Friday 20 July 2012

There's a shadow hanging over me

Yesterday I started to sift through the recording I made last week on the Stage Départemental, an annual summer school for music students of the various conservatoires and music schools in the Aude. I was teaching the piano class. I came across this gem, an arrangement for 3 double basses and drums of this most melancholic of Beatles' songs. It has given me David Lynch-ian nightmares and has completely erased any nostalgic feelings towards the original. I'm not sure which is stranger, the original or my slightly remixed version.

Sunday 15 July 2012

Limoux to Foix 191km and many inclines

The tiny village of Fa has a very cool bar, best in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude, the Café de Fa. Today Les Quat'Cats played....here they are in a somewhat drawn out version of Unchain my Heart with guest beatboxer...The other main event today was the Tour de France for which Limoux has been gearing up for months. They sped out of town this morning to cheering crowds heading down the D118, the Haute Vallée's main road - it's a shame couldn't stop off for a bite to eat and some rock'n'roll

Kate - vocals
Stan - bass and vocals
Eddie - guitar
Mark - drums





Saturday 14 July 2012

Quoi? Des cohortes étrangères feraient la loi dans nos foyers!

Welcome to Mark's new blog!

The Limoux fireworks for Bastille Day always happen the day before the big display at the Cité de Carcassonne, but this year it was an entirely auditory experience - everyone at the Hothouse being too tired and unmotivated to walk 5 minutes down the road to watch them. It was real surround sound echoing off the hills and the buildings. Here are the Carcassonne fireworks of 2006 filmed by New Yorker artist friend Alvin Booth and one of my former piano pupils singing the Marseillaise.