Forest smells and bluebells

Lord Bassington-Bassington is fond of ambient music of the darker kind. And so it is with great joy that he just received the latest release from Artefactum, one of his favourites in the field.

Foxgloves and Bluebells is the name, and it has just come out on the New Polish label Ur Muzik. This, it seems, is the perfect ambient record for the spring evenings that finally seem to be a reality here at Bassington Manor.



Mrs. d’Erlette

Artefactum has always been relatively free of the clichés that make much dark ambient music so uninspiring. While many dark ambient acts make you want to kill yourself as a sacrifice to Satan, Artefactum makes you want to go for a stroll in the woods.

And on this release, Merissa d’Erlette breaks with the "sonic wallpaper for tombs" formula altogether. Foxgloves & Bluebells is a toidy step towards folk music, perhaps nudged a bit on the way by folk singer extraordinaire Andrew King (who makes a guest appearance). Indeed, the record at times feels like lost bits from the soundtrack to The Wicker Man.

Lord Bassington-Bassington holds that any good ambient record should be possible to fall asleep to. And his lordship feels certain that if he drifts off to the gentle sounds of Foxgloves & Bluebells he will have pleasant dreams about dancing faeries.



(Picture by Elisabeth Fraser.)

1000 days of the Chronicles

On March 12, the Lord Bassington-Bassington Chronicles had been published for 1000 days – at least if one is to believe his lordship (but as anyone with any canine competence will tell you, Basset hounds aren’t terribly good at math).

So what better thing to do for a born-and-bred pack animal like Lord Bassington-Bassington than to gather a few friends to eat, drink, and waddle around the dance floor to the banjolele stylings of none other than Mr. B Gentleman Rhymer, who kindly consented to come to Oslo for the occasion to entertain the crowd? It was Mr. B's first performance in Scandinavia, and it was so good that his lordship is already planning to get the gentlemanly rhymer back to these parts of the world.

These pictures come courtesy of his lordship’s good friend, the Mysterious Ponytailed Man. Cinematographic records also exist, and might be posted later.





Among the generous gifts lavished upon Lord Bassington-Bassington was this study of his lordship in a moment of quiet celebration, created by Bergen-based cartoon artist Kim Holm.



Lord Bassington-Bassington would like to thank everyone who came from near and far to help celebrate the occasion.

Lord Bassington-Bassington has chosen to censor all pictures of himself from this little report, as he prefers to keep private any record of his lordly body attempting such daring dances as the Basset Bogaloo and the Moonwaddle. Not to mention his necessary post-celebratory contemplation the day after.

Blogging about butling

Butling is an art. So is blogging (though we here at the Chronicles cannot claim to master it). So when the two are combined, great things are bound to happen. And so they do over at The Butler Speaks.

It's a marvellous idea - a whole blog dedicated to butling. Here you can learn about butling in the broader sense, or just pick up helpful hints on how to iron a shirt. Surely this is a big part of what civilized life is all about. So what better way to illustrate this little post than with a couple of pictures of Mr. Reginald Jeeves, who is possibly the epitome of Western civilization?



"But", you say, "I am not able to afford a butler".

Fear not, you are in good company - even such an elevated personage as Lord Bassington-Bassington, coming from a long line of outstanding individuals, is unable to afford a butler in the current financial climate. But perhaps that’s just as good, given how difficult it is to find good help these days.

But, dear reader, Lord Bassington-Bassington suggests that you do not despair. Butling is more than a profession, even more than an art, it is a state of mind. So you can always be the butler of your own life, or more importantly, the lives those around you. Help them with the luggage, make them a cup of tea or a stiff drink, in short, lend a helping hand. Be at the service of your fellow man and canine.

Lord Bassington-Bassington suggests you start by giving his lordly belly a good rubdown.

Shining runes, golden sleeves

Yes, Lord Bassington-Bassington has tried his hand at some rock'n'roll writing again. This time for his dear friend Mr. Larsen of Denmark.

Ahem...

:Of The Wand & The Moon: - "Shine Black Algiz"

Kim Larsen, :Of The Wand & The Moon: front man, has a new release on his hands. It’s a seven inch vinyl, picture disc, limited to 500 copies and packaged to the standard us spoiled OTWATM have come to expect. Such as golden foil-blocked cover art and vinyl in nicely psychedelic colours.

But enough talk about the vinyl, lest you think this release is just for the record-collector obsessives out there. No, the music is also to the standard one has come to associate with what is easily Scandinavia’s leading neofolk performer. The two songs, "Shine Black Algiz" and "Hold My Hand" are snappy little numbers of Runic romanticism and human misery that show just what a strong songsmith Mr. Larsen is becoming.

While it’s an open secret that Mr. Larsen is working on his next album, entitled 'The Lone Descent', these two songs will not appear on the forthcoming release.

So there you have it: Not one, not two, but three very compelling reasons to purchase this release. If that doesn’t convince you, nothing will.

Lord Bassington-Bassington
Little Storping in the Swuff, February 2011

Tweed de France?

Lord Bassington-Bassington has long been an admirer of pop combo Kraftwerk, who prove that Germans can make pop music as well as classical music (that they know their neofolk is beyond all doubt). And as he thinks bicycles are a rather splendid invention (if a little impractical for Basset hounds), he has enjoyed Kraftwerk's tributes to the Tour de France races.





But while his lordship find both the music and images in these two versions of Kraftwerk's "Tour de France" are very enjoyable, there seems to be something missing. His lordship can't quite put his paw on it, but it is possibly something... sartorial. Perhaps the film below can shed some light on the matter?


The fetching chap-hop on the soundtrack is, of course, by Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer.

Oh, how Lord Bassington-Bassington sorely wishes he could attend this year's tweed run. Some day, though. Sigh.

Wintery sadness

Sometimes, Lord Bassington-Bassington comes across a song which perfectly captures his mood. And this happened yesterday.



Perhaps this is a sign that his lordship should attempt to attend 6 Comm's farewell concert this summer. If they let him in, that is. Club owners tend to be prejudiced against Basset hounds - claiming that they slobber, sniff the scrotums of strangers and pee in the corners. As if that makes the noble Basset different from the regular clubber!

Interiors a la Carter

It is quite possible that David Carter (whom Lord Bassington-Bassington first stumbled across in the book The New English Dandy) is the world's most exciting interior designer. And Heaven knows Bassington Manor needs an interior designer. Even if things are slowly underway, with cuckoo clocks and absinthe fountains and a glass painting and whatnot, there is a lot to do to bring his lordship’s residence up to scratch.





Some day Lord Bassington-Bassington will hire David Carter to decorate Bassington Manor. There is only one problem: To afford Mr. Carter’s services, his lordship will need to locate the fabled treasure of the Bassington-Bassingtons. To this end, his lordship has been very active digging up the lot behind Bassington Manor. We here at the Chronicles hope the treasure is found soon, as his lordship has been getting into altercations with the caretakers. We also hope that the treasure doesn't turn out to just be an old bone, like the previous “treasures” unearthed by his lordship.

But stylish as Mr. Carter's interiors undoubtedly are, they might not be suitable for his lordship's needs anyway. For with the sheer volume of books, records and other treasures making their way into Bassington Manor these days we fear that this arrangement might be the only realistic approach.