Echo progress

Barry put up a lovely video on his blog - a time lapse of etching he's doing, possibly for the album cover: I might as well finish

I still haven't thought too much about what to do with the beast once it's finished, but I've decided to call it "Echo" anyway. For an echo is a lovely thing, and where would I be at all without reverb?

Up in the studio this week for a few days again, four tracks mixed now. Saweet! There was some re-recording on a few of them, but it's all still going to plan. Cracking weather as well. It's so nice to get out of the city, and be up overlooking it all. The studio shares a side wall with the big shed where all the ewes are lambing now, so they're all doing their cute thing in there. The lambs, I mean; the ewes all remind me of hard-livin', hard-lovin' barmaids, with their dirty blonde perms and 40-fag-a-day "mmmeeeeehhhh"s.

Recording!

So, this evening I finished (I hope!!!!) recording all the vocal and cello parts for the album. Now a fortnight of editing lies ahead (shouldn't take that long, but you never know), and then back up to the studio for mixing.

Joe's great to work with. Amazing as the studio is, the real pleasure is in working with someone so open and helpful, who shares his (impressive!) knowledge freely, while giving you space so that your eeehhh "true voice" can emerge. Not to mention him and MT giving me a room to sleep in while I'm up there. And getting lunch off his Ma too! Very big ups!

The XX-Chromosome Question

A few weeks ago, Kathleen Lynch, Professor of Equality Studies Department in UCD, went onto Vincent Browne's night-time talk-show. In the course of the programme, she made some not-too-out-there comments about the lack of critical journalism in this country and the general conservative/right-wing slant in the media in Ireland, a slant that is so endemic and ingrained that it has become accepted as objective truth. She was subjected to a torrent of abuse on Twitter, some of it overtly sexist.

Transcript of the exchange on Vincent Browne, and the ensuing distastefulness.

She was interviewed on Mediabite last week, and part of the interview touched on the events of the week before.

Quite a long interview, but worth the read.

I got asked recently to take part in a gig organised by The Irish Feminist Network on the 8th of March. By the time I got back to them, the bill had been filled, but it still got me to thinking. A gig on International Women's Day, consisting of a solely female line-up - how do I feel about that? Eehhh, fine, no problem there. Sometimes a quota, or favourable discrimination, is needed to assist a minority group (especially if the minority includes 50% of the population). Will the sound engineer be a woman too?

The Women's Audio Mission are a San Francisco-based organisation that provide training, support, and general "you can do it!" for women and girls looking to work in production and recording. Hmm, I wonder about starting such a thing here. A few years in the future, but there's no harm in thinking about it now.

There is, of course, a wider issue here. As ever, eh. More chewing on this bone will follow.