What Are You Listening To?

[Ruby]

Mike Batt - Arabesque



 
One thing leads to another! The history lesson continues.

Recorded in 1995 for Sony, Germany, Mr Batt was having a world-weary moment which is reflected in these songs – lots of melancholic minor keys, mournful instruments and a focus on some terrible events; the Rwandan massacre and the brutal battle of Culloden to name two. It’s a wee bitty on the dark side which doesn’t stop some of the tracks from being absolutely gorgeous.

I love the way the way he marries rock with orchestral music and somehow gets it just right. The instruments and arrangements are excellent, as one would expect, and it was recorded and mixed at ‘Dining Room Studios, London’ which is another way of saying that it was done at his house – sometimes around the kitchen table (which made getting into the fridge a problem, lol!).

Mike Batt is responsible for all the lead and harmony vocals but uses the non-lyrical vocals of Miriam Stockley and Tessa Niles to enhance his offering, which they do. The title track is a spicy instrumental which is reminiscent of those on Schizophonia and Tarot Suite and there are one or two rather sentimental journeys which I don’t mind too much (well, maybe the final track is OTT), so overall, a good listen. Not sure why I haven’t before?! Oh wait – so much music, etc. …

The instrumental “Battlefield Theme”, composed with Culloden in mind, which effectively ended the Jacobite uprising in a huge and bloody loss of life for the highlanders (1745) … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOhfrYdLvLY

And “Amy Floats Downstream” which references the genocide in Rwanda … sombre subject matter indeed … might need to listen to something else now ...