Last weekend was an unusual one; I sat on the couch and binge watched Vernon Subutex on Netlfix, a hedonistic French saga of sofa surfing, boozing, nudity, casual sex and gratuitous drug taking, all buoyed along by an awesome eclectic 80s soundtrack. En précis this nine-part drama is an adaptation of provocative French writer Virginie Despentes series of Vernon Subutex books. The character of Vernon was once the proprietor of Revolver, an infamous music shop in Paris, where his name was legendary throughout 1980’s. By the 2000s with the arrival of the internet, came the decline in CD and vinyl sales. Vernon’s shop closes and he’s evicted. Sat at a bus stop in the film noire rain he swaps a cigarette with a stranger for “a tune”. That tune is Karen Dalton’s haunting rendition of Dino Valenti’s, Something on Your Mind. Dalton’s emotional rendition of this tune is majestically mournful as befits the mise-en-scène. Thanks to this musical evocation, I dig out Karen Dalton’s 1971 sophomore album In My Own Time for this week’s #TFI_Friday album.
Dalton has become one of those mythical musical figures who seems to embody everything real, true and great about music and yet, despite the evangelical efforts of many famous disciples, she has so far evaded widespread recognition. As one of the classic beat-generation disembodied poets, she felt you had to burn the candle at both ends and be dying of hunger to call yourself an “artist”. The ten tracks contained on In My Own Time, showcase Dalton’s unique psychedelic folk voice. Even when the arrangements get busy, nothing can distract from the hypnotic pull of Dalton’s siren-like voice, sounding like an unfathomably sad, crackling 78rpm record or a sepia-tinged photograph of an ancient tragedy. The narrative of the life led by Karen Dalton tells a prophetic heartbreaking tale. It was one scarred by consistent poverty, intermittent homelessness, bouts of severe depression, escalating alcohol and drug addiction, culminating in her early death from AIDS related complications aged 55. In My Own Time is a testament of youth and creativity.
Please note that I am available for guest lectures, conferences, panels, workshops, broadcasts, record production, mixing projects (live & studio) and I have even been known to play the odd DJ set too, just message me and I will get straight back to you.
Dalton Koss HQ 