Saturday, 24 October 2009
Video Editing Suite @ Culture Lab
7.1 Video editing suite at Culture Lab.
4 of the 8 Genelec speakers in this studio
Hmm..we ran into a few problems setting up the Final Cut Pro with 5.1...im not a Final Cut user so i was clueless, however i managed to do it alone after the technicians failed to figure it out!! Maybe i should become a technician!?
The Genelec Sub/LFE, Mac G5 and LaCie 2.5 TB RAID Drive...what a monster drive!!!
Friday, 2 October 2009
'Black Sea of Trees' at Public Announcement, Dance City tonight at 7.30pm. With Surface Area Dance Theatre.
Mixing the 'Black Sea of Trees' at the performance space in Dance City.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
'Black Sea of Trees' Pro-Tools Mixing Session 01- sneak peak
Please bear in mind this is just the audio from my personal digital camera in the control room and NOT the audio from the mix ;-)
Oh Dear! Pro-Tools Mix dumped, TWO days before the event. Mixing from complete scratch in Logic...eeeek
Surround Balancers in Logic
Surround automation
Monday, 21 September 2009
'Black Sea of Trees' Logic Stereo Mix 01
Three!! Yes THREE types of EQ on ONE track!!!
Automating the mix
Sunday, 20 September 2009
India Calling! Ravi Shankar Centre Ensemble, curated by Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar Project. Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles.
International concert of the decade at this incredible venue! (this is just a photo of the venue only, not a soundcheck or performance by any of the artists from this show)http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tickets/performance_detail.cfm?id=4163
Friday, 18 September 2009
RENDER
Mixing the 'Black Sea of Trees' piece in Pro-Tools HD3 on a great Digidesign ICON D Command Desk in 5.1 surround sound.
The inaugural show of creative digital media work from Culture Lab, showcasing a diverse range of interactive digital media art and live electronic performance by the Culture Lab research community
Culture Lab: Render includes work by students from the Digital Media Master of Research programme, Culture Lab residents and regional practitioners working with Culture Lab.
Culture Lab: Render serves as a platform for the presentation of research towards a concept for a regional "space" dedicated to the exhibition of creative digital media work.
| OPENING RECEPTION: | Friday, 25th September 2009 - 7-9pm |
| EXHIBITION DATES: | Saturday, 26th September to Tuesday, 29th September 2009 12pm - 8pm |
| 12-14 Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne |
Regional Practitioners working with Culture Lab:
Benjamin Freeth and Nick Able
Black Sea of Trees
"The intense atmosphere of ancient forests, ghostly guitar drone, haunted weather and butoh inspired movement - A unique 5.1 installation."
Improvised Dance performance by Surface Area Dance Theatre on opening night.
Original Concept by Benjamin Freeth
Produced by Nick Able and Benjamin Freeth
CREDITS / PERSONNEL
Nick Able - sitar, production, engineering, 5.1 mix (Ravi & Anoushka Shankar)
Phil Begg - guitar, effects, laptop, field recordings (Hapsburg Crow, Hapsburg Braganza, Chalfont, Domovoi)
Benjamin Freeth - laptop, synth, shahi bajaa, singing bowls, field recordings (++YELM++, Bong, Surface Area)
Molly Hodkinson - dance (Surface Area Dance Theatre)
Mike Smith - percussion, pedals (Lobster Priest, Bong)
Nicole Vivien Watson - choreography, dance (Surface Area Dance Theatre)
Supported by Institute of Digital Innovation and Culture Lab.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Photo Shoot
Photo shoot for an upcoming project. Great work from a fantastic photographer - http://www.mattcase.co.uk/
Sunday, 13 September 2009
More Travels...
Graumans Chinese Theatre, Hollywood
The Alps, Verbier, Switzerland
Swamis Beach, California
Chicago
New Delhi
Travels....
Encinitas, California
Taipei 101, Taiwan
Empire State Building, NYC
Taj Mahal, Agra
Parthenon, Athens
Saturday, 5 September 2009
London...
Kings Cross...for the millionth time...i should set up a bed here...
The Live Room at Brick Lane Studios. Known for its great sound. Queens Bohemian Rhapsody vocals were recorded in this very room.
Brick Lane Studios- previously owned by Producer Trevor Horn. Many great artists recorded here. Madonna, Seal, Queen.....
Gherkin
Time to eat!!
Whats on my desk today??? Surround Sound...this is HARD WORK!!
My main workstation area (being upgraded) with part of my 5.1 Surround Sound Monitor System by Blue Sky.
The multichannel options available in Logic Pro! Oh yes, Apple rules!!!
more BSOT....
Editing out hiss and other unwanted noise with the great program Soundtrack Pro! Apple rules!
Phil Begg- Musician, AMAZING MUSIC BY THIS GUY!!! (see enc link)
Graphic EQ
Keeping time whilst recording...
BSOT cont....
Trying some other stuff with Ableton...adding Sitar and other effects...
The famous 'Pen Synth' free with a magazine whilst in Japan!
Ben Freeth- Artist, Musician, Filmmaker (see enclosure link)
Monday, 29 June 2009
MAX\MSP and the Monome
MAX/MSP
Monome
Abraham demonstrates the Monome and MAX/MSP. Very impressive, but very complicated stuff!! Check his blog....in the enclosure link...
Day one of filming for my new Online Course- The Secrets of Virtuosity.
My view.
Marc Ganley.
Lights! 
First day of filming for a new Online Course im currently developing. Can't say much more as i don't want to give anything away! This will be part of my new website which is currently in the planning stages and is due to be launched around August-September.
more work at the IDI
Korg Kaossilator.
Music starting to take shape.
Me with Sebastian Castagna, a renowned musician, composer and sound artist. Sebastian is someone any musician should know about (see enclosure link for his website- for those of you who don't know just click the title of this post). Sebastian works in formats from Quadraphonic right up to 5.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 10.2!! His music is astounding to say the very least. I am very pleased to be associated with such a great person and incredible sound artist. Sebastian will be helping me with recording techniques for 5.1 such as multi mic set ups, audio frequency editing and mixing in 5.1.
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Recording at the IDI....Two...
SSshhhhhhh
Two Ocinara's
Kalimba
Another Kalimba
Banjoline- a cross between an Banjo and a Mandolin!!
More recording at the IDI...One...
A collection of unique instruments from allover thee world ready to be played and recorded!
German Xylophone
A wonderful Pentatonic Xylophone- many thanks to Douglas from DACS!!
One of the most beautiful instruments i have EVER heard in my life, and ive seen and heard alot!! This is known as a 'Sansula' and is the Stradovarious of the Thumb Pianos!
Shahi Bajaa
The 'Shahi Bajaa' is a unique instrument from India. I hope to record this soon for a project!
Monday, 18 May 2009
more videos from tour's
Sydney Opera House during stage set up June 2008. Almost empty apart from the guys on stage and me wandering around! Such a breathtaking venue!! We performed that night to a sold out hall and im very happy to of been a part of it!!
More unique instruments!!
Kalimba or 'Thumb Piano'.
Balalaika from Russia!! Looks funny, sounds awesome!!
Hang Drum
Sitar and Hang
Woody on the incredible 'Hang Drum'. I'll be using this instrument soon to record with for a project im working on. Also doing a Sitar and Hang piece together. Keep a watch out for this!!
First attempt to upload a Movie!??
Leaving Japan in June 2008 on Anoushka Shankar's tour of Europe, Far East Asia, Australia and New Zealand...
Thinking of doing a video blog and posting videos here as well as photos so this one is a little test to see what its like.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
More of Logic 101
Automation in Logic 8
Logic's Space Designer
Adding some EQ
The main arrange page.
Logic's very powerful mixer.
Logic 101 at Northern School of Sound
Composing using standard western notation in Logic 8.
Northern School of Sound is a fully accredited and athourised Apple Training Centre for the Pro App's- Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro as well as the most of the IT course's.
Crazy programming in the sequencer window of Logic 8. 
PLEASE NOTE TO BLOG VIEWERS- i have started to include enclosure links in most of the posts. If you look at the title above which for this post is ' Logic 101 at Northern School of Sound' you can click this and it will take you to an external site where more information can be found!
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Novation
Although Novation dont have an Aritst endorsement agreement like most companies they kindly gave me some equipment at an artist price and put some features up on their website. So id like to acknowledge their support here. Again click the title for a direct link to their website...
K&K Sound
I proudly Endorse K&K Pickups for my Sitars.You can click the above title 'K&K Sound' for a link to the website. Most of my blog entires have links within the title!!
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Home studio upgrade
Finally got it working!! 6 Channels of Audio!!
All hooked up ready to go!
The Sub woofer!
Blue Sky Media desk 5.1 system
Part of the fellowship will be composing new music specifically for multichannel formats Quadraphonic, 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound either for DTS and/or Dolby Digital. I decided to upgrade my home studio with a 5.1 monitoring set up and add this to my current stereo monitoring system. I was very exited to get this and actually listen to alot of music in true 5.1 and not Dolby Pro Logic 2 which just converts a stereo signal and hasn't really been mixed for the 5.1 environment. My main inspiration for wanting to work in 5,1 was the album 'This Binary Universe' by Brian Transeau or BT as he is known. When i finally got it all set up and working i was blown away by hearing this album!! Check it out, its really incredible music!
Digital City Labs
This is one of the Digital City Labs where i will do some of my work on the fellowship. Full of high spec Apple Mac G5 and Mac Pro's set up with all the latest software. I will work with Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Reason, Pro-Tools HD and Final Cut Pro. Also in the building is a £100,000 studio running Pro-Tools HD3 with the ICON D-Control desk and monitoring in 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound.
Digital City and the Institute of Digital Innovation
I was recently granted the Digital City Fellowship at the Institute of Digital Innovation in Teesside. I will spend 6 months researching, developing and creating new works for music teaching online and music production in 5.1 surround sound. Alot of exiting things will be happening over the 6 months and i will post them here so keep checking back often.
Northern School of Sound- NSOS
Recording Sitar at Ginger Music Studio's for a great feature on the NSOS Website. Keep your eyes and ears on the lookout for this. 
Dee Dowling and Logic pro
Several months back i met Dee Dowling from Ginger Music Company in Gateshead. He was in the process of starting a new company called Northern School of Sound which i had alot of interest in working with. Turns out we hit off well and i was asked to teach there. Now Northern School of Sound is a full Apple Authorised Training Centre (AATC) for the Pro Apps- Logic Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro. The scheduled launch date is the 17th of April. Im currently working on authoring 2-3 courses on the fantastic program 'Ableton Live' and will attend the next certification event at Ableton HQ in Berlin to become one of the country's first Ableton Certified Trainers!!!
Its been a while
Well its been around 8 months since i last updated the Blog. It was originally intended to document and be a sort of 'tour diary' from the May/June 2008 Ravi Shankar Farewell to Europe and Anoushka Shankar Project Tour. I had decided to keep the Blog live and add to it with my other activities once i got home from the tour.
Ive been quite busy since i got back in July 2008 and from now on ill be regularly updating the Blog so please check back often and feel free to leave any comments or email me with any questions.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
The venue in Singapore- Espelande
The view from my position on stage. Next to my Mic you can see my Sitar tool box with strings and things like that incase anything goes wrong with the instrument during the concert. Luckily this has never happened....yet...but im ready if it ever does!!
The final show of the tour here in Singapore.
Backstage....pictures of some artists who have performed here.
One of my musical idols is the great Pat Metheny.
Final stop before home...Singapore
Pan Pacific Hotel Atrium 
The view from the room...Also in the bottom right you can see a dome shaped building which is the venue for the performance here in Singapore. 
Entering Singapore
There are very strict laws here in Singapore. As you can see this is the immigration card you have to fill in upon entering countries. I am also told not to chew any gum as this is also illegal and may result in a trip to prison.
Friday, 27 June 2008
National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center- Taipei, Taiwan
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
All of these buildings are in the grounds of the Hall we performed at here in Taipei.
The Venue in Taipei- National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall- this is what it looks like without the scaffolding!! 
The National Theater
National Concert Hall- under contstruction
Liberty Square 
Monday, 23 June 2008
more from the Night Market...
I mean who in their right mind would eat this stuff????
But people are queing up for it!! 
Frog Juice???
Oh My God!!!!! The Night Market
I cannot believe that this place exists!! The smell is so so so so bad i cant put it into words. And people are at the stands ordering this stuff to go eat! I went up to one woman and asked her if she was going to eat that stuff and she was telling me its so good and that i should try some!!!!
Danger Food!!
Hmmm...
What is this stuff??? I dunno but it smells nasty!
??? But this is nothing compared to what we find later.....
a nasty shock
This was supposed to be a milkshake type drink with what i thought was some kind of chocolate balls or something but noooooo...these were soft, slimy fish eggs!!! Yuk!!!
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand...
The view from the room to the left...
...and to the right...
Spooky Organ!!
The Venue in Auckland
arrival in Melbourne
We arrive and none of our rooms are ready and wont be ready any time soon. So we head to the venue to rest and shower since the concert is tonight. 
The Venue in Melbourne.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Amazing venue...
The Sydney Opera House has to be one of the most amazing venues i have ever played at. The size of the building is huge and is very unique not just from the outside but from inside too...Unfortunatley my camera doesn't do it justice but you get some idea of just how breathtaking it is...
Saturday, 14 June 2008
13 hours later...Hello Sydney!!!
Look closely and you can see the Sydney Harbour...
The view from the room
eating out...
shoes off in this traditional Japanese Resturant
The seating here is traditional Japanese where the tables are on the floor with space underneath to sit. 
If you cant use chopsticks you better learn how to quick as there are no knifes and forks here!
2nd show in Tokyo- Sogakudo Concert Hall
More hi-tech gadgets
The crew here in Tokyo were amazing! We played 2 shows on consecutive nights and they had the stage set up exactly how it was the 1st night when we showed up for the soundcheck on the 2nd night. All the settings for the individual instruments, monitors etc were all exactly copied over. Usually a soundcheck can take around 2 hours. Here it took us 20 minutes!!! Then after the show the crew took down the stage, rostrum, lights, mic's etc etc and cleared the entire hall in about 15 minutes flat! These guys don't mess about!! Amazing!!!
backstage stuff
Stage Door
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
here goes.....dive in...
Some raw Fish from our wobbling little friend and Wasabi...
My reaction to the Wasabi...ive tasted some food on my travels and i have NEVER tasted anything like this before in my life!! For those of you who havent you HAVE to try this! Its not spicy or hot but it has an effect of being hit by a bus when you put it in your mouth!! 
I decide to stay away from any more Fish after having just one piece of it raw with that Wasabi. Im too weary after my episode in Evian!! That put me off eating altogether but im in Japan for the first time so i really want to try the food and not miss out!
So i opt to try the cooked Pork Gut and Tofu. Yum!
Once i took out the small Octopus this tasted very nice!!
Danger Food!! Danger Food!!!
Some Octopus and i have no idea what the rest is!
These look pretty safe! Phew!!
Oh dear...remember the fish tank??
This fish was still MOVING....yes you heard right, still moving!! The done thing is to pour some Sake down its throat which we done and then its tail started twitching!!! 
Wasabi...
Eating out
I didnt realise it at the time but these fish were our food minutes later!!
Beautiful traditional Japanese Resturant
adventures in Tokyo!
Not just any normal Taxi...stand back as the doors open themselfes!!
A mass of electronic gadget's and this is just the Taxi!!
Shinjuku, Tokyo
searching for non-danger Food upon arrival in Tokyo
Hmm what can we order??
Hmm i dont think so! Not after my food scare in Evian!!
an unexpected trip to Evian Hospital!!
Upon arriving in Evian our room's were not ready so we went to a nearby cafe to eat. I ordered a Tuna Salad and minutes after eating it i became very, very hot and dizzy. My face, neck and chest went bright red and was burning. Luckily our wonderful Tour Manager took control since a similar thing had happened to him some years back. He took me to the hospital where i was given medicine and checked over. He also gave me a Anti-Histamine in the hotel which possibly saved me from getting worse on the way to the hospital. It was all quite scary but i made it back just in time to leave for the soundcheck. I was worried even more so as we were scheduled to travel to Tokyo the next morning and being sick on a flight is not good news! BIG shame since the hotel was SO amazing and it also had the worlds first Buddha Bar- Spa!!! Boo Hoo!!
Friday, 6 June 2008
The Barbican, London.
Here we are at The Barbican Centre, one of the country's finest concert halls. We are here for a very special concert with Ravi and Anoushka Shankar. As you know i am touring with Anoushka but her father was sick and had to cancel most of his concerts during this tour. Luckily he was well enough to come to London and perform one of the scheduled concerts. I have to say that i was in awe and completely overwhelmed by his presence. To be around such a figure and Guru is something very special. I have learned Sitar and been a part of this family for over 5 years and i owe alot to them and what they have done for me. I am very proud to have this Maestro as my Guru-ji. When he came out to perform the 2nd half of the concert it was such an emotional feeling to see him walk to the stage and see every single person in the hall rise and give a standing ovation. I felt very proud to be a part of that, it was really, really one of the most amazing moments of my life. And after so much ill health and all kinds of problems at the age of 88 he blew us all away with what he played, more so then any other musician alive on this earth today.
more shopping in London....
Denmark Street is the place in London that has the most music and guitar shops. 
Then on to Piccadilly Circus...
The Genius Bar-Apple Store, Regent Street. London
Sorry but i really have to mention this issue. I LOVE Mac's and have used them now for about 4 years and would never go back to a PC!! However upon getting my new MacBook Pro i had severe issues with my collection of about 10,200 photos. Anyways to cut a long story short my last resort was to visit the Apple Genius Bar. They were not able to help me, however they did tell me alot of cool things to know in OS X. This caused alot of stress for me and after some big risk taking in iPhoto i managed to completely restore my library and photo albums from my old back-up. So as much as i LOVE Apple and Mac's, on this occasion i have to say they need to sort out iPhoto and the file structure. So im hoping someone there sees this and does something about it!!! Coz you know, i REEEEAAALY dont want to ever, ever have to use a PC again in my life...
shopping in London...
This has to be one of the best practice aids ive seen for us Guitarists ever!! I need to get one made for Sitar also!!!
Monday, 2 June 2008
yet another long day of travel....
Goodbye France....
....hello UK and the Cliffs of Dover...
back to the english countryside and the murky british weather!!!!
Eiffel tower
Halfway up the Eiffel Tower, the view of Pairs from here is stunning. This was my 5th or 6th time in Paris and it was my first chance to go up the Eiffel Tower.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
arrival in Schloss Elmau, Germany
The Room
View from the Room
Bathroom
We arrived here after a 12 hour bus journey overnight from Budapest. this is a luxury resort and spa that is high up in the hills in Elmau, Germany. Its very beautiful as you can see. We have the concert here tonight in the hotel grounds for a specialist audience. We leave tonight for Dortmund which is a shame as this is such a nice place it would of been nice to spend a little more time here. Usually the nicest places we come to are the ones we have the least time at!!!
Soundcheck in Budapest
This is a much older concert hall as opposed to the more modern halls that we mostly play in, this type of hall is meant for pure classical music which is not amplified and causes our sound engineer alot of problems!!
My set list which has my own notes for each of the pieces. Where you can see the letter G this is actually Indian Notation which tells me which notes not to play in a certain piece or Raga as it is known in Indian Classical terms.
Soundcheck in Debrecen, Hungary
This Piano goes down to C with the extra Black Keys!! Very rare!!
The Magic carpet. In Indian Classical Music we actually sit on a raised platform on the stage known as a Rostrum. There we have a nice carpet to sit on which cannot be touched by shoes and has to be walked on barefoot. This is due to the traditions of this music and of Indian culture. The feet are seen as disrespectful and we never keep shoes near any instrument. 
Tour Bus
Lounge Area 1-Downstairs
Tour Bus
Lounge Area 2-upstairs
Beds
KitchenFrom Budapest right through to Dortmund we have a Tour Bus. This has 2 living areas with TV, DVD, Playstation and CD players, 14 bunks each with a Playstation, TV, DVD player and headphone's and even a little window with curtains! We also have a kitchen area with 2 fridges, sink and plenty of cupboard space. Finally there is one bathroom/toilet. This is a different style of bus to what we have had in the past in the US. We have 2 drivers who are telling us allkinds of stories from previous musicians/bands they have drove such as Def Leopard, Whitesnake, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Arrival in Budapest
One of the first things i do after arriving in a new city and checking into the hotel is put the 'Do Not Disturb' on the door. Traveling with so many valuables and personal things i dont like hotel people coming to the room. This is for security as we have had many items stolen in the past from hotel staff. The only time i will get my room cleaned is when i have some free time and am able to sit in the room whilst they do it.
Room in Budapest
Lobby
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Sitar
This is the spare Sitar Anoushka is carrying, but it was her fathers Ravi Shankar's before he had to use a smaller one. It is one of my main responsibilities on tour to take care of and maintain all the instruments. Its a huge thing to be responsible for this since this a priceless instrument!!
