dondestan

dondestan        robert wyatt

• CP Jeebies
• N.I.O. (New Information Order)
• Dondestan
• Sight Of The Wind
• Shrinkrap
• Catholic Architecture
• Worship
• Costa (Memories of Under-Development)
• Left On Man
• Lisp Service

If I could only listen to one artist from now on, it'd be Miles Davis. If I was alowed two, it'd be Miles Davis and Robert Wyatt. I wouldn't even cheat (well, not necessarily, were there a chance of “Robert Wyatt recordings in all his various bands, collaborations, side projects and incarnations” being a goer, it'd be a no-brainer not to push for that, but, if it came to the crunch, just Robert Wyatt it'd have to be).

Originally recorded in February 1991, my dondestan (revisited) copy, re-released in 1998, has the following sleeve notes:

Matt Kemp had already recorded this beautifully at Chapel Studios but I overran the budgeted recoding time and the final mix was done, I realised retrospectively, in an exhausted rush. Nobody else's fault, but since this is one of my few recordings of which the original mix tapes still exist, I thought I'd get Jamie to help me have another go at the last hurdle. (My ideas have changed a little, too: this time I went for the contrasting detailed moments rather than the earlier goal of seamless consistency. However, it's still the same old whine, with a little more bottle). Robert Wyatt, August 1998

The sparseness of the music and songs makes everything perfectly clear. Dondestan is mostly just voice and drums. Shrinkrap mostly just piano, voice and drums. Without this and some of the rest of Wyatt's albums, I'm sure bands like Vampire Weekend wouldn't have the idea or the nerve to go for their crystal clear, paired down recorded sound.

Privatise
the sea.
Privatise
the wind.
Don't just tinker
with unseeded cloud, you got to
sell
weather itself.
Set it free.
Don't waste good air, breathing isn't paying its way.

(From N.I.O)


Dondestan:

Palestine's a country
or at least
used to be.

Felahin, refugee
(Kurdistan similarly)
need something to
build on
rather like
the rest of us.

Palestine's a country
or at least
used to be.

Felahin, refugee
(deportees similarly)
need something to build on
rather like the rest of us
got.

Perfectly beautiful, and beautifully perfect. Intelligent and brave.