Digidesign C24 – two months on

Had a chance now to evaluate the new board and now two months on I can give some feed back.

My first impressions have been upheld and I have to say I’m finding the C24 very intuitive. Unlike the HUI  it is now the centre of my work space. The jog/shuttle wheel acts as a great zoom and movement ball and other than naming tracks or playlists I have almost discarded the keyboard.

The ‘smart’ tool in Pro Tools is now my standard for editing et cetera and like the D-control, Venue and Icon the ‘EQ’ and ‘Dynamics’ buttons are useful assets to accessing plugins.

I used instrument plugins in ‘anger’ this week and was very impressed with the way the C24 acts like a KORE 2 controller giving you access to all the parameters. Once again very intuitive!

I’ve been working with Will Todd (composer of Mass in Blue) last week on his new work Te Deum and we have had to do a lot of mixing (1090 bars plus !). You can very quickly set different automation states, latch/write/latch & write, really quickly and even during passes. The ‘write automation to’ section is close to hand and the whole process is fast and excellent fun and more over just what mixing should be … CREATIVE!

No more wrestling with technology. Some of the bigger plugin windows, Sonnox dynamics & Waves SSL channel now appear on an easy to use single strip and it’s just like using the original analogue versions knob twiddling to your hearts content.

In conclusion I’m enjoying the C24 far more than I’d anticipated and can’t wait to start again next week!

Review: Juan Martin and his Flamenco Ensemble, National Centre For Early Music, York – By Steve Crowther

“Juan Martin opened his set with a whimsical explorative piece, which had the most lyrical episodes punctuated by the characteristic strumming chords (rasgueado).

This was followed by taconeos, notable for the sheer variety of colour and timbre displayed by this remarkable performer.

The show really came into its own with the entrance of dancers Raquel de Luna and Miguel Infante. They danced a series of short set pieces (Sevillanas) full of pride, posture and intent. It was a whirling, twirling delight.

The duet between Juan Martin and singer Carlos Brias was emotionally raw and gripping.

Later, the guitarist was joined by clarinettist, Paul Fawcus, in three Sephardic songs. The first two were particularly touching: a simple setting with the clarinet darkening, shading the lovely guitar melody, followed by a melancholic, sumptuous clarinet song with gentle guitar commentary.

The Rondena from Picasso Portraits was first performed for Picasso’s 90th birthday bash, and it was obvious that the composer had pushed the boundaries of Flamenco with jazz, experimental and improvised playing, in honour of the great man.

But it was the dancers who stole the show. In the Alegrias (joyful dances), dancer Raquel again performed a series of movements, each ending in the most frighteningly blurred staccato footwork, explosive gestures, a performance as intimidating as it was beautiful.

The response from dancer Miguel was scary. Again a virtuoso display of percussive foot-tapping, indeed the sheer physicality of the performance was spectacular: rhythmic, strutting, a performance emanating as much testosterone as sweat, on a Sunday, too. “

A review by Steve Crowther from the Yorkshire Times of one our recent concerts with Juan and the group. This small, intimate venue venue really responded on this hot and steamy May evening.

Being a converted church the stone floor was too hard for the dancers so two sheets of marine ply were skillfully taped to the stone floor.

A new DVD filmed in glorious HD is available now from Flamencovision

UK SINGER MIM GREY BREAKS INTO THE LIMELIGHT WITH HER DEBUT ALBUM – ‘GREY MATTERS’

Mim Grey, the sultry new voice to come out of the UK, will release her long-awaited and highly accomplished debut album, ‘Grey Matters,’ on July 1st 2010.

The album evokes the sounds of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, but she conjures up a life lived through high-heeled boots, blue jeans, curling tongs, late nights and love lost and found.

Already an accomplished singer/songwriter, Mim has performed with music luminaries such as Paul McCartney, Dave Stewart, Michael Ball and ABC. She has recorded with the likes of Kylie Minogue and Morcheeba and performed at venues as diverse as Wembley Arena and The London Palladium.

Mim had a top ten single with Mantronix and a club hit with Lee Cabrera. She also co-wrote a Kylie Minogue track, and her cover version of ‘What a Difference A Day Makes’ spearheaded Thomas Cook‘s Christmas ad campaign.

Mim’s songwriting partner, lyricist Cori Josias, adds to the maturity and emotional depth of the twelve beautifully recorded songs on Grey Matters, and it’s clear there is a unique chemistry between the two, producing truly timeless melodies and lyrics.

However, Mim’s journey as a solo artist hasn’t been an easy one. As the saying goes, Mim has truly ‘paid her dues’.

At 13, the Barnet-born teenager was suspended from school for her “dubious haircut” and left school for good aged barely 15. Shortly afterwards, her parent’s marriage crumbled, and she left home to move in with musician brothers, Paul and John Williams.

The house became a “24/7 party” with jam sessions into the small hours. Paul stumbled on an old song Mim had secretly recorded in her bedroom and when he played the tape everyone was up on their feet, dancing and clapping. Paul looked her straight in the eye and said, “Mim, y ou’ve GOT to sing.”

Mim & Paul went on to be an item for the next 6 years both on and off stage. Tragically, just when Mim’s career started to take off, Paul was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Six months later he was dead. Mim describes this as, without question, “the worst moment of my life.”

After Paul’s death, Mim’s career took a dive. Although she worked on endless projects, jetting off to America to work with top writers and producers, she couldn’t find the magic formula. Nothing felt quite right.

When she’d all but given up, Mim met someone on a London-bound flight who was to play a big part in her future. As she began chatting with Cori Josias, she felt a deep connection, setting the stage for a formidable songwriting partnership.

Meanwhile Mim fell into a Hampstead lifestyle and a volatile relationship. “I lost the plot for a while,” she admits, “I got involved with drink and drugs and my career suffered.” Fighting her way back to normality, Mim started singing at weddings to pay the bills. At one of these gigs she met the love of her life, drummer Steve Vintner. “Without Steve I wouldn’t be here today,” she says.

Steve totally fell for Mim’s voice, encouraging her to record her own album and to reconnect with her songwriting soul-partner Cori. Sitting round a kitchen table with a guitar and a laptop, the songs on Mim’s debut album,‘Grey Matters’, began to take shape.

Mim was soon “discovered” at London’s 606 Club and before long she was signed and whisked off to LA to work with world renowned producer Derek Bramble and some of LA’s finest session musicians. The album was engineered by Grammy-nominated Rob Chiarelli and mastered to perfection by Grammy- winning Gavin Lurssen, of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss fame.

With this heart-on- sleeve album ready to go on May 31st 2010, Mim Grey turns her story of tragedy into triumph.

Mim may have travelled a stony road to get here but, as ‘Grey Matters’ proves, it was definitely worth the wait.

For further information please contact Dave Clarke at:

Tel:+44 (0) 7966 557774 or E-Mail: dave@planetearthpublicity.com www.planetearthpublicity.com www.mimgrey.com