Merry Christmas & THANK YOU

As with all Decembers, this has been busy one - although busy in a different way to all the other Decembers as this year I was moving house and working on the solo EP.  It's been a good month though, very creative, lots of ideas flowing - which is great because it means I have lots of choice for the track listing.  I was determined to have a proper holiday but I haven't quite managed it yet (even today! lol) as I'm too excited with the EP to put the laptop down :D

So I'm just posting to say thank you to everyone who has supported me and supported Bilamie this year; friends coming to gigs in London and Madrid, people who have shared posts/music on social networks, promoters and venues we have worked with and fellow artists we've had the pleasure of watching.

It's been a wonderful year of self discovery and I have never been so excited about the future before.

So thanks to everyone, enjoy the rest of Christmas and New Years.

See you in January!! x

Twitter Laughs

I COULDN'T STOP laughing at Twitter just now and just had to post these somewhere... Merry Xmas Eve!!

#2014Faves RT @jamster83: Saw a pigeon having a job interview earlier. I hope he got it. pic.twitter.com/qt9UyeEi78
— Pitbull In A Skirt (@DillonJaden) December 24, 2014

#2014Faves You was my cinnamon apple !! 😂😂 😹😹😹😹 https://t.co/J8HAAjUZMR
— Obadyea (@Schoolboy_O_) December 24, 2014

#2014Faves Always seize your moment. It's yours, after all. http://t.co/XVR8E00Kje
— 3030 (@jose3030) December 24, 2014

Mario gotta chill.. https://t.co/MLLQREdyMP
— Funny Vines (@FunnyVines) December 24, 2014

Me because of finals.. http://t.co/OREuwmxbBn
— Funny Vines (@FunnyVines) December 16, 2014

Gig Booked: Web Sheldon @ The Library (Weds 28th Jan)

My band Bilamie played here a few weeks ago! I'm going to play a solo set next, it's going to be mainly acoustic, maybe with a little percussion etc in the background... I've been practicing a cover of The Fugees 'Ready Or Not' and I've been ITCHING to play it live... so this is a definite for the night! :D

WimblesWee

I'm not sure where I first heard someone refer to Wimbledon as WIMBLES but it just tickled me somehow... I think it might be because it reminded me of Wombles, but I haven't unlocked that nugget yet.

So I'm I'm in this pub in WIMBLES at the moment because I usually work in the house all day and sometimes I need to escape. So anyway they played Bon Jovi's 'Always', I knew it from first second when the drums kicked in.  I used to be quite a fan when I was a small Web Sheldon... I remember I was about 13/14, I'd just bought their compilation Cross Roads and I went with my Mum into Derbyshire and walked around a street market... I ended up buying this kind of mystical/alternative silver necklace... I was so happy with it and thought it was cool and awesome! And listening to this song just brought that memory back :)

When you are a child or even a teenager, really small events or changes can seem like massive things to you and at that time, it's so easy to have new experiences.  I remember though I got to the age of about 24 and I was finding it harder to find new and exciting things to do.  It's easy at that point, to accept that life isn't as exciting as you thought it would be, orrrrrr you can just keep pushing further in different directions! I think the easiest way to apply this in proper adulthood though is to keep doing things that are outside of your comfort zone.

I love this picture, I really think it's true.  But you have to force yourself because otherwise it's so much easier to do 'comforting' things instead.  This could be as simple as instead of always going to the same restaurant, go to a different one insetad, but obviously that's not exactly a challenge! For example, for me at the moment, I'm working on a song where I have a rap part to do.  I used to do a little bit of rapping in previous bands because I have a strong love for hip hop, but I've never done it solo before because without a band behind me, it feels too far out of my comfort zone.

So I guess it's about finding which ways you can push yourself, and finding one or two that are really going to mean something to you if you do them.

I have to wee now.

A WimblesWee.

December Gigs

Here's a quick preview of what I'm up to in December!

Tues 2nd December

It's the launch night of Winterville in Victoria Park on Tuesday and I'll be playing a lonnnng string of genre-hopping acoustic covers (including all you've ever heard me play and many more!) and maybe a few of my own whilst the Christmassy people walk past drinking mulled wine! There'll be quite a variety of covers: Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, The Fugees, Dolly Parton, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, TLC, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, Elvis Priestly, David Bowie, MGMT, CeCe Peniston, Neil Sedaka, Catatonia, The Cranberries...and a spiralling list of others :D

Sat 6th December

I'll be DJ-ing at Twisted Winter Carnival 'where Christmas is a strange idea and you can keep all your halloween gear...dress to impress'.. Tickets for £3 and it goes on till late! I'll be playing quite a mixture of present day pop, 90's, 80's, electronic and hip hop!

Saturday 13th December

My awesome band Bilamie will be playing at Underbelly of Hoxton! I've been looking forward to playing this gig for *months* now, I reckon it's going to be a night to remember! Our last gig of 2014 and we'll have an ALBUM PREVIEW on sale with songs Friendly Fire, Deeper Interaction and 2 remixes of album tracks, one by MuckyCherub and one by meeeeee.  There'll also be Bilamie bottle openers and badges flying around just waiting to be taken into new loving homes!

DJ-ing @ Twisted Winter Carnival

Twisted Winter Carnival

I'm going to be DJing at Twisted Winter Carnival on Saturday 6th December.

£3 Entry or free to LGBTQ Social Members!
Goldsmith's Student Union, Dixon Road, New Cross, London.

Here's the Facebook event too!

What's Next?

I've been working as an IT Consultant for the last 8 years but I took the last 6 months off to concentrate on finishing the Bilamie album, work on my Mixing & Mastering courses and generally try to get a foot hold on the music scene in London.

The Bilamie album is teetering on the edge of being finished but there's no particular date in site yet due to a few issues we need to iron out.  My courses at Point Blank went really well, I had 2 dedicated teachers and I made some great contacts who I have been collaborating with (BeatM4n and Gutto Serta) and it was generally a good experience to get thrown into deep into a musical environment. I definitely feel like I've made a start on the music scene in London as well - I've gotten to know a few bands, promoters and venues.

Soooo... now I need to top up the funding for my musical projects (and general living lol) I toyed with the idea of trying to find a job related to the music industry but many entry level ones were voluntary and/or very long hours and then I wouldn't have the time or energy to work on Bilamie and Web Sheldon. So I've decided to head back into IT Consulting for a few months, save some pennies and then take a few months off IT work again in Spring next year and head back into music 100% afterwards. This might be a reoccurring theme going forward lol.

So what is on the cards for next year?!

• Bilamie
• The album
• A single + video
• Many gigs (hopefully inc. festivals!)
• We have started to gather a bit of merchandise too; Bilamie bottle openers and badges so far!

• Web Sheldon
• A record label are interested in releasing one of my songs as a single - I can't say much about that yet though.
• 4 new songs have sprung out of the ether in the last week so I've decided to knock those into shape and release my first EP! I've never had a proper solo release before, (can I just repeat that...NEVER!!) ...so now is the time!
• Solo gigs and open mics!
• More collaborations!
• More remixes!

So yeah... I better go and find a job.

And a house too.

;-)

Festive Gig Booked!

Booked a festive solo gig today at Winterville in Victoria Park!

I say 'gig', but it's not a gig in the usual sense... I'll be playing unplugged on the opening night there on 2nd December and possibly some more dates during the festive season! There'll be a mixture of original songs, covers aaaaand possibly some festive numbers too.  Cos I love Christmas.  And I'm not ashamed of that.  So there.

XD

Will post more details as soon as I find out more!

Acoustic Sessions @ Nambucca - Thursday 20th November

Bilamie's next gig is tomorrow at Nambucca as part of an 'Acoustic Sessions' evening... although we'll be playing a normal set of material.

Thanks to Ace Motel Promotions for booking us!

Here's the Facebook Event for tomorrow night and below a quick preview of the other artists playing.


Camilla Martins
A beautiful voice from this London based Singer songwriter.
Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Instagram

Ron Bousso

Folk/Country/Blues from this London based acoustic singer songwriter.  I hear a bit Nick Drake in some of his melodies too, or maybe thats just me :)

Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud / YouTube

Here's a clip of his latest song posted on Soundcloud.




Tom Livingstone
22 year old Singer songwriter from North London.
Soundcloud
Here's my favourite track from Tom's Soundcloud page.


Lewis Olden
Animated vocals and entertaining lyrics from this East London Singer/Songwriter of rock 'n' roll, described as 'Musician and artist living in the 21st century'.  I like the attitude this guy comes across with in his music.
Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud





Bilamie
And last but not least, here's my duo Bilamie. Electronic beats, slicing synths, beautiful harmonies and a little something move your feet to!
Official Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Soundcloud

I've posted all our songs on here that are available prior to our album coming out, so in the mean time, here's my remix of our album track 'Deeper Interaction'.




Aaaaaand another artist added to the night is:

Alistair Sheerin
This guy has some seriously catchy tunes! And I'm not just saying that cos he's a northern lad like me! lol
"Style, swagger and a rock n’ roll attitude against the smog engulfed, urban decay of Middlesbrough, Alistair Sheerin is leading the escape from the mediocre to the Promised Land."
Official website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Soundcloud / Instagram

New Collaboration: Hipnotic Jazz and Web Sheldon - 'Fleeting Moments'

Here's a new track called 'Fleeting Moments' I've been working on with Hipnotic Jazz :D

And for good measure here's another one of his collaborations, this time with MC Stretch and Roland Clark.

Website Update

It's been over a whole English year now since I first set my website free on the world of the interwebz...so I thought it was time to make a few changes...

• A section called 'Feeds' with Twitter and Instagram feeds (as well as the existing Facebook ones!)
• A new section on the Music page with my latest remixes
• A shiny new front page
• I've removed my older videos of acoustic cover songs although those are all still up on my YouTube page (and you can access them from the link at the top of this blog as well!)

Future Bilamie Gigs

Here's a list of my band's gigs coming up in the next few months!  To get a notification whenever we book a new gig, you can subscribe to our Gig list notifications below :)

Bilamie Gigs

Videos from Bilamie and La Tomatique @ Bar Wotever (4th Nov)

My band Bilamie had a wonderful evening on Tuesday night at Royal Vauxhall Tavern!

We did have half a palpitation each when we arrived and all the shutters were down...until we realised the bar hadn't opened yet so we had to sneak in the side entrance for the sound check.  We had 2 x sound engineers looking after us, although one was technically a stage manager helping us with our wires/instruments and assisting the sound guy.  It was all very well organised though, which is great at a gig because it means you can actually relax and enjoy the evening.

One thing to note at Bar Wotever (I haven't been to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern myself on other nights there so I can't speak for those), but there was great sense of humour and atmosphere thanks to the organisers and speakers on the night such as Ingo and Maria.

We were the first act up.  There was a good number of people there and a great atmosphere in the crowd too... We had a wander around the crowd afterwards with our mailing list, having a chat with people. When you get a such a nice response like on that night - thats what really makes it all come together. Here's a video of our song Lonely Hearts from the night.

The final act of the night was the debut performance by La Tomatique - wonderfully entertaining and a perfect way to round off the evening.  Here's a clip from their show.

Looking forward to the next time there! :D

Join the Bilamie Mailing List

My band Bilamie have played a few gigs now around London and we're starting to build up a mailing list to let you know our about any new releases that we have and future gigs.

Here's the form if you'd like to sign up.

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Email Address *

First Name

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We use MailChimp to manage our mailing so it is easy to unsubscribe at any time :)

Bilamie Gig - Change of Venue (20th Nov)

The next Bilamie gig on Thursday 20th November is now at Nambucca, 596 Holloway Road, London, N7 6LB (It was previous scheduled to be at The Beatrice in Camden).

Nambucca, Holloway Road, London.

See you there!

Photos from The Library Gig (22nd Oct)

Thanks to everyone who came down last night and who stayed until the end to see us.

Bilamie @ The Library

The first act on and the highlight of last night's gig for me was listening to the amazing voice of Lilac Sheer! And she was ill on the night so I can't imagine how great it must have sounded when she's on top form!

Lilac Sheer @ The Library

Here's a video from Lilac's YouTube channel - she reminds me a little of Ani DiFranco..

And more photos from the evening's event...

Matt Guy @ The Library

Mullaha @ The Library (not great lighting for pics though)

Josh Cotterill @ The Library

New Gig: The Seniors, Dronningen and Bilamie @ Underbelly Hoxton (Sat 13th Dec)

My band Bilamie has a gig booked on Saturday 13th December,  It was originally at The Water Rats near Kings Cross but has now been moved to Underbelly Hoxton!

Here's the Facebook Event!

And a preview of some music from the line-up.

The Seniors (official website)
Indie/Folk band creating musical vibes to touch the heart, the soul and the dancing feet!
I know we'll be dancing to these guys by the end of the night! Some beautiful tunes as well. Can't wait!

SoundCloud / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Instagram

Dronningen
Electro-rock project based in London.
They sound lllllusherama! Electronic noises, synths, punky girl vox and rrrraw guitars! Just Bilamie's cup o' tea! And all their songs on SoundCloud are currently available for free download.

Soundcloud / Facebook / Twitter





Bilamie
If you're reading this, you probably know my band Bilamie by now, but if not, we're an electronic duo with guitars, beats, byooootiful harmonies and slicing synths!

Soundcloud / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Instagram

Next Bilamie Gig - Weds 22nd Oct @ The Library, Islington

The next Bilamie gig is a week tomorrow!

Thanks to Up All Night Music for booking us.

We've never played at The Library before so we're looking forward to playing a new venue and meeting the other artists on the night.  Here's more details about the artists playing...


Bilamie
London electronic/alt pop duo
https://www.facebook.com/bilamie

Mullaha
London electronic artist. Sounds pretty funky and awesome.
Check out their Soundcloud page link below or stream the latest tune.
https://soundcloud.com/mullaha

Josh Cotterill
London Folk/Soul/Alternative Singer Songwriter.
Emotive vocals and heartfelt lyrics - reminds me a bit of Ray Lamontagne.
https://soundcloud.com/josh-cotterill

Matt Guy
London Alt Country Singer/Songwriter.
Here's a video of Matt performing at Nestival in Deptford in August this year (unfortunately I can't get the video in imbed at the moment).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MaoMsj5p1E

Bilamie Gigs

My band Bilamie have booked a few gigs for the coming months, here they are all in one tidy list :)

Bilamie Gigs

Live Video: Nelue - Get Down (Feat. Web Sheldon)

Here's another video from the Nelue album launch in Madrid :)

This song is 'Get Down' and is one of the songs I collaborated with Nelue on for his album.  On the day of the gig, we decided to change the way we play this song - it totally worked the new way and I reckon we'll continue to play it like that at future gigs.

Alt-J - Hunger Of The Pine (Web Sheldon Remix)

I have loads to say on here but this week is CRAZY! So for now, here's a musical interlude of a remix I just finished of the Alt-J song 'Hunger Of The Pine'.

If you like it, please share on your Facebook/Twitter or your social media demon of choice ;-)

Alt-J - Hunger Of The Pine (Web Sheldon Remix) by Websheldon on Mixcloud

"Follow Me" from Nelue's Album Launch

Here's a video of Nelue's song 'Follow Me' from the night of his album launch gig in Madrid (19th Sept).

Nelue - Follow Me (feat. Web Sheldon) (Live at Moroder Sound Club, Madrid)

New Bilamie Gig: Sat 13th December

New Bilamie gig!

Saturday 13th December @ The Water Rats, Kings Cross, London.  Now at Underbelly Hoxton.

Priveyt Photography

My mate Priveyt has recently moved to London - he's going to be guest rapping on the new Bilamie album and he's an excellent photographer as well.

If you're looking for a photographer, here's his website

Nelue's Album Launch - A Weekend in Madrid!

So it's Monday afternoon now after having spent the weekend in Madrid for Nelue's album launch.

It was a perfect weekend to go - the weather is slightly cooler now (I CANNOT handle HEAT!) and most of the weekend we spent in a town on the outskirts of Madrid in a town called Majadahonda and it was the weekend of the FIESTAS in the town.  This means there were BBQ's in the streets, loads of people, a bull arena (I watched them running into the arena but abstained from the fighting) and basically just lots of partying, drinking and eating.

    (Bull arena in Majadahonda)

There was a giant fairground too with this ride called El Tren de la Bruja which is kind of a kids ride and you are sat in carriage going in a circle (half inside darkness and half outside) and there's people dressed as witches (or other monsters) running around scaring you, hitting you with a broom, jumping on the carriage... I would have LOVED that as a child!

Thursday
I arrived on the Thursday and decided with my basic Spanish and a bit of preparation on Google to find my own way from the airport to the gig venue where we were due to rehearse.  I went to a local bar on the way and had a Caña (its like a VERY small beer!) but it was served in a glass fresh from the freezer.  I met Fernando (Nelue) and the band at Moroder Sound Cloub and we pretty much played through the songs like we'd been practicing together for ages! So that was awesome!

Afterwards I went to a friend's house nearby to have a very late siesta (I'd gotten up quite early to drive to the airport) and then wake up to drink lots of beer, eat pizza with Serrano ham on top (hehe) and talk about the power of positive thinking! lol

Caña con Tapa

Friday
The day of the gig!  We went to the fiestas in the day time, I ate a GIGANTIC sandwich/bocadillo of Black Pudding (Morcilla).  You can't see but there's also a sandwich to the right with Pancetta - which is a bit like bacon but thicker with lots of (tasty) FAT!  And crispy too! Mmmmm....

Sorry for any veggies reading this! I'll stop with the meat thing now.  It IS Spain though! ;-)

The gig went very well! Lots of people turned up, there was a *brilliant* vibe there.  Lots of people dancing, shouting, enjoying the music, taking photos/videos and then a pretty cool DJ to finish off with in the middle hours of the morning! I played a set to begin with using my APC Controller for the first time - it's like a machine that controls the laptop.

I played 3 new songs; P's & Q's, Purple Steeple and a new one called 20c.  The studio version of this one isn't finished yet but I have a sneaky video preview from Facebook at the bottom of this post.

There was also wonderful artist singing the female songs of Nelue's on the night Yoio Cuesta - La Voz.  She had so much energy dancing on stage and was an inspiration to watch!

Nelue's set went very well and hopefully we'll have some more photos and videos from the night to come soon!

In the mean time, here's some photos of the night on Facebook

And a video of the Nelue's band and me performing his album track "Follow Me'.

Post by Carmen Amorporlacocina.

Saturday
We didn't wake up till VERY late on Saturday.  But celebrated finally waking by having Broken Eggs with Jamon - its like boiled potatoes with ham and loads egg yolk! And then on Sunday it was back to London!

A great weekend! Nelue's been an absolute pleasure to work with - I feel honoured to be working with such a talent!

And the next gig I play with Nelue is in Bilbao on the 1st November!

New Song: P's & Q's (free download)

It's about a year since I played a solo gig so I decided to celebrate at this Friday's gig by playing three new songs at it - here's the second of the three!

It's called P's & Q's and it's following my apparent theme of recent times to write songs with positive lyrics :)

Click on the YouTube logo on the bottom right to see the video with accompanying lyrics :)




Click the download button in the top right corner to download this track.

Lyrics:

I’m talking faith
Not in a God
But if that helps you through the day
Then that’s all fine with me

I’m talking strength
Not like an army
But I understand the need to
Protect your family

I’m talking fear
D'you wanna feel it
Do you want to conquer another
Inhibitor thats crushing your insides?

I’m talking truth
And I mean to you
The best lies you’ll find inside
No they’re never ever seen or heard
  
Every time you fail
You’ll get back up
Grounded, focused because the best roads are rough

I’m talking love
I’m talkin’ for yourself
You’ll never love another
Until you have sorted that out

I’m talking thanks
Not your P’s & Q’s
But realising what you are
And you’re so lucky to have

I’m talking to you

I’m talking about waking up at ten past 6 in the morning
I’m talking ‘bout walking in the park, breath the fresh air the dawn brings
I’m talkin’ bout failin’ and it’s fine, knowing every time you’ll get back up
I’m talkin’ ‘bout stayin’ grounded, focused, because the best roads are rough 

Every time you fail
You’ll get back up
Grounded, focused because the best roads are rough

Nelue - As Good As True (Feat. Web Sheldon)

Nelue uploaded the first track we collaborated on to his Soundcloud today - here it is for streaming joys :)

Lyrics are below too...

Smoker in the corner
With a Gin, lemon, tonic
And a notepad

Careless to the watchers
Acknowledges the waitress
And the door staff

And he don't seem to care
That he's sitting alone
To his left, to his right
Couples playing with their phones

Then the lights gently dim
And a girl in the box
Turns the music up

They come to escape their life
They come to jump in the dive, and
They come to feel strings unwind
They come to make the narrow wider

They come to forget their work
They come to check what they heard, and
They come to bring life there too
Acting is As Good As True

Couple at a table
Being too comfortably able
To exist there
Eyes judging others
Like they know them
From the smack of their hard stare

And they don't seem to care
If they're rude or they're heard
Mask the gaps in the night
With a slurry of words

Then the lights, strobes of green
On a man in the box
Turns the music up

They come to escape their life...

What role do you play?
Is it that part in the bar?
And what d'you do with your face?
Smile for the final cut to the shot
Of the guy in restraints
Do it like a pro-trained desert soldier
Or pack your bags and abstain

Are you in it for the show?
Are you in it for the playing?
Are you in it for the staying?

You know you can be
Anybody, anybody, anybody, anybody (x8)

They come to escape their life...

Bilamie - Friendly Fire (YouTube Video with lyrics!)

My electro duo Bilamie released the first full length song preview from our new album today, the song's called Friendly Fire and here's a lil vid with the lyrics too!

Unfortunately, the video link to imbed the video from YouTube isn't working at the moment, so here is the link instead:

http://youtu.be/D-QWs3faNdc

G'night!

A new song from Bilamie - Friendly Fire

Some news from Bilamie - we've released a song from the album to make available for streaming.

It's kinda Drum & Bass / Alt Pop with guitars!

Facebook Event for Nelue's Album Launch - 19th Sept in Madrid

There's a Facebook event now for Nelue's album launch in Madrid on Friday 19th September.

I'll be joining him on stage to sing a couple of songs we've worked on together and singing vocals for a few others too :)

Click the link below to view & join the Facebook event.
https://www.facebook.com/events/592035947573027/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Blogarama - The Blog Directory

I joined Blogarama today - it's a database of all sorts of different blogs from across the interwebz!

Songs of the Week

Tracks I liked muchly from the last week or so...


1. Tops - Outside
A beautiful vocal, sensitive lyrics, a little 80's sounding and very relaxing.





2. DJ Vadim Ft. Katrina Blackstone & Serocee - Magnetic (Mr. Bird Remix)
I missed seeing DJ Vadim at Glastonbury this year but I'm making for it at the moment be playing tracks such as this one on repeat :)

3. Tricky - Sun Down feat. Tirzah
New track from Tricky.  Loving this! New album 'Adrian Thaws' to follow on Sept 8th.

4. Kero Kero Bonito - Sick Beat
Very 2014.  Reminds me a bit of Le Tigre. Rapping/singing in both English and Japanese over samples and beats and lyrics sharp and full of wit. Wit, I tell you!

5. Tieks - Sing That Song ft. Celeste
According to the Zoo Music website, Tieks has co-written for Florence + The Machine and Duke Dumont which I am both a big fan of.  Loving these tunes below too.

One more from Vashti

I had no idea Vashti Bunyan had been recording a new (and final) album for the last 7 years! What a wonderful surprise!

She's had 2 studio albums, one in 1970 and another in 2005.  However what really caught my attention was a 2007 compilation release of her demos from the 1960's called 'Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind'.  Most of the songs really did sound like demos - delicate, fragile, from the heart entirely and her beautiful mesmerising voice.  Here's one of the tracks from that demo compilation:


And now she's back with another album... here's the article I read and also a link to one of the new songs :)

Link to article:
http://www.thefourohfive.com/news/article/vashti-bunyan-s-third-album-heartleap-will-be-her-last-140

SongPop Joys of Jazz

This weekend I spent time in Sheffield to go to the wedding of an old friend and old bandmate too (now Lucy Cambell), and spent some time staying at my parent's house as well.  My other half Carlos joined me there too and we met up with friends on the Sunday for some hairy dogs (german beer...mojitos...creamy cocktails and erm a battered sausage) and didn't come back until Monday afternoon as it was a bank holiday here in the UK (although I had college in the evening!).  I've been completely thrown now and have no idea what day it is.

So tomorrow morning I will get back into my daily routine that I have at the moment of Exercise > Home made smoothie > Meditation > Self Affirmations > And then whatever Music related tasks I have set myself for the day. Today's plan was going to be around catching up on some Mastering work for college but I went to meet Beth (Mucky Cherub) to do a bit of planning as we need to finish mixing our album before the end of September *and* we have lots to organise before our next gig on 10th October. I won't go into that but its mainly to do with merchandise to give away/sell on the night.

So... I've had this blog for a while now... I can confidently say 'years' in fact.  I only really use it to talk about the music I'm creating whether with Bilamie, or solo projects & collaborations - ie. creative things!  And when it comes to music, I generally have a lot to say and I don't get to 'say' nearly as much as I'd like to.  I'm always trying to get into new or old bands and making lists of favourites songs/albums and its a shame that I don't really make notes of this anywhere, other than annoying the people around me lol. So I'm going to try a slightly new direction with this blog - and that is to write about music in general as well as my creative projects.

You know one of those annoying games on Facebook?  Well, I find all games annoying on Facebook apart from this one, but I have it as an App instead: SongPop.  I started playing it back in 2012 when I lived in Manchester and it got me into lots of new music; mainly jazz artists such as Bill Powell, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, John Coltrane. I'd been into vocal jazz since around 2003 when I lived with a friend called Lily in Sheffield and she used to play Billie Holiday to me whist we drank red wine. From that point, I grew to like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Anita O'Day and many others.

Yes - these are all female singers.  I've always preferred female vocals to male - in all genres.  It's not something where I can pinpoint 'why', its just a personal preference. I do make an effort to listen to male vocals too although for jazz, I've only really bonded with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Since getting into vocal jazz, I've been slowly moving further towards instrumental jazz such as the artists I mentioned earlier in the post; and tonight I've been trying to broaden my horizons further with Marian McPartland, George Shearing (who are both from the UK..woo!), some beautiful jazz piano by Erroll Garner, and also Vince Guaraldi.

It's been a very quiet year for me so far for getting into new artists as I've been concentrating more on creating than listening but I feel something ethereal with jazz music. It's like it presses a switch in my head and takes me to a calmer place.  Of course, if this place has a good red wine (Spanish/Italian/Argentinean) and some mini blocks of cheese to go with it then thats even better.  I do love to cook whilst listening to jazz music too though.  It's just very therapeutic.

Here's a few of the new jazz songs I've been listening to:

Samba De Orpheus by The Vince Guaraldi Trio

I was looking for a track to put by Erroll Garner and chose one of my all time favourite songs 'A Fine Romance' but I couldn't find it on YouTube, and then I stumbled across this; its another jazz standard 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' but watching him play and seeing smile and enjoy made me smile too:

And one more from Marian McPartland this time, playing another classic, 'There Will Never Be Another You'.

I have no idea how it is now nearly 2:30am.  Tomorrow I have to wake up early to go jogging. THAT should be interesting.

So yeah, I better go.

G'night.

New Bilamie gig: Weds 22nd October

Booked the next Bilamie over the weekend.

Bilamie
Weds 22nd October
The Library, 235 Upper Street, London, N1 1RU.

New Song: Purple Steeple

Here's a new song, it's called Purple Steeple.

It's about being able to feel the calm whilst in the bustling city; to just feel the heat and the energy from the sun and from the people around. Living in a big city can make you feel drained - but not if you turn that feeling on its head and let it feed you instead.

I don't assign myself or believe in any particular religion, so the term 'purple steeple' is like a metaphor for a tower of strength; looking after and believing in others, and in yourself.

YouTube Link:
To display the video bigger and in a new screen, click on the YouTube logo at the bottom right of the video :)

Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/websheldon/purple-steeple

Lyrics:

I feel the sun in my sleep
I feel the sun, I feel the heat

Mmmm slow motion
Bathing in the ocean
Of the people and the laughter
And the streets

Mmmm slow motion
Mmmm calm in the commotion
Drinks, rocks and
Harmonies and feet

While I recharge
Somethings goin' down in the city
I need this time
To cleanse my soul

While I recharge
People are spinning 'round in the city
We need this time
To feel worthwhile

When I wake up
I’m walking down to the city
Feel the waves
Washing over me

When I wake up
I’ll be venturing through the city
I wanna feel the life
It makes me feel alive inside

I’m gon' be alive, when i feel my
Mind free, get free, lost in the people
I’m gon' feel alive when i rake my
Seeds from the flowers of the purple steeple

Every time you say your truth
You grow a little inside

Gig Amendment for Bilbao, Spain

A quick note - for the gig that was originally scheduled for Saturday 25th October in Bilbao, Spain, we've now had to change it to:

Saturday 1st November

Gigs for Sept/Oct 2014

A quick update on the gigs coming up in the next few months!

Friday 19th September @ Moroder Sound Club, Madrid

I'll be singing at Nelue's album launch including the 2 songs we collaborated on and 3 others from the album.

Friday 10th October @ The Gunners, Arsenal (London)

My electro duo Bilamie will be playing our second gig (unless we squeeeeeze quickie in before then)

Saturday 25th October @ Sala Sonora, Bilbao (Spain) (change of date)
Saturday 1st November @ Sala Sonora, Bilbao (Spain)

I'll be singing 5 songs from Nelue's album at his gig and also singing a solo set too.

Another Nelue gig to be confirmed for November soon.

Something's Goin' Down In The City

Ya know how annoying it is when people are happy and they feel the need to tell you how happy they are.

Or when people write words like 'YA' !

Well...I'm really enjoying this 'creative period' I've assigned myself at the moment... We are making progress mixing the Bilamie album, I'm mastering an album for an old band mate, might be collaborating with someone from college on an electro/techno song (writing/singing a vocal) and I've nearly finished a new Web Sheldon song too - which is going to be pretty different from anything I've recorded in the past (out....this.....week.... i hope!!)

I thought when I was unemployed I was going to have loads of free time but it's really not the case. Aside from all the music stuff (number one priority), I was going to continue learning Spanish but that plan has gone on the back burner having being sacrificed for other daily things like weight lifting, singing exercises and meditation. But they are all going well.  Except I'm finding meditation incredibly challenging!  Trying to clear your mind and concentrate on one thought for 15 minutes - almost impossible. lol

I'm trying to pay attention to this phrase at the moment; 'work smart, not hard'.  I am someone who will happily start several tasks at once and work on them simultaneously.  And I think that is ok, because you need variety in the work you are doing - but the point I have to stay fixed on now is the end goal - getting things finished... but I'm setting myself deadlines and it seems to be working well.

Although this week one of my deadlines looming is to design and order business cards both for Bilamie and Web Sheldon and I spent 2 hours this morning trying to work out how to utilise Photoshop...lol

Ohhh on Friday, I'm going into college to work with a mate who is mastering a couple of songs on proper hardware (instead twisting nobs on a computer screen, we'll have a real desk!) so that's pretty exciting.

And I guess I should sleep now as tomorrow there is another full day ahead! :D

So in conclusion:
1. New song very soon.
2. Meditation is REALLY DIFFICULT.
3. And we *best* have a thunderstorm soon. Just because I love them.

Buenas Noches :)

Album launch for Nelue confirmed in Madrid

Rewinding a few months.... I collaborated on a couple of tracks with the awesome Spanish DJ and producer Nelue earlier in the year.  He will be releasing his new album "Both Sides" in September and I'll be heading to the album launch in Madrid to join him on stage for the grand event!

There'll be a couple of dates to follow at some point in Barcelona and Bilbao.

The album launch will be on Friday 19th September - the other dates to follow soon...

Summer Storm

MAN! Has it been an eventful and turbulent few couple of months!


I've been studying the Audio Mixing course whilst working the 3 month notice period in my IT job.  Also in that time, we've also played the first Bilamie gig (my electro duo) and finished off recording the album, I had my bag stolen complete with my music laptop and *many* other indispensable items and then last weekend I moved house too!


Luckily my musical soul sister Beth had another copy of the Bilamie album so we are still on target for a release date sometime in Autumn time :D  Unfortunately though, all of my solo work from the last year has been lost. No time to cry though! I got a replacement laptop last week and am well underway on recording a new song. It's over a year since I posted any new music up so I can't wait now to get something out there!


There's just a couple of weeks left before I leave my IT job and I can really concentrate on music, so I'm counting down the days now!

Start of the 4 Day Week

Today feels like a good day... I start my course at Point Blank Studios learning about mixing in Ableton and I'm taking every Monday off my job as an IT Consultant to do this course from now until I've worked my notice by the end of June.

It's going to be a busy (and awesome!) few months; also during this time we're recording and mixing for the Bilamie album, going to Glastonbury, moving to a temporary house (and I'm meant to be shedding a stone during this time as well hehe).

I've been trying to find tools to assist me in terms of planning, reminders, storing lyrics & notes etc. mainly to get the music side of my life more streamlined. There's many Apps and pieces of software out there. I'm using 3 different ones at the moment, the first being Evernote - this has been good for creating folders/files and sharing between people (view or edit), between devices (Mac/iPhone/iPad) and there's other sides to it such as storing audio notes too, so I think this will become more useful going forward. Also I got a free upgrade to the premium version because I have a contract with o2!

I've recently updated my settings on iCloud so my calendars sync between devices and you can have different calendars within the same space (Bilamie / Personal / Work etc) so I've been utilising that better.  The third helpful piece of software is a basic online project planner called http://www.tomsplanner.com/ so that is better for planning the progress of tasks over weeks/months and structuring it so you can see whether tasks are interdependent.

Time to go and prepare for class now.  I'm gonna be a STUDENT again...kind of.

Only less drunk this time...possibly.

New Electro Duo "Bilamie" / Music College / Remixing

It's been a while since the last update... but there's been lots happening!

In September last year, myself and an old friend (Beth Swain / Mucky Cherub) started working together and formed an electro duo called Bilamie.  We've been working hard ever since; writing and recording our first album.  This weekend we'll record the 7th and 8th tracks - so it's well on the way now. We're still developing our initial sound as our first batch of songs progress and we mix the album but we hope to have the album complete by the end of Summer.

We also have our first gig booked on Tuesday 29th April at The Bedford in Balham (London).

In addition to Bilamie, I've started making remixes, which I'll post to Soundcloud when I've finished. If anyone is interested in doing a remix swap or would like me to remix a track of theirs, give me a shout!

I've been working with the artist Spanish DJ/Producer Nelue on vocal parts for a couple of songs as he prepares for his latest album - and I'll be recording a new YouTube cover video soon - with full backing arrangement this time :D  Here's a YouTube video of one of Nelue's older songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjpHCmCmHZ0

I booked myself on to a course at Point Blank Music College in London called "Art of Mixing & Mastering" award and that will be starting next month.

I'm also taking a few months away from my regular job (as an SAP Consultant) this Summer to concentrate on my musical adventures :D