Category
New Things
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Thoughts
Confidence breeds confidence, behavior changes and then BOOM.
I tweeted earlier today that I was starting to notice non-music friends going to more concerts… I got an odd response - one of disbelief! I sort of see your point, but come on guys, let’s show a little support!
I think this is a really exciting shift; I’m seeing a lot of technologists, designers, VCs, [...] -
Thoughts
A New Age. It’s the answer.
Today it was my birthday, and I’m now 23. Hurray!
I’ve been thinking about new beginnings recently; we’re at a really exciting time in the music industry where the old rules are being questioned for one reason or another, and nobody can say with any real clarity what’s happening.
Surely we should be making interesting stuff? Stuff [...] -
Thoughts
What if…
How can an event, planned and set months, maybe years in advance, remain relevant at the time of performance?
What if concert programming matched audience buying trends?
Some audience members buy tickets when the programme is printed several months before it happens. Most, it has to be said, buy within the week of the concert. RIghtly or [...] -
Thoughts
2010: how are you going to respond?
Happy New Year! Only 364 days left of this one, so let’s get cracking!
It’s well established now: business as we knew it is over. Get over it - the halcyon days are not coming back, and frankly, it’s for the best. As I sit and write this at 2.44am on January 1st, 2010, I’m genuinely [...] -
News, Thoughts
Off again.
As I sit typing this on my sofa, I’m listening to a pre-release of Enchanted Carols, the latest CD from Howard Goodall with the same 8 soprano / organ / cello lineup as the Enchanted Voices (which held the #1 spot for 6 months!). We recorded it in early September (I talked about it very [...]
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Thoughts
To string or not to string.
09.27.09 | Permalink | 2 CommentsMy cello strings break very infrequently. This is a good thing, as the cellists out there will know, because cello strings are very, very expensive.
The exception to this is my electric cello with it’s controversial 5th string. It’s an Ernie Ball custom gauge E string, and is incredibly tricky to put on.
Imagine my frustration when [...] -
News, Thoughts
What’s the point?
I’m back in London from a fabulously inspiring trip to the US (San Francisco and New York). I met with musicians, designers, developers, writers, lecturers, investors, venues, baristas, CEOs and old friends.
A few things became very clear, I think.
Not only am I going to change the design of my site, but I’m going to [...] -
Concerts, New Things, News
#cellotweetup SF
08.27.09 | Permalink | 2 CommentsYou might have seen it on Twitter, but alt-cellist Zoe Keating and I are planning to do an impromptu cello concert in the heart of San Francisco when I’m there next month!
We’re asking you, the lovely public, to decide where and when we should play. We will then perform an Eno-esque ‘Music for….’ that place. [...]
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New Things
Content Consumption
I don’t often do this, but I’m asking you, my lovely and friendly readers, to vote for something.
You have no obligation at all, but hear me out:
In America every year, there’s a conference held in Austin, Texas called South by Southwest (SXSW to those who save letters, and “South by” to trendy types). It hosts [...] -
Thoughts
Early Adopters.
Do you know what we don’t have in the arts?
We don’t have a culture of early adopters or a culture of evangelists.
What’s wrong with that? Just because the techy crowd does something does it mean we have to…?
No, not at all.
But it works.
Without early adopters and evangelists, products fail. Yes, these highly investable, useful and sought [...] -
Thoughts
One thing that is unwelcome…
Tonight, I met someone who really, truly, frustrated me.
She had visions of a musical world that ended with Mahler, where contemporary culture (she was talking about rap and r&b) didn’t exist and we all presumably, wore top hats and tails to walk to the butchers.
I truly believe in a no-holds-barred approach to the arts: if [...] -
Thoughts
Something I thought about yesterday.
I was sitting on a panel yesterday, and we were talking about tech integration with culture and how it helps/hinders arts organizations.
What became very clear to me during the day, and something I regretably didn’t say, was that it’s too easy to get bogged down in theory, aspirational ‘practice’ and over thinking.
Our goal is [...] -
New Things
“Innovation is needed more than imitation”
Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby, is a very interesting guy. An entrepreneur, public speaker and programmer; he’s engaging, funny, humble and painfully quotable. Please watch the video below - I think it’s terrific and, ACDC references aside, very relevant to what I’m talking about here and doing with Coffeeloop..!
Derek Sivers speech to Berklee College of [...]
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Thoughts
Stepping Stones.
I’m constantly looking for and thinking about new and (in my opinion!) interesting ways to present new music to people, so when I hear about a terrific one, I’m only too keen to share!
It is often assumed that the pop world is so wonderfully popular that it doesn’t need to bother with exciting promotion and [...] -
Thoughts
Value of culture.
06.05.09 | Permalink | 2 CommentsRecently, somebody with whom I work was lamenting her eldest son’s lack of interest in “high culture”. They had brought them up going to galleries, concerts and museums. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t do it anymore, and whether there was any point in doing it when he was younger as it didn’t appear to [...]
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Thoughts
Statistics
Apparently I’m again to be quoted in a music magazine this month - this time, in a back page article about Last.fm: a site and service I’m very firmly a fan of.
I’ve just seen my “quote”, which was taken from an interview given nearly 8 weeks ago, and cites statistics that, at the time, [...] -
New Things
Remixology.
Here’s a little invitation to collaborate… I was recently commissioned by New Media Scotland to write, perform and produce a set of 8 pieces for solo electric cello.
I did a few too many and got a bit carried away.
I’d now like to see what would happen if some of you were to remix [...] -
Thoughts
Wonderful talk.
There isn’t really any good introduction to this - please just watch it! I think it’s the most wonderful use of 20 minutes and a genuinely fascinating insight into creativity.
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Thoughts
Pirate Radio Ships in the age of the internet
I think it’s really interesting how much stick Google/YouTube is getting right now over PRS payment issues, especially regarding the Rick Roll thing.
I absolutely agree that performers and composers should be paid fairly and accurately, but I don’t think this is bringing up a new problem: it’s simply business as usual. The Beach Boys were [...]
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News, Thoughts
Post Twitter, Pre Boston
So, yesterday was Twitter.
What a day - first of all, we were invited for lunch, which was jolly nice! We then set up and got on with it, with a lovely introduction from Biz Stone, co-founder and Creative Director. We were using our interaction visualising software (made by Outside Line) from The Words on The [...]
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Thoughts
Content.
Are you a content owner? It feels pretty good, right? You’ve made your CD and get the PRS cheque when it comes out. Your concerts sell pretty well, people come and enjoy it, and what’s more, they come back when you’re next in town! That’s about as good as it gets, right?
I’m afraid to say [...] -
Concerts, New Things
Playlisting
Here’s a tricky question: If you could make a 20 minute playlist of your favorite music, what would you put there? Maybe you have an iTunes playlist you really like, or something came up on Last.fm that surprised you… However, this time you’re in control!
Leave your thoughts in the comment field below! -
Concerts, New Things
Video
Some exciting news for you today - Coffeeloop has just gone into an exciting partnership with Mogulus!
We will be rolling out a new exciting series of fully HD micro-concerts from around the world (starting, of course, in the UK and then in the US when we’re there in March/April) and then.. who knows! [...]
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Thoughts
Born Digital.
My generation was born digital: that is, in brief, I grew up not knowing a world where we didn’t have instant contact, information, media, the internet (YouTube was launched the year I left school…!) and, within my relatively short lifetime, all of these on one device in my pocket? Crazy times.
This was ringing in my [...] -
Concerts, Thoughts
After the wall
Billed as a solo cello recital with an all contemporary programme and no seats in an art gallery, it is with great pleasure that I can report that we were just a little shy of 200 at the Ingleby Gallery on Friday night. Add this to the various other “rule breakages” that went on (the [...]
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