David Holmes http://davidholmes.net Internet Music, Open Content and the Social Web. posterous.com Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:17:00 -0800 'Collective Exchange' - A Collaborative Art Exhibition http://davidholmes.net/collective-exchange-a-collaborative-art-exhib http://davidholmes.net/collective-exchange-a-collaborative-art-exhib

Collective-exchange-_title_graphic

Since October 2011, myself and four other artists have been taking part in a London based collaborative art project called 'Collective Exchange'. Working with University of the Arts London and national homeless charity Crisis Skylight, we have been given an opportunity to develop our critical thinking and artistic practice through the process of researching and developing new artwork.

The results of this collaboration form the Collective Exchange Exhibition which goes on view in the entrance gallery at Central Saint Martins Back Hill Site from Friday 10-17 February, 2012 during normal daytime opening hours.

The Preview and Artists’ Talks will be held on Thursday 9 February 6-8pm and admission is free on all days.

The full address is: Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, 10 Back Hill, London EC1R 5LQ. 

Visualizing Ambiguity in Architecture

My contribution is photographic and explores themes of ambiguity in architecture. Most of the digital images combine long exposure times with compound camera movements to generate new forms, colours, and textures. Here are 10 of the 26 images I have on display as prints and digital media. There's further information about the images on my Behance Project Page 

Attic-lantern Attic-robot Cereus Hand-of-ascension Perfect-contour Protoplasmic Reflection Serpentine-comet Thirteen-moments-in-close-proximity Aurora
See the full gallery on Posterous

Special thanks to the following people for their expertise, enthusiasm and continued support.

Project Tutors: Caroline Stevenson, Shiraz Bayjoo

Crisis Creative Arts Manager: Paula Lonergan

Art Technician: James Thomas

Exhibiting Artists

‘Collective Exchange’ refers to the conversations between the artists and tutors over the past few months that have inspired new ideas and helped their work to evolve. The artists are:

Stewart Ewin

Tom Hair

David Holmes

Conleth Moran

David Stark

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:23:00 -0800 SOPA & PIPA Information Tools http://davidholmes.net/sopa-pipa-information-tools http://davidholmes.net/sopa-pipa-information-tools

SOPA / PIPA Slideshow and Resource Toolkit
I've created a Slidestaxx presentation for information about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the US. Focusing on the current debate, opposing arguments, security and technical concerns, the package offers a resource toolkit for anyone interested in learning about the issues involved. Featuring content from prominent commentators, online awareness campaigns and a range of Internet protest tools. Links to both Acts are included.
See also my SOPA and PIPA Resource Stack on Delicious

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:23:54 -0800 Infographic and Guide to The World of Online Music http://davidholmes.net/infographic-and-guide-to-the-world-of-online http://davidholmes.net/infographic-and-guide-to-the-world-of-online

An informative snapshot of the Internet music business, comprised of data taken from several research sources in recent times. Via Grovo.com

Grovo’s Online Music Guide offers a way for viewers to learn how to discover, listen to, buy and share music online.

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:53:00 -0700 'Lab Day LIVE' Report http://davidholmes.net/lab-day-live-report http://davidholmes.net/lab-day-live-report

Last week I was invited to Ogilvy's music and brands event ‘Lab Day Live’. I outlined the event in my previous post and here I'd like to mention a little about the success of the day and my observations.

Taking place in Ogilvy's Canary Wharf offices in the heart of London's banking and media district, the scene was set in an area symbolic of regeneration and financial strength. Private music festivals are rare in this part of town. 

For most musicians trying to scrape a living from the troubled music business, the invitation to arrive for work at 9.00am to the grand entrance of a Canary Wharf establishment, must have seemed about as far removed from reality as it gets. Of course musicians are used to playing in wildly exotic locations, quite often removed from reality, so this was not about to faze the Lab Day performers.

Subjectively the experience was slightly surreal and possibly what a lucid dream episode of Mad Men might feel like. Imagine 15 bands turning up to play loud sets of music on stages in open plan offices, full of Ogilvy employees, perched merrily if not bemusedly in front of their large Mac monitors.

Add to this hundreds of guests wandering from office to office, audio visual crews and equipment, food, drink, live Internet streaming, a cast of 30 music business exhibitors scattered at various locations, and you get the big picture. This took some planning and from my point of view as a guest it all appeared to run pretty smoothly. Although I hear neighbours Barclays bank complained about the noise.That’s impressive!

No doubt the uniqueness of the experience was carefully factored into Ogilvy's planning. The flair of the team to initiate such an occasion shows serious commitment to their vision of connecting brands with music. As the David Ogilvy quote high on one of the lobby walls states boldly:
"Look for people who aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine"

The Morning Talks
 
The first half of the day was devoted to a series of talks from a range of music industry figures. The 9th floor conference room with it's lofty views over the East End, carpeted in the agency's signature colour red, soon became full and there was a buzz of anticipation in the air.

Apart from a few of the long-time music biz professionals I had no idea who all these people were. The multitasking couple sitting next to me were constantly thumbing their respective smartphones and many were vocal in their contributions during moments of audience participation. The talks moved swiftly with panels and individual speakers stating their case for why music is important to brands in the digital age. The audience seemed keen to absorb what was on offer and the speakers were received appreciatively.

Here are some of the key issues that were expanded upon with links to further information. I've grouped the 'messages' under general headings and the order in which they are listed flows chronologically to give some sense of timing. A complete list of speakers is available at the Lab Day LIVE website.

For a visual representation of the key points take a look at David Coxon's infographic: Lab Day Live visualized

You can also view an online version of Julian Treasure’s opening address on: The 4 ways sound affects us

Speakers to Brands
  • Marketing agencies are desperate for engagement and the music industry is desperate for revenue (sales have dropped)
  • Generally music is a universal resource
  • There is huge growth in the semi-pro content creation market
  • It’s important to create communities that allow consumers to participate and connect with the brand
  • Advertisers can look to collaborations to drive consumer behaviour
  • Songs can be used as ‘media channels’ to capture consumer engagement
  • Record companies can look to break bands via advertisers
  • A desired shift to “Stepping back from celebrity and into the song”
  • Digital content curation is producing valuable collections that can engage fans
See Rock’s Backpages for an example of how to build engagement through the curation of music journalism articles.

Live Events
  • Brands need to create more ‘experience’ in order for consumers to remember the brand association to particular events and products
  • brands should make innovative use of technology systems for live events (text messaging, geolocation, etc.)
  • Brands can control engagement by creating their own events
See Eskimo Live for more about Experiential Marketing

Content Creation & Marketing Campaigns
  • Brands need to enter the space in a credible way to win the respect of the music audience
  • Create content such as webisodes that feature musicians and musical collaborations
  • Content can be distributed via popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
  • Commitment is required from brands and bands to build momentum
  • Brands can stage on-location events in unique, meaningful, sometimes secret locations
  • Generating brand content creates a ‘hook’ to help book more established artists
  • Brands can make genuine unconditional offers of products to help a band’s career
See Ford - Bands In Transit for an example of a brand music campaign.

Music Industry State of Play
  • UK music industry revenues fell by 4.8 percent to £3.8bn in 2010, down £189m.
  • The music industry needs more supply
  • Festivals are driving live music more than any other venue type (up by 20%), with increasing capacity and ticket prices
  • UK is outperforming USA in music exports by a factor of 3
  • Sync income has grown by 10% since 2008
  • Consumers now spend more money on games than music
  • Albums can be used as a promotional tool to sell games
  • Bands may be developed primarily to promote brands and exist only because of the brand
  • Tourism is a big potential area of revenue (Air flights, package deals, events)
  • Music can be treated as a service and used to sell products
For more on on the state of the music industry see Economic Insight - PRS for Music

Internet Music

  • Last.fm has ‘scrobbled’ 57 billion pieces of musical data
  • Data is the currency and the audience expect their data to come back to them
  • Think about the audience needs
  • Super-fans and artists create an identity together
  • Use crowdsourcing to build engagement
  • Let the fans and bands take control
  • Find an artist/community and see what their metrics reveal, in terms of marketing products
Examples Last.fm, Chill.com and Turntable.fm (US only)

Artistic Enterprises

  • Immersive soundscaping can be used to change crowd behaviour
  • SoundCloud becoming more engaged with artist enterprise
  • Art concepts can be used on products
  • Artists still need support like record labels used to
For more on immersive soundscaping and sound design see Illustrious

Record Labels

  • Music Industry asks brands: Embrace us
  • Music industry has changed beyond all recognition
  • WMG are focused on developing serious artists careers, long term
  • Synchronisation is growing, labels and publishers have put in a lot of energy
  • WMG want to integrate brands into the music industry, looking for partners
  • Music rights difficult to navigate, previous price points were incorrect
  • Creative process can be supplied by labels working directly with agencies at the creative level
Social Music Apps
  • Spotify says you need two things a)The Content (millions of songs) b) Good user experience (i.e. Apple)
  • Brands/music needs to be everywhere in order to be relevant to consumers (portable devices, appliances, cars, etc)
  • You have to be better than piracy, hence freemium model
  • You can only make music social if you have a free tier
  • Pinpoint music for campaigns based on demographics
  • Analyze from top down; Social engagement to personal engagement
  • 3 methods: Crowdsourcing individual reviews, surveying social interactions, identifying and testing top genres
  • Track highest volume of conversation
  • Socialization more important in Germany, hence digital landscape important to understand
  • Electronic music interaction is high in Germany
  • Search engines required to find and license music
  • Use systems to find out what resonates most
See Libspotify for information about Spotify’s API for third party developers, an example of a ubiquitous, freemium, social music application.

Sound Branding

  • Consensual contracts: Brands beware of jumping ship from one creator to another, the music business can track you
  • Minimum cost of copyright infringement £50,000 (cost of license)
  • You need a consistent branding strategy that enables consumer understanding when you bend the rules
  • Understand the context and how music is used in different ways from say, apps to live events
  • The brevity of a sonic signature is crucial e.g. at the top of an ad before people decide to skip
  • Brand and sound ‘fit’ is vital
  • When music ‘fits’, brand propensity to buy goes up by around 25%
  • Music in ads can change people’s purchasing behaviour e.g. from French wine to German Wine
  • It takes about 2 years for the brand sound to be understood by the consumer
  • In 5 years time sound will be recognised as a major part of the marketing investment
For more on ‘sound branding’ see Soundlounge

My Thoughts

Firstly this was a direct plea from the music industry for brands to: "Embrace us" and to "consider us in your marketing plans".

Economically this makes sense in the light of data from a recent PRS for Music press release:
  • Total business-to-business licensing revenues from PRS for Music, PPL and activities such as sync licensing and artist endorsement grew 2.2%
  • Advertising and sponsorship (including live music sponsorship, event creation, artist endorsement, digital, TV and advertising support) grew 4.2% on 2009 to £94m
Clearly B2B and licensing revenues are key growth areas. This includes music in computer games, films and TV.

However with brands creating their own digital content the boundaries between brand, record label and publisher are becoming blurred, effectively a brand could be all three. The same applies to games developers. The music industry recognizes this and is inviting brands to partner with music companies that can offer specialised creative services and resources.

Key to this strategy is metrics. Advertisers need to pinpoint their target audience and measure the market potential. Until now music has always been a last minute add-on for advertisers, frequently decided upon just days before project completion. Now with the development of Internet music apps and digitized services, music companies can provide valuable data that previously was missing. It's now possible to target the right song for the right demographics. This is a potential game changer.  

But still it's a complicated scenario and much work will need to be done to make these 'partnerships' realistic. Lets remember artists, writers, management, record labels, and publishers will all have their views on working with brands.

Essentially the music industry is diversifying as conventional revenue streams are falling. It's interesting to note the mention of other big areas of revenue such as tourism, considering we're at the end of the festival 'season', now expanded from May to October, and festivals show large growth throughout Europe. Again brands figure strongly in live events.  


The Music

 (my life as a lab rat for the day)

My analogy of a lab rat is apt. During the course of the afternoon I found myself scuttling the Ogilvy warren, in pursuit of the next fix to be found on one of the three stages located in different parts of the building.  

Given the circumstances, some of the musicians may have felt apprehensive, however on the day all nine of the acts I saw performed well and appeared to enjoy it. These were showcase performances lasting around 30 minutes each. Some of the bands like Wolf Gang rearranged their sets to accommodate the venue, providing a more 'acoustic' style of performance.

There was a special intimacy between the artists and audience intensified by the working environment. It’s easy to become a fan when you feel a direct connection to music in this way and I can honestly say I enjoyed every performance. It was a great opportunity to discover new music up close and in the flesh.

Listen
There are some live audio recordings over at Felt Music on Awdio from acts Digitonal, Kidda, and Wolf Gang. You can also check out the video wall to see what some of the artists had to say about Lab Day. During performances the live stream received 15,000 hits from 86 countries. Live video footage of artists taken from all three stages is available to stream via the Lab Day website (link at top of post).

And Finally 

Shortly after watching the final band of the day Tribes, who were great, it was time to leave. In the lift on my way down to earth I had a few moments to reflect on a quite other-worldly experience. On my way I bumped into some of the guys from Boy Mandeville and Digitonal before saying my farewells and venturing into the drizzly world outside. Ah, another day at the office. Canary Wharf won't feel the same for me, for a while, I think.

My thanks to the Ogilvy team for a special and enlightening day!

Twitter Buzz Tracking 

Related Links 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:34:00 -0700 Ogilvy Hosts Music & Brands Event 'Lab Day LIVE' http://davidholmes.net/ogilvy-hosts-music-brands-event-lab-day-live http://davidholmes.net/ogilvy-hosts-music-brands-event-lab-day-live

International advertising and marketing agency Ogilvy Group UK are staging a one-day event called Lab Day LIVE designed to engage both the advertising and music communities. On the 9th September Ogilvy's offices in London's Canary Wharf will play host to a music industry conference and live music festival.

It promises to be an informative and entertaining occasion focusing on the latest digital media opportunities mutually available to brands and the music business. The morning conference panels and talks will feature key figures from Last.fm. Spotify, PRS and other leading music organizations (List of speakers). During the afternoon live music performances from name and up-coming acts will take place across three stages (see below).

Entitled: Making music matter as much to brands as it does to consumers

The event is part of Ogilvy’s on-going drive to help clients and their brands navigate the rapidly changing landscape of the music industry in the digital age.

In this video clip Lab Day organizer Tara Austin talks about her role in making music a more central part of the creative process at Ogilvy. To see what other members of the team are saying take a look at the Video Wall.

The Rules of Engagement

Ogilvy are looking to the music industry for innovative ideas on how brands can use music to to build engagement with their audience. Earlier in the year, at MIDEM 2011, they made a stirring appeal for music publishers to "‘look beyond the cheque' and contribute more than just a piece of audio to an advertising campaign" emphasising Ogilvy's vision to "create added value: value for our brands and, ultimately, value for the artist whose music our campaigns promote". 

I'll be attending the event and listening closely to what's being said about sonic branding and new ideas for using music to create a 'brand sound'. I'm also looking forward to learning more about the power of sound and music when applied to areas such as 'retail soundscapes' and how we can be informed by hard data.

As a long-time advocate of Open Media licensing tools, when and where appropriate, I'll be hoping to see more open and collaborative business frameworks designed to minimize the friction permeating traditional licensing models. Many Internet audio and video platforms have already successfully integrated Creative Commons licensing making it easy for people to share, remix and reuse media legally, notably SoundCloud and YouTube (list of corporate support).

Creative Commons has always been about promoting creativity and the power of openness to build communities based on shared ideas. Unfortunately the established licensing system, especially with regards to CC licenses in Europe, makes widespread media sharing difficult, thereby blocking the most valuable thing which is attention. Hopefully the wider debate around open and closed systems will eventually lead to innovation that fosters audience attention, participation, and better user experiences in the digital music space.

 

Event Info & Live Stream

Website

 Full details and live streaming of acts from the 3 music stages on the day can be found at http://www.labdaylive.co.uk/

Twitter

You can follow updates using the hashtag #labdaylive plus there's further tweet analysis, tracking and visualization via my channel at The Archivist

 

Acts

Alexis Ffrench

http://www.alexisffrenchmusic.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/AlexisFfrench

Aloe Blacc

http://aloeblacc.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/aloeblacc

Boy Mandeville

http://twitter.com/#!/boymanband

http://www.youtube.com/user/boymandeville

Charlie Simpson

http://charliesimpsonmusic.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/charliesimo

Delays

http://www.thedelays.co.uk/

http://twitter.com/#!/delays

Digitonal

http://www.digitonal.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/digitonal

Kidda

http://kiddamusic.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/iamkidda

Kinura

http://www.kinura.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/kinura

Laki Mera

http://www.facebook.com/lakimeramusic

http://twitter.com/#!/LakiMeraMusic

Newton Faulkner

http://www.newtonfaulkner.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/newtonfaulkner

Pete and The Pirates

http://www.peteandthepirates.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/#!/PetePirates

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

http://www.sophieellisbextor.net/

http://twitter.com/#!/sophieeb

To Kill a King

http://www.tokillaking.co.uk/

http://twitter.com/#!/ToKillAKingUK

Tribes

http://tribesband.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/tribesband

Wolf Gang

http://www.wolf-gang.co.uk/

http://twitter.com/#!/wolfgang

 

Media

Some of the performers appearing on the day

Digitonal

The Beating of Her Heart by digitonal


 

 

 

About Ogilvy

Wikipedia

Ogilvy & Mather are an International advertising, marketing and public relations agency founded in 1948.

YouTube

Visit the Ogilvy Museum on YouTube  to watch some of their classic ads, dating back to the 1950s. For more recent developments there's the Ogilvyvids Channel

Twitter 

Ogilvy Group Comms @OgilvyLondon for news and observations from the comms team at Ogilvy Group UK.

OGILVY @OGILVY their global staff blog aggregator.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:49:00 -0700 Ambient Classical Music by Clem Leek http://davidholmes.net/ambient-classical-music-by-clem-leek http://davidholmes.net/ambient-classical-music-by-clem-leek

Latest tracks by Clem Leek

Clem Leek is a musician, composer and sound artist based in the UK. He creates modern classical ambient music which has been released on several independent labels.

Clem's works are subtle and dreamlike, using pianos, guitars, ethereal pads, field recordings, and other solo instruments. His SoundCloud stream features beautifully balanced compositions that perfectly compliment those special moments of solitude and creative isolation. These tracks will take you to a calm place and leave you floating in suspended animation.

You can discover more about Clem and his music via MySpace and Twitter

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:27:00 -0700 Luna by Sergio Altamura http://davidholmes.net/luna-by-sergio-altamura http://davidholmes.net/luna-by-sergio-altamura

A haunting composition played to perfection by Italian artist Sergio Altamura, guitar and loop machine. From his first solo album "Blu" produced by William Ackerman in 2004, available at http://www.candyrat.com

More info can be found via his website: http://www.sergioaltamura.com/ and his Facebook community page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sergio-Altamura/47899619071

Fans of solo guitar music can listen to more gems like this via the CandyRat YouTube Channel and there's a selection of favourite Solo Acoustic Instrumental Videos on this PLAYLIST

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:33:00 -0700 Passenger - Audiovisual Collaboration by Julien Mier & Daan Kars http://davidholmes.net/passenger-audiovisual-collaboration-by-julien http://davidholmes.net/passenger-audiovisual-collaboration-by-julien

"Passenger" is a 28 minute audiovisual work created by musician Julien Mier and VJ Daan Kars. Featuring vocals by Zefora, with violin and contrabass recordings by Myrthe van de Weetering (see website for links to all artists).

Passenger tells the story of the liquid matter transforming into the physical in which humanity is able to manifest itself. As time passes by the physical is bound to disintegrate. We are all passengers in time.

The piece glides seamlessly through nine compositions starting gently and progressing rhythmically as scenes shift between organic natural environments and man-made ones. The effect is to transport you as a passenger through discreet moments of natural calm and bursts of urban motion. Shimmering windows of fragmented worldly images slide across the surface of a constantly reconstructing musical undercurrent. The fluid themes, punctuated by electronic pulses and pauses, form into recognisable patterns and momentary pools of clarity, that are quickly carried away again in the creative stream.

This is the first release on the new Born Digital netlabel, which is part of the Born Digital electronic art assembly and production house based in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Complete free download available from the Internet Archive under CC license.

Via Invisible Agent

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sat, 09 Jul 2011 19:23:00 -0700 Shuush Offers a Balance Between High and Low Frequency Tweeters http://davidholmes.net/shuush-offers-a-balance-between-high-and-low http://davidholmes.net/shuush-offers-a-balance-between-high-and-low

Media_httpshuushimage_imgbm

Shuush is a web-based Twitter client that allows you to focus attention on the people that tweet less frequently.

Twitter users are assigned a frequency level of 1-11, calculated as a function of how many tweets per day each user has averaged since joining.

Media_httpshuushimage_bbctg

A simple on/off switch allows you to flip between normal and amplified views, the latter giving a visual boost in text size to those infrequent but valuable tweets that often get lost in the firehose. The updates of less active tweeters are scaled up whilst more active tweeters are scaled down, making it easy to retrospectively scan the tweetstream of people you are following for those rarer communications.

This is a really useful tool, for dialling down the level of frequent updates and surfacing the missed messages, to achieve the balance that Twitter currently lacks. It would be great to have a way of doing this with hashtags too.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:54:00 -0700 Arms and Sleepers - The Architekt (Video) http://davidholmes.net/arms-and-sleepers-the-architekt-video http://davidholmes.net/arms-and-sleepers-the-architekt-video

Official video for the "The Architekt" by US band Arms and Sleepers. Directed by DJ and filmmaker Ben Andrews.

Max Lewis and Mirza Rami formed the band in 2006 and have gone on to create several albums/EPs of beautifully crafted ambient/trip-hop music.

The duo have started a new project called In The Empire Of Builders:

The sole purpose of this project/organization will be to raise money through various programs for groups and individuals in need of aid (financial or otherwise)... Our first fundraising campaign is called MUSIC AGAINST HUNGER, with the goal of raising $10,000 through various music events and projects.

For ways to participate and learn more please read.

http://wearearmsandsleepers.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/armsandsleepers

http://twitter.com/armsandsleepers

http://www.youtube.com/user/armsandsleepers

Arms and Sleepers on Spotify.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:53:00 -0800 'Upular' - Movie Mashup Track by Pogo http://davidholmes.net/upular-mashup-track-by-pogo http://davidholmes.net/upular-mashup-track-by-pogo

'Upular' - a new mashup track from Australian electronic music artist Pogo, composed using chords, bass notes and vocal samples from the Disney Pixar film 'Up'. More Pogo video tracks via http://www.youtube.com/user/Fagottron

Merry Christmas!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:49:00 -0800 Split LP by Sleepmakeswaves and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving http://davidholmes.net/split-lp-by-sleepmakeswaves-and-tangled-thoug http://davidholmes.net/split-lp-by-sleepmakeswaves-and-tangled-thoug

This 'Split LP' is a five track, instrumental post-rock release from Australian bands Sleepmakeswaves (Sydney) and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving (Perth).

Via the excellent Lost Children net label (CC licensed instrumental, experimental, post-rock bands) see:

'Keep Your Splendid Silent Sun' 06:19 - Sleepmakeswaves

'We Sing The Body Electric' 05:23 - Sleepmakeswaves

'This Is How We Remember (Secret Robot)' 06:49 - Sleepmakeswaves

'A Vexing Predicament' 03:22 - Tangled Thoughts of Leaving

'The World Is A Deaf Machine' 15:13 - Tangled Thoughts of Leaving

Although both bands are musically quite different the respective recordings are nicely balanced and complementary. Each offering anthemic and emotive excursions into experimental rock landscapes, with gutsy guitars churning out crunching metal mantras over driving drum and bass rhythms. Epic themes are entwined with more delicate piano and guitar melodies, ranging through ethereal ambient spaces, jazz inspired improvisations and dynamic freeform passages exploding with tribal energies. The track titles are interesting and evocative too.

The album is a teaser for each bands' earlier works and upcoming 2010 full length releases, below are links to their websites and social networks where you'll find gigs and lots of great music to explore: 

Sleepmakeswaves

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving

Split Artwork
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Media_httpia341305usarchiveorg1itemslostchildren077xsmwttolsplitbackjpg_ernghjxzgaigfug
Media_httpia341305usarchiveorg1itemslostchildren077xsmwinsidejpg_ubagwpcavhrghfz
Media_httpia341305usarchiveorg1itemslostchildren077xttolinsidejpg_vmffizajxlftcij

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:34:00 -0800 Tweet Cloud for @DavidHolmes http://davidholmes.net/tweet-cloud-for-davidholmes http://davidholmes.net/tweet-cloud-for-davidholmes
Media_httptweetcloudicodeforlovecomuserclouds563e7fa65bae27a6bc8762186424134apng_fegjyoaizffjbyc
Via tweetcloud.icodeforlove.com - http://twitter.com/DavidHolmes

Tweet Cloud is an online service that lets you generate a customizable word cloud from your tweet archive. Log in using your Twitter account to create and save multiple word clouds at an address like http://tweetcloud.icodeforlove.com/DavidHolmes - Clicking the image above will take you to the saved cloud page. Each page has a date stamp at the time of creation. 

You can also view clouds by people you follow that also use Tweet Cloud, via the Friends link once logged in (top right). Recently created Tweet Clouds are shown on the homepage, which is useful for discovering people with similar interests.

Note that upon generation a tweet is automatically posted in your tweetstream along the lines of: " I just generated my #TweetCloud out of a year of my tweets - http://w33.us/1ta" or whatever the period it is you choose ie. a day, a week, a month, 3 months, 6 months, a year. You're also given a choice of small, medium, large or HUGE cloud sizes. 

Coded by: Chad Scira aka tumblr.icodeforlove.com

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:17:00 -0800 Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds (Video) http://davidholmes.net/mumford-and-sons-winter-winds-video http://davidholmes.net/mumford-and-sons-winter-winds-video
via youtube.com

The official video for "Wiinter Winds" the new single by London folk quartet Mumford & Sons, from their debut album "Sigh No More" released on 5th October 2009 (iTunes album downloads)

Band Website

Spotify: Mumford & Sons

Wikipedia: Mumford & Sons

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:33:33 -0800 Sycamore Cowboys (Little Jimmy Scott vs Portishead) http://davidholmes.net/sycamore-cowboys-little-jimmy-scott-vs-portis http://davidholmes.net/sycamore-cowboys-little-jimmy-scott-vs-portis

"Sycamore Cowboys" - a mashup by Colatron for the Mashed in Plastic project. Merging Little Jimmy Scott: "Sycamore Trees" (from the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me soundtrack) and Portishead: "Cowboys"

Video by The Reborn Identity - more MiP videos available via the Vimeo Channel and YouTube Channel

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:20:00 -0700 Songs from the Bar of Lost Souls http://davidholmes.net/songs-from-the-bar-of-lost-souls http://davidholmes.net/songs-from-the-bar-of-lost-souls

Songs from the Bar of Lost Souls is a 5 track EP by independent UK band Hope and Social. The tracks were written, recorded and mixed in 5 days and created as part of the imitating the dog theatre piece Tales from the Bar of Lost Souls. Available as digital download for whatever you want to pay.

There's a raw and live sound to these tracks that makes you feel like you're in the same room as the band, sharing something honest and real. You can see how this fast recording method works via their YouTube Channel.

Band member Rich Huxley shares his insights on what true independence can do for a band's career in a recent post on the Creative Deconstruction website titled The Declarations of Independents. The article provides information about the social strategies, ideas and tools used by the band to connect with fans, both online and off.

Social Connections

http://band.to/hopeandsocial - Hope and Social Page address on Facebook

Tweets - Twitter search for all band member messages.

http://www.myspace.com/hopeandsocial

http://www.last.fm/music/Hope+and+Social

For more music and info check out the links at the top of this post.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:57:59 -0700 FeedUps - Web Startups and Apps Aggregator http://davidholmes.net/feedups-web-startups-and-apps-aggregator http://davidholmes.net/feedups-web-startups-and-apps-aggregator
Feedups

FeedUps is an online feed aggregator for news about Web 2.0 tools and services. It provides a one-stop resource for quickly scanning 18 popular sites focusing on Web startups and applications.

There's also a Yahoo Pipes Mashup for startup news available as an RSS Feed via http://feeds.feedburner.com/feedups

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:08:00 -0700 Birdsong http://davidholmes.net/birdsong http://davidholmes.net/birdsong
via vimeo.com

Inspired by a photograph of birds perched on the wires of a street light, journalist and musician Jarbas Agnelli decided to write a song using the relative proximity of the birds as notes on a stave. "Birds on the Wires" is his musical interpretation of the picture. He says "Inspiration can come from anywhere, but we must be alert". You can follow Jarbas at http://twitter.com/jarbas_agnelli 

The video has received widespread attention, appearing on popular websites like Laughing Squid, Wired, and Gizmodo. Jarbas's friend, Sean Crownover (Candlegravity) from Tokyo, has also posted a version on his FaceBook page (player bottom left).

Link to original newspaper article (Portuguese)

Musical Data

I'm reminded of David Cope's ideas on the concept of musical recombinancy. In his "Experiments in Musical Intelligence" he argues that:

"...recombinancy appears everywhere as a natural evolutionary and creative process. All the great books in the English language, for example, are constructed from recombinations of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Similarly, most of the great works of Western art music exist as recombinations of the twelve pitches of the equal-tempered scale and their octave equivalents. The secret lies not in the invention of new letters or notes but in the subtlety and elegance of their recombination."

These "hidden structures" are present all around us, at the very core of sound creation in the natural world. For more on exploring the hidden data in nature see Evan Grant: Making sound visible through cymatics (YouTube video)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:57:22 -0700 Carbon.to - CO2 Awareness Tool http://davidholmes.net/carbonto-co2-awareness-tool http://davidholmes.net/carbonto-co2-awareness-tool
http://carbon.to/

Carbon.to - Carbon so you can understand it via kwout

An online CO2 converter built by David Kjelkerud, Henrik Berggren and Jorge Zapico at Ecomo09, an environmental hacking day in London. It is designed to help you more easily understand what a kilogram of CO2 really means.

You can convert CO2 amounts to other units such as bottles of beer or compare different emissions for instance how many apples are equivalent to a litre of milk. The data used is mostly localized to Sweden.

David and Henrick also built http://citysounds.fm/ the web app that lets you listen to the latest music from cities around the world.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:32:00 -0700 Hard Believer by First Aid Kit http://davidholmes.net/hard-believer-by-first-aid-kit http://davidholmes.net/hard-believer-by-first-aid-kit

Swedish folk/indie duo First Aid Kit release their new songs "Hard Believer" and "Waltz for Richard" on October 5th via http://www.wichita-recordings.com/ - If you like the song above you can vote for it to appear on the official BBC 6 Music Playlist through Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist, the vote closes at midnight on Sunday 6th. 

Sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg come from Enskede near Stockholm. They have a loyal following of fans built through their personalised and direct style of social media marketing. An example is their use of Twitter to invite cover song requests which they publish online as video performances (First Aid Kit Sessions). The request form is at http://thisisfirstaidkit.com/your-requests/ the tweetstream is http://twitter.com/faksessions and the videos are shared via http://www.youtube.com/jagadambarecords

In fact it was their video cover of the Fleet Foxes "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" that attracted worldwide attention in 2008 (currently at 790,987 views).

The girls will be touring the UK with Fanfarlo during September/October. You can get tour details and purchase tickets via their website or Music Glue (includes exclusive free tracks). They have also announced tour dates for The United States of America in October, see their MySpace for further info.

Web Connections

http://thisisfirstaidkit.com/

http://www.facebook.com/firstaidkitofficial

http://www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/77023/David_Holmes.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10Ap9U015nP David Holmes davidholmes David Holmes