ARCANIA

Set in three major cities, 'Arcania', by Brother Xanadu, will take you on a roller-coaster ride through the wild, crazy life of a rebel funk musician. There are lots of brutally funny details of the kids of 70s London and their arty underground scene. Sex, drugs, punks and squatters all have their part in this unique tale. Described as 'Infectiously discordant' by one New York agent, this book deals with the joy and the madness of the life of a London musician as his life careers widely through a bizarre series of events, from success to homelessness, and back again.Alex Gordon, the author, chose to use the pen-name 'Brother Xanadu' in order to have maximum freedom when crafting fiction narratives out of real scenarios in the music world - ie a cover was needed. The phenomenon of self-publishing also helped his focus considerably. "e;Rather than write pretty lies for money, I was able to tell them the real deal,"e; he claims. And the Arcania trilogy certainly holds nothing back. Everything you always imagined that musicians were up to, behind the scenes is here.It has been said that the life-style of the artist is often more interesting than his work. With this in mind Brother Xanadu has created a dry Brit-humour classic in this rollickingly cynical portrait of musicians and their circus-like excesses in times long-gone.Arcania is a hilarious, disjointed, yet compelling account of a lone musician in 70's London, fighting his way through the circus of 'sex, drugs and rock n roll' which characterised this era. There's lots of satisfyingly unique dialogue including slang from the very maw of Brixton, heart of the rebel subculture. Squatters, eccentrics, artists, junkies and outcasts of every possible type. Outsiders all. Scandals, literary erotica and an exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into the British music scene at its rollicking, roaring peak. This is also a book about tortured, fragmenting relationships and about the mysterious connections between money, power, drugs and the ultimate dream, success in pop music. And then an astonishing, unexpectedly spiritual finale.'A great pianist, a visionary musical imagination and now a compelling and hilarious writer to boot! You cannot afford to miss out on Brother Xanadu's new offering' - Paul Gilroy (holder of Anthony Giddens Professorship in Social Theory - London School of Economics.) 'Arcania' has been reviewed by Stuart Nulman on Montreal radio CJAD, Stanley Asher on radio Centre-Ville and Peter Anthony Holder on radio CJAD. It has been exhibited at NCBA, Oakland and at the Frankfurt International Book fair.