Cerys Matthews

I love this video of The Good Life Experience by Matthew Wheeler. If you haven’t got your tickets, get them for this year now!

http://www.thegoodlifeexperience.co.uk/

I wanted to write to say thank you for all the orders received over the Christmas period- and for that matter, those received earlier too! We were totally overwhelmed by the number and tried our best to be sure we sent them as quickly as possible. We are here at the cerysmatthewsmusic@gmail.com address if you do need to get in touch.

I welcomed this new year quietly and rather reluctantly- how can time start to move so fast?!! But still, bah humbug and all that, I still wish everybody the very best for 2016 and thank you, as ever for all the love and support.

See you on Sunday,

Cerys

With Christmas fast approaching , I thought I’d offer some ideas- don’t shoot me..

Love cooking? music? bushcraft? literature? fires? exploring? foraging? the great outdoors?record collecting?cycling?wood work? art?  …etc ..etc ..etc… ;)..well….

If you haven’t yet joined us at our Good Life Experience festival- what about making it in 2016? Our ethos is hinged on the great outdoors and that everyone joins in- there’s no VIP area- all our performers , chefs and explorers walk around the fields giving talks and demonstrations on/around camp fires and in tents. We encourage visitors to try their hand at a new skill; learn about bushcraft, cooking on a campfire, new dance steps, wood carving ,Vermouth making , cigar rolling, axe sharpening and throwing….Almost all activities -vintage fair rides, abseiling, archery, demonstrations , foraging and exploring walks are all included in the ticket price- it’s incredible value. Just 8 mins from Chester, it’s 2 hours from Euston by train and less than an hour by car from Liverpool. SO COME!! Here’s the line up and ticket link- if you’re not materialistic and looking for an unforgettable experience -you won’t beat this and we’d love to welcome you in 2016. http://www.thegoodlifeexperience.co.uk/buy-tickets

If you’re not ready to ‘go wild in the country’ then perhaps a personally signed copy of Hook , Line and Singer is for you..works for all ages no matter how old or young at heart ..just drop me a line to explain what message you’d like in the front cover.

Merry Christmas and thanks as ever for visiting the site and for your support.

Much love,

Cerys

Tune in to Radio 4 from Monday 23rd – Friday 27th November 2015 each day at 1.45 pm (except Wednesday 25th at 3.45pm) for a new series in which Tristram Penna and I examine the legacy and stories behind some of the first Gramophone records recorded in Britain from 1898-1902.

We start by going back to them summer of 1898 when The Gramophone Company opened offices at 31 Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden. This was the very first disc record company in the UK, later becoming well known as HMV and EMI and was the London affiliate of inventor Emile Berliner’s US National Gramophone Company. The first inventory consisted of imported parts for 3,000 gramophones & 150,000 American records.

It was swiftly obvious that British tastes meant local repertoire was vital, so Berliner sent his top engineer and talent man Fred Gaisberg to London, who until George Martin, was the most successful record producer the UK had ever known. On 9 Aug the day of the very first gramophone recording session Fred recorded Adam Umbach, clarinettist from the Trocadero, playing Mendelssohn’s ‘Spring Song’. Close by, Rules Restaurant, London’s oldest restaurant which opened in 1798 also played an important part as a place where artists and Gramophone Company staff could fraternise. Here Gaisberg heard Australian singer Syria Lamonte, which led to a legendary recording of ‘Coming Through The Rye’ on the 2 September. Fred wanted to record everything and anything that he thought might sell and the very first gramophone record catalogue contains several thousand very diverse recordings.

The early recording process may have been primitive, but many artists were persuaded to record by a pioneering spirit. By Christmas 1898 the company had sold out of all machines and records so the entire staff poured into Rules to celebrate. In the programme, you’ll hear from Christopher Proudfoot, CLPGS chairman, academic Peter Adamson, and music manager/author Simon Napier-Bell.

Don’t forget to contact me on Twitter or Facebook afterwards and let me know what you thought.

I’m thrilled to tell you that my new BBC World Service programme starts tomorrow. Each month I’ll take a legend from the music world and let them take us on a journey…and for this first show, I’m talking to Tom Jones about the emergence of rock and roll, and he will reveal the age at which he started singing. The second show, which airs a month after, is a tribute to Allen Toussaint.

Find out more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p037kmj1