Sentric Music Catalogue Selection

7 things to consider before you enter the recording studio

Everyone loves a good ‘list post’ where the author sums up everything into X amount of handy succinct points to therefore make them easier to drink in and follow. Remember the ‘9 Twitter Tips for Artists’ or the ‘8 Tips On How To Make The Most Of Your Mailing List’? Or who could forget the classic* ‘Top 8 Things Unsigned/Independent Artists Do Wrong’?

*my definition of classic may radically differ from yours

Point made.

So you want to record your music? Of course you do, if you don’t record it then you can’t sell 300,000 copies of it and have the Edith Bowman voiceover say “The deluxe Über platinum edition of (insert title here) by (insert your name here) is now out for Christmas. Featuring (insert number 3 smash hit here), (insert over-achieving second single here which received loads of PR after your drummer slept with Kate Moss) and upcoming single (insert critically acclaimed debut single that disappointingly undersold here that you’re re-releasing)” on the prime time advertising slot you foolishly splashed out on after drunkenly agreeing to commit the marketing spend with the pretty blonde ITV advertising representative who got you drunk on Mojitos and complemented your skinny jeans/winkle picker combination.

So what do you need to consider? I asked a few of my friends, who either own, run or work in recording studios for their advice (referred to as ‘JD’ & ‘AG’) and the result was hence thus to fore hitherto:

(Note: whether you’re venturing into the studio for the first time or fifth time hopefully you’ll be able to take something from this).

1)      Are your songs actually ready?

Out of all the points I put forward to my chums this one received the most comment as it would appear you musician lot are just so bloody eager to get into the studio that you and/or your songs are often just not ready. Do you know your song part inside and out? Can you play it without a drummer or will you need a click track? Are the songs you want to record actually good enough? JD comments “Lots of time can be wasted in the studio if you don’t know your part or you’re trying to play something beyond your ability. Practice and be prepared and then more time can be spent in the studio creating and perfecting rather than doing endless takes of the same part in order to get enough bits to stick together to make it passable.” All in all AG sums this up very well; “Rehearsal time is an awful lot cheaper than recording time!”

Amen to that.

2)      Do a bit of market research

What are these tracks actually for? Do you want to release them? Are they purely to demo your ‘new sound’ (in which case you might only need to do live recordings and therefore save yourself some cash)? Do you think you have a track that is potentially ‘sync-worthy’? Whatever your tracks are for will inevitably influence the time and money you spend on the process and also the style it’s recorded. I’ll never forget the time an artist sent us both instrumentals AND television backing track versions! Imagine that! (The difference I hear you ask? The drums are lower in the mix, no “ooh”’s and “ahh”’s and intruding middle eights are cut out).

This can all relate back to a post I wrote a short while ago entitled ‘Different People Have Different Ears For Different Needs’ have a read of that and consider the points raised.

3)      Budget, cash, moolah etc

You may have noticed there is a bit of a recession on at the moment, add to that the fact that the music industry was in its own mini recession before the world joined us in our recession (ever the trend setters that we are) and now we find ourselves in a freaky recession-squared situation. All I’m trying to say in a rather convoluted way is that frugality is the new sexy.

Thanks to points 1 & 2 you should now know how many songs you’re wanting to record and for what purpose. You should now think about how much time it takes to perform this recording wizardry as JD points out: “Long drawn out recording processes are often more problematic than booking a week/weekend and completing it all at once”. Doing it over a number of sessions leaves you too much time to think and just like your ex girlfriend, when you over analyse things you’ll inevitably pick flaws in them and end up wasting valuable time and therefore money. The wisdom continues as he points out “Don’t try and do as many tracks as possible in one session. One or two well recorded tracks is way stronger than ten sloppy ones.”

Amen to that.

4)      Choosing your location

Google is a wonderful thing, it’s the gateway to a better life. Although probably an awful thing to actually say rather than just think; I owe more to Google than I do some of my friends. It gives so much and asks for so little back. Google is your friend. In Google you should trust. So use it.

The key things to research  in choosing a location:

• How much does it cost?
• Who has recorded there before? Artists you respect? Artists whose music you like? Artists you could get in touch with and ask for their honest opinion?
• Do you have a contact who can introduce you to the studio to potentially get a discounted rate?

Really do have a shop around, you never know what deals you just might bag. Due to the current state of the industry you might be able to get a rather high quality studio for cheaper than you think;

At the end of the day
A full studio at a reduced rate is better
Than an empty studio at full rate

That’s the worst haiku ever.

5)      Tracking, Mixing and Mastering

One of my pet hates is when people disregard the advice and opinions of those who know better about a certain subject then them. The prime example of this for myself is when someone ignores what a Doctor has told them. There is no real need for me to tell you this in the blog, but it winds me up to such an extent then maybe somehow someway that last sentence will help stop a singular moronic person doing it. If a sound engineer tells you that a certain aspect of your song isn’t right, then he/she is probably worth listening to. Let us remember that this is their job and before you walked, nay, strutted through those studio doors there were hundreds, if not thousands like you previously.

I understand your music is precious to you, but picture yourself as Demi Moore in Ghost and the studio engineer as Patrick Swayze…

Go with me on this…

Your music is the ball of damp bulbous clay and with the aid of the muscular engineers guiding hands you mould it into a beautiful piece of three and a half minutes audible delight in a no way erotic process.

There are three main processes in recording your works and be aware that not always the same person will provide all three services. Click on the following to learn about Tracking, Mixing and Mastering if you’re not clued up already and be sure to have a conversation about them with the studio before you book any time with them.

6)      Edits and Instrumentals

Pretty straight forward but an alarming amount of artists always forget this as they’re usually extremely giddy by the fact the recording process is done and they can’t wait to get a copy to their mum.

Is your song 5 minutes long? Then get yourself a nice little 3 and a half minute radio edit so the lovely people over at BBC Introducing won’t worry about allocating too much airtime to one artist.

And I’ve harped on about it plenty enough in the past; get instrumentals of everything you do as it helps people like me get your much on TV/adverts/games.

7)      Is your work ethic up to scratch?

Unless you’re prepared to work like your great granddad doing overtime in a coal mine then don’t even bother about booking studio time. This was an issue I was surprised even existed until JD informed me otherwise:

“One last thing:  Work hard. Don’t be drinking beer and pissing about in the studio as you’ll just be wasting money. You can get pissed anywhere, anytime and drinking in the studio is like drinking in a shit bar that cost £400 a day to get into. Be prepared to play your parts over and over and to sing your songs many times. Don’t get impatient. Work hard, take your time and you’ll be a million times more pleased with the end result.”

Amen to that.

So there you go. Follow that and you’ll be alright. If you are looking to record then here at Sentric we’re chums with the following lovely folk so if you’re a Sentric artist get in touch (info at sentricmusic.com) and I’ll introduce you for some preferential ‘mates rates’.

Miloco Studios – Home to 17 studios based all around the UK (and a couple in Europe), they have been home to some of the world’s most famous acts including The Arctic Monkeys, Sugababes, Slipknot, Chemical Brothers, Jamie T and the list goes on. In fact, I went on a tour of their studios just the other week and bumped into Chaka Khan and Lulu (who was wearing some awful shoes and therefore was referred to as ‘Bad Shulu’ for the rest of the tour).

Flesh & Bone Studios – To quote their blurb “Flesh and Bone is a collective of young, seasoned sound engineers and producers working in London. A collective that works with a common purpose for new artist development and the provision of a unique space in which to create.”

Sandhills Studios – To quote their blurb “Sandhills Studios are a 19th century converted cotton-cellar studio, housing a 4000sq/ft recording complex. Featuring a carefully tuned 1000sq/ft live room, adjoining stone reverb chamber, two isolation booths, and a Pro Tools HD equipped control room, the studio can accommodate a vast array of recording scenarios.  From full live tracking to overdubbing, and everywhere in between, Sandhills aims to create a unique environment for every session.”

The Animal Farm – To quote their blurb “The Animal Farm recording studio is in a converted 19th century biscuit factory minutes from the South Bank of River Thames. The studio is designed around classic Neve, SSL and state of the art Pro Tools. With three live areas, lots of natural light and an extensive equipment list The Animal Farm is a creative haven maxed out on the latest gizmos available.”

2Fly Studios – So cool they haven’t even got a website but check out the Alan Smythe’s Wikipedia page who is the brains behind the operation. Based in Sheffield, pretty much anyone who is anyone from South Yorkshire has recorded there at some point.

What I’m listening to this week – Kid Adrift and Little Comets (if you want to win tickets to see the Little Comets in Liverpool and an exclusive Passion Pit T-Shirt then click here)

Oxytocin? Chemical Soup – Kid Adrift – Electro by sentricmusic

What I’m reading this week – We Are The Digital Kids Tumblr

I hope you’ve all checked out our SHINY NEW WEBSITE as well?!
Stay tuned

sP

 

referred to as ‘JD’ and ‘AG’

Win Little Comets tickets and a Passion Pit t-shirt!

So it’s a bit of a first for the Sentric Blog, I’ve been asked by the rather lovely people at Topman Ctl if i wouldn’t mind running a competition they’re currently promoting.

Here is the long and short of it:

•    Passion Pit have ‘hand selected’ the line up for the Topman Ctl gig in Liverpool at the Korova Bar on the 19th November
•    The line up is

• Little Comets (who’s new single ‘Adultery’ is ace)
• Airship (who have just been featured on the new Dance to the Radio comp)
• Bicycle Thieves (Liverpool’s current buzz band)

•    Passion Pit have also designed a rather flash t-shirt (which you can see below) of which only 50 have been made and I’ve got one to give away to you fine readers.
•    You can read an interview with Passion Pit here about their current audible listening habits and visit Topman Ctl’s website here

If you want to win the t-shirt plus yourself + 1 guestlist for the gig in Liverpool then all you have to do is answer the following question:

Q) Passion Pit claim in the song I’ve Got Your Number that they “cry tears like diamonds”, with that in mind: which of the following make honey?

A) Bee
B) Sea
C) Hay

Email your answer to info@sentricmusic.com with the subject title ‘Passion Pit’ for a chance of winning.

I’ll email the winner on Monday 16th November

Stay tuned

sP

 

In The City 2009

The clocks must go back soon. I don’t actually know when exactly, but I do know it must be soon as I’m currently sat here staring at a never ending inbox, still shattered following three days of Mancunian shananigans (which my feeble body couldn’t even finish off the last evening of – I’m obviously not as Rock N Roll as I used to be). Oh yes; it was In The City.

My sixth year at the musical conference was my first one where I actually had some input of sorts in the form of a Sentric Music showcase and also partaking on a publishing panel. Both of which, I’m utterly chuffed to say, went rather well.

So here is what was said, what I learned and what I think.

-    Rick Falkvinge – Chairman and founder of The Pirate Party – certainly knows how to cause a stir. Giving a presentation to potentially the hardest crowd he’s probably ever had the pleasure to stand in front of, he called the need for change in copyright and intellectual property laws. And despite holding his own and raising a few interesting points by calling up on various historical technological landmarks to support his various cases, he was ultimately undone by one eager member of the crowd who told him to “fuck off” and went further to rubbish his historical references by claiming “what does it matter what happened in medieval times? If we were in medieval times now I’d burn you at the stake”. Although maybe a tad crass his feelings seem to be echoed by the crowd with one of Falkvinge’s points especially upsetting the masses: reducing copyright to five years. A rather obnoxious suggestion that superciliously undermines pretty much everyone in the industry. From what I could gather his only argument for this was in order to allow fans to produce ‘mash ups’… I hope the readers of this blog don’t need me to inform them why the needs of the industry and all those trying to make a living from it are greater than those fans who wish to make mash ups (not that they can’t or shouldn’t; they’re great promo tools at the end of the day, but reducing copyright to five years?!) and I hope over the course of my blog writing history, and indeed the fact I do Sentric Music, I have done enough to prove to you all that I’m all for a forward thinking industry, but this my friends is not the man to vote for.
-    Rick Falkvinge also looks a bit like Colonel Stuart from Die Hard 2 (thanks for @StevenOakes for pointing that beauty out)
-    The P2P panel agreed that the industry was missing one key thing: Optimism. I’m not sure I agree with this statement, but it’s maybe because I haven’t been in the industry for as long as some of the panel members have been. Granted, the world is lacking a pinch of the stuff at the moment and maybe it’s simply because I’m sooo bloody happy that my middle name could be ‘Rainbows & Kittens’ but it’s really all rather exciting at the moment isn’t it?
-    John Webster, CEO of the Music Managers Forum – “The MMF would like to see rights holders take more risks, and mimic P2P services”. He’s clever as well, he help set up the Mercury Music Prize and Now! That’s what I Call Music so he’s worth listening to.
-    The P2P panel also argued that the major players in the industry were stifling entrepreneurialism. As I come from an indie company it’d be great for me to wave some paper in the air whilst simultaneously mumbling and shouting something in that way that back bench MP’s do in the House of Commons, but again I don’t think this is true anymore. It may have been as little as 18 months ago but the majors appear to be allowing access to their catalogue to a whole variety of services so far this year. This could arguably be seen as a “throw enough poop until something sticks” tactic, but at least they’re saying yes right?
-    20 year old Paul Curry built a website when he was 16 that was used by over 250 million people and even with that success saw the industry as so backward and difficult to work with that he’s already moved on. That’s quite a sad fact and after listening to him speak he was clearly a very, very clever guy but ultimately he was a software industry entrepreneur rather than a music industry entrepreneur. Not that that’s a bad thing whatsoever of course, but he contradicted himself at one point by saying Radiohead’s In Rainbows was a good example of how ‘free’ can work (which it isn’t) but then suggesting that his websites ‘tipjar’ raised nowhere near enough cash for him to live off. Is that not the equivalent in this case? In the statement: “I like Radiohead so even though I can have it for free I’ll still give them some cash” couldn’t Radiohead be substituted with his website? Still, compared to what I was trying to do when I was 16 (insert your own joke here, but do be kind).
-    Anthony Volodkin however appears to be cut from a similar, yet at the same time ultimately different cloth. The creator of the rather influential Hype Machine discussed his story with the editor of Drowned In Sound and his passion for music really shone through. The highlight of the conversation was when he discussed the reason of his love of music blogs and about how they’re written by people who simply love music so much they feel the need to share their thoughts about it with no financial agenda influencing their words (in the majority of cases anyhow).
-    The Duty of Care panel took a look at the responsibility an artist’s team has in their welfare. Some argued they shouldn’t care whatsoever; they work with them, they’re not their nanny, whilst others argued it’s in their inherent interest to care; if the artist isn’t well then they’re not producing the goods so then everyone inevitably suffers at the end. It took a surprisingly long time for the word ‘empathy’ to be used and for someone to remove all hierarchical structure altogether; we’re all human after all, shouldn’t we just look after one another anyhow? All aboard the train to music utopia.
-    The panel looking into computer games opened my eyes somewhat; now I’m fully aware how much the gaming industry is booming, but it would appear it’s exceeding even my educated estimations at the moment and the future potential is stunning. The panel were keen to discuss the concept of ‘Cloud Gaming’ which they believe will happen in 8-10 years (which probably means it’ll happen a lot quicker). Cloud Gaming sees the complete disappearance of hardware as everything you need will be online and accessible via a high speed internet connection, ergo you don’t need the latest offering from Sony or Xbox in order to play computer games. Take down that initial financial hurdle of having to purchase a console and the industry truly becomes global meaning the level of potential exposure for artists becomes phenomenal.
-    On the panel I took part in the topic of conversation was what publishers are doing in the current industry that isn’t necessary traditional and as everything that Sentric Music does is pretty untraditional I hope my ramblings were of use to someone.
-    The geekathon panel (I say that in a wholly positive manner as I am also a geek at heart, and even aesthetically some may say) saw social media experts pretty much agree that Trent Rezner is doing everything right so look at what he does and try and apply it to your situation. This, of course will be near on impossible but hey, don’t shoot the messenger.
-    John Niven (author of the rather good read ‘Kill Your Friends’) publically invited Ed O’Brian of Radiohead fame to “suck on his balls” due to the bass players recent outspokenness on behalf of the FAC.
-    During the final ‘free for all’ panel, the audience was asked to shout out who their favourite band of the festival was and rather brilliantly the majority vote went out to Sentric Music’s very own Gallops! I assure you this is the truth as well; I wouldn’t be so disrespectful as to lie to my dear, dear readers. It’s just that we have some of the best UK talent on board here at Sentric Towers!

This leads me very nicely onto the artists I managed to catch over the conference. Here are the highlights…

MidiMidis (Sentric Music Showcase) – Winners of our ITC 09 competition sent the simplest tech spec I’ve personally ever witnessed: Two guitar amps, a mic and a 3.5mm jack which was then connected to a Sony PSP handheld gaming device. They then performed music that can be best described as The Strokes writing a soundtrack for a Sega Master System game, circa ‘Alex The Kid’. Very interesting and clever enough to disperse any preconceptions of gimmickry, it even instigated BBC Introducing to tweet: “MIDIMIDIS last song rocked. Called Nemesis, out in Nov. Tune.”

Dutch Uncles – One of the three most talked about bands of the weekend (alongside Gallops! And Frightened Rabbit), Dutch Uncles have been causing quite some fuss within the Manchester scene in the past few months securing high profile support slots with the likes of Maximo Park and Bombay Bicycle Club. There lead singer oozes the Mancunian idiosyncrasies of Byrne, Curtis and Morrissey without coming across pastiche and I’m very happy to say we’ll be working with them here at Sentric very soon.

Dirty Goods (Sentric Music Showcase) – Funky Welshman Dirty Goods certainly delivered on one latter part of their name and thankfully appeared well groomed quashing any worries about the former. Their 50 word bio that was submitted to the ITC Live Guide convinced a couple of lovely folks from Sony Pictures in LA to come and catch them opening the doors to potential syncs in the future; a good example of how important a well written bio can be.

Jamie Ley (Sentric Music Showcase) – The former front man of Jamie & The Lionhearts who is now going alone brought with him some actual fans who sang along with the actual words and everything. A lovely voice that has a touch of Nutini about it whilst still staying original, Ley has a few big boys sniffing around him at the moment and rightly so as even though he falls thoroughly into a saturated genre he’s still managing to stand out.

Gallops! (Sentric Music Showcase) – Before In The City began I claimed there will be three phrases guaranteed to be used at some point over the course of the conference, one of which was: “Were you at (insert artist name here) last night?! They KIILED it”. I’m rather chuffed to say that you can well and truly insert Gallops! Into that gap, because they indeed did kill it and kill it good (I should point out to people reading who don’t keep up with ‘Youth Culture’ that ‘Killing It’ in this context is actually a good thing and no, I don’t know either). Instrumental organised chaos with a drummer who caused me to agog my face off. Brilliant.

The Federals (Sentric Music Showcase) – I’ve was looking forward to seeing these ever since they came on board at Sentric Music and thankfully my anticipation didn’t lead to disappointment. I could throw around many buzz words to describe these lads but it simply boils down to good old fashioned dirty rock and roll. I like these, and so should you.

Frightened Rabbit – The Drowned In Sound showcase was always going to be rife with talent thanks to the ears of the sites editor and Frightened Rabbit shone majestically. Scotland is churning out some quality music at the moment alongside artists such as Twin Atlantic and Sentric’s very own Nacional, maybe it’s time I visited that old friend of mine in Edinburgh.

So there you go, that’s enough eh?

What I’m listening to this week: All of the bands mentioned above, Quartershades new single (out now) and The Snake The Cross The Crown

What I’m reading this week: Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History Of Nearly Everything‘ Warning – don’t read unless you want to feel rather unimportant.

Stay tuned

sP

Sentric Music’s ITC Showcase – Sunday 18th October @ Electric Boogaloo

The line up has been finalised after competition winners MidiMidis caused nothing short of a ferocious debate within Sentric Towers over who should take the elusive fifth slot. Thank you to all who applied, it truly was a hard decision.

So the line up as it looks now:

The Federals
Gallops
Jamie Ley
MidiMidis
Dirty Goods

All kicking off at 7pm @ Electric Boogaloo,  just across the road from the ITC Head Quarters – The Midland Hotel.

The Federals – Exploding out of the soulless back streets of York, The Federals bring a vitality, urgency and immediacy to the music scene. Fast and furious, these four angry youths are putting the rage into garage with an arsenal of spiky potential rock n’ roll classics.
Gallops -  “Gallops, who have inherited more than horsey wordplay from their successful precursors. While they’ve harnessed the jerky propulsion of Foals, the riffs-as-rhythm of Pivot and the synthy tomfoolery so beloved of Battles, it’s all built on a bedrock of post-rock and they’re not afraid to unleash guitars as heavy as, say, Russian Circles (NME).”
Jamie Ley – Jamie Ley was born in the eye of a hurricane and he swears that the wind was whistling in C sharp major that day. Swapping between a variety of instruments including piano, ukulele and guitar whilst wooing audiences with his Buckley-esque vocals, Jamie Ley’s soulful creations certainly stir the emotions.
MidiMidis – MidiMidis are two brothers-in-law who spend an obsessive amount of time in various bedrooms experimenting with retro MIDI and 8bit sounds from the likes of their AMSTRAD CPC 464 and ZX SPECTRUM. They are the only band who compose all of their songs using 8bit and MIDI whilst adding late 70’s New-York style guitars and crooning vocals.
Dirty Goods – Dirty Goods are an elctro-pop/dance two piece from South Wales.  Formerly of “super scratchy indiests” (NME) Jump The Underground. Influences are drawn from many a musical genre but sounds of Chromeo, Daft Punk, Pheonix, Basement Jaxx can all be heard. Safe.

Want to know why these guys are ones to watch? Then listen here and quench that curious thirst of yours…

Sentric Music In The City Showcase 2009! by sentricmusic

Not an artist but want to check out In The City? This year the UK’s international music convention launches its new, open to the public, ITC Live Wristband -  bringing 150 bands over 3 days to the streets of Manchester.

Showcases confirmed alongside Sentric Music’s include NME Radar, BBC Introducing, Xfm, Popjustice, SJM Concerts, Now Wave, Big Scary Monsters, Swn, Front Magazine, Love Music Hate Racism, Same Teens, Future Sounds, Drowned in Sound, Rock Sound, Fierce Panda, and Murkage.

Quite simply you’ll be seeing the crème de la crème of the unsigned music industry all for just over £20 if you buy one now!

It’s going to be a good one this year. Sentric Music are going to be there so come and say hello and watch one of us show just how ignorant we actually are about this Music Publishing business as we take a seat on the panel: “PUB-LABEL-UBISHING – DEFINING THE LINES OF THE FUTURE” Read here for more information.

B(r)ands

First of all, this post isn’t about Coca Cola or Levi’s or McDonalds or whatever else pops into your head when someone first mentions the word ‘Branding’ to you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from said companies as by the sheer matter of the fact you may have indeed thought of one of them means they’re doing something very right indeed.

No, this blog is about branding yourself. Little things you can do to help reinforce your sound, image and general perception to your fans and potential fans of the future.

I’ve harped on about this before in a few other blogs but never really gone into too much detail so I asked my twitter followers if they had any questions regarding this subject to pitch to a couple of folks who know quite a lot about all this malarky.

Simon Malcolm is a brand consultant and has been evangelizing about brand belief for many years and works for the highly successful Words & Pictures.

James Poletti words for Frukt, a leading company within this field and producers of the ‘Brands, Bands & Fans’ publications which you can subscribe to for free here.

So firstly, the questions they were aksed:

• Can you define branding in this context?
• Is simplicity the key? Just a colour ala JLS? Or a dress code like ala The Hives? Or shit haircuts ala the Foals?
• Can you think of any artists who’ve branded themselves very well? And ones who’ve done it disastrously?
• Does it actually matter? Will it make people buy my music or make them any more interested in me in the grand scheme of things?
• What needs to be considered when I’m creating the ‘brand’ of my appearance/music?
• Any other general advice?

And to start, the rather brilliant answers from Simon Malcolm.

1. Defining branding in the context of music is not necessarily a helpful starting point. As a brand fundamentalist (you’ll understand by the time you reach the end) who has preached (and converted) in the retail, sport, tourism and financial services sectors, the start point is always: branding is applicable and critical to all areas of activity. Simply put, branding is about positioning – in the consumer’s mind. It’s about owning a space (le creneau as French brand marketers put it) that keeps the competition out. And because it’s about this, then even your most ardent anti-brand person/band is playing the branding game in its purest form. They spend all of their time ensuring that others know exactly what they stand for. My mantra to bands, brands, business and all is: you’ve got a reputation (by simply being) so manage it.

2. Which brings us (not very neatly) back to music. Who manages – or owns – band brand? Back in the days of The Beatles (40 years ago today …) it was Epstein who recognised the need for a consistent look and feel – although Lord Macca claims he came up with the suits. The band was just another Mersybeat combo that needed a creneau. And that space was suited and booted with a moptop on top. Bingo (or should that be Ringo) – you’ve got a b(r)and. And the relevance of 40 years ago today is that there are not many brands – let alone bands – which have successfully maintained over such a period the level of awareness, loyalty, income generation that the Fab Four have done.

3. But is it simply as simple as sorting out a sympathetic dress code? Well, most successful branding does work on the principle of simplifying complex offerings into single, powerful propositions. That said, branding in a commercial sense apes the concept of character as applied to often inanimate objects or large organisations. It tries to give them a personality – multi-faceted just like you and me. But they always have an ‘essence’, a key attribute that they drive home. So in that sense, Orange (the telecoms co. not the fruit) ‘owns’ the colour, Apple (the technology business not the fruit) ‘owns’ the attribute of  ‘design’ regardless of product, Virgin (the multi-service behemoth not the …) owns the attribute of ‘pioneering underdog’.
When applied to bands or musicians then, the discipline should be easier, simpler. They are people after all, not corporate constructs. And yes, a definitive look – whether in the wardrobe department or hair-styling – is part of it. But only part. The consumer or listener is also looking for other values and traits to grab hold of – political views maybe, lifestyle choices – and as such is looking for the whole thing. A band/performer therefore couldn’t get away for long with great clothes but vile racist views (unless that’s the brand you’re looking for!).

4. Which brings us onto case studies – good and bad. Eric Clapton – a guitar god to some, racist ranter to others: one slip of the drunken tongue many years ago leaves the world’s favourite fret man with nasty shadow he can’t shake off IN PEOPLE’S MINDS. Happy Mondays – lived, breathed (only just), bounced, laughed, lunged and over-indulged to the letter the brand that was Madchester and all its constituent parts. And when anyone singled out a band member for their foibles, the brilliant collective b(r)and chorus was heard: ‘But they’re the fookin’ Appy Mundees, that’s what they’re s’ppost to be like, you thick twat’. The brand was bigger than the both of us – and it wasn’t them that was gonna leave. And we could list others or simply ask some questions: When does/did Amy Winehouse lose brand equity as edgy chanteuse? Is Bono right to make a bid to be the next Pope/Nelson Mandela/UN secretary rolled into one? The music may be good, but the perceptions that cloud the mind when listening slowly (and not so slowly in some cases) get in the way until one day you reach for the off button and some other b(r)and takes their place.

5. And that leads us (neatly this time) into the question to brand behaviour that might be good to consider. Stick to a set of principles that don’t change. Very, very simply put – if you know exactly what you stand for (and, crucially so do your audience) and will never, ever stray off that path then you have a great chance to take people with you for a very long time. But beware the company that you keep. Given that you need to live and eat and drink and pay the rent, you will want some just rewards for your work. If the royalties and tours deliver the moolah then you’re sorted. But the reality is probably something completely different. So along comes SentricMusic to hook you up with a commercial brand link you can show the bank manager. ‘We’ve got an arms dealer who thinks your melodies will make his ammo fly off the shelves, ” they say (extreme and v. unlikely, but go with it for the sake of the point). “Super duper,” you say. The deal is done, the money rolls in and the many, many long-standing loving fans give you the finger.

Punters are fickle, tribal pains in the arse. Oasis or Blur? Stones or Beatles? Stylistics or O’Jays? Perception is reality (as trite as the saying is) and what your followers believe about you is the truth not necessarily what you tell them. Spend time and effort managing every element of your musical entity – one slip and the whole edifice can come down like a house of cards. Wacko Jacko or the King of Pop?

And now for James Poletti.

Is simplicity the key? Just a colour ala JLS? Or a dress code like ala The Hives? Or shit haircuts ala the Foals?

The only rule here is that your audience will judge you by your appearance. But, judging from the continuing success of Friendly Fires who insist on dressing like a bunch of Economics lecturers on a weekend break in Brussels, there are exceptions in which the music transcends.

Visual identity in rock usually serves either affiliation to a scene or the altogether more idiosyncratic impluses of maverick creativity and the two couldn’t be further apart: the former an adherence to prevailing fashion and the later a statement of originality. Take Patrick Wolf’s refusal to conform to indiedom’s scruffy bohemia, or Super Furry Animals’ defiantly odd stage costume amidst the sportswear and parka uniformity of Brit Pop.

There’s more to a band’s brand than the way they dress, of course, and this becomes really important in the ‘faceless’ world of electronic music where album art and the implied aesthetic world of the music carry the job of reassuring a potential audience that ‘this is for them’.

Can you think of any artists who’ve branded themselves very well? And ones who’ve done it disastrously?

You mention The Hives who I’d argue didn’t aid their case for longevity with such a gimmicky appearance. The list of successes is endless but personal favourites include Bowie, Lou Reed, Kraftwerk, Boards Of Canada, Kate Bush, Mobb Deep, Os Mutantes…

Does it actually matter? Will it make people buy my music or make them any more interested in me in the grand scheme of things?

It matters. Consider that almost all committed record collectors often buy albums on the strength of the cover alone.

What needs to be considered when I’m creating the ‘brand’ of my appearance/music?

If you’re any good, I’d suggest that you find an honest identity that reflects the creative world in which your music is made, without taking yourself too seriously. Otherwise, you could attach yourself to the latest thing in the hope that you get two good years before re-training as a teacher.

Any other general advice?

Look to the past for inspiration, not the present.

So there you go! Very little input from myself this week as their answers are pretty comprehensive and this post is now long enough already! I’d like to thank Simon and James once more and please add your thoughts to this post below; do you agree? Do you think they’ve missed anything? Do you think they’re chatting a load of old tosh?

What I’m listening to this week: Muse’ new album (Spotify), Frank Turner’s new album and Twin Atlantic (go listen/buy their debut album ‘Vivarium’ – it’s ace Spotify)
What I’m reading this week: Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami

Stay tuned

sP

Leeds Festival 2009

I’m sleep deprived, bored of the rain, my bank balance is low and my hearing is slightly impaired, this can only mean one thing: I’ve just experienced yet another Leeds festival.  So as per usual let me inform you about all my shenanigans in the form of an not-as-informative-as-what-would-actually-be-of-use blog.

Due to work commitments my camping buddy couldn’t join me till the Friday evening allowing me to experience the utter joy of assembling and constructing a two man tent by myself. I’m aware there will be hundreds, nay, thousands of strong heterosexual males who are sniggering at my outdoor ineptitude and general disdain at the prospect of approaching such a task by myself and I have no excuse for this. Me and Ray Mears/Bear Grills were simply cut from different rolls of cloth, theirs: a rugged hessian mesh that is harsh on the skin but offers basic shelter necessary for survival and mine: a duvet. Anyhow, I wasn’t worried as I was aware that there were certain ‘camping buddies’ doing the rounds who were there to help me in my hour of need, this however soon became quite clear that it wasn’t going to be the case as these so called ‘camping buddies’ must have been informed by powers higher up in the hierarchy to only help attractive young females in denim shorts and big sunglasses and unfortunately for me I was only fulfilling one of these two prerequisites.

Anyhoo, after my herculean effort of erecting my shelter for the weekend I caught up with some old friends and planned my weekend ahead…

You can listen to all the songs I mention on this nifty little Spotify playlist here

Friday

After being tipped off by good old Fake DIY I chose to start my weekend by taking in the first ever Mariachi band to take to the Leeds festival stage in the form of Mariachi El Bronx, side project of Califronian quintet The Bronx and what a lovely way to start the weekend it was. ‘Cellmates’ (Spotify) being the highlight of a set perfect for the brief glimpse of sunshine that decided to grace the north fondly at that moment.

After that it was onwards to an artist that I’m confident will be climbing up the festival bills over the next couple of years: Delphic. These guys are getting a helluva lot of kudos from all areas of the industry at the moment and with songs like ‘This Momentary’ and the staggeringly good ‘Counterpoint’ (Spotify) under their belt it’s not hard to see why. Definitely ones to catch live if you get the opportunity.

Down to the Festival Republic stage next for a strong set by Newcastle’s up and comers Detroit Social Club who have some good people behind them so expect them to be raising their profile in the near future. Check out ‘Sunshine People’ (Spotify). Following them were Sentric’s favourites Baddies showcasing new songs from their debut album ‘Do The Job’ including the fantastic new single ‘Open One Eye’ (YouTube). These guys are touring like it’s going out of fashion so you’ve no real excuse to let them pass you by and after teaming up with the brilliant MusicGlue they’ve built up a rather nifty fan base within mainland Europe. The lead singer gallops around the stage with eyes crazier than your drunken great uncle at a second cousins wedding (you know that one I mean) and such enigmatic showmanship is whets giving them their well earned reputation on the live circuit. Lovely stuff.

After receiving a text the previous day from a music journo friend of mine asking “what’s that gap about on the NME/Radio 1 Stage between Patrick Wolf and You Me At Six?” I set off asking a few people who I know are in the know about these things and very shortly a friend of mine who knows someone who is in the know and therefore became in the know himself let me in on it to hence thus making me in the know. You know? Anyway, turns out it was the new Josh Homme, Dave Grohl  and John Paul Jones super group ‘Them Crooked Vultures’ and golly gosh was I excited about seeing them. I’m a rather big fan of all three bands (Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Led Zeppelin for those who inexplicably don’t know) so knocking them all together on stage and seeing what comes out was an experiment I was happy to witness. It was quite simply balls out rock and roll leaning towards Queen of the Stone Age out of the three influences which, for me, was the best possible outcome. If they were to write music that sounded like the Foo’s or Led Zep I’d believe it would be too easily criticised and passed off as pastiche where as with Homme’s dark riffs, quirky time signatures and haunting vocal style it makes it unique enough to be accepted as original. Also, it might hopefully mean a whole new generation of Queen’s fans are born which is the least they deserve for being so bloody good.

From the sublime to the ridiculous; Ian Brown. Give it a rest Ian, eh? He managed to make one of the best indie songs of the past decade, F.E.A.R (Spotify), sound horrendous with his nothing short of indolent delivery. Everybody likes to reminisce and the majority of the crowd bopping along to Fools Gold will have no doubt been trying their best to day dream about their youth in dirty nightclubs off their faces on cheap whizz, but it’s hard to dream when you have a Mancunian so dangerously affected by past drug use mumbling into a microphone over the top of your hazy memories.

My misplaced anger at Mr Brown was soon dispersed anyhow when the delightful Maximo Park took the stage. Regular readers will now how much I care for the Geordies so I won’t bore you with that again but I have added the brilliant ‘Books From Boxes’ onto the playlist (Spotify). I will however regale you with a tale of the rather drunken woman set on ruining my singalong. That’s right, I’m a singer. If I’m at a gig and I know the words of a song I enjoy then I’ll be dammed if I don’t half belt it out as well and I make no excuse for this. I consider others around me: I always stand near the speakers so it’s good and loud to drown out my warbling and I always direct my voice up in the air rather than at the person in front of me because I’m a considerate human being who realises that not everyone wants to hear their favourite artists songs sung with a slightly northern twinge.

During one of my numbers this said woman looked at me, shrugged and mouthed the words “Who’s this?” at me. I duly ignored her. Twice more this happened out of the corner of my eye until she actually wandered over to me and asked aloud a matter of inches from my ear, apparently oblivious to the fact I was singing a full volume. I cracked, shouted “MAXIMO PARK! IT SAYS THEIR NAME IN MASSIVE LETTERS ON THE STAGE!” and continued singing, the transition of singing to shouting was so fluid it might have actually been part of the song. Anyhow, to cut a long story short this woman then told me Leeds wasn’t as good as V festival for two reasons; firstly I was informed the weather in V the previous week was scorching, when questioned how the current meteorological status of the festival was anything to do with the good folk of Festival Republic, she took a pregnant pause, decided to ignore the question and went on to point number two which was the fact that Leeds festival’s crowed apparently resembles that of a student union bar. She continued to emphasise her personal age related crisis by presenting the field to me with a sweep of her arms repeating the phrase “student union bar” on several more occasions. I made a swift departure.

I had to go fetch my camping buddy at this point so I missed out on The Prodigy unfortunately but I made sure I had my place for my hometown comrades The Arctic Monkeys. It’s been widely said that their third album (Humbug) is one that will alienate casual fans and if you were to couple that statement with this set list then they obviously only wanted to keep the diehard fans happy. A strange set list all things considered that included a large number of news songs, a Nick Cave cover and was missing in quite a few obvious festival pleasers. I didn’t mind however as I do fall into the diehard category mentioned previously so I was thoroughly impressed although I have only two criticisms. The finale of the brilliant 505 (Spotify) was rather flat and not delivered with the power and emotion it has been when I’ve seen it in the past and also, Jamie Cook really needs a haircut.

Saturday

After failing to sleep on Friday night the first few bands on Saturday were always going to have their work cut out to impress me and it’s fair to say that Kids In Glass Houses probably weren’t the band I should have started with. I’m a fan of the energetic Welshman and their album Smart Casual was frequently on my stereo last summer but a lack of new material and a poor vocal performance from the singer left me a bit cold. I still sang along to Raise Hell (Spotify) though.

Noah and the Whale were up next and usually I’d have cleared off to see something a bit less whimsical but I was convinced by my camping buddy otherwise to stick around as he assured me the new album The First Days Of Spring had a few highlights on there. One such highlight is the beautiful ‘Blue Skies’ (Spotify) regarding his break up with Laura Marling which contains the rather cutting lyric “This is the last song that I write while still in love with you, this is the last song that I write while you’re even on my mind”. A rather fantastic song which is so far removed from the chirpiness of ‘5 Years Time’ you’d be forgiven if you mistook it for another artist entirely. The fact the set list didn’t include said summertime hit yet the audience didn’t demand it is a positive reflection on the strength of their new material. Oh heartbreak, it doesn’t half bring out the best in songwriters does it?

I then went to see much hyped The XX. They bored me. Too much hype methinks.

If you ever find yourself awake for 30 odd hours and you need perking up then ask the doctor of life to prescribe you a ticket to see Frank Turner. Easily one of the highlights of my weekend he played the majority of my favourites from his Love Ire and Song album including the moving ‘Long Live The Queen’ (Spotify) which tells the story of a close friend of his dying of cancer yet still makes you smile somehow. He seemed quite moved at the reception he received and the sizable crowd that came to watch him and sing-along at most tracks. His new album is out soon and he’s touring in October, I thoroughly recommend you go check him out. I can almost guarantee you’ll leave with a smile on your face.

Sentric Music’s very own Grammatics were up next with their new drummer tapping away on the skins. An accomplished set as ever from the Leeds quartet as they gear up for their biggest excursion to date supporting Bloc Party on their Bloctober tour. Hopefully if the hoards catch the set closer of ‘Relentless Fours’ (Spotify) at the bare minimum they should gain plenty of new fans. Their new material is also sounding strong with the new single ‘Double Negative’ merging the beatboxing of pop, guitar strumming of shoegazing and screaming of metal together to produce something rather wonderful.

I then went for a sleep.

Radiohead underwhelmed me somewhat when I caught them for the first time last year and they were up to their self indulgent ways again playing a very unfriendly festival set. A few hits at the end (including Just (Spotify)) were lost in an array of album tracks that although were easy to appreciate didn’t get the crowd going whatsoever, so much so that with every song they played, people were chipping off when they didn’t recognise the first 8 bars. One lady was so frustrated at this she even shouted “PLAY A F*****G GOOD SONG” at quite volume a few tracks before the encore vocalising what all us casual fans were humbly thinking. It was the quietest I’ve personally ever seen the main stage at Leeds festival after all the years I’ve attended which begs the question to be asked; would it have been so quiet if they had played more hits? Or do the young dwellers of Leeds festival simply not care about Yorke and co? If you are 18 then Kid A came out when you were 11, OK Computer at 8, The Bends at 6 and Pablo Honey at 4 so maybe their festival headlining days are gone?

Sunday

Sentric’s very own Middleman started the final day playing to a home crowd of people secreting wanting to go home already. Not because of the music of course, simply because deep down, no one likes camping regardless of what they say. Middleman are a great band that sound something like The Streets, Pendulum and Klaxons fighting over who’s turn it is to have a go on the Moog. It was the single ‘Good To Be Back’ (Spotify) that produced the best reaction and hopefully some new material of a similar ilk will be on its way soon.

A lovely set from Middleman’s friends followed as Milk White White Teeth took to the BBC Introducing stage. Some lovely musicianship followed and with a bit of work on the harmonies they could become a stand out live act on the northern unsigned scene.

I couldn’t have timed my arrival at the Festival Republic stage any better if I tried as the Temper Trap began their brilliant rendition of ‘Sweet Disposition’ (Spotify) just as I entered the tent. And then naturally, once they finished that song, I buggered off with the rest of the tent who must have also heard the rest of the substandard album.

It was then time to finish the festival with a flurry as three of my current favourite artists were following one another with Florence and the Machine starting this musical ménage a trois. The NME/Radio 1 tent probably never saw a crowd quite like it all weekend as masses of fans came to hear here perform tracks of her Mercury nominated album. Rewind this time last year and I could have comfortably rotated a feline in the Festival Republic tent where she played in 08 and I also wouldn’t have had the gaggle of 16 year old girls stood directly behind me screaming their little faces off and singing out of tune at the top of their voices (they didn’t obey any of the previous rules I mentioned regarding sing-along etiquette, where are these kids brought up? It’s almost as bad as knife crime). There is no two ways about it: Florence Welch can sing. I mean really sing. Tracks such as ‘Between Two Lungs’ and her self confessed favourite ‘Cosmic Love’ (Spotify) exhibit it’s beauty and power astonishingly. I know of some who’ve almost avoided her due to the hype she’s received but the fact of the matter is sometimes hype is there for a reason; this woman has downright talent. If you’re a fan of music; you will (or at least should) appreciate the album.

Friendly Fires were next up bringing their much needed uplifting tribal rhythms to a tired festival crowd. These guys are simply a carnival on a stage and although the tracks have been doing the rounds for quite a while now no one seems to be getting bored of them any time soon. And in all fairness how could you get bored with something as downright funky as ‘Skeleton Boy’ (Spotify)?

And to finish, the mighty Kings Of Leon. I’d heard from outside sources that they’d walked off stage at Reading a couple of days previous, but I think on every single occasion when I’ve seen KoL there has always been rumours off them pulling out before the night itself so I didn’t let it worry me too much. Again, regular readers will know of my fondness for these guys so I won’t harp on too much about it but I will compliment one thing – his voice. The sound that man makes packs so much emotion in a single line that most artists managed to do in their whole set the entire weekend with the chorus of ‘Be Somebody’ (Spotify) being a prime example. A headlining performance worthy of the headlining slot, let’s hope album number five comes before they fall out for good.

What I’m listening to this week: the Spotify playlist I made of all the tracks mentioned here of course, and Minnaars.
What I’m reading this week: I’m trying to complete a full Guardian crossword by myself before the end of the year. I’ll keep you updated.

Stay tuned

sP

How to make your music more attractive for synchronisation

As you may be very well aware of by now one of my main jobs here at Sentric Music is to place our artists material in various mediums; TV, Adverts, Gaming, Films etc commonly known as the act of ‘synchronisation’. Sync can mean various things for the artist in question with the two main areas of attraction being exposure and cold, hard, dirty cash. Check out our new Sentric Music Consultancy site to see some of our previous sync placements.

For example, we often have music on the teen soap Hollyoaks and while the artist in question may only receive £250+ in royalties from the performance (although that’s not to be sniffed at really is it?) they can be safe in the knowledge that a couple of million 16-24 year olds (and a few creepy older ones) will have just heard their ditty and if only .01% of said audience got off their arse to go check out that lovely song they just heard then that’s an extra 200 fans you’ve got right there. Lovely.

On the other hand, you may have some interest from (insert not very cool brand here) and although you may not use their product or service personally, the £5k-£30k+ you receive from them often acts somewhat as a comfort.

So what I’ve decided to do this week is show you all a selection of the Sentric Music catalogue thanks to a rather nifty little Soundcloud widget and talk you through why I personally believe they lend themselves toward synchronisation usage. A few of these tracks have actually been placed in TV programs/adverts etc, others have been seriously considered, some are being considered as I type and others are new additions that I’m yet to receive that elusive ‘right brief’ for.

Here is a playlist of 11 tracks for which I will give you my humble musings:

Please let me also point out at this point; we have over 1,200+ artists at the time of writing and there is a LOT of material that is more than sync worthy which I haven’t included here for obvious reasons.

Artist: Skeletons and the Empty Pockets
Track: Oh Brother! Oh Sister!

This track is all about the chorus and the lyrical hook within it. The repetition and delivery of “Oh brother bring on the bad weather, oh sister pull yourself together” catches your attention on first listen which is a great asset to have. As well as an instrumental mix it would also be useful to have a mix of this song that is instrumental in the verses, but still includes the vocal in the chorus. This would make the track attractive to the TV industry as they could therefore have the programmes dialogue during the verse and then let the track vocal take over during the chorus. Also note the strong production quality, which is simply essential for anyone looking to have their music synched.

Artist: Whiskycats
Track: Slipped Disco

Out of every ten briefs we receive here at Sentric Music, a good third will often include the dreaded word ‘quirky’. This track oozes quirkiness from the outset and thanks to the inclusion of a few instruments not often thrown together within the modern music industry (brass & clarinet on top of your standard guitar, bass and drums) this further adds to the tracks uniqueness. It’s worth noting though that due to the lyrical content of the track which is about getting sloshed on the cheap, it is likely that only the instrumental version would be of interest to sync agents.

Artist: Hamfatter
Track: Iceland

‘Creatives’ (The people who work for advertising agencies/production companies who have “the vision” of what they want their final product to look like) are often funny people. They usually have between thirty seconds to a minute to tell a story and as the majority of us reading this all went to school we all know that a good story has a solid beginning, middle and end. This track has all three of these elements; starting slowly, building rather anthemically and then ending quietly.

Artist: Sound Of Guns
Track: The Architects

Tracks with a stadium rock feel have always been used for sync, primarily within the advertising industry; think U2, think Kasabian etc. This is a big song with a big chorus and the repetition of the lyrical hook within the chorus lends itself well to certain products, I.E. anything that is built. Brands have egos, and tracks with lyrics like “in your hands we won’t slip” can flatter said egos.

Artist: Middleman
Track: Can’t Hold Me Down

This is a very strong track and has received interest from various industries including advertising, movie trailers and gaming which is evidence of its universal appeal. It has two major hooks, the synth riff which is the first thing you hear and immediately grabs your attention and the lyrical hook in the chorus. The message portrayed within the chorus coupled with the aggression of the delivery almost works as a confidence booster to those that hear it (I apologise if this sounds a bit cheesy, but I’m honestly toning it down compared to the briefs we’ve received from agencies in the past). And what happens when you’re confident? You go buy stuff of course.

Artist: Grammatics
Track: D.I.L.E.M.M.A

Some companies are better at advertising than others, you know this, I know this, we all know this. Some companies sometimes go out of their way to almost alienate their audience and challenge them by not spoon feeding them with the usual advertising dross. They ask for strange time signatures, minor chord changes and all in all something that isn’t ‘easy’ to listen to. This track, especially the instrumental, is a fantastic example of an alternative piece of music that could work well if there was a company brave enough to use it.

Artist: Ian Britt
Track: Dedicate

Positive, uplifting, happy and joyful: words that are often flying about in my inbox when someone gets in touch looking for music to advertise their new product and this track that fits all of the above. The lyrics are a real strength of this track; a brand who uses it would effectively be saying to you, the customer, that they are committed to you and will do all in their power to keep you happy. This track has received a lot of interest, especially within the states where they evidently can’t get enough of this kind of music. I personally think it’s the xylophone after 24 seconds… or is it a glockenspiel?

Artist: goFASTER>>
Track: She Starts Monday

All you need to know about this track is from three minutes in. A fantastic outro which makes the track off puttingly long for radio (obviously a radio edit would solve that problem) but brilliant for sync. Especially considering the fact that the lyrics are about a work colleague doing too much cocaine and needing to have plastic surgery on her nose to cover up her rather naughty habit. Saying that, we had this tracked placed on ‘Paris Hilton’s BFF’ in the states, I wonder if MTV even realised what they were doing?

Artist: Wolf People
Track: Cotton Strands

This is a fantastic example of an artist finding their niche and doing it very, very well. When someone asks for a retro sounding piece of music there isn’t going to be many other artists in our catalogue we’ll turn to, not purely because we don’t have many retro sounding artists, but mainly because this track is outstanding. A sitar sounding hook that runs throughout and dreamy vocals combine to make a very sync worthy track. Also; jazz flute! How often do you see that these days?

Artist: The Second Hand Marching Band
Track: We Walk In The Room

I feel it would be fairer to refer to this as a ‘composition’ rather than simply a ‘track’ as otherwise I’d be undermining it somewhat. A traditional sound with a modern twist, this track has been used on an advert in Australia for a property development company where the angle of the advert was to promote a sense of community and safety. The softness and tempo of this track help create that feel and resulted in a rather lovely advert.

Artist: Paul Dixon
Track: The Hill

I keep mentioning ‘hooks’ and this song contains one of the most universal hooks available; the good old human whistle. Whatever country you’re in, whatever language you speak, whatever god you believe in, you bloody well know how to whistle and clap and whoop and la and hey etc. If you’re a multinational brand it is more cost effective to clear a track for multiple territories rather than a track per region and therefore a track like this becomes instantly attractive. We have a mix of this track which only contains the woo’s and whistles and therefore it could be written and performed by anyone in the west as far as the brands concerned.

So there you go, eleven tracks that all have qualities about them that make them sync worthy. Hopefully this blog will help you to listen to your own music and think about how you can make that new track simply irresistible to (insert generic car brand here) so they’ll therefore give you shedloads of cash so they can use it to push their rainforest destroying, carbon emitting, death boxes.

And remember to read ‘6 things to improve your chances of getting your music synched’.

What I’m reading this week: David Mitchell ‘Ghostwritten’

What I’m listening to this week; Arctic Monkeys and Dutch Uncles

Stay tuned

sP

Simon Pursehouse of Sentric Music interview on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show

Listen here:

And here is the Twitter mentioned within the interview: @SentricMusic

Latitude adventure 2009

It’s quite the drive from Liverpool to Suffolk and on the way the weather was a tad angry for whatever reason which meant the usual “I’m about to go to an awesome festival” jubilance was tainted with a melancholic “putting a tent up in this is going to be unenjoyable at best” feeling. Alas when we arrived in the homely Southwold there was nothing but blue skies to be seen so after the tent was assembled we went for a bit of a gander of the site.

The evening was pleasant enough and as expected for a British July it started raining a little come midnight so we took shelter at the campsite bar to let this no doubt ‘little shower’ pass. What followed was the loudest, wettest and quite simply most ridiculous thunderstorm I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness. For a good forty five minutes I and my camping buddy drank sombrely as we both relived vivid memories of our trip to V Festival 2008 where we were flooded out of our humble abode (details of which can be read here). Gingerly we approached the tent once the storm had passed and what we saw would have made our fathers proud; inside it was dry as a Ghandi’s flip flops! Rain 0 Me 1.

The first day saw us take in performances from the Island label’s newbie Jonathan Jeremiah (MySpace) who will no doubt be sitting comfortably on Radio 2’s playlist by the end of the year, the king of pun Tim Vine who followers of my Twitter feed will know of my passion for and the first highlight of my weekend Local Natives (MySpace).  The Silver Lake five piece impressed pretty much everyone who caught any of their SXSW shows and pulled a pretty admirable crowd for their emotive set (one of them was so chuffed at the turnout he had a little cry on stage. Bless.) Well worth checking out should you be lucky enough to catch them whilst they’re in the country. Then it was off to see recently Mercury nominated Bat For Lashes (MySpace, Spotify) deliver her somewhat underwhelming live set before catching a couple of numbers by the Pet Shop Boys (MySpace, Spotify). I say ‘couple of numbers’ as I caught them earlier in the week playing in Liverpool and it was akin to being in pop purgatory albeit except for one three minute glimpse of musical brilliance in the form of It’s A Sin; a song that’s rarely been off my iTunes since. After a bit of theatre from the Young Vic it was time to retire as the following day had a lot to offer.

Saturday started with the much hyped White Belt Yellow Tag (MySpace) on the Uncut stage who are receiving ‘much props’ from the introducing DJ’s of the beeb as of late and despite the lead singer not sounding his usual self the set was enjoyable never the less. Honourable mentions should also go to The Boy Who Trapped The Sun (MySpace) and Pulled Apart By Horses (MySpace, Spotify) who were the soundtrack to the rather pleasant sunny afternoon and then it was onwards to the ‘WTF’ moment of the weekend as Gaggle (MySpace) took the stage. Imagine if you can, twenty two women on stage all wearing some form of psychedelic poncho outfit and singing about smoking fags. You there? Whatever you’re imagining isn’t doing them justice as they’re bloody well ace. And it wasn’t the cider clouding my usually razor sharp judgement as I’ve checked them out since and it sounds equally as bizarrely intriguing as it did in a field in Suffolk.

After a pie it was on to my second highlight of the weekend Camera Obscura; their retro sound – which is captured brilliantly in the track ‘French Navy’ – came across stunningly live. Their profile within the UK music scene does them a complete injustice and I implore you all to go and have a listen (MySpace, Spotify). After a quick LOL thanks to northern poet Mik Artistik is was onwards to Doves for a few lovely tracks before heading back to the Lake Stage for the third highlight of my weekend which came in the form of Bombay Bicycle Club (MySpace, Spotify). I’ve harped on about their debut album ‘I Had The Blues But Shook Them Loose’ for a while now and their live set equals the quality of their LP. Their next single; the Strokes influenced ‘Magnet’, will hopefully be the track that gets them on that elusive Radio 1 A-list so they get the exposure they deserve.

It was around this time my camping buddy described my look as that of an ‘off the rails porn star with a crystal meth problem waiting to film the next shot on an outdoor adult movie’. A tad harsh I feel.

The night finished with an obliged visit to the main stage to watch Grace Jones (Myspace, Spotify). I say obliged as although I appreciate Miss Jones and her musical heritage, I would have happily swerved her performance if it wasn’t for the upteen number of people who, when on finding out I was attending Latitude, all beseeched me to go and watch her and as obviously I’m a sucker for trusted recommendations I happily complied… Turns out it’s just like watching a pensioner with an attitude problem dangerously close to having her fufu out on stage.

The final day started with the fourth highlight of the weekend as Thom Yorke (Myspace, Spotify) took the stage by himself to play to potentially the biggest crowd of the weekend. A mixture of solo material sprinkled with a few Radiohead classics ensued and the set climaxed with a beautiful rendition of a track entitled True Love Waits which was successful in silencing the on watching hoards. There is just something about Thom Yorke which makes him so enigmatic and however much I try, I’ll never be able to find the words to do him justice. Even if you’re nto a fan of Radiohead (and I’m a passive one at best) his delivery and obvious talent justifies his stature within the industry and to a greater scale, the generation.

The combination of an hour gap + rain meant that 98% of the crowd had buggered off by the time Sentric’s very own Sound of Guns (Myspace) took to the main stage to showcase why they’re currently the princes of the Liverpudlian music scene. A friend of mine recently said of these “They’re going to be the next Kasabian!” and for me they’re potentially a decent marketing budget away from being so if they continue to write tracks as crowd pleasingly friendly as The Architects and Alcatraz.

Two more performances from the heavily Robert Plant influenced Asaf Avidan & The Mojos (Myspace) and Irish future radio friendly hit purveyors Villagers (Myspace) finished our Latitude adventure as we both had to make the long journey home ready for the new working week the following day. On the THREE MINUTE WALK back to the car from the campsite Mother Nature, with the speed and ferociousness of a weather based ninja, hit back in nothing short of a spectacular fashion. Trainers were abandoned, sleeping bags were destroyed and a 5 hour car journey in my boxer shorts and a t-shirt followed. Rain 1 Me 1.

I look forward to doing it all again next year.

What I’m listening to this week: Mindshock and Master Shortie (Myspace, Spotify)

What I’m reading this week: Once again, Charlie Brookers brilliant column

Stay tuned

sP

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