Thursday 23 December 2010

dan le sac vs madonna ciccone



it is very rare that i can actually hear a music news story without sceptically presuming that it is a cleverly disguised piece of promo or plea for attention merely masquerading as 'news'

and it was with the same regard that i also held the recent story that Madonna announced via facebook that she was looking for the "maddest, sickest, most badass people to collaborate with"


my first instinct is that it is just a little fanfare to remind fans that she is still here, but then again, Madonna never really goes away does she? there hasn't been the neccesity of any hard-laboured comeback ever, Madonna is huge, she probably always will be, despite making mis-judged albums like Hard Candy with its rubbish lead single, its rubbish album cover and its eager attempt to bridge an urban market, everyone still wanted a piece of Madonna and the accompanying tour broke her own record of being the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, previouly held by her 2006 Confessions tour.


i then considered how Madonna had made the fortunes of William Orbit, Mirwais and Stuart Price, all artists that i was already aware of before she sent them sky-rocketing through the stratosphere and probably set them up for life, which got me wondering who she may actually collaborate with on the eventual album

i seriously can't imagine Madonna or Madonna's people fully embracing the mammoth task that such an open and public invitation would induce, anyone with a computer and a little bit of software can call themselves an artist or a producer, as i have proved, and the influx of submissions would be so overwhelming that i'm sure any real talent hoping to emerge would be drowned in a sea of mediocre or downright turgid, crap music.

most likely the new produce will already be known within the music industry, and i wouldn't be at all surprised if a cross-over dance artist such as Calvin Harris or Deadmau5 would be allowed to take the reigns on what will be Madonna's 12th studio album

now i seriosly doubt that my little blog holds any sway over the decisions that Madonna will be making, but if she is passing up on a Hunchbakk produced album, then i would suggest that perhaps she instead enlists the help of Mr Le Sac.


Dan Le Sac is possibly the producer i hold in the highest esteem, and the debut album with Scroobius Pip 'Angles' is an album i return to again and again, constantly and repeatedly fascinated and intrigued by the leftfield production and stuttering beats. And this year's follow up 'The Logic of Chance' builds on the sturdy foundations built by the first, with more forays into dance-centric synths, 8-bit squelches and 2010's obligigatory nod towards dubstep, once again thrown together in a fashion that sounds almost haphazard, yet probably took much fine tuning and crafting to achieve such loose sounding experimental brilliance.

and with Madonna's known flirtations with dance music, i think Dan Le Sac could be the perfect production foil to lead The Queen of Pop to new, groundbreaking territory if he was at the helm of her upcoming album.

in this day and age of facebook campaigns coming out of our ears as they all attempt to be the next big news-worthy, hype hungry movement to change the current status quo, i don't know if putting the idea forward into the social networking forum would be just a whisper lost among a million and one voices all shouting for attention, but then i also think that if i believe in something enough, then maybe, just maybe it would be worth giving it a go.


so my last note is a personal plea to Dan Le Sac, if i can make the difference and get your foot in the door with Miss Ciccone, perhaps you could show your gratitude by hooking a brother up with chance to record a handclap on the album that i shall be able to claim royalties for, or perhaps i could be an handsomely paid tea boy (as i do make a good cuppa if i do say so myself) or even just being the person that applies talcum powder to female dancers between costume changes on tour....



remember that i put you where you are (erm, where i hope to put you) so you know where to find me


cheers


stream Sick Tonight by Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip


available on the album The Logic of Chance

Friday 3 December 2010

hail to the underdog

apparently 'history is written by the winners'

while it is big selling rock and pop stars that get to flood the radio, TV and music press, and then tell us all about it in liner notes and biographies released in the run up to Christmas, it just makes me wonder how many other creatives have gone virtually unheard, all those also-rans and ne'er-do-wells that never got to claim the spoils of victory or tell their tales

and it was this mentality that drove me to write my piece on Flo Kirton for the Enfield Advertiser, to give a voice to someone on the other side of the music industry, since your Qs and NMEs are already clogged up with the bands and artists that have made it  and your 'hot tips'

but what happens when the 'next big thing' doesn't get 'big'?

i want my columns to give a different scope from your usual music journalism, of course in a local paper i give a lot of time to local bands, it would be stupid not to, and there are many deserving bands knocking around Enfield, but so much is made of this fantastic future that we're living in, where more and more is available to us, that i want to expose the cracks in this ideal... just because the NME is telling you that 'the next big thing' recorded all their demos in their bedroom, it doesn't mean that Joe Goddard will be knocking down your door wanting to turn you into a popstar just because you own a PC and a little bit of music software

and you'll also find me dipping my toe into the other end of the spectrum, with a recent column on Cheryl Cole and a work in progress on Kanye West, and possibly a sideways glance at Justin Bieber.

but keep your eyes peeled for pieces on my agenda covering The Freewheelin Troubadour, 9BlinD and Deeds of the Dying and a look at the recording habits of Those Handsome Animals and Akira the Don, who recently unleashed a killer mixtape in conjuction with Joey 2tits as he builds towards the release of his second album proper.

 Pyke by Akira The Don stream only
available on the mixtape 'the kidnapping of Akira The Don By Joey 2tits'

Friday 26 November 2010

Flo Kirton

last december, in my first ever review for the Enfield Advertiser i brought you a review of a band i was extremely excited about.

sadly, Flamboyant Bella promptly imploded in the early part of 2010 when the male 3/4s of the band decided to take a break from rock star shenanigans in favour of furthering each of their respective educations.

Which left Flo Kirton with no band.

what didn't leave Flo was a passion to continue making music, which saw her experimenting with self-production, solo compositions, seeking collaborators and trying to avoid getting a real job.

playing a crucial contributing role within 'Flambo', Flo found herself with complete creative control of her output, but has found it hard keeping herself motivated without the structure of conventional band practises.

working from her bedroom recording demo tracks with a small set up of a PC and Logic studio has put Flo in the same position as so many other people out there that are hoping to break into the mainstream and make a name for herself, but has found that the reailty of affordable recording equipment and an over saturated internet music culture is leaving her jaded.

'Due to the new-found accessibility in entering the music industry, i'd say it makes it all the harder for a small town girl to make any impact at all these days. After all, everyone knows it's who you know, not what you know..' she told me.

and going from a treasured indie-pop band that were flirting with the prospect of stardom to being a girl that signs on every week, struggles with crashing software stunting her creativity and still dreams of 'making it' has seen a sense of cynism and bitterness creeping into Flo's songwriting  and also had an adverse effect of her views of the industry and her outlook of the world.

'Although i'm only 20, because of how young i was when stuff with Flamboyant Bella peaked, it's easy to feel like i've had my time to shine. I can only hope that how bitter i've become, will spur me on to better things, because one thing i have learnt is to not trust, rely on or try to make friends with 90% of the industry, 'cos all they tend to care about anymore is money and name-dropping.'