Afternoon to you all.

I have to say it was a little strange not heading off to the pub last Monday for an FM. Strange but good to have a break.

The number of out of office replies I am currently getting suggests the rest of the industry is off at the moment but can I please request that there really is no need to say where you are going in your message. I don’t really want to know about those of you in Barbados, St Lucia, Thailand or Australia.

It really is quite enough just to say you’re away – for those of us without holiday plans, it’s more than enough to bear!

Despite the exodus, there is still plenty of news.

Before I update you all, I really wanted to get something off my chest. Not quite my Friday rant about the difference between the Music industry and the Record industry. But a little rant non the less.

I think we have developed Cultural ADHD.

I know we have a history in this country for building people up and then knocking them down; the reasons for which seem inexplicable to me. However, as technology continues to change the way we live our lives, it seems we have developed an insatiable appetite not only for the technology but also what we consume through it.

This year, we have the highest number of female artists nominated for a Mercury. On this basis, there is already talk that labels are no longer signing female artists as they’ve ‘had their time’. Increasingly we give a band 2 albums at best before we get entirely bored of them (or is it the case that actually the quality of music being made is actually dropping?). The proliferation of electronic bands seems to have been and gone too. And what next – folk?

Align this with our insatiable appetite for technology. Myspace is so last year, Facebook so last month – Twitter – well that’s so yesterday. Spotify – how long will the enthusiasm for that last – some say the bubble has already burst. Rightly or wrongly, I am not a big myspacer, facebooker or twitterer. As you should know, I value personal relationships – it’s the very reason for the creation of FM.

It seems to me we are so obsessed with what’s next, we don’t seem to take much stock of what’s now and make much of an effort to enjoy it. Whatever happened to letting things develop and grow – good old fashioned nurturing?

People continue to demonstrate their love of being part of something real – festivals, gigs and so on. But now some of the festivals are suffering – is that because there are too many? Yes others are selling out like Glastonbury, Bestival etc

All I know is that our ability to enjoy something for a reasonable length of time seems to be diminishing as we have greater expectations from technology and what it delivers.

That this is spilling over into the way we enjoy music I think is a real concern. I think we need to take a collective deep breath and take a little more time to enjoy what so many people have spent so much time, effort and energy into making.

OK, so now on to other things.

O2 and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity are proud to announce a one off concert, featuring unique collaborations from some of the UK’s greatest music talent at London’s most celebrated music venue, The O2.

Taking place on 11th September, O2 Rockwell in aid of Nordoff-Robbins will see influential musicians including Robert Plant and Tom Jones, sharing the stage with some of the best new talent to come out of the UK in recent times. This unique event will be a celebration of the amazing contribution that Nordoff-Robbins has made to Music Therapy and the music industry over the past 50 years.

The artists confirmed to play the event, with more to be announced, in no particular order include…

Razorlight

Tom Jones

Robert Plant

Joss Stone

Ronan Keating

Gaz Coombs & Danny Goffey (performing as Hot Rats)

Gabriella Cilmi

Beverley Knight

Lulu

Dan Gillespie Sells (The Feeling)

David Gray

… with more artists coming together to plot and plan a very special Super Group to play for one night only, and legendary collaborations amongst the other artists, it truly will be the musical spectacular of the year.

One hundred percent of proceeds from the show will be donated to Nordoff-Robbins.

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy has established itself as THE charity of the music industry, with support from across the globe and patron’s that include David Bowie, Coldplay, Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, George Michael, Cliff Richard, Keith Richards, Sting, Rod Stewart, and Paul Weller to name but a few. Since its inception back in 1959 when Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins put their individual talents together for a fantastic cause that has helped millions, it has gone on to host and benefit from some fantastic events.

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy is the UK’s largest music therapy charity and the O2 Rockwell event is part of its celebrations marking 50 years of the Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins collaboration. It provides over 35,000 music therapy sessions to children, young people and adults who are challenged by disability, illness or injustice, through its national centre in London and over 70 national projects. Nordoff-Robbins does not receive statutory funding and needs to raise almost £3 million a year to continue to operate.

Ticket prices for Rockwell range from £40 to £65, and further information can be found at www.o2rockwell.com.

Tickets are on sale now from the following outlets:

The O2:         www.theo2.co.uk

Kililive.com:   www.Kililive.com

Ticketline:     www.ticketline.co.uk

Stargreen:      www.stargreen.com

Gigantic :      www.gigantic.com

Now, for those of you worried about how to make money from your music, Own-it www.own-it.org are holding a free event called ‘How Not to Get Ripped Off’ as an introduction for creative businesses on how to protect and make the most of their creative work.

When: 19.08.09 at 18:30

Where: Street Lecture Theatre, London College of Communication, Elephant & Castle, London , SE1 6SB

Please visit http://www.own-it.org/events/how-not-to-get-ripped-off for details and to register

Going back briefly to holidays, I have come across a pretty spectacular resort in Goa. Now we are not a travel agent so you really do have to go through to the link and do all the necessary checks but this place does look stunning and if you think a healthy retreat but be just what you need, maybe in the New Year, then this seems like an ideal spot. You can check all of the details out here

http://www.sandawellness.com/india/main/index.html

and if you want to find out more, please contact them directly here anna@essence-communications.com

With so much covered in this mailing, I’m going to leave it at that for now but details will follow later this week of September FM events in London, Liverpool and New York.

Enjoy your week folks.

Sybil

Like all my greatest music festival reports, it’s late

The trouble is, where do you begin with Glastonbury….? The huge international guests? The breaking bands playing in every nook ad cranny? The sheer size and scale of one of the UK’s largest music events?

From the off, the atmosphere was electric. We arrived a day before the acts officially began to settle in, and every hour or so a wave of cheering soared across the campsite. I never realised that people enjoyed pitching tents so much. That certainly set the pace, and the exploration begun. The first official band was Massimo Park, and they kicked off the proceedings with a combination of their hits to get everyone in the mood. Moving on, the Greenpeace Airport made me feel slightly guilty about my June/July schedule (ORD – LHR – ORD – SNA – SFO – ORD), but I soon (kinda) forgot when I realised there was entertainment (and cider) available there. The Little Tremors had a great intimate crowd with them, and their lively music aided a summery afternoon perfectly. Heading over to The Park we found an explosive Zane Lowe vs Mike Skinner set that even an impossible to enter tent and the first drizzle of rain failed to dampen. Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex is on Fire’ and Switch’s ‘A Bit Patchy’ being two major highlights. We then went to catch a friend-of-a-friend recommendation, The Gentleman’s Dub Club, who served up tight grooves, big bass and a party atmosphere with great crowd control, completing a fantastic opening day of music.

Friday kicked off with breakfast at The Whip, although I felt they failed to recreate the energy of their dance-rock-hybrid hits as a live act. Heading over to meet Deepgroove and Paul Woolford, the audience was a bit sparse in the various dance tents (it was still only 1pm), and so an early lunch and a walk over to the Pyramid Stage ensured we had a great spot for N*E*R*D. This is where the unbiased report wavers, as I’ve been a huge N*E*R*D fan since their first album, and consider their songs inspiring for some of my own projects. In other words, they were one of my highlights. The whole band was tight, people were up on stage busting out their best MTV moves (apart from one guy who thought the music was perfect to can-can along to, hugging with Pharrell). A short (wet and muddy) walk to peek in at Skream and Benga totally destroying a now packed Dance Tent was swiftly followed by a memorable performance by Crazy P in the Guardian Lounge.

The class acts are so diverse and in such quick succession, it left a great impression on me as Glastonbury being a very complete festival. I somehow managed to get a great spot as Jason Mraz in the Acoustic Tent, in amongst the screaming 13 year-old girls, and along with very talented supporting musicians, he moved the crowd along very well. A short stroll via the Glade Tent to check out the live electronic dance grooves of the Bays (this time without Jimpster, but with the added vocal magic of Beardyman), and I was ready for my Friday night highlight. Q-Tip. Being 20ft from the front was a great help, and the latest album never leaving my playlist meant that I had a fantastic end to a hectic day. Inspiration overload was complete.

VV Brown and Watermelons. Not her new band, but an unexpectedly satisfying start to my Saturday morning, my hunger filled (for both new music and breakfast respectively). It’s not that I was expecting little of VV, simply that I had only discovered a track of hers accidentally about two weeks prior, and I didn’t know what to expect from a new, young act, and was pleasantly surprised. Failing to get anywhere near the Rolf Harris tent(!), we went back to see Dizzee Rascal at the Pyramid Stage. Having been around for a while now (we were discussing if he was past his best. Your thoughts?), there were many a shout-along lines we could join in with. Another venture to The Park on a friend’s recommendation brought me to the sounds of the Beatbox Orchestra, doing battle with DJ Yoda, supplying backing for Jarvis Cocker, and a whole number of crazy things I never thought I’d hear!

I decided to get some rest, before a sunset show with Bon Iver, surrounded by campfires and enjoying every second of their acoustic folk-rock soundtrack. Refreshed, fed and watered, I headed over to explore Shangri-La, the after-hours crazy dace village of Glastonbury. Small streets and stalls fought for my attention, and provided all kinds of weird and wonderful Glasto moments, whilst meeting new friends and failing to find old ones (James! Buckers!) in the Mad Max mirage.

Sunday I wanted to explore more of the site, and may have missed the wonders of Status Quo in doing so, but I wanted to see more of the Glastonbury spirit, so I wolfed down a veggie breakfast from a Juke Joint with people passed out in the stall next to me, and headed over to the Green Fields. Free fruit, A Wishing Tree, pedal-powered music machines, and a general explosion of creativity was on offer to keep us entertained. The sun even came out to grace my shoulders with a (still visible) tan-line. A short walk through the Circus area, full of (psuedo)naked art classes and 1920s boxing matches, and we were ready for our next music fix, that being The Destroyers. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a 15-strong group of musicians charging around to gypsy-folk-fused-with-samba, but I strongly suggest you do. Mr Scruff over in the dance tent helped things get moving along nicely into the evening.

Our final night was yet another memorable one. The anticipation of the big finale was so huge, that we got to the main Pyramid Stage for Blur very early, leaving me with enough time to try and finish all my whisky so as to not have to carry it home (I succeeded). I had missed out on seeing Blur in my high school years, and having only recently re-united, this was a great opportunity that I didn’t want to miss. Much singing along to Girls and Boys ensued, followed by much jumping along to Parklife, and an emotional Damon Albarn taking charge of the crowd, tens of thousands strong, and leading them into a non-stop A capella of Tender, prompting two deserved and appreciated encores.

To sum up, my first Glastonbury was a real eye-opener, and I’ll make sure that it won’t be my last.

Lee Jarvis.

If your heading to the mother of all mud fests this weekend then you should try and check out The Youth Music Song Garden!

Youth Music receives National Lottery funding through the Arts Council England and works alongside the formal and community-based sectors to support music-making and training.

This year Glastonbury attendees can pop along to the Youth Music and Sing Up’s Singing Garden which will be held in the YM tent at The Left Field. Inside the tent you will find a miniature replica of the festival filled with hundreds of dancing flowers that react to the vocal stylings of the occupants. Adults and kids alike can murder their favourite songs and create their own little botantical swaying fanbase.

In addition there will be music leaders available to advise on singing technique and kids can take part in singing workshops in the Kid’s Field. For the older children and adults there is a chill out deck chair area where you can also find out about music making and a competition to win a Coldplay signed guitar.

While you are over that way why not also check out the Youth Music Build a Band Winners @ 8pm on Sunday evening.  For more info on that please click here;

www.roughtrade.com/buildaband08