radio free midwich

99 arguments for universal healthcare: in aid of tom carter

Various Artists – For Tom Carter (Bandcamp download, Deserted Village, DV44)

I imagine many of you that read this blog will be fans of the work of guitarist Tom Carter and the band Charalambides, of which he and Christina Carter form the core.  Since the early 1990s the band has been mapping out their folk/psyche explorations and the atlas of their influential work is large, fascinating and worth poring over in detail.  Many of you will also know of the unfortunate events that overtook them last year.  Whilst on tour in Europe Tom caught pneumonia and was hospitalised in Berlin, eventually spending 15 days in a medically-induced coma as a treatment for sepsis, 40 days in total in the intensive care unit then several weeks in rehab.  Fucking hell, eh?  Thankfully, he has put this shocking trauma behind him but, despite having health insurance, still faces a staggering bill for the care he received.

Such is the loveliness of the experimental music community there has been much rallying around and heartening attempts to help take the edge off this ridiculous burden.  One such project is the compilation album For Tom Carter, constructed by the top-notch label Deserted Village and available via their Bandcamp site.  There, for a perfectly reasonable donation of seven and one half euros (or more), you can download no less than 99 (!) tracks in support of the cause.

Any review of such an epic undertaking could only scoop a fingerful of the cream atop this giant bowl of trifle so we’re not even going to attempt one.  Suffice to say that there are plenty of ‘big’ names – Richard Youngs, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Sun Burned Hand Of The Man, MV & EE, Bardo Pond etc. – plenty of comrades from the no-audience underground – The Piss Superstition, Core of the Coalman and so on – and dozens of names new to me that I will soon be crawling all over discogs to research.  Tom is on it too, of course.  The track listing has to be seen to be believed – an awesome effort fully deserving of your time and money.

Buy here.

…and whilst you are wandering around the Deserted Village why not check out Gavin Prior’s intriguing collage/document piece Babbleon Cork (DV43) which can be had for nowt.