4. Gareth Williams & Mary CurrieFlaming Tunes
I sometimes wonder if my first record would ever have been made if I hadn’t heard this record. It’s such an important record for me. I had this idea to have a solo project for ages but lacked the confidence in my technical abilities to even make an attempt at recording myself. When I heard this record I realised that it doesn’t matter if the recordings sound DIY or a bit shonky, it can be part of the charm. On this record I love hearing the little mistakes or re-starts in this album, it’s so in the moment. You get a sense that these musicians are recording this music for the pure enjoyment of it. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of the projected audience. It’s like a time stamp, a document of their lives, what they were doing and who they were. My ex-partner first made me aware of Blackest Ever Black, and this was one of the early albums they released. I started listening to the radio shows that Kiran was making every month on Berlin Community Radio and NTS. And just through that radio show, I discovered a whole lot of music.