The (Temporary) Return Of Breaking More Waves Blog

Well, here we are again. Anyone out there? Hi. How’ve you been doing?

I never thought I’d be writing this again in this form and style, but recent events have brought me back. 

Last September, after more than a decade I decided that it was time to dedicate my spare time to other pursuits and (almost) stop the blog. I say almost because I’ve kept the thing limping along like a battle-worn exhausted soldier with a monthly post about my new music playlist (follow it by clicking here) and a few end of year lists.

Finishing the blog did free up a significant amount of time – so much so that I’ve returned slowly to long distance running after a ten year hiatus. The emphasis is on the word slowly – my speeds are now a sluggish plod compared what they used to be – but considering that around a year and a half ago I was in intensive care after open heart surgery following the discovery of a congenital valve defect after a sudden and unexpected heart attack, I consider myself pretty lucky to be alive still and the running makes me feel even more alive. Possibly even more so than music.

Ironically, it’s because of that heart attack that today, for a while, I’m writing this blog again. I’m now categorised as ‘high risk’ due to my underlying health condition and I am working in isolation from home for the foreseeable future to reduce my risk of catching the Coronavirus, as I have more of a chance of being badly affected by it than a normal person. I'm the equivalent of an over 70 year old even though I'm no way near that.

So, during that isolation period I will have some more spare time. With no gigs, festivals, art galleries, theatres, restaurants or cinemas to go to or friends to see and catch up with when I’m not at work, I need to keep myself busy so that I keep sane. I've pondered if any developing / smaller artists would considering doing acoustic house gigs to very small audiences (perhaps just an audience of 3 or 4) that i could put on to get my new music fix and help support musicians; If you're one of those and interested, get in touch with me on Twitter @BMWavesBLOG or via email, I'd pay you all the money I'd usually spend on a months worth of gig going to experience that. 

However, the obvious solution (given that I like to feel productive rather than just binge watching Netflix) is revisiting the old Blogspot template. So I’m bringing Breaking More Waves back from the near dead for a while. A bit like what my body has gone through.

I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to be posting yet. New music obviously – that was the blog’s raison d'être after all, but I also may veer off tangent a little. We’ll see. As I’ve always said, this is my personal blog, not a proper professional website, so I can do the bloody well what I want.

I don’t want to dwell on Coronavirus, as I do want this to be a place for people to visit for enjoyment, but it’s really important to me that at this juncture I mention two of my favourite places in the world.

Southampton Joiners and Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms were two of the first music venues I went to when I moved to the south coast just over 20 years ago. They’ve experienced all sorts of storms and survived over that time period, but this time is the worst imaginable shit show for all sorts of culture and particularly venues like these. If you value these places (and I really do) please follow their social media and try and support them in whatever ways you can. These spaces are the lifeblood of emerging artists and are places where I have formed friendships that have lasted many years. Some of the developing artists I’ve seen at these 200 and 400 capacity venues include Coldplay, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Oh Wonder and The Libertines to name just a few. Many of them have gone on to headline huge festivals. But just as important as those artists are the ones that never made it big, that are now long forgotten, but who provided me with memorable experiences.

The Joiners has set up a crowdfunding page which you can click on here https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-survive-corona-virus. Money is a worry for a lot of people right now, but once we get through this, we need those venues. A city bereft of culture is a city with no soul. Please do whatever you can to support them.

OK, it’s time to get on with the music.

International Teachers of Pop are exactly the sort of band we all need. 

They provide exuberant fun, amateur dance routines that will make you sweat way more than a temperature of 37.8C and big old disco bangers that are as close to sex as pop music can be. Watch your hips, because they’re going to get thrusting. 

Imagine Confidence Man had gone to Sheffield and dosed up on Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. Yes they’re that f*cking brilliant. They’ve already put out a critically acclaimed album, and later this year will release their second. It’s called Pop Gossip and will be available in late May. Get ready to be oscillated (right round baby) with their new single. 

The band describe the track as follows: “This is a song for our kind of freaks and miscreants and the incessant snobbery faced by them for liking good pop music, good disco, genres that on the surface might not be deemed cool, but actually save souls...This is Don’t Diss The Disco.” Sounds like it’s my kind of tune.

International Teachers Of Pop - Don't Diss The Disco