Nick Callaghan's tribute mix to Andrew Weatherall made me realize how serious we sometimes should be when listening to music...
Listening context. – It comes from nowhere. The Pain. Unexpected. Unwanted. Violent. A sudden rape that leaves you hanging, bleeding, almost dead, spiralling down in the unknown undertow of your own inexistence. The Blow. Unexpected. It comes from an unwanted bleeding, from a sudden nowhere, spiralling you down the rape you just experienced to an unknown undertow of your own rebirth. "I've always thought that the best music was uncontrived, it's done in an instant. The first things that come to mind are usually the best, once you start finally tuning things and honing things down you disappear up your own arse." Tell me how do you listen to Music, I will tell you who you are. A vibration. Thank god, I am a vibration. A sound. My Body has an inner instrument, and it is able to produce a sound when anything hits me; it can be a loud and absolutely dynamically deafening moment, forcing me to evacuate the sound; the deflagration can be also only felt in the inside, long after the blow has gone, it can be a calm response too, joy, who knows where you’re leading yourself to. Only you are your own conductor. Sometimes, life has a master plan, and you have to be there, experiencing your own disappearance allowing your rebirth. But at all times, you’re aware. At every single moment, your truth is all that matters. You are not somebody’s else frequency to play with. You’re not here to adjust to anybody but only there for you to grow. You should always be beyond the pain of their unwanted solicitations and keep your vibration intact should they hit you.
And, understand me: it’s not about how quickly you’ll vibrate or how quickly you will fill the room with your chaos, answering their supposed heavenly belonging to you. It’s all about the reality of it, the objective reality of you accepting to drown, vibrating down, maybe in the process dying and somehow coming back to life. The secret lies here: unlike you, I am not trying to save myself. Unlike you, I am not trying to save myself. My hurt is mine to shine; my darkness does not need your false light. Everything will come back to its place one day, eventually. The thing you must take into consideration: are you aware of your vibration? Do you know how it manifests itself, when it appears, when it dies, and where it is located within you? Does it need anything more to fully express itself? Is it working against you or on par with you? Do you block it? Can it bring you up? What’s the aftermath but also, can you feel other people's vibrations...
Listen to Nick's Tribute to Andrew Weatherall:
Andrew's takes on music and subjective outputs. – Life had a master plan. Tell me how do you listen to music. I will tell you who you are. I waited to receive Nick’s tribute to Andrew Weatherall at the right moment. I didn’t want to just listen to the mix like "just for the sake of it". I knew it was far too precious to be overlooked. I wanted to be able to dive in. Totally. Life hit. I reacted. Pain came. I listened. Once again, it’s not about the subjectivity of the vibration, not about the importance (or the non-importance) of the pain that initiated it. It’s about the existence of these two factors and how each one of us copes with these always dynamic situations.
As I listened to Nick’s tribute, as Andrew’s music penetrated my soul, I visualised my Vibration and felt the pain form its reality in my soul. This precise moment was crucial because it enlightened Andrew’s musical importance, nicely put on the forefront by Nick’s work, ultimately leading me to write... A selector’s work essential is. Repeat. A selector’s work essential is. Only he can your mortal coil portray. And this is exactly what Nick did here. The 2 hours musical journey takes us through some of Andrew’s nicest musical moments, notably showcasing:
the importance of space: Whether you listen to a track like "Primal Scream - Loaded", Doves – Compulsion (Andrew Weatherall Remix), or, from Nick's Mix Big Hard Excellent Fish – Imperfect List Part 1 (the list could go on and on), the vast majority of Andrew's Music is rooted into space, large soundstages, echos, allowing your mind to loose contact with your body...
the sadness: Starting the mix with Cowboys International – The ‘No’ Tune (which can be considered Andrew's "title soundtrack"), Nick not only respects Andrew's legacy but also puts on a logical forefront what makes Andrew's music so appealing to people like myself: the sadness, the lingering sadness which is present in a lot of the tracks he played and produced or mixes he crafted – I will be forever proud to have discovered such an important artist thanks to Balearic Breakfast...;
the revolving questioning aspect of his music: If you take the time to dive into Nick's tribute mix, you'll feel the unstoppable questioning, lost shapes asking blurry whys, cloudy skies, lost cars driving in circles towards empty destinations...;
the sonic qualities: One of the things that left me totally awestruck when listening to Nick's mix is the sonic quality of Andrew's music; it's sharp, it has a 3D element to it, it constantly surprises your ears (listen to a track like "Ricardo Villalobos – Dexter (Two Lone Swordsmen remix"), even on loudspeakers you'll be surprised by how much the sound on that one will grab you...;
the musicality: Even though we can of course think about artists like Reich, Stockhausen, Boulez, Penderecki or even Medek, or as Andrew puts it "Seeking transcendence through repetitive beats", there is always an absolute Musicality to the sounds Andrew created or played (making me think that really I wasn't, like other people I suppose, really about a Musical style but more about notes that are awakening my soul (the stop sign being, obviously, for me, musical creations where Music in its musicality element was not present or far less present than what I needed);
the Artistry of the music: Andrew's music is never a flat line (listen to his "Music's not for Everyone" on Mixcloud shows). It's always and Absolutely Dynamic; it slows; it speeds up; it has sound effects; there are so many information to be found in Andrew's sounds, perfectly joining his analysis of what music should be like "I think music should be like a movie soundtrack in a way, it should be like a journey, it should tell a story". When listening to Nick's mix and diving deeper into Andrew's music (My Bloody Valentine – Soon (Andrew Weatherall Remix)), I was able to picture paintings by the great Beksinski or Dali; I was able to see Artaud's face flying over me, thinking about some of his writings, and even picture other artists' creations... Andrew's music is an open door to Art, and it is because of its own artistry...
So, yeah, Nick's mix is something to listen to times and times again as it is a beautiful resume of Andrew's musical Legacy! Lastly, Nick’s tribute showcased how important it is to dive into Music while taking into account your mental state. By choosing wisely the moment you’ll listen, you’ll be able to allow revelations to occur and the healing process to start, even oh so indirectly...
I'm on my knees, I’m drowning, Andrew.
Stay there, Lioncub, I’ll help you.
THE PLAYLIST
(Thank you, Nick, for the playlist and the picture!)
Cowboys International – The ‘No’ Tune
Andrew Weatherall – Thirteenth Night
“The first music that moved me…”
Big Hard Excellent Fish – Imperfect List Part 1
(Rimming Elvis the Andy Weatherall Way mix)
Ricardo Villalobos – Dexter (Two Lone Swordsmen remix)
“Sydney Opera House…”
Two Lone Swordsmen – Spin Desire
“Sean Johnston - I first met Andrew back in the summer of 1999…”
My Bloody Valentine – Soon (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
“When did the DJ’ing start off?…”
Fort Beulah N.U. – 002
“Andrew on Tony Wilson…”
Mike Garry & Joe Duddell – St Anthony: An Ode to Anthony H Wilson
(Andrew Weatherall Remix)
“Basic human need for transcendence…”
Cut Copy – Son God (Weatherall ARP mix)
Two Lone Swordsmen – It’s Not the Worst (Lali Puna Remix)
“The Boys Own story…”
Primal Scream – Don’t Fight It, Feel It (Weatherall Scat Mix)
“S is for Sabres of Paradise...”
Sabres of Paradise – Ballad of Nicky McGuire
“At the moment the studio is really productive…”
The Asphodells – Another Lonely City
Andrew Weatherall – Ghosts Again
“Dave Beer… but what about Weatherall?!…”
Primal Scream – Come Together (Weatherall extended remix)
“Life has Surface Noise…”
Sabre of Paradise – Smokebelch II (Beatless Mix)