Under The Influence

Hoje, eu vou embora para Londres (Today, I'm leaving for London). While flicking through the latest selections on emusic (new Burial, new Efterklang, etc) something dawned on me - I'm desperate to hear music from the West again.

That's not to say that the music in Brazil isn't great - but it's really not what I'm used to. It's kindof to do with the culture - and it extends into the arts generally. You see, people here are very expressive; exagerated movements; hand-signals; and they make a song and dance about everything. Sit down and watch Brazilian TV and you'll see what I mean. For us it comes across as very fake, with all traces of subtlety removed.

Unfortunately all this has a place to play in the music too. The main manifestation is with the fake sounds. Even in recordings with a lot of commercial backing you'll find a Technics keyboard used to create the brass sounds. It kills me, it really does. Some of this stuff could absolutely kick ass - but instead I can't even show it to my friends back home.

Anyhoo, there's a lot of music here and I managed to find plenty of other stuff that's really enjoyable. Oh, check out the cover art for one of the country's top bands to get an idea of what I'm talking about...

So I finally made it Brazil. Actually, I've been here for about a week now but I've been very busy soaking up the sun and playing my new guitar.

The race over was eventful to say the least. Too little education + spinnakers = much disaster. Ripping kites (the size of four storey buildings) is one thing, having them take control of your boat (broaching) is a whole other kettle of fish. Anyhoo, we got here in the end and most people got back on the boat (though... not the skipper). Some of the damage to the boat has been repaired and I'm optimistic about the team's chances for the next leg. (good luck everyone!)

The real bad news is that through carelessness my iPod is now descessed. It was full of the many albums awaiting attention in my inbox. I got through some of them but nowhere near as many as I'd hoped to. That cloud has a silver lining though - I'm in Brasil, and the music here is great so I shouldn't run short of material.

Again I find myself apologising for the lack of content over the last couple of weeks. This sailing thing is really starting to take over my life. I have a stack of stuff sitting here that I just need to find time to get online.

Actually, before the sailing I was away for a week in Berlin at the best festival I've ever been to (Goldmund). I made recordings of many acts over the weekend (all of whom were amazing) so I'll be sure to fill you in on those too.

So anyway, I'm going to apologise in advance this time, I'm away sailing for another week this week. I promise that I'll get some stuff uploaded as soon as I get back.