Summer of Blood

The Brixton riots of 1981 followed the Great Revolt of 1381 by precisely 600 years. Which was a neat anniversary, I suppose. And it gives me a tenuous hook on which to peg a recommendation for one of the best albums I’ve heard for years: Ghost Notes, by Hiatus. The new single from the album is called Insurrection, and features the poet Linton Kwesi Johnson evoking the spirit of ‘81. You can check it out here. I would also urge you to get the album, which is a shade or two lighter. More UNKLE than Burial, if that makes sense. (If it doesn’t, you might want to move along - nothing to see here.)

I had the pleasure last night of attending the first concert presented by the Lux Aeterna Project at King’s College Chapel in London. It was a showcase for some rather beautiful contemporary classical music, both well known and original. The medieval link? There’s not one, really, although the opening rendition of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis’ had obvious roots in the sixteenth century. Still not very medieval, but wonderful all the same, and I heartily implore you to check out the Lux Aeterna web site, here.