The High Llamas: C or D?

Wishing Sean a speedy recovery, he's such a lovely guy. Reading some of these comments from years ago, I think there's been some misconception that The High Llamas' records are meant to be a kind of terminus. The culmination of their influences, e.g. "what the Beach Boys were aspiring to". I believe this is looking at it the wrong way about. Surely they were the entry point? And from there we were meant to go on to check out Giu La Testa, Clube da Esquina and Marcos Valle? We didn't have algorithms for that in the 90's. Sean has been criticized a great deal for wearing his influences on his sleeve, and I understand but if you flip the triangle the other way around, it's incredibly generous, isn't it?

Yes, get well soon, Sean. Always liked this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ten0um-Ae8

I'll pick this thread 'cuz Sean's the one who interests me the most of the characters on the line-up. I am looking forward to this on Friday:

https://cabanemusic.bandcamp.com/album/grande-est-la-maison

Grande est la maison – Cabane’s first album is the outcome of Belgian composer Thomas Jean Henri bringing together the American Will Oldham (Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) and English musician Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), to perform some songs arranged by Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas) ; a dream line-up for this collection of tunes, bordering on both folk and orchestral pop. Far from the maddening sounds, ‘Grande est la maison’ will be a warm shelter for lovers of Nick Drake or Vashti Bunyan.

Oh thanks for that - this was the fellow out of Soy Un Caballo, whose LP I love (it also involved Sean in a similar capacity I think).

Sean also produces the upcoming album, High January by Market Starling.

*Marker, grrr stupid autocorrect

Kate Sables appears courtesy of Rough Trade Records Ltd
Will Oldham appears with courtesy of his own damn self
Sean O'hagan appears with courtesy of Domino Publishing

Sounds good, Jeff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlfy7dnR6pY

Laetitia with a guest spot.

Pretty sure Sean O'Hagan did some playing/arranging with the early Palace Bros.

"I'll pick this thread 'cuz Sean's the one who interests me the most of the characters on the line-up. I am looking forward to this on Friday:

https://cabanemusic.bandcamp.com/album/grande-est-la-maison";

I think this guy is mainly a photographer, Sean has worked on his records before and played a gig in his apartment a few years ago.

I've hit an age where I have panic attacks when threads are unexpectedly revived.

It's pretty reasonable to panic with this particular thread

never talk about anybody old and not dead on the internet

ugh sorry didn’t know dude was actually not doing well, fp away

yes, made me very nervous to see this revived. i haven't heard anything about his condition since december.

I think there's been some misconception that The High Llamas' records are meant to be a kind of terminus. The culmination of their influences, e.g. "what the Beach Boys were aspiring to". I believe this is looking at it the wrong way about. Surely they were the entry point? And from there we were meant to go on to check out Giu La Testa, Clube da Esquina and Marcos Valle? We didn't have algorithms for that in the 90's. Sean has been criticized a great deal for wearing his influences on his sleeve, and I understand but if you flip the triangle the other way around, it's incredibly generous, isn't it?

― Deflatormouse, Friday, December 13, 2019 6:08 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

Thank you for this, I think it’s a lovely summation of what I’ve thought many times; I can’t think of any single artist in the past few decades who has been so ill-served by a lazy shorthand for their work. I hope more people will figure it out with time.

Really digging the Cabane album. There's something very Llamas-esque about it beyond the string arrangements. I am enjoying Kate Stables's songs; I hadn't heard her before.

damn this is REALLY nice

I really like the Cabane also - if you like it and you haven't heard the Soy Un Caballo LP you have a big treat in store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB9N9NWN3ys

Aargh someone take the harmonica away from whoever’s ruining this lovely cover 😆

Seriously though, good to see Sean looking OK and in fine voice after last year’s medical treatment

Fantastic that Sean O'Hagan (High Llamas) is looking healthy & hale here — and sounding typically wonderful. https://t.co/WTusACr6xZ

— Tyler Wilcox (@tywilc) April 24, 2020

yeah this made my day

Yes, it's great to see him in good spirits and fine form. I think his voice is getting better w/ age. His voice always needed a little extra grit. I'm also enjoying his daughter's contributions; her voice is wonderful on Radum Calls.

Love him. I don't know if any others made the connection between their musics over the decades, but this is the closest to imagining having my hero Simon Jeffes from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra doing a home concert for free.

My wet dream would be Sean producing a new David Sylvian album.

As mentioned upthread, he also produced the new Marker Starling LP, which is out now and v nice.

I completely missed up until now that the video in tylerw’s tweet is different to the one posted on 20 April. Just caught up with the former - so good, and brings back good memories of the Café Oto gig last year.

There was also short essay by Sean published on the Drag City website on the same day. Worth a read:
https://www.dragcity.com/news/2020-04-24-cracking-the-code

I've loved O'Hagan's music for a long time. In fact, it was one of two reasons why I launched a website around his music https://coughlanohagan.com/.

*shits*

Message on Bandcamp: “Small something special coming to you on June 18th. Stay tuned to Drag City”

https://www.dragcity.com/news/2020-06-18-wild-in-the-streets?fbclid=IwAR3-DjefQRHjdXG2hFvJnebHGBTrCGSP6UUJv9m66C8VxoGxBtAcvph-TXQ

The lockdown-era return of wildlife to the towns looked foreboding, with images of our streets deserted but for the odd roaming animals - but weren't cities built for everyone? Sean O' Hagan and his daughter Livvy have teamed up to sing of this ecstatic, divisive and unexpected homecoming, with squelching, modern r'n'b beats to boost the much needed energies in our stagnated communities today. Mixed by modern art-pop wunderkind Fryars, "The Wild Are Welcome" introduces a futuristic side of O'Hagan's always inventive songcraft. Sean writes:

"This April, the animals were coming back to the cities. I love our wild in London, the foxes and badgers - but then sheep, deer and goats started to stray back into the edges of urbanity, in Essex and on the fringes of Swansea and Edinburgh. So I imagined the conversations the animals were having as they acclimatized to the new norm. And of course it flipped the status for the rest of us not in captivity, as we stared out at the wild from our lockdown. As much as I have enjoyed the musical landscape that I have explored for 30 years, I want to creep beyond it. I can still drop the chords as I always have but I am enamored with the 2020 RnB experience and here I have found new tools to put records together. Livvy keeps me informed and I increasingly run stuff by her, so when the idea of this tune emerged, I wanted a female vocal around which to hang an approximated vocal running through bit crushing and transformers to get the 'sound'. The sounds of Sly's Riot mixed with these vital new expressions. This is where I am at in 2020: SEAN SYLVESTER DRAKE 61."

Nothing to add to Sean’s own description! Hard to judge from just one song but yeah more in this vein would not I think be unwelcome.

A really great interview with @High_Llamas Sean O'Hagan on his creative process: https://t.co/g0UVGTGqOd

— Paul McDermott (@learnandsing) June 18, 2020

For an act that gets a lot of "every record sounds the same," he sure releases quite an eclectic array of music. I'm addicted to the new song. His daughter's got a lovely voice. She's great on Radum Calls as well.

I keep returning to "The Wild Are Welcome." What a wonderful song. I really hope that's a taste of his next album.

Turned on Resonance FM for the first time in ages this morning and caught the last ten minutes of an interview with Sean on "Clear Spot".

He mentioned being friends with the members of Broadcast (as they were one-time label mates on DuoPhonic) and that there was some talk of him doing the strings on a future album at one time. Sadly wasn't to be :(

https://www.mixcloud.com/driftrecordshop/sean-ohagan-in-conversation/

Found a link, looks like it was a repeat from a year or so ago.

Sean had launched a minor social media campaign to get UMG to put all the Llamas stuff up for streaming. Looks like he won that battle. Says he's been trying to get the music re-released for 14 years now. Looks like it's on to fighting for some physical reissues... hope they start with Gideon.

Curious. Is there a reason why the label wouldn't want them on streaming services and/or released?

I assume lack of interest, sadly.

boom

These 4 albums from the @High_Llamas catalogue now available on all digital services for the first time worldwide. Spotify links below
Santa Barbarahttps://t.co/jryZEUnqxB
Gideon Gayehttps://t.co/0w5AD6FoYh
Hawaiihttps://t.co/H0wpUwxdl3
Cold And Bouncyhttps://t.co/D1YjcYj6Uu

— Sean O'Hagan (@seanohaganmusic) June 23, 2021

Yes!

I see a couple of Talahomi Way vinyl for sale on Bandcamp.

Wait, I mean Can Cladders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhZuSuycHIU

Forgot about this beauty.

Maybe it's just me living as a High Llamas/Sean O' fanboy for a couple decades now, but Santa Barbara sounds like a much better record than I remembered. I'm glad it's on Spotify. Lyrically, it's spotty; Sean's never written the best traditional song lyrics. Melodically, it's great. I love the little Steely Dan-esque guitar flourishes, and he even brings some noise to a track or two: Period Music" ends with some rad outburst. It's also mercifully short, at 9 tracks. I like it much better than I like his first solo release.

I always liked that one.

This new Fryars LP, God Melodies. I don't know what to make of it. Lyrically, totally obnoxious & dude seems kind of annoying, but the hooks & Sean O' arrangements keep bringing me back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfu5isOKqlE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZLQ0uSOyyE

https://driftrecords.com/products/fryars-god-melodies

Written, Produced and Performed by Fryars
Guru, Collaborator in Chief, Arrangements, String Arrangements, Musical Direction
and Additional Production - Sean O’Hagan

Hearing the signature string arrangement + chord change switches on a song about bangin' a woman twice the dude's age is kind of amusing.

I dunno. I sort of like this. Songwriting gets a bit lazy by the end tho, imo.