Rachael Sage and rainy days

I'm sitting indoors at the moment working on a review of Orchestre National de Barbes and listening to Rachael Sage's stunningly poignant album Delancey Street which is now going to be distributed worldwide. Outside the skies are grey and dreary, but inside where it's warm my mind is being flooded with Rachael's honest and tender vocals.

That's what I love about Rachael's music, some people probably dismiss the ballads as cheesy and trite but to me they strike a real chord. They're not gritty and harsh but they tug at your emotions and express something very fundamental about the inner working of the human psyche. She shows such vulnerability and willingness to be exposed in the interest of making that essential human connection with another person.

Sometimes, at moments of great joy or sorrow we need to know that we are not alone and, for me at least, Rachael provides that comfort. Her songs talk about emotions that we keep hidden most of the time and allows us the space to admit them, at least to ourselves.

If you don't enjoy songs about lost loves and struggling to get through the human condition then you won't like Rachael's music, but if you've ever felt totally alone and wanted to run away from everything that you were tearing out your hair about then just maybe you should give her a try.

Her music isn't anger, revenge or rousing, it's heart-wrenching empathy instead. Her voice lilts over soft chord progressions that run through the wilderness in your mind. It can give you strength or comfort and it can just make you contemplative if you like.

On another note, if you ever get a chance to see her live, please do! It's more than worth it and often involves kazoos and audience participation.

Rachael's playing The Enterprise in Chalk Farm tomorrow night (31/05/2011) at 9:30pm if any of you fancy checking her out. If you make it down, I'll see you there.

For now, here's a slightly silly video for one of her more upbeat numbers 'Big Star' which is an indictment of the reality of the entertainment industry.

Gil Scott-Heron and music that matters

So, I'm sure we've all heard the news today about Gil Scott-Heron passing away. Of all the times for it to happen. He spent years abusing drugs and alcohol and spent over a year in prison and when he finally cleans up, starts making incredible music again, starts touring the world and restarting his career, he gets sick and he dies. I'm sure the tragedy for us is nothing compared to that for his friends and family and my thoughts go out to them, but we are all going to be missing out on a world that includes an artist that really meant something.

His critiques of discrimination, poverty and all of society's ills were open, honest and revolutionary. He told it how it was and didn't need to sugar coat a single word. He was a poet and musician and social commentator. That didn't change with age and his album I'm New Here from last year continued the trend. He also had an appreciation for the importance of music and verse as communicatory tools. He respected them. If you look at the sleeve notes to I'm New Here, he gives instructions on how to listen to the album, not in a condescending or patronising preachy way, but as a reminder that music is more than just something to have on in the background and neither is it just a quick fix, it should be savoured when it's good. That album was good.

I feel priviledged that I got to see Gil Scott-Heron perform last year in Brooklyn, NYC. I feel even luckier that it was a small, intimate show at Littlefields as part of the final night of entertainment for the National Black Writers' Conference that had been taking place all week and had been chaired by the incomparable Toni Morrison. Some might argue that Gil Scott-Heron deserved a nobel prize for literature just as much as she did. On the line-up alongside him was another poet of our age, Talib Kweli, who gave shoutouts to his parents in the audience and came up on stage for a couple of songs with Gil Scott-Heron too.

It was a gig that mattered with people that made music that mattered and it feels like that might be becoming a rarer commodity these days. This is clearly a very niave statement from me as there has always been a mountain of chaff to sort through till you get to the wheat, but history has performed a filtering process for us and (for the most part) only the cream has risen to the top of our memories. However, it can be easy to lose sight of that fact when you are hit from all sides by endless waves of meaningless drivel puporting to be the 'next big thing'. I hope history forgets Justin Beiber, I really really do.

Even though he has passed, the lessons and inspiration he gave out should not be forgotten. His music will rise to the top and last for generations and our children will listen to Winter In America and understand just what it means, they will relate their own struggles to those of the past.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

Thanks to people like Gil, we will not forget the past and nor will our children, if we teach them how to learn and grow, and just perhaps that will lead us to a brighter future.

RIP Gil Scott-Heron

April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011