Back in June we brought you the news that the UK's Uncut Magazine were inviting your questions for Nick Mason. They posed a number of your submissions to Nick, in the latest of their 'An Audience With' interviews, in the new issue of Uncut, in UK stores now. In due course, the issue (cover date October 2018, issue 257) will be available in selected outlets in Europe and elsewhere.
In a candid and wide-ranging chat, he discusses his soon-to-be re-released solo projects, producing The Damned, what's in the Pink Floyd archives, and the formation of his new 'early Floyd' band Saucerful Of Secrets.
"What I didn't really want to do was go out as another version of Pink Floyd and play the best of Dark Side and so on. All this other material was there, lying dormant, and could be interpreted in a slightly different way… No, I didn't ask [Roger Waters and David Gilmour] to join in, because that would be Pink Floyd. But I did tell them what I was proposing to do, as good manners, and I have to say both of them were supportive – which I found slightly disturbing! 'Yeah, go ahead, make a fool of yourself…' I know David has looked at a lot of it online."
Elsewhere in the magazine, from a Floyd perspective, there's a review of Nick's upcoming box set Unattended Luggage, and a mildly unimpressed review of Roger Waters in Hyde Park, which includes the comment that "Roger...gives an impression of an angry neighbour gearing up to throw a slipper at next door's cat"!
In just ten day's time (August 31st), Nick Mason's 'Unattended Luggage', a three album CD or vinyl box set of his albums 'Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports', 'Profiles' and 'White of the Eye' is released by Warner Music. These limited edition box sets will be available shortly before his acclaimed new band Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets begin their European tour at Cirkus in Stockholm on September 2nd.
For those who need reminding, 'Fictitious Sports' was Nick's debut solo album from 1981, which included collaborations with a variety of different musicians including Robert Wyatt and Carla Bley.
1985's 'Profiles' saw him hook up with 10cc guitarist Rick Fenn, and is a mainly instrumental album except for tracks Lie for a Lie which features vocals from Maggie Reilly and Floyd bandmate David Gilmour and Israel, sung by UFO keyboardist Danny Peyronel.
Finally, there's 'White of the Eye', another collaboration with Rick Fenn, a soundtrack for the British thriller movie of the same name. Originally released on January 1st 1987 on Harvest in the UK, and Columbia in the US, to coincide with the film's release, this is the first time the record has been made available for over 20 years, and the first time it will appear on CD.
For those not after the physical, 3CD or 3LP box sets of 'Unattended Luggage', the albums will all be available to download and through streaming platforms.
Here's a little taster for you:
Below, we list dedicated ordering links for both box sets - CD and vinyl - using these links will give a small but vital contribution to the running costs of Brain Damage, without costing you a penny/cent extra, and we really appreciate it!
Last Monday (August 13th) at the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo, Norway, Roger Waters participated in a very special event. A very small audience - just 200 people - got the opportunity to attend.
He gave the audience a lecture on music and politics. It was amazing! His hobby horse: war, fear and how the Western world (in particular) is responsible for destroying all kind of hope and belief in a good life for children.
He talked about the nuclear weapon industry, Palestine/Israel, Donald Trump/US, and the Syrian conflict. But he was pretty modest on what influence he could bring to people all around. But, he pointed out, you don't have to give in!!
It is nothing but impressive that this man, 74 years old, spends his time wherever he tours with his wonderful Us + Them show, talking about children, all over the world, suffering due to (civil) wars. And most of the crisis is created by the Western nations, with the US and UK in leading key roles.
It was a very useful reminder for all of us in the audience.
And the big surprise: the lecture ended with two songs from Roger: Broken Bones and Mother. He was joined by Lucius, Gus S and Jonathan W, all from his current touring band. It was an amazing night!
Recently, Dan Geesin set off with Harry Waters to make some new music, nearly 50 years after their fathers, Ron Geesin and Roger Waters, collaborated on Pink Floyd's 'Atom Heart Mother' and on the album 'Music From The Body' (1970). This brand new and bizarre pop-opera music can be heard in the feature film Retrospekt (right), which will receive its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival 2018.
Artist Dan Geesin has always made his music and sound design for Dutch director Esther Rots' award winning films. He develops his sound work on a parallel path, never reading the film script. "Esther and I use the same stuff but we make our work in different ways. Our perspectives always intersect in the film."
Because one of Dan's favourite albums is Music From The Body, Dan decided to see if there was something in the blood and asked Harry Waters to collaborate on the orchestration of his songs. "Music From The Body is a brilliant music and sound work, saturated with melancholy and humour."
After Harry and Dan worked for nine months on the orchestra sound via the Internet, Harry flew to Amsterdam in February 2018 and they recorded everything with an orchestral ensemble and singers from the National Opera. "I think we brought the best out of each other. This is not what Harry makes with his band and it’s not what I have made before as a singer songwriter: it is oddly different and people like the uniqueness."
Retrospekt (the album) will be released as a download and on vinyl in December 2018. Listen to 3 of the 19 tracks through this link.
Nick said: "[The band name is] a quick way of explaining to people what we're doing. What I didn't want to get caught up in were a lot of people going, 'Well, why don't you play "Comfortably Numb"?' or 'Why don't you do something from The Wall?' I think the name itself indicates where we are and what we're doing."
The positive reaction to the recent quartet of shows in London seemed to catch Nick by surprise, with the audience as enthusiastic as the band members regarding the songs, and the approach to them. "I think we found a niche for ourselves, which is to do something that is not being done by everyone else, by the tribute bands or by Roger or David. It's a real return to some of the improvised sections and the atmosphere of the songs. The tendency in this day and age is to try and recreate things perfectly. We bring imperfection."
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