Music – Tom Chivers

Exeunt

It slipped my mind to mention this, but over the last year or so I have written a number of reviews for the excellent online theatre magazine Exeunt. So far I have covered classical experiments, perambulatory music, spoken word and poetry-inspired theatre… Click here to read the latest, my take on a Spitalfields Festival walkingContinue reading “Exeunt”

Desert Island Discs: No.7 ‘Twice’ by Little Dragon

I’m becoming a big fan of Swedish electronic band Little Dragon. This track, from their 2007 eponymous album, has the added benefit of a short shadow puppet film by Johannes Nyholm.

Desert Island Discs: No.6 ‘Magnum Mysterium’

Continuing with my obsession with choral music, though this extraordinary piece of contemplative liturgical music is by a modern composer – Danish-American Morten Lauridsen. It helps that this recording is from Westminster Cathedral and is high quality (for Youtube). One to play with the lights off, and no interruptions.

Indy, cover your heart!

Yes, I am involved in co-organising this brilliant and brilliantly silly homage to Indiana Jones – celebrating this year its/his 30th birthday. It’s Saturday 22 October, from 7pm. Jazz star Gwyneth Herbert will open the show with a rendition of “Anything Goes” from Temple of Doom, poets including Jack Underwood and Kirsty Irving will performContinue reading “Indy, cover your heart!”

Birdbook

I have a new poem in Birdbook 1: Towns, Parks, Gardens & Woodland – the latest venture from Sidekick Books. You can buy it here. ……….

Re: Remote Factory

SOME RECENT THINGS >>> Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited and Never Will by Judith Schalansky (Penguin) factorycraft by FOUND (Chemikal Underground) Re: by Ahren Warner (Donut Press) Tomorrow’s Thoughts Today Susan Hiller at Tate Britain

Desert Island Discs: No.5 ‘Crucifixus’

To celebrate the Pope’s visit to Britain, and to offer some counterbalance to my resolutely anti-Catholic (and sometimes quite offensive) Facebook news-stream, here’s my favourite piece of music of all time: ‘Crucifixus’ by Antonio Lotti (1667-1740). This is a short, seeringly beautiful part of Lotti’s setting of the Catholic Mass. My version of choice is by The Sixteen,Continue reading “Desert Island Discs: No.5 ‘Crucifixus’”

Desert Island Discs: No.4 ‘My Girls’

This is just glorious: ‘My Girls’ by Animal Collective, from their 2009 album Merriweather Post Pavilion. Slow build, partial release… Jittery glittery gold! For the full effect, enter a darkened room, put your headphones on and turn the volume up to 11 🙂

Desert Island Discs: No.3 ‘Empty Glasses’

I first came across ‘Empty Glasses’ by The Amps on the soundtrack to one of the many skateboarding videos I used to watch as a teenager. The Amps were a short-lived American band formed in 1995 by Kim Deal of The Pixes / The Breeders fame. Whilst at first listening this is a fairly unremarkable mid-90s indie-rock number, it’sContinue reading “Desert Island Discs: No.3 ‘Empty Glasses’”

Desert Island Discs: No. 2 ‘Miserere mei deus’

I was first introduced to Gregorio Allegri’s ‘Miserere mei deus’ (the Italian composer’s setting of Psalm 51) by my mother whilst she was on a research sabbatical from teaching at Merton College, Oxford. I guess around 1995. Composed in the 1630s for exclusive use in the Sistine Chapel, it’s an extraordinarily beautiful piece of RenaissanceContinue reading “Desert Island Discs: No. 2 ‘Miserere mei deus’”