Yesterday I recorded a live show for the US radio/podcast "The Space Show" hosted by Dr David Livingston. It was by far the most in-depth interview I have done to date and the longest - almost one and a half hours. I'd like to say a big thank you to all those listeners who phoned in or emailed questions. I hope those who won copies of the album will enjoy them. The number of positive comments and feedback I had will definitely inspire me to see the project to it's full conclusion - 20th July 2009 - the 40th anniversary of the moon landings.
If anyone has further questions about the project or would just like to get in touch please email me at graham@gsmithmusic.co.uk. Thanks also to David for setting up the show!
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Jean Michel Jarre at the Royal Albert Hall
Well I've had a week to reflect on the Jean Michel Jarre concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London. It was an amazing event in many ways. Firstly, to see Jean Michel Jarre close up playing those old keyboards (or his 'old ladies' as he refers to them) was a real treat. The control he had over that equipment was amazing and quite touching - kind of like watching a master painter or other artist at work.
The stage set was simple, no fancy light show or pyrotechnics just a mirror above the stage so that the audience could see him playing. It was quite sublime . And it sounded brilliant. In fact, I thought this was the real Jean -Michel Jarre. This was the composer who the day after the Docklands concert inspired me to and buy my first synth and start writing my own music.
It was the image of the man surrounded by his keyboards with the air of a ring master that I really admired. The simplicity of it really grabbed me. I imagined that this is what his Paris studio must have looked like when he first conceived Oxygene. A man lost in his music. A man dedicated to his music.
The big challenge, and one that I will face when trying to play 'eleven' live, is how to take a 40min album and turn into a 2 hour show. Jarre overcame this by adding extra pieces to the set which neatly lead in to the various parts of Oxygene. However, a couple of the pieces were I'd say a little too long. I thought he may perform Oxygene 7-13 but alas we only got to hear one piece from this.
All in all this was a real achievement and an inspiration. Thanks JMJ.
The stage set was simple, no fancy light show or pyrotechnics just a mirror above the stage so that the audience could see him playing. It was quite sublime . And it sounded brilliant. In fact, I thought this was the real Jean -Michel Jarre. This was the composer who the day after the Docklands concert inspired me to and buy my first synth and start writing my own music.
It was the image of the man surrounded by his keyboards with the air of a ring master that I really admired. The simplicity of it really grabbed me. I imagined that this is what his Paris studio must have looked like when he first conceived Oxygene. A man lost in his music. A man dedicated to his music.
The big challenge, and one that I will face when trying to play 'eleven' live, is how to take a 40min album and turn into a 2 hour show. Jarre overcame this by adding extra pieces to the set which neatly lead in to the various parts of Oxygene. However, a couple of the pieces were I'd say a little too long. I thought he may perform Oxygene 7-13 but alas we only got to hear one piece from this.
All in all this was a real achievement and an inspiration. Thanks JMJ.
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Influences: Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene
I first discovered this album in 1980 when a school friend played me Oxygene IV. I can remember being mesmerized by the strange sounds and being swept away by the music. The atmospheric synths fuelled my imagination and created quite ethereal images in my mind.
Oxygene is of huge importance in the history of electronic music and to my own musical style and recording technique. It was released in 1976 when punk was really starting to take off and there were also early signs of disco emerging - this setting makes it all the more remarkable. It was number 1 in the US, UK and France and has to date sold around 12 million copies.
The album itself is a blend of experimental music and pop music and was recorded entirely from Jarre's home in Paris (something very unusual for that time). This inspired me to start experimenting with sounds and music at home. I remember setting up multiple tape machines and I started gathering together phaser units, delay units and guitar effects pedals to run through my cheap Casio keyboard to try and recreate those wonderfully evocative sounds. In a way, Jarre did a similar thing with Oxygene (but with way better results!). In the days before computers, MIDI and all the luxurys we have now each keyboard had to have it's sound set and you could not guarantee getting the exact same sound twice! But therein is the spirit of adventure - by experimenting with the dials, switches and faders you felt like an adventurer on a quest for new sounds. When you found one it was like striking gold!
These days I still love to play around with the all those dials and switches - it's just that they are all computer based now. Many of the sounds on 'eleven' were created through pure experimentation, improvisation and 'messing around'.
As I write this I'm listening to the new 30th anniversary master recording. It's still as fresh and inspiring as it was when I first heard it and I'm really forward to seeing Jean Michel Jarre perform it live in March.
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Busy, busy, busy
Well it's been sometime since my last post but a lot has been happening. During that time I've been getting on with a new website for 'eleven' which should be ready by the end of this month. I have also been working with a friend of mine on a promo video for the track 'Pioneers'. As part of my research I've been going through the NASA library of Apollo 11 images which has been amazing. Some of the photos on there are, well, out of this world. We're working on a fresh modern take for the video and I'm really excited about working on it.
The album is now on more digital download stores as well - the biggest one being Amazon. I'm constantly looking for new avenues and channels to promote the music. I've also given permission for a few conference organisers to use my music for their events. It's great when people ask if they can use the music - must be doing something right!
Aside from that I've been sending out loads of press releases to music review sites which has given me new exposure. I even got a front page write up on one of the main sites www.mi2n.com which I was really chuffed with! I'm currently rewriting a press kit and will be doing a special 'press-mix' of 'eleven' for journalists. This will take the form of 1 minute snippets of each track mixed into one MP3 file for download. I've got loads of new ideas and inspiration from reading Bob Baker's work. I'd strongly recommend any indie musician/band starting out to head over to Bob Bakers site. The advice and tips I've got from there have been invaluable.
Finally, to wrap this post up, I got a great letter from Tom Hanks a few weeks back. Tom of course starred in the movie 'Apollo 13' and this was a major reference point for me when I was writing and recording the album. I sent a CD to his production company and of course I was over the moon (sorry!) to get a message from him. Thanks for getting in touch Tom. It's much appreciated. You're a true gentleman.
The album is now on more digital download stores as well - the biggest one being Amazon. I'm constantly looking for new avenues and channels to promote the music. I've also given permission for a few conference organisers to use my music for their events. It's great when people ask if they can use the music - must be doing something right!
Aside from that I've been sending out loads of press releases to music review sites which has given me new exposure. I even got a front page write up on one of the main sites www.mi2n.com which I was really chuffed with! I'm currently rewriting a press kit and will be doing a special 'press-mix' of 'eleven' for journalists. This will take the form of 1 minute snippets of each track mixed into one MP3 file for download. I've got loads of new ideas and inspiration from reading Bob Baker's work. I'd strongly recommend any indie musician/band starting out to head over to Bob Bakers site. The advice and tips I've got from there have been invaluable.
Finally, to wrap this post up, I got a great letter from Tom Hanks a few weeks back. Tom of course starred in the movie 'Apollo 13' and this was a major reference point for me when I was writing and recording the album. I sent a CD to his production company and of course I was over the moon (sorry!) to get a message from him. Thanks for getting in touch Tom. It's much appreciated. You're a true gentleman.
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
10 minutes a day
I remember reading this and thinking 'Can 10 minutes a day working on promoting your music really work?'. Well I can tell you that it does. And 10 minutes is far better than nothing at all. In fact, whilst writing this I'm reminded of my Dad saying exactly the same thing about practising my bass guitar. Wisdom definitely comes with age.
Looking back now to when I started promoting Eleven I really did not have a clue about where to start. Yet now some 10 months on I've done things I only dreamed of back then. Of course, I've screwed up plenty along the way too but that's part of the fun! The 2000's are a new age for music promotion and each musician or band has a huge opportunity for getting their music heard or purchased around the world. What I've found is just brainstorm ideas, try them if they don't work then ditch them and try something else. What I love is that I'm learning about the music business.
So what can I do in 10 minutes? Well I can research a new quality contact or I write an email or I review my press material. These may seem insignificant in there own right but over the course of a few months you will be surprised where you can get. And you know, I always feel much better because I have moved forward with my music career. And that's the direction I want to be moving in.
Looking back now to when I started promoting Eleven I really did not have a clue about where to start. Yet now some 10 months on I've done things I only dreamed of back then. Of course, I've screwed up plenty along the way too but that's part of the fun! The 2000's are a new age for music promotion and each musician or band has a huge opportunity for getting their music heard or purchased around the world. What I've found is just brainstorm ideas, try them if they don't work then ditch them and try something else. What I love is that I'm learning about the music business.
So what can I do in 10 minutes? Well I can research a new quality contact or I write an email or I review my press material. These may seem insignificant in there own right but over the course of a few months you will be surprised where you can get. And you know, I always feel much better because I have moved forward with my music career. And that's the direction I want to be moving in.
Friday, 23 November 2007
Get copyright clearance
My album 'eleven' uses a few NASA samples from the Apollo 11 mission and I had to make doubly sure I was able to use them. Luckily, NASA has an open policy on using it's recordings, films and images (other governmental agencies should take not of this!) so I didn't have any trouble using those. I did however, intentionally avoid using photography of the astronauts on the sleeve as in some cases this could be seen as a breach of copyright.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realised that I'd sourced the President Kennedy sample on the opening track 'Launch' from another source. So I got in touch with Rice University in the US where Kennedy made the speech and they believed that this recording had passed into public domain but that I should check with the Presidential museum in Washington. I contacted them , explaining clearly how the sample was to be used and how much I was using. I got clearance a day later.
Now that people are playing my music all over the world I often get requests like "Can I use your music in our Expo?" or "I'd like to use your track for a video I'm doing.""Sure!" I say. It's just nice to be asked. Had I found out through other means I may not be so happy.
So the advice here is - make sure you contact the owners of the copyright.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realised that I'd sourced the President Kennedy sample on the opening track 'Launch' from another source. So I got in touch with Rice University in the US where Kennedy made the speech and they believed that this recording had passed into public domain but that I should check with the Presidential museum in Washington. I contacted them , explaining clearly how the sample was to be used and how much I was using. I got clearance a day later.
Now that people are playing my music all over the world I often get requests like "Can I use your music in our Expo?" or "I'd like to use your track for a video I'm doing.""Sure!" I say. It's just nice to be asked. Had I found out through other means I may not be so happy.
So the advice here is - make sure you contact the owners of the copyright.
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Learning from Apollo
Through my research for the 'eleven' album I learned a lot about the Apollo program. The key learning for me though has been dealing with problems.
The Apollo program was frequently beset with problems and they were constantly faced with problems that no one had answers for as no one had encountered them before. Despite all this the still got a man on the moon. They kept going, they asked better more constructed problem solving questions, they came up with the answers.
Taking this into my music career (and indeed life in general) there are pearls of wisdom here. In the past if I wasn't getting the response I wanted from the press, then I'd be pretty upset. Now I try and ask myself more empowering questions like "What do I need to improve this?" "What am I willing to do to improve this?". I've also learned to take more responsibility. If I don't get replies then I asked "What can I do to make this release more appealing?".
Anyone who has seen Apollo 13 will know just how good the problem solving skills of the Apollo team were. There attitude was always positive and 'can-do'. Bringing just a little of this into our daily lives will surely bring us dramatic improvements in everything we do.
The Apollo program was frequently beset with problems and they were constantly faced with problems that no one had answers for as no one had encountered them before. Despite all this the still got a man on the moon. They kept going, they asked better more constructed problem solving questions, they came up with the answers.
Taking this into my music career (and indeed life in general) there are pearls of wisdom here. In the past if I wasn't getting the response I wanted from the press, then I'd be pretty upset. Now I try and ask myself more empowering questions like "What do I need to improve this?" "What am I willing to do to improve this?". I've also learned to take more responsibility. If I don't get replies then I asked "What can I do to make this release more appealing?".
Anyone who has seen Apollo 13 will know just how good the problem solving skills of the Apollo team were. There attitude was always positive and 'can-do'. Bringing just a little of this into our daily lives will surely bring us dramatic improvements in everything we do.
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