TEA London News & Views

Yes yes .. it’s the ATP again. And for someone who generally do not make sweeping statement like ‘This is the best ATP ever’, this indeed has been a very very good one.  Below are my two and a half cents on acts that I saw on Day 1.

Day 1: Curated by Les Savy Fav

Marnie Stern

My first act for the weekend. I actually quite like her sound- it has all the kicks and the energy but vocally, it was a bit of a let down. It’s simply too 90′s indie girl-esque for me and severely lacks the punchiness and urgency to move along with the music. And as I stood there, I remember thinking to myself- how great they would sound, if only Karen O is on vocals. Is that a bad thing to say?

Surfer Blood

First saw them when they opened for Interpol at Brixton Academy. Then, I thought the music was ok and they were kinda fun so I thought I’ll check them out again. And I have to say it’s a little disappointing. They look tired and sounded tired, which is not good especially if they don’t want to be just another indie band.

Before you read the next review (and a few more for the weekend), I have to confess that this bunny is not a jazz bunny, a soul bunny nor am I a funk bunny. So, any bands that fall into these genres, I am sorry if I am a little prejudiced. Sorry, I simply cannot help it.

The Budos Band

The first of the many jazzy act for this weekend, The Budos Band is supposed to have fused jazz and rock or something like that. But to me it’s still jazz with your usual break-it-down, break-it-down and what not. Someone once said all musicians make/play music for others, but a jazz musician, they only play for themselves. What can I say? Judging from the crowd, they must be pretty good. It’s men blowing their on horns, what more do you want?

Wild Flag 

RRRiot! My first exciting act!! These girls rock! They are tight as a group and their sound is brash and choppey. I really love their energy but kinda feel they are holding back a little. At the moment, they have Carrie and Mary (both on guitars) taking turns on the mic. And I sense that this is to ‘balance’ their sound. But I would say-Girls, forget balance and go hard. Cos that’s what makes you hot!!

No Age

OMG! OMG! Do you sense my excitement? How should I put it.. OK. If there is an unholy union between John O’Neill(The Undertones) and The White Stripes(both of them) and the ménage à trois somehow produced two offspring, they(the offspring) would be No Age. This is exuberance of youth at its best. If John Peel was there, he would have risen and said, ‘ Let’s hear that one more time’.

Hot Snakes

Ok, I know I blabber on a bit about energy this, and energy that. But the matter of fact is, there are energy this and there are energy that. There are energy that give you the teenage kicks (see what I just did!) and there are energy that is so raw, it’s indigestible. Hot Snakes for me, is not quite 100% indigestible, but because it’s so furiously fast but more or less just stays at the same pace, I just kinda switched off after a few songs. Seems like a nice bunch of people though.

Les Savy Fav 

The curator for Day 1 and boy o boy…Was that a show? or Was that a SHOW??!!! Tim Harrington is God and Les Savy Fav has just officially knocked Ash off my all time ‘Enjoyment Maximus’ gig list. Definitely a must see for all able bodies, as moshing is indeed a pre-requisite. Visually it was a feast, the silver-ed up stage, glitter, sequins, gimp suit, glitter, balloons, more gimp suit, even more glitter and underpants- what more does a bunny need? It was a showman at his best and the music was pure joy. Never a dull moment, the music and energy simply feed you and carry you through to the very end. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Damn, just go see them!

BE

ps. The bunny did sneak into Simian Mobile Disco after that but wasn’t really feeling the music. Yawn yawn…zzz

Disclaimer: The views of Bunny Ears is not necessarily that of TEA London’s; or that of anyone else’s for that matter.

Saturday 12th November 2011, the Emirates stadium, saw host to the very first Music Production Show, Adam from Tea paid the show a visit.

A relatively small affair. The show’s aim was to showcase recording equipment for profesionals and amateurs to really get to a good overview of the latest hardware and software available from Yamaha, Avid, Moog and many others.

There were the usual array of hardware synths, monitors, editing and recording software but the emphasis seemed to be aimed more towards smart phone and tablet applications and downloads. The market has changed, many companies have followed the uptake of apps and have begun to expand their product line to suit mobile devices for musicians and recording enthusiasts on the go.
This blog hightlights some of the more interesting things that caught my at the show.

Emerging Audio’s i436 Microphone

Emerging UK's i436 microphone

eMerging Audio was one company demonstrating the use of the “i-436″ portable microphone from Mic W.  Weighing a mere 8grams, this plug and play microphone has the ability to capture vocals and instruments straight to your device which can be edited straight away with most downloadable apps from the Apple iTunes store.  The i-436 is also a calibrated measurement microphone meaning it can also be used as a sound level meter or for real time sound analysing.

With an Omni Directional Pattern and a frequency response of 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz, the i-436 is a great piece of verstaile hardware for recording enthusiasts everywhere, and at only £89 it is perfect for capturing musical performances and concerts, radio broadcasts, meetings and band recordings.

Yamaha

The Yamaha stand were very keen to demonstrate their latest apps available on the iPad, which were being used as MIDI controllers and manipulators for their hardware synths, in particular the MOX 6 and MOX 8. The performance Editor Essential was one such application that caught my eye and I couldn’t resist trying it out. It allows you to configure 5 different sections of a Yamaha synth, these are:
•    MEQ Mode – allows you to graphically manipulate the 5 band EQ using the ipad pinch and spread feature
•    Effect Mode – Control the parameters of each block – insert switch, chorus, reverb and master effect and you can also control return, send and pan.
•    ARP Mode – functions of the Arpeggiator are changed and stored. Latch, hold, type etc are available to choose
•    Voice Select Mode -  Layer, split and other settings can be configured by selecting the voice of each part and changing the value of the note.
•    X/Y Mode – Allows up to 5 assignable parameters to be controlled via the X / Y axis.   AEG A/D/S/R , FEG A/D/S/R, FEG Depth, Cutoff, Resonance, Volume, Pan, Assign 1,2, Reverb Send, Chorus Send, Foot Controller 1,2, Foot Switch, A,Function1,2,  and Breath Controller can all be selected.

It was the X/Y mode that really brings some fun to synth sound creation and manipulation. Those of you familiar with the Korg KAOSS Pad will know of the time you can spend playing with sounds and effects, well this is the same principle but with far more options and easier to use. One feature that was very exciting was the Ball Motion Control which allowed you to take the centre point of the X/ Y axis (a small blue ball) and literally drag or ping it across the screen (much like the classic arcade game Pong) and change effects at random or to your own desired speeds and settings.

On a rack mounted stand attached to the synth, the iPad demonstrating this app looked very smart and would be perfect for live sound or studio control. With apps costing between £3 and £14, they are a fantastic piece of software and would cut down on additional expensive hardware and can be safely backed up and stored all on one device.

It appears these days that the modern musician and recording devotee is using mobile devices more frequently. With phones becoming far more powerful and tablet computers used more openly, it is exciting to see what people are creating using downloaded applications and small but dynamic hardware add ons.
I certainly intend to return to the Music Production Show next year and I am sure it will be bigger and better but I look forward to seeing what happens within the next 12 months and the development of more app’s and plug and play hardware.

Well well well…it’s been a while. Things have been a little crazy in the bunny world… and bunnies do have to work hard to make sure that they have food in the winter (or is that the squirrel?). But fret not, now that a multi-million pounds deal has been signed (ahem), Bunny Ears and its Superficial View(s) will be gracing the pages of TEA London on a more regular basis. So, be afraid, be very afraid.

Impressed / Not Impressed

First of all, Congratulations! TEA London- for a very nice window. The bunny is well impressed. For those who has not been to the HQ, TEA London is slowly transforming the ground floor into a people friendly area. And so far, it boast a beautiful window display- a quilt banner especially commissioned from the designer James Hock and lettering by Christine Francis. A very simple idea and a perfect contrast between what’s formal and regal, and what’s playful and fun. Oh and that cut out TV playing old British Pathe, nice touch .

Now, on the ‘Not Impressed’ side, well, unfortunately it has to be The Horrors gig at the Roundhouse last month. It was yawn yawn boring. The last Horrors’ album-Primary Colours, was amazing and the bunny totally totally dig it. But the new album, sadly lacks everything. It sounds so generic that it could be by any band with a PR machine good enough to get them on the radio (sad but true). Anyway, back to the gig, yes it was flat. Promising start but just went no where. Half way through the set I almost felt like I’m in a pub listening to a Joy Division tribute band. Oh and left before the last song. Nice venue though.

Did I say I like TEA London’s window? (This is not because of my multi million pounds contract).

BE

Disclaimer: The views of Bunny Ears is not necessarily that of TEA London’s; or that of anyone else’s for that matter.