S W E E T !

SHIT JUST GOT CONCEPTUAL

2010-08-15T23:14:00.002+01:00

If there's one thing there seems to be an abundance of, it's photographers, EVERYONE is a photographer. HOWEVER, I'm looking for one to take part in a conceptual project which involves a series of shoots which for the most part, have been planned out and have a solid concept, but I'm looking for a photographer who can bring the creative input to make these speak as loud as they can.

It will be a series of 10, involving mostly inanimate objects, but we're looking at using people in a couple where the concept involves them and it feels right.

It's really exciting, it's going to be awesome, the right person should have the following:

• A decent camera with the photographic skills to boot.
• Great creative direction
• A portfolio of work online we can see
• General knowledge and/or access to studios/spaces/locations to shoot
• Experience in conceptual projects not necessary, but ideal

If you think you're up for it, please do holla @ me on: stars@rcstreet.co.uk ASAP! We need to start this week!

P.S IT'S GONNA BE FUN.

BACKSEAT LOVE DON'T MOVE ME

2010-05-17T20:14:00.000+01:00

20.5.2010

WWW.JULIANPERRETTA.COM

THE PRIMARY 1

2010-05-07T18:41:00.006+01:00

2010 isn't the year of the Tiger, them chinese heads must be dizzy because it's the year of the Lion, aka Primary 1.

If you're not yet familar with the sounds, cop a listen on MySpace. So far we've had out 'The Blues' featuring that little Swedish siren Nina Persson, it's beaute, download it for free at primary1music.com Previously to that, we had an entire album compiled of sweet leftfield joys called 'Mess Detective. My absolute favourite track being 'Enough' - reminds me of that opening scene in Romeo & Juliet? You know...the one where Leo is wandering around on that beach? ....no? Alright fine I'll shut up.

So we're going in HARD with first proper single, Princess. It's a right fucking banger, get familar with the video below, directed by the Radical dudes behind recent Yeasayer visual vibes. It's out on 4th July (just in time for the Americans to party party their heads off celebrating independence and the fact they don't even have a princess, or royal family, it's cool - they've got Obamarama) and there are remixes coming from MJ Cole and CHLLNGR - if you give a shizer about remixes. There is also a re-invention by the band of Florence & The Machine, masterminded by the true Believer, and the best person you'll ever follow on Twitter, @DennisBelieve - he's a real shit EAD.

P.S I totally designed the Primary 1 website, just sometimes, I'm alright at my job, and well, the rest of the time? I just fucking run tings.

DIGITAL FRIENDSHIP ASBOS

2010-05-05T01:19:00.002+01:00

"Every time a friend succeeds I die a little bit"

...is an aphorism of Gore Vidal's that I was reminded of when reading The Evening Standard on Tuesday eve. It made me realise how much time I waste lingering around social network profiles, namely Facebook and Twitter, of 'friends' or shall I say, acquaintances of mine, occassionally following their moves and preparing to enforce the adequate amount of dismay to their merits, or even simply waiting for said merits to become apparent (if they ever do?) I guess it's all part and parcel of keeping aware of potential competition? ..or um, generally about...erm....a whole lotta nothing.

Which then drew attention to the fact that I do indeed, tend to do the odd bit of following a few tweeters, whom in some cases, I don't even KNOW (although I convince myself that they somehow are aware of me in some disjointed way) - resulting in making me very much aware of them and what they're doing. I'm not ashamed to admit that on the rare occassion, it's caused varied degrees of anger, jealousy and mostly frustration. But seriously, why?

Why should I care that someone I've NEVER met is working THAT campaign or got THAT job?

So, I decided to trim the fat, slowly but surely I am unfollowing, unfriending and essentially, without their knowledge, serving a number of people with my very own digital friendship ASBO, and it feels good. Funnily enough it has made a significant difference to my general outlook on the vibes of life and even my daily routine. No being bummed out for nothing and you know what? I could actually care less about what some ANNNNY gash is up to.

Out of sight and out of mind, indeed. I strongly suggest you consider a similar springclean. You never know who might be lurking, all I can assure you of now is that it's no longer me ;)

In conclusion, no - my friends succeeding actually makes me happier than ever, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends COMPLETELY running tings.

This totes irrelevant blog post was soundtracked by a combination of my latest crushez, the wonderful Arthur Beatrice and ya know, Caribou, I'm not even gonna bother linking to them because if you haven't already got the album, you must be having a really great time under that rock.

RUSPECT.

Bed, not SHED

2010-04-25T17:09:00.004+01:00

My friend Dan can probably always respond to any email with a YouTube video to accommodate the absence of words, who needs words anyway?

For example, I recently told him that I got really drunk with Primary 1 (and Dennis & Stella) following a performance supporting Ellie Goulding at Heaven, that induced MIND BLOWAGE, If I do say so myself. Then I spent the remainder of the night singing along to Phoenix and AQUA and eventually, decided to fall asleep in the shed of the guys' house we had invaded (upon invitation).

So his reply was this:

THIS ONE GOES OUT TO ALL THE LADIEZ

2010-04-23T14:45:00.008+01:00

I had to post this. BIG UP JEANETTE LEE and all the ladies running tings in the music industry. We're taking over.

Taken from THE CMU

ROUGH TRADE CO-FOUNDER BERATES SEXIST MUSIC INDUSTRY

Rough Trade co-founder Jeannette Lee accused the music industry of being far too male dominated this week, and she's right you know. And it's all horribly white at the top, too. And yet it's an industry that talks about diversity issues very rarely. At least the horribly white male dominated City agonises about its lack of diversity from time to time.

The famously low profile Lee was speaking at the Association Of Independent Music's previously reported Women In Entertainment event. As one half of the male-female double act behind the Rough Trade label and artist management empire, she says she has experienced first hand the sexism that exists in the music business.

According to Billboard, she told the event: "If I walk into a room with [fellow Rough Trade boss] Geoff [Travis], people assume I am his PA. I think men are threatened by women who are doing well, and sometimes when I walk into a board meeting, they don't know what to say to me".

Travis, also taking part in the event, added: "The industry still thinks of me as Rough Trade and don't think of Jeannette as my equal partner. It has something to do with old-fashioned sexism. It is inconceivable that Rough Trade would have been successful without her. Lennon had McCartney... Me, I had Jeannette Lee".

Lee admitted that her personal decision to keep a relatively low profile had partly led to her being written out of the Rough Trade story by many, but added that when men and women collaborate on music ventures there is too often an assumption it's the men who lead the operation. Lee also dealt with the myth that women had to be "flirty or bitchy" to succeed in the music business, adding a passion for music was most important and "just be good at your job".

Another panel at the same event noted that the industry had wider diversity issues than just gender discrimination. AIM's Remi Harris revealed that she had agreed to chair a new not-for-profit body called the Alliance For Diversity In Music and Media, explaining: "After ten years in the business, it's only recently that I have been comfortable being a black woman in this industry".

This Is Bangin: Volume 1

2010-04-22T17:28:00.003+01:00

Thought I'd share with the whole entire world how bangin my current playlist on iTunes is. Don't come at me with Spotify, because I don't think you can get any of this ISH on Spotify. Not that I'm against it, gotta love it. But it just doesn't fulfill my deepest desires to only vibe on bangers.

1. As We Enter (Nas & Damian Marley)

2. I Need Dollar (Aloe Blacc)

3. Flash a Hungry Smile (Mystery Jets)

4. My Town (secret new thing I'm managing, shut up)

5. Exhibit C (Jay Electronica)

6. Dreaming of Another World (Mystery Jets)

7. New Danimal Kingdom song yet to be named

8. Never Know (Primary 1)

9. You Better Leave Me (Liam Bailey)

10. Serotonin (Mystery Jets)

11. In Sleep (Lissie)

12. Princess (Primary 1)

13. Show Me The Light (Mystery Jets)

As you can tell, heavily features tracks from the new Mystery Jets album, have a little read on nme.com about the new album, full tracklisting and other potent album vibes here

Banger you need in your life right now: As We Enter - Damian Marley & Nas.

Let me get one thing straight, I didn't like Nas up until now, had a pretty unjustified hatred for him if I'm being honest. I once spat in the face of this douche at secondary school who looked like Nas, not ONLY because he looked like Nas, but because he riled me up and was just a massive douchebag. He seriously did not approve, I ended up with a black eye and well, he couldn't walk properly.

As We Enter - Nas & Damian Marley: Download Me

direct download link held against own will and stolen from salacioussound.com, ruspect.

I've been cold to you, darlin'

2010-04-20T20:48:00.005+01:00

AS IF I haven't already chatted enough breeze about the boy Liam Bailey - I haven't been this excited about a debut album since...well, lemme think about that, but for the time being NEVER BEEN THIS EXCITED.

He hails from Notts, he once got naked in Wetherspoons and proceeded to apologise to the patrons whilst still naked...are you still with me?

His album is coming this summer, and there's a lot up my sleeve to get all your mindz BLOWN. So watch this space.

My point being, free download. On his website. You know what to do, and if you don't, well, get out.

'I Belong' - www.liambaileymusic.co.uk

His latest offering on YouTube (amongst many delights currently on his channel) is 'Summer Rain' - and it is an absolute beaute, go forth and swoon.

AND SO IT BEGINS...

2010-04-19T20:57:00.004+01:00

Those STARVING for some delicious Mystery Jets action, please proceed to stuff your face and ears with 'Flash a Hungry Smile'.

Download it for free at WWW.MYSTERYJETS.COM! Feel free to take a bite outta the new artistic direction. It's pretty tasty.

Playing Glastonbury, Somerset House, Reading, Leeds, T in the Park, Oxegen and more, it's time to get excited.

A Published Response

2010-04-19T01:13:00.003+01:00

Wrote this for a friend studying music business at Uni a while ago. I don't ENTIRELY agree with everything I've written here right now, but whatevs.

_________________________________________________________________________

1) What problems do you think independent bands currently face, that are different to say 3 years ago?

I think we’ve witnessed an entirely new breed of musician/artist/band evolve over the last 5 years as artists like Lily Allen, Radiohead etc have blown the music industry wide open – spilling out the 'secrets' of what actually happens from the moment an artist gets signed, to releasing their 3rd album, complete with it’s downfalls. Record labels are no longer seen as godlike figures that make or break your musical career. A greater understanding of the music industry, courtesy of some of it’s biggest and best have given independent bands and artists the knowledge to take their career into their own hands, which is great.

But at the end of the day, in 95% of all cases, if you haven’t got the money or the right backing behind you to be able to pay for press to get your music infront of readers, radio pluggers to get your music heard on radio, had the juice to be able to tour and develop your fanbase online and offline and above all else, have music THAT good that people will go out of their way to write a feature, be the first to play your song and start that snowball effect (and keep it going) – you’re screwed. It comes down to having a either good enough music for people to want to take notice of by their own accord, or the power of a record label with it’s billions at disposal to be able to employ a team and use their own clout and put your music in the right media hands.

One of the biggest problems for independent bands is that people in media, specifically those in press and radio have a sort of superiority where they will only take notice of ‘official’ sources and not make themselves approachable by Jim from the band that in their own right could be the next Arctic Monkeys, alas – their music is not heard to an extent of which they can launch a career. The media have a relentless power, and at the end of the day, dictate PRECISELY what the general public will hear and no doubt will drill this music into your ears until you’re singing every single lyric and on 50th listen have already convinced yourself that you love it! It’s THOSE people who will take the word of that label executive or president rather than Jim.

2) Do labels still have something to offer bands when they can do everything themselves now?

Labels have a few merits, firstly; The money - which they can, if they decide to, use hundreds of thousands of pounds to develop an artist until they are at their very best, get the most talented and critically acclaimed music producers, video directors, press agents, radio pluggers, stylists, and in-house marketing teams covering every possible corner of your campaign, all the way down to distribution and sales. They also put the money behind a tour to enable a band to have the team of guitar, drum, lighting techs to make your live show the best it can be and print up an entire range of merchandise.

The Clout – In most cases, this comes as a result of their previous conquests, for example, Island Records could boast being the genius behind the careers of U2 to Amy Winehouse, to Mika to Akon, all multi-platinum selling artists – and the people who take this into consideration are the media, as well as the general public. So as part of the package of signing to a major label, you can be seen in the same light as your talented and famous label familiars.

The People – label presidents, heads of department, A&Rs are all chosen for a reason, and that’s being good at their jobs, and part of being good at their job is networking, label employees will have the connections and in most cases the power to put you on that Kasabian tour, get you the radar feature, bring along that radio producer to your show, get that journalist to write about you and probably follow and back your career going forward. It’s a group effort, and for a sustainable career in music, you need people on your side singing your praises.

3) Does much of your work come from truly 'independent' bands?

None of my paid work comes from truly independent 'bands'. However, DJs who work almost entirely independently makes up for around 20% of my work, their income comes almost entirely from live appearances, they don’t depend on music sales to make a career out of it, which is in a way, how I feel bands should approach their careers. The music is purely an audio advert for the live show.

4) How have you seen labels change over the last few years? And how has this affected their bands?

Once upon a time labels would sign bands on a whim, and no matter what press coverage they’d had so far and in most cases completely absent of any public knowledge of them, let alone fanbase – and they would go on to release the album and put their all into a campaign, costing them hundreds of thousands of pounds, for a hit or miss. Labels no longer put any time, money or effort into this process of development. The internet has changed the way music is accessed, so without the necessary hype and general awareness online and positive reactions from press and radio, most major labels will in most cases, even having spent £200K+ on signing them, a further £100K+ making the album, drop the band and not bother releasing the record and will most likely drop the band, leaving them in a mountain of debt. The same goes for artists already signed, if they don’t get the necessary reactions, the record and artist is most likely to be dropped.

Labels have only started to introduce 360 deals in the last couple of years, so for existing bands on major labels who don’t want to opt into these deals and give up profit from live and so on, can then consider going it alone having already got the fanbase and record sales to back them up, but in most of these cases, bands will see a dramatic decrease in sales and awareness (McFly for example left Island Records after releasing a greatest hits album, following album was, well...not quite as successful).

You’re even less likely to get signed in the first place without taking the necessary steps of building your fanbase, writing some truly great songs and having an image on lock.

OMG OMG OMG OMG

2010-02-13T16:41:00.000Z

THEY'RE BACK.

Righteous.

2010-02-07T02:18:00.014Z

I know I'm like...WAY behind and should have known about this remix roughly about, umm...2 years before it even existed, but I've recently become obsessed with The Teenagers' remix of Fallen Snow by Au Revoir Simone.

I hate to admit that I'm generally, by default, put off by these SUCH COOL BANDZ on these SUCH COOL LABELZ. You know the ones I'm talking about, based outta' warehouses and shitholes alike in hackney or dalston (feel free to refer to any other cool areas of London) who tend to release records which are just straight up NOISE and generally have obscenely digusting and vague all-over-the-place online visuals, like pictures of naked french women or just neon colours, flashing. Seriously guys, SO COOL, keep up the good work.

However, I do really enjoy the XX's album, and I'm quite partial to a bit'a The Big Pink - both on extremely cool and credible labels, who funnily enough, are based outta KENSINGTON, that's right, Notting Hill. So there you have it, working at major labels hasn't ruined my appetite for low-fi and supercool music. Having said that, just used two of the worst examples of trendy bands, both have had mainstream success, I GUESS THAT'S JUST HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES.

Anyway, download it, it's pretty bangin.

Au Revoir Simone - Fallen Snow (Teenagers Remix)
(direct download link stolen from Sheena Beaston's blog)

P.S totes have nothing against Young Turks, XL or 4AD - ur still welll kool 2 me. I r8 @RichardXL

LITTLEMORE / LOTATALENT

2009-02-25T14:25:00.005Z

I not so secretly hate people who have gotten to where they are within the music industry down to their parents or family name, whatevs, I often wish I'd had a producer dad or A&R uncle, but then again, I wouldn't work half as hard as I have done! But here are a few talented relatives!

Talented Littlemore #1 Nick Littlemore.

I think by now everyone has heard of Empire Of The Sun, the aussie duo who featured on my 'Aussie Bangers' playlist on itunes...

Anyway, before Nick Littlemore became said band, he was in the best bangin aussie outfit, the amazing PNAU!.

I'd heard of them but not actually listened to them for ages, until I stumbled across their website, home of the most addictive game ever <-- seriously, we'll come back to that later.

Anyway, they are amazing, and their most recent album never even made it to the UK which is dark, so, enjoy a couple of tracks here...

Wild Strawberries - download
Embrace - download

Talented Littlemore #2 James Littlemore

He is indeed responsible for the very addictive game you're probably still playing instead of reading this! And...probably the best 'animated' video in the world:

Look at that strawb go!!

I strongly suggest you check out his stuff: www.jameslittlemore.com

If that wasn't enough, Sam Littlemore aka Sam La More did a pretty good remix of Walking On A Dream, have a listen:

Walking On A Dream (Sam La More RMX) - download

they 'av ze dalent.

that is all!

Bono is such a knob.

2009-02-20T18:06:00.003Z

I didn't attend the Brit Awards this year, I did however embrace various afterparties with my friends Wendy and the wonderful Julian Perretta - to whom I have every ounce of faith that he will indeed, be winning tings at Brits '10 (how weird does '10 look).

Anyhow, I watched the whole thing on TV the day after, and how much of a knob is Bono? I'm sorry, maybe I'm young and naive (what a tune) but I have never and will never enjoy the music of the band U2 - Their new song is absolutely awful, HANG UP YOUR BOOTS BONO.

Evidence of Bono being an absolute ponce:

I mean, look at him? fuck off bono.

I did however very much enjoy Pet Shop Boys and major props to the pensioner Duffy, who is afterall about 60. Clare Maguire will be doing a massive musical shit all over you in 09/10, take a whiff.

In the spirit of embracing great, british music, I strongly suggest you head over to The Maccabee's Website and download 'No Kind Words' - it's a banger with a side of sincerely enjoyable mash. A N D I T S F R E E ! To me it sounds like a perfectly mature progression for The Macca's and I eagerly anticipate hearing the new record, plus, the website itself is pretty cool too, loving it.

Until next time...

CIDER

2009-02-02T17:29:00.000Z

I used to drink a lot of cider when I was around 16, one vivid memory (of very few) is one of drinking an entire 3ltr bottle of Morrison's finest own brand cider with my friend Jen across the road from the Camden Barfly within the space of about 10 minutes, the result being intense projectile vommiting moments after. The moral of this story is, don't drink morrison's own cider, because it doesn't taste nice, and don't drink 3ltrs of it.

I mention cider because a band by the name of apples are a pleasant little band from Hereford, who are bashing out some of the catchiest tunes around at the moment. If you're bored of Lady Gaga and the other crap currently clotting up our advert-filled spotify experience, enjoy this sweet little tune 'Reason 45' by Apples.

'Reason 45' - download