Not for the masses, but from the masses
Ian Parks grew up in a South Yorkshire mining family - as his new volume of poetry The Exile House hits the shelves, Jody Porter finds out his sources of inspiration.
The Economics Of Killing
An expose of the military-industrial complex shows how its actions grease the transfer of resources from the poorest to the richest globally
Scottish reel treat
This weekend sees a unique celebration of cinema at Glasgow's Southside Film Festival
Music
Arun Ghosh
Sunday 30 October 2011
Arun Ghosh's first album Northern Namaste was a masterpiece.
Eleanor Friedberger
Sunday 30 October 2011
Last Summer is the first solo record from 35-year old Eleanor Friedberger, one half of the critically acclaimed US indie rock group The Fiery Furnaces.
Julian Cope
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Julian Cope's career in recent decades has seen him moving increasingly away from the drug-addled new-wave, rock-star lifestyle of 1980s legend.
Zion Train - State Of Mind
Sunday 23 October 2011
Legendary 1970s Jamaican producer Lee Scratch Perry is often credited with pioneering the technique whereby reggae numbers were stripped down to their bare rhythm tracks and layered with heavily flanged and echoed snippets of vocals and other instruments, turning the sound desk into an instrument in its own right.
Tom Russell - Mesabi
Sunday 23 October 2011
A Tom Russell album is always an event, because he's the unofficial musical historian of what he calls the "other America."
Bjork - Biophilia
Sunday 23 October 2011
She couldn't just write a collection of songs, could she?
Opeth
Sunday 16 October 2011
In true prog fashion Sweden's Opeth defy their fans to create a stripped-back folk-oriented album and they should be heartily congratulated for this effort.
Mark Wynn
Sunday 16 October 2011
This is Mark Wynn's fourth release and by the third track it's clear who his influences are, with legends like Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and Lightning Hopkins springing to mind.
Bambara Mystic Soul
Sunday 16 October 2011
Turn on a pop radio station and it's a non-stop assault.
Kit Downes & Seb Rochford
Wednesday 12 October 2011
In the loft of Dalston's Vortex jazz club, pianist Kit Downes has teamed up with arch drummer Seb Rochford - of Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland pedigree - to expose their box-fresh collaboration to the public for the first time.