Robbie Cumming. You might not instantly recognise the name, particularly in the context of music. However, even for someone watching as little TV as I do, Cumming is recognisable as the man who has created a wonderful BBC4 show Canal Boat Diaries, tales of the canal on the ‘Naughty Lass’ (his narrowboat, the name a pun on ‘Jules Verne’s ‘Nautilus’). The album has twenty-two tracks and Cumming describes them as “ ‘Choons Vol 1 and 2’, remastered from original instrumentals I created on my phone between 2016 and 2020. Written, recorded and mixed aboard my 42ft narrowboat home, these tracks are inspired by the sights and sounds of a life travelling and working on the water”.
I used the word ‘wonderful’ – it’s almost as far from a Marvel action film as you can get. The two-hour film of a two-hour bus journey through the Yorkshire Dales I watched a few years ago is, for example, even further from a Marvel action film, but Canal Boat Diaries is towards the slow television end of the scale. The music was created on board using nothing fancier than GarageBand; it served as the backdrop for the filming and is hence as meditative and gentle as a) you may remember from watching the programme and/or b) you might expect from this form of television.
The album is unlikely to lead to a new musical genre or have people raving in the clubs, but it has gentle, pleasant and steady bass rhythms with delicate traces of instrumentation on top. Cumming is as engaging in his description of the music as you’d expect if you’ve watched any of his programmes, “The tracks on this CD aren’t perfect, some lack proper endings even and there are countless ‘happy mistakes’ – but I am so proud of these recordings. I hope that they not only transport you on a journey but also make you feel something you weren’t expecting – whether that be shivers up the spine, uncontrollable head nodding or just something to put on while you ‘crank it’ along the canal”. Since cranking it on a canal where the limit is 4 mph is only possible on a downhill bits (think about it), then you’ll recognise that these comments have the gentle self-deprecation of some of the TV commentary. So…don’t expect Quo-style shoulder-waving thumbs-in-belt head-banging.
Overall, I’ve rather enjoyed listening to the ‘choons’ and it really is pleasant, gentle, four mile per hour, relaxing music. There are times we need it and Cumming has done it rather nicely.
Mike Wistow
Artist’s website: https://www.facebook.com/Canalboatdiaries
‘Boatwave’:
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