Friday, 22 February 2013

Recording In The Studio!


On Tuesday I spent a few hours in a local studio here on the island. It was soooo much fun, the only downside is that studio time cost money and the few hours I spent there has now left me with only a few pennies in my purse- ALL worth it though.

I recorded the base of 4 tracks and started to layer up some more; some drums, bass, banjo, loads! It's interesting to hear me begin to make the transition from an predominantly acoustic act to a more produced sound.

I am really looking forward to sharing these with everyone- which will eventually happen. I know I don't share many of my originals on YouTube etc. but it is all for a good reason. I will do a blog post on it soon! I'm planning to use these tracks (when they are finished) to shop around some of my contacts and things and maybe set up a few things... ; ) I don't want to mention what it is quite yet but these tracks are definitely helping me make a step in the right direction!

On another note, I'm thinking of doing more blog posts about tips and tricks for YouTube, i've been on the site for 3-4 years with a few different accounts. When I first started one of the hardest things was knowing what was the best thing to do, I think maybe those posts would be helpful? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an ask on tumblr with things you would like to read about : )

http://hey-closey.tumblr.com

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

London Trip!


Yesterday I went up to London, it was a great but exhausting day, I live about 2 and a half hours away from London so luckily I can make a trip in a day without too much hassle.

I woke up at 5.30am, crazy time but I wanted to make the very most of the day because it's not that often I visit London.

At around 10 i finally got off my train and met Callum, you may know him as Callux, we have been talking for maybe two years and he used my covers at the end of some of his gaming videos. We have arranged to meet before but for some reason it's always ended up not happening.



We didn't get to spend much time together but it was fun, it's cool that you can meet people over YouTube and meet up and be friends. I took Callum took the Lomography shop, which if you didn't know, is a company dedicated to film photography. I LOVE this store, film photography is so much fun and i would advise everyone to get a cheapo film camera and try it out.

This is a picture of the walls in the lomography store, they are soooo cool and i love them. So inspirational!
Afterwards we went to Starbucks and i convinced Callum that the Isle Of Wight has it's own special pound coins.
We split at the Jubilee line and I took this photo of me and Callum(shown below), i look ridiculously smiley and we didn't meet for long enough but it was fun.

I mentioned in a previous post that I really wasn't sure what to do when September comes around, after a lot of thinking and sleepless nights I decided to apply to a music school called 'The Institute', it's a great school which will get me to move to London and help get me into the music scene! My audition went really really well, I had to play three original songs and talk about all things music, like who inspires me as a songwriter etc. I was super nervous beforehand but as soon as the audition/interview began the nerves settled down, it was really informal and for me just like a gig but I was only playing to one person!

I then took the tube to West London, this is the first time that I have navigated the tubes by myself and I was slightly apprehensive but it's actually so easy. I met up with a great guy who has worked/works in the music industry since he was a teenager, we met in this amazing hip little cafe on Portobello Road called David's cafe. We sat and talked for an hour or more- I wasn't keeping track of time, and it was just so great. He is super honest with me and tells me exactly what he thinks of my songs, which is such a hard thing to find. I want to be the best songwriter I can be and for me, I think honesty-even if it's brutal and not what you want to hear- is the key. (that rhymes=coolness) I also feel like he really believes in me which I value so much, there are so many people in the industry who exploit musicians and think about all the money someone can make instead of thinking about the music, I have already come across quite a few people like that but my gut feeling has always warned me! But it's so refreshing to hear someone say they believe in you and offer to help you out of the kindness of their heart.

When I finally sat on the train home I felt so great, I had an amazing day and I was so so so exhausted but it was worth it. I'll be sad to leave the comforts of home but i'm looking forward to moving to London in the summer : )