text:
The Album has arrived and is ready for shipping NOW. Check out the shop for a special CD and Tune Book bundle.
Cheers. Ross.
The Album has arrived and is ready for shipping NOW. Check out the shop for a special CD and Tune Book bundle.
Cheers. Ross.
Hi folks,
I've found myself with a bit of downtime so thought I'd write a wee blog about Celtic Connections!
The festival started with a gig I was very much looking forward to and honoured to be a part of. Greg Lawson spent most of his time in 2014 working out the best way to orchestrate Martyn Bennett's last studio album "Grit". Martyn is a big hero of mine and getting to play his music live was a real thrill! It was also brilliant to get together with Ali Hutton, Fraser Fifield, Donald Shaw, Sorren Maclean, Duncan Lyall and James Mackintosh to play a tune of Martyn's called "Karabach" – I first heard the tune on the album Ceol Tacsi which was from a Gaelic TV music series.
Here's some links from the BBC website from the night.
CHANTER with Full Orchestra
KARABACH with Ali Hutton and Fraser Fifield
The second weekend was full on for me. It started on the Thursday with a gig at the Piping Centre with new composers band 'Tunebook'. The band features Simon Bradley on fiddle, Mairearad Green on accordion and myself on pipes & whistle. We're accompanied by Matheu Watson on guitar and Mhairi Hall on piano. We don't get to play together very often because of everyone's busy schedules, so it was great to meet up and play some music! We released an album in 2014 with music from our three tune books. If you'd like a copy you can order one from here!!
I played a gig with Shooglenifty a few years ago and was delighted to be asked to play on their new album "The Untied Knot" which is to be released on 16th May this year! The guys were showcasing the album and celebrating 25 years as a band at the Fruitmarket on Friday night. I'm going to be playing with them again at Knockengorroch Festival on 24th May. Looking forward to it!
I had 2 gigs to do on Saturday the first was a guest spot with the amazing Asturian band 'Llan de Cubel' who were celebrating 30 years as a band. Thanks to them for having me, was great to play some of their music.
So from the Mitchell Theatre to the Concert Hall to meet up with the Treacherous boys… It was a big gig with four acts on including Coco Mbassi, Mike Mcgoldrick Big Band, Songhoy Blues and us to finish the night. Was great to have ace lighting engineer Gary Ebdy with us for the gig. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lunas-Live/303116356375154?fref=ts
It's always good fun to play at the festival club after the Treacherous gig so we packed up quickly after our gig and headed straight to the Art School to end the night in style!
So after not very much sleep, I got up early to head to the Strathclyde Suite in the Concert Hall to get set up for the debut performance of my New Voices piece 'Remembering'.
This piece was very different for me as it consisted mostly of songs. I was lucky to have in the band Hamish Napier on vocals and keys, Laura-Beth Salter on vocals and mandolin, Laura Wilkie on vocals and fiddle, Gordy Duncan Jr on vocals and drums, Ali Hutton on guitar, pipes and whistle, John Somerville on accordion, James Lindsay on bass and Matheu Watson on electric guitar. The gig went really well so thanks to all of them for all their hard work!
After a few hours break I was back into the Strathclyde Suite to sound check with Jarlath Henderson for a support gig to old pal and fantastic fiddler, Adam Sutherland and his band. Was great to join forces at the end of the night and play 2 of Adam's classics!
So to complete the weekend and third gig of the day we headed down to the club to play a couple of songs from my New Voices gig! It was some weekend of music and really chuffed with all the gigs.
Nice to get a mention in one of the Celtic Blogs too.
Thanks to David Allison for inviting me to perform my New Voices piece live on the radio. We were on Bruce Macgregor's show 'Travelling Folk'. It was a treat to be able to play the stuff again! Here's 2 songs from the live session.
My last Celtic gig was with the mighty Ian Carr and his band of Various Artists. I've been a mega fan of Ian's for as long as I can remember so to be asked to join him for a couple of tunes was amazing!
I'm going into the studio on 20th April to record my New Voices piece and I'm hoping to have it released late summer so I'll let you know when I have a date.
I've a fairly busy summer ahead, a UK tour with Jarlath henderson in May, UK tour with Treacherous in June then Canada and America with Jarlath in July/August so I'll post another blog on the other side!
All the best
Hi folks,
It's been a while and there's been a lot happening so I thought I'd update you all on what I've been up to over the last wee while!
The summer kicked off back in June at a very rainy Southwell Festival, performing with Treacherous Orchestra and Jarlath Henderson.
I was delighted to be asked to record on Ewan Mclennan's new album "Stories Still Untold" which is out now. You can buy it from his website. http://www.ewanmclennan.co.uk/shop
India Alba had a short tour back in June. Sadly Gyan Singh couldn't join us for these shows, but we were delighted to be joined by Mike Black on Tabla. He managed to fit rehearsals and shows around his job cooking at Henderson's restaurant in Edinburgh. We had some really nice gigs, finishing off in Mull at the Martyn Bennett weekend. Cheers to Donald Shaw who joined us on accordion for a couple of tunes.
The whole summer was full of crazy travelling but there were two particularly mental weekends, the end of June was one of them! Salsa Celtica were playing at Glastonbury! We flew down in time for a 5 o'clock sound check then managed to take in a bit of the festival, and what a festival it was! We went on stage just after midnight, the gig went brilliantly. We got back into the van straight after and headed off to the airport for a flight to Edinburgh. Myself and Eamonn Coyne picked up a car and drove to Glasgow to meet the Treacherous boys as we were heading to the Tayinloan ferry to get to the Isle of Gigha festival. I've played the Gigha festival a couple of times before but it was a long time ago so it was great to be back. The stage hasn't got any bigger so as you can imagine, it was a cosy night on stage! A few of us had to get an early rib off the island to head down to Bannockburn for the 700 year celebrations. On the bill were the Cask Strength Ceilidh Band, Myself and Jarlath, Treacherous Orchestra and Julie Fowlis among others. It was great to catch a quick interview with our pal Hamish from Maui Celtic Radio.
Next up I flew out to Brussels for a gig with Jarlath Henderson at Gooikoorts festival, we had a couple of new recruits for this gig, Martin O'Neill on bodhran and Aileen Gobbi on fiddle and vocals. We were delighted to win the best band photo. Thanks to Melanie and everyone at the festival for looking after us.
The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland asked Ali Hutton and myself to help them put together some new music. We arranged 4 workshops over July and ended up with 2 new sets. Cheers to everyone involved was a fun few days!
Jarlath and I then had a wee tour in Canada. We started off at the Winnipeg folk festival, then went on to Granville Island in Vancouver, and finished at Harrison Hot Springs.
We arrived back very early in Edinburgh then straight into a taxi to Glasgow to grab a quick shower and change of clothes before heading back out to the airport to fly to Spain to play with Treacherous at Ortigueira festival. I'd heard about this festival for years and was glad to eventually get over for it! Phil Cunningham was over doing some filming for a piping programme thats due out some time next year so our set was filmed and I did an interview for it earlier in the day. It was great see my good friend Anxo Lorenzo and his band and great to catch a tune on stage with them.
Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games this year and I was lucky to have a few gigs as part of Festival 2014, the Cultural side of the Games. The first was in Glasgow Green with Jarlath. This was an afternoon show – it was an absolute scorcher so not the best for the pipes but great to see Scotland so sunny! Well done to Breabach who performed after us with their new Scots/Kiwi project "Boomerang". The second show was with Salsa Celtica. We played in the Old Fruitmarket for Team Scotland. Jarlath and I then played a again at BBC Pacific Quay for a live BBC Radio 3 recording at their festival site by the River Clyde.
Underneath the Stars was next for Treacherous. It's a brand new festival organised by Kate Rusby's brother Joe. Amazing hospitality from the Rusby's, they certainly know how to do things right!
I then travelled to Warwick festival with Jarlath before heading south again the following weekend with Jar for Sidmouth Folk Festival. Ali Hutton was away playing with another band that weekend so cheers to Mike Bryan for filling in!
Earlier, I mentioned 2 mental travel times so here's the second… It started off with a gig at Lorient Festival with Jarlath where we were joined by Mike Bryan on guitar, Euan Burton on Bass and James MacIntosh on drums – cheers to them for learning the stuff! We shared a gig with an amazing band called The Olllum in the Palais des Congres, then later headed to the Asturiain tent for an informal thrash with some guests including James Mackenzie on flute and Hamish Napier dancing. We didn't get much sleep before getting back up to catch a train to Brussells to meet Salsa Celtica and play a big world music festival in Antilliaanse. Another day, another train. This time going back to Lorient to play at the festival again. This time the show was at the Lorient football stadium – a gig that I've wanted to do for years! We shared the gig with the Dublin Legends and the Strypes.
Eamonn Coyne and I got a flight to Southampton the following day to meet the Treacherous boys at a crazy festival called Boomtown. The guys were driving down from Glasgow and had some van trouble so they just made it in time for a quick sound-check before going straight onstage. Ali, Duncan, Andrea and I left straight after the gig to travel to the other side of London to catch a flight back to France the next day. We were heading to a festival in Tatihou near Normandy. The gig was great but had to catch a 5 hour bus journey to Paris after the gig for an early flight home in the morning! It was a hectic week but we played some great gigs!
I was delighted to get a couple of days rest before getting a flight down to Bristol to play with Jarlath and the boys at Wickham festival – big thanks to Eamonn Nugent for learning the set and joining us on bodhran. I've played the festival with various different line-ups over the years and always have a good time there, the backstage guys are really sound and they look after artists very well so thanks to them!
The day after, I flew out to Colindres, Cantabria in the North of Spain for a festival called Sauga Folk with my own Trio. Joining me for this trip was Mike Bryan on guitar and Gordy Duncan Jr on drums. I played the festival back in 2001 with Gordon Duncan (Gordy's Dad and my teacher), Ali Hutton and Morgan Macdonald and it was probably the first real tour I ever did! It was great to go back, especially as wee Gordy was there too.
It was then back down south with Treacherous Orchestra to a festival called Off the Tracks. I'd played it before with Salsa Celtica, its a nice wee festival right next to Donington Race Track.
Eamonn Coyne and I travelled from Off the Tracks to Finland to meet up with the Salsa crew. We were playing at the Helsinki Festival in an amazing venue. Great gig altogether and the sound guys were really on the ball.
Blas festival followed Finland, and I had three shows there this year. The first two were with Jarlath, joined by Matheu Watson on guitar. We played in Roybridge then Eden Court in Inverness before I travelled to Oban for a show with Dougie Maclean. I rushed back to Glasgow after the Oban gig to catch a flight to Belgium to play with Jar and the boys at Alden Biesen Scottish Weekend. We always have a good time at the festival so thanks to Rik and all the guys there for getting us out again! The day after, I flew to Aberdeen to meet up with Dougie again for a gig in Aberdeen Music Hall. It was a great gig and there was an amazing excitement in the air as it was the last weekend before the Scottish Referendum. Great to see so many young folk out that night. The following day we went onto Union Street and played Caledonia.
A flying visit to Egypt was next. A one day visit – so short we didn't even get to see the pyramids! Our flight was on the same day as the Scottish Referendum but luckily I managed to get my vote in before check-in. We went out for an amazing meal in Cairo before the gig – thanks to Cathy for looking after us! Ali and I both had a bit of luck playing roulette in the casino after the gig which picked up the spirits a bit following the news of the referendum result back home.
I spent the end of September with Charlie Mckerron and Marc Clement at the first Findhorn Bay Arts Festival, where we stayed in the amazing Newbold House in Forres http://www.newboldhouse.org. Shooglenifty were also playing so was nice to catch up with them and get a tune or two. We played at the Loft in Kinloss. Also on the bill were Douglas Lawrence, James Alexander and Willie and Tabs Macaskill, a real treat to play with them all!
I had a run of 11 gigs with Jarlath in October starting off at Feis Na Mara in Mallaig. I was there a few years ago with Treacherous Orchestra and we had a great time up there then – this time didn't disappoint either! Thanks to Eilidh Shaw for inviting us. It was a pleasure to play a short set in Edinburgh at the Martyn Bennett Prize for traditional music composition. Congratulations to James Lindsay for winning this year. Towards the end of the tour we played at the Lowender Peran Festival in Cornwall. It was great to catch up with Gordon Duncan's sister Moira and her husband Mick, huge thanks to them for cooking us a mammoth breakfast the next day.
The end of October means that it's time for Dougie Maclean's festival, Perthshire Amber. I had a few gigs again this year, the first was with my new band 'Tunebook' in Aberfeldy Town Hall. We had just received copies of our new album so it was great to be able to launch it at the festival. The band consists of Simon Bradley on fiddle, Mairearad Green on accordion, Matheu Watson on guitar, Mhairi Hall on piano and myself on whistle and pipes. If you'd like to order a copy you can do so from here http://www.tunebook.co.uk/shop/. Next there was the fiddle gig with Dougie and Pete Clark playing Dougie's fiddle tunes and Matheu Watson and myself backing on guitar and cittern. I had a cheeky night off and managed to catch a great gig at Perth Concert Hall with Dougie and the RSNO – a real treat! The following day was the Dougie Maclean and Friends gig in Perth Concert Hall and I was delighted to play on Buddy Macdonald's hit "Nobody Home" and to join Martin Carthy for a song.
Treacherous Orchestra have just finished a mini-tour, visiting London, Birnam, Inverness and Findhorn to release our new album "Grind" which is now ready. Pre-orders are available from here http://treacherousorchestra.bigcartel.com/product/treacherous-orchestra-grind-cd-album-2015
I've just got back from a very short trip to Australia with Jarlath and Ali we were playing at AWME a world music expo.
I'm now looking forward to working towards a very special show in January. I've been writing songs for the last year and am delighted to have been given a New Voices Commission at Celtic Connections where people will be able to hear them for the first time. Tickets are now available from http://www.celticconnections.com/events/Pages/event.aspx?ev=a43a9da8-9b7c-4487-9ba5-a3be0104882f
Thanks for reading, I'll update again soon.
All the best
Hi folks,
I've got a day off so thought I'd fill you in on what's been happening the last few months!
March was taken up with a 15 gig UK tour with Salsa Celtica. The band were on form and we played some really great gigs. We missed fiddler and vocalist Megan Henderson who was on Breabach duties but her spot was aptly filled by Aileen Gobbi (Gaelic Singer of the Year 2014) for the first leg, then Laura Wilkie and Maeve Mackinnon for the second leg, well done to them for learning all the material!
April started with getting pipes and whistles recorded for the new Treacherous Orchestra album. We were lucky enough to use Hamilton Mausoleum to record a slow piece on the album. The mausoleum held the record for the longest echo for a man-made structure in the world – 15 seconds reverb. Some place! It's nearly finished and we are all really happy with where its going – keep a look out later in the year for it's release!
Next up was a wee trip to Mieres in Asturias. I had my first proper tour in the North of Spain with Gordon Duncan and Ali Hutton when I was 17 so it was great to go back with my own band. Unfortunately regulars Ali Hutton and James Mackintosh couldn't make it along but I was joined by Mike Bryan on guitar and Gordy Duncan Jr on drums, the boys did a great job so cheers to them!
April came to an end with some Treacherous Orchestra gigs, one in Strathpeffer Pavilion supported by great new band Elephant Sessions followed by a rammed gig the next day in Stirling at the Tolbooth.
May was a really busy month that started off in Belfast with Jarlath Henderson. We were asked to play for the opening of Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts. It's an amazing venue to play and we'll hopefully be back soon, cheers to Ray Giffen for looking after us!
We had an early flight back from Belfast so that we could drive up to Oban to catch a ferry to Mull where we were playing for a showcase weekend called "The Visit". Thanks to Innes Watson for filling in for Ali Hutton who was on Old Blind Dogs duties!
I had another early start to get the ferry back to Oban and drive over to Aberlour where I had a gig with Charlie Mckerron and Tim Edey for the Spirit of Speyside Festival. It's always great to play with the guys and good to see some Dunning pals who came up to visit!
To finish the run of gigs, Jar and I drove down to Edinburgh to meet Ali Hutton to play as part of the Tradfest. It was a piping night so we were sharing the bill with Roddy MacLeod, Hamish Moore, Gary West and a quartet from the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band.
Next up, I had four gigs with singer/melodeon player Luke Daniels, playing some new music called "Songs of the Scottish Enlightenment". We played at Edinburgh House Concerts, the Glad Cafe in Glasgow, Tolbooth in Stirling and finished in the Woodend Barn in Banchory. There was some great musicians involved including Matheu Watson on guitar, Patsy Reid on fiddle, Signy Jacobsdottir on percussion and brilliant American gaelic singer Yaffa Quan-Weinreich.
I drove back to Glasgow after Banchory to catch a few hours sleep before driving to Kennacraig to meet Dougie and Jenny Maclean so that we could catch another ferry – this time to Islay to play at the Whisky Festival, where we were playing in the Bowmore Village Hall. It was great to have Dougie's camper van over with us (Hotel Caledonia 2). It provides a great backstage area… definitely the way to tour! Cheers to Jenny for looking after us and cooking!
The following day I had to get to Dumfries to play at Knockengorroch festival and had another really early start catching the 7am ferry back to the mainland. I met up with Ali in Glasgow and we drove down to meet the hippies! If you've not been to Knockengorroch I'd recommend it, it's definitely a unique festival to say the least!
May ended with two big gigs, the first at Aberdeen Music Hall with Treacherous Orchestra. The gig was part of their Northern Arc Series and we were paired up with Icelandic band Lay Low. It was great to do a bit of collaborating with the guys on the night!
The second was in Perth Concert Hall with Dougie Maclean. This was a brand new commission by Dougie called "Perthshire Cantata" and playing as part of the night was Jenna Reid on fiddle, Sorren Maclean on guitar, Iain Sandilands on percussion and a string ensemble led by Greg Lawson. It was a magic gig which also included Dougie's "Perthshire Amber Suite" if you'd like to watch the concert you can subscribe to Butterstone TV.
I've got a really busy summer ahead so I'll post another blog in September. In the meantime, check out my gig page to see where I'll be. Hope to see you along the way.
All the best
Hi folks,
I was delighted to be asked to help out the Vale of Atholl pipe band with some tunes for there Medley set for this year! I just found this on youtube check it out!
All the best
Hi folks,
I've got a weekend off (for once) so just catching up on things! It was September since my last blog and there's a lot been going on so bear with me.
October started with a tour of the UK with Jarlath Henderson and Ali Hutton with a one off gig in Leon, Spain to begin. It was the first tour in 5 years for us and its great to be back on the road. We played 12 gigs, Bury, Stirling, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, New Galloway, Paisley, 2 shows in Cardiff, 2 shows in London, Peebles and finishing off in Pitlochry at Dougie Maclean's festival "Perthshire Amber".
Perthshire Amber was busy as usual, the day after the Pitlochry gig myself and Jarlath played a duo concert in Caputh Church which is an amazing place to play. It was really relaxed and we took some time to talk about the pipes, some good feedback from the festival on this one!
Dunkeld Cathedral was up next and this was with Charlie Mckerron's trio billed with Dougie Maclean and Tim Edey. I've been playing on and off with Charlie and we're hoping to record an album this year at some point so keep an ear out for that!
Next few gigs were in Perth Concert Hall, "The Maclean Project" was first. It's a really new band consisting of Dougie and his son Jamie, Mull's Gordon Maclean and his son Sorren, Chris Marra, Laura-Beth Salter, Hannah Fisher, Pete Garnett and myself.
Then it was the "Friends" concert where I played with Charlie Mckerron, Buddy Macdonald, Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward and Fisher and of course Dougie himself.
Well done to the all the Perthshire Amber team for another successful year!
November was a full month of travelling starting off with a wee holiday in Thailand with India Alba band mate Nigel Richard. I was there for 6 days and stayed in Bangkok putting the feet up. It's such a cool place, the foods great and people really chilled out. Managed to catch a few tunes with new pals Alice and Mick and fit in an informal gig in the Blues bar. Also got myself a proper Thai tattoo!
I left Nigel in Bangkok and I flew to Delhi to catch a flight to Doha to meet Jarlath Henderson and the boys to play a concert for "Scotland Day". The band was sounding great and they definitely seem to be into the pipes in Qatar.
I flew back to Delhi to meet up with the India Alba guys and start rehearsing for "Strings of the World Festival", the festival is on it's second year and the director is my good friend and India Alba band mate Sharat Srivastava. Sharat has collaborated with many bands/artists over the years and this festival allows him to invite musicians from all over the world to Delhi and perform together. This years festival included the Trondheim Soloists from Norway, folk/blues guitarist Knut Reiersrud from Norway, violinist Greg Lawson from Durham, accordionist Donald Shaw from Scotland, Dutch/Indian Classical Duet Heiko and Lenneke, Slovenian guitarist Igor Bezget, Delhi fusion band Mrigya and India Alba. Well done to Sharat and team for all the hard work!
To finish off the month was a gig in Dunedin, New Zealand with Jarlath Henderson and Kiwi guitarist Gerry Paul. It was great to catch up with old Vale of Atholl pipe band pal Duncan Gordon who has a family now and living in Dunedin. We were over playing to help celebrate the Glasgow Commonwealth Queen's Baton and St.Andrews day in NZ. The video is us practising before been filmed for New Zealand news.
After a few days off December started with the Trad Award warm-up gigs with my own band, one in Stereo in Glasgow and the second in the Tunnels in Aberdeen. The 2 gigs were recorded and filmed by a company called Threads of Sound and I think they will be releasing an album from the gig soon! Also playing were Scott Wood Trio, Tina Jordon Rees, Adam Holmes and Adam Sutherland.
The Scots Trad Music Awards were on the next day and I was delighted that my album "Wide Open" was nominated for Album of the Year. It was also great to play a couple of sets on the night in the Aberdeen Music Hall.
Last bit of work before christmas was a live stream for Dougie Maclean up in Butterstone. Every month for the last 2 years Dougie and co have been putting out 1 hour shows. They're going great – well worth the monthly subscription to their site. There's loads of footage from the streams plus access to archive videos. Here's the link if you'd like to join!
I got some great news in-between Christmas and New Year I was absolutely shocked and delighted that my solo album "Wide Open" was voted 9th in Scotland's top 50 albums of 2013!
So to finish off the year I had a gig with Treacherous Orchestra at the Edinburgh Hogmanay Street Party, it was a brilliant night and we finished off the Scottish stage on Fredrick's street. Also on the bill was Fiddler's Bid and King Creosote.
So now, into 2014 and like every other year it always starts with Celtic Connections, it was another busy time! My first gig was with Treacherous Orchestra and it was the schools concert in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. It's a great gig to play, with the kids well up for it helped along by festival club compere and Singing Kettle star Kevin Macleod. Later that day we went down to the Apple Store on Buchanan Street and crammed onto a tiny stage to play a short set!
The next day was at the Fruitmarket with Treacherous Orchestra. We'd been rehearsing a lot as we have a new album coming out this year and this gig was showcasing the new material. It turned out to be one of the best gigs yet!
Next day was my own gig at Oran Mor shared with the Ollum, I wanted to try and play most of my album material live so recruited Innes Watson, John Somerville, Duncan Lyall, Hamish Napier and regulars Ali Hutton and James Mackintosh. I've just started writing songs over the last 6 months and decided to give one of them a go, obviously not me singing but thanks to Hamish for singing and the boys for learning the arrangements!
I met Papon a few years back now when we were filming "The Dewarists" so was great to catch up with him again and play some songs with his band, we played at the Old Fruitmarket and also in the club. Here's a link to the Dewarists show.
Salsa Celtica was up next and we had 2 gigs, the first in the O2ABC where we shared the bill with Rura who were sounding great. Salsa have also been working on a new album so we were showcasing a lot of new music including a Salsa Gaelic song!
The second gig was in the brand new SSE Hydro for Celtic Connections International Burns Night, It's some venue! In the afternoon I managed to sneak in a gig with Jarlath Henderson and Ali Hutton at the Concert Hall for the Piping Concert, was great to get a tune with Xose Manuel Budino.
I managed to get a couple of days rest then Salsa were off to Columbia for the first time! We started with a day off in Cartagena which was great as the hotel was right next to the beach so we spent most of the day sunning it up and swimming in the sea. Its not often when touring you get such luxuries so we made the most of it! The next day was a gig at the Hay festival sharing the bill with Grammy winners Chocquibtown.
We flew to Bogota for the next gig and it was a total cracker, probably one of the best audiences I've ever played too. It was incredible! I've got a feeling we'll be back in Columbia! The new Salsa album "The Tall Islands" is out now if you'd like a copy here's the link.
Next was a mini tour with Jarlath and Ali again. We started off in Shetland at the Mareel a great new venue in Lerwick. Thanks to Davie Gardner for looking after us so well and cheers to Tim Matthews for doing sound. Good to see our pal Kim Coutts again! The other gigs were Tayvallich, Derry, Perth, Essex and London.
We got a good couple of days rest then myself and Jarlath headed down to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the Radio 2 Folk Awards, we were delighted to be nominated for Best Duo.
February finished with a couple of gigs with a fairly new band called Tune Book Trio. The core is Simon Bradley, Mairearad Green and myself backed by Matheu Watson on guitar and Mhairi Hall on piano, we all have tune books out now and Simon thought it a good idea to join forces and start a band playing music from the 3 books. We are recording a new album in the summer so hopefully out for Autumn.
Now that brings me up to date!
I'm on tour with Salsa Celtica this month then gigs are shaping up nicely for the year so hopefully see some of you around!
All the best
Hi folks,
I'm writing to you from Dubai airport I've a 7 hour wait for my flight to Delhi so thought I'd write a wee update!
I'm delighted to say that my Album "Wide Open" is nominated for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards held at Aberdeen Music Hall on 7th December, if you'd like to vote for it please go to this link.
All the best
Hi folks,
June started with a gig over at the Arran Folk Festival, it was about 8-9 years since I'd been to the festival so was brilliant to be asked to play and must give Robin Fisher and team a mention for doing such a great job in keeping this festival alive, well done guys! Neither James Mac or Fraser Stone were free for this gig so I asked Salsa Celtica leader Toby Shippey to join myself and Ali on drums, good to hear some songs from Toby too.
Sharat and Gyan arrived over from Delhi for a short India Alba tour starting off on 15th June at a rainy Glasgow Mela in Kelvingrove Park. We were delighted to be joined for the next 3 gigs by the amazing Su-a Lee on cello, we played at Douglas Robertson's House Concert in Edinburgh, Solas Festival and Insider Festival. It was a busy week as I was also teaching at Charlie Mckerron's fiddle school during the day, it was the first year for the school and is an amazing setting to learn music – if you think its something you'd be interested in here's a link to the facebook page.
July started with another gig for my Trio this time with Fraser Stone on drums and we went over to Sark to play at the festival. We flew out from Glasgow really early on Saturday morning for a gig that night not realising just how much travelling was on the cards, so after missing our ferry from Guernsey to Sark we managed to get the later one and get there just in time to check-in, eat and get ready for the gig. If you've never been to Sark I would thoroughly recommend it, but make sure you have at least a week not a day! It's a crazy place with no cars and no street lights (which made for an interesting walk to find the hotel) just bikes, couple of tractors and torches. Next day was the Wimbledon Final which we managed to catch a wee bit of at Guernsey airport, then caught the end at Southampton airport. Nice one Andy Murray!
The following week was down to Priddy Folk Festival where I played with Jarlath Henderson on Saturday night and then with Treacherous Orchestra on Sunday afternoon. It was the first trip for me driving down south for gigs so I experienced the 2 hour tailback on the motorway. It was an absolute scorcher that weekend too if I remember rightly.
The week following was spent up in Lewis. I've been playing with Dougie Maclean for about 11 years in all kinds of set ups but for Heb Celt Festival this was a brand new band called The Maclean Project. It featured Dougie and his son Jamie on drums, Gordon Maclean from An Tobar in Mull on bass and his son Sorren on guitar, Laura-Beth Salter on mandolin, Hannah Fisher on fiddle, Chris Marra on electric guitars, Pete Garnet on accordion and myself on whistle and cittern. We decided to travel up early to stay at Dougie's house in Uig and rehearse and generally have a wee holiday. It was also my 30th birthday when we were there so we managed to order in 10 lobsters, 40 scallops and 10 steaks for the birthday tea. Thanks to Julia Maclean for making the biggest cake I've ever seen! It was great to have Charlie Mckerron and Sandra Mackay and their two boys for a couple of days, also big thanks to Donald Macauley for taking us out on the boat – it was magic. The gig was a success and were all looking forward to the next which is at Dougie's festival, Perthshire Amber, on 1st November in Perth Concert Hall. Here's a link to the gig if you want to go!
Cambridge Folk Festival was up next and I was playing with Iain Copeland's band Sketch, I was in the first line-up of this band but due to work load couldn't keep it going so it was great to join the guys for this gig as it went down a storm! Highlight for me was jumping up for a tune with Capercaillie, a band I've been a fan of for years!
August started with a trip to Canada and Edmonton Folk Festival with fully fledged doctor Jarlath Henderson. Well done to Jar for all the hard work and study over the years! Edmonton festival is class and so well organised, they have gigs called workshops where 3-4 bands/artists share the stage and you'll play a couple of your own sets then collaborate with everyone thats on the stage, so we ended up playing with some amazing bands/musicians including Tim O'Brien, Dick Gaughan, Tony McManus, Jason Wilson, Carlos Nunez, John Smith and many more.
Myself and Ali were pretty much off the flight from Canada into a rehearsal with the Inveraray and District Pipe Band for their concert "Ascension" in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Every year the Glasgow Skye Association put on a concert before the World Pipe Band Championship and this year was `Inveraray's turn. It was great to be back in the pipe band thing again even though it was just on the cittern. The gig was sold out and the guys put in so much work and effort so fair play to them it was a great concert! My debut solo album also arrived the morning of the concert so was glad to get that finished and see the finished product, if you'd like to get a copy you can order it on here or you can download it from bandcamp here's the links!
Piping Live was on this week and I had a wee launch for my album at the Street Cafe outside the Piping Centre. Myself and Ali played a half hour set then Jarlath Henderson played a couple of tunes, Ian Duncan played a few tunes and then finished off with a big set of tunes with Ali, Jarlath, Finlay Macdonald and myself. Thanks to everyone for coming along! I had a gig with Jarlath Henderson and band that night at the Oran Mor also on the gig was Cillian and Niall Vallely and Angus Mackenzie and Ross Martin.
Next day Treacherous Orchestra had a gig down in Devon at Beautiful Days festival so as it was a long drive. We decided to get the tour bus over-night (a first for most of us). I've played at the festival a couple of times before with Salsa Celtica so great to be back!
To finish off August was a trip to Denmark to play at Tonder festival with Jarlath Henderson, we had Ali Hutton on guitar, Duncan Lyall on bass, James Mackintosh on drums and Matheu Watson on fiddle, cheers to Matheu for filling in for Innes!
To end the festival season Treacherous Orchestra were invited to play at BBC Radio 2 Festival in a Day at Hyde Park and sharing the bill with Smokey Robinson, Jessie J, Josh Groban, Jack Johnson, Simple Minds, Texas and a few more. It was such a good gig for us to get and we all had a great time and what a way to finish off the season!
Here's a link to the gig on BBC iPlayer.
Bringing things right up to date, myself and Jarlath are working on our 2nd album and we've set up a Pledge Music page, we'd be very grateful if you helped us out. Here's the link to the page – even if you want to just pre-order an album that would be great!
There's a lot more stuff going on this year I've got a tour with Jarlath in October, Dougie Maclean's Perthshire Amber Festival, then in November I'm going to Thailand, Qatar, Delhi and New Zealand and back in December for the Scots Trad Music Awards. I'll be posting as I go so please check back every so often!
All the best


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US court approves eBay settlement over no-hire agreement
EBay was charged with entering into an agreement with Intuit to limit competition for employees
Samsung acquires cloud printing company PrinterOn
The acquisition aims to boost Samsung's business-to-business mobile offerings
Silicon Valley tech companies use underpaid black and Latino workers, says report
The workers supplied by middle-men are paid low wages and benefits, according to a study
Two Galileo GPS satellites launched in wrong orbit
The satellites were launched Friday aboard a Soyuz ST rocket
Intel to pay $650M to buy LSI networking business from Avago
The Axxia Networking Business came to Avago Technologies from its May acquisition of LSI
Justice Department asks court to vacate stay in Microsoft email privacy case
If the stay is lifted, Microsoft may have to refuse to comply with an order to turn over certain emails to the government.
Amazon introduces mobile card reader to compete with Square, PayPal
How does Amazon figure to stand out in a market where so many mobile payment players are already going head to head? By offering a promotional rate on transactions as it enters the U.S. market.
US court rules in favor of providing officials access to entire email account
The court in Columbia had earlier ruled that such a warrant would provide too much information to law enforcement
Microsoft, Google, others back Facebook in New York privacy dispute
Facebook is seeking important rulings on the collection of bulk user data under gag orders
USPTO rejects claims of Apple patent that figures in dispute with Samsung
The USPTO rejected some claims of the word "auto-complete" patent, but the decision is not final
Apple, Samsung agree to settle patent disputes outside US
The two rivals will continue to pursue existing patent lawsuits in the U.S.
LinkedIn pays almost $6M for wage law violations
The professional networking company violated provisions of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act
Mitro makes password manager open source as team heads to Twitter
The client and server side code is being released under an open source license
Amazon investing $2 billion more in India as online retail booms
The announcement comes a day after an Indian retailer got $1 billion in funding
Rhapsody reaches 2M subscribers, bets on new unRadio service
Rhapsody said it has crossed 2 million paid subscribers for its music services
Articles by John RibeiroNext Page


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The SFFaudio Podcast #283 – READALONG: Watchers by Dean Koontz
Filed under: Podcasts
The SFFaudio Podcast #283 – Jesse, Seth, and Steen discuss Watchers by Dean Koontz
Talked about on today's show:
1987, Amazon and Goodreads reviews, what the fuck's going on, super-clear = refreshing, mainstream, science fiction elements, a mainstream thriller with sufficently science fiction trappings, the bad guy, action and science fiction, supermarket fiction, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, flirting with the fantastic, Koontz could go deep if he wanted to, excitement and involvement, an intelligent dog, a human serial killer and the good guy is always super good, a lonely lady who needs fixing, no need for a job, Garrison, the vet, money ex machina, wish fulfillment, sniffing the books, writing instinctual, "I like books", readers are readers, is Koontz wealth (?) an accident, the same book over and over again with different sentences, dogs, odd without a dog, back to dogs, the fictional golden retriever, service dogs, Trixie Koontz, dog POV, Travis and Nora, if I could only communicate…, five stars with more than 1,000 reviews, cat lovers, sappy wish fulfillment, clunky dialogue, Seth's retired guide dog, emotional scenes, Einstein, emotional beats hitting home, the Outsider, slow pitch Science Fiction, the NSA, research as depth of feeling, why the eyes, the Mickey Mouse telephone, a direct philosophical descendant of Frankenstein, we must treat our creations with justice and mercy, the disfigured (?) monster, extreme violence is a turn-off, dogs as wild animals that we tamed, a glacial Frankensteinian process, dogs as infantilized wolves, a dog's nature is to be cowardly, breeding for violence (?), no savagery gene, baboons, bonobos, the creepy cable-guy stalker, delusions of immortality (?), money, surreality, The Call Of The Wild reference, survivalists, true love with a threat, preppers, Home Alone, what do Europeans think of gun culture?, fully automatic uzi kits, the baking of the cookies, the Dean Koontz genre, Phantoms, the town of Snowfield is deserted, a sink-full of jewels, creepy with wish fulfillment, and fun, multiple bad guys (monster and otherwise), The Mysteries Of Udolpho, let's look at the parallel structure…, snake killing, some (more) cookies, pity, the underlying strength of the book, did the Outsider think that it killed Einstein?, Dean Koontz likes: cookies, mercy, and guns, Koontz's hair transplant, political things, the soliloquy on technology, computer hacking (prior to the web), a preoccupation with Central/South America, Lebanon, Delta Force, quasi-domestic operations, The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft, the crappy 1988 movie of Watchers, the horror/1980s-gore aspect, Koontz and King adaptations, completely forgettable single word titles, Koontz' preferred title would have been "Guardian", Philip K. Dick's first story Roog, offering urn, the education of Einstein (paralleling the education of Frankenstein's monster), Agatha Christie, it makes you happy, 2 Jesses, "a book you will never forget!", a candy book, The Giver, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, taking experiences from their own life, Ray Bradbury never had an experience that he didn't turn into a fix-up novel, turn your brain off, smooth flowing fun, the complainers, the style of dialogue, a straw man of the dialogue, why is the Outsider after Einstein?, a "thing that should not be", Huey, Dewey, and Louie, page turning machines, stewing in resentment, the Outsider has no bride and hasn't read Paradise Lost, a shared love of Mickey Mouse, the yin and yang of humanity, the NSA agent's role is like that of Detective Fix in Around The World In Eighty Days, the level of characterization, Dean Koontz is by himself on his own little island.
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #281 – READALONG: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Filed under: Podcasts
The SFFaudio Podcast #281 – Jesse, Mr Jim Moon, and Bryan Alexander discuss Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
Talked about on today's show:
1968, science fiction by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner, abridged version, audiobook, repetition of theme, an introductory novel to Philip K. Dick, The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick, jam packed with action, one long day, the fake police station, a classic Dick move, how many androids are there in this book?, movies, androids, legitimate slavery, Luba, minority, androids v. slaves, reality of humans, psychological tests, visuals, dialogic science fiction, Wilder Penfield, The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton, mood organ, existential humor, satire, artificial, unbelievable world, endless competition, goat glands, Sydney's Catalog, the BBC Radio 4 audio drama by Jonathan Holloway & Kerry Shale, parallel characters, undercut truth, an animal theme, religious allusions, Mercer, Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan), lurker, detective story, lack of world descriptions, less striking scenes in the movie, Galactic Pot Healer by Philip K. Dick, tomb world, fraud corpses, Mercer v. Jesus, lack of introduction in the movie, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the maker, hope of freedom, androids as fiends, humans yet not humans, what is the definition of human?, the question, the title, empathy to androids, Deckard's predictions, Ubik by Philip K. Dick, predestination, fake things, simulacra, electrically modified ecology, emotional drug, consumerism, The Days of Perky Pat by Philip K. Dick, Nanny by Philip K. Dick, the vale of reality, the cuckoo clock in Blade Runner, layered symbols, visualizing future technologies, Kayla Williams, unobvious connections, paranoia, suspicion of government, The Exit Door Leads In by Philip K. Dick, unimportance of religious reality, environmental awareness, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, dehumanization in war, androids = inverted human, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, television, The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, 1984 by George Orwell, podcasting, Metropolis (Fritz Lang), Max Headroom, "Five Minutes Into the Future", The Red Room by H.P. Lovecraft, haunted media.
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #190 – READALONG: Beowulf
Filed under: Podcasts
The SFFaudio Podcast #190 – Scott and Jesse talk about the epic poem, Beowulf (and the Tantor Media audiobook edition read by Rosalyn Landor).
Talked about on today's show:
The Odyssey, mead, Recorded Books Modern Scholar series, Michael D.C. Drout, Norsemen in the Mediterranean, "embarrassingly subservient to their women", Miklagard, Russia and the Rus, Vikings -> Normans -> Britons -> Crusaders, the fall of Rome, Beowulf: A Dual Language Edition by Howell D. Chickering, Jr., the king of the blanekty blanks, Seamus Heaney translation, popularity of Beowulf, the Icelandic Sagas, Greeks vs. Romans vs. Scandians, more mead halls, fewer philosophical schools, guardsman vs. tutors, action vs. xenia, thanes just wanta band up, "they're Klingons", The 13th Warrior, Eaters Of The Dead by Michael Crichton, biker gangs, Hrothgar, Scyld Scefing, Unferth (un + frith = "mar peace"), Herot, the challenging retainer who gives the hero a sword, the swimming contest, Beowulf (the 2007 Roger Avary/Neil Gaiman adaptation), the visual composition, Babylon 5, Wiglaf, "badasses must compete", Eric S. Rabkin, nine hours underwater, Grendel -> Grendel's Mom -> The Dragon, the hoards, "a story to tell while you're drinking mead", "story is at the primacy", "she's got tentacles!", the spawn of Cain, "Cain's clan", Beowulf is a poem about pagans by a Christian, the historicity of Beowulf (literally "bee" + "wolf" = "bear"), The Iliad, The Odyssey, historical King Arthur, J.R.R. Tolkien, what kind of poetry is it? It's EPIC!, Tantor Media's version of Beowulf (translated by Francis B. Gummere), the LibriVox version of Beowulf, Brian Murphy, "whale road" vs. "whale path", Kevin Crossley-Holland, "foundling" vs. "waif", Caesar -> Kaiser and Czar, The Hobbit is like Beowulf told to children, rapine warriors vs. cute dwarves, The Lord Of The Rings, golden rings and magic swords, breaker of swords, visual parallels Grendel's arm + socket -> Beowulf's arm + socket, "movies excel at visual metaphors", "the thirteen dwarfs is not a good idea", heavy going, watch the movie first then read the poem, Beowulf's death, "often when one man follows his own will many are hurt", "his high destiny", a Talmud for Beowulf, having it every way, arguing the Bible, the etymology of "Homer", we're fans, Brendan Gleeson, Wiglaf's choice, why Grendel's got a grudge, monsters as externalizations of horror within, Viking men and their bastard sons, kings need heirs, the sins of the father (and Original Sin), the family of Cain, why did Cain kill Abel, capturing the reasons hidden within the story, Robert Zemeckis, adaptations of Beowulf, why put Beowulf in the future, the Christopher Lambert Beowulf, The Monarch Of The Glen by Neil Gaiman, Fragile Things, Grendel by John Gardner, Eaters Of The Dead |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Herot Series by Larry Niven, Steve Barnes, and Jerry Pournelle, Sons Of Anarchy, Hamlet, overturning the mead benches, named swords, Hrunting
Posted by Jesse Willis
Commentary: A "Top 100 Sci-Fi Audiobooks" List
Filed under: Commentary
Last year somebody* pointed out that a list of "The Top 100 Sci-Fi Books" (as organized by the Sci-Fi Lists website) was almost entirely available in audiobook form!
At the time of his or her compiling 95 of the 100 books were available as audiobooks.
Today, it appears, that list is approaching 99% complete!
I've read a good number of the books and audiobooks listed, and while some of them are indeed excellent, I'd have to argue that some are merely ok, and that others are utterly atrocious.
That said, I do think it is interesting that almost all of them are available as audiobooks!
Here's the list as it stood last year, plus my added notations on the status of the missing five:
01- Ender's Game – Orson Scott Card – 1985
02- Dune – Frank Herbert – 1965
03- Foundation – Isaac Asimov – 1951
04- Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas Adams – 1979
05- 1984 – George Orwell – 1949
06- Stranger In A Strange Land – Robert A Heinlein – 1961
07- Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury – 1954
08- 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C Clarke – 1968
09- Starship Troopers – Robert A Heinlein – 1959
10- I, Robot – Isaac Asimov – 1950
11- Neuromancer – William Gibson – 1984
12- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick – 1968
13- Ringworld – Larry Niven – 1970
14- Rendezvous With Rama – Arthur C. Clarke – 1973
15- Hyperion – Dan Simmons – 1989
16- Brave New World – Aldous Huxley – 1932
17- The Time Machine – H.G. Wells – 1895
18- Childhood's End – Arthur C. Clarke – 1954
19- The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein – 1966
20- The War Of The Worlds – H.G. Wells – 1898
21- The Forever War – Joe Haldeman – 1974
22- The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury – 1950
23- Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut – 1969
24- Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson – 1992
25- The Mote In God's Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle – 1975
26- The Left Hand Of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin – 1969
27- Speaker For The Dead – Orson Scott Card – 1986
28- Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton – 1990
29- The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick – 1962
30- The Caves Of Steel – Isaac Asimov – 1954
31- The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester – 1956
32- Gateway – Frederik Pohl – 1977
33- Lord Of Light – Roger Zelazny – 1967
34- Solaris – Stanisław Lem – 1961
35- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea – Jules Verne – 1870
36- A Wrinkle In Time – Madeleine L'Engle – 1962
37- Cat's Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut – 1963
38- Contact – Carl Sagan – 1985
39- The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton – 1969
40- The Gods Themselves – Isaac Asimov – 1972
41- A Fire Upon The Deep – Vernor Vinge – 1991
42- Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson – 1999
43- The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham – 1951
44- UBIK – Philip K. Dick – 1969
45- Time Enough For Love – Robert A. Heinlein – 1973
46- A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess – 1962
47- Red Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson – 1992
48- Flowers For Algernon – Daniel Keyes
49- A Canticle For Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller – 1959
50- The End of Eternity – Isaac Asimov – 1955
51- Battlefield Earth – L. Ron Hubbard – 1982
52- Frankenstein – Mary Shelley – 1818
53- Journey To The Center Of The Earth – Jules Verne – 1864
54- The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin – 1974
55- The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson – 1995
56- The Player Of Games – Iain M. Banks – 1988
57- The Reality Dysfunction – Peter F. Hamilton – 1996
58- Startide Rising – David Brin – 1983
59- The Sirens Of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut – 1959
60- Eon – Greg Bear – 1985
61- Ender's Shadow – Orson Scott Card – 1999
62- To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip Jose Farmer – 1971
63- A Scanner Darkly – Philip K. Dick – 1977
64- Lucifer's Hammer – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle – 1977
65- The Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood – 1985
66- The City And The Stars – Arthur C Clark – 1956
67- The Stainless Steel Rat – Harry Harrison – 1961
68- The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester – 1953
69- The Shadow of the Torturer – Gene Wolfe – 1980
70- Sphere – Michael Crichton – 1987
71- The Door Into Summer – Robert .A Heinlein – 1957
72- The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch – Philip K. Dick – 1964
73- Revelation Space – Alastair Reynolds – 2000
74- Citizen Of The Galaxy – Robert A. Heinlein – 1957
75- Doomsday Book – Connie Willis – 1992
76- Ilium – Dan Simmons – 2003
77- The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells – 1897
78- Have Space-Suit Will Travel – Robert A. Heinlein – 1958
79- The Puppet Masters – Robert A. Heinlein – 1951
80- Out Of The Silent Planet – C.S. Lewis – 1938
81- A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs – 1912
82- The Lathe of Heaven – Ursula K. Le Guin – 1971
83- Use Of Weapons – Iain M. Banks – 1990
84- The Chrysalids – John Wyndham – 1955
85- Way Station – Clifford Simak – 1963
86- Flatland – Edwin A. Abbott – 1884
87- Altered Carbon – Richard Morgan – 2002
88- Old Man's War – John Scalzi – 2005
89- COMING SOON (October 15, 2012) – Roadside Picnic – Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – 1972
90- The Road – Cormac McCarthy – 2006
91- The Postman – David Brin – 1985
92- NEWLY AVAILABLE – Stand On Zanzibar – John Brunner – 1969
93- VALIS – Philip K. Dick – 1981
94- NEWLY AVAILABLE The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age – Stanisław Lem – 1974
95- NOT AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOBOOK – Cities In Flight – James Blish – 1955
96- The Lost World – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – 1912
97- The Many-Colored Land – Julian May – 1981
98- Gray Lensman – E.E. 'Doc' Smith – 1940
99- The Uplift War – David Brin – 1987
100- NEWLY AVAILABLE – The Forge Of God – Greg Bear – 1987
In case you were wondering, the list was compiled using the following criteria:
"A statistical survey of sci-fi literary awards, noted critics and popular polls. To qualify a book has to be generally regarded as science fiction by credible sources and/or recognised as having historical significance to the development of the genre. For books that are part of a series (with some notable exceptions) only the first book in the series is listed."
The "Next 100″, as listed over on Sci-Fi Lists, has a lot of excellent novels and collections in it too, check that out HERE.
[*Thanks to "neil1966hardy" from ThePirateBay]
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #149 – TOPIC: METAPHOR in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Filed under: Podcasts
The SFFaudio Podcast #149 – Jesse, Luke Burrage, and Professor Eric S. Rabkin talk about METAPHOR in Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Talked about on today's show:
Science Fiction and Fantasy sort of undercut the scholastic meaning of metaphor, my friend Bill, metaphors come in two parts – the vehicle and the tenor, giants vs. ogres, denuding the metaphor, Aldebaran 6 has astonishingly beautiful humanoids, unknown vehicles deliver us, The Monsters by Robert Sheckley, The War Of The Worlds, a Tolkienesque task, A Voyage To Arcturus by David Lindsay, Dark Universe by Ron Goulart, Plato's cave, blindness, dead metaphors, the Burning Bush, Saul vs. Paul, a sound idea, Germanic grounds for divorce, Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein, 1984 by George Orwell, "the clock stuck thirteen", constructing meaning, William Shakespeare, awful as in creating awe, Moses and Mount Sinai, "shining like the sun", a sun god, Sampson, hairy like the sun, bald like the moon, Genesis, "you may look upon my hindparts", Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, unconscious metaphors, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, wretch, catwomen from Venus, voluptuous sex objects, building up the vocabulary, Halting State by Charles Stross, Neuromancer's opening line, text adventure, Enoch lived 365 years (the sun god), The Tower Of Babel by Ted Chiang, comparing the constructed worlds of video games with the constructed worlds of Science Fiction, Battlefield 2, a meta-metaphor for understanding what Science Fiction does for understanding our world, hamartia needs range finding, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, "any fool can see", a system of metaphors for the characters and the reader provides meta-uses, metaphor means "carry across", Greek moving vans are called metaphore, the Morlocks are the workers, the Eloi are the owners, the Time Traveler is the manager, Get That Rat Off My Face by Luke Burrage, Science Fiction as thought experiment, Michael Crichton, deus ex machina, The War With The Newts by Karel Čapek, Finnegan's Wake, experimental novels, Germinal by Émile Zola, Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott, allusion vs. metaphor, Sampson vs. Goliath, Luke and Eric prime each other, is Science Fiction useful?, should SF be useful?, Science Fiction and Personal Philosophy (SFBRP #100), reading only the Bible, The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin, the hard lesson namely: "sometimes you're just fucked", Star Trek II, cannibalism, Eric objects, the physical world vs. unconditional love, NASA staff need to read The Cold Equations, Steve Jobs (and his reality distortion field), a world full of things other than minds, smart by accident, Apollo 13, give the astronauts poetry, the title itself crystallizes the meaning, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a parametric center, how do we maintain individuality in the face of fascism?, the vehicle/tenor heuristic, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway, the car is the parametric central of The Great Gatsby, martian vampires, Apollo 1 disaster, Velcro and oxygen, "a failure of imagination", learning from the past, the metaphor falls and leaves behind a lesson about reality.
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #128
Filed under: New Releases, Podcasts, Recent Arrivals
The SFFaudio Podcast #128 – Scott, Jesse, Tamahome and Luke Burrage talk about recently arrived audiobooks, new releases and more.
Talked about on today's show:
Germline by T.C. McCarthy, Russia vs. United States, Kazakhstan, Blackstone Audio, Hannah, Finland, unapologetic fairy tale imagery, Brothers Grimm, Tama is a sucker for girls who kick ass, Kick-Ass, Bourne Identity, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Full Cast Audio, Tunnel In The Sky by Robert A. Heinlein, interplanetary survival course, "Rod Walker, as Heinlein Intended", Ozzy in Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, Between Planets, Space Cadet, Perseus by Geraldine, Hercules, Odyssey, Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce, young adult books, The City And The Stars, abstracting the voices of the characters, Jesse enthuses about Full Cast Audio's format, Blackstone Audio, Downward To Earth by Robert Silveberg (it draws from Heart Of Darkness, The Secret Sharer by Robert Silverberg, The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, "the heart of lightness", The Hidden by Jessica Verday, The Hidden (movie) with Kyle MacLachlan, The Hollow, The Haunted, supernatural/romance/YA, "maybe Jenny can take up the lance", Macmillan Audio, How Firm A Foundation by David Weber, On Basilisk Station, "Steve Gibson loves it", George R.R. Martin, the Writing Excuses podcast, I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, "it's very tempting to kill everyone", Star Wars: Heir To The Empire by Timothy Zahn (20th Anniversary Edition), Mark Thompson, Splinter Of The Mind's Eye (Luke and Leia get married), the Han Solo novels, Michael A. Stackpole, Star Trek novelizations vs. Star Wars novelizations, Wookipedia, perhaps Lucas was lucky and not talented, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Stories Of The Golden Age: The Tramp and Shadows From Boothill, Jenny is late, War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, The Island Of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells, Moxyland by Lauren Beukes, Zoo City, South Africa, China Miéville audiobooks flood audible, Iain M. Banks, Audible Frontiers vs. Audible Ltd., Ready Player One sounds like nostalgia not SF, everybody who wears spandex and legwarmers likes Ready Player One, the Gweek podcast, virtual world, Daemon by Daniel Suarez, Blackstone Audio, The Ringworld Engineers, To Sail Beyond The Sunset by Robert A. Heinlein, Origin Of The Species by Charles Darwin, Recorded Books, Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem, Lawrence Block audiobooks, Hard Case Crime, Getting Off by Jill Emerson (Lawrence Block), AudioGo, Such Men Are Dangerous by Lawrence Block, The Specialists, Coward's Kiss, You Could Call It Murder, Small Town, Paul Kavanagh, Michael Crichton, Eaters Of The Dead, Smoke by Donald E. Westlake, The Comedy Is Finished by Donald E. Westlake, Psycho by Robert Bloch, Stand On Zanzibar by John Brunner, Luke's novel Minding Tomorrow, does Stand On Zanzibar have a cylindrical structure?, long stuff tends to be crappy, Luke is on Audible's platinum plan, Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, Courtney Brown's Science Fiction And Politics podcast, Spellwright by Blake Charlton, spell errors?, "as you well know…", Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer, The Swarm by Frank Schatzing, Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein, tie-in novels, Dan Abnett's Warmhammer 40,000: Horus Heresy series, Black Library, "a fist the size of a baked ham", Jesse's meta review of Luke's meta review of Sword Of The Lichtor by Gene Wolfe, Halting State by Charles Stross, Luke's pick of the week: Monty Python's The Life Of Brian, Jesus' final words on the cross, Jesse's pick of the week: Invincible Ultimate Edition Volume 1 written by Robert Kirkman, Ed Brubaker, Gregg Rucka, Scott's pick of the week: Declare by Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides, is Declare idea fiction?, Kim Philby, Tamahome's pick of the week: The Mote In God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
Posted by Jesse Willis


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Hotel, Marrakech
Book a Holiday at Aqua Fun Club Hotel
The Aqua Fun Club is a hotel within easy reach of the city of Marrakech. It is set in ten acres of gardens, with views over to the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains. The hotel has 262 rooms, each with their own balcony and indoor sitting area. All rooms have air-conditioning, satellite TV and a mini bar. The hotel has extensive facilities on-site including health and sports facilities with a spa, fitness centre, tennis courts, mini golf, and a mini football pitch. There is also a kids club, babysitting service, shops and shuttle service to city centre. Guests will find plenty to explore in Marrakech, the old city includes the iconic Djemma el Fna Square and a maze of lanes and alleys off it that form the medina. There are street-stalls selling Moroccan goods and souvenirs – an area which is filled with an authentic atmosphere. In the modern city, there are many shops, restaurants, bars and an exciting water park! The Aqua Fun Club Hotel features a fantastic water park which is a great source of entertainment for children of all ages. Here guests will find a wide selection of slides, a wave pool, whirlpool, and a water tree. Guests can enjoy going down slides in pairs on inflatable dingys such as the Fly By slide, face their fears in the Black Hole, which is a high speed slide through dark spirals, or younger children can try the Rafting River.
Points of interest
- Distance from town is 20691m ( 27 min)
- Distance from Menara(RAK) airport is 22.772Km ( 29 min)
Our opinion:
Moroccan bliss
Forutter relaxation opt for the spa which offers a range of massages and beauty treatments, a hammam and an indoor heated pool.
3 Reasons to book with Purple Travel
- Experience: Purple Travel is a member of Hays Travel IG Group founded in 1980 & with more than 1,000 staff.
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- Choice: We search low-cost airlines, tour operators, accommodation suppliers and transfer companies and tailor-make a holiday at the best price possible.
Call now!0207 993 9222
Hotel location
Reviews for Aqua Fun Club Hotel
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I'm a musician and composer. I began watching anime (mainly Slice-of-Life genres at first) to improve my Japanese language listening skills.
I'm not as much into manga, admittedly. But every now and then I'll read one, especially if it has a unique storyline.
Been learning Japanese for several years now. I'm not fluent, and I understand more than I can speak/write. But I still aim to improve.
6,881 total episodes
I think its been a while... but wassup?
You dont happen to watch that new 'Looney Tunes Show' do ya? turns out its actually pretty good...
Billy west AND kristen wiig are on it...
Nice, you play music too *-*, i'm a gamer geek too. I'm Brazilian. And I like the genres you said too. Take a look at the hillsong united, its christian and i'm pretty sure you will love them.
Nice! I'm trying to learn japanese too, you know a tip? Watch one episode of anime with subs, and then, right after you've finished, watch it again without subs.
Its really helping me, since i'm not doing japanese classes. Do you have any tips for learning too?
Omg awesome ! My main language is portuguese, and I speak english too. My spanish is so so, and my japanese is soo bad hahaha but i want to learn. Really!
Well, I had some bands that didn't work at all. So now i'm singing solo for fun.
I work with perfumes, and that cosmetic stuff. My family runs a franchise of that.
Speak soon ^-^
I will take a look at these animes! Since most of the animes that I watch have few episodes, i usually take less than a week to finish up ^^
So, tell me more about yourself!
What are your interests? What kind of music do you like?
Talk soon ^-^
I'm watching baka to test and clannad now, i'm really enjoying ! What anime are you watching now? ^-^
Hey ^-^ I saw you liked one of my favorite characters, so i decided to added you. Hope you don't mind it ! Have a good day :3