Some people, it seems, can hear their eyes move. Whether this is a terrible affliction or simply a benign curiosity I can not say. What is certain, though, is that Noise In Your Eye is a very appropriate title for a music project by a pair of musicians steeped in the visual arts. Daniel Pennie’s…Read more Noise In Your Eye
world
Artificial
artificial /ɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adjective made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural. "her skin glowed in the artificial light" (of a person or their behaviour) insincere or affected. "she gave an artificial smile" It always puzzles me why 'artificial' has negative connotations. I suppose it's because mankind's…Read more Artificial
Sunwheel
The winter solstice occurred this morning at 04:19 am, UK time. For those of us in the northern hemisphere this is the time when the sun stops sinking lower in the sky each day and begins its upward journey in the yearly cycle of the seasons. It marks the end of shorter days and the…Read more Sunwheel
Love & Hate
When it comes to human emotions there can be no greater contrast than that between love and hate. And I guess that goes for cartoon characters, too. Bugs Bunny loves all the other characters he meets, even the ones that hate him - especially the ones that hate him, in fact, because they lead to…Read more Love & Hate
Hippocampus
Hippocampus The seahorse genus An anatomical subdivision of the brain A mythological sea-horse I don't have any definitive information about which meaning of 'hippocampus' Nguyên Lê had in mind when he wrote the Hippocampus tune but, as it forms the opening track of his Streams album, I am inclined to think the tiny sea creature…Read more Hippocampus
Listening Wind
The wind can be noisy at times. A strong wind will whip the sea into a seething, hissing foam; it will lash the sails of the yachts in the harbour and slap the rigging lines against the mast. Gales will send trashcans clattering down the street and make the trees moan and creak. Hurricanes will…Read more Listening Wind
Landscapes
No other band sounds like Hidden Orchestra. Or so I believed. But perhaps the Crotchety Research Elves just hadn't mapped that part of the musical landscape thoroughly enough yet. Recruiting the Global Network of Discovery and Spotify as guides, Crotchety Man embarked on a journey of exploration. Those regions were not thought to be dangerous but…Read more Landscapes
Whole Thing
Back in 1991 Peter Gabriel had a problem. His studios had issued a string of block bookings to successful bands like New Order, leaving no time for lesser-known artists on his Real World Records label who only wanted a day or two of studio time. His solution was to set aside one week for those…Read more Whole Thing
Flow
By definition, fluids flow. Steam rises from a boiling kettle, spring water spontaneously cascades down the mountainside. And when you hear a particularly fluid jazz lick you can be sure the band has achieved that indefinable quality of musical 'flow'. It's what all musicians strive for, when the notes spill out without bidding, floating in…Read more Flow
Cwlwm
When the Crotchety Kid was just nine or ten years old one of his teachers was a woman not so young in years but with all the best attributes of youth in her manner. There was a timeless beauty in her face and the fresh warmth of her personality has never been matched in all the…Read more Cwlwm
Crotchety Man 