Pardon our appearance, laydeez and gintlemen. My move back to Ireland will coincide with the expiry of this domain name, so there will be a bit of a hiatus on this front. Packing cases in real life and cyber suitcases here.
I shall see all of ye at a thrilling new location soon! Thanks for stopping by and hasta pronto. MWAH!
Jul 10, 2012
Jun 19, 2012
New Ilex EP
Yay! New EP by the excellent Ilex. Really beautiful music, it makes me think of oval shapes and a beach at dawn. If you know what I mean.
Jun 16, 2012
Bloomsday
Some day I will read this famous book. Caught up on some classics from my native soil recently. Lotta lotta writers have sprung from that damp rock."Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan is just brillunt, he is my new hero! His honesty and integrity shines, and that way with words. I acquired some new insults too!
I'm currently reading At Swim Two Birds by Flann O'Brien, that comic genius and true poet. Making a fool of myself, roaring laughing in public.
Here's a video from a few years ago. Thanks to Neasa!
Niamh de Barra Bloomsday 16th June 2010 from Neasa de Barra on Vimeo.
I'm currently reading At Swim Two Birds by Flann O'Brien, that comic genius and true poet. Making a fool of myself, roaring laughing in public.
Here's a video from a few years ago. Thanks to Neasa!
Niamh de Barra Bloomsday 16th June 2010 from Neasa de Barra on Vimeo.
Jun 13, 2012
"Below The Sea" EP
Yay! "Below The Sea" has now been released. Grab a download here. Embarrassingly nice blurb too. Scarlet, I am!
Thanks (again and again and again) to Hamish, Mel for the mastering, and Barry for the beautiful artwork.
Filming the video this weekend for the funding project. "Echo" will see the light of day yet!
Thanks (again and again and again) to Hamish, Mel for the mastering, and Barry for the beautiful artwork.
Filming the video this weekend for the funding project. "Echo" will see the light of day yet!
Jun 7, 2012
Aftemath
Well, the people (well, a third of the people eligible to vote) have spoken. Yes yes YES, it is to growth, stability, confidence, jobs. Looking forward to it, I must say.
The nation was in a festive mood over the weekend, flushed with our pat on the head from Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, who praised our responsibility (no word on a bank debt write-down, obv!). Dublin celebrated a stable, confident, future with some fast cars and fast women.
Moving back to the auld sod this summer. I'm a-feared for the future and my heart is breaking.
The nation was in a festive mood over the weekend, flushed with our pat on the head from Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, who praised our responsibility (no word on a bank debt write-down, obv!). Dublin celebrated a stable, confident, future with some fast cars and fast women.
Moving back to the auld sod this summer. I'm a-feared for the future and my heart is breaking.
May 31, 2012
A No Vote won't bring change, but it's a start
(This was published on politico.ie/. Additional research and editing by Eadaoin O'Sullivan)
I didn't know why I was voting No, exactly. There were a few reasons, a nebulous fog of them, swirling around the pit of my gut and pulsing in my temples.
So, I decided to turn it on its head, think outside the box, innovate, get real in the real world. I went looking for reasons to vote 'Yes' and found jobs, stability, growth, and lots of talk of confidence that didn’t inspire any.
The Irish Exporters' Association tells us that a Yes vote will give:
“Confidence to Irish exporters many customers in the eurozone” (sic)
The American Chamber of Commerce spells out VOTE YES with the first letter of each of its reasons for doing just that – perhaps trying to twee us into acquiescence. For the E in YES we get:
Ensure confidence in Ireland's ability to restore growth
Enda Kenny is confident we need confidence , as is Michael Noonan .
According to Megan Greene, Director of European Economics at Roubini Global Economics , '[B]y demanding that EZ [Eurozone] countries hit a series of budget deficit and debt targets, the fiscal compact addresses the EZ debt crisis but does nothing to address the banking crisis, balance of payments crisis or growth crisis in the region.[...]All the fiscal compact does is institutionalize the idea that all other countries in the EZ need to look more like Germany in terms of fiscal responsibility. The EZ periphery will have to make all of the adjustment while the core makes none, ensuring that the weaker EZ countries will go even deeper into recession.'
The above by way of advocating a Yes vote in Ireland. A circuitous route to 'why you must vote Yes', right enough – one, you might say, that doesn’t inspire much confidence. The kernel of her argument is Ireland’s likely need to access the ESM (European Stability Mechanism), that last bastion between us and an empty ATM. You may go deeper into recession, but at least you'll have access to money, in theory, lent at high rates of interest (one can only presume, and hope to be wrong) from a legally unaccountable (see Articles 32 and 35 of the Treaty Establishing the ESM ) 'stability mechanism'. Which you will have to contribute to in five payments of at least €250-odd million (regardless of the result of the referendum). And which might be used up by, for instance, a loan to Spain before Ireland had any access to it. Questions have been raised too about the allocation of such a loan from the ESM, were Ireland to get one. Would it go the 'the public purse', to spend on social programmes, health, education, and to enrich the lives of the citizens of the country, or would it be another gift to the banking sector ?
And, of course, any money we get from the ESM will be given ‘subject to strict conditionality ’. The ECB Monthly Bulletin, July 2011 expands on what this conditionality might entail, saying: 'it is essential that any financial assistance [from the ESM] will be subject to very strict macroeconomic policy conditionality and be granted on non-concessional terms… Financial assistance will only be granted if the country in question implements an adjustment programme capable of redressing the situation. Such an adjustment programme will in general include fiscal consolidation measures and structural reforms that address labour and product market rigidities, thereby improving the growth potential of the economy.' For which read: cuts in government spending, erosion of labour rights and further attacks on wages. In other words, more of the last four years for another few years. Possibly forever, in endless cycles of policy conditionality and bailouts, given how successful our last austerity-driven ‘fiscal consolidation’ has been in ‘improving the growth potential’ of our economy. And all while making it harder for future governments to spend in order to stimulate growth. (All of which points don’t begin to address the question of whether or not consecrating GDP as the definitive basis for making socio-economic decisions is a good idea in the first place.)
This treaty seeks to further validate a particular way of approaching social and economic life – one that protects and privileges the powerful and wealthy, and especially the very powerful and the very wealthy, at the expense of everyone else - and to enshrine it in the legal structure of the EU. The 5% increase in the number of people with €700,000 or more of ‘investible assets’ in this country between 2009 and 2010 was no aberration; nor was it just a statistically improbable spike in Lotto winners. We’ve watched, horrified, as the reality of trickle up economics became brutally apparent over the past four years – do we really want to enshrine a policy approach that abets that in our Constitution without at least a murmur? To buy the lie that it was fiscal profligacy that brought us to this pass , and that with a bit of ‘good housekeeping ’ everything will be ok?
If we (collectively, as a nation, as you do) have learned anything from the last few years, we'd be advised to scrutinise the financial advice we get, and scrutinise it well. You wouldn't expect a right-wing government to care about 'people' - some of whom may not even be 'taxpayers' (just VAT-payers). The treaty talks about 'economic growth through advanced convergence and competitiveness'. Debt reduction targets and twice yearly Euro Summit meetings are the answer. There is no acknowledgement of a bigger picture, and needless to say, people - on whose backs this 'competitiveness' will be built - don't come into it. People are simply human capital, after all. Ratification of this treaty means that ‘fiscal discipline’ (read, austerity) will be written into our Constitution, and subsequent governments will be bound by it also. The neo-liberalising push will continue to cut wages, erode workers' rights, impose penalties for poverty .
There is a fight on now - here in Ireland, and right across Europe. Transnational corporations, financial institutions included, are amassing vast amounts of power and wealth, and they won’t let go of either easily. The suits in hairdos that we elect every few years seem pretty irrelevant in themselves, but they have shown themselves both diligent and efficient in furthering the cause of those same business and financial institutions. This treaty has been scripted and crafted in their interests first, and only secondarily (if at all) in ours.
But the Irish bank guarantee and the subsequent realisation of its consequences ('You mean our childrens' children as well?'), as well as the global Occupy movement, the Uncut movement, and more, have aired ideas that will not go away, and (as happens with ideas) the more out and about they are, the more they grow. More and more people distrust, even despise, the banks and the markets but… who else fills the ATMs? Makes your debit card work? Who is the facilitator of the mechanism by which you get paid every week or month (by an employer or the Department of Social Protection)? Stories of outright theft and obese salaries sour the public mood, but, we ask, what can we do? Our hands our tied, what can we do?
We can start by voting No to this treaty. It won’t fix our zombie banks, or end austerity tomorrow (or next year); it won’t put an end to trickle up economics, or stop the Goldman Sachs’s of this world in their tracks, but it might throw up a stumbling block, cause a diversion, and open up the possibility for some – at least some – change.
Change is not easy - if it was, it would have happened already - and real change doesn't happen quickly. Sometimes – often - a cynical quip comes more easily (and is funnier ) than, 'Hey, you know, another world is possible'.
But. Still. It is and all.
I didn't know why I was voting No, exactly. There were a few reasons, a nebulous fog of them, swirling around the pit of my gut and pulsing in my temples.
So, I decided to turn it on its head, think outside the box, innovate, get real in the real world. I went looking for reasons to vote 'Yes' and found jobs, stability, growth, and lots of talk of confidence that didn’t inspire any.
The Irish Exporters' Association tells us that a Yes vote will give:
“Confidence to Irish exporters many customers in the eurozone” (sic)
The American Chamber of Commerce spells out VOTE YES with the first letter of each of its reasons for doing just that – perhaps trying to twee us into acquiescence. For the E in YES we get:
Ensure confidence in Ireland's ability to restore growth
Enda Kenny is confident we need confidence , as is Michael Noonan .
According to Megan Greene, Director of European Economics at Roubini Global Economics , '[B]y demanding that EZ [Eurozone] countries hit a series of budget deficit and debt targets, the fiscal compact addresses the EZ debt crisis but does nothing to address the banking crisis, balance of payments crisis or growth crisis in the region.[...]All the fiscal compact does is institutionalize the idea that all other countries in the EZ need to look more like Germany in terms of fiscal responsibility. The EZ periphery will have to make all of the adjustment while the core makes none, ensuring that the weaker EZ countries will go even deeper into recession.'
The above by way of advocating a Yes vote in Ireland. A circuitous route to 'why you must vote Yes', right enough – one, you might say, that doesn’t inspire much confidence. The kernel of her argument is Ireland’s likely need to access the ESM (European Stability Mechanism), that last bastion between us and an empty ATM. You may go deeper into recession, but at least you'll have access to money, in theory, lent at high rates of interest (one can only presume, and hope to be wrong) from a legally unaccountable (see Articles 32 and 35 of the Treaty Establishing the ESM ) 'stability mechanism'. Which you will have to contribute to in five payments of at least €250-odd million (regardless of the result of the referendum). And which might be used up by, for instance, a loan to Spain before Ireland had any access to it. Questions have been raised too about the allocation of such a loan from the ESM, were Ireland to get one. Would it go the 'the public purse', to spend on social programmes, health, education, and to enrich the lives of the citizens of the country, or would it be another gift to the banking sector ?
And, of course, any money we get from the ESM will be given ‘subject to strict conditionality ’. The ECB Monthly Bulletin, July 2011 expands on what this conditionality might entail, saying: 'it is essential that any financial assistance [from the ESM] will be subject to very strict macroeconomic policy conditionality and be granted on non-concessional terms… Financial assistance will only be granted if the country in question implements an adjustment programme capable of redressing the situation. Such an adjustment programme will in general include fiscal consolidation measures and structural reforms that address labour and product market rigidities, thereby improving the growth potential of the economy.' For which read: cuts in government spending, erosion of labour rights and further attacks on wages. In other words, more of the last four years for another few years. Possibly forever, in endless cycles of policy conditionality and bailouts, given how successful our last austerity-driven ‘fiscal consolidation’ has been in ‘improving the growth potential’ of our economy. And all while making it harder for future governments to spend in order to stimulate growth. (All of which points don’t begin to address the question of whether or not consecrating GDP as the definitive basis for making socio-economic decisions is a good idea in the first place.)
This treaty seeks to further validate a particular way of approaching social and economic life – one that protects and privileges the powerful and wealthy, and especially the very powerful and the very wealthy, at the expense of everyone else - and to enshrine it in the legal structure of the EU. The 5% increase in the number of people with €700,000 or more of ‘investible assets’ in this country between 2009 and 2010 was no aberration; nor was it just a statistically improbable spike in Lotto winners. We’ve watched, horrified, as the reality of trickle up economics became brutally apparent over the past four years – do we really want to enshrine a policy approach that abets that in our Constitution without at least a murmur? To buy the lie that it was fiscal profligacy that brought us to this pass , and that with a bit of ‘good housekeeping ’ everything will be ok?
If we (collectively, as a nation, as you do) have learned anything from the last few years, we'd be advised to scrutinise the financial advice we get, and scrutinise it well. You wouldn't expect a right-wing government to care about 'people' - some of whom may not even be 'taxpayers' (just VAT-payers). The treaty talks about 'economic growth through advanced convergence and competitiveness'. Debt reduction targets and twice yearly Euro Summit meetings are the answer. There is no acknowledgement of a bigger picture, and needless to say, people - on whose backs this 'competitiveness' will be built - don't come into it. People are simply human capital, after all. Ratification of this treaty means that ‘fiscal discipline’ (read, austerity) will be written into our Constitution, and subsequent governments will be bound by it also. The neo-liberalising push will continue to cut wages, erode workers' rights, impose penalties for poverty .
There is a fight on now - here in Ireland, and right across Europe. Transnational corporations, financial institutions included, are amassing vast amounts of power and wealth, and they won’t let go of either easily. The suits in hairdos that we elect every few years seem pretty irrelevant in themselves, but they have shown themselves both diligent and efficient in furthering the cause of those same business and financial institutions. This treaty has been scripted and crafted in their interests first, and only secondarily (if at all) in ours.
But the Irish bank guarantee and the subsequent realisation of its consequences ('You mean our childrens' children as well?'), as well as the global Occupy movement, the Uncut movement, and more, have aired ideas that will not go away, and (as happens with ideas) the more out and about they are, the more they grow. More and more people distrust, even despise, the banks and the markets but… who else fills the ATMs? Makes your debit card work? Who is the facilitator of the mechanism by which you get paid every week or month (by an employer or the Department of Social Protection)? Stories of outright theft and obese salaries sour the public mood, but, we ask, what can we do? Our hands our tied, what can we do?
We can start by voting No to this treaty. It won’t fix our zombie banks, or end austerity tomorrow (or next year); it won’t put an end to trickle up economics, or stop the Goldman Sachs’s of this world in their tracks, but it might throw up a stumbling block, cause a diversion, and open up the possibility for some – at least some – change.
Change is not easy - if it was, it would have happened already - and real change doesn't happen quickly. Sometimes – often - a cynical quip comes more easily (and is funnier ) than, 'Hey, you know, another world is possible'.
But. Still. It is and all.
May 27, 2012
Last Friday's gig
Great buzz altogether down in Fifties, Lijmbeekstraat, in Eindhoven, where meself and himself played last Friday. And huge HUGE thanks to Lena, Lisa, Paul, Jason, Nick, and the other Snor folks (whose names I do not know. Sorry!). It was the best night I've been out at in Eindhoven (granted, I haven't been out much here....). Special thanks to Lena and Lisa who were organising the music - Lisa, in particular, who saw me play in Eindhoven last November and asked me to play on foot of that.
But really, big ups to all!
But really, big ups to all!
May 22, 2012
Can I get an Amen!!
Break, that is. The beat that spawned a thousand (or a million) breaks was played first by Gregory Cylvester Coleman of The Winstons, a drum solo in a B side of theirs called "Amen Brother", which was itself a re-imagining of Jester Hairston's gospel classic "Amen". I was messing with the beat today, that most seminal of the most seminal; it's so ubiquitous that it felt kind of weird to be working with it.
I went for a nosey online about it; there's a rich seam to be mined on dinternetz, a testament to its cult status. Obviously a whole raft of "the definitive online amen break archive", but other stuff as well. Articles and blog posts and the like.
So, this (post) is just some links. No point in doing an Amen break on it.
This audio documentary from 2004 is by Nate Harrison. It's recorded on a dub-plate, in fact - some snippets of music (too bleedin short though!), interesting observations on the nature of copyright and the rest of...all that kinda stuff. Yaknow. Give er a listen, it's only twenty minutes long.
A piece on its relation to (as in, embodiment of) The Golden Ratio, an article from The Economist (more music focused, jungle in particular), and more musicks from Ethan Hain's blog.
This piece from The Huffington Post is more on the copyright tip. I do love me ruminations on copyright! Interesting though; it covers a lot of the points made in Harrison's documentary, as well as Thomas Edison's attempt to monopolise the fledgling motion picture industry by waging a war of petty lawsuits. Plus ça change, eh.
For more of a meditative buzz, try knitting an Amen break scarf. Takes all sorts.
I went for a nosey online about it; there's a rich seam to be mined on dinternetz, a testament to its cult status. Obviously a whole raft of "the definitive online amen break archive", but other stuff as well. Articles and blog posts and the like.
So, this (post) is just some links. No point in doing an Amen break on it.
This audio documentary from 2004 is by Nate Harrison. It's recorded on a dub-plate, in fact - some snippets of music (too bleedin short though!), interesting observations on the nature of copyright and the rest of...all that kinda stuff. Yaknow. Give er a listen, it's only twenty minutes long.
A piece on its relation to (as in, embodiment of) The Golden Ratio, an article from The Economist (more music focused, jungle in particular), and more musicks from Ethan Hain's blog.
This piece from The Huffington Post is more on the copyright tip. I do love me ruminations on copyright! Interesting though; it covers a lot of the points made in Harrison's documentary, as well as Thomas Edison's attempt to monopolise the fledgling motion picture industry by waging a war of petty lawsuits. Plus ça change, eh.
For more of a meditative buzz, try knitting an Amen break scarf. Takes all sorts.
May 18, 2012
Whatchoo readin' fawr?
For this reason! Learnin me some proper production and mastering ting. It's all a bit of grey fog, still. No more, I tells ya.
Mel did a fantastic FANTASTIC job with "Echo", and she's mastering "Below The Sea" as we speak. Her ear is impeccable, clear as day when you listen to her own music too.
She's based in Brighton now with her fella Herv. Keep an eye and an ear peeled for the two of them.
Mel did a fantastic FANTASTIC job with "Echo", and she's mastering "Below The Sea" as we speak. Her ear is impeccable, clear as day when you listen to her own music too.
She's based in Brighton now with her fella Herv. Keep an eye and an ear peeled for the two of them.
May 17, 2012
May 16, 2012
ACTA and other IP thangs
ACTA:_Procedure_in_the_European_Parliament and ACTA-is-not-dead
La Quadrature du Net is a fantastic site which "aims to alert on government projects that threaten civil liberties on the Internet and to make alternative proposals".
ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is one of the most pertinent issues currently, posing as it does such a massive threat to civil liberties. An older post on that here.
The political memory section has names, contact details and the voting records of every MEP, by country and by committee. I might even write to some of them, in my naivety. Like Paul Murphy, a Socialist from Dublin. He's on the International Trade Committee (INTA), the main one working on ACTA.
Closer to home (as in, at home), the Copyright Review Committee (set up by Minister Richard Bruton) published a consultation paper in March. "Innovation" is the buzz-word here, how can we nurture it, foster it, encourage it, attract it and its innovative practitioners to Ireland. I'm chomping through the 182-page report - the Department (of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) are accepting submissions from the public, so I might as well.
I'll do a proper post on it once I'm finished.
La Quadrature du Net is a fantastic site which "aims to alert on government projects that threaten civil liberties on the Internet and to make alternative proposals".
ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is one of the most pertinent issues currently, posing as it does such a massive threat to civil liberties. An older post on that here.
The political memory section has names, contact details and the voting records of every MEP, by country and by committee. I might even write to some of them, in my naivety. Like Paul Murphy, a Socialist from Dublin. He's on the International Trade Committee (INTA), the main one working on ACTA.
Closer to home (as in, at home), the Copyright Review Committee (set up by Minister Richard Bruton) published a consultation paper in March. "Innovation" is the buzz-word here, how can we nurture it, foster it, encourage it, attract it and its innovative practitioners to Ireland. I'm chomping through the 182-page report - the Department (of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) are accepting submissions from the public, so I might as well.
I'll do a proper post on it once I'm finished.
May 13, 2012
Ya big Pledge!
Sooo.... this funding project doodah is starting so. Apparently, I need more fans for this to succeed.
:(
To the left, there is a widget. A widget with which to lure in new fans and potential funders of said album. The song, "Sunday Sun", is one of the first I wrote. Ahhh.
Ooohhh the world of internet marketing and self-promotion is a strange one. More of this in a while.
:(
To the left, there is a widget. A widget with which to lure in new fans and potential funders of said album. The song, "Sunday Sun", is one of the first I wrote. Ahhh.
Ooohhh the world of internet marketing and self-promotion is a strange one. More of this in a while.
May 12, 2012
Attack of the killer summer!
The many-legged have been out in force the last week. An unseasonable warm patch in the middle of an unseasonable cold and windy spell saw the mozzies, flying ants, and loads of strange-looking pupa-esque creatures on the streets for three days, in the house, in my hair, you get the idea. Apparently the cold has damaged the asparagus crop in the Netherlands. NOO!
But really, mad times we do live in. The weather grows stranger and stranger.
UPDATE 16th of May, 2012:
Radioactive mutation in produce and wild plants in Michigan, US.
But really, mad times we do live in. The weather grows stranger and stranger.
UPDATE 16th of May, 2012:
Radioactive mutation in produce and wild plants in Michigan, US.
Apr 24, 2012
Youtubery from Rimini
First video of twelve, from the Modern Monetary Theory summit, held in Rimini last February.
As Paolo Barnard explains - "It's an American school of economics[....] We are inviting these economists to Italy to explain to the Italian people how to defend themselves from the financial coup d'etat, how to allow Italy to regain monetary sovereignty, and how to use that monetary sovereignty for the benefit of the majority." Sounds relevant?
Fierce interesting stuff, and gives the lie to the claim that economics is just too complicated for ordinary people to understand.
As Paolo Barnard explains - "It's an American school of economics[....] We are inviting these economists to Italy to explain to the Italian people how to defend themselves from the financial coup d'etat, how to allow Italy to regain monetary sovereignty, and how to use that monetary sovereignty for the benefit of the majority." Sounds relevant?
Fierce interesting stuff, and gives the lie to the claim that economics is just too complicated for ordinary people to understand.
Apr 5, 2012
Easter News
Weeelll, the writing is finished now on this here EP I'm doing for Black Lantern Music. Gotta get my record on now. Followed by editing, mixing, the usual.
In other things, Harald Austbø's tuition is great! I tend to go in waves with the cello anyway, few months on, few months off(or more than a few, eek). But, it's awn right now. So very peaceful to play, you kind of zone out a bit. In this workaday world, that can't be bad.
In other things, Harald Austbø's tuition is great! I tend to go in waves with the cello anyway, few months on, few months off(or more than a few, eek). But, it's awn right now. So very peaceful to play, you kind of zone out a bit. In this workaday world, that can't be bad.
Apr 4, 2012
Mar 24, 2012
Gudrun Gut
Whatever it is about this song and the video, it moves me. No really. Reminds me of being young(says the crone), especially on a Saturday morning.
Gudrun Gut is a bit of a legend too.
Mar 23, 2012
Equinox
Weeeellll, it's happened. Against all odds, despite all our expectations, much to our surprise, the spring is here. Hats off to The Ancient Ones, the dolmen and passage tomb builders, the astronomers and heavenly worshippers.
Labbycally (Leaba an Chailligh - The Witch's Bed) dolmen tomb in Co. Cork is positioned in such a way that on the 22nd of March and (vague! I dunno me equinoxes!) its autumnal counterpart, the central spine is lit up by the sun's setting rays.
Stuck up a rough version of a track off the new EP on Soundcloud. It'll be streaming for a week or so. Preview shtylez!
Labbycally (Leaba an Chailligh - The Witch's Bed) dolmen tomb in Co. Cork is positioned in such a way that on the 22nd of March and (vague! I dunno me equinoxes!) its autumnal counterpart, the central spine is lit up by the sun's setting rays.
Stuck up a rough version of a track off the new EP on Soundcloud. It'll be streaming for a week or so. Preview shtylez!
Mar 20, 2012
ECHO release!!
Well, kids, it's finally happening. "Echo" has found a home, on the excellent Alphabet Set. A long-standing (ten years old this year!), well-respected, electronic label of consistently high quality, I was bleedin delirah that they had room/time/yaknowwhaddImean for me and my thang.
Now all the admin begins. I'm getting records made, with big, beautiful, artwork, courtesy of Barry and Chris. For that (and for the cash moneys needed), I'm going to go the crowd-funding route - Fundit or Pledge or one a them crowds. Well, "pre-order" is closer to the mark. Gotta get my pro-active pants on now. If only I could find them.....
Now all the admin begins. I'm getting records made, with big, beautiful, artwork, courtesy of Barry and Chris. For that (and for the cash moneys needed), I'm going to go the crowd-funding route - Fundit or Pledge or one a them crowds. Well, "pre-order" is closer to the mark. Gotta get my pro-active pants on now. If only I could find them.....
Feb 22, 2012
Cello stuffs
Cello lesson in Amsterdam again today, trying to loosen up that bowing arm. It has a tendency to tense up trying to stop the bow from tipping over or falling altogether. Gravity, innit! Seán Bergin put me in touch with Harald Austbø, a cellist and improviser who lives in Amsterdam.
He's a student of Ernst Reijsiger, the composer and cellist who's written music for a good few of Werner Herzog's films (including "Wide Blue Yonder" and "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"). Beeeyyooootiful!
In the course of the lesson, talk of portability came up. I started playing the cello eight years ago for many reasons, but its portability (compared to a piano anyway) was one of them. Hundreds of bus journeys later -"Would you not play the tin-whistle?"; "I'd say you have some trouble getting that under your chin!", cue gales of laughter - I realise it's maybe not the most portable.
Still and all, hats off to those who try. Here's Harald on mini-cello with the Bakfiets Band. This clip from a concert of Werner Herzog film music is beautiful, and round 8 minutes in you can see Ernst Reijsiger playing the cello standing up. Apparently he walks around with it sometimes too.
And, a bit less successfully by Woody Allen in "Take the money and run".
The brilliant Herv released "Portable Music, Vol. 1" last year, made with Nintendo DS, Korg Monontron and (I think) an Ipad - a practical solution to having a very long bus commute to and from work. Get that show on the road, as they say!
He's a student of Ernst Reijsiger, the composer and cellist who's written music for a good few of Werner Herzog's films (including "Wide Blue Yonder" and "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"). Beeeyyooootiful!
In the course of the lesson, talk of portability came up. I started playing the cello eight years ago for many reasons, but its portability (compared to a piano anyway) was one of them. Hundreds of bus journeys later -"Would you not play the tin-whistle?"; "I'd say you have some trouble getting that under your chin!", cue gales of laughter - I realise it's maybe not the most portable.
Still and all, hats off to those who try. Here's Harald on mini-cello with the Bakfiets Band. This clip from a concert of Werner Herzog film music is beautiful, and round 8 minutes in you can see Ernst Reijsiger playing the cello standing up. Apparently he walks around with it sometimes too.
And, a bit less successfully by Woody Allen in "Take the money and run".
The brilliant Herv released "Portable Music, Vol. 1" last year, made with Nintendo DS, Korg Monontron and (I think) an Ipad - a practical solution to having a very long bus commute to and from work. Get that show on the road, as they say!
Feb 15, 2012
Gig tonight in Zaal 100
Come on down! It starts at 9 p.m., all details are here.
Zaal 100, De Wittenstraat 100, 1052 BA Amsterdam.
Zaal 100, De Wittenstraat 100, 1052 BA Amsterdam.
Feb 4, 2012
Amsterjam
Headed up to Amsterdam yesterday for a jam with Tobias Klein and Raphael Vanoli. Tobias plays clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone, Raphael is a guitarist, and both of them use electronics along with their respective instruments. Yesterday was wonderful, that flotation tank feeling from abstract improv, and the bass clarinet is a big velvetty swoon-machine. Plus, the studio had a window, so we could see snow falling outside (minus 23 centigrade last night in Eindhoven - winter came late, but it's here now!). Just beautiful.
They're amazing musicians, wildly prolific and proactive, involved in loads of other projects, including Lackritz, Knalpot and Spinifex. I've come into contact with a lot of (for want of a better word) jazz musicians over here, and technical ability and prolific collaboration is a big part of (let's call it) jazz circles. Left to my own devices, I'd write and write, acquiring the technique necessary to play my own music, but not stretching myself any further.
With that in mind, I'm getting a cello lesson next week in The Dam. It's been three years since my last one, time to get back on the horse. Tis a life's work, eh.
They're amazing musicians, wildly prolific and proactive, involved in loads of other projects, including Lackritz, Knalpot and Spinifex. I've come into contact with a lot of (for want of a better word) jazz musicians over here, and technical ability and prolific collaboration is a big part of (let's call it) jazz circles. Left to my own devices, I'd write and write, acquiring the technique necessary to play my own music, but not stretching myself any further.
With that in mind, I'm getting a cello lesson next week in The Dam. It's been three years since my last one, time to get back on the horse. Tis a life's work, eh.
Jan 29, 2012
ACTA gway ourah tha!
Last Friday, the EU countries (with the exception of Germany,The Netherlands, Cyprus and Estonia), signed ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. In the same vein as SOPA and its hangers-on, ACTA is far more scary and far-reaching. Vague and open-ended (of course!), it provides a low threshold for criminal sanctions; 'to “acts” which are for direct commercial advantage but also for, also undefined, “economic advantage” or “aiding and abetting” (also undefined).' (http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number10.1/whats-wrong-with-ACTA - Part 2)
It puts the onus on ISPs (internet service providers) to police their customers' internet usage and offers bland assurances that it'll protect "fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy". Soooo, not fundamental rights, not a fair trial, not due process.
Ostensibly on grounds of public health, it goes beyond the digital realm as regards intellectual property. This has implications for generic drugs(drugs whose patent has expired, can be sold without a licence from the original company, much cheaper than brand-name drugs), and seeds.
Negotiations have been shrouded in secrecy since they started three years ago.
In fact, the EU rapporteur on ACTA quit in disgust on Thursday over the process by which the whole thing has been negotiated.
European Digital Rights have a good summary of ACTA on their site, five one-page documents on different aspects.
And then, what to do? La Quadrature du Net have some suggestions -
https://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/How_to_act_against_ACTA
It puts the onus on ISPs (internet service providers) to police their customers' internet usage and offers bland assurances that it'll protect "fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy". Soooo, not fundamental rights, not a fair trial, not due process.
Ostensibly on grounds of public health, it goes beyond the digital realm as regards intellectual property. This has implications for generic drugs(drugs whose patent has expired, can be sold without a licence from the original company, much cheaper than brand-name drugs), and seeds.
Negotiations have been shrouded in secrecy since they started three years ago.
In fact, the EU rapporteur on ACTA quit in disgust on Thursday over the process by which the whole thing has been negotiated.
European Digital Rights have a good summary of ACTA on their site, five one-page documents on different aspects.
And then, what to do? La Quadrature du Net have some suggestions -
https://www.laquadrature.net/wiki/How_to_act_against_ACTA
Jan 25, 2012
If you haven't already...
This is an online petition opposing what's been(or being) called SOPA Ireland, or "S.I. No. of 2011 European Communities (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2011.”
Dear Minister Sherlock:
http://stopsopaireland.com/
Dear Minister Sherlock:
I call on you to abandon your proposed enactment of “S.I. No. of 2011 European Communities (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2011.” This legislation subverts the democratic process, favours the special interests of corporations over the rights of individual citizens, will destroy the largest growth sector in the Irish economy, and will subject the citizens of Ireland to unwarranted and unintended censorship.
Here to sign:http://stopsopaireland.com/
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