Django Bates

When Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler," he probably didn't envisage Django Bates's music, which revels in its complexity like a brainy kitten with a ball of fibre optic cables. But within his own parallel universe (aka Denmark's Rhythmic Music Conservatory), Bates has reduced his simmering brew to its necessary components: sneaky, snarky basslines, asymmetric patterns that groove, sweet vocal melodies, as well as passionate ensemble writing with a sense of humour that redrafts Charles Ives, Spike Jones and Frank Zappa for the age of Britain's Got Talent. Yet Bates is serious too, with such inventiveness, mastery of orchestration and flair that he runs rings around his contemporaries in every genre. The extreme hyperactivity of The Right to Smile, Subjective Hooks and Something Less Soothing is balanced by the spacey Evening Primrose, the oddly Edmundo Ross-like May Day and the joyful Sheep.



(**** review in UK press for "Spring Is Here (Shall We Dance?)" by John L Walters, The Guardian, Friday 20 June 2008).



Elsewhere in UK news: snow hits england.



'While there were instances of bravery and heroism, there were also examples of stupidity: The emergency services criticised the "mindless idiots" who built a string of solid snow walls across busy roads in Lincolnshire'.



For more information visit www.djangobates.co.uk