Glen Strachan is a raging belljester, currently working on long-term project The Love Rivals, 36 character portraits celebrating the individual.

15/09/17 Whilst on the subject of blind-spots in the news-feed, on a more serious note, I find it extremely concerning that a). We've had another terrorist attack in London this morning and b). Everybody clearly feels so powerless that we hardly feel capable of discussing the matter. And North Korea is firing MISSILES over JAPAN? The news TODAY is telling us of looming global disasters (not to mention those of an ecological origin) and reminding us that power and control over our world is right out of our hands. What do we do instead? Post a boomerang pic in Instagram stories where we look up and to the left, up and to the left. Is that all an artist can contribute? Why do I keep saying that education is the solitary fulcrum for leverage? Because in a democracy where there are fewer informed people than ignorant, those best positioned to deal with dangers like these are utterly powerless. So, what's MY agenda here? I'll tell you. 14/09/17 I've never been so happy to be back in London in my entire life. This place in Greenwich is home again now, and I pray will remain so for the foreseeable. I've fallen out with a lot of friends this year, and the weird thing is that it's not because they've changed or done anything wrong necessarily, it's just that I'm going through a phase of having zero patience with certain human characteristics. Ego, competitiveness, one-upmanship, disrespect for the sacred. Those who try to kill what they don't understand. I have a violent distaste for waste; wasted work; wasted time, opportunities, desire. And when it's myself that is wasted? Cast aside in my prime? That's oblivion tasted, and it tasted like wine. I'm quite fascinated that, even though my social media news-feed walls are sprayed upon with experimental, amateur ink projected from pinpoints spread across the globe, I've hardly heard anyone mention the new Twin Peaks. Game of Thrones was everywhere, but there's barely a peep coming from my neck of the woods concerning this new Lynch masterpiece. Perhaps, as with me, there's an awed, respectful silence reserved for such spells best left unbroken. So this is me then. Staring out of a bright Greenwich window, onto Autumn leaves betraying no sign of browning, from my room with a view of the bus-stop. 12/09/17 I'm often told my music is too soft, too gay or too old fashioned. I'm often told my music is too harsh, aggressive, challenging, Impassioned. I'm often told I'm heartless, raw, selfish, worn out. I'm sensitive, I care too much what others think about me now. My voice is unique, distinctive, memorable, powerful, harsh. I can't sing, I'm on drugs, I foster the lost and the meaningless arts. I'm a bold alcoholic, a cold, copper statue, I breathe in the past. I'm often told I'm strong, I lie, I try too hard. I'm lazy, too true to myself, I'm in your face, I'm sharp. Mild-mannered, I'm cruel, on fire, in tune, Adrift; astounded. I'm told that I'm different under a full moon; Well rounded. 11/09/17 One thing I really have to work on as a person is this: Not to allow the attitude, selfishness or idiocy of one person to throw me into a rage. The plus side of such sensitivity is that seeing somebody smiling, experiencing art, or being in love can fill me with a joy akin to feeling it for myself, but the global negativity that overwhelms me in the face of one instance of disrespect or discourtesy from one person to another living creature is just too devastating. Raises the spectre of empathy; a shadow battalion. A biker revving his engine as he passes a girl on the sidewalk makes me wish death upon everyone who ever rode on two wheels, furthermore my indignation spreads to other vehicles and road-users as a whole, and I end up longing for a time when cars are banned from cities and vowing to move to Venice at the earliest opportunity. He's at the mercy of the elements. Did some more recording for 6 Love Rivals with a German girl I met on a bus here in Thessaloniki (busses are ok, we can keep busses) and her voice brings the feel of the collection a little closer to its origins. Truth is, however, that I cannot wait to get back to Jeeps rehearsals in London, and my home in Greenwich. Speaking of which, there will be a brand new England & The April record out in the Spring of 2018. And then we have that penultimate episode 17 of Twin Peaks I just experienced. Yup. 04/09/17 A lot of people think I'm arrogant, which I see as poor judgement (naturally, lol), but understandable nevertheless. I struggle to locate the division between arrogance & selfishness. My gauge for such a criticism has more to do with how somebody reflects on their actions, and whether they allow themselves to consider their mistakes and moral short-fallings. One way to see this is to consider how often, if ever, one apologises. Now-then, on the other side of the spectrum are those who apologise and don't mean it. This is the psychopath. Many place me in that category, and I have no idea why that should be. I'm nothing if not empathic; just watching the homeless dog sleeping near the security guard for company all night near the ruins here brings a tear to my eye each time I pass by in search of something similar, if not flat-out weeping after a jar. Watched Muppets Most Wanted last night, Constantine the evil frog never says thank you. Some people never say excuse me, they feel they have the right of way wherever they go. Some never know what it really means to be in love, some never know how it really feels to smile. I haven't truly smiled in so long I'm not sure I remember what it feels like myself. I wonder if I'm living one too many tragedies. Ah well, we wore it for a while. How much easier to give up on friendship; give up on love; but that way true psychopathy lies. I have faith, just no longer in those that have come and gone before. And I'll gamble away my fright. An artist doesn't try to keep everything for themselves, part of the sacrifice which is taken for granted is that you have to lose a special connection to something in order to share it. Some people are incapable of sharing. 01/09/17 I have a tendency, in these times, to rise either at 6am or 6pm, depending on whether I'm joining the battle to build something out of nothing, or fighting my corner to keep that little flame from dwindling away in the wind in the darkness. At what point does warm natural charm become cold manipulation? When does a gift become a burden? What happens to the fabric of intelligence when the animal, clothed, writhes to wriggle out & warm it's reptilian skin in fullest gaze of the radiant sun? Asking for a friend. Reading Edith Wharton's The Age Of Innocence. Really couldn't get into it at first, but about a third of the way through it began resonating with frightening urgency in my corner-torn reality. "He had married (as most young men did) because he had met a perfectly charming girl at the moment when a series of rather aimless sentimental adventures were ending in premature disgust." "And all the while, I suppose," he thought, "real people were living somewhere, and real things happening to them." And what have we here, part 16 of the new Twin Peaks, possibly my favourite episode ever. I could hardly watch, so much pleasure it gave, so much light. 23/08/17 It's been ten years since I started a band called Jeeps. The name pre-dates my move to Berlin, as does the song Jeeps On. I've lost count of all the members over the years, although the girl who sings harmony on the first two tracks from 8 Love Rivals was the bass player in the early Berlin years. Her name was Anita I think, but I can't find her on Facebook now. Why am I telling you this? Because Jeeps will be playing our only show of the year on Saturday 18th November, at the Montague Arms in London. 22/08/17 Beginning to think the window may have just popped open of it's own accord the other evening, I took a look at the lock and it's in a right shoddy state. Feel a little bad about bashing trannies too, they're not all cunty little bitches. This dude who identifies as a woman followed me as Hatty the other night, said I looked manic and was concerned for me. An absolute darling she was, but couldn't accept that my seemingly suicidal behaviour doesn't stem from a repressed gender identity. If anything it comes from being misunderstood and patronised by cunty little bitches my entire woken life. "Hast thou given all to thy two daughters? And art thou come to this?" Finally getting some daylight. It's not hangovers I need time to recover from, it's just that the nightmare night train packed with clowns and witches takes a mile or so of rail before the sparks stop flying. That's when the true darkness rises. I've developed the somewhat discourteous habit of hissing like a raccoon at people I don't like the look of as they pass. I still have smudged eyeliner around my eyes, the look is complete. "What hast thou been? Couldst thou save nothing? Didst thou give them all?" 21/08/17 2nd day sober, on a Monday, didn't sleep at all but still the best feeling in the world. Big clean up. Spent the best part of this year clearing away poison and toxins from my environment, but what to fill one's world with in their place? Shared this Nick Drake documentary on Straw Port fb page the other week, but I want to watch it again already, there's a magic here: Got startled walking home last night, and the guy said to me "hey don't worry, I've lived here a year now, it's completely safe" - didn't feel to tell him I was robbed in exactly the same spot two nights before & the bar opposite was trashed after closing time by thugs who just stood outside gloating about what they'd just done. I'm on the ground floor, my window had been forced open when I got home but nothing taken, I wonder if it's because they could see I'm a musician? There is more respect for such occupations in these parts of the world. Seems unlikely but wouldn't surprise me, who knows. Maybe they saw the state of my phone. 21/08/17 Intense week tearing up the town as Hatty but can't wait for morning, gonna tone it right down for the week ahead. Filming went well I think, hard to tell amongst the haze, but felt very productive and destructive in equal measure. Very interesting to see who treats me differently when I dress up. Other trannies can be such bitches, I get a lot of shit from them, presumably because I don't fit their idea of 'what it means', whatever that means, and generally they seem to take it more seriously, or resent that I'm having fun. I get shit for being "not even gay." I got a free coffee from a beautiful woman in Piraeus, and got compliments from the most unexpected middle aged folk, but one supposedly alternative bar in town that I (used to) go to every day looked down their nose at me the last two evenings. These are people in alternative bands. Just sayin'. 16/08/17 I'm making slow but steady progress. Slipped into a Berlin-style life here in Athens, waking in the evening and drinking past sunrise, but I'm fighting it with some success. Performing as Hatty for a movie Lars is making from tomorrow, that'll shake me up a little, in a good way, god willing. Here's Anna Yu Takes Her Casio to the Park, pretty much complete save for the vocals. Lyrics beneath, sing along if you know the melody. Oh my, Anna Yu wants to hang around with the folk she knew In the days before she died, And I knew Anna Yu when she still cried over you. Hey now, what you gonna do? They say you're no longer dancing, can it be true? When you sketched the passers-by They saw their hearts for the first time in what you drew And they ran from you. She took her Casio to the park, She looked into my eyes & caught the spark, You know you're never alone in a queue, That's where I met Anna Yu when she walked past, "What are you queueing for?" She asked. (solo) I turned to the couple queuing next to me And it turned out I was queuing for J-Z, 'Cos it's way past closing time, New York 2009 And it's cold outside on 1st Avenue. She took her Casio to the park, She looked into my eyes & told the past, And then she told the future too, she says "death's a mysterious neighbour next door to you." Was pretty near the mark. 13/08/17 Walked out into a little riot on my street yesterday. Bunch of stuff was set on fire, riot police are never far away. Wow that's weird, I have a new keyboard and when I type the word fire this little picture of flames becomes a key option on the touch bar above the keyboard. Won't work in HTML though, but it has been pretty handy in Logic. There are no banks in Exarcheia because apparently they all got burned down. I do kindof feel safe here but I don't know why. Keeping my eyes open though, of course. Very many guitar/music shops around, almost as many as supermarkets, pretty unusual. I could see 3 from where I was standing earlier, they're everywhere. I don't really need any new pedals but might go check out some of the weirder looking ones tomorrow. Recorded accordion on William Nein Lives but then put Soundtoys Decapitator on it and you wouldn't know what it was anymore. Spent an hour learning to play it but hey, that's modern music production for ya. Come on then Twin Peaks S03E13 let's see what you got for me. 11/08/17 Been back in Athens this past week. Moved to another new place right on Exarcheia square, utter madness as usual, and so fuckin' hot. Preposterous. Taken me this long to take stock, but managed get some really cool work done on 6LR with a six-trak analogue synth from 1984 that I've got my hands on. Wanna know what happened? My little studio in Cyprus, Straw Port, pretty much self destructed in the heat since I've been away. I spent the entire week there cleaning mould out of everything & establishing what could be rescued from the treasury. My guitar is back with the workshop for re-adjusting!! Was only bragging about how perfect it was the other day, having had it recently set up to perfection in Berlin. Athens then. Beyond description. Tried to make a couple fb live videos while drunk recently, but I keep losing connection near the square and don't have the balls to point a camera in that direction when sober, to be honest. It's a right fuckin' mess, but beautiful too, and certainly very interesting. Tons of new stuff popping up every day, constant state of what the fuck & flux. 29/07/17 Heading back to Athens via Cyprus. Somehow moved to London meanwhile by accident, things just started happening for me here the moment I got back, but I gotta stay especially focussed if I'm gonna continue to live between cities like this. Had my PRS guitar set up in Berlin & it's playing like a dream, should've done that 8 years ago. Will be taking a portable recording set-up wherever I go, so I can continue working. Looking forward to getting some of my Doric accordion down on 6LR. I know it's been an age since I've uploaded anything new, and I know nobody cares, but it's all ticking over. Why rush something that nobody wants to hear anyway. I'm not despondent about that, it's really quite liberating. I oughta start playing to my strengths! No deadlines? No compromise :p Every so often I'll listen back to an old recording and hear some glaring mistake in the mastering process that I can fix in a matter of moments. Generally my old work has a lack of body in the lower-mid range - likely I removed much of these frequencies in the quest for clarity, but I'm getting better at finding a balance between mud & warmth now. In the market for a new Audio Interface, been looking at the new Arturia Audifuse and the updated UAD Apollo Twins. Can't decide between the two and can't afford either, so that settles it. Badly wanted to spend Halloween this year dressed up alone in Tokyo, but that's looking unlikely too right now. Got a "Best Of.." thing in the works to tie in with my retrospective/lyrics book release. Will feature every band I've been in, live performances, storytelling and some unreleased work. More on that soon, here are the words for an old tune meanwhile: Don't Expect Me To Be Gentle She said "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I said "That's likely, unless you're deaf or mental" Flattery I can take now, if you're paying, But come now, don't expect me to be gentle, Don't expect me to be gentle. She says "What's on your mind, what are you thinking?" Honestly, my heart is more eventful, And where we're going we could use this time for drinking, So come now, don't expect me to be gentle, Don't expect me to be gentle. In this barren, English year of three seasons Sadie re-appeared, And awoke by my own voice saying "sorry" I had no choice Alerts ring, Hail drives in, I steer. Are you going where I think you're going? Walking backwards is how most men fall, Weaknesses through pride are showing But come now, don't expect me to be gentle, Don't expect me to be gentle. 25/07/17 Been decorating my room in Greenwich. Took a while for the theme to strike me this time. Generally it doesn't take long, upon entering a new space, for me to come up with some kinda colour scheme or palette to work from, but this was an exception.. Greenwich just has so many inspirations & motifs of its own to work within. There's the observatory, leading us down a pathway of starlight, then the historical maritime Greenwich with Nelson & the Cutty Sark, there's the wond'rous park, the Queens House (2nd largest collection of portraits in the UK after the National Portrait Gallery). Then you have the painted hall, Trinity Music College, the millennium dome & Canary Wharf commerce. The meridian line exposing threads of time to old father Thames & the shimmering mist. Anyway that's sorted now. Never thought I'd learn to love the colour orange. 20/07/17 Gotta take to the skies before long, will be a joy to get back in the sea. So how about the music then, huh? If anyone wants to hear 6 Love Rivals as it stands, I'm happy to send a link, but I'm still holding off on the release. Some amazing musicians have added their charms in Jeeps rehearsals & I want to get that down on the record. I'm playing a couple songs at the Lantern Society Summer Special at the Betsy Trotwood in Farringdon later tonight, I expect to play early round 8ish. Click beneath this text for previous news! Previous News - Page Previous - Previous Page - Page Previous