Editorials

Splashing In The Sea – By George Langridge

Editorials

Last week I found myself in Menorca, well I say found, I mean went on a family holiday, where I spent ages taking photographs.

Soaking Up The Sights

I spent a good while flicking through the folder before actually being able to decide on ten photographs, so here are three of those.

I started with this photograph because it is that classic/vintage European bicycle and small street combination. I thought this almost represented the entire set of photographs. Just before I took this, a little old Menorcan woman got off of this bike and walked in to the bakery opposite. For this photograph I thought the rule of thirds needed to be followed here as to not give an ‘over importance’ to the bicycle. When I imported this in to Lightroom I think I made around six or seven virtual copies and spent an entire afternoon just playing with them.

On the north coast of Menorca there is a small fishing village named Fornells, here the coast-line is very rocky and can be a little rough at times. After about five or so minutes of burst shooting I finally got a decent breaker shot. I thought it was stunning, especially relative to the coast two or three miles along where it is complete calm. In Lightroom I didn’t actually have that much that needed to be done to make this remarkable photograph. I think all I did was pop the vibrancy, drop the highlights and add some contrast whilst crushing the blacks ever so slightly.

This photograph was taken in Cuitedella, the old capital city, which was the most traditional Menorcan/Spanish city/town that we had come across. It is safe to say that I had an absolute treat of a day here, with its purposely narrow streets and hidden shops and large houses. This photograph in particular I wish I had spent longer composing the shot and maybe coming out from 24mm to 18mm. As far as editing this photograph I think all I did was fiddle with the shadows and vibrancy.

I am always excited to hear feedback from anyone.

Please check out my Flickr -where you can find more of the photographs from my recent trip- and enjoy.

Select pieces of my work are available to purchase on Redbubble, please check it out. I do vary which photographs are available at different times during the year. If there is a specific image you would like to purchase, drop me an email: georgelangridge95@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter/Instagram: @georgelangridge

Remember to enter the ‘Creatabot Creatives Competition‘

Stories we tell ourselves – by Jane Ayres

Editorials

Writers think instinctively in terms of narrative, of story.  It’s how we make sense of the world.  The brain, our computer, processes what we see, feel, hear and looks for meaning in this input, based on our internal database of past experiences, of what has already been recorded and stored.

“Our brain casts us as ‘the protagonist’ and then edits our experience with cinema-like precision, creating logical interrelations, mapping connections between memories, ideas, and events for future reference.  Story is the language of experience.”

(Quote from Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron, Ten Speed Press.)

A story isn’t just about an event, a drama, a character.  It’s about how what happens affects that character and changes them, however subtle or enormous that change.  At the end of the story, things will never be the same.  A story is life.  Life is a story.

We learn from stories and engaging with characters, real or imagined, teaches us about ourselves.

Many people have a profound need to seek solutions and resolutions, to solve the puzzle that is our life, and I wonder if this need is enhanced in those driven to create.  We can explore this desire and feed this compulsion through our work, our stories.  Our therapy and remedy. Imagination is both a blessing and a curse. Reading other people’s stories, whether through fiction, painting, photography, film, music, is just as vital in helping us understand our own stories.

Maybe it explains the human instinct to document, record and collect.  By compiling evidence of your existence, you are assembling your story, or stories, proving that these things happened.  It is saying to yourself and the world; I am, I was.

The phenomenal success of Facebook testifies the depth of this need.  Author Jonathan Franzen is quoted as saying,

“We star in our own movies, we photograph ourselves incessantly, we click the mouse and a machine confirms our sense of mastery….. It’s all one big endless loop. We like the mirror and the mirror likes us.”

The revolution that is the internet has changed the world, presenting us with a dazzling array of creative tools and distribution channels.  We all have a story to tell, to share with the world.  And now all of us can.

By Jane Ayres

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Take A Little Trip – By George Langridge

Editorials

I did have an amazing set of photographs set for this article, however, my laptop decided to die on me. I have decided to use these photographs as they show some amazing sights and it is an insight to my childhood.

A few months ago I took a trip to the north of Wales with my grand-parents. As always I had my camera by my side. So much countryside and fresh air, always good for the lungs.

Wait, Why Is It So Cold Up Here?

 I decided that I would take a walk after dinner – got me out of washing up. Next to where we where staying was a mountain that I used to always climb and walk when I was a kid. This time I had a camera, so I could remember what it looked like – some day I won’t get to go again. All I had on me was a 18-55mm lens, not great for landscapes, but what a view.

Near where we stay is a town called Barmouth, I’d say it is the main town in that area. Connecting the two sides of the estuary is this old rail and foot bridge, as I was walking down to cross it I looked in to my viewfinder and immediately shot this. I believe this bridge is roughly 1 mile long. I just love the detail in this photograph, when I was editing it I noticed there is actually a man walking on the mountain in the background.

This particular image is available to purchase HERE along with a few other pieces of my work although I do vary which images are available from time to time. I have also submitted it to the BBC’s Countryfile competition.

Further down the path I took this quick photograph, although I wish I had spent more time composing it. I think it shows how long it actually is. I went for the de-saturated look as it complemented the previous photograph and it kind of showed the bridge’s age and time. If I had properly framed this I think it would have been ‘awesome’.

For the full resolution photographs and more visit my Flickr. If you like any of my photographs and would like to purchase a print copy email me at: georgelangridge95@gmail.com

Twitter/Instagram: @georgelangridge

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Tick Tock – By Jane Ayres

Editorials

All rights reserved by picasnpoints

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted.”

This quote, attributed to John Lennon, will resonate with many creatives, especially writers. For some, myself included, writing seems to lend itself to procrastination (a wonderful word!). When you are exploring creative ideas, no time is ever wasted, since your mind is always active, always filtering possibilities, even if subconsciously.

But when you put off writing by doing some other, apparently unrelated task, it can lead to feelings of guilt and frustration. That you have wasted that precious commodity which we label “time.” We are taught that time should be used productively. We segment and categorise time into minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years.

I’ve always had a problematic relationship with time, resenting the way it dictates how we organise our lives. As a child and teenager, I railed against clocks, which may explain my poor timekeeping. (The expression “keeping” time is strange, it being a fluid concept that cannot be stopped or controlled. As the saying goes, “time waits for no man.”)

We are ruled by clocks. Society assumes that our time should be earmarked and that most of it (and our lives) should be spent on work, doing a paid job. And then, if any of it is left, (which we call “spare time”) we fill it with hobbies or leisure pursuits. So it is all used up. Time is a commodity and spare time is a luxury, a privilege. Does this belief system make any sense?

Having worked for an employer for most of my life, I have had to find ways to build in more time to write. For many years, this involved some very early mornings and writing most weekends and evenings. I frequently complained to anyone who would listen that there simply weren’t enough hours in the day. Yet, when, for a brief period, I did actually have some unscheduled time, how ironic that I was unable to motivate myself to produce anything worthwhile. Maybe, for some, working under pressure to a deadline, whether external or self-imposed, assists the creative process. So perhaps we can use the segmenting of time to our advantage.

Art forms such as music and film exist and move through and with time, whereas painting and writing can freeze time to create a snapshot, like a photograph.

Strangely, as you grow older, time goes faster, or so it seems. A panic sets in, that life is slipping away, and the need to create and produce becomes more urgent. Or are these just the ramblings of an ageing, fifty year old writer?

Only time will tell……

By Jane Ayres

www.janeayres.blogspot.co.uk

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 4: Making Sense Of Social Media – By Luke Crook

Editorials

So, one of THE most important parts of being successful either as a band, a label or even a brand is how you connect with your fan base and demographic. Despite what people say, there are pretty much 2 major ways of getting in touch with your fan base to let them know what’s happening, Facebook & Twitter. Most of the courses I end up on are either about Social Media full stop, or have a massive section dedicated to it.

It’s all about social media. You can’t get away from it, try as you might. The problem is, both the main social media platforms operate completely differently so different strategies are needed. Twitter never changes. 140 unadulterated characters of text to use and abuse as best you can, tag people in it and share that Instagram photo of your dog with your sunglasses on (don’t deny it, we’ve all thought about it). Facebook allows you to present music, videos, photos, competitions and all sorts of lovely things internally (you don’t have to leave Facebook to see them), but the buggers keep changing the format every 4 months, and by the time you’ve worked it out, they sweep the rug out from under you and change it all. Not to mention all their restrictions on advertising inside the website. Don’t put anything in your bands cover photo that tells someone where to buy a product. Facebook will take your page down without telling you. By all means say its out or available though! They do however have some insanely good (albeit slightly 1984/Orwellian) marketing devices. We’ll get to that later.

There are, of course, other ways of engaging your fans. That lovely website you spent £4k on development and that amazing feature that no-one else has done yet for example. The problem is, you’ll find it very quickly becomes a holding page for you to link to from your Facebook/Twitter account (We were actually talking about this in the office after I wrote this). However, it is an amazing way to archive your work and keep things neatly organized in a way that other places don’t. A good example is your gig list. Myspace makes it looks ugly in my opinion and that puts people off reading it. Keep it on your website, drive a bit of traffic that way and lay it out in a way you would like to see it. It’s your website after all!

Also, lets not forget the newsletter. Now this is still pretty effective, just don’t ever look at the stats, they’ll depress you. If memory serves, the average for people opening the email sits at about 9% and the average people that actually click a link in your newsletter is about 2/3%. Most good newsletter systems will give you a link to your newsletter too, so you can share it around to people to read in their browser. Some will even allow you to link up your Facebook or Twitter (Starting to see a trend here yet?) so you can spread the word further. Completely customisable from layout to content, its yours to design and make.

Now the major advantage of Facebook is the marketing aspect. No other social media does it as well, so if you’re looking to make some money and sell some product, its the place to be. Their marketing ability is spectacular, if not slightly bloody scary. The beauty of it is, is that you can spend as little as you like on it. £5, see how it does. If it does well, pump some more money in. If it doesn’t, you’ve only spent a fiver. You can tailor it to a fine point too. Target people that like similar pages. Show the punter that their friend likes that page too. The scariest aspect of it though, is the way you can target advertise through keywords. There’s a little text box in the Ad’s section where you can tap in keywords that, if people mention it in their status, relevant Adverts will start appearing in their news feed. “Oh fudge, I broke my bike chain” will soon become a little square box on the right hand ad feed saying “Cheap bike repairs in Chatham”. Incredibly clever, but a bit creepy at the same time. (It’s worth mentioning that you can turn all of this off, but it’s a bit of a ball ache (surprise surprise). It’s your privacy, think about it.)

So there’s a bit of an intro into Social Media. You might notice its heavily Facebook based, but that’s where you have to most control over what you can do. Twitter is much more to the point, so it’s fairly straightforward. Facebook is where you’ll make money from driving sales.

Oh, a few final things in this whirlwind social media ride, which were in fact my point in writing a blog on the topic.

There’s a technique that has various names but I’ll call it The Rule Of Thirds here. It’s very simple, and will prevent you losing followers and likes (although its rather difficult to mass unlike things on Facebook. Another advantage…). Don’t constantly spam your demographic with messages to buy your wares. People will quickly grow tired of this, especially Twitter followers (Twitter followers are much less forgiving than Facebook Followers. They tend to be a lot savvier and will drop you like a stone). So the trick is to make roughly every third message a marketing one. Buy the album, get my tour tickets, blah. Every third is also a minimum. I try and go for every five or six personally. Don’t forget to reward either. Free tracks or posters or a personal video of the band saying “HI WERE ON TOUR!!!!!  *cough*to support our new album*cough*” work very well, people love them, and are technically marketing without shoving it in the consumers face. Also, keep it relevant and not stream of consciousness type barrage of messages.

Which leads me into my final point. Keep it personal. If it sounds like you are directly talking to that fan, they’ll like it more. Now, for a label or a brand I can appreciate that might be a bit tricky, but for an artist its imperative. Make it first person. I can’t stress this enough. You do NOT want to make it sound like someone is writing your tweets for you. Don’t con your fans. One of them will work out that you can’t have tweeted that, because you were either onstage or being interviewed live. They are much smarter than you think. If it is someone else doing it for you/them, set up a little system that lets the fan know when its you and with its you’re assistant (E.g. Tom Cruise. His Tweets end TC, his teams end TCHQ…I think. You get the point.).

So there you go. A quick, scatterbrained take on social media. Feel free to leave any questions below and I’ll try and dig the answer out of my seminar notes! I’ll come back later with another article about social media thats a bit more targeted, but this should (hopefully) get you moving in the right direction.

By Luke Crook

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‘Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea’ – Unique Exhibition In Bexhill – 7th July to 1st October 2012

Creative and Art Events, Editorials

Having a dad who loves the brilliant well known film ‘The Italian Job’ I was dragged down to the de la warr pavilion in Bexhill this weekend. However, what I was to find was not a ‘dull’ art exhibition, but a full size bus hanging off the roof.

Taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

From the 7th July throughout summer this year the exhibition on the roof on the pavilion is art inspired by the final scene of the movie ‘The Italian Job’. Commission by Richard Wilson, sculptor Richard Wilson’s work fills the roof for a very action packed photograph. Known as his most ‘daring work’ the bus is a replica on the coach in the film balanced on the roof and moving to really resemble the finally scene of the classic film.

Inside the pavilion is details about how the coach was put up and some details on the film. All I really felt this needed to improve the experience was some blinds on the coach as the windows are instead blurred out to make it really look like a model, where instead I feel they could have gone all out to make it look like a real coach. Although driving up to it was scary enough to make anyone believe it was about to fall!

The best part, it’s free and you get a lovely view of Bexhill!

Photo taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

Photo taken by Alice Stansfield, 08/07/2012

Also inside the pavilion are other art exhibition rooms. Gallery 1, which is open to September 16th, is titled ‘Everything Flows: the art of getting in the zone’. It features ‘moving image works’ inspired by succeeding in sport, again all free with the option to give a donation for more things like this to happen.

You can always finish the day in the cafe or on the beach. A lovely day out this summer for all the family, as they say.

By Alice Stansfield.

The ‘Hang On A Minute Lads, I’ve Got A Great Idea’ is on exhibition until 1st October 2012 – for more information please visit 

http://www.dlwp.com/event/richard-wilson2

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood vlogger: http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback:  @hislittleemoo

Email me for anything extra: aostansfield@hotmail.co.uk

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A Jack Of All Trades – By Emily Foster

Editorials

This week at work I got into a spot of bother with my boss. He was concerned that I had been potentially sharing insider information on Limehouse Books, telling the secrets of our trade. He was annoyed because I had told people that last week, instead of working, we spent a day cleaning his flat.

Now, I should stress that I did volunteer to help him with the task. On Saturday night he hosted the Limehouse Summer party, and it was me who insisted his flat was at least vacuumed before people could be allowed in. The tidying was necessary to fit us all in. Cleaning the kitchen was just for extra sparkle.

However the experience did make me think about all the other things I do at Limehouse Books, as well as being a designer. Working for such a small company, the more you can learn a little bit of everything, the better. And, as always, there is lots to learn.

By Zfaerman

There’s fun stuff, like organising events and press coverage. This covers most of our marketing and publicity side of things – attending networking events, forging partnerships with other organisations to host events with (for wider audience reach), finding and contacting new ways to gain press coverage through newspapers, magazines, radio.

Being trained in the editorial side of things means I get to be a lot more involved in book projects than just coming from the designer’s perspective. This includes proofreading and editing at the early stages – later everything is proof read professionally by a freelancer.

Then there’s bookkeeping and managing invoices. You’d think that with such a small company keeping track of the finances would be easy, but this is much more effort than you think. We use online bookkeeping software.

There’s other little tasks that keep cropping up too: posting on Facebook and Twitter; attending meetings and liaising with anyone involved in a project, from printers to authors and potential clients; submitting books for awards; responding to any queries.

As you can see, there’s lots to do. It’s hard work, but varied, engaging and, most of the time, fun. Apart from the cleaning… 

By Emily Foster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

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MUNGA – By Alice Stansfield

Editorials

“Nations shall not lift Sword against Nation Neither shall they learn War any more”  Micah 4:3

Although the title could stand for many things it actually stands for: Model United Nations General Assembly.

The event took place at Uckfield Community Technology College, one of the only colleges that holds a MUNGA for their sixth form students,  on Friday 29th June. After a few days of research preparation for the students, and a quite a few weeks of preparing the event by staff, it all came together. The event allows students to learn the process of debating and research into sections known as resolutions: Universal Primary Education; Gender Equality; Environmental Sustainability; Crime and Punishment; and Migration. Each group of students had a country they had to research, for example I was a delegate for Russia and then was in the Environmental Sustainability resolution.

After a welcome by Principal and Secretary General and opening statements from delegates, resolution debating sessions began. Separated from teams and put into rooms with nobody else from your country meant you had to know your stuff! Promoted by a member of staff, known as the Chairman of the debate, students promptly began debating.

As an example of what happen in the rooms,  the Environmental Sustainability debate began strongly ,promoted by the Chairman Chris Brooks, focussing on ‘further demands that Japan stops hunting whales and fishing on industrial levels using factory ships worldwide’ due to the destruction it causes. The delegate from Japan (Will Baker) began to debate why what they do is a good thing compared to other situations that other countries cause, but the delegates from China (Luke Lee Brewin) and Palestine (Jack Ashdown) demanded there be a change. After much debate of what needed to be done the resolution was changed to say it would be revisited in a few years. From this the students learnt how to debate and how a MUNGA is normally run where resolutions can be changed.

Thankful for a large buffet lunch provided by the college, students returned to the main hall to report back what had happened in separate resolutions and then begin debating as a whole country about Human Rights. Palestine, China, America, Russia and Israel were big speakers in the hall, along with other countries, on debating the issue of differences in Human Rights. The Secretary General ran the debate and helped organise the students to debate towards changing resolutions in order of what the majority voted for.

On Monday 2nd July students were presented in assembly with certificates for the day with thanks to them and all the staff who helped out with the event, which occurs annually and is a great event to learn new skills, information and to add to CV’s. The day had clearly been a success with comments it has been ‘The best we’re ever had’, but will they top it next year?

Special thanks have to go to Mr Williams, Mr Simmons and all the teachers who were Chairman’s and assistant chairman’s on the day.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger! http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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Wild Whispers: The Diary of a Filmmaker – Episode 1

Editorials

It dawned on my fairly recently what a long hard struggle it is being an independent artist, possible more so being an independent filmmaker.  I thought, if only I REALLY knew what it was like in the world of filmmaking would I have done things differently?  I’m not sure.   In these articles I will document how things are in the indie film world.  I plan to shoot a feature next summer.  Will it happen?  HOW will it happen?  Well, dear reader, with any luck you shall be privy to the process, the ups and downs, the ins and out, the triumph and despair of such ventures.

I first decided I wanted to become a filmmaker when I was at college.  For a while before that I knew that I didn’t quite think in the same way as my peers.  I think I wanted to be a pop star but not playing an instrument, being able to write a song or even hold a tune put paid to that.  Then I saw a few films that left a mark on me.  I saw how film was going to become my form of expression.  It was more than that though.  It wasn’t just about telling a story, it was about creating a FEELING.  Even now, I’m not interested in art that just tells stories or in art for art’s sake.  I need to discover a FEELING.  I think that’s it, my overriding desire as a filmmaker is to create a feeling in films.  That’s the only way I can explain it, at least for now.

My first thoughts were ‘how will I make it in this industry?’  A mistaken thought.  There is no film ‘industry’.  Hasn’t been for a long time.  Not in the UK anyway.  Eventually I realised that there are creative people who work on films and filmmakers who create films from the bottom to the top.  I realised, after a brief flirtation in the erm, ‘industry’ that it was the latter camp I fell into.  So from now on it was a case of working full time to pay the bills but filmmaking was always my REAL career.

And that’s when the dawn hit me.  I was an outsider.  My role was to pull various fragments together from inside my head and from the real word to make things happen.    Years of hard work, years of working as an outsider to, well, pretty much everything.  The long slog.  This is a potted history, I will reveal more about these films, and the process of making them, over time.  First up, I made a few short films with varying degrees of success.  No funding, just using what was available to me.  Even back then it became fairly clear to me that public funding was a tricky issue.  I don’t have anything against public funding at all.  It is fairly obvious that it’s a deeply flawed system though.  Still, that’s a discussion for another day.

After a while it dawned on me that I needed to make a feature film.  Public funding simply wouldn’t be forthcoming for what I wanted to do so I set off to the Arctic to make a documentary about life up there.  How does that work?  Well, I volunteered for a charity and that effectively paid for my film.  The in-kind budget was around 10,000UKP.  Naturally, as is the way being an indie, I did the project for free.  Which was fair enough, of course, nobody asked me to do it.  It was my own project.  The film took some time to edit but ‘East 3 – Exploring a Frozen Frontier’ premiered in New York in 2007, went onto play in Chicago, toured the UK and then screened on UK television.  I was even interviewed about it on BBC Newsroom South East.

A few more short films followed (by now I was getting better at promoting them and they were all broadcast on UK TV).  The method and philosophy remained the same, shoot with what I had to hand, create a feeling.  This year I realised I had gone as far as I could with my old short films and so packaged them up into a compilation DVD ‘Caged Fire – The Short Films of Mr Young’  It felt right to say goodbye to these films as I now need to focus on a new set of objectives.  Yes, more short films but a feature film too.

Now, we come too making the second feature.  This time, a narrative film.  The question is, ‘how does one get from where I am now to making a feature length story?’  Will it even work out?  I have no idea.  Not yet.   I guess this diary will reveal all.

So, would I have done things differently?  I doubt it.  It’s very hard but also very rewarding when you follow your own path.  Right now the only genuine path for the independent filmmaker is the one you make yourself.  It’s a wild path with only whispers in the wind to help.  With any luck though I might see some paths that have been cleared already and I certainly hope, with the wise and not so wise words in this diary, I may just clear a path or two for you.

You can buy both  ’East 3 – Exploring a Frozen Frontier’ and ‘Caged Fire – The Short Films of Mr Young’ here:

www.themoontheeye.co.uk/onlinestore

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 3 : Pitching To A Record Label

Editorials

So, we’ve covered a few bits about the thought process that goes into getting a record onto iTunes and into shops and also sourcing and producing artwork for the release.

Next up, I want to touch on Press Releases and Biographies. Record labels receive bucket loads of these together with a CD attached. Some are good. Some are ok. Some are downright awful!

Now, for those of you that don’t know, a Press Release is a piece of paper that contains a brief overview of the release you are trying to push out to media or radio or labels. Every release we do at the label has a press release to go with it, telling whoever reads it about the release, collaborators, interesting facts and angles, and also a little bit about the band too. Traditionally these are usually written up by the Print (Magazines/Newspapers) PR company you have on board to work the release. Throw a photo in if you like and you’re sorted.

A Biography is just that. A history of the band or act written by someone else. A page long should suffice, but obviously it all depends on how long the subjects of it have been going. Be honest, big yourself up and try and get someone outside of the band to write it. An impartial biography reads much better than a fan boy one.

Of course, if you’re signed to a label or management, then you don’t really need to worry about this, as someone else will be writing all these up for you. However, if like most of the examples I receive you’re unsigned and doing it yourselves, here are a few pointers for you, from what I’ve seen.

Press Releases/Biog

  • Keep them to the point. By all means, shout to the heavens about your achievements; you’ve got every right. Just don’t waffle. Lots of indie labels run small crews, so a 4 page copy about your band is not a smart move. Keep the meat of your text somewhere on your website or Facebook page where someone can find it, and make your press release interesting so people want to find out more.
  • Appearance and presentation. Humans make first impressions on another person in under a second or something ridiculous like that. Same theory applies when you submit your info to a label. I have received a press release written in crayon (by what appeared to be a 4 year old) on lined Winnie The Pooh paper (I think) with cut outs of the bands photos thrown in for good measure. Arty, yes. Easy to read, No. By all means be inventive and creative. You want to stand out. Just don’t make it difficult to read. The best one I have seen had a brief hand written hello, press release, a biography and upcoming gig dates with a sticker, a CD and some badges.
  • If you can afford to or you think it might help, throw in a few gig tickets. Personally, I will always try to at least make it to the show if someone sends some tickets through the post to us about their band. I’m a musician, and tickets are income. So if they’re prepared to lose £12 and send a few tickets through, I personally am more likely to go and watch. It’s a nice gesture.
  • Emails. We live in a digital age. However, here are a few tips for you guys sending links about over email…
    • DON’T ATTACH YOUR MUSIC FILES TO THE EMAIL! Trying to download 45.3MB of attachments is not only annoying; it slows down receiving the rest of your emails. Link to your Soundcloud/Band Camp/Myspace.
    • Write a bit more than “Hey, listen to my band. Thanks, J. Bloggs”. Throw a bit of your bio in, leave a few links to music and gigs and videos. Don’t drown the email with words, but give us some assets.
    • This is an important one. Don’t, for love of all that is good and tasty in the world, paste 300 email addresses into your “To:” or “CC:” section. Use BCC, A.K.A. Blind Copy. It sends the email to everyone, but the recipients don’t see the 299 other labels you’ve sent your band to. Personalization is key here. Talk to us directly, not a blanket “Hi guys…”.

I hope this helps you guys out when it comes to trying to pimp your band out to labels or management. I will leave you with one, final piece of advice.

Know what label you are sending music to. Sunday Best are traditionally Leftfield, Hip-Hop, Dance, and Indie with bands like Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Dub Pistols, Max Sedgley, and Beardyman. For example, the death metal band who sent me a CD of music for our consideration, I enjoyed. Next time though, send it to Earache or Nuclear Blast, you might get a better response. KNOW YOUR TARGET!

By Luke Crook

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A Medway Vision Special – Why Medway Needs a Film Festival

Editorials

Yes, I know.  I’m a filmmaker.  It’d be strange if I DIDN’T want a film festival in Medway.  But the fact is, Medway needs a film festival and what’s more there are some very pertinent reasons why:

1/  Strategy – One of Medway council’s priorities is to harness the creative industries to bring cash and other nice things into the area.  What better way to do that than to set-up a festival that draws punters in and gets them drinking and eating in local venues?  Good for creativity, good for the local economy.

2/  Skills sharing – It’s not just about money either.  It’s about building confidence, skills, pride and hearing voices.  Local people from all walks of life can get involved, from the volunteers who help set it up to the local talent who can display their hard work.  Alongside this, local and not so local filmmakers can share skills with a variety of local communities in order to develop voices, to develop the Medway story, if you will.

3/   Special times, special measures – As I have been arguing in these articles, Medway is in a special place artistically right now.  This needs to be capitalised on.  Film festivals mean creative guests, means more networking, means more creativity.  It’s a win, win situation.

4/  Prestige – Most self-respecting places the size of Medway have film festivals.  And I believe we are more creative than most.  Many of these festivals start off small, some even remain small.  But the point is, knowing your town will be hosting a selection of the best moving pictures from around the world AND running them side by side with local work that’s equally as effecting can only be a good thing.

5/  Promoting and watching film – I don’t mean the standard Odeon fare.  That’s easy to see.  Just go to the Odeon or pop the tele on if that’s your bag.  I mean the more leftfield stuff, the challenging films that build from the film festivals to become important pieces of cinema.  Surely we want to be part of that?  Surely we want access to films not available at the cinema chains?

6/  Education – What better way to convince the next generation, or even this generation of film fans, that there is more to life than chain cinema films?  Independent features, international documentaries, short films, music videos…you can almost taste the excitement can’t you?

7/ It’s already started – Yeah, I couldn’t resist.  I’ve already set up the webpage www.medwayvisions.tumblr.com in the hope that the creative people of Medway come on board and that the audience will be willing to come and watch.  My film company The Moon The Eye will run the show but I can’t do it on my own.  Heck, I wouldn’t even want to try.  It needs people, organisations on board to lend a hand in whatever way they know how.  Yes, it NEEDS you.  It’s here, but it will only work if we ALL get involved.

So, who’s with me?

.

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Mr Young

Limehouse Design : This Is What I Do – By Emily Foster

Editorials

As a fellow creative, you will understand that not everybody understands us.

Since finishing university and making my first proper steps into the world of work, I am often asked what it is I do now. For an elderly relative, it is enough to state briefly that I am working in publishing (books have been around a long time). For my friends outside of the creative industry, this might not be enough; to them, I am the Graphic Designer, and sole creative person of the group. Even though they’re not sure what this truly means, the title seems to satisfy them.

But none of this is enough for my creative friends, nor enough for the Creatabot readers, I feel. The other creatives always seem to ask more questions; they need to know exactly what and how and why. They need the specifics. Luckily, ours is a sharing community, so here I plan to share exactly what it is I do, design-wise, at Limehouse Books.

So what is it that I do? And what does that involve?

First, the obvious. I create covers, and lay out the text, of the books. This involves some direction from my boss, the Managing Director of Limehouse Books. It involves accurate page sizes with bleeds and margins, and exporting to pdfs. It involves liaising with printers and pre-press teams who check (note: check, not fix) your file for you.

What else? There’s design for a purely digital purpose. The Limehouse magazine, for example, which is released online-only, and various digital catalogues. All of these can be seen here: http://www.slideshare.net/limehousebooks. There’s also a few other, little pieces that need to be done. Creating pack shots of books to go on our website, for example, or making an advert as a banner to go on another website. A desktop wallpaper, an event flyer, a cover image for Facebook.

However, all this stuff is still pretty standard. Loads of other companies manage their own creative output just fine. One of the hardest things about working for Limehouse is that we don’t do this with an experienced production team. We do this just us. Just me – the fresh-faced design graduate, not too much experience but eager to learn – and the Managing Director – smart but still doesn’t understand what a baseline grid is.

This sometimes makes for a very scary working day. At the moment we are preparing our next VIB – Very Important Book – to send to print. This project is different as we are producing it in collaboration with another company – so there are more people to potentially disappoint. If this wasn’t enough, we are printing not our usual two thousand copies, but ten thousand copies of this book. If this goes wrong, it will be all our (read: my) fault.

And why am I telling you all this?

I share all this for you to understand. If you feel like you’re in over your head – don’t worry, so do we. We learn as we go along. Being a designer, especially at Limehouse, is much more than knowing Indesign inside out. It’s about having motivation, about listening and learning all the time. Half of what I do now, I didn’t even dream of this time last year. And I hope I still feel the same in another year’s time. 

By Emily Foster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

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Tea presents: Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society – 16 June 2012

Editorials

There is something about small venues and they don’t come much smaller than the cellar of the Singapora Lounge in Rochester. TEA presented an excellent evening of guttural blues-rock form Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society, stomping through a set to launch their new album ‘On The Brink Of Misadventure.’ Ably supported by somewhat settled hobo, William Harper, they created an oasis from the football and towiesque pseudo-hell usually occupying this part of town. Surveying a catalogue of slide, picked and thumping numbers, whilst haunting the dimly lit nowhere, the band mesmerised an audience set on looking beyond an easily packaged night out.

The brutal cry of ‘Decimation’ leapt out from the set, calling us all back to the workhouse on a well deserved Friday night, as Mr Turner threw aside his megaphone to focus on some thorough guitar beating.

Rochester has been in dire need of an alternative High Street venue. Somewhere unshackled from the zombie march towards clubland, and although a cellar full of music lovers might seem a small start, there is hope below ground.

More about Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society can be found at http://www.myspace.com/stuartjamesturner

By Roy Smith

www.royalansmith.co.uk

Area : South East

Life Powered By Caffeine and Other Things That Inspire Me – By George Langridge

Editorials

I thought I would share with you what inspires me to photograph. Also I thought I would tell you what my personal photographic interests are.

What Makes My Mind Tick

When I am out shooting (imagine it now, a mop headed teenager with a Nikon strap) I am inspired by a huge variety of things. These things change depending on what I am shooting – if shooting to a brief or challenging myself -. If I am shooting street photography I grab my inspiration from people and the streets around me.

Space and Stall.

This shot I took in Camden Market sums up my street inspiration almost perfectly, notice the small details on his desk. Also his little hiding spot. I thought this was a great shot, personally. The shot kind of incorporates this man’s culture and habits/way of life as well as this 1/250th of a second.

My main influence is people and animals. I mean, every person that walks past must have a story. What has just happened to them? Where are they going? Where have they just come from? I think I have developed a huge number of scripts/story outlines based on this curiosity.

What’s his story?

This image really shows my inspiration in people. I think I actually planned a script around this particular cyclist. This man must have a story, similar to this photo. Other than my usual inspirations I had started a competition with a friend, to see who could get the most candid photos – I think I won. My favourite part to this photograph other than the man on the bike (well framed if I say so myself ) is the people walking along the path behind him, I think it reminds you that it is real life and that life continues outside of the image.

My inspiration does not stop at people and animals, I am also inspired by beauty and interpretative beauty.

Interpretative beauty.

I would class this image as interpretative beauty because it has no immediate subject -as such- and it is something that most people over look. In reality I believe that the little things are just as beautiful as the bigger things.

Give Me A Choice

Personally, I love to photograph people, not portraits, more candid and street. I really enjoy the rush and context of a candid and street photograph. It is also a great way to kill a few hours watching people without just watching.

I was recently given an old Pentax MX (35mm film) which I have only just found some batteries for, now I am itching to get it in to my kit bag and shoot. With its 50mm prime lens, I think it will be coming to London with me next time. If you have any suggestions on good places to shoot candid or street, get in touch or leave a comment.

@georgelangridge

I am looking to improve my portrait photography, if you are interested in being a model for a day drop me a tweet – Medway Towns Only.

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‘A Monster Hit’ – Review of Frankenstein

Editorials

That quote as the title, taken from ‘Time Out’ does not give justice to the amazement my eyes just saw. I have just witnessed the encore screening of Danny Boyle’s adaptation for the stage of ‘Frankenstein’ shown at Uckfield Picture House and other cinemas across the UK as part of the National Theatre.

Mary Shelly’s original is undoubtably a narrative beyond its time and Boyle’s new creation creates a distort and unbelievable production. The staging is original, unique and so simple it’s complex. I say this because of the limited props on stage at any time, but how this created a new world to the audience to view moveable scenery, a revolving stage and a forever flowing performance scene after scene.

Now I only say this on screen of the live performance and not the physical experience of being there myself, much as I would have love to. But this opportunity put forward by the National Theatre is one to take advantage of! Especially for a drama and media student like myself. Starring the remarkable Benedict Cumberbatch, who you and I must love from ‘Sherlock’, this brings him into a new level of powerful acting. I saw him as the monster, but the actor himself changes roles on performances with the incredible Jonny Lee Miller. Both actors were like brothers, but the creature and the creator portrayed some of the best acting I have ever seen. Once the play had finished I realised I was actually in a cinema and not caught up in a corrupt cruel world.

Studying the gothic genre in English Literature this year I will luckily be studying Frankenstein and find this an inspiration to my work and a starting point for what I think will become one of my most passionately loved stories. I recommend to you all to see this if you have a chance: or any of the National Theatre plays, it’s a whole new experience and revolution in what on-screen and in theatre can create, where will we go next?

On the official website I looked up whether a DVD of the production will be made:

‘We have no plans to release a DVD. We know from letters, tweets and emails that a great many people wanted another chance to see the production – and these encore screenings have been scheduled in response to that huge public demand. Our rights arrangements with actors and crew don’t currently permit DVD release, and we’re also keen for as many people as possible to experience the broadcasts in the format for which they were created: broadcast in HD to cinemas.’

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/69696/productions/frankenstein-faqs.html

I can tell them now if they do make a DVD this is something I will watch over and over and over and over again. I believe something new can be found in it every time.

Before the play itself was shown a small film on behind the scenes in rehearsal was shown which was a huge insight into creating the world on stage. To be part of that workshop must have been thrilling.

This is something that has changed my view on acting on stage and spilled my imagination on ideas for my drama devised piece for my exam this year.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

More productions can be found here: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive

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Cape Crusaders Overpowering Action Man?

Editorials

For my EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) I am studying the superhero genre linking to me studying media studies. I am only at the early stages of research, but so far a recurring theme of reports I am reading are about the superhero genre replacing the action genre as it ‘fades away’.

Recently, ‘The Avengers’ has been known to be seen as the biggest superhero film of all time, beating ‘The Dark Knight’ and other releases. This film contains many superheroes, such as The Hulk, Thor and Captain America. However, this film does contain action, but is put into the ‘superhero’ genre as it’s a comic adaptation and also the given that there are men in capes flying around saving the world, as usual.

As I point out in my vlog here it is the year ‘OF THE SUPERHEROES’ and will be a genre that will be across the media and magazine covers throughout this year making comic books popular with newbies and even something that inspire my EPQ. (more details in future articles).

Genres do adapt and change over time to fit the audience, I am seeing much evidence of this in my project through the superhero genre specifically with Batman who went from a cheesy light heart adaptation to a Gothic blurred line between hero and villain. So the superhero genre will most likely always appear as having elements of action due to the good VS evil fights, but using hybrid genres these have also contained elements of comedy (*spoiler* In ‘The Avengers’ the fight between Hulk and Loki) and romance (*spoiler* In ‘Spiderman’ (1) the upside down kiss between Peter Parker and Mary Jane).

But does this mean the attachment of action and superhero will make action alone die out? From the looks of things the answer is no, most genres will never fully die out – so it seems. The genre may simply ‘fade out’, as put forward by Sylvester Stallone.

‘As Sly told Entertainment Tonight days ago: “This genre, unfortunately, is becoming… let’s just say it’s fading away.”’

http://galaxieblog.com.my/blog/permalink.asp?id=5655 (13/06/12)

Maybe Stallone or ‘Sly’ is right, even though ‘The Expendables’ earned more at the box office than the superhero ‘Green Lantern’.

Personally I feel the superhero genre is as powerful now as it will ever be what we Robert Downey Jr. signing up for six films all together this year: 3 ‘Iron Man’ and 3 ‘The Avengers’. Maybe the superhero genre will fade away for a while after bombarding the media and it’s audience throughout the last year and the next. Hopefully though it is a genre that won’t fade out for to long if it does as superheroes is something we all need in our lives, even if it is just on the screen or a comic book.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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A Medway Vision 9 – Capturing Reality

Editorials

Over the course of these articles one name keeps popping up.  So many times I would ask an artist to send a picture of themselves and time after time the email back would say ‘oh could you credit this to Phil Dillon, it’s one of his’ Phil Dillon has, over the course of the last few years single handedly captured the look and feel of this ‘Medway Vision’, this startling, vibrant and fiercely independent artistic scene.

Phil Dillon has produced some astonishingly powerful images that somehow capture the grit of real life but never makes them dull.  His subjects convey a sense of drama and excitement that is very tricky to pull off.  Phil manages it with apparent ease.

Phil began “carrying a camera around all the time” in 2006 “I was interested in changes in my local environment, and how the seasons and time of day affect the way places are lit by the sun. Then I got interested in how Medway had changed over time and started digging old photos out of the MALSC archives and recreating them. After that, I began to consider what regeneration would bring and what it would take away forever. It was while I was reshooting the archive stuff that I approached the Brook Theatre because I wanted to get up on the roof. The staff were very interested and extremely helpful, and this resulted in me being given an all areas tour of the building and subsequently being offered an exhibition. That’s how I became a photographer by accident”

Working with just natural light, you can see Phil’s photography adorning album covers by bands such as The Len Price 3, Groovy Uncle, Theatre Royal, Crybaby Special and the Monsters, Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society and Wheels, among others.  But, for me it’s the hundreds of live photos Phil has squirreled away that make me most excited. Looking at pictures, such as the one of Lupen Crook, he clearly knows how to take the tension from a room and coolly pop it into his camera.

Maybe it’s his musician background (Phil had been in bands for years before concentrating on photography) that makes his pictures say so much about live music.  Maybe it’s his love of live music.  Phil explains, “I like real life and the moments it allows us to capture. I try to point up things you might not have noticed about a place, or show it to you from a different perspective. With music, I try to take pictures that capture something of the music itself, portray the performer and make you want to hear the music”

When you see his pictures they speak more about that artist than any written review ever can.

Although not influenced by any particular photographer Phil admits that his love of music means that “a lot of Mick Rock, Kevin Cummings and Linda McCartney (massively underrated)” informs his work.  Phil has had three exhibitions to date: 21st Century Cave Painting in Medway (2007), Exposure (2009) and Two Sides of the Same Coin (with Daisy Parris) in 2011.  In addition to these, he has contributed to a number of group exhibitions by Medway Eyes.

But what of the future, where next for a man charged with capturing the essence of this ‘Medway Vision’?  “I’ll do something biggish in 2013, I think. My work gets released all the time, either digitally through my Flickr portfolio or physically through the CDs and records they appear on. I’m thinking about doing another exhibition, or perhaps a book in both digital and physical formats. The working title is ‘On The Record / Off The Record’.”

Phil Dillon captures these Medway times so perfectly, so dramatically that we can only hope that this planned exhibition and book comes off because, frankly, our lives would be poorer, less real if you will, without it.

You can find out more about Phil Dillon and his photographs at: www.phildillon.co.uk

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Videogames – Money vs Creativity – By Jack Bulmer

Editorials

Industry

Videogames are big business. That’s sad really, the business part. It truly is a creative medium that has, for a part, been transformed from a bunch of guys having fun and making games because they want to, to a bunch of guys in suits deciding how best to monetise their product. It’s like all the fun is being sucked out, and the games industry has become just that, an industry churning out yearly updates to products. Rarely are people making games just for the fun of it. Even independent games are changing and becoming more ‘about the money’.

I didn’t fully realise this until I started working for a company. The first thing on their mind was monetization. Not gameplay, story or even graphics. Just, ‘how much money can we get from this?’. It was actually difficult to design such a money-based game that I couldn’t continue doing it, it felt morally wrong to charge players for something so easy to create. Sure, not every game is like this, but rarely do you see a new title released without some sort of purchasable extra. Things like this used to be free. It makes me wonder if this really is a creative industry, a lot of decisions are already made based on target audience and potential sales, so as a game designer, it’s up to us to just implement these systems.

Spectrum

I don’t understand why some people still think videogames are aimed at children, it’s an archaic view and I am glad it’s slowly changing. I suppose it’s a generation thing.  ‘Videogames’ is such a broad term to be categorised. Depending on who you ask, the first videogames someone will think of will probably be completely different to someone else. Titles such as Space Invaders, Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, Guitar hero, Final Fantasy, Katawa Shoujo, Child of Eden and Heavy Rain are each placed far apart in the spectrum of ‘Videogames’. In a way, when people generalise videogames, it’s on par with generalising any other form of creative industry.

Generally, the industry as a whole has to learn from the mistakes of others, especially when imitating them. Really, games are just taking the best parts of other mediums. Storytelling in games has improved because of cinematic techniques being used and a deeper focus is being put on character design and development. Music has not only just influenced games through music-rhythm games, but also through dedicated soundtracks, evolving from simple melodies to full orchestral scores.

Immersion

I think videogames have the potential to be the most immersive medium to portray a message or story, more so than a film or a book. To me, it just makes sense that as an active part in a story, you feel more immersed than a spectator. This isn’t true for every game, but many try to make you create relationships with characters. Final Fantasy is well known as a character driven series of games. I’ve heard people talk more about how Aeris died and how they felt that any other character from any media. I think immersion in videogames helps the player experience emotions that wouldn’t be possible in other media, due to the choices sometimes presented.  I remember when I felt remorse in a videogame, and I didn’t expect it at all. I had the choice to kill an innocent family for some gold in Oblivion. I did, and the game auto saved. I just couldn’t continue. Experiences like that don’t happen in other media.

Future

I do not believe there is going to be a crash, like in the past, but I think videogames will branch off and separate from each other. Like I said before with the spectrum, I think they will separate and go down different paths. This is already happening, I suppose. For example, I’m not sure how similar two games like Heavy rain and Child of Eden are. They seem nothing alike. Games are also spreading into popular culture, and the gamification of non game contexts has only just begun. Gamification in itself is a really interesting topic, and probably what I’ll write about next!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article!

By Jack Bulmer

@J_Bulmer

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 2 – By Luke Crook

Editorials

Hello again!

So, the last article was a bit of a ramble aimed at some of the tech/admin steps you go through at a label to take a release from X tracks on a CD-R or Pendrive and getting it out to digital and physical retailers worldwide.

This time, lets talk about something that’s a little more…well, creative!

Artwork.

Next to the music itself, artwork is in my opinion the next more important part of a release. Before streaming music became so incredibly popular, all you had to go on was if you’d heard it on the radio and how awesome the front cover looked!

So, where do you start?

Well, first things first, you need an idea. Whilst it might sound stupid, you can waste a lot of time if you don’t have some direction, because more often than not, the music is more or less done before the artwork starts, and no-one wants to rush. Following that, you need a designer to put it all together. This can take some time too, so make sure you’re looking out for one. Check out other CD designs you like, artwork, even book covers. Students are good, as they are cheap! Friends are even better! Discussions about whether you can gloss finish, matte finish, pantones/fluros (neon colours), metallic effects, how many pages you want in your booklet/inlay, how you want your digipack to fold and open will follow that. Lots of fun!

Then, once you’ve got a designer working on your great idea, you need to work out formats. CD/Limited Edition CD/LP/Digital/Magical Unicorn Edition.

Now, on the surface, a pack shot (Album Cover) is a pack shot, but format changes everything. CD’s are fairly straight forward and versatile. If it’s a jewel case, your inlay/booklet doubles up as your pack shot! Yaaay! All you need after that is your artwork for under the tray (where the CD slots) and artwork for the back of the case, which more often than not has the track listing. Digipacks are slightly different, because it’s all printed onto one piece of card and then folded. It can be gatefold, 2 fold, 3 fold (Rammsteins latest release opened out 5 ways if memory serves!). You need to remember where the slot for your inlay (if you have one) is going if you have one too!

Now, before I go any further, I’ve forgotten to mention one of the most important aspects of artwork. Label Copy. Label copy is essential the bible for the release. It’s a document containing everything about the album/single. Catalogue number, artist, title, track listing, publishers, copyright and publishing rights, collaborators, thank yous, websites and loads more. Most of this will go into your booklet and back cover for legal and information reasons.

Great, that’s the CD covered. Oh…what about the LP? No booklet there (Unless you’re feeling fancy!). So, you’ve not got to go back and ask your designer very nicely if he/she can do you a whole new template. Front and back sleeve (And center if it’s a gatefold) and stickers for the vinyl. This leads me back to my point about making sure you know all your formats before you go to design, otherwise you’ll: A. Irritate your designer or B. End up having to pay more for another format design. LP’s tend to have a far more stripped down label copy on them, purely for the sake of space.

Digitally, its pretty simple. Just a packshot. Bliss. Through iTunes you can also get a digital booklet to go with it if you want, as an added extra.

All of that, when all most people will ever see is the pack shot, when they walk past it in the shops or scroll past online. That’s your one chance to catch their attention and get them interested. The rest, that’s their reward for picking it up.

Always run it past your artist for approval. They don’t need to see it at every stage, just when there is a significant change or update.

Oh, and don’t forget to proof read it. Lots!

by Luke Crook

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YouTube – The New TV? – By Alice Stansfield

Editorials

Image

We went from no television, to black and white, to colour and now the internet – to sum up our channel viewing quickly. Our technology is forever advancing, but where will it go next? Across the media platforms: print, broadcast and emedia, it is clear to see the popularity of emedia constantly growing in the new generations, but will broadcast via television die out?

The simple answer is we don’t know, but in some way or another it will always continue as we advance in technology. Whether it be posting a video on the internet or watching the next series of Sherlock on your sofa seeing if you can work the mystery out before the man himself, broadcast will always be around.

However, a popular form of broadcast lately has been a convergence of emedia and broadcast on a very popular website ‘YouTube’. YouTube, as Wikipedia defines, is ‘a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. The name and logo of the company are an allusion to the cathode ray tube, a display device used since the early days of electronic television. This website has proved popular in the last few years with a certain species known as ‘vloggers.’ If you don’t know what a vlogger is it is a person who makes video blogs or to dumb it down – an individual who sits in front of a camera and talks about their life (I am one of those people and proud to say so!).

The reason vlogging has become so popular over the years is that anyone can make a vlog. Yes even you. The reasons it seems so popular is it’s free to upload; free to get feedback and a great way to share your content. YouTube isn’t only a place for vloggers, anyone can upload anything whether it be…

a music video

a short film

or a video of their cat looking adorable

But why am I suggesting this could become ‘the new TV’? Well, like I said, the generation of today is moving more towards emedia than any other platform. Possibly due to user generated content (UGC) of putting your own information online and the internet becoming so powerful. With this mass audience open to the online virtual world 24/7 it seems silly not to consider the fact that the internet is the perfect place to, as YouTube says, ‘broadcast yourself’.

BBC themselves have their iplayer available on their website for those who don’t wish to watch the programme on TV at the time it’s on or don’t have time to, etc. As you can Subscribe on YouTube (meaning you would get updates about that channel when they upload a video) it becomes an online TV for yourself to view who you want when you want. Therefore, in the future if we are so glued to the laptop screen now, then who is to say we won’t move from our TV screen to permanently look at the internet to watch when we want.

Yes, however, there is now the option on things like the Sky Box to have On Demand settings meaning you can record programmes and watch them when you choose to, but the internet is somewhere where you have it all in one place. So I can see why YouTube itself may not become ‘the new TV’ but the internet itself may take over the idea of a family sitting down on a Saturday evening with their dinner trays to watch the latest episode of ‘Doctor Who’, because of this on demand system.

This isn’t a good or bad thing, it’s just another thing that moves with the times, keeping up with the generations which are forever changing. Either way the idea of a story being told through word of mouth, reading or watching will always be in place. YouTube is just one of the websites that gives the opportunity to get yourself out there and allow others to see you rather than fight for an audition to appear on the big screen, the little screen is just as good – and by the looks of things has more viewers. So just think, what will you be watching?

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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Introducing A New Creatabot Contributor – Alice Stansfield

Editorials, Featured Creatives

We have a fab new contributor – Alice Stansfield is a creative Vlogger from East Sussex who will be bringing a nice selection of articles and videos to Creatabot.  We are really looking forward to reading and seeing her work and we thought you would like to know more about her.

So Alice, what is your creative background?

I used to be in a local group at my college called ‘Spiritus’ which performs at festivals (such as London and Brighton) so I would be dancing, on stilts or designing costumes. From this I got really into choreographing and directing scenes and routines. In primary school I was part of a dance club but this was when my dance really started. However, at this point I became more involved in drama and recently left a club I was part of for 3 years performing on stage, directing, making films and more. Outside of this drama club I audition at National Youth Theatre and performed at the Royal Shakespeare Festival.

I’m still very into my drama studying at it at AS level and hoping to carry it on to next year with media studies. Studying media has made me want to continue it on to University as I love making films and for the last few years I’ve been making vlogs (video blogs) and other projects to put up on my YouTube channel and one I share with two friends called ‘TwoNAC’ (www.twonac.com).

At GCSE level I won an award for a project I did, ‘The Barnes Gate Manor Award’ for a project I wrote called ‘Ripper’ and made a trailer for with a friend. At my college, outside of my subjects, I film and write some articles for the school website to gain experience. Also, a few years ago I entered a competition with people at my school to write a short story (one page long) to be published in a book called ‘SAGAS’. I was one of the people to get published and still try to write short stories today, although my stories become more video based. Recently I have been busy writing lyrics for a song, which my friend is creating as part of his music experience and we have already made a music video. 

Creativity has really made me who I am and I have left a few things out, but this is the things I have done and currently do that really shape my creative mind.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Local inspiration has to come from working with friends, as cheesy as it sounds, without working with people ideas do not get shared. At this point in my life where we are all in college still and fresh with ideas, listening to each other and experimenting with ideas is inspiration itself.  

Universally, many actors are inspirational (such as: David Tennant) but mainly people from YouTube such as Alex Day. Those who amaze so many people out of just putting their content on YouTube and make money from something so simple, are so inspirational to me.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

In the future I would like to still be making video projects and be able to earn a living out of what I make. I am still unsure which area of media I would like to go into, but would love to always be making videos.

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

A creative website I love, as mentioned before, has to be YouTube where people share all their video projects to make their own channel content. Another website I use is Flickr where you can share photos for others to see. Both these websites produce UGC (user-generated content) meaning people can give feedback on what I and others have worked hard on which really boosts confidence and allows improvement to be made.

Thank you Alice, we are really looking forward to seeing your articles!

Find Alice:

@HisLittleEmoo

http://www.youtube.com/hislittleemo

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Billy Childish – Frozen Estuary Exhibition – Review

Editorials

Cult labels can obscure the viewer’s perspective of the artist’s work, with associations of niche celebrity given meaning by sycophantic fans and media observers. Childish is touted as a ‘cult’ figure in his latest exhibition at Chatham dockyard. This could scream popular or ‘cool’ to the ‘right’ people or celebrate an alternative and underground status. Childish’s character(s) loom large, set on pleasing themselves before courting the crowd, perhaps at the risk of eclipsing his work. In a 2010 video for the Tate’s ‘Sound and Vision’ series, he dons the costumes of painter and musician to playfully interview himself, with respectably awkward questions. When the artist asks about his influence on the musician, the answer is ‘no’ followed by a wistful smile.

The frozen estuary series offers something pleasantly different. The dockyard exhibition gives some space to history and personal mythologising – displays of album covers, books and memorabilia to greet the audience. Maybe this is a triumphant return to a place he left with little love lost.

13 oil and charcoal on linen paintings cover the main walls, some with the paint still wet. Despite featuring friends and family, the subject seems less personal, the focus is the river itself, depicted in vivid blues and whites and frozen in time and canvas. Inspired by photos of the winters of 1895 and 1947 when both estuaries froze over, Childish captures a stark landscape, where workers pose with boats locked in ice, dominated by blue skies and glaring white. Details run in earthy browns, a muck upon the landscape, as wet paint dribbles down many of the canvases, forming icicles of dirt and snow.

Here is something about place rather than person, escaping the ‘cult’ cliché and exploring the relationships between time, place and identity. A full size nude stands by the entrance, leading visitors through the memorabilia to something else entirely. Something brave.

The exhibition is on at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, until 30th September 2012. Details are available at: http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/NetsiteCMS/pageid/1023/Billy%20Childish.html

By Roy Smith

@roy_smith 

www.royalansmith.co.uk

Guest Writer

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Tracey Emin – She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea – Margate Exhibition Review

Editorials

Like most people my earliest memory of Tracy Emin’s work and most prominent is the unmade bed from 1999.

As time went on I discovered she studied in Medway at what is now known as UCA, and in the last few years she has held various exhibitions in the South East. On a recent visit to Margate I felt I couldn’t miss a walk around the Turner gallery to check out her current exhibition.

Something that I love is Emin’s neon writing work as it shows her variety of creativity. Unfortunately only two neon pieces make an appearance in this exhibition. Reflecting very much on her life’s history the work on display is very expressive with some containing text that gives extra input into the concept behind the piece.

My favourite piece was called furniture. It was part of a series of paintings that were of the same theme, but I felt they had an added depth to them compared to the other pieces in the exhibition as a whole. I do really like the blue ink on canvas, and this is the form of most of her pieces in the exhibition.

The majority of work on display were inspired by Turners female nudes, but personally I felt they lacked the warmth of an artist trying to capture the bodily form of a female. Of course Emin is often very open about her sexuality and this is nothing new, but I felt from the work that she captured an element of disappointment within her own sexuality, which of course was not really Turners aim in his erotic paintings – his nude paintings were often termed as beautiful. If you want an interesting read on that subject see “A Censorship story Goes Up In Smoke“.

A painting by Turner.

She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea, Tracey Emin.

There are a lot of repeats in the exhibition, which unfortunately I feel shows a lack of imagination in regards to a theme, and baring in mind 3 large rooms of the Turner gallery are taken up with repeat imagery until September, I can’t help but feel disappointed for the local art scene. I realise that a big name will attract numbers but I wonder how other artists will get to reach a big name status if so much space is taken up by one artist in what I feel should be a gallery for creatives no matter how big their audience.

I would be interested to hear how others feel about the exhibition…

Natasha Steer

Area: UK Britain East of England East Midlands London North East North West Yorkshire Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands

Somehow Education-like – By George Langridge

Editorials

We Don’t Need No Education

This week I went to my local country park to meet with a fellow photographer. However, she wanted me to teach her to shoot in manual. So my theme was ‘Education’.

 So here are a few of my favorites from the trip. The rest are on my Flickr in beautiful full resolution.

One of mine.

We went walking around some huge wooded areas and fields looking for some good shots. First of all I took some sample images, this one was hidden amongst some leaves and branches. This is the first time I have consciously looked for small insects, I actually am amazed by the idea of these little creatures going about their day hidden away from us. I think this ties in well with the next picture.

This is one from my ‘pupil for the day’.

This picture actually amazed me this morning when I -finally- got to editing. The only thing that let the RAW file down was the exposure, which was changed during post. This is one of those shots that if you blink you miss, which I guess is what drew me to this particular image. I think Kudos go to my ‘pupil for the day’ on this one. I’d love to get your opinion on this photograph.

Another from my ‘pupil for a day’.

The origional RAW file seemed almost pointless, until I imported it in to Lightroom, where I had a play with the levels. This shows that my ‘pupil for a day’ can really think outside of the box and through to post production. I am excited to see what she does with it in her edit. This was another one which was a little ‘iffy’ as regards exposure, but I really ‘dig’ the feel of it.

My pupil for a day was – Hanna Havoc

Next weeks theme is ‘RoadTrip’, another friend and I will be riding along the A20 towards Ashford via villages such as Pluckley, Kent.

@georgelangridge

Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike (CC-BY-NC-SA) George Langridge

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 1 – By Luke Crook

Editorials

As some of you may know, I work for an Indie Record Label. It’s a blast, but not what everyone thinks it is. So, I thought it would be interesting to do a little blog about what the day to day is like working for an Indie Record Label because as much as I make it sound like gigs galore and nights out in reality, it’s really not!

Paperwork. Data entry. There’s lots of it.

 Before this job I thought getting a record made meant going to the studio, getting the tracks done and then sending them off for mass production. If only.

So, we’ve got the music. Great. Then you need to get it Mastered. Which is fine. So long as you remember to deliver the relevant ISRC codes (Unique, trackable numbers for each track) with it. Oh, and the correct track listing for the Redbook/DDP (final format for delivery to manufacture). Forgot to write “feat. Blah blah blah”? That’ll be an extra £40 to get it amended.

Then, you enter the lovely world of Metadata, or the spreadsheet of doom as I like to call it. You enter ALL the track/album info into a spreadsheet. Title, artist, feature artist, release data, catalogue number, publisher, composer, producer. Everything. 10 track album? Not to bad. 5 formats? Not so easy. CD, LP, Digital, iTunes Exclusive, German Exclusive? Yup, need to write a separate one for each. And make sure you get a new barcode for each. And the right catalogue number. Did you know Scandinavia can’t take iTunes videos? So an exclusive with video means a separate entry all together.

 Oh, and the price. Easy you think? “We’ll sell it for £xx”. But then you have to talk to separate countries about their price, and if you don’t, it wont show up on their system. And they don’t tell you till the last minute. Handy.

And between all that, you’ve got the Label Copy. Label Copy is a document that holds all the information about the release. Contributors, publishers, copyright holders. 9 guest artists? Better get all the separate publishing information for them, ASAP!

Whilst all this is going on, you’ve got artwork. Pricing for artwork. Working out the unit cost of each product. Did you know you can’t release a CD in Europe if it’s not shrink-wrapped?

 *Breathe*

That’ll do for now I think. For me, its fascinating to see what goes into actually getting a CD released to the public, and how it works. Above is just a teeny part of what goes on. There’s also marketing, sales notes, picking singles and remixes, track ordering and much more. I will be back with more about what it is like working for an indie record label soon.

By Luke Crook

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Introducing A New Creatabot Contributor – Luke Crook

Creative and Art News, Editorials

Luke Crook works for indie music label “Sunday Best” and he will be writing about what it is like to work for an indie label as well as what is going on in the world of indie music. We knew you would like to know some more about Luke so we asked him some questions so that you can get to know him better.

So whats your creative background?

Creatively my background has more or less always been musical. I found my Dads rock vinyl, told my Mum I wanted to play guitar and ended up learning piano for about 3 years! Then I went on to teach myself guitar, and after that a bit of bass and drums. Jack of all trades!

After that I got into sound engineering, mixing and the like. From there I did my A levels in Music Technology then trotted my way up to De Montfort University in Leicester to do a BSc in Audio Recording Technology. Maths, Physics, expensive mixing desks and general madness. Lots of fun!

What made you get involved in the indie music field?

I’ve always been a fan of local music, and Medway has always been a hotbed of musical talent. I spent most of my early teenage years getting down to Bar M and the Rafa Club to watch bands, or trying to get gigs myself. I played in a variety of bands myself, and I had a pretty eclectic musical upbringing, so it varied from heavy metal to pop to bluesy bands. I loved and still love the ethos behind local and indie music. Trying to make it, doing it for the love and fun.

The journey at local level is beautifully organic and frustrating.Out of Uni, I wound up working in my local indie record/guitar shop, Sound & Image, for a year which was an education in genres! From there, I was finding myself looking more into independent record labels and independent artists, and how their popularity can vary. People forget sometimes, I think, that Adele goes out on the label XL, who are an indie, not a major, and just look at her success.

Then, from there, I sent a very innocent e-mail to Sunday Best inquiring about a job, and on a Sunday at about 9pm I got an email asking me if I’d like to start as intern! That was 10 months ago, and now I’m neck-deep in the indie industry!

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Locally, my biggest influence has to be the wonderful Manny Rossiter. Long standing supporter of local music and also my mentor, what the man doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing! Also, when I was younger local bands like Innersense and Back To The Drawing Board were favourites of mine and they probably helped start my musical bug. There’s also an old boy who regularly comes into the shop called Pat. He’s probably one of the best guitar players I’ve had the privilege of knowing. He played with a lot of great bands back 60-70 years ago and watching him play has been a big game changer for me.

Universally, it’s not limited to music. Musicians like John Martyn, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nina Simone. Composers like Tim Burton and John Williams. Music that breaks the mold and makes you go “Wow, how did he/she do that?!”. Writers like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams who take wacky ideas to the extremes. What’s more inspiring than one man who’s written nearly 40 books about a turtle that flies through space with 4 elephants on its back, or another who wrote about a robot with depression and a restaurant at the end of the universe which recreates the big bang over and over?!

What would you like to achieve in the future?

Good question. I’ve only just started out in the career path, but I’d like to take it as far as I can. I wouldn’t mind heading up an indie label one day, that would be amazing! I’ve got a few musical projects in the pipe line that, personally, I’d like to get done and have some fun with.

I guess I’d like to be known as someone who influenced or helped others. It’s a nice way to be remembered I think. Plenty of people have helped me along the way. Soppy, I know!

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

Tricky! There are so many!

http://fd2d.com/ is a great website/magazine I found at Uni for Midlands based creatives.
http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/ is great for music.
Also, check out http://amazingradio.co.uk/ It’s a great online radio station for unsigned and new music. It should be back on DAB radio soon too.

Thank you Luke for bringing some news and information from the indie music world to Creatabot!

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A Medway Vision 8: Monster Ambition

Editorials

Taken by Phil Dillon

It’s so often not just about the talent.  It’s about work rate too.  The distinctive artistic blossoming of the Medway Towns, that vibrant feeling that something special is happening, the ‘Medway Vision’ as I call it, can’t merely happen from wanting it to happen.  Work goes into it.  A lot of sweat needs to be leaked if you are going to get your art seen or heard.  If hard work brings rewards then up-coming Medway band Crybaby Special and the Monsters will be reaping heap loads very soon.

The band only came into being in September last year but have already played in virtually every venue the Towns have to offer culminating in the release of their first ever EP ‘Man in the Woods’.  And let’s not forget all their London and other Kent gigs.  Starting out as an acoustic two piece (Josh Carson, Jason Stafford ) they wrote a few songs and spent one day rehearsing (yes, ONE day, these boys want things done fast) before debuted them at an open mic night.   In the words of Josh Carson “it’s been non-stop ever since, with Lewis Crennell joining the band on drums at the end of January 2012”.  Before this, the band was just one man, singer Jason.  He performed solo as Crybaby Special for the best part of a year before deciding he wanted to play as a band.

And so, endless gigging led to their first EP ‘Man in the Woods’  The EP was recorded in February 2012 with Mik Whitnall (Babyshambles guitarist) and Adem Hilmi (who also records Babyshambles and Peter Doherty solo). Mik even plays on three of the 6 tracks.  Their sound has been described in a number of ways.  As Josh points out “Bob Dylan on Crack…Creepy, Eerie, Spider, Jiggery…Folk Punk sung by Fagin…our favourite though is probably Exuberant Garage-Folk-Punk from the Medway Delta from Bug Bear promotions who put on gigs in London” Oddly enough those descriptions sum up their sound pretty well.

However, seeing as Mik Whitnall from Babyshambles produced the EP you can’t help but hear the Pete Docherty influence too.  Add to that, if you will, a bit of ska as imagined by Midnight Oil and you’re getting the picture.  But, as cute and cool those Babyshambles/Ska tracks are it’s their most original sounding work that excites me most. The almost middle-eastern tinged title track feels most vital.  It’s not only the best track on the EP, but, if there is any justice, it will be on repeat play on radio stations throughout the summer.

Judging by the continuous cycle of gigs then the EP seems to have cemented their following.  But you know full well that these lads are not going to be happy with that.  There is an ambition here, a desire to get to the top.  This is already a touring band, a band that develops its sound the more it interacts with its audience.  Josh confirms “our plans for the future are to too just carry on as we are by playing at every given opportunity and anywhere we can”

It’s ambition; it’s hard-work; it’s about having a vision.  A Medway Vision.  Crybaby Special and the Monsters will carry on growing and adapting and reaching out to whoever wants to hear them next.  I think it was Paul Weller that said something like the people who ‘made it’ are the ones that didn’t give up.  If true then you can be sure that sometime soon, Crybaby Special and the Monsters will have ‘made it’.

‘Man In The Woods’ EP is available to buy from iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/album/man-in-the-woods-ep-ep/id525040739

http://www.facebook.com/crybabyspecialandthemonsters

http://crybabyspecialandthemonsters.tumblr.com/

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Area  South East

Half An Hour At The Beach – Photography Feature By George Langridge

Editorials

Every Friday I go out and take some photographs, usually based around a theme. My original theme this week was ‘anti-fun’, however this week I found myself at the beach with my camera, and no tripod. This is a far cry from the ‘anti-fun’ theme I was supposed to be basing my shooting around. So here are a few of my favourites from the trip. The rest are on my Flickr in beautiful full resolution.

Half An Hour At The Beach

By George Landridge

As I was walking along the path just off of the shingle, I noticed this little plant growing from the cement. I was almost amazed at how out of place this little group of plants looked. Just after I took this photograph a gentleman stood flat on the plant which must count as anti-fun, no?

Further along the beach I saw this sign, instantly it was ‘anti-fun’. Also further back I had seen a dead fish so it was almost ironic. I love the way that the sign points down along the length of the beach, and as you look further down the beach it looks ever more out of focus.

As we were walking along my sister found this little shell, which I instantly stole and took a photograph of, in that way that I do. This image shows everything to love about abandoned beaches; the wood, stones, sand and shells. The warmth of the photograph also makes the beach seem nicer than it actually was. In that half an hour the light changed very quickly.

Next weeks theme is “Education” – in which I will be teaching a fellow photographer how to use manual mode on a DSLR.

All full resolution photographs from “Half An Hour On The Beach are here.

By George Langridge

@georgelangridge

Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike (CC-BY-NC-SA) George Langridge

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Putting the Spark Into Education

Editorials

As we move into the future more engaging ways are needed to educate, support and inspire todays youth. Enter Sparky – a puppet from another planet. Originally created for the project “Imagination Our Nation” Sparky takes a unique role in encouraging young people to actively engage with their creativity.

With the direction of co-producers Ciaran McKay and Charlie Ralph, a team of creatives take Sparky to visit schools in the Medway area and run workshops with the pupils. The goal of the workshops is for all the pupils to collaboratively hold an annual event involving Sparky for the local community in Medway.

The workshops begin with teaching pupils how to animate Sparky in a way that mirrors their own movements. The class then develop their ideas for the theme of the community event, often using various art mediums and creative writing.

The way Sparky engages with children is unique and this impresses the teachers as much as the children. Discussing the positive effect Sparky has, Ciaran responds by saying “Sometimes you go into a class and there are children who lack so much self-confidence, but by the end of the workshop these quiet children are the ones most involved! Sparky puts so many smiles on children’s faces and I really love the joy that brings to all involved”.

The theme for the 2012 event is “The River” and this year it will take the form of a parade that will be held during Medway’s “Fuse Festival”.

Sparky and his more recently created brother Magma are just two of a family of 20 puppets that were created to represent different regions of the UK for “Imagination Our Nation” – a project devised by international carnival design group Kinetika.

If you would like to find out more about Sparky, Magma and the rest of their puppet family please contact:

Ciaran ceem@live.co.uk or Charlie charliecookdesign@gmail.com

By Natasha Steer

Introducing A New Contributor – George Langridge

Editorials

George Langridge is a creative from Kent. He will be writing about various subjects that inspire him as well as talking about his own work, including photography.

So you’re studying media at the moment, specialising in what area? 

I am studying creative media production, which covers most areas. I personally specialise in development (including pre-production) and production. What can I say, I am full of creative ideas.
 
Do you plan to study any other creative subjects?
 
I would love to study photography, but my focus at the moment is finishing media at college and going to university to learn even more about media. One day you could be calling me doctor.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Inspiration… If I am honest, every single person I walk past inspires me in some way. Every single conversation inspires me to do something. For example the other day I wrote a comedy sketch based upon a conversation and a short film based on a passer-by.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

Provided we are still here after 12/12/12, I would like to make a couple of films or documentaries. After that I wouldn’t mind teaching media at college level. I like writing too so let’s see what happens. 

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

Actually, I think I can recommend about three. I love to read a site called Froknowsfoto , also Creatabot is almost a staple for me as it is crammed full of loads of cool content. Finally, I really like DigitalRevTV, the presenter, Kai, is really funny.  

We look forward to reading your articles George! Thank you for writing for us!

George has his own blog at www.stylefortyfour.wordpress.com and is on Twitter @georgelangridge

and Flckr http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgelangridge/

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The Art Of Publishing – By Emily Foster – Entry 1

Editorials

I’ve been working in publishing for eight months now and one thing I’ve learnt is that there are lots of potential authors out there. It seems like every event I attend there’s an author in the making to meet, and every week I receive new emails from people pitching their prose.

Take last week for example – I was at a networking event chatting to the host when she introduced her friend, who just happens to have written a book. He launched into his spiel about a how-to guide to get into the games industry.

By now, this kind of conversation is nothing new to me. Usually I give some advice, but the response is always the same: “Will you publish me?”. Now, these are not unwelcome asks. At Limehouse Books we try to be as open as possible. We’re a very small, independent publishing house, a start-up and fully self-funded. We can’t publish everyone, but we try to help where we can. So, this time, I decided to offer something different.

I pitched him right back. I told him about our imprint, Limehouse Tower, how it’s a new outlet for writers to self-publish, whilst taking advantage of all the benefits a publisher can offer. What this means to us and the author is exceptional design, production standards and worldwide distribution channels.

It’s also the first time a trade publisher has openly created an outlet for people to promote their work that’s integrated with the running of our own Limehouse projects.

I gave him my card. He said he’d think about it and went back to the bar. Maybe I’ll hear from him. Or maybe I’ll wait to see what budding author the next event brings…

By Emily Foster

@emilyjayfoster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

Emily Foster

Area: UK Britain East of England East Midlands London North East North West Yorkshire Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands

Review – Blackbird Blackbird – 15th May – Brighton

Editorials

One man, one Macbook and one Akai controller. The sounds of Blackbird Blackbird leave you imagining a full team of sound engineers with various decks and controllers, but Blackbird Blackbird is just one man, Mikey Maramag, and a whole bunch of musical artistic talent.

Demonstrating what can now be achieved through a small amount of modern technology, Blackbird Blackbird’s work can only be described as art in sound version. Creating layers of audio using electronic, drum, vocal and keyboard samples along with various other sounds (including owls on the track “Heartbeat”)  this gig left me inspired, and brought to my attention real sound engineering talent.

Watching Mikey “perform” is unique. Similar in some ways to a live DJ using various decks to remix audio, Blackbird Blackbird adds to the set by adding some live vocals and by becoming part of the music visually. You feel while listening to his creations that you become part of the sounds that he hears personally to himself in his mind. Like the greatest artist that visually expresses what he see’s in his mind so perfectly onto a canvas for all to see, Mikey Maramag does so with sound into a room for all to hear.

This was Blackbird Blackbirds first gig in the UK and he brought something quite new with him from his home of California. Inspired by the likes of M83, he sets out to add his own touch to the genre of chillwave music and express himself personally through what you hear.

Personally I think chillwave is a genre that is going to grow extensively in the next few years with access to the tech needed to create this type of sound becoming more and more accessible. Each artist will set out to express themselves through their own samples and sounds. What is great with Blackbird Blackbird is that through hearing the music you get to hear Mikey expressing his personal edge of creativity. Seeing Blackbird Blackbird perform live adds an extra layer to the sound that you don’t get through headphones, so I highly recommend that experience.

Details of the Blackbird Blackbird tour can be seen at 

www.blackbirdblackbird.bandcamp.com (right hand side of page)

and you can listen to his music through Spotify.

By Natasha Steer

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands

A Medway Vision 7 – Broken Genius

Editorials

What’s in a name?  A mask?  Identity?  Hailing from Rainham, Medway musician and painter Lupen Crook is, quite simply, captivating.   Lupen Crook is not his real name of course.  It’s Matthew Pritchard.  But, if it’s a story about being driven to create that compels you – the Medway Vision if you will, then Lupen Crook is all we need to know about.

Lupen Crook is a prolific painter and musician.  Oh, and his makes his own animated music videos too.  Flirting with fame and being one of the NME darlings for a while, he is one of the jewels in Medway’s creative crown.    But if it wasn’t for that name change it might never have happened.  Lupen explains his early days, “I played with Chris Garth (now of UPCDOWNC).  Later, when the Tap n Tin hey-day was in full swing I was performing initially with Bonzai Reservoir (whose members included Chris Austin of Tape Error), and when that imploded I started out as Lupen Crook.”  It was this ‘implosion’ that began a new chapter and it was here that his artwork also took root, having to cobble together band posters with little materials or money, and the same went for his DIY album releases.  Lupen Crook became an artist just trying to do the best with whatever was to hand.

Initially signed to the Tap n Tin label, the EP ‘Petals Fresh From Road Kill’ was released as 500 vinyls all with hand-painted sleeves. In true independent style, he has since self-released via his own label Beast Reality, the most recent being 2011’s ‘Waiting For  The Post-Man’.   Describing the process Crook states, “Beast Reality started out much the same way as everything else, having no one else to do it for me, so I did it myself. My good friend, web-designer and writer Stuart Hardy ended up getting on board and together we’ve honed the self-release approach over the last few years, experimenting with each release and thinking on our feet.”  It might have worked out differently.  In 2005, NME got behind Lupen Crook and featured him on their 2005 Cool List compilation.  A star was surely born?  Well, yes and no.  Lupen decided to go it alone.  Using his own record label, using his own vision.  Fame eluded him but his art was intact.

Lupen Crooks’ music defies category.  How many times does an artist say that their work doesn’t fall into a musical category, only for you to listen to it and then realise that it’s about as generic as a Rom-Com.  Lupen breaks the mould.  Try as I might there is no chance of me being able to tell you what ‘category’ his music fits into.  Take his latest album, ‘Waiting for The Post-Man’  It starts off sounding like Bowie, takes a strange neo-gothic u-turn, shuffles about near the area labeled ‘folk’, then heads off to 80’s electronics before getting all World Party-ish with it’s pop melancholia.  If there is one thing I could describe it as, it’s just singer/songwriter pop.  Brilliant pop.  Rarely have I heard the sound of a record with so many tunes on it not to have hits.  But then maybe that’s part of the problem.  The record industry does like its categories and my guess is Lupen Crook’s genius for writing from the hip will be admired for a long time without anybody actually being able to pin his sound down and sell it.  Lupen confesses,  “musically, it’s eclectic. They are folk songs in the sense they are stories, but then it has always felt very punk in spirit. Basically, it’s free.”

As for his paintings, they capture an essence of Medway as much as the music and lyrics.  They show the beauty and majesty of Medway but always with the knowledge that the heartbeat of these Towns is often the rough-around-the-edges social chaos that we so often see on a Saturday night.  Looking at his paintings I keep thinking of something he said and it makes sense; “my influences have always been my surroundings – people, places, shapes, sounds – the mistakes I’ve made, the people I’ve hurt, the things that have hurt me – everything that makes an impression on me inevitably ends up becoming an influence.”  As an artist I understand that, as a fan of music and painting I can see that ethos clearly in his work.

Last year Lupen had exhibitions of his artwork in London and Medway (at Rochester’s Deaf Cat Café). This year he is continuing to paint, although he does promise that there are some new musical projects in the pipeline. While Lupen is holed up creating we can catch a glimpse of his work in and around the Towns.  Currently Nucleus Art Gallery in Rochester is exhibiting his work. Aside from that, he is performing a one-off gig at London’s The Borderline on 9th June supporting Jim Bob from CARTER USM and the video he made for the song ‘Chasing Dragons’ is set to be shown at London’s Progressive Art Centre. The show is called ‘DIY POP VIDIO’ and it’s being curated by Medway artist, poet and musician Sexton Ming.

Where next for Lupen Crook?  When you have come this far down the road, when you have worked hard to create the output of ‘Lupen Crook’, where does the next stage take him?  “As for actual goals in my life, keeping my head above water and the wolves from my door whilst continuing to create things; be that music, art, videos – whatever feels inspiring at the time.”  Listening to Lupen Crook, you get the impression that these sounds could ONLY have been written in and about Medway.  His paintings, the same.  If any artist can be classed as the ‘voice’ of Medway’s dark underbelly then Lupen Crook is surely it.

Lupen Crook plays The Borderline, London on the Saturday 9th June supporting Jim Bob from Carter USM.  Tickets £12 http://theborderline.co.uk/listings/date/2012/6/9/

‘Waiting for the Post-Man’ is out now on Beast Reality Records priced £10  http://www.lupencrook.com/

For more information about Lupen Crook’s paintings visit:  http://www.brokenarts.co.uk/

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Area – South East     London

Featured Creative – Mark Richmond – Sculptor

Editorials, Featured Creatives

The amount of creativity Medway has to offer still amazes me and it was refreshing to meet another artist who fits so well with the ethos of Creatabot. I had seen Mark Richmond’s work at the Nucleus arts shop in Rochester, but had not met the person behind the work until recently when I went to find out more about him.

Marks father, Michael, was a carpenter who owned Kent Joinery in Cuxton and restored a house in South Green over a 12 year period. Often being in these surroundings and seeing his father at work was a strong influence on Marks creativity. As well as making wooden carvings and sculptures other artistic talents include painting, sketching and working in the band “Saferoom Studio“. It was through working in the band that Mark met other local creatives who were involved in Nucleus artist studios.

Mark was also commissioned to help create buildings within “Dickens World” at Chatham Maritime. “I had a friend that was working there and he told me they needed a carpenter. I was helping out with general work and then one day someone just said to me “we want you to build a house here please”. I loved it, being able to build such a structure from scratch was brilliant” Mark told me.

Looking around Marks living room there were many of his unique wood carvings and sculptures. I asked whether like most artists he found it hard to part with his work “I do get used to something I have made being around, but it is nice to pass on my work so that someone else can enjoy it”.

I brought up the controversial subject of how much you charge for creations, something as a creative I realise is always hard to work out. Mark said “when someone asks me how much I charge per hour I say  “when I am working fast or slow?” . Because you work at your own pace when your making something and you can’t look at it in pay per hour way”.

I notice that unlike most households the TV isn’t the centre of the room. “Do you watch much TV?” I ask. Mark looks at the TV in a discontent way “There really isn’t much on, I prefer learning, I really like watching TED, there are some great things on there”. I agreed with him and it reminded me how many people don’t realise there are so many more options around now to help you learn new things. I’ve found there is a real connection with creative people and learning, we are inspired by new information and connecting the dots.

Mark made in clear whilst we were talking that he isn’t motivated by making “a quick buck” with his work, and that he genuinely enjoys doing anything artistic. I find it inspiring to be around people who do what they do because they enjoy it and have no ulterior motive. When asked about his future plans, Mark simply says he just wants to carry on making sculptures.

You can see more of Mark Richmonds work at www.uniquewoodcraft.com

By Natasha Steer

Area – South East

A Medway Vision 6 – Elusive Images

Editorials

Rochester is beautiful.  We all know that.  The historical buildings, the river scene; it’s all been photographed and painted so many times and rightly so.  There is a photographer in Medway, going by the name of Obee, who continues this tradition but adds a new twist.  Obee’s images have a traditional feel but, by using a variety of techniques such as time lapse, creates a more surreal look, making those images that we have all seen so many times suddenly feel more mysterious and elusive.

And yet Obee still makes the pictures fun and easy to enjoy.  Obee explains that he decided to quickly document the Medway towns “my goal was to set a day three times a month where I would take my bicycle and camera out and archive towns and events recommended by friends. By 2010 I had amassed a small archive of Medway and surrounding Kent and found I had developed an avid following by the local community, so much so that I started to publish a weekly blog of my fun adventures and where I was heading to next to keep people up to date”

Previous to this Obee started out in 2004 photographing unsigned bands in the London metal/rock scene.  He soon discovered the 

potential of Photoshop and began to manipulate the raw images.  Obee then began to take advantage of the myspace band promotion movement by providing visuals such as online banners, EPs, Tshirts, flyers, gig photography and album covers.  Early 2008 Obee left London and moved to Medway, where he began to meet other artists found what OI too have noticed; a growing hive of creative activity and a varied music scene.  Obee soon developed his very own ‘Medway Vision’.  No doubt inspired by the beauty and interesting features of the area Obee decided to concentrate, so far at least, on landscape shots.  He explains “I wanted to try and get some good old fashioned photography back into my portfolio and capture some of Medway purely for its grand history.”

His style is warm yet haunting at times.  Obee explains “photography of landscapes are currently my signature style with full clear broad colourful spectrums pushing vivid imaging to the max. Another technique I define my works with is infrared and time delay, a skill that was more used on pre-digital cameras. To allow 6 minute exposures with only the furthest end of the light spectrum can produce some of the most haunting images. Human traffic vanishes into a thick fog leaving just the buildings and the camera as witness.”

Obee seems to believe in the ‘Medway Vision’ I have been noticing, this desire to create, this special creative time we seem to live in.  His attitude to his work is refreshing, honest and modest too, “I have a firm belief art is by no means hard if you are genuinely open and passionate about your environment and those you share it with.”  Seeing Obee’s work, those views we are all so familiar with but shot in a different way, is like seeing yourself in a mirror but with a new suit on.  You know it’s you but it looks fresher, more relevant for the 21st Century.

The goal of Obee is to keep shooting events and places in Medway and he hopes that there is a possibility of an exhibition of his work.  If that happens and you want to see Medway with fresh eyes then you will want to be first in the queue.

For more information visit:  obi3380.wordpress.com

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk


Area – South East

A Medway Vision 5 – Preserving Pop

Editorials

Some places in the world are defined by music labels that, somehow, managed to capture a moment in pop history.  Think Motown (Detroit), Sub-Pop (Seattle) and Factory (Manchester) and, well, you get the idea.  Medway could well be on the verge of getting its very own defining record label in The Preservation Society Presents run by Neil Burrow.

Neil, Artist Manager and Record label boss at The Preservation Society Presents, has worked in the music industry for 21 years as a manager and label boss. Having worked with likes of The Bluetones and Jesus Jones, amongst others he is used to hit records and fostering success for bands,

The label was started in 2010 initially as an outlet to release records by Medway band Theatre Royal; they have since expanded, signing Dead Lovers from Dartford and Medway hip-hop act Kids Unique.

Neil believes that Medway is a special place right now “there are loads of great bands in Medway & wanted to give them a way of releasing records. It brings a focus to the local scene which can only be a good thing”

“The acts on the label are quite eclectic. Broadly speaking, Dead Lovers and Theatre Royal are alternative pop bands, Indie I suppose, but they take in Psychedelia, Folk Punk and County. Kids Unique are a Hip Hop band, but as well as Hip Hop, funk and dance music they are heavily influenced by lyricists like Morrissey and Nick Cave as well as acts like the Beta Band”

In keeping with the ‘Medway Vision’, that feeling of independence and artistry that permeates the Medway towns, TPSP is fiercely independent but is not afraid to ensure commercial success too.  As Neil points out “we have an emphasis on melody and hooks and working closely with our artists to try and create an environment that allows creativity to thrive but we also utilise commercial angels. We do not want to be pigeon holed by genre, we’ll release anything as long as we think It’s good and believe in the record.  We are proud of our independence & what we are trying to achieve”

This year will be a busy one for Neil and TPSP.  Three albums are planned for release this year from Theatre Royal, Kids Unique and Dead Lovers as well as a whole host of singles and free giveaways. On top of this there is the, frankly, already legendary, monthly singles vinyl club where two artist release exclusive recordings on ltd edition 7” vinyl.  There is a feeling about these releases that remind me of early Sub-Pop records.  Vital purchases and will probably be worth a fortune in years to come.

And that’s not all.  Alongside plans to open a TPSP rehearsal studio in Rochester, Neil is also promoting a new event coming to Rochester on 28th July 2012. Based on the hugely successful SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, this new event called Music Event One (ME1, geddit?!) will utilize the main stage in the castle (capacity of 4600) as well having 10 other venues along the High Street putting on various music , literature and art events. Neil explains “this first year is 1 day, next year 2 days building up to a 3 day event in 2014” Neil sensationally announced earlier this month that the headline act is to be John Lydon’s PiL.  Quite a scoop and one that will give this new festival the exposure it richly deserves

When you live in an age of independence, as I believe we do here in the Medway towns, then you need people to support that.  Luckily, for the Medway music scene at least, Neil Burrow is one of those people.  For years to come expect bands from all over Medway to long for their music to be introduced as ‘The Preservation Society Presents…’

Kids Unique debut single ‘Seymour Evil’ is out now on digital download.

Vol 1 of the singles vinyl club is out now featuring Theatre Royal and Kids Unique

 

Volume 2 features Dartford’s Dead Lovers and Margate’s Pantomime Villains.   Both can be bought exclusively through the website: www.thepreservationsocietypresents.com.

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

 

Area – South East

Important Video For All Creatives – Creative Commons Copyright

Editorials

Protecting your creative work is important. How do you do this? And how would you protect just some of your work if you wanted it to be shared? This video tells you how. To find out more visit www.creativecommons.org.uk

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands

A Medway Vision 4 – Blues Misadventures

Editorials

You probably think you know what blues music sounds like.  You’ve probably seen lots of bands in pubs with a blues-based sound.  You know the sort of thing, tribute acts; white men with a love of the blues singing about what it’s like to be a poor black man in 1930’s America.  You’re absolutely right.  It sounds good but it’s not REAL blues, music of genuine pain, anguish and hardship.  Happily, real blues does still exist.  And not just with that Detroit genius Jack White.  It’s right here in Medway too.  And this being Medway, it’s rather unique and somewhat brilliant.

Sounding like a blues singer from the Deep South, Stuart Turner has one of the most distinctive voices in music.  Straddling that fine line between Muddy Waters, Louis Armstrong, Tom Waits and out and out ‘man deranged’, Stuart brings new meaning to 21st Century Blues.  And it’s the first time I have ever heard blues sound scary.  Seriously, the combination of the man’s voice and the anguished lyrics take you to places you never thought blues could.

It has been said that to sing the blues you need to have suffered.  Well in that case Stuart qualifies.  That voice is not just an impassioned howl of feeling.  Stuart recalls, “I was diagnosed with cancer in my throat and had fairly extensive surgery leaving me with an interesting singing voice and a lot of things to write about.”  Many people would have given up.  Turner used this misfortune to his advantage.

After finding his voice again and working how he could use it he began gigging and met with Kris Dollimore (ex Godfathers, Dammed, Del Amitri).  They became friends and Stuart went on to produce Dollimores first blues solo album (’02/01/1978′) and helped him set up his own Sun Pier label. In return he offered to put out an album of Stuarts ‘A Gallon Of Water Makes A Mile Of Fog’.  Stuart now sees the album as “too long, too odd, too sweary, it got some great reviews, but sold badly” A second solo album, (File Under Carnal Knowledge’) sold better, and he was getting known around Medway as well as gigging all around the country. Stuart met Robbie Wilkinson from Medway band Theatre Royal who became his live lead guitarist, then writing collaborator, then half of the ‘Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society’.   Robbie and Stuart wrote and arranged a set of songs and produced ‘Gin and Bitters’ the first STFES album. Released by Medway based Brigadier Records, they then recruited Ray Hunt and Dave Sawicki and gigged the album, recording half a follow up as they went. “It sold modestly” said Stuart “but we got some radio and a good live reputation.”

Photo taken by Phil Dillon – www.phildillon.co.uk

Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society are not just a blues band though.  Their repertoire covers rock-a-billy, indie and pop.  Not to mention the sax on their last album ‘Gin and Bitters’ sounding a little like the soul of Dexys Midnight Runners.  Oh, and did I mention he plays ukulele live too?  But it’s the bluesy chug that works best for them, especially when mixed with indie-inspired pop dynamics.  Listen to ‘Essex’ from ‘Gin and Bitters’, simply the best 3 minutes Stuart has committed to record so far; it’ cocky, it’s raw, it’s bouncy, it’s all you need from a song.

However, as brilliant as that album was, the curse of the blues musician seemed to be hitting the band hard.  Stuart recalls how “Mark Lemar quit his radio show just as we were negotiating a session, gigs got cancelled from under us, ill health forced Dave out 

of the band and his replacement Jez, while a good player, never gelled as well and there was a personality clash with Ray”   Problems over?  Stuart wishes.  “Then there were a series of Jez-drunk-and-incapable gigs, Ray quit, just after we finished recording the as-yet-unreleased album ‘On the Brink of Misadventure’ and just after we were really getting a strong live following.  At the very next band gig Jez had to be carried from the building during the support act and I was forced to fire him.”

Bad luck indeed, but thankfully Stuart and band are raring to go and ready to put their new superb album out.  It will be out in April and if this album does not sell by the bucket load then there’s something wrong with the world.  The usual combination of urban distress, bouncy blues and indie attitude makes this a great record.  Listen to a sneak preview of the track ‘To The Nighthouse’ here:

http://soundcloud.com/stfes/to-the-nighthouse

With gigs lined up, Stuart says “this is a point of flux and anything might happen, it really is worth fighting to get this album heard” Perhaps, and most remarkably of all, Stuart accepts that this is what he HAS to do.  It’s that Medway Vision again, that desire to create.  There’s no giving up for an artist like Stuart, the music is in his blood and if fame comes then that’s a bonus “if I only ever play the Man of Kent a few times a year, but those gigs continue to be rammed, then in some way I have an ongoing achievement. Hopefully though we can go on to do more than that.”

I’m a big fan of Jack White and when I saw Stuart Turner for the first time I had that similar feeling of wonder, that feeling you get when you know you’re seeing something special, someone who means it, someone who is singing from the soul.  Jack White is, famously, a fan of Billy Childish and his raw rock and roll.  One suspects that if Jack had the pleasure of hearing Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society he would have another favourite Medway band.  This is not karaoke tribute blues as witnessed in so many bars up and down the land.  This is as real as it comes.  Stuart Turner has lived a life, he’s seen the bottom and because of that he’s breathing new life into the blues.  Once again we’re seeing a Medway Vision, an artist who makes the music because he has too.  His bad news is good news for the rest of us.

Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society release their new album ‘On the Brink of Misadventure’ on Brigadier Records later this month.

For more information visit: http://www.myspace.com/stuartjamesturner

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye


Area – South East

A Medway Vision 3 – Authentic Legend

Editorials

Every now and then you hear of someone who should be more well-known than they are. Medway painter and poet Bill Lewis is one of them.  I’m not talking about seeing some ones work and thinking, ‘oh that’s quite good’ rather, I’m talking about someone who, once you realise what he has done, you realise he is a legend.

Bill Lewis is one of the founding members of both The Medway Poets and The Stuckist Movement of painting.  The Medway Poets were founded in 1979 by Lewis along with those other Medway legends Billy Childish and Sexton Ming.

Stuckism was founded in the 1990’s by Bill and 12 others (again Billy Childish) in response to the post-modern ‘event’ art of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.  In fact, the name ‘Stuckism’ comes from a conversation Emin had with Childish.  During a phone call, Emin mocked Childish and his painting friends for being ‘stuck, stuck, stuck’ in the past.  And the name, well, stuck.  Bill Lewis and the other original Stuckists, or ReModernists, decided that this new art lacked authenticity.

When asked if he still considers himself a Stuckist, there is little doubt he knows that he will always be one of the founding members of that group, “but I’m more interested these days in the wider aims of the ReModernist experiment. The integration of spirituality into art and the attempt to avoid slipping back into post-modernism”.

When asked about his painting style Bill says “some people have called it Magical Realism but I’m not sure that fits. My paintings are like a magic mirror that I hold up to see what I am like inside. The imagery in them often takes years for me to decipher. Sometimes I never fully understand them”

“Some writers and artists tell me they have no influences but then humans have a great capacity for self denial. They think they are being original. Nothing is original. The best we can hope for is to be authentic. Authenticity comes from love. The things we love influence us the most”

I have always made pictures but I did not start writing until I was at school. I used to draw on everything as a kid and after covering the wall next to my bed my parents bought me sketch books to stop me drawing on the rest of the walls. But poetry and fiction are my main artistic outpouring.

For me, his paintings are fascinating.  One in particular reminded me of the Inuit art I had seen from the Canadian Arctic when I was making my first feature film, East 3. However, it’s his writing that appeals most of all.  It seems that this is where his true voice is.  Looking at some of the poetry on his website www.billlewis.co.uk it strikes me as very honest.  It carries that element of all great poetry in that it seems to speak to you personally without ever knowing who you are.  It carries a beat to it that is often missing from modern poetry, Bill notes “we have lost the music in our poetry. Poems should sound good to the ear as well as work on the page”  This is probably why his work sounds so good when performed as his YouTube clips testify.

If there is indeed, a Medway Vision, a new spirit of independence and artistry then Bill Lewis, quite simply, is one of its godfathers.

A new book of poetry “In The House Of Ladders” by Bill Lewis is out now and published by Greenheart press (an imprint of WOW Medway magazine). Price £10.

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

A Medway Vision 2 – Spontaneous Soundscapes

Editorials

Since my first article I have been absolutely overwhelmed by people recommending talented creative people to me, or people agreeing with me about the Medway independent scene.  It does indeed seem that I’m onto something here.  Medway is on the march.  So let’s continue with our list of its artistic generals.

This week I have been introduced to the sound work of a band known as Hand of Stabs.  A band?  Like a rock band?  No.  Not at all.  Imagine a soundtrack to a surreal film.  Or a soundscape to an evening walk in the woods where you THINK you’re alone but you’re not sure.  Hand of Stabs are avant-garde, yes, but don’t let that put you off by thinking that the music is impenetrable.  It has a beat, but it’s the beat of nature, the beat of darkness, the beat of Medway.  For that reason alone, this is essential listening.
Mind you, they probably won’t thank me for calling them a band.  They call themselves a ‘sound art collective’.  Hailing from Rochester their site-specific improvised work is recorded at points of significance around Kent and the South East providing a connection to sacred history and landscape. Inspired by regular, often night-time explorations through these spaces, they are creating a series of ‘aleatorical’ soundworks.  In other words, much of their work is left to chance.  Spontaneous.  Improvised.  Directly from the soul if you like.

Hand of Stabs are called, intriguingly, Captain R. Standish, Jocelyn von Bergdorff and James Worse.  Standish and Worse have both been active in a number in bands and von Bergdorff was active in the cassette underground during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The idea of playing together came together around year ago.  Their work is influenced by the writings of the historian naturalist and engineer, William Coles Finch (1864-1944), Resident Engineer of the Brompton, Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester Water Company and his vivid descriptions of Edwardian Kent in his books ”In Kentish Pilgrim Land” and ”The Medway River & Valley”.   Their sound is a reflection of the significance we place upon our surroundings.

One recent performance at the Hulkes Lane Brewery came about because their friend’s great-great-grandfather a storeman at the Brewery in 1863, hanged himself there. He had been barred from the Brewery’s social club over some minor infraction and the ignominy was too much to bear. His death meant that his wife and nine children, who lived in a two-roomed tied-cottage on Hulkes Lane, were made homeless and sent to the workhouse. The feelings that these stories evoke allow Hand of Stabs to create their soundscapes.  Less story-tellers, more mood-tellers.

Other performances so far have included, the open air at Kits Coty and at the studios of Turner Prize nominated artist Yinka Shonibare as part of an installation by Luke Otteridge.  Hand of Stabs are continually looking for opportunities to play in interesting spaces to interested audiences and are very receptive to suggestions.  Think about your favourite places and now imagine it with the emotions of the location played out in sounds.  Like a dream.  Or a nightmare.  Powerful stuff.

With two CDs already out “The Geometry of Dust” and “Aktion #2: Hulkes Lane Brewery”, this year has just seen the release of a lathe-cut vinyl LP featuring Hand of Stabs and a collaboration with Medway legend Sexton Ming in his alter-ego of Jude Hagg entitled ‘Old Bluster saw the Beauty’.

Two weeks in and we have discussed two new groups, both creating dark sounds.  Is this a theme of Medway?  Exploring the dark side of life?  It certainly appeals to me as a filmmaker.  But as I’m finding out, that’s the great thing about the Medway Vision.  It’s diverse.  The dark side of life is there for sure, but as we shall see in the coming weeks there is also a lighter side.  Keep listening because darkness needs light.

“The Geometry of Dust” and “Aktion #2: Hulkes Lane Brewery” are out now priced £10.  For more information on Hand of Stabs contact: spoon-unit@blueyonder.co.uk

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

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Area – South East