Music

I'm not sure of the reason, but as I get older my music taste is getting increasingly eclectic.

Yes, there are plenty of bands/singers who have stayed with me since my early twenties - New Order, John Martyn and David Byrne/Talking Heads being among the more meritorious.

But in that time, not only has the list of musicians expanded enormously, so has the range of music.

I enjoy listening to Ardeshir Kamkar, for example - a Kurdish musician who plays the kamancha, a Persian bowed string instrument. I also like the kind of country rock that Jim White plays and I would travel hundreds of miles to hear singer songwriters of the calibre of American Mark Mulcahy.

Classical music is a big favourite, but along with the likes of Mozart and Rachmaninov, I've developed an interest in the classical/jazz work of Jan Garbarek.

I love choral music and for a few years was fortunate enough to sing in a choir that led services at wonderful places of worship including Gloucester, Wells and Truro cathedrals and Tewkesbury Abbey.

But at the same time, my thirst for more cutting edge modern music has increased. Delphic, the Tiny Masters of Today and Broken Social Scene are favourites at the moment.

So why is it that my brain is now able to tune into such a wide range of music? I certainly wouldn't have gone anywhere near the likes of Jan Garbarek, for example, a few years ago.

I'm sure the biologists have some answers. I'd be intrigued to hear them!

The photo, by the way, is of an art installation in Cheltenham that I believe is called the Golden Jubilee Seat. Sadly, there is no information at the site and precious little on the internet.

I have the Cheltenham Daily Photo site to thank for the name.