I got a new toy

Apologies if you find it hard to read. But deal with it. The past is the future. I can be so profound sometimes. Enjoy...

Yeah. Fucking modern technology. A total asshole. It doesn't help that the computer I'm writing this on is giving me instructions/directions/warnings in Polish. My typewriter would never do that. It doesn't have the necessary keys. I'll see if I can do any better on my computer.

Update: Yeah, just click on the image for a more readable reading experience.

Yeah Thursday

Where was I? Ah yes, the battery has arrived. It hasn't taken me this long to fit it. I've been editing the track I'm putting up. But now I can write this from my bed, comfortably, without worrying about it crashing!



My God it's good to see the battery icon in the top right hand corner. Left side's not too bad either.

And here as previously promised, the tunes I came up with earlier:

Jam Solo by Jam's Solo


Thursday 2 by Jam's Solo

Bloody music. It always comes back to music. I almost forgot what I originally came on here to post. Last week's writing.

Last week was London Fashion Week. And quite handily Audio Couture was part of it, providing the sounds for Kristian Aadnevik's A/W 2011 show at The In & Out Club in the heart of Westminster. The free cocktails weren't all that amazing, despite the vodka being made from icebergs. (A shit mix makes a bad drink. End of story.) I'm pretty sure I saw a dude who was either a footballer or from Hollyoaks, but the dude with the disco ball head stole the show. It was out in the courtyard which was sweet because we could continue smoking. Here's the article I did for Audio Couture:

Yeah, you've got a shiny head. Well done.

Audio Couture was this week hard at work at Kristian Aadnevik’s Autumn / Winter show at London Fashion Week. Never one to turn down an invitation (read: free drink) or the opportunity to see the crew out of the office, I headed down to see what all this fashion week fuss was about.

Set in the regal surroundings of The In and Out Club, a members-only townhouse in central London, the Georgian setting was perfect for the drama to come from Kristian’s sartorial and our own José Hita’s audio designs on show. After all, as a former protégé of Donatella Versace and a designer for Alexander McQueen and Roberto Cavalli, Kristian’s designs couldn’t be shown just anywhere.

Drawing on Kristian’s gothic inspiration for his clothes, José’s soundtrack mixed black metal from Kristian’s native Norway with classical music composed by Danny Elfman that created a suicidal sexuality reminiscent of the Camden scene.

With the catwalk placed outside in the townhouse’s terrace, a single giant lantern lit the garden. As the lantern dimmed to darkness, the focus was drawn to the first model by pounding evocative music and a single spotlight. The rest of the pack followed, svelte yet predatory and morbidly at ease prowling the catwalk to the deathly sounds.

Discordant, melancholic but moving tracks by Satyricon and Sombres Forêst were given an elegant twist, softened by the orchestrated tones. A mirror image to the leather bound bodices, velvet throws, buckles, studs and straps on show. This was not just goth. But goth couture.

Shit this post has taken ages. I need to get on with my day. Cheers.

Thursday eh?

It dawned on me the other day that I haven't had a chance to blog on here for a while. I've been writing stuff for Audio Couture (see previous post and the following), so it's about time I post something not entirely about music and more specifically something about me.

So me, eh? Let's see, this morning I had a rad Full English on Queen's Crescent, not right on it, it's freezing and it's market day. That wouldn't have been enjoyable. I've also spent the last half hour mucking around on my guitar. I'll link to that later. [I don't like the idea of someone with a short attention span jumping to that and not reading the rest of the post. It's rude.] But in the general, more than past five minutes of my life, I'm tending bar in West Hampstead at the quite lovely Alice House.

Back to the present and I've just received one. Well, it's from myself. My Mac battery has arrived. I've been without on for the past six months. Time to plug this bad boy in. I'll be back in a min.

Sharing music gets easier OR How I learnt to stop respecting people’s privacy and learnt to love playing my music everywhere

There is now a generation among us who were not alive during the CD’s lifetime. An entire generation exists that neither experienced the change over from vinyl nor MiniDisc’s failure to capture the imagination of the consumer market. You could say that this is about as important as the fact that there will soon be a generation who never witnessed Neighbours broadcast on BBC1. But one thing is for sure (for those of us feeling old now): it this makes us realize how lucky we’ve been to see so much happen in music technology in such a short period of time.

As technology becomes harder, better, faster, stronger, not a lot seems to change in terms of how we use it. From the humble beginnings of the gramophone, to the wireless radio and beyond, music has always been about sharing a passion. But at what point do things become a bit too much? The ghetto blaster may conduct images of street youth, yet it has provided manufactures with a new avenue to pursue in innovating new products. Anyone who has to ride a bus will be aware of how annoying those youth can be playing their (usually crap) music on their mobile phones. Now you can buy backpacks with built-in speakers. Where will the madness end?

And the emergence of speakers built-in to everyday objects can make us look back to the days of over hearing someone’s crap with rose tinted glasses. Pretty much as soon as Sony’s Walkman took off in the 1980s and spawned countless imitators, the great concerned (read: the media), were worried about the dangers it could do to listeners’ hearing. Although if the Daily Mail had their way music would probably be outlawed save for The Last Night of the Proms. Even now, 30 years after the birth of the Walkman, its recent death and successor in the iPod, the Daily Mail are finding things to get in a panic about like the rather amusing/scary (if somewhat unfeasible) phenomenon taking over the United States known as I-Dosing.

So where does music technology go from here? Cloned kittens that play your favourite Jedward track? A television that gets you high by playing Susan Boyle in time to Coronation Street? As long as everyone keeps their cool around sociopath music lovers on their morning commute, we should be all right.

The feature, finally

It's been a while in coming. But finally here's the Catch 22 feature...

Catch 22 Magazine Autumn Winter

2010

Or if you fancy picking up a real copy, it's available at:

Absolut Vintage
Adidas
A-Non Clothing
Bar Vinyl
Beyond Retro
Big Chill House
Boxfresh
Brook Sexual Health Clinic
Carhartt
Camberwell College of Art
Central St Martins Southampton Row
Clapham Picture House
Elbow Room
Fish Hairdressing
Goldsmiths University
Hoxton Pony
Junky Styling
Laban
London College of Fashion
London Graphics Centre
Onitsuka Tiger
Pineapple
Pure Groove Ltd
Rhythm Factory
Rich Mix
Size
Son of Stag
South London Gallery
Southbank University Student Union
Storm Watches
The Duke of Cambridge
The Generator
The Old Sweet Shop
The Westbury
Truman Brewery
Vibe Bar
Westbourne Studios
55DSL

Hope you enjoy.

Tim

Merry Christmas

Facebook is being an asshole. So instead of uploading it there it's going on here for everyone to enjoy.

Some writing for you

I know how lazy people can be when they go on the internet. It's always the same. Check email, check Facebook, look at some porn, go for a sandwich. I'm not judging you.

That's why I've decided to post a couple of reviews I've just written for Get To The Front here. To save you time in getting to that sandwich or getting off.

Artist: BYOB

Album: Everything In Moderation

Released: 25 October

Reviewed by: Tim Horner

‘Everything In Moderation’ is an apt if somewhat ironic title for BYOB’s debut album. BYOB (aka Ashley Hamilton) has combined some seriously infectious and possible chart disturbing tracks (see Peaches, Young Living and Best Shoes) with a considerable helping of filler. Moderation indeed. Add to the fact that the majority of tracks concern the copious consumption of drugs and alcohol and you can see his sense of humour at work.

At his best, BYOB combines cutting witty lyrics with pulsing electronic beats, taking influence from The Prodigy and The Streets in what could be a crossover classic. In Chillin’ BYOB is Mike Skinner-esque with a dab of social commentary, self-awareness and smart vocal interplay with the samples.

Peaches is a grime hijack of The Stranglers’s 1970 classic. Thankfully it doesn’t rely on the original sample too heavily, instead taking its own route down the beach to take in all the picturesque sights. “There’s nowhere else in the world I would rather be” chants the chorus, an escape from the winter that we all need.

At 21 years old, BYOB sounds like he’s been on the scene for half his life. In Young Living he taps into a youthful energy and confidence that many of our generation either possess or want to “I live my life how I like / Too much fun don’t make me a sinner / And too many drinks don’t make me an alcoholic”. BYOB could soon find himself Public Enemy Number One of the Daily Mail in their constant campaign to keep ‘the youth’ away from consumption of any substance other than chocolate and sweets. While I Like It shows a consciousness lacking from other artists “Why is everything bad so good for me, why is everything good so bad?” which could save him from the grip of middle England’s outrage.

Everything In Moderation is a strong first album from a promising artist who has the best chance of breaking into the mainstream. But ripping the melody from The Bangles’ Walk Like An Egyptian on a track about taking coke and exchanging it for sex is a bizarre combination for even the most hardened listener.

7/10

Artist: A Silent Film

Album: The City That Sleeps

Released: 27^th September

Reviewed by: Tim Horner

‘The City That Sleeps’ is a re-release of Oxford quartet A Silent Film’s debut album from last year. Over 10 tracks the piano led foursome produce energetic orchestral tunes that bring to mind the likes of Keane and Coldplay. Unfortunately they’re not Keane or Coldplay.

At times you can hear U2 trying to break through, but once again A Silent Film lack the magic, power or charisma of their established rivals. Their tunes are big, there’s no denying that. They’ve got some serious talent between them. But something is lacking.

Driven By Their Beating Hearts as an opener brings a tempo that is hard to follow up. Somehow they manage to keep the pace but at the same time lose any vested interest. The vocals are irritating in a grating against the brain kind of way. On top of that, there’s little variation. All the songs sound pretty much the same.

You Will Leave A Mark offers a double time drum beat that at least knocks you out of the monotony offered up to that point, while Julie June opts of the offbeat to lull you into a false sense of interest.

A Silent Film must be doing something right as the original release of the album received praise from Steve Lamacq and bagged them a spot on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury. They’ve also spent a bit of time playing in the United States, supporting The Smashing Pumpkins.

If you like Coldplay but find them a bit too interesting, if you like Keane but find their tunes a bit too catchy, A Silent Film could be right up your street. But personally, this album makes me feel like a resident of The City That Sleeps. Asleep: all the way through it.

3/10

See what I mean?