Current State of Music

Back last year, possibly November, Chip came to Brighton to play a show, we'd had a few online conversations before then, he was a guest on my show "Jazz For People Who Think They Don't Like Jazz (listen here) which was a real pleasure, and Chip was really enthusiastic. So fast forward back to this gig, I'd told Chip I was going to be there, and was nearish the stage to the side, and I was pretty surprised when he clocked me and gave me a nod...

After the show, he came into the bar where I was hanging out and we got chatting, really just to say thanks for a great show, and it was a great show, the music just blew my mind and took me away to that place you hope you'll find when listening to live music... anyway, we got chatting and he told me he was a big fan of my radio show and thanked me for the support, which wasn't really what I was expecting to hear! I'm his fan, not the other way around! So yeah, that was a bit of a moment. but suffice to say, Chip is a lovely, talented beyond belief, down to earth guy, making his way in music, who has done a few laps of the park so to speak, so I knew he'd be a good guest.

We also have a couple of other random connections, one being my good friend Fred who lives in Manchester and the second being Chips nephew who taught my son in Primary school!,

Small world innit?

So, yeah, a real pleasure to chat to Chip, which nearly went off the rails due to a power cut on his road in Madrid where he currently lives, but in spite of this, we managed to chat for a long while and it was a real pleasure.

If you want to find out more you can find his work here:

https://www.gondwanarecords.com/artists/chip-wickham

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So stoked to have had the opportunity to talk to a proper legend in the game and find out more about his journey. one of the original DIYers and still hustling, putting out his best work yet (IMHO) with a new album incoming on Strut Records.

Idris did a piece for a me a couple of years back, after chatting to him online a little bit. He is a warm, welcoming, generous person and obviulsy has such a unique voice, both musically and in the music business, he has seen most trends come and go and is still on it, partnering with Bandcamp on his latest album launch, which, sadly I don't have the details of just yet, so I can't post them here for you.

Please do take the time to listen to his work, its not quite like anything else out there, his 2018 album An Angel Fell is what drew me in, and I would say a masterpiece, but early listens to the new album show that Idris is not resting on his considerable laurels, pushing forward all the time, developing new skills and keeping the Pyramids hard at it.

I could have listened to Idris' stories for hours, we did talk for over two, and I keep thinking of things we could have gone into, but I hope you find this conversation as interesting as I did, from diving back in time to talking about the industry today, and some sage advice at the end.

Enjoy

https://idrisackamoor.bandcamp.com/

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This was one of my favourite conversations so far, and I know I probably say that about all my guests, but really, I get so much out of the connections I'm having with my guests, and it feels like something meaningful to my life. I wonder how you, the listener, are feeling about them?

Adam is a kind soul, you can tell that he is compelled to be in music, in many different forms, maybe to his detriment, or maybe not. he certainly feels the weight of looking after others, whether that is band mates or artists on his label, I imagine he is a good friend because he genuinely cares and feels it. He has been part of the industry for a long time now and I feel our paths may have met, had I gone to Alchemea (a music school in London) because it was probably around the same time that I looked round it, but decided it wasn't for me, which to be honest, was probably imposter syndrome and low self asteem kicking in more than anything (and maybe money!)

Adams label has come on my radar through working with Amanda Whiting on a remix of one of her tracks and its Adams label Alberts Favourites that is putting it out, so its funny how these connections have come around and then yoou look back and see the threads running through your life, but it seems to make sense to me now and I don't feel like a complete outsider or imposter, which is a good thing...

So, yeah, I hope you enjoy this episode, we cover a fair bit of ground, from shit haircuts to mental health (all the same thing to me) so hold tight... Cx

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Tom Gray is someone you probably don't know, but you may well know the band he is in, Gomez, who lit up things with music that seemed to be on the verge of falling apart and won a Mercury Music Prize for their debut album Bring it On in 1998. and we talk about what that means to Tom, then and now. Which kind of sums up Toms character, always looking forward and relishing the chance to be creative in whatever guise he happens to find himself, of which, he has many guises, but really it is all the same to Tom.

So you may know Toms music, but you probably don't know how he is changing the landscape for the better for millions of musicians and songwriters around the world, starting a movement called #brokenrecord which has already seen most major record labels write off atists historic debt, which means artists might now stand a chance of making some money from their back catalogue. I am clearly not knowledgeable enough about the music industry, but I've spent quite a bit of time with Tom this year (helping him build his new studio) and I"ve learned so many tings I wasn't aware of, and most of it isn't good, but Tom is working tirelessly for change and, its no surprise given his outlook, and the fact he is very hard to argue against, that he is making real progress.

Tom has also recently been diagnosed as ADHD, which we didn't have time to go into, but mirrors my own mental health journey and currentlly being diagnosed with autism, maybe we'll get a chance in the future to revisit this subject, There was a load of things we could have got into, but didn't have the time for, hsi work for The Ivors, his work with the PRS, UK Music, as well as his songwriting and his work with the Roald Dahl Foundation.

Tom is a really fascinating person and I enjoy being in his company, he is funny, intelligent and engaged, often absolutely knackered, but a genuinely warm and caring person who gets it done...

Here are some links you might look at if you want to find out more about Tom:

Gomez: https://www.gomeztheband.com/

Ivors Academy: https://ivorsacademy.com/news/tom-gray-is-the-new-chair-of-the-ivors-academy/

Broken Reocrd: https://mixmag.net/feature/brokenrecord-music-industry-streaming-labels-artists-exploitation-equitable-renumeration

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So, i fucked up... I talk about it in this episode. I forgot to press record on the second half of this interview with one of the most talented musicians I have had the fortune to chat to. Proper podcast error 101, however, through that failure we ended up going in again a couple of weeks later and chatting about all sorts we didn't get to in the 'lost episode'.

So there is a joy in that failure, and I learned quite a bit from it...

I hope you enjoy this episode, Tamar is quite the indivicual and I'm glad I got to spend s much time with her, as well as seeing her on stage with Sarathy Korwar (S3 E1) here in Brighton.

Enjoy

Cx

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I've known Rob for a little while, bumping into each other at various things around Brighton. He is a partner in Tru Thoughts, a record label which has been going strong for 20+ years, launching the talents of people like Bonobo, Quantic and Alice Russell. But they don't rest of their laurels, Rob is an amazing DJ and always has his ear to the ground of new music they can help introduce to the world.

So although we've said hi loads of times, and Rob contrbuted to a show I made for World Jazz Day a few years ago https://soundcloud.com/chriscracknelldj/jazz-for-people-who-think-they-dont-like-jazz we've never really had a chance to sit and chat, so it was a pleasure to invite him over to my studio (Gold Tone Studio) and sit for a while and talk about running a label, the place of a DJ and just chat about music in general.

If you want to find out mre about Rob, you could head to https://tru-thoughts.co.uk/ and find out more about his label, his radio show and, of course, by some music! Enjoy x

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I think it was DJ Format, or jean Claude of If Music (both previous guests) who put me onto Amandas music, and I'm sure Rebecca Vasmant had a part in that too...

I certainly picked up After Dark from If Music, it came out on Jazzman records which is a great label doing good things and its quite an etherial album and got a lot of play on my radio shows at the time. The Sunflower EP came after and I'm a sucker for an interesting cover version so my senses got spiked by her cover of Kylie Minogues "I Can't Get You Out Of My Head'

When Lost In Abstraction was incoming, I think I messaged Amanda to say I'd give it some airplay and she sent me a digital copy and I loved it, there was a couple fo tracks on there I thought were ripe for a remix and I knew Rebecca had put a remix on After Dark, so I thought she might be open to me kncking one of her tunes about.

It was Where Would We Be that really caught me and last year I went about making it into something with a more hip hop vibe to it, and I had an idea to invite a spoken word artist to contribute to it. I couldn't get anything to work out quite how I wanted and it fell to the backburner for a while.

After this interview she asked me what was happening to it and suggested getting it finished one way or another, and as we talked about, I said 'Yes'! Fate intervened and a young singer who had been using my studio agreed to add vocals and absolutely smahed it and a poet called Matt was recommended and he delivered, Amanda loved it and asked me to produce her new record.

So this episode is a bit special for me, and really its the power of connections, positivity (which isn't always easy to muster) and saying 'yes' when an opportunity presents itself, which in turn means overcoming your fears, and maybe getting yourself out of the way and seeing yourself as others do, not as you do, something I struggle with, but am learning to tame...

Enjoy!

If you want to know more about Amanda, you can check her out here: https://www.amandawhiting.com/

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Episode 2 of the new series, this week with Matt Ingram.

I'm guessing you haven't heard of Matt, but you'll almost certainly have heard some of the music he has been involved in, whether its drumming, production or writing, he has worked with some major artists and made some brilliant music.

More than that though, it was Matts energy he brought to a session in Eastbourne where we met last year that made me want to sit down and chat with him, he is really engaged, present and brings an amazing energy, even to what was quite a long day.

As you'll hear, Matts story is one of persuing his dream with dogged determination, getting into uncomfortable spaces and working hard until they become more comfortable, which I find so inspiring.

I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did...

You can find out more about Matt here: www.mattingram.co.uk/

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Episode 1 in the third series of The Currennt State of Music.

Its great to be having these conversations again, after an extended break (yeah covid and all that) and I'm so pleased to kick things off with someone whose music I have been enchanted with for years.

I picked up Day To Day in If Music after it was recommended by Jean Claude, also noticing it was on Ninja Tune and then grabbed My East Is Your West a couple of years later. It was this album that really blew my mind, the energy of the performance, the atmosphere iterally jumping off the record. Its not often a live album can capture the energy in the room, but everything about this album is glorious.

Fast forward a little and the release of More Arriving saw a slight change of direction, increased conciousness, a harder sound and I saw himm and his band at a small gig in Brighton and was blown away.

He was kind enough to provide something for a radio show I produced for International Jazz Day in 21 called Jazz For People That Think They Don't Like Jazz on.soundcloud.com/U8cQy talking about what got him into jazz, and from that I knew he'd make a great guest on this podcast.

If you want to know more, you can check out www.sarathykorwar.com/

or find him on Instagram www.instagram.com/sarathykorwar

I hope you enjoy the conversation and I'll be making the mix I created as the bed available soon to listen to.

If you do enjoy this podcast, a review and some stars on whichever platform you use would be greatly appreciated.

Cx

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Season 3 of The Current State of Music podcast is imminent! New episodes are in the bag with more in the pipeline, some incredible conversations with some incredible people, which, if you are a musician, producer, artist or work in the music industry might help you with your journey.

I sincerely hope you get as much out of these conversations as I do.

Episode 1 of the new season will be with Sarathy Korwar, dropping Tuesday 9th May.

I hope you can join us... x

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