The other song that’s really been swirling round my head recently is by James Blackshaw. He’s the kind of artist best experienced live, so you can get the full WTF!-edness of his music. Listening on record, part of your brain is saying to you “He’s not really doing this, you know. He’s got pedals and a laptop and other gubbins, I bet”. But he doesn’t. It’s just him, some very long fingernails, and about 16 hours a day in a room practising.

Incredible. There’s plenty more on YouTube like that, and I strongly recommend you give him a try. And see him live. Trust me on this one. All week I’ve had “Cross” from his 2009 CD Glass Bead Game floating round my head, like a particularly persistent earworm. Hopefully he’ll do the same to you too.

MP3: Cross by James Blackshaw

There’s also some of his stuff floating round on SoundCloud, such as this beauty:

Synonym For Vestige by shoryobuni

Buy “Glass Bead Game” (CD/MP3)