Continuing (and completing) Vinyl Connection’s homage to German synthesiser great Klaus Schulze. The Cosmic Couriers — Sci-Fi Party [1974] In the first half of 1973, producer Rolf Ulrich Kaiser organised a series of jams with a number of the major musicians in the emerging psychedelic/electronic space rock scene. There were recorded (without the musicians’ explicit […]
A Dozen Klaus Schulze Albums Worthy Of Consideration When Klaus Schulze died on 26 April 2022 the world lost one of its foundation rock-electronic composers and a cornerstone of the early German indie music scene that became known as ‘Krautrock’. As someone who discovered his drifting, droning, pulsating synthesiser music back in the 1970s, I […]
Few things get the old Vinyl Connection pulse racing as effectively as the gift of records. I was recently gobsmacked by the offer to plunder three crates of dusty vinyl that, my benefactor said, had been sitting in the garage for a couple of decades and that he would never play again. A quick flick […]
Live albums often spark discussion amongst rock fans. Are they a fascinating insight into the artist as experienced in concert? A contractual filler for the record company? Sometimes both? Maybe it depends on how big a fan you are. Being a huge David Bowie fan, I was excited by the release (originally RSD 2018) of […]
The debut album by Air is soaring towards its twenty-fifth anniversary. A big part of the reason people are still enjoying Moon Safari is its tasteful mash-up of genres. Melding lounge, electronica, chill-out, pop, even trip-hop, this charming album is friendly, accessible, and a sustained delight. The LP opens with the lounge jazz instrumental “La […]
The orchestral strains of Stravinsky’s Firebird ease into a smooth wash of synthesiser chords as the musicians take their places. A caped Rick Wakeman strokes the keyboard producing those electronic strings. Bill Bruford sits at a Simmons electronic drum kit, dressed for judo. Steve Howe is wearing a silky, brightly hued shirt while Jon Anderson, […]
The 1980s are often remembered as the time of synth pop, but—in Australia, at least—this is misleading. The land Downunder brought forth excellent, world class guitar based bands… the maturing sound of Midnight Oil, the power pop exuberance of Hoodoo Gurus and the introspective guitar rock of The Church. Formed in Sydney, The Church released […]
In 1769, the Royal Academy of Art in London held its first Summer Exhibition of contemporary art. Between 26 April and 27 May, 14,008 visitors took in 136 works by 54 artists, including Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. The Exhibition has been held every year since, even during World War II. Leaping forwards to […]
Welcome to the final part of this meandering series of album covers featuring what we will loosely call portraits of the band. Once again we’ll begin in the 1960s, with an all-time favourite. I love the way artist/designer Bernard Yeszin utilised the television image of The Monkees (Davey’s shirt, Mike’s beanie) to create an engaging […]
More album cover art with an emphasis on art. Here are ten record covers with portraits of the artist. Some are from the Vinyl Connection collection, a couple were sourced from the internet. Several were suggested in the comments section of the initial post and are gratefully included. Let’s continue the pattern of starting with […]
Quintessentially Sixties in its technicolour glory, The Beatles 1968 animated film holds up very well due to the sheer vivacity of the artwork. Directed by George Dunning, Time magazine labelled it “a smash”, observing that the film “delighted adolescents and aesthetes alike”. The album was released in January 1969, by which time it was somewhat […]
From the time TheBeatles opted to use Klaus Voorman’s charming portraits of the fab four on their seminal 1966 album, bands have commissioned visual artists to represent themselves on their musical offerings. Here is a selection. * With graphics by Linda Guymon and Art Direction by Richard Roth, this 1975 compilation of Rolling Stones ‘Rarities’ […]
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