Saturday Night on BBC London 94.9 FM

28 May 05

Slipper featuring Andrea Black

I like surprises. I prefer not to know what's going to happen next.

Most records play it safe, declaring within ten seconds what genre they are in; rock, indie, chill, fado, tango, hip hop, etc. Occasionally, having given a generic album the benefit of the doubt, I'm rewarded with a performance so outstanding, I don’t mind its conservatism. But more often, I stop it before the end of the first song, in my impatient quest for originality and adventure.

When the new album from Slipper arrived some months ago, there was note inside the packet from writer-producer Sam Dodson, introducing himself as 'the other half of Loop Guru' and explaining that this is his own separate project. From the opening seconds of the first song, both the music and the words were unusual and arresting, and before the second track had ended I was on the phone to Sam, fixing up a live session ahead of their next gig in London. On Thursday, Sam had organised for a Theremin to be added to the mix, and tonight he he played electric guitar while vocalist Andrea Black sang to the CD backing track.

It was only as they performed in front of me that I began to realise that their references and inspirations include the 'exotic' sounds of Arthur Lyman, Martin Denny and Les Baxter, early 1960s precursors of what is today called Lounge Music. Although I like Arthur Lyman's 'Taboo', I'm not a fan of the rest, much of which is dangerously close to kitsch. But these two manage to be simultaneously serious and good-humoured, a difficult trick to achieve. They would be perfect for Stranger Than Paradise, the once-a-month extravaganza organised by promoter Amanda Rogers at South London Pacific in Kennington. Meanwhile, Slipper's next confirmed booking is at the George 1V in Chiswick on June 16, more details in Alan Finkel's What's Going On at our website, www.soundoftheworld.

After last week's show, several listeners got in touch asking about the second item, an irresistibly infectious party song called Hir Ai Kam, Hir Ai Go by a Slovenian band called Magnifico & Turbolentza whose weird-looking title is actually Here I Come, Here I Go. Details of how to get hold of the album Balkan Beats are in the Feedback forum of the website, where your comments and questions will elicit responses from other listeners.

As always, more details of the records played are posted at the website, with pictures of the album sleeves (so you can double check that the sleeve on Amazon matches the one we played) and weblinks to the relevant record labels or artists. Philip Ryalls takes photos of the guests, and Zee Nagre posts it all immaculately.

Incidentally, there is also a website for Oval Music, the record label and publishing company I've been running in partnership with Gordon Nelki for as long as I've been on the radio, ie since 1972.

The programme is broadcast from 8 to 10 every Saturday Night on BBC London 94.9, on digital (DAB) radio and on the web at www.bbc.co.uk/london where, as always, this show can be heard for the next seven days until it’s replaced by next week’s.
This site contains a full listing of all the upcoming gigs mentioned on the show, stretching for several months ahead, which is displayed by activating the "What's Going On" link on the menu bar above. If you have pertinent information regarding live music in the London area, send it straight to Alan Finkel 

Your comments, questions and corrections are welcome in the Feedback forum, link above on the navigation bar, where there are separate topics for reactions by listeners to each of the current weekly shows, on BBC London and the World Service.

A selected archive of programmes is available at the Mondomix site - http://www.mondomix.com/en/radios.php - where this year’s shows with Waldemar Bastos and Toumani Diabaté are ‘hidden’ behind the menu bar Choose a Programme.

Four shows from last year are also available – Ping Pongs with David Byrne (April), Aiwa (September) and Mavis Staples (Christmas Day) and the live broadcast from WOMAD Reading (July) featuring Tinariwen, Laye Sow, Malouma and Carolina Herrera.

I also present a weekly 26-minute world music show The Sound of the World on the BBC World Service, broadcast four times a week in a 24-hour cycle, Tuesday-to-Thursday. Exact times vary from region to region throughout the world. In the UK, the programme can be heard four times throughout the day on digital radio, and at 2.30 every Wednesday morning on Radio 4. And it is available On Demand online for seven days.

The playlist is posted in two places: at the World Service’s own site and in the feedback forum of mine.

The link at the top of this page leads you to the On Demand archive for the World Service shows.

Pics by Philip Ryalls.