Out in paperback this week, "Fruitlands" is an insightful account of one of history’s most unsuccessful, but significant utopian experiments. Ceasefire's JP O'Malley talks to the author, Richard Francis.
In this week's Deserter's Songs column, David Bell looks at the rich possibilities of free improvisation, and how it allows musicians 'to be fully a part of the crowd and at the same time completely removed from it'. At its best, Bell argues, improvisation can unleash stunning displays of creative power.
In this week's Deserter's Songs column, Dave Bell revisits critical dystopia through the music of the Canadian band Silver Mt.Zion, which expresses a juxtaposition of horror and hope better than any other he knows. Their pained, sorrowful and always beautiful music invites the listener to meditate on the horrors of US imperialism; the ineptness of Canadian politicians and the general “shit and dismay” of a world in which neoliberal capitalism has run amok.