Ochre

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I’m pleased to finally be able to say that my new download EP, Death of an Aura, is now available for preview/purchase on Bleep. FLAC versions should be following shortly; I’ll be updating this post, as well as the discog page, with links to additional stores as and when store support improves.

Musically, I suppose you could say the EP features my vocal debut, albeit mainly through humming and oohing/ahhing here and there for a bit of extra texture, with additional non-lyrics for good measure. Still, I did find the process a lot of fun, adding an immediacy that’s normally lacking from my usual methodical composing. Lots of home sampling too, which is certainly something I only really touched upon with Lemodie, and completely ignored with AMND.

A couple of tracks (’Napoli’ and ‘Raido’) are the result of a collaboration between Benet Walsh and I (you may recognise Benet from his work with Plaid, as well as his own work as one half of The Collectors), which were fantastic to work on. Hopefully we’ll get a few more tracks done together by the time the album arrives—thanks for the help, Ben!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think, and please—if you can spread the word across any forums or communities you participate in, I’d very much appreciate it.

I’ve recently stumbled across a couple of blogs that have, as well as make me feel hideously under-productive, also inspired ideas and motivated me, as well as reassure a few inklings of my own.

The first site is New Music Strategies, run by Andrew Dubber, who provides a list of twenty tidbits of information regarding how to present and promote yourself as an online musician. Admittedly it’s not rocket science — most of the posts are pretty much common sense and should be reflexive for any musician with their head screwed on. But it’s great to see all these ideas bundled up in a neat list, though not complete or at all definitive — Andrew has already begun to expand upon the initial ideas present in greater detail, and also presented them in an essential free pdf.

The second site that has caught my eye and made it on to my newly-created blogroll, is Hometracked, a site dedicated to, as the name suggests, all things DIY music production, from production hints and tips to industry news and commentary. Quite a lot of material already exists on the site, but for now I’ll continue the theme and link to a follow-up interview with Andrew Dubber, discussing some of the points put forward in his ‘20 things…’ list.

It’s nice to see Andrew reflect my personal irk of 30 second track snippets — it does nobody any favours, and in my experience makes the listener feel short-changed when the full track doesn’t live up to the potential suggested by the snippet. (iTunes take note, and congratulations Bleep for showing how it should be done.) Also, it’s nice to read about the value of giving away music for free, provided in addition to that for sale.

Both sites are a goldmine for indie musicians. Feel free to discuss below or in the forum.

Apart from residual stock floating about in the odd retailer’s inventory, Lemodie has now completely sold out. If you can track down a copy, and have yet to secure one, then act quickly! I’d like to thank everyone who bought a physical copy, reaffirming my faith in music lovers and quelling my fears about the humble CD format. Obviously, if you’d happily make do with an mp3 edition, then there is still plenty of mp3 stock available. On the other hand, if you’re at a complete loss and unable to track down any more physical copies, then sit tight and cross your fingers for a repress.

The new Ochre CD, Lemodie, is out now on CD and mp3, and ought to be available from all the usual retailers, with mp3 previews and sales handled by the excellent Bleep service, among others.

Recommended online retailers:

Amazon.co.uk
Play.com
Norman Records
Sister Ray
Smallfish
Juno
Benbecula
Search for more retailers through Froogle: UK | US

Download sites:

Bleep
Napster
7 Digital
TuneTribe
Yahoo Music