I’ve also got some stuff on bandcamp too. You can find it here. It’s from my original idea for an idea of tracks that were all a minute long. For the most part all the tracks were made with Bhajis Loops and other mobile music apps pre-iOS.
Category: Music
Music is a huge part of my life so it’s almost certain that this category will have a lot of stuff in it.
My stuff on SoundCloud
Just thought I’d post my SoundCloud profile if you fancy a listen.
Ok, so I’ve listened to Playing the Schoolhouse now
So I bought it, I’ve got it, I’ve listened to it. It’s about 15 minutes long, it’s only one track and that’s it.
So what did I think? Well it certainly isn’t the best thing by Mr Sylvian that I’ve heard. Calling it music might even be a stretch. I think it is more appropriate to say it is sound art. Treated as such I’m assuming that it may have been more interesting to watch it live than to hear it as a recording.
Having said that, there were moments where it was interesting. In some ways it isn’t too different from listening to “When Loud Weather Buffeted”, which I have enjoyed. All in all I can say that I’m glad that I got this on the second run from the label rather than trying to get hold of an 1st run copy from eBay, some of which were going for over £100.
Will I be listening to it a lot? No, I don’t think so, or at least I can’t see that happening.
I do hope that he does some more even slightly accessible music at some point soon. That would be most welcome. However, sadly, I think it is unlikely.
I can’t believe that the Kane Gang replied to me on Twitter
I nearly missed it but found their tweet this morning letting me know that the song of theirs that I love so much “Crease in his hat” is on iTunes, and Amazon, and, after a tiny bit of looking, it’s on Spotify too. All of which is brilliant.
The best thing was that they got in touch with me at all. It reminds me of how different things are these days. There was a time when it was really difficult to get in touch with bands or musicians you liked. These days they get in touch with you!
The SoundLab Play Space, that’s it for now
I think I’ve probably posted all of the individual posts I’m going to now about the Play Space. It was an amazing day and I think it well really well overall. Hopefully we’ll do something like this again in the not too distant future.
If you want to see all of the post about it you can click on the tag SoundLab (just click here).
David Sylvian’s “Playing the Schoolhouse”
So I finally got myself a copy of this. Not on the first run. I missed that, and even though I did have a look on eBay for them I decided not to pay the huge prices there. Instead I got one on the second run, for just £8 in the end.
I haven’t heard good things about this. A lot of people seem to have been disappointed by it, but I’ll give it a listen and post again when I have.
SoundLab Play Space: SubPac
I’ve known about SubPac for some time. I think I saw them at a Roli event I was speaking at last year. I thought it was a great idea but I’d never had a chance to try it out, that is not until the SoundLab Play Space event. I have to say that I was really impressed with it. It feels amazing, totally amazing. I think it’s really had to put into words what it’s like as it is really a feeling and an experience and as such it’s difficult to translate it into words.
However, if you ever get a chance to try one out then I’d strongly suggest you do.
A beautiful addition to my Ukulele
I’ve been playing around with this hardware and iOS app for a little while and it’s really good. It works just so well with my Ukulele. I wanted to do some work around creating soundscapes using my Ukulele and iOS effects apps and this has done completely what I needed.
I’ll be putting together some sound samples from this soon, so you’ll be able to hear what I mean.
So we’re going to OMD!
OMD are playing the Royal Albert Hall next May, and I’ve got tickets. They’re going to play Dazzle Ships and Architecture and Morality too. Dazzle Ships was one of their more experimental albums but actually one of the ones I liked the most. I thought it was a really interesting album and I’ve always enjoyed it.
So I’m looking forward to seeing them live again, but it’s a long time to wait.
Ototo at the SoundLab Play Space
I’ve mentioned the Ototo a number of times before, I’m a fan. I really like it. I think that Ototo is a really useful, and a really fun piece of equipment. So it was great to have the Ototo from Dentaku at the SoundLab Play Space. As usual we got it hooked up to a bunch of fruit, which, whilst fun to play with, kind of doesn’t show just how much it can do.
Personally I think that the Ototo excels when used with its interesting range of sensors. Of course, the other thing that you can use the Ototo with is conductive ink. Yep, that works, and works well too. I should post some of the interactions that are possible using the Ototo, and will do soon.
I don’t know what Dentaku have planned for the Ototo, but I do hope it keeps going and moves forward. Anything else would be a shame.
I am Ashley Elsdon 