Ten weeks already! Well this week we thought we’d share with you a lovely song Rupert wrote a while ago, which seems particularly relevant these days…
A simple dance
A touch of sweetness in this increasingly sour world. Keep spreading the positive!
ESP
A new tune with One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian… Can you guess what it’s about?
Teenage Dogs
This week on “A mad Belgian”: did you know that dogs went through a teenage crisis? Here’s a little song about it…
Whiskey Joe and his 8 pound note
A new video with One voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian, dedicated to my friend Whiskey Mick who was courteous enough to appear in one of my dreams a few years ago.
The Mathematician
Brand new song with “One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian”, dedicated to all geeky mathematicians in the world.
The Arnolfini portrait, lockdown style
An introduction to the Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck, with the help of the wonderful Covid Classics.
Mary Magdalene
New installment of your weekly dose of One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian. This week, a quieter song, sung by both of us. Enjoy!
Another Murder on Baker Street
Did you know that when the Sherlock Holmes books were first published, people thought Sherlock was a real person and many wrote to him to ask for his help?
So much so, in fact, that someone had to get hired by the post office just to deal with the mail that kept coming for 221B Baker Street (which wasn’t even a real address at the time)!
What am I getting at? Well this week’s quarantine song with One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian tells the story of Another murder on Baker Street. Enjoy!
Montrésor
Rupert is still stuck in London and I’m still stuck in France… HOWEVER… through the miracle of technology, we present the fourth video of the “Quarantine Sessions”: Montrésor, a tune composed in the beautiful Loire Valley, near Montrésor village.
Shiva & Close encounter
Today in “A mad Belgian”, learn a bit more about Shiva and discover a great song about aliens! Who could ask for anything more?
Close Encounter of the Second Kind
How many of you know what “A close encounter of the second kind” is (apart from an awesome song by Rupert Gillett)?
The 11th person to pm me the right answer wins a CD! (No googling, we trust you…)
(Musical) notes from a while ago…
Years ago, I was living in Brussels with this Italian guy. He came with a lot of olive oil and many different kinds of pasta (true story). He could cook, he could sing… And mostly, he could play the double bass beautifully!
Now we’re miles apart but have recorded this for you. Such a great standard by Eden Ahbez.
A mad Belgian 2 — Nature Boy & Ramesses II
A second episode of A mad Belgian, in which you’ll find a duo version of “Nature Boy” with double bass player Alessio Campanozzi, and some information about the colossal head of Ramesses II that stands in the British Museum. Enjoy!
Big Blue Ball
Second video of the Quarantine Sessions, a cross channel collaboration with One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian!
Tune in every Wednesday at 10am (11 on the continent) for more!
Montreal-Montrésor : A transatlantic improvisation
Eight years ago, I was in Montreal and crossed paths with pianist David Ryshpan. We became friends and thanks to modern technology, managed to keep in touch despite not having seen each other since.
In this awkward time, as humans throughout the world are being told to stay at home and avoid unnecessary social contact, we decided not to wait anymore, and so here is our first improvisation together, recorded in our different parts of the world, before we can meet up and play live. Hope you enjoy it…
It features on my last edition of “A mad Belgian”, but for those of you who don’t have a particular interest in the Rosetta stone, here’s the standalone version.
Across the channel…Don’t Look Now
First video of the Quarantine Sessions, a cross channel collaboration with One Voice, One Cello and A mad Belgian!
Tune in every Wednesday at 10am (11 on the continent) for more!
Penny Farthing bike, I’ve fallen for you
Today was a very special day: not only was it a bright hot sunny day in London (I know! disappointingly untypical…but nice all the same), but I also got to try out something rather unusual, and indeed REALLY FUN: I learned to ride a Penny Farthing bike!
Well, I learned how to get on and off it relatively safely, rather —riding it is actually pretty similar to riding a bike, I must say. The only differences being that it is a fixed wheel (just a bit unsettling), and that you get a slight sense of superiority as you find yourself happily gliding a few feet above everyone’s head!
Great fun though, and I certainly am looking forward to my next ride!
Coming soon as a Tally Ho! experience which I thoroughly recommend. But in the meantime, here’s the little poem it inspired me (YES! I’m BACK! With my quirky poetry and the rest of it!)
Oh my! You are so tall I'm so scared I will fall But life is just not fun I guess If you're not up for challenges So here I am, trying my best No to ridicule myself But with a little bit of help Danger is gone and I'm possessed Next time I will try it at night When there are fewer passers-by And I'll have even more fun Riding super fast, like a hun
Cranky
Sometimes I get cranky I can't help it, really I do things on my own, Like an odd and lonely soul I'm told I'm too quirky But that's the only way for me I often don't realise That's not the regular path I'd love to be normal to do nothing special I'd love to be banal To go about my life in an orderly fashion And to stop asking questions But I'm trapped in myself I am done with pretence I've never been good at being someone else I am stuck with this brain With these thoughts, with those games The melancholy and the insecurities
And here you are, and I'm all sorted You're there and everything seems simple again And here you are and I'm just fine For as long as you'll give me your time
Sometimes I get cranky I let things get to me I'm oversensitive I've got nothing good to give It's all too much for me And I do get angry The wars, the extreme right Don't wanna live in a state of fright I'd love to be useful to do something meaningful I want to be crucial To go about my life in a decisive manner And to get much better at banter But I'm trapped in myself I am done with pretence I've never been good at being someone else I am stuck with this brain With these thoughts, with those games The melancholy and the insecurities
And here you are, and I'm all sorted You're there and everything seems simple again And here you are and I'm just fine For as long as you'll give me your time but...
Sometimes you get cranky And you leave suddenly Leaving me alone to fight The challenges of life I struggle and frankly It is far from easy To know you are around And won't lend me your hand I know you're struggling too you've got other things to do Than constantly save me You've got your own issues I wish I could help you Be truly happy But I'm trapped in myself I am done with pretense I've never been good at being someone else I am stuck with this brain With these thoughts, with those games The melancholy and the insecurities
Still here I am with all these flaws I'm here for you and everything seems simple again And here I am and you're just fine For as long as I'll give you my time
I don’t want to live this way
I ruminate on the meaning of life I ruminate on the meaning of love I ruminate on my jealousy On my inconsistencies I ruminate on my local pub I ruminate on friendship I ruminate on food, I ruminate on fitness
I ruminate on censorship I ruminate on sadness I ruminate on people around On how most are doing their best I ruminate on people’s best often not being enough I ruminate on Trump, Le Pen and all the others I ruminate on skills, on time, on age I ruminate on fear, on luck, on hate I ruminate on the meaning of things I ruminate on misunderstandings and the war that might be coming I ruminate on dreams and realism I ruminate on life and on what my cat thinks
But I don’t want to spend my life this way I would like to stop thinking and fly away With the man I love, my music and my bike We would spend our days giving new colours to life! But it can’t be stopped yet, My brain is always boiling With new things to understand In the Grand Scheme of things So…
I ruminate on relationships I ruminate on my man and On why finding me seems to Take him so much time I ruminate on solitude, on habits, on tap dance I ruminate on wilderness, adventure and balance I ruminate on how disappointing people often prove to be I ruminate on how I can be both full of myself and insecurity On who invented sports and On why musicals exist I ruminate on Tinder I ruminate on hipsters
But I don’t want to spend my life this way I would like to stop thinking and fly away With the man I love, my music and my bike We would spend our days giving new colours to life!
35 souls max
A song/poem inspired by a lovely concert I saw in Brussels, in a tiny venue. The artist, David Sire, was simply brilliant. And brilliantly mad (see his official “Ça me gonfle” clip below).
A tiny tiny gem in Central Brussels
35 seats max
You'll need patience and luck to discover the place
But you will go back
Arthème welcomes you to his living room cafe He shows you around the little cabaret Take a seat, make yourself at home Have a drink, the artist won't be long Take a sip, make yourself at home The show will soon be on
A random collection of human characters 35 souls max hippies, teachers, artists, bankers, too sane or too crazy, together they're sat
They've all come to listen to his wanderings To his illusions, his questions, his ramblings They've all sat down, ready to take off to leave their serious little lives behind For a moment, they'll stop thinking of Everything that's wrong
A tiny tiny stage near Saint-Catherine place 35 minds max A very small venue for a truly great artist Who'll leave us all gobsmacked
As he comes on stage, his energy fills the room He talks of his demons, his desires and his wounds His fears, his enthusiasms, his "bidules" and "boudoules" His encounters, his dreams, his artefacts Mystify the room
A tiny tiny gem in Central Brussels 35 seats max It took me time and luck to discover the place But I will go back
