Musical and geographical offerings from GeoBlogs: a 365 blog project for 2026.
Real World Studios was created by Peter Gabriel and his team in 1986 and is located in Box just outside Bath, and near Solsbury Hill. It has developed since it was created.
It has been the location where a great many of his own albums have been recorded, along with those by musicians on his Real World record label, and others who have hired the space known as the 'Big Room' or other spaces such as the 'Wood Room'. It also offers a residential experience.
Often when starting a project or piece of writing, a simple thing to do is to search for particular phrases to see what comes up in terms of websites, writing, academic articles and other resources which may be of interest.
An article co-written by Richard Florida. (PDF download)
This song by Jake Thackray is described by Stuart Maconie as "maybe the best song about the northern landscape ever written, and one that expresses the link between us and the "hard beautiful indifference" of the countryside we grew up in."
My mum loves Jake's music and saw him play live several times, going back many years... there are plenty of songs that benefit from his lugubrious (I like that word) singing voice.... 'Bantam Cock' is another...
Today in 1998 I was down in London at Horse Guards Parade for the world premiere of Tubular Bells 3. I had been teaching during the day, and was picked up by my brother-in-law - another big fan of Mike's music - who drove us to Cambridge where we got the train to London.
The weather forecast was not great, but I had my Gore-Tex jacket which I was fairly sure would keep me fairly dry.
The venue was impressive and historic. The stage was set and we had decent enough seats.
We weren't expecting there to be a support act.. then Martyn Joseph came on stage.
And just as the concert was about to start, so did the rain... and it poured down.
There were thousands of men in the rain...
There was also a feeling that not all of the sounds were played live... certainly the glasses filled with water which were note for note perfect... the rain itself would have taken the glasses out of tune...
The concert itself was short - a run through of the album and the encore wasn't any new track, and there were no other Tubular bits.
The guitar solos were superb of course and it was Mike playing live, so you couldn't really complain!
I still have the polo shirt I bought when I arrived - just as well as the merchandise ran out quite quickly it seems from other memories of the evening.
We walked back to the train station very wet.
The Guardian review referred to the weather.
You can watch it all here, and stay dry...
This is a powerful story song with a historical theme: the replacement of Shire horses with tractors.
Another one of my lost vinyls.. and probably worth some money these days.
This is a late album by Pierre Moerlen's Gong and featuring musicians who I saw in Mike Oldfield's live band.
I've just heard about this site.
It's an interesting visual variation on Setlist.FM - using its data / API. There's a few issues as the first act I tried: Mike Oldfield had some concerts without set lists on the site so the data is incomplete..
Pick a band, tick off the nights you were actually in the room, and get the record back: every song you’ve heard them play live, how many times you’ve heard each one, the tours you were part of, and a print-resolution poster of it all.It allows you to generate various graphics such as the ones below:
The Capercaillie is an endangered bird which lives in Scotland. It's a type of grouse. There are fewer than 600 left.
It has an interesting courtship ritual which involves making a large clearing called a lek.
It has a distinctive call. I've heard it once or twice in my life.
Capercaillie is also the name for a Scottish band which have been around for over 25 years. I have been listening to their music for as long as that, and have seen them play live quite a few times, most recently when they visited King's Lynn's Corn Exchange - which meant my shortest ever trip to one of their gigs.
Members of the band have also released their own albums separately and several of those are well worth mentioning here for your further exploration as well.
These include Manus Lunny's excellent album with Andy Stewart.
Karen Matheson has released a number of solo albums.
Donald Shaw has worked as a producer as well and created soundtracks.
He also worked on the music for Katie Morag: a book series which many Primary geographers will be familiar with, and will have used
The violinist Charlie McKerron worked with Donald Shaw to produce music for a BBC Alba TV series.
A recent addition to the band Andrew McGoldrick has also released a number of solo albums which I own.
Here's a Hogmanay performance from New Years Eve 1991/2
Most recently, they played Sidmouth Folk Festival 2026 when I was down in Devon for the week.
Georgian polyphonic singing is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. It was added to the list in 2008.
Polyphonic singing, in the Georgian language, is a secular tradition in a country whose language and culture have often been oppressed by invaders. There are three types of polyphony in Georgia: complex polyphony, which is common in Svaneti; polyphonic dialogue over a bass background, prevalent in the Kakheti region in Eastern Georgia; and contrasted polyphony with three partially improvised sung parts, characteristic of western Georgia.An ensemble called Lalkhori played in London earlier in the year.
They are from the Svaneti region of the North Caucasus mountains of Georgia.
This is a vocal rendering of a song about the changing nature of England's 'green and pleasant land'.
Gwenno played the Norwich Arts Centre earlier this year. She is a musician from Cornwall and her Cornish identity is at the heart of her music.
Kernow is the Cornish name for the county and there are a number of artists who now perform in the language or other Gaelic and Welsh languages.
Here's her debut on Later with Jools Holland.
This is one of those timeless folk songs. It has been recorded by several bands... and is also known as "Little Musgrave".
Matty Groves was recorded by 'Fairport Convention'.
It dates back a long way. This image is from an old manuscript in the Bodleian Library.
There are numerous versions of the song.
It has made the news a few times because of weather or other issues which have caused issues for festival goers and the landscape within which the festival takes place.
A heavy rainstorm in 2023 turned the desert surface, called playa, into a quagmire and trapped tens of thousands of people. This is a fragile environment and the potential for damage is controversial.
Unlike most festivals, the organisers have had to provide a 20 page Survival Guide which provides guidance on preparations and staying safe in what is an extreme - dry, hot and dusty environment.
Downloadable as a PDF.
Accompanying text:
Black Rock City has a way of bringing about once-in-a-lifetime experiences. While the big, flashy moments make the headlines and become the clickbait, many of the most memorable encounters come from small, personal, and whimsical interactions.
This year, I challenge you to do something personal that fosters interaction and connection. Think of traveling the backstreets, sharing your gifts with new friends, or sparking a moment of serendipity beneath a small art piece. These moments of self-expression and open-hearted connection are truly the ones that resonate, creating ripples in the dust and in our lives.
Joining a crew or communal effort is a great way to get involved. There are so many possibilities; find one that matches your interests and energy levels. However you choose to participate — organizing a camp, building art or a vehicle, helping with civic infrastructure or making the city run — know you are contributing to something bigger than yourself.
I am sure your time here will open new horizons and you’ll meet some amazing people. Ask anyone on a Burning Man crew or volunteer team what they love most about it, and they will tell you it’s about the work, and the friendships.
Imagine who you could meet — someone who could change your life, not just in Black Rock City, but forever.
Whether this is your first, or twenty-first Burn, I can’t wait to share this experience with you.
Charlie Dolman, Director of Event Operations
It contains some really interesting contents.
Would be useful to develop this as a tourism / extreme environments case study.
Via LinkedIn and a piece by Amanda Shendruk: a visual journalist.
Each year, 70,000 people gather on a dry lakebed in Nevada to build a city from scratch. This is Black Rock City, home to the infamous Burning Man event. Eight days later, it's gone.
This is an intriguing concept album from the late musician Hector Zazou. He produced a number of eclectic albums.
Songs from the Cold Seas was released in 1994.
The theme is that all of the songs are about the Arctic (and feature musicians from that part of the world or close to it.)
He travelled three years for the record. He was accompanied by cameraman Philippe Roméo as he recorded traditional folk songs in and from Alaska, Canada (Newfoundland), Greenland, Iceland, Japan, Scandinavia and Scotland. He incorporated the shamanic incantations and lullabies of aboriginal people such as the Ainu, Inuit, Nanai, and Yakuts.I have a copy. It's not very easy to find this release now.
Here's one of the songs from the album. Oran na Maighdean Mhara features the voice of Catherine-Ann Macphee.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s was an interesting time to be a young person. There weren't many TV channels... and not much programming aimed at young people.
In the summer holidays there were some programmes for children. Many of them were bought in from other countries rather than being made in the UK. We had our own examples of course.
The Banana Splits are up first.
They had several short cartoons including 'The Arabian Nights'.
Robinson Crusoe - a French / German co-production in black and white.
The theme tune was excellent and instantly takes me back to a time when Lucozade bottles were wrapped in orange plastic film.
White Horses
Another French co-production.
Hair Bear Bunch
Which of these do you remember and which other programmes are part of your childhood?
There is a new free Freddie Mercury exhibition starting at the V&A in October and runs through until early 2027.
Here are some more suggestions for songs that remind readers (and those who filled in the Google Form down the right hand column of the blog.
