Most people listen to music in a way that is average in quality.
It will be most likely that you are listening to music in ear buds from your phone or worse, a laptop.
This undermines the work that producers and artists have done to make their record sound as good as it possibly can, spending hundreds of hours carefully writing, engineering and mixing their music.
Listening to music through well designed speakers or headphones and if you get the chance, atmos can open up an absolute world of sound quality you didn’t realise was there.
Companies are starting to work hard to make break throughs in quality sound systems that are affordable and it is an exciting time for that development taking place. The development of atmos is also a really exciting where you have a fully immersive sound set (2 speakers at the front, 2 at the back a sub and 2 to the side above).
If you get the chance to listen in a system that is high quality, take it, you will not regret it.
Calls for unity don’t mean anything unless there’s accountability.
It’s hard when looking at detail of what happened three weeks ago over in America and not be sickened by it.
The world moves faster than ever as does news but this can’t be let go of quickly.
This was an insurrection, incited by the former president and his cronies. the white supremacists that charged on the capitol that left five people dead, had the intention of killing members of Congress along with stealing information. They openly admitted it online and bragged about it. Listen to AOC’s account of her experience and the fact that her life was put under threat.
This is unacceptable.
And just because they didn’t succeed in their plan doesn’t mean they should be let off the hook.
Just because some of them claim that they had no ill intention doesn’t mean they should be let off the hook either. This was the capitol they marched on, you can’t just do that.
Just imagine if this wasn’t white supremacists. The systemic racism on display could not be any more blatant.
The culture needs to stop coddling criminals.
A precedent needs to be set. Otherwise you are practically sending out an invite for this kind of thing to happen again.
* For more details, I highly recommend the Gaslit Nation podcast.
As was the case with many major releases, dates were pushed back from 2020 into 2021 in response to the pandemic for fear of exhausting creativity.
I think they should have just gone and released the full thing and moved on. I held my hat to those who went ahead with releases last year as new music could certainly serve as a tonic for enduring lockdown. Considering the way things have gone for the live music business and the ever sense of uncertainty, there’s no point but to continue creating and shipping in the present circumstances.
The design of the overall record is that it generally should be experienced as a play-through album and I find it quite frankly irritating that artists are finding themselves compromised with this during the streaming, algorithm era where the push out of singles is more an act of racing for attention than an actual artistic statement.
‘The Future Bites’ is an interesting listen. Steven Wilson has gone more down the synth and electronic stylistic pathway and to anyone who looks closely at his catalogue, it is of no surprise that he would pursue this further.
The response on social media, typically propelling the loudest angriest voices, cried betrayal of Wilson selling out, going pop and leaving behind his guitar driven, progressive pathway. It will be completely expected that he will disregard this noise, as with many of the artists that have influenced Wilson, he is never eager to repeat himself and continue to evolve.
It is perfectly fine to not dig the aesthetic and many of my friends much preferred the records where Guthrie and Marco offered their instrumental virtuosity to Wilson’s artistic vision. As they are fellow musicians, that’s an understandable stance.
I am enjoying the record. The production and sound design as always is stellar, in particular, the synth work in ‘King Ghost’ and the accompanying animated video from Jess Cope.
The key thing that continues to make SW captivating is his ability to make an album focus on contemporary themes with clarity and relevance albeit with a familiar sense of melancholy and doom. ‘The Future Bites’ is very much about our interactions with technology, identity, behaviours and consumerism. There is subtle humour and irony amongst the songs. Whilst Wilson critiques social media, there is the self awareness that he is equally as any of us required to interact and to an extent, depend on the technology available to us.
I remember hearing ‘Lemonade’ and then ‘Bipp’ and being completely baffled.
As a student, teacher and writer of music, it is hard for me not to listen to music taxonomically and usually I can get a rather good sense of what is going on with the production, but with Sophie, I had to admit I was completely mystified by a lot of what was going on.
Whilst her own work is an acquired taste, there is a lot to be admired. Her approach was bold, out there and adventurous. Her music was ever captivating and that’s what an artist is meant to do, explore the edges as that is where things get really interesting.
Her virtuosity, attention to detail and creativity meant that her work is well loved by many and besides her own work, she was building an extensive list of collaborations including Charli XCX and Madonna. I would argue that a lot of the sounds listeners are hearing are a result of her influence (despite her perhaps not being widely known).
Furthermore, Sophie’s debut album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides explored identity, non conformity and transcendence and offered solace for many. I read someone say that Sophie’s artistic influence held them with embracing transition.
Sophie was a linchpin in a scene that has offered some of the most interesting and adventurous contemporary pop music and the fact that she has lost her life in an accident is tragic when undoubtedly she had so much to offer.
Her legacy and work will continue be influential for the future of electronic music.
Is conversation and political discourse now about which side you are on and whether you are winning? Has it always been this way?
Yesterday, my twitter feed epitomised this. The EU were wrong to threaten to invoke article 16, and Brexit is also having awful consequences for many businesses and people. Both things can be true.
The facts don’t seem to matter anymore, it is more about point scoring. This has come to the point where hypocrisy and double standards are happening all of the time so one’s stance can be propped up whilst another is knocked down. The middle ground has seemingly disappeared whilst feelings lead us to following our leaders like it’s a cult.
Is this really the road we want to continue going down?
I grow ever weary of ignorance being satiated, facts being ignored, truth being bent and the whole notion that you are in the mix to win. This is not a sport, and no one will win in this manner. It only leads to hatred and violence.
There needs to be serious reflection on how we move forward, from the systems we use to connect and consume information to the way in which we behave online and the standards that must be upheld. This is one of the biggest challenges of modern times and needs to be embraced.
Expertise, nuance, attention to the details and analytical and critical thinking all needs to become fashionable again. The notion that many of will be wrong and can change our minds needs to be acceptable again and is a sign of weakness, not strength.
We have so much more in common than we think we do.
Getting together with my band the Kinky Wizzards has been tough and the times where easing of lockdown restrictions have been precious.
The moments where we have been in a room together have seen us play with absolute joy and an untempered level of focus and energy.
In absence of something, the heart can grow fonder and there is most definitely a yearning for concerts and live music to happen once again. When it does, there will be an extraordinary level of appreciation and elation. We must not forget that a lot of live music can blossom from underground scenes and grass roots venues in the U.K. should be receiving more support.
In the meantime, we do what we can and are planning a livestream event in the Spring. We also managed to record a live video which you can view below. The track is called ‘Sur La Dordogne’ and was inspired by our annual trips to France and the river that we have a tradition of going on a canoe trip.
Our latest album ‘The Effervescent Travellers’ is available on Bandcamp where you can either buy a digital copy or order a CD.
There are several traps that cause creatives to feel anxiety.
One is writer’s block or more specifically a fear of bad writing. The other is getting the most out of a day and feeling that you have done a substantial amount of work.
There are four stages of creativity:
Preparation
Incubation
Illumination
Verification
All four of these happen interchangeably and I know that I can spend ages on the fourth one where I am listening back to work I have done and trying to find ways to either develop it or affirm that it is finished. My first solo album took 6 months of post-production before I could say it was ready to release.
I remember hearing acclaimed singer songwriter Diane Warren talk about how she spent an entire day working on a couple of lyric lines because they were important.
That statement itself reveals the importance of revision, rewriting and giving time and effort to a small amount of quality material.
There is also some reassurance in that statement. Especially if you feel you aren’t producing enough. Giving time to intricate details can allow them to blossom with profoundly rewarding results.
Eric Johnson is one of my favourite guitar players of all time.
I decided to cover ‘SRV’ from his album ‘Venus Isle’.
The track title is the initials of the person it is dedicated to, the legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and it features a guitar solo from his older brother Jimmy.
It is a demanding but beautiful piece of guitar music.
The success that the team has enjoyed over the last couple of years has been unprecedented compared to the last thirty and it’s quite simply been a joy to watch a team play so well and so much positivity surround the club.
Although, last night’s game was a frustrating watch against Burnley where we lost 1-0 and saw the end of a four year long run unbeaten at the home ground of Anfield.
The team have not scored a goal in the last 4 games either.
The reaction on social media is as expected. Impatient, angry fans are usually the loudest and insist on money being spent or typing ‘insert name of person they think of responsible out’.
Despite the press talk and media response, knee jerk reactions rarely work.
It’s part of the game for a team to go through a slump, not have that much luck particularly on their side and the mentality and approach not quite clicking.
And part of what makes the sport so interesting is what teams choose to do when things are going against them.
There’s the disappointment, the knock in confidence and the criticism, but beyond that is reflection, introspection, analysis and a evaluative plan to move forward.
Setbacks will happen and it’s the manner in which we respond that counts.
Today is the four year anniversary of ‘Melodies for Maladies’. This record was a hugely ambitious undertaking that was physically, emotionally and mentally draining.
The concept of the album as explicitly titled, was about external and internal maladies based around five characters. The characters lead towards themes which explore the media’s weaponisation of reality, predicting the end of the world in order to profiteer from it, a leader’s decision to go into war and the consequences of that, depression, anxiety, and surviving and eventually reviving oneself from tragedy by finding meaning. (Nice and light!)
The result musically is a progressive metal album that is an hour long (including a 23 minute long 2 part piece!) and draws particular influence from King Crimson, Rush, Steven Wilson, Dream Theater and Tool.
The technical and emotional demands of this record made me feel at times like I would never complete it. Four years on, I’m glad to say it’s been listened to and I’ve sold CDs around the world and am grateful to everyone who has given it a spin. The collaboration of hugely talented people meant that this record was possible so it’s worth listing them and expressing my gratitude here.
Alex Broben – Bass guitar
Aled Lloyd – Drums Andrew Bishop – Engineer/Co-Producer
Emma Davidson – Additional vocals
Theo Travis – Soprano Saxophone and Flute solos in Introspect Part 2
Stephen Preston – Piano solo on Introspect part 2
Rob Kidd – Mixing
Mike Hillier – Mastering
Colin Elgie – Artwork
Dale Johnson – Album layout and design
Bethan Miller – Photography
If you’ve yet to come across this album and grande concept progressive metal is your thing then ‘melodies for maladies’ was made for you. I also have physical CDs available to order on Bandcamp and do enjoy a walk to the post office to send them off.
Ryan Mark Elliott Music 