On June 16th, some of Birmingham’s finest cultural exponents (Including The Old Dance School) headed for Liverpool for a street parade to show why  Brum should be City of Culture for 2013. The team from TNT News at Ladypool Arts and Leisure Centre were with them every step of the way  – watch out Midlands Today!

The Wilderness of Manitoba make music of such purity it’s hard to believe it’s man made. Close harmonies and singing bowls describe windswept landscapes,  shy bells pick out details on the horizon, the haunting, insistent message of each song carried through imagery that leaves the listener on the edge of tears.

The Wilderness formed in Toronto around bottomless cups of tea, ever deepening layers of sound and a comforting realisation that they must explore their coalescence further.

Out of this came Hymns of Love and Spirits – just eight tracks of deceptive simplicity, a body of work that takes on a haunting presence all its own. Gentle, ghostly shapes at the edge of one’s vision, pure sounds barely held together like the holes between lace.

The Great Hall will set your spine a shiver, and Evening – originally written by band member Will’s mother Wendy Blackburn , and reworked by The Wilderness- gently floats on the air a second time in its original version to draw the album to a close. Crows Feet is my favourite track – a heartwrenching tale of lives unrealised:

“She’s standing alone in a dark crowded room, her body is covered in roses. It’s a frozen night bleeding from a cold afternoon, with no place to go she supposes. She turns to the streetlight, as it shines down below. The snow burns right into her toes. I follow right after, who the hell could she be? Because so far love’s just been a word that I speak.

“There once was a boy who had money for eyes. If wishes were horses he’d own them, he learned how to live but with no compromise, his family would some day disown him. And now he’s an old man, who is mad in the street. He stands where his home used to be. Thinks of the golden days, how they went silently. Because love’s just a word that he learned how to speak.

“She’s standing alone because she can’t see me by her side. She’s tearing a hole through my life. Try as i might but i keep letting her down. Because love’s just a word used to send in the clowns.  Love’s just a word used to send in the clowns. Love’s just a word, send in the clowns.”

The Wilderness of Manitoba are touring the UK during May, check out their Myspace for more details. Brummies in need of gentleness on Thursday May 6th, come down to Sonic Asylum at The Edge, Digbeth, from 8pm. As well as TWOM, there are sets by Bet4 and The Musery, interactive soundscapes to explore inside telephone boxes, cupcakes, hot chocolate and a limited edition Jess Mikhail print free with every ticket. All that for a fiver. Gets my vote . Email info@edgearts.com for tickets and details.

To celebrate March 21st, which marks the official start of Spring, John Fairhurst’s critically acclaimed album Joys of Spring is free to download for one day only, thanks to the wonderful Bandcamp. The link will be live until Monday evening, so get your skates on and spread the joy!

This edition of Treasure Nest is all about sparkly newness, rites of passage and regneration. In between the carefully chosen goldden nuggets of audio joy, there was talk of Dolhasz (The Beat Suite), Under The Counter at The Rainbow, oblomov, bubble and squeak, helium balloons, how much we love Seb from Polar Bear, Colombian babies, a reluctant request track from Belinda Carlisle and many other sparkly new things. If you’re having trouble listening through the player below, just click here and listen through your desktop media player.

Somerhill - The Miserable Rich
Galop - Zakopower
New Way, New Life - Asian Dub Foundation
Treetops (Polar Bear remix) - Julia Biel
Flim - The Bad Plus
El Rey del Rio – Lucia Pulido
Love of a Girl Wrestler - Laura Hocking
Lucy - Aesop Rock
The Rain Pauly – Boat Beam
Time - Easy Star All Stars
Big up GB mixtape – Big Up GB and Nomadic Wax
Thiaroye - Samba Sene
El Hadia - Gnawa Diffusion
Taranta Power - Eugenio Bennato
Old Time Religion/Working On A Building - Rachel Harrington
Sold! To the Nice Rich Man - The Welcome Wagon
Tam Lyn - The Imagined Village Band
Brighton Pier - George Thomas And The Owls
Egyptian Wedding – Headroom Project
In the years to come – Celloman

BBC Director General Mark Thompson today announced that BBC 6 Music will be axed from the broadcasting network’s services, as part of what he called “a radical overhaul.”

As someone working in the independent music industry, this little bird is concerned that BBC 6 Music’s departure will mean the end of truly indie music being granted airplay on the BBC’s national stations.

Although the station is digital only, and operates by and large a similar A/B/C playlist structure to BBC Radios 1 and 2, the station has, since its inception in 2002, been refreshingly receptive to unsolicited approaches by independent musicians.

Tom Robinson’s Introducing show Fresh on the Net in particular acts as a catalyst for independent musicians. It has a national reach- drawing its chosen music from a variety of sources including listener recommendations and artists featured on the BBC’s regional Introducing shows.

My client John Fairhurst, for example, was shown great support by BBC Manchester Introducing before his departure on tour last year, and this week his track Obnox Stomp is included in Tom Robinson’s weekly Introducing Podcast.

Here in Brum, BBC Birmingham and Black Country Introducing DJs Brett Birks and Louise Brierley have been instrumental in bringing the region’s artists to a wider audience. I’m sure that, as Birmingham band Johnny Foreigner completed their recent South African tour, they’d list Birks and Brierley among their first grassroots champions.

With the Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival (which notably catapulted Salford unknowns The Ting Tings to number 1 in 2007), and an automatic upload tool which actively encourages artists to submit their music online for scrutiny by its production team, 6 Music is really unique in its receptive attitude to independent artists, who cannot count on the backing of powerful labels.

The consent form I signed to allow Obnox Stomp on last week’s podcast even precludes artists “signed to a major record label (which shall for these purposes mean any label belonging to the following companies: EMI, SonyBMG, Warner, Universal and all affiliates)”.

6 Music’s disappearance from the digital airwaves begs the question, what will be the next step for those artists whose music is being played out regionally on BBC stations, once the national Introducing platform bites the dust? Will these shows also be axed, to make way for more content aimed at women over 50 (the BBC’s regional target audience)?

Just last month, a BBC report showed that listener figures had risen by 12.5% to 695,000 over the last year. The average listener age was placed at 36 years old, which the BBC service review considered “too low”.

This is a worrying statement, as the only national radio service the BBC consciously provides for younger listeners is Radio 1. With a target audience of 15-29 years old and a current playlist of just 47 songs, none of which are decided by the listening public or influenced by independent artists’ attempts to get a few minutes of precious airplay, Radio 1 really pales in comparison to the staunch supporters of independent live music that 6 Music counts among its presenters.

The likes of Mark Riley, Tom Robinson and Lauren Laverne will be sadly missed with the station’s planned closure at the end of 2011, and I’d wager John Peel is turning in his grave. As Chris Addison said this morning, “6 Music serves a minority interest, does it? Then it’s heartland BBC. Leave it a-fucking-lone”

Join the Save Radio 6 Music campaign on Twitter by posting #savebbc6music, get yourself a 6 Music Twibbon here, join the Facebook Group, and fill out the BBC’s Consultation Survey here.

The wonderful Louis Barabbas finally gets his revenge on The Bedlam Six. This filthy Dickensian rabble rouser may not sing as sweetly as Bedlam vocalist Ali Cegielka, but there’s something darkly enchanting in his wild eyed glare that grips you to the bitter end of each gothic fairy tale he spins- if Jim Carey ever stars in Edgar Allen Poe- The Musical- he could do worse than to follow Barabbas’ lead. So sit back, gentle viewer, and enjoy the ride- you’ll never look at a bad penny in the same way again. Louis has kindly provided the lyrics too, for your edification:

“Mother”
Music and Lyrics by John Louis
24/03/2009

I crumpled up the creeds of Man
And ran out into the rain
Where I mourned for my lost virtue
But mourned more for what remained.
I’d give my grief to God
But I’m just too proud to pray.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

I’m the busted bulb in your lighthouse
I’m the guilt dashed on your cliff.
I read about perpetuity:
I hope it’s just a myth.
Some people talk of progress
But all I see is decay.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

I pin my hopes on the future
Like martyrs to a tree
But they haven’t yet built the religion that can hold me.
I hear tomorrow will be better,
I heard the same thing yesterday.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

Each night I go to sleep
The way a Christian goes to lions.
God can take my body,
I’m leaving my soul to science.
I’m sure He had a plan in Man
But something’s gone agley.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

There’s a stranger in this mirror,
Or is it just stained glass?
I’ve changed my face so many times
But I wish I could change the past.
There are more epithets than cigarettes
Stubbed out in my ashtray.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

I’m a gentleman, a charlatan,
Prose from a poison pen.
I lately made a big mistake:
Told the truth and sounded fake.
My friends are all long gone,
There’s none left to betray.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

I keep my guardian angel close
But always gagged and bound.
Can someone please let me know
The way off this misery-go-round?
I long to see the spin on me
In St Peter’s Dossier.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

I’m told there’ll be no jobs until somebody dies
But you know a salary is is just another term
For “consolation prize”
So I’m plodding through Perdition
Like some latter day Dante.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

Now I’ve told you all my thoughts
But I still haven’t seen that penny,
You ask if there were bad times:
Yeah… MANY
I long to say I love you
But it’s such a damned cliche.
Mother, why did you raise me this way?

Wet Dreams (live)    Soko
Todo Menino E Um rei/Santa Clara Clareou    Alessandro Penezzi
Lovesong    Alina Orlova
Saudades Mil    509-E
Decara A La Pared    Lhasa De Sela
conquistador    Emily Manuel
Ghosts    Laura Marling
Llanw Chwant    Ffynnon
Liathach    Jo Hamilton
extra sensory perfection    Jehst

Disorda – La La Means I Love You Mixtape

i will never love you more SoKo

You Got Me feat. Erykah Badu The Roots
In France They Kiss on Main Street    Joni Mitchell
L’amour est un tricheur    Caracol
A Blacksmith Courted Me    Harry Brazil
Pido talvez    Marful
Marhaba/Welcome (Majid Bekkas)    Ya Tatchi

OBSESIÓN / Obsesión’s interview

This week, Treasure Nest is one year old. Your favourite treetop shrine to audio joy has nestled in the canopy of the Custard Factory‘s Rhubarb Radio plantation for 35 hours of airtime. 12 Special guests have clambered up through the branches to join Magpie Brown in the studio, and we’ve played a heady concoction of tunes from 42 different countries.

As you’ll see from the massive length of this week’s playlist, Treasure Nest is now two hours long, which means there’s be much more time for japes and tomfoolery, and, more importantly, more music than you can shake your tail feathers at.

Rhubarb Radio’s audio stream has been fixed, so you should have no trouble listening through the player above, do let me know if it still buffers.

I hope you enjoy the show, please follow the links to find out more, and spread the word about Treasure Nest by embedding it in your own little corner of the interweb, by following this link. If you have some music you’d like Treasure Nest to share with the world, just get in touch.

A Minha Menina – Os Mutantes
Funky In Here – The Dayton Sidewinders
Boca Abajo – Habana Abierta
Gypsy Doodle – Analogik
La’w Vlé – Kassav
Suni – Dotschy Reinhardt
Timido Tango – Banda Bardò
Ravatan – Tarantolati di Tricarico
Melancholy Flower – Mama Matrix
Kibori – Mahala Rai Banda
You and Me – Yes Sir Boss!
May We Meet – Dave Rybka
Brown Box – Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle
Lijo – Alina Orlova
Piazza, New York Catcher – Belle and Sebastian
Ghosts – Laura Marling
Conquistador – Emily Manuel
De Cara a la Pared – Lhasa de Sela
Your Rocky Spine – The Great Lake Swimmers
A War I Cannot Win – Phil King
Dead Man’s Curve – The Master Chaynjis
Don’t Mean to Sound Cynical - John Napier
La Vida – Obsesion (Watch their interview above)
People of the Light – Tumi and the Volume
Passing Time – John Fairhurst
Adagio – Seven Ages
Frisson – Mukta
Afoxé – Benjamin Taubkin & Núcleo De Música Do Abaçaí (twice because it’s so lovely)
? – Shambel Belayneh (provided by Blue Nile in Hockley)
Ravatan - Tarantolati di Tricarico
La’w Vlé – Kassav
Uzobuya Nini? – Simphiwe Dana
Sylvia – Sa Bat Machines

Who says Christmas shopping has to be a horrible, stress filled nightmare? Lots and lots of people, is the answer to that question. How awful trawling through aisle after garish aisle of tinsel strewn tat, trying to remember what particular shade of purple your grandmother can bear to wear, which obscure author your most pretentious relative is raving about at the moment.

Once New Year arrives, then, nothing short of a miracle will coax your average sentient human being over the threshold of any retail establishment.

Occasionally, however, a magical shopfront emerges from the biting winter cold, a treasure trove to rival Mister Benn’s Special Costume Shop, or the finest confectioners your childhood memories can muster (mine is the Stars newsagent in Parton Road, Aylesbury).

Duttons for Buttons in Harrogate is a case in point. No prizes for guessing what’s for sale here- thousands upon thousands of buttons of every shape, colour and size, made from plastic, wood, porcelain, shell, glass, leather and no doubt many other materials. This place does exactly what it says on the tin.

You may not think you need buttons, but once you see the enormous selection of tiny, beautiful discs, stored away in neat little boxes and glistening like jewels from every corner, you’ll change your mind. Even if they’ll be stored away in a tiny tin on a shelf somewhere, to be taken out and examined at a later date, they’re still worth the investment.

Once you’re all buttoned out, leave the shop and turn right down the hill toward The Ginnel, and you’ll soon find vintage paradise Space Harrogate. Prepare yourself for another Mister Benn experience- this place will take you back a few years, to a time before objects had the corners knocked off. Every few feet of the floorspace is stocked by a different proprietor, so you can lay your hands on anything from working jukeboxes to empire line wedding dresses, hand crocheted berets or original copies of The Bionic Woman.