Thanks for checking out our journal. This is where we post thoughts, articles, news, updates, interesting tidbits and anything else we can think of. Hopefully you will find something that tickles your fancy. xo xo
I’ve just been reading a pretty fascinating ‘open letter’ from OK GO on the problems they’ve been having with their recent video (above) and their label, EMI. The video is actually pretty awesome.
Essentially, OK Go got famous for their clever videos (like this one) that got spanked around the web – served up via You Tube. Now however, EMI won’t let anyone embed their artist’s videos on other sites from You Tube because EMI only get paid if people watch the video on You Tube. In fact if you look at the video liked above you’ll see that embedding is “disabled by request”. Ouch.
Good luck going viral!
OK Go do a good job explaining the situation and, while it might be the sweet treacle of a PR person, they seem pretty sympathetic to EMI. Here’s a little quote from the article.
“Fifteen years ago, when the terms of contracts like ours were dreamt up, a major label could record two cats fighting in a bag and three months later they’d have a hit. No more. People of the world, there has been a revolution. You no longer give a shit what major labels want you to listen to (good job, world!), and you no longer spend money actually buying the music you listen to (perhaps not so good job, world). So the money that used to flow through the music business has slowed to a trickle, and every label, large or small, is scrambling to catch every last drop.”
Essentially how this reads to me is a band that has become totally soft after suckling at the teat of a major label for a few years! Surely of any band that would have a great shot at making a success of themselves without a label, OK Go would be near the top of the list. Without the millstone of a major label they would be in the perfect position to do some great direct to fan marketing (offering to have a fan feature in a music video for example). Instead though, here they are bemoaning the fact that we’re not buying enough music to keep the mothership afloat and ultimately, attempting to justify totally ridiculous policies and behaviors on the part of EMI!
The whole article could probably have been summed up by saying, “On balance, we value the safety and security of a major label deal that lets us do this full time and have a sweet lifestyle over the freedom to do what we want, when we want, with who we want. So, even though what made you love us in the first place no long exists, if you could all stop hating on us and keep forking out cash for our records that would be lovely”.
Maybe I’m being too hard on them. Maybe they’re locked into a contract and can’t wait to be free. Maybe a lucrative deal with a big advance is pretty tough to turn down compared to the uncertainty of ‘making it’ alone. Maybe they are actually really really angry and this was passed through a heavy PR filter before being released.
Either way, this is an absolutely classic example of all the stuff that is going wrong in the music industry: Indie band makes some cool videos which they put on You Tube. Public goes crazy sharing and embedding the videos on blogs and websites around the world creating a massive buzz. Record label thinks it can capitalise on all the great publicity and offers them a big record deal. Band release new video to promote the new album. Record label stops all embedding and sharing to conserve/maximise profits!
Genius!
Here’s the link to the full article from OK Go. It’s well worth the read.
UPDATE: You can read more about it in this Mashable interview with front man Damian Kulash.
I guess one of the occupational hazards of owning a recording studio is the feeling of numbness when it comes to music. I try and keep what I listen to fresh but, inevitably, it doesn’t always happen. If fact, at the end of last year, I was feeling particularly jaded and uninspired – not a good place to be!
So, over the holidays I made it my mission to find and assimilate (like a music assimilating Dalek) new music. After reading countless “best albums of 2009″ blog posts and talking to some reputable non-jaded people I aquired a bunch of new ablums and began my music quest back to open-minded, non-cynicalness.
And, low and behold, I have arrived at my destination, the fabled land of musical inspiration! I can’t wait to make music, record bands and get creative! I’ve got ideas coming out of my ears for things to try. It’s been so good that I’m thinking of publishing a musical self help book for studio owners and maybe starting a support group!
Maybe not.
But, if you’re feeling a little jaded I can definitely recommend a massive overdose of new music, some bootleg gin and a classic kiwi holiday.
Anyway, I thought I would share with you one of the bands who has helped my musical recovery. I’m not exactly sure why or how or what exactly is it is about this band (although the drums sounds are simply wonderful) but, they were the first band that put me back on the path to musical wellness.
So here is a little clip from London band, Bombay Bicycle Club. Beautifully shot, great song, good times.
Hat tip to Josh from Sleepy Age for putting me on to this clip.
That has been the catch phrase for young indie musicians for decades, myself included. Hordes of long haired, guitar wielding mumma’s boys religiously following the teachings and trends of ‘Rolling Stone’ or ‘NME’ all pinning their hopes on the fact that it just might be them that catches the next big break.
Those days are all but gone, big breaks are not quite as big as they used to be, record labels and deals are smaller and fewer and far between than ever before. The internet, digital media, digital audio recording and distribution have demolished those highly impenetrable walls, the game has changed. These days musicians are more often than not funding recording themselves (if not doing it themselves), possibly even funding the first run of CD production and then attempting to P&D deals and publishing deals. It seems a far cry from the Hay-day of yesteryear but it’s still a bloody great achievement when a band can manage to get through this process and get out the other side with a contract and a plan to forge ahead with. It’s an achievement, something that so many people have worked for and never managed to make.
Christchurch has produced more than it’s fair share of New Zealand’s best musicians and song writers and it’s time to pick up a pencil and etch another name into that list. The Unfaithful Ways, Christchurch’s latest young, hip band has just recently signed a publishing deal with Native Tongue and I am pretty sure that if they can keep their heads will be onto great things both nationally and worldwide.
Well done boys, I am very happy and proud to have been involved and really look forward to where you end up in the future! Keep an eye and an ear out for the next release from this group, and be sure to keep an eye out on NME magazine in a years time, I am positive these indie-country pinups will be gracing its glossy cover.
It’s been a while since I have talked and shared my thoughts and simply there’s no excuse other than the fact that we’ve been mental flat out busy! I am going to try and get this old girl of a blog back up to date over the next few days so what better way to start than with the RDU round up band competition.
Round up has been a cornerstone in the Christchurch music industry for years now. James and the RDU gang are doing a great job of growing this competition and this year was perfect testament to that. The entries I managed to see all created that sexy little buzz for me.
Jump ahead to the end of the competition and we were staring down the barrel of a loaded finals bazooka. ‘The Unfaithful Ways‘ played their best show of the year, The Burning sensations of course always strong with chch and SoulSystem ending the evening with their highly infectious danceable beats. But of course as we all know it was the newly formed ‘Sleepy Age’ that took the title.
The very next day they were in to The Sitting Room recording studios to lay their first single ‘Cat face’. We only had the day to get the song tracked and mixed so it as all guns blazing. It’s always a hard ask to get a band into the recording studio, meet the people, form those relationships, set up the gear, get the best from the band and try make it all happen in such a short space of time. Personalities and relationships is the only thing that will get you through the day, and luckily in this case the band is full of awesome dudes, simple.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with these guys, and with some great heritage in the ranks from the likes of ‘bang bang eche’, ‘Neil Robinson’ and ‘The insurgents’ this band is surely going to get some attention.
The first singe is a cute little song, and we’re all looking forward to having them back into the studio…. and it’s always nice to have the band genuinely say at the end of sessions things like: ‘Wow, thanks so much, this was the best time I’ve ever had recording. You guys easily have the best studio in Christchurch’
awwww… shucks… thanks… I completely disagree.. but thanks.
Proudly and lovingly brought to you by Tim Chesney and Ben Edwards of The Sitting Room Recording Studios Christchurch, New Zealand. The south island home of audio production, sound design, mixing and location sound recording.
Last week we had the ‘always wonderful’ Julia Deans (FurPatrol) in at The Sitting Room recording studios recording tracks for her first ever solo album. It was a star studded affair with the a multitude of special guest appearances on the record. I wont name names yet but it’s going the be a KILLER album.
There will be more posts to come and something for everyone… I will have a gear geek out talk about the world class recording gear we had in here, there will be photos, and hopefully even a quick interview from Julia….but for now here’s a quick video snippet of the lovely time we all had together.
She is a lovely person, a very talented musican and a good friend… keep en eye and ear out for more details to come.
Proudly and lovingly brought to you by Tim Chesney and Ben Edwards of The Sitting Room Recording Studios Christchurch, New Zealand. The south island home of audio production, sound design, mixing and location sound recording.
Christchurch music industry, audio production and recording studio support…. like a well fitted push up bra
We are extremely lucky in this country to have a music industry and government that supports our arts sector. There is regular funding available for musicians and artists whom which to apply for it and there is a WEALTH of information and support networks out there for musicians and industry related initiatives in this country.
Simply, we are very lucky.
Being in Christchurch I think we are extremely lucky, not only is this a small gorgeous city that’s easy to navigate and wonderful to live in but we are lucky enough to have CHART – The Christchurch music industry trust. For those of you that don’t know about CHART, what they do or why they exist then the best thing is to catch a wave and inter-surf the web over to http://www.christchurchmusic.org.nz/about where it gives you some great background about what it’s here and the awesome work it’s doing for everyone.
If I had to sum it all up in a couple of sentences the following from their site does the best job:
“CHART – The Christchurch Music Industry Trust is music industry representative body for contemporary popular music in Christchurch. With a full-time manager and a dedicated Board made up of passionate local music advocates with extensive industry experience, CHART acts as a support and advice network for the Christchurch music industry.” - Taken from the CHART website
Jeff Fulton heads the team and is the full time manager. He’s a friendly man and widely knowledgeable and I suggest anyone interesting in ANYTHING music related make the time to meet him and talk. He’s there to help, full time.. that’s what he does! The Board members are also a wealth of knowledge and experience and with names like Vicki Anderson, Ross Herrick, Cath Andersen, Neil Cox and the one and only Flip Grater, the CHART team is armed and dangerous.
I must admit, it’s so comforting to know that I live in a place and a time where we have the support and growth networks available to us like this. People that are focused on growing the ‘local’ Christchurch music industry. Keeping the work here, collaborating with other local musicians or businesses, helping create a tight, friendly and successful environment. It is a privilege to know and work with this team of people in helping grow the local community and I urge you once you’ve finished reading this to take 5 mins and email one of them to show them YOUR support. It’s hard work, but together we can help Christchurch musicians, business and industry stand tall… again.
Flip Grater – Chart board member
“If a local industry is to develop then it needs practical assistance from grassroots to high end levels and in this I see CHART as essential towards this development.”
Keep up the great work team.
Proudly and lovingly brought to you by Tim Chesney and Ben Edwards of The Sitting Room Recording Studios Christchurch, New Zealand. The south island home of audio production, sound design, mixing and location sound recording.
Just another quick post… and another Letterman clip. This time it’s Wilco with a lovely duet from Tweedy and Feist. The haters will probably say it’s boring and pedestrian but I love it.
The production and sound quality is unusually good too for a TV record. Enjoy!
Are recording and audio post production studios a big waste of time?
One thing that really bakes my noodle, yanks my chain or flicks my wick is what I call ‘old school studio mentality’. What I mean by this is in the past many studios used to pull the old call of ‘We’re the professionals’ or ‘If you want a quality recording you HAVE to use a recording studio’ or ‘Don’t waste your time recording your own music, spend your money with the professionals’.. I had it happen to me when I was in bands and sadly I still see it happening these days. Now this may seem backwards coming from a studio owner but the simple fact is that I think that the above comments are complete bull pucky, especially these days with the easy access to half decent recording software, powerful computers and reasonably good and cheap recording equipment. As a kiwi with the DIY attitude deeply ingrained in my blood, I started recording myself and mates and I strongly encourage any musician I meet or whom comes to The Sitting Room to record that they attempt to record things themselves from home. Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely think there is a place still for recording, mixing, mastering and post production studios, and there always will be. The simple fact is that the studios ‘DO’ have amazing equipment and years of experience but it can only be healthy for the entire industry if artists are recording themselves, even if it’s entirely for demo or listening back purposes. It’s truly one of the only ways to understand yourself and your songs. Understand the limits of your voice or playing, hearing what you think ‘might’ sound good recorded doesn’t always. Surely, by encouraging musicians to record themselves can only GROW the local industry and music scene. As people know and experiement more, the better the quality comes out. And what is quality anyway? That is entirely subjective isn’t it? … is it?.
As an example, Brit alt rock band Elbow recently won a highly acclaimed music award for an album they recorded and produced themselves. It bet out a smattering of some very expensive and well produced studio albums…. I mean.. I have heard some amazing recordings on a dictophone.
Anyway, because of this I have decided to compile a small series designed to get people started with recording their songs.
Step 1: Write and practice your song.
This seems so obvious and it’s possible that you have already done this step, but it’s so funny how many people want to record a song and then when it comes to it they just simply haven’t practiced it enough, or they haven’t finished it and think that they will just simply finish it ‘in the studio’. My advice, get as much done as you possibly can. As you do more and more recording you will also start to understand what other ‘parts’ you might need to think about during this writing and practicing procedure, eg. You might need to write and practice backing vocal or harmony lines, a lead guitar or keyboard line, anything else you wanna add to the song, if you’ve at least thought about it before you start recording the better! And the practice part?? Well that’s an easy one too, no one likes trying to record a song and taking 75 attempts at getting it right, practice the parts so that when you do hit the record button you are on fire!
Step 2: Get something to record to.
Now, I strongly suggest using a computer and the recording software REAPER. It’s free to use as a ‘trial’ and even though has more professional features than protools, it is also VERY easy to set up and use straight away. However there are HEAPS of other awesome easy to use programmes that you might want to use. The most common and easy to use is probably garage band. If you don’t have a computer then you probably aren’t reading this anyway, but if you don’t then just get an old tape hand held Dictaphone and hold it about 1 -2 feet away from your guitar and voice. If you use this, then you wont be able to easily multi-track (that means recording instruments one at a time and layering them up).. so you will have to play and sing all at the same time.
For those that DO have computers and have gone to download REAPER and have installed it good on you. Now that we have something for our song to be recorded on to, it’s time for the next step….. and just like that… this blog post was over… stay tuned for the next installment.
Proudly and lovingly brought to you by Tim Chesney and Ben Edwards of The Sitting Room Recording Studios Christchurch, New Zealand. The south island home of audio production, sound design, mixing and location sound recording.
When we heard about MJ’s death this morning we knew something had to be done. We quickly put down the incredibly important work we were doing and set to work trying to create something that would really bring honour to his quickly fading memory.
Guitars came out, tears were shed, sweat was sweated, ideas were bandied about and powerful recording software was called upon to record our 2 minute opus.
We also found some lovely photos of MJ which we thought would suit the extra special song we wrote.
Here’s the movie/song:
This is the MP3 (you can download it by clicking on the down arrow on the right!):
