Music, Style & Culture

A To Z: Erland & The Carnival

Erland & The Carnival released their second album 'Nightingale' this week.

Erland & The Carnival released their second album 'Nightingale' this week (read our review here), barely a year after their debut hit the shelves. DIY caught up with the band to get the low-down on these very productive persons - A to Z style.

A is for... Augustus Leopold Egg - Transfixed by a painting of his at Tate Britain (still the best Tate). On 'Past an Present No.1' the critic for the Athenaeum proclaimed '[t]here must be a line drawn as to where the horrors that should be painted for public and innocent sight begin, and we think Mr. Egg has put one foot at least beyond this line’.

B is for... Bernard Hermann - Psycho. Enough said.

C is for... Collapse - An insightful but bleak look at the current socio-economic monetary paradigm.

D is for... Dartington College - No place better for stress relief, which proved itself after a gig in Dartmouth. After an excruciatingly long drive and a rather under-attended gig, the members of the support band managed to get into our rather lovely and utterly-necessary-as-a-place-of-refuge-after-a-dismal-day hotel room and kick us out of our own beds. Don't f-ck with a person's sleeping arrangements! Has the most beautiful grounds and an awesome arboretum.

E is for... Eskdale. The most beautiful valley in the Lake District

F is for... Fore Thoughts - Discovered this band through a friends local radio show in Falmouth (Screechybadman on Source FM) and they became staple listening fare on our last tour. They play traditional folk songs from Pakistan on western instruments through an odd-psychedelic-off-kilter-filter.

G is for... Gannet. The king of sea birds!

H is for... Hannah Peel. Fantastic new artist on Static Caravan.

I is for... Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Still blown away by this Victorian, industrial-engineering marvel. I can't arrive at Paddington station and not take a minute to soak up his bizarre blend of Egyptian styling and massive, glass and metal construction.

J is for... Janet Hodgson

K is for... Korg Monotrons. £50 for a Korg analogue synth. You can't go wrong unless they break like mine did.

L is for... Laurel and Hardy

M is for... Manure - Currently building a composting machine that generates hot water, methane (via anaerobic digestion) and ultimately electricity, all from a mixture of horse manure and wood chip. The system was devised by a wonderfully crazy Frenchman called Jean Pain, who powered and heated his whole house and ran his car with it.

N is for... Nougat

O is for... Orkney

P is for... Prelude in c sharp minor op.3/2 - Starts with three most ominous notes ever.

Q is for... Quinoa. the new couscous.

R is for... Rise Of The Fourth Reich - An interesting and mind bending choice of book that I read over Christmas.

S is for... Singing Detective - By the brilliant, national institution and treasure Dennis Potter. "I call my cancer, the main one, the pancreas one, I call it Rupert, so I can get close to it, because the man Murdoch is the one who, if I had the time - in fact I've got too much writing to do and I haven't got the energy - but I would shoot the bugger if I could. There is no one person more responsible for the pollution of what was already a fairly polluted press, and the pollution of the British press is an important part of the pollution of British political life."

T is for... Tremolo. The king of effects!

U is for... Umbridge, the taking of.

V is for... Vertigo. The king of soundtracks

W is for... Watersons, The -

X is for... Xanadu

Y is for... Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Can't help stopping off here whenever we pass (it's just past Barnsley, heading north on the M1). 500 Acres of amazing landscape interspersed with amazing Henry Moore's, Babara Hepworth's and loads more. On our last visit we were totally blown away by Peter Randall-Page's massive seedpods and Mexican-esque carved stones.

Z is for... Zipperty Doo Dah...

Erland & The Carnival are touring the UK later this month, you can buy tickets here.