Blue Monk from Blang! by Lach

SONG NOTES: I dreamt there was a line of people trying to get into a beautiful Japanese Zen garden. Someone said an enlightened monk in the middle of the garden could grant your heart's desire. However, the monk was so holy and beautiful that you would be too enraptured to remember what you wanted. I got in line and kept repeating my wish over and over (embarrassingly, it was to get a really good record deal). When it was finally my turn to sit with the monk I was completely overwhelmed by his kind and joyful pres¬ence. After thanking him for meeting with me I left the garden for¬getting to ask my wish. I woke up, wrote the song and it ended up on this record. Maybe I got my wish after all.

STUDIO NOTES: I wanted it to be like a New Orleans' funeral march and Geoff sug¬gested we bang on a whole bunch of pots and pans, I went into the studio equipment room and came back with a percussion box filled with assorted symbols, bells, triangles and beads. I draped everyone with various gear, we marched and danced around a central micro¬phone making a huge racket and having a blast. The honky-tonk piano sound is a detuned electric piano mixed with a grand piano. For the French horn we had our classically trained musician "warm-up and play along with the tape." With the song over we said "Thank you, got it!" He complained that he didn't know we were recording, surely we weren't going to keep it, it was just noise. "No, it's perfect the way it is!" We said. He looked at us in horror, picked up his gear, shook his head and headed back to the orches¬tra where things were done right!

Lach, founder of the Antifolk movement and star of BBC Radio 4's The Lach Chronicles.

‘Beat-punk-unplugged joy!’-The Guardian UK

‘Splendid! Best of it's kind!’- Mojo

‘Incredibly bright, influential, funny, poetic.’-Suzanne Vega

‘Best punk guitarist since Johnny Ramone.’-Billy Ficca of Televis

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