I discovered a gem of a cinema in Islington last night: the Everyman Screen On The Green. It was opened as a purpose built picture house in 1911 and still shows off many original, Edwardian features. Its refurb a couple of years ago has not detracted from the inviting nostalgia of the building, and with a single screen capacity of just 119, it strikes the perfect balance between intimacy and atmosphere. (Interestingly, the venue itself is most famous for a concert on 29th August 1976, when The Buzzcocks and The Clash – playing their first proper London gig – opened up for The Sex Pistols.)

Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森) is a Japanese drama, based on Haruki Murakami’s novel from 1987 of the same name. The novel was hugely popular in Japan and its success turned Murakami into an unlikely and unwilling celebrity. The film adaptation, long thought unachievable due to the introspective nature of the original text, is directed by Vietnamese writer and director, Tran Anh Hung, who received great acclaim winning the ‘Camera d’Or’ prize at Cannes in 1993 for ‘The Scent of Green Papaya’.

Fittingly set to a backdrop of student protests in the late 1960s, the tale of love and loss is narrated by protagonist Toru Watanabe as he remembers his time as a student in Tokyo. Exploring the emotional impact of suicide, deteriorating mental health and unrequited love, the film’s desperately slow pace accentuates the grief and sorrow endured by its characters. Some ardent fans of the novel were disappointed by the absence of certain details considered to be key, but the painful clarity of the plot was not tainted by any such omission.

The score for Norwegian Wood’s impressive sound track was composed by Radiohead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Jonny Greenwood, but it was the inclusion of songs by German krautrockers Can that caught my attention throughout.

And, finally, the Beatles song that lends its title to the film features only over the end credits, save a delicate, acoustic rendition by Reika Kirishima.

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Norwegian Wood is showing all week at Screen On The Green.
The soundtrack, released by Nonesuch, is out now.

The Grandfather Paradox by Henrik Schwarz, Dixon and Ame

From Frank at Innervisions:

“I’d like to anounce a new project that’s about to be released on BBE. Thanks to Pete Adarkwah who asked Henrik, Dixon, Kristian and me to compile a CD with some of our influences and favorites. After many ideas we decided to focus on true minimal tracks in its original meaning: not todays “so called” Minimal but minimal music that has been created in the past 50 years and is produced only with few elements. This contains tracks from lots of pioneers in electronic music like Raymond Scott, Conrad Schnitzler or Kurt Dahlke (aka Pyrolator), so called “classical” or “serious” music by Steve Reich or Moondog, even Jazz (Henrik found a track by Yusef Lateef that is so minimal that you can just play it today) or a bit more up-to-date techno tracks.

Our approach was to combine old and new tracks, even make edits of the material. So we sat together in the studio to jam around with the licensed material and found it very exciting what “new” music just evolved from it.

There’ll be a double CD (CD 1 is mixed, CD 2 is unmixed) plus some tracks and edits on 12inch out by the end of February 09 on BBE. We hope that you all enjoy it the same way we do.And by the way: Who likes to know what “Grandfather Paradox” means check wiki.

TRACKLISTING

CD1: Mixed
1. Steve Reich & Pat Metheny Electric Counterpoint – Fast (Movement 3)
2. Etienne Jaumet – Repeat After Me (Âme Mix)
3. Kenneth Bager – Fragment Eleven… The Day After Yesturday Pt.1
4. Liquid Liquid – Lock Groove (Out)
5. Cymande – For Baby Oh
6. Patrick Moraz – Metamorphoses 1st Movement (Live)
7. To Rococo Rot – Testfeld
8. Matematics -Blue Water
9. I:CUBE – Acid Tablet
10. Ø – Atomit
11. Conrad Schnitzler – Electrocon 11
12. Green Pickles feat. Billy Lo & M. Pittman – Feedback
13. La Funk Mob – Motor Bass Gets Phunked Up (Richie Hawtin’s Electrophunk Mix)
14. John Carpenter – The President Is Gone
15. Yusef Lateef – The Three Faces Of Bala
16.  Robert Hood – Minus
17. Raymond Scott – Bass-Line Generator
18. Moondog – Invocation

CD2: Un-Mixed
1. Conrad Schnitzler – Elektrocon 11
2. Steve Reich & Pat Metheny – Electric Counterpoint – Fast (Movement 3)
3. Liquid Liquid – Lock Groove (Out)
4. To Rococo Rot -Testfeld
5. Patrick Moraz – Metamorphoses 1st Movement (Live)
6. Young Marble Giants – N.i.t.a
7. Kenneth Bager – Fragment Eleven… The Day After Yesturday Pt.1
8. Arthur Russell – Make 1,2
9.  John Carpenter – The President Is Gone
10. Robert Hood – Minus
11. Raymond Scott – Bass-Line Generator
12. Pyrolator – November Mühlheim
13. Cymande – For Baby Oh
14. Can – Sunday Jam”

Innervisions blog