Troika

So welcome to Troika Episode 4! This one is all about a genre called Light Music, a form of orchestral music that was at its height in the 1950s and 60s. These were shorter, lighter, more whimsical pieces of music, often used in the soundtracks of films and Pathe News reels.

I'm not a fan of Kraftwerk at the best of times. I have friends who adore them, but they leave me cold. I was listening to one last week that was all about using a 'Pocket Calculator' - adding and subtracting. In particular, when there is a Cycling related programme on telly, the likelihood is that they will end up using their 'Tour De France'. Its feels about as far removed from the experience of cycling as I can think of. I love electronic music, but for me it doesn't have the right feel...

I heard an interview with Jarvis Cocker where he was asked about 'guilty pleasures'. His response was "There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure. If it's music, and you like it, why feel guilty about it?". Quite right - there's too much music snobbery. Somehow there's this rule that certain types of music are to be embarrassed about. With that in mind, I want to present three songs on a similar power ballad/rawk arena that all come from the 80s/ early 90s...

This first edition of Troika is about ambient music. Not the bleepy,beaty, dancy kind, but the more soothing 'neo-classical' or drone style of Ambient. Music for watching the stars (amongst other things).