The new Glasgow Hydro!

The new Glasgow Hydro! – SSE Hydro Arena

Capacity 13,000

Opened this week with artists Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac.

The hope for the new venue is to be one of the world’s top five entertainment venues, only Madison Square Gardens NY and the 02 London are bigger. 

The Hydro is a purpose built concert arena – rather than the SECC’s multi use exhibition and conference centre.  Every seat has a good view and audio. The new venue will attract bigger artists all year round.  

I look forward to gigs here, hopefully soon!  

Mercury Prize 2013

From indie folk John Hopkins, to veteran rocker David Bowie, drum and bass Rudimental, electronic pianist James Blake and rock band Foals. Laura Mvula is there too, although her over predictability is too much for me. And dance, rock, post punk. 
Favourites for the prize may be dance duo Disclosure and respected singer songwriter Laura Marling.  http://www.mercuryprize.com/ 

I saw Marling in concert at the Old Fruitmarket a few years ago when she was barely 19 and she seemed so young – and passed her in a café nearby earlier that evening. She has been living in LA the past year to work on her latest album. I thought there was something fragile and ethereal about her then, and she did have the audience spellbound. 

Laura Marling Old Fruitmarket

I saw James Blake Oran Mor in 2011 - the gig was charged and packed out and I thought his set was engrossing. I love the cover for his second album Overgrown. I enjoyed his cover of Feist's song 'Limit To Your Love.'  In my review I wrote his music was like Unexpected Journeys. 
http://www.musicfootnotes.com/2011/06/james-blake-at-oran-mor-glasgow
 

James Blake Oran Mor

The American music reviewer Mikal Gilmore is concerned at the state of the music industry today however -

Labels sign artists for a certain sound, quirk, style, niche or whatever – and are loathe to allow those artists to expand or develop much beyond that one thing. That is partly why we see so many one hit wonders .. These artists are milked, drained, toured and discarded before they even have a shot at that second round. It’s a new kind of pop hegemony – a blockbuster mentality that has made so many modern films tiresome, predictable and limited.   

Quote, Night Beat, Mikal Gilmore.

PS James Blake was the unexpected yet deserved Mercury prize winner 31st October.

Edinburgh Book festival PHOTOS 2013

Charles Glass

Artemis Cooper

Alan Bissett

Jenny Rooney

Jerome Ferrari

Kengo Kuma

Kevin Maher

Laurie Penny

Sahar Delijan

Shani Boianjiu

Edinburgh International Book Festival photos 2013 - the festival was a great deal of fun and very interesting as it usual.  One of the highlights of my year. Love it! More reviews on this site. Copyrighted.
My EIBF images 2013 gallery - http://pkimage.co.uk/edinburghbookfestival

The Women Impressionists

Berthe Morisot

This was the first group of important women artists with a new voice and they exhibited thier work at the Impressionist shows in Paris. This was part of a new and rebellious attitude to have women in the shows apparently! 

I was surprised to learn of this group as I had never heard of any women impressionist painters. 

Berthe Moriot was often painted by Manet and other male painters and as she was very striking and beautiful perhaps they were unable to take her work as a painter serious enough?

Barthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot

Morisot’s painting was brave and new art with lightning blot brush strokes and instinctive insightful painting. She was known for beautiful crisp white painting

The joui de vivre of impressionism.

Mary Casat

Casat portrayed an emotional blankness in her paintings.

 

Mary Casat

Marie Brackamot

She made beautiful Impressionist pots.

Berthe Morisot was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt.
In 1864, she exhibited for the first time in the highly esteemed Salon de Paris. Sponsored by the government, and judged by academicians, the Salon was the official, annual exhibition of the Académie des beaux-arts in Paris. Her work was selected for exhibition in six subsequent Salons until, in 1874, she joined the "rejected" Impressionists in the first of their own exhibitions, which included Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. It was held at the studio of the photographer Nadar. She became the sister-in-law of her friend and colleague, Édouard Manet, when she married his brother, Eugène.

253 views

Copyright Debate at EIBF #edbooksfest

The speakers were Colin Firth, music journalist and judge Mercury award, and Debi Gliori, children’s author Tobermory Cat,

Question: Does copyright do more harm than good to creativity?

Firth spoke of the tension between the copyright owner and the use of copyright, and he said that the owners are anxious. The Publishers are suffering too and see copyright as essential for creativity.

The Music Industry. Digital media makes copyright unnecessary as author can go direct now to the audience and therefore no longer need retail distribution. However publishers have quality control and there are also the curators who create the audience. There is more music than ever but much is not listened to.

Also digital distribution is not ‘free’. There is little infrastructure now to support new artists. One in ten in the record industry make money - supported by the control of copyright and what of those making money, such as the giants iTunes or Amazon and their not paying tax and giving nothing back?  And is music downloading simply publicity for live performing?

The Writers. Debi Gliori spoke of her situation as a children’s author and loosing money these days due to piracy.

She said she believed that the author's copyright should stand for the first twelve months past publication and after this there could then be free access so the author still made money from their work. She thought that education was the key thing.

She said that the loss of control of copyright meant these forces were ‘stealing the author’s futures’ and that the industry was turning itself inside out.

She spoke of artists ‘drawing from the realm of ideas’ and that it is what you did with your ideas that matters. 

And what of Academic Papers which are a valuable research tool and require open access?  The creative arts require the free expression and transmission of ideas. 

The US has stronger copyright Laws, which are mostly driven by the motion picture industry.  Meanwhile the pirates make their millions and there seems not enough protection for the artists.

There also needs to be a balance between the need for the survival of even the big book sellers. 
Someone said that they looked up Amazon for details on books and then purchased their books at their local bookshop.

As consumers we have a choice. Do we want faceless superstores or the personal smaller store who care about their product? Amazon and iTunes are convenient – but these businesses can be too big and we need to adjust models.
The VOTE went for copyright being good for creativity, after all artists do need to eat! I believe that it is vitally important that societies and those in power (as royalty used to do) should value the creative arts.

On the other hand.....my views.

This was an interesting and informed debate. There is also the question of the US now setting Copyright Laws to such lengthy time periods it can hinder the creativity of new artists. That is, it becomes more profitable to recycle old music than encourage new music, and the Labels can rely too heavily on their back catalogues.

And the enforcement of copyright for example would have prevented the use of the well used ‘Amen Break’ drum beat, which has led to a great deal of creativity in music.  

It seems like we need new models around how we view the need for artist's copyright ownership in our digital age - both protection and the freedoms to create. 

Celtic Connections 2014 concerts announced!

Celtic Connections 2014 concerts announced today!  - Del Amitri, The Hydro/ MOGWAI, concert hall / Celtic Connections International Burns Concert, The Hydro. 

I am looking forward to NEW HYdro venue here a LOT...it is teired and spaceage looking and much better than the SECC. The new venue opens with Rod Stewart 30th Sept.  http://www.celticconnections.com/

(also love this photo come painted image!) 

I look forward to it! Some CELTIC PHOTOS.

Eddi Reader, Rab Noakes, Dougie McLean

Martha Rafferty and Rab Noakes at concert for Gerry Rafferty

Edinburgh festival 2013

 

The first day and there are several Big Names today (Ruby Wax, Jack Straw) and the book festival was very busy. Weather warm. Later I attended the 7pm Debate on Copyright.This year the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF, #edbookfest), the biggest book festival in the world, celebrated 30 years with looking back and looking forward threads. 

At Edinburgh festival there are accomplished musicians, graphic novelists, national ballet, new comedians, talented writers, respected economists and academics and more. The bonus of Edinburgh is its melting pot for the creative arts.

Edinburgh festival is an overload for the senses - imaginative imagery, lyrical words, informed words, mind blowing music, escapist comedy… I am much more selective over what is worth spending time on. And it depends – do you want to be thrilled, entranced, offered thought provoking insights, inspired questioned, amused… or quite simply entertained. There is low brow and high brow.. it is all here. 

(And what has happened to the generation divide these days? On the bus I noticed an over sixty grey haired gent dressed as a punk or Goth, with the full get up of belted boots, silver pierced ears and all. Strange really the world today! ) 

**EIBF - Edinburgh International Book festival 2013

brings together book lovers old and young, writers, scientists and more. Even as the traffic roars past Charlotte square the festival offers a haven of quiet contemplations. 

Scotland’s future as an independent country is clearly on the agenda – the nuclear weapons question, fiscal future and electoral reform...

Edinburgh Book festival has opened up the debate on Scottish Independence and in its eibf program of talks there are numerous events this year discussing Scotland’s future. So interesting. I can’t help but note that many of the writers, artists and Scottish musicians favour Scotland taking more charge of its future and its own affairs.

Alex Salmond attended EIBF along with William McILLivenny and the story was that Salmond may wish him to write the White Paper for the independence vote in 2014 and that McILLivenny is a front runner. Salmond wants something inspirational and poetic.

Say yes to the future!

Going to Edinburgh, my hometown, helps to focus my work with the getting away from things… A young and  talented Australian guitarist had positioned himself at the bottom of the highstreet after the stages had gone at six which meant people could hear him properly and a good crowd gathered to hear him there.. 

William McIIvanney and Alex Salmond

SHOWS I attended

Rick Wakeman performed his show at the Assembly Rooms. He wore a long grey coat and played piano for us. He said he had had an excellent piano teacher who taught him everything he knows about music. She said to think of the music in colour and to paint your own picture and give it your own title. .  

Rick Wakeman

Debate on Copyright EIBF

Alfred Brendel EIBF

Boy with Tape in his Face

Behind the Art of Songwriting, Daniel Rachel

Unbound EIBF, with writer Dan Rhodes, comic Scottish writer Neil Forsyth, and comedian Stuart Lee (who was very funny, and oddly on tv that night too!)

AC Grayling

Jenny Eclair

Alan Rusbridger

PHOTOS Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) 2013

Ruby Wax signing

Some photos Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) 2013 - Jack Straw being interviewed, Ruby Wax signing, Paper bird sculptures, Kate Mosse, Kamila Shamsie, Lisa Appignanesi signing for their book Fifty Shades of Feminism.

Kate Mosse, Kamila Shamsie, Lisa Appignanesi

William McIIvanney and Alex Salmond

Jack Straw

Ruby Wax, book Sane New World

Viking Galaxy 02 ABC tonight!

Viking Galaxy play the 02 ABC tonight - my son is the bass player. Exciting times!

EIBF BOOKS

EIBF BOOKS

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2013, books that caught my attention.

Road to Referendum, Ian MacWhirter.

Poetry. I Steer Towards the Catastrophe, Robin Robertson.

Creating a Pianist’s Bible, Alfred Brendel.

Art and Passion in the Renaissance, Jonathan Jones.

Daniel Rachel Behind the Art of Songwriting.

Seeing the World Through Shakespeare’s Eyes, Jonathan Bate.

History of Nations, Peter Furtado (28 essays by native writers on national identity and history)