Neil Fellowes Web Log

New Galleries on Flickr!!!

2012-01-06T21:08:00.002Z

I've been busy clearing the photo decks and now have 4 new galleries on my Flickr page. There are photos from a Lost Norfolk Village, A Ruined Church, Another Ruined Church and some Norfolk Landscapes.

Official Geigertek Soundcloud Page

2012-01-04T21:14:00.000Z

Some great news today - AD Music have set up an Official Geigertek Soundcloud Page :-)

This is really cool as I've been quite keen for my music to be on Soundcloud and now that AD Music have sorted the legal niceties, it's done. Take a look and have a listen :-)

Return to R.A.F. Bodney, Norfolk, U.K.

2012-01-02T10:36:00.001Z

Return to R.A.F. Bodney, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

Back in November 2011, I took a return visit to R.A.F. Bodney in South Norfolk with my good friend Clive Dunn. It was a cold Wintery afternoon with the rain threatening at all times, but it made for some wonderfully moody shots. Never be afraid of a grey day with your camera :-)

Former WWII Airbase, Norfolk, U.K.

2012-01-01T22:12:00.002Z

Former WWII Airbase, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

Here's a few pics from an explore of an abandoned WWII airfield on the Norfolk/Suffolk borders. My explore pal Keith and I spent a good few hours just wandering around this site and soaking up the atmosphere. The control tower for this site has been fully restored and is now a museum, but sadly, the rest of the site, as you can see, is deteriorating rapidly.

Christmas Dinner 2011

2011-12-31T16:10:00.002Z

Putting this up because I can.

This is our Christmas Dinner for 2011. We don't do turkey as it's just not that good and who likes to play to tradition anyway - lol. So, this was a meal that comprised two lamb shanks each, slow cooked in ruby port with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, Yorkshire Puddings and a rather decadent ruby port gravy with added meat juices and so thick you could stand your spoon up in it, all washed down with a rather lovely sparkling Mateus Rose :-)

Salivate at your leisure.

Looking back at 2011, looking forward to 2012......

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000Z

Well here we are at the end of yet another year and preparing for the new one ahead in just a few hours.

And what a year 2011 has been. Not the best of years on some levels, but certainly not the worst.

2011 saw my photography side take off a little bit with a new photographic website - http://www.neilfellowesphotography.com/ - and a host of new photographic opportunities such as Ben "Benge" Edwards' electronic music studio and the embrace of the Norfolk countryside with my good friend and former B.B.C. film-maker, Clive Dunn (no, not that one, the other one). And of course, 2011 saw the arrival of my trusty Fujifilm Finepix S2950HD camera - The Fuji. She's been a friend and ally since April.

The music side of my life saw a successful and well received Geigertek set at the Bungay Bash in June, the start of my weekly "Man of 2 Worlds Radio Show" in July, the release of the Trinity album "Music For Angels" with David Wright and Nigel Turner-Heffer in August and the release of my third studio album, "Soundtrack For City Living" in October.

I got to meet some interesting people in the forms of the previously mentioned Ben "Benge" Edwards, famed concert attender Tapio Normall, John Foxx website administrator Rob Harris (who also supplied a couple of photos for the inlay of the "Soundtrack For City Living" CD booklet) and the high-light of the year was seeing in concert and meeting my biggest musical inspiration and hero, John Foxx, in October. A pure delight.

And looking forward to 2012, well there's plenty on the roster for the coming year. Musically, there's the writing and recording of a brand new Code Indigo CD, I'll be producing an album for a new artist called Iotronica, I'll be developing of a new electronica project to be called Neil Fellowes and the Impossible Men with my son, Callum Raeburn-Fellowes and guitarist Peter Dagg as well working on the fourth Geigertek album, to be called "Hollow Sun".

On the photography front, I'll be starting my Synth Studio Project, visiting a number of electronic music artists and photographing them and their studios, a return to Urban Exploration after a 10 month sabbatical, and a number of smaller project which I will reveal once I have some "definites" to share. I'm planning a book featuring some of my work and I'll be working a book project with my good friend Clive Dunn.

Now, I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions for the simple reason I'm too flaky to stick to them :-) I did read a rather amusing, but quite true comment about New Year's Resolutions in that they are nothing more than a glorified to-do list for the first week of January. So true, so very true. I have found that having a list of things to achieve for the coming year is far less legally and psychologically binding than the well-intentioned NYR's and on my list of things to achieve in 2012 will be the eradication of my expotentially expanding waiste-line, shoring up the finances which are absolutely the worst they have ever been which is much the case for many of us these days (unless you're an M.P. or a banker of course), writing a book (photography-based), establishing the landscape history group and website Topographex with Clive Dunn and further promoting the "Man of 2 Worlds Radio Show" and the Neil Fellowes Photography website.

Well there you go, another year done and another one starting. All in all, 2012 looks to be a busy and creative year and you know something, I can't wait to get started.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS 2011

2011-12-24T09:28:00.000Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas :-)

Studio set up finalised :-)

2011-12-14T19:14:00.000Z

At last, the GTK Studio is properly up and running :-D

The last element to be added was a much needed 24" monitor, which arrived this morning, which will be a huge assistance not just for the music but also my photographic side.

With everything now in place, I can begin work on various musical and photographic projects I have lined up for 2012, including producing an album for Iotronica, the next Geigertek album and the Synth Studio Photographic Project.

This evening I am having a major tidy up and get a few photographs sorted :-)

Co-producing an album for another artist

2011-12-10T16:32:00.000Z

Once the Christmas and New Year insanity has passed, I'll be starting work on co-producing a debut album for a lady electronic music composer called Amanda Byrne, who works under the name of "Iotronica".

This will be my first bit of production for another artist and can't wait to get started. Amanda's material can best be described as Space Music - very drifty, warm and quite melodic in places. I listened to the demo CD she sent into AD Music (which was well received), but it needed that little something extra. As I was given a lot of help and support by AD Music's David Wright with my first two releases, I thought to offer Amanda the same sort of thing as I really liked what I heard.

There's a few months of work ahead, but I suspect it'll be fun :-)

Website updated

2011-12-10T15:47:00.002Z

I have finally managed to get my personal website updated - it's only taken something like 4 months......

You can find it here:

Neli Fellowes Website

New additions include:

1. A page for my weekly "Man of 2 Worlds Radio Show" on the One World Radio station, with a link to an archive of all the shows to date. I'll add new shows a week after their first broadcast.

2. New gallery pages for the forth-coming Synth Studio Project, any concerts I attend, landscapes and a page especially for the GTK Studio Sofa.

3. Updated links on all pages.

I can now, at last, easily update as I go along as I'm not as far behind as I was. Essentially, I'm a little more organised. I need to stress the expression "a little more"

I still need to update the GTK Studio page as I had re-organised everything in the studio around some new eqipment, but that got very unexpectedly undone and I had to change it all around again. I had a bit of huffy-puffy moment as a number of changes to the setup were made, but there you go, shit happens in the big city.

I've yet to upload some galleries to the Landscapes page, but that will happen over the course of the next few days.

So there it is, please visit and enjoy :-)

John Foxx and the Maths, Live at the XOYO Club, London, 25th October 2011

2011-12-01T15:55:00.000Z

Been a while since a "proper" posting here. Anyway, what better way to get back into the blog thing than with a bit of a review of the John Foxx and the Maths gig at the XOYO Club in London on Tuesday 25th October 2011.

It was a day of adventure for me as I love London and I love travelling to London by train. My last excursion to the Old Smoke when I visited Ben Edwards' studio was done by car, which whilst giving more flexibility on time proved to be a rather expensive option, not just with outrageously priced petrol (don't get me started!!! ), but also because of my lack of familiarity with the congestion charge thing and the subsequent £60 fine I received a few days later. A note to the London authorities, you might like to make it more apparent to "out of towners" that it needs to be paid in advance - I don't live in London!!!

Anyway.

So. The concert.

I really liked the XOYO. Small, intimate and well run. The main room was a good size and the sound was great. It would great to play here one day myself. As soon as the doors were opened from the bar to the downstairs gig area, I made my way down and got a very position right at the front near the stage. And there I stayed for the duration.

First up was American songwriter/composer/performer, Tara Busch. I've become a big fan of her music over the last couple of months. Her album "Pilfershire Lane" is simply brilliant and her recent E.P. "Rocket Wife" is one of my favourite pieces of listening at the moment. And her performance exceeded my expectations, which were quite high anyway. Tara was surrounded by "stuff" and for an aging synth-nerd such as I, it was all "good stuff" :-) I noted Moog Voyager and the ever present Moogerfooger which is, for synonymous with Tara Busch. I also was quite enthralled by her use of the Suzuki Omnichord - a real vintage piece of equipment that you really don't see very of nowadays. And Tara plays the flute!!! That was used to great effect on "Rocket Wife". Her cover of the Carpenters track "Superstar" was awesome and for me the highlight was the track "Rocket Wife". A great song and brilliantly performed, as was the whole set. It's always good to see female electronic music artists as there are too few on the circuit these days.

The next set was Gazelle Twin. I got hold of their album a few days before the gig and had a good listen to it on the train to London. The debut album, "The Entire City" is really very good and has enjoyed some rave reviews. In my view, it is most definitely required listening, but I find it difficult to be as positive about the rather disappointing live set. The stage was in virtual darkness, the sound was a little too bassy, I really couldn't make out the vocals, such as they were and to be honest, I simply didn't get it. Perhaps I need to exercise my art muscles a bit more, I don't know. Also weird was the paper hats that the musicians were wearing. Or perhaps I'm being a bit grumpy, but either way for this particular follically challenged punter, it was a case of "sorry, bit of an own goal".

During the wait for Mr. Foxx and company to start, I had the opportunity to chat with a most interesting personality, namely Tapio Normall. I have seen this man on countless photographs displayed on Facebook et al with various electronica icons, so for me it was quite a cool moment to meet this veritable living legend. At the end of the evening when the gig had finished, it was fascinating to see how John Foxx and co. recognised him immediately, and I was told that many artists actually look out for him at their gigs. A very interesting character and a pleasure to chat with. I view black shoes quite differently now.

Another pleasure was to meet and chat with the webmaster of John Foxx's official website Metamatic, namely Rob Harris. I was hoping to meet Rob as we had exchanged e-mails earlier in the year in connection with the latest Geigertek album "Soundtrack For City Living". Two of Rob's photographs of Tokyo cityscapes adorn the centre pages of the CD's booklet. And just before the main event started, whilst I was faffing about with my camera, a gentleman walks up to me and introduces himself as Rob Harris!!! We chatted about websites and music and stuff, even after the gig started - I would point out that Rob was in the photographer's pit taking photos and manning a video camera (crosses fingers in anticipation of a live DVD - go on John, you know you wanna!!!). And for the second time that evening, I met an interesting and personable character which put a nice dusting of extra enjoyment onto the evening.

And so to the main event. The stage line up consisted of John Foxx up front (as one would expect of course), flanked by Hannah Peel (keyboards, violin and backing vocals) to his right and Serafina Steer (keyboards, bass and backing vocals) to his left with Ben "Benge" Edwards. All said and done, I was not disappointed at all and at no part of the proceedings did I find anything negative. The set was strong, vibrant and full on. The sound was loud, bassy, gritty and I loved it. No breaks between songs and John Foxx every bit as enigmatic as ever. The opening track was "Shatterproof" from the "Interplay" album and it was gloriously "in-yer-face". Foxx snarled and spat out the lyrics to the driving beat provided by backing tracking augmented by Benge on a set of Simmons drums. I was taken aback by the energy and sheer performance standard of a man now in his 60's - it was an impressive start.

Next up was "He's A Liquid" from the "Metamatic" album. And wow. Maths member, Hannah Peel played the main hookline on violin and boy did it work. Full of drama and tension, greatly enhanced by the violin.

The next track was "No One Driving", again from "Metamatic". Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The haunting violin just took this track to a new level. It's one of my favourite Foxx songs as well, so the pleasure was doubled.

Onto "Evergreen" from the "Interplay" album. The studio version is a terrific modern pop song, and I have to say that it translated well to the live scenario. Upbeat and uplifting, continued a great atmosphere.

Now the next track was "Running Man" from "Interplay", one that had kind of passed me by in my listening of the album. But, the energy that JF put into it brought it screaming for attention - it now has regular play here I can tell you. The pace was maintained with top drawer versions of "The Shadow of His Former Self" from the new JF and the Maths album "Shape Of Things".

The first real treat of the evening for me came with the Maths version of the Ultravox! (note the exclamation mark please) classic, "Hiroshima Mon Amour", taken from the second studio album "Ha!Ha!Ha!". This is one of my favourite all-time songs and to hear this being sung tonight was quite emotional. Beautifully handled by the group, it retained all of it's minimalistic magic. Throughout JF performed as if totally detached from the world around. Benge's Simmons drums supplemented the original TR-77 drum machine track perfectly and Serfina Steer's bass gave the piece the required depth and warmth. Gig highpoint number one.

The next two tracks were a "Metamatic" bonanza - "A New Kind Of Man" and "Plaza", the latter given a new lease of life with Hannah Peel's fabulous violin. Now, I'm going to court a painful death by stating that I was feeling that Hannah's live violin sound was actually better then Billy Currie's - very contentious I know, but it sounded so much fuller and, erm, more in tune .

The next track was "Watching A Building On Fire" from "Interplay" - not one of my as I don't really rate Mira Aroyo's vocals on the studio version. Now having said that, the live version was infinitely better with much improved female vocals.

And then another Ultravox moment (note the dropped exclamation mark?) with a stunning rendition of "Dislocation" from my favourite JF era album, "Systems Of Romance". Foxx's confident vocal and presentation instantly recaptured the magic and mystery of this song. Gig highlight number two.

Another track from "Interplay" and it was the title track. I adore the album version and I was very curious as to how this would work on stage. Being very minimalist, it leaves John Foxx's vocal quite exposed. Curiosity was satisfied immediately as he brought the angst and emotional pain of the song to the live arena. A beautiful performance all round.

The quiet serenity of "Interplay" was soon blown to bits (in a good way of course) by the excellent "Catwalk". Mr. Foxx was quite animated thought this track, and again I found myself thinking that many of the younger acts around now could learn an awful lot about stagecraft from watching him.

The pace was kept going with the excellent "Summerland", another one of those tracks which, for some reason, also passed me by on the album, but the live performance brought it to prominence for me so that it is now often listened to.

And then, for me, the song of the night. I've already stated that "Systems Of Romance" is my favourite Ultravox album from all eras and probably my favourite track on the album is "Just For A Moment". In amongst the high-energy pieces and the laid back feel of some of the other songs performed, the serene beauty of "Just For A Moment" surpassed all that had gone before. I found myself totally lost in the atmosphere and dystopian emotion of the piece, amplified with the use of Hannah Peel's violin instead of piano in the instrumental part before John sang the most magical part of the song:

Listening to the music that the machines make,
I let my heart break,
Just for a moment

Pure class.

And then another magical moment - "Burning Car" - with violin -this so worked!!! Hannah Peel's violin playing gave the song a whole new dimension and once again I found myself feeling that this violin sounded better than any Ultravox I had seen before (heretical words I know - I shall flagellate later!!!). This is another favourite from John's earlier solo catalogue, and quite obviously a crowd pleaser judging by the response from the audience. Great energy, great atmosphere and great performance all round. And it was this track that brought us to the close. Strobe lights going insane and then they were gone. For now.

The first of two encores brought my favourite track from "Interplay" to the live scenario - an excellent version of "The Good Shadow". I love the sequenced Korg MonoPoly intro (I know it was a MonoPoly 'cos Benge told when I visited his studio back in September) and here it was again slowly fading in, shortly joined by the drum machine and then the vocals. Benge's drum playing was a good live supplement and really made the song cement itself in the set - a great choice for an encore. That finished and we then waited a little while longer because we knew there had to be a second encore. Why? Because we hadn't heard "that" song.

And then it came.

The band drifted back on stage and the thunderous modulating drone came forth and filled the air with tension and electricity. The kick drum started and we knew for certain - "Underpass". For a song that was written more than 30 years ago, it still holds a place in modern music. It hasn't aged as some others have. It still has that resonant dystopian edge and can still hold the listener from start to finish. And the quality of John's performance was without question.

All too soon it came to an end with the strobe lights blazing and the sound of tortured synths heralding the end of the evening. I have seen a a good few concerts in my time, not least all the times I have seen Ultravox, with and without John Foxx, but I can honestly say that this was the best gig I have seen in 35 years of watching live bands. A huge "well done" to John Foxx and the Maths, and it's important to include the Maths as they provided an excellent backing to a true artist.

After the gig I was fortunate enough to meet and get a photo with both Hannah Peel and Serfina Steer, very good of them to be so willing as it was quite obvious they were tired. A quick hello with Benge and then I was able to meet the man himself. And what a gentleman he was. Of course, I had to have my photograph taken with him, and once again, Tapio Normall was on hand to do the business - a huge thanks to him for that.

The only downside to the day was that I missed my train home. Fortunately, the XOYO was only a 15 minute walk to Liverpool Street Station and I managed to get onto the next train which left at 0045hrs which was great. The knock was that it arrived at 0200hrs and terminated at Colchester with the next train not departing until 0500hrs - that was to go to Ipswich and then change at Ipswich through to Norwich. Not good because when we got to Colchester, I wasn't allowed to stay in the station and spent the next 4 hours in a bus shelter just outside the station doors. Fortunately there was a 24 hour Asda across the street and so I was able to get a drink and something to eat, but sadly there was nothing hot. Now, I said that I arrived at Colchester at 0200hrs and that I waited for four hours, but I stated earlier that the next train wasn't due to leave Colchester until 0500hrs - that's because I hadn't been given the right information. The train for Norwich left at 0600hrs and I arrived at my final destination at 0730hrs, when a tired Anne came and picked me up. All that said, it didn't really detract from what was a great day.

The Next Geigertek Album :-)

2011-10-28T22:16:00.000+01:00

The GTK Studio is done, the "Man of 2 Worlds Radio Show" for this week is complete, all the photo processing is up to date and John Foxx has been met. That can mean only one thing......time to start work on the fourth Geigertek album :-)

I have decided that the next album will be called "Hollow Sun". The title was inspired by the software house Hollow Sun, whose products I used on "Soundtrack For City Living", including the "VP330", "Crumar Perfomer", "Vintage String Synths" and "Vox Humana". These were layered with the string and choral patches on my Roland JV-2080 to great effect on the opening passages of "West 9", the pad sounds on "Underpass" and throughout "Beauty In Decay".

I expect that this new album will see the Geigertek sound moving in a different direction as I'll be bringing in more "outside help" by making more use of the voices of Candice Wells and my partner Anne Mancini-Smith, and I'm hoping that my son, Callum Raeburn-Fellowes, will be playing drums on a few of the tracks. I currently have a fascination with reverberation, time-stretching and sampling, so I would imagine that these things will emerge on the album somewhere. I will also be using a number of Hollow Sun products from their "Music Laboratory Machines" range including "Oscillosine", "TriOsc" and "Organa" as well as the ones I've already mentioned.

I have one song written, ready for recording and it's called "The Edge Of Nowhere". It's another old song from my dim and distant past, but it is a song that is now ready to be done properly. I've started writing a second track which I am calling "The Man Who Haunted Himself". Film buffs among you will know that this is an old Roger Moore movie made in 1970, based on the book "The Strange Case Of Mr. Pelham" by Anthony Armstrong. An excellent book and a very under-rated film and perhaps one of Roger Moore's best performances. Do watch "The Man Who Haunted Himself" if you get the chance, it's really quite good.

So, an album title, a bit of a concept and a couple of new tracks to get things underway. I wonder how long it will take to finish :-)

Tonight: John Foxx and the Maths

2011-10-25T10:47:00.000+01:00

It's currently 10.30am and in a couple of hours I will be heading off to Norwich Railway Station, my destination being London to see John Foxx and the Maths in concert this evening at the XOYO in East London.

As you will have gathered from entries in this 'ere blog thing, I am a huge John Foxx fan and this will be the high-light of 2011 for me, along with visiting the Play Studios at the beginning of last month with The Fuji (my camera). Ben "Benge" Edwards (owner of the Play Studios) is part of the Maths and will be on stage with Mr. Foxx.

Now this concert is all the more interesting as I am as much interested in the support acts as I am the headline. Tara Busch and Gazelle Twin are relatively new to me and as they will be opening the evening with their respective sets, I took the time to listen to their CD's. Oh my god!!! They really are very good. Both quite different, but both having some kind of weird ethereal overtone to their sound. Gazelle Twin's debut album "The Entire City" is very cinematic in places and her voice is quite divine. Tara Busch has an album called "Pilfershire Lane" and an E.P. called "The Rocket Wife" - both are great pieces of work and I have become a fan. Her voice soars to almost operatic proportions in places and her use of electronics is inspiring.

So, I'm in 12 year old schoolboy mode at the moment as I am very excited about the whole day. I'm getting into London a little early as I want to get some photos done and also to meet up with other Foxx fans before the event - Foxxgate as it's known. I'm also hoping to meet with Rob Harris who runs the official John Foxx website "Metamatic" and also provided me with a couple of cityscape photographs for my "Soundtrack For City Living" CD which was recently released.

The batteries have all been charged, the cameras have been primed and food has been packed into what is normally my Urbex bag. I'm ready for the off and am asking the question: "is it 8pm yet?"

New format for my radio show

2011-10-22T16:44:00.000+01:00

I do a weekly one hour ambient/chill-out radio show for an Internet radio station called One World Radio who are based on the South coast of England. I started this three months ago and played only music from the catalogue of AD Music.

Well, I thought it was time for the show to expand it's music horizons a little and so I put together a new format. One World Radio is very much a spiritual/holistic style of station and naturally, there are a number of ambient music shows on it's weekly listings. I contacted the station manager, a very decent fellow called Steve Sheppard and outlined my revised format to him - he was up for it in a big way.

The new format of the show will focus on electronic music in all it's forms, past and present, with music from everyone from the top acts to the unsigned enthusiast making music in the spare room. There will be a regular feature called the "10 Minute Spotlight" which I started in the first format and proved to be quite popular. Simply put, I spend 10 minutes of the show talking about a particular artist/group with their music playing in the background for the first 5 minutes and then play a full 5 minutes of a chosen track. I'll also be starting a new regular feature called "Nobody Does It Cheddar". Let's face it, there were some seriously dodgy "Moog Synthesizer" albums released in the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's (as well as some quite brilliant ones of course) and this is what "Nobody Does It Cheddar" is all about - cheesey synth stuff from long ago, and trust me, I have some crackers.

I'm trying to rally electronic artists from all over the shop to join in and one vehicle for this has been the setting up of a "Man of 2 Worlds Radio Show" Facebook page. I've already had a good response and my hope is that this will translate into listeners.

Electronic music in the U.K. is poorly supported, and I feel that it is in some part due to the fact that people simply aren't aware of what it entails. It isn't about a bunch of bearded Germans tossing off on massive Moog Modular synths and it isn't about the likes of Little Boots and La Roux (both of whom I quite like actually). No, electronic music is very much an umbrella term for a number of sub-genres (on yeah, and please note I don't like music being pidgeon holed) which includes ambient, chill-out, Berlin School, electronica, etc etc. I want to try and bring a flavour of it all to those that choose to listen. Whilst I hope the show will have a certain light-hearted and potentially chaotic flavour, I also want people to be able to learn what electronic music is all about. Some of it people will love, some of it people will hate, some it will baffle you and some of it will move you. I want to introduce listeners to names like Morton Subotnik, Isao Tomita and hundreds of other lesser known musicians, to see that experimental can be as satisfying and as intense as Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre - the good news is, it isn't all about TD and J-MJ!!!

So, Sunday 23rd October 2011 sees the new format up and running - let's hope people like it :-)

"Soundtrack For City Living" Released

2011-10-14T08:35:00.000+01:00

It is with a great deal of pride and excitement that I can now announce the release and availability of my third studio album and fourth release through AD Music, "Soundtrack For City Living".

According to the AD Music website:

"Geigertek continues his musical evolution with this fine offering of stylized electronic music. A quantum leap forward from his previous releases, this rhythmic, and at times almost sensual musical opus, guides the listener through a vibrant night cityscape on a variety of emotions. Receiving rave reviews - highly recommended!"

The link to the Geigertek page on AD Music is below:

GEIGERTEK - "SOUNDTRACK FOR CITY LIVING"

"Soundtrack For City Living" CD's have arrived!!!

2011-10-12T09:48:00.000+01:00

Woo hoo!!! More excited than a schoolboy at Christmas at the moment because the CD's have arrived (as you will have probably guessed from the title of this blog entry).

It's a reality now, the third album is officially here and will be officially released on Saturday 15th October 2011 at the E-Live EM Festival in Holland. Only wish I couls have gone to it, but hey-ho.

Anyway, I am very very very happy with the final product, David Wright and I had a listen through last night and it sounds great. The artwork has come up lovely and looks quite effective - a nod of thanks to Rob Harris of the Metamatic website (John Foxx's official website) for the use of two of his photographs of the Tokyo cityscape - the tray image is one of mine taken in an underpass in Norwich earlier this year, and those clever boffins in the AD Music art dept. have done a sterling job.

So, the release is only a couple of days away and I have to say that I can't wait for it to be "out there". I've had three very positive reviews and I'm hoping that all who buy it will enjoy it.

Virtual Synth Ideas

2011-10-08T00:16:00.001+01:00

Sometimes, it's just fun to load stuff and play.

Here, I've got a TAL BassLine being controlled by a WOK D-Arp arpeggiator then fed through a Kjaerhus audio Classic Digital Delay, a Nanoog virtual synth being controlled by a WOk CLOCKWOrK vintage style sequencer put through a NastyDL from Variety Of Sound and I play a short bit of a BTS Theremin on the Novation Remote 61 SL MIDI keyboard controller. The Theremin is fed through the rather lovely Airwalker analog reverb from Minimal System Instruments.

The video isn't ground-breaking or earth-shattering - it's a bit of fun and at the end of the day, it is my YouTube page ;-)

Another "Soundtrack For City Living" Update and other stuff......

2011-10-07T10:52:00.000+01:00

Well the music label machine is now turning as "Soundtrack For City Living" is starting to appear on the likes of i-Tunes and Amazon as well as the AD Music website, ready to take pre-orders.

AD Music

i-Tunes

Amazon

I've also had two very good reviews of the album from respected critics Sylvain Lupari and Bert Strolenberg.

Here are the links to the reviews:

Sonic Immersion (Bert Strolenberg - Holland)

Synths&Sequences (Sylvain Lupari - Canada)

I'm in the process of updating the Geigertek website with stuff about "Soundtrack For City Living" as well as other bits and pieces that I had forgotten to add. I didn't actually realise just how behind I had got with the website. I also have to sort out my personal website as that has been left for far too long!!!

The months ahead......

2011-10-01T21:57:00.000+01:00

Okay, "Soundtrack For City Living" now done and dusted being pressed to CD, all photo processing up to date and the studio is just about ready to start work - last vital piece being added on Monday morning - a sofa :-D

So what's next?

Well, aside from putting together the said studio (from which these bloggy blogs are now being produced) and catching up on the back log of photos that needed to be processed, I've been having a bit of a break from the music thing. Things got a little intense over the last three to four weeks of "Soundtrack For City Living", EQ tweaks, missed poor timings on some instruments, imbalanced mix, you know how it is, and I thought to take a step or two back for a short while from all things musical so that I could return to the fray fresh eared and fresh minded. And maybe, just maybe, that time isn't too far off.

Over the course of the coming week, I'm planning to install some software called Automap. This is specifically for my Novation Remote 61 SL MIDI keyboard controller and I am expecting it to allow me to control my new DAW, Reaper 4. Automap will also sync up pretty much any and all of my soft-synths. I'm also going to be ensuring that my Roland JV-2080 synthesizer is fully integrated into Reaper 4 as I am intending to use it extensively in the future.

Now, I said that the time for returning to the fray isn't far off. I want to think that this time next week, I will have started work on the next Geigertek album. I have a stack of ideas that have been keeping me awake at nights and an impetus to do something different. I have a working title for the album, but I won't be letting on just yet - as the fave saying from Doctor Who goes - spoilers ;-)

Photography-wise, I'm preparing to start the Synth Studio project. After the success of the images I got from Ben Edwards' amazing studio, I felt fired up to get this project underway and have been in touch with a number of leading electronic artists from around the U.K. - this is a project that is going to take some months to do because of the travelling that will be required. But all good fun. I'm also starting to prepare my first book. Now this is something that I hadn't considered, but a number of people who seem to have enjoyed my work have strongly suggested that this is something I be seriously thinking about. So, I'm going to give it a go. I haven't clue what pictures will be used, what the book will called or what form it will take. But it's going to be fun getting there :-D And as from tomorrow, I shall be photographing my dinners. Yes, each day, I shall endeavour to photograph whatever meal I am having and add it to the blog

And I'm also thinking of doing a video diary that I will post up on this 'ere bloggy blog thing. That needs a little more pondering, but ultimately I think I may give it a go. I've seen that I can easily set up my video camera in the corner of the studio (rather than use a webcam - tacky) so it won't be a problem to do.

Right, time for a shower and possibly a movie before bed.

Nite all :-)

Return to the Car Graveyard

2011-09-29T21:07:00.002+01:00

Return to the Car Graveyard, a set on Flickr.

Over the August Bank Holiday of 2011, I took a return trip to the fascinating Car Graveyard - and a wonderous time was had.

See for yourself.

And as I've said before, please don't ask me where it is, I won't tell you ;-)

A Disused Church, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-09-29T14:59:00.002+01:00

A Disused Church, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

A collection pictues taken at the end of August 2011 whilst on a morning's rural explore with my good friend Clive Dunn.

A disused church, right in the middle of nowhere, but still in remarkably good condition (thanks to the Norfolk Churches Trust) and loads of interesting bits dan pieces to be seen within.

Please don't ask for the location as I won't tell you ;-)

Abandoned Farm, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-09-27T10:00:00.003+01:00

Abandoned Farm, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

I took trip out a few weeks ago with my good lady for day in the North Norfolk countryside. And lo and behold, we came upon this abandoned farm. The place has obviously been deserted for some time, but it looks as though the former occupiers just walked away and left things as they were. Some very interesting little artifacts were seen here as well as some typical North Norfolk building.

Play Studio, London, U.K.

2011-09-23T20:24:00.002+01:00

Play Studio, London, U.K., a set on Flickr.

At last, I have processed and up-loaded the photographs taken at the Play Studio owned by Ben "Benge" Edwards. A terrific day's photography and a thoroughly interesting man to chat with. Hope you enjoy the pictures :-)

New studio almost done :-)

2011-09-16T09:43:00.000+01:00

Well this will be the last posting done in the living room. When I next write, it will come from the new studio - well, a converted box room :-)

Today will be spent moving all my computer and music gear through to the box room and connecting everything up. Will be a much better arrangement all round as it will give me a personal work space and means we can have a dining table and chairs back in the living room. All part of a wider scheme to change our home around to suit a fast-growing family and a need top partition work and non-work activities. My partner Anne works from home and her set up is in the living room alongside my music stuff, so when she finishes work, she has no separation from it.

I've added a couple of pics below of the room as a work in progress from the last couple of days.

So, time to sign off from the living room and I'll see you in the GTK Studio :-)

New Stuff

2011-09-08T20:45:00.002+01:00

Okay, it's been a pretty cool week thus far with the odd glitch, but that's what is about isn't it. Yep. Soooooo, after a few days spent hitting to the motorways, snapping studios and other daffy stuff, I've started thinking about music again.

I've just sorted myself out a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) called Reaper. A DAW is essentially the software equivalent of a mixing console and multi-track tape recorder, but with so much more. Reaper is an amazingly cost-effective DAW when put against the likes of Cubase and Logic et al. It does pretty much everything the "big guns" do, but at a fraction of the cost. I made a few noises on my Facebook page about trying out the evaluation version, and I immediately had a number of known musicians telling me to go for it, and they couldn't recommend Reaper enough. Well that was good enough for me and I duly paid for licence which was ridiculously cheap, helped by an improvement in the exchange rate.

It loads onto a USB stick, it has a tiny digital footprint on the hard-drive and it is stonked with some serious kick-arse features. Why haven't I tried this out before now? I don't know, but I have it now, and I think it will staying put on my hard-drive(s) for some time to come. Which brings me back to where I was - thinking about music.

The addition of Reaper 4 to my system will mean a little bit of "learning time", but not too long because essentially, from what I have seen, a DAW is a DAW is a DAW, no matter how you dress it, skin it or throw bells and whistles at it. I know what I want from it and that will be my focus for a few days. And then I am going to try what will be new stuff for me. I want to do more sampling, I want to play around with different effects combinations and also dabble with synth/sequencer/effects set ups to see what I can get with a little creativity rather than reach for the preset browser. And then there's the Roland JV-2080.

I have a Roland JV-2080. It's the only hardware synth I have (not counting my Casio VL-Tone and my Stylophone of course). The JV is a great box of tricks and I have, shamefully, neglected it for far too long. Reaper loves the JV and happily speaks to it and vice-versa so integration will be just right. I have found it easier to integrate the JV with Reaper than I did with Cubase. Cubase now seems very unfriendly in comparison to Reaper, so the JV gets the benefit of that immediately. I have found some rather cool editing software, which means I might even get into creating my own little patches, but no promises on that. I used some of the JV string presets on "Soundtrack For City Living" to great effect, so I now know what can be achieved and that's a very good thing. The visit to Benge's studio in London earlier this week (see HERE for a little word on that) also opened my eyes to the benefits of using hardware synths. Not that I am planning on getting hardware synths. No. No room. No cash. Sadly. However, the JV is plenty to be getting on with and I suspect that it will feature prominently on my next "body of work" - I might even have the project title soon, but I'll share that with you another time (it's a cracker though).

Through my association with other musicians, I have had access to instruments such as Omnisphere and the like, and it was a real pleasure having my good friend David Wright playing some the synth parts on "Soundtrack For City Living" using the Omnisphere. I had to get him to do it on the album because the company that makes Omnisphere are very strict about who uses it, I believe that if anyone other than the licence holder plays it, they publicly decapitate them. Not for me, sorry. Sooooo, whilst it was a joy to hear and see and dribble over the sounds and features of Omnisphere, it's not an instrument that I can exactly go to, and in some sense, everything is kind of done for you. Add to that, everyone is now using it. So I thought that I would go to the other end of the scale and check out freeware stuff. There's a lot of it about - and - a lt of it IS very good. Minimogue (Minimoog clone), Pokegy (Moog Prodigy Clone), Augur (Prophet VS clone), Wavesim (PPG Wave 2.2 clone) and a European software group called Elektrostudio do a fantastic line in vintage synth emulation - for free!!! I used their Micromoon (Micromoog emulation) and Rhythmus (vintage drum machine emulation a la JMJ) on the "Endless Night E.P." (Rhythmus provides the drums for "This Man") and "Soundtrack For City Living" - you'd never know they weren't high-octane, all singing, all dancing, powerhouse VSTi's!!!

Well there you go. A cheap DAW. A classic rack synthesizer brought out of retirement. A fistful of freeware VST's. That'll keep me going. And oooooh, I can hear the noses of the guys with the big guns elevating their way into the air already - lol - but hey, it's not what you've got that matters, it's what you do with it that counts ;-)

Benge's Studio

2011-09-08T15:41:00.000+01:00

Well what a day that was!!!

The Fuji and I had the pleasure of visiting the studio of Ben "Benge" Edwards in East London this week, the purpose of which was to take photographs for the steadily evolving "Synth Studios" project.

I arrived in plenty of time and was soon exchanging greetings with Ben who turned out to be an absolute pleasure to chat with and a very courteous and gracious man. The person impressed as much as the studio.

The studio itself is set across a series of basement rooms, comprising a live room containing synths and a drum kit, a workshop area with various bits and pieces of synths/electronic stuff, a secondary live room with a gorgeous looking up-right piano and synths, then the main studio area with a series of mixing desks and yes, synths.

Ben's collection of classic/vintage synthesizers and recording equipment was something of a veritible Alladin's Cave and I have to say that I was a little in awe of all the analog/digital goodness that filled these rooms. Everything from a Polymoog to a Synclavier, a VCS3 to a DX5 and an ARP 2500 to a CS80, it was like stepping into something of an electronic music museum.

I spent 5 very quick hours snapping away whilst talking about synths, urban exploration, John Foxx (Ben presently collaborates with him), the local area and music software.

So, all in all, for me it was a very enjoyable experience, I have got some cool pictures (which I'm still working on), had the pleasure of Ben's company and got to see a bit of the capital city - never a bad thing for me. And of course, many thanks to Ben for letting me and The Fuji loose in his studio!!!

"Soundtrack For City Living" Completed

2011-09-04T12:58:00.001+01:00

Yes. "Soundtrack For City Living" is finally completed, the masters have been handed over to AD Music and without question, it's definitely my best work to date.

My first two albums, "The Garden" and "The Timeless Mind" were both very spiritually influenced and I think showed a certain naivety and innocence. "Soundtrack For City Living" is a much more grounded and earthy, late night, smoky club affair, I've dared to combine female and male vocals, saxophones and orchestral strings with synths, electronics, sequencing and synthetic rhythms. I've also tried to vary the mood from out and out romantic to dark and brooding, from sophisticated to blatant British electronica. I won't be held to boundaries and won't stay too long in anyone's pidgeon hole, that's for sure. I think that "Soundtrack For City Living" also shows the growth of my own personal inner-confidence with making music as the album has been largely recorded and produced by myself. I also had the confidence to bring in other musicians to add to the depth and feel of the album, and also to take on board some of their suggestions.

And so to the tracks themselves:

1. "Beyond The Garden": The time has come to move away from the deeply spiritul influences of the first two albums, and this is what the first track does. A deeply atmospheric opening leads to a gently rhythmic interplay between piano, strings and rhythms, with a heavily effected Casiotone VL-1 beat skittering around a soild bassline. This leads into an upbeat section that takes us into the heart of the city, before reminding us, as the traffic moves around us, of where we have come from in the closing phrases with a brief piano motif from the title track of the first album.

2. "Beauty In Decay": As well as being a musician, I am also a photographer with a passion for dereliction, decay and abandonment - Urban Exploration. "Beauty In Decay" seeks to convey the lost splendour of a once grand building, the echoing piano defining the emptiness, and the swirling chords of the first half symbolising the dust seen in the shards of brilliant sunlight that breaks through the cracks in the roof or the boarded windows.

3. "Underpass": This is my take on the classic electronica song originally recorded by former Ultravox-frontman, John Foxx. Every city has a darkside and this is what I wanted in my version of "Underpass". The vocals are made up of male and female voices with a haunting female spoken spoken voice. A lone piano takes the famous hookline and intricate rhythms drive the track along. Throughout, orchestral strings provide a dark and brooding atmosphere. I've added a new middle section to compliment the rest of the song and my own arrangements seek to retain the gloriously dystopian feel of the original.

4. "Devil May Care": So, I've always wanted to write a song for a James Bond movie, and this is it. Not so long ago, the social networking site MySpace (whatever did they do to that!!! ) ran a competition to make a theme for a new James Bond novel that was about to be released at the time. This would have been my entry, but I was unable to get it finished in time, so it has found it's way onto "Soundtrack For City Living". I tried to put in all the elements: the female vocal, the guitar solo, the sultry sax and the dramatic John Barry style strings. I like to think I achieved that.

5. "Moonlight Interlude": I said earlier that I like to break boundaries and defy pidgeon-holing - this track demonstrates that. Think 1a.m. in London, rain-soaked streets, the smoky jazz club, your lady on your arm and the chimes of Westminster in the background. That's "Moonlight Interlude", a piece of music that eases things over after the intensity of the previous two tracks. What I like about this track is the raw one take piano recording. It is as it was played, a little out of time here and there and complete with bum notes. The sax and strings round off this smoky piece beautifully, presented as is, warts and all.

6. "A Rainfall Moment": Emotions play a big part in music, in all it's forms, and this track, by far, has to be the most romantic piece I've written to date. Lilting pianos, the orchestral strings and a 60's style guitar blend together to create the atmosphere of a moment in the rain. Taken from a personal experience, "A Rainfall Moment" seeks to convey a couple in love, caught in the rain whilst out on a romantic liasion and getting soaked just doesn't matter. As the song goes, when you're in love with a beautiful woman, you don't care.

7. "West 9": Another piece that's inspired by personal experiences. I spent a period of time in the West 9 district of London, and I loved it. The throng of city life was like a drug to me. This track takes you from sunrise to sunset with it's changing moods and atmospheres, hoping to capture the essence of a living, breathing city.

8. "Fast Lane": This final track hits the tarmac running for a full-on journey on the motorway fast lane. Forget "Autobahn" with it's gentle drfiting melodies, "Fast Lane" goes for the maximum speed limit. Unashamed British style electronica with added cheese, this piece of music lifts the mood for an uptempo finale and poses the question of whether or not this could be the direction of future works ;-)

"Soundtrack For City Living" will be released by AD Music on the 30th September 2011.

"Soundtrack For City Living" Update

2011-08-30T16:59:00.000+01:00

Well what a day it has been, and a good one at that :-)

I had a very positive telephone call this afternoon from the dudes at AD Music, full of praise for "Soundtrack For City Living". Bar a couple of VERY minor volume/EQ tweaks, it's there, done and dusted. There was particular praise for the two vocal tracks, John Foxx's "Underpass" and "Devil May Care". Generally speaking, vocals and electronic music don't always go together, but I have always been one to beg to differ - I hope everyone who hears these tracks will agree. I also had an e-mail from the webmaster of the official John Foxx website Metamatic, a very pleasant fellow called Rob Harris, giving me permission to use a couple of terrific cityscape pictures he took in Tokyo as part of the artwork for the CD. The two pictures have just the right feel and look for the concept of the album and I'm very grateful for Rob's permission to use them.

And on top of that, the date and time has been set for next week for the photo shoot at Benge's Play Studio. This is a great project for me and one that I simply cannot wait for. I shall certainly be prepping as much as I can before the day. And being as I will be in London, I'm of a mind to take in a little something of an Urbex nature after the session at Play Studio finishes ;-)

Thus far, a good day :-)

Grasshoppers

2011-08-28T15:07:00.002+01:00

Grasshoppers, a set on Flickr.

Some snaps I took of the little jumping blighters in my back garden. Something different to the usual derelict buildings and rotting cars :-)

Honey Pot Wood, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-08-28T01:32:00.002+01:00

Honey Pot Wood, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

A series of pictures taken a few days ago whilst out on a topographical jaunt with my good friend Clive Dunn (no, not that one, click his as he's equally as interesting).

New Studio Planned

2011-08-27T15:45:00.000+01:00

Just waiting on the last few bits and pieces for "Soundtrack For City Living" to be sorted and then the short musical sabbatical begins. In that time, a lot of changes are going to made Chez Us, one of which will be the conversion of one of our bedrooms into a studio. Thus far, I've been making music in the living room, it's suited all of us to do that, but the time has come for a more permanent and dedicated set up to be planned. I have to say I am rather pleased, it's not every man who has their loved one come up to them and say "why don't you use this room as a studio" :-)

And it won't be just the physical side of things changing either. I'm changing the digital audio workstation (DAW) that I use (Cubase) to Reaper 4, a fantastic piece of software created by a company called Cockos. I've spent a few days using the 30-day evaluation download and I am mightily impressed. Whilst there are a number of features that Cubase has that Reaper 4 doesn't, I won't lose any sleep over it as I feel that Reaper is far more inclined towards the musician/producer. How you access and configure things is so much more like using a regular desk/rack situation which in my book means more control as in things being done how I want them done and not how a piece of software tells me they will be done. Routine things such as setting up auxillary busses, integrating external synthesizers and effects routing seem so much more logical then faffing around with FX tracks and Group tracks. And it does mean that I'll be using the Roland JV-2080 a whole more than I have ever done - the poor thing has sat on the rack next to me virtually useless. Not anymore.

So, plenty of things to keep me occupied over the next 2/3 months, and a whole lot of it will be creative :-)

Exciting Studio Photo Shoot

2011-08-25T19:43:00.003+01:00

A bit of excitement here at the moment as The Fuji and I will travelling to East London very soon to photograph the studio of Ben Edwards, otherwise known as Benge.

Ben has been producing music since the 90's, his work has mainly been electronica, ambient and IDM. He is best known for his 2008 solo release "Twenty Systems" that featured twenty pieces of music, each made with a particular synthesizer from a particular year, and also his collaboration with the godfather of electronica, John Foxx, on the 2011 CD "Interplay", released under the name of John Foxx and the Maths.

Aside from the fact that I am huge fan of this sort of music and synthesizers in general (read: synth-nerd), this is a particularly exciting project for me as it is something of a weird symbiosis of music and photography. It is very definitely linked to the project on synth studios that I am putting together for after "Soundtrack For City Living" is released, to which I have had some great responses from different synth musicians around the U.K. - photographing Ben's studio is, without doubt, the icing on the cake.

"Soundtrack" Update and New Photographic project

2011-08-24T15:20:00.001+01:00

Well, we're almost at the finishing line for "Soundtrack For City Living" and AD Music have given me the official release date which is the 30th September 2011. All that's being done at the moment is last minute mix fixes and EQ anomalies. I don't want to seem arrogant, but it is sounding good. There is a wide mixture of moods and feels, the opening track "Beyond The Garden" is very chilled, the John Foxx cover, "Underpass", is very dark and brooding and a track called "Moonlight Interlude" has a very jazzy/film-noir ambience about it. In short, I'm pleased with my third album and I'm very keen to get it completely finished so I can sit back and listen to the efforts of the last 13 months.

I'm starting a new photographic project which links nicely with my musical side. I've been hassling a number of electronic musos to let me take pics of their studios, using the style and feel seen on my Urban Exploration photos. I've already got three positives, all of which are great examples of modern musicians working with hardware synthesizers in the electronic music/project studio environment. It'll take a few months to do as a fair amount of travelling will be required as the subjects are widely flung about the Kingdom, but all to the good.

The first Trinity album, "Music For Angels" will be released in the next couple fo weeks - this is an album of New Age/Relaxation music created by myself, David Wright and Nigel Turner-Heffer - and very good it's sounding as well!!!

Still exciting times :-)

A Car Graveyard

2011-08-23T01:11:00.001+01:00

A Car Graveyard, a set on Flickr.

A load of photos from a little explore that I did with my good lady last weekend. A return trip would be nice as there was so much to see and photograph :-)

Finishing line in sight.........

2011-08-15T01:41:00.001+01:00

An 18 hour marathon today saw a massive leap forward for "Soundtrack For City Living" - six tracks have now been completed which means only two more to go and then done, bar the usual last minute tweaks.

Today's work was hampered by the sixth track causing problems with the computer. I'm not sure what the issue is, but I feel it may be to do with my PC being 7 years old - it does well!!! So, rather than spend a lifetime trying to locate the source of the problem, I took the intro to the piece and extended it into a four minute track that's very laid-back in a piano/sax/orchestra kind of way. Totally free-form, I used no rhythms, click tracks or quantising and whilst you can hear it, I think it gives the piece a real human edge. I've called it "Moonlight Interlude" and I have to say that I'm very pleased with it.

The track listing looks a little different now. I've just had a listen through to the thus-far completed tracks and put them in some kind of order. I expect the following may be the final thing:

1. Beyond The Garden

2. Beauty In Decay

3. Underpass

4. Devil May Care

5. Moonlight Interlude

6. A Rainfall Moment

7. West 9

8. Fast Lane

Looking at the approximate timings, once the last two tracks are done, the album should come in at a little over the 65 minute mark. I'm very pleased with the way the album is sounding and can't wait to finish it to hear the final thing in it's entirety - that sounds a little arrogant, but I'm quite excited by "Soundtrack For City Living" and hope that it's well received.

All that's left to do is to process vocals on and mix both "Underpass" and "Devil May Care". "Underpass" is sounding quite cool and I hope that fans of the original will like what I've done with it - I've taken the lead vocal and I've got a blinding backing vocal set done by a girl called Candice Wells and my partner Anne Mancini-Smith - really looking forward to getting to work on that tomorrow. Candice has done a fantastic vocal for "Devil May Care" and I hope to be sorting that song out on Tuesday morning ready to take the full album over to the guys at AD Music on Tuesday evening.

It's now close on 1.45am - enough for today, time for bed methinks. I shall sleep with a smile on my face tonight :-)

Exciting times.

"Soundtrack For City Living" Update

2011-08-13T23:02:00.001+01:00

A really productive day - five tracks are now completed, three to go.

I'm seriously enthused by the results so far and this album is arguably the best thing I've done to date. Looking forward to getting it finished to hear the end product and see the artwork etc.

Will be hammering into things again tomorrow - a full day totally focused on the remaining tracks. All being well, I'm hoping to have everything done for the "listen through" with AD Music on Tuesday evening :-)

"Soundtrack For City Living" Update

2011-08-11T10:55:00.001+01:00

All spare time being devoted to getting "Soundtrack" finished this week. After some uncertainty about vocalists, finally managed to find a great female singer called Candice Wells who has done the vocal for "Devil May Care" - fantastic voice and great resonance which has made the track really come forward. I've mixed in the excellent guitar work done by Code Indigo's Nigel Turner-Heffer (recorded a couple of weeks ago) which sounds wonderful, giving the piece that certain lustre for a real "007/John Barry" feel.

The cover of "Underpass" is close to completion. After a bit of back and forth, I took the decision to do the lead vocal myself, with Candice and my partner Anne Mancini-Smith, taking the backing vocals - they've done a great job and this track is sounding great, even though I say it myself.

I have some work to attend to this lunchtime, but this afternoon I will focusing on a track called "Forgotten Splendour". Much in keeping with the rest of the album, this track has an almost dischordant piano intro with some lovely lush strings before melting into a few minutes of synth solos and string sections sitting atop a myriad of rhythms and sequences.

I'm waiting for the green light to use some photographs of Tokyo which, if I get the appropriate permissions, will be a part of the inner sleeve artwork. Over the course of the next couple of days, I'll be sorting out some self-portraits for the album - one idea is to set myself up at an old Selmer Pianotron (more about that soon) that I was recently given, in amongst large framed photos of cityscapes - all in black and white of course :-)

So, need to go and get ready for work. Back soon :-)

"Soundtrack For City Living" Update

2011-08-06T23:08:00.000+01:00

Had a few hold ups this week which have unfortunately held up work on the album. Need to get past the next couple of days so that I can get back into the swing of things.

Most tracks are now pretty much finished, but vocals yet to be recorded for "Devil May Care" and "Underpass" - annoying delays stopped that happening last week. Recorded some guitar last week for "Devil May Care "and that's sounding seriously cool - great work from Nigel Turner-Heffer. A little unsure about another track we recorded guitar for, need to have a few days away from it before I commit.

Currently listening to the basic tracks and I'm happy with what's there so far.

Waiting to hear if I can use a couple of really cool photos for the inner CD booklet artwork - could be quite an interesting link to the album if I get the green light.

New Month!!!

2011-08-01T07:53:00.000+01:00

First of August - how the hell did that happen???!!!

Nettleham Hall, U.K.

2011-07-30T23:24:00.001+01:00

Nettleham Hall, U.K., a set on Flickr.

Pictures from a recent explore :-)

Nocton Hall and R.A.F. Hospital

2011-07-30T23:23:00.001+01:00

Nocton Hall and R.A.F. Hospital, a set on Flickr.

PIctures from a recent explore :-)

A busy weekend

2011-07-30T22:54:00.000+01:00

It's been non-stop.

Friday saw me sorting out some bits and pieces at the local council - as always that takes forever - council efficiency and speed of service is unheard of. Pity when you consider how much they charge for their "services". But that's another story I guess. So I lost some of my day because of the council which kind of put paid to any progress on "Soundtrack For City Living", but no problem as I managed to get a fair bit of photographic processing done over the course of the rest of the day.

Today I have been helping my dear lady Anne prepare for an open day next weekend - she does voluntary work for a wonderful wildbird sanctuary called "Wing and a Prayer Haven". They do excellent work taking care of sick/injured wildbirds - everything from pidgeons to gold finches and all other "liddle boidies" inbetween. I'll be helping Anne again next week man the "bric-a-brac" stall.

This evning I have been happily processing more pictures from the Lincolnshire explore I did last Sunday with my good friend Keith. We visited Nocton Hall and R.A.F. Nocton as well as Nettleham Hall. These are two place I intend to return to later in the year.

Tomorrow, Anne and I are heading to the North Norfolk coast for a photographic trip along the beach. Should be a nice day out - it always is with Anne :-)

Ruined Church and Graveyard, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-07-28T22:27:00.001+01:00

Ruined Church and Graveyard, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

A few images from a day's topographing, taken in a ruined church and graveyard in Norfolk.

Last round of recording :-)

2011-07-25T23:36:00.000+01:00

This week will see the last bits of recording needed for the third Geigertek album, "Soundtrack For City Living".

Tomorrow I will be recording the last set of vocals for "Devil May Care" and "Underpass" as well as resolving a bridge issue on a track called "West 9" and some drum loop niggles on the album's opening track, "Beyond The Garden".

On Wednesday evening, I shall be heading over to David Wright's Planet Recording Studio with Code Indigo guitarist, Nigel Turner-Heffer, to record guitar elements for two tracks ("Devil May Care" and "Underpass").

As well as recording Nigel's guitar, we'll also be looking at artwork for the inner booklet and CD tray.

The album is coming together nicely and it is my hope that all will be done by the end of this week, ready to take over to AD Music next week :-)

"Soundtrack For City Living" nearing completion

2011-07-18T21:03:00.002+01:00

A good day. And why? Well it's because I now have the final seven tracks that will form the body of the third Geigertek album "Soundtrack For City Living". All that remains now is for some vocals to be recorded and final production stuff such as EQ-ing, volume levels etc.

The anticipated track listing and order, though not finalised at this stage, is as follows:

1. Beyond The Garden

2. A Rainfall Moment

3. Underpass

4. Devil May Care

5. Beauty In Decay

6. West 9

7. Fast Lane

All being well, everything should be done by the end of this week.

The album has a very chilled-out feel to it apart from the last track "Fast Lane" which is very up tempo and basically loud. I premiered a version of this track at the recent Bungay Bash and it was very well received.

There will be some guest musicians including Code Indigo's Nigel Turner-Heffer on guitar and some keyboard work by David Wright (playing the awesome Omnisphere synthesizer). I also have two lady guests on vocals.

Anyone who is familiar with my work will see a significant departure from the first Geigertek albums. "Soundtrack For City Living" has a more free and relaxed sound to it, to me it portrays a feeling of calm within the hustle and bustle of the modern city. One of the tracks, "Beauty In Decay", came about through my activities as an Urban Explorer, again, I hope I will have captured the sense of latent beauty within a derelict and decaying environment.

Still work to be done as I need to polish the rough edges, but I'm hoping that the end product will put itself at a new level as a result.

As always, "Soundtrack For City Living" will be released by AD Music :-)

Stuff and Bits

2011-07-17T12:28:00.000+01:00

I'm sort of back to work. I say sort of because I've decided to go down the self-employed route again, even though it was the self-employed route that got me into the unemployed cul-de-sac in the first place. "So why do it?" I hear you ask. And a good question, for which there is a perfectly logical answer.

I was in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, a nominal amount of money from the government on a weekly basis, on the understanding that you are actively looking for work, and providing evidence of the same. Fair enough. For the first six months, I looked, I applied and I proved. Then at the six month point, my money suddenly stopped. I queried and it was because I was on contribution-based Job Seekers Allowance and that had run out, I now had to apply for income-based Job Seekers Allowance. As my dear other half works, I had to provide details of her income, and rightly so. The shock was that although she is on a very low income, because she works more than 30 hours a week, I lost entitlement to payments. "Oh shit" we thought. So, I applied for the income-based JSA so that my stamp would be paid and the whole "look for work, apply for work and then prove it" merry-go-round started again. We applied for and got both Housing Benefit and Tax Credits. Kind of okay, but the lack of income has had certain consequences, as it has for countless millions in this country.

So, I hit the 12 months unemployed mark, and I thought, "great, I'll be elligible for re-training!!". Marvellous, or so I thought. I had an idea of perhaps having the opportunity to learn a new trade, electrician, plumbing that sort of thing. It had been my understanding that this was what was offered to you. So, I go into the local Job Centre and sat down with the pretty girl behind the desk and started the process of "exploring my options" on the jolly old training front. It was very soon smashed to pieces with no hope of anything. The before I went to "look at my options", the government had scrapped ALL training programs for the long-term unemployed. No, let me re-phrase that: withdrawn funding. Great. So here I was, watching the chance to become a "sparky" drifting away and being told the best I could expect was to attend sessions provided by a third-party provider on how to improve my C.V. (which the Job Centre had done countless times in the last 12 months) and go to ANY work placements they were to offer. What a fantastic prospect. Not. I then get a reprimand off of a fresh-faced twat because I forgot to take in my written account of what work I had been looking for - he was threatening to stop my payments so I told him to go ahead - he looked a twat when he saw that I wasn't actually receiving any money. And then the provider got in contact. They said I had to attend a "self-employed" course and they were most surprised when I asked them why. "Because you told the Job Centre that's what you wanted to do". I told them actually, no I didn't because it was being self-employed that got me unemployed and I wanted to be permanently employed - by someone else. "Well we've were told by the Job Centre that you wanted to be self-employed". I am bald and I don't have enough hair to pull out. So, the last month of my unemployment saw me viewing the Job Centre as an institution of misplaced arrogance, incompetence and general no-use to anyone unemployed over 12 months - actually make that 6 months if you have a partner/huband/wife that works more than 30 hours a week, even if they're earnning next to nothing.

I confess that I came away from my last signing-on at the Job Centre with a heavy heart and a bit a black cloud hanging over my finely polished head. What now? What do I do? 45 years old with a skill set that is of no use to man nor beast nor Norwich employer and being a kept man by a very patient other half. Not quite how the plan was supposed to go, I can tell you.

Well, when down, I don't stay there for long - I find melancholy far too exhausting and not good for the digestion. We sat down and looked at the range of options, which soon came to realise were like, none. So it was a case of thinking laterally. What skills do I possess? Quite good at music, not too bad at photography, very good with people. And that's where the plans for the little shoppe came as well as plans to hold an exhibition of my photographic work and see about getting a book published. I then had a cal, totally out of the blue, from a good aquaintance, offering me the chance of some casual work, on a self-employed basis, here and there. We sat down and did the maths. I was getting nothing coming in cash-wise and the Job Centre had become the dictionary definition of useless - there was nothing more they could do for me now. So, we looked at how other benefits would be affected, it didn't look too bad, so the decision was taken for me to sign-off, register as self-employed and take my chances. At the end of the day, what did I have to lose?

I'm not going into the details of the casual work, it is in a worth-while industry and it doesn't seem appropriate to discuss it. All I shall say is, it will bring a little more money in than the JSA - which will always be better :-D

I'm a couple of weeks in, the work is sparse, but I knew that and essentially, it isn't that big a problem in a broader contect, but at least I am free to be able to do anything that comes along without the complications of red tape and the need to wrestle with the JSA mentality. I'm now one less government statisitc, whcih will help make them look good I suppose, but it does make me wonder what the true unemployment figure is because of this situation that the present system puts you in.

So, I'll be working harder at improving my photography, pushing to get my name "out there", pushing the music a little more, looking for new avenues of income. It may work, it may not. If it does, I'll send you a postcard from the Bahamas. If it doesn't, watch out for my name in the bankruptcy listings :-)

St. George's Church, Norwich, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-07-16T22:42:00.001+01:00

St. George's Church, Norwich, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

A new set of images taken in a small but beautiful medieval city church.

Freegle does it again!!!

2011-07-13T10:09:00.000+01:00

I reported a while back that I managed to source a computer through a website called Freegle. Freegle is a part of the Yahoo Groups and as I understand it, most areas of the country have a Freegle. It's basic premise is for people to advertise items that they might be on the verge of throwing out or dumping and can be anything from a can of pet food to a car. The idea is based around the notion of recyling - I guess the old adage of "one man's rubbish is another man's treasure".

Well Freegle has come up trumps for me again. My Urban Exploration and photography have reached a point now where I need to plan things a little differently and also move a little further afield, plus my daughter has taken up photography as a hobby and wants to do landscape and nature pictures, all this bringing forth the need to start camping out (horrors). This requires cash to get started and that's certainly something that has been in short supply of late, so I turned to Freegle to see if anyone had any camping gear they no longer required, and low and behold, they did. Through a couple of request adverts I placed, I now have a decent two-man tent, a decent camping stove with loads of extras, two airbeds and sleeping bags. And not a penny spent. Can't be bad.

The airbeds were still in their box, unused. The sleeping bag only needed a run through the washing machine and is now like new and smelling just great. The stove is Trangia 27 which has hardly been used, has attachments for a gas canister plus pots, pans and a kettle. The tent is in excellent condition with no damage at all - the gentleman from whom it came had obviously maintained it.

So, now all that needs to be done is practice putting the tent up and carrying out a couple of test runs in the garden. My daughter is pleased as this is something she has been wanting to do for a while now, and I have to confess that I have been a little reticent - strictly speaking, me and the word "camping" (as in "tents") don't usually go in the same sentence. People who know me are dining out on the hilarious notion of my engaging in sleeping under canvas. But, these things have to be tried out, and thanks to Freegle, I can try it out and if it isn't for me, it hasn't cost me anything.

How good is that?

"Man of 2 Worlds" Radio Show Today @ 2pm :-)

2011-07-10T09:09:00.000+01:00

Don't forget to tune into One World Radio today at 2pm for my very first EVER radio show.

You can find it HERE

Photos of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, Norfolk, U.K.

2011-07-06T23:35:00.001+01:00

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, Norfolk, U.K., a set on Flickr.

A new set of photographs taken in a nd around Great Yarmouth and Gorleston in the county of Norfolk, on the East Anglian coast of the United Kingdom.

"Man of 2 Worlds" Radio Show: 2pm Sunday 10th July 2011

2011-06-27T19:29:00.000+01:00

Yes, I will be presenting my own weekly radio show on the One World Radio station. As you can see from the title of the posting, it'll be called "Man of 2 Worlds" and presenting an hour of chilled, ambient and electronic music featuring artists from the AD Music label. Along with music from the AD catalog, I'll be bringing news of releases and events associated with AD artists as well as "The 10 Minute Spotlight", a regular feature where each week I'll focus on an individual act on the AD Music label.

This is a new and very exciting challenge for me, and one that I have been wanting to do for some time. I've got my format ready and will be spending some time sorting out a few jingles etc as well as play lists.

One World Radio is a U.K. internet radio station, based on the south coast of England, set up to bring people from around the world of ecological, cultural and musical interest together. OWR broadcasts seven days a week, 24 hours a day and is a truly holistic station, with many shows covering a myriad of different areas.

The first "Man of 2Worlds" show will be on Sunday 10th July 2011 at 2pm - please do take a listen and let me know what you think :-)

Photography - where to next?

2011-06-25T21:08:00.000+01:00

I'm kind of reviewing what I do and how I do it where photography is concerned. And I'm talking about what I take pictures of etc. I've really enjoyed the countryside rambles, getting out into the open air and taking in the peace and tranquility. I am at heart a city person and I really have a passion for the urban stuff, but getting out into the Norfolk countryside is like being given a new lease of life.

Decent derelictions are now proving difficult to come by, whatever is there to be done has been done a million times and by and large is usually trashed by chavs and idiot youths or done over by thieving urbexers. The countryside wanderings have opened my eyees further as to what's about me and so I'm looking at maybe putting something of a focus on the quirkier side of things where city type pictures are concerned.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I'm going to be visiting areas of Norwich not normally photographed, housing estates and that sort of thing. My partner and I are also visiting Great Yarmouth to capture some of the sights there - and believe me, there are some real sights to behold :-D

A morning in the Norfolk countryside.

2011-06-22T13:46:00.000+01:00

Just back from a little meander along the waterside in the Norfolk village of Stokesby. I headed here this morning with a mission in mind - to explore and snap a drainage mill and a derelict marshman's cottage. The skies were kind and I was able to do both. I'll add some of the pictures over the next few days as I now need to process them.

It was a lovely experience to walk the age old trackways to the cottage and mill, the wind through the reed beds was quite magical and I could have stayed there all day. Alas, the rain clouds were gathering, so I didn't stay longer than I needed to - in fact I got back to my trust little Nissan Micra (affectionately known as Maddy) as the rain started - and boy did it!!!

Whilst on the walk, I also took the opportunity to use the HD video facility on The Fuji. I've messed about with it before, but today I took the time to get The Fuji on a tripod and actually set up some framed shots. I'm currently in the process of uploading the pictures and video to the PC whilst writing this, but looking forward top scanning through the results.

My New Photography Website and Little Shoppe

2011-06-18T20:37:00.001+01:00

At last, they're done!!!

My new photography website with it's little shoppe has just gone live and I have to say I'm quite pleased with it. It's been a bit of a labour of love, but then everything just fell into place over the last couple of days to bring about it's conclusion. All that remains now is to watch over the next few weeks for any teething problems with the little shoppe and of course adding new galleries and pictures as I get them.

My personal website is now off line whilst I spend some time over the next few days sorting out a new layout and look for it. Glad that the job is done.

You can find it all HERE

HOT NEWS......

2011-06-17T11:58:00.000+01:00

I've just had a confirmation that I will be presenting a radio music program on One World Radio - keep watching for more details coming soon!!!

My little e-shoppe

2011-06-16T23:14:00.001+01:00

Whew, what a day - processed and tidied up 58 images that will form the basis of the photographic side of my e-shoppe. I have to say my eyes are tired and I fear they may have turned square in their shape - certainly the dent from my reading glasses is quite prominent now :-)

So, a matter of resizing the images for the shoppe pages, watermarking larger view sizes and then prepping the gallery on the photography website.

My target date for completion is this Sunday. If things continue the way they are going, I should be done by Saturday at the latest. To me that's good news because I have put everything and everybody on hold until this is all done and dusted and the little shoppe is live.

But enough for today - time for bed methinks :-)

Nose to the grindstone......

2011-06-14T16:52:00.001+01:00

With the Bungay Bash now done and dusted, it's time to get back to normailty and get cracking on the projects I've been hankering to do.

I've re-started work on "Soundtrack For City Living". A new track was started on Monday night which will be called "The City Below". With what I already have, I doubt that any new tracks will now be started as I have enough material to put together the album. This will sound quite arrogant, but I have to say it's sounding quite good.

I'm also very busy re-building my personal website as well as putting together a photography website and e-shop to sell CD's and prints of my photos. A number of people have told me my images might well sell, so there's only one way to find out and all it costs is my time which, on the face of it, I have plenty of at the moment.

Busy time, but happy being busy, and hopefully something will come out at the end of it.

The Bungay Bash, 4th June 2011

2011-06-13T16:56:00.000+01:00

Well what a day it was. With all the drama that preceded it, the day proved to be a roaring success in it's execution. And if only more people had turned up, but those that did seemed to have a good time and were very friendly giving us all a lot of support and encouragement.

The day kicked off with my Geigertek set. Despite a number of bum notes (which no-one seemed to notice), it went very well and if the compliments I received afterwards were anything to go by, it went down well with the audience. I was joined on two tracks in the opening section of my set by Code Indigo's guitarist/bassist, Nigel Turner-Heffer, who played some absolutely blinding lead guitar - huge thanks to him for his invaluable contribution. My set list was as follows:

1. The Theme from The Avengers (yes, you read right and it was the Emma Peel version with the horn stabs and trumpet solo)

2. The Gift of Goodbye Part 1 (from "The Timeless Mind")

3. In Another Light (from "The Timeless Mind" with Nigel Turner-Heffer on lead guitar)

4. Spirit-Walking (from "The Timeless Mind" with Nigel Turner-Heffer on lead guitar)

5. Between Two Worlds (from "The Garden")

6. The Stirring of Echoes (from "The Timeless Mind")

7. The Rivered Moon (from "The Garden")

8. Songbird Bathing In Blue (from "The Garden")

9. Excerpts (a medley of pieces from the forth-coming "Soundtrack For City Living" CD)

10. The Sculpture and the Wall (from "The Garden")

11. Fast Lane (from the forth-coming "Soundtrack For City Living")

It was good to play the new stuff that will be on the next Geigertek album (hopefully released in August 2011), but nice also to "re-do" a couple of tracks from "The Garden". I had a terrific video back drop, created by the awesomely clever Dave Massey, which featured some of my Urbex images.

David Wright's set was a fantastic mixture of hypnotic sequences and lilting melodies with an awesome video graphics back drop created by the immensely talented and creative Dave Massey. Again, this set was very well received by the audience.

There was a break of an hour or so while David Wright and I prepared for the Callisto set. I enjoy performing the music of Callisto as it's intricate and a challenge to play, particularly as I was running sequences live on four Moog Modular VST's - the adrenalin ran high and it was a great set full of darkness and light, melody and rhythm, but above all, driving sequences and another breath-taking Dave Massey video back drop. A very satisfying set for me personally which, as with the previous two acts, was very well received.

A short break ensued before David Wright and I changed shirts and donned black suits ready to join our colleagues, Nigel Turner-Heffer and Andy Lobban for the headline act, Code Indigo. We played a storming one and a half hour set which was backed with yet another fabulous video back drop done by David Massey.

In between acts, in the theatre's cellar bar, the amazing Stephen Scott was performing his unique guitar-looping music. He is one man and his guitar with a rack of gadgets that allow him to layer up sequences live. Think Robert Fripp and you'll be getting close. I'm going to be doing some recordings with Stephen this year, so please keep an eye for that!!! You can get recordings taken from Stephen's performances, title "Lives In The Cellar" HERE

The end of the night, and indeed the whole day, soon came and we were all very pleased with the audience reaction and the way everything finally went.

Special mention has to be made of Nigel Turner-Heffer who put in a solid three days of hard intensive work on the lighting systems at the Fisher Theatre - he did some amazing work and made all of us look great. Well done Nigel!!!

And thanks also to David Wright's wife, Elaine, and my partner, Anne, for keeping us in check and looking after us not just through the day but also in the weeks leading up to the event.

AD Music have released a very limited edition "Bungay Bash" CDr with tracks from all the acts who performed on the day - my contribution was a live recording of "The Sculpture and the Wall" during rehearsals.

The event was filmed and AD Music hope to release at least three DVD's (my Geigertek set, Callisto and Code Indigo) at the end of this year/beginning of next year. The footage seen thus far looks great and I understand that the finished products will strongly feature Dave Massey's awesome graphics.

AD Music have said that due to the success of the day, they will be planning another Bungay Bash next year, so watch this space for details.

Filming Day at Bungay......

2011-06-02T08:11:00.001+01:00

......didn't actually happen!!!

Nope, got over to David Wright's house nice and early to assist Code Indigo's Dave Massey with video graphics and lighting cues, ready for us to poodle over to the Fisher Theatre in Bungay just after lunch to prepare for the filming of at least two of the four sets.

The reality was that the setting up of the lighting desk took a lot longer than expected because the stage itself needed to be put together (it's a modular stage system) and the lights needed to be physically moved around - and it came down to David Wright and Code Indigo bassist/guitarist Nigel Turner-Heffer to do, which immediately put everything behind before we even got started.

So, once the video graphics and the lighting cues were completed, this meant a lot of sitting around waiting at David Wright's house as there was nothing that Dave Massey and I could do at the theatre.

We eventually got set up after 7pm, which left no time for trying out the sound, let alone filming. Sadly, I felt it was a day lost that could have been spent either practicing or filming, but ultimately, this was no fault of the organisers who put in a lot of hard physical work and were dead on their feet by the end of the day.

Filming has been re-arranged for this morning, so fingers crossed that all will go according to plan :-)

Five days to go......

2011-05-30T13:55:00.000+01:00

......until the Bungay Bash!!!

Final preparations are being made whilst rehearsing on such things as synth patches, creating folders on the computers for the three sets I'll be playing in and some last minute synth programming.

Clothing is another important aspect for me because I believe that image is important. I'm not content to stand there with my back to an audience in a pair jeans and a t-shirt. That means three sets and three changes of clothing :-)

The Geigertek set is sounding good and I'm pleased with it. New versions of the tracks from "The Garden" sound quite nice and fit nicely with the rest of the set, as does the new material, of which there is an "excerpts" section and a full track.

If you haven't got tickets, get some, the music overall sounds great.

Ian Boddy - Odyssey

2011-05-27T23:11:00.000+01:00

ANother interesting little video featuring leading U.K. synthesist and sound esigner, Ian Boddy, talking about the release of his "Odyssey" sound sample pack.

A great collection of sounds.

Midge Ure on Melodyne

2011-05-27T23:00:00.000+01:00

Just seen this on Synth Nut's blog. Aside from the Ultravox/Midge Ure aspect (I'm a huge fan of MU and Ultravox), this is a great little video about a fascinating piece of software - if you're into that sort of thing of course (which I am).

New Computer - for nothing!!!

2011-05-27T22:02:00.000+01:00

For a while now, I've had to use my PC for live performance, something I've been very uncomfortable with because I have EVERYTHING on it including photographs and music. So you can imagine my absolute joy when today, through a site called Freegle, I came across an unwanted Pentium 4 PC in working order.

I picked it up this afternoon, re-formatted the hard drive (80 gig which is plenty for my needs), and added a decent graphics card and 2 gig of DDR 333 memory from an old PC we have lying around and wow, a working PC that is perfect for live work. Tomorrow morning will see soft synths and a modular environment installed ready for some serious rehearsing tomorrow afternoon.

It's kind of weird because at the same time, the timing of this PC arriving is both perfect and terrible :-) Perfect, because it means I don't have to use my main computer, terrible because of the extra work needed to prep it - but hey, a small price to pay.

Just goes to show that good things can happen when you least expect them :-)

Rehearsals Underway :-)

2011-05-27T14:55:00.000+01:00

First proper day of rehearsals following the total fiasco getting the backing tracks sorted.

It's already sounding good!!!

There are some re-workings of tracks from the first Geigertek album "The Garden" and they are sounding great - I now want to re-record the entire album!!! X-D

The pieces from the new album, "Soundtrack For City Living" are coming along nicely and I hope will showcase the overall style and feel of the album.

Bits and pieces of programming are now being done on the MIDI keyboards, ensuring all the settings are right and the synth patches are in the right order!!! Alannah is using an Evolution MIDI keyboard controller connected to a laptop and she'll be using Albino 3, Korg Legacy Collection and Novation V-Station, all going through Kjaerhus Classic effects units.

Backing Tracks Done At Last......!!!

2011-05-27T02:03:00.000+01:00

As the title says, the backing tracks for Bungay Bash on the 4th June 2011 have finally been completed :-)

I've just sent them over the AD Music for video graphics to be prepared for them, which will no doubt be absolutely stonking.

With the backing tracks done, I can finally get down to some serious rehearsing. This of course means that the photography and Urban Exploring will be on hold for the next 10 days.

My set is varied. I'm opening with a quirky cover version which hopefully have the "WTF???!!!" factor - it'll be interesting to see if the attendees get it. Plenty of ambient-ish stuff, a bit of up-tempo, a couple of bits from the new Geigertek album "Soundtrack For City Living" and heading back to my musical roots with a bit of classical from the first geigertek album, "The Garden".

All that remains now is to get practicing. My daughter Alannah is joining me on stage playing keyboards and she tells me she's looking forward to it. We're both looking forward to being filmed by the AD Music boffins as there are plans to release a DVD of the performance - more news on that when I get it!!! If the set goes well, I may make inquiries with AD Music about the possibility of a live CD release - nothing like pushing your luck ;-)

Time for bed, it's been a long day chained to the studio computer, but I think the result has been worth it :-)

Nite nite.

Neil x

Tempus Fugit

2011-05-23T16:09:00.000+01:00

Okies, computer disaster this weekend - infact, everything disaster this weekend!!!

I installed an old webcam onto my laptop and PC which seriously badly conflicted with the sound drivers and hen I tried to resolve it all, it looks as though I made things a whole lot worse. So, I had no alternative but to completely re-format and am now about to re-install the software - quite a task considering there's under two weeks to the Bungay Bash.

Took off for an explore early yesterday morning around a derelict industrial estate on the Suffolk/Essex borders. It was quite a fight getting onto the site owing to fences, workmen and nettles. Access was gained and we started our explore only to be busted within 15 minutes and only managing to get a couple of pictures. So, we were philosophical about it, it happens and you just go with it. We then took off to Rougham Hall near Bury St. Edmunds - and guess what!!! Yep, not even 5 minutes and the head gamekeeper was on us. A very pleasant man who we stopped and chatted to for a while, but alas, not one shot was fired off.

It's very nose to the grindstone this evening to get the computers up and running again. I'm looking forward to when the gig has been done and I can get back to work on "Soundtrack For City Living" and get on with sorting out the Little Shoppe for my personal website as well as getting out and about with The Fuji :-)

Playing live - some doubts

2011-05-19T10:27:00.000+01:00

Okay, let's get it right before I start - these are going to be personal views andnothing to do with anyone else. Also, I am seriously looking forward to the Bungay Bash on the 4th June at the Fisher Theatre in Bungay. A great line-up with some great music thoughout the day and I can't wait to get up on the stage and do my thing in three of the four acts as well as meet those that will attend who like what we do - that's the best part :-)

So, the title of the blog has the words " some doubts". And I've got them, I have to say. But my doubts are more to do with the return from so much time expenditure preparing for these events when looking at the falling numbers of people attending. Now, at this stage, I have no idea of how many tickets have been sold for the Bungay Bash, so what I'm saying really stems from the things I read from fellow electronic/electronica musos across the spectrum. I read today of an electronica event up North that offered some quality music (I know because I've heard some of the stuff live first hand), a decent venue and plenty of advertising and media exposure, yet very few people turned up and there is a question as to whether or not the event will be held again. The Hampshire Jam has finished and numbers for the European events are not good. And that's just a few from the many that I have read about.

So my doubts about playing live electronic/electronica music are to do with the question: is it worth bothering with? Don't get me wrong, I love playing live, it's a buzz and when you get a good audience, it's very rewarding from the artisitc point of view. But, a lot of time is put into preparing a set, practicing and sorting out venues etc, but if people don't come, there seems little point. I've noticed more and more that musicians are starting to question the validity of the live performance these days and I find it hard to believe that I am now one of them. Is it becoming a waste of time? Should I be looking at other ways of presenting the music?

The second question is the more valid one for me and I'm considering moving away from wanting to do gigs here there and everywhere, but perhaps dabble with the notion of the Internet concert. Now some will say, "oh, doing it from your living room, not really professional and not the same as actually being there, so what's the point" - fair comment, but where is the fairness and what is the point of any musician investing time and money for a couple of dozen people and whole load that don't turn up?

Times are changing fast and whilst it's fair to say that the musician has to move with the times, so does the listener. Lack of support for live events is seeing an accelerating decline in those events being held now, so much so that soon, there may be none left for the fans not to attend.

Preparing!!!

2011-05-18T13:24:00.000+01:00

Things are in full swing now for the up-and-coming Bungay Bash at the Fisher Theatre in Bungay being organised by those awfully nice people at AD Music.

I received a phone call about an hour or so ago from David Wright to say that my live set for the gig needed to be extended from it's present 45 minutes to an hour. This is because the Geigertek set, which will see my daughter making her live debut playing keyboards, is going to be filmed for DVD release!!! Very exciting. Now I have to choose a couple of tracks and sort out suitable backings for them!!!

Had our first Code Indigo rehearsal yesterday and it was very productive - it will sound great and I'm really looking forward to it.

My live rig is looking good and working just fine. I'm using a two MIDI keyboards from Evolution (MK261 and MK449C), a mark I Novation SL61 (as previously owned by David Wright), PC, a laptop and Roland JV-2080. On the PC and laptop, things are being controlled through EnergyXT - I have the 1.4.1 version which, in my view, was the best. Among the soft-synths I'm using are the Korg Legacy Collection (Wavestation in particular), the Minimogue fromn Glen Stegner (a freebie Minimoog emulation VST that sounds fantastic) and the Novation V-Station. The JV-2080 is proving to be a great asset with some gorgeous "moving" sounds - works great on some of the Geigertek tracks.

So, back to the computer to get the extra tracks sorted :-)

I'll be posting some pics of the live rig (as set up in the spare room!!!) soon :-)

Backing Tracks Done!!!

2011-05-08T21:24:00.000+01:00

At last - the backing tracks for the Bungay Bash gig are done!!! At the time of writing, they are currently making their way to my Dropbox account ready for the music magicians at AD Music to do their bit :-)

I have to say, it's been a labour of love from start to finish, not least because of equipment difficulties and time. For someone such as I who is presently unemployed, I seem to have a shortfall of time. Can't figure that one out.

So, the next phase is rehearsal - I've got the keyboards set up in the spare bedroom ready - all I need to do now is transfer the PC and laptop to the said room and away we go. But before that happens, there'll be a Code Indigo rehearsal this coming Tuesday.

Time to sign off, eat some Guernsey rum 'n' raisin fudge, drink some cherry flavoured Vimto and then I might think about a shower - exciting stuff huh?