Spare Dougal

Free Downloads

2011-08-09T15:48:00.000+01:00

As a little thank you for being on the mailing list and to keep you informed of the new music I'm working with, I'm going to be releasing a free download each month. The first one is one I recorded in one take, with a couple of mikes in one room.

Hot & Cold by Dunny & Sonny

Sonny

New Shopping Cart

2011-07-30T12:55:00.000+01:00

I've just added a new shopping cart to the website so that you can easily buy mixing and mastering online without leaving the comfort of your own armchair... or wherever you are

Plus everything is done through PayPal so you know that everything is secure and covered if anything should go wrong. That's whether you uses your PayPal account or a credit/debit card

Sonny

Lampliter

2011-04-11T16:01:00.001+01:00

A good friend of mine Tobias and his new musical incarnation have just released a single for download on Bandcamp. After a quick recording session in his Devonshire home at the end of the week, with newly born baby in the background no doubt, he whipped it over to me for a spot of mastering on Sunday morning, and back again to him to release today.

It's 'pay what you want' so there's no excuse for not go and grab it. It's the first in a line of new tracks from this new group so watch out for them this summer and be the first to hear it... here

Sonny

MixTips: Recording Diaries

2011-04-07T11:41:00.000+01:00

Here's another post about how I recorded The Little Unsaid's Into The Faceless Night Acoustic sessions and how you can do the same at home with not very much. It's all about using what you've got not wishing you had more.

Also check out one of the acoustic videos we did and see how it sounds and how we did it. All one take

Sonny

Into The Faceless Night Review

2011-04-05T18:08:00.001+01:00

Here's a great little shout out for The Little Unsaid. Thanks Tola

The very talented John Elliot and band aka The Little Unsaid are back with another offering of their splendidly melodic pop-folk-rock hybrid. Elliot continues to work his vocal and guitar magic on his latest project the ‘Into the Faceless Night’ EP which follows last year’s unassumingly terrific ‘Someone Else’s Lullabies’ album. With alluring epics such as ‘To My Lordless Sons’ acts like The Little Unsaid prove that the art of great storytelling through song is very much alive in our generation.

‘Into The Faceless Night’ is available for FREE download here.

Sonny

MixTips

2011-04-04T11:20:00.000+01:00

As a way of spreading the knowledge and making music easier for musicians so that they can get the most out of the time they spend in the studio, I've started a new facebook blog in order to share some of the things I know with people.

It's designed to cover some of the most common problems I come across in the studio and when producing. Things that are easily solved and make a huge difference when solved.

I'll also be giving hints and tips on how to do things yourself so you can get better at recording at home or just making better demos more easily. That means whoever's producing can hear the ideas in your head more easily... and everyone's a winner

Check out MixTips here

Sonny

Into The Faceless Night (Acoustic)

2011-03-31T11:13:00.000+01:00

While in the studio recording and mixing the Into The Faceless Night single, we threw up a camera, some lights and some mics and recorded this. Enjoy.

Sonny

Free Single

2011-03-24T11:09:00.001Z

Hello,

Sorry for the possible intrusive message, but I wanted to tell you about a little single that's available to download from today, Free Of Charge. It's by The Little Unsaid, which some of you may know and support and we are very grateful for all that. Some of you might not know, but want to know, and so you can download the single here:

thelittleunsaid.bandcamp.com

Just click on 'Buy Album' and put a '0' in the box that pops up.Totally free, zip zilch, nothing, zero, nowt. Hope you enjoy.

PS if you don't wish to receive emails in the future about The Little Unsaid, please let me know as we don't want to hound people who don't want to be hounded. If you don't like being hounded, then do nothing... other than get hounded.

Much Love.

Sonny

Into The Windowless Room

2011-03-14T11:08:00.000Z

the weekend is gone, and I think I need another one right now in order to recover. we've been spending the long, precious hours of daylight shut away in windowless studios rehearsing and recording new material, ready for our upcoming single release (24th March, yell it from the roofs of your cars, people!).

so after a few days of sunlight deprivation, cabin fever and insanely garlicy food, we have emerged from our studio cocoon, pale-faced and squinty-eyed, but with three tracks that I have to say we're really excited about you hearing. we're calling it a single, but it's sort of more of a three-track-mini-EP if you like, or a triple A-side if they exist (can you have a three sided vinyl record...?!). anyway, it'll be three tracks that we're releasing to any of you good people that would like to download them completely for free.

for now, here's a short video that documents some of the most sane moments from our recording session.

Sonny

Lullabies Review

2010-11-13T20:07:00.000Z

Here's a great review of The Little Unsaid's debut album Someone Else's Lullabies from SoulCulture.co.uk

Whilst performing at a North London mini-festival recently I came across the immensely talented 23-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Elliott aka The Little Unsaid. Accompanied by his guitar and loop machine Mr Elliott performed a stirring set. Backstage after a brief chat he very generously handed me a copy of his independently-released album ‘Someone Else’s Lullabies’.

Now all this journalistic blagging can be a double-edged sword especially if the swag just isn’t that good. Nevertheless on occasion something truly special lands on my lap as is the case with ‘…Lullabies’. Eleven lovingly-crafted and arranged folk/celtic-pop tracks, complete with ornate but unpretentious lyrics and heartfelt vocals from Mr Elliott and friends, this album has not left my personal CD player for the best part of a fortnight.

‘…Lullabies’ was co-produced by Sonny who has also worked with the likes of Portico Quartet, Polar Bear and Shakira to name a few. I can’t recommend it enough.

You can sample some of the The Little Unsaid below. Firstly, a clip of an Isle of Scilly performance of Room Goes Dark a haunting coming-of-age number. As should be the case with any consistently decent record it’s tough selecting a favourite tune from ‘…Lullabies’ but if I had to pick one, this would be it. Absolutely stunning.

Sonny

Pay What You Want

2010-08-14T13:10:00.001+01:00

John from The Little Unsaid had a wee interview the other day with The Mirfield Reporter (the local paper where both he and I are from). Not a huge article but an interesting one and one that is helping to highlight the Pay What You Want approach we've been taking to selling the debut album Someone Else's Lullabies.

It's not a new approach. Radiohead had great success from this approach but they are a little bit of an anomaly as when they released In Rainbows as Pay What You Want they had already received a decade of marketing power behind them from EMI. Though with the advent of Bandcamp, this trend seems to becoming more popular with musicians and bands selling their own music. Some are skeptical to employ this method, thinking that if you allow people to have something for free that they will definitely take it for free. The thing is, Pay What You Want isn't free. There is no price. If you called it "free" then people would assume that is what they have to pay. If you name no price whatsoever though you leave the decision of what it is worth down to them. This way most people don't even consider free to be an option. They think seriously about how much they think it's worth.

So far we've had a great response from this method. No one has bought the CD for free yet. All we ask for £1.50 to cover our postage and packaging, but no one has paid less than £2.50 yet... and only one person has paid that. It just proves that there are people out there that value music and want to pay for it. Some people are more than willing to pay quite a lot for something they really love. Everyone is saying the music industry is Fucked... well it is... let's face it. However, it's down to the industry itself. Labels concentrating on quantity of sales rather than trying to provide quality products and allowing the market to determine the price. If you allow people to buy the music, make it accessible and basically given them a little credit and trust them to do the right thing, then most people do... and those who do take things for free, well they are doing you a favour by getting the music out there. Plus those that pay £60 a CD balance it out anyway.

Here's the article anyway.

A YOUNG musician is taking an unusual approach by letting fans choose how much they want to pay for his music. The Little Unsaid singer John Elliott, 22, has released his first album called Someone Else's Lullabies, and invites fans to pay what they think the album is worth to get a copy. He worked with Mirfield Free Grammar schoolfriend Sonny Simpson, now a producer. He said:

"Sonny has a friend who did this and he got a really good response from it. I thought I would try it out for a month to see how it goes and the response has been really good. If you ask people to pay what it's worth they will pay £5 or £10 but some people will pay more than £20 if they really enjoy the music".

Former drama student John now lives and works in London, playing gigs in his spare time. His influences include Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake and Radiohead, who also released an album , In Rainbows, on their website where fans could choose ho much they paid for it. John said:

"We've have had about 130 sale so far but we didn't do an album launch or any marketing. We are not looking to make any money - if we make money back that's great, but we just want to get people to hear the music and respond to it."

Sonny

Boss Caine Debut Album

2010-08-11T16:48:00.001+01:00

Facebook is great isn't it? Just been talking to a good old friend of mine that I've not seen for ages, mainly because he's in York, but even when he comes down to London I'm stuck in the studio. Anyway his band Boss Caine Released their debut album this year... not long before The Little Unsaid was released actually and probably about the same length in the making.

Unfortunately I didn't get to work on it. Logistics and what have you, but hopefully the next one I'll be a part of. Here it is though in it's full glory, available to download on iTunes. So check it out. Below is a short Promo film too.

Sonny

A Sad Day.

2010-08-08T18:31:00.000+01:00

While on holiday in Spain last week I was given the aweful news that a good friend of mine had died. In his sleep and apparently without pain but still, he's gone. It still doesn't seem real as he wasn't even 40 and I'd seen him the week before I left for Spain.

He was a pretty talented film maker with a pretty dark sense of humour. I was fortunate enough to work on a couple of those films that he directed so here they are in memory of him. He had recently made a third, entered into various film festivals this year, though unfortunately he'll not see it's success. I'm sure that will be out soon though.

About Dan

Daniel Wilson quit blowing the horn for Count Basie at the tender age of six to become a professional liar. This resulted in over ten years of employment in television.

Daddy's Little Helper

This is a touching story about the adverse effect of adultery

Psycho Chicks & Total Dicks
Tags: Atom.com,Atom Originals,Atom Blog,Upload Videos

Section 44

In true Dan style this is a topical comment about the act which allows our government to hold prospective terrorist for X number of days without trial.

Sonny

The Storm Before The Calm

2010-07-26T11:51:00.001+01:00

Had a seriously busy week this week, getting everything sorted before I head off to Spain to see an old friend and member of my first band "INDICA" - the same band John from The Little Unsaid was in. Good times

Started off mixing the London Afrobeat Collective album. 7 tracks in two days, which was pretty tough going but really enjoyable. They've got some great songs and they've all been played really well so it makes mixing them a pleasure. Think they sound good. Alex is pleased, so we'll just see what time has to offer

Then it was my time to put the bass on Tobias' stuff and go through all the stuff that John did to prepare for mixing. I've literally just come out of the studio with Tobias after mixing 7 tracks in one day... it get shorted and shorted. Think it sounds pretty good though as again Tobias has performed it all spot on so makes my job easier

...and if that wasn't enough, this weekend just gone I cycled from London Fields to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast, in the middle of the night with about 2000 other people. It was amazing. Just turn up and go and we didn't even use the map as you're basically following all the red lights in front of you.

All that's left is to pack for Spain

Sonny

Me On The Radio

2010-07-19T11:20:00.001+01:00

The recording sessions that I did with Cheikh Lo for Lucy Duran's BBC3 radio show is now listenable on the BBC iPlayer website. There's a really great interview with Cheikh too. He's such an interesting man. A little fact about him, His dreadlocks are actually older than I am... he start growing them in 1983 he said.

Listen to the BBC iPlayer here and me playing bass. Woo!

Sonny

Oidhche mhath

2010-07-17T11:51:00.000+01:00

Just sitting on the train on the way back from watercolour music in Ardgour. Been up there all week with my bike sitting in on the recording of The Campbell Family Band album, produced by none other than Mr Jeremy J Boys (Jerry Boys).

I wasn't really needed in a professional sense. Mary-Ann runs a tight ship, Nick's got everything at his finger tips in the studio and Jerry was producing... that's industry jargon for not listening and then saying "that was brilliant. Let's try one more".

So basically spent my time reading cartoon strips, cycling round the Ardnamurchan peninsula, eating far too much as Mary-Ann's Aunty Karen was an amazing cook, and taking the piss out of Mary-Ann wee sister Wilma. She did teach me a couple of new words tho;

hurple - to run feebly. Somewhere between a stumble and a jog.

...and some Gallic, "Oidhche mhath" which means good night. I even impressed them with my accent. It's easy really there's a lot of phlegm involved.

one of my highlights was listening to them do a fantastic version of "As I Go Down To The River To Pray" in Gallic. It really works and I just love that song anyway. Can't wait to here the final thing

Sonny

Tobias Jacob

2010-07-07T11:28:00.001+01:00

Not a lot going on this week other than working with the lovely Tobias Jacob from The Roots Union. We've been in touch for about 3 years now or something and constantly spoken about working together on The Roots Union stuff, but we never quite got it together. It was only about 3 months ago that we actually met one another when Tobias came to The Little Unsaid gig.

Anyway, we spent a day in Livingston Studios yesterday recording the vocals and guitar for the mini album, and John from The Little Unsaid came in later on in the day to play some piano. Two of the tracks they did were all live together no edits, so it was a great day. Really impressed with Tobias' voice too. Amazing control and this was in a style of singing he wasn't used to.

I'll be putting some bass on the tracks later down the line and John going to be putting some weird noises and things that John does well, then mix it. Ready for all the gigs coming up in August so keep an eye out.

Sonny

Abdou Diop

2010-06-30T11:21:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine Jak Gomez asked me to mix a record that he's been producing and funding of a Senegalese artiste that he's been working with for a while. So I've been sitting at home all week in my pants leisurely mixing this cute record for him. There's a really nice mix of up beat and quite atmospheric tunes all with pretty catchy melodies. It's like a late night Baaba Maal with Ali Farke Touré playing guitar.

Here's a video of one of the songs I've just been mixing.

Sonny

Working with Legends... Part II

2010-06-18T18:21:00.000+01:00

Today I have just climbed another rung on the musical legend ladder... I can now proudly say I've played in a band with Cheikh Lo and none other than James Brown's Horn arranger and Legend in his own right Pee Wee Ellis.

Cheikh has been over for a few days doing interviews for the forth coming album 'Jamm' one of which was with Lucy Duran for the BBC and with it being a musical show too Cheikh decided to play a few numbers. Only problem was his usual bass player was in Dakah... that's where I step in. So me Cheikh and Pee Wee without rehearsal have a jam (pardon the pun) around a few of cheikhs songs. Luckily I knew them after working on the for so long, and Pee Wee, well he's made of music I think. He certainly breaths it.

Sonny

London Afrobeat Collective Tracking

2010-05-17T18:09:00.000+01:00

Just had 3 days in Livingston studio 1 with the guys tracking for their debut album. When you see it in the shops or on the web don't worry it is a full album... even though there are only 7 tracks... that's afrobeat.

Had a really great time and it's so nice to get a band in the studio that can play together and enjoy themselves. It's always tough with so many musicians at one (11 in total) especially making sure that everyone has a good headphone mix. It's tough work for me keeping an eye on all the mics too but I love it.

Mixing is going to be scheduled for sometime in June we think after we've finished recording all the vocals including a guest appearance from Dele Sosimi.

Sonny

Fatou En Paris

2010-05-13T18:00:00.000+01:00

Just had three days in Paris with the gorgeous Fatou doing some demos for her debut solo album for World Circuit. Only just mind as I nearly missed the train. I was woken by my friend at 07:19 and managed to pick up my tickets, get through security and passport control, on the train and sit down at 08:00. That must be the quickest journey from Swiss Cottage to St. Pancras... ever.

Anyway, went to heck out her band... I say band, she has about 5 different bands playing for her and all in the palm of her hand. Amazing to see someone with such command over everyone while maintaining such a pleasant working environment. We did 20 songs in 2 days, including vocal overdubs. Can't wait to get my hands on recording the album.

Sonny

Working with Legends

2010-05-01T00:00:00.000+01:00

This week has been a pretty special one. Three days in the studio with Tony Allen and the Legendary flugel horn play and song writer Hugh Masekela recording a few tracks for a new record with Tony. Nothing planned other than those two and Tony's bass player in the studio and see what they come up with... some fucking awesome tracks that's what they came up with. Tony plays the drums like they are a tuned melodic instrument and Hugh, well he's amazing.

Looking forward to the next installment to see what else they've got in store... possibly Pee Wee Ellis on Sax and there might be a few other special guests involve... all to come.

Sonny

A Mixed Bag... of musical geniuses

2010-04-02T00:00:00.000+01:00

Nice steady week this week and all mixed up which is great, thought I'm not quite sure which record I'm supposed to be working on. We've been continuing the saga that is The Afrocubism album with some more listening and recording some bits and pieces. Then a day mixing some tracks that Toumani Diabate has recorded with the Liverpool Symphony Orchestra (got recording from Oslo to look at too)... then if that wasn't enough I've been doing dub mixes of the Cheikh Lo record for some extra iTunes release for those hardcore Lo fans.

In the mean time here's a video of the Ali and Toumani record that's recently been released to critical acclaim. Might as well throw another record into the pop.

Sonny

Mastering Cheikh Lo

2010-03-26T00:00:00.002Z

Last day today for mastering the next Cheikh Lo album Jamm. Feels good to have finished it and feeling good about how it's sounding, but it's kind of a sad day too. No more listening to and working with Cheikh... not for a while anyway.

Here's a preview of the great artwork as usual from World Circuit and we'll keep you posted on release dates. Watch out for reviews too... send anyones I might not have seen to me too.

Sonny

The New Little Unsaid Website

2010-03-13T19:01:00.000Z

After a long hard slog, plenty of coding and a beers last night, the little unsaid website is now finished... sort of. Well it's constantly changing so it's never going to be finished, but it is finished until I do anything more with it. There's all the latest stuff that The Little Unsaid has done including music, videos, pictures from gigs as well as all the info you need to follow us in whatver why you choose, whether that be YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Reverbnation, Bandcamp, etc. (gig list to follow).

You can also subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest gigs and music news.
The Little Unsaid

Sonny

Better Late Than Never

2010-03-06T21:23:00.004Z

Well for those of you who are interested, it is finally here and named appropriately... Better Late Than Never. After much nagging from fans for a few years now (I've realised that some of these songs are nearly a decade old) and seeing the success of the recent release from The Fierce And The Dead I have finally decided to release my debut album

Writen over a period of about 2yr and then recorded while still a student and in my first days as a studio owner and engineer this is album tells the story of the period of my career going from a solo musician to a record producer. I was never quite happy enough with the songs and the recordings to release them until know when a little time and perspective has made me think that it's alright not to have got this perfect first time. It is after all the first recorded I wrote or recorded.

It was only until releasing it that my good friend and musical/social media genius Matt Stevens told me that it was watching me play my uncommon style of guitar that made him 'get off his arse and go out and play acoustic'. He's soon to support the Levellers at The Uttoxeter Acoustic Festival later this year so I'm proud to say it started somthing.
http://sonny.bandcamp.com/
Anyway I have released the album of 7 tracks along with the single 'Something In The Water' with a bonus instrumental track, on sonny.bandcamp.com. It's name your own price so you can give as much or as little as you please. There's also a video available when you download the single something in the water. Directed and produced by Dan Wilson, we made this on a cold winters day in Old Street around where Pinna Studios used to be back in the day.

<a href="http://sonny.bandcamp.com/album/better-late-than-never">Save Me by Sonny</a>

Sonny

Polar Bear : Peepers

2010-03-03T00:54:00.004Z

Just got back in from the album launch of the 4th installment from Polar Bear: Peepers. It's an album I made with them, so I may be a little biased, but I've got to say this is one of the records I am proudest to have made. So much so, I can listen to the gig and then play it in the car on the way home. A superb evening from Polar Bear, full of energy inspiring to say the least.

The Recording

It's my favourite probably because, and I've got to admit it, I didn't do a great deal on the album. It was recorded over 4 days (2 lots of 2 days with about 3 month in between) at Pinna Studios and for each session I spent about 2hrs setting mics up and the rest of the time, pressing either record or play. I forgot to record one exceptional sounding mic on the second session, so I didn't even do all that right. Everything was done live, all together in the room. No Headphones, No overdubs, No nothing... other than pure Menergy.

Mixing was done with Seb and me over two days at Livingston Studios with just the two of us taking it in turns to have a go at fiddling with the desk. Seb would do his thing, then I'd tweak it and smooth it a little, then Seb would rough it up some more to give it all the energy it has. It was fantastic. The best fun I've had mixing and the most perspective I've ever had. All that in between defining "Menergy" (more later) and deciphering that we have very similar taste in women... famous ones at least.

The Record

Well, it sounds great... even if I do say so myself. It's raw and full of energy at times in tracks like "Hope Every Day Is A Happy New Year", and the two shorties, "Bump" and "Scream". Loud and lairy screaming saxes intertwining with each other as the rhythm section lay down a solid heavy beat that keeps you grooving all the way through.

John's electronics come into their own in "Drunken Pharoah", twisting your head inside out in a most pleasurable way, but then straight after showing his skills as an ambient guitarist are second to none in "The Love Didn't Go Anywhere". This I have to say is a master piece. A track of pure elegance and aural indulgence. It makes you want to sink right into it and bath in it's happy-melancholia. Played by a chamber orchestra one would be forgiven for mistaking it for a classical masterpiece.

What's more Seb and the boys not only show their skills as exceptional musicians on their instruments and variety of playing styles and dynamics... Seb show's exactly why he is such a popular drummer and composer. Peepers the title track is pure and simple, a pop song. Catching, grooving and incredible hard not to want to move to. Swap the saxes with two young soulful girls, the bass with a bass guitar and you've got yourself a number one single. Equally as catchy but even more masterfully constructed in it's current form. Truly mixing the worlds of Pop and Jazz seamlessly.

This really is a masterpiece of an album and well worth a purchase... the album of 2010... even if I hadn't worked on it. You can purchase the album from The Leaf Shop, Amazon or from iTunes here. Enjoy listening to it. I certainly enjoyed making it.

Sonny

What A Month

2010-03-01T16:48:00.006Z

It's been a pretty busy one. After finishing up the recording with Mr Cheikh it was straight on to mixing. I've been trying to keep some regularity and sensible working hours to this session, to make sure I can fit a bit of life in as well as work, so I've been up and at work for 8am. Hard going to start with but it's actually enjoyable.

Also had the MPG Award Ceremony earlier this month. Went with producer and friend Tommy D, who's Graffiti 6 stuff is well worth a listen (EP Out now). Anyway, the awards were... interesting. It's nice to see a few people getting recognised for their work and few prizes are always good to keep morale up, but I didn't really see much in the way of variety. There was no one represented from anything outside the Pop/Rock genre which was a shame. And I don't just mean the World contingent, but Metal, Folk, Classical. It's good to have the MPG Awards, but we need a little more effort to make it what it should be.

Coming Up.

Mastering Mr Cheikh, a jam with Tobias from The Roots Union to talk about future work and then Afrik Bawantu at Charlie Wrights on Friday... a little Afrobeat to finish off the week Lovely.

Sonny

A Big Thanks

2010-02-22T16:59:00.002Z

Both myself and John would like to say a huge thank you to all who came to support and listen to us at the Blag Club in Notting Hill last Thursday. It was great to have such a warm crowd for our debut London gig, and a further massive bag of gratitude to all those who managed to stay right until the end of the night when we played!
In future we intend to be able to specify a rough stage time before the event. It was a late one, but it means a lot that so many of you stuck around to hear us, especially when many had to face a long journey home and an early start the next morning.

Especially For You

As a small token of our appreciation we are going to record a brand new song available as a free download to all those who stayed for our set. We will email the download codes out towards the end of next week - thanks again, and keep your eyes peeled for further gigs and album news...

Sonny

The Little Unsaid @ The Blag Club

2010-02-11T16:53:00.002Z

John and I will be playing at The Blag Club in Notting Hill Gate on Thursday 18th Feb. It's going to be a quiet chilled out little affair with just John on vocals and guitar and me on the little bass... well it's quite big actually. There are guest list place for all that want one so email me to get your name down. £5 on the guest list and should be starting around 20:30, something like that. Should be a good night.

68 Notting Hill Gate W11 3HT
Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate.
ENTRY:
£5 if on guestlist
DOORS: 8pm

Sonny

January

2010-02-01T12:00:00.024Z

That's the first month over with and not a bad one to start the year off. Commenced with recording some tracks with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was nice. Delightful people and we had a few children in the studio including little David who was a little noisy but as soon as he smiled you couldn't help but forgive him. Brightened my day up anyway.

Then came Tony... The Man... The Legend... Mr Tony Allen. Came over from Paris for a few hours to record a few drum tracks for the Cheikh Lo album I'm working on at the moment, as well as a few tracks for a new girl on the block Fatou. Oumou Sangaré's backing singer, but soon to be a star in her own right.

At the moment I'm in the Studio as we speak (well... read or type) with the Legend Mr Cheikh Lo. He's over for the week to make a few changes to the demos he's done with his bass player Thierno, who you should probably watch out for too. Anyway, back to work. I've got mics to leave where they are.

Sonny.

Bye Bye Fortress

2009-12-22T16:49:00.004Z

Last Friday Kev Feazey and I, with a little help from our friends, moved out of our room at Fortress Studios in Old Street in order to go mobile. We've been there over 4yrs and loved that little room, but both want to move on to new pastures.

After making The Little Unsaid album at Granny Charles Bungalow and after making numerous records in the PINNA Studio we thought we'd try a few new things and we'll be concentrating on projects we really want to work on rather than on the boring task of running a studio. Kev's going to be starting recording the Jessica Grace album with Seb Rochford from Polar Bear on drums, and I've got The Little Unsaid album to sell as well as a few AfroBeat and Jazz records in the pipe line.

All in all a great 4yrs at The Fortress but a New Year and New Directions are calling. Exciting. Here are a few pics of the empty studio to remember it by. Happy New Year.

Live Room

Control Room

Lounge

Sonny.

Oumou Sangaré "Seya": Grammy Nominated.

2009-12-08T17:40:00.002Z

The other day I got a rather pleasing email from Nick Gold or World Circuit Records, telling me that the latest Oumou Sangare "Seya" has been nominated for a Grammy Award under the field of "Best Contemporary World Music Album". I was fortunately to have Mixed the album along with Jerry Boys as well as some arrangements, Dubs and recording for the album. So I can now call myself a Grammy Nominated engineer. Unfortunately you can't eat Grammys or use them to pay the bills (The Grammy always own the actual trophy) and you especially can't eat Grammy nominations, like I couldn't eat the Mercury nomination (didn't stop me trying), but it's nice to know someone notices your work.

You can read more about the Nomination and the album on the Nonesuch website here. Buy it. It's a great album.

Oumou Sangaré - Seya

Sonny

The Little Unsaid Piece Of Fruit/Given Single Launch 28th Nov

2009-11-30T22:23:00.006Z

The first release is here. On CD and soon to be out on the Internet. Keep your eyes peeled. We got it all ready to co inside with the finale of the Liverpool Folk and Roots Festival at St Brides Church, Liverpool. It was the first proper gig that John and I had done together and the first time that our Cellist, Sophia, had heard the songs (well done Sophia. Sterling work). When I say proper gig I mean more than just a few men ad a dog and people actually payed to get in. Packed it was and very cold, but that didn't do anything to dampen our spirits. We played first to get everyone warmed up (so to speak) and were followed by, Liz Green, The Random Family Band (our kind Hosts) and to finish, Denis Jones. An amazing night and a great end to a week of great music.

So the single is out for sale on CD now, contact us for a copy, and it will also be available for download from 8th December (RIP John Lennon). That's all for now, but here's the beautiful Piece of Fruit/Given Single artwork by Alex. Take care

Sonny.

Independent Cabinet Members?

2009-11-30T21:10:00.002Z

From Independent-MPs.co.uk Blog

Thinking about independent MP and how this might impact the day to day running of government, it's hard not to conclude that party politics in the current system will always win out. For the simple reason that even if 95% of MPs were independent and the other 5% was one party... the combined organisation and collaboration means that the party would rule.

So you can see how and why party politics have come to govern our country over the years. A group of like minded people coming together to unify resources. But this could mean something like 37% of the votes rules 100% of the population because they get to choose the cabinet from their group of like minded people. It's frowned upon to do otherwise.

When Boris Johnson was campaigning for The Mayor of London he asked Menzies Campbell to work underneath him if he won. Campbell considered it but from what I can see to be peer pressure only, he turned it down. It would be "letting the side down" or "sleeping with the enemy" as it was construed. I thought this was a preposterous way to look at it. Johnson was simply asking the person he considered to be best for the job regardless of colour (party colour I mean) and the Lib Dems looked a gift horses in the mouth. They turned down the opportunity to be a seriously active part of a governing body, not just someone shouting from the side lines.

It was a sad day for politics and democracy in my opinion, but it shows how our government might be forced into picking a cabinet in the manner of "best of a bad bunch" rather than "best man for the job" (or woman obviously). I would have thought that a conservative would have been better suited to running the fiscal elements of government, where as a socialist better at social welfare issues, a green party member better at energy management, a BNP member on immigration (only joking, the only role they have in the cabinet is locked away in the bottom draw behind the bed linen... just my opinion though). Essentially though, our current system of choosing a government means that we are not utilising some of our countries finest talents, just because of their party affiliation.

In order to make sure Independent MPs is a viable option of government and not one that is sacked off after the first term in office I think we need to get rid of party politics altogether. So Fred Smith stands as Fred Smith for Northampton, not Fred Smith, Labour. You choose the person that best represents you as a constituent not who you think is more likely to stop the other party that you don't like getting in. Tactical voting would no longer be an issue.

Instead we have a House comprising completely independent MPs, who get together to choose a Prime Minister and a Cabinet so that all MPs have as much of a say, rather than the situation we've had with Gordon Brown becoming an unelected PM. With the whole House choosing the Cabinet/PM who are in turn accountable to the whole house, this would encourage people to stand up for what they actually believe in and what their constituents believe in. Not the current system where some MPs suck up to those with a bit more power, just to get a nice seat in the cabinet and then when it all goes wrong they just all swap places and do just as bad a job. How many positions in Cabinet has Mr Mandelson held even after he has been involved in scandals.... (hushed tones from a lawyer)... allegedly.

This is surely a better form of democracy than party politics and first past the post?

Music Industry: Stop Whinging

2009-06-19T11:03:00.003+01:00

Recently my cousin Patrick (@patrickjpr for tweeters) introduced me to a friend/colleague of his Dean Bubley. After being introduced and being told what I do for a living (making records) he soon laid into me (in the nicest way and quite welcome) about the music industry and how it should stop whinging. I wish I had recorded the conversation as it was a far better argument than his blog here but have a read and you get the general idea. The following essay (sorry guys but this is the abridged version) is my reply to his blog after careful consideration.

I might just add that I have not had a response from Dean after this. Does this mean I have converted him? Thoughts please.

All Hail The Internet.

The Internet, iTunes and social networking are of great benefit to the music industry. Large record companies are trying to maintain "business paradigms", but this shouldn't be confused with upholding current law.

I do not wish to over regulate or censor. The Internet should govern itself to a large degree. However, only up and until it infringes on the current law. Change the subject to pedophilia and there is no question about regulation. The law currently governs both.

Progression not Regression.

From your blog I assume you agree The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is valid. So what is the problem with upholding it, whether or not you are directly affected by it?

The music industry is the ringleader, loud and arguably over dramatic, but does that invalidate the argument? Does being the first to shout, mean being the only one? If they were, would we be having this debate? This problem affects intellectual copyrights.

Should all creatives accept this as inevitable? Should Hawking have to give away 'A Brief History Of Time' to make money from teaching? Or Trevor Baylis his windup radio patent?

Ignorance Is No Excuse For Crime.

People find it difficult to compare physical and intellectual property due to intangibility (I mean songs not CDs, stories not books). It’s argued copying doesn’t deprive anyone of the intellectual property, but that does deprive potential revenue. If we replace an album with a house the issue is a viewed differently. The sums of money involved can be equated.

A housing developer buys land, employs architects, builders, an estate agent, and creates show-homes (free content). They manage to sell one; the others have been taken over by perfectly wealthy people because;

“We want to live there but it wouldn't be possible to buy all the houses we want to live in. We'll buy the next one. Think of it as marketing. Well tell our friends to buy from you. You make money from lecturing about town planning anyway".

- Joe Public BA (hons)

Why is that not right even though shelter is a greater necessity than the luxury of owning music. I'm sure the homeless would prefer a free home. The law notices the similarities, so why, does the Internet, change that? Can I steal your home over the Internet, just because I wanted it but don’t want to pay for it?

It’s Not What You Know.

You say the music industry is making a disproportionately loud noise in relation to the importance of music (debatable, "without music, life would be a mistake" - Nietzsche). Is it disproportionate to the importance of intellectual property however? Music has a unique relationship with all humans, but what is the problem with using this for the greater good? is the argument less valid? I can only attribute a wish that one's own industry had a similar appeal.

Bob Geldof has proven this usefulness but it isn't a music industry phenomenon. Thomas Clarkson used his contacts with William Wilberforce to abolish slavery. Geldof or Sharkey's work is not to be regarded as highly as Clarkson and Wilberforce's, but Sharkey doesn’t wish to abolish the Internet, just enforce current law. Racial or sexual exploitation is as abhorrent whether on the Internet or in a shop.

The Starry Lights.

"I cannot believe that anyone entering the music industry in the last 10 years has done so expecting to make $$$ from record sales. All the musicians I know are well-aware of the score."

You know some particularly well-informed musicians then. I'm a record producer and work with lots of musicians. Most believe they are destined to earn millions and that because I’m in music I must be super wealthy. They confuse the glitter with shiny coins. When they find out the harsh reality they are surprised at what they can actually earned... if they get paid at all.

This problem has been around since the music industry began, but is unrelated to copyright infringement. Most of these musicians probably download illegally but that shouldn't justify the act. If a victim of racism reciprocated, they would be just as guilty as their attacker. Should both accept the prejudice and, as you say, 'stop whingeing'?

The rise in musical instrument sales is also another erroneous issue adding to the confusion. One of market competition and reduced manufacture and distribution costs. Another blog perhaps.

Giveaway or Takeaway?

The music industry is not interested in a pseudo-communist market where only certain people can sell music and at a set price. No one denies that freebies and some illegal copying are great marketing tools. Metallica owe some of their success to bootleg tapes. It's been happening it since the industry began in newspapers and on Corn Flake packets. Mr Sharkey himself gave a free copy of his music to a certain Mr Peel. Lily Allen gave out music on Myspace, but this shouldn’t mean all music should be free.

File sharing adds a new problem. It can be done on scale far greater than pirate radio, bootleg tapes or CD combined… with absolutely no degradation of quality.

Surely the price of a work should be the decision of the owner, digital or not. Whether people pay that price is a different matter determined by demand on a free market. Recorded music may, due to variety of entertainment forms, be reduced to the gig-marketing budget, but let a free market decide, not a black market.

A Question of Responsibility.

Consumers have some responsibility, but individual persecutions would be like herding cats (sharers on a large scale should be prosecuted though). The creative industries have a responsibility to educate the public about the problems but the onus should be placed on those allowing and profiting from the popularity of P2P: The P2P/ service providers.

We shouldn’t restrict them; it's a great service that should be encouraged, but nor should allow them to deny responsibility the part they play. Why should they profit from content while the creators don't?

You might say it’s huge undertaking to track all illegal downloads but the MCPS, PRS, PPL and BPI have been doing this for years. The problem isn't manpower,; it’s the lack of authority to claim what is legally theirs. Radio stations are responsible for a DJ playing a song, both profiting from selling advertising aimed at the listeners of those songs. What’s the difference?

Radio listeners don't even own the final product. Regulation hasn't reduced radio stations, or the quality and variety of content. There are more radio stations with more content than when the BBC was allowed to tax the purchase of radio equipment.

Music free to the consumer, regulation of broadcast and distribution, free markets and ‘freebies aren’t new concepts. The only thing new here is the technology, yet that is still only the broadcast of electromagnetic waves.

The Wrong Conclusion From The Right Results.

The issues and consequences surrounding copyright infringement have been muddled up with market competition, censorship and paradigm maintenance. The web is here to stay and is only getting bigger. We should embrace the change, but not to the detriment of our values, ethics and laws. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".

We need to uphold our rights and responsibilities that have taken hundreds of years to refine. Let’s not stop now. Rather than waste time and energy telling the industry to turn it down, help focus the real issue. Encourage good moral grounding. Maybe it will affect you someday… maybe it won't. Slavery didn't adversely affect the people who abolished it though.

Anyway, maybe it will sift out some of the shit that is swamping the markets (wink). God forbid 'shit' be determined by anything other than popularity... or lack thereof.

Tony Allen Remix Competition: ALBUM OUT TODAY 08.06.09

2009-06-08T23:47:00.002+01:00

The new Tony Allen record that I mixed for World Circuit is out today on CD and Download and keep your eyes peeled for the 12inch vinyl version, with the possible inclusion of Dubs from the Master, Dennis Bovell. There's an album Launch party in line with the launch of Ornette Coleman's Meltdown Festival this Friday 12th June 2009

http://meltdown.southbankcentre.co.uk/2009/meltdown-launch-party-with-tony-allen/

Also check out the remix contest that they are holding. You could win something pretty tasty. Enjoy.

http://tonyallenremixcontest.blogspot.com/

Sonnyengineer.com

What A Week: 08.06.09

2009-06-08T11:02:00.000+01:00

What a week this has been. I must have been on about 5 sessions and all of them great fun.

Firstly started the week of with Outhouse, finishing off the mixes for the Outhouse Ruhabi album that Dave Smith & Robin Finker have been putting together. Then on the same day a mad dash over to the World Circuit offices to see Tony Allen as it was the release of the album, Secret Agent.

Then recording with Polar Bear, finishing off the next album. Seb brought in a load of mics that he'd been buying off eBay, one of which was this RCA commentator's mic which we stuck up in the room on top of one of the acoustic screens and it sounded awesome. The downside being, that I completely forgot to record the thing for most of the tracks so it's only on two of them. Seb being the gentleman that he is, was very nice about it however (thanks Seb).

Then I've been mixing the Zascha Moktan album with Tommy D at his place, now he's got his lovely new Matrix console (there'a an interview with him in Resolution Mag last month I think) which was good fun as usual. Good food, good wine, good company and some being silly with his two daughters to make it all the easier... And from the sublime to the ridiculous (ridiculously good) after mixing Pop in the morning, I got to PINNA about 4pm Thursday to start a session with Seb Rochford, Pamelia Kursten and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, to record some random jamming. Awesome. I bought myself an SLR camera the same day which I christened on this session so you can have a look at some of the pics on my flickr stream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonnyengineer/

To finish the week off, Tony Allen was Launching Ornette Coleman's Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre on the Friday, as well as launching the new album, which is getting rave reviews. The gig was blinding. To say the man is in his mid 60's he can play better than anyone. Still amazes me. So all in all not a bad week really. To see us out, Kev and I will be having a spot of luncheon down by the Southbank before engaging in some light entertainment of the Acoustic Ladyland variety. Splendid.

Here's a bit of what I've been up to:

BLESSAY 01: It's The Little Things...

2009-02-21T13:38:00.001Z

INTRODUCTION

I'm sitting here in Livingston Studio 2, mastering the Tony Allen record I've been mixing over the past couple of months and contemplating what I have learned about sound and mixing... and a hell of a lot it is. It 's a mind field and can be the most fun in the word. I've heard of studies that show the mind reaches a state similar to meditation while mixing. Though it can also be a nightmare. Even those producers and engineers that have been doing it for years are still learning things and they are lying if they say they aren't.

There are many points to make about mixing and getting into nuances of genres and preferences, this Blessay could turn into a thesis, but it is a Blessay and there are two points I have learned recently which I feel are quite important. For that reason I shall concentrate on those, thought please feel free to comment on any of the other aspects of mixing.

Blessay 01: Mixing

1. It’s A Balancing Act

In the early days the job of 'mixing' was undertaken by the 'Balancing Engineer' and it was the highest link in the chain in terms of engineering. For me, balancing seems a much more appropriate word than mixing as it is a balancing act between so many contributing factors. The word 'mixing', for me, gives the impression that you get certain measurements of the contributing elements outlined by a recipe and just mix it up. They will fall together however it is mixed because the elements are there and the amounts are correct. A little like mixing cake mixture. Though this couldn't be further from the truth. I would liken it more to building a dry stone wall, where you are missing a couple of bricks. Every tiny movement makes a difference to the surrounding elements and to add to the matter; in the words of Einstein... it's all relative (words to that effect anyway).

For example, with this Tony Allen record I am balancing at the moment, it was important to make sure that the groove was the predominant factor and that Tony, being the drummer and a groovy one at that, was to be loud and proud. It was also important to make sure that everything else is balanced in a way that makes it sound like a record, not like the drummer's headphone mix. Turning the drums up establishes the beat and makes it predominant, but turning them up too far makes everything else sound small and weak. It's a fine balance between where the drums take over and where the tune distracts you from the groove. But...

2. You Can’t Have Everything.

There are so many ways that you can cook a cat as they say and it's the same when mixing...sorry, balancing. Everything has an effect on your perception of how something sounds. The intro of a song is so important to how you perceive the genre of a song; the amount of kick drum determines how much you want to get up and move; the horn level changes the excitement of a track and the vocal level determines how loud most people turn the track up. Though as I said earlier, it is all relative. Why is the kick drum really loud, because if you turn the overall volume on the stereo down it's not loud at all. It's relative to the things around it. Also the brain can only really concentrate on a few things at once and so everything else becomes apart of the surrounding atmosphere.

I've come to realise that the brain can only truly concentrate on one thing at a time and a few things most of the time and the rest only if you really try to hear them. In a similar way to how your eyes work. You may think that everything in your vision is in focus but it isn't really. Only the very small thing you are concentrating on is in focus... your brain tricks you into thinking the things around are in focus and the rest is blurry periphery messy.

In the terms of mixing your star instrument has to be the most obvious... not necessarily the loudest though. This is usually the voice for obvious reasons. With Frank Sinatra for example, his voice was so important that not only was it extremely loud in the mixes, but the composers would right arrangements that were very sparse when he was singing... in a 'shut up it's frank's turn' way. The star instrument doesn’t have to be the voice though. For Tony's record it was the snare drum. Odd perhaps, but he is a very groove driven drummer and his snare sound is quite special. So I made it as loud as the vocals generally. Then once you've got the star instrument, you need to work out the bones of the song. For Tony it's the rest of the kit and the bass and rhythm guitars. Balancing these around the star instrument is extremely important. Too loud and they become the centre of attention; too quiet and they no long support the star. Fine adjustments of these instruments will either hinder or aid your focus on the star.

It’s like lighting up a subject to take a photo. Turn the lights down too much and they you don't get anything of any use, your start instrument looks a bit shit... yes it's a nice sound but there is no context... Turn these lights up too much and you get distracted from the main focus and you loose focus all together... even get annoyed by it. But when you get these balances just right, they help to make the star blossom. Highlight it from certain angles, draw your attention to certain details and you can definitely hear them. There can be quite loud when you concentrate on them directly... but when you sit back and hear (rather than listen) like taking a step back from a painting and letting your eyes relax, then everything falls into place and nothing stands out other than the central focus, the star instrument. How many of you could say what the background of the Mona Lisa is... but you know there is one don't you.

Sonny.

An Education In Itself.

2009-02-06T19:46:00.003Z

I've noticed that I've not written anything about recording an so on for a while. It's been a load of shite generally so I thought it was about time I wrote something vaguely useful. I want to try and write something useful each month and exchange my thoughts and knowlegde with those out there who are interested.

This is the first and hopefully this will be of some use to budding engineers, or just interesting to anyone, or even encourage people to share their opinions. I thought I'd write it as a bit of a short 'essay' for want of a better word. Please feel free to give feed back (not on spellings though thanks. I know I'm shit at it), and give your opinions. Each one shall be Headed 'Blessay:' stolen form the marvelous Stephen Fry... if you want to keep track. So, here it is:

Sonny.

The Sky This Morning 30th Jan

2009-01-31T00:59:00.002Z

That's what I woke up to this morning. How's That for a view. It might not look amazing from the shitting picture on my phone but it was when you're bleary eyed from waking up. Cracking.

RIP John.

2009-01-29T17:29:00.003Z

I found out today, to my utter dismay, that the great John Martyn passed away. Fucking gutting. That man was a musical genius

"If I could control myself more, I think the music would be much less interesting. I'd probably be a great deal richer but I'd have had far less fun and I'd be making really dull music."

May his music live on longer than he did. 60yrs old is nothing.

End Of January... Already.

2009-01-29T10:06:00.003Z

Just set my hi fi up at home again. Nice to have music playing through some decent speakers and a nice amp (Tannoy E11s and a Quad 405 foranyone that's interested) rather than the speakers in my laptop. Apple are good at product design... but someone needs to have a go at their speaker design. They are fucking awful.

I can't believe that it's nearly the end of January. Pretty good month all in all though. Tony Allen's record is nearly finished. Mastering next week and should be done. Oumou Sangaré latest one has been getting really good reviews and should be out sometime in Feb. Hopefully Feb is as good as this month.

Sonny

A Little Bit Of An Awakening...

2009-01-16T00:25:00.002Z

Did anyone else get this over Christmas this year?... and I'm not talking about drunken, "God I love you man, you're like the best ever and if only it had things and just made it like they could fall right out the sideways was suck a good film of stuff all on the..." and so on awakening...

I'm talking just a little kinda good feeling about 2009. We're probably all going to die aren't we and robots will take over the... nah fuck it. It's going to be good, what do you think?

Hands up... or answers on a postcard to:

10 Below
Just Down There
Underneathshire
JD1 9RT

Sorry but entries cannot be returned so please send copies.

Sonny

The Greatest Drummer......... Ever.

2009-01-14T10:52:00.002Z

Tony Allen that is...

Sorry Seb. You're fucking good, but this guy just oozes rhythm

Just had two days @ Livingston studios with the master, making tweaks to the mixes of his latest album. The man's a genius. He writes all the parts... every single one of them. He's been pretty pleased with everything so far and is the happiest he's been with a record apparently. Not sure when the thing will be released... that's not my bit, but stay tuned.

Sonny

New Website

2009-01-09T14:39:00.002Z

Hello there,

For those of you who may in interested or want to fake some sort of interest (either is fine by me) I've made myself a new website. It's all new and clean and tidy, so have a look quickly before it gets a bit rough round the edges. Let me know what you think and if there is anything you would like to know that's not on there.

Got to: http://www.sonnyengineer.com/

Have fun,

Sonny

Mercury Music Award Ceremony.

2009-01-05T12:28:00.008Z

Well... it was last night and unfortunately Portico Quartet didn't win it, but what a record to be beaten by. Great news for Elbow. They've been doing it for 18yrs, which I didn't know

It was a great night though. if you missed it on telly it's showing again one Friday on the BBC so watch out. Portico played a blinder and they were all just happy to be a part of it. For a first record from a instrumental group, it's a pretty good acheivement. Well done guys. Thanks for having me there.

Some great performances from Adele and Rachel Unthanks and the Winterset... truely spine tingling. It's great to see so much good British music about. What a year.

Check out more about the night here,

From The Mercury's To Pure Gold

2009-01-05T12:28:00.007Z

After the night of wining and dining with the Portico boys at the Mercury's, I, rather dull-eyed and shabby-tailed, join another Mercury Nominated musician at Pinna for a mind blowing session. None other than Mr Seb Rochford was in with the delightful Pamelia Kurstin on theremin.

They were basically jamming together for hours... literally hours and I got to sit back and listen to it. It was fucking awsome. I threw some mics up and they did the rest. Seb's drum kit was one of, if not the best sounding kit I've recorded.

I don't know what they are going to call themselves (neither do they), but stay tuned as it's going to be a blinder of a collaboration. Check out some of what they were up to.

Sonny Pinna.

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T12:28:00.006Z

Hello there everyone. Not been here for a while, but been run off my feet, so just to keep you up to date and give you a glimpse of what 2009 has to offer...

I've been mixing Tony Allen's new record at Livingston Studios recently. Sounding pretty Chubby (like phat but a little more polite... we all know what you're trying to say though) and some great drumming. That man is a genius.

Had two days in PINNA studios with Seb Rochford again but this time with his Polar Bear crew. Great guys, and what players. Should be coming in for another couple of days soon so eyes peeled. By the way Leafcutter John finished making an acoustic guitar with his very own hands. Impressive stuff. I've always wanted to be a luthier. Check it out www.leafcutterjohn.com.

I'm also working with Her Make Believe Band (myspace.com/hermakebelieveband) on their debut album... kinda modern country but with a nice jazz twist (not too much for those who don't like the word Jazz). You should be hearing some big stuff from these guys I reckon.

Oh and got myself a new website. Let me know what you think www.sonnyengineer.com. Still at www.pinnaproductions.com, but this one's just for me.

That's probably it for now. Got a load of other projects coming up but I'll let you know about them when I get to them. Bored of typing now.

Laters... Sonny,

Only One Week To Go 'til The Mercury Music Prize

2009-01-05T12:27:00.005Z

Only got a week to go before I'm off to the Mercury Music Prize Ceremony with Portico Quartet. We're going to be rubbing shoulder with the likes of Radiohead and Elbow and other such wonderful people... and they're all going to be playing too. Got anything you want me to ask Tom Yorke or Guy Garvey? Let's hope Portico win ey.

Oh one thing we've all got to do is place a bet on Portico to win so that the odds are lowered and that my sway the judges. You might just get yourself a nice little kick back too. Check them out.

Sonny Pinna

Joe Stilgoe Album Launch

2009-01-05T12:27:00.004Z

A date for your calendars everyone. The Ivory Tinkling, Jazz-legend-in-the-making that is Mr Joe Stilgoe is Launching his debut Album on Candid Records. It's going to be at the famous Ronnie Scott's from 20th-22nd of October. Now I know what you're thinking, it's a long gig, 3 days How's he going to have enough material for that long. Well most of the songs will be played at half speed. The band begins at ten to six When Mr. S. performs his tricks without a sound And Mr. H. will demonstrate Ten somersets he'll undertake on solid ground. Having been some days in preparation a splendid time is guaranteed for all And tonight Mr. Stilgoe is topping the bill.

It's not really 3 days long... don't be silly. Check him out here http://www.myspace.com/joestilgoe

And have a peak at what we've been upto.

Sonny Pinna.

What Drives Us

2009-01-05T12:26:00.006Z

Just a bit of a random blog here. Not really to do with music but then, who said it had to be. I've just read and replied to a blog posted by Lobelia on our www.jitterwall.com site, about trying to win over an audience when performing and how hard it can be and so on. It got me thinking of when I used to perform (I say used to as the gig I did recently was the first in 2 years and reminded me why I stopped) and why I stopped doing it.

I used to really enjoy going out and putting my performance skills to the test and holding everything together under the spot light and trying to be a watchable act and then got bored of it. Mainly because it took me so long to write songs and the drive for righting songs had gone (mainly because I got so much more pleasure from listening to other peoples). It had been replaced with recording other peoples song. I found it exciting to be working with musicians and songwriters putting there music on record. you get to be so many bands at once.

Now I still love doing that, but part of it seems to have changed somewhat. It doesn't feel quite as new as it did (obviously because it's not), so then how do you keep it feeling new and what do you do to keep enjoying it as much as ever. What drives us as social beings to do things. Is it a character thing? Are there certain people that find enjoyment from doing the same task over and over again and still find that something new in each element... and am I one of those people that's constantly finding new things to do, because it's not the doing it that's the fun bit it's the fact that it's new?

It's quite an interesting question that I'm throwing out there I think. This is the first time I've come across it in a situation that really matters i.e. my current career depends on it. Before, anything I did was a 'hobbie' and I've not done anything else for quite as long without it dropping in importance. What drives you to carry on doing something?

Sonny Pinna

Me & John

2009-01-05T12:26:00.004Z

It's been a little while since my last blog, so apologies, but I've been up to some interesting stuff... well I thinks so... I'll let you be the judge of that, but I hope you agree. Just finished another 4 days at PINNA Studios with the young genius that is John Elliott... now to be know as Me & John... so watch out for the name. We finished off another 3 tracks for his debut album which is all him. Other than some strings on a couple of tracks soon, he's the only on playing and singing. Little genius he is.

We've also been shooting a video for his first couple of tracks, which should be out soon. We'll keep you informed. He's editing the video as we speak. That's right he's doing the video as well. he's the only person in that too. For now he's made a wee video of himself doing a cover of a Radiohead song 'Faust Arp' which is cracking. Check it out below and some of the stuff we've been doing in the studio this last week... including "when we're cleaning windows".

Sonny PINNA

August Already

2009-01-05T12:25:00.002Z

I can't believe it. It's here already. I doesn't seem like 5 minutes since it was xmas. Anyway, it's been a week or so since the last blog, just because I've been so busy. I did a gig last night at Zephyr Stock, back home in Huddersfield, which was good. I was on first so get chance to see the rest of the bands while getting drunk on Zephyrs fie range of beers. Mmmmm Draught Erdinger. (no Duff though). There was the Voltaires, The Russian Dolls and Kill It Kid who were great. Two really good singers. Really didn't expect the guys voice to sound like it does too. Check them out.

Sonny Pinna

PORTICO QUARTET Nominated for MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE

2009-01-05T12:24:00.002Z

Well, I was informed today that the Album I recorded and mixed with Portico Quartet last year has been nominated for The Mercury Music Prize, which I was overwhelmed about. We recorded and mixed (and co-produced) the whole record in 6 days, well two lots of 3 days. We were in the studio in the Jan of last year after I'd just come back from Africa working with Jerry Boys and Orchestra Baobab. Then a few months later the guys were picked up by Babel/Vortex Label, so they decided to come back and record a couple more tracks and revisit one from the earlier session.

I liked it from the start, so I'm not surprised (well maybe just a bit) that it's been nominated, but I reckon it's going to win. It should do anyway. The competition is tough with Elbow with 'Seldom Seen Kid' and Radiohead's 'In Rainbows', which are my two favourite albums of the year, but I've got to say 'Knee-Deep In The North Sea' deserves it more.

Anyway, boast over. Though it's more a boast of the tanents of Portico rather than my involvement, even though they have called me the 5th member (thanks guys). Go get a drink of some sort (tea will do) and join me in a cheers to Portico for the nomination, and see how a little bit of it was made... here:

Sonny Pinna,

http://www.pinnaproductions.com

Joe Stilgoe Recording His Debut album @ Livingston Studios

2009-01-05T12:23:00.003Z

Well Just finished another day with Legend, jazz pianist and vocalist, Joe Stilgoe on his debut album for Candid records. Joe had written a couple of new song and had another standard up his sleeve so he got Ben Reynolds back in on drums, and this time Tom on bass as Chris Hill was on his stag do... without us. What a cheek. Anyway. Zippy made an appearance to help with some drums and vocals, which made the session go quicker.

We got 3 tracks recorded and two of them mixed so only a couple of bits to do before the album's finished. Joe tells me it should be out in October, which is good cos I can't wait for the proper version. It's cracking I tell you. I made up a short video of what we got up to yesterday so take a look. more coming soon

http://www.sonnyengineer.com