Sad to say goodbye to Ray Cooper
Virgin Records executive Ray Cooper died on 28th July. He was a great champion of alternative music.
Sun, 29 July 18
Come To Where I’m From
Released 11 April 2000
- In The Sun
- Ashes Everywhere
- Chemical
- History
- Invisible Hands
- Cockroach
- Exhausted
- Eyes On My Back
- Tattoo
- The Real You
- Creation Or A Stain
- Speed Of Light
Liner notes
In its pursuit of unearthing previously unheard music from the planet’s four corners, Real World has never ignored Western rock and pop. No-one’s disqualified. And in Akron, Ohio, the label (or, rather Peter Gabriel himself) found Joseph Arthur, a singer-songwriter with high-proof creative juices oozing out of every pore.
2000’s Come To Where I’m From was his second album for the label. Co-produced by the mighty T-Bone Burnett, it’s a dense, attractively claustrophobic record, full of delightful contradictions: unnerving and reassuring, raw and yet meticulously compiled.
"I wanted to get the songs down in a way that was true to them and true to myself. I really wanted them to have humanity in them. I wanted an element of a gamble in it. I think too much music sounds too contained. I wanted it to sound like it could go out of control at any minute. I didn't want it produced to death." Joseph Arthur
Not content to limit himself to guitar, harmonica and sampling wizardry, Joseph is also a writer, sculptor and painter. His drawings and paintings feature in this album’s artwork, which Joseph co-designed and art directed with Zachary Larner. 1999’s Vacany EP had gained Joseph and Zachary a Grammy nomination for the Best Recording Package.
Further Listening
-
Released 10 June 2002
Joseph Arthur’s third album is a consistently inspired, occasionally frazzled, and often startlingly beautiful album. It's the kind of record with which you can build a slow, sustainable love affair. Its rich textures, vulnerability, and acute, poetic lyrics are guaranteed to slacken jaws and raise goose bumps. -
Released 23 June 1997
On this, Arthur’s 1997 debut, the Ohio singer introduced his experimental folk-rock style and diverse instrumentation, adorning his songs with instruments as varied as hurdy gurdy, corn horn, Venetian xylophone, caxixi, and birimbau.
Further reading
Les Amazones d’Afrique feature on BBC’s The Cultural Frontline
The Cultural Frontline celebrates the music and activism of West African band Les Amazones d'Afrique
Thu, 23 August 18
Stephen Hague on bringing Big Blue Ball to the finishing line
The New Order producer faced the mammoth task of sifting through years of recording sessions.
Thu, 02 August 18
The Gloaming at the National Concert Hall: ‘An experiment in controlled happenstance’
A closer look at the phenomenon that is The Gloaming's annual sold-out residency at the NCH, Dublin.
Wed, 22 August 18