A European Tour, New Clients and the Future…

March 12, 2012 | Link | 0 Comments

The last few months have been crazy, to say the least. I’ve met a lot of new and potential clients and I’m feeling positive about what the near future is holding. This post is really just to bring you up to speed on what I’ve been working on, what’s in the pipeline and also an opportunity for me to process and arrange my thoughts…or something like that. That’s what I’m sticking to, anyway!

I had been helping out with arrangements for Terra Naomi‘s EU/UK tour for a few months, and one of the stops on the tour was going to be Glasgow. It was so surreal to finally meet her after listening to her and watching her videos on YouTube for 6 or 7 years, and after working together remotely for almost a year. Helping out with the tour was a great experience and taught me a lot about tour management and the importance of PR. It was a great success, and we’re already talking about planning another one for later in the year. We also flew down to London to catch her show there, which was just as amazing. Helping out on the merch stand and meeting other dedicated fans was a great experience, too. I was even asked to sign some of their merch. Guess I’m almost famous ;) Ha..

Tour madness aside, there have been plenty of other things keeping me busy!

A couple of new client websites have been launched. The first is Glasgow-based singer/songwriter, Rebecca Orr. I was asked to design a website for Rebecca to coincide with her appearance at the MV Festival in Aviemore. We travelled up to Aviemore for the festival which was great, too. Hopefully there’ll be another one next year!

The second client website which has been launched is that of Scottish harp duo, The Duplets. The Duplets approached me after I was recommended to them by Jessica Phillippi and Jessica Ashman, who I had previously worked with at Scandal Theatre. They’ve been great to work with and I recommend you check out their music as their new album is due to be released shortly, and has already been receiving some amazing reviews!

Looking to the future now, and it’s looking bright. I have a couple of projects in progress now; one for theatre and music photographer, Pamela Raith, and one for singer/songwriter, Sara Douglas. There are some potential projects in the pipeline, too, which at the moment I can’t say anything about! I’m also in the process of setting up a client administration area where clients can post support tickets and pay invoices. I’m pretty excited about it… I doubt anyone else is!

So it’s safe to say that my schedule is booked up for the next few weeks. However, if you are looking for any design work done, give me a shout and I’ll see what I can do!


Spotify & Facebook: The Oversharing Debate

March 3, 2012 | Link | 0 Comments

Spotify

I’ve recently been converted to Spotify. I love how easy it makes it to discover new music through apps such as Last.fm, and it’s related artist features. When I heard that it was going to become integrated with Facebook, I was excited at the prospect of finding new music via what my friends are listening to.

I was curious to find out what other people thought of this and whether or not they use Spotify and Facebook in the same way.

The general response I received to the question, was no. And there was one common word that popped up in the majority of replies – overshare.

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that oversharing is downright annoying. No-one really needs (or wants) a running commentary of what you’re reading, watching and listening to (thanks, Facebook!)

However, I still believe that Spotify’s integration with Facebook is a good thing. Or at least, it has the potential to be.Recently Listened

Perhaps if, rather than posting real-time updates in the ticker, Spotify gathered the information and posted a weekly round up of the listener’s top artists, this would solve the oversharing issue while still being an active and visible application. Or perhaps if there were an opt in feature so that you could choose to see what your friends are listening to, rather than having to hide or block the updates.

There are definitely options that Spotify and Facebook could explore. I like seeing what people are listening to as there is potential for finding something new. However, I can totally see why others would find it annoying, especially with the number of sharing apps there are posting updates every couple of seconds.

I can appreciate why I may be in the minority, but it is a feature that is likely to be here to stay. So we’re either going to have to learn to like it, or adjust our settings so that we aren’t overwhelmed by updates. I do think there is great potential, and it could be a really useful feature for many people, especially those who have a thirst for discovering new music whenever possible.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Have you found a new artist you like through the integration of the two services? I’d be interested to know!


Music to My Ears: What I’ve Been Listening To

November 18, 2011 | Link | 0 Comments

I wanted to take a step back from writing about the relationship between the Internet and music for a while, and instead just write about music by itself. After all, music is what I love, what I studied at university and ultimately why I started ElectricKiwi.

There’s so many things that I love about music, but the two main reasons are how it makes me feel and how it can bring people together. The feeling of discovering a new artist and growing to love them is amazing but for me the feeling you can get when you introduce someone to an artist they haven’t heard before can be equally as satisfying.

On that note, I decided I want to start a regular feature on this blog which talks about what I’ve been listening to recently.

Over the last few weeks (and I suppose generally, too) I’ve been listening to a really varied mix of music. I think variation is so important. There are so many genres out there, it makes little sense to limit yourself to just one or two.

A few years ago, a gooLa Dispute - Wildernessd friend of mine recommended I listen to La Dispute as I had just discovered MeWithoutYou and they were in the same sort of vein. I always intended on listening to them, but for one reason or another, didn’t ever get round to it. I’m glad I accidentally stumbled across them on Spotify the other day because their album ‘Wilderness’ is an intense – if unsettling, and at times a little uncomfortable – listen. ‘Kings Park’ is perhaps the one track that represents the album best, with the last 30 seconds being the most unsettling moment of the album. Lyrically, the themes are very dark and this is matched perfectly by the instrumentation which often sounds disjointed and destructive in the best possible way. I haven’t had a chance to listen to any of their older material yet but if it’s anywhere close to the quality of ‘Wilderness’ I’m going to regret not finding it earlier!

I’ve also been enjoying something completely different: Kina Grannis. Kina is a singer/songwriter who gained a lot of recognition through her YouTube videos. Her ‘Living Room Sessions’ album is the perfect soundtrack for the transition between Autumn and Winter, with her covers of ‘Timshel’ by Mumford and Sons and ‘Blood Bank’ by Bon Iver being my personal favourites. Her harmonies are beautiful and her interpretations of this selection of songs are sincere and performed as if they were her own compositions. Her original material is good too, but this is something I can’t get enough of at the moment.

We Are the In Crowd - Best IntentionsAnother band I came across by accident via Spotify is We Are the In Crowd, a pop-punk outfit featuring both male and female vocals. I’ve always had a soft spot for bands with female vocalists and this band are no exception. They may not be the most technical or sophisticated of musicians, but is that always a crime? No. They have a pop sensibility that doesn’t feel forced and they definitely know how to write a good hook! Their bonus acoustic tracks also show that their songwriting skills are strong enough to stand on their own without any overproduction. ‘Best Intentions’ is out now.

As I said before, I love finding new music so if you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them. You can also find me on Last.fm should you want to have a peek at what else I’ve been listening to.


The Internet: Shaping the Future of Music

October 27, 2011 | Link | 5 Comments

Things change at such a rapid pace that what is cutting edge one minute is almost obsolete the next. This is especially true in the world of technology, which is connected so strongly to the music industry. Because of this, I often wonder what the future holds for the music industry.

It is definitely important for artists and the industry as a whole to be adaptable – and not just in the sense that they are able to adapt but to be willing to embrace the changes which may come along.

There are countless ways in which the internet has changed the way the music industry works. It is so much easier to discover, share and purchase music than ever before. We can do it at home, work and on the move. It has opened up so many doors for unsigned and independent artists, and it is these artists (rather than the mainstream) who are taking advantage of all the internet has to offer and crafting their own niches and approaches to promotion, distribution and even recording.

Terra NaomiOne artist who has always been a pioneer when it comes to incorporating the internet in her musical endeavours is singer/songwriter Terra Naomi. Terra found success a few years back when her video for ‘Say It’s Possible’ went viral on YouTube. She has consistently used YouTube as a promotional platform and has built up a loyal following on there and subsequently on other social networks, too. She also partnered with iPhone app Hipstamatic to create a video for her single ‘You For Me’ and connected with music crowdfunding platform Pledge Music to fund the recording of her most recent album. Currently, she is working with producer/engineer Lucas Johnson on an innovative project which involves recording an album via Google+ hangouts. You can follow the progress of this project by circling Terra on Google+.

The internet is here for artists to use. There are so many options available – we all know about Facebook and Twitter but as Terra and other innovative artists have proven, there is so much scope for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking which can yield far greater results.

What do you think is the future for music? Have you come across any interesting ways artists have used the internet to promote themselves? Share your stories in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!