Saturday 7 November 2009

Le Berceau de Cristal and the Costa del Sol

Well last Sunday I got back to England after a week in Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol. These english winters are long, dark and cold so my partner Vicky and I thought we would break things up this year with a bit of sunshine. We had a glorious time, managing to fit in a visit to Gibraltar alongside lots of sunbathing.

I took my trusty MP3 player and the holiday gave me the chance to properly acquaint myself with Music in 12 Parts by Philip Glass. At 4 hours in length I had only had the opportunity to listen to the CDs from beginning to end once or twice before. Anyway: the music is largely mesmerising and overflowing with a manic intensity.

I also took Le Berceau de Cristal, the Ash Ra Tempel recordings for the Philippe Garrel film of the same name with me. Recorded in 1975 by Manuel with Lutz Ulbrich the music is very interesting indeed: rather dark and brooding with long, introspective stretches. Perfect for sitting on the balcony during sunrise or sunset whilst contemplating the writing of the book, life and other things.

Today I've been putting my ideas into practice, writing about Le Berceau de Cristal and making sure I get my other ideas saved in a Word document before they disappear into the ether. I've been reading through some parts of the developing book and I'm very happy with the way it's coming together. There's a lot of information there and the story of Manuel's musical career naturally provides a lot of variety and quite a journey. I only hope that one day you will enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

My work continues. Take care for now and speak again soon!