The Listening Machine…it’s…alive! I’m in Boston this week for a concert with NEC’s Innovation Forum and some meetings, but am so proud to see this launch. It’s going to change shape over the coming 6 months, so keep tuning in!
Blog
A few words about such and such etc.
Can I just point out here, on The Website, that The Listening Machine is absolutely the most insane amount of work that I’ve ever actually had to do, ever? It even eclipses that GCSE art coursework debacle of 2002. It’s not enough to have to write 6 months of potential music, but it actually has to be, you know, orchestrated quite well – the reasons behind the quality are two fold: one, it’s being played by The Britten Sinfonia and they’re incredible, and two, it’s running for 6 months so it had better sound good for a good long while. … Continued
SXSW and The Listening Machine
I’m sitting at Austin airport heading home after a manic week at SXSW. I was there for a sniff of Interactive, then the whole music/beer experience. It was really quite incredible. I was there to do the Nonclassical Showcase, which I co-hosted with Steve Snowden (composer, gent and co-founder of Fast Forward Austin), and we had a really fun lineup – percussion, a sax quartet, a percussion trio, me, solo bass..it was pretty wild. We also had a really receptive audience, who completely proved that the only classical panel (“We used to call it Classical…”) in the afternoon was basically … Continued
Tour Shenanigans + News
Long form blogging a tour is, honestly, exhausting. So many things happen that can’t be repeated for polite reasons, and so many things sadly get overlooked as of interest to those not actively sitting at airports, train stations and in hire cars who overlook them (usually the writer) This trip is no exception. It was, simply, immense fun. It was Joby Burgess, Gabriel Prokofiev and me winding our way from Princeton to Chicago, via New York, Boston/Houston (I went to B., Joby to H.), Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago, playing some concerts, eating some food and drinking (some) beer. What’s not to like? … Continued
Checkin Tunes.
Yesterday morning, I was checking in at London City Airport (surely the most civilised airport in the world?) and was greeted like a long lost friend. It was equal parts ego boost and nice start to the morning. My suitcase was checked in and tagged HEAVY, my seats allocated and the usual glance to just above my head to check it wasn’t a growth…”it’s a cello – with a seat” – I moaned. This sentence, used verbatim hundreds of times a year by yours truly, has more tedious flying experiences and unfortunate arguments attached to it than you’ll ever know. … Continued