Ok, so I don’t know anything about this fellow, other than what is available online. Unfortunately, that’s not much. He is, apparently, a “creative account manager” or, as they were called in the old days, an agent.
I hit upon his name when I read a blog connected with the Glastonbury Festival held in Pilton, Somerset (southwest England). This festival features a variety of music, from rock, alternative rock and indie rock to hip-hop, reggae and electronic.
Runewitsch is spreading the word about some of the projects he is working on or interested in and making an effort to hook up with like-minded folks. The crowd at Glastonbury seems as if it would be a ripe proving ground for a budding creative account manager.
According to his information, a project called Hidden Depths is attracting such indie and alternative names as “Warp records, Dj Yoda, Luke Vibert, Jarvis Cocker, Arctic Monkeys.” The focus seems to be on small venues, one of which was Soho Revue Bar. (The Propellerheads showed their stuff their.)
The Glastonbury was the scene of some serious Liverpool-area work. Some of the reviewers thought The Wombats were one of the best attractions at the 2008 festival, which attracted 170,000 people by some reports. There were some “bigger” names there, such as The Verve. It would only make sense that Runewitsch would try to hook up with some of the managers, acts and listeners at the Glastonbury. Maybe he’ll become one of those established “creative account managers” that really does something good for the up-and-coming.
Tags: rupert runewitsch, indie, independent music, music, indie music
Thought I’d take a look at this rather veteran collection of performers to see what they’re up to these days. Parenthetical Girls have recorded music since 2002, though at that point the effort went by the name Swastika Girls. By 2004, it was Christmas with Parenthetical Girls.
In 2008, the group is responsible for the CD Entanglements and is closely connected with “vanity label” Slender Means Society. The instrumentation behind Zac Pennington is provided by Matt Carlson, Rachael Jensen, Eddy Crichton and others. As most reviewers will readily point out, there are no guitars in this group’s sound. But there is plenty of electronic noise and use of chamber-music instruments.
Of great interest to observers of the indie music scene is the similarity between the “amorphous” Parenthetical Girls and the work-in-progress Slender Means Society label. The latter includes at least nine groups/acts and states openly that Final Fantasy and Ribbons are “future members.” Things are always changing. I’ll bet that’s why Parenthetical Girls fits in so well.
The “Girls” may still get their definition from Pennington, who has been called “sexually ambiguous.” (Why did I just think about David Bowie!?)
You’ll probably find the newest effort, Entanglements, a bit different from past collections. Is it great?
It’s probably too soon to tell, but some have stated the CD is a contender for best of 2008.
Parenthetical Girls in a Slender Means Society on MySpace
Tags: indie, parenthetical girls in a slender means society, music, indie music, independent music
Ok, I’ll listen to this stuff, if for no other reason than the background on their MySpace page makes them look like that Feldman guy with the eyes!!!
Nige and Trev are from the United Kingdom, Oxford area I believe. They experiment, they try to make us (and themselves) laugh, which are admirable goals. I can hear the Zappa influence. Having seen that legend of crazy rock-and-roll, I must say I was interested to hear what Mick Clack and Frank Fish (with guests) have to say. I listened to “When He Had a Voice Like This.” I don’t know what I heard. Kinda cool, though.
Influences are Zappa, Hendrix, Miles Davis, Marx Brothers, Beefheart, Johnny Winter, Lord Buckley, Monty Python….the list goes on. The biography information states that Nige and Trev are “a ranting, grooving, shrieking, psychedelic, experimental, soup hurling, pendulum obsessed, jazz/rock/blues/classical/comedy/funk duo.” What a mouthful!!
It’s said that these fellows “occasionally resort to singing.” Well, this stuff isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, if I were too far from reality and listened to this, I might see those real-life characters from “Freaks” in my nightmares. But what can I expect from two fellows who rely on battered Stratocasters and horror/love sermons?
Here’s what the BBC Oxford reviewer had to say: “After listening to the first 15 minutes I went into a dark room to rock gently while muttering about the blithering squirrels.” Thanks, Tim. Me too.
Tags: music, indie music, independent music, indie, nige and trev
Sometimes, when you dig deep into a subject, you find gems of information that make a difference in how you look at life, or in this case, music.
I started to look at the Russian music scene by reading a book about the Moscow jazz underground. I had heard of Kolibri by name a few years ago. But, as with many things in life, that slipped into the archives too. Then, as I was shoveling through dozens of Web pages that have something to do with indie music, I found an entry from the St. Petersburg, Russia, Times.
The headline stated that Natalya Pivovarova died in a car crash last year in the Ukraine. I didn’t know that.
Some may ask, “Who is Natalya Pivovarova.” The obituary/story notes that she was one of the the founders of Kolibri, an all-women vocal group. This gathering of four talented women debuted at the Leningrad Rock Club in 1988 for International Women’s Day.
Pivovarova, Yelena Yudanova, Inna Volkova and Irina Sharovatova performed together for 10 years, sending six CD/album collections out into the world. Known not only for their singing talent, but also for their amazing costumes and theater-like performances, Kolibri attracted a strong following for the time.
Pivovarova, who was 44 when she died, continued to work as a theater director after 1998. She described herself as “a person of the theater.” In 1997, the Russian indie music Web site, www.gromco.com, called Kolibri one of the most interesting, original and talented bands in Russia. Kolibri albums included Malen’kie Tragedii (Little Tragedies), Manera Povedenija (Manner of Behavior), Naidi 10 Otlichii (Find Ten Differences) on Triarii label, and Bes Sahara (Devil of Sugar).
As mentioned earlier, this may change the way I look at music, at least a bit. I’ll have to rekindle my interest in Russian music and have a listen to Kolibri again.
Tags: independent music, indie, music, i didn’t know that, indie music
I ran across a comment recently that called “indie” a genre, which to me means it is a type of music.
While I am sympathetic to the idea behind this, I’m not sure how far I can go with putting “indie” under the genre heading along with jazz, blues, rock, classical, etc.
The word “genre” comes from the French language, by way of Old French and Latin. To put the definition quite simply, genre means “a kind.” That is, genre is a kind of music. The dictionary definition of “genre” is this: a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like (dictionary.com).
So, is “indie” a kind of music? Not if you judge by the numerous kinds or styles that have the word “indie” in their marketing, MySpace or public relations information. Bands from genres as varied as folk, rock, ambient and industrial, to name a few, consider themselves firmly entrenched in the indie camp. Could you take all of these various kinds of music and put them under one umbrella, then place them alongside the traditional genres, or the accepted genres? I don’t know the answer.
So, is indie music a class or category of artistic endeavor? The debate will continue, along with the battle of terminology that makes some music “alternative” and other music not an alternative to anything.
Tags: indie, music, independent music, indie music, genre
