So today I took a bit of a luxury day off work to attend Co-operatives South East's "The Creative Alternative", a day of talks and workshops about creative co-operatives.
I'm going to write a bit about it here, mainly because a couple of people asked me to take notes, and this seems like the best way to share them with anyone who might be interested. However this may also mean a slightly disjointed and over-wordy entry, so forgive me on that front.
For starters, a bit of context on my knowledge of co-operatives.
I have been aware of roughly how the co-operative model works for some time, however only recently have become a bit more actively involved. My partner is a member of a housing co-operative (Although a support member rather than a housed member), and is interested in setting up a workers co-operative, and I find myself becoming acquainted with an increasing number of people who have switched to this way of working/living and have found it to be an overwhelmingly positive move.
For anyone who doesn't know much about how co-operatives work, read a little bit here, it's a good simple summary…
I'm interested in how, in future, I might find a way of being part of - or even setting up - a co-operative that works with my interests, rather than forcing my interests to fit into a co-op that isn't right for me. Until today, I'd heard very little about co-operatives within the creative industry - I was aware that Pentagram are run to a slightly unusual - if not fully co-operative model - and I have a friend who is in the process of trying to set up a co-operative small press, but aside from that… nothing.
So today has been a great eye opener, and I'd like to share a few points that I took away from each speaker with you!
First up was probably the speaker I was most excited about - Harry Pearce, from aforementioned Pentagram. He provided a fascinating insight into the way the company is run. It started 40 years ago with 5 (now 19) partners, all equally accountable for the running of the business, and each partner (or a few partners together) run their own studios across the world. The studios themselves appear to follow a more traditional heirachy, although (perhaps unusually) a Partner remains in creative control of each and every project, with a small team working underneath them. At least that was how I understood it.
"Pentagram exists for the Partners to do the work they want to do, the way they want to do it."
The Partners span many creative disciplines, including Architecture, Graphic Design and Product Design. When asked what Pentagram's business plan was, Pearce immediately responded that it was the selection of the next Partner. He set the tone for the day, which is that the right people are at the heart of any good co-operative. Every speaker re-emphasised this. There is nothing more important than bringing the right people on board, and Pentagram have an incredibly arduous and drawn out process of selecting new partners. Drawn out, not least, because, in the spirit of co-operatives, all 19 partners are involved in all major decisions. To keep this sustainable, they have meetings every 6 months where they all get together and discuss important issues - including the potential selection of new Partners.
However, in defending co-operatives' sometimes notorious slowness to make decisions, he stated "Slowness to make decisions is not necessarily a negative thing. It's good to take the time to listen to everyone and consider things carefully." Adding that the only big decisions they'd made hastily tended to be the ones they regretted!
In terms of creative words of inspiration, (and he had many), he mainly left me with:
"You're always at your best creatively when you're in love with what you're doing." Which obviously applies across all creative career paths, not just co-operatives.
Following Pearce's morning keynote speech were a series of speakers from a range of different creative co-operatives. First, Chris Funnell from the Co-operative Assistance Network, a co-operative who specialise in giving business advice to other co-operatives.
I took lots of short quick notes here, so here are they key things I picked up:
- The most important decision you make is who you let into your co-op
- You can take a lot of courage from the mutual support that a co-op provides, especially in the early days of setting up a business
- You have to create a business! Deliver a product to a market who wants it, to bring in an income. The co-operative model alone is not a business, it is a way of building a business. (Stating the obvious really, but it reassured me that co-operatives are an appropriate platform for such a wide range of companies)
- Put rigourous systems in place to decide who joins the co-op.
- Everyone has to discuss everything and agree on everything, but in a larger co-op, this can happen on different levels. Ensuring that the right people at the right level make the right decisions. Obviously every co-op is different, so this needs to be worked out on a case by case basis. There is no fixed model.
Next up was Chris Brazier from New Internationalist magazine.
I found his talk about the running of a magazine very interesting - I've have always had an interest in the idea of working as part of a magazine design team - however there were fewer handy soundbites which I could take away with me. I was, however, very interested in their structure of no 'editor in chief', just a number of co-editors, and also their equal pay structure, which he very openly discussed the pros and cons of. They also had decided to set a limit of 20 employees, so that everyone could remain involve in all decision making, which certainly appealed to me as a strategy.
Following him was Mark De'Ath from the Creative Co-op. I think I fell a bit in love with him, in the way you tend to fall in love with people who are LIVING YOUR DREAM. Well, my co-operatively run design studio dream, anyway. It didn't sound like everything had always been (or even still was) easy going, in terms of maintaining a work load high enough to keep everyone paid, although I imagine this is a stress for many smaller design studios (ah, the joys of working in-house…)
De'Ath rapidly discovered after graduating that working alone (freelance) is no fun, and I'm definitely inclined to agree with him. With this in mind, him and some friends set up a co-operative design studio, and quickly found that being under the umbrella of a design studio massively increased their credentials in taking on work, not to mention sharing the workload between many brains is always a positive thing.
Their structure involved 'Members' and 'Associates'. Members are, as it sounds like, actual members of the co-operative, and have full say and accountability when decisions are made. 'Associates' are people close to the co-operative, who dip in and out and work when required. While not members, they still experience many of the benefits of being part of a co-op, and some do eventually go on to become full Members. This system means that the Creative Co-operative remains agile - able to take on larger jobs, as well as survive when the workload is perhaps a lot lighter. This seemed like a pretty good strategy to me.
The final speaker of the morning was Ingrid Wakeling from Acumen Third Sector, a (mostly) web based design co-operative who only work with charitable organisations. They have only been around a year, and she made it clear throughout her talk that they were still on a pretty steep learning curve, however many attendees felt that they were actually quite advanced and responsible in their planning and organisation! One of the things that interested me most about them was their income distribution - 70% goes directly to co-op members (as a salary, if you like), while 30% goes back into the business, for overheads and promotion, if required. Anything left from this 30% is distributed between the charities they work with.
Wow! What an idea - a way of both giving something back and offering an incentive to charities to work with them as clients! This idea really impressed me, and if they find it workable in the long run, I think it could take them far.
Wakeling also talked about the importance of the social element in their co-op. They are, above all else, friends and equals. No one pulls rank on anyone else, and with a clear, open pay structure and open finances, the business sounded like it was run in a very honest, open, friendly way. I found that really inspiring. For some reason I've always associated co-operatives with long, tedious group meetings with people you might not even like that much, but that bought it back to me - there's no reason why a start-up co-operative can't be a group of friends. That's a pretty exciting prospect.
Wakeling also emphasised the importance of who you hire, as well as the importance of putting pride to one side and looking to hire people better than you.
After super tasty lunch, we returned to the theatre for a WORKSHOP.
A ridiculous comedy team-building workshop which involved banging coloured tubes of different lengths in rhythm to make co-operative music. It was pretty corny and shamefully fun.
Following this was a bit of an unusual, meandering (but quite enjoyable) talk from Paul Birch - former executive of Revolver Records who have now branched out into… um… coffee. In the form of 'Revolver world'. A slightly unusual message for a day about creative co-operatives, when surely the message he was mostly presenting was '"this creative industry (music) is screwed, so let's sell commodities instead"
Here are the exact word-for-word notes I took during his talk:
"APPARENTLY 70% of all groceries sold in the EU come from co-operatives. REALLY?!"
"Should we be frightened of the Conservatives? YES WE SHOULD"
"Shouldn't we all sponsor a bit more?" (eg. the new washing up bowl in my house, 'sponsored by Emma Charleston" - I'll put a sticker on it")
"We're going to do a cube o' coffee"
"A cube of coffee?"
"A cube o' coffee"
"A CUBE? of Coffee?"
"A Cuba coffee."
Alex - "The creative industries are fucked so buy coffee"
Yes. (NO)
The final section of the afternoon was about case studies of co-operatively run design studios. First up were Agile collective's Finn Lewis and Ged Dale. Charming though they were, they were clearly in the early stages of setting up their co-op too (about a year in) and by their own admission had been so busy working that they had yet to set up a lot of the secondary rules and processes that make a co-op work - and which a lot of the people in attendance were interested in learning more about! The main point they wanted to make was that, as co-operatives, we should all be trying to use open-source software/OSs (eg. Drupal, Firefox, Android, Linux etc), which is a pretty valid point. Although can anyone tell me of a suitable open source alternative to Adobe Creative Suite? Because I would like to know about that.
They were followed by Nadiya Donovan of Wave. Who are probably about the only reason I would ever consider moving to Hastings. (No offence Hastings.)
They are a print and web based design studio who work exclusively with Charities, and have been around for 25 years. Which is pretty good going. They keep their numbers down fairly small (9, at present), again, so that everyone can have a say in decision making. Donovan presented a pretty good spectrum of the pros and cons of working as part of a co-op, including the joys of everyone being a 'Director', flexible working choices, equal pay scales (with long standing employees being rewarded with extra holiday days), and the downsides of there being no one to 'put their foot down' or tell flagging members to up their game.
Overall, both these co-operatives (and indeed everyone throughout the day) painted a very positive picture of the co-operative business model, despite explaining both pros and cons of the system. I come away inspired and hopeful for the future!
My current job makes me very happy, and I feel very fortunate that, although part of a more traditional heirachy system, it is not in any way oppressive, and our office is incredibly friendly and everyone is treated equally. So I, for now, feel happy as part of a more traditional system. However, it's good to know that an alternative is out there, to one day maybe explore some more, and also to support my partner Alex is his co-operative endeavours.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Friday, 1 March 2013
A diary, February
Well, I haven't given up yet.
Another month of every day visual diary, and although I'm not sure I see any technical improvements, I reckon that I'm definitely thinking more about things and how to represent things, and hopefully over time that will contribute to general better creativity all round.
Anyway, here are a few of the less terrible ones.
Alex's mum isn't very well. It's been a difficult few weeks.
Yep. Totally sewed on a zip for the first time.
Alex went away to Leeds for the weekend. I did miss him a bit but I went and played loads of Carcassone with my housemate and some friends and it was GREAT.
I also made beetroot cakes. They were... interesting?
Me and my senior designer went back to my old uni to review work produced for live brief we'd set some second year students. I had been terrified that they'd all be utterly amazing and I'd feel inferior, but despite being very good, they were no better than I was 4 years ago. And I'd say I'm definitely 4 years better than them. Which relieved me. Which is probably a horrible thing to think. But I have no shame. In the spirit of this, I did some hand-drawn type, which is what I spent a greater part of my first year at uni trying and failing to master. Still failing.
It's not really as gorgeous as I hoped it would be. I have regrets about my fabric choice. Still quite pleased with myself though.
We went to Torquay to see Alex's parents. I really like it there. Difficult trip in some ways but in other ways it was nice to get out of Brighton for a bit. This is their beautiful kitchen.
This didn't scan well because I did it in really light pencil. But I wanted to put it up here because I was quite pleased with myself for getting the perspective so good.
I ate a lot of potato products that day.
I have these days every so often. Maybe two or three times a year. I get really terrified and shaky and anxious for no good reason and everything feels horrible and I wonder if anything will ever be ok ever again... and then I go to sleep and wake up feeling fine. There's always a lingering dread in the pit of my stomach for a few days afterwards though.
SURELY I SHOULD BE GETTING FITTER BY NOW OR SOMETHING.
It's not been the easiest of times. Alex's turn for a sad day. (He is ok now)
Went to some art. It was really cold outside and I think I should probably have just stayed in my house.
Gosh, reflecting back on those pages it seems like quite a miserable month in some ways, doesn't it? Despite that impression I'd say it's been pretty good. Maybe I just do my best art when I've had a slightly difficult day.
Another month of every day visual diary, and although I'm not sure I see any technical improvements, I reckon that I'm definitely thinking more about things and how to represent things, and hopefully over time that will contribute to general better creativity all round.
Anyway, here are a few of the less terrible ones.
Alex's mum isn't very well. It's been a difficult few weeks.
Yep. Totally sewed on a zip for the first time.
Alex went away to Leeds for the weekend. I did miss him a bit but I went and played loads of Carcassone with my housemate and some friends and it was GREAT.
Me and my senior designer went back to my old uni to review work produced for live brief we'd set some second year students. I had been terrified that they'd all be utterly amazing and I'd feel inferior, but despite being very good, they were no better than I was 4 years ago. And I'd say I'm definitely 4 years better than them. Which relieved me. Which is probably a horrible thing to think. But I have no shame. In the spirit of this, I did some hand-drawn type, which is what I spent a greater part of my first year at uni trying and failing to master. Still failing.
It's not really as gorgeous as I hoped it would be. I have regrets about my fabric choice. Still quite pleased with myself though.
We went to Torquay to see Alex's parents. I really like it there. Difficult trip in some ways but in other ways it was nice to get out of Brighton for a bit. This is their beautiful kitchen.
This didn't scan well because I did it in really light pencil. But I wanted to put it up here because I was quite pleased with myself for getting the perspective so good.
I ate a lot of potato products that day.
I have these days every so often. Maybe two or three times a year. I get really terrified and shaky and anxious for no good reason and everything feels horrible and I wonder if anything will ever be ok ever again... and then I go to sleep and wake up feeling fine. There's always a lingering dread in the pit of my stomach for a few days afterwards though.
SURELY I SHOULD BE GETTING FITTER BY NOW OR SOMETHING.
It's not been the easiest of times. Alex's turn for a sad day. (He is ok now)
Went to some art. It was really cold outside and I think I should probably have just stayed in my house.
Gosh, reflecting back on those pages it seems like quite a miserable month in some ways, doesn't it? Despite that impression I'd say it's been pretty good. Maybe I just do my best art when I've had a slightly difficult day.
Thursday, 31 January 2013
A diary, January
So one of my new years resolutions was to start keeping a 'visual diary' again. It's something I've done several times in the past and always find a rewarding experience, but somehow always end up failing to maintain the momentum and usually only keeping it up for a month or so. Anyway, the same will probably happen this time, but I have managed a whole month without missing a day, which is pretty good going, I think.
A couple of my main motivations with this are to a) make sure I'm being creative on a day to day basis and b) to improve my general drawing skills, especially of people. Hence why there are some TERRIBLE people drawings throughout. Gotta practice, innit. Probably won't share those ones till I get a bit better though.
I'm also trying to improve my lettering skills, with a view to one day being like the incredible Jessica Hische (Yeah right)
Anyway, here are a few of my favourite January days.
January 6th. Curled up in Alex's dark room, watching him play computer games.
January 7th. 'Nuff said.
January 9th. Spent the day at work typesetting in unusual character sets. Massively confusing. But I love letters. All of the letters.
January 13th. I LOVE RUMMIKUB!
January 18th. Snow. Snow was so exciting that all I found time to do was make some slightly shoddy paper snowflakes. Also totally forgot to reference my mum's birthday (sorry mum)
January 20th. Sundays are good.
January 22nd. Seriously. It was SO COLD that chips were the only possible solution. #fatty
January 24th. Alex totally put on a shirt and tie and went and got a new job. <3 p="">
January 25th. So Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen (Welsh valentines day) and Burns night are totally on the same day. So me and Alex had a weird Diwrnod Santes Burns Night mashup where we ate vegan haggis and whispered sweet nothings to each other and then I got really bloated and lay around groaning because I shouldn't eat lentils but goshdarnit lentils are just so delicious I can't resist. #sexy
January 27th. We went up to London to meet Alex's new niece Lily. She's only 3 weeks old, and is BEAUTIFUL. I decided to try and draw her without much success. Trial and error though.
January 29th. Wayne (my co-worker, photographer) discovered an amazing function on his new camera that creates these incredible multi-burst photographs. We had fun.
Below is one of the results which I've heavily manipulated in photoshop. I love them.
More diary next month. Hopefully. If I keep it up.
A couple of my main motivations with this are to a) make sure I'm being creative on a day to day basis and b) to improve my general drawing skills, especially of people. Hence why there are some TERRIBLE people drawings throughout. Gotta practice, innit. Probably won't share those ones till I get a bit better though.
I'm also trying to improve my lettering skills, with a view to one day being like the incredible Jessica Hische (Yeah right)
Anyway, here are a few of my favourite January days.
January 6th. Curled up in Alex's dark room, watching him play computer games.
January 7th. 'Nuff said.
January 9th. Spent the day at work typesetting in unusual character sets. Massively confusing. But I love letters. All of the letters.
January 13th. I LOVE RUMMIKUB!
January 18th. Snow. Snow was so exciting that all I found time to do was make some slightly shoddy paper snowflakes. Also totally forgot to reference my mum's birthday (sorry mum)
January 20th. Sundays are good.
January 22nd. Seriously. It was SO COLD that chips were the only possible solution. #fatty
January 24th. Alex totally put on a shirt and tie and went and got a new job. <3 p="">
January 25th. So Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen (Welsh valentines day) and Burns night are totally on the same day. So me and Alex had a weird Diwrnod Santes Burns Night mashup where we ate vegan haggis and whispered sweet nothings to each other and then I got really bloated and lay around groaning because I shouldn't eat lentils but goshdarnit lentils are just so delicious I can't resist. #sexy
January 27th. We went up to London to meet Alex's new niece Lily. She's only 3 weeks old, and is BEAUTIFUL. I decided to try and draw her without much success. Trial and error though.
January 29th. Wayne (my co-worker, photographer) discovered an amazing function on his new camera that creates these incredible multi-burst photographs. We had fun.
Below is one of the results which I've heavily manipulated in photoshop. I love them.
More diary next month. Hopefully. If I keep it up.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Experiences
So here are a few variations on an illustration I produced for Alex. He's applying for a job. I can't really say more than that at the moment.
I don't even really want to say what these are about, but that doesn't particularly matter because they don't really relate to what they were meant to be about anyway.
That might be the most inarticulate blog I've ever written.
Anyway.
And here's the original linework...
I don't know how much I like these, but I enjoyed the process.
I don't even really want to say what these are about, but that doesn't particularly matter because they don't really relate to what they were meant to be about anyway.
That might be the most inarticulate blog I've ever written.
Anyway.
And here's the original linework...
I don't know how much I like these, but I enjoyed the process.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Skylark Housing Cooperative
So I've been very poor at updating this blog over the last few months, and there isn't really any excuse. While I've not been hitting the ridiculous heights of creative productivity I saw in my uni years, I've not just been sitting around watching the telly the whole time either. In fact I've basically stopped watching the telly at all, (AND IT FEELS SO GOOD) so where has all the time been going?
Well one thing that's been keeping me a bit busy is some freelancing for a local housing co-op which my partner Alex is involved with.
In case you're not aware of the concept of a housing co-op, here's a summary of why they're a GREAT IDEA. Basically, a group of people club together and find a house (often big and in need of a bit of TLC), and agree to buy it.
In order to put down the deposit they issue shares of 'loanstock' - basically this involves persuading people in invest in the co-op. They get their investment back over a period of 5 – 10 years, with added interest.
The way that they get paid back, and the way that the rest of the mortgage is paid off, is that the group of people pay a kind of 'rent' on the property they're now living in... Except rather than traditional rent which goes into a bottomless pit to an unknown landlord, this rent is going to pay off the mortgage on a shared house which is ultimately released from the usual downfalls of private sector renting.
Once all the loanstock has been paid off and the mortgage too (usually after 25-30 years), the house is owned outright, and the housing co-op continues bringing in money from a modest 'rent' - this can then be used to help start up other housing co-ops, or invest in another property for the same group of people. Obviously circumstances change, and anyone in the co-op can leave at any point and be replaced by someone else. Sounds pretty good, right?
Anyway, the difficult beginnings involve persuading people, organisations and other co-ops to invest, and I was asked if I could help create some slightly more professional promotional materials than what they had started work on.
I'm a great believer in the power of design to win hearts and minds (and investment of huge amounts of money from strangers), and for a small group like this, looking professional is pretty important if they want to reach their target amount in time. (It's looking good by the way!)
So I've helped create a range of pieces... flyers, posters and a hefty serious looking business plan document which gets given to investors. The illustrations have all been supplied by members of the housing co-op, and it was really nice to be able to incorporate their work into the final pieces in a professional way. (It also taught me some pretty mad photoshop skillz, as the skylark illustration supplied was drawn very faintly in pencil on a sheet of graph paper)
Here was the original idea, and below that the front and back pages of a 4pp A6 flyer which was distributed at a co-op fair.
Here are a flyer and poster used to promote open days where people could come and meet members of the co-op to learn more...
The business plan contains a pretty intimidating '40 year finance spreadsheet' which is probably the most complex table I've ever dealt with. I'm pretty proud* (*smug) with the end result, which looks a LOT better than the incredibly complicated colour coded spreadsheet which I got the original data from. (Click to zoom if you want to slightly more fully appreciate its ridiculous complexity)**
And here's a page from the business plan incorporating some of the co-op members illustrations...
I think the little portraits are super sweet :)
On the offchance you're wealthy and feel like investing in a really positive local project... Get in touch! They're still looking for investors!
** On a side note, I feel like a bit of a loser for admitting this, but one of my favourite things about the project was what would probably normally be considered the most dull - making that incredibly complex 40 year financial plan look good. It took a LOT of thought about how to make it logical and clear, and I'm so pleased with the end result! I've been getting properly into creating tables in InDesign (I have to do it quite a lot at work) and it was great fun to be let loose on one of my own which I could style as I wanted!
Well one thing that's been keeping me a bit busy is some freelancing for a local housing co-op which my partner Alex is involved with.
In case you're not aware of the concept of a housing co-op, here's a summary of why they're a GREAT IDEA. Basically, a group of people club together and find a house (often big and in need of a bit of TLC), and agree to buy it.
In order to put down the deposit they issue shares of 'loanstock' - basically this involves persuading people in invest in the co-op. They get their investment back over a period of 5 – 10 years, with added interest.
The way that they get paid back, and the way that the rest of the mortgage is paid off, is that the group of people pay a kind of 'rent' on the property they're now living in... Except rather than traditional rent which goes into a bottomless pit to an unknown landlord, this rent is going to pay off the mortgage on a shared house which is ultimately released from the usual downfalls of private sector renting.
Once all the loanstock has been paid off and the mortgage too (usually after 25-30 years), the house is owned outright, and the housing co-op continues bringing in money from a modest 'rent' - this can then be used to help start up other housing co-ops, or invest in another property for the same group of people. Obviously circumstances change, and anyone in the co-op can leave at any point and be replaced by someone else. Sounds pretty good, right?
Anyway, the difficult beginnings involve persuading people, organisations and other co-ops to invest, and I was asked if I could help create some slightly more professional promotional materials than what they had started work on.
I'm a great believer in the power of design to win hearts and minds (and investment of huge amounts of money from strangers), and for a small group like this, looking professional is pretty important if they want to reach their target amount in time. (It's looking good by the way!)
So I've helped create a range of pieces... flyers, posters and a hefty serious looking business plan document which gets given to investors. The illustrations have all been supplied by members of the housing co-op, and it was really nice to be able to incorporate their work into the final pieces in a professional way. (It also taught me some pretty mad photoshop skillz, as the skylark illustration supplied was drawn very faintly in pencil on a sheet of graph paper)
Here was the original idea, and below that the front and back pages of a 4pp A6 flyer which was distributed at a co-op fair.
Here are a flyer and poster used to promote open days where people could come and meet members of the co-op to learn more...
The business plan contains a pretty intimidating '40 year finance spreadsheet' which is probably the most complex table I've ever dealt with. I'm pretty proud* (*smug) with the end result, which looks a LOT better than the incredibly complicated colour coded spreadsheet which I got the original data from. (Click to zoom if you want to slightly more fully appreciate its ridiculous complexity)**
And here's a page from the business plan incorporating some of the co-op members illustrations...
I think the little portraits are super sweet :)
On the offchance you're wealthy and feel like investing in a really positive local project... Get in touch! They're still looking for investors!
** On a side note, I feel like a bit of a loser for admitting this, but one of my favourite things about the project was what would probably normally be considered the most dull - making that incredibly complex 40 year financial plan look good. It took a LOT of thought about how to make it logical and clear, and I'm so pleased with the end result! I've been getting properly into creating tables in InDesign (I have to do it quite a lot at work) and it was great fun to be let loose on one of my own which I could style as I wanted!
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Albums, 2012
Well, it's that time of year where I add yet another music list to the swirling multitude of music lists clogging up the internet. I'm proud to present the Emma Music Awards, 2012. (I really need to work on a better name than that)
My top album of 2012 which I hoped would be my top album before it even came out.
Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
Ever since Cosmogramma I'd been waiting patiently for more wonderful things from Flying Lotus. His Pattern and Grid World EP didn't quite work for me, and although I love his earlier albums Los Angeles and 1983, I'd been pretty excited to hear something new. I was also worried I'd be disappointed - when you pin such high hopes on something, there's a big danger it will let you down.
I got even more excited when this stunning teaser video by Kahlil Joseph was released…
When I finally got hold of the album, I decided to save it until the right moment. My favourite way of enjoying new albums is, bizarrely enough, on public transport, preferably trains, but buses will do. So I hopped on a late evening bus and spent a blissful 45 minutes or so soaking this up.
There's a lot of incredibly beautiful moments here, and much like it's predecessor Cosmogramma, it only grows in depth and richness with repeated listens. Guest vocalists work perfectly with the surrounding music, with neither stealing all the attention, but combining to create something that neither could do alone. There is a lot of variety here too, but the album is perfectly composed so that everything flows together into one seamless piece, making it difficult to listen to any one track alone. As a result I've listened to the whole thing a lot of times, and it's still getting better. I'm delighted to call this my album of the year.
Album that I thought might be alright but actually turned out to be brilliant
Debruit - From the Horizon
I've been consistently listening to Debruit's fairly small back catalogue for a couple of years - 'Echtah' being a particular favourite. This full length album rather snuck up on me, and I was disappointed to find Resident didn't stock it when I went and asked, so I forgot to listen to it for a while. When I finally got round to it, I was delighted to find it was so much more than I'd expected. Perhaps I'm not cool enough, but I don't know anyone else making anything that sounds even vaguely like Debruit (if you do, let me know!) and this album continues that original streak. Don't be put off by the slightly difficult first couple of tracks, a) they're growers, and b) there's a lot more wonderfulness in the rest of the album. Cuivree being a personal favourite.
Album that I keep getting really excited about listening to and then get bored of halfway through
Matthew Dear - Beams
Oh Matthew Dear. It's not your fault. At least I don't think so. But somehow after a few tracks I always get a bit tired of your voice, even though I love it initially. And the trouble with this album is that the later tracks are definitely inferior to the wonderful first few, and that combination means I've only managed to get all the way to the end a couple of times. Admittedly one of those times was today, on a train, where I always concentrate better, and on reflection it is a fairly solid album, but the glittering, shimmering opening track 'Her Fantasy' and throbbing 'Earthforms' are definitely not matched further down the line.
Best album that I'm not entirely sure whether it technically came out in 2011 or 2012
Four Tet - Pink
Well apparently he released this album as a series of split vinyls back in 2011, but it only came out as a whole album this year. So that makes it a this year album, right? Anyway, it's brilliant, and although some might argue it's not as interesting or creative as some of his back catalogue, I've found it a lot more immediately appealing. Closing track Pinnacles definitely ranks as a contender for one of my favourite songs of the year.
The only album that everyone in the office likes
Django Django - Django Django
I think I got a bit more excited about Django Django than I actually ought to have done. But what can I say, they were one of my best live music experiences of 2012, TWICE, both supporting Metronomy in the Royal Albert Hall and in a tiny Brighton venue with barely 40 people in the audience. They did an amazing job both times, and their vocal harmonies, creative percussion and general lovely stage presence just blew me away. The album, as it turns out, is not quite as amazing as those live experiences were, although still a brilliant effort, start to finish (Apart from the slightly tedious Zumm Zumm). It's also probably the only album that came out this year that EVERYONE in my office enjoys, and has, at some point or other, been requested by everyone. We have a pretty open attitude to music in the office, although it really depends on who's there what we end up listening to. If it's just me, my senior designer James and our wonderful web lady Marina, we listen to pretty much anything, even difficult jazz, angry hip hop or difficult electronica. Then as various other people join the room it gets progressively tamer until Andrew H arrives, when we basically only listen to Alabama 3, Nouvelle Vague or Johnny Cash. And now Django Django have been added to that prestigious list.
Best album by an artist I know absolutely nothing about
Cid Rim - Cid Rim (Micro Album)
So this was suggested to me by Spotify one day when I was a bit bored, so I decided to give it a shot. And my goodness, it's wonderful! It's basically a highly condensed, simple to understand version of everything that gets me musically excited. Danceable, glitchy electronica which seems to fit just right no matter what mood I'm in. I have no idea who he/she/they are, but they've created what is, in my opinion, a much underrated masterpiece.
(Incidentally, since this, I've been regularly listening to what Spotify recommends to me… and it's all been rubbish. This was clearly a fluke rather than finely tuned algorithms. Or maybe I'm throwing them off by using Spotify to listen to loads of guilty pleasures…)
(On googling for the artwork it appears that Cid Rim is one man with a terrible moustache)
Best album/worst live experience combo
Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet
Maybe that's not a very good award title. Because I've definitely had far worse live music experiences this year (Washed Out anyone?! Eeesh, worst show EVER), but anyway, this was a show I was really looking forwards to that was totally ruined by THOUGHTLESS GIG TALKERS. YES, that means YOU, down the front there, stood right in front of someone desperately trying to enjoy that gorgeous, subtle, quiet cello while you shout loudly about how long you had to queue at the bar and how the beer is 'just ok'. Oh, and that couple RIGHT THERE who spend most of the show sloppily kissing, and when they're not doing that, they're inappropriately whooping during a stunning bit of hang drum, and they're not the only ones being dicks, because it seemed like basically the ENTIRE CROWD spent the ENTIRE SHOW senselessly chattering, drowning out this utterly beautiful album.
RAAAAARGH
Rant over. Great album. Listen to it. Go and see them live but try and go to a show that's not full of NOISY BUM FACES.
Rant really over.
Album that I thought was great but then listened to far too much and ruined for myself
Clark - Iradelphic
This album filled me with a very particular kind of radiant joy that meant I listened to it a LOT, until one day I discovered that I'd spoilt it for myself. I'm having another listen now for the first time in a couple of months, and the good feelings have fortunately returned, so I've hopefully not ruined it forever. Anyway. It's very good and I'd recommend it. Shimmering and glittering and textured and gorgeous. But don't overdo it.
Album that most makes me wish I was male and part of a Barbershop Quartet
The Futureheads - Rant
Well I've always loved the Futureheads, and this album is a delightful combination of old and new material, but all acapella in their beautiful northern tones. Songs like Man Ray and Meantime from their first album translate wonderfully without their usual strident guitars, and new songs like Beeswing are a beautiful change of direction. I hope they've not abandoned guitars forever, but this is certainly a welcome and bravely experimental variation on what they've previously been known for. I was gutted to only discover a night too late that they'd done an intimate acapella show at the Komedia on release of this album. I suspect I missed out on a wonderful night!
Late contender for some kind of award but I'm not sure what yet
Phillip Glass - Rework
This album only came out a short while ago, and we only got a copy a couple of weeks ago. But it's already a contender, based on the few listens I've been able to give it. Remix albums can be a bit patchy, but there really are very few weak spots on this one. A combination of great source material and incredible remixers has led to a quite stunning, and (for a remixes album) unusually cohesive body of work. Contributors that got me most excited included Pantha Du Prince, Tyondai Braxton, Nosaj Thing and Amon Tobin, although Beck, the initiator of the entire project, has created an unexpectedly incredible 20 minute rework of NYC: 73-78, and Cornelius has added an understated but beautifully recorded piano cover of the Opening from Glassworks. All in all, there's a lot to be had here, and this is definitely going to get a lot more listens so I can work out exactly how I feel about the whole thing. My current and immediate highlight upon first listen is Amon Tobin's incredible 'Warda's Whorehouse Inside Out Version'
Five other albums I've enjoyed a lot…
Nathan Fake - Steam Days
Like an idiot I booked tickets to see Nathan Fake then decided on the night I was too tired, so sold them to some people outside the venue and went home to bed. Then RIDICULOUSLY REGRETTED IT because this is a brilliant album.
Field Music - Plumb
Not my usual thing. When Alex first got it he described it as being a bit like a musical, which immediately put me off, but on further listens I discovered I actually did really rather like it. Even if it does sound a bit like an indie musical.
Minotaur Shock - Orchard
This is just plain good nice listening. There's an amazing remix of something off this album, which helpfully I have no idea what it was called, and can't direct you to. So there we go.
Daphni - JIAOLONG
The whole album is a bit of a struggle, but the first few tracks are just MAGIC. And the vinyl came with a download code card made out of biodegradable paper embedded with wildflower seeds. How nice!
Floex - Zorya
Simple, elegant loveliness. And incidentally, this is also probably one of my favourite album artworks of the year.
I hope that wasn't too long and boring a read, and I'm sorry for my terrible ability to actually describe music. I hope you might find something new and wonderful thanks to reading this.
My top album of 2012 which I hoped would be my top album before it even came out.
Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
Ever since Cosmogramma I'd been waiting patiently for more wonderful things from Flying Lotus. His Pattern and Grid World EP didn't quite work for me, and although I love his earlier albums Los Angeles and 1983, I'd been pretty excited to hear something new. I was also worried I'd be disappointed - when you pin such high hopes on something, there's a big danger it will let you down.
I got even more excited when this stunning teaser video by Kahlil Joseph was released…
When I finally got hold of the album, I decided to save it until the right moment. My favourite way of enjoying new albums is, bizarrely enough, on public transport, preferably trains, but buses will do. So I hopped on a late evening bus and spent a blissful 45 minutes or so soaking this up.
There's a lot of incredibly beautiful moments here, and much like it's predecessor Cosmogramma, it only grows in depth and richness with repeated listens. Guest vocalists work perfectly with the surrounding music, with neither stealing all the attention, but combining to create something that neither could do alone. There is a lot of variety here too, but the album is perfectly composed so that everything flows together into one seamless piece, making it difficult to listen to any one track alone. As a result I've listened to the whole thing a lot of times, and it's still getting better. I'm delighted to call this my album of the year.
Album that I thought might be alright but actually turned out to be brilliant
Debruit - From the Horizon
I've been consistently listening to Debruit's fairly small back catalogue for a couple of years - 'Echtah' being a particular favourite. This full length album rather snuck up on me, and I was disappointed to find Resident didn't stock it when I went and asked, so I forgot to listen to it for a while. When I finally got round to it, I was delighted to find it was so much more than I'd expected. Perhaps I'm not cool enough, but I don't know anyone else making anything that sounds even vaguely like Debruit (if you do, let me know!) and this album continues that original streak. Don't be put off by the slightly difficult first couple of tracks, a) they're growers, and b) there's a lot more wonderfulness in the rest of the album. Cuivree being a personal favourite.
Album that I keep getting really excited about listening to and then get bored of halfway through
Matthew Dear - Beams
Oh Matthew Dear. It's not your fault. At least I don't think so. But somehow after a few tracks I always get a bit tired of your voice, even though I love it initially. And the trouble with this album is that the later tracks are definitely inferior to the wonderful first few, and that combination means I've only managed to get all the way to the end a couple of times. Admittedly one of those times was today, on a train, where I always concentrate better, and on reflection it is a fairly solid album, but the glittering, shimmering opening track 'Her Fantasy' and throbbing 'Earthforms' are definitely not matched further down the line.
Best album that I'm not entirely sure whether it technically came out in 2011 or 2012
Four Tet - Pink
Well apparently he released this album as a series of split vinyls back in 2011, but it only came out as a whole album this year. So that makes it a this year album, right? Anyway, it's brilliant, and although some might argue it's not as interesting or creative as some of his back catalogue, I've found it a lot more immediately appealing. Closing track Pinnacles definitely ranks as a contender for one of my favourite songs of the year.
The only album that everyone in the office likes
Django Django - Django Django
I think I got a bit more excited about Django Django than I actually ought to have done. But what can I say, they were one of my best live music experiences of 2012, TWICE, both supporting Metronomy in the Royal Albert Hall and in a tiny Brighton venue with barely 40 people in the audience. They did an amazing job both times, and their vocal harmonies, creative percussion and general lovely stage presence just blew me away. The album, as it turns out, is not quite as amazing as those live experiences were, although still a brilliant effort, start to finish (Apart from the slightly tedious Zumm Zumm). It's also probably the only album that came out this year that EVERYONE in my office enjoys, and has, at some point or other, been requested by everyone. We have a pretty open attitude to music in the office, although it really depends on who's there what we end up listening to. If it's just me, my senior designer James and our wonderful web lady Marina, we listen to pretty much anything, even difficult jazz, angry hip hop or difficult electronica. Then as various other people join the room it gets progressively tamer until Andrew H arrives, when we basically only listen to Alabama 3, Nouvelle Vague or Johnny Cash. And now Django Django have been added to that prestigious list.
Best album by an artist I know absolutely nothing about
Cid Rim - Cid Rim (Micro Album)
So this was suggested to me by Spotify one day when I was a bit bored, so I decided to give it a shot. And my goodness, it's wonderful! It's basically a highly condensed, simple to understand version of everything that gets me musically excited. Danceable, glitchy electronica which seems to fit just right no matter what mood I'm in. I have no idea who he/she/they are, but they've created what is, in my opinion, a much underrated masterpiece.
(Incidentally, since this, I've been regularly listening to what Spotify recommends to me… and it's all been rubbish. This was clearly a fluke rather than finely tuned algorithms. Or maybe I'm throwing them off by using Spotify to listen to loads of guilty pleasures…)
(On googling for the artwork it appears that Cid Rim is one man with a terrible moustache)
Best album/worst live experience combo
Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet
Maybe that's not a very good award title. Because I've definitely had far worse live music experiences this year (Washed Out anyone?! Eeesh, worst show EVER), but anyway, this was a show I was really looking forwards to that was totally ruined by THOUGHTLESS GIG TALKERS. YES, that means YOU, down the front there, stood right in front of someone desperately trying to enjoy that gorgeous, subtle, quiet cello while you shout loudly about how long you had to queue at the bar and how the beer is 'just ok'. Oh, and that couple RIGHT THERE who spend most of the show sloppily kissing, and when they're not doing that, they're inappropriately whooping during a stunning bit of hang drum, and they're not the only ones being dicks, because it seemed like basically the ENTIRE CROWD spent the ENTIRE SHOW senselessly chattering, drowning out this utterly beautiful album.
RAAAAARGH
Rant over. Great album. Listen to it. Go and see them live but try and go to a show that's not full of NOISY BUM FACES.
Rant really over.
Album that I thought was great but then listened to far too much and ruined for myself
Clark - Iradelphic
This album filled me with a very particular kind of radiant joy that meant I listened to it a LOT, until one day I discovered that I'd spoilt it for myself. I'm having another listen now for the first time in a couple of months, and the good feelings have fortunately returned, so I've hopefully not ruined it forever. Anyway. It's very good and I'd recommend it. Shimmering and glittering and textured and gorgeous. But don't overdo it.
Album that most makes me wish I was male and part of a Barbershop Quartet
The Futureheads - Rant
Well I've always loved the Futureheads, and this album is a delightful combination of old and new material, but all acapella in their beautiful northern tones. Songs like Man Ray and Meantime from their first album translate wonderfully without their usual strident guitars, and new songs like Beeswing are a beautiful change of direction. I hope they've not abandoned guitars forever, but this is certainly a welcome and bravely experimental variation on what they've previously been known for. I was gutted to only discover a night too late that they'd done an intimate acapella show at the Komedia on release of this album. I suspect I missed out on a wonderful night!
Late contender for some kind of award but I'm not sure what yet
Phillip Glass - Rework
This album only came out a short while ago, and we only got a copy a couple of weeks ago. But it's already a contender, based on the few listens I've been able to give it. Remix albums can be a bit patchy, but there really are very few weak spots on this one. A combination of great source material and incredible remixers has led to a quite stunning, and (for a remixes album) unusually cohesive body of work. Contributors that got me most excited included Pantha Du Prince, Tyondai Braxton, Nosaj Thing and Amon Tobin, although Beck, the initiator of the entire project, has created an unexpectedly incredible 20 minute rework of NYC: 73-78, and Cornelius has added an understated but beautifully recorded piano cover of the Opening from Glassworks. All in all, there's a lot to be had here, and this is definitely going to get a lot more listens so I can work out exactly how I feel about the whole thing. My current and immediate highlight upon first listen is Amon Tobin's incredible 'Warda's Whorehouse Inside Out Version'
Five other albums I've enjoyed a lot…
Nathan Fake - Steam Days
Like an idiot I booked tickets to see Nathan Fake then decided on the night I was too tired, so sold them to some people outside the venue and went home to bed. Then RIDICULOUSLY REGRETTED IT because this is a brilliant album.
Field Music - Plumb
Not my usual thing. When Alex first got it he described it as being a bit like a musical, which immediately put me off, but on further listens I discovered I actually did really rather like it. Even if it does sound a bit like an indie musical.
Minotaur Shock - Orchard
This is just plain good nice listening. There's an amazing remix of something off this album, which helpfully I have no idea what it was called, and can't direct you to. So there we go.
Daphni - JIAOLONG
The whole album is a bit of a struggle, but the first few tracks are just MAGIC. And the vinyl came with a download code card made out of biodegradable paper embedded with wildflower seeds. How nice!
Floex - Zorya
Simple, elegant loveliness. And incidentally, this is also probably one of my favourite album artworks of the year.
I hope that wasn't too long and boring a read, and I'm sorry for my terrible ability to actually describe music. I hope you might find something new and wonderful thanks to reading this.
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