Wednesday, 10 July 2019

First Class Degree and Finally Full-Time

After much tribulation, I'll be graduating this month with a 1st class Music degree from the University of Nottingham! On top of that, I'm very happy to have been awarded the Music Technology prize for the year! I'm pretty proud of the whole debacle, even if I'm not that bothered by an expensive piece of paper and swanning around in a goofy dress to graduate. That being said, I'll try and update this post with a picture from the ceremony next week for posterity - whoever she is...

 
Right: myself, at odds with looking so resplendant. 
Left: Richard Needham, shortly before discovering he's a trombonist.

I've been juggling a LOT of teaching work at the minute, and have very few slots left at time of writing! In order to cope, I may have to instigate a waiting list of sorts - although once I'm driving by mid-August, that should give me a few extra hours in the week for stragglers. This may have all changed by the time you're reading this, so make sure to send me a message via my contact page!

I'm overhauling the site at the minute and trying to keep everything updated. I've added one or two more old transcriptions, but will be completely removing my "composition" page, and replacing it with a "portfolio" page which will have a selection of my compositions, my drum performances, and my academic writing on game music, including the dissertation which everyone seems interested in!

I played a great session for Michela Woods' alter-ego Wilted Flower for her upcoming album Grow in the Dark last month, and am really looking forward to hearing the singles as they trickle out in advance of the album release in late September. The material already sounds fantastic, so the finishing touches should really polish it off!

I'm still writing and recording with Koyot (formerly Ambugaton, formerly Huragan, formerly NDK). Once we finally take a name, surely the world will follow - but it's some very nasty, complicated instrumental prog-metal that I'm excited to perform soon! A few clips will ooze out in the next few weeks.

My peers are highly amused that I've been playing with a local Pirate-themed covers band, Pirates Rock, at the minute. A good laugh is nothing to sneeze at  - but I unfortunately have no pictures of my outfit yet. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait, arrrrrrrrrrrr!

I've also started rehearsals for two more metal projects - and will be announcing them as they come together a little more, but I'm very excited for the material! Managing all the projects, teaching, making sure I'm above the breadline and generally staying alive is proving as tricky as I expected it would be, but I'm pretty content to say that by sustaining all this, I'm living the dream. I'm a little too antisocial for working in pubs and clubs, but I'm still amazed every time someone gives me money just for rambling about music!

The next 6 months will be the real test of my mettle as a musican - but I'll let you know how it goes! If you want to help out, hire me as a drum, piano, guitar, theory, composition or production tutor - or as a session drummer! I'm always happy to carve out an extra hour in the day if it's fitting in more music work!

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