S*T*U*F*F* Reloaded

Jacko is on the TV. Mylene Klass is on the TV. La Roux is on the TV.

TV is off…

Sorry for the ridiculous delay in posting - nearly three months. I’m going to adopt the Leo Abrahams model and post once a month… hopefully in that amount of time I can scramble enough hit and miss nonsense to fill a couple of paragraphs, rather than let the blog languish in the appalling void it has become of late.

I love these summer evenings. There’s something really magical about sitting out in a suburban London garden at night after one of those super-warm days. A smell, a gentle drift of wind and sound, windows open in the neighbourhood. If you have a fine Scotch in hand, it only serves to accentuate the joy of this banal beauty. The rain will come back and it will return to what is more familiar, but I’ve enjoyed the heatwave. Plus it made Wimbledon all the more magical.

So what news? On the music front, its been cool. I’ve been getting quite excited about doing some more stuff recently - from getting guitars out and practicing, to working with Apple demonstrating MainStage, to producing and mixing some new stuff for myself and some others… and MONIO (more in a sec).

I was very inspired after working - albeit briefly - with Foy on his EPs. I just found a clarity in helping Foy complete the work himself… that’s all it took. He acknowledged it with the lovely gesture of giving me copies 1/1000 of both the EPs… which I found very moving.

I am delighted an idea of mine from years ago - MONIO :: Music Of Northern Irish Origin (yes, its a twist on MOBO :: Music Of Black Origin) - has taken shape and become a real living, breathing festival taking place in Belfast in August.

I got as far as doing a rather poor site, but came up with a logo that I thought worked quite well. But that’s as far as I got. You know how it goes - other stuff just takes over and before you know where you are, these cool ideas are under a pile. However, that rather compelling chap by the name of Foy Vance would just never let me forget it, would never lie down and let the concept die, and the engine in the operation has been provided by the mighty Paul Hamilton. Its pleasing that we were all in Foy’s band for a while, and are good mates… and Paul’s skills in just making things happen have been in force in no small measure.

David Holmes is headlining the first night, Iain Archer the second, and some other excellent acts are lined up - Wallis Bird, The 4 Of Us, Ed Zealous, And So I Watch You From Afar, Five Ants… the list goes on. There’s more on this over at the official MONIO website, so I shan’t go on too much. For me personally its been quite a journey listening to the music of all the bands taking part. I knew there was some serious talent spilling out of Belfast, but I really wasn’t aware of the extent - so many great bands with attitude, vibe and some great songs and playing. I want the MONIO site to become a real showcase for all that over the next 12 months or so.

Alan van Kleef and I have been back at the desk mixing a new record for Burning Codes which is to be released later this summer. I worked with Alan during the mixing of Sayonara Deadweight, and it was just great fun… so I was delighted when he came on board for “The Codes”. Jules Maxwell and I produced the record together on our Wednesday night rendezvous up at the studio - tremendously free sessions using Paul Archer’s original vocals but writing and recording completely new arrangements from scratch to explore the beauty of Paul’s work. The first mix was completed last night and I’m genuinely really happy with how it is sounding.

I did some backing vocals for what I think is a cracking new track by Leo Abrahams. His new album is going to be stunning - if the songs I’ve heard are anything to go by. I shan’t say any more, as I’m not sure he’s ready to talk about it yet.

I have also been working on some of my own stuff. The core of the material is what started life as the “cinematic playout” from Sayonara Deadweight that Jules (as producer) ultimately decided would not be a part of the album - a good decision, I think. But its making for a fun and groove-filled piece of work now. I’m releasing it for free, hopefully in August, as an application.

Web-wise, things have been busy at G-RAFF as we are preparing to deploy a nice little app for Hotels.com as well as finishing some other stuff that’s been in the pipeline for months. I’m hoping for a lull in the workload so I can brush up on some new skills and, like every other self-respecting developer, learn how to code iPhone apps. I insisted about 4 years ago that all albums would be released as apps eventually, and I still think I can see it coming. As someone who loves both music and coding, I am excited about trying to do some cool things in this sphere.

TV is back on. My wife is watching a replay of the tennis final from today - awesome stuff. Congratulations to Mr Federer, the physical poet of the grass court. It was a very enjoyable match, during which my father, missus and I consumed nearly a whole bottle of Pimms (the cucumber and fresh mint mix - the best in my opinion). Game, set & match…