Bonjour

la guitarra

I wish I could write my blog en francais, but my orthographe in that language is not my strong point.  Having been schooled in these (dis)united states (Remember John Brown and remember Michael Brown! Something's got to give!) the English language is easier for me to write in.  And yet le francais is my 'mother-tongue' given the unequivocal frenchness of my mother, an immigrant as sure as any other. 

So to cure the inequality of this culturo-linguistic divide, which always seems to favor the anglo side, given that it is the language of the current empire, corporate industrial monopolization, fundamentalist capitalism of all creeds and colors, to right this imbalance I sing mostly in languages other than english, first en francais, and then en castellano ('espanol' con tilda), portugues, italiano, kreyol ayisyen ('haitian creole), napulitano (Neapolitan)...

I do also write and interpret songs in english, and a few have ended up on my second album Le Demimonde.      

Its interesting to think that our first vocalizations are more like song than speech, as when a baby gurgles and repeates dadadadadadadadadadadad like a mantra, like a  transe beat...

Repetition is of the essence.

(Yes, yes we want to put you in a happy trance.  But don't worry, it's just for ecstatic dancing, nothing more, you are safe with us.   Think of us as health-practitioners.  Haven't you ever gotten a massage?   Everyone is massaging everyone anyway, in some way or other, its a kind of primate social contract of abiding peacefullnes.  Well, you can't massage Fergus@n, I'm afraid, you cr@zy cr@ckers! 

What about a massage that WAKES YOU UP?  I got a rolfing recently so I know what I am talking about.    Music is like this: it can be extremely painful, and at the same time, extremely invigorating, and at the same time, completely releasing, and at the same time, pleasure trance-inducing.   It can also be brainwashing, so watch out kids!   Know your musicians!  Certified subliminal-message-free musician for hire!  That's kind of like our 'organic'.  

But what a marvel is this language!  I feel that we know as little about music as we know about fungi, as a species.  (Of course, some specialists know everything, but what good are pockets of entitled specialists to us?  They always get co-opted by the powers that be.  What matters is horizontal movement of knowledge, not up and down the shaft of academia's ivory dildo.   Speaking of which, did anybody else notice that creepy old guy that shows up when you first notice fungi?  At first he acted like a paedophile, then he morphed into the form of government shiv.   What gives?  Or am I just being 'paranoid'.  I do smoke 'pot' after all.)

Yes, yes yes I will give way to every anecdotal aside which I fancy.  You shall hear of medicinal mushrooms and utopian gynarchy, herbalism and simpling perhaps as well, certainly food foresting, plat-based diets, low-tech polycultural neo-humanism (neo here meaning 'new' 'fresh' and not as currently understood to mean 'imitation of').   I have a lot of opinions about how things could be done differently on this here planet we inhabit with our mortal coils, and luckily for me there is a whole bunch of other people who think pretty much like me, so that makes me feel safe, and I can continue to write in my comedic vein, which is, I assure you, as serious as cancer. 

But back to my chosen career, which, if not blooming, still has some air in its bellows as it were.  Slowly formulating in me is a third album, the songs are all there, I just have to pick the best ones, and then hone them to a fine point to jab into the heart of the matter (whatever that is to my subconscious, which is really the one who builds these albums of mine).
 
Indeed, all of the songs that I perform or record were repeated, honed in workshop, often behind a piano, certainly with a guitar in hand.  A computer or a notepad will do for throwing down song lyrics that come, to be explored or left by the way side, but anyway to be collected and sifted by some logic, dictated by the album.   

I grew up in the era of the vinyl record, the tail end of it, though I still buy and play vinyl, which I have quite a collection of, and one of my fascinations with making a 'record' is that it is an objet d'art, an object which covers all the bases: visual art, poesie, sound and story-telling.  What a delight for a polycultural being such as I!  We have always created visual art in my family: as children we didn't have computers or even a television, and we spent many hours drawing at the kitchen table, as well as coloring, collaging, making things....   

That's all I have for today though....  Writing is a bit like those old days: free, creative, personal...

love,

Angus Matin