Rebecca Schwarz
Saturday 3rd March 2012
8:30pm
Hexagon Theatre,
MAC
Cannon Hill Park
Birmingham
B12 9QH
Tel: 0121 446 3232
Tickets: £5
www.macarts.co.uk
www.upsidedownswan.com
Rebecca Schwarz
http://rebeccaschwarz.co.uk/
07803 900154
Tag: west midlands (Page 4 of 6)
Musoplex, a rehearsal and recording studio based in Oldbury, is looking for opinionated creative residents of the West Midlands e.g. promoters, bands, artists and management, to have a chat on video about the state of music in the region. They have posted a few of their pilots online, filmed and edited by Musoplex Director Andy Ward.
Andy said “Musoplex as a studio and rehearsal rooms hears a lot of opinions as to the good and bad going on in music in the area. We have decided to do something about it, we are documenting views and opinions on film. If you want to offer your own opinions or comments to camera, in no more than a 10 minute interview e-mail andy@musoplex.com.”
Watch the videos for yourself, and if you have something to say, get in touch.
Last year, Birmingham’s Independent Music Industry was asked to answer 10 Questions. In 2011 The Music Network is asking Another 10 Questions to continue the discussion. Replies by email can be sent to: info at birminghammusicnetwork.com
In May 2011 UK Music published “Destination: Music” the first study of its kind to scope the economic contribution of music festivals and major concerts to tourism throughout the UK. You can read all about it at http://www.ukmusic.org/news/post/147-music-tourists-contribute-at-least-864m-a-year-to-the-uk-economy
In recent weeks Emma Williamson (Group Overview and Scrutiny Manager) & Baseema Begum (Research & Policy Officer) at the Scrutiny Office of Birmingham City Council have been in touch. Emma & Baseema sent through several documents that ask a number of interesting questions. Rather than try to answer the questions on your behalf, The Music Network has decided to pass the questions on to you direct. The questions have no deadline for submission, the questions will be open to anyone to answer at any time. Your thoughts and opinions are welcome, at any time. We hope the discussion will continue. For more opinion, consultation and research we have collected together, read through our posts so far in the Strategy category.
If you want to submit your own “Ten Questions” or even just “One new question” please email them in. When we have enough, I’ll post them as “More Questions”. Completed submissions will be published at http://www.birminghammusicnetwork.com unless you state otherwise. Please include your Name, brief biography or information about who you are and what you do, and links to your website or blog. You will be credited as the author of the response. Views from all sides are sought so don’t be afraid to speak your mind. We may learn something. I will invite Emma, Baseema and their colleagues to read your published answers here on the website for themselves.
The following questions have been inspired by the contents of a letter to Birmingham Music Network from Councillor Philip Parkin, Chairman – Leisure, Sport and Culture, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, The Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB. (The letter was dated 29 July 2011)
Destination Birmingham: Birmingham, A Music City Continue reading
Birmingham Music Network is an organisation set up for the benefit of all participants in the music industry. It is unfunded and run by volunteers drawn from the local industry including Mark Badger from Iron Man Records and Anthony Hughes and Andy Derrick from Sostenuto. There is no particular agenda other than that suggested by attendees at our regular monthly meetings and by material sent to info at birminghammusicnetwork.com
Our monthly meetings are held at the TEE faculty of Birmingham City University at Millennium Point on the last Thursday of each month. We are grateful for the support of Dave Taylor and his team at the TEE for providing the room and refreshments free of charges and for advertising us alongside the larger Creative Networks events. Continue reading
Emerging contemporary artists from Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the West Midlands will be among the first in the country to have samples of their current work permanently stored in the British Library music archive. This is because they have been selected for a new website which showcases the very best new independent music from the West Midlands, as chosen by a panel of local music experts.
The PILOT PROJECT website – www.pilot-project.co.uk – goes live Thursday, November 18 in Birmingham, at 7pm.
The launch represents the first public step of an ambitious UK-wide scheme. It follows a six-month period of curation, working with a panel of West Midlands music experts. Music on the site will be accessible to stream, and the site database is fully searchable. The music and data will also be stored permanently in the British Library’s music archive as part of the British Library’s New Music Network. This aims to document contemporary British independent music of all types as it is made available through websites, blogs and other digital platforms.
Project co-ordinator, Birmingham radio veteran Robin Valk, said: “The Web has changed everything. Musicians now have access to tools that give them real control over the production and distribution of their work. They can exchange ideas and collaborate, instantly, worldwide, and this opens up huge new areas of experimentation and creativity. There is more good new music, more experimentation and more creativity than ever before, and most of it is online. This is a vital new part of the culture of our country. We owe it to ourselves to preserve it for future generations of music lovers.”
The launch will feature performances from West Midlands musicians Jo Hamilton, Vijay Kishore, and Friendly Fire Band, and representatives from the British Library and the Pilot Project advisory team (listed below) will be available for interview.
Andy Linehan, Pop Music curator for the British Library Sound Archive, said: “This is an important step in archiving new music at a local level for the national collections. So much new and innovative music is being made at grass roots level which bypasses the traditional business model, and it can be difficult to be aware of such activity.
“Successful local activity such as the Pilot Project means we will be able to provide a detailed picture of the diverse and creative output of West Midlands musicians for future generations.”
About the Pilot Project
The Pilot Project has been organised by Robin Valk, veteran radio expert and one of the founding members of staff at BRMB. Music for the project has been selected by a panel of regional advisors, broadcasters and music experts, including:
Chris Downing, Brumcast brumcast.podomatic.com
Richard Elms, Herbert Media, Coventry www.theherbert.org/index.php/home/herberrt-media?
Shelley Atkinson, Arts Deville www.artsdeville.co.uk/?
Clare Edwards clareedwards.wordpress.com/about/
Marc Reck www.marcreck.com/
Apache Indian en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Indian
Tony Dudley-Evans, Birmingham Jazz www.birminghamjazz.co.uk/
Kate Southall, Wolverhampton www.myspace.com/katyjaywcrfm
This website will stay live for six months, showcasing the very best new music being developed in the region. Music selected for the site will be also be saved in the permanent British Library sound archive. Following a period of evaluation, the organisers hope to launch more regional pilots in 2011. The Pilot Project is supported by Digital Content Development at Arts Council West Midlands.
About the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and one of the world’s greatest research libraries.
It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages.
For further information, images, recordings and pre-launch interviews contact:
Birmingham coordinator:
Robin Valk robin at radiotogo.com
British Library:
Andy Linehan andy.linehan at bl.uk
www.pilot-project.co.uk
www.bl.uk
Musicians appearing at the launch
www.johamilton.com/
www.vijaykishore.co.uk/
www.friendlyfiremusic.com/