Recommended music: 'Paper Trail Records presents: Thanks For Listening'

Charity records are nothing new, but sometimes the idea is better than the product. Fortunately that's not the case with this new release from Paper Trail Records. Released for World Mental Health Day, the album is raising money for Console, Ireland's National Suicide Charity. It's a many and varied collection of sounds and styles from the label's friends, including the likes of Cloud and Beach Moon/Peach Moon. My personal favourite is 'Rock and Roll (An Elegy In Eb Major)' by Shrug Life, which actually reminds me a bit of Barenaked Ladies with its mix of melody and wry humour. I'm not sure about the efficacy of including a band called Teen Suicide on the album, but that rare bum note aside there's very else wrong with it.

A good release for a good cause - have a listen and buy your copy using the link below.

Build Me A World - a new arts collective

A bit of a departure for this blog, but I wanted to write about this arts & media non-profit organisation as I like what they're doing and what they stand for. I love this kind of grass-roots movement, the sort of thing that, although it sounds clichéd, is 'by the people, for the people' - I really think that, whatever your beliefs, you can use your behaviour to make things better for you and those around you. I know the guys are trying to spread the word from their base in Chattanooga, Tennessee, so I asked co-founder Russ McGee (a.k.a. rapper Genesis The Greykid) a few questions about the organisation.

DJC: Who came up with the idea for the project

GTK: Chris Woodhull and I both meshed some ideas together which became the brainchild of Build Me A World; multi-media / fine arts collective developing poets, artists and designers...creating new stories and cultivating a movement of art activism in the black community:

• Connecting professional poets, film-makers and creatives to our collective
• Providing opportunities of positive self-expression through art and possible employment
• Building collaborative spaces for creative encounter

What's been the hardest part of setting it up so far?

Building up the proper awareness of the movement. It's getting some traction, but it really takes time...it's all built on relationships. There's no best practice dealing with culture, there's some great examples, but every community is different.

And what's been the biggest success?

There's a lot of things that are important to our work. So there's not really one big success, it's a bunch of little gears that play a major role in making this work.

Have you found that being involved has helped your own creativity?

Absolutely. We're both artists ourselves...both writers, poets, creatives. Working with the young, the old, the tires, the afflicted, they're all growing. You can't be a part of growth without growing yourself. We grow from the stories around us, the experience, the honest energy that bounces off the walls of the studio.

What would you say is your ultimate goal for the project?

To play a vital role in the narrative of the black community...it's time to create new stories.

How can people get involved / help you out if they want to?

Spread the word, follow us on twitter , facebook and our website Build Me A World 

So you heard him, go check it out and give them your support. And if you're thinking "I live hundreds of miles away, I wish there was something like this in my town" then maybe you should set your own up...

Live - in pictures & videos: Wave Machines, Yunioshi and Iyes at Club Attitude, Village Underground, London 26/3/13

An extremely cold Tuesday night in London was the setting for this year's Club Attitude night at Village Underground. This is an offshoot of the charity Attitude Is Everything, who work to make live music more accessible for deaf and disabled people (click here to find out more about my involvement with them). As such it was a fully accessible show, with a marked off viewing area in front of the stage and BSL interpreters throughout the evening to convey the lyrics.

Iyes - Village Underground, London 26/3/13

First on the bill were Iyes from Brighton. Playing their first big London show, having only been together for 5 months, they showed some quality songs that fans of The xx will definitely like. About halfway through their set they played a cover of Bon Iver's 'Flume', which you can watch below.



Next up were Yunioshi. Full of energy, they placed a fast paced, upbeat set, which for me got better and better as they went on.

Yunioshi - Village Underground, London 26/3/13

For them the gig was an opportunity to launch their new single 'Tanlines' which came out last week and which went down really well when they played it. They finished with a song that reminded me a lot of Beck - you can catch a glimpse of it here:



Headliners Wave Machines took to the stage around 10pm with a sense of purpose, and immediately sounded more powerful and imposing than the do on record.

Wave Machines - Village Underground, London 26/3/13

They played some older tracks as well as most of their new album 'Pollen' - for me the best track of the evening was 'Counting Birds', but everything they played was really good.

Tim Bruzon, Wave Machines

'Ill Fit' was a big crowd pleaser - check out the uninhibited dancing in the audience in the clip below!



Overall it was a fantastic night out - 3 great bands in a great venue put on by a great chrity - what more could you want?!

Lanterns in the ceiling at Village Underground for the Club Attitude gig

Recommended gig: Wave Machines at Club Attitude

Come to this!

Buy tickets here: www.wegottickets.com/event/208658

Line up:

• Wave Machines
• Yunioshi
• Iyes

Attitude is Everything (or how a night out can turn into something completely unexpected)

If you look through this blog you'll soon be able to tell that music is an obsession of mine. I spend all of my spare cash on it, I listen to 'more new music than is humanly possible' (as a friend put it) and on average I go to 2 or 3 gigs a month, which is where this story starts.

Last March I booked tickets for a mate and I to go to a gig. There were a few reasons for going:- it was cheap, it was in a good venue (Village Underground, near Liverpool Street station in London) and there were four acts on, 2 of which I liked and 2 of which I'd never heard of. It turned out though that there was another good reason for going - the gig had been put on by a small charity called Attitude is Everything to raise awareness of themselves and what they do (clearly this worked, at least on me, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here writing this). The charity exists to improve access to live music for deaf and disabled people, by working with venues and promoters and getting them to sign up to a Charter of Best Practice. Venues they've worked with include places like Koko in Camden and the Academy in Brixton, and they have close links with Festival Republic (who put on the Reading / Leeds and Latitude festivals) and Glastonbury.

This started me thinking - the only things I have to consider when booking tickets is whether I can afford them and if I'll be able to get a pass out from the lovely Mrs. Cull. I take it for granted that I'll be able to get into the venue - but what if I had to find out about the venue's accessibility before I went? What if I needed an assistant to go with me - would I have to pay for them as well? What if I was deaf and wanted to understand what lyrics were being sung (at the Club Attitude gig thet had BSL interpreters to sign all of the words). Some of the best nights of my life have been spent watching live music - shouldn't this experience be available for everyone? After the gig I sent the charity a donation and asked if there was anything I could help them with...

A few months later, after a rigorous interview process, I was appointed as a Trustee of Attitude is Everything, and I've since been to a few Board meetings and joined the Steering Group for the Club Attitude nights. I've committed to being a Trustee for the next 3 years, and I'm hoping that I can be of some use to them.

With the first anniversary of my initial contact with Attitude coming up, and another Club Attitude night on the horizon, why am I telling you this? To show that there are unexpected opportunities to make a difference in this world, that you never know what's around the corner, and to encourage all of you to find something where you can best use your skills to help others.

Click here if you want to find out more about Attitude is Everything.