Monday, March 25, 2024

Music Monday: Hope 4 Justice with Eska and John Stainer School Choir

In 2022 over 1,000 young people, including students from 27 South London schools took part in Hope 4 Justice, an urgent call to action on the climate emergency highlighting issues such as air quality, ‘throw-away’ culture and housing inequality through performances of music, dance and spoken word. Created and produced by Trinity Laban as part of the Lewisham London Borough of Culture, it culminated in a performance in Mountsfield Park on Saturday 18 June 2022.

Now, to commemorate the project, five songs composed by Mercury Prize nominated artist Eska (with lyrics from Young People's Poet Laureate for London Cecilia Knapp) have been recorded at Trinity Laban with Brockley's John Stainer Community Primary School Choir and students from the TL Jazz Department.  The first track. Air, was released on 15 Feb 2024, the eleventh anniversary of the death of Lewisham resident Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah who died aged nine after a fatal asthma attack.  Ella was the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on their death certificate.  

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Nunhead and District Municipal Museum 2024

It's Telegraph Hill Open Studios this weekend, I went to the launch last night of the legendary pop up 'Nunhead Municipal Museum and Art Gallery' at 80 Gellatly Road SE14. If you've never been to this temple of kitsch and outsidery art you better get down there today (Saturday 23 March 2024, 11 am - 4 pm) or tomorrow (Sunday, 1 pm to 6 pm).






The Museum will include a short interlude of Neil Gordon-Orr reading from his 'New Cross Park Life: a year in the life of Telegraph Hill Park' (Saturday 3 pm - 3:30 pm)



 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Acoustic Anarchy

Martin Howard's Acoustic Anarchy has been running since 2017 at waterintobeer in Brockley (209 Mantle Road SE4), an acoustic live music night focusing on folk, punk and indie. There's a couple of events coming up in next few weeks.

As part of the Telegraph Hill Festival this weekend, on Saturday 23rd March 2024 there's a special featuring artists including:

  • Joe Bitter is an acoustic punk rocker with songs celebrating cider, football and punk rock.
  • Shouting into the Dark are a prog-folk duo with heartfelt songs of love, life and grief. Their latest song features a middle English section, which will be a first for the night.
  • Drew Margot is a queer singer songwriter from LA whose work tends to revolve around gender, mental health, and often, dogs.

Then on Saturday 6th April 2024, headliners are The Water Chorus 'a young folk trio with an array of instruments tackling a mix of Irish and Scottish folk with plenty of tunes from further afield. They are exciting musicians with wit and zest and quite a dry sense of humour. Support comes from Neil Gordon-Orr, who will be playing some specifically South London folk songs. Regular host Martin Howard is joined by Max for some interpretations and originals'. More details here.



Monday, March 18, 2024

Music Monday: Sahra

Brockley-based singer Sahra is another graduate of the great South London jazz finishing school that is Trinity Laban. She's been getting increasing attention for her new material, including an excellent live session on Gilles Peterson's show on Worldwide FM last week. 

As she told Gilles, her soulful new single 'Alone Again' was recorded at Theo Erskine's studio in Forest Hill.


Saturday, March 16, 2024

Goldsmiths: Redundancies protests/Palestine occupation


A rally in the rain at Goldsmiths College last night (15 March 2024) brought together the fight against job cuts and the ongoing 'Goldsmiths for Palestine' occupation.

 
Job Cuts


The ongoing financial crisis at Goldsmiths seems to be reaching a critical point with senior management announcing on 28th February that as part of its 'Transformation Programme' it is planning compulsory redundancies for 130 full time equivalent posts (likely to affect many more than 130 people, as many are on part time contracts). Goldsmiths management certainly deserve the criticism it is getting but the bigger picture is inadequate national Government funding of higher education which is driven not just be economic considerations but by culture war hostility to arts, humanities and social sciences subjects. As stated on this poster, 'This attempt to erode our university represents a broader assault on critical, cultural and political education across academia': 




Goldsmiths for Palestine

Meanwhile the 'Goldsmiths for Palestine' occupation of the College's Stuart Hall building looks set to continue into its fifth week, having started on 19th February





See previously:


 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Crystal Palace Dragon and Griffin

Dragon and griffin in a Crystal Palace antique/vintage shop window (in Church Road). Fine 'lifesize' specimens - well who knows what size the real ones are? Apparently these were originally part of the Lightopia installation in Crystal Palace Park but were left behind when the company went bust in January 2023.


 

Monday, March 04, 2024

Music Monday: Goat Girl - Ride Around on Dawson's Heights (and Nunhead)

Ride Around, the new single from Goat Girl, features scenes shot by Dawson' Heights Estate in East Dulwich...


...and inside our current favourite local pizza place, Dinner for One Hundred's Bar D4100 in Evelina Road, Nunhead.


Not sure about other locations - what do you reckon?