valtazarzauberquelle: JON ATWOOD ( YELLOW6 )

субота, 8. јул 2023.

JON ATWOOD ( YELLOW6 ) - MY TOP TEN ALBUMS

I grew up with glam rock in the 70s and the first records I bought were things like Sparks, T.Rex, Bowie and ELO. Then one day I heard Sex Pistols God Save The Queen and everything changed. It totally blew me away, and with the general attitude at the time that anyone could do it, I decided to learn guitar and form a band, and never looked back.

Aside from the punk classics which were so influential (Pistols, Clash, Adverts etc), I also loved the unusual bands like Devo and The Residents, and the more pop end of punk such as Elvis Costello.

Choosing a top 10 is impossible, but I have instead chosen 10 albums which have been big influences on me.

Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat. I love anything by VU, but this has been my most played in recent years. The outtakes/lost album 1969 is another favourite.

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Like a number of bands, I don’t recall being really into them at the time. My first JD record was Love Will Tear Us Apart, the followed by everything else I could get. If we’re looking at post-punk, this is one of my biggest influences along with Bauhaus - In The Flat Field.

Adam and the Ants - another band who I knew at the time but my love of them and their influence has grown over the years. I didn’t buy this album til after they were famous, and got it on the back of a tape of The Decca Demos a friend gave me. An all time favourite.

Bark Psychosis - after punk, my biggest period of musical discovery was early post rock. This, and the preceding singles, made me completely rethink how I approached guitar and led to Yellow6.

The God Machine - although quite a heavy band, they used a lot of drone and repetition and songs with quite minimalist structures. One Last Laugh In A Time Of Dying is another all time favourite.

Rachel’s - I loved the idea of combining strings and piano with an alternative band. It was their final album Systems/Layers which has stuck with me.

Labradford - Fixed:Context. The wonderful combination of minimal beats, drones, and twangy guitars - never tire of this and such an influence.

Low - Trust

There was something special about Low. I didn’t hear them until Secret Name, but Trust was the first album of theirs I bought as a new release. It was also on the tour for this is saw them for the first time of about 30 times I saw them over the following years. Seeing Low live was the closest I’ve felt to a spiritual experience.

Philip Glass - Solo Piano

I became interested in the idea of minimalism through reading of its influence on bands such as Tortoise. I only have a sparse knowledge of some of the better known composers such as Reich, Part and Glass. The solo piano works had a big impact on me and remain a favourite.

I incorporate some of the ideas of minimalism in my music, but I tend to fill the spaces too much.