bbc introducing – and so she thinks

BBC Introducing – Musician’s Masterclass 2013 – need to know

admin — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:21:14 +0000

On March 21^st the BBC ran sessions around the UK inviting musicians, industry experts and fans to learn about the industry, in a day of advice sessions, expert panels, and conferences. Here are some of the highlights and learnings. Some are obvious, some may change the way you have considered things, all are worth reading. (Plus, it will save you the two and a half hours of your life that it will take to listen to the videos here).

–          Be persistent and hungry, and show that hunger. Don’t bug people, but show them you want to succeed and love music, and they will react.
–          No one is going to bump into A&R, they will take years to find you. It is about making waves with your music…it all starts with one ripple etc…
–          If your music is good enough, people will find it. Record companies are perfectly right to expect you to have done something yourself – the tools are there. The label can take you from 20 to 100, but you have to do 0 to 20.
–          The record deal is one tiny bit – it’s all about what you do before and what you do after that really matters, so don’t just hold out for that deal and think it will change everything.
–          The industry is shrinking, all falling apart, as people don’t work together – if the thing we love is music, let’s keep listening to each other and moving forward.
–          There is no money for new artists – you have to enjoy what you do.
–          This means that most musicicans needs work elsewhere to finance themselves. Pick flexible jobs that will teach you skills that will help. Spreadsheets, plans and accounting may sound irrelevant, but as an independent artist you will have to do it all. Even The Beatles worked – dirty finger nails, starving hungry, breakdowns in the middle of the night – all are part of it.
–          Make sure monetise your live dates – be members of PRS, and submit your set list.
–          Consider syncing – it’s not a dirty word any more as there are so few ways of making money.
–          Share your music via Spotify and radio etc – the reach of exposure from one and better compensation from the other balance out.
–          Similarly, although more people may download a song, you make more money from CDS at gigs – £5 rather than 79p – so don’t forget them. Make an effort with the CDs – make them different, eye catching, and easy for people to listen.
–          Give your band page and website personality – not a robot. Just be normal, and respond to people in real time. Complete conversations and journeys, and have them wanting to come back to listen to you, rather than just push out content.
–          All bands need a website – it is all very well having ‘enigma’ but you need a way of communicating with fans.
–          Build up a profile amongst your local scene – if can sell out 300 seats in local town, promoters will believe that you can do elsewhere and take a risk on you.
–          Hand to hand flyering can’t be beaten – if something is in your hand you have to look at it.
–          There’s no such thing as an official single launch any more – the music is there for people to find.
–          In a manager you need trust, to be going in broadly the same direction, they need to be someone you can battle with but not too businessy – but you do need to be able to trust them and their capabilities.
–          Pushing yourself forward is all about having momentum with right people who have same passion.
–          Your friends will always be your biggest fans, but it is important to go out of your comfort zone and communicate with people who aren’t your friends and reach new people.
–          All of your friends have a network, hook up with other artists, do a cover – you are getting into other networks and reaching new people.
–          Making amazing music matters more than having hits. Easily forgotten.
–

The Manic Shine – Let Go Or Be Dragged

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:29:02 +0000

Rock band The Manic Shine claim to have discovered an illness called ‘Sickotrashmusicitis’. Described as the ‘chronic feeling of lethargy and nausea when listening to music on mainstream radio’, it seems to have only one cure. No prizes for guessing what that might be.
It’s a fun quote that does an excellent job of signalling their intentions early – they are looking to bring something different to the table, a true alternative to popular culture. The question is whether The Manic Shine can deliver on that promise.
In a sense they certainly do. Many of the tracks on their latest album Let Go Or Be Dragged couldn’t be further from the playlist material of most mainstream and commercial radio stations, and they’re all the better for it even if they won’t bust any blocks. The sound of the band is heavily driven by the rhythm section, with the drums and excellent bass guitar parts weave in and out of one another with great skill – this is technically proficient rock as played by skilled musicians, and the lengthy tracks often include musical interludes which arguably outshine the vocal led sections.
The production values on the LP are excellent by any standards, with each of the many musical layers shining through at all the right times, and the more you listen to the album the more you enjoy what’s going on underneath. Live the band fuse electronica influence with reggae, and deliver the cure in the form of strong rock, stellar bass playing and well written tunes. Talent and tenacity abound, and with NME, BBC Introducing and Music Week all on board, 2013 could be their year.

A Sunday afternoon in Reading – Festival 2012!

admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:50:38 +0000

A little bit corporate, somewhat dirty, with its big wire fencing, dusty paths, and discarded chip trays, Reading Festival isn’t one I usually cite as one of my favourites, sometimes lacking the spirit and joie de vivre that percolates smaller festivals. However, with a big reputation, big bucks, and a big profile, it does attract some of the world’s biggest names and often has a line up glittering with long time stars and those rising up. This year was no exception, and with a Sunday day ticket and one heck of a hangover, we set out to Berkshire.

Django Django inspired some of the best dance moves of the day, with the jerking chicken dance coming out for Default, and some brilliantly synchronised Egyptian style moves for Cairo. At 2pm on a lazy Sunday afternoon, their slot probably wasn’t the best one for such infectious party music, but the NME tent still want off with a bang. In what can only be described as a Bolanesque sequined ensemble Johnny Lloyd, lead singer of Tribes, led the band in a vital and intense performance showcasing their new album Baby. Their rougueish spirit was evident, and Sappho and We Were Children in particular wrapped the crowd into their tearaway fold.
Next it was a dash to the BBC Introducing session, to watch the lovely Rachel Sermanni entrance the crowd. Rich and warm vocals, tantalising strumming, all enhanced by the ‘girls’ and their supporting strings, Miss Sermanni managed to captivate even the most unassuming members of the crowd just looking for a place to sleep off the night before, with one member of the audience articulating what everyone was thinking when he shouted out ‘I want to give you a cuddle!’ Selected by the BBC’s Ally McCrae, and about to embark on a European tour, Rachel’s debut album Under The Mountains is out on September 17th, and this performance will have driven a fair few new fans to purchase.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AWv7ATa34]
Those familiar with It’s All Happening will know that wherever The Joy Formidable are, we’re not far behind, and today was no exception. The fandom of a certain Mr Grohl has certainly done them no harm, and it was great to see thousands of people singing out long time live favourites such as Austere and The Greatest Light… From the first quivering notes of Whirring, to the final elongated feedback drenched chords of the set, Ritzy, Matt and Rhydian did what they always did – made one heck of noise, but also experimented more with volumes and tempos than previously, soothing and softening before another fuck off massive crescendo, creating glacial soundscapes that explode on a moment, perhaps a sign of what is to come from the forthcoming second album.

2:54 are dark, brooding and visceral to listen to and to see live, and Collette Thurlow’s warm and charming pleasure at seeing the crowd moved by her music made the Thurlow sisters performance all the more disarming. Kicking off with new single Sugar, they slinked and stomped through the set, all thundery skies and gritty basslines, their sweet and sinister songs proving a highlight of the afternoon.
‘Guess who’s next’ Dan asked, ‘I’ll give you a clue. It’s coming up in several months. ‘
Christmas?
My birthday?
Er, a holiday?
It was ‘winter’ and the band Zulu Winter. Dreadful game to play, brilliant band to watch. Swimming has been one of It’s All Happening’s tracks of the summer, introduced to us by the lovely Amazing radio, and its hypnotic halcyonic vibe is not alone in Zulu Winter’s live set. Bolshy and defiant drums underpinned smooth electronic feeling melodies, in what was something of a surprise stand out, full of refulgent splendour.
The respective members of Deaf Club don’t look like they should be a band, nor capable of emitting such menacing and mesmerising indie noir, but their lack of contrived image only serves to highlight the truth – that Jen Long has definitely picked up on of the UKs most talented new bands. Also on the BBC Introducing stage we caught the end of Dinghus Khan, an 8 piece band whose stage set up is almost confrontational, lining up in a row to face the crowd and deliver their raucous and rambunctious pop.
Ricky Wilson is always an entertainer, and The Kaiser Chiefs performance got any of the festival site who weren’t yet in the party spirit ready for a riot. A scratchy throat meant that some of the vocal delivery wasn’t as strong as it could be, but since the slight musical decline post their debut album, The Kaiser Chiefs are all about having fun and putting on a performance, and thus didn’t disappoint. Another band who whack up the fun factor are King Charles (and not just due to the questionable hair styles inspired by the band’s namesake) but a result of their shambolic sea shanty style tunes that had the whole of the Festival Republic stage tent bouncing and bounding.

Having gone through an image change with the release of last year’s album Skying, The Horrors played an epic charge of songs that brutally assaulted the senses whilst fully immersing and swooping you up within them. Somewhat alone in the current climate, they make intelligent and intense rock that absorbs layers from the musical canon, fused together to make their own original output. Watching The Horrors live feels like a natural negotiation, tugging and pulling at the gut and the heart, a tangle of bittersweet vocals, driving bass lines and bristling energy.