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Propellerheads Reason programme has been at the forefront of music technology for years now, providing a self contained electronic music package that has been used by millions of home producers as well as a host of professional artists and producers. With its intuitive interface and powerful synths and samplers, Reason set the standard that other DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) had to meet. This was great for dance music production especially, but if you wanted to record audio on your tracks, this would have to be done using another software package, as Reason could not support this. They got round this by creating the Rewire system, allowing you to synch Reason with your audio recording software (such as Cubase, Logic, FL Studio and Adobe Audition). This seemed to work fine, but you would still have to flick between programmes, or bounce your tracks down and transfer them, which is not ideal for the creative music producer.
But now, Propellerheads have released Record, a multitrack audio system with both audio and MIDI capabilities which allows you to record, edit, mix and master your music. Like most DAWs available today, this has a host of effects, EQ’s, filters, compressors, and supports both audio and MIDI recordings. Record is, however, a self contained programme, so is not compatible with 3rd party plugins. This seems to be part of Propellerheads ethos, and works in cutting down on your CPU and it also means everything seems to work well together, with few glitches.
There are three main pages to Record – the sequencer page, the effects rack and the mixer. Each track you create (whether audio or MIDI) will show in each of these pages. Like Reason, you can flip to the back of your effects rack and rewire your set up as desired. As its all based on the old rack set up, with each track having its own channel in the mixer, it is extremely easy and logical to use.
Looking at the MIDI instruments it provides, Record itself comes with just one synth, the ID8 workstation which has just a few preset sounds that you would expect such as bass synth, piano and percussion. And as it does not support 3rd party plugins, your only option to build on your MIDI instruments is to add Reason to it, making it (you guessed it) Reason Record. Reason will run as normal, and you can open all your old projects providing they were made on version 4. You will then get all the same synths, samplers and MIDI editing tools that are available in Reason, which are extremely versatile and intuitive to use. You can build on your soundbank by purchasing some of the Refill packs that Propellerheads provide. Abbey Road Studios, for example, gives you all the vintage keyboard, melotron and piano sounds sampled directly from the studios, which can be loaded into one of their samplers. MIDI editing is very similar to that of Reason, in that you are working with clips, and there are plenty of editing tools allowing you to chop, copy, paste your clips.
Recording audio is made very easy with Record, and shares some similarities with Logic particularly with its comping facility. Set the section you want to record on a loop, press record, and it will create a separate file for each take, which you can then piece together to get that perfect take. Like their MIDI editing, the audio editing works in clips. Again, you can chop, copy and stretch your clips.
The effects that comes with Reason will provide the music producer with pretty much everything they could ask for, and these same effects are included with Record. One of my favourites is the Scream distortion unit, which has 10 different types of distortion available, all of which can be tweaked to your liking. For you guitar players, Record have also included guitar amp simulation pods for both bass and guitar, provided by guitar emulator specialists Line 6. You can choose your amp, cabinet, drive level and EQ, and you can even assign a MIDI pedal to be a wah for example. Finally, there is something called the combinator device, which allows you to combine several different effects into one device providing much better control over your sounds.
The mixer they use is based on the SSL’s 9000K, and its simple layout makes it very easy to use. Each channel has 8 effects sends, with some precise Eqs and filters you can apply on each. Routing your tracks to buses is extremely easy, in the same way that wiring your devices is. Simply press the tab key to see the back of the rack or mixer and you can wire up pretty much any input to an output.
Pretty much every parameter you see on record you can automate, and this is again done using clips on which you can draw your automation. Again this can be copied, pasted and edited to your liking.
If you are looking to record mainly audio, Record will do everything that most DAWs can, and when combined with the effects rack and editing, this is an extremely versatile suite. Combine it with Reason and you get a full music production programme with some of the best software instruments about. Bugs and glitches are common for brand new software packages which tend to get ironed out as they upgrade versions. But as a self contained programme, Propellerheads have minimised this, and very few problems have been reported. As its interface is based on a hardware rack set up, Reason is easy to use and nothing is hidden from the user. This makes things simple and easy to use and also allows the user to get creative with routing and combining devices together. Record have maintained this easy to use interface and so the user can make projects as simple or as complex as they like. For someone who is new to computer music, this is definitely a good package to start with. Reason is taught in many music colleges around the country because it is based on hardware, and once you grab the basic concepts, other DAWs will make much more sense.
Now the prices. Record itself (without Reason) costs £169. If you are a Reason owner already, you can upgrade to Reason Record for £99. (If you are on an older version of Reason, this upgrade package will upgrade Reason to version 4 anyway). The full Reason Record package costs £332.92.
But don’t take my word for it. You can download a demo version from the Propellerheads website for free and try it for yourself at www.propellerheads.se/download.
If you’re a fan of 60’s influenced psychadelic and garagey music, look no further than Bristol based band The Transpersonals.
http://www.myspace.com/thetranspersonals
This unique and talented 3 piece manage to blend retro jam band influences with a thoroughly modern lyrical sensibility. Their songs reference recent popular culture and politics sprinkled over eastern-tinged rocking tunes. The band admit to preferring the environment of the studio and the experimentation this allows them to performing live; consequently their gigs are a bit of a rare treat.
However, when I have managed to catch them live, the results are hypnotic and fascinating to watch. Extensive jam sections evolve seamlessly into quirky 60’s style pop and back again. The Transpersonals’ music sounds like an eternal personal cinematic soundtrack, which we are temporarily permitted to share for the duration of the gig.
Band members Timothy Hurford, Luke Barter and Matt Bane are accomplished musicians with a humble demeanour which belies the subtle genius of their material; they are clearly all devoted to the cause and have that rare focus and unity of direction that many bands seek.
Their songs and blurbs include quotes from Plato, Aliester Crowley, Noam Chomsky and David Icke to name but a few, and the band are clearly into the odd conspiracy theory, expressing interest in hallucinogenic drugs, UFO’s and aliens. All of this is delivered with a humorous undertone so you’re never quite sure if they really mean it, or whether it’s just a means to amuse themselves.
Signed to Guerilla Music Records, a small independant label founded by 2 ex-members of the major label A&R establishment, The Transpersonals have released an EP entitled ‘Hello Hello’ which is available on itunes, and has been critically acclaimed. BBC Radio 2 recently featured one of their tracks as a single of the week, giving the band some much needed exposure. Let’s hope that it’s the start of things to come… if only there were more bands like this; intelligent, steeped in evocative influences, and built to last. The Transpersonals isn’t about ‘making it’, its just who they are, and who they will continue to be.
If you haven’t yet witnessed one of Mark Thomas’s live shows, I strongly recommend you try and catch him next time he plays a town near you. He truly is one of the most original performers you will ever see. For the uninitiated, his act consists of a unique blend of information you really ought and need to know accompanied by a scathing wit. Audiences leave his shows inspired and ready to take on the more corrupt elements of the establishment… hopefully this will last longer than until the next morning!
Born in South London in 1963 to a mother who was a midwife and a father who was a self employed builder (and ex lay preacher), Mark did a degree in Theatre Arts and cut his teeth doing shows in miner’s soup kitchens and fund raisers during the strike, which must have given him a grounding in the hypocrisy of modern politics and helped to develop his radical mind set.
He became a professional stand-up in the mid 80’s, and has since had several of his own TV series on Channel 4, as well as writing for Private Eye, fronting human rights related documentaries and being featured frequently on Radio 4.
Mark’s current tour is about creating a people’s manifesto, which he intends to promote by having people stand for election. At the gigs, audiences have been invited to suggest policies, which Mark then discusses, and an audience vote decides which ones will be included in the manifesto. Policies so far have included declaring all Tesco’s car parks to be common land, making offenders convicted of homophobic crimes serve their sentence in drag, and holding open days at MP’s second homes if paid for by expenses. Mark is a mine of information about corporate and government corruption; at the gig I saw, he informed us of such gems as the fact that many top government buildings, including the Inland Revenue and the MOD are leased from tax dodgers with offshore accounts. Often his shows and TV programmes feature demonstrations against whatever organisation he is exposing.
All this does provoke the question ‘how does this man sleep at night?’ Although his delivery is very amusing, the issues Mark is dealing with are extremely serious, and somewhat depressing. His current tour really does highlight the fact that the country we live in is a democracy in name only; you only have to listen to some of the inconsistencies and corruption he has exposed to realise that.
Mark has been arrested and detained by the police on many occasions; one hilarious part of his routine involves an anecdote about evoking his legal right to have his fingerprints and DNA removed from police records… apparently we all have the right to do this if we are innocent, but most people aren’t aware of the fact, so the police continue to hold them on a register.
The main point here is that it is very important that brave pioneers like Mark continue to examine and expose the hidden mechanisms of our major corporations and political systems; its unlikely to change the world overnight, but his very existence ensures that at least some of the perpetrators of bad ethics are held to account. If only there were more like him!
For more information on Mark Thomas, or if you are interested in contributing to the People’s Manifesto or in representing the policies in a local election, go to www.markthomasinfo.com
This year’s Celebrity Big Brother is allegedly the last so I’ve been watching it despite my best intentions. For once, it’s quite an interesting group of people; some of them actually have brains, and are quite famous! Interestingly enough this particular group seem to be responding to the format in a similar way to the first ever Big Brother contestants in that they seem aware that the objective is to conduct a social experiment, based on the concept in George Orwell’s book 1984.
The group very quickly started behaving like a group of apes; Vinnie Jones is the undisputed alpha male and his directives are usually obeyed unquestioningly, with the exception of the now evicted Lady Sovereign. ‘Sov’ was a bit of a rogue element, and a not particularly good advert for her generation, which is a shame as she initially had a lot of support outside the house. Stephanie and Ivana are both contenders for the position of matriarch, with Ivana playing the ‘trump’ card of greater wealth and notoriety to consolidate her status.
Poor old Alex looks set to become this year’s casualty; I will be very surprised if he escapes with his sanity intact as Stephen Baldwin seems determined to f**k with his head at every available opportunity.
On the subject or Mr Baldwin, I find it interesting that the former addict, like many others, only managed to clean up his act by replacing his addiction to drugs and alcohol with an addiction to religion. This seems to be a common phenomenon; the addictive personality cannot be easily cured, it merely transfers the addiction to something ‘safer’. It is truly cringeworthy watching him justify his petty gripes and surpressed anger by finding validation in passages of bible scripture. Hopefully he’ll be the next to go and Alex will escape a prime-time tv conversion… not sure what Jordan would think of that!
The other contestants are an amiable enough bunch, though their celebrity status is considerably less. It will be interesting to see their reactions when they leave the house on finding that their fees for the programme are about 10% of what Vinnie Jones is allegedly getting. So far it looks like a forgone conclusion that Vinnie will win, but he seems increasingly irritable and nit-picking, so maybe one of the more happy-go-lucky contestants will pip him at the post.
It is interesting how the eviction process works; it doesn’t seem to be based on keeping in the most fascinating characters. If that was the case, Heidi would still be there. I think the public vote ends up being a mixture of factors ranging from pure popularity to a kind of surge in irrational emotion that gains momentum through the media.
Finally, let’s hope that the non-celebrity Big Brother comes to an end in the near future as the original concept does not factor in it any more; its just a showcase for sad, attention seeking losers who will do anything to get on TV!
September 09 saw the release of Logic Pro 9, the latest complete home studio software from Apple. This has everything that a music producer could need to create professional sounding recordings, whether you are a dance producer using MIDI instruments, or you have a live music set up you want to record. Here we look at some of its editing tools and instruments that I have found particularly useful, as well as some of the new features they have introduced for the latest version.
Now its only been a year since they released version 8, so it turns out to be an expensive hobby if you want to keep up to date with their latest software. Apart from forking out £408 for the complete package, you of course need to be a smug Mac user with all the right specifications (click here for details). Now I’m a Logic 8 user and am quite happy with its audio and midi tools for the music I make. But after trying some of the new features of version 9, and being a sucker for new technology, I’m seriously thinking of upgrading. I’d better start saving…
Lets start with some of its audio editing tools. Here we find there are some nice features that can make life a lot easier. Set a loop on the arrange page, plug a guitar or microphone in, press record, and Logic will take multiple recordings of each loop, which can then be edited or copied and pasted throughout your track. This really helps in perfecting your takes and requires nothing more than setting the loop of the section you want to record.
But Logic have taken audio editing a stage further with version 9, and have introduced a new collection of tools that allow you to quickly manipulate your recorded audio. This is called Flex Time, and it allows you to speed up, slow down, stretch and shrink your audio. Logic will detect the correct algorithm to use to change the audio (stretching drums, for example, will need a different algorithm to that of vocals) giving you complete control over the tempos of your songs. You can even quantize your audio if you want it to be tighter, or fit a specific groove. These tools are available in Logic 8, but the new version has its own page dedicated to Flex Time which gives a good visual representation and will cut down the number of clicks it takes to perform a complex task.
Another new feature of Logic 9 is its guitar amp simulation and pedal board. Choose from 25 amp heads, 5 EQ’s, 10 reverbs, 25 speaker cabinets and 3 mics to recreate some classic guitar and bass sounds. You don’t have to use this with a guitar – some of the distortion and effects are great to dirty up your drums, synths or samples for example.
For those that like to use MIDI instruments in their music making, Logic 9 has a selection of powerful synths, a drum machine and sampler built in, and is also compatible with AU instruments, if you are looking to build on your home studio using 3rd party applications. Its drum machine, Ultrabeat, is a beast, and gives you complete control over your sounds. You can select Logics drum sounds, or drag and drop your own samples into the machine, and each hit then has its own pitch control, filter, distortion unit, envelope, noise generator, and all of these can be modulated, and routed to its own mixer channel. Although it looks like the Millenium Falcon (as they have crammed so many ways of manipulating each drum sound into one machine), after a bit of getting used to, you will find this an extremely versatile instrument.
Even if you like to use other software programmes to create your music, by routing your tracks through the mixer section of Logic, you can really bring your recordings to life. The effects that come with it include several delay, reverb, distortion and EQ plugins, as well as all your modulation effects (phaser, chorus, flanger) amp simulations and a host of other nifty units. The Enveloper is one of my favourites, you can quickly change the gain of the attack or delay of a drum hit (for example) to give it some real punch, or to soften it up. It’s compressor is also a favourite of mine, in that it has many features including side chaining capabilities (great for those dance producers who want that sucky volume effect), and a mix dial of your compressed to dry sound, which is very useful when experimenting with compressing a full drum kit. The Channel EQ that is on every channel strip is extremely easy and intuitive to use, and will give you complete control over the shape of your sounds. Of course, you should always use your ears when mixing, but it has become increasingly popular recently to use visual aids to help you in your mixing. Just one click on Logics Channel EQ will bring up its analyser will give you a visual representation of the sound that is being generated, which many find helpful for finding problem frequencies.
Every parameter in Logic can be automated. Just press the A button on your keyboard, and a separate arrange page dedicated to automation is shown for each track. You can easily assign a knob or fader on your MIDI keyboard to a parameter by selecting the parameter you want to automate, press control and L, turn your knob/slider, and its assigned. Keyboard shortcuts I have found to be particularly useful in speeding up workflow, and you can quickly find out and tailor your shortcuts in just a few clicks.
Logic 9 comes with a huge collection (around 37Gb) of loops, sound effects and sampled instruments that you can quickly add to your music, which can be great if you are looking for some creative inspiration even if you end up not using the loop for your final mix. They are filed well under name, category (beats, kits, FX, for example) and its original BPM, allowing you to quickly find what you are after. You can search on a keyword, or scroll through the category until you find what you want. So if I wanted a congo loop for example, I can quickly type congo in the search engine, or scroll through the percussion category.
This is just a taste of what you can do with Logic 9 – its a hugely versatile and powerful programme with a manual as thick as War and Peace. The upgrade from 8 to 9 isn’t a huge leap, and I do wonder whether Apple will release a new version every year, just when the students are about to start term. The new features they have introduced are particularly useful for those that work with audio rather than MIDI. I’ve been a Logic user for a year now, and my only complaint (apart from cost) is that it is not particularly intuitive when compared to something like Reason. But after a bit of time with the manual and with some help online (check out Logicninja on youtube), you will find that Logic can pretty much do anything you want it to.
Mark Perry with John Peel
Few people can claim to have been the spearhead and true instigator of a scene. The birth of Punk is usually attriibuted to Malcom McLaren and the Sex Pistols, but there is a person who was the true underground voice of punk; Mark Perry of ATV.
The young Mark Perry was working as a bank clerk in 1976 when a Ramones gig inspired him to start a fanzine called Sniffin Glue.( One of the collaborators on the fanzine was Danny Baker, now known as a TV presenter and about as divorced from his punk roots as you could get.) Sniffin Glue became the UK punk scene’s bible and Mark Perry quit his job and did numerous TV and radio appearances acting as an articulate spokesperson for the emerging new phenomenon.
Early in 1977, Mark Perry hooked up with a young Miles Copeland to form Step Forward Records, releasing tracks by Fall, Sham 69, Chelsea and the Cortinas amongst others. Mark was also involved with Miles’ other labels, Deptford Fun City Records and Illegal Records.
The first incarnation of ATV was born shortly after, with Mark Perry on vocals and guitar. They released their first single, ‘Love Lies Limp’, as a free flexi disc given away with the last issue of Sniffin’ Glue (no.12), August 1977.
Mark with Mick Jones
From then on, the various line-ups of ATV read like a Who’s Who of musicians who would become influential or famous during the next decade; collaborators included Joolz Holland, Genesis P Orridge, and Jammo and Dobbo (World Domination Enterprises).
Following a brief unsuccessful flirtation with EMI, ATV released their first proper single, ‘How Much Longer’/'You Bastard’, on Deptford Fun City Records. Their first album was released in May 1978.
Ever at the forefront of innovation, Mark quickly became disillusioned with the limitations of the punk scene. He can be heard on a live recording berating the audience for their thug-like behaviour and disinterest in the ideological messages that he and other intelligent punk front-men were trying to convey. This led him to mutate ATV into the Good Missionaries, a more experimental project influenced by the nascent industrial scene.
From then on, Mark sporadically made departures from, and returns to the music industry, always somehow managing to be involved with the major faces of the future, like a young Alan McGee. In 1996, Mark got back into writing by providing the text for Erica Echenberg’s photo book, ‘And God Created Punk’, which was published by Virgin. In 2000, Sanctuary Books published ‘Sniffin’ Glue: The Essential Punk Accessory’, which compiles all the issues of Mark’s fanzine along with lots of new writing and photos.
ATV has gigged as recently as 2003, but it remains to be seen whether Mark will return to the live scene again in the future. ATV cds have recently been available through http://www.markperry.freeuk.com/index.htm but check first to see if they are still available.
ATV members included:
Alex Fergusson – guitar, vocals. Went on to play in Cash Pussies and Psychic TV,
Micky Smith – bass
John Towe – drums. Was in Generation X. Went on to play in Rage and the Adverts.
Tyrone Thomas – bass, guitar. Also in Convent Nuns and other bands.
Chris Bennett – drums. Went on to play in Secret Affair.
Dennis Burns – bass. Also in the Reflections.
Kim Turner – guitar. Played drums for the Andy Fraser Band.
Mick Linehan – guitar. Went on to play in the Lines.
Dave George – guitar, other instruments. Kept the Good Missionaries name going for a few years in Hastings.
Anno Graver – vocals. Sang with Gong and Here & Now.
Henry Badowski – drums, sax. Also played bass in Chelsea, the Damned and King. And solo as ‘Henry’.
Gillian Hanna – vocals.
Alan Gruner – keyboards.
Ray Weston – drums.
Karl Blake – guitar, drums. Also in Lemon Kittens, Shocked Headed Peters and the Reflections.
Nag – bass. Also in the Door & The Window and the Reflections.
Protag – guitar. Went on to play with Blythe Power.
Steve Cannell – bass. Went on to play in Danielle Dax’s band and others.
Allison Phillips – drums. Also played in Ut and Taboo.
Clive Giblin – guitar. Also in Shocked Headed Peters and other bands.
Fish – drums.
James Kyllo – guitar, vocals. Also played in the Dropkick Me Jesus.
Dave Morgan – drums. Also in the Weather Prophets and the Rockingbirds.
Bob ???? – drums. Also played with the Cardiacs.
Luci Bocchino – guitar. Also played in the Long Decline and the Flips.
Rob Ugly – bass. Also played in the Long Decline and the Dole Claimers.
John Isaac – drums. Also played with Christian Death.
Dick Ugly – keyboards. Played in the Dole Claimers.
Lee McFadden – bass. Played in the Long Decline and loads of others.
Tony Barber – bass, guitar. Played in Boy Wonders, Buzzcocks and others.
Kevin Mann – drums.
Grahame Hullett – bass. Played in Yacca and others.
Steve Carter – bass – Played in Sad Lovers & Giants.
Digger, Keith and Jammo
There are a few bands in the world who completely encapsulated the mood of their time and influenced a host of other musicians, but who sadly never achieved a place in the global public consciousness and never reaped the rewards they should have been due. One such band is World Domination Enterprises.
http://www.myspace.com/worlddominationenterprises
WDE were formed in 1984 by Keith Dobson, (a former member of trippy jam band Here and Now) from the ashes of a notorious project called 012, famous for their chaotic, and some would say unlistenable 10 minute guerrilla sets. He embarked on a poster campaign of bus shelters in West London, searching for ‘Gutterfunk bass and drums’ and was soon joined by Steve ‘Jammo’ Jameson, a stalwart of the West London scene where punk clashed with dub sound systems on bass, and a feisty talented young chap by the name of Digger Metters on drums.
World Domination Enterprises had a completely unique sound; Keith (Dobbo) would detune his guitar to a kind of edgy dischord and max out the treble, Jammo tuned down to what I believe was a low C sharp on bass, and wore it lower than any bassist before or since, and Digger was a tight, groovy powerhouse who had mastered the art of hitting his cymbals hard enough that the stands rocked, but never quite fell over.
The sound was like Elvis on PCP meets a very dark Beastie Boys; a kind of 50’s influenced rockabilly but with industrial and punk sensibilities underpinned with grooving subby/dubby basslines. Their live shows were electric, eclectic, angry and funky all at the same time. Jammo’s sinuous basslines provided the perfect complement to Keith’s frenetic bursts of guitar noise and savvy vocals, all performed with an attitudinous hip-swinging, leg-trembling stance. Audiences would go wild for their first single “Asbestos Lead Asbestos” and their unusual cover of “Funkytown”. The lyrical content spoke to a generation disaffected by Thatcher; intelligent youngsters who had left school with little hope of a job or a place in acceptable society. World Domination Enterprises gave these people a voice and fitted perfectly into the late 80’s squatter scene, playing gigs in West London with the Mutoid Waste Company (alternative artists who pioneered making sculptures from scrap and found objects, pre-empting the likes of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin by nearly a decade) and at squat venues in places like Hackney. Although their sound was unique, WDE were compatible with their contemporaries, bands like Swans, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, Test Dept, Einsturzende Neubauten, Crass, Psychic TV and The Birthday Party but with the added sexier ingredients of Rock n Roll and Reggae.
Their initial intention was to release only singles; 5 were put out in the late 80’s, “Asbestos Lead Asbestos” (1985); “Catalogue Clothes” (1986); “Hotsy Girl” (1987); “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” (1988); and “The Company News” (1989). They eventually bowed to pressure and released 2 albums as well; “Let’s Play Domination” in January 1988 and “Love from Lead City” (late 1988).
The band were championed by the late great John Peel, and featured on the covers of both Melody Maker and the NME, and their material maintained high positions in the UK independent charts. Inroads were made into the US college radio scene that was influential in America at the time, and in Europe where they toured three times; they also toured the USSR.
Despite their popularity, WDE were shunted around between different labels, never really finding their spiritual home in the industry. Perhaps this was due to their uncompromising spirit and refusal to commercialise their sound; they stuck to their guns and never betrayed their roots.
In the late 80’s during a depressed period, drummer Digger was recruited by Jehovahs’ Witnesses and things were never the same again; its hard to play tracks like “Hotsy Girl” when a band member has objections to material on grounds of immorality! Despite Keith and Jammo’s best efforts to reclaim him, Digger left the band. He was reluctantly replaced with a young drummer called Simon Doling, but Digger had been such an integral part of the band that it was hard for the other two to continue without him; proceedings eventually ground to a halt in 1990.
Luckily it’s not too late to hear this seminal band; The remastered CD album “Let’s Play Domination” was released on 1st September 2009, and it still sounds as fresh and exciting as it did the first time around. The re-release features all World Dom’s singles as extra tracks, plus one unfinished track. It includes a 12-page CD booklet with photos, lyrics and band-story. The album is available direct from the label’s website for £7.99. Buy it now and hear an amazing piece of forgotten UK music history!
I’ve been wondering something lately; as computer technology and the internet develop, are they impacting on our mentality and physiology in ways we didn’t envisage? Humans originally developed as a pack animal, designed to give their optimum performance in extended family groups of around 20, where each individual would have designated tasks, which were to some extent interchangeable because the group was small enough for everyone to know everything.
In today’s society, knowledge and information have become increasingly specialised in every field; there will never be another renaissance man like Leonardo Da Vinci who knows all the latest science, mathematics and art simultaneously… now we are more like the blind men who each know a different part of the elephant but none can describe the whole.
Perhaps as societies increase in size we are starting to resemble insect colonies where individuals have specialised tasks, eg. workers, nurses and soldiers as in an ant colony. This leads me on to the question of who or what takes the role of the ‘hive mind’, directing, linking and co-ordinating the drones? The only contender I can see is the internet, the web which links us all together in a global community.
The development of technology can be seen as the next stage of human evolution, so how long before this provokes physical and psychological changes in us as people. Just as the need to gather food and survive harsh conditions caused us to evolve to our present state, will we mutate further and develop a shared consciousness now that we all spend so much time logged on to a global network?
I’ve been asking everyone I know in the music business the same question now for over 5 years… ‘how do you think the availability of free music on the internet is going to affect the music business?’ I received a variety of responses but they’re consistent enough for me to finally form a reasonably educated opinion. I’ve also watched the progress of musician friends who have been trying to follow in the alleged footsteps of artists like the Arctic Monkeys and Lilly Allen, both of whom supposedly ‘made it’ through their myspace pages and related internet activity. The truth is that both of these artists, regularly held up as examples of the advantages of self-promotion on the internet, actually had other factors aiding their success such as strong management or famous connections.
The truth is much more complex. There’s no denying that if you already have a fanbase or a reason for people to be searching for you on myspace, the internet is going to help you in ways that never existed before. You can stay in touch and make sure that your fans know all about your gigs and forthcoming releases in a much more reliable and efficient way than by physically distributing flyers. However, if you’re unknown and don’t have a manager, no-one is going to know or care about your myspace page; even if you stop having a life and spend all day inviting friends, you will achieve very little other than to slightly annoy people or at best, get 2 extra people to your gig!
One thing that has definitely changed in the music industry is the willingness of the majors to develop bands; now more than ever before, they are unlikely to sign you unless they think you have a good chance of selling a lot of albums on your first release. It’s all about branding, in that you need a back story and to be some kind of archetypical band or singer, or preferably already a celebrity via reality tv or things like the x factor. Anything risky simply doesn’t get a look in.
The underlying reason for this is straightforward; music doesn’t make as much money as it used to. Because of filesharing, everyone expects to get music for free. If you’re a serious fan of a band, or a die-hard collector, you may still buy a cd, but the vast majority of casual music consumers now expect to download free tunes and restrict their purchasing of cd’s to Christmas presents. The official download sites where you pay for music are actually not making much money; itunes allegedly runs at a loss, subsidised by Apple because it helps sell the ipod. Ok, so musicians, like everyone else can get free music but the gains they make on this are massively outweighed by their loss in income; I’m not talking about internationally famous artists, I mean the more underground musicians who might previously have made a few quid here and there from cd sales over a long period, or from a small record company/publishing advance. These musicians are increasingly being forced to seek other means to support themselves; they may be able to download other artists’ music for free, but they can’t eat it!
I recently sat down with an executive from a major record company, and we talked about which famous British bands wouldn’t have been signed in today’s climate, either because they needed developing, didn’t sell on their first release or were too ‘risky’. These bands include Queen, Led Zeppelin, Blur, David Bowie and Feeder, to name but a few. You could argue that cream always rises to the top, but I happen to believe that scum rises first… by which I mean that the more aggressive, cut-throat people will always be heard, but the more subtle, fragile or unusual talents will no longer get a look in because they won’t get a chance to develop.
Let’s hope that some new system evolves whereby those who swim against the stream still find a way to get exposure. Its not that I’m opposed to filesharing or unlimited access to music via the web, but there really needs to be a new way to sort the sheep from the goats!
Power To The People!
A big thank you and congratulations to everyone who bought the Rage Against The Machine single ‘Killing In The Name’ thus ensuring it reached number one in time for Christmas 2009. This unprecedented event seemed to have everyone involved; even radio dj’s seemed to have the tone of naughty schoolboys and girls as they announced the winner. Sales far exceeded the amount necessary to hit the number one spot, outselling the X Factor single by about 50,000 copies. This is the first download only number one in the UK charts, and the first that has been a record not recently released (the Rage track is 17 years old).
So what is the lesson or the victory here? A good summary of the intention behind the campaign can be seen at http://saveourmusicindustry.com/ stressing that this was not a campaign directed at Simon Cowell personally, or little Joe and his distinctly average single. The whole point was to break the monopoly the X Factor has had in recent years when it comes to the Xmas number one single, and to re-introduce the fun we traditionally had, waiting to see who the winner would be.
Simon Cowell appeared on Newsnight last week, doing his best ‘I’m a nice person really’ impression, which he then completely spoiled by showing his total ignorance. To my horror (and the horror of the presenter) he suggested that a future project could well be a political show where issues are debated then voted for by the public. We all know already that ‘lowest common denominator’ politics would be a disaster; sometimes the correct political decisions are not necessarily the popular ones. Surely we pay our politicians to be experts in matters we don’t fully understand, and vote them in to make difficult decisions that they are more qualified than us to make. Cowell’s proposed format could result in scary scenarios such as a campaign to bring back capital punishment, or deport recent emigrees. We all know that ‘public opinion’ can be fickle and easily swayed or brought to hysteria by recent news stories or media over-sensationalist tactics, so anyone who thinks this is a good idea is frankly stupid!
Finally, the whole ratm4xmas campaign has given food for thought. Although people are already suggesting records to rival next years’ X Factor release, I am unsure as to whether this could work again, or whether it was a one-off. RATM’s track is an extremely potent song that captured the imagination of thousands because it somehow had the ‘Zeitgeist’… the right title, sentiment and lyrics to unite everyone behind it. It does provoke the question of what we could do en masse if we could only all agree on other matters so easily; perhaps we could actually effect some real political changes or stop the war in Afghanistan, for example. We just need people with the imagination to start the campaigns and generate the passion.
Until then, let’s just celebrate this small victory and enjoy the fact that sometimes, the people will have their say, and look forward to the promised free gig that Rage are set to play in 2010. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!