The middle of June marks a peculiar season in the mind of me. Not only does it get incredibly busy with Stuff, but there’s also a childish excitement around The Summer, bringing with it festivals, exciting shows, recording and “sunshine”. Also, do we like the new site? It’s a rather fetching level of pink, and just enough information to keep you here but with enough links to other places to let you flee the nest. I hope you enjoy it. Yesterday, I was at The Sage Gateshead for the ECHO Digital conference. ECHO (European Concert Hall Org.) is an incredible … Continued
rants
I’m back, but I’m buuuuusy
I landed back in London from LA on Tuesday evening and, after dinner with The Father, I tumbled to bed. Today, however, and for the next two months, I’m non-stop. Concerts, recordings, new stuff to learn, meetings, some stuff to write… and more traveling! It’s absolutely brilliant and definitely the right problem to have, but the great thing with being away is that it gives you a natural excuse to leave email unanswered, not return a phone call, not run to everything everywhere. But back home? Totally different story. I’m now slowly wading through a backlog of tracks I didn’t get … Continued
I took a long evening walk this evening, and here are my thoughts.
Following Satyagraha Remix (it was wonderful, by the way), I decided that I would walk home. Why not? It’s only 4.3 miles back to my flat, and I really dislike buses. After negotiating Leicester Sq. with the cello, I started thinking: Can we ever actually expect to progress in the “classical” music world? I often wonder if there are too many stakeholders now, too much baggage and too few firebrands kicking things around to really affect change. I’m not meaning changing the clothes people perform in or the name of the group, or slipping in contemporary music into a Brahms … Continued
A New Age. It’s the answer.
Today it was my birthday, and I’m now 23. Hurray! I’ve been thinking about new beginnings recently; we’re at a really exciting time in the music industry where the old rules are being questioned for one reason or another, and nobody can say with any real clarity what’s happening. Surely we should be making interesting stuff? Stuff that provokes a reaction. Stuff that doesn’t settle, stuff that isn’t static. Why not do something that you’d like to see and hear? Would you pay to sit through something dull and lifeless? Nope. Me neither. Just because it’s been one way for … Continued
What if…
How can an event, planned and set months, maybe years in advance, remain relevant at the time of performance? What if concert programming matched audience buying trends? Some audience members buy tickets when the programme is printed several months before it happens. Most, it has to be said, buy within the week of the concert. RIghtly or wrongly, that is the behavior. Rather than challenge it, why don’t we work with it? Why don’t we announce concerts three weeks in advance, meaning they can retain their relevance and add a fresh, timely element to the affair? In my specific line of … Continued