THE UNTHANKS: DIVERSIONS VOL 1.
Live From The Union Chapel, London
2011 RabbleRouser Music RRM009

A live album of a show that made The Independent’s Gigs of the Year list 2010

"Quite simply, Antony & The Johnsons and I have been blessed by angels. If I had to take a single summary of what Alfie and I have being doing over the years to the proverbial desert island I wouldn’t take one of our own records. I’d take the crystal clear interpretations of The Unthanks." Robert Wyatt

“I am flattered and mystified! Their voices are so pure.” Antony Hegarty

Recorded at the Union Chapel, Islington, London on Dec 8th and 9th 2010.  There are no overdubs on the recording.

Tracklist:

Antony & The Johnsons

• 01 Bird Gerhl
• 02 Man is the Baby
• 03 You Are My Sister
• 04 For Today I Am A Boy
• 05 Paddy’s Gone
• 06 Spiraling

Robert Wyatt

• 07 Stay Tuned (Anja Garbarek) from Comicopera
• 08 Dondestan (Wyatt) from Dondestan (revisited)
• 09 Lullaby for Hamza (Wyatt/Benge) from Cuckooland
• 10 Lisp Service (Hopper/Wyatt) from Dondestan (revisited)
• 11 Free Will and Testament (Wyatt/Kramer) from Shleep
• 12 Out of the Blue (Wyatt/Elfriede Ellidge) from Comicopera
• 13 Cuckoo Madame (Wyatt/Benge) from Cuckooland
• 14 Sea Song (Wyatt) from Rock Bottom
• 15 Forest (excerpt) from Cuckooland

Preview

It was December 2010 when The Unthanks staged a concert that was at once both fun and their most daunting project yet. Over two sold out nights at the Union Chapel, London, their exploration of music by Antony & The Johnsons and Robert Wyatt was an irreverent joy, making The Independent’s Gigs of the Year list. Those London shows are now captured on a live album, and to mark its release, The Unthanks take their Robert/ Antony show, previously only performed in London, on a December tour of the UK and Ireland.

The album is the first volume in what will be a series of Unthank albums called Diversions. The series is designed to capture and document a prolific twelve months which has been full of unique projects for the Mercury nominated Tynesiders: from their hugely successful collaboration with National Champions of Great Britain, Brighouse and Ratrick Brass Band, to a soundtrack performed live to a new film made from archive footage of Britain’s shipyards, to the Hegarty / Wyatt project celebrated here.

From the sleeve notes by Unthanks pianist and producer Adrian McNally:

Maybe it’s not possible to perform without ego, but Robert and Antony exude so much commitment and integrity in their music, their conversation with the human condition seems entirely selfless to me. There is never a spare note played or one struck to impress. They appear entirely consumed with the search for beauty and truth in a way that nourishes our philanthropic souls and reflects how we feel about folk music in its broadest sense. We’ve got a bit of a nerve associating ourselves with such beautiful men, but it’s the music and words we want to learn from and share with other people. We don’t look at this project as a major artistic accomplishment or statement.. we were just hoping to become more intimate and fascinated by music that we love and respect.

Rachel and Becky Unthank have long found kindred energies in the proudly maverick English soul of Robert Wyatt. Their interpretation of his ‘Sea Song’ was one of the real jewels of Mercury Music Prize nominated second album ‘The Bairns’, and regarded by Wyatt himself as the finest interpretation by another artist of his songs. Wyatt was helpful and enthusiastic to the band in their preparations for this project, pleased that his songs are being performed live, given that he himself chooses not to perform these days. Similarly, they have previously dipped their toe in the water with Antony Hegarty’s music. ‘For Today I Am A Boy’ was a showstopper in the early days of Rachel Unthank & The Winterset.
With a December tour to mark the release (dates below), a Scottish premiere at Celtic Connections in January and a promise of more Wyatt / Hegarty songs not featured on the album, the project appears to have a life of it’s own, as The Unthanks continue to explore two of the most adventurous songbooks of the last half-century.

Also availible from