Issue 48b / 20 December 2024

Moonbuilding's Books Of The Year special edition...

Dec 20, 2024

This really is our last mailout of the year. If you missed the earlier Albums Of The Year newsletter, you can find that here

From day one, Moonbuilding Weekly has been writing about the best new music books. Long gone are the days when the only music books are biographies of hoary old rock stars, so many exciting volumes that live in our world that have passed across my desk this year. And I’m already amassing a pile for next year.

When you’re done, why not come and join us over in the Moonbuilding Weekly chat. Let the debate commence! Oh, and before you go, right at the bottom of newsletter there’s a little Christmas treat for you. Enjoy.

Before I go, I’d like to say a truly huge thank you for reading Moonbuilding Weekly this year, couldn’t do it without you lot. I’d like to thank all the artists and labels for their incredible support and the amazing advertisers who are ensuring Moonbuilding remains a free newsletter. If you’d like to advertise and support independent publishing, please drop me a line.

Moonbuilding Weekly will be back in the saddle with the first mailout of the new year on 17 January. Until then, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a merry New Year.

Neil Mason, editor
moonbuildingmag@gmail.com

Albums Of The Year Playlist: bndcmpr.co/b17f93f2
Highly Commended Playlist: bndcmpr.co/7b984aa7

» If you have appreciated our work in 2024, the Moonbuilding Tip Jar is happy to receive donations to the fighting fund: ko-fi.com/moonbuilding

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1- Matthew Collin ‘Dream Machines – Electronic Music In Britain From Doctor Who To Acid House’ (Omnibus)

Matthew’s book takes you on such a comprehensive journey through the history of British electronic music it fair makes the head spin. It includes more good stories than is decent and is one of those books you will keep looking up from to tell anyone in earshot what you’ve just read. So much in here I didn’t know and that is going some. It’s an inspiring piece of work that should be on all discerning bookshelves.

We said: “‘Dream Machines’ is meticulously researched and beautifully crafted as you’d expect from a journalist of Matthew’s calibre and comes arranged in neat chunks by chapter and then by sub-section. So Chapter 1 is ‘Journey Into Space – Musique Concrète And Radiophonic Sound’ and the sub-sections cover off Daphne Oram, Tristram Cary, The Radiophonic Workshop, Janet Beat, FC Judd, Desmond Leslie and Delia Derbyshire. You already want to read all that don’t you? And so it goes on, page after page, covering off space-age pop and psychedelia, prog, industrial, synthpop, art rock, dub reggae, electro and hip hop, samplemania, house, techno and acid and much more. Just skimming the contents makes you want to jump in, when you do finally get stuck in, it makes your head spin. The stories pour off the pages.”

Read our full review and interview with the author in Issue 15a, 26 April, here

2- ‘Rebel Musix, Scribe On A Vibe – Frontline Adventures Linking Punk, Reggae, Afrobeat And Jazz – Selected Music Journalism 1975-2024’ Vivien Goldman (White Rabbit)

I’d like to think that 2024 has marked the beginning of increasing numbers of music writers’ memoirs and collections of their published work. Vivien’s stunner of a book is not only beautifully written, but it comes packed stories galore of her time on the frontline. A must-have for the music journo fans among you.

We said: “Vivien has a wonderful easy style of writing. It sounds simple, but she tells stories about what happens around her and does it with such ease it almost makes me envious. Writing like that isn’t easy. She also hits the nail on the head about what really chimes with much of this work. “Unlike today’s more grown-up, ‘professional’ journalism in which every artist has to be introduced and contextualised,” she writes, “my pieces of the time fling around band names with the in-crowd confidence of one who knows their significance will be understood; if you were reading this rag, you were either hip to them already, or were damn sure going to find out what was up before next week’s edition hit the stands.”

Read our review in Issue 42, 8 November, here

3- Simon Reynolds ‘Futuromania – Electronic Dreams, Desiring Machines and Tomorrow’s Music Today’ (White Rabbit)

… and talking of collections of music writers’ work, the absolute master was first out of the traps earlier this year with an excellent volume that not only collects together a chunk of his writing, but tells a story too. As with all of Simon’s work, miss this at your peril. There’s more of this sort of thing to come in 2025 – for starters, look out for ‘Volcanic Tongue’, the collected music writings of ‘This Is Memorial Device’ author David Keenan, in the spring.

We said: “What we have here are ‘director’s cuts’ of work that has appeared elsewhere over the years, publications such as Pitchfork, NPR Music, Melody Maker, The Guardian, Resident Advisor, New York Times, The Wire and so on… These pieces aren’t retrospectives. They were written at the time, in the cold heat of the now, about events, moments, releases, as they happened. It’s a writer’s immediate reaction and it gives the work a vibrancy that you just don’t get looking back from a distance… ‘Futuromania’ is prime Simon Reynolds. This is music journalism at its most vital. It was when it was first written, and it remains so collected together like this.”

Read our full review and interview with the author in our Simon Reynolds Special, 11 April, here

4- ‘Ears To The Ground – Adventures In Field Recording And Electronic Music’ Ben Murphy (Velocity Press)

This is the book that made me realise the music book publishing world is no longer just looking for big bucks bios. This year saw the rise of music journalist-led books that were allowed to stretch their legs a little. ‘Ears To The Ground’ would have made an excellent pitch for a magazine feature. As a book it blows the doors off, delving way deeper and covering more ground than any feature ever could.

We said: “I love that you can read it like a book, from cover to cover, but you can also dip in and out, like a magazine. Pick the artists you’re most interested in and hoover up the rest when realise what a good read the whole flipping thing is. It’s such a thorough piece of work too. Each chapter is built from brand-new interviews, which in itself is no mean feat as there’s a lot of interviews here. ‘Ears To The Ground’ is not only an excellent read, but it’s proof that this is a way forward for music writers who are finding it difficult to place more expansive work. If they could just slow down a little, my reading pile is already huge. And it’s full of fascinating titles like this.”

Read our full review and interview with the author in Issue 17a, 10 May, here

5- ‘A Year In The Country – Wyrd Explorations’ Stephen Prince (A Year In The Country)

I’ve been a huge fan of the wonderful world of A Year In The Country since their fantastic compilation albums began landing on my desk almost a decade ago. Here the big chief lays out his mission in one almighty volume. A must-read for anyone who enjoys the Moonbuilding world, which rather delightfully gets a mention on these pages.

We said: “‘A Year In The Country – Wyrd Explorations’ collects together Stephen Prince’s “decade of wandering through spectral fields”, which has explored and documented “the interconnected rise of interest in the wyrd, eerie and re-enchanted landscape, folk horror, the further reaches of folk music and the parallel worlds of hauntology”. He’s such an interesting chap and ‘Wyrd Explorations’ is like dipping around inside his head. It’s great to see his thoughts laid out like this and the diversity of subjects is dizzying. He veers from ‘Bagpuss’ to Jane Weaver, Andy Votel and Dean Honer’s The Eccentronic Research Council to John Carpenter, Excalibur, Paul Nash, Quatermass, Edgar Wright’s ‘Hot Fuzz’ Delia Derbyshire, Caroline Katz and Cosey Fanni Tutti and so much more.”

Read our review in Issue 27b, 19 July, here

6- Justin Patrick Moore ‘The Radio Phonics Laboratory – Telecommunications, Speech Synthesis And The Birth of Electronic Music’ (Velocity Press)

Being niche is bread and butter round these parts. Justin’s incredible book takes niche as a starting point and then doubles down. It’s a fascinating look at the birth of electronic music from an angle we’ve not seen before, which is a real show-stopper. There’s new names in the story to consider and established names to re-evaluate. It’s a mind-boggling journey from an author who has much more of this up his sleeve.

We said: “What’s remarkable about the book is that the premise, that the history of electronic music is inseparable from the history of radio and telecommunications, is not one I’ve heard before. Justin argues the case brilliantly. What really staggered me was people like Daphne Oram, who we think of as the most pioneering of pioneers, were actually late to the party. It’s like that thing where you imagine Earth is 24 hours old – the dinosaur arrive at 22.56, humans at two minutes to midnight. Chapter 10 of 13 is where Daphne’s New Atlantis arrives in this story. Needless to say, such an original idea that is presented so brilliantly really is a must-read.”

Read our bumper interview with the author in Issue 29a, 2 August, here

7- Chris Charlesworth ‘Just Backdated – Melody Maker: Seven Years In The Seventies’ (Spendwood)

I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. I wish more music journalists would get on with telling their war stories because I for one can’t get enough of them. Chris is a really great writer and his stories leap off the page. Another one of those books you’ll be quoting at anyone within earshot as you stagger from one great tale to the next.

We said: Chris Charlesworth was at Melody Maker from 1970 to 1977, which was the very sharp end of its golden years. He arrived during an especially rich period of music and he interviewed the lot, from Lennon and McCartney (separately) to Bowie, The Who, Elton, Slade, Sabbath, Rod Stewart, The Beach Boys, Led Zep, Deep Purple, Zappa, Iggy, Steely Dan and so many more. There’s tales galore here as you’d expect… he spins such a rich, evocative tale of those years long gone it makes me almost sad. And of course, it’s vital that people like this have written all it down otherwise these incredible tales would, eventually, be lost forever.

Read our full review in Issue 36, 27 September, here

8- ‘The Durutti Column – A Life of Reilly’ by James Nice (Burning Shed)

It’s about time there was a definitive tome that covered Vini Reilly’s utterly unique Durutti Column. And if there was a definitive tome you’d want the brilliant James Nice writing it. Which is handy because that’s exactly what he’s done. James has been at the heart of the Factory Records story for decades. You’d imagine if Tony Wilson was still around he’d be claiming James as his official historian. This book sold out in a about two seconds, and no wonder. Fingers crossed for a repress in 2025.

We said: “The book is every bit as thorough as you’d expect from James Nice, the guardian on earth of Factory Benelux, Les Disques Du Crépuscule and LTM Recordings. He knows this stuff inside and out, what he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing, and as such he’s able to go knee-deep in the detail. He’s interviewed everyone and probably more than once so here we get the voices of people like Alan Erasmus – who hasn’t done an interview in decades – and, of course, there’s the late, great Tony Wilson throughout, which is always a treat. Oh, and do spend some time with the “notes and sources” section at the back of the book. I can’t imagine how long that took to compile and there’s so much info and nuggets of info hidden away it made my head hurt. It’s such a rich and fascinating book, there is just so much on these pages that you won’t have known. It is very, very good. Essential reading I’d say.”

Read our review in Issue 18b, 17 May, here

9- Patrick Clarke ‘Bedsit Land – The Strange Worlds Of Soft Cell’ (Manchester University Press)

The first volume in Manchester University Press’ British Pop Archive series bodes well for what’s to follow. While you can’t imagine what new information there could possibly be about a story we think we know so well, The Quietus’ editor Patrick Clarke comes up smelling of roses with a raft of fresh interviews and a lively writing style to tell the story his way. Loved this.

We said: “The interesting thing about books at the moment is how they are snapshots rather than definitive tomes, with chapters being extended features that allow the writer to really stretch their legs. If you were writing a magazine piece, even a chunky one, you wouldn’t be afforded the space to go into the sort of detail you get here on Marc and Dave’s respective seaside town upbringings or their art education at Leeds Polytechnic. Nor would you get the lengthy rumination on Stevo, the deconstruction of the northern northern soul scene, the history of Soho or the in-depth look at ‘Top Of the Pops’ and how the world shifted on its axis when Soft Cell appeared.”

Read our review in Issue 33, 6 September, here

10- ‘Dear Smash Hits, We’re From Scotland! An Alternative History Of Zines & DIY Music Culture (1975-2025)’ Alastair Macdonald Jackson (Earth Island Books)

I couldn’t believe it when this book landed on my desk. The below quote from our reviews says it all really. The author manages to weave his own personal journey into DIY culture with the rise of the culture itself in the remotest of remote Scotland. It’s a wonderful read. Forget ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ this Xmas, just read this if you need your heartwarming.

We said: “This is the exactly the sort of book Moonbuilding was hoping to be writing about when we were but a few scribbles of an idea in a notebook. That title! Just take my money. This is a book that couldn’t be more Moonbuilding if it tried. If you like what we do here, you’re going to love this. Talk among yourselves, I’m going to be pouring over this for some time to come.”

Read our review in Issue 34, 13 September, here

Highly commended… Joe Banks ‘Sideways Through Time: An Oral History Of Hawkwind In The 1970s’ (Strange Attractor Press), Richard Norris ‘Strange Things Are Happening’ (White Rabbit), ‘Phew, Eh Readers? The Life And Writing Of Tom Hibbert’ (Nine Eight), ‘Zerox Machine – Punk, Post-Punk and Fanzines in Britain, 1976–88’ Matt Worley (Reaktion), 'Analogue – A Field Guide' by Deyan Sunjic (Frances Lincoln/Quarto), Johnnie Johnson’s ‘Through The Crack In The Wall – The Secret History Of Josef K’ (Jawbone), Simon Raymonde ‘In One Ear – Cocteau Twins, Ivor And Me’ (Nine Eight)

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THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST: AN NME CROSSWORD

It always feels like there’s something missing this time of year since the demise of the music press’ double Christmas issue and the crossword was always at the heart of that. I spent many a dull afternoon between Christmas and New Year filling out that bumper grid over the years let me tell you.

So here’s an NME crossword for some pen-chewing in those dull moments between Christmas and New Year! I’ve totally “borrowed” this off the internet. Don’t tell anyone. What I was actually looking for was an old NME Xmas crossword, but drew a blank. I did however discover that NME.COM ran a weekly crossword in 2019-20. It looks to me that they’re new and they are compiled by legendary NME setter, Trevor Hungerford. In my day at NME.COM we’d have worked out how you make an online crossword work, these days they say you should print it out and fill it in with a pen. Old school. I do have the answers, let me know if you need them?

Righto, that’s me. Happy Christmas you lot. See you on the other side.

A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTHERSHIP

***MOONBUILDING ISSUE 5 IS OUT NOW***

Bloody hell! Will you look at that? MOONBUILDING, Issue 5, is a scorcher. On the cover, depicted by the untouchable Nick Taylor, is the awesome Polypores. In our free-wheeling chat we get right under the hood of Stephen James Buckley’s musical operation, offer up a listening guide to help you safely navigate his extensive back catalogue and we also have an whole new Polypores album exclusively for your ears.

Yes, we are giving you a not-available-anywhere-else new album called ‘The Album I Would Have Released In An Alternate Universe’, which happens to be the sister recording to his recent Castles In Space opus ‘There Are Other Worlds’.

Want to try before you buy? No bother. If you’d like an extract from our Polypores cover feature interview where Stephen Buckley talks about his formative influences, which probably aren’t what you’d image, you can do that here… moonbuilding.substack.com/p/issue-28a-26-july-2024

Elsewhere in the issue there’s a profile of our new favourite label Mortality Tables, Pye Corner Audio gets in on the There’s A First Time For Everything act, we round up an absolute mountain of recent releases and serve up our thoughts on the best albums from the last few months, including Loula Yorke and Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan. There’s a column from The Orb’s Alex Paterson, which starts off about Jah Wobble and ends up about Andrew Weatherall, and an all-new instalment of Steven Appleby’s brilliant Captain Star cartoon strip.

This issue also features a pile of great book reviews (that’s great books, reviewed, rather than the reviews being great, although they are pretty good). There’s a cracking chat with Justin Patrick Moore, the author of ‘The Radio Phonic Laboratory’, and a bonus chinwag with the world’s finest music journalist, Mr Simon Reynolds.

The virtual shop doors are open at moonbuilding.bandcamp.com for your purchasing pleasure. This magazine ain’t going to buy itself.

MOONBUILDING WEEKLY