So there I was this morning, drinking my tea, feeling a little bit disaffected and disconnected. I was watching out of the kitchen window as the clouds bumped each other across the sky; the radio was on in the background. I slowly became aware of the music that was playing. By the time the piece ended I felt just a little more in step with this planet and its people. The piece was ‘Prelude and Yodel’ by Penguin Café Orchestra.
Who? I hear you ask. Well if you live in the UK and watch TV or live in the US and listen to NPR I guarantee you will have heard their music. It is used in many commercials, as theme music and as segment link music on radio, the music is impossible to catagorise (though iTunes uses ‘New Age’). It is sometimes whimsical and at other times dramatic. Typically it is woven from a number of simple phrases which combine for a more complex and moving river of sound. Songs will often start out feeling melancholy and end up feeling upbeat and you will realize you don’t know how you the transition happened
The founder of PCO and its main creative force was Simon Jeffes who sadly passed away in 1997 – I don’t know how musical genius is defined but for me PCO does it; elegant, apparently simple, moving and fun.
I’m not linking here to any of the sites that provide 30 second clips because it needs a little more listening than that – go on throw a few units of your local monetary currency and take a risk. I recommend ‘Preludes, Airs & yodels’ or ‘Broadcasting From Home’ for starters.
<Enter stunningly witty and clever tagline here>
Who? I hear you ask. Well if you live in the UK and watch TV or live in the US and listen to NPR I guarantee you will have heard their music. It is used in many commercials, as theme music and as segment link music on radio, the music is impossible to catagorise (though iTunes uses ‘New Age’). It is sometimes whimsical and at other times dramatic. Typically it is woven from a number of simple phrases which combine for a more complex and moving river of sound. Songs will often start out feeling melancholy and end up feeling upbeat and you will realize you don’t know how you the transition happened
The founder of PCO and its main creative force was Simon Jeffes who sadly passed away in 1997 – I don’t know how musical genius is defined but for me PCO does it; elegant, apparently simple, moving and fun.
I’m not linking here to any of the sites that provide 30 second clips because it needs a little more listening than that – go on throw a few units of your local monetary currency and take a risk. I recommend ‘Preludes, Airs & yodels’ or ‘Broadcasting From Home’ for starters.
<Enter stunningly witty and clever tagline here>
Bazza
"Music For a Found Harmonium" is my favourite off that ablum!
ReplyDeleteYou people do need to give it a listen.
That's a great song too. I once heard an Irish band play it as a reel. I think it was at Glastonbury in 2000.
ReplyDelete