect musicians more. But hey - that's just one persons opinion, I've tried using Logic and there's definitely a skill there cause it ain't easy!

Denai is quite shy on stage, preferring to keep her head in the game which works for her sound as it keeps the audience in the songs with her. I would have liked a bit more chat, maybe just talking a bit about her songs and the inspiration behind them but then again she's only 21 and man - she's doing well for 21!

Her music CV is one to be admired having worked with SBTRKT, High Contrast, Fantastic Mr Fox to name just a few. For me her sound encapsulated the beauty of innocence and that isn't to be taken in a patronizing manner.

There is something ethereal about her music, it draws you in and is unapologetic in its simplicity with oohs and ahhs and harmonies that made me feel like I was in the middle of a vast space staring into the distance.

I spoke to Denai briefly before the gig about her sound and how she's got to where she has, as well as catching a few audience members post show.




After the gig I have to say I felt like I'd observed an artist at the beginning of their journey - I'm expecting big things from Denai. Her music is mature beyond her years.

My personal favourite of hers was No Light which almost made me cry. Even listening back to it after the gig I get shivers.

See below for your listening pleasure....

Mass

Do we still need religion? That's the question that was asked when I went to Mass.
Now this wasn't any normal kind of Mass.... I assume normal Mass doesn't have a pyre of Otis Reading and Aretha Franklin and kick off with free cider. If it did I may have attended before!

When I was invited down by Bristol Old Vic I thought it would be good to do a bit of background research (site blurb) which read...

"When the bus Amy Mason was travelling on ran two people over she found herself praying for the first time in years. The experience led her to think about life, faith, and the way we deal with tragedy in an increasingly secular society"

Now I don't know about you but when I read that I thought, 'this is going to be intense'. How wrong I was.
From the beginning Amy was talking to, not at, the audience which is a fairly difficult thing to do as a one woman show. To engage the audience, earn their respect and trust and then also manage to move through a structured production.

For all intent and purposes the play was blueprinted by a standard Mass. 

The song: Hallelujah (obviously)

1) Greeting: 'Hi guys, thanks for coming'

2) Confession: 'I'm sorry for anything mean I've done this week.'

3) Gratitude: Thank you friends and family and          colleagues. Even if you're a bit shit sometimes.'

4) Prayer: 'I hope all people's hopes come true'

5) Collection: For a charity chosen on the night by a person in the audience.

Each section was introduced by a bit of story from Amy about her experiences with religion and concluded by the audience shouting HOORAY!

We walked in not knowing what to expect and left laughing. I think everyone felt the soul grow a little bit lighter on exit because we'd been allowed to laugh at all the rules and regulations that religion holds whilst also being able to think about what religion actually means and how our society is doing without it.
I left thinking about some pretty big questions. 

As Amy highlighted, people are listening to things like The Secret which promotes positive thinking and the laws off attraction to encourage the universe to help their dreams come true but really... Isn't that prayer?

We're quickly growing into a society that has left religion behind, but has that left us lost?
If you are living atheist, who do you turn to in times of need? Is the lack of faith that there is a plan, a picture that is bigger than just us being sorted out by the big dawg in the sky making us more selfish?

Look at the world we live in now. Obsessed with how we look, how much money we have, how much individual power each person holds and really - we're all going to end up in the ground. If all we leave behind is a ravaged planet with all its life sucked out because humans had nothing to believe in except themselves... That's a pretty sorry affair.

Saying that, I wouldn't call myself religious. I've been christened because my Nan wanted it, and my mum's always been into meditation and I guess... Buddhist values which have likely rubbed off on me. But I wouldn't call myself devoted to any one thing, I'd say I'm spiritual and try to live by Christian values of morality and treating your neighbor how you'd want to be treated and all that jazz. 

I'm put off religion because of the judgement and arrogance. So many people have killed and died to prove they and only they are correct in what the believe. Or feel it's OK to tell someone their life choices will damn them because they've read an extract in a book that was written by some guy hundreds of years after the supposed Son of God said his piece.

So yes, lots of food for thought post Mass. It was nuts and beautiful in equal measure. I particularly enjoyed the almonds and plums that were given as a the substitute for bread and wine - which was better for me cause I was pretty pissed after the cider and bread makes me bloat.

Aretha bless you Amy Mason!