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Journal
Recording Ireland’s Birds
I really enjoyed Irish Wildlife Sounds and the Race to Record Ireland’s Birds, an in-depth Bandcamp Daily article about ornithologist, field-recordist and producer Seán Ronayne, currently in the process of completing a collection of calls and sounds from all known regularly-occurring bird species in Ireland.
Expanding in Edale
It’d been too long since I’d spent several uninterrupted days in my favourite place. And I needed this trip, because opening myself to the valley’s slow time always leaves me recharged and reorientated.
Outdoor jam
I enjoyed testing my portable setup during our recent stay in Edale, responding directly to the place. Here’s an excerpt from a sketch I like, layering loops over live birdsong, passing traffic and the steady static of the river.
Going portable
I enjoy developing new scenarios for making music. I’ve learned enough over the last few years that now, when I have an idea, I can think it through, gather what I need and make it happen.
Today, I tested a USB-powered DAWless (no computer) setup for imminent field trips. I’m powering four components — synth, 4-track, two pedals — with two bricks and a miscellany of step-up cables (understanding voltage and polarity is vital). It all goes into my old DR-40, which also captures the environment on separate channels. Fingers crossed for some breaks in the rain.
Sam Morton at Rough Trade
We popped into town for the sold-out Sam Morton release day show at Rough Trade. During the signing, I bonded with local hero Sam about Broxtowe and family loss (she surprised me with the most sincere hug) and chatted with XL boss Richard about his music and why I hope he’ll listen to mine).
I first wrote about the Sam Morton project last year, and previously noted Sam's candid Desert Island Discs interview.
Enji and the Expressionists
We enjoyed a sunny jaunt to London to see outstanding Munich-based Mongolian singer Enji (full name Enkhjargal Erkhembayar, nickname Ulaan) at Kings Place. Enji’s music straddles Mongolian folk and jazz and is, at times, excitingly inventive. Accompanied by guitarist and co-composer Paul Brändle and bassist River Adomeit, her performance was intimate and the music beautiful. We met Enji afterwards and she signed Geri’s copy of Ulaan.
We also caught the Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and The Blue Rider show at Tate Modern. I always enjoyed this movement, although many of my favourite works are absent, and I’m less keen on Kandinsky these days. Thankfully, the show brings our attention to the striking work of Gabriele Münter, including her portrait of Marianne Werefkin, which has something of an anime/Ghibli vibe while also succeeding in giving the male gaze a good slap.
I played my first live show
Yesterday, I performed my music in public for the first time — a 35-minute set at Ambient Witney featuring two new ideas and four fresh arrangements. Many months of hard work paid off, and I left encouraged by the positive response. If you're curious, I rounded up several clips on Instagram.
I can't wait for my next show (in July, to be announced soon) and with luck, there’ll be more shows beyond Summer.
Camera Obscura
O2 Academy, Birmingham. Having missed out on seeing this bucket list band on several occasions, we finally caught them touring in support of their first album in eleven years.
Swift report
I heard a scream of swifts high above the park in West Bridgford on 2nd May, but didn’t see them, the sky obstructed by trees. Today, 7th May — five days later and on the same date as last year, I saw the first swifts above our house.
Previously: 2023, 7th; 2022, 11th; 2021, 16th; 2020, 5th; 2019, 9th; 2018, 7th; 2017, 11th.
Electronic Sound review
This year’s been full of unexpected challenges, meaning I’ve lost focus in some areas and chosen not to spend energy documenting things. But making music continues to offer a kind of therapy through play, and I’m grateful.
Of course, releasing music feels like throwing your loved ones into a void, making it all the more rewarding when people connect with it. And attracting a review anywhere, let alone in a respected publication, seems impossible for unsupported artists. So, I’ve made an exception to my hiatus because I’m in the latest Electronic Sound, a print magazine I’ve read for years, and that’s worth a post.
Back to life
I thought I’d lost my old iPod, but found it in the cellar and got it working again. It’s a delight to find a lovely old playlist on it, currently playing through the Scarlett into Ableton and my ears via my desk speakers. I thought ~2005 might’ve been the last time I’d used it, but the playlist is called AAA NACONF, so I must’ve dug it out and loaded it up for the conference tech team in January 2011.
It was exciting to see it charge (I cobbled together a wall charger from three old cables), but it was stuck on the Apple logo for ages; thankfully, a trusty forced restart button combo brought it to life. It’s a shame I can’t manage its contents because there’s an empty 6GB; I understand that Macs still recognise these models, but it takes a silly daisy chain of dongles or an old machine with a FireWire port. Maybe one day.
Good evening, Wembl... err, Witney!
I’ll be making my live debut alongside Nine Is The Level and A Year’s Rain in Witney (Oxfordshire) on Sunday 12th May, 7:30pm (after that afternoon's Pedal Party). If you're curious, there's an accompanying playlist (Spotify/Apple).
Remixed
A dream project has come to fruition. Last year, I invited several artists to rework music from my Japan EPs, and all agreed. I am indebted to 99LETTERS, Justin Von Strasburg, Karen Vogt, Lardkid, Paul Cousins, Pushkins Prefers, Veryan and Xylander and I can’t wait to share their interpretations. Remixed also includes a new song and will be available next month.
Flying Air Canada with a guitar
We just travelled from Newfoundland to Nottingham (car, cabs, train, tube and two flights) with an expensive and much-loved acoustic guitar. Geri’s owned a few guitars and has an electric here. I’ve long neglected a cheap studenty Yamaha, but during our latest stay with the in-laws, I picked up her Tanglewood Sundance acoustic for the first time and fell in love with it.
We decided to bring it to the UK and bought a modest hard case. But researching pros and cons unearthed nothing but naysayers and abuse about Air Canada’s attitude and track record.
Thankfully, it all worked out, and I’m posting this positive note so that someone else might find it and feel encouraged. We found everyone involved at every step to be very considerate. We were allowed to gate-check the guitar, leaving it at the door when boarding each flight and collecting it on leaving. The case shows no signs of scrapes or drops. Oh, and we boarded early with all the parents.
Of course, we packed the guitar very carefully. We loosened the strings and took care to support the neck and head as jolts can snap the wood. The case allowed enough room to ‘float’ the body with bubble wrap. We tagged the handle with flight info and put personal contacts and an AirTag in the case.
Listening stats 2023
The archivist in me grows ever more obsessive and I continue to document my music listening stats. My primary streaming service is Apple Music (here’s my lengthy reasoning), and I gathered my Replay stats today.
I listened to 5,144 songs (down from last year’s 6,090) and 619 albums (up from 586) from 957 artists (down from 1,387, somehow). My top artists (due mainly to hammering several comfy playlists while driving) were Fleet Foxes, The National, Pulp, Blur and Bodikhuu. My top albums were Bodikhuu’s Tokyo, Blur’s The Ballad of Darren, James Holden’s Imagine, The National’s Laugh Track and Tirzah’s trip9love…???. My top genres were alternative, electronic, and ambient, and I’d reached 50,000 minutes of listening by mid-October.
Last.fm released their Last.Year Playback stats today, which feel closer to the truth: 834 artists, 1,228 albums and 4,441 songs, scrobbling 12,432 times during almost 38 days of listening.
Of course, all stats exclude Bandcamp and analog. We play lots of jazz and city pop on vinyl, and ambient and field recording releases on cassette.
Anyway, stats are just stats. A reminder, if you’re interested, that I posted my very un-statistical but meticulously composed Year in Music roundup a few days ago.
2023 in music
This is my 20th annual roundup, a landmark befitting such a rewarding year in music. But it was a very long year, with hundreds of notable releases making it more challenging than ever to keep up.
More coastal pottering
Ever eager to leave the house and get some cold fresh air, today we hooked up with our pal Bryan and headed to The Narrows, Blackhead and Petty Harbour.
A perfect Christmas ramble
A magical stroll from George’s Pond down through the trees to dramatic Cuckold’s Cove — the freezing cold made bearable by glorious low sunlight.
