The Next SoundCloud
SoundCloud, my favourite musician-oriented music streaming service is starting to roll out a major facelift (and upgrade) to it’s web based services. Today I was fortunate enough to get access to the Next SoundCloud. The changes are impressive, to say the least. The Beat Doesn’t Stop SoundCloud won a lot of people over with its [...]
Why I’m Going To MusicMatters
I’ve had some friendy jibes, in recent weeks, about my decision to go to MusicMatters. After all, this is supposed to be my big year away from business and “the industry” Last year I said that for 2012, “No new projects, no new clients, no sales pitches, no networking, no marketing, no branding, no seeking [...]
Singapore Soundcloud Meetup
I’m really excited to be helping organise a meeting of Singapore’s Soundcloud users, as part of Soundcloud’s Global Meetup day. Last year I co-hosted the Hong Kong meetup, iMusic, which was organised as part of Social Media Week Hong Kong. iMusic was a huge success and I’m very hopeful that SgSc will also be a [...]
What If Twitter Was Music
Last week, my friend Casey Lau made an announcement that Hong Kong band, Tigerbombers had joined Twitter (@Tigerbombers). As often happens, a conversation then developed about band websites and the relative merits of having your main online presence on Facebook. In the midst of that Spike (who blogs at Hongkie Town & Spike’s Photos) made [...]
Some Singapore Music News
There have been three big music business stories attracting attention in Singapore over the past couple of weeks. I’ve decided to put them together, because they give us something of a snapshot of the scene here. MusicMatters Is Back In late May, the MusicMatters conference will be back in Singapore. Last year the conference moved [...]
ReMix – Nesta Rae’s Stay
Hot on the heels of my remix of Rufus Wainwright’s Bitter Tears is a remix of Stay, by Nesta Rae. This is another competition piece for Indaba Music. So, take a listen, vote if you like it, or just let me know what you think. If you compare my version to the original, you’ll probably [...]
More From Chris Lord-Alge
A few weeks back I highlighted some great videos featuring mixer & producer Chris Lord-Alge being interviewed by Erica Glyn for SonicScoop. Well, the final three videos in the series have been posted and they make for some compelling viewing for anyone in the music business. 4. Mixing in the MP3 Age I love the [...]
The ReMix Competition Thing
“My relationship with my muse is a delicate one at the best of times and I feel that it is my duty to protect her from influences that may offend her fragile nature. She comes to me with the gift of song and in return I treat her with the respect I feel she deserves [...]
You Rock Review
The newest guitar in my studio is certainly something of an oddity. The wonderfully named You Rock Guitar is, first and foremost, a game controller. There’s no question that straight out of the box it looks and feels like a toy. But, thanks to some clever developments, it can function as a MIDI controller, which [...]
The Universal Mind Of Bill Evans
Bill Evans was an extraordinary Jazz pianist, composer and arranger. Best known for working with Miles Davis, Evans changed the face of modern Jazz with his approach to harmony and chord composition. In this beautifully put together interview, from 1966, we get some deep and revealing insights into Bill Evans approach to music. The video [...]
SonicScoop Interviews Chris Lord-Alge
SonicScoop is one of my favourite music blogs. They’ve recently posted a great set of interviews with legendary producer, Chris Lord-Alge, who was interviewed by New York musician, Erica Glyn. SonicScoop Power Sessions with Chris Lord-Alge In this first part of the interview, Chris Lord-Alge talks about how he feel in love with music and [...]
New Music In A New City
Last night I posted two new tracks on SoundCloud. Yes, I know my SoundCloud account is a bit like the joke about London buses; you wait in vain for a long time then, suddenly, two come at once. My plan for 2012 was to focus on creating new work and exploring fresh ideas. Mostly due [...]
Small Town, Big Industry
My thanks go to Richard Florida, for posting a link on Twitter to this article Austin Is In A Creative Class Of Its Own. As many of you know, Austin, Texas, is host to the enourmous South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conference. It’s a huge affair, one that I’ve kept promising myself, every [...]
Jazz And Other False Dichotomies
One of my oddest high school experiences came early in Grade 12. I had gone over to a new friend’s house, after school, to listen to some records. Back in those pre-digital days, teenagers would descend on someone’s place, put some vinyl on the turntable and, get this, listen to music. Heck, there wasn’t much [...]
Where Creativity Doesn’t Come From
I’m often asked about the differences between Hong Kong and Singapore. While there are many things that separate the two cities there is, sadly, one thing they have in common. In both places far too many “creative” types complain that the government doesn’t do enough to promote their industries, that the government should be more [...]
Is This What Innovation Smells Like?
At last year’s MusicMatters conference I heard Ralph Simon make the claim that today, instead of A&R (Artists and Repertoire), we need “I&R” (Innovation and Repetoire). Yeah, I don’t know what that means either. How The Majors Innovate In fact, I’m not sure I want the big end of the music business messing around with [...]
Bob Lefsetz?
Who the hell is Bob Lefsetz? It’s a question I’m asked, more and more in conversations, emails and online exchanges. And, it’s the heading of a recent expose in Wired magazine. If you are a musician, music-lover or in any way connected to the music business, I’d encourage you to check out that Wired article [...]
Notes From The Woodshed – February
Last month I promised to post my guitar practice studies on the first Monday of every month. Well, this clearly is not the first Monday of February! A mix of travel and convalescence has meant that I’m late to the party with this month’s notes from the woodshed. Remember, this isn’t really a “lesson” series. [...]
Neil Young On The Quality Of Digitial Music
The following clip, of Neil Young being interviewed at the D: Dive Into Media conference, is doing the rounds of the internet. It’s not long, about ten minutes, so if you love music, I’d encourage you to take a listen. At the end of the clip, Neil Young makes an extraordinary comment, “Steve Jobs was [...]
SOPA And The Creative Shift
Right now there is a wave of international protest over legislation being considered by the US government that would, effectively, break the internet. Smarter thinkers than me have tackled this issue and unpacked the detail of what is being considered. If you are an original content creator, or simply enjoy using the internet, then it’s [...]
A Better Music Scene In Singapore?
Tomorrow I’ll be attending a music industry forum here in Singapore. It’s exactly the kind of thing I swore I wouldn’t be doing this year. I’m going out of respect for the organisers, the speakers and because I actually believe it could be the start of something good for the local music scene. But, with [...]
Notes From The Woodshed
Today is the second Monday of the year. But, it’s the first Monday “in the office” for most people. To mark that, here’s a little series I’ll be writing throughout the year – Notes From The Woodshed. On the first Monday of every month I’ll posting some notes, from my “office” so to speak. These [...]
My Favourite 25 Songs Of 2011
I’m going to wade into murky waters here, by offering up my 25 favourite songs of 2011. Are these the best songs of 2011? Maybe, maybe not. OK, probably not. Truth is I’m not normally a big fan of “best-of” lists. And, listing best songs, as opposed to best albums, always makes it harder to [...]
Guitar Etudes – Warmup Exercises For Guitar By Pat Methany
For the past few weeks I’ve building my guitar practice sessions around Guitar Etudes – Warmup Exercises for Guitar by Pat Methany. This book is an exploration of Methany’s pre-show warm routine and features eleven studies, based on transcriptions of his actual pre-show playing. At first glance the book looks like a set of classical-music [...]
