john

other than a few standard blends, this little collection warms my cheeks!

Hey gang Starter for 10.... how about a shout out for indie artists you enjoy listening to and who you think deserve a shout out! Drop a link to their music/video/channel Cheers John

Not Netflix, but Amazon Prime... Expanse. Great series. It has more of a realistic feel than Star Trek etc. And it has been well scripted and acted, despite a fairly large effects budget.

Watched the new Daniel Radcliffe movie on Netflix last night, “Escaping Pretoria”. I like him as an actor. He’s been growing quite a breadth of characters. It was an interesting film. Based on a true story it filled in a period I was only vaguely aware of at the time. I was more aware of Nelson Mandela and his black compatriots than I was of the white South Africans in the ANC. An enjoyable watch.

I have never even tried Japanese Whiskey. No prejudice. Partly availability and partly living in Scotland we have so much Whisky you could drink for years and not have all of what is out there. Then there is Irish Whiskey. What’s Suntory Toki like as a whiskey? I will grab a pic of my current tipple. I don’t tend to drink a single bottle though. I have several bottles and then have a “wee nip” of what I feel like at that point.

Hey gang Any subscribers to the all round Presonus software bundle? https://www.presonus.com/products/PreSonus-Sphere I have been using it for a while, and it’s pretty awesome value for money, however I haven’t used it for collaboration with other subscribers. Have any of you tried it? I am particularly interested in real-time sessions, how many users etc. Any experience would be useful to know! Cheers John

@Mahesh

Oh boy. I watch a lot on Netflix. Asking me to remember them is another matter! Star Trek Discovery. Soooooo much better than the tired old franchises. Marcella - Less so the new series, but the first 2 were fantastic Peaky Blinders - generally very good, though the accents can be a bit hit or miss Norsemen - just kinda silly Lost In Space - very well made and engaging

What ever happened to customer satisfaction? Anticipating the needs of your customer? It just seems so avoidable.

Hey So there I am, unpacking my new Native Instruments S61 Mk2 and then realise, THERE’S NO POWER SUPPLY! Grrrr. On what planet do they not think that the customer will be disappointed to find that their nice new shiny bit of gear is as dead as a block of wood? Ok, I can even get that they might not include it by default (dubious) but surely your ordering system would flag up to the customer that they about to ship you a block of wood instead of something useful? While I am about it, I had ordered a new Nord Grand. It arrived with 2 keyboard stands (separately charged for). On what planet do you get a keyboard that weighs the same as the space shuttle, and think “Think I will get a spare stand”. I even reviewed the order with the guy in the shop! Grrrr. Rant over. For now. Cheers John

I remember working on a music concréte piece in the mid 90s and thinking the same thing!

in essence, yes. We used to have genre people boards... but a word of caution (don’t worry there are solutions).... Every board... spreads your activity thinner Every board.... is one more place to sift through to find the place you want to find. So it will need thought, planning, trial and error, patience, great navigation, community support, volunteers, good communication amongst us, a strategy that for our community unites community outreach and promotion with on-board features and activities AND member support, especially+Especially for their music. Then it begins to work. Artists need to know, this is not the “end of the line”. Ie posting on the community should be the end of things, but hopefully the beginning of things. Then our community become part of their workflow, not a dead end add on. I have a lot of ideas on this and a lot of relevant experience. If we can get this right, there is A LOT of reasons to be excited and enthusiastic about this. I know you guys are focused on this aspect of a board re-org and how decent support for music we love can make the most of this.... well part of this is the sustainability of the community (which I and the staff have to work out in the back ground). Simply put, real budget will make a big difference to.... everything. We are looking to ADD (not replace) things and explore ways the site can both get funding while increasing opportunity, features, stability, speed etc for our members. It just has to be sustainable. Affordable. Fair. I say all this because, your opinions, thoughts and ideas are always very welcome and will always be fairly considered. I think the same will be true for ideas the staff bring forward. We are all just trying to find the best, most useful, and yes enjoyable way ahead. I don’t want you thinking it is going to be “just a business” to the staff. I’ve ran Songstuff for 20 years for free because I am passionate about music and supporting and educating writers/artists/producers. Importantly, I realised a number of years ago that being completely free to all... was not the best plan. Apart from anything, it has NEVER been free to me, and my pockets have been a choke hold on what Songstuff could truly achieve for a long time. Same goes for member commitment to free. Free becomes... assumed, taken for granted, easily dropped. Meanwhile people want value for money they spend. The site needs budget. We have skills, knowledge, resources, and upcoming products that are worth something. There is plenty of room for us to bring in a good operating budget to pull this all together. My point is, don’t be scared about such discussions and activities going on. If anything, want them to be successful, because when we get the stars to align.... it’s going to change things for the MUCH better. Your areas of interest are going to be your focus, but it’s good to know there is a bigger plan, and how your efforts will fit in. I hope this is not only exciting to you, but hopefully encouraging and confidence giving... because the larger picture being put in place mean the efforts we go to to now, building progtronic, rebuilding the musical presence and activity on Songstuff etc... is worthwhile. It’s not about to be suddenly dropped. Hard work is not suddenly lost. Remember MP3.com? Awesome indie site. Sold and turned into a mainstream site overnight. A million hours of indie hard work on a free community and site.... gone. Literally overnight. Same is true for a bunch of OMDs and sites that just disappeared. Because completely free is not sustainable. Unless I was a very benevolent multimillionaire. I might be benevolent, but my pockets are as far from a millionaire’s as anyone I know. Which means, the community needs a realistic, and well understood, back bone. Staff. Volunteers. Members. We all want to make this REALLY work. I get that from all you guys. Might be a larger scope going on around this discussion, but I think it is useful for you to know, even at this stage... it fits in to.... something workable. While not directly board re-org related, knowing we plan for the long haul.... I hope makes a difference? I will continue these subjects elsewhere for anyone interested, so as not to sideline too much... here’s hoping you feel it to be good news, hopeful news. We can always talk!

Hey guys And the sun is up! I’m back. Still recovering, but you know me.... raring to go! Time to dust off the cobwebs and get into my studio and Songstuff Central! The list (normally would take a day, but likely to be 2 - 3 days during my recovery) John tidy to start Studio part rip out and tidy un-boxing begins Nord Grand + bits Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 Download Nord Updates Download NI Komplete 13 Select Download Output Instruments Complete Bundle Order New Studio Mic Order New Video Camera + Lights Oh boy! Plus of course... Songstuff / RC7 Staff Meeting Discuss board re-org Prepare list of music industry people and companies to talk to and arrange interviews with for Songstuff channel. Go over Songstuff/RC7/Songstuff UK/Songstuff Independent Music Stage/Songstuff Playlists + RC7 artist social media plan and re-launches Review Songstuff Ad packages (for artists and music advertisers) Review Songstuff Subscriptions + Products + launch dates (don’t worry, we won’t be losing our free boards!) So much more.... and definitely today... Re-join Progtronic discussion Discuss how Songstuff can enable, support and encourage Progtronic, computer music, singer songwriters, music producers, bands etc Did I say I was going to be busy? Lmao

Back home today guys after 12 days in hospital. Pretty exhausted really. Will be a while before I can sing! Eek! On a bright note, while in hospital.... including today.... I got some new studio toys! In boxes. In my studio. Waiting. To be opened. And the big one says “Nord” on the outside. Can’t wait,.... but I have to. I need to sleep! C ya on the flip side.... Cheers John

Hey Gang Its nice to see more experimental electronica begin to spark and flourish. Certainly there are a few suitable names already in use and others that are relevant and easy to create. Time for working collectively? It would certainly have pros and cons. If artists could coalesce around a few limited variations it might help. Outside EDM there is already a fairly thriving 80’s dominated Electronic scene, but there is a growing, active, experimental and progressive electronica scene. Maybe it is time it had a settled name or names for several genres? Having a more definite identity that allows a bit of flexibility would certainly make it easier for fans, and therefor easier for the genre as a whole to grow. Getting some artists to discuss where they see things going would be a good thing.., somewhere that isn’t Twitter! Twitter should be for interacting with fans. You might meet other artists there, but don’t mix up creative discussions of ideas with other artists with fan engagement.... it’s a bad idea for many reasons. Obviously Songstuff is ideal in terms of features, but that means getting as many such artists here as possible to make it meaningful. I think Songstuff could really help, but artists might well have different ideas! Experimental electronica has been around a long time, and although it has had peaks, it’s never really broken through in the way that other electronica has. In part that is because it has lacked identity, because artists haven’t really come together to build in the way other genres do. For me, I think there will be strong opinions, but a conversation or two could be exactly what is needed. So, if you know any experimental, or progressive or ambient, of microtonal composers (for example) perhaps you could invite them here, to this topic? Perhaps encourage them to sign up and take part in the conversation? Cheers John PS please use @ to include any existing members that might be interested if you reply to this post, e.g. @Steve Mueske @geographyhorse

Sadly I was already in hospital before your first reply Mike. Interesting reading nonetheless, thanks for that

Thanks Peggy!

Hey gang Oh joy. I have COVID-19. Now begins 8 days of isolation (10 days from first symptoms.). Happy happy joy joy. Cheers John

Hey Zain! Welcome to Songstuff! What sort of music do you make?

Smells like teen gas - Nirvanna Haemorrhoid - Black Sabbath Big Glove - Fleetwood Mac Little Red Serviette - Prince Cream - Radiohead Suffragette Campsite - David Bowie

Hey there Alexandra! Welcome to Songstuff what type of dog? Native Italian or did you relocate? What sort of music are you interested in?

Hey gang I know a lot of people have had a lot of extra time on their hands. At the same time I am aware of a lot who sit in perpetual boredom, who have largely wasted their time. What about you? Did you add to your skills? Add to your song or composition collection? Did lockdown light a fuse under your ass? Cheers John

Hey gang Where do you mostly write your songs? Is it a place you choose just for convenience? Comfort? Does it have something special you just can’t get anywhere else? Do you prefer to be in the middle of a bunch of activity? Or is quiet solitude more your pace? I am at home in either environment, but I prefer a notebook and my phone audio recorder in the quiet corner of a reasonably active cafe. Still, it might be my preference, but I think the most common place is in my studio with my guitar or piano. cheers John

Quite a few useful points though I think they miss a few possibilities. All in what they do cover they do a good job