Vile day here in London, improved to some degree I'd hope by the arrival in UK shops of the new edition of Uncut. It has Nick Drake on the cover, as you probably know if you're a subscriber and your copy arrived over the weekend.
The story of Drake as an uncompromising musical visionary is told by Joe Boyd, John Wood, Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings, Beverley Martyn and more who knew the singer-songwriter.
One of those weeks when the office playlist is taken to a whole new level at the very last moment, thanks to the arrival this morning of the new Steve Gunn album. A couple of previously redacted records can now be revealed, too, as the new efforts by Ryan Adams and Goat…
Robert Plant has confirmed details of his new album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar.
The album — which has been recorded with The Sensational Space Shifters — will be released on September 9 on Nonesuch / Warner Bros. Records.
One of the things I wrote about in the new issue of Uncut is a review of the latest vinyl reissues from what was the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. For a panel to accompany the review, I had the good fortune to speak to composer Paddy Kingsland, one of the legendary studio boffins currently touring in the live iteration of the Workshop.
In the same way that Marshall amps revolutionised rock music, allowing heavy rock and metal to flourish, loop pedals have changed the state of play for solo performers. No longer having to rely on real-time performing, the first two acts on tonight at the final night of Club Uncut at The Great Escape have been able to take folk to stranger, new climes.