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Nov 19 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

I had to get out of the studio today because I knew the sea was there. I put on my beautiful Italian coat, long pants, gloves and scarf, looking good, walked outside, I was overdressed, I went with it. On the way down to the sea, we went by the Thai restaurant and ordered a take away to pick up on the way back. Down on the seafront that damned fence is still there, it ruins everything, you can’t take that walk along the prom with the sea, ominous, below you. So we went to one small section of walkway beyond the prom which is so dark that you can almost only hear the sea and not see it except for the white tufts on the waves. The tide was in, we walked on to the stony beach and got as close as we could – it was like treacle tonight, a thick moving sweet sticky liquid. We stood there for a while mesmerised by the incessant waves that have been banging against this shoreline for thousands of years. We stirred it with a giant spoon and poured it over our pre-dinner dessert and ate treacle sponge under the stars.

At this point, I took the Bowie knife from its sheaf and dug it deep into the heart of the sponge. I knew there was something in there, I could hear it crying. I removed the sponge from around the whimpering and there alone was a small biped, a skin of metallic grey, long fingers hiding tearful eyes, a fin, webbed feet and a golden ring on one of its four fingers. Exposed, the creature stopped weeping and slowly raised its eyes from behind its small hand. Its eyes were yellow and blue slits like a snake but sadness was obvious in its demeanour. About 6 inches in height, claws on feet and fingers and wet skin covered in crumbs from the sponge. Suddenly, the creature’s skin began to glow and in a flash of light, sponge and treacle, it was gone leaving behind a small key.

The key was black, matt black and as I went to pick it up it felt like fur. I held it in the palm of my hand, it started to vibrate and suddenly I found myself in a large hall, perhaps a cathedral except everything was green. I looked down at my feet to see there was no floor and above me buzzing sounds like bees. The key was gone and my clothes had changed. I was now in a red silk robe, a patterned edge of triangles and circles. I heard a voice behind me, it was the creature. It sat on a giant bejewelled throne, rubies, amethysts, diamonds and more triangles and circles in lapis lazuli. The voice was small and high-pitched like a cheap guitar. Then came this riddle:

“The treacle in the sea will never be,
The circles and triangles have decreed,
The sponge is invisible for all but one day,
And I just got hungry what can I say”

And then I was back by the sea, in the dark, Olivia by my side, no sign of the key, the treacle sponge or the small creature. I walked to the Maserati and started driving towards Portugal. Olivia sat by me and DJ’d, she played the Blood Winners’ first LP and Blue Rouge before we came to the English channel. In France the countryside flew by outside the car, we drove from Calais to Irun in 7 minutes and as we passed into Spain we noticed that the sky turned a bright turquoise and ravens appeared in the sky in more triangles and circles. I felt peckish and as we whizzed by San Sebastian and Bilbao, we entered into Portugal through Tui at midnight. I knew that I could eat a pastel de nata at any time in Portugal and I pulled over at a garage and filled up with petrol that looked very much like treacle as Olivia ran inside to pay.

One minute passed and we were in Porto, sitting at a café with a pastel de nata each and a Portuguese decaffeinated coffee, on the table was a jar of treacle with a picture of a wave on the label. The waiter came over and asked if we were okay and as I turned to answer him I knocked the jar of treacle off the table. It fell with a crash and broke in half. The waiter ran to the kitchen and came back with a sponge to clean it up, placing the glass in a small bucket. After he had cleared up he came back with another jar, different from the one I broke and I noticed on the label was the same creature I’d encountered on the beach in Penzance. It was holding a Bowie knife and licking its thin white lips.

Music today was Carla Bruni’s self-titled latest album, her fifth. You may remember that she is an Italian supermodel that married the French president Nicholas Sarkozy (they met in November and were married in February). She is trilingual (at least) and gave up modelling after 10 years to concentrate on music. She had released two albums before they met, Quelqu’un m’a dit (Someone Told Me) and No Promises in 2008 she released Comme si de rien n’était (Like Nothing Ever Happened). In 2013 she released Little French Songs and in 2017 French Touch. This latest self-titled album released this year is all in French except for one song in English, one in Spanish and one in Italian. It’s hard to get a measure of it because it’s a mellow girl singer-songwriter singing in French and that old maxim, “She could sing the phone book” might more generally be reserved for Kate Bush or another fantastic singer, but to my English ear, just the fact that she sings in French is intoxicating enough. Add to that me trying to learn French and understand the words and I’m in. I’m not there yet but I’m closer than I was, that’s progress. Soft French easy listening, what’s not to like!

Music Of The Daze

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: Blog

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there's any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

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Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we hav Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we have to be up at 5.30 AM. And oh yes by the way, Olivia remembered at 11.41 PM that today was our six years anniversary together, haha 😍

📷 @tonyrumble
Triple Marty Triple Marty
OUT NOW 💪 Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHU OUT NOW 💪

Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHUS off their debut album In The End, The Birds Will Sing (2022, tba).

Available to stream via the usuals.

@ahadafridi @afridiwillsonpiper #ahadafridi #martywillsonpiper #intheendthebirdswillsing #thesessioneerseries #songwritingandguitarguidance
We can't decide what colour this Strat is... We can't decide what colour this Strat is...
Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake
Star Tracking 🖖 #arktiklake #oceanicstudiobroo Star Tracking 🖖

#arktiklake #oceanicstudiobrookvale
In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with Salim Nourallah and his band, Richard on keys, Joe on guitars, Jason on bass and drums, and John on drums and bass and in a co-production role with Salim and as a fifth member of his band. After Nashville we retired to Dallas where all but Joe live (he lives in San Antonio) and worked on overdubs, mixing was next…then the pandemic hit. Finally, the album is now mixed and will be released in early 2023 but before that, we have the See You In Marfa EP from those sessions released yesterday on Bandcamp:

www.palosantotx.bandcamp.com/album/see-you-in-marfa-ep

A CD is also available and streaming will be from August 19th. The lead track on the EP is Hold On To The Night, complete with a video featuring an animated yours truly and co-written (a bit) by me: https://youtu.be/GhUk-MDm1VQ

This whimsical video was done by an Australian videographer/musician, Jordan Thompson.

#salimnourallah #martywillsonpiper #holdontothenight #seeyouinmarfa #seeyouinmarfaep #anuclearwinter #jordanthompson #rickenbacker
Are we at home here or what? #lardocelar #garagea Are we at home here or what?

#lardocelar #garageandstage #jazzbirthday
Many years from now... ✨ #handymen Many years from now... ✨

#handymen
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Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
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"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

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