"It is common for us to be in situations where we can not see (or at least vision is severely restricted) but exceedingly uncommon to be in situations where we can not hear"...
The sipsi is a small reedpipe, played using circular breathing, with a wild and thrilling sound. I was immediately captivated by the lumpy nine-time rhythms and mind-boggling technique....
Hymnal is the fourth kranky album by Thomas Meluch under his musical alias Benoit Pioulard, following Précis (2006), Temper (2008) and Lasted (2010). It was written and recorded throughout a year...
Ben Caplan would help me get over these prejudices, or at least not think about them too much. Partly because he has a beard you could catch a badger in, but most importantly, because he’s...
The first study to report on the widespread misuse of topical antibiotics found that 59 percent of male and 40 percent of female maximum-security prison inmates are using over-the-counter ointments,...
Putting in the miles, sofabeds and service-station all-day breakfasts, Rupert Stroud has been touring hard in the UK all summer. All grist to the mill, and meaning that when 'Twisted Games' and 'No...
It's a very different sound from their dynamic electric live shows, but great as Heather Findlay can be in full rock mode, the acoustic sound is a very good match for the natural warmth of her voice....
Writing music comes easily to me for the most part, I’ve usually got a surplus of ideas, so the only the most interesting actually get worked on. The more derivative and unimaginative ideas get...
For some, measured, intelligent songwriting skills are the pinnacle of musical enjoyment, for others it can be the antithesis of what music is there for - the expression of raw emotion....
In the midst of a vast YouTube binge the other evening (I’ve got a thirst for seeking out to interviews with musicians I like, and seem to be hopeless at turning YouTube off), I happened to come...
So this week, having been inspired by a particular piece of music, I’m going to focus on one particular kind of procedure - which doesn’t really have a name. I’ll just try to describe it....
Make Better Music 64: “What Comes Next?”The big question that always demands an answer, when you are writing music, is what happens next?
It seems straightforward until you try it. Then...
Sometimes I like to overload a song with overdubs and production tricks - if that is what suits it. More can be more in this case. Of course the opposite is also true, less intensely produced music...
Of course, if you are writing a song every day, it’s unlikely that you are going to be churning out a double album of SOLID GOLD CLASSICS each months, but on the flip side, it will do you a lot of...
Every few months I feel like I need this kind of diet for my ears - I’ve either been over-indulging in one particular artist or genre, or I’ve been gluttonous and chowing down way too much of...
On the plus side, a new generation (one that has grown up with remarkably powerful music tech tools) will do things with music software that are incredible, ground breaking, ear-catching and mind...
One of the joys of music is that it always has something to say that’s worth listening to, even in tracks that you have heard a hundred times. There’s a richness and enough ambiguity of...
The idea is simple - things that are easy to do can be done by more people than things that are hard. You want to make your music available as a “self release” via a service like bandcamp? Go for...
I regard writing fine counterpoint as a bit of a lost art. In some ways it’s largely redundant in todays music, where single ideas right up front are generally king. This is not any kind of rant...
I wonder how it feels to be making music after fifty or even sixty active years. Some people have gone on even longer - Elliot Carter is about to turn 103 and is still an active composer - what can...
Imbue your music with your passion. If you don’t have a passion for making music, then leave it to those who do. Fill your music to the brim with all the emotion, drive, energy, love, enthusiasm...
