And then there were four! citizensound has been joined by a new recruit Mariana Duarte Silva, which not only means we can add Portuguese to the our portfolio of four spoken languages (English, French, Spanish and Geordie!), but we also have an experienced club promoter in our midst! Mariana, or the Madame to her friends, is promoting a bunch of amazing club nights with some of her friends at Plastic People in Hoxton, which as Mr Scruff keeps telling us has the best sound system in London town! So now you’ve got no excuse for not going out this July…

For more information about the nights and the DJ’s click (more…)

I have been enjoying the BBC programme Q: The many lives of Quincy Jones. I came across his name on albums back in the 80s, but then came across his name on some great jazz recordings and on film scores. True music legend. Part 1 can still be found on the BBC iPlayer for a few more days…part two coming soon…

Q: The Many Lives of Quincy Jones

As I write this post, I am thinking about the tagging of the post. How do I tag Q?

The problem is that he is not constrained by genre (Jazz, pop, classical, hip hop). He himself says in the programme that he hates being categorised.

A side benefit of this first part was an introduction to a fascinating character by the name of the influential French composer and music educator Nadia Boulanger

Saw Jose James at the Jazz Cafe recently.

So many reasons to thank Gilles Peterson for introducing me to so much great music over the years, and Jose James is one of them.

Already raved about him in the past, but his gig at Jazz Cafe earlier this week was truly phenomenal. The incredible jazz voice fused with hip hop phrasings. Vintage and very fresh at the same time.

Make sure you catch him the next time he plays in London at the Brainfeeder festival on the 14th June. The festival will be headlined by new Warp signing Flying Lotus, check out his myspace page for some fantastic instrumental hip-hop, including a backing track he’s produced for Jose. You can find out more about the Brainfeeder event on the Warp records site, who are co-promoting the event.

One of the big problems we all have when we go into a music store to browse, be it in the high street or online, is what do we want to buy? For many of us it might be what fits with our mood at the time. Music stores are generally rubbish at trying to provide this sort of help, especially traditional high street music retailers. Some stores are racked in broad genres that are so broad they are useless (ABBA next to AC/DC), while others go so niche only trainspotters stand a chance of deciphering what goes where.

Music plays to our emotions, so why do retailers so often ignore them? Especially as music can be really functional; great to drive to, great to dance to, good to have a little cry to, music to lie on a beach to, or possibly provide the perfect background to your next dinner party (that’ll be your chillout compilation then). Maybe retailers could take a leaf out of a certain UK supermarket’s book (who really didn’t like me taking a picture of their display) and suggest products to suit every mood, or as in this case a wine to go with different types of food. Shame they didn’t rack some spicy music to go with the food and wine ideas though…

citizensound bumped into Steve King recently, and he kindly gave us his five recommendations. Some classic choices in this list, along with a surprise or two from the Global CEO of Zenith Optimedia!

Thanks Steve. 

1    Favourite album at the moment?
The Clash - London Calling. Of current albums probably Mark Ronson latest mix.

2. A song that always makes you smile?
Bob Marley - Redemption Song

3. Favourite recent gig?
Spice Girls at The 02! Took my daughters and actually enjoyed the show. Also saw Rolling Stones at same venue few weeks before - probably best I've seen them play.

4. Song you couldn't resist singing or humming along to loudly, even  though you're wearing your headphones?
American Pie. Don Mclean - played endlessly on long family car journeys.

5. Greatest party record of all time? Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye - only because I'm such a naturally good disco dancer.

In the citizensound sonicRetail survey, we found a few stores decided on a policy of a music-free zone in–store.

Shops such as Church’s shoes had the sound of people talking and shoes being squeezed on to feet, nothing more. And this worked for the environment and the clientele. A sense of calm away from the storm of the street.

The Apple Store on Regent Street London is also music free, which given the connection between Apple and music, this seems shocking. However, Apple might rationalise this decision by seeing each person as controllers of their own music destiny (via their iPod of course). So a store that tries to dictate and decide what the customer should hear is not a store that respects that customer. However, my issue with the Apple Store is that in this music-free zone, music is generally heard…not through the store PA system, but through far-off speakers linked to Apple products. People test out iPod speakers or listen to songs on laptops. So the sound throughout the store is of far off tinny music.

Meanwhile the O2 in-store had the music so low that you could hardly hear it. Given the immense commitment to music by O2, this again seems like a contradiction. I would expect the in-store sonic experience to be stunning in any O2 store. Sadly, this is far from the truth.   Which leads to another issue…

citizensound says:

If you think music has a role in store then for goodness sake have it loud enough to do its' work and invest in a decent soundsystem. 

Met up with Wayne Arnold recently, who provided me with these recommendations

 1. Favourite album at the moment?
The Hours - Narcissus Road.

“With lines like " I can understand how someone can go over to the dark side cause the devil he's got all the tunes" you can’t go wrong!” says Wayne

2. A song that always makes you smile?

AC/DC - Back in Black

“Great guitar intro and completely pointless and incomprehensible lyrics”

3. Favourite recent gig?

The Sunshine Underground. “Brilliant songs and loads of energy”

4. Song you couldn't resist singing or humming along to loudly, even though you're wearing your headphones?

I dare anyone from our music generation to listen to Oasis classic - Don't Look Back in Anger and not hum along to that chorus”

5. Greatest party record of all time?

Steve Wonder – Superstition

“works for everything from a cool remix in a club to a cheesy wedding”

I saw Tawiah at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards last week at Cargo in London. She completely blew me away. She has everything. A great band, well crafted songs, an amazing presence on stage, confidence unlimited (for a second performance no less!) and a voice that drifts from Carmun Lundy to reggae, back to Jill Scott and then to dubstep with Radiohead thrown in. This girl is London Town, but deserves to go global.

The music journalist Lloyd Bradley interviewed Jazzie B at In The City this year. Great conversation (see recent post).

I had to have a chat with Lloyd about how it was his fault I nearly went broke, thanks to him writing Bass Culture.

What a book. The definitive guide to reggae. You read it and spend your time writing down tunes you ‘need’ to have.

Near the end of his conversation with Jazzie B, he encouraged the audience to join him and Jazzie B in the DIY panel that Nick and I were running straight after theirs.

So two things to thank him for. The book and the promotion for our panel. Thanks Lloyd.

So many young bands were looking for their first break at In the City. Many paid their own way there to showcase their art, in the hope that some music industry person will spot the talent and sign them up. I have heard at recent panels on the future of the music industry, where someone who has been in the industry some time inevitably state that 'well, it's easier now to get your music out there…in my day…'. To get the music out is one thing, to get heard is another, to get a fair hearing is yet another. Yet at the A&R panel at In The City, a number of the panellists rightly suggested that sending in a CD and hoping is not enough for a band to get noticed. There is a responsibility for the artist to put the effort in too. And there was no artist more committed to making people aware of their music and name than the wonderfully named Red Star Rebels. If ever a name summed up the music it is this one. Pure unadulterated rock. Loud, fast, and tight…very tight. These guys performed on the last night at In The City to a packed audience mixed with hardcore fans who had travelled to see them along with music industry folk and quite frankly some who were trying to work out what they were witnessing! No band at In The City worked the stage like these guys. Complete entertainment, not just strong music. And this is from someone who is not known to be a fan of such music! For three days solid, you could not go anywhere in Manchester without seeing the Red Star Rebel flyers. The band were out morning afternon and night putting up their flyers. If not doing this, they were chatting to everyone they could at the event, sneaking into the hotel lobby and mingling non-stop. Plus some business contacts of mine received e-mail promotions from the band, quoting that I was a big fan - the cheek of the Rebels! The guys were non-stop. Whether it is a record company, a brand or a VC looking to invest in talent, you can't ask for any more from a band than this. An immense live performance backed up with a 100% commitment to what they do. I salute the hardest working band in the business - the Red Star Rebels