Post-punk Flute in a Barn

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Variations on The Fall

Although this bit of rural urban exploration was over a week ago, I’m still back in this barn up on Gore Road – not sure if I inhabit the place or if in fact it inhabits me. I guess being stuck in a barn over Christmas is kind of appropriate, wouldn’t you say? Wandering around with my friend Rob and puzzling over various deserted buildings on the forlorn site definitely got under my skin even more than the chilling temperatures.

I had suggested to Rob that he bring along his guitar despite the cold, since he plays in a band that does all The Fall covers (talk about your niche market!) and we’d never had a chance to jam together. So he laid out this acoustic version of one of The Fall’s tunes, and I gamely jumped in the fray, frozen fingers and all, to overlay a flute line – all under the eerily back lit and knowing gaze of characters from one of Mike Myers’ Austin Powers movies!

We might have played a little longer, but something very odd occurred. If you listen carefully towards the end of this recording, one of Rob’s guitar strings suddenly re-tuned itself, totally throwing him as it sent the harmonic progression in a new direction – it was actually pretty sick and caught us both off-guard! He couldn’t account for this strange occurrence, as nothing like this had ever happened with his guitar before.

I suggested it was possibly the cold that had wreaked havoc on his instrument, you know, once we were safely back in the car and heading down the country road for the warmth and safety of the nearest Timmy H outlet. But in the end we both agreed it was a playful ghost inhabiting the barn and having its way with us, re-tuning Rob’s guitar and teaching me how to play the blues, or, in this case, a little post-punk flute!