Wednesday 19 September 2018

BEST YET

The occasional forays into promoting a song on REVERBNATION have been remarkably unsuccessful
This time the song DEEP and REAL is doing quite well and even as I post this the count is increasing!

Now at 854 on October 8th

Friday 31 August 2018

TWO MORE PLUS ONE FROM WOS

WOS has recently used two more songs for their Podcasts: these were MOXIE BLUES and DON'T SIGH EVEN SLIGHTLY 
Much later in the year, sometime in November, they will be playing DEEP and REAL
Their podcasts and more about WOS can be found using the links below

Twitter: @WOSRadio Facebook: wosradio
Instagram @bree.noble Pinterest breernoble

Monday 23 July 2018

LOST THE ORANGE STAYED WITH THE MOUTH

The very small spoken word track entitled THE BIG HAVE NOT can be heard on www.skcsongs.com and on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/the-big-have-not 

Also on Bandcamp:I had a struggle with the image which was initially contrived from a real orange and the real mouth and the eyes of a mean man but eventually I decided to loose the orange and stay with the mouth - hence the title of this post 

Below is the black and white image I intend to use wherever an accompanying image is required 



Some of my words were confirmed by comments from the man who contributed to the following article 

Monday 16 July 2018

GROWING FEATHERS

This morning I discovered there are many reasons why my blackbird is no longer waiting for me on my window sill or in the nearby tree and most of them can be found in a 2013 BBC article Where Have All My Garden Birds Gone 
The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/entries/188f15e1-f71b-431e-8999-43dc578b4cd4

And of those reasons I am choosing to post the following one This is partly because I have a spoken word track which includes a few words about growing feathers 


'As we get into the end of the breeding season, a lot of your garden regulars will enter the moult. This is the time of year when many birds lose their feathers, and replace them with fresh new ones ahead of the winter. Many juvenile birds will lose their young plumage, ready to emerge as adults. Whilst necessary, this process puts a lot of pressure on a little bird. The energy cost to grow a new set of feathers is high, and losing a primary wing feather or two can really make a difference when trying to evade a predator. For this reason, a lot of the birds in your garden will lay low, skulking in bushes and hiding in hedges.'


The article may also help to explain more about my perceived close affinity with blackbirds- athough in my case a tendency to lay low and skulk is not restricted to any particular season 


As for the 'growing of feathers': they belong in a selection of words entitled ON THE WAY TO SONG which I compiled months ago The words are 


And where are the birds 

In all this rain
They've disappeared completely
From the park and down the lane

Surely having feathers
Makes them immune
Perhaps if I could grow some
I could be immune to you 

The recordings were mastered and then foolishly uploaded onto Bandcamp Foolishly because as the title suggests they were on the way to becoming something - and were not yet there And this reflects another questionable tendency i.e an impatience to move too quickly on from an old task to a new one 


However I am also not against going backwards and/or regressing (a bit) and I may reapproach On the Way to Song and decide what if anything I should do with it now


Friday 13 July 2018

THE REFINDING OF FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

It was a very special moment when I learned about Vivian Maier 
It was particularly special because it happened around the time I had written some words about being a ‘shadow of myself’ There are a few related comments and images on my old web site at http://www.sheilakcameron.com/id192.html and it was there I relocated the article about her 

But today, in a conversation about a different shadow - the one of the blackbird with the sultana - I was reminded again of this incredible photographer And having found her again I knew the best thing I could do with my time today was to share the video with anyone who might visit this site
The link is http://www.vivianmaier.com/film-finding-vivian-maier/#.W0iEAtvdbsc.email

There are hundreds of other links about her and about her work but I think this is a good place to start

Thursday 12 July 2018

NOTHING BUT THE BLACKBIRD

- and the slates on the roof of an outhouse, the blackbird's shadow, the sultana in the blackbird's mouth, the shadow of the sultana in the blackbird's mouth, two sultanas on the slates, the shadow of a few leaves from tree in the neighbours garden and (unable to be neatly cropped off without losing what I wanted to keep - and anyway a genuine feature of the image) an unwanted extra from a pigeon


This bird sings, flies and loves sultanas 
This photograph is/was on the web site at www.skcsongs.com The same caption was used and it is/was there alongside the song DON'T SIGHT EVEN SLIGHTLY which had been very recently rearranged by Wild Biscuit at 
www.wildbiscuit.com 

The image will probably be reluctantly moved from there when the next song entitled DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME AGAIN is ready

Meanwhile DON'T SIGH can be heard on the SKC site and on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/dont-sigh-even-slightly-6

Tuesday 10 July 2018

FALLS ON THE RISE

Quoting from somewhere or other there has been an increase in falls 'from falling out of bed to taking a tumble out of a tree' So I guess the falls must apply to more than the elderly as I personally have not seen many elderly persons up trees

However, there have been times when I (personally again) did not take sufficient care to stay on my feet  Now admittedly streets covered with snow and ice was a factor but whatever the weather the advice in this song still applies 

I had thought when writing it it might prove to be a useful reminded to others and have continued to think so - so here it is again - in a shortened and remixed version The lyrics matching those on the track are being made available but the image will remain the same as before

It was on Bandcamp and the new version has now replaced the old one and can be found at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/feet-feet-feet

Saturday 7 July 2018

THREE LAURAS

There was Laura the movie which I loved and Laura the song which I liked very much and now there is the Laura who has written a review of Those They Chose And apart from making some very
 encouraging comments which I am appreciating very much she recognizes the frailties of my work and mentions them in a way I experience as very real and thoughtful

I particularly liked the following ‘Brilliantly simple in its sophistication; this is not a technically perfect album. The singers voice is limited in range, the musicianship often apparently pedestrian. The power is in the integrity of the artist, and the belief of the listener’. 

In a while - when I have taken on what she says - and enjoyed it some more - I will probably provide a link to the whole review on here and perhaps elsewhere

PS! The desire to keep it to myself while I continue to take on what she says - and enjoy it some more - has been overcome by the desire to show off a bit!

The link to Laura and the review is http://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/reviews/SKC/

Thursday 5 July 2018

FROM THE HEART OF YORKSHIRE

Tony Haynes tells me he played GOODBYE BABY BLUES - Track 13 from THOSE THEY CHOSE - on his mixcloud show FAB Folk and Blues (Wetherby, for the Heart of Yorkshire) 8-10pm Wednesdays.
The link is https://www.mixcloud.com/tonyhaynes52/midweek-midnight-mayhem-4th-july-2018/

TONY HAYNES 

Wednesday 27 June 2018

BLUES BUNNY REVIEW: THOSE THEY CHOSE

Album, Single and EP Reviews






  Those They Chose by Sheila K Cameron




Those They Chose cover art

Artist: Sheila K Cameron
Title: Those They Chose
Catalogue Number: Glalell SKC1708CD
Review Format: Compact Disc
Release Year: 2018

What can you say about an enigma like Sheila K Cameron? Quite a lot actually but little of it would make sense of her place in the music scene of today. Her new album “Those They Chose” is a compilation of - if not quite a “best of” – her songs that might nonetheless serve as a suitable introduction to her convoluted ways for those who seek more than the mundane.
In the fifty minutes or so of your life that this album will consume, you won’t hear anything that makes particular sense. Her lyrical style is more akin to oblique poetry than conventional song writing yet the expressed emotions remain as clear as the day. I regard that as the mark of an original and, perhaps as a consequence of so determinedly following her own path, these sixteen songs often seem more spiritual than personal or commercial.
Listening to these songs again reinforces the fact that Sheila K Cameron has, by some magic, given them a life of their own that transcends the boundaries of any medium of recorded sound and, whilst my choices for a compilation would have been different, your heart would indeed have to be refrigerated to avoid the intoxication found in “Drink To Me Only” and “The Water is Deep”. Not many people can haunt you with a song but she can.
An enigma. An original. There is only one Sheila K Cameron.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

COME BACK MOXIE COME BACK

Originally posted on February 6th 2018 and now moved to the top of the page on  June 24th 2018

MOXIE is BACK and can be found on www.skcsongs.com and on Bandcamp

This post is an updated version of an oldone but the question below remains an important one i.e. have you ever been searching for your spectacles to discover you have them on your head?  

Important because it gave me the idea for the very basic image below Well, first of all I thought Moxie would be a good name for a cat, then I chose for a backdrop a location where long ago I think I still had some moxie and then I produced a badly drawn van and placed an equally badly drawn cat on the roof of the Moxie Search Van 

Moxie Search Van - roughly drawn as if by someone who had lost their moxie

Moxie (n.)
''courage' 1930, from Moxie, brand name of a bitter, non- alcoholic drink, 1885, perhaps as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to 'build up your nerve':; despite legendary origin stories put out by the company that made it, it is perhaps ultimately from a New England Indian word (it figures in river and lake names in Maine, where it is apparently from Abenaki and means 'dark water') 
https://www.etymonline.com/word/moxie

Monday 25 June 2018

RELUCTANT TO LET HIM GO

A relocated image 


Previously used on Bandcamp and being safeguarded on here

And some advice: I have been informed that when feeding birds with raisins there should be a close supply of water nearby It has also been suggested that sultanas are more moist and more suitable 

Tuesday 5 June 2018

SIMPLE SAMPLE

After completing the six re-issues of songs (plus the seventh of spoken words) it was time to concentrate on the other material which had accumulated

And that was the plan until the idea took hold of putting together a selection of the tracks which had been played by Women of Substance Radio and Podcast at www.wosradio.com 

Most of the songs had been included on previous CDs and the proposed 'new' selection was viewed as a top up, more of a sample of songs than a continuation of the re-issue project 

And so it is:THOSE THEY CHOSE is nothing much more than a SIMPLE SAMPLE OF SONGS It's usefulness may lie in the songs reaching places they have not been before along with the hope that they will enjoy the journey and that a few of them will be well received when they get there


Tuesday 22 May 2018

A REMINDER - TO MYSELF

The site SO SAID THE SAP was set up as a follow-up to writing words and making a paper collage to go with them Both are below The words have been strung together to limit their use of space The image below is a scan of the original collage

On the way to live out life
These words may not be heard as rap but they were written by a sap who could not see that need and greed can oft times quell true love's appeal who could not see that what they saw was victim of their deepest flaw a tendency to keep repeating what they had when four or more

Around that time the date's not clear but what they got was stark - a fear of losing what they had and whether light or dark the fear was bad or bad enough to find a place in everything they did - a trace of fear ran through their every move and kept them tied to anxious mood To hesitating stepping back scared of falling off the track that others rode with engines stoked with words of love of praise of hope that all would play out good and true that what they had would see them through

But being sap does not require to also breathe a bitter fire upon all those who have it good although a bit more sharing would improve the lot of those who feel they never got their early needs met in ways that set them free of fear - the sort I'm citing here

So said the sap the day they found love does not always leap and bound to fill the heart and head with joy sometimes its crap and but a ploy to satisfy the selfish needs which found a place when grief destroyed those tender moments soft and kind which we all need if we're to find within ourselves a peace of mind

In the above version some of the capital letters used in the original text have been changed


The words are available as a spoken word track on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/so-said-the-sap

THOSE THEY CHOSE

When I used to perform in public it was always much easier if the words and music or both were not mine And I have experienced a similar pleasure working on this selection of tracks Although most of the songs were written by me and I recorded them, the fact that they were chosen by others has allowed me to feel somewhat distanced from them 

The selection is presently available for streaming and download and as a CD on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/those-they-chosehttps://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/those-they-chose 
It also now features on the new site at https://skcsongs.com/those-they-chose

Cover of the CD: SKC and the WOS Icon  

With the seven re-issues there was a sense that a major task had been completed These songs most of which can be found on the previous CDs are more of a sample from what's gone before than a continuation 


The first track, AS YOU WRAPPED THE STRING AROUND ME, belongs to Glasgow and the last one, WHERE THE LAST TIDE RUNS was written in Tlell on Haida Gwaii Those in between belong to various times and places They have, however, all been specially remastered for the occasion 

The musicians magicians and technicians who enhanced them as they made their way from basic acoustic tracks to something more include in first name alphabetical order: Brian McNeil (of China Crisis) Brian Young (of Cava Studios Glasgow) Fraser Spiers, Geoff Allan, Jennifer Clark and John Saich - along with Mags Russell (of Wild Biscuit Music)

Saturday 12 May 2018

SKC SONGS

A need to freshen up the information that is out there lead to the setting up of a new site at www.skcsongs.com It is intended to act as a gateway to the various other sites and sources of material that have accumulated 

This idea was more appealing than trying to change what is already there and I liked the sound of skcsongs.com and at last perhaps I have found a comfortable way to use the short name SKC 

Using Bandzoogle was appealing until I tried it and it has taken me hours to get only one page in place Below is the image I have used on the new site 




Friday 6 April 2018

SKC and the WIZARD of WOS

Over a period of several years I have submitted songs to WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE RADIO STATION and PODCASTS at www.wosradio.com and some of them have been played and included in their Podcasts  These now 
number over 770 and they can all be accessed at http://breenoble.libsyn.com/*

My most recent submission was the song MY LOVE IS VELVET and it may have been Bree Noble's* comment that she 'loved it' which set me off thinking I might put together a Women of Substance selection of songs The thinking was that the songs which WOS had chosen to play would have a certain je ne said quoi about them - and any selection was likely to be different from any that I or others might compile

The selection is now complete Entitled THOSE THEY CHOSE it has been professionally prepared and fine tuned for the selection and it can be heard and purchased on Bandcamp at 
https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/those-they-chose

* Bree Noble is the Founder and CEO of WOS and for a direct link to find out more about WOS go to http://www.wosradio.com/aboutwos/

P.S  At the time of revising this post a CD of the selection of tracks is also being produced

Monday 29 January 2018

NOTHING BUT THE MOON

In a while I plan to have completed another small lyric video This one will be for the song My Love is Velvet which has been newly arranged by Wild Biscuit Music www.wildbiscuit.com 

The song may also appear on Bandcamp although the decision to use only an image of a Tiree moon as photographed by Alan Millar of https://lifeontiree.wordpress.com might be a problem With no text the image might disappear too much (as it does here) into the black of the Bandcamp page The decision not to add any text had much appeal this morning - that may change


Taken from one of Alan Millar's photographs of the moon
Alan has given permission to use one of his Tiree moon photographs and I have chosen one with the darkest sky to go with the opening line of the song 'My love is velvet like the darkness' 

The video has now been completed and the song has been uploaded to Bandcamp The links are https://youtu.be/qF70p3cjpsM and 
https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/my-love-is-velvet


Friday 26 January 2018

MORE SWOOP AND SWAY

This post will make more sense if the latest small video has been accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR2XcX_OvXQ but the before and after message is the same 



Of course every day is unlike any other day and some are decidedly more pleasurable than others But it is a delight to wake to the sound of doves in a banyan tree and to be reminded that what we are and have become is not set in the stone of our own lack of imagination - amid the fears of what experience has cautioned us might happen if we try to spread and stretch our wings too far

Well no one in this video (and yes it is small at just over a minute) is advocating the 'too far' but they are favouring the idea (if only for themselves) that a bit more swoop and sway should surely be ok


Monday 22 January 2018

DUMPING THE DIRGE

Rather than the (elsewhere mentioned and aspired to) good tuneful singable song - the one I chose to use on the next lyric video could be accurately described as a dirge

Of course I did not think this when I was working on it but having now revisited it - in preparation for the video - and having checked up on the definition of a dirge* I have now wholeheartedly accepted it is one And without any hesitation I have taken on board the message from the lyric itself to 'leave it behind' But not until the video has been completed 

Anyway, once I had lined up the song to work on - and in keeping with - at times - a troubling - at times - tendency to persevere - it would have been harder to give up on it than to continue with it

Several failed attempts were made to shorten the track but I eventually decided to use the full length version It had been professionally mastered and it proved difficult to neatly lopp off the numerous repetitions at the end: although I appreciated it was in need of some radical lopping


The image is as stolen as it was the last time I used it Its relevance to the song only becomes evident well into the track And for anyone for whom a dirge might have some appeal - as it obviously had for me when I recorded it: the video is now on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqYtNRUqQTk - for a while

* A dirge is a song or piece of music that is considered too slow, miserable, or boring


Friday 19 January 2018

AND LOVE IN YOUR EYES AND THE SEA

‘All you really need is the sea and love in your eyes and the sea’

News that the sea song is being used by Women of Substance Radio reached my tired eyes this morning - although I did know it was coming!


The song can also be heard at 
https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/all-you-really-need-is-the-sea

Thursday 18 January 2018

A SORT OF EPK FOR SKC

The EPK has now been made - but may be remade very soon 
It’s a bit plonky but it can be found at http://youtu.be/1xxtbSEK20Y 

Wednesday 17 January 2018

ACROSS FROM THE WALL

In amongst the lyric videos which I was revisiting recently I saw an old attempt to devise an Electronic Press Kit (usually referred to as an EPK) Disliking what I saw I decided to get rid of it and have another another go 

The new one is now in the making

Some images have been identified and some words have been chosen All that remains is for me to record the words and align them with the images This will need to wait until I am reunited with my main recording equipment but having got this far I am impatient to declare that it is on its way

And I can achieve that (if only for my satisfaction) with the above comments and an image from the EPK which, as you will see below, is of a wall

                                    With this EPK I may be paying homage to my father

P.S There is a coloured version of the wall but as some of the other images are not coloured I am choosing to make them all black and white

Friday 12 January 2018

LOST AMAZED AND USEFULLY INEFFECTIVE

In some respects I would feel both lost and amazed if I were to find that my various attempts to sort out my material were at an end And why would I not be? Most of the time I can't remember much of what I've written and recorded and by continuing to add to it the task of remembering is made more difficult

If, therefore, I ever reached a stage of being well organised I would probably be amazed And at times in my life when I was unsure about what I should be doing next - without that task - I would feel lost

But every now and again when the mood takes me - or when I get a reminder from others who have read a post or listened to a track - I renew the effort with added determination And the latest of my never ending attempts was to bring some order to all the various lyric videos I have uploaded to YouTube over several years - and to make them available on one channel The original idea was to obtain a simple URL that I could use in a post or an email

The link below is evidence of how successful I have been so far

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfi01sG5tj2kmLHtgizChwv1tvEXVA0s4&app=desktop

Thursday 11 January 2018

BLACKBIRD AND BROKEN BITS

The third foray into the workings of iMovie gets me back in touch with the favoured subjects of being bad, of broken bits and of blackbirds
And with the foray now completed the link to the video on Youtube is https://youtu.be/zDmlOfRByvM



Choosing to do this also provides me with the opportunity to say that I have personally never known a  bad girl But I have known girls who have had bad things done to them and who have (in various - and sometimes disturbing ways to themselves and others) let it be known how bad they feel
I have also known boys who have had the same load to bear and this song might easily have been called BAD BOY BLUES

Wednesday 10 January 2018

TWO WELL LOVED SHEEP

With several writing ideas under consideration and trying to take it easy - creatively and otherwise - I have continued with my lackadaisical (and rather unsuccessful) foray into the workings of iMovie  The latest effort - using an old recording of one of my many short songs - is entitled I LOVE SHEEP
And as I discovered today, on line, (and how pleasing that was) sheep are amazinginly well loved

Of all my encounters during the summer, those with the two sheep in the photograph below - and with some of their pals and relatives - were undoubtedly among the most pleasurable


The link to the video is https://youtu.be/a8q_QCpjnZE

Sunday 7 January 2018

JUST AROUND THE BEND

The image below is of a road on HAIDA GWAII whereas the song ON THE ROAD TO HAIDA GWAII is about a road that will take you there
And the following link will take you to a very basic lyric video of the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6wmjsN5ws

Tow Hill Road
Tow Hill Road is a road which I - as happens with many of those who are on the islands for only a few months or years - came to know well but only as a relative stranger would know it Nevertheless it can leave you with such fond and profound memories you are unlikely to ever feel free of them - and indeed would never wish to be

And as the New Year begins I remember especially fellow travellers Mr Toast, Vicki and Jim and Wendy and hope all who journey along there in future will find in the forest and by the sea as much solace and comfort as I often did

The purchase of a Subaru when all other remedies for lost love have failed is not a serious recommendation - although I may well follow through on it myself - anytime soon

P.S And thanks again Aldo

Thursday 4 January 2018

ALDO FROM GUATEMALA

Another delight! And I have let Aldo know how pleased I am that he liked the song ON THE ROAD TO ROAD TO HAIDA GWAII 
Again, as I find often, a positive response from a complete stranger can get me working on a task I have been considering - but have been uncertain about- for days or even weeks

Recently I tried using iMovie for two very basic lyric videos and had thought I might make another using this song Thanks to Aldo I’ll probably now do that!


The song is the second track on the CD Kiss Deep and the Missing Beat and can be heard at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/on-the-road-to-haida-gwaii-2

Monday 1 January 2018

MORE OF THE SEA - AND THE SKY

Your Song on our #1 Award-Winning Podcast
More of the sea and the sky
Podcast Playlists  for January 15 - 19, 2018
Show #737 Friday, January 19, 2018
----------------------------------------------------
Robyn Taylor - The Last Real Gentleman
Eliane Delage - Such Is Life
Lynda Dobbin-Turner - Steering by Starlight
NiƱo Crudo - I'll Still Rise feat Marie Lister
Sheila K Cameron - All You Really Need is the Sea
jen jen - Annie's Song
Soulshaker ft Adrianna Edwards - What You Do To Me

LINKS

Twitter: @WOSRadio Facebook: wosradio
Instagram @bree.noble Pinterest breernoble