#precinctofsound

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@precinctofsound: RT @therealjohncale: Gave our all 2 evoke the spirit-not looking backwards xx jc @TheKills @WildBeasts @gruffingtonpost… https://t.co/PNvrN4IOQw

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[precinctofsound]

Aldous Harding

Ruby Lounge 28-34 High St Manchester  M4 1QB 

There’s a reason Aldous Harding is a name on peoples radar; she puts on a solid performance.

Her live show at Ruby Lounge was hypnotic and spell-binding. The slow, transcending melodies of her plucked guitar, with the subtle hints of piano played by support act H Hawkline as well as the intonations of voice captivated you. You were under her bitches brew, as all eyes were zombie-like transfixed on the New Zealand national. But it was her uncontrollable body movements and the way her eyes would roll back and forth, as if, the more she played, the more she became possessed by some other worldly spirit. You could call it soul music. 

Like everyone, I too was taking aback by her performance. Most had seen her on Jools Holland, a week before. Me. the day of the release of her second album, PARTY. 

Harding is the complete package for me. She writes amazing songs both lyrically and on the guitar. Somewhere, I hear whispers of Agnes Obel. And like Obel, Harding uses her voice as an instrument, which gives her songs movement and depth. She effortlessly swoops from a slow deep bass to a high end squeal, which I find not a lot of singers dare do, so I applaud Harding for having the balls to be different and experiment, because it worked and not one person whom I meet after, had a bad word to say about the gig.

Her set was pretty much songs from Party, and it seems that this album was the introduction to most people of the people there. So, it was nice to have some familiarity to the album first and listen out for those favourite songs. 

If you like, slow acoustic songs with a slight edge to them and are fed up with a lot if these female singer-songwriters, who write tepid country music...and lets be honest there are a lot at the moment, then Aldous Harding is for you.

Words | Fotos; Alex Romain, 2017

[precinctofsound]

KORG Volca FM

So, I’m borrowing this mini micro synth. 

I do love KORG.  However with previous experience of the Volca Beats, Bass and Keys, I found them...well boring after a while. After a full day of jamming and recording, there was too much repetition not enough diversity in the sound. They are fun, but quickly feel limited, so I didn’t share the same enthusiasm as my colleague who lent it to me. But, you know, never tar with the same brush. so I put my prejudice to one side and give this synth a space of its own.

I tried to make it my main go to tool for music production and use it where I could, from the littlest of background detail to the largest of lead lines.However, like my previous experience, it was fun, running through and manipulating the 32 sounds both internally and externally, but again, it got boring very quick. Where it worked well  for me was creating pads, two sounds especially I kept going back to, and also it worked well  in adding some texture to basslines, but not much else. Actually I did make a kick. 

Despite its size, its not to fiddly to handle and it does feel stronger than it might look, though I wouldn’t test it. My overall gripe is the sounds. Maybe what I was producing pushed me away from certain sounds, so, I ended up going to the same presets. 

The Volca FM is just a well made Christmas toy. Its better than what you would expect, but then it’s nothing special. Saying that, the arpeggiator was a surprisingly useful and handy effect and I did enjoy running through the 32 algorithms of a sound. This prolonged the boredom a touch, as it allowed you to vary the sound and dial it in, this, along with the attack and decay dials for both the carrier and modulator. The keyboard can be your best friend in accidently allowing you to glide between notes from a line but then your worst enemy when recording as audio for the same reason. So I would link it via its MIDI connect to an external keyboard and flirt between the two devices.

When amped up, the Volca FM, can be weighty and leave your jaw unexpectedly swinging, though you have to cut the highs a few decibels. 

Looking at it now, the preset sounds just aren’t too imaginative and aren’t anything you couldn’t find in a DAW’s preset bank. And that got me thinking, as a Reason user, I could adapt what I’ve learnt to the FM oscillator in Thor, so it wouldn’t make sense to spend £140 on this.

My conclusion would be this. Its an easy to use out of the box tool and its all pretty straight forward to use, so if you know how to use one you can use them all. I just think you would be best saving you’re money and buying a bigger and better synth, which allows for more dexterity and flexibility in your production.

Words | Fotos; Alex Romain

[precinctofsound]

The Grand Wizard

[precinctofsound]

Sacred Trinity Church

Chapel Street Salford M3 7WQ

Nice venue 

Accompanied with the sound, which you can imagine being a church is big and bright. It gave each performance a really atmospheric, air of spirituality to their sets. It was a little cramped and boring to be at the back but it suited the music.

I was here to see my work colleagues band play here back in early December. Photos came out rubbish apart from this one...really want to say spooky, but it isn’t really.

[precinctofsound]

Why Rent Was Late, b

GREMLINZ : PM033 White Dove

Gremlinz & Jesta - The Axe

DJ WONDER :  DV011 What

MACKER : MCKR001  Untitled

Kubrick

...well worth it though.

[precinctofsound]

Why Rent Was Late

Truthfully, I think I have a spending problem. However, this is a fact I will lie to myself about and happily side step the confrontation it brings. My main justification, in terms of buying music and more specifically vinyl, is that it is a future invest for myself as an up- and- coming DJ/ producer. Although there lies some truth, the reality at present, isn’t the dream.

Hands up if you too fall victim to that money which burns a hole in your pocket!

So, I was going to write but you know what? Let the music do the talking!

ILL_K : FAV002 Distortion Dub

VEX’d :  ZIQ114  Gun man

Smart Bomb

DISTRICT : CHST039 Drowsy

Street Knowledge

[precinctofsound]

Manchester Central Library

Wow!

When you think you know somewhere and out of nowhere that somewhere slaps you with a great surprise. This is a reason to continually explore and be of a curios mind.

Every time (which is pretty much every day) I step foot in this great building,I have to ask ‘why did I honestly not know about  this before?’ and I’m to embarrassed to admit the truth to myself.

Thinking about it, it’s not hard to see why this public library has a music section where there are; three digital pianos an electric drum kit, a digital work station and various other instruments you can use. Manchester’s musical history is rich in culture from the Hacienda to Warehouse Project and diversity from The Fall to Levels. And that is just the tip of an expansive iceberg. So what better way to not only celebrate the past, but also influence the future.

The Henry Watson Music Library is on the first floor and accessible either from the left or right of the main entrance. Inside, you’ll see a wealth of history and knowledge laid out across the shelves, with books ranging from biographies to education to scores to general reading. Its a purpose built library dedicated to one subjet only...music.

Although the musical instruments are free to use and at anytime, in my short experience, the mornings are the best to get an instrument and also for the quietness come midday onwards, especially from 4 it be quite hard to find the space to practice, as everyone else is practising. Even bands use it as a rehearsal space. So despite the negative of late afternoons, the positive is meeting people and seeing them develop their skills. As I’ve seen first day beginners to seasoned players. Although some what daunting, depending on your confidence level its really inspiring. 

[precinctofsound]

MMAK

This motherfucker man!! : ) You give someone a tune you made to listen to and then they do this...I’m now officially famous!!

Production: Alexx Lyrics: Dogio

[precinctofsound]

Bare Dramas

So, me and my house mate, got talking about past relationships, and how emotional scared we became from them. This was over a meal we made together and a bottle of wine...the rest is history : ) but it made me think about this gully man tune from way back when. 

[precinctofsound]

4 Reason to Pick Up a Guitar

REIGNWOLF

BROTHER JACK

THE BONNESVILLES

GUERRERA

[precinctofsound]

Beware the boggyman

As you do, woke up blurry eyed and decided first thing to do is check emails.

I got this...

‘Hello, I am Adrien Laurent (from Antwerp), the man behind MBookings. We are  near to Antwerp, (Belgium, the country with 3 oficial languages: Dutch, French and German) My partner is Marcel, we know each other from our childhood. I listened your track Stabilo and I would like to know more about you.’ At this point, I’m smiling thinking, is this that track, which pushes/ furthers me a little in the production game? For some random to tell they like my tune and now want to know some more about me, well I have to read on. ‘Our target as music booking agency is to have a strong & wide roster, put in contact artists with our contacts (Booking Agents) and on the other hand we take care about promo and managing. What means music to you? It s just a hobby or something else? How much are you interested to work as musical artist? We are going to take a closest look to your Soundcloud in order to know in more detail your skills. We are in touch Adrien Laurent ---------------------- www.MagneticalBookings.com facebook.com/MagneticalBookings’

So I cant believe my luck. Someone is really interested in me and sees potential in my music. 

Thankfully, nowadays we have the internet and we can check out who’s who, and what’s what.

Ha. So type agency name into a search engine and everyone asks the same question...is Magnetical bookings legit? Say’s a lot when your company isn’t the number one spot, but doubts over your legal standing are in search results. 95% say no. The 5% who say yes, seem to have dealt with them and not had any problems and then compared it to aggressive marketing, whereby you send a spec letter out and deal with the responses. From my standpoint my ego was massively deflated and wanted to sink back into the warmth depth of my bed. Before I did that though. I wrote this...

‘Thanks for getting in contact, but I'm going to decline on an offer from you.

Researching your company, there's not a lot of good to said about it from other people whom you have contacted And as an agency, you don't seem to have the basics of marketing networks, instagram, twitter, a blog or soundcloud in fact, so you don't fill me with confidence that you can do anything for me which I couldn't do for myself right now. Also if you're based in Belgium, why do you have a Manchester, UK phone number? So, again thank you for your offer, however I respectfully decline. Regards’

Well that told them

[precinctofsound]

My Guitar Tutor

If you live in the Manchester area, and looking for a New Years resolution. Start by watching these videos.

Make next year, the year you decide to play an instrument and if you want to learn the guitar, get in contact with Precinct of Sound.

Ben’s a really cool teacher and his rates are cheap.