Conference Presentation on Zappa Production Techniques

As some of you will know, I am giving a presentation tomorrow at the annual ‘Art Of Record Production’ conference, at the ATRiuM in Cardiff. The conference programme is now available online here.

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Zappa influence on my own music

Having become so obsessed with Zappa’s music over the last few years, I thought it would be interesting to compare some of my own work to his.  Although the tracks I have posted below have no stylistic influence – I have noted the use of complex time signatures and a ‘cut and paste’ approach to [...]

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Example Frank Zappa Master Study

I found a couple of examples of post graduate studies on Zappa that may inspire anyone who may be interested in studying something along similar lines (see my earlier post).  They are entitled
A Study in the Instrumental Music of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa’s Orchestral Works: Art Music or Bogus Pomp
Creative Control: Morton Feldman, Lars von Trier, [...]

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YouTube – Zappa, Resolver ED 2/2

YouTube – Zappa, Resolver ED 2/2.
 
Came accross this amazing Synclav music by Zappa on You Tube. It is the 2nd half of two sides – all of which have pretty dark subject matters. Just wondering if anywone knows anything about the history of this. Sounds like it was made around the ‘Mothers Of Prevention’ era

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Gail Zappa: The Future of Music

Really interesting post by Gail Zappa at Gail Zappa: The Future of Music.
There is a particulary interesting section on copyright that is facinating considering the ZFT stance on copyright. It reads as follows
“And now, just when you thought the news could not be worse, let’s have a quiet little look at the future of copyrights. [...]

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Masters and PhD Study on the music of Frank Zappa

For those that may be interested, I have decided to dedicate time to develop some post-graduate provision in the study of Frank Zappa’s music.  This potentially offers an opportunity to conduct some research into an aspect of Zappa that has not been thoughoughly researched before. This would probably initially be at masters level (MPhil), with [...]

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The Big Note – The Ultimate Gesture: The incorporation of time and space in Frank Zappa’s music

I am presenting a Zappa paper in a few weeks at the ATRiuM in Cardiff. Here is the abstract of what I will be talking about. Will post the full paper after the event.
The Big Note – The Ultimate Gesture: The incorporation of time and space in Frank Zappa’s music
Widely regarded as one of the [...]

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Frank Zappa, Sex and Popular Music

Here is the 3000 word presentation I gave in Germany two weeks ago regarding Zappa, Sex and Popular Music. I have actually documented a lot more than this – but this version was what was discussed on the day. As always – comments always welcome.
“Make a Sex Noise Here”: Frank Zappa, Sex and Popular Music
Paul [...]

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Grand Rights: How Do They Impact A ‘Tribute’ Performance

When discussing my research outlined in earlier blogs about the Zappa Family Trust’s slant on copyright, a colleague of mine recently highlighted that they have began to claim that a ‘tribute performance’ falls into the category of a ‘musical dramatic work’, and can therefore ask for ‘Grant Rights’ as opposed to the ‘Statutory Rights’ associated [...]

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Zappanale:The Ultimate Music Festival

After a long journey from Brecon to Bad Doberan, the first delight was the exposition on Jimmy Carl Black near the ‘Arf Society’ office. Featuring a huge collage of album covers, a video installation and several of his sculptures, the event provided a thoughtful start to this year’s festival. Having sadly died last year, the [...]

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