Loving the photography of Joel Robinson

"May you have love, kindness, and compassion for all living things"

My daughter Dayna turned me onto the photography of Joel Robinson. His self-portraits are simply phenomenal.


"Enclosed"


"Lessons In Balance"


"Empty Yourself and Let The Universe Fill You"

Please take the time to immerse yourself in his Flickr collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joel_r ... and his ETSY shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/boywonder

Thanks Dayna ... keep the tips coming, honey. All photos by Joel Robinson.

Some photos from a wee trip to Dalziel Park and the Clydeside Walkway

Went for a wee walk this afternoon with Olly, Dayna, and Miriam ... with Jane, Ross, Nathan, and Lachlan.

Dalziel Park is in the grounds of Dalziel House ... space owned by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton. It's wonderfully dishevelled and a fascinating place to explore ... especially with my Nikon and a nifty-fifty lens on manual.

I've embedded some of my fave pics. Here's a link to the rest - ((Flickr))

Seven questions with ... Shannon Penner aka Orbit Over Luna

After reviewing Orbit Over Luna's recent EP ... I asked Shannon Penner, the man behind their beautiful sound, to tell me a wee bit more about himself. This is what he had to say:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Shannon Penner. I am Canadian and a vegan.
I’ve been an animator/VFX artist for quite a while but I’ve started branching out into some professional audio work as well. I created a business, Plunk & Boom Music and Audio Post to start getting into some soundtrack work. My own personal music I record under the name Orbit Over Luna.
I mostly play guitar and do a lot of programming.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
I just released a new ep called 広島／宮島-Hiroshima/Miyajima. It’s the second in a series based on a trip to Japan in 2011. The first ep being 京都／奈良-Kyoto/Nara. I am currently working on ideas for the next in the series.


3) Who inspires you?
- Name an artist who has inspired you.
I get inspired very easily by almost anything I listen to! Some of my big early inspirations though would be bands like The Cocteau Twins, Lush, Over the Rhine and The Ocean Blue. Later on came Boards of Canada and Hammock who have inspired so many ambient artists.
The artist who continues to inspire me since the first moment I heard him is Helios. There’s just something about the way that guy makes music that hits me right in the core of my being. The album "Caesura" in particular.
"Matador" by Arms and Sleepers would be another desert island record for sure.
I also love 60s and 70s design. No artist in particular, just the whole design sense. Scott Hansen’s graphic design captures some of that sense. I love what he does. His music as Tycho is fantastic too. A successful visual artist/musician = dream job.
Mary Blair and Charley Harper’s designs are really inspirational too...
Sorry, I start thinking about artists and the rabbit hole never ends!

- Name place that has inspired you.
I haven’t had the opportunity to travel extensively, but Japan is a big inspiration for me.
Oh, and the moon (Luna). Does that count? I love staring at the moon.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
Stars.
Growing up in the country I remember laying on my back on the picnic table staring at the night sky for hours. You could see the stars so clearly. So vast and beautiful. It amazed me looking into the Milky Way with binoculars and realizing that there were more stars than I could have imagined.
I have very fond memories of those nights.
It’s unfortunate living in a city with so much light pollution...


4) What drives you to do what you do?
At the risk of sounding stereotypical, I’m going to say that it really is the best way in which I communicate what is me. Does that make sense? Being extremely introverted, I have a really difficult time explaining things that are important to me in other ways. Words and speech are not the best way for me to convey my ideas. It can be a bit ethereal and nebulous but music and art (lately it’s been photography) are the most genuine ways for me to ‘talk’.
I think everybody desperately needs to communicate regardless of their ability to do so in conventional methods. Everyone has a particular way in which they do it best.
So there is a drive in me to make music and art. A drive for me to be understood.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
Sincerity. I want my music to be as honest as possible. To be uniquely “me”.
It’s hard being inspired by so many different artists. I always want to try to make music and emulate what others are doing, but it NEVER works out for me. It doesn’t seem honest. It only starts working when I throw out the forced ideas and go with my gut.
It would be amazing to if someone connected with my music the same way in which mentioned that I connect with Helios. The fact that people have connected with my music at all is incredibly humbling. And really cool.
We all just want to connect really...


6) What role does community play in what you do?
I’ve always been a solo musician. Because it’s so personal, I like to be in total control of my art.
I thought, though, that I’d try stepping out a little bit on 広島／宮島-Hiroshima/Miyajima. Test the waters so to speak and try working with others. I picked a couple of great guys to work with too! Andrew Tasselmyer from The Sound of Rescue played bass on the second track, “Miyajima Water Fireworks(宮島水中花火)”, and Andy Othling from Lowercase Noises played electric guitar on “Hiroshima: City of Peace(広島：平和の都市)”. I am really pleased with how it turned out. It was relatively painless too!
The internet is pretty amazing. We’ve never met face to face but we were able to work together by Skypeing and sending files back and forth.
Social media has been good for me. I’ve been able to start connecting with people around the world within the safety of my introverted self.
So I guess the answer to your question would be that community is starting to play a much bigger part in what I do.
I think it’s good for me.


7) What is next for what you do?
Well, I’m working on the next in the Japan series. There will be 4 altogether and I’d like to get them all done by the end of 2013. I’m toying with the idea of the last one being a full length...but we’ll see.

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Thanks Shannon. I am eager to here more from your Japan series.

I hope you enjoy Penner's EP as much as I do. Take a listen below and, if you can, support him by buying his music.

Tx

Loving... “Hiroshima / Miyajima” by Orbit Over Luna

This week I have taken some annual leave to spend with my wife and kids. We’ve had a pleasant staycation ... using our time to watch films, eat, and visit towns like Peebles or Hamilton. During this time the soundtrack has varied rather dramatically (Big Time Rush anyone?) ... but there were some constants. One of these constants was “Hiroshima / Miyajima” ... Orbit Over Luna’s recent self-released EP.

I'm going to try and explain why I love this EP so much ... I say “try” because I feel this is a release that needs to be heard and experienced ... and I doubt my verbosity will do justice to it.

What Shannon Penner (the man behind Orbit Over Luna) has done is create 5 wonderfully engaging soundscapes that he has underpinned with field recordings from his trip to Japan: sounds like insects buzzing and bells ringing ... machinery and the outdoors ... that kind of thing. Over these field recordings he has recorded some seriously delightful and deeply melodic post-rock tracks ... music that is simply to-die-for beautiful. These rhythmic, guitar-orientated pieces have so much life and vitality to them ... it's hard not to be positively effected and encouraged by them.

The EP opens with “Genbaku Dome” and the sound of insects before layers of guitar appear ... a haunting ambient guitar underpinning a more melodic lead ... before a fuller sound is formed with percussion. The melody is then extended with some form of toy piano-type sound - this sound alone is worth the price of the EP ... it is so lovely - before fading into a drone-filled abyss.

From this starting point, the EP just seems to get better and better. The 2nd track - “Miyajima Fireworks” - features layers of sound that are truly gorgeous ... ambient guitar, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, that toy piano again, methodical percussion and bass, even a banjo ... they all work together to create the kind of wall-of-sound that Brian Wilson would be mightily proud of. This works because of Penner’s emphasis on melody and I, for one, love it. He’s in it for the groove ... not for an theatrics or technique but for the song ... and what a song it is, if you can call an instrumental track “a song”?

The middle track - “Hiroden Hope” - begins with the whirring of a film projector (or something similar) and the buzz of late night insects before some guitar and percussion take the track forward. When the fuller sound appears it is a delight ... especially when the melody appears, played on a keyboard or something similar. The melody is then further extended with the exemplary use of the glockenspiel. I'm a bit of a glockenspiel nut and this had me smiling like a loon. Penner’s guitar playing on this track is worthy of note too ... such diversity of sound that he holds together in such a manner to make a synergistic treat for his listeners. The track ends with something that sounds like a train going by. I don't know how Penner brings all the parts together but he does it very, very well.

The penultimate track - “Misen Yama” - has more ambient guitar, electric guitar and layers of percussion ... it bubbles along until the toy piano begins ... emphasising the melody and providing the listener with something to hold onto as the track builds. When the track’s full sound bursts out ... it is an utter delight. Penner’s sound on this track is so full and rich ... it is a pleasure for me to consume.

The final track - “Hiroshima: City of Peace” - is haunting and achingly beautiful. Layers of guitars and synths build an “ambient bed” for the guitars to plant their melody within ... before Penner’a now trademark wall-of-sound comes to the fore ... again taking the track forward. The percussion on this track is worthy of note ... nothing over-wrought ... it slowly builds the atmosphere with deliberate, methodical beats that really help to present the essence of the track ... encircling the listener and enfolding them into the track’s soul.

I cannot fault this EP and would heartily recommend it ... especially to folks with a fondness for rich, guitar-orientated, post-rock walls-of-sound.

As I said earlier, this is an EP that should be experienced. The harmonics and ambience are a delight ... but it is in the way Penner layers his sounds that he should be noted. He is very much of the Lowercase Noises school of post-rock ... albeit his walls-of-sound help him to really stand out as his own man. Have a listen below to hear what I mean.

Tx

Loving ... Bloom.FM

I'm not one for streaming music. I subscribe to Spotify but Olly and Miriam tend to use it more than me. I have a Last.FM account too but tend to use it to track my listening rather than as a listening service. I would love to have access to Pandora or Rdio but neither of these services are available in the UK ... which is a shame. (Please Note: Rdio is now available in the UK ... see UPDATE below)

I do, however, listen to the Radio ... especially BBC 6Music and Classic FM ... when I'm not in the mood to choose ... and am looking for inspiration. I also listen to my iPhone / iPod on shuffle to find forgotten gems in my collection.



Bloom.FM is a new service that allows me to stream music but works more like a radio or an iPhone on shuffle than Spotify or the like.

The iOS app allows you to choose a genre of music and stream tracks loosely associated to the genre ... I say loosely because their 'ambient' is not what I consider ambient ... and their 'modern classical' included Bryn Terfel ... but that aside their selection is still pretty strong.



If I want to I can 'borrow' music to listen to offline. Their prices for this services are reasonable - £1 per month for 20 tracks, £5 for 200 and £10 for unlimited tracks - with these different levels including other features such as playlists and streaming.



What I particularly liked was the 'audit trail' of what I had listened to. I can go back and investigate a track that I like.

All in ... I am impressed with this app and have it on my second iPhone which is currently docked in our player and is tickling my ears with some Global Communication.

It is available as a free iOS app at the moment but there are plans to introduce apps for Android devices and for the Web in due course.

I certainly hope it succeeds.

http://www.bloom.fm/home

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

Thanks to Baxter for the heads-up that Rdio is now available in the UK.

http://www.rdio.com/home/

Seven questions with ... Chris Weeks

Following on from my review of Chris Weeks' "The Ebb and Flow" ... I thought it apt to get to know him a wee bit better.

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
Chris Weeks. I am a music-maker/artist. I’ve been making music for a number of years under various guises, namely ‘Kingbastard’ (Alternative/Electronic Music) & my Lo-Fi/Pop alter-ego ‘Myheadisaballoon’. I’ve recently switched to creating music under my real name; to release two albums on the on the new label ‘Nibbana’, a sub-label to Kid606’s Tigerbeat6 imprint, focussing on Ambient/Drone & Minimal composition. In addition to my output on Nibbana, I have taken to self-releasing limited edition runs of EPs, on mini cd format; creating all the artwork myself.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently focussing my attention on a new release for Nibbana called ‘Contemplation Moon’, following on from my previous albums ‘A Haunting Sun’ & ‘A Deconstructed Sun’, due for release in 2013; the not too distant future.


3) Who inspires you?
- Name an artist who has inspired you.
So many artists have inspired me at different times in my life, too many to list. However, I would say that Bob Dylan was one of the initial reasons why I started to pick up a guitar and teach myself to play, which set the ball-rolling for my love of creating music, many moons ago.

- Name place that has inspired you.
I would have to say Pembrokeshire in West-Wales, which is where I currently live. It’s a place of natural beauty, unspoiled countryside; a constant source of inspiration.

- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
The book: ‘Other Days, Other Eyes’ by Bob Shaw.


4) What drives you to do what you do?
I constantly feel the urge to do something creative, be it music or art. If I’m not ‘hands-on’ creating, then I’m thinking about my next project, scribbling ideas down in my sketchbooks. I love the creative process of composition. Searching for inspiration, envisaging an idea, hearing/seeing those initial thoughts grow into a fully-realised body of work. It’s my passion in life.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
I try to approach everything I do with a sense of honesty & integrity, open-mindedness & thoughtfulness, so I would hope that my creativity expresses these qualities.


6) What role does community play in what you do?
Being a solo-artist, I’m not sure that community plays any part in the actual creative process of composition itself; it is a very individual and solipsistic process. However, community, in the sense of ‘where I live’ and my surroundings allowing me to gain inspiration does play its part. Also, the ‘community’ found upon the internet. The music & social networking websites encourage a sense of community, which can lead to sharing your creativity with a wider audience. So I would suggest that community plays the role of ‘an implementer’, allowing the artist to develop & grow.


7) What is next for what you do?
Next up, I will be working on artwork for a new EP; finishing off a trilogy of self-released EP’s on limited edition mini CD. Then all my attention will be focussed on my next release for Nibbana, Contemplation Moon.

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Thanks Chris!

Please take time to listen to Chris' music and support his particular style of independent musical excellence where possible.

Tx

Loving ... "The Ebb and Flow" by Chris Weeks

I love it when I get music sent to me to listen to. It puts a spring in my step but also puts a doubt in my heart: what if I don't like what I have been sent? My parents brought me up to only say something good and to keep quiet if I have nothing good to say. I try to follow their advice and whilst I may not follow them to the letter in a face-to-face setting, I live by their philosophy on here.

I was recently sent “The Ebb and Flow” by Chris Weeks. It arrived in my In Box out of the blue and I was, quite naturally, hesitant. Weeks was not someone I was familiar with and I was approaching his music cold. I was, understandably, apprehensive.

I can happily say my reticence was completely unfounded and I am equally delighted to say “The Ebb and Flow” is a wonderful release ... filled to the brim with the kind of interesting, intelligent drone-orientated ambient soundscapes that I simply adore.

His music reminds me of the marvellous Emma^lee Crane ... there is a magnificence about the tracks that is simply breathtaking ... a grandeur that fills the room when the release is playing ... a presence that I have found captivating whether I am walking the dog, taking a long hot bath, or sitting alone in my living room taking a breather from the excitement and busyness of a time of annual leave.

Where Weeks is successful in my eyes is his use of drone and noise sparingly. He uses the ambience these styles create to underpin his soundscapes ... filling the remaining space with subtle percussive sounds or guitar-strums.

He also uses melody very effectively ... his drones are more melodic, kind of like strings in an orchestra ... and less noisy, if that makes sense? And it is this emphasis on melody that takes his music to a more pastoral level ... a kind of “ambient+” space ... the space frequented by Ms Crane, as mentioned above ... a space I treasure.

On “Wave V”, for example, he uses repetition really well ... juxtapositioning the repeated sounds of a guitar or a bell with what sounds like sliding guitar. These repeated sounds take on an almost hypnotic air and nicely underpin the melodic movement of the slides.

In addition, the use of a field recording of waves crashing against the shore in “Wave VI” really helps to underline the meaning of the release’s title. Here Weeks demonstrates a real awareness for ambient drones ... playing to their strength ... the ebb and flow being a feature to celebrate and emphasis rather than a byproduct or side effect.

I cannot fault this release and would highly recommend it. I love it deeply and have added it to my “Easter Holidays” playlist - where it sits alongside Emma^lee Crane, Rhian Sheehan, Hammock and Orbit Over Luna.

I look forward to hearing more from Weeks and glad he took the time to email me. Please have a listen using the embedded player before and, if you like what you hear, please support independent musicians like Weeks.

Tx

Two new mixes over on Circumambient

Over on my podcast site :: circumambient.co.uk :: I've posted two new mixes:

circumambient 005 ... a celebration of independent ambient music and ...



circumnavigator 001 ... a mix that showcases some seriously awesome upbeat music.

Follow the links and take a listen.

Tx

April 2013's Calendar / Wallpaper

The photo that adorn's April's calendar / wallpaper was taken when I went to photograph Olly and her sister Caroline and brother-in-law Daniel whilst they were recording their debut CD. I had a bit of time to kill and took a few shots of the 'fixtures and fittings'. I was particularly fond of these headphones ... they were the ones Olly used whilst recording.

Usual flavours are below.

Tx

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iPhone with Calendar + iPhone without Calendar
iPad

Is this the ultimate edition of The Hobbit?

This afternoon, whilst visiting Peebles in the Scottish Borders, my wife purchased me what could easily be described as the ultimate edition of "The Hobbit" ... a 700 x 1000mm 'Spineless Classic' version.



I'll be honest ... I nearly wet myself in excitement when I saw it. It is stunning and well worth the cost and the hassle getting it home.



Spineless Classics present an amazing product for literary nerds like me ... they print whole books onto single sheets of paper and have some fantastic books on offer ... books like "The Hobbit" as well as "Romeo and Juliet", "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", and "Moby Dick" (which needs two 700 x 1000mm sheets of paper).



To say I am delighted is an understatement ... I am over-the-moon!!!



I hope my photos can, in some small way, convey how awesome this poster is. It's made my day and now sits - pride of place - in our hallway.

Thank you Olly ... it means more to me than you'll ever know.

Tx