Dan was on holiday--he was due back today so the new August issue will be up shortly I presume.

it's up, just not linked to the home page for some reason. people take August off in France, which is looking like a better and better idea these days...

http://paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2006/08aug_text.html

Well spotted there Jon! Yes in fact the August issue of PT was lurking there all the time; I was just waiting to proof a few things before posting the new homepage - which I did just an hour ago. So back in business (but facing a huge backlog of stuff to listen to) after 18 days in Morocco. I went with noble intentions: I took about a dozen discs to listen to / review but didn't touch any of them. Returned instead with nine hours of field recordings including a hidden microphone tour of the Medina in Marrakech. Wish the MiniDisc could record SMELLS.. Meanwhile happy reading over at PT and thanks again for your interest
Now, what have I been missing here at Bags, let's see..

Glad to hear you're safe on dry land, Dan. So, you have the month of August off also? Man, I'm moving to Normandy.

That's where it RAINS most!
No technically the month of August is a working month for me, though it's calmer than the others..
In any case, even if the day job is quiet the other job - the REAL one, ie music - goes on and on!

I spent my first 22 years waterlogged in Northwest Washington State, so I've got special affection for the rain.

REAL job, indeed!

Hey Dan--let me dredge up this thread a moment to say that my email to your account is bouncing. I've proofed my contributions to Sept.'s PT & about 2/3rds of the rest--have a list of typos to send you but I can't seem to get it through. Anyway, will keep trying, or if you have an alternative email address I can send it there.

NATE (excuse the private message folks - this seems to be the only way to get to Nate)- please try that other email addy I gave you, AND send your mail to Massimo Ricci touching.extremes@tiscali.it

Dan--No idea what the problem is but I got two more bounces today. Anyway I've sent a couple of notes to Massimo which hopefully will sort things out.

warburton - please email me . . . i gotta get you to take something out of the interview for legal reasons . . .

ww

weasel walter

Just hijacking this old thread to bring you the sad news that Benoit Sonnette, founder of Textile Records, died last night after a 16 month battle with leukemia. He leaves a wife and a 14 month old son, Nicolas.
I don't know if any Textiles were covered here at Bags (and the Bagsearch button seems to be fucking up), but for those of you unfamiliar with the label, it was a breath of fresh air, releasing key documents by Jackie O Motherfucker, Volcano The Bear, Magik Markers et al. I was honoured to have a release on the label and am very sad to have lost a good mate.

I learned the sad news this morning... we're all really very sad here...

Alexandre and Miho

He was a great guy ! He made an excellent label. He organized great music festivals in Paris. We miss him.

RIP Benoit

Sorry to hear of his passing.

The search feature is the culprit in yet another fracas with our host over egregious server usage spikes. It’s been disabled pending the successful installation of a tricked-out & streamlined search engine. Apologies for any inconvenience in the interim.

FYI, the summer issue of Paris Transatlantic Magazine will appear mid July (2007), just in case anyone was looking for it yesterday (you obviously didn't read last month's editorial if you were). Thereafter, PT will be taking a sabbatical - or, rather, I will - of indefinite length, to allow me to devote some time to my own music for a change instead of trying to listen to everyone else's. I will - Walmsley-willing - be continuing to review things for The Wire, but I'm calling a halt on unsolicited new arrivals here until I can clear some of the backlog and concentrate on some long overdue personal projects. Thanks for reading.

Happy to provide the announcement space, Dan. That Cracow gig must’ve been somethin’ else! Sorry that we won’t be seeing that long lost ROW from you, but excited to hear that you’ll be focusing closer to FT on creating your own sounds. Then again, the life of a musician-critic can be a perilous one, just ask Chris Kelsey (who’s latest CIMP shows that he puts his money where his mouth is). How’s about Ensign Dorward taking over the PT pilothouse in your absence?

You certainly deserve a break from it, Dan. Good luck with your projects.

"How’s about Ensign Dorward taking over the PT pilothouse in your absence?"

Well, I'd love to help out, but I suspect the magazine would have about 6 reviews per issue if I were in charge... Dan's ability to handle vast stacks of incoming CDs with grace & levelheadedness is far beyond my own.

Curious how the burst of online music-review mags seems to have dwindled in recent years (OFN, Squid's Ear, now [temporarily?] PT). Perhaps this is because much of the excitement on the web has shifted towards music blogs that focus on distributing long-lost treasures in mp3 form?

I think that probably has something to do with it, though most of those blogs (Destination Out, Church Number Nine, etc.) are rightfully centered on past relics rather than new releases. A reverse emphasis could easily lead to some dicey interactions w/ musicians & labels. I don’t know the skinny behind the mag portion of Squid’s Ear going belly up, but OFN closed shop so Scott could focus on his own musical pursuits. An operation like that took a lot of sweat & elbow grease to run. Bags is obviously a bit different.

A Dorward-driven PT Cruiser would definitely sport a more streamlined look, but count me as a regular passenger should it ever leave the garage. ;)

Bill Shoemaker's Point of Departure just began in the last couple of years, new issue up this week, pointofdeparture.org.

I'd imagine it becomes pretty all-encompassing to run a site like Dan's, kudos for doing it for so long and hopefully it'll be back in some form at some point.

Bill's PoD is definitely among the tops of the current crop.

Guess I didn't realize that about the hiatus...

Kudos, indeed, but it'll be sad to see its departure.

Speaking of, yeah, PoD is bitchin'...

The long overdue and possibly final (well, at least for a while) issue of Paris Transatlantic is now online. I'm still checking it for odd errors with my main man Nate "Eagle Eyes" Dorward, but if you spot anything untoward yourselves, do let me know.
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2007/07jul_text.html#1

Dan,
I was on vacation for awhile there so perhaps I missed any chatter about it, but when + why did you decide to stop doing PT?

I always looked forward to reading it every month, so will be sorry for it to end. Really dug the interviews especially. But I can certainly understand the large amount of work involved in such a venture.

Whoops! Just read the earlier post from Dan, which answers my questions...

Certainly a good reason step back from it for a bit. I'll still miss it...

Me too Dan, took a trip down memory lane this week and reread all the interviews....(my boss is on vacation). While I'll miss my monthly PT fix, will be great to hear more of your music.

best of luck.

All the best in all the spheres of your life away from PTR, Dan.
I have enjoyed PTR's contributions to the discussion of new music since I discovered it, so thanks for that.

want to chime in hear for another best wishes and ackknowledge meant of how many months i have started read magazine, really has served me well in finding great things. also want to thank dan for review he wrote for me there while ago that meant a lot to me
j

Don't count the chap out yet. He'll be back next week with a double issue, otherwise I'll sue him for firing me without just cause.
Hats Off, Mr.D!

Nooooo Mad Max, as I said next week I'll be reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, finishing four Wire reviews and heading off on a brief, blissfully email-free holiday. Anyway, you're not fired - "natural wastage" is the jargon these days! Hats off to you mate for your purple prose!

Dan -- looking forward to hearing more of your sounds. Thanks for all your hard work at PTL. Will be sorely missed.

Who're you reviewing HPDH for? ;)

HP already made a fleeting appearance - or apparated as JKR would say - at PT, as you might recall:
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2006/04apr_text.html#2
In answer to your question Tom (I assume 'tis you), nobody - but you can be sure I'll happily discuss it with you all when I've read it :)
Right now I'm just gobsmacked by Susan Alcorn's FABULOUS LP on Olde English Spelling Bee, "I Await The Resurrection Of The Pedal Steel Guitar" - check it out, sisters and brothers

A large debt of thanks is owed by many people to Dan Warburton for his Herculean labours on PT over a long period of time, covering a wide range of musics.

I shall miss The Warbler.

Thank you, Dan.

That is true, Graham. My first introduction to his written work was reading several reviews in a row in Wire or STN, and thinking the reveiwer not only understood the work but had great insights, and each time seeing Dan's name at the bottom.

Obviously, part of that comes from his own musical work, so it is fair to lose him to that for a while.
I look forward to heairng what comes of it.