Good production values on online sessions can make all the difference
According to circulation figures released last week, free music monthly the Fly is now the UK's biggest music magazine, with more than 100,000 readers. If the magazine isn't available where you are, you can read it in full over at its website, www.the-fly.co.uk. That site is also home to the Fly's impressive archive of almost 300 acoustic performances, which have been filmed for its Courtyard Sessions feature since 2008. This month alone, they've already uploaded eight new sessions, including performances from Gruff Rhys, Miles Kane, Cage the Elephant and Clare Maguire. Trawl back through the archive and you'll find sessions from Doves, Warpaint, Everything Everything and even popsters Eliza Doolittle and Paloma Faith. As they clearly have plenty of quality acts at their disposal, the only pity is that the production values aren't a little higher, with background noise often battling the musicians for prominence (a battle it sadly wins on the Gruff Rhys session, drowning out much of his soft performance).
In fact, the Fly could learn a thing or two from RockFeedback.com. The latter's sessions might not be nearly as frequent ? they've only had 23 since they began in August 2009 ? but with their multiple cameras, pristine recording quality and moody lighting, they look and sound infinitely better. At the start of this week, RockFeedback posted its first session of 2011, featuring 18 minutes of music and conversation with New Yorkers the Walkmen. Amid chat about songwriting and success, the band offer an enjoyably sparse, intense and soulful performance, topped off with a fine cover of Deerhunter's Agorophobia. While you're on the site, check out the Jessie J session from late last year, with the pop upstart's songs holding up surprisingly well when stripped back to just an acoustic guitar and her undeniably impressive voice.
On 5 February, two of the UK's finest DJs, Andrew Weatherall and Ewan Pearson, took to the decks at Milan's Tunnel nightclub to play a special set, taking it in turn to play two tracks each. Last week, Pearson uploaded the first half of the set to his SoundCloud profile, at soundcloud.com/ewan-pearson. It's a terrific listen, with more than two hours of pulsating Balearic house conjuring mental images of the euphoric response that presumably greeted it in Milan. The mix also serves as a great example of how useful SoundCloud's time-stamped commenting function is, with notes posted by listeners throughout the mix, swapping info on its individual tracks. Pearson has promised to post the second half of the set soon. Until then, the four other mixes on his SoundCloud profile are worth a listen, particularly the hour-long Breakfast at the Villa of Joy.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/24/click-download-rockfeedback-fly-ewan-pearson
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