Brian Lavelle » www.brianlavelle.org

The text in the subject of this post is by Italo Calvino, one of my favourite writers.

Why that as the subject? Well, as some of you will know, we have two cats, Bob & Hamish, who’ve lived here since last Summer. These two brothers are by turns acrobatic, majestic, proud, frustrating, adorable, confusing, confused, unreasonably clever, unfeasibly stupid and constantly surprising. And I’ve grown very, very fond of them and their quite different little personalities.

This is Bob…

He is the black one.

…and this is Hamish…

He is the black and white one.

I don’t have too many photographs of them as they tend not to pose well for the camera! But I’ll keep trying.

It now seems strange to me to think I’ll be 36 this year and yet I’ve never had cats before nor any other pets. The last eight months have seen me climb a hugely entertaining if rather steep learning curve, but with Jill’s help I’ve been getting there and now I can’t really imagine Bob & Hamish not being around.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure Calvino was right. I can see the gates of that other city; I just don’t think I’ll ever see inside.

It’s mid evening and I’m currently listening to a subtle and subdued little split-tape by Evan Miller & Gown. It’s the first I’ve heard by either of these artists. The Evan Miller side is beautiful acoustic guitar meanderings against a grainy, lo-fi thunderstorm backdrop (astraphobics, fear not…) which works remarkably well. The piece is called Specter: a truly fitting, if Americanised, title.

And as I type this and listen to the tape-storm, I’m drinking a cup of rather lovely gyokuro in a new Mokage style teacup from Hokujo.

Mogake is a traditional Japanese technique which consists of applying seaweed onto unglazed pots before the firing process is carried out. The salt from the seaweed oxidizes with the clay during the firing and unique and often surprising marks are made on the pot surfaces. This is the work of Shimizu Genji-san, a true master of this art. Of course, I couldn’t resist obtaining a kyusu in the same understated style…

And now the reverse, Gown side of the tape is playing (it’s a very short release…). This piece, entitled Pigeon Church, for reasons I can’t quite fathom, is more electric and out there yet it’s still possessed of a fine, wandering spirit. Is Evan Miller part of, or all of, Gown? I don’t know but I suspect not; it really doesn’t matter anyway. I think I’ll have some more gyokuro as I watch this miniature electrical storm settle.

Well, I’ve decided it was about time I posted some pointless verbiage on the internet — or, at least more pointless verbiage than on my music site (www.brianlavelle.org).  That’s not to say there won’t be any musical discussion on this blog, but it will be confined more to what I might currently be listening to, what I’m enjoying and so on.  I’ve no doubt that some thoughts about my own work will creep in, somewhere, and that my usual nihilistic view on what I’ve recorded will surface.  So, if that hasn’t put you off, please read on!

Jill and I are still looking for somewhere to get married.  Today, we saw a beautiful venue in the heart of Edinburgh, the Mansfield Traquair, which was rather impressive.

It styles itself as Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel and your eyes are certainly drawn upwards on entering the place.  We’ve still a few places to see; let’s see what happens.