Archive for September, 2008

Hi. Shlomo here. I am pleased to announce that I have finally arrived at Disko Bay. And I am totally shellshocked.

Shlomo in Disko Bay, photo by Nathan Gallagher

In the past 36 hours I’ve travelled from Moscow to the Arctic, with a quick stop off for a performance at Wembley Arena. Somehow I feel quite surprised to have actually arrived. I spent the whole of the last week trying not to visualise what the Arctic would be like, seeing as nothing ever turns out to be how you pictured it.

This seems to have left me a little unprepared for the combined experience of a a) seeing my first giant iceberg (the size of a small bus station) and b) being introduced to Jarvis Cocker, KT Tunstall and Laurie Anderson, all within 10 minutes. Definitely time for a peppermint tea break.

So I’m writing this first blog post with a sense of sleep deprived self-detachment, not really taking in what is happening. Being with all these inspired people seems to have filled my head with a zillion ideas for musical endeavours that could easily save the world. But I think the sea is going to rock me to sleep before they ever make it out of my dizzy mind.

Eating pate sandwiches in copenhagen. Flying to greenland first thing tomo!!
9:39pm Monday 29 September

finally off to arctic (via copenhagen)…let’s do this
10:09am Monday 29 September

- as his blog diary states.

hey.. what an insane week. Just got back from Wembley Arena where the Onevoice project reached its conclusion. I’m going to miss everyone!

Yesterday morning we arrived back from Moscow and played our first gig with the new Vocal Orchestra at a tiny festival by the seaside in Essex. Tomorrow morning I leave for the arctic. bring it on!

Hello. my name is Shlomo. I am a beatboxer who loves music, people and peppermint tea. Right now I am pretty excited to be going on an arctic adventure.

Shlomo in Moscow

But I am not going yet. Right now I’m on the way back to London from Moscow. I am one of the 3 late comers who will be joining the rest of the crew a few days in. When I was first invited on the trip, I was screwing: it clashed with an incredibly important gig (the culmination of a 6-month long commission at Wembley Arena). So I thought I would have to miss out. But the guys from Cape Farewell would not be defeated. Myself and Jude Kelly will be flying out, via Copenhagen, to meet the rest of the crew at the port of Ilulissat on Tuesday.

I’m really excited about the trip - I’ve got myself some amazing mittens that feel like you are putting your hand into a warm room. I’ve also skipped my usual monthly head shaving. Surely I will need all the warmth I can get.

So Moscow to Wembley to Copenhagen to Greenland - I know that is a lot of miles in a plane. This is something that has been bothering me since I heard about the trip. We are going to be munching our way through a fair amount of resources on this mission. At the moment I don’t have an answer to this particular problem. I
have no idea what the voyage will be like, so I’m here with no preconceptions, just to see what happens, and see what we can make happen.

Yesterday was the last Onevoice rehearsal before Wembley. I haven’t seen any of the group since our last performance in July. I arrived excited and ready to refresh everybody’s memories, as well as teach them some new parts.

When I got there I was told that our piece had been shortened from 30 to 15 minutes. Then I was told that the kids choir have had to pull out at the last minute due to staffing issues.

I managed not to panic – with a bit of shuffling we shortened the piece and the grown ups took the news in their stride. I think it is going to be quite a performance at Wembley Arena next week. You can buy tickets here for £2 each.

Tomorrow I’m up at the crack of dawn to record for BBC Radio 3’s ‘The Choir’. Then I have my last rehearsal with the Vocal Orchestra pool before I decide on the line up for the tour. Then I have a meet up in the evening with all the Cape Farewell crew for some last minute planning before we set sail next week, and the day after I fly to Russia for a show out there.

Craziness!

only a few tickets left for brand new vocal orchestra at QEH… get in quick if you still want to come!! Also you’ll get to see my DJing debut in the foyer afterwards… will be bringing out some 90s classics!!!!

Buy tickets:
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/shlomo-and-the-vocal-orchestra-42448

Summer silly season is over. Mainstages, mud and festival fever can now wait until next June, and I’m getting itchy to get on with projects. even though i am knee deep in it. (halfway through a 6-week rehearsal process for the  vocal orchestra tour, with a new lineup and a new show that is being created experimentally as we go along, plus the culmination of the onevoice commission at wembley arena, and a trip to russia all in the next two weeks, before setting sail for the Arctic).

me with Portico Quartet at Glastonbury

I’ve been following progress of the Portico Quartet who I think are awesome. they bagged this year’s obligatory jazz nomination at the Mercurys, are now no1 in the Amazon jazz sales, and number 19 overall.

I really like the idea of creating jazz that is fresh by approach… their sound is sculpted around the hang - a gamelan-esque instrument that can sound like a cross between a steel pan and a rhodes piano. Polar Bear and Cinematic Orchestra are the other interesting and original contemporary jazzers that i have been watching. And note, none of them play swing, which is what i was brought up on as a jazz drummer.

me with polar bear

I would like to make a jazz album in a similar vein and get some awards already… not that it would make any money!

Check out the highlights from ‘Music Through Unconventional Means’ - a special 2 hour show on the Park Stage at Glastonbury 2008.

‘Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra’ act as the backing band for a series of unrehearsed collaborations with guest artists including Martha Wainwright, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Reverend of the Makers, Ed Harcourt, Portico Quartet, Lemn Sissay, Pete Lockett, Martina Topley-Bird and more.

Thanks to SeaBuzzard productions!

Just got back from Bestival on the Isle of Wight

It was quite muddy.

I was performing with DJ Yoda, an amazing scratch dj and video artist. We created an audio-visual show for MTUM earlier in the year, and Bestival asked us to bring it to the mainstage.

Yoda getting set up

view from the stage

We were on right after human league, before hot chip and winehouse.

Apparently we played to around 30,000 people…. last major festival of the year.. what a summer

just before bestival we went out to rhodes for 3 days to do a gig…

played a poolside duet gig with Bellatrix at a hotel by the beach!

the best thing was the food, we were starving when we got there and walked past about 40 burger and kebab tourist-holes on the seafront. We were just about to give up and order a greasy mixed grill and chips when Belle spotted a back alley… we found ‘Le Gourmet’ - this incredible family run restaurant with the most amazing seafood.

This is me and Belle…

….working hard at the beach!