The Musical Box
Music has been a key to my personal growth since I was a teenager and, although I don't play an instrument myself, I have been surrounded by musicians and music all my life. This section of the blog shares the contents of the discoveries, experiences and events in my personal musical box. I grew up with UK pop and rock music in the 1960s and 70s via records, radio, live concerts and TV. In 1981 I carried all this to France and mixed it with other musical styles – la chanson française, jazz, classical and world music. In the early 1990s my musical world was shaken yet again when I discovered traditional tango from Argentina. For the first time in my life I learned to dance and discovered a whole new way of perceiving music. I began working as a tango DJ, starting a webradio, organizing events and seeking out people I admired. Tango continues to be part of my daily musical soundscape.
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Gotan Project featuring Osvaldo Pugliese and … Kruder & Dorfmeister
Osvaldo Pugliese is a tango legend who led the same orchestra for 55 years. So why is he the focus of an article which also mentions two electro DJs from Vienna, downbeat, trip-hop and muzak? The answer is because Gotan Project, the electro tango group, sampled riffs from Pugliese's tangos and specifically named him as one of their influences. Want to know more? Take a look and listen to the multiple music videos in this fourth article in a series of five inspired by the cover version of Chunga's Revenge by Gotan Project.
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John Trudell – a voice to be reckoned with
Today is a good day to read about John Trudell and listen to his work because we celebrate his 80th heavenely birthday. I first noticed John Trudell in 1992, the year he released a CD called AKA Grafitti Man. It was the wind and fury of "Rockin the Res", heard on the radio, that first stopped me in my tracks. His was a voice : almost conversational but somehow assertive. He seemed to be talking about life as he experienced it, but also something wider. And wilder. The tension and poetry made you sit up and listen, and the music made you want to dance even if you didn't know…
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Songsmith Timmy Thomas pleads for peace
Here's a question which never grows old. It came back to me recently. I was watching the news, images of war, theft, violence, bullying and plain old nastiness when I realised that I had had enough. Who wants to see this? I needed a break. I turned on the radio. The intro began and I knew it immediately : "Why can't we live together" by Timmy Thomas. It felt like it was playing right off my inner juke-box. It was an old song suddenly new. The work of a true songsmith.
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Zappa remixed by Gotan Project
Chunga's Revenge may not be the most well-known track from Gotan Project's debut album, but its sung-spoken lyrics tells us a lot about the mix of influences behind Gotan Project. Chunga's Revenge has its origins a million miles from tango, because it is a cover version of a Frank Zappa jazz-rock tune. What? Zappa in a tango post? Yes, along with dubmasters King Tubby, Lee Scratch Perry and Mad Professor. Want to know mor? Step this way.
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David Bowie – Old song, new documentary
Today is David Bowie's birthday, which we still remember although, in a couple of days, it will actually be 10 years since he passed away. David Bowie Back In Berlin is a piece from 2024 about the song "Where are we now?" which I am reposting. this song announced the end of a strange searching period in Bowie's career after the massive success of "Let's Dance" in the mid-1980s. This transition is also the subject of a new documentary called "David Bowie - The Final Act".
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Astor Piazzolla, Anibal Troilo and … Xavier Cugat in a Gotan Project remix
Anibal Troilo, Astor Piazzolla and Xavier Cugat make an unlikely trio. But they all get name-checks as inspirations and influences on Gotan Project in the song "Chunga's Revenge". When this track was released in 2001, tango dancers didn't immediately know what to make of Gotan Project. It was electro tango. But was it tango? This series of posts takes a look at the names behind this eclectic musical mix. What would you say to a little tango?
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Meet & greet with Gotan Project
"La Revancha del Tango", the Gotan Project debut album, was released in October 2001. Even if the group had been around for 2 years,, for the general public Gotan Project was a new name which raised questions : Who are these people? Where does their music come from? Some say it's tango others say it's electro tango, but who's right? One song on that debut album, called "Chunga's Revenge", gave answers to all of these questions in a sort of meet & greet. For those with ears to hear, it presented all the members of Gotan Project by name. It takes two to tango so, if you're ready ...
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Songsmith Bruce Springsteen tells dark bedtime stories – and the world wants more
The album "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen was first released in 1982. We'd listen to a tape of it on the battery cassette player we took in our car on long trips. "Nebraska" was a twilight choice. With each song we carried an extra passenger who would briefly be there, tell their tale, then vanish, leaving space for the next one.
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Bye Bye Bassman Danny Thompson
Bass player Danny Thompson passed away on September 23rd 2025. He leaves behind a legacy of amazing diversity, having worked with Nick Drake, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Pentangle, John Martyn and many, many more. I saw him play live and will never forget it. Here's a short tribute to a big, big bassman.
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Songsmith And Beach Boy Brian Wilson Gone But In Good Company
For a long time I saw The Beach Boys as a formula, a brand name and verrrry American, I thought. Which indeed they were : toothpaste smiles, sunshine lyrics and good times almost too good to be true. That would change in late 1975 thanks to Robin, a friend at Keele University. I was a music enthusiast at the time, but Robin was a music fan who was also a musician and totally unafraid of liking music which others considered too pop to be of interest. He knew what he liked, and he could tell you why it was good. He took me into the world of "Surf's Up" and…
