Headphonaught's Nanolog

February's calendar / wallpaper

2012-01-28T08:54:00.002Z

I know I am a couple of days early... but I wanted to get this one out. This month's calendar / wallpaper is based on a wee "happy accident" (as Bob Ross would say) I kept when taking pics of some of my old cameras for a hint of bergamot.

Usual flavours are included below... and there is even a wee surprise on the Kindle3 wallpaper.

Enjoy and thanks for everyones willingness to have my photography on their devices... it is appreciated by me.

Tx

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iPhone with calendar + iPhone without calendar
iPad
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Kindle3
980x800 for Andrew Berry's mobile device

Seven questions with... Peter James

2012-01-27T12:00:00.000Z

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to "Memento" by Peter James and was delighted to accepted his friendship request on Facebook. He is a lovely chap who really cares for the music he creates... and this love is evident in his music.

I felt it apt to interview him and when you hear from him... his passion for ambient music and for people shines through. I love the wee story of the baby, for example.

I really appreciated James taking the time to answer my questions... and appreciate his candor considering his private nature.

This is what he had to say...

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(1) Who are you and what do you do?
My name is peter james, and I write ambient and instrumental music. I try not to use synthesised sounds wherever possible, and I create about 90% of the sounds and drones I use from real instruments and voices, or field recordings. I can record maybe half an hour of, say, bass guitar work, or an hour or more outdoor stuff, and yet sometimes I may only end up with a minute or 3 worth of useful sounds – hence me having recorded so few album’s. I don’t like to repeat myself, music-wise, and sound-wise, if I can help it.

I’m also a sound engineer and occasional producer – but only if it’s a project that I believe in. I also still use outboard analogue equipment and samplers, using the Mac pretty much as a stand alone sequencer/recorder and audio editor.

Since 2009 I’ve been a full-time” member of the global musical collective 48Cameras – whose main base is in Belgium. I contribute both musically and technically.

(2) What are you working on at the moment?
Currently I’m working on 2 projects – but there is some other stuff on the back-burner which is earmarked for a project with a writer and video artist from France..

My main, and on-going, project at the moment is a collaborative album with a female vocalist and lyricist from London, which will also be multi-lingual. I’ve never written specifically for vocals and lyrics, so it’s been a great lesson for me, learning a new discipline. There’s no release or finish date for this yet, but we should start mixing it sometime soon.

My newest solo project is again working with field recordings, but I’m taking a very different approach this time, and it seems to be heading in a more “industrial ambient” direction. It’s early days, and it’ll take a lot of working out, so again, I’ve no idea when it will be finished. I’m not prolific at all, due to the way I create my sounds, but I’d rather take it slowly, try to get it “right” than to juggle loads of things at once. It can take anything from 3 months to a year for me to complete an album, depending on just how much sound design and creation is needed.

(3)Who inspires you?

- Name an artist who has inspired you.

Werner Herzog. I’m not really inspired by music or other musician’s, to be honest, more by films/film-makers and their own particular ethos and approach to their art and the way they tell the story, and many of Herzogs’ films have affected me/inspired me on so many levels, more so than any other living artist.

(can I also add the late great Orson Welles here – for his pure drive and stubborn-ness, and his undaunting and unrelenting desire to create – at any cost! The 2 Arena films about him and his life should be required viewing, in my opinion, for anyone starting out in any of the creative arts). [of course you can, TM]

- Name place that has inspired you.

Cumbria/The Lake District. It would take a head, heart, and soul of stone not to be inspired by it.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.

seeing a 3 week old baby, born addicted to Methadone, sleeping soundly to a piece of music of mine, that I’d been asked to write for her by her foster parents, wake up crying when it had finished, and then go straight back to sleep when it was played to her again.

(4) What drives you to do what you do?
see above. I don’t want to come across as pompous or in any way egotistical, because that’s simply not my schtick, but If, as an artist you can affect just one person, make a tiny difference to another person’s moment, give them some joy, raise a smile, bewilder, inspire, or simply just give a bit of mind or stop-time (and yes, send them to sleep, even) with what you do – that’s all that matters, not how many album’s you sell. I am constantly surprised, and humbled, by some of the stories I’ve been told about my work, and how it has affected someone in a positive way, and this is why I carry on with it. if I was in it for money, I’d have given up many years ago.
Of course I’d like more people to hear what I do, because then I’d feel I’ve been able to repay somehow the people who continue to support and have faith in me and my work, but I’m more than happy with how it’s all gone so far.

(5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
That it’s ok to be incredibly simple, and that it’s ok to be incredibly complex – I think this William Blake quote says it better than I ever could

“I must create a system – or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason and compare – my business is to create”

(6) What role does community play in what you do?
I’m not really that much of a “connected” person – I’m incredibly private, by nature, but the more I think about it, it’s been vital. Without the support of a few people who I’ve “met” over the last few years, I don’t think I’d have done half the things I’ve been lucky enough to do, or been involved in. I couldn’t catch a cold in the U.K, so without the rM.ning community, for instance, I’d still be blowing in the wind. I even have to give a nod to (the now much-maligned, and rightly so) Myspace, as that is where a lot of opportunities first arose. Someone once said, because of Myspace, I was “one of the most well known, but un-successful, underground ambient musicians in the U.K” ;-) so yeah, it’s been very important to me, and allowed me to interact with and get to know, and work with, some truly inspirational people – and I’ll give a special name-check in this regard to John Koch-Northrup at Relaxed Machinery, who has been championing my cause for the last 3 years. I wouldn’t be here now, writing this, if it hadn’t been for him. I guess I must learn, somehow, to do “more”.

(7) What is next for what you do?
Difficult question. I try not to think about it, and I tend not to plan, as I never know what’s coming, or going to happen, next, on pretty much every level. But on a creative level? I really do not know. It depends what comes along to inspire me enough to want to do something new. I guess all I really want to do is to keep (trying) to push my own boundaries, keep it as honest and as human as possible. My general ethos is to not repeat myself, so it doesn’t get any easier, as time goes on. I never thought I could top my 2nd album – “is” – for sheer creativity (i.e just how many sounds could I wrench from just one instrument) and hard-nosed “almost drove me insane”, approach to it and my intentions for it, but I guess I was wrong. So yeah, who knows what the future may hold for me, and for what I do, but I’d love to work on some music for a “commercially” produced film. That’s my as-yet-unfulfilled ambition.

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Thanks Peter... I thought the story of the baby was heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.

Tx

A couple of songs from Jake Tatton's band... The Hermitage

2012-01-27T08:30:00.000Z

My friend Jake Tatton is currently working on material for her upcoming album with her band, The Hermitage. She shared a couple of demos with me and I loved them so much that I wanted to share them with you... I will be watching the development of her album and her band's career with considerable interest.

Enjoy.

Tx

http://www.thehermitagemusic.com/

Congratulations to my mum and dad on their 40th wedding anniversary

2012-01-26T22:15:00.000Z

Today's my mum and dad's 40th wedding anniversary... and I just wanted to give them a shout-out. They were away at Troon for a couple of days... and we'll be sharing in a meal at a local Italian tomorrow night with other members of the wider family. Looking forward to it.

Congratulations to you both... here's to the next 40!

Love, Tx

Jerry's Map

2012-01-26T21:48:00.000Z

Jerry's Map from Jerry Gretzinger on Vimeo.

This video is fascinating... I love how immersed he gets into his creation. I find his passion inspiring.

Tx

(with thanks to @nofi)

Seven questions with... John Koch-Northrup

2012-01-26T20:50:00.002Z

I have become a huge fan of the Relaxed Machinery netlabel and their output. This has come through meeting on Twitter and befriending the label-head, John Koch-Northrup. He is a wonderful character... a really inspirational chap and someone who deeply cares for the kind of music I love.

He has been very generous and opened up his server to me... letting me listen to some of their new and recent material. I have featured both "en seier" by åpne sinn and "memento" by Peter James on here... and have shared my thoughts on "Temporal Arc" by Koch-Northrup himself over on the Alternative Matter website.

In conjunction with the post over on Alternative Matter, I thought I would ask him my wee interview... the first of 2012. This is what he said:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
John Koch-Northrup. I started playing piano when I was 5, played in school band (trumpet), in live bands starting when I was 15 (synths/bass), and have recorded since I was 13. I currently own the Relaxed Machinery label (http://relaxedmachinery.com) and help other artists release their music. We're more of a collective, "self releasing... together" than a proper label. But there's a lot of overlap. I've been married to the most wonderful woman on earth for almost 20 years now. I do IT work - mainly data / EDI / programming type work these days - been at it for around 19 years.

2) What are you working on at the moment?
At this moment my studio is torn down as we may be moving to another state. That's not confirmed and it's a bit up in the air. We're in hurry up and wait mode. So I'm not actively writing new music right now. For Relaxed Machinery, we're getting ready to roll out a great album by åpne sinn called 'en seier' in February. Later this year will see releases from Steve Brand and Disturbed Earth and Shane Morris. Steve is also reissuing his double album collaboration with Ishq on his private Pioneer Light label which we also host through relaxedmachinery.com - I'm also working on a top secret project I can't discuss at the moment... :-)

3) Who inspires you?
So many people! My grandma got the ball rolling when I'd see her playing organ - and then she was my first piano teacher when I was five. She played organ in the same church for 65 years... just about everyone in town had seen her play a wedding or funeral or Santa Claus breakfast at the firehouse - she filled in at a number of other churches as well. If I could only pick one person - it would be her.

- Name an artist who as inspired you.

Herbie Hancock and many of the 60's Blue Note era crew. Herbie's ability to roll with the times. Similar to Miles Davis in the sense of rolling with the changes of the times or creating those changes. David Sylvian. The Beatles. Claude Debussy. David Bowie. Cabaret Voltaire. Depeche Mode. Autechre. Orbital. Lately - Steve Brand, Ishq (Matt Hillier), Marcus Fischer, Loscil (Scott Morgan), Taylor Deupree, Saul Stokes, Max Corbacho, Bruno Sanfilippo... so, so many.

- Name a place that has inspired you.

Home with my wife. Matthiessen State Park in Illinois. Sitting in a dark room playing piano.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.

The feeling of walking on frost covered grass. Trains in the distance. Books, many books. Art. Photography. The Elder Scrolls video games... (Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim).

4) What drives you to do what you do?

It's in me. It always has been. I feel lost if I'm too far away from creating in some fashion or another - whether it's playing piano or guitar, or recording, or sound sculpting, or listening, or talking about music, or taking photographs, or ... well - anything. I found that if I put music away for too long I'm missing something in my life... there's a hole.

5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
Values? Not sure I've been asked this question before. I love to write music. I like to infuse a feeling that I have about the music into it. I can't guarantee anyone will hear what I was thinking - in fact they most likely won't. I guess I'd like people to know I greatly care about the music I write and to pull from it what they will. I would say I write from a more positive standpoint the vast majority of the time.

6) What role does community play in what you do?
I often create alone, but the community is everything else. Where else but in the communities I frequent will I find people who want to share their creations and listen to mine? We have common ground, common things to discuss. We may have totally different world views, political views, backgrounds - but music, photography, painting, design, writing... creativity is the binding principle that pulls us together into communities. Community is very important to me... I helped created one after all... http://relaxedmachinery.ning.com

7) What is next for what you do?
Ah, what's next! Hopefully moving. After that probably some downtime from music for awhile as that's a major change. Once settled in and studio back up - the secret project is my top priority followed by a new album from me. As always - Relaxed Machinery will continue with it's 2012 lineup of releases - I have two other people that help run the label and I know they'll pick up my slack for a while... a sincere thank you to Steve Brand and Geoff Small who are my partners in the label. After that, we'll see! My wife and I want to invest in a macro lens for our Nikon one of these days - I love macro photography - kind of like I love getting up next to sounds on field recordings that can't be normally be heard. There's always something next - I always have multiple projects going.

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Thanks John... please check out Relaxed Machinery and "Temporal Arc". Oh and read my review of "Temporal Arc" over on Alternative Matter.

Tx

Some quotes from the 'something beautiful podcast'

2012-01-24T21:57:00.000Z

I co-host the something beautiful podcast with four friends... JD, Johnny, Stewart & Travis. Its a faith-based podcast where people talk about their journey... their experience... and tell stories worth listening to. It's a wonderfully open, liberal and moderate expression of the Christian faith... and something I am very proud of.

Anyway... my co-host JD created these fab flyers quoting some of our guests. I thought they were great and wanted to share them with you. Feel free to grab them and post them about the interwebs... and come visit us over at http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com

Tx

Olly

2012-01-22T22:30:00.001Z

This photo was taken in low light and then darkened slightly in Lightroom. I like how it has turned out.

Tx

Uniform Motion posters framed and on my wall

2012-01-21T20:28:00.000Z

One of my fave albums of 2011 was "life" by Uniform Motion. It didn't make my end-of-year list because it was released in 2010... but it was a distinct favourite.

Olly bought me the physical CD for my Christmas... and got me their limited edition poster pack too. As you can imagine I was over-the-moon... it's that good an album and I think the artwork is truly first class.

Today we took a wee trip to IKEA... where I picked up three frames for my most favourite of the posters. They are now on the wall in our wee office space in our house.

These posters demonstrate the power of artefact to me and show another way that musicians can creatively generate some additional cash.

Tx

Wolfgang Merx's latest single... with my artwork

2012-01-21T19:57:00.003Z

My dear friend Wolfgang Merx has released a new single... entitled "on land"... and I was privileged to provide the artwork.

The photo... "foggy"... was taken on the night of the joint band festival featuring the Airdrie and Bellshill Salvation Army Bands. It was one of those "what if" photos that turned out just fine.

I was and am delighted Wolfgang thought it was good enough to adorn his latest release... which is, by the way, an interesting cut of ambient progressive rock goodness that is well worth having a listen to. Thanks mate!

Tx

Loving... "Precious and the Puggies" by Alexander McCall Smith with illustrations by Iain McIntosh

2012-01-21T19:28:00.000Z

I am a huge fan of Alexander McCall Smith and his wonderful creation Precious Ramotswe. I find the No.1 Ladies Dective Agency series to be an utter delight... a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air. So you may understand when I get all crazy over this copy of "Precious and the Puggies" that I found today in Glasgow.

According to the blurb on Amazon...

"...this is a brand new book for younger readers, telling the story of the girlhood adventures of Precious Ramotswe, founder of the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Written by one of the world's favourite authors, Alexander McCall Smith, and translated into Scots by award winning author, James Robertson, this story will not be available in any other language until 2011. The Scots is simple and accessible, and a glossary will be provided for those not familiar with Scots words."

I love the fact its a new story... designed for younger readers... but what makes it truly awesome is twofold:

1) Its written in Scots... which is a true delight to read. For example, here's the blurb:

and

2) The illustrations by Iain McIntosh... which are wonderfully simple and effortless elegant. Below are some examples of McIntosh's work:

I look forward to reading this book... enjoying the illustrations... and checking out more of Iain McIntosh's work.

Tx

Loving... Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut

2012-01-21T08:24:00.000Z

As a Star Wars fan it is really hard to describe my joy at seeing "Star Wars Uncut". It is wonderful and terrible at the same time... it is so varied and yet it remains surprisingly consistent.

I guess that's why I love it... it has an overall consistency that holds all the different clips together... some that are very well done and some that are simply awful - regardless as to how it is presented... regardless as to how it is interpreted and lived out... the narrative remains the same.

Here's the story:

In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of Internet users to remake "Star Wars: A New Hope" into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were allowed to recreate scenes from Star Wars however they wanted. Within just a few months SWU grew into a wild success. The creativity that poured into the project was unimaginable.

SWU has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal. In 2010 we won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media.

I love it and recommend you watch it before it's taken down:

For more... head to www.starwarsuncut.com. My thanks to @littlewarrior for the heads-up.

Tx

My thoughts on "en seier" by åpne sinn

2012-01-18T22:17:00.001Z

One of the reasons I love ambient music so much is the real breadth of the expression and artistry on offer to the listener... from neo-classical melodies to electronic drones via guitar-orientated soundscapes... they all contribute their particular flavours to the genre. Ambient is richer as a result of this variety.

Relaxed Machinery's upcoming release... "en seier" by åpne sinn... is exemplary of this richness. On this release Geoff Small... the man behind åpne sinn... has created some of the most exquisite ambient soundscapes I have heard. He has created music worthy of a soundtrack.

On the opening track "Son of low birth", for example, he brings to the table some wonderful ethic percussion and processed vocals that just make me melt and reminds me how wonderful the ambient genre is.

Similarly his collaborations with Steve Brand are just heartbreakingly beautiful: haunting... emotive... and deeply immersive. "Unconquered", for example, has a gorgeous sense of movement and emotion that just draws me in. "The Long Plains" has a glacial elegance that you can actually hear sparkle and shimmer before gracious beats enter and complete the track.

Small's collaboration with Peter James on "what rough beast" is fantastic and further demonstrates both the power and reach of the ambient genre and the creativity of both parties to the collaboration. This track is so deep with a field recording providing the foundation for some gloriously melancholic electronic drones.

The title track... "en seier"... juxtaposes glitchy samples of bells and chimes with the deep rumblings of a powerful drone. Small does this to great effect... creating something sinister and yet playful... that threatens to overwhelm but never quite does... but in doing so, he creates something of extraordinary worth.

My favourite track is the third one... "his great heart"... which brings to the table some wondrously mysterious and melancholic neo-classical string drones that instantly reminded me of the great emmalee^crane. There is an almost nautical feel about this track - it could easily soundtrack an HP Lovecraft story such as "The Shadow over Innsmouth". It is truly atmospheric and a real standout track for me.

All in... with "en seier" by åpne sinn Small has created a truly exemplary recording... one that is worthy of real accolade and recognition. It will be on my iPhone/iPods for many months to come and will... I have no doubt... find itself remembered in the end-of-year lists of note.

First class!

Tx

"en seier" by åpne sinn is due to drop in February.

Received... in the post :: hejorama.com travel notebooks

2012-01-17T22:21:00.000Z

Its always nice to receive something in the post. Today I received two A6 Travel Notebooks from Hejorama.

Hejorama is a fab travel-orientated website that I only recently discovered. Their manifesto for travel is inspiring and I look forward to consuming the wide range of content they have on their site... from Food and Drinks, Art, Culture to Maps and How-Tos.

Here's an excerpt from their manifesto...

"...but we travel smarter. Faster. We travel in our ideas and passions and we travel the physical world with every opportunity. We are a new generation of travelers aided by cheap flights and massive social networks and online connectivity. This is our lifestyle. We are in perpetual motion. Yet we are aware that our license to more easily roam and learn the world, we have a great responsibility to build better communities and shape a stronger world."

I like that... and I liked their Facebook page... in do so, I won two of their Travel Notebooks... I was their 500th 'like'. I had no expectation as to what these Notebooks were and was delightfully surprised when I received them in the post tonight.

They are A6 and styled like a cahier. On one side is blank paper for your "chronicles" on the other side (flipped over) is more space for chronicles with the centre designed for addresses.

Their attention to detail and design aesthetic is simply wonderful... with a sweet "get lost" graphic on one inside cover and...

...the other inside cover has a rather interesting 'to do' list.

The contact book is, in essence, the middle sheet of paper... which gives you four pages for the names and numbers of the folks you meet.

All in... the notebook is like an analogue app for your smart phone. Its a nifty wee artefact that I am grateful to have and look forward to use. I might even use one in Glasgow... I've always tried to view my city from the eyes of both a local and a traveller. We'll see.

If you have a passion for travel... please check out Hejorama and join the journey.

Tx

My thoughts on "Memento" by Peter James

2012-01-16T22:16:00.001Z

When I try and explain ambient music to my less informed friends and colleagues we will usually end up at the "new age whale songs" category. These folks are not being malicious, it's just that their understanding of the vast genre of music that I deeply love is limited to their experience. For them Brian Eno is the chap from Roxy Music who has produced U2 and Coldplay, and not the creator of the wonder "music for airports".

Field recordings are used to a varying degree in my experience, mostly as a means of enhancing the soundscapes presented. I like it when they are used as an enhancement but don't when that's all there is. I have tried to listened to some netlabel releases that feature field recordings heavily and predominately... and they have tended to bore me with little to maintain my attention. I won't even touch the "new age whale songs".

It was, in this frame of reference, that I was presented with "Memento" by Peter James from the Relaxed Machinery netlabel.

"Memento" is an intriguing release that features field recordings of natural phenomenon like running water, rainstorms and birdsong up front with the most minimal ambient drones and subtle bells/cymbals. What on paper seems like more cheesy "new age whale songs" is in fact expertly captured, rendered and presented by James in a manner that is deeply immersive and wonderfully meditative. In fact, there is a definite Zen thing going on in this release... and I really like it.

James had this to say about it...

"I have tried to keep all the pieces as simple as the moments they depict, so as not to blur the memories they evoke. It was in fact while I was recording “sometimes we forget” that I finally understood what the phrase “the best temples have no doors” really means for me. So, ultimately, yes, this is a personal journey; but I hope that some new memories are formed, some new places found, real or imagined, that will create a wider sense of travel, even when standing still."

I love the idea that “the best temples have no doors”... and this recording lives and breathes it. The music is there but it is minimal... not getting in the way at all. What's really on show is nature in all her wonder and majesty... and it is for this fact I commend this recording. Yes, it's a more unusual ambient recording and yes, the last track may be a bit too long... and may result in you need the loo after listening to it (waves crashing has that effect on me)... but the imagination and the creativity of James to bring this together... along with the awesome sounds of nature... just astounds me.

"Memento" is available to download from CDBaby.

My thanks to John Koch-Northrup for letting me hear this and other releases from his label.

Tx

In search of Alfred Hitchcock :: Spotify, Netflix, libraries and supermarkets… some more thoughts on access and ownership

2012-01-15T12:14:00.002Z

Four things happened recently that have me thinking about the whole access vs ownership debate…

1) I listened to Bernard Herrmann's score for "Vertigo" on Spotify.
2) Netflix arrived in the UK… and I took them up on their 1 month free trial.
4) I went to my local public library in Motherwell and borrowed a couple of cookery books.
4) I bought four Alfred Hitchcock DVDs from my local supermarket.

I have developed a thing for Alfred Hitchcock and his movies. I love the titles, the styling and, most importantly, the music. I was reminded of this when Kim Novack complained about the recontextualisation of the love song from "Vertigo" in the new film "the Artist". She made me think of the Bernard Herrmann score, which I do not have in my collection… so I went to Spotify and had a listen. It is a great score and it set me off on a bit of a Hitchcock tangent.

Netflix then arrived in the UK and I took them up on their 1 month free offer. The intention is to actually pilot the service and see if it has anything to offer me, my family, and my lifestyle. So far it does not have anything to offer except for the fact I can start TV shows like "Twin Peaks" or "Dexter", shows I have missed or haven't seen in ages, from the start. The content is older than that on offer via Sky… a service I already pay for… for the Kids TV, movies and the cookery shows. Yes, I know Sky is parasitic to the UK economy but its the best fit for my family unless we take the road of watching even less TV and having less choice.

One of the many shows I could not find on Netflix was "Vertigo". When I looked, the only Hitchcock film on there was "The 39 steps". If I am to pay £6 per month to watch anything I wanted… I would like the assurance that what I wanted was there. It wasn't.

Yesterday I went to my local public library. I went with Miriam to return some CDs and a graphic novel (Miriam had books she needed to return too). I didn't see "Vertigo" there either but I did pick up a couple of cookery books to drool over.

The library visit was really pleasant - the staff there are awesome, the selection of content is usually top notch and the ambience of the space is excellent after the refurbishment last year.

Afterwards, Miriam and I heading to our local supermarket (we don't have a farmers' market nearby in Motherwell) to buy some salad for lunch. Whilst in there I picked up a boxset of Alfred Hitcock films (Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo and Rear Window) for £10 (it should have been £12 but someone stacked it wrong). This was the last of my Christmas money and I had fancied the boxset for a while.

This whole experience got me thinking about access and ownership… and I thought I'd try and get these thoughts coalesced into something tangible.

First off, my behaviour is changing but hasn't changed yet

I didn't automatically reach for iTunes, Amazon or, dare I say it, the Torrents to get a copy of Herrmann's "Vertigo" OST… I went to Spotify. In this regard, Access trumped Ownership. I didn't need to 'own' the OST… I just needed to hear it (it's playing now… as I type).
Similarly, before I bought "Vertigo" I looked for places to access it - I looked for it on Netflix and in the DVD section of my library. I didn't look for it on Sky's schedule and maybe I should have… but I wanted to see the film now and not have to wait. This again is Access trumping Ownership.
I did, however, revert back to old behaviour when I saw, by chance, the boxset containing "Vertigo" in my local supermarket. Price was important and I probably wouldn't have bought it if it was over £10, if truth be told, but it wasn't so I bought it.

I believe behaviour is changing towards access over ownership but it isn't there yet… better choice is needed. Sky provides access but not necessarily at the most convenient times. Its not instantaneous. Whereas Netflix provides instant access but doesn't have the range. We need range AND convenience before access will trump ownership... that is unless we take the road less travelled and downsize our TV consumption.

Secondly, libraries will continue to have a place in our lives

I was asked recently where I see libraries being in the coming age of Kindles and iPods… and this is my response… libraries will continue albeit they may need to change.

The digital age is having a toll on publishers of content, not consumers of content. The library is not a publisher of content - it does not tell you what to read, listen to or watch - but an aide to consumption - the library stocks that which is deemed to be popular along with that which is deemed to be important. Whilst I am not sure who makes these decisions or the factors they consider when considering at the content to stock, I know they do not stock only popular content.
Not only that but they stock content that only those with the willingness or disposable income to buy can own. Take, for example, cookery books.
I love cookery books or, to be more specific, I love looking AT cookery books - I aspire to the level of their level of quality in terms of design, especially type, and photography. I would love to photograph food for a cookery book.For all my love for cookery books, I am not a cook and the recipes are wasted on me. I do intend to rectify this but at the moment cookery books are all visual to me. To this end owning cookery books is a bit of a waste of money for me… which, to be honest, is something I know to my shame having about a dozen books on my shelf not doing anything other than looking pretty.

The ability for me to borrow cookery books from the library means I do not waste my money… at least initially. I can try before I buy or, more importantly, I can record those recipes that I actually try and work for me… and create my own collection. If there are sufficient recipes in the book then I will buy a copy but if there aren't then there is no point.
Libraries, in this regard, provide a form of analogue streaming. Streaming is all about access without the ownership and libriaries provide this in an analogue form… I have the artefact for a short time to consume but do not own it forever.

In addition, there is no need to own obscure content. I remember from my days at Napier University the frustration in having to buy a reference book for a single class… I much prefered to borrow but could never borrow for the term I needed. Libraries provide access that whilst available to own we do not need to own but only need to access for a limited time.
I hope there will always be a library for as long as we want analogue streaming.

Where libraries will need to change is the notion of 'inconvenient access'… I have to access them at times which may not be convenient for me. I usually go on a Saturday morning to bring back and load up… this is because I am not home and fed in time to get over to my local before it shuts at 7pm. I could do it when it shut at 7:30pm but times have changed.
Yes, I can renew online and I am grateful for this… but I can not browse in my underpants at 7am unlike Amazon. Could this be the future? An Amazon-like interface for the library? Browse online and then receive your order through the Post? Maybe we could save the libraries AND the postal service with this notion?

With a library the institution owns, on your behalf as the taxpayer or as a contributing member, the item you wish to have access to. They are the inbetween stage between Access and Ownership… and for this fact I forsee not only their continuing survival but their strengthening position through their positioning as a provider of the niche, the obscure and the expensive.
A club that shares expensive Vintage cars is a library of sorts… as is a garden tool cooperative. You could argue that Netflix and Spotify are libraries too albeit I am not sure if they 'own' the content they stream.It is in the common good for people to come together and share their resources so that access to an object or range of objects can be guaranteed. In this way those who could afford to access specific content are not the only ones who can.

Thirdly, technical all-in-one-ism is leading to greater specialisation and improvements in specific stand-alone devices… which means the artefact will continue

Frog Design point to this in a recent article…

For the past decade we have been seeing a convergence of multiple pieces of hardware into fewer generalist devices. The smart phone is the almost perfect example of the convergent digital device as Swiss Army knife. It has absorbed much of the most common use cases for portable devices, like music and video consumption, digital photo and video capture, email and calendar, and simple things like time keeping. I read countless blog posts proclaiming that dedicated devices, like the camera and the watch, would rapidly shrivel and die. Instead, I think new technologies will provide opportunities for them to get better. When users do purchase a dedicated device, they are gravitating towards products with higher quality and better design to elevate their experience. It turns out that the convergent device is killing the commodity digital product while forcing everything else to improve.

The iPod and the Kindle will take the commodity content but the specialist content will remain and improve… consider the upturn in vinyl sales, for example. What we will see is better hardcopy books, such as the cookery books I borrowed, being produced. Kindles and iPods won't kill books or physical media but make them better… the pop and the pulp will go the way of digital… whereas the artefact will remain.

This is true for supermarkets too. They will continue to provide the pop and the pulp… but they do not and will not stock everything… leaving room for the specialists and their provision of the unique, the niche and the artefact.

Grabbing a coffee with Marc de Ridder

2012-01-14T10:15:00.000Z

Marc de Ridder is one of my all-time favourite photographers and someone who I consider a mentor in my photographic journey. I was proud to work with him and consider him instrumental in the continuation and progression of the photo-safaris we held (need to get them going again).

We used to have great discussions on cameras as well as the craft and process... so you can understand my delight when I caught up with him on Thursday past (12th January) for a coffee and he pulled this wee beauty out of his bag...

The Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex is an amazing camera... and this one has a build that has last 70 years (give or take). It is tricky to use initially... but it's output is stunning in a film kind of way. I need to get the Yashica I was loaned out and about again.

Marc also showed me another of his recent eBay purchases... a wonderful 60's light meter. He paid a quarter of the price for this one compared with the current-day equivalents... and had to get a wee doohickey to alter the batteries that could be used as the batteries used in the 60's are no longer in production.

I really love the idea of reusing old kit... I mean the build on this light meter was top dollar (as was the TLR)... it work really well and was very accurate. It even had an add-on to do spot reading... which is so cool.

Marc needed The Small Battery Company to enable him to use the light meter. Without them and their adapter for the battery pack, he couldn't use it. The device would be obsolete and just a nice paperweight. I like that.

Anyway... here's to mentors and the inspiration they bring. I'm going back to my film cameras.

Tx

New posts on The Future Elements :: Canyons of Static and Good Weather for an Airstrike

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000Z

My first two posts are now up on The Future Elements website.

Of Farewell shadows by Canyons of Static I said this...

"This is a release that moves… it has a wonderful sense of fluidity… it doesn’t stay in one place too long… it doesn’t over-emphasize the point… there are no labored drones or overly used motifs. It has a taut muscularness about it… the guitar-orientated equivalent of a championship racehorse… all muscle… all business."

8/10
Follow the link above for more
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And of Underneath the Stars by Good Weather for an Airstrike I said this...

"This is sunrise music… soundscapes that almost perfectly capture the still of pre-dawn, expertly convey the anticipation of the pending rapture of a new day and paint a glorious representation of first rays of morning."

9/10
Follow the link above for more
----------

I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to my next assignment. I won't stop blogging about music here... but instead have expanded my reach.

Grateful to Noor and the rest of The Future Elements gang for inviting me to join them.

Please do all you can to support independent music.

Tx

Loving... The Republic of Dreams by Jeff Scott Townsend

2012-01-12T23:27:00.002Z

The Republic of Dreams by Jeff Scott Townsend is simply one of the most entrancing and engaging pieces of neo-classical music I have heard in a very long time.

I can't quite find the words to adequately describe how wonderfully luscious and pastoral Townsend's simple piano-orientated soundscapes are... but they have hit home to me and become cherished like the score to an old favourite film.

I think magical is an appropriate term for the music presented in this release... simply and stunningly magical... in an otherworldly sense. These soundscapes transport me to another place... a place of warmth, comfort and rest... a place I want to be.

I would heartily recommend this album and am very grateful to Jeff for giving me an advanced copy to soak up a couple of days ago. This week has been a great week for music... and The Republic of Dreams was/is definitely a highlight.

Have a listen below... and do all you can to support such wonderful independent talent like Jeff Scott Townsend:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://jeffscotttownsend.bandcamp.com/album/the-republic-of-dreams"&amp;gt;The Republic of Dreams by Jeff Scott Townsend&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Thanks Jeff!

Tx

The Joy of Books

2012-01-12T22:54:00.003Z

Sometimes WOW just doesn't quite do it...

Tx

(via This is Colossal)

An iPhone Captures New York City :: a book by Tony Cece

2012-01-12T22:11:00.001Z

My twitter friend, photographer Tony Cece, has done something I would love to do... he visited New York and captured the trip with his iPhone 4S and a SX70 Polaroid camera... and has now self-published a book showcasing the iPhone photos. The book is entitled 'an iPhone Captures New York City' and is available on blurb.com.

When I took the time to preview the book I was mightily impressed at the quality of the images captured.

According to the foreword... Cece used an iPhone 4S with the Hipstamatic app (using the Loftus Lens and Rock BW-11 Film) without the flash. He also used an Olloclip lensthat slips on the iPhone for wide including fisheye angles.

All images contained in this book were taken with an iPhone 4S. It was my first trip to New York City, so the images captured reflect my desire to see as many popular spots as I could during my brief one day and a half in the city. They are wide shots that show the larger context I was seeing as I took it all in. I'm sure that my photographs will be completely different the next time I visit the city and zoom my focus to show more of the people, lifestyle, extures and movement of New York City.

Tony Cece... taken from the foreword of 'an iPhone Captures New York City'.

Apart from Cece's images... I like the fact he has created a physical artefact from near-disposable digital media... something lasting built from something fleeting and almost throw-away.

We snap... fix... upload... move on... never really taking the time to review and return.

Think about it... if you have an Instagram account... when was the last time you took the time to review your own feed? We tend not to... and as such we lose the spiritual bond that comes from handling the physical artefact. What Cece has done is renew this bond by creating a physical book. I like that idea a lot and am inspired by it. It's not a new idea... but it is an idea well executed here.

'an iPhone Captures New York City' by Tony Cece is available on blurb.com.

"Flowers Into Stardust" by Christopher Willits

2012-01-10T23:31:00.001Z

Simply beautiful!

Thanks to Noor for the heads-up.

Tx

Received... in the post

2012-01-10T23:25:00.002Z

Its always nice to receive a package in the mail... today, I received two. One was a CD wrapped in a brown paper bag (pictured above and below) from Ed Rotherham. The CD is entitled "Start Listening" by the Being Human Project and can be downloaded for free from Come and Live.

Now... I am not usually a fan of worship music... but this has that something special about it. I loved the small details... like the wax seal on the back of the bag or the stamp on the front. They are nice touches, in my opinion... that amplify the music contained within the bag.

Thanks Ed!

I also received this nifty little tin from Roy Petersen who recently tour Hong Kong and New Zealand. Apparently he saw it and thought of me... not sure what that says about me (I guess I am a bit red) but I love it and have immediately brought it into use as a 'business' card holder. I holds a dozen nicely.

Thanks Roy!

What I am listening to... (2)

2012-01-10T23:09:00.001Z

The following have been on rotation over the last week or so...

Farewell Shadows by Canyons of Static

I've been given this and the following album to review for Noor Kadiwala's site 'the Future Elements'. I'm excited at this opportunity and whilst I don't want to give anything away... if you like post-rock then you'll love this album.

Underneath the Stars by Good Weather for an Airstrike

Again... I can't say anything at the moment other than... OMGoodness!!!

Deep Politics by Grails

The next few releases were picked up due to their inclusion on the Silent Ballet's top 100 albums of 2011.

If you are a fan of instrumental post-rock, like me, then it doesn't get much better than Deep Politics by Grails. They create wonderfully deep and immersive soundscapes that bewitch the listener. Truly brilliant and their listing at no1 on the Silent Ballet's top 100 was well deserved.

Celestial Lineage by Wolves in the Throne Room

I'm not a big fan of extreme metal... whilst I love the music, the vocals leave me cold. WINTR however have something magical about their sound... a deep ambience within the dark metal guitars... that helps me to warm to their harsh vocal stylings. Its an acquired taste... and we do have some ideological differences but there is more to agree on than disagree... and their pounding drums do help at the gym.

Red Riding Hood OST by Brian Reitzell and Alex Heffes

Soundtracks do not get better... or darker... than this one or the next in this list. Deliciously dark and mysterious... the electronics work well with the orchestral accompaniment to make a truly excellent backing. The inclusion of Fever Ray is simply inspired... I love her vocal style and electronic soundscapes... they really fit into the over ambience of the recording. I haven't seen the film but I want to.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo OST by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

I haven't seen this film yet but I have read the book... and I can't think of anyone more appropriate for the starkness and brutality contained within the pages than Trent Reznor... whose pairing with Atticus Ross (whose soundtrack to 'The Book of Eli' is brilliant and a favourite of mine) is truly inspired.

The opening track... a cover of Led Zep's "Immigrant Song" with Karen O on vocals... is so raw and direct that it took my breath away when I first heard it. It still does affects me after repeated listens.

Whereas the closing track... a cover of Bryan Ferry's "Is Your Love Strong Enough" by How To Destroy Angels (a band which features Mariqueen Maandig Reznor on vocals as well as Reznor and Ross) is almost directly opposite... it is exquisite in its beauty and delicateness.

Truly brilliant... and with 39 tracks... well worth the investment.

Plains of the Purple Buffalo by *Shels

More metal sounds... this time from a band I hadn't heard before their listing on the Silent Ballet's top 10. They infuse their metal with ambient soundscapes and even brass instrumentation to create something truly special and beautiful.

Have a wee listen below to see what I mean:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://shelsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/plains-of-the-purple-buffalo"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Plains of the Purple Buffalo by *shels&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

That's me for now... keep supporting independent music... and check out The Silent Ballet for the heads-up on other great albums/artists.

Tx

my first 'intentional' online fast

2012-01-08T15:55:00.000Z

One of my intentions for 2012 is to consume less... and on Friday night... over to Saturday morning I did just that... I held an 'online fast'. From 1900hrs until I woke at 0815hrs on the Saturday I was offline.

No Twitter, Facebook or this blog... no Wikipedia, Flickr or Tumblr... I was offline.

Instead of being online... I read two longform articles from Loops Journal and watched a couple of Bear Grylls shows with Dayna and Olly. I listened to a live King Crimson CD (The Great Deceiver vol1) and Bon Iver's eponymous album from 2011. I drank tea and let go.

I know 13 hours isn't that remarkable... especially when 8 of them passed with me sleeping... but it is a start.

What did I take from the experience?

I had time to think... and to consider new ideas.
I got to spend time with Olly and the we'ans... and was with them... not partly but completely.
I got to appreciate the 'yin and yang' of contrast... I appreciate more being online for having been offline... I was able to rest.
I was able to experience 'real time' again... the sense of a hour feeling like an hour.
I recovered a sense of control... I could say no to my iPhone and it's attractive distractions.

I gained as much as I missed... and I'd do it again.

Yes... I am probably over-analysing the experience but it did work for me... so much so that I believe it could become part of my weekly rhythm.

new URL... same content

2012-01-07T11:24:00.004Z

I recently won a domain and hosting in a competition run by NSDesign... a Glaswegian design company who my friend Marc de Ridder speaks very highly of. Gary Ennis' "twelve days of tweetmas" was a great wee comp and I won a caption competition by referencing the Social Media workshops he runs.

Anyway, whilst I was choosing the domain for "a hint of bergamot" I decided to get another "vanity" URL - I own www.headphonaught.com already and decided to get www.headphonaught.co.uk for this ol' nanolog. I've had this blog since 2005 and I can't think of any reason to change it... so I just changed the URL.

The old address (www.nanolog.blogspot.com) will redirect to it no problems albeit Google are telling porkies as they are still hosting it... only the name has changed.

I would heartily recommend both NSDesign for their service and JDBlundell for his web-ninjutsu... I'm such a newbie when it comes to setting up domains and hosting... and he sorted it all for me without any hassle. He is a star and a true brother.

Tx

Three key releases at the back end of 2011

2012-01-04T22:39:00.000Z

There were three key releases in December that I missed off my lists that warrant acknowledgement now:

First up... we have the "more hope for Japan" compilation is simply stunning with 37 tracks from a wide range of artists in the ambient, electronic and postrock fields. This compilation, curated by Noor Kadiwala from The Eternal Twilight and Adam Homfray from Oxide Tones, is simply wonderful. Both deep and wide, instantly accessibly and rewarding of repeated listens... it trumps it's predecessor and comes in as THE best compilation of 2011, in my humble opinion.

There are too many artists to name on this recording... and I wouldn't do justice to those I'd miss out by doing so... instead I will recommend you buy it, support the Japanese relief effort and, in doing so, have something beautiful to fall in love with and treasure for a very long time.

€10 for download with other options available

----------

We then have the fourth and final instalment in the Echelon Effect's Seasons series of EPs. One track coming in at more than twenty three minutes is a fitting end to the project. Rogers' work has been exemplary in the intersection between ambient and postrock and whilst it will be sad to think their will be no further output from him during 2012... I feel his hiatus has been more than well deserved.

Pay what you want

----------

Lastly we have Rainer Straschill's "akustik kies" which is a collection of piano-orientated neo-classical soundscapes that are partnered with electronics, manipulation and a whole heap of dissonance to create something truly interesting and engaging. I find I have to be in the right mood for this album but when I am... I marvel at Staschill's inventiveness and imagination.

Pay what you want

----------

Please support independent music.

Tx

My top 30 artists in 2011 per Last.FM

2012-01-03T22:15:00.000Z

According to Last.FM... here are the top thirty artists I listened to in 2011... determined by the number of plays 'scrobbled' which takes into account plays on my MBP, my iPhones, iPods and iPad. It doesn't take into account any plays of CDs or vinyl on my hi-fi or in my car.

Tx

Things I intend to do in 2012...

2012-01-03T21:23:00.001Z

I love Christmas and New Year's almost as much as I love my annual holiday to somewhere warm and sunny... they are different in many ways but they are the same in two... (1) I get to spend time with my family and (2) I get to think.

I don't like the idea of a resolution so I've headed this post "things I intend to do in 2012"... it's all about my intention... the battle being before I even get down to doing it.

I intend to do the following...

1) Read more.
I am working on this. Finding time to read in the bath or on the train. My Kindle is great for this... I just wish it was waterproof so I didn't worry as much. I also have a ton of physical books I haven't read yet that I need to dig into.
I intend to read at least 12 books and read my Bible everyday using the YouVersion app - I'm currently working through the NT using the Optina Monastery plan.
I am working through H.P. Lovecraft's short stories... Lewis Hyde's "The Gift" and David Allen's "Getting Things Done"... and intend to finish them too.

2) Write more.
I love to write and I intend to continue writing here, on the Something Beautiful podcast blog and as a "digital disciple" on the Big Bible blog.
With regards this blog... my aim is for 1 post per day. I want to do all I can to support the musicians and artists I find.

3) Exercise more.
This is something I always struggle with but my intention is to be more active.
As such, I've joined a gym in Glasgow's City Centre (The Gym Group - corner of Jamaica St - £10.99 per month) and intend to visit it at lest three lunchtimes a week with @myopicaardvark - instead of playing Yahtzee we're going to the gym... because I, for one, need the moral support.
I will also keep the gym on at the Boathouse... and try to go twice or three times a week too.

4) Photograph more.
I need to keep moving with my photography and intend to undertake a "project 366" and take a photo-a-day during 2012. I also want to take the pictures of at least 100 people. Lastly, I intend to resurrect "a hint of bergamot" and will let you know more about this ASAP.

5) Consume less.
I need to learn how to work with what I have... and intend to consume less:
* buy less stuff and celebrate what I have already... this includes apps for my iOS toys and books for my Kindle as much as physical stuff like clothes, CDs & books - consume less so I can appreciate what I have more.
* stop spending as much time on the Internet and use my time more productively - consume less so I can create more or spend time doing the top four.

I have a few dreams that I'd love to see happen... but will talk about them some other time.

I'll keep you posted.

Tx

What I am listening to... 9 from Bandcamp (1)

2012-01-02T16:48:00.000Z

( Raleigh ) by Amberhaze

Sitting in the crossroads between ambient, electronica and shoegazing post-rock... this is an EP filled with powerfully evocative soundscapes. Repeated listens bring out new sounds and textures.

Free download

-------------------

Sleep EP by Artificial Sun Project

I love this follow up EP to 62204... Sean's particular style of deliciously dark electronica is my kind of wonderful. There are so many sounds in these tracks... they feed my imagination and provide the soundtrack to my day.

Pay what you want

-------------------

Without the World by Birds of Passage

An engaging recording from the immensely talented Alicia Merz... deep ambient drones and acoustic instrumentation combined with the most haunting and ethereal vocals to make something very special indeed.

$9 for download with CD + Vinyl options available

-------------------

Alone together by Norah Lorway

Discovered this EP today... thanks to a recommendation from Wolfgang Merx... and instantly fell for her glacial drones and engaging ambient sounds. Lovely.

Free download

-------------------

Expeditions on the Grayscale (one tiny, two medium and a grand one) by Le Berger

An EP of truly exquisite ambient soundscapes... with the opening track now my ringtone on my iPhone. I can't express how beautiful this EP is to me... and how disappointed I get when it finishes. It's exemplary of the best in ambient electronica.

Pay what you want

-------------------

Festive Greetings from Hibernate and Home Normal

I know the Festive period is nearly passed... but this compilation of Festive / Christmas themed tracks from the Hibernate and Home Normal stables was a welcome and valued addition to my Advent music collection.

It was originally released as a CD edition of 100 and given away for free at the Hibernate/Home Normal Christmas show on the 18th December last year... but I am grateful they released it as a download. All proceeds from the recording go to the Archway Foundation... which was established in Oxford in 1982 by Paul Hawgood to help serve those hurt by loneliness.

This was one of two "charity" downloads that I happily bought because of the content presented... the fact the proceeds went to a good cause was a wonderful extra. I look forward to next Advent... I have a feeling this album will become a regular on my Festive playlist.

£5

-------------------

the forgotten t(h)ree by flyingdeadman

I feel bad that I missed this album when it came out in August... but was delighted to hear it when I was recommended it recently (I've forgotten who recommended it... sorry!)

The album contains some wonderfully powerful, imaginative and emotionally charged post-rock soundscapes... that make me smile and remind me of all the reasons why I love post-rock music.

Free download

-------------------

Infinite Prayers by Phillip Wilkerson

A deeply spiritual and engaging longform drone from one of my favourite ambient soundsculptors. Beautiful!

Pay what you want

-------------------

Cathedrals of Gravity by Sublamp

An engaging and immersive three-track EP of minimal ambient electronic soundscapes... that leaves me eager for more.

Free download

-------------------

That's me for now... loads more to share but I need to get offline and spend some time with my family.

Please do what you can to support independent music.

Tx

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T14:18:00.002Z

inni... a film by Sigur Ros

2011-12-31T14:39:00.003Z

I was very grateful to receive "inni" by Sigur Ros on both CD and DVD for a Christmas present. The recording is amazing... it reminds me of when I saw them live in Glasgow a few years back.

What's more... the way the film has been shot... in very grainy black and white... is very much in keeping with my current photographic aesthetic. It's simply a wonder to behold.

Recommended... especially if you are a Sigur Ros fan.

Tx

January 2012's calendar / wallpaper

2011-12-31T09:58:00.000Z

January 2012's calendar / wallpaper is of snow melting... a fitting reminder that as the seasons change so do our hardships... this is not Narnia under the rule of White Witch... Christmas has come and gone... and so too winter, darkness and any troubles we may have.

I've stripped back the flavours slightly... if you are looking for 1024x768 then go for 1600x1200 and if you are looking for 1280x800 then go for 1920x1200.

Enjoy and thanks for everyones willingness to have my photography on their devices... it is appreciated by me.

Tx

1600x1200
1920x1200
iPhone with calendar + iPhone without calendar
iPad
PSP
Kindle3
980x800 for Andrew Berry's mobile device

My top ten 'established' albums / artists in 2011

2011-12-28T22:49:00.001Z

10. Fleet Foxes > Helplessness Blues

09. Little Dragon > Ritual Union

08. DJ Shadow > The less you know, the better

07. Explosions in the Sky > Take care, take care, take care

06. Coldplay > Mylo Xyloto

05. Moby > Destroyed

04. M83 > Hurry up, we're dreaming

03. Mogwai > Hardcore will never die but you will

02. Radiohead > The King of Limbs + Supercollider / The Butcher + The Daily Mail / Staircase + RMX1234567

01. Tycho > Dive

----------------------------------------------------------------

2011 was not boring... music-wise. I found over 100 great albums / artists (predominately in the independent space) that inspired and excited me in some way or another. I have mentioned the independent albums / artists and thought it only appropriate to mention the 'established' artists.

When I say 'established'... these artists tend to have record labels or have been on a record label (as in Radiohead's case) and are not in the DIY space that the folks I listed as 'independent' are.

Per my previous list... please don't argue my list but compile your own instead. I know, for instance, that Coldplay aren't hip in certain circles and Radiohead's "The King of Limbs" wasn't appreciated by critics and fans alike. However, I loved their respective recordings. That said, TKOL is only really completed by the two singles and the remix album, in my opinion.

Each of the albums on this list touched me in some way... from the gentle folk of the Fleet Foxes to the energetic post-rock of Mogwai... the imaginative soundscapes of M83 to the bleeding edge vocal-orientated electronica of Little Dragon.

2011 saw DJ Shadow's return to form (thank goodness he's gone back to a more instrumental sound... the rappers did my head in), a beautifully melodic album from Moby and some truly powerful soundscapes from Explosions in the Sky.

The real highlight for me was discovering the music of Scott Hansen aka designer ISO50 aka musician Tycho. His music reminded me of the very best of Ulrich Schnauss and Boards of Canada... something warm with an analogue feel, wonderfully melodic, immersive and engaging. "Dive" was a real upbeat mood-lifter... a ray of synth sunshine to brighten an otherwise dull day. It also reminded me how powerful great quality electronica can and should be. It restored my faith in the genre... if truth be told.

I guess the folks who consider 2011 to be a dull and boring year for music never heard the albums on this list.

I will list the albums / artists that caught my attention but didn't make this list later on... for now, please take the time to check out some brilliant music and yes, that includes Coldplay, IMHO.

Tx

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:32:00.002Z

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads the ol' nanolog a very merry, happy and light-filled Christmas. I hope your dreams come true and you experience a sense of true joy in the company of those most dear to you.

Christmas, for me, is a time to celebrate... for the dark has been defeated by the light.

This is the time when I reflect on the coming of God to earth as a baby boy... and the light He brought into this dark world.

My sincere thanks to all the musicians, artists, designers, writers, theologians, thinkers, bloggers, philosophers, gamer-makers and cooks who have brought light and joy into my world in 2011.

I count it a privilege to walk along side you.

Merry Christmas

Thomas

PS... as a wee present... folks with iPhones and iPod Touches can download the above image here.

My Top Ten independent albums/artists for 2011

2011-12-17T12:54:00.001Z

2011 was a tremendous year for the kind of independent music I love: ambient... electronic... post-rock... alt-folk... neo-classical... etc.

In a previous post I highlighted all the wonderful albums and artists that I had listened to. Each and everyone of them... including the ones that I had missed but have subsequently enjoyed... were worthy of note. Most I had covered in some way on this blog or through twitter etc because they deserve to be heard... they deserve to be recognised for the talent and ideas expressed.

The following list represents my personal favourites... in many ways it is a truly subjective list because it represents the music that has really set my soul on fire. I don't like hierarchy or order... every artist on this list is a winner for me... they each exemplify their chosen form of expression... and I am proud to support them in their endeavours.

Please remember... this is my list. Go and write your own. Don't argue over my choices because they are simply that... my choices. Make your own.

Whatever you do, however... please support independent music... please do all you can to grow the grassroots. We don't need more reality TV musicians... we need more real musicians!

Tx

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10.
Phil Wilkerson's 'Ten to Eleven' is an awesome slice of ambient electronica... breathlessly beautiful and delicate. Simply stunning.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://phillipwilkerson.bandcamp.com/album/ten-to-eleven"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Ten to Eleven by Phillip Wilkerson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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09.
Heatherlyn's 'Storydwelling' is simply an ice-cold glass of water for a thirsty soul. Her expression of rootsy, soulful blues is just wonderful. She's my 'go to' album for when I feel down. She picks me up.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://heatherlynmusic.bandcamp.com/album/storydwelling"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Storydwelling by Heatherlyn&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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08.
The Echelon Effect's three 'Seasons' EPs were a real treat this year... and I eagerly await the fourth on Hogmanay. His music sits perfectly in the intersection between ambient and post-rock... and any release is welcomed by me.

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07.
Matt Steven's band - The Fierce and the Dead - brought a deliciously varied and powerful progressively electronica-tinged post-rock album to the world in 2011. There was nothing quite like it... and that made all the more precious.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://thefierceandthedead.bandcamp.com/album/if-it-carries-on-like-this-we-are-moving-to-morecambe"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;If It Carries On Like This We Are Moving To Morecambe by The Fierce &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; The Dead&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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06.
A highlight of 2011 was getting to know a wee bit better Noor from The Eternal Twilight... their album 'Everything Resembles You' was a real treat and their EP 'Another Quiet Day' (which was released today) was a pleasure to listen to in bed this morning. Their music sits at that wonderful intersection between ambient and post-rock... and I look forward to hearing more from them.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://theternaltwilight.bandcamp.com/album/everything-resembles-you"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Everything Resembles You by The Eternal Twilight&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://theternaltwilight.bandcamp.com/album/another-quiet-day"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Another Quiet Day by The Eternal Twilight&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

----------

05.
The music of Andy Othling aka Lowercase Noises is a personal favourite of mine and the two EPs he released in 2011 - 'Migratory Patterns' and 'Vivian' - were first class! He has a unique guitar style that I simply adore and any new release from him is welcomed by me... with open arms!

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://music.lowercasenoises.com/album/migratory-patterns"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Migratory Patterns by Lowercase Noises&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://music.lowercasenoises.com/album/vivian"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Vivian by Lowercase Noises&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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04.
Another highlight of 2011 was discovering the music of Earlyguard and striking up a fab friendship. Earlyguard was very prolific in 2011 and his ambient soundscapes soundtracked key moments in the year... usually at work when I needed to concentrate. What's more... he released all his content for free... which I felt was awesome and a wonderful gift to the ambient music community.

I can only feature a handful of his recordings here... please check the rest out at his bandcamp page.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://earlyguard.bandcamp.com/album/mind-over-matter"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Mind over Matter by Earlyguard&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://earlyguard.bandcamp.com/album/introspection"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Introspection by Earlyguard&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://earlyguard.bandcamp.com/album/amaya-featuring-entertainment-for-the-braindead"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Amaya (featuring Entertainment for the Braindead) by Earlyguard&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

----------

03.
Matt Stevens is a talented British treasure who just gets better with experience. 'Relic' is a noticeable progression from his earlier work and an emotional rollercoaster of sound.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://mattstevens.bandcamp.com/album/relic"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Relic by Matt Stevens&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

----------

02.
Leonardo Rosado was another prolific artist in 2011... with two albums (including the breathtaking 'Mute Words') and a two EPs to his name... and a further album in collaboration with Birds of Passage entitled 'Dear and Unfamiliar' (which, to my shame, I haven't picked up yet). His brand of ambient soundscapes are simply beautiful... they present the listener with a deep, emotive, rich and immersive experience... that I, for one, found very rewarding.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://idiom.bandcamp.com/album/opaque-glitter"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Opaque Glitter by Leonardo Rosado&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://idiom.bandcamp.com/album/studies-on-solitude"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Studies on solitude by Leonardo Rosado&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://idiom.bandcamp.com/album/touching-from-the-distance"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Touching from the distance by Leonardo Rosado&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

----------

01.
Topping this list comes a sorely under-rated sophomore release from Abraham the Poor. 'After the flood, into the wild' is a collection of rootsy swamp-bluesy songs that I just can't get enough off. Powerfully poetic with some marvellous guitar playing... I bought it on CD and its been on my hi-fi and in the car consistently throughout the year. This album, like all the others on this list, needs to be heard.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://abrahamthepoor.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-flood-into-the-wild"&amp;gt;After the Flood, Into the Wild by Abraham the Poor&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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So yeah... that's me. I know the year isn't quite over yet and I will track any releases from now for consideration next year.

2011 was another top year for independent music. Please do all you can to support.

Video for The Eternal Twilight's Another Quiet Afternoon

2011-12-15T22:46:00.002Z

On Tuesday I featured the video to The Eternal Twilight's Another Quiet Morning... and I'm proud to feature their video for Another Quiet Afternoon... again filmed by Will Faulkner and taken from their upcoming EP called "Another Quiet Day".

I love it... and am so eager to hear the EP. Well done Noor and Abbas!

Tx

Working towards my Top Ten Albums of 2011

2011-12-15T22:37:00.000Z

I am currently working on my Top Ten for 2011... and have compiled the following list of all the music that has captured my attention and, in some way, enhanced my life during this year.

I have deliberately avoided 'mainstream' artists and have sought to focus on independent musicians who distribute their music through direct channels like netlabels or Bandcamp. This is not to say that 'mainstream' artists haven't enhanced my life... far from it. I will consider them separately so as to not outshine the folks listed below.

There are some artists listed below who have been wonderfully prolific but for fairness and to ensure equal consideration, they have only been counted once.

The artists and compilations that I am currently considering are listed in alphabetical order by artist:

4th Alternative - Dunes
Abraham the Poor - After the flood, into the wild
Across Waters - More Light Is Never Ending
Adamnage - Fragile & After The Rain
Airspace Falling - Written in the Waters
Ambienteer - Diumenge, Frequencies & More
And the giraffe - Something for Someone
Arboretus - Soundscape de nostalgia
Artificial Sun Project - 62204
Benjamin Dauer - Saturation Event
BGUNDA - Attended only by birds
Circadian Eyes - Who we were
Claro de Luna - Lo que ha sido y lo que sera
Coloured Lines - Atmospheres & Machines for the New Dawn
Damn Robot! - Huang Skrimsli
Dustmotes - Equilibria
Earlyguard - Amaya (featuring Entertainment for the Braindead), A Distant Proximity, The Gaia Theory, Introspection, Haiku, Lost in Time, Melatonin, Mind over Matter, Selective Perception, Solitary Moon, Towards Transcendence, Urban Legends & Zen
Emphemetry - A lullaby hum for the tired
Eomac - mnk
EUS - Tras el Horizonte
Fields of Ypres - For every hour
Glorie - Glorie
Good Weather for an Airstrike - Jigsaws, A summer & A Winter
Gurdonark - Weights and measures
Gurusoul - Burn My Star
Heatherlynn - Storydwelling
Hope and Social - Sleep sound
In Violet - City of Nomads
Janes Scenic Drive - Beautiful Reminders, Color of Heaven & Now to Then
Jeff Scott Townsend - Notes from the underground
Ketsa - Ketsonica
Leonardo Rosado - Opaque Glitter, Mute Words & Touching from the distance
Lowercase Noises - Vivian & Migratory Patterns
Maps & Diagrams - Snowglobe EP (Sutemos030)
Matt Stevens - Relic
Musica Universalis - Lux et Tenebræ (MU I.I)
My Brother Daniel - Ponky
Nemean Lion - Cast of the moon
Neue - The Planets
Northcape - Alluvial
Obviously Lawrence - Obviously Lawrence
Philip Wilkerson - Ten to Eleven
Pinklogik - Inverse
Radio for the Daydreamers - Praying for the Be(a)st
Rhian Sheehan - Seven tales of the North Wind
Salwa Azar - For America EP1
Saravan - Observations
Sky Flying By - Do they still make lighthouses
Snowmine - LAMINATE PET ANIMAL
Sun Thief - Winds
Swaying Smoke - Beneath a tree
The Echelon Effect - Seasons 1 - 3
The End of the Ocean - Pacific Atlantic
The Eternal Twilight - Everything Resembles You
The Fierce and the Dead - If it carries on like this we are moving to Morecambe
The Harddrive - Before the storm
The Northern Hemisphere - The Future Beyond Our Eyes
The Rhys Anslow Project - Baby Steps
The Sound of Rescue - Sketches
Twincities - Twincities
Umber - Morning Pass & Earth Feet, Lifted
Uniform Motion - One frame per second
V/A - Album In A Day volume 2 - 19 March 2011 from BFW Recordings
V/A - Conception from Free Floating Music
V/A - Hawkmoon Records volume II
V/A - Hope for Japan
V/A - Sequence1 & Sequence2 from Futuresequence
V/A - Only Light To Clear Away from Distance Records
Years of rice and salt - Nothing of cities
You Are My Symphonic - I Found Your Faces Of Montreal

Tx

*U*P*D*A*T*E*
I knew I'd miss someone... I'll keep this open in case I've missed anyone else.

Rainer Straschill - Reflexiv Hören
Adam A Williams - Another Day The Same

The official video for "October, Hills & You" by The Eternal Twilight (video by Will Faulkner)

2011-12-13T22:12:00.001Z

The Eternal Twilight - Another Quiet Morning : October, Hills & You (Official Music Video) from Noor Kadiwala on Vimeo.

I love this video... it is so fitting for the music of The Eternal Twilight. Serene. Graceful. Beautiful. Will Faulkner has done a cracking job! I am now eager for the EP to drop... especially after reading this on the YouTube page:

Will produced two music videos for the EP and even album art. Each track also has its unique corresponding image/art which is included in download.Musically, "Another Quiet Day" features multiple range of soundscapes mixed with field recordings, from complex delayed and echoed Guitar Textures Loops to Resonating and Hypnotic atmospherics with samples of Acoustic Guitar Bowed to Guitar Swells to Ethereal Wall of Sound.The sound on this EP is somewhat departure from their debut and here, they put more focus on carefully crafted complex floating and droning ambient textures. The influences are very obvious ranging from likes of Hammock, Rhian Sheehan, Riceboy Sleeps, Umber and so forth. While other non musical influence include, otherworldly beauty of the mighty Himalayas, Nature and lot more.

What's more... I see Tom from Good Weather for an Airstrike has remixed one of the bonus tracks on the EP. I can't wait.

Tx

Collecting "stuff"

2011-12-13T07:42:00.001Z

I had one of those late night epiphanies in the wee small hours of this morning about stuff... and in particular, the stuff I consider to be precious. It was a crazy thought that somehow substantiated itself the more I considered it:

I can recall the origin of everything or mostly everything I hold dear.

Now when I say "origin" I mean the where & the who... I don't always remember the when... and the how & the why are irrelevant, in my opinion. My focus is on the where... where I obtained an item... and/or the who (if appropriate)... who gave me an item.

The Levi's I am wearing came from a Shelter Charityshop in Hamilton.
The blue Vans slip-ons were purchased in the reduced-to-clear section of TKMaxx at the Fort in Glasgow.
My flannel shirt was bought half-price in ASDA in Hamilton with Olly there to help me choose.
My stripy socks were a gift from Olly.
My Paul Frank vinyl wallet was purchased whilst on holiday with my family in Lido di Jesolo, Northern Italy;
My iPad was another gift from Olly with a case purchased with an award from my work.
The iPhone 3GS I am writing this post on was originally owned by Olly who gave it to me when she upgraded.
The Griffin case that protects it was purchased reduced-to-clear in Tesco in Bellshill.

You get the gist.

The point of this post is not for me to show off... either my stuff or my nerdism... but to say that the way to combat rampant and blatantly mindless materialism is to attribute meaning to what we have & take time to remember what that meaning is... to contemplate the significance that has been allocated to the item... the value placed on the "thing" I hold dear.

It's a form of awareness... a sense of being in the moment... and it is far from mindless.

I don't need more because I have what I have now. That's not to say I won't collect more but collecting is different from consuming... collecting is about appreciation... it's about the thing... its about stewardship... whereas consumption is about the act of consuming... it's not about the 'thing' but the act of getting... of obtaining. These are two different acts.

As long as I can remember the origin story for each item I treasure then I, in my opinion, remain a collector & not a consumer.

Tx

DJ Shadow's "Scale It Back" by Ewan Jones Morris

2011-12-12T21:35:00.000Z

DJ Shadow "Scale It Back" from Ewan Jones Morris on Vimeo.

I found this video fascinating when I watched it earlier. It presents a great song from DJ Shadow's new album.

Enjoy

Tx

(Thanks to the fox is black for the heads-up)

Christmas music (part 2 of 2)

2011-12-11T13:19:00.001Z

In my ongoing quest to find awesome Christmas music... I thought I'd share with you these albums, all of which help to make my Advent a joyous time.

----------

I consider the five EPs that Sufjan Stevens wrote as "songs for Christmas" to be very precious indeed... they really make for a folky, homely and low-key Christmas where participation is more important that what you bring. I like that ideal, expressed through the songs, and recommend this collection to anyone who hasn't already got it.

$12 from Bandcamp

----------

Jethro Tull are a pretty new discovery for me... and their Christmas album is a wonderful addition to my collection. It is a vibrant and joyously merry affair with plenty of prog-tastic flutes and folky instrumentation. It makes me happy and fills me with cheer.

----------

"Silent Night" by Timbre is another recent discovery for me. Her vocals and minimal harp playing is simply breathtaking. There is a haunting, ethereal quality to this recording that brings to mind a sense of the timeless magic and wonder of Christmas.

Pay what you want from Bandcamp

----------

"A very She & Him Christmas" is a wonderfully kitschy collection of popular Christmas songs. Zooey Deschanel's vocals and M.Ward's instrumentation just work perfectly with these songs... to create something really festive and fun. They are my Rat Pack crooners this year.

----------

Blackmore's Night are a folky / prog rock duo - Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Candice Night on vocals and instrumentation - whose album "Winder Carols" is truly are great find. They sing carols with gusto... and bring a traditional element to their presentation. This is one of my essential albums during Advent... especially their version of "O Come Emmanuel".

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Caleb and the Carolling Caravan have two Christmas albums out on Bandcamp which I recently discovered and have soaked up ever since. Their sound is very similar to Sufjan Stevens... very folky and low-key... and it is, as such, a welcome addition to my collection. Their version of "as the deer", for example, is so heartfelt and meaningful and takes a simple hymn and makes it fit for Christmas. I like that.

Pay what you want from Bandcamp

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Continuing in a progressive rock theme comes the trilogy of Christmas albums from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Whilst not to everyone's taste... I find their rock-operas fascinating and comical in almost equal measure. They fill me with cheer and that's a good thing.

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There is something about Christmas that brings out the kitsch in me... and "Christmas Harmonies" by the Beach Boys fits that bill nicely. Their presentation of very 'pop' Christmas songs is first class... and simply pure festive fun. Recommended if carols aren't your thing and your sick of the Rat Pack.

----------

"Christmas Praise" by Olly's band - the Bellshill Salvation Army Band - is a lovely, heartwarming collection of carols and festive music with a wee vocal solo from Olly herself thrown in for good measure. Well recommended if brass music is either your passion or you want something completely different.

£10 + £2 p&p direct from the Band

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"Advent Songs" by Sojourn is a powerful collection of carols and songs for Advent in an alt-rock setting. The instrumentation really brings some familiar songs into a new light... and I love this album for that. Well recommended.

$10 from Bandcamp

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That's me for another year... I haven't had a chance to check out the recommendations that were sent through when I posted the first part of this brief series. I will.

Anyway... please check out the artists above and support great music where you can (especially the independent artists).

Tx

Tunnock's

2011-12-11T13:07:00.001Z

I think I am obsessed with the goodies that come from Uddingston bearing the name of Thomas Tunnock... but then I am not the only one.

Both Pippin and I would be happy to endorse Tunnock's confectionary... and yes, I know this is meant to be an "ad-free blog".

Tunnock's is a local, family-run business who do a tremendous amount for their local community... and they make awesomeness and wrap it in shiny wrappers.

I am happy to "advertise" them for that. Tx

My thoughts on "for every hour" by Fields of Ypres

2011-12-10T09:26:00.001Z

I am a person of who holds the Christian faith who is disillusioned with industry that has grown up "in His name". Whilst I hold some Gospel music close... I let the rest pass me by.

For me... the songs of Johnny Cash or U2 mean something to me because they aren't within this industry. They don't sing about Jesus being their boyfriend or have some sort of default emotional setting... they sing because they have been given a song to sing. I like that.

I consider "Fields of Ypres" aka Graeme Phillips to come from a similar mould... someone seeking to express themselves and their faith but without the predetermined preset musical expectations that I, maybe cynically, see in the "Christian" music industry.

I jumped at the chance to listen to Phillip's EP "for every hour". I really liked what I had heard in demos and YouTube videos and wanted to hear the end result. All in, I wasn't disappointed.

"Captive" is the first of four tracks and has the most wonderful instrumentation... an almost post-rock drone underpins acoustic guitar and delicate vocals from Phillips. It's a beautiful song with some tremendous lyrics... "fighting fire with a watering can"... I like that.

"Grandfather Clock" was the track I was most eager to hear after loving the version on YouTube. I wasn't disappointed... there is a wonderful wall-of-sound feel to it with the strings and a trumpet adding a real depth to Phillips' guitar and vocals. I found this track uplifting... again through some elegant lyricism.

"Wait for me" has an acoustic Americana feel to it... with Phillips' guitar and vocals intertwined with subtle electric guitar and the sparsest of percussion. The downbeat nature of this track is very "late night"... very chilled in a less-is-more manner than I feel demonstrates a maturity in Phillips' musicianship.

Last up we have "Psalm 139" which has a wonderful wall-of-sound production with strings and a percussive snare underpinning Phillips' guitar and vocals. This is the one track that I needed multiple listens to "get". I feel there are almost too many words for the instrumentation... as if Phillips has to really try to get them all in. It becomes less evident upon repeated listens but it seemed to jump out at me when I first listened to it.

That said, it's a minor point in what is a very promising EP. We need more folks like Graeme Phillips. They bring hope to folks like me.

"For every hour" is available for £4 from Bandcamp and has been physically released on Commercially Inviable Records. Have a wee listen below and, if it's your thing, do your bit to support independent music.

Tx

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://fieldsofypres.bandcamp.com/album/for-every-hour"&amp;gt;For Every Hour by Fields of Ypres&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

My thoughts on "Jupiter protects you" by the Northern Hemisphere

2011-12-09T21:54:00.001Z

I have two budgies in my house. Olly and I made a conscious decision when were married to keep budgies and we have had a succession of feathery friends for the 14+ years we've been hitched. We love them to look at and we love their chatter... their cheeps and peeps bring a nice ambience to our house. It's never really quiet and I like that.

What does this have to do with the upcoming release from The Northern Hemisphere, I hear you ask...

On his latest album - Jupiter Protects You - Drew Miller has brought together elements of ambient and dissonant electronica with electroacoustic flavours to create an impressive collection of very creative tracks.

The more dissonant tracks, whilst not to my current personal taste, work on two levels... foreground where the ideas presented spark and fly off in tangents to inspire and delight... and background where they act as chatter... bringing the silence vitally alive with their sounds... like my precious budgies.

The ambient tracks, which are more to my current taste, are stunning slices of ambient electronica. Less dissonant and more soothing, they are engaging and immersive... gloriously serene in their apparent stillness and yet containing sufficient movement to enthral and captivate.

All in, this is an ambitious and very creative expression from Drew. I simply adore tracks like "Celestial"... "Sunshade"... "Galaxies and Milky Ways"... "All Around the World"... they click with me. Yes, there are tracks that I do not quite get at the moment but that's just me and maybe, just maybe that's the point... maybe I haven't yet caught up to the presentation of his ideas... maybe I'm not "there" yet... maybe they need time.

Music, in my opinion, should not just comfort the soul but stir it too... this stirring can be, at times, initially painful but is ultimately rewarding... just consider the work of Aphex Twin. I don't get all of his work but I don't need to to celebrate his creative vision. Similarly with The Northern Hemisphere.

As such, I would recommend that you give the album a few listens from start to finish before deciding if it works for you! Time will tell and I, for one, am prepared to take my time until this album becomes fully known to me... I believe Miller's music and creativity to be worthy of that kind of investment.

Jupiter Protects You will be released in early January on Bandcamp. A physical self-release will be available also. I am grateful to Drew for giving me a pre-release copy of the album but please note I have ordered a digital copy of the album.

Tx

Motherwell in the snow... some photos from 5th December 2011

2011-12-08T22:03:00.001Z

Here are some photos I took after the first snows of this winter. I am really loving my 55-200mm lens for my Nikon and am delighted with these shots.

Tx

Some birds in my garden

2011-12-04T21:28:00.001Z

I love seeing birds in my garden... and placing fat balls just outside the livingroom window isn't solely an exercise in aviary altruism... it lets me get shots like these. You may recognise the robin... he is the posterboy for December's calendar / wallpaper.

Tx

Christmas music (part 1 of 2)

2011-12-02T23:38:00.001Z

I hate the same old pap that's brought out as muzak at Christmas time... Slade... Wizard... Mariah Carey... all have been done to death, IMHO.

So it is around this time of year that I go hunting for meaningful or new-to-me Christmas music. So far I've found some good recordings to complement those already in my collection... and wanted to share them with you:

-----------

The Lower Lights :: "Come let us adore him"

Christmas carols and songs in their trademark folky sound. Their awesome harmonies, for example, save "White Christmas" from the mundane... and their instrumentation differentiates "little drummer boy" and makes it their own. I love this band and eagerly welcome this album.

-----------

So Elated :: "Bewildering Light"

Christmas isn't Christmas for me without this album. Ben Thomas and gang created an album full of mystery, hope and searching that is simply timeless. A welcome addition to any collection, imho.

-----------

Vince Guaraldi :: "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (pictured at the top)

Nothing puts a smile faster on my face than this album... it has a real sense of fun and movement to it, and I love it. Haven't seen the show in ages but the jazzy instrumentation and expressive rhythms on this soundtrack sound as fresh as ever.

-----------

Low :: "Christmas"

I find this EP dark and downcast but filled with heartfelt meaning... real emotion can be found among the wall-of-sound distortion fuzz and slow acoustic moments. The EP is a fab mix of the playful and the poignant... they even have Christmas bells in the opening song... which is fun.

-----------

Sleeping at last :: Christmas Collection

Picked up this album recently from noisetrade and have really enjoyed their folky acoustic soundscapes. Their version of "what child is this" is breathtaking in its scope and grandeur. I feel this album will become part of Christmas for me like the others above.

-----------

I'll share more soon... hunting for these will keep you busy for a wee while.

Tx

December's calendar / wallpaper

2011-12-01T23:03:00.001Z

Nothing says Winter like Little Robin Redbreast... so I've created a couple of wallpapers that feature a recent garden visitor.

Usual flavours included... enjoy.

Tx

1024x768
1280x800
1680x1050
1920x1080
iPhone with calendar
iPad
PSP
Kindle3
980x800 (no calendar) for my pal Andrew

*U*P*D*A*T*E*
iPhone (no calendar) for my pal Aileen

My artwork for Gurdonark's latest release on Treetrunk

2011-11-30T22:35:00.001Z

I was delighted to be asked by Gurdonark to create the artwork for his latest release "weights and measures" on the awesome Treetrunk netlabel.

Bob is such a wonderful guy... so easy to collaborate with and very imaginative... and it was a pleasure to work with him. I'm pleased with the outcome.

I haven't heard his EP yet but am confident it will be up to his usual high standard.

Tx

Podcasts I am digging just now...

2011-11-30T19:44:00.001Z

As you may have read I picked up the universal "podcatching" iOS "Downcast" at the weekend. It was a toss-up between it and "Instacast" but "Downcast" won because it was universal... which means it takes pride of place on both my iPhone and iPad.

It's a fab app that caters for all my podcasting needs. My only criticism of the app is that I wish it had some sort of cloud syncing capability that enabled me to work seamlessly between devices... I guess I'm getting fussing in my old age, huh?

I downloaded a number of podcasts to listen to and I've been like proverbial fat kid in a sweetie shop ever since.

For music related content, I subscribed to the following:

A Strangely Isolated Place
Benjamin Dauer recommended ASIP to me and I am glad he did because the podcast presents wonderful longform mixes of my kind of music... described by the blurb as "ambient, chill, IDM, shoegaze, psychedelic, nugaze, drone and electronica". The quality control is very high and the content I've heard to date has been impressive.

Dark Ambient
This podcast, hosted by Jim Butler, focuses on ambient electronic music and I find it is great to listen to while photoshopping. It has an immersive other-worldly feel to it.

Low Lights
This is another podcast recommended by Ben. It focuses on ambient soundscapes and makes for an engaging and immersive listening experience.

Headphone Commute
There is cutting edge and there is bleeding edge... and then there is "Headphone Commute". The mixes they present vary across genre but have a consistent level of quality. Want to hear something new..? go to Headphone Commute first.

National Public Radio - All Songs Considered and their live concerts
NPR is an American treasure and their "All Songs Considered" an example of first class programming. So far I have enjoyed a Moby concert from the recent Moogfest and have some interesting programming to catch up on.

In addition to the above music-related programming I also downloads the following talk-based shows:

The Something Beautiful Podcast
SBP is the podcast I co-host where we (JD, Travis, Stewart, Johnny & myself) help our interviewees unpack and discuss their faith journeys. We've been going for three + years and it can be tough but it is also fun and a great way to listen and learn from others.

The HP Podcraft
I am a big fan of HPLovecraft and this podcast features a discussion on his various works. It is geeky but I enjoy it and find the observations raised fascinating and enlightening.

Mosaic Audio
I get considerable blessing from the sermons presented at Mosaic in Los Angeles. Erwin McManus is a gifted author and theologian... and his team are all similarly gifted. This podcast is church for me... and I heartily recommend it.

That's what's in my Downcast at the moment. Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what ones? Any you'd recommend?

Tx

*U*P*D*A*T*E*

I forgot This American Life ... a show my friend JD Blundell turned me onto. The show describes itself as follows:

"The radio show and TV show follow the same format. There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There’s lots more to the show, but it’s sort of hard to describe."

I love stories of everyday people... its kind of the point of my own podcast and its also why I dig this show.

Tx

Loving... "mind over matter" by Earlyguard

2011-11-30T19:33:00.001Z

I am undeniably biased and subjective when it comes to Earlyguard's longform ambient drones. They click with me and really fit into my listening habits... and "mind over matter" is by no means an exception to this.

"Mind over matter" is released tomorrow and brings to a close Earlyguard's prolific spell of releasing a recording each month in 2011. It is with a touch of sadness that I note his desire to slow his release schedule... but then that's me just being a bit selfish... I guess I, like other ambient fans, have been spoiled by his prolificacy.

"Mind over matter" is a fascinating and immersive longform drone lasting nearly 45 minutes. It is deeply nuanced but still instantly accessible... with the inclusion of more "white noise" than I've heard before from him. This noise adds to the execution of the track and provides extra details within the drone.

The drone has a wonderful sense of movement. I visualise a train journey with the outside world flashing by. I find this thought both intriguing and relaxing.

And it is relaxing that I find the most appropriate word to describe this track. It creates head space and helps to block out the world, both outside AND inside, in a manner that insists for me to stop.

Last night, as I listened for the third time to the track, I tackled my ironing pile (I have too many shirts for work). The combination of the head space from the track and the repetitive action of ironing became deeply meditative... with both elements working together to enhance the other. It was a strange but profoundly fascinating and enjoyable experience... one I hope to repeat to the delight of my wife.

"Mind over matter" is released tomorrow for free on bandcamp. Please take time to check it out and do what you can to support and encourage independent music.

Tx

The Title Design of Saul Bass by Ian Albinson

2011-11-28T23:54:00.001Z

The Title Design of Saul Bass from Ian Albinson on Vimeo.

So cool and so inspirational!

My thanks to Brainpickings for the heads-up and to Ian Albinson for compiling the video.

Tx

Some new iOS apps that I've been digging

2011-11-26T17:11:00.001Z

I haven't posted about new iOS apps for a while but with my dad getting an iPod Touch and my wife picking up an iPhone 4S... I thought I'd share some apps that have interested me of late. Oh and I got an iTunes Store voucher as a special recognition award at work recently... that has help fuel my 'spree'.

---------

First up is an app called "do this next" which is a very simple and minimal to do app where you write down what you plan to do next... no deadlines or reminders... just a simple entry all super-sweet in helvetica. It may seem pointless to GTD'ers but I like it... because its my 'special place' for what I need to do... oh and I use it in conjunction with "Things" AND "Wunderlist" (both recommended too).

£0.69 / $0.99

---------

Next up we have "Trickle for Facebook"... a passive app that displays current Facebook stati in a similar manner to "Trickle for Twitter". It's nice to put it on whilst doing something else... for a wee bit of ambient intimacy. The app also allows you to 'like' a status... if you feel so inclined.

£0.69 / $0.99

---------

Continuing my interest in the font Helvetica comes a wee clock app called "It's a Clock". According to the developer it "humanises the measurement of time to provide us with a scale more suited to the realities of life". I like it. I keep it on when my phone is charging.

£0.69 / $0.99

---------

"Helvetimer" is currently a free timer app... that uses (you guessed it) Helvetica for its font-of-choice. I find it very easy to use... especially when I am trying the Pomodoro Technique for task focus (although I realise it should be 25 minutes instead of 30 as shown in the picture).

Free (for now)

---------

Next up we have "Downcast"... which downloads and manages my podcast content. I have gotten out of the way of listening to podcasts... apart from my own... and this app will, I hope, help me get back into the fab content out there. I'll post about some of the delights I have found and been recommended at a later point... but if you are partial to podcasted content the "Downcast" is tremendous... and its universal.

£1.49 / $1.99

---------

"Fathm" is a free time management app that allows you to graphically record time spent on the tasks you've undertaken. Haven't really used it yet... but do intend to. I can see real benefit in using it at work or when I'm designing at home.

Free

---------

"Synchronize" is another fab free app that allows you to work out the time difference between places. I use it for the times JD texts me in my 'middle of the night' to work out exactly what the time is with him.

Free

---------

Enjoy... but please be warned... new apps = playing with your iOS device = decreased battery life.

Let me know if you download them... and give me the heads-up if you have any apps that you'd recommend.

Tx

Loving... "Mute Words" by Leonardo Rosado

2011-11-26T09:33:00.001Z

Next level. This is the only phrase that does justice to the new recording from one of my favourite ambient musicians.

"Mute Words" is quite simply next level in terms of structure and approach. The tracks demonstrate a tangible progression and evolution in Rosado as a musician and they way he is approaching their physical distribution through Heart and Soul (the sister label to FeedbackLoop which specialises in handmade objects) demonstrates a real growth as an independent artist.

The tracks are richly detailed and immersive... inviting in their initial presentation and engaging in the manner that they keep a listener's attention with multiple layers of complexity.

As the final notes from "out of pure kindness" drift off into memory I feel both fed and hungry. It is this paradox of the initially accessible and the deeply rewarding that I find fascinating... a fascination that has kept me content with what I have whilst being thirsty for more.

Rosado has truly developed as an artist. The layers of drones he uses are complemented by wonderful found-sounds, field recordings and a piano to build a real richness of sound... to which he adds, in just the right places, three very unique and individual vocal contributions to create the most glorious of ambient soundscapes.

Is it ambient because he has utilised the talents of two singers and a spoke-word poet..? Absolutely. For me ambient is not really about the absence of words but more about the presentation of feeling, mood and expression... for me it is the ambience that counts.

Take the poetry of Michelle Seaman to accompaniment of Rosado's drones, clicks and percussive field recordings on the track "the study of doubt". Whilst her style reminds me in part of the nu-soul poet Dana Bryant... her vocals also remind me of something futuristic... almost robotic. I can't imagine any better execution or collaboration than what is presented to me here. It just sounds so right & complementary... the soundscapes created and the feeling expressed both verbally and sonically is just breathtaking.

I get a similar feeling when I listen to Barbara de Dominicis ("how inbetween became to be") and Alicia Merz ("out of pure kindness") both uniquely individualistic but complementary when you listen to the album as a whole.

I would love to hear more from all three vocalist. I know Rosado has collaborated with Merz on Birds of Passage. I remember lapping up the track they submitted to the "Sequence1" album. It was an exemplary track in an already extremely high quality compilation.

I won't go into detail about each track because I don't think that's fair for you... potential listeners... but I will say this: Rosado is a leading figure in ambient music & this album cements his status. It is truly magnificent and will, without doubt, top some lists for best album of 2011.

I am grateful to Leonardo Rosado for giving me a preview copy of the album. It drops in early December with a limited number of physical copies being produced. I have embedded the bandcamp player to let you hear it. Please do what you can to support independent music.

Tx

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://heartandsoulpublisher.bandcamp.com/album/mute-words"&amp;gt;Mute Words by Leonardo Rosado&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Loving... "Babysteps" by the Rhys Anslow Project

2011-11-24T18:44:00.001Z

When my friends on Twitter tell me they have released an album I will check it out. I am in an enviable place where I have lots of musician friends and am regularly given early notice of new material.

Rhys Anslow aka @rhysbass is someone in whom I've struck up an unlikely friendship based around our mutual love of music... a friendship I am grateful for.

I was delighted when he gave me a copy of his latest album: "babysteps" earlier this week. He plays bass and is a looper... and this album is just him, his bass and his ingenuity... along with a few fiddly effects.

To put this in context... think of your favourite record that has some form of bass solo - maybe some slap & pop funk or some super-melodic solo - that you love and look forward to when listening to the song. That's what you can expect. That will help to shape your understanding of this recording. That said... try not to think of the incidental music in Seinfeld... that's what this isn't.

Rhys builds layers using just his bass and various effects. The closest I've come to this is Matt Stevens' brand of guitar playing. The layers are deep and immersive... forming a strong foundation for the melody and/or rhythm sections.

"Behind closed doors" is a wonderful example of this... with a leading melody expertly executed with such grace and poise... in a way that made me think of the "Regarding Henry" soundtrack. It's this bass-as-lead that I really love... so warm, sensual and atmospheric.

Whilst I am more in favour of these gracious melodies and less inclined to the jarring dissonance of slap & pop... I do love what Rhys has created on this recording. Through multiple listens I am impressed with the sounds Rhys can and does get from his bass.

There is nothing quite like a melodious bass solo and Rhys' ability to get this just right is a tremendous achievement. As such I would heartily recommend this album. Not just because he's my friend but because he's nailed it, musically speaking.

I have embedded the player from Bandcamp... please take time to listen to the album and do what you can to support an independent musician.

Tx

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://rhysanslow.bandcamp.com/album/baby-steps"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Baby Steps by The Rhys Anslow Project&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Urban, a short film by Vladimir Teneslav

2011-11-23T20:26:00.001Z

I really love this video by Vladimir Teneslav... there is a wonderful realism about it... especially with the parkour being more "down to earth" than usual.

I found out about it through Joe Hogan whose track "wanted back" features as the soundtrack.

All in... very strong indeed.

Tx

Seven questions... with Jeff Scott Townsend

2011-11-23T20:04:00.001Z

During my correspondence with Jeff Scott Townsend... the musician I featured yesterday... I asked him to complete my wee interview. I'm glad he did.

----------

1) Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Jeff Scott Townsend and I do music. I have released an ep and an lp of folk music tinged with trip-hop, and also an ep and lp of modern classical which is currently consuming all of my artistic output.

2) What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment I am wrapping up another modern classical full length entitled "The Republic of Dreams" which I hope to have out by the end of the year. I am also working on a score for an independent film due out next year.

3) Who inspires you?
- Name an artist who has inspired you.
The films of Guy Maddin have been a major influence on my work. I really try to capture the feel and aesthetics in my music.

- Name place that has inspired you.
The town I grew up in, as cliche as that may sound. A former city of industry that lies on the banks of Lake Michigan. I love the juxtaposition of abandoned factories with nature.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
Heartache.

4) What drives you to do what you do?
When I hear a song that shakes me to my soul, whose beauty is just paralysing and resonates with me completely. I want to make songs that will do that for others.

5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
I'm really not sure what values I hope to express. Repentance, I guess, and longing, but also hope.

6) What role does community play in what you do?
I'm fortunate enough that two of my best friends are a film maker and an artist. They have both been invaluable, not only in a collaborative sense, but also for support and inspiration.

7) What is next for what you do?
I just want to keep improving as a musician. My main focus right now is to experiment more without sacrificing melodic elements. I'm a sucker for melody.

If you haven't already checked out Townsend's music then please do... I recommend it.

Tx

Loving... Joe Hogan's soundtrack for "Roanoke: The Lost Colony"

2011-11-22T21:52:00.001Z

I am in a classical / soundtrack mood at the moment... and an album I was given the heads-up to by the artist himself, "Roanoke: The Lost Colony", has really kept my attention.

Whilst I haven't seen the film that the soundtrack backs... I really like it... it holds real sense of atmosphere... both serene and dramatic... and really makes the most of the time it has.

If classical soundscapes are your thing then I would recommend you check this album out. As always I've embedded a player to let you hear the album... please check it out and do what you can to support independent music.

Tx

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://shop.joehogan.co.uk/album/roanoke-the-lost-colony-original-soundtrack"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Roanoke: The Lost Colony (Original Soundtrack) by Joe Hogan&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Loving the work of Jeff Scott Townsend

2011-11-22T21:35:00.001Z

Every so often I come across an artist whose music blows me away. This weekend I stumbled upon the music of Jeff Scott Townsend whilst browsing under the "neo classical" tag in Bandcamp.

I was initially introduced to delightful and airy piano-based soundscapes of "notes from the underground" - it is a piece of effortless neo-classicism that really fitted the bill perfectly for what I was looking for.

It sounds like the score for a film I haven't seen... recorded live at the first showing of said film. There is a deliciously airy ambience contained with the tracks that adds an additional yet indescribable quality to the pieces - like the light in Venice or the water in NYC - something magical exists that isn't quite quantifiable. It feels timeless... something of now but not just of now, if that makes sense?

Through this album... I was introduced to his other work on Bandcamp. The content of "she was beautiful" (above) is along similar lines to "notes from the underground"... reminiscent of an old favourite, cherished filmscore... whereas "all night forever" (below) is different... less classical and more folky... but still delightful, engaging and entertaining. All three releases work well together and expand Townsend's sound.

I would recommend the work of Jeff Scott Townsend. His soundscapes are fantastic and my one hope, if I am allowed to dream, would be to hear Townsend's music scoring an actual film... something worthy of his care and attention.

Have a wee listen to his music below... and support independent music by buying his soundscapes.

Tx

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://jeffscotttownsend.bandcamp.com/album/notes-from-underground"&amp;gt;Notes From Underground by Jeff Scott Townsend&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://jeffscotttownsend.bandcamp.com/album/she-was-beautiful"&amp;gt;She Was Beautiful by Jeff Scott Townsend&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://jeffscotttownsend.bandcamp.com/album/all-night-forever"&amp;gt;All Night Forever by Jeff Scott Townsend&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Top 30 Artists on my Last FM

2011-11-20T23:19:00.001Z

From February 2006 to present... these are my overall top 30 artists as recorded by Last.FM. I think it makes for interesting reading.

Tx

"Black Ocean / Ecosystem & Incubation" by Zelig Sound: Composition & Sound

2011-11-17T23:30:00.001Z

"We were asked to create some excellent intricate sound design and score for this very beautiful visual journey through Black Ocean's ecosystem. We used some very interesting and unique sound tools when creating this piece. The result is very detailed, subtle and reserved."
Zelig Sound: Composition & Sound

Wow... truly beautiful with an amazing soundtrack!

Impressed.

Tx

Loving... "A History of the Sky" by Ken Murphy

2011-11-17T23:18:00.001Z

"This is a year-long time-lapse study of the sky. A camera installed on the roof of the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco captured an image of the sky every 10 seconds. From these images, I created a mosaic of time-lapse movies, each showing a single day. The days are arranged in chronological order. My intent was to reveal the patterns of light and weather over the course of a year."
Ken Murphy

Wow... Vimeo is on fire tonight!

Tx

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS

2011-11-17T22:19:00.001Z

"Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by the crew of expeditions 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011, who to my knowledge shot these pictures at an altitude of around 350 km."

Wow!

Loving... Dunes by 4th Alternative

2011-11-14T22:32:00.001Z

One of the highlights of working with some of my favourite ambient musicians is that I usually get a preview of the album... long before its 'out there'. Dunes by Rob Davies aka 4th Alternative is an album I loved from the first moment I heard it.

I've been a fan of 4th Alternative since I heard New Dawn on the Earth Monkey Productions netlabel. I liked his form of ambient electronica back then... and it still works for me today.

The nine tracks that for Dunes are wonderfully idiosyncratic yet come together to make a tangible whole... they are concise and articulate... saying what needs to be said, figuratively speaking, before moving on... they don't labour the point. I like that.

The music featured on the album is predominately expressive synth based ambience... deeply immersive with an other-worldly quality to it. Tracks like 'murmurs' or 'mirage' have an almost visual element to them... which is fascinating for me.

All in... I would recommend this album if ambient is your thing.

£7 from Bandcamp

Tx

Dunes by 4th Alternative

PS... the observant among you will have noticed where the cover came from... its a crop from my first painting... from back in July 2009. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Rob's remit was for some sort of desert sand dune. Now... I don't know about you... but sand dunes aren't very common in Motherwell. On my first attempt, I tried something concrete and abstract... which didn't work. So this was my second attempt... and I was delighted when Rob got it. He loved it and that was that.

I hope to work with Rob again... and start painting again.

Loving... Sleeping At Last

2011-11-14T18:36:00.001Z

Olly's been at it again... this time she reminded me of a band I had come across a wee while back called Sleeping At Last... a deliciously delicate indie folk act whose music is truly beautiful and serene like the calm of early morning.

I couldn't find any other 'official' videos on YouTube... but found this fab live recording which goes some way towards distilling their sound.

Enjoy.

Thank again Olly!

Tx

Loving... Angus and Julia Stone

2011-11-14T00:09:00.001Z

I love it when my wife turns me onto a new band. Her latest find are brother and sister duo Angus and Julia Stone. They have a wonderfully effortless sound... something delicate yet durable. I am impressed. Check out the videos embedded here for more.

Thanks Olly!

Tx

Tonight... at Sherbrooke St Gilberts Church

2011-11-12T12:31:00.001Z

I've created the visuals for this concert... nothing fancy... just minimalist informative slides and a display of some of my pictures at the interval.

Looking forward to it.

Tx

My artwork on bandcamp :: Dunes + New Underground Volume One

2011-11-11T23:24:00.001Z

I was delighted to see two albums released yesterday/today that I've had the pleasure to provide the artwork for.

'Dunes' by Rob Davies aka 4th Alternative (above) features one of my paintings... whereas 'New Underground Volume One' (below) features a photograph taken at the big museum in Edinburgh.

I will feature these albums in their own right in due course... I just wanted to mark the moment where two more of my album covers were 'live' and 'out there'.

Delighted for the opportunity and my thanks goes to Rob and Wolfgang respectively for their willingness to collaborate.

Tx

Machines for the New Dawn... an interview with Adam Greenhead pt2

2011-11-09T21:00:00.000Z

Yesterday I posted the first part of my interview with Adam Greenhead aka Coloured Lines where we talked about his new album "Machines for the New Dawn". Here is the concluding part of the interview.

Enjoy

Tx

-------------------

TM) I love the beats in this album ... nice and chunky. They compliment the melodies played on the piano. What/who are your influences for the soundscapes and atmospheres on this album?

AG) I'm glad you liked them. A lot of the songs are fairly slow so I wanted to compensate this with thick chunky drums. There are a lot of influences in this album spanning many different genres. I also have an influence of Reich and Glass in my works but with this album I wanted to extend beyond that. One new but very prominent influence on this album has to be that of Four Tet. I came across his album 'There Is Love In You' on Spotify and instantly fell in love with his production and his brilliant song writing. There is also a big influence from Radiohead, particularly from their album 'The King of Limbs'. I loved the fact that the drums on that album are over dubbed various times and mixed with samples and other percussion. I like the idea of two drummers playing in a band using counter rhythms and counterpoint to the songs and loved 'Live At The Basement' sessions when Radiohead did this.

-------------------

TM) You have recorded music with your band "sawsound", with violinist Chrissie Caulfield and collaboratively under the banner of "the ambient league" ... how have these experiences shaped this recording?

A5) Working with other musicians is simply fantastic and is the reason I became a musician. You can meet someone you know nothing about, play music together and in an instant have a connection with them. Other musicians will always open up new doors to your creativity and your musical tastes and for me it is important to have that to develop and grow. When I first started playing and jamming with Chrissie Caulfield I was immediately intimidated by how fantastic a musician she was. I didn't think I would be able to connect with her musically as I was afraid I didn't know enough but she was very patient and made me feel relaxed. All of a sudden we started playing this music and it was so liberating to have no boundaries and to express what my fingers wanted to hear. It's important to realise that you don't have to write music to please people in a specific way. If you're comfortable with your approach to the way you write then the rest will fall into place and you find that people do actually like what you're doing too. I also take on board what other musicians teach me and I think that reflects in this album as it is a lot more mature than my first attempt 'Fear Builds Walls'.

-------------------

TM) With the high notes of "photophobia" you must wear very tight underpants ... your choice of falsetto is a brave one ... it can go wrong but thankfully in this recording it hasn't ... in fact its simply beautiful ... please explain why you chose this range? Is it by choice or is it your natural range?

AG) When I was a young boy I was a treble and enjoyed singing a lot. As a young man I lost that ability quite a lot and stopped singing for a long time. I discovered a band called Wild Beasts in 2007 and fell in love with their leader singer Hayden Thorpe and his falsetto voice. I was trying to build my voice back up again and make it stronger and knew I was afraid to really show others that this is how I enjoyed to sing. It is not really a strong point of mine anymore but decided to take a big risk and use it on the album. I think it hasn't come back to bite me yet but I'm not sure I would use it again. However, since then I have heard more and more male singers use it and I think it sounds great e.g. Temper Trap, Thom Yorke and Wild Beasts to name a few.

-------------------

TM) I love the album art. Describe, for me please, the concept and talk about the execution... who is the picture by?

AG) All the pictures on the album are by Holly Henry, a young lady from Texas, USA. She very kindly offered to let me use her artwork and I was blown away by it when I first saw it. I like to relate images back to my music as I believe that an album is not just about the music but an artistic creation as a whole. By that what I means is when I look at an album I always check the cover to see how it relates to the music. For instance, I have always been a big fan of Storm Thorgerson and feel his artwork matches the mood of Pink Floyd's music to perfection. The album as you know is political and I wanted to choose pictures that shocked the listener. These pictures contain a lot of fear and anger in them and there is a lot of fear and anger in the people around us at the moment and at each other. This is almost a self reflection on this and shows we need to change our attitudes towards one another.

-------------------

TM) What's next for Adam and Coloured Lines? Will you repeat the process? Have you considered a remix album utilising all the talent we know within our shared twitter community?

AG) What's next? That is a difficult one. I am intending to begin my Masters in Digital Music in September if I can afford to and develop my knowledge further. As far as Coloured Lines is concerned I am not sure. I am still writing and playing with Sawsound currently and am also in a band called In Between Echoes which is a funk band based in Leeds. We have signed a manager and are seeing how things are going from there at the moment. We're not that well know yet so we're working on that by gigging around Yorkshire and further a field and have had some positive feedback so far. I also have an idea for an opera in mind which I am aching to begin. It may sound crazy but I am looking for funding to be able to make this a possibility and the ultimate goal would be to get its premier at the Proms! I'm not sure if that is too ambitious or not at this stage but what I can say is this is a mix between opera, electronic music and a live band so I'm not sure how easy it will be. I do have some plans to write a new EP or album but I am going to release a remix EP with a new song on too. I have one remix already by the fantastic Ambienteer but I need more. So if anyone does want to do a remix I would feel very honoured.

-------------------

Thanks Adam! I can't wait to hear the Opera!

Now c'mon folks... if you want to remix a track from Machines for the New Dawn give Adam a shout or leave a comment on here... I would love to hear where other ambient and electronic musicians could take Adam's wonderful music.

Machines for the New Dawn is available now from Bandcamp. The album can be downloaded for free or a physical copy on CD can be purchased for £4. A Limited Edition USB with .wav files and CD Digipack is also available for £12.

Have a listen below:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://colouredlines.bandcamp.com/album/machines-for-the-new-dawn"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Machines For The New Dawn by Coloured Lines&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Machines for the New Dawn... an interview with Adam Greenhead pt1

2011-11-08T21:00:00.000Z

My friend Adam Greenhead aka Coloured Lines has released a fantastic album entitled "Machines for the New Dawn" which is a wonderful mix of vocal samples, chunky beats, strong melodies and some great vocals.

It's not my usual style... it isn't ambient nor is it post-rock... it has a impressive sample-driven new wave vibe about it that I just love... and with Adam's melancholic falsetto... it makes for a wonderfully deep and entertaining experience.

Rather than just post a review... I thought I'd take some time out with Adam and ask him about the album. ... and was impressed with the answers he responded with. I've cut the interview in two... with the second post coming tomorrow evening.

Enjoy

Tx

-------------------

TM) "machines for the new dawn" opens with an attractive "field recording" ... this is something that I found deeply attractive about the album ... please explain your rationale for field recordings and describe your creative process ... how you record, what you decide to record, what you record with etc.

AG) The field recording used in the opening of the album is actually a sample that I found and decided to use. Unfortunately, I was not able to make a field recording myself due to equipment restrictions so decided to use a sample. The particular sample I used is from New York City and I feel adds a sense of space and ambience to the song that otherwise wouldn't be there. I got the idea from a few different sources. As most people know I'm a big fan of minimalism and the idea I think subconsciously came from Reich's 'City Life'. During the course of my degree I had quite a few lecturers who were into avant garde music such as electro-acoustic music where they often used field recordings. I took some ideas from them, but not being a massive fan of electro-acoustic music I decided to do my own thing with the sample.

-------------------

TM) on "love lost light part 1" there is a sample that talks of " Dave" ... my assumption is that this is David Cameron, our current PM ... how has our current political environment shaped this album?

AG) Ha ha you are indeed correct. I came across this sample on the internet of Samantha Cameron talking about her husband. It made me laugh to find that she actually called him 'Dave' and so I decided to use it as it shows there is a different perspective of him from someone else's view. During the second year of my degree we had our general election and I began to get quite involved with it, watching the debates on TV when one day my then local MP, Greg Mulholland, knocked on our front door. I spoke with him about student fees and he said he was opposed to fees etc. After that election it is well known that the promises made by the Liberal Democrats were broken and having voted for them I felt stabbed in the back. As time went on various global political movements took place, such as those in Tunisia and Egypt and I was writing this album thinking wow, this is so relevant to how the world is responding to all the different troubles that are happening. Domestically, I have been furious with the current governments cuts to the arts and everything else they can lay their hands on. People who control our government have no clue how ordinary people like you and I live, or how we try our best to get by as prices rise and bankers risk our money for fun. I realised that I was becoming a very angry person with society so I channeled that through this album.

-------------------

TM) Furthermore... you demonstrate an adeptness in picking really great vocal samples. Throughout the album we have some wondrous vocal samples from Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, the current US President, Barack Obama, and even Charlton Heston. How do you decide on what makes a great sample?

AG) I came across the Margaret Thatcher sample first in the very early stages of the title song, which happened to be the first song on the album I wrote. I was listening to an old party conference of the Conservatives when I heard Thatcher say 'we believe everyone has the right to be unequal'. The speech carries on after she said this but I managed to extract that sample and in the context of what she was saying, change the meaning. My Dad is a big Thatcher era hater and as a child would often go on about his dislike of her. The society we live in is also very unequal, no matter how hard we try to hide it and something clicked and made me think it would be a great sample to use - mainly because she was such an iconic figure for good or bad. Deciding on samples is hard and took a long time to find the right ones and then to see if they will fit to the song you're writing. I spent hours looking for and manipulating them to the point of bordem almost. I'd say a sample depends on what you're trying to create with the material - for instance I like using odd titles for my songs and often start with the title and then build the context around that. For this album I did that by using samples.

-------------------

TM) You took a gamble and asked your fans (myself included) to prepay for the album ... what are your thoughts on this gamble and would you recommend this path for other upcoming musicians? When will I get my CD and, more importantly, where are the socks I was promised?

AG) Making the pre-order was a huge gamble, not only for my fans but also for myself financially. I have always wanted to put my own album in production and have something physical in my hand at the end of the long recording process (I'm a big lover of CDS!) I couldn't afford to do this to begin with so I decided that I'd try the pre-order on Bandcamp and see what response I got. It has been really positive and with the help of my fans I've managed to make those CDs, there was a demand there and I'm thrilled I've been able to accomplish making my own CD! If other upcoming musicians think they have a fan base big enough to cater for physical releases then I would encourage them to do so. It is very motivating knowing that your fans have faith in you by order a pre-order before they know the final outcome of your work. I am waiting on my suppliers to deliver the CDs this week (there were a few production hiccups) which means everyone should receive their copy by next week, maybe even earlier. I am also offering a FREE BONUS CD with the album orders so it's worth fans getting a hard copy of the album. Also someone asked for some dirty underwear with their CD so I've catered for that too! ;)

-------------------

Machines for the New Dawn is available now from Bandcamp. The album can be downloaded for free or a physical copy on CD can be purchased for £4. A Limited Edition USB with .wav files and CD Digipack is also available for £12.

Have a listen below... and come back tomorrow for the second part of this interview.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://colouredlines.bandcamp.com/album/machines-for-the-new-dawn"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Machines For The New Dawn by Coloured Lines&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Airdrie x Bellshill ... a joint concert between two Salvation Army Bands

2011-11-06T23:46:00.000Z

Last night I went to see/hear a joint concert from the Bellshill Salvation Army Band and the Airdrie Salvation Army Band. It was good fun at times... with Bandmaster Ian Dickie being his usual absurdist self (pictured above for a euphonium quartet based on "the Grandfather Clock").

Airdrie's Band under the leadership of Bobby Weir (pictured) sounded fab... and their choice of pieces was inspired.

All in... it was a good night... even with the fireworks which Ian roped me into helping him with. Believe it or not, that was the first time I had lit fireworks in my 37 years on this planet.

The rest of my photos are available here :: link to Flickr.

Tx

NaNoDrawMo 5 + 6

2011-11-06T22:55:00.002Z

I am working through Edward de Bono's "Six Thinking Hats" and continue to be inspired by his writing.

The pics are poor... so I am going to crank up my Canon scanner tomorrow and scan them in.

Oh and hairspray does fix pencil drawings.

NaNoDrawMo is a challenge... as is reading more. I think that's not only a good thing but the point of the individual activities.

Tx

Challenge 2 + NaNoDrawMo 2011 2 - 4

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000Z

Challenge #2... Read More!

I am currently reading short stories from Philip K. Dick and also from H. P. Lovecraft... as well as "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas, "The Gift" by Lewis Hyde and "The Six Thinking Hats" by Edward de Bono... from which the following illustrations are taken:

I think I may rescan these images... as the iPhone and Instagram are really doing them justice.

Enjoying both challenges so far...

Tx

Wilderthorn's cover of "The One I Love"

2011-11-03T19:50:00.000Z

I am so stoked... Jon Bilbrough aka Wilderthorn and James Underwood from Iskra String Quartet have recorded a version of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love"... for me... and, well, everyone else on the interwebs.

It's a great version... haunting and uniquely theirs. I love it. Well done guys!

Two new challenges + NaNoDrawMo2011 no1

2011-11-01T21:32:00.001Z

Challenge #1 for November
JD has challenged me to participate in NaNoDrawMo2011... aka... draw-fifty-or-more-pictures-in-November.

According to the Flickr group...

Inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), NaNoDrawMo is a personal challenge to push would-be artists beyond the bounds of comfortable "when I have time" practice for one month and see what happens.

Loosely defined goals are for each participant to produce 50 individual works/drawings between Nov 1 and Nov 30. You can always do more than 50 if you've got it in you! That's just the minimum everyone should be shooting for.

I'm not an artist... in the sense of someone who draws / illustrates... I'm a photographer. But I am willing to give it a go... and I have a purpose for the Moleskine Cahier Olly printed for me.

I have been inspired by data visualisation and the emerging field of graphic facilitation (read this for more).. and want to improve on what basic skills I have.

I also want to document my second challenge...

Challenge #2 for November
Inspired by the idea that change happens one step at a time... I am going to try to change my behaviour one step at a time. I'm going to document each change in a NaNoDrawMo2011 picture.

Change #1... I'm going to stop drinking milk in my tea (I never took sugar in my tea).

Tx

November 2011's calendar/wallpaper

2011-11-01T17:04:00.000Z

Don't panic... this month's wallpaper *is* a bunch of pink roses.

I want to reclaim pink roses from the Shmaltz family... and just enjoy them for the awesome things they are. I love the intricacy of a rose in bloom... and think November is a month that could do with more colour. I hope you agree?

Usual flavours included... along with a PSP version which I thought I'd bring back after getting back into playing it thanks to Dayna and Lego Star Wars.

Enjoy.

Tx

1024x768
1280x800
1680x1050
1920x1080
iPhone with calendar
iPad
PSP
Kindle3
980x800 (no calendar) for my pal Andrew

Photos from the West of Scotland Youth Band's visit to Strathaven

2011-10-29T13:43:00.003+01:00

Posted some photos from the West of Scotland Youth Band's visit to Strathaven on Wednesday past... to see the full set go here :: Flickr

It was a great evening... really looking forward to their concert with the Kirkintiloch Brass Band on the 12th November.

Tx

Olly's new idea: stamped cahiers

2011-10-28T22:15:00.000+01:00

Olly is doing something new... something to complement her handcrafted cards: she's stamping Moleskine Cahiers with interesting patterns and uplifting messages.

Pictured is the first one off the 'line'... a wee pocket cahier that's now in my pocket. It combines a celtic symbol with some love imagery.

She's still playing with the idea... but if it is something you'd be interested in... jump onto her facebook page and leave her a message.

Thanks honey!

Tx

believe handmade

What's your number?

2011-10-27T22:51:00.003+01:00

Here's an interesting interactive data visualisation... find out your 'ranking' in the world's population.

I am the 4, 007,773,415th person in this world... and I have a life expectancy of 77.4 years (i.e. I have 40 years left).

Find out your ranking on the BBC website.

Tx

Malcolm Gladwell tells the strange tale of the Norden bombsight

2011-10-27T21:53:00.000+01:00

It's always nice to hear something new from Malcolm Gladwell... I really appreciate his insight.

Tx

I received this compliment a few days back...

2011-10-27T20:25:00.004+01:00

I received this compliment a few days back that has really bouyed me up...

'...just wanted to say thanks for all your music recommendations, photography, and interesting spiritual retweets. Over the last year or 2 Ive found myself reading/listening/viewing a lot of interesting things thanks to you!'

I won't embarrass the person who wrote it... but just wanted to say thanks!

Tx

Loving... 'Introspection' by Earlyguard

2011-10-27T20:15:00.001+01:00

Introspection is the act of looking within oneself... the act of self-examination. It is also the fitting title for the ever-productive Earlyguard's latest longform ambient soundscape.

I was delighted when 'introspection' arrived in my Dropbox ... I have become very fond of the soundscapes Earlyguard produces and am extremely grateful for an early preview of his latest work.

I find his latest piece deeply moving... it has an almost tangible other-worldly quality to it as if he has recorded the sound of being in a "thin place"... a place where Heaven and Earth meet and touch.

The majority of the soundscape is a low drone... a kind of reverential hum with rays of light shining into the space at times (such as around the 20 minute mark)... to make an immersive sacred thrum that engages me, the listener, in thought... in consideration... like time spent in the grandest of cathedrals... both man-made and in nature.

'Introspection' provides time out... almost 45 minutes in another place... a dream-like space where there is the freedom and the inspiration for deeper thought and measured consideration.

I welcome this and would actively recommend this release to you.

Tx

'Introspection' is released on Tuesday, 1st November on bandcamp

Loving the artwork... "the past is a foreign country" by Venona Pers

2011-10-22T00:10:00.001+01:00

I received today a physical copy of Venona Pers lovely folktronic ambient album "the past is a foreign country" ... and wanted to post about the artwork.

The front cover is wonderfully subtle... so subtle in fact that my Nikon struggled to capture it. It's too white / light for the auto focus... so here it is from the album download:

The cover artwork is reproduced with kind permission from Yanming, Guangdong, China (unfortunately the website appears to be suspended at the moment). I love it.

The inside artwork is by illustrator Jim Robertson. It is also subtle... this time, however, it is an impressionistic painting of a woman... muted with warm oranges contrasting greens and blues.

It is a fitting cover for a beautiful album... and one I would heartily recommend. I've been really fortunate with the physical CDs I've obtained through Bandcamp... all unique and intentionally beautiful... and this one is a fine addition to my collection.

My thanks go to Jonathan C Hill for sending it through to me... he didn't have to... I had bought the album as a download... but he was kind enough to give me the CD. I am grateful.

Please support independent whenever and wherever you can.

Tx

Loving this... "My favourite animal" by Lara Lee

2011-10-21T21:03:00.001+01:00

My Favourite Animal (5 min. version) from Lara Lee on Vimeo.

I love this... three different children are heard describing their favourite animal, and then Lara Lee draws the animal according to what they say, so that the creature "grows itself" in a completely unexpected way.

Lee's execution is marvellous... and very entertaining.

Lovely!

Tx

Loving... Justice League on my iPad

2011-10-20T13:20:00.001+01:00

My friend Steven (aka "@myopicaardvark") is a huge comicbook fan... he gets all animated about them in the same way I do about music. When DC Comics took their decision to reboot 52 comics... I took the opportunity to start following a storyline.

The storyline I decided to follow was Justice League... I have followed their stories previously in graphic novels borrowed from Library or in the animated TV series... and kind of like the whole "team dynamic" thing... that and I love Wonder Woman but feel a bit odd buying her storyline. Oh and by buying into the JLA I get Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash AND Wonder Woman.

In essence, I love a good story and the work Geoff Johns and Jim Lee have undertaken impresses me... albeit I don't think everyone is as enamoured as I am... but then I am new to this. The artwork is vivid and the storyline intriguing.

What has enabled me to start this journey, apart from the DC reboot, is my iPad.

I'm buying the comics for my iPad... I am not buying physical media. This is another way the iPad comes into its own... the comic looks fab and is designed to be read either page by page or frame by frame... which I like. I also like that I can download the comic... once I've bought it... to my iPhone, iPad AND Dayna's iPhone too. She's coming along with me on this journey.

Whilst I am not convinced that the iPad is future of magazine publishing... well not yet, anyway... I do see a very healthy future for comicbooks. The iPad is wonderfully visual and comics are wonderfully visual too... this is a part of publishing that the Kindle can't touch yet... especially the grayscale e-Ink versions.

Tx

Loving this... Sentiment Analysis of the Bible

2011-10-19T18:31:00.005+01:00

Thanks to notcot #43,852 for the heads-up to this fantastic infographic :: A Sentiment Analysis of the Bible :: arranged chronologically (top) and by book (above).

According to the post on OpenBible.info... "Sentiment Analysis" involves algorithmically determining if a piece of text is positive (“I like cheese”) or negative (“I hate cheese”)... in essence black symbolises positive sentiment and red symbolises negative sentiment.

I don't get the math behind it... the graphic "arranged by book" uses a moving average of 5 verses on either side whereas "the chronological visualisation" uses a moving average of 150 verses on either side... but I like the way it looks... I have a real soft spot for fab infographics and hope to create my own in due course... for work and the like.

What's more... I love the fact OpenBible.info is giving away full size versions of the graphics for free. I really fancy the chronological visualisation on my wall in my wee computer room... and am grateful for their generousity.

Anyway... check out the article and download the full size versions.

Tx

Loving this mix by Tom Honey aka Good Weather for an Airstrike for Futuresequence

2011-10-19T15:50:00.000+01:00

Mix - Good Weather for an Airstrike by Futuresequence on Mixcloud

Another quality mix for Futuresequence from one of my fave ambient post-rock artists of late... Tom Honey aka Good Weather for an Airstrike.

This mix is something special indeed... with firm favourites Lowercase Noises, Umber, GWFAA himself and The Echelon Effect represented along with some new (to me) sounds and artists.

Take time out and listen... just wish I could get an offline copy?!?

Tx

Tracklisting

01. Inachus - Escape
02. Devin Townsend Project - Fly
03. Lowercase Noises - Migratory Patterns
04. Animal Hospital - A Safe Place
05. Jesu - Farewell
06. Ben Woods - No Word From Above
07. Moshimoss - Slow Days It Was Super
08. Good Weather For An Airstrike - Aurora
09. Chihei Hatakeyama - Morning Arrive On The Island
10. Puffin On My Side - Faded Distance
11. Sufjan Stevens - Alanson, Crooked River
12. The Echelon Effect - Your First Light My Eventide
13. Caspian - Epochs In Dmaj
14. Umber - Tomorrow We'll Throw Out Some Old Shoes
15. Roncatto Braathen - May Grace Be With You...
16. Mazzy Star - Into Dust
17.The Ivoryton Piano Factory - Whispering Spirits

Wilderthorn is taking requests for songs

2011-10-19T14:38:00.000+01:00

I really like this... musician Jon Bilbrough aka Wilderthorn is taking requests for songs... he'll film the best requests (he's aiming to do ten over a period of twenty weeks) and put them out via www.wilderthorn.com and his youtube channel.

I've submitted a few songs that came to mind... such as "You still believe in me" by the Beach Boys (from Pet Sounds) and "Fix you" by Coldplay (from X&Y)... and you should too.

Simply send in your song request to info@wilderthorn.com ... Jon will choose the best and record his version for your delectation.

Tx

The Carlsberg Bikers ad made me think

2011-10-18T20:15:00.000+01:00

I am grateful to my friend Trucker Frank (that's his real name... on his birth certificate... he's like Prince but taller) for sending through this video.

It made me think of all the times we expect people to join us... in whatever it is we want them to join us in... e.g. a church gathering or some other established setting. Think about it... look how daunted the folks are when they are expected to join the group. This is based on their assessment of the situation and their pre-judgement of the group they are expected to join.

Yes... I know its an advert and one for a beer... but it made me think and I welcome that!

Tx

Longboarding: DREAM by Benjamin Dowie

2011-10-17T21:24:00.001+01:00

I love this video that my friend Jonathan gave me the heads-up to. Its just so well shot.

Enjoy

Tx

Robert's response to my open letter of apology to my prog loving friend

2011-10-16T22:23:00.000+01:00

My friend Robert (pictured) sent me this email in response to my "open letter of apology to my prog loving friend". Enjoy.

Tx

-------------------------

Hi Thomas

Read your "Open letter" on your blog and I'd just like to say welcome to the church of Prog :-). You are of course, right that there are only two types of music, that which you like and that which you don't. And even then it changes. I love Marillion's Brave or Pink Floyd's the Wall (two albums you much check out) but it isn't every day that I can sustain the concentration to listen to them properly. And as concept albums, they demand attention to the detail that goes in (when recording Brave, instead of just having electronic silence by pulling the faders down between songs, they went out and recorded the dawn breaking and things like that).

But anyway, on to stuff to check out. If you're having a King Crimson moment, then listen to the albums leading up to "Red", "Larks Tongues in Aspic" and "Starless and Bible Black". The Fripp/Bruford/Wetton/Muir line up was fantastic. And the modern Tool stuff is very good, I think I gave you "Lateralus". The rest of their output is worth a listen.

In the Yes/Genesis style, there's the up to date bands like Spock Beard who are worth a listen to and Dream Theater which is a bit heavier. And the people who followed them in the 80s like Marillion, IQ and Pallas.

But most of all, check out Morrow.com. Prog radio.

Anyway, hope you're well and having fun. I'm currently listening to "Ten to Eleven" which you linked on your blog. It's pretty good. I like specific parts of ambient music and this is appealing. I'll give you a call at some point.

Take care, Robert

p.s. Entertainingly, I've actually seen Fugazi in concert. In France in 1995 or there about.

Loving... "mnk" by eomac

2011-10-16T11:11:00.000+01:00

I got a lovely surprise on Friday night... Invisible Agent sent through their latest release for a wee preview and I was mightily impressed with the quality of it. I still am after a number of relistens.

My listening habits are quite cyclical - lately i have been listening to passionate progressive rock... powerful post rock... deliciously droning ambient electronic soundscapes... and some fresh folky acoustic sounds. Oh and Björk.

I'm a fan of upbeat enthusiastic techno-inspired breakbeats... but wasn't really listening at the moment with any intention. I love Orbital, for example, but need to search them out... they are not on my iPhone for immediate listen while commuting.

This has changed, however, with the inclusion of "mnk" by eomac. It is truly a wonderful EP that brings together a number of ideas to create a vivid and powerful artistic expression and subsequent impression on me as the listener.

The EP opens with the title track "mnk" which features a wonderfully dark off-tuned synth intro/backing, skittery beats that dance through the mind, a deep and dub-steppy bassline, disjointed vocal samples and an off-kilter synth melody. All these parts come together really nicely to form a lovely audio collage that is almost jaunty, dare I say it.

"bashy" is proudly dub-steppy in feel... with a skippy beat, a deep bassline, quirky sounds that remind me of Herbie Hancock's fusion explorations and repetitive vocal samples that bring a celebratory joyful feeling to this track.

Track three of four is "texx" is another upbeat and joyful number... beats are skippy and the bass is, once more, deep but more prominent. Disparate sounds come together to create the melody... especially one refrain that can only be described as "sci-fi" in nature.

The last track "medieval massive" starts with skittering beats and a disjointed synth refrain before it is complemented by further synths and beats to create a wonderfully immersive soundscape... a soundscape that slows to a halt as the track ends.

There is no way to avoid the infectious upbeatness of this EP. This is goodtime music... unashamedly jiggy and jaunty with a depth of sound and all the hallmarks of technical proficiency.

I would recommend this EP to folks wanting an injection of up and would suggest playing it over good headphones or on a big hifi... there is so much that could be missed if you listen to it on the "standard" headphones that you received with your player of choice.

I have embedded a player below to let you have a wee listen.

Recommended. $2.99 on Bandcamp.

Tx

mnk ep by eomac

Photos from a wee trip to Peebles

2011-10-15T23:47:00.000+01:00

We took a wee trip to Peebles today... a nice wee leisurely drive down from Motherwell. The weather was glorious for this time of year and remarkably it stayed dry all day.

As always... I took my camera and have included some of my fave shots. The rest can be found here.

Tx