IN HIS MID-1970s BERLIN PERIOD DAVID BOWIE PRODUCED SOME OF HIS MOST INTERESTING AND ENDURING WORK. BATTLING COCAINE ADDICTION, LIVING IN THE WEST OF THE GERMAN CAPITAL AND RECORDING AT HANSA STUDIOS IN THE SHADOW OF THE CITY’S DIVIDING WALL, HIS RESULTING ALBUMS – LOW AND “HEROES”, RELEASED JUST NINE MONTHS APART IN 1977 – WERE AVANT-GARDE EXPERIMENTS IN AMBIENT ATMOSPHERE AND CINEMATIC MOOD.

Earlier this year jazz composer Dylan Howe (drummer in Wilko Johnson’s band and The Blockheads in addition to having been a session player of choice for Nick Cave, Viv Albertine, Paul McCartney, Ray Davies, Dave Gilmour, Damon Albarn and Hugh Cornwell) released his own vision of Bowie’s Berlin. SUBTERRANEAN was five years in the making and included cameos from Howe’s dad Steve (guitarist in Yes). A respectful but inventive and sometimes radical take on the instrumental cuts from Bowie’s “HEROES” and LOW, Howe says: “Think Coltrane Quartet produced by Neu! in an air-raid shelter”… In September and October Howe takes his band around the UK to perform SUBTERRANEAN live (see dates below). In this new edition of The Mouthcast he discusses both tour and album – plus, of course, David Bowie’s creatively fruitful mid-1970s Berlin period…

Buy Dylan Howe’s SUBTERRANEAN here.

Fri 5 Sept    COLCHESTER    The Fleece Jazz Club    BUY
Weds 10 Sept    LINCOLN    Drill Hall    BUY
Thurs 11 Sept    NOTTINGHAM    Bonnington    BUY
Fri 12 Sept    DERBY    Robert Ludlam Theatre    BUY
Sat 13 Sept    HULL    Hessle Town Hall    BUY
Fri 26 Sept    BRIGHTON    The Verdict   BUY
Mon 29 Sept    LONDON   Kings Place    BUY
Weds 1 Oct    HALIFAX    Dean Clough Theatre    BUY
Thurs 2 Oct    MILTON KEYNES   The Stables    BUY
Fri 3 Oct    LIVERPOOL    Capstone Theatre    BUY
Sat 18 Oct    COVENTRY    Warwick Arts Centre    BUY