Before the Diversity Editors Arrived I

 

An Bainise (2024)

A new Bohemian Budgie audio creation to get your chops around, to accompany the wedding. The autumnal colours of the design really go well with the folky vibe. It glows warmly like a candle flame. In fact, the colours were one of the stand out features of our great day, with no frosty intrusion from icy blues & greys, no garish high viz. Hopefully the album reflects that. A kind of homespun simplicity to anchor and dispel all the frenzy of the wedding preparations. 

An Bainise (Irish Gaelic for The Wedding) is a beautifully curated musical journey with a mix of traditional and contemporary influences, ideal for a thoughtful, reflective listening experience.

The cover art, with its autumnal floral wreath and evocative illustration of a playful rabbit herald (one of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations for Alice in Wonderland), sets a poetic and charming folkloric tone that matches the curated mood of the album. The inclusion of W.B. Yeats’ poem "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" suggests emotional depth and literary sensibility underpinning a sense of solemnity for the upcoming ceremony.

The tracklist indicates a diverse range of styles from folk classics like "Scarborough Fair" (Simon & Garfunkle), Celtic traditional ("Siúil A Rún" by Clannad), to more contemplative and intricate instrumentals ("Intermezzo in A" by Brahms, "Dr. MacInnes Fancy" by Iain MacInnes). There is a seamless blend of vocal and instrumental pieces, which creates a rich tapestry of sound that flows from acoustic folk to lyrical ballads, evoking faraway landscapes and stories.

Highlights include the haunting quality of "Is Trua Nach Bhfuil Mé in Éirinn" by The Bothy Band, the atmospheric storytelling of "You Rambling Boys of Pleasure" by Planxty, and the warmth of "Fisherman’s Blues" by The Waterboys. The presence of heartfelt modern folk-soft rock elements, e.g., Nick Drake’s "Time Has Told Me," adds to the album’s timeless feel.

Overall, An Bainise offers an invigorating yet intimate listening experience, perfect for a quiet evening or contemplative moments, reflecting a deep appreciation for Celtic and folk music traditions blended with poignant, literary overtones. The album likely balances fortifying and stimulating qualities, much like its namesake theme suggests.

Appendix Apocalypse: Album Artwork

This time last year I had a ruptured appendix which required surgery. Despite being wheeled into the hospital at 6am stating I had sudden cessation of agonising abdominal pain over McBurney’s point (a clear sign of ruptured appendix, which I pointed out) it took the NHS eight hours to give me a basic clinical examination, 15 hours to give me antibiotics, and 28 hours wait in A&E before I could get surgery. The extent of my condition only became clear after 2 hours of surgery: my appendix had ruptured by 50% at the base by the cecum, and wrapped tightly in the surrounding omentum which created a challenging clean up job. The surgeon said I would have died without the appendectomy, and had understandable concerns for my recovery. When a surgeon worries about your “recovery” that means your “survival”. 

Weeks ensued of peritonitis, followed by a grumbling postoperative abscess. Given the standard of ‘care’ I had previously received, I decided to treat myself using herbal medicine. During my interminable A&E delay, I had started hallucinating as though I was looking out on the bleak ignorance of the world from inside a stagnating lime green fishbowl, with my internal organs churning in a dishwasher of their own faecal gravy. All around me was the madness and brutality of a medieval hell, which reminded me of the Hieronymus Bosch painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (1510). Completely unable to get through to the NHS staff the importance of getting immediate surgery, and in a private fishbowl of mortal torture, all I could do was elevate my consciousness above my broken body, and shine down compassion and unconditional love upon myself. 

During my convalescence I compiled this album. I felt something creative was in order to say I am here, I am alive, I will be whole again. Fuck you NHS, I survived in spite of your murderous negligence. I won’t ever be inanely banging pots and pans on my front doorstep like a clapping seal to say thanks for all your bullshit hard work.

Bohemian Budgie's 10th Birthday !

Shitting crikey!

I can't believe 10 years have passed since I started this whacky project; a leap in the dark without any undies on; a mere mouse dropping on the floor of social media. And yet, who would have thought, like an irradiated cockroach I would out-survive Twitter. It is the earnest desire of The Bohemian Budgie to outlast all forms of corporate capitalism and become an indelible beacon of light which radiates out to the universe like a pulsar until aliens send an anarcho-syndicalist rescue party, and arrive in giant disco ball spacecraft, dressed in crushed pink velvet jackets , zebra skin wide brimmed hats, orange floral shirts with 12" collars and giraffe patterned leather pants. I fervently believe this will happen, and the planet will be saved due to the humble ponderings of this blog. 

Return of the Light: Album Artwork

One of the first things I did in the new year was make a dance compilation to keep the blood pumping, called Return of the Light. Some of it is old skool house and dance choons which I think shouldn't fade into obscurity so easily; some feature nostalgic female vocal mixes, e.g. Sade & Lisa Stansfield; and some of it is less frequented but contemporary Euro-dance like Gudrun Von Laxenburg, Elin Ey, etc. Now the nights are drawing in a bit, I am already hankering after lullabies and incantations to welcome back the sun. Anyway, below is the album artwork I compiled. If you're interested in the music, the tracks are currently all available on Youtube. 

Annular Eclipse and a Rainbow

Following the stunning success of my solar eclipse photography of April 2015, I keenly embraced the possibility of catching the 2021 Annular Eclipse. However, it proved difficult and instead I ended up with a bunch of cutting room floor shots, which I gave a psychogoggelieic treatment. Rainbow turned out OK though. 

Beeple on Trump

The fantastically talented Mike Winklemann (aka Beeple) has an impressive body of work, with no small part of it devoted to the cognitively- dissonant fart cloud known as Trump, which is thankfulky dissipating now, even without need for a facemask. Sadly though, fart clouds are known to linger and contribute to global warming for 100 years. Lets hope not. Love the way Biden gets some pre- emptive grief too. 

Trent Riverside Walk

Bit of a pleasant surprise this walk. I took my car to Gainsborough for an MOT, and being advised of a couple of hour wait, I decided to meander down to the riverside where there is an industrial landscape path and a few sleepy information boards. Thankfully no urban maniacs around. It was a lovely day with the sun dancing on the river, and illuminating the ochres of industrial brickwork and obsolete rusted machinery. The burdock and umbellifers had all but set seed and were nodding sagely to the passing river, acknowledging its majesty.

The River Trent also has some notable historical mentions including King Canute who stood in the River Trent in an attempt to hold back the tide. It was believed it was to demonstrate that power is vain compared to the supreme power of God. It was also here in Gainsborough that some of the Pilgrim Separatists fled from the town on a barge up the River Trent in search of religious freedom in May 1608. They met others at an isolated place along the coast near Immingham where they boarded a Dutch ship to Amsterdam. Some would later return and board the Mayflower in Plymouth in 1620.

From the Visit Lincoln website.