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Update on Adélie Album, Steep Learning Curves, Songwriting Bronze Medal and Reveal of Album Launch Date

Update on Adélie Album, Steep Learning Curves, Songwriting Bronze Medal and Reveal of Album Launch Date

Adelie, QP Blog , , , , , , , , , , 0
02Oct
Adelie Mixing

I was looking back on the Adélie album log today and realised how long it had been since an update – March to be exact! A lot has happened between now and then but essentially I decided to mix the album myself.

 

I had never done anything like this so it was a very steep learning curve! After a few false starts (and some despairing!) I finally began a couple of weeks ago. I had bought a short online course to help me along and it really helped me learn the basics and get to grips with the tracks.

 

Throughout the two weeks, I started to learn what things I liked (or didn’t) on each instrument and, because I obviously wanted a Folky sound, I tried not to fiddle (pun intended!) too much with EQ-ing, effects etc. (although I do really like reverb, so that features quite a bit!), prefering a raw sound for the album. There were several things that suprised me, including the very rich, bassy sound that the Chin-Cello was able to acheive on the tracks, the way some instruments sound very different when played solo VS in the mix with the rest of the instruments, and how you can use different takes of vocals of a line and combine them to make a very full-sounding main vocals!

 

I did what you are not supposed to do and used headphones to start the mixing off, later using studio monitors to help rebalance and make sure the tracks were going to sound right across other listening methods. The headphones meant that I was able to take the mixing with me into coffee shops, which really helped to give me some brain-space and a different working environment.

 

Mixing this album myself has been a really valuable experience for me and gives me complete creative control of how the tracks are going to sound. I really can’t wait to share Adélie with you all!

Adélie Release Date and Album Launch

Now that the mixing process has been completed, I have been able to set the release date for the album. I am also having an album launch at Albert’s Shed in Shrewsbury to celebrate the release of Adélie. Lots more details to come but I am so excited about some of the ideas that have been floated.

The day of the release and album launch is 24th November at Albert’s Shed, Shrewsbury

Make sure to save the date to come and join in the celebrations with me!

Songwriting Bronze Medal

A few months ago, I saw that Lichfield Festival of Folk were running their songwriting competition and I thought “why not enter one, it can’t hurt and it doesn’t matter if I don’t get anywhere with it”. So I entered This Gift, my song about the preciousness of the countryside and the importance of preserving it for future generations to come and didn’t expect to hear anything else about it.

A few weeks later, I received an email telling me I was one of the six finalists and I was shocked and delighted at the same time, thinking that I wouldn’t get any further and was very pleased to get that far.

A few weeks after that, I got a phone call from Lichfield FF to say that I had won third place (bronze medal, if you prefer) in a very tight contest and that they would like me to perform at the festival on the 5th of October, as well as attend a songwriting workshop run by the legendary John Tams next year! As you would imagine, I was absolutely overjoyed and totally speechless. I would also be sharing a stage with The Magpies, who I love and really enjoyed their performance at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival earlier this year.

This has been such a wonderful and unexpected treat and I am so looking forward to performing and going to the festival on the 5th of October.

Listen to my submission here: https://soundcloud.com/quantumpenguin/matthew-woolley-entry-to

And find out more about Lichfield Festival of Folk here: https://lichfieldarts.org.uk/the-lichfield-festival-of-folk/

Upcoming Gigs

5th October: Lichfield Festival of Folk

16th October: Bristol Folk House Cafe

21st October: Shrewbury Songwriters’ September of Sound Showcase

23rd October: Albert’s Songwriters Showcase with Quantum Penguin and The Mountain Hares

24th November: Adélie Album Launch

Fiddler Players That Are Amazing- Part 1

Fiddler Players That Are Amazing- Part 1

Folk Music , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0
31Jan

Over the years playing Fiddle, I have been (and still am) influenced by many different Fiddle players. Their style of playing, techniques and composition and improvisation methods all add to and make up each musician’s unique sound. In the first of this two-part blog, I would like to share with you some of these amazing musicians who may well influence your sound too.

Phil Beer

© Phil Beer

An amazing Fiddle player and accomplished with sound engineering, Phil Beer cites his main instrument as the Guitar. I am reminded of a Guitar workshop I attended, led by Phil Beer at Sidmouth Folk Festival several years ago, where he said that he wouldn’t call himself a Fiddle player, which completely bemused me at the time, as his skill with the Fiddle was incredible.

As a founder of the Folk group Show of Hands, this Devonshire Fiddler has played at huge venues and festivals, including multiple performances at the Royal Albert Hall and the BBC Folk Awards. He is also a skilled solo performer and has performed with his band The Phil Beer Band for many years.

Beer has been and still is one of my Fiddle idols, inspiring me with his innovative and soulful Fiddle playing and rich vocals, combined with his skilled use of reverb, delay, EQ and other effects. This man has very much shaped my musical development.

Phil Beer’s Website: www.philbeer.co.uk

Show of Hands Website: www.showofhands.co.uk

Nancy Kerr

© Nancy Kerr

Renowned both individually and as a duo with her husband James Fagan, Nancy Kerr is a very experienced and popular musician. Her Fiddle playing is a mixture of different styles, including Scottish and Irish, with techniques such as Scottish snaps, twiddles and twirls playing a prominent role in many tunes, which can be seen in her performance of Dance to Your Daddy.

In addition to her Fiddle skills, she is a talented singer and has performed and recorded many different songs. She is also very talented at singing and playing the Fiddle at the same time, which is something I’m still working on and I have great respect for anyone who is able to do this! Kerr has released several albums with Fagan and one solo album, while winning several awards, including BBC Radio 2’s Folk Singer of The Year and Best Duo awards for her and James Fagan’s collaborations.

Website: https://nancykerr.co.uk

Sam Sweeney

© Sam Sweeney. Taken by Elly Lucas

Sam Sweeney has had a very successful career, being a member of several Folk bands including the hugely successful Folk collective Bellowhead (which he left University to join!) and the band Leveret (with Rob Harbron and Andy Cutting). He has also collaborated with several other Folk artists, including Hannah James and Eliza Carthy.

His versatile Fiddle playing seems to be very much influenced by Scottish Fiddle music, featuring snaps and snatches. From slow, beautifully resonant Waltzes to powerful and fast-paced Bellowhead numbers, Sweeney seems to have the ability to turn his bow to whatever is the required energy of the piece.

In addition to his band work, he won the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award’s Musician of the Year, released his second solo album Unearth Repeat in 2020 and is currently offering Fiddle lessons via Zoom. As another one of my Fiddle idols, I’m very excited to see what Sam Sweeney’s next project is!

Website: www.samsweeneymusic.com

Brittany Haas

© Brittany Haas. By Dylan Ladds.

I came across Californian Fiddler Brittany Haas when I saw her performing as a member of the American Folk group Crooked Still, in the very early days of the Shrewsbury Folk Festival (after it moved from Bridgnorth). I was really taken by her Fiddle style, which seems to incorporate techniques from Cajun and Scottish music as well as elements from what I would describe as Nordic Fiddle. These elements all form into a really beautiful style that sounds brilliant for both slow, melodic pieces and rip-roaring, barn dance-style tunes.

Haas has performed at festivals and venues across the world, also performing at Late Night With David Lettermen. She has also collaborated with and been a part of many different musicians and groups, such as Crooked Still and Steve Martin’s Bluegrass Band, as well as recording her own albums and performing with her quartet Hawktail.

Website: www.brittanyhaas.com

Summary

Look out for the second part of Fiddle Players That Are Amazing, which will feature another four amazing musicians! To make sure you don’t miss any of my blog articles, you can subscribe to my newsletter using one of the forms on the website.

You can also listen to music from all the musicians in this series in the Spotify playlist for this blog, which you can find here.

Songwriters Spotlight – Paradaeis

Songwriters Spotlight – Paradaeis

Songwriters Spotlight, Themed Blogs , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0
12Feb

(Main image by Frank Roper)

Welcome to the latest in the series of blog posts about songwriting, which includes interviews with composers and artists about their views and experiences in this field. This interview is with Leeds musician and singer-songwriter Paradaeis (AKA Rowan Thorsby).

 

Matt:

What is your background in songwriting and performing?

 

Paradaeis:

My parents bought a piano for my older sister when I was 4 or 5 years old! I was in awe of this big wooden sound box that could make low rumbles and high plinky plonks and everything in between. I fell in love and would try and play with it as much as I was allowed! I remember writing my first instrumental song about the Sunset when I was 7… It was slow and spacious.

As I grew older, I started writing lyrics and singing over the piano chords I’d write. Eventually my Mum enrolled me in piano lessons and a choir which rapidly developed my knowledge – music has been my life ever since!

From an early age I’ve felt a strong emotional connection with music – it had such a powerful effect over me. I guess it was just natural for me to follow this path in life! During my teenage years music became a form of self-prescribed therapy for myself. I’d pour my heart into the piano and manically scribble lyrics as I went, this is when I really started to develop my songwriting.

I’ve performed at Kendal calling festival, venues around Leeds (Brudenell, Oporto, Old Red Bus Station, lending rooms) and my hometown Kendal (Fell and Ruskins, Bootleggers). I recently performed on Chapel FM for Halemtinas Show. I love busking and playing open mics.

 

Matt:

Everyone has different reasons for writing songs, sometimes to express themselves, to tell a story etc. What drives you to write a song and where do you get your inspiration from?

 

Paradaeis:

My songwriting process has changed over the years. At first it was a way to release repressed emotions and communicate how I was feeling to the world. I didn’t put thought into how the music would be received by the audience and how it could affect their emotions. This resulted in a lot of angsty sad songs…

However, more recently I’ve begun to explore using songwriting to create positive change in the world and open up discussions about important often overlooked topics such as climate change, sexual abuse, self-empowerment. I hear a lot of negative messages in mainstream music and I’m trying in my own way to balance the scales with music that encourages the listener to look within themselves and channel some love and kindness into this special planet of ours.

I am often inspired by conversations with friends and strangers, sometimes I’ll meditate before songwriting to raise my awareness and put me in a peaceful state of mind, and sometimes I write songs in my dreams!

 

 

Matt:

There are often differing views about songs, both on what the most important aspect is and what the most difficult element of a song to compose is. What do you think is the most important part of a song and do you struggle with a particular stage of composing?

 

Paradaeis:

I feel that the most important part of the song is the message that it carries, the energy it emits. Music has a power that stimulates the whole brain at the same time! Meaning that we’re SUPER receptive to the messages in music. Therefore, when songwriting and performing I consider things like:

  • How are people going to feel when listening to the song? (I want them to feel loved and free and inspired!)
  • Do my lyrics have any wisdom to offer?

I draw on my own life lessons, stories from my friends and family, some of the most interesting stories are about strangers. The most difficult part for me is waiting for the inspiration to write a song. It’s not a process I like to force. It’s good though, it keeps me open and receptive in life and seeking the spark of inspiration, going to new places, meeting new people and trying new things. I also struggle with sometimes writing a song that I can’t play or sing yet. In my head it’s amazing! But in reality, I’ve got to practise a lot to be able to sing some of the melodies and play some chords that I can hear in my head. Again, I like setting myself a challenge and raising my skills. I love working with talented instrumentalists who can play lush soundscapes that perfectly match the tone of the lyrics I’ve been writing. The special connection created between musicians when we just vibe of each other’s energy – it gives me goosebumps.

 

Matt:

Your music has clearly been influenced by several different genres and styles of music. When did this blending of styles begin in your musical journey and what advantages do you feel this has for writing songs?

 

Paradaeis:

I listen to a lot of different styles of music, so it naturally happens. With the Suntrap EP I was being really experimental and didn’t want to box myself in to any particular style. I was expressing different shades of emotion all about the same subject. I feel like there is so much contrast and polarity in my life that I needed to express on the EP. The advantage of writing this way is I give myself so much freedom! I don’t judge the song for whatever it ends up becoming – I work with it and find the style that suits the lyrics and the mood. Nowadays I feel more stable, and that is being evident in my music because I guess I’m settling into Psychedelic Folk – channelling the energy of the 60s and 70s. The message of peace and love lives on!

(Image by Tom Lacki)

Matt:

Current chart and Pop music is often a divisive topic for composers and musicians. What are your thoughts on the current quality of songwriting in this industry.

 

Paradaeis:

I think a lot of popular music nowadays focuses a lot of production quality and modern production techniques – but the lyrics seem like an afterthought? I’m impressed with the incredible vocalists I hear in the charts and the crystal clear punchy electronic tracks they sing/rap over but I feel like the lyrical messages are predominantly negative. Let’s just say I don’t feel inspired when I play Radio 1 or Capital FM – I feel bombarded with subliminal messages that make me feel lonely, poor, way too sober to face reality. Sam Fender’s hit single is very catchy and I find myself singing it a lot – but is he actually trying to start World War 3? The chorus is “it’s high time for supersonic missiles”. Wow. And have you heard Grimes’ Controversial single “We Appreciate Power” about submitting to the artificial intelligence of the unstoppable robot race?!? Grimes was always a massive inspiration of mine too but that song really freaked me out. I’m definitely getting more and more inspired by genres popular in the 60s and 70s such as Psychedelic Rock, Spiritual Jazz and Folk, which was performed by musicians who really cared about saving the planet and spreading messages of peace and love. There is SO much power in Music – it’s a phenomenon that stimulates almost the entire brain which allows the messages in the music to get programmed right to our subconscious. That’s why I’m really passionate about creating the music I create! I don’t closely follow chart music because I’m aware that the system uses its influence on the music industry to brainwash the mainstream. I just know so many independent talented artists that sing with such joy and love in their heart and it makes me wonder what the world would be like if their songs were played on mainstream radio instead of what is actually being pushed by the Big 3 (dominant labels in the industry). My mission is to create music that helps people relax, reconnect with themselves, appreciate what they have, tell their family and friends that they love them, go after their dreams, take the day off work and have fun in nature!

 

Matt:

What projects are you working on at the moment?

 

Paradaeis:

I’m currently shooting four music videos for the Suntrap EP for ready for January Release! It’s amazing, I did not want to release music on YouTube until I had music videos to accompany them, and I was getting a lot of pressure to release just the audio files – then all in one week four videographers got in touch wanting to make a video each! This has been really fun, the weather has certainly been a challenging component.

I am also set to perform at Open Source Art’s Winter Solstice Event, an evening of multidisciplinary artists gathering together to share insight and gain inspiration. It’s seems apt to perform there because their Summer Solstice, which I attended as an audience member, ignited a surge of new intentions for my lyrical messages. I am performing for Songroots at Cha Lounge on the 4th of January! Another incredible event organised by the lovely musician Manuka which aims to gather sensitive souls in music that moves us and facilitates emotional release. The Songroots event was so healing for me and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to perform and offer my services through my songs.

I am excited to begin recording some new music with the band that I’m currently assembling. I’ve begun working with some beautiful musicians whose world view and musical style aligns with mine and each other’s so harmoniously. I’ve been planting a lot of seeds this season and cultivating my confidence and determination – so when summer comes back around, Paradaeis is set to reveal heaven on earth.

 

You can learn more about Paradaeis and her music by visiting her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, listen to her music at Spotify and YouTube and buy her Suntrap EP from the music stores included in this link

 

Quantum Penguin Blog – September Update

Quantum Penguin Blog – September Update

QP Blog , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0
09Sep

Well these last few months have been a roller-coaster of a ride! I have completed my first year of my music degree at Falmouth University, played at Parklive in Falmouth with Lunacci (AKA Chris Baker) and Emilio Ayto, had two of my pieces played on BBC Shropshire Introducing, gone to the Shrewsbury Folk Festival (which I have been going to since it was the Bridgnorth Folk Festival, about 15 years ago!) and then had a very unexpected interview on BBC Shropshire Introducing at the festival!

It has been a real jumble of experiences and has given me more confidence in my music – when I uploaded my first track on Introducing, which was Nohambo Iphengwini, I really didn’t expect it to be played since it is just very different to the kind of music that is usually played.

To have that played gave me confidence to submit a second track, Synergy. I again wasn’t expecting it to be played but was overjoyed to have Synergy played as well. Both Nohambo and Synergy represent different sides of my music; with Nohambo I can imagine it on a soundtrack to a film set in a desert or nature documentary exploring the animal kingdom of a rainforest while with Synergy this represented the side of me that likes to experiment with Synths and effects. Both of these are almost a world apart from my Folk music background but I think that breaking out of a particular genre is incredibly important as a musician.

Genres tend to have rules which tell you what you can and can’t have in your music. Pop tends to stick to what is “in” at the time and unfortunately often creates music that sounds almost identical – certainly at this moment you would not expect a full blown set of Folk tunes played on the Fiddle. Likewise you would have a very good chance of being lynched if you played Synths, used heavy effects or sang in a Pop music accent at more traditional Folk clubs and festivals. However, I think that some of the best music is created when the genres are mixed. Take Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran, if someone had told you a week before that song came out that a Pop song with an Irish Folk Fiddle and band in would make the charts you just wouldn’t have been able to imagine it – now almost everyone I’ve met has loved that song and it has been in the top position of many of the Pop charts.

Phil Beer from the Folk band Show of Hands is another example as he uses many different effects on his Fiddle to achieve an amazing sound. The Afro Celt Sound System combine Bagpipes, Synths, samples, African Drums and Electric Guitar to create a powerful experience. In 1986 when Paul Simon collaborated with African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo they created such incredible music by combining Singer-Songwriter with African vocals and proved that music really doesn’t have to be limited. I feel that making music this way brings the best out of you and that is how I want my approach to be.

Lately I have been doing some research (on Bing) about compression in music, which is the practice of making all the parts of your music the same volume. The reason behind this is because producers and labels believe that it makes the piece louder and research has concluded that loudness sells more. The problem is that when you make a recording louder than the volume it was recorded at the quality is degraded. You also lose any quiet-to-loud build up or Timbre in your piece because the volume is the same throughout. It is called “The Loudness War” and I really recommend you do some research on it because it is really interesting and in my view it creates poor music because you’re trading quality for quantity.

Looking forward, I am doing a free gig on the 21st of September at Jacobs Ladder in Falmouth, Cornwall along with Emilio Ayto and Lunacci. We are each doing our own 15 minute sets and then Emilio and I are playing with Lunacci in his set. It’s going to be a really fun evening and I will be premiering a new song! It is very relaxed and in a pub so you can come in and out as you want. If you can make it then pop over and say hi!

I will also be starting my second year at University, which is really exciting. There are several modules that I am really looking forward to including Film music, which is definitely an area I want to experiment in and Timbre, which will give me a load of skills in combining different sounds and instruments.
I have to say I am very lucky to have such inspiring tutors and course mates and I have learnt so much already, not just from my tutors but also from my fellow music students. I am really excited to find out new ways to make music this year.

Matt

 

First year at Uni

QP Blog , , , , , , , 0
25Jun

 

My first year studying music at Falmouth University has been a rollercoaster of an experience. In half a year I have learnt skills that will last a lifetime and met people that have inspired and taught me so much.

Within a month of starting the course I was playing with three of my fellow course mates – Emilio Ayto, an amazing guitarist who seamlessly hops from one style to another, Lewis Arscott who is an incredible piano and keyboard player and Chris Baker, aka Lunacci, an amazing singer-songwriter guitarist who blends genres and uses technology to create his own Sound World. The venue was the open mic at Jacob’s Ladder in Falmouth, which is such a friendly and relaxing place and was really fun to play in.

One principle that seems to be at the heart of Falmouth’s music courses is that by the end of the degree you should be able to not only be very good at music but also be able to make a living out of it. To accomplish this they have incorporated a large amount of practical aspects to the course. I remember one of our course leaders saying at the start of the course that while we were here he didn’t want us to be in just one band, he wanted us to be in loads of bands. Following in this principle, one of our first term modules was based around you performing, not just as a solo act but also with other musicians in a band. As part of this I played the Vaughan Williams song Wither Music I Wander with fellow course mates Louisa Hygate, Liv Reynolds and Mollie Harman, all truly incredible singers, instrumentalists and composers, Dali Diaconeasa, a truly very talented piano player and Nathan Cole, who is an amazing Banjo player. It seemed to work really well and I have to say I was pretty proud of the end result.

Another module in the first term was to write your own composition and this was combined with the performance module in that you would have to perform it in front of your course mates and tutors – no pressure or anything! I have been composing my own music for about 10 years and know the commonly used notation but the Uni really encouraged us to use advanced notation. This was a real learning curve for me since, apart from the Violin-specific notation, the music I played and composed didn’t really have a need for a lot of this notation.

The next term was even more of a kaleidoscope of experiences. In the next five months I played several times at the Uni’s Stannary Open Mic Night, both on my own and with Nathan and Mollie, which was really fun.

(QP and Nathan at Stannary Open Mic Night)

Thanks to Sophie Rooke, another course mate and brilliant Saxophone and Clarinet player, who passed my name on, I played with amazing band Propeller at the Stannary’s St Patricks Night, which was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget. That night also gave me the opportunity to write and record some Violin for the upcoming experimental film Memoirs, created by film students Lauren Dallas and Zara Denver, who were a joy to work with. This was a really new and useful experience as it showed me that writing music to film is definitely an area that I want to experiment with and I will get a chance to do

Harry Glasson Project practice (I’m taking the picture)

that in my second year. I also had the chance to be part of the Harry Glasson Project, which is a project run by singer-songwriter Will (or Dave) Keating to promote the songs written and composed by Cornish singer-songwriter Harry Glasson by recording and playing them live around Cornwall. His songs are very powerful and although I’m not a Cornishman myself, I know how important it is that these songs are shared and heard throughout the county.

 

 

Another few experiences I had was when I was asked by Saulius Jegelevičius, a brilliant second year student singer-songwriter from Lithuania, to play Violin on a few of his songs with him and his band for the Falmouth Concourse Festival 2017. The only catch? The festival was the next day! After a couple of hours practice the night before we’d managed to come up with something and it worked out well. Pearl Love, a very talented second year student and singer songwriter who was also playing with Saulius, then asked me to record some Chin-Cello (a 5-string Viola with Cello tuning) for her EP Shuddering Trains and play the song for the EP’s launch. This was really good fun and enabled me to not only get my Chin-Cello out and playing again but also my playing on a track that would be uploaded to iTunes.

Although all of these were not directly linked to my year of the course, I feel that the way the course is structured encourages collaboration with other students, similar and different courses alike. For example, as part of one of our second term modules we had to join one of the course’s ensembles, with first and second year students, with a performance at the end of the term. I chose to join the vocal ensemble since I wanted to work on my singing and thought that, tied in with having singing lessons as part of the module, this would be the perfect opportunity. This worked really well and with a few weeks of starting the lessons and ensemble I was performing and singing one of my songs at the Uni’s AMATA Lunchtime Concert for the first time. I really enjoyed being able to sing my songs and it seems that the combination of the lessons and ensemble had really paid off.

My first year has been really fun and it was rounded off by one of our modules which was to compose a piece and perform at AMATA for the first year’s Showcase. Together with Nathan, Mollie, Emilio, Lewis and Sian Wiggin, an amazingly talented Flute player, we decided to form a band for the Showcase, called Another Coffee Please, that would combine elements from each of our backgrounds, creating a Folk/Rock/Pop feel to our music. Composing, practicing and playing with these people was a real joy and together we created music that I think we were all really pleased with. I also have to give a shout out to Lewis who, in addition to playing Synth in the songs, actually learnt the Drums for this, which he hadn’t even played before! The result was truly amazing and without them the songs would have lost a huge amount of their power.

I’ve met such talented and friendly people while doing my first year who have taught me so much and I’m really grateful to all of them. It really is incredible how full of music Falmouth is. A few weeks ago Louisa, Liv and I watched Chris, Emilio and Sian play together at the pub Jacobs Ladder. It was really nice to see everybody and I realised what the most important and valuable aspect of my course mates was – we all supported each other.

 

Here’s to the next year!