TEB at 1973 Windsor Free Festival.

Related to an obscure period in TEB's story, I've found on line this references to their appearance at the second edition of Windsor Free Festival, played from August 25th to 28th, 1973 in West London at Windsor Great Park. Probably one of the last of their first artistic phase.

Here's some stuff for the promotion of the festival:

 

One could ask how a group as TEB could be on the same bill with Hawkwind (the stars of that edition), Pink Faires, Skin Alley, Camel... but we know at that time, after the attempt to record "The Dragon Wakes" and the  recordings of "Macbeth", the band was trying to develop a new form of "electric raga rock".

A photo by Dave Walking with the Hawkwind on stage: (L-R) Michael Moorcock, Robert Calvert, Simon King and Lemmy.

The very good portal of UK festivals at the page about the Windsor Free festival editions (http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/windsor-menu.html) shows memories and pictures about the event, even if nothing about the TEB.

Any memories by Ghettoraga readers will be well accepted!

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)    

Found four never seen before pictures of the TEB!

These below are four never seen before shots of the band taken by Ray Stevenson - two at the London Kensal Green cemetery, where there was one of the first photo sessions for the "Alchemy"'s cover, and two on stage at the Isle of Wight festival (August 1969).

Now these b/w pictures are on sale at Rex Web site (go here).

 

As we know (read on this Archive at http://ghettoraga.blogspot.it/2010/01/teb-first-photo-session-by-ray_30.html), also Carolyn Looker (Glen's missus) was involved at the Kensal Green session: you can see her arm just behind the tomb...!
Other pictures of the band at the Isle of Wight festival was taken by Barry Plummer (read here), Derek Halsall and Karen Francis (read here).

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)   

TEB at the London Roundhouse, May 30th, 1969

"Hi Ghettoraga,

I'm making a film about Eel Pie Island and would like to include a photo of TEB outside Roundhouse. Any idea who took it? It looks like a publicity shot so perhaps their record company? See more at www.eelpieislandmusic.com/film 

Regards, 

Cheryl Robson"

 

"Hi Cheryl,
nice to hear you're involved with this great project...
The old photo with the band beyond the Roundhouse was probably taken by someone in Blackhill Enterprises agency staff, because it was taken just after the first Harvest artists showcase on May 30th, 1969 (two shots of the band on stage are on sale at Repfoto site - https://www.repfoto.com/index.php6).
The original photo was published officially for the first time on EMI-Harvest 5CDs-Book anthology "Harvest Festival" published in 1999, so you could ask them.
On the same book you can find also photos of Michael Chapman and the Edgar Broughton Band taken in the same occasion.
That's all I can tell you.
Please, let me know if you will use the TEB photo for your project because I will promote it through Ghettoraga Archive.
Best wishes,
Luca Chino Ferrari".

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)   

Glen Sweeney's tribute book finished, ready to be published.

My tribute-book to the art and genius of Glen Sweeney (and the Third Ear Band) is now finished and it's ready to be published.

Talent graphic Martin Cook (who made the last three TEB's cds for Gonzo) is working on it, full of pictures and stuff about the glorious Glen & TEB's history.

Just to give you a little taste of it, here below you can read a funny short memory from rock alternative musician Morgan Fisher (who played for a short period with the TEB in 1973) that is included on the book:

"My (probably record-breakingly) short stint as synth player with the Third Ear Band included just two radio shows and one concert, in the spring of 1973, before I was whisked off on a USA tour by Mott the Hoople. So I had little time to get to know the Band personally. Paul seemed rather distant and quiet, but Mike and Glen were open, chatty and friendly from the beginning. Nobody said it, but I assumed Glen was “in charge” as he visited my house in Finchley (north London) a couple of times to discuss their musical approach with me; it was always a real pleasure to sit and have a cuppa tea and a cozy chat with him. 

I was familiar with the Band’s recordings, and especially impressed that they had, two years before, made the music for (and even appeared in) Polanski’s “Macbeth.” While chatting on that subject, I asked Glen about the London premiere of the film - who was there, and how they dressed for the occasion. Were the Band expected to adhere to the usual tuxedo and black tie formula? 

Glen’s answer: “Yeah, man - would you believe they insisted we dress like that? So naturally I had to do something freaky as some sort of protest, right?” 

“Sure. What did you come up with?” 

“I dyed me hair bright green!” 

“Nice one, Glen! More tea?”

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)   

A suite for the third ear!

Listen to this album and decide by yourself. Often music magazines and journalists state a new group evokes the music of the Third Ear Band, but then when one listens to it the distance between the soundscapes is really huge.

Anyway we have here a new project titled "A la Face du Ciel!"  by an Algerian-Portuguese duo with some references to the "third ear" aestetics - sometimes you can catch some hints from "Macbeth"... and it can be interesting to know it.
This  below is a long review published by Web magazine "The Sound Projector" (http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2017/01/14/the-third-ear-band/ ):

"À La Face Du Ciel! (SHHPUMA SHH022CD / CLEAN FEED RECORDS) is a superb record of free improvisation and another very successful meeting between Jean-Marc Foussat, the Algerian synth player and electronic music maestro, and João Camões, the Portuguese viola player (also from Open Field Trio and Earnear). In June 2016 I raved about Bien Mental, an intense record they made with Claude Parle. À La Face Du Ciel is not as “wild” as that release, nor is it intended to be; “more intimate and introspective results” is how they would describe it, while what I’m feeling on today’s spin is a very heartfelt and rather melancholic range of emotions. Pain, anxiety, fears; many of the modern ailments facing contemporary man are dealt with through musical exploration, which is a very good and sincere way to do it. Please note I am not talking about “confrontational” music which we might get from the “industrial” musician type, one who wishes to bludgeon the listener until we’re the ones feeling the pain. Nor do I refer to the many synth drone players who find it all-too-easy to slip into tones that suggest “unease” and “disquiet”, mostly through lazy keyboard presets. Make no mistake, Foussat and Camões understand that their music is a language, not just an array of sounds, and what we hear on this record is a subtle, nuanced and very genuine articulation of that language.

The notes here point out, quite rightly, that the electronic music of Jean-Marc Foussat has very little to do with contemporary electronica or ambient genres, and has been forged in the heat of improvisations with a number of important avant-garde players since the early 1980s – not to mention his exposure to the genre through acting as sound recordist for many of Derek Bailey’s Company events. “Acting by impulse and always with new ideas” is the apt description given here of his responsive and highly creative approach to collaborative playing. Part of that process involves real-time processing of amplified signals from Camões’ viola, a strategy which takes this (classically-trained) musician somewhat out of his comfort zone, but it’s a bracing experience which he clearly relishes.

They’re able to sustain this high degree of focus and concentration for long periods, as these two tracks (22 mins and 23 mins) testify. Well, while the pair may occasionally tread water on ‘Mécanique Verte’ and lapse into quasi-classical viola phrases on top of electronic drone, it’s still an impressive blend of timbres and textures, packed with detail and very intimate sounds. The main event though is ‘Suite Pour La Troisième Oreille’, a powerful shape-shifting beast which never stays in one place and leads the listener through several genuinely surprising corridors of mental exploration – surely the definition of what “free music” should be doing to earn its keep. The “third eye” is a phrase which can be used as a metaphor for a form of spiritual awakening or discovery, and with the reference here to a “third ear” Foussat and Camões make good on their promise of enlightening the soul of the listener."

You can listen to this album at
http://www.deezer.com/album/12584954

no©2017 Luca Chino Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)   

Third Ear Band, an "Italian phenomenon".

This is an old interview with Glen Sweeney (and Mick Carter) published on Italian magazine "Rockerilla" in March 1990. The interview (only in Italian, sorry!) was taken by Fernando Fanutti just before the gig Third Ear Band played in Florence at Auditorium Flog.

There are some interesting Glen's replies here, some clever ideas about music, life and technology I've included on the forthcoming tribute-book that will be published until Summer.

no©2017 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first) 

BBC Radio 6 aired TEB's tracks from "Alchemy".

On December 14th, 2016 BBC Radio 6 Stuart Maconie played some TEB's tunes on his programme "Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone".

Here's the press release at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b084p0h5

“Stuart Maconie travels to the furthest flung corners of left-field music to create a playlist that makes you rock back on your heels with the sounds of newness and difference. Celebrating the best in psychedelia, adventurous electronica, avant-rock, cosmic creations, progressive, drone and general weirdness from across the decades. This week Stuart features Third Ear Band's 1969 album Alchemy which combines Eastern and Western chamber music traditions. Plus new music from Turner Prize Winner Martin Creed, a Toronto octet called Film In Music and five short miniatures from Euros Childs”. 

Tracks aired: "Ghetto  Raga", "Area Three", "Druid One" and "Stone  Circle".

 

no©2017 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)     

How Roberto Musci's "Mosaic" is going?

Asking Roberto Musci how his great tribute to the Third Ear Band is going, he replied me: "I haven't news about my record, but going around in the Internet I've read some good reviews on English and Japanese sites".

Here below there are some pages I've found:

http://www.blogfoolk.com/2016/12/roberto-musci-mosaic-tribute-to-third.html (in Italian)
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Products/Third-Ear-Band-Roberto-Musci-Mosaic__25-USD-CD-HST411.aspx (in English)
http://www.thirdear.co.jp/SHOP/PYEUT008.html (in Japanese)
http://diskunion.net/progre/ct/detail/XATW-00140760 (In Japanese)

Roberto's tribute to Our Holy Band is one of the more intriguing and creative project I've ever listened to. Ghettoraga Archive is proud to have support this record since the very first stages of its creation process...

 no©2017 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)     

New book on Glen Sweeney almost ready!

Since the last October I'm editing with Carolyn Looker the book on Glen Sweeney's poems, lyrics, interviews, aphorisms, drawings, photos and the work is almost finished...A specific section wil have memories of Glen by some of his old friends and/or musicians who played with him as Dave Tomlin, Pete Brown, Paul Buckmaster, Lyn Dobson...

Carolyn has sent me lot of rare photos of Glen, taken in different moments of his life. One of them, in particular, shot in 1970, shows him and Carolyn with their close friend Celia Humphris, at the time singer of the fabulous Trees and wife of radio DJ Pete Drummond. 

Glen in Greece, 1978.

I'm very proud of this book, also because I've tried to collect all the main things written by (or about) Glen and it seems a very good tribute to his long unique career.

Also, I'm very glad the book will be printed by Gonzo Multimedia and all the design will be done by talent Martin Cook!

 no©2017 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)     

An exclusive interview with avant garde musician Neil Campbell.

Neil Campbell is a very inspired, original contemporary avant garde musician. According the influent magazine The Wire, with Richard Young and John Bower, he "provided the map co-ordinates for much of what passed for a post-punk UK underground during most of the 80s and 90s". A quite necessary, fresh breath full of ideas and amazing sonic surprises in this often oppressed popular music world. His recent public admission of his appreciation of the Third Ear Band music persuaded me to ask him some questions. Here's the interesting short interview that came out...

1. How/when have you known about the TEB?  

"I suppose I'd heard about them in the 1980s from friends, with words to the effect that they were some kind of "weird hippy" band, but I never heard them until my friend Richard Youngs taped me a copy of The Elements in the mid-90s. Richard had a taped copy of the LP himself, from Matthew Bower (Skullflower, Sunroof! etc), who I believe found out about them from John Godbert (who now plays with me in Vibracathedral Orchestra). So there's something nicely circular about the whole thing for me".
 

2. What do you think about their old records? And what about the last reunion expeience in the '80's?
"I don't think I've heard any of their reunion records in any depth, but the quartet of Alchemy, The Elements, Macbeth and Abelard & Eloise just sounds better every year to me. There are so many ideas in there too, especially on Macbeth, that I can't see the appeal of them wearing out for me. I love how they sound totally out their on their own, strangely more "punk" than "hippy"." 

 

3. Which elements of the TEB music are ended in your compositions?
"Not at all, or at least not consciously. I think I was well on the path I'm on by the time I heard TEB, so they probably just validated what we were already doing. I always liked recording things live, with minimal polish, and most of their records feel like they were done that way."

4. What do you think about the evidence TEB is still inspiring many underground avant-garde contemporary groups/musicians? Do you think their experience is still exclusive for the fate of contemporary music? And why?
"There was something about the ricketty boldness of TEB that really resonated with me and many of my friends involved in maybe pushing the boundaries a little in underground music. It seemed like a tonic to the harsh certainties of some of the noise/industrial music we'd grown up with as teenagers, in that it had both a fragility and a solid sense of just doing its own thing, regardless of fashion or convention. Sturdy music, human music.

A few months ago, Vibracathedral played a big indie type festival in Manchester, and all bands were asked to answer a few brief questions for the printed programme. I'm always a bit cynical about this sort of thing, so answered the questions quickly and without any real thought. One of them was to answer a Recommended If You Like for Vibracathedral - I said "Third Ear Band and Throbbing Gristle", which seems quite accurate really." 

5. What are you doing now? which are your next steps?
"Constantly recording and experimenting at home, playing regularly with Vibracathedral Orchestra (mainly at home, for our own amusement, but occasionally we play in public), and playing more sporadically with bands like Early Hominids (hand-built electronic anti-music), UK Muzzlers (rough punk/tape collage confusion) and Stygian Manor (conceptual goth). In the past week I've been hard at work on an duo release with my Vibracathedral comrade Julian Bradley, which has just gone up on Bandcamp (https://julianbradleyandneilcampbell.bandcamp.com/album/for-lila-o). So, constantly busy, mind full of new ideas. There are never enough hours in the day!"

Neil Campbell references 

The official Web site:  http://theneilcampbell.tumblr.com/

Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Campbell_(musician)

Bandcamp page:  https://theneilcampbell.bandcamp.com

Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/astral-social-club 

 no©2016 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)     

TEB is still a parameter for some kind of underground music...

On one interesting blog called @COOKDANDBOMBD at the page http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,55990.msg2952068.html?PHPSESSID=d13f10fab36ddedc034cd10f6f6371ee#msg2952068

the question is: "Stuff like Vibracathedral Orchestra/Third Ear Band?". 

Ashtray Navigations

Some bloggers write down their suggestions, confirming the TEB is still a parameter for some kind of music...
As always, listen to all this music and decide by yourself...

Neil Campbell
https://theneilcampbell.bandcamp.com/album/foment-maximum 

Our Love Will Destroy The World
https://krayonrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/our-love-will-destroy-the-world-blue-eyes-are-my-reward 

 no©2016 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)    

"Alchemy" album cover at a V&A Museum exhibition in London.

It is titled "You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970" and it's a new exhibition at the London Victoria & Albert Museum  until February 27th, 2017 (https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/you-say-you-want-a-revolution-records-and-rebels-1966-70).

"This major exhibition will explore the era-defining significance and impact of the late 1960s, expressed through some of the greatest music and performances of the 20th century alongside fashion, film, design and political activism",  the organisers declare. 

Among lot of artifacts of the period displayed, also the cover of "Alchemy" and a copy of the rare magazine "Albion" created by Steve Pank in May 1968 (now valued around $350).

On the 3CDs realised for the exhibition (64 tracks selected by journalist and writer Jon Savage) no tracks by the Thirds, of course, even if there are some questionable choices (The Rascals, The Impressions, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Flies...).

no©2016 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)   

TEB new CDs update.

Dear TEB  compulsive listeners,

I have to inform you the announced TEB CDs ("Spirits" and "Brain Waves" reissue) will be available next year: "Spirits" release date is January 27th, 2017.
Gonzo Multimedia's Captain Rob Ayling wrote me it past week - the decision is due the amount of records scheduled by the label (expecially Rick Wakeman's old and new ones).

I'm sorry, but we have to wait for it...

Anyway I'm proud to tell  Carolyn Looker and me are editing the first collection of poems, writings, drawings by Glen Sweeney. It will be published next year, I hope until Summer.

Yours,

Luca Chino Ferrari

 no©2016 Luca Ferrari (unless you intend to make a profit. In which case, ask first)