Eyes & Ears – August edition

Welcome to this month’s Eyes and Ears session! Today we have a collection of books to start with as well as a beautiful mix from Steve Jones and Sally Rodgers, better known as A Man Called Adam. We will also be exploring fine remixes and tunes from some of Eyes and Ears’ regular artists, such as Nigel Good and Sine Rider.

Books

I have recently started the cycle of Durtal by JK. Huysmans, a french writer from the end of the XIXth and beginning of the XXth century. There are four books in this cycle, most of them known (and printed most of the time) separately. Durtal, the hero, is a writer who discovers the dark and occult underground circles of Paris in the first book, “Là-bas”, then converts to Christianity in “En route”; “la Cathédrale” is a wonderful and unique description of the Cathedral of Chartres while the last part, “L’Oblat”, is about his life in a monastery and the gregorian chant. Huysmans is broadly available for English-speaking readers and his style seems to have inspired none other than Oscar Wilde.

Another book -this one much shorter- is the famous “Complete Gentleman” by Baltasar Gracian. This book is a study on the right attitude, the right kind of expectations and the right way to handle human relationships written in the XVIIth century and it is quite the pearl of wisdom.

Music

I do not know when and where this “Ibiza Mix” but it does have some of the best balearic tracks assembled by none other than A Man Called Adam. Now this group of composers has played an important part in my life, introducing me to all sorts of experiences as well as actually introducing me to balearic music. Also, just to prove you how special they are to me, Easter Song, the track opening this mix, was playing during our wedding ceremony:

Let’s stay for one more moment with some famous balearic anthem, “Cha-Ka-Too”. Because it’s Summer in Ibiza after all!

Nigel Good has come up with a quite special arrangement of a famous song covered by several artists including Lenny Kravitz: “Save Tonight”. I hope you’ll like that version:

And just to make it rhyme, here’s “Feel the Light” from Sine Rider:

Finally, to end our session, here’s a beautiful ambient track of Erlend of Klondike, mixed by Braak, “Sirup”. This should make you want for more… until the next one!