Heiner Goebbels - Ou Bien le Débarquement Désastreux (1995)

Heiner Goebbels' and Boubakar Djebate's "Ou bien le débarquement désastreux" (Or the Hapless Landing) is a melodrama, text spoken over or against music. There are three strands of text, spoken mostly in French (Andre Wilms), on the subject of forests: Joseph Conrad's Congo Diary; Francis Ponge's meditative Pinewood Notebook of 1940; and Heiner Mueller's Herakles 2, describing the hero's search for the Hydra ('the forest is the beast').

There are two strands of music: African, or more precisely Senegalese (Djebate), and contemporary Western (Goebbels). The virtuose Djebate plays the kora, a harp constructed from a pumpkin, and a very well-tempered harp it is too, with nothing 'primitive' about it. Sira Djebate sings traditional Senegalese Griots quite exquisitely. Against them are ranged trombone, electric guitar, keyboard-sampler and - bridging the divide - the Daxophon, a small piece of wood sounded by a bow and amplified: the range of jungular noises it produces it simply bewildering.

As in all melodrama there is conflict between word and note: it is more difficult for the human brain to absorb the two when the words are not simply set to music. There is also a conflict between two musical languages. At first I resented Goebbels' jazz-based, somewhat brutal modernism intruding on the less familiar Senegalese sound-world; gradually it became more African, with the trombonist Yves Robert sounding as though he had long been studying the cries of elephants. While nothing so vulgar as a synthesis was achieved, African rhythms eventually tempered and somehow tamed European inventions, just as Ponge's vaguely upbeat musings conversely tempered the terrors of Conrad and Mueller. That is just one reaction: as in all the best journeys into forests, there was no telling exactly where you were going. But at just over an hour, it was a musical journey that gripped the imagination from first to last. Rodney Milnes, The Times 5/7/95

1. Longtemps Il Crut Encore (0:50)

2. Samedi, 28. Juin (3:01)

3. Les Premiers Jours (1:16)

4. Jeudi, 3. Juillet (3:14)

5. Longtemps, Longtemps, Longtemps (0:38)

6. Vendredi, 4. Juillet (1:51)

7. Samedi, 5. Juillet (0:51)

8. Comme Le Vent Augmentait (1:35)

9. Mardi, 8. Juillet (4:21)

10. Cette Forêt (2:21)

11. Vendredi, 25. Juillet 1890 (1:36)

12. Il Eut Du Mal (3:58)

13. Mardi, 29 (2:49)

14. Fili (2:21)

15. S'adapter Et Ne Pas S'adapter (2:38)

16. 3. Août 1890 (1:14)

17. 9 Heures Après (0:20)

18. Dangoma (3:07)

19. Il Comprit (3:42)

20. Mort Aux Mères (1:51)

21. Koulanja (2:15)

22. Haches, Couteaux, Tentacules (4:26)

23. 7. Août 1940 - Après-Midi (2:33)

24. Le Soir (1:40)

25. Manilo (2:03)

26. 8. Août 1940 (1:46)

27. 13 Août 1940 - Matin (2:25)

28. 20. Août 1940 (3:46)

29. Sunyatta (2:45)

30. Dans Le Silence Blanc (0:51)

31. Fin Du Bois Du Pins (0:47)

Moussa Sissoko - djembe
Alexandre Meyer - electric guitar, table-guitar, daxophone 
Boubakar Djebate - kora, vocals
Yves Robert - trombone
Sira Djebate - vocals
André Wilms - voice
Xavier Garcia - keyboards, sampler
Heiner Goebbels - sampler

Music by Boubakar Djebate & Heiner Goebbels 
Texts by:
Francis Ponge (tracks: 23, 26 to 28, 31)
Heiner Müller (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 19, 20, 22, 30)
Joseph Conrad (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17) 

Released by ECM Records in 1995.

link@320

Henry Mancini - Hatari! (1962)

1. Theme for Hatari!
2. Baby Elephant Walk
3. Just For Tonight
4. Your Father's Feathers
5. Night Side
6. Big Band Bwana
7. The Sounds of Hatari
8. The Soft Touch
9. Crocodile, Go Home!



All tunes by Mancini except #3 by Mercer & Carmichael.
Recorded in 1961. CD release by RCA Victor in 1998.

link@320

Barack Obama - Victory Speech (2008)

Yes, We Can't.

Performed live in Chicago, 5.11.2008

link@128

Bravo Clippings #25

In 1991 Franck Gohier graduated with a BA (Fine Arts, majoring in printmaking) from the then Northern Territory University, where he also worked as a studio printmaker/lecturer between 1993-96. During this time, Gohier co-founded (along with Leon Stainer and George Watts) a series of groundbreaking printmaking workshops involving Indigenous artists from remote communities throughout the Top End and Desert regions of North Australia.

The important links forged by this team of printmakers, between the University and several key Indigenous art communities, formed the foundation of the Northern Editions Printmaking Studio, recently described by former Chancellor Mrs Nancy Giese, AO OBE as ‘the jewel in the crown’ of Charles Darwin University.

In 1997, Gohier co-founded Red Hand Print Studio together with Shaun Poustie (also formerly of Northern Editions), an ideologically radical and independently spirited venture, which continued Gohier’s involvement with the tuition of printmaking skills to Indigenous communities, later extending this to prisoners at Berrimah Jail.

The range of Gohier’s creative accomplishments include intaglio and relief printing, painting, collage, sculpture and filmmaking. To this should be added his impressive history of poster production. In April 2004, the Charles Darwin University Art Collection confirmed its acceptance of seventy-nine (79) poster prints by Gohier dating from 1997-2002, emanating from the pioneering printmaking studio of Red Hand.

About Country & Western: Franck Gohier brings a pop-inspired twist to the politics and topography of the Kimberley cattle industry. In the tradition of political posters, Franck draws on his love of cowboy culture, a favorite fifties children’s novel Cowboy Small, and his admiration for the contribution made by Aboriginal people to the Kimberley cattle industry. An established artist, Franck taught and editioned prints in communities across the Northern Territory for many years. He now pursues his own socio-politically motivated practice full-time.

A small sample of Franck Gohier's True Tales from the Far North, Country & Western and It's All Fun & Games collections at the Ray Hughes Gallery (Sidney).

Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology (1999)

Disc One

Disc One consists of the recordings that the producers regard as the most fully realized exponents of this one-time collaboration between Elvis and producer Chips Moman. Not every song was a full collaboration [...], but each represents the ultimate partnership between producer and artist that allows total creative self-expression.

Although sometimes at odds with each other, Elvis and Chips Moman created the classic FROM ELVIS IN MEMPHIS, which is represented by the first twelve tracks. These are complemented by the great "hit" singles "Suspicious Minds," "Mama Liked the Roses," "Don't Cry Daddy" and "Kentucky Rain." Disc One concludes dramatically with both "Stranger In Ny Own Home Town" and "Without Love," two of the songs that clearly meant the most to Elvis and into which he poured every ounce of emotion.

Disc Two

The disc lets you discover the intimate "music-making" atmosphere that happened at this sessions. The remainder of the material is weighted with ballads so the producers included informal jams, jokes and outtakes to give you a true sense of an Elvis recording session. The enthusiasm and inspiration that Elvis, Chips and the studio musicians brought to these sessions is clearly illustrated. SUSPICIOUS MINDS - THE MEMPHIS 1969 ANTHOLOGY provides unique testament to their remarkable talent.

Special note: The music track for "Poor Man's Gold" was recorded while Elvis stayed at home with laryngitis. When he returned to record his vocals, he was distracted by a fire engine's siren blasting through the studio walls! This went straight on tape - you can hear it by turning up the volume. This disruption ended Elvis' commitment to the song and this small segment is all that was ever recorded of Elvis' vocal.

[From the CD liner notes]

link@192 [Disc 1]
link@192 [Disc 2]