Select Page

Let’s do lunch

Apr 10, 2013 | 0 comments

Sam Coley LOW RESI’ve had several interesting lunchtime meetings today (though only one lunch).

For my first meeting, I sat down with my teaching colleagues Sam Coley (left) and Andy Martindale to talk about the direction of our Music Programming undergraduate module.

It’s part of the radio degree, but it’s also something other Media students can choose as an option. It deals with two main things: specialist music shows and radio station formats.

The course explores how those two things work, how music makes meaning for people, and how putting music together in order constructs audiences and reflects scenes and cultures. It’s affectionately referred to as Mixtapes 101.

Students learn not only what makes music ‘work’ in different contexts and as a piece of media communication, but also the mechanics and techniques of format radio. Of course, these days, the applications of constructing musical texts over time applies right across media – particularly in digital media contexts.

We’re looking at putting together an online resource for this sort of thing.

Incidentally, Sam’s documentary celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bowie’s Let’s Dance is on Absolute Radio this Sunday.

Photo

The second meeting was with a bunch of people who run a Brazilian newspaper in London called The Brazilian Post. That’s them pictured above. They “enjoyed” our university canteen food while we chatted. I, er… “wasn’t hungry”.

They want to interview me about my research and the documentary film I’m going to be making about solidarity economy in the independent music sector in Brazil. They knew a lot about Fora do Eixo, the group I’m working with out there, and had some really interesting insights into the way in which FDE have set up their own political and economic framework outside of the way that traditional economics works.

Solidarity economy is sometimes referred to as “friendly capitalism” and one of the newspaper people called it “the most important movement in the world today”. So I might be onto something…

One of the University marketing people and someone from international recruitment were also there. Must have said something right, because I was offered another trip over to Brazil in September to do some recruitment stuff for BCU too. Not going to say no to that.

Photo

And my last meeting was with my friend Brian, who’s the sax player in UB40. We had a whole bunch of stuff to talk about, new and interesting projects on the horizon – and, finally, actual lunch too. It was great to catch up. We used to DJ together pretty much every week for a while there, but haven’t seen each other for a few months.

He’s asked me to be on a non-executive board he’s putting together for his latest project, and I’ve asked him to be involved in a new online venture I’m helping out with – and we worked out some interesting ways of getting students involved (and paid) along the way.

So… I may have started at noon and ended at 4pm, but I managed to get some really good work done over that extended lunch break. More meetings should happen that way.

That’s an orange juice Brian’s holding in that picture, by the way. We were all business.

A Brian Travers original

Apr 25, 2012 | 3 comments

My friend Brian – you know, Brian out of UB40 (namedrop, namedrop) – just popped over to give me an original piece of his artwork that I’d admired at an exhibition of his but could not possibly have afforded. It’s based on Concierto de Aranjuez from Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain album.

Unbelievably generous of him. Absolutely love this piece and had actually just been showing people photos of it. Unexpected and gratefully received.

It did not for a moment cross my mind to say “Oh, no – I couldn’t possibly take it.” I definitely could. It’s awesome.

One week later, Brian shows me how it’s done

Mar 27, 2011 | 0 comments


[Video link]

Last week, Brian from UB40 came along to the Hare and Hounds to look over my shoulder and get a few jazz DJ-ing tips so that he can fill in for me while I’m away in May.

This week, he came back armed with some music of his own, and gave me a much welcomed lunch break so I could actually sit and enjoy my roast dinner properly for the first time since I started doing this gig.

Brian’s a bit of a gadget fan, so was all over the iPad djay app, and he also brought his own unique approach to the gig: playing stuff that people actually like, rather than the weird noodly stuff I favour.

I thought it was appropriate to wave the video in his direction, as it’s usually him that has the Flip camera out – and, in fact, he took a couple of videos of his own…

(more…)

Teaching Brian to DJ

Mar 20, 2011 | 2 comments

DJ BT of the UBs.

I did my usual weekly DJ gig at the Hare and Hounds today – playing polite, laid back jazz records while people eat their roast dinners. But this time, I had a surprise visitor.

Brian Travers, who you’ll know as the sax player from UB40, had been asked if he’d be interested in maybe coming in and doing a session sometime – perhaps in my absence. And as we know each other and get on well, he decided to come in and get a feel for how it’s done, so we sat down together, had a couple of drinks and went through the mechanics of it.

It’s not rocket surgery, of course. Play one record, and when that one finishes, play another one. I also tipped him off to a bit of laptop DJ software simply called “djay“. I think once he saw me at work, he figured “well, if he can do it…”

But best of all was just sitting and catching up. Hadn’t seen Brian for a while, and we’re both pretty busy people for the most part, so it was good to just spend a Sunday afternoon chatting about music we like, swapping anecdotes about people we know (Brian knows most people), and discussing pretty much every other topic under the sun – all over a roast and a drink or two while we played some great jazz.

What’s not to like?

UB40’s Signing Off – 30th anniversary

Sep 17, 2010 | 0 comments

This is the sound of where I live – including the people I work with, like Paul Long, Sam Coley, Jez Collins and Robin Valk; the music of Birmingham and specifically Kings Heath; as well as the characters from around here as well as more recent friends, like Brian from the band.

To say this is an important record around these parts misses the point that this is an important record period. But the fact that it is from around these parts is something that is really significant.

I was lucky enough to be present while Ranking Roger interviewed the members of UB40 at my local pub, the Hare and Hounds. I took some photos while we were there. Here’s the Flickr set.

Listen to the documentary – it’s a great piece of radio production (in large part by a couple of students of ours, Steve and Chris) as well as a fascinating personal story of the people involved. And the music is so great.