Desert Hearts (band)
Encyclopedia
Desert Hearts is a rock band formed in London
, England
, by Nick Awde
. Their music is a combination of progressive rock
and world pop music.
Syndrome). Both line-ups put out band-produced cassettes – Dr Wu’s Magic Rock Brew and Dr Wu Too. Amongst the original material, all songs written by Awde, were also covers of King Crimson
's 21st Century Schizoid Man, Strawbs' Hero and Heroine and Neil Young
's Hey Hey My My. Dropping the Dr Wu tag, Awde went into the studio in 1993 to produce sessions with ex-Camel
drummer Andy Ward. Awde provided vocals and played all other instruments – guitars, bass, keyboards and violin. Some of the songs were released as a Desert Hearts band-produced cassette, Desert Hearts, and included the satirical epic rocker Rumble Fish, the Steely Dan
-tinged Meryl Streep and a bizarre cover of Elton John
's Rocket Man (complete with howling wolf chorus).
Meanwhile, Awde continued to write songs, releasing a number of them in lyric form as the verse book I Saw Satan on the Northern Line – billed as “a CD without music” – which he promoted with a handful of acoustic gigs in London, accompanied by Leo Katana on second guitar.
Having moved from illustration into plays – Awde wrote with Chris Bartlett
the 2006 West End hit Pete and Dud: Come Again
(about Peter Cook
and Dudley Moore
) – the idea of writing another musical arose – I’ve Seen that Movie Too, a "chamber" musical. There was little interest in the project because the songs were “too rocky” for Theatreland's tastes, having more in common with Noel Gallagher
than Rodgers & Hammerstein. A rethink and five years later, some of those songs have become the core of the forthcoming CD Sweet Revolutions.
, a mini album (or long EP, according to its original concept) laced with Mellotron
keyboard arrangements. The first track is possibly the first time that a band has attempted a genuine interpretation of the milestone prog rock classic by Yes (the numerous other cover versions that exist are carbon copies by tribute bands - although special mention must be made of Japanese band Ruinzatova's jaw-dropping offering from 2003). The list of guest musicians is eclectic if not unique and includes Fred James Hill on guitars, Knox
of the punk rock group The Vibrators
on guitars, New York singer-songwriter Dean Friedman
(of hit Lucky Stars fame) on piano and vocals, ex-Camel
drummer Andy Ward, ex-Wizzard
saxophonist Nick Pentelow and multi-instrumentalist Lyndon Connah (Level 42
, 64 Spoons
). The album is also reputed to be the first album to be released featuring the new Mellotron M4000 on each track. The EP is MelloFest Three.
sounds. While not all of the original versions featured Mellotron, they were produced with orchestras or other lush arrangements that make a natural transition in particular to the keyboard's strings, brass and choirs. The album uses the new M4000 Mellotron on every track and includes rarely heard tape sounds such as vibes, solo sax and bass clarinet. The album will be MelloFest Four.
, sung not only in English but also in Arabic, Spanish, French and Italian. The songs – covers and originals – are short and almost poppy, but the mini-epic structure of each hints at underlying progressive rock influences, a phenomenon Awde calls “prog pop”.
The concept behind Sweet Revolutions is to show the pop side of progressive rock while also showing that “world music” isn’t all quaint nose flutes and wailing but that there are serious songwriters outside of Western Europe and North America who have produced pop/rock classics of their own - surprising to many since all of these songwriters are better known for their protest and folk work. A theme, therefore, that also runns through the album is the concept of revolution, i.e. that some of the most unlikely songs can hide a revolutionary message, while some of the most revolutionary singer-songwriters can produce a classic pop song.
Hoy Mi Deber Era (Today My Duty Was...), for example, is a plaintive love song to the motherland written by Cuba
n Silvio Rodríguez
, one of the leading lights of the Nueva Trova
movement, while Souad Massi
’s Raoui (Storyteller) is a startling plea for truth from a young songwriter whose love of rock and pop forced her to leave the violence of her native Algeria
. Awde’s original songs take a different take on the idea of revolution, given that Britain is neither Cuba nor Algeria. Accordingly Rumble Fish is revisited as a take on consumerism and a post credit crunch lament, while the up-tempo Revolution Alley – taken from I’ve Seen that Movie Too – sees the 70s revolution in Chile
through an exile's eyes.
and his 2008 book Mellotron (book)
: The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock http://www.deserthearts.com/mellotron.html. Some of Britain and Europe's most influential musicians, songwriters and producers chart their careers with the Mellotron, the world's first sampler keyboard. Across 20-plus interviews classic acts include the Moody Blues
, Strawbs, King Crimson
, Yes
, Genesis
, and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
(OMD), plus later groups such as IQ
and the Flower Kings. The result is a unique insight into the history of British rock and pop and its lasting influence worldwide that has direct resonances with the music played, for example, on Sweet Revolutions.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, by Nick Awde
Nick Awde
Nick Awde Hill , is a British writer, artist, singer-songwriter and critic. The author, editor or illustrator of more than 50 books, he is based in London and Brussels...
. Their music is a combination of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and world pop music.
Early days
Desert Hearts first operated as a rock three-piece that also, somewhat confusingly, played under the name of Dr Wu in 1990 before becoming a more complex four-piece in 1991 with Awde on vocals, guitar and violin, Andy Matthews on bass and vocals, Leo Katana on guitars, plus a string of drummers (aka the Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
Syndrome). Both line-ups put out band-produced cassettes – Dr Wu’s Magic Rock Brew and Dr Wu Too. Amongst the original material, all songs written by Awde, were also covers of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's 21st Century Schizoid Man, Strawbs' Hero and Heroine and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
's Hey Hey My My. Dropping the Dr Wu tag, Awde went into the studio in 1993 to produce sessions with ex-Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
drummer Andy Ward. Awde provided vocals and played all other instruments – guitars, bass, keyboards and violin. Some of the songs were released as a Desert Hearts band-produced cassette, Desert Hearts, and included the satirical epic rocker Rumble Fish, the Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
-tinged Meryl Streep and a bizarre cover of Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's Rocket Man (complete with howling wolf chorus).
Wilderness years
Frustrated with the sidelining of much of rock music in the early 90s, Awde put the group on hold and moved creativity into other areas. He wrote the satirical musical Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Musical – described by the Virgin Encyclopedia of Stage and Film Musicals as “a bizarre mix of spoof and satire” – and continued to develop his career as a cartoonist and illustrator. He also worked on expanding Desert Hearts as an organic creative force, a concept that Awde has been working on since 1986.Meanwhile, Awde continued to write songs, releasing a number of them in lyric form as the verse book I Saw Satan on the Northern Line – billed as “a CD without music” – which he promoted with a handful of acoustic gigs in London, accompanied by Leo Katana on second guitar.
Having moved from illustration into plays – Awde wrote with Chris Bartlett
Chris Bartlett
Chris Bartlett is a London-based writer and journalist.Along with Nick Awde, he co-wrote the stage play Pete and Dud: Come Again, a hit at the Assembly Rooms at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe before transferring to London's West End at The Venue, in March 2006, starring Kevin Bishop as Dudley...
the 2006 West End hit Pete and Dud: Come Again
Pete and Dud: Come Again
Pete and Dud: Come Again is a stage play about Peter Cook and Dudley Moore written by Chris Bartlett and Nick Awde. This comedy drama had a sellout run at the Assembly Rooms as part of the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe before transferring to London's West End at The Venue, in March 2006, in a...
(about Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
) – the idea of writing another musical arose – I’ve Seen that Movie Too, a "chamber" musical. There was little interest in the project because the songs were “too rocky” for Theatreland's tastes, having more in common with Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
than Rodgers & Hammerstein. A rethink and five years later, some of those songs have become the core of the forthcoming CD Sweet Revolutions.
Close to the Edge B/W Rocket Man/Meryl Streep
Desert Hearts' 2010 release is the rather obviously titled Close to the Edge B/W Rocket Man/Meryl StreepMeryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, a mini album (or long EP, according to its original concept) laced with Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
keyboard arrangements. The first track is possibly the first time that a band has attempted a genuine interpretation of the milestone prog rock classic by Yes (the numerous other cover versions that exist are carbon copies by tribute bands - although special mention must be made of Japanese band Ruinzatova's jaw-dropping offering from 2003). The list of guest musicians is eclectic if not unique and includes Fred James Hill on guitars, Knox
Knox (musician)
Knox also known as I.M. Carnarchan is a British musician and founding member of the seminal punk band The Vibrators.-Early life:...
of the punk rock group The Vibrators
The Vibrators
- Early career:The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his...
on guitars, New York singer-songwriter Dean Friedman
Dean Friedman
Dean Friedman is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica.-Music:...
(of hit Lucky Stars fame) on piano and vocals, ex-Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
drummer Andy Ward, ex-Wizzard
Wizzard
Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
saxophonist Nick Pentelow and multi-instrumentalist Lyndon Connah (Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
, 64 Spoons
64 Spoons
64 Spoons were a British rock/pop band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s, who utilised strong elements of progressive rock, jazz-fusion, punk energy and performance comedy...
). The album is also reputed to be the first album to be released featuring the new Mellotron M4000 on each track. The EP is MelloFest Three.
MelloRetro
Slated for release in later 2010 with the same line-up as Close to the Edge... is MelloRetro. A full album, MelloRetro is a reinterpretation of classic rock tracks, each arranged around the MellotronMellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
sounds. While not all of the original versions featured Mellotron, they were produced with orchestras or other lush arrangements that make a natural transition in particular to the keyboard's strings, brass and choirs. The album uses the new M4000 Mellotron on every track and includes rarely heard tape sounds such as vibes, solo sax and bass clarinet. The album will be MelloFest Four.
Sweet Revolutions
Also in the pipeline (i.e. already recorded but awaiting a convenient release slot) is Sweet Revolutions, a mix of world rock/pop songs also laced with MellotronMellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, sung not only in English but also in Arabic, Spanish, French and Italian. The songs – covers and originals – are short and almost poppy, but the mini-epic structure of each hints at underlying progressive rock influences, a phenomenon Awde calls “prog pop”.
The concept behind Sweet Revolutions is to show the pop side of progressive rock while also showing that “world music” isn’t all quaint nose flutes and wailing but that there are serious songwriters outside of Western Europe and North America who have produced pop/rock classics of their own - surprising to many since all of these songwriters are better known for their protest and folk work. A theme, therefore, that also runns through the album is the concept of revolution, i.e. that some of the most unlikely songs can hide a revolutionary message, while some of the most revolutionary singer-songwriters can produce a classic pop song.
Hoy Mi Deber Era (Today My Duty Was...), for example, is a plaintive love song to the motherland written by Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez
Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez is a Cuban musician, and a leader of the nueva trova movement.He is considered Cuba's best known folk singer and known for his highly eloquent and symbolic lyrics. Many of his songs have become classics in Latin American music, such as Ojalá, Playa Girón, Unicornio and...
, one of the leading lights of the Nueva Trova
Nueva trova
Nueva trova is a movement in Cuban music that emerged around 1967/68 after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and the consequent political and social changes....
movement, while Souad Massi
Souad Massi
Souad Massi , born August 23, 1972, is an Algerian singer, songwriter and guitarist. She began her career performing in the Kabyle political rock band Atakor, before leaving the country following a series of death threats...
’s Raoui (Storyteller) is a startling plea for truth from a young songwriter whose love of rock and pop forced her to leave the violence of her native Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. Awde’s original songs take a different take on the idea of revolution, given that Britain is neither Cuba nor Algeria. Accordingly Rumble Fish is revisited as a take on consumerism and a post credit crunch lament, while the up-tempo Revolution Alley – taken from I’ve Seen that Movie Too – sees the 70s revolution in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
through an exile's eyes.
Mellotrons
The Desert Hearts albums are significant because the songs and production values complement Awde's travelling music festival concept MelloFestMelloFest
MelloFest is a new festival that celebrates the Mellotron and Chamberlin keyboards and the music that they inspired as well as singer-songwriters in general...
and his 2008 book Mellotron (book)
Mellotron (book)
Written by writer and musician Nick Awde, - subtitled 'The Machine and the Musicians That Revolutionised Rock' is a series of discussions with influential British musicians who innovated popular music through the use of the Mellotron.-Symbol of social heritage:...
: The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock http://www.deserthearts.com/mellotron.html. Some of Britain and Europe's most influential musicians, songwriters and producers chart their careers with the Mellotron, the world's first sampler keyboard. Across 20-plus interviews classic acts include the Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
, Strawbs, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
(OMD), plus later groups such as IQ
IQ (band)
IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens...
and the Flower Kings. The result is a unique insight into the history of British rock and pop and its lasting influence worldwide that has direct resonances with the music played, for example, on Sweet Revolutions.