Gig at Torfaen Jazz Club:Ustream

Here is a section of a gig I done at Torfaen Jazz club on 25/3/11. The band is a Scratch Band (playing together for the first time), but I think music aside, it displays how easy it is to capture content on USTream, broadcast it live, then watch it later. This is a technique I intend to use in education in the future.

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Listening Habits Over The Last Week

I have been listening to so much amazing music over the last few weeks- I thought I would spend a few mins letting everyone know about it. As I type  I am listening to Hunn Hurr Tu from Russia.  The main feature of this music is Tuvan Throat Singing – a technique where two or even three notes can be sung simultaneously by wait for it – one singer!! I once witnessed a vocal workshop where the leader demonstrated something similar – really is something else. As I listen to most of my music on spotify these days – it is possible to link it Last FM to see what you have been listening to recently – see what I mean by clicking  here. I think its a good way of reminding yourself what your listening habits are. Aside from Hunn Hurr Tu, I have also listened to Jamiroqai’s latest album over the last few days, and one of my favourate artists at the moment – John Holenbeck. If you have Spotify, listen to this. I also spent a bit of time listening to James Taylor (not the Quartet), Megson (From Newcastle), Mumford and Sons, and the amazingly atmospheric Trygve Seim.

I don’t know what other people think, but I think Spotify has changed my listening habits. As opposed to listening to recordings until they wear out, I tend to be more speculative, often listening to much more music for less time. I don’t know what the long-term impacts of this sort of listening will have – but it has certainly helped me regain my love for music – something that can be knocked out of you when you are an academic!!

Anyway, to finish off, I can only recommend listening to Lionel Loueke. This guy is not only a fantastic guitarist and singer, but he has a musical ear like no one I have come across. Depress yourself by listening to this.

By the way, the image at the top of this post is done in Wordie – a great way to see which  words you use the most!!

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PhD Studentship Available in Live Music

I have been contacted to publicise an excellent opportunity for someone after a funded PhD into the live music industry in Bristol. If anyone is interested, contact me in the first instance – and I will pass details on. Details below

PhD Studentships

UWE is offering a part-time PhD Studentship in Popular Music and Everyday Life as part of the Bristol Live Independent Music Archive Project (BLIMA).

The Studentship comprises an annual bursary of £3,000 plus tuition fees paid for up to five years.

About BLIMA

BLIMA has been set up to compile an archive of the city of Bristol’s live independent music scene, from 1950 to the present. The archive is to be an invaluable resource for researchers and historians of popular culture, music, and everyday life. It contains primary materials connected to live events held at venues through the city. Contributions could involve such activities as conducting interviews, organising research events, collecting and collating archival material.

Applications

Applications are invited from candidates who wish to conduct research in one or more of the following areas:

• Live performance and locality
• Music as everyday experience
• Identity and hybridity
• Genre and independence in music

For more info, click here.

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What am I listening to: Sampled Vocals

This post was originally going to be about The Books, but it got me thinking about my love for listening to music with sampled vocals. By disembodying the vocal/voice, I think the meaning of voice samples (and also ‘Found Sounds’) can be ironically accentuated, or alternatively changed (A great example of Post Modernism). So….. Instead placing links to just The Books, I thought I would mention a few other artists that have interested me with their sampling activities.

Robert Ashley Despite being in his 70′s now, to my mind he is a pioneer of using vocal sounds out of context. Listen to his Opera Robert Ashley – Celestial Excursions

Another under represented composer in this style is guitarist Scot Johnson, who somehow mixes samples with jazz rock and art music influences. Start off by listening to this Scott Johnson – John Somebody

I have already mentioned the Books. Listen to this Spotify Playlist The Books

Vicky Bennett’s ‘People Like Us‘ are really worth a listen. I  placed a post about People Like Us a while back regarding the copyright issues they face when sampling, and how a Creative Commons licence would help circumnavigate some of the issues that restrict creativity. Although not on Spotify, in true Creative Commons style, Vicky has placed all of her music for download here.

Finally, no account of vocal sampling would be complete without mentioning Steve Reich. Start off by listening to Ensemble Modern – Steve Reich: Different Trains

Finally, and not that I am comparing myself in any way to the great artists above, but here are a  couple of my experiments with vocal sampling. The first was written as a commission for dancer Gabriela Daris, and the 2nd in an attempt to combine jazz rock with vocal sampling.

Prodigal Son

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What Am I Listening To: Brand X

Having mentioned Beady Belle in a previous post, I thought it would make sense to go through some of the music I like in alphabetical order. This band represent one of my earliest experiences of realising that music could be complex and interesting. In my opinion they are one of the least appreciated ‘jazz rock’ bands to emerge from the 1970′s, so here is my miniscule contribution encouraging more people to listen to them. In addition to  their guitarist John Goodsall (A hero of mine as a 15 year old), they featured a Jaco influenced bassist Percy Jones (or did he influence Jaco??) and wait for it – Phil Collins on drums (on some albums). In short, if you like guitar led Jazz Rock – listen to this Spotify link.

F,inally, here is a You Tube link of an incarnation of the band playing in 1997

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What Am I Listening To? Beady Belle

Thought would be interesting to highlight some of the music I am listening to at the moment by placing a Spotify playlist. Anyway artist for today is Beady Belle

She is one of the many Norwegian bands I am listening to at the moment.  Not only are the compositions very interesting and the vocals great, but I also find it interesting how freely these musicians sing in English – without seeming compromising any ‘Norwegian Identity’.

Anyway  – enjoy the music

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Stafrænn Hákon and Ólafur Arnalds

Just found this band from Iceland called Stafrænn Hákon. Can’t find any of their albums on Spotify, but this is a band worth checking out. See below

There is another young Iclandic artist that i have really got into over the last few months by the name of Ólafur Arnalds

Listen to the link below. Two of his albums are also available on Spotify.

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Around the World… Waka Waka Hey Hey! – WFMU’s Beware of the Blog

Here is an excellent blog entry on Shakira’s World Cup piece Waka Waka. It concerns the seemingly free use of African copyright material in the West and is an excellent read.

Around the World… Waka Waka Hey Hey! – WFMU’s Beware of the Blog.

If you are interested the original African piece can be found below

You can now compare to the ‘translation’

From what I understand the publishers of this are doing the right thing now, but it would be easier to take notice in the first place!

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Bristol named Britain’s ‘most musical city’ in new survey – but Cardiff was Second”

The Performing Rights Society recently conducted a poll that placed Cardiff as the 2nd most musical city in the UK. The data is based on the number of musicians that are produced when compared to the total population. The organisation used its massive data base to determine the birthplace of its membership. London was 26th despite having the most musicians, but this is interesting data regarding the post I gave a couple of weeks ago regarding the opportunities of Welsh Musicians. Regardless if opportunities are there are not, Cardiff at least seems to be doing something right. Here are a few links below discussing the subject.

Bristol named Britain’s ‘most musical city’ in new survey | News | NME.COM

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scottish-music-talent-hailed-as-among-most-noteworthy-in-uk-1.1012985

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DEVELOPMENT OF A FOUNDATION DEGREE IN MUSIC RETAIL MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A UNIVERSITY AND ROLAND UK

I have just had an article published on the research I have conducted regarding developing work based music Foundation Degrees. The Details can be found here.

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