dig this

so my review of The Shindig Addicts should be dropping through letterboxes all over enfield, and incase you don't have the good sense to go check out their myspace i thought i'd post up their video so that people can see what the fuss is about and then have this song stuck in their head for a while



I'll be linking to and posting the article in full soon

Never Ending Story

ok, so i missed my own personal deadline of having afew more things finished by christmas and the end of the year, my own album seems to have stalled while i work on SoundArt and afew other bits, SoundArt itself is getting a little behind schedule and there have been a handful of other tracks that i was hoping to have had done by now.

so as we start next year i'm gonna post a couple of works in progress, pieces that are in an unfinished state for one reason or another.

and i'm also looking ahead to a bundle of things that i want to cover in my new Enfield Advertiser articles, the next of which should start dropping through local letterboxes from this wednesday... so finding the time to write and blog and create music is a real juggling act

along with that i intend to have my head stuck in some comics for a little while, either ones that i have bought and haven't got round to reading yet and also afew new ones that i got for christmas, i'm realy looking forward to getting my head round some Grant Morrison shaped weirdness!!

and there are also DJ sets to plan for!!

and never enough hours in a day, nor days in the week!

mistletoe and whine....

this year i kinda brought myself up to date, getting myself joined up to facebook (the real me, not the fake me) and since the death bell seems to have been ringing for myspace i haven't been pushing my christmas single in the same way i was last year

so i thought since i was wishing all the people in the big wide world of internetwebdom a very happy merry christmas i'd also remind you of the gift of music i give

merry christmas one and all (unless you're on facebook, in which case go and hug your family and leave the computer alone)

www.xmas.com and 6 instalments of the SoundArt project are available by right clicking the links below

www.xmas.com
Free file hosting from File Den

SoundArt1
SoundArt2
SoundArt3 (unfinished)
SoundArt4
SoundArt5
SoundArt6
Free file hosting from File Den



and if that isn't enough christmas joy for those perusing this fine christmassy day, here is also the video of my possibly all time favourite christmas song (tho i am still debating)



"God bless us, every one!"

da ba de, da ba da

looks like i'm going to see Avatar tonight. see if its worth all the fuss thats been kicking up and if it revolutionises the cinema experience.

but how did he get funding for such a huge, astronimically expensive project?

never fear, this video provides the answers

Sound Art Experiment Number 3 (revisited)

Last year Ian Byford Art posted a handfull of my tracks to download that he had designed the sleeve artwork for, this year for Blogmass he has been re-upping this years SoundArt tracks, the first of which originally debuted as part of 08's Blogmass Advent calender.

All the tracks to date are now online to download for a limited period, now there should supposedly have been a new track completed every month, meaning that a full 12 track collaboration album would have been available this december - but some things just don't quite go as planned, instead there are 6 tracks available, including the 'incomplete' SoundArt3



SoundArt3 (unfinished)

SoundArt3 is a short track that i intended to expand when i had got more material to flesh it out, it was conceived as a reflection on the links between music and art and included just a few interview clips cut up over a rather minimal backing

I was thinking that i would do more interviews to broaden the scope of the track and increase the running time, but in hindsight i now think it serves as a short aside, almost a brief interlude while some of the other tracks i experimented with have been surpassing the five minute mark (and then some...) which i very rarely cross with my usual tracks i produce, and this in turn has meant that the when the SoundArt project is complete it may be quite a long listen, so the brevity of the third track may be no bad thing

i may change my mind again, i may expand SoundArt3 to a 17 minute sonic symphony if the fancy takes me...

but in the meantime perhaps you should all be right-clicking and kicking back to enjoy the SoundArt project so far

SoundArt1
SoundArt2
SoundArt3 (unfinished)
SoundArt4
SoundArt5
SoundArt6
Free file hosting from File Den

all the rage

ok, it seems to be a very nice sentiment, and it certainly would be fun to stick it to Simon Cowell, all you people that signed yourselves up to the facebook group to get Rage Against The Machine to christmas number one realy are rebelling against the system!



but i'm sure Simon Cowell will still be getting a nice big fat christmas bonus from Sony after they announce their bumper sales figures towards the end of the year, you see, not only is SyCo music a part of Sony, but Killing In The Name Of is published and released by a subsiduary company of Sony.

this is indeed rebel music!

and proof that no matter who makes it to number one, their is only ever gonna be one winner.


now, i'm not knocking the campaign entirely! it sounds like a funny idea and is obviously the reason so many people joined the group leading the campaign (now lets see how many people are gonna follow through after showing their initial support - because you must be well aware that EVERYBODY does EVERYTHING they say they will do ALL OF THE TIME!!)

and Killing In The Name Of is certainly a popular and iconic choice, it has featured in many a Bubblegum Stomp DJ set - and will probably continue to if we're not all sick of the song by january

but don't break your back (and your already overstretched wallets) to download it, there are chart eligible sites offering it a darn sight cheaper than i-tunes 99p (amazon currently have it for 29p)

and also consider the worthy charity being supported by this campaign, asking anyone that downloads RATM also donates to Shelter and it has emerged today that Tom Morrello will also be donating his own royalties to charity

so go out in force and make history by keeping X-factor off number one if that is your intention - but please also consider stopping watching the show altogether if this campaign and the effect it has on music means anything to you!!!!!

(you know who you are - you turncoats!)






funnily enough, there is also another christmas song doing the rounds!
my own!
and you can download it for nothing!!
please show a lil support for a srtuggling unsigned artist - i ask nothing more than that you take it and you listen to it, i'd be super pleased if you actually like it too!
and if it makes you feel any better why not donate the cost of a download to a charity while you're at it

www.xmas.com
Free file hosting from File Den



see, nice warm feelings all round!

The Sound of Art

not only am i letting you lucky buggers get your hands on my christmas single for absolutely no pounds and no pence at all (that is for free for the less mathematical amongst you) but as of saturday the previous SoundArt tracks are being uploaded daily over at Ian Byford Art



today being sunday means that both SoundArt1 and SoundArt2 are now available to download, and from around about midnight tonight you'll be able to get your hands on SoundArt3 (and so forth)



now i'm afraid that this can't last forever since at present there are only 6 entries in the SoundArt project available for public consumption... although i am considering rounding off the week with a sneak peak of a slightly incomplete SoundArt7 since i've kept you all waiting so long

www.xmas.com

SoundArt1.mp3

SoundArt2.mp3
Free file hosting from File Den


so don't forget to check Ian Byford Art for the latest downloads, and also for his current Blogmass that will run until christmas with a post every single day up til and including christmas day


and i'm also considering trying to get my arse in gear so i can have a little treat prepared on my blog for christmas....

holidays ain't the only thing thats coming!!

back in march i was blogging about the comic-to-movie Kick-Ass and also felt the need to refer to it as being Kick-Ass, i am over that now, please forgive me, it got old real soon...

anyway, a little while ago this trailer emerged and it was brand new and i was gonna post it right away but i was probably too busy geeking out over something else

so this isn't brand new, but for those that haven't seen it yet, or those that want to indulge themselves again, knock yourself out with this little gem while we await the flick hitting the big screen

save yourself 35p

ok, for those not in the Enfield area or have rubbish delivery people that only decide you get a paper once every three months, there is another option!

here's my best Martin Lewis style money saving tip...

why not read the online edition?

until wednesday you'll be able to load up this weeks paper, flick on over to page 26 and there is my first article in print but not in print, but on your screen

(click here to launch, see how easy i made this for you!!)

and if you're a little late with these things, fear not, they also have an online archive accesible from the same browser loady thing - just look for the edition dated 2.12.09

newsworthy

so did you see it? my first article for The Enfield Advertiser? well of course it was gonna be the music column, what else did you expect from me?

who hasn't seen it? why not, quick run and grab yourself a copy, page 26!
only 35p from our local shops for local people if you haven't had it through your door!

so is this the start of a new rock n roll lifestyle for me? will i be getting recognised in Nandos and Bar form? of course i'll sign your copy of the Enfield Advertiser!! please, no photos tho...

ok, onto the real stuff... i'll be doing my best in a kinda regular monthly-ish slot to expose people to bands that may have passed you by so far, now Flamboyant Bella are definetely no strangers to readers of my blog, but to the rest of enfield?

so lets start righting some wrongs.

here i present the 'director's cut' of the article, ok, some of the writing has a slight whiff of cheddar, but i'm trying to find my feet while ticking all the right boxes that the enfield advertiser reading demographic need ticked, it's a role i'll grow into.. stick with me!



Flamboyant Bella, Upstairs @ The Garage. 23.11.09
or as the paper titled it
For Teenage Kicks This Is Hard To Beat

If you haven't heard of Flamboyant Bella yet, fear not, you are probably not the only one, but lets fix that right now.

The Hertfordshire band have been picking up quite a following as they have bounced around the country getting teens dancing to their unique brand of sex, drugs and synth-pop.

These three guys and one girl are strong supporters of getting kids into their gigs, whether it is ensuring their shows are 14+, arranging special matinee gigs or playing at the Underage Festival earlier this year.

And in return, the youth of the nation have been showing their support for 'Flambo'.

It's perhaps a shame then that their gig last week fell upon a school night as the young four piece were back in North London headlining the intimate Upstairs section of the recently re-opened Highbury Garage venue.

The turn out fell short of previous outings in the capital but Flamboyant Bella still turned on the charm for the diminished yet dedicated crowd.

And it's easy to see why they could still get so excited, because this was nothing like a band playing to an empty room of shy, shuffling foot-tappers, everyone wanting to enjoy this gig was as close as they could possibly get and singing every word back to the band.

Their sound is hard to pin down, a unique amalgamation of pure pop spliced with post-Arctic Monkeys and Libertines indie, with shades of Friendly Fires, Klaxons and Kate Nash bleeding through while their lyrics are brash and acutely honest, yet always delivered with mix of humour and sincerety.

“call me politically incorrect, call me foul mouthed or call it tourettes” – the opening salvo of Sex for Procreation (sadly missing from the night's set) - is a fine example of their wit and attitude and an almost perfect summation of a band with tongue firmly in the cheek of a mouth that needs a good washing out.

This provides the perfect soundtrack to everything being youthful, vibrant and fearless is all about, with the audience dancing around to songs with subject matter that you pray the youngest crowd members have no experience of.

Saving the filthiest for last, Flamboyant Bella finish with the rowdy Absolutely Wankered, that captures the excesses of the 'Skins generation' and has the excitable front rows leaping and chanting the expletive littered lyrics, bringing the short, sweet and suggestive set to a suitably climactic close.

Countdown

this is for those of you that opened the first door on your advent calender today, for those that are willing to start hanging up decorations and get a little festive now that december is finally here. this is for those that have been waiting 11 months so that they can legitimately watch Elf again...

yes. this is my christmas present to you!

my 2008 contribution to the pantheon of christmas songs is available to download all december long, and it won't cost you a penny!

so stick it on your generic mp3 player and give it a spin everytime Mariah and The Pogues get a bit too much for you.

now this may never be as ubiquitous as all the other christmas standards but i would appreciate it if you cared and shared this mp3, tell all your friends, download it for your grandma, demand choirs sing it...

look, i even got naked for the cover of my christmas single...
thats how much i'm willing to suffer for my art...

enjoy.



www.xmas.com
Free file hosting from File Den

i was also considering blogging every day until christmas to rival my brother, but then i decided i wouldn't, so if you wanna see new stuff every day go over there, if you wana see new stuff every few days, stick with me.