kim.bonfils.com

Montmartre

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Montmartre remains our favourite area in Paris, so today we went back - rediscovering the sights - and the amazing garlic-fried potato-boosted salads of Le Relais Gascon. Afterwards, we headed for Champs Élysees - finding it just as touristy as Rue Mouffetard, only even more crowded. But the flags were out, preparing for tomorrow's presidential inauguration of Francois Hollande.

A chance encounter

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

While Birgitte was at the flea market, I took another stroll through the neighbourhood - by chance ending up at the Montparnasse Cemetery. I popped in for a quick look, only to discover that this was the resting place for one of my songwriting heroes, the late, great Serge Gainsbourg. Joining Birgitte, we expected to find a spot for dinner in the restaurant street Rue Mouffetard - but it's all gone touristy, and we finally headed home to l'Aloutte near the flat.

Buttes aux Cailles

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Took a stroll through the Buttes aux Cailles, stopping for buckwheat pancakes at Crêpes à Gogo and Berthillon ice cream in their tea room on Ile St. Louis. Nice as always, except they seem to go a bit overboard on the whipped cream these days...

Bonjour, Paris

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Flew off to Paris, where we'll be staying in the flat in Buttes aux Cailles, where Birgitte stayed in November.

Tinariwen at Vega

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Attended the Mali sensation Tinariwen's gig at Vega.
Tinariwen has been labelled "desert blues" - probably mainly by non-musicians, referring to the melacholy tone of their songs. But musically, their sound has nothing in common with the rough, chomping, soloist-based traditions of blues as we know it. It would be better described as minimalist drone funk.
Every song (and they do sound pretty much alike) is based around a more or less static groove - mostly devoid of harmonic variation - over which the strong, haunting unison melodies are sung. In between the verses, rhythmic melodic improvisations on the guitar provide embellishments on the main groove, never actually taking center stage - and never breaking the rhythmic feel - but merely forming a part of the collective groove.
Likewise, the drumming isn't the carefully arranged rhythmic variations of western pop music - but a single, repetitive beat (again, much the same in every song), broken only by sudden explosive bursts, before settling into the groove again.
The result doesn't come across as bafflingly alien. Its irresistible rhythmic groove of this understated, trance-inducing, infectiously funky drone music has an immediate appeal - which explains the by now mainstream popularity of the band.
Unfortunately, due to the crisis in Mali, founding member Ibrahim Ag Alhabib was missing from the lineup. And I guess this was the reason for Tinariwen's slightly disorganised performance: Pauses betwen songs, nervous whispered conversations, awkward instrument changes - and the female singer's traditional ululations seemed somewhat missing in enthusiasm.
However, there were many moments of magic - and I congratulate the band for not cancelling the show. But once it would be nice to experience the full splendour that took the Roskilde Festival by storm years ago.

State of Mind at Rust

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Played Rust with State of Mind, premiering a lot of new songs from the upcoming single and album. Good response all around - and rather larger attendance than my last Rust gig. Also gave me the chance to hear the exciting Mr. Fish, whose funky hybrid of pop, rock and electronics really rocked the house.

Another Rust gig

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

State of Mind will be playing Rust, Copenhagen on Saturday, April 14th. Will be premiering a whole number of new songs. Also appearing are Inouwee and Mr. Fish

Home again

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Flew back from Berlin. This will probably be the last time from Tegel airport, which closes on June 6 to be replaced by the new Berlin Brandenburg airport.

Gerhard Richter

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Finally managed to get in to the very popular Gerhard Richter exhibit at the Neue Nationalgalerie.
Strangely, I did not come away as impressed as I expected I would. I do admire Richters technique - and especially his insistence on working in different styles throughout his career - the blurry photorealism he is so well known for, along with abstract and conceptual works. Never mind that some of the latter (panes of glass in various arrangements) leave me cold - although I find the hanging of a large mirror where a painting would normally go rather amusing.
But even the works I felt drawn to at the first glance - such as the huge, abstract, squegee paintings - for me eventually reveals a major flaw: They are just so damn tasteful. Their colours are so perfectly aestically matched - without a hint of the unsettling contrasts you'd find (for instance) in a Kirkeby abstract. They seem to be just too well suited for a place above the fireplace of a billionaire art collector.
Some of the fuzzy photorealistic paintings have more depth - ironically, they work better as they veer towards the abstract (such as the cloud paintings - the simplistic Kerze and the gloomy, half-obscured September). But others - like Lesende - are again so colouristically pleasing that they themselves become the kind of postcard-like kitsch they comment on.
Eventually, I was most impressed by some of his Grau paintings: Rough splattering of thick, monochrome gray paint - resulting in shadows and highlights that transcend the basic colour itself.
Gerhard Richter may be the world's best-selling contemporary artist - but is he also the most important? I don't think so. An eminent craftsman with a unique style of expression (or actually a number of styles) - but ultimately lacking the element of truly unsettling iconoclasm that defines the groundbreaking artist.

Zoo and good food

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Today's schedule included both a trip to Berlin's nice Zoo (although the new leopard cubs were nowhere to be found) - and later Alsatian dinner at the fine Renger-Patzsch restaurant in our neighbourhood.

Hallo Berlin

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

And once again off to Berlin...

Home again

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Flew back from London. Will be staying only a few days in Copenhagen before heading for Berlin once again.

Dinner with Kemi and Kirsten

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Met with our London friend Kemi and Kirsten - first for drinks in the Borough flat, afterwards for Indian dinner at Cafe Nawaz just across the road. The food was nice (even offering vegan alternatives for Kirsten), but the waiter seemed highly unresponsive to our sense of humour. Anyway, a nice time was had by all

Sick - but made it to lunch

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I normally pride myself on my good health. But apparently, I've met my match in British pub food. At least, I expect last night's reheated cabbage from a local pub to be the reason why I got violently ill in the middle of Covent Garden. I suspect food poisoning, as I felt suprisingly well afterwards - even well enough to meet with Birgitte's customer Chris and his ex-wife Yvonne for lunch at the crowded and vastly overrated and -priced Jamie's Italian. But it felt it safer to skip food (and was assured I wasn't missing much) and - more out of character - alcohol this time around.

Off to London

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Flew off to London to meet with Birgitte in our very nice home-exchange flat in the Borough. After dropping off our luggage, we once again headed straight for Chinatown and Dim Sum at Golden Dragon.