Graduate Stories – Alistair Pritchard

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Blog post by 2014 Alumnus Alistair Pritchard.

Once I left University I went straight out on tour with Darlia & Dolomite Minor as Stage Manage/Guitar Tech. During that time the management company was able to put me out with Noel Gallagher on a couple of shows shadowing their techs who got me involved on a few roles during the shows.

Dolomite Minor then went on tour with support shows to Eagles Of Death Metal, the Tour Manager asked if I wanted to join the crew as Drum Tech, I ended up doing some bass as well and went from there. We were out for 2 months across Europe, it’s been my favourite tour to date. Looking after Josh Homme for the shows was a great experience and the money wasn’t bad either! They didn’t ask me to return to the crew for the US run stating that it was cheaper to replace the previous Production Manager with a US based member which is understandable. It’s becoming much harder than ever before for UK roadies to work in the US.

In-between tours I’ve been working for a construction firm as a labourer whilst doing training for a site foreman job role in domestic housing. I turned down a full-time position though as I love touring and working on the road. The day after I returned from the EODM tour I was offered a job with Kiko Bun (BBC Radio 1xtra artist) and have been busy working for a few other artists (Lapsley, Rat Boy, Rejjie Snow, Andy Gangadeen of Chase & Status, Nothing But Thieves).

Early in 2016 I went back to Rock n Roll with Highly Suspect on a UK arena tour which was fun. Shortly after I had my first dry spell of the industry where label (XL Recordings) cut the budget of a tech on Lapsley’s US run even after my visa was approved, frustratingly.

The Summer is looking busy as I’m out covering for a friend who works for UB40 and he’s asked if I can do Fun Lovin Criminals which is going to be awesome. Kiko Bun is also picking back up thankfully. I was put forward for Busted as Guitar Tech but unfortunately did not get the gig (My older/wiser friend got one of the positions!).

I’ve also started a band of my own, we’re a Dark Rock, Gothic influenced act going by the name of The Devil In Faust. My old Audio Production mucker Ben Perrett plays bass and a childhood friend of mine is on drums. We just completed a short UK run of shows and flew to Denmark in May to record our next EP. We’re still independent and are just enjoying making art at this moment in time. I’d love to tour more with the band but funding is an issue right now.

June 3, 2016 2014, Alumni, bands, careers, featured posts, Music Industry, Rock, Students 2 Comments on Graduate Stories – Alistair Pritchard

Guest Lecture – Danny Roberts 2! – A&R Decca Records

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Blog post by L2 Audio Production student James Woodliffe.

This week Danny Roberts gave a talk to myself and my course peers about his career, day to day roles and the music industry from the perspective of a record label.

Danny is an A&R representative for Decca Records who are a subsidiary of Universal records. He discussed about the two types of A&R, artists past and present, the impact of major labels and his connection with them. It was interesting to hear Danny talk openly about his day to day runnings with the label he works for and his colleagues. It was also interesting to hear his opinion of major/indie record labels from an inside point of view and it was refreshing to hear a talk from an A&R representative who clearly has a love for music. I felt that Danny really understood his business and although money is a crucial factor it isn’t the be all and end all of his job.

Personally, I found his talk very interesting and it confirmed some of my thoughts about the music industry previously to the lecture. It also taught me new concepts and ideas that are currently present within the industry, such as how he sees potential within an artist and what stages he goes through before signing them. Overall it was very enjoyable.

Addendum:
Danny’s recent signing Aurora has just been selected as the artist for the John Lewis TV ad campaign 2015

October 29, 2015 bands, careers, featured posts, Guest lecture, Music, Music Industry No Comments on Guest Lecture – Danny Roberts 2! – A&R Decca Records

The Pop Star and the Prophet

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Nearly forty years ago, French polymath Jacques Attali wrote a book called “Noise” which predicted a “crisis of proliferation” for recorded music – in which its value would plummet. As music sales went into freefall at the turn of the century, his prediction seemed eerily resonant to up-and-coming singer/songwriter Sam York. Now struggling to earn a living as a musician, York visits Attali to help get an insight into his own future, learning that music itself may hold clues to what is about to happen in the wider world.

Along the way, York meets Al Doyle from Hot Chip and folk singer Frank Turner, who reveal that – despite being relatively well known – they still find it difficult to earn a living from their “stardom”. Doyle says he struggled to afford a one-bedroom flat in London. It’s a world away from the rock-and-roll lifestyle we might think successful musicians enjoy.

Presenter:Sam York
Producers:Sam Judah and Simon Platts
Editor:Andrew Smith
Mixed by James Beard.

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 programme here:

September 17, 2015 featured posts, Music Industry, Radio 4 No Comments on The Pop Star and the Prophet

Guest Lecture – Katia Isakoff

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Katia Isakoff is a composer, record producer (Add N to (X)), mix engineer, studio owner, academic and member of JAMES, and she recently came to Lincoln to talk to students about her experiences in the music industry.

Katia put to use her wealth of experience and advised students about studio etiquette and how to get the best performance from an artist, and the importance of understanding the basics of music business in order to deal with contractual and financial matters. She also discussed the issues of how she navigates the often male-oriented world of music production and the music industry in general.

The link between academic theory and music production practice is something that concerns this course greatly and it was very interesting to hear how Katia brings these two areas together with her work at JAMES and the Art Of Record Production conferences and publications.

December 12, 2014 electronic music, gender, Guest lecture, Music Industry No Comments on Guest Lecture – Katia Isakoff

Guest Lecture – John Williams – Record Producer

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As well as highly successful careers in A&R and songwriting John Williams has produced records by The Housemartins, The Proclaimers, Petula Clark and Michael Nyman and Radio 1 sessions by The Cure and Killing Joke to name but a few. This week he came to Lincoln and talked to our Audio Production students about his latest production; Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott’s What Have We Become album.

John’s fascinating and insightful talk took us through the entire process of making the record – from budgets, to arranging rehearsals, to booking the studio, to tracking and overdubs, through to the mixing and mastering stage. Full of excellent advice and suggestions, John demystified the whole process, stressing the importance of keeping things simple and always focussing on the song and the performance. Rehearsal time is absolutely key to this along with not getting too caught up in the technology of recording and unnecessary audio processing.

For our budding record producers, this was a hugely valuable lecture which gave some great insights, not only into the technical and organisational aspects of recording an album but also highlighted the people skills needed to manage groups of musicians and performers whose (often fragile) egos of can at times be a bit of a handful!

Listen to John speaking about the role of A&R on Simon Mayo’s Radio 2 programme here (20/01/15):

November 18, 2014 bands, careers, featured posts, Guest lecture, Music, Music Industry, Recording No Comments on Guest Lecture – John Williams – Record Producer

Guest Lecture – Danny Roberts (A&R Decca Records)

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This week’s guest lecture for level 2 and 3 Music Production students was by Danny Roberts – A&R at Decca Records.

Danny did a brilliant job of unravelling the mysterious world of A&R and gave the students a great insight into the role of A&R in these challenging times for the recorded music industry.

Decca sits within the structure of Universal Music Group – one of the ‘big three’ major labels and Danny explained his day-to-day duties, including liaison with managers, agents, lawyers, producers and publishers. He travels a lot and he stressed the importance of networking, communication skills, and making decisions – sometimes risky ones. Studying statistics, nurturing and developing artists, and keeping up morale, also feature heavily in his role. Surprisingly, going to gigs was not particularly high on the list.

The stakes and budgets are high in the world of the major labels and I could sense that Danny’s job comes with a lot of pressure. He looks like he can handle it though 🙂 and he gave us a fascinating talk, which particularly highlighted to me how many roles there are in the music industries, and how many people are involved to support the career of a successful artist.

October 10, 2014 careers, Guest lecture, Music, Music Industry No Comments on Guest Lecture – Danny Roberts (A&R Decca Records)

BBC MUSIC launches with ‘God Only Knows’ remix

BBC launches new MUSIC site with God Only Knows,
a star-studded film
featuring ‘The Impossible Orchestra’

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I heard about this on the way in to work this morning – but I didn’t know what the event was going to be until sitting down with the family at 8pm. It reminded me of the great ‘Perfect Day’ BBC promotional film. I have gathered these comments from various sources available online. The song was broadcast simultaneously on Tuesday 7th October 2014 on BBC One, Two, Three, Four and Radio 1, 2, 4, 6 and 5 Live.

The track, which will also be released in aid of Children in Need, features 27 artists across all musical genres. They include Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Chris Martin, Sam Smith, Brian May, Jamie Cullum and Nicola Benedetti.

God Only Knows has reached almost mythical status in the pop canon. Written and produced by Brian Wilson with lyricist Tony Asher and younger brother Carl Wilson on vocals, it was released in 1966 as part of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. It reached Number 2 in the UK and Number 39 in the US Charts. It has become one of the most lauded tracks of all time. Rolling Stone placed it at 25 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and in 2006, Pitchfork magazine crowned God Only Knows as the best song of the 1960s.

BBC Music will encompass TV and radio programming, digital services and schemes to support emerging talent including the introduction of classical music to UK primary schools. The song’s original writer, Brian Wilson, also features on the track, along with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The collective group of musicians has been named the Impossible Orchestra. Bob Shennan, director of BBC Music, said: “This ‘impossible’ orchestra is a celebration of all the talent, diversity and musical passion found every single day throughout the BBC.”

Watch the ‘making of’ here

The line by line breakdown of singers is as follows:

BBC Concert Orchestra

Martin James Bartlett – celeste

Pharrell Williams – I may not always love you

Emeli Sandé – But as long as there are stars above you

Elton John – You never need to doubt it

Lorde – I’ll make you so sure about it

Chris Martin – God only knows what I’d be without you

Brian Wilson – If you should ever leave me

Florence Welch – Well life would still go on believe me

Kylie Minogue – The world could show nothing to me

Stevie Wonder – So what good would living do me

Eliza Carthy – God only knows what I’d be without you

Nicola Benedetti – violin

Jools Holland – piano

Brian May – electric guitar

Jake Bugg – lalalala

Katie Derham – violin

Tees Valley Youth Choir – God only knows

Alison Balsom – piccolo trumpet

One Direction – God only knows what I’d be without you

Jaz Dhami – God only knows what I’d be without you

Paloma Faith – God only knows what I’d be without you

Chrissie Hynde – God only knows

Jamie Cullum – God only knows what I’d be without you

Baaba Maal – God only knows

Danielle de Niese – God only knows what I’d be without you

Dave Grohl – God only knows

Sam Smith – God only knows what I’d be without you

Brian Wilson – God only knows what I’d be without you

read:

THE TELEGRAPH:  the Future of Music on BBC

THE GUARDIAN: BBC MUSIC LAUNCH

Sources: BBC Media Centre, BBC YOUTUBE Channel, BBC NEWS WEBSITE
(accessed 7th October 2014)

October 7, 2014 BBC Music, featured posts, Industry, Music Industry, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio One, Trevor Dann, Uncategorized No Comments on BBC MUSIC launches with ‘God Only Knows’ remix

The 45 @ 65

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Sixty-five years ago RCA Victor launched a small, round, plastic green disc on to the listening public. Journalist David Quantick charts people’s love affair with the 45 rpm single and examines one of the most important revolutions in the modern music business.

The single was always aimed at the younger generation, while the LP originally catered for a middle-aged, middle-class, well-heeled audience. The cheaper 45 took on the poorer, cooler youth market and spun with it. The vinyl single launched rock and roll, pop and the teenager on the world and provided a lynchpin for Western popular culture. It has defined the popular music of last 60 years and shows no signs of dying.

In the first programme, David looks at the war of the speeds and the early, glory days of the vinyl single, which pitted stars like Judy Garland up against Frank Sinatra and then brought audiences Elvis and Bill Haley. All this, set against a brave new world of cheap ‘portable’ record players, exotic new vinyl jukeboxes and the birth of the singles charts.

David also examines the early days of the charts, the effect the single had on that new phenomenon, the teenager, the power the TV Music shows had on the single and the cultural power of the 45, from the revolution of rock and roll to teeny and weeny boppers and glam rock’s children of the revolution.

The series features contributions from Tom Jones, actor Martin Freeman, Myleene Klass, songwriter Diane Warren, musician Soweto Kinch, Bob Stanley from Saint Etienne, Michael Bradley from The Undertones, the Reverend Run, DJ Cosmo, Pete Shelley from The Buzzcocks, Pete Waterman, as well as DJs including Mike Read, David Jensen, Johnnie Walker, Bob Harris, and Bill Brewster Neil Fox amongst others.

Presenter/ David Quantick, Producer/ Anna Harrison and Frank Stirling for Unique Broadcasting

Episode 1

Episode 2

April 13, 2014 featured posts, Marketing, Music, Music Industry, Radio, sound history, Technology No Comments on The 45 @ 65
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