The Day the Music Died

Through all the twists and turns of life, you need something that consistently and unquestionably brings you back to the surface when you’ve been pushed into the darkest waters. For me, this force has always been music. It’s an art that goes beyond the most powerful novels and the most breath-taking speeches because it speaks when words fail. Music has guided me through the hardest times and given me strength when I thought all hope had gone. How it has continued to do this I cannot quite explain, but I always hoped that my choice to study it would help me to understand its power and influence and pass that appreciation on to other people. I chose the thriving arts department LICA at Lancaster University that seemed like an environment with a spark of creativity and a flashy new building with a music department that offered a huge spectrum of topics to study. Who’d have thought that by the middle of my degree that that image would be completely destroyed? For those of you that have heard about the travesty Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts have put on our plate, allow me to take you deeper into a pit of gradual failings.

My musical journey, however powerful it may have been for me emotionally, has always been tainted. At high school promises had been broken regarding new facilities and increased space and there was general feeling that music was constantly pushed aside. It seems that this curse has followed me, for LICA have not only not given us the 3^rd floor space of the LICA building because they didn’t have the planning permission to finish it but they have also pushed us around expecting us to get what we are given. Modules such as Studio Technique, Performance and LICA 100 and 200 have caused problems for many students. Studio Technique is a core module for Music Technology students as is Performance for straight music students and both of these have been threatened. Performance no longer exists due to cuts in instrumental tuition and Studio Technique survived by the skin of its teeth thanks to the brave protest of students. LICA 100 and 200 are modules that all arts students have been forced to take which cover the power of the arts as a united force which despite being enjoyable to some extent have angered many students by being a waste of credits which could have been used to study their own field more intensely. We have constantly been living on the edge not knowing the next obscene direction our education was going to take.

The biggest change that is definitely a huge contributing factor to Music falling apart is the fact that a decision was made last year to fuse the three separate degree schemes – Music, Music Technology and Popular Music Studies- into one degree simply known as Music. This was done because there weren’t enough students studying each separate degree and it had to be done in order for the subject to survive. However, because students are now unable to specialise in this broad subject, this has surely been a huge reason behind why there are now hardly any applicants for the course at all. One might think that fusing three degrees together would give a student a vast amount of module choices and we’d be fighting for more credit space. I know that myself and many others however spent days wrestling with the module choices because we were practically forced to take modules we didn’t want to just to fill up space. A degree at a top ten university should be beyond satisfactory and we can hardly say that when we don’t even get to study the topics we’d like to after paying between £3000 and £9000 a year.

To top all this off we are now faced with redundancies for each and every one of our fantastic lecturers which means of course the end of the music degree beyond its current students. Not only that, but the current students will be affected with what could potentially be very bleak module choices with only three promised teaching positions next year. As if this wasn’t bad enough, a face to face meeting about the future of our degree wasn’t promised until week six and we received this vital information through insensitive emails. In addition, the lecturers were apparently not even present at the discussion that decided their fate and now both they and students are faced with uncomfortable uncertainty without even being in the driving seat.

From the start of this situation that could have been dealt with much more fairly we have been mistreated, pushed aside and undervalued, but it does not have to be this way. I hope that however strong your passions are for the subject, you will join me in voicing your disgust for what has unjustly happened to the high standard of education we have a right to receive. I do not and will never understand how LICA can call itself an arts institution without the dominant creative force of music – let’s speak up, stand up and wake them up to the beauty and power of this dying art form at Lancaster and give it back the life it deserves.

Beats and Pieces Big Band - Live at LICA

 

No matter how many genres and styles of music you’ve been lucky enough to experience, there is nothing quite like the sound of a live big band. The power, the impact, the colourful orchestration and perhaps most importantly, the infectious smiles and finger clicking that spreads across the room. Although variations on the big band setup such as jazz ensembles and saxophone groups have made their way into the Live at LICA programme at Lancaster University, the treat of a professional big band has been a rarity, but that as all about to change as the Beats and Pieces Big Band graced the Great Hall stage to kick off a February full of tasty musical flavours.

With many prizes to their name including the Jazz FM award for Best Newcomer of 2013, there were high expectations within the audience and from note one the team of fourteen did not disappoint. The band kicked things off extremely energetically and what was most notable from the off was the amount of enthusiasm that was on display, which is of course is what truly makes a great performance. From flugelhorn solos to Radiohead covers, it was clear that Beats and Pieces were not afraid to be experimental and were far from being an ordinary big band playing swing and rat pack music round and round. They flawlessly pulled off an array of styles and filled the first half with a bunch of surprises. The most outstanding pieces included “Anymore” which was the moment in the spotlight for the unique sound of the flugelhorn and the phenomenal “Tone” which included a screaming soprano saxophone solo from the talented and expressive Sam Healey and some excellent interweaving parts from the brass.

The interval came far too soon after a stunning first half but during the break I was lucky enough to speak to band leader Ben Cottrell and saxophonist Sam Healey who both chatted to me about the band’s experience since they got together in 2008. They were both extremely happy about receiving the Jazz FM award and are now keen to spread their fan base across Europe now that they are on tour. Based on the contagious energy that had reached the audience here in Lancaster, that will undoubtedly happen for them and I hope to hear more news on their successes when they return to Lancaster for the jazz festival in September.

There was lots of excitement and adrenaline pumping for the second half and once again a stack of fantastic original tunes given to an audience who were left catching flies. Some of the highlights of this set were the interesting use of electronic equipment which had briefly been used in the first half but to much more effect later on and the tune “Broken” which from start to finish was a complexly arranged piece full of colour and richness that included an awesome solo from saxophonist Anthony Brown who was more into soothing and calmer solos in comparison to some of the other players. This piece ended the concert before a much needed and wanted encore but it’s safe to say that we’d happily welcome this superb team of musicians back to our stage again and again after a performance that left you tingling with joy.

During the interval, a comment from ULMS President Chris Langford was put forward to me and is perhaps the best way to describe what truly stood out about this group and that was that “they’re a big band but they play like a small group”. At the same time as having the powerful sound that every big band should have they were able to show that it’s not all about that. Beats and Pieces equally had so much control and composure and everything was orchestrated to fit specific players so well that they were able to conquer unimaginable styles for this sort of instrumental set up. A huge spark had been lit by this wonderful band in the Great Hall and they’re sure to be the talk of Live at LICA for weeks to come.

http://scan.lusu.co.uk/carolynne/culture/2013/03/02/beats-and-pieces-review-week-17/

Battle of the Bands Heat Four - Pendle Bar

 

After three tense and competitive heats of Battle of the Bands taking place from north to south campus, it was time to send one last band through to the final as the competition concluded with heat four at Pendle Bar. This heat promised to be a tough one, with two of the bands already having previous experience in competing. Along with returnees Lemming Along and funk stars Underwater Gunfight, newcomers Indecisive Affection and Lake Komo were welcomed onto the stage for what was a nail-biting night.

First up were a team of four who instantly turned the heads and dropped the jaws of many who had their heads in a pint. Lake Komo sparked off the evening like no other student band I’d ever seen before with their original song Pyramid. With rich vocals and the unique sound of a harmonica, this group really grabbed the hearts of everyone listening. One of the big mistakes that bands make in this competition is making one instrument or one part of the band completely dominant, but Lake Komo were able to achieve a perfect balance in sound that allowed the crowd to appreciate all the parts that were weaving and blending together so beautifully. They additionally didn’t bore us to tears with repetitive chord sequences and lack of momentum; their songs included features such as a harmonisation pedal and the lead singer regularly showed off his vocal range which always adds great colour to a performance. Their relaxed vibe put everyone in a great mood and the amount of variety that went into their performance in such a short space of time was extremely impressive.  Following up these guys was going to be somewhat nerve-racking.

Next onto the stage were stars of last year’s competition Underwater Gunfight, whose style centres on funk, blues and ska. The prospect of following Lake Komo and living up to their stunning performances last year was always going to be daunting and unfortunately without the integral parts of Nick Webb on saxophone and Natasha Gilbert’s unbelievably powerful vocal ability, the group did not meet expectations. Despite still clearly holding on to their funk roots, apart from the presence of a wah-wah pedal, this vibe was not quite as infectious and enjoyable as it had previously been. Furthermore, the improvisational aspect of their performance that was so important to their success last year seemed very unapparent this year. The vocals that replaced Gilbert this year also didn’t seem to fit in with the confidence and enthusiasm the rest of the band were showing. It can be said that their performance got better as it went along ending with favourites Sea Manners and their cover of Superstition, but to headline campus festival, you have to grab your crowd from the start and based on this set, their place in the final didn’t seem promising.

Rock group Lemming Along were third in the night’s line up and once again were facing high expectations from the crowd. After being a newly formed band last year, the crowd were expecting to see significant improvements to their performance and some new stylistic ideas. The group kicked off their performance in a cliché but nonetheless very enjoyable way with a rendition of the Hendrix classic Voodoo Child. They slickly pulled off the guitar licks and the vocals were powerfully projected over the incredibly loud kit part which often overshadowed the guitar parts unfortunately. Disappointingly one of the guitarists chose to sit down for the entire performance which whilst not affecting the sound was a real turn off for the judges as it didn’t give the band much chance when it came to judging performance enthusiasm.  Overall, Lemming Along really did prove they had come a long way since the little garage band that they were last year, but whether they had done enough for the final remained very questionable.

The final performance of the evening came from another rock group called Indecisive Affection who are a four piece group led by two very edgy looking female vocalists. Although their performance had excellent attitude and character to it, the fact that they mostly did covers and clearly hadn’t quite mastered a decent balance of sound, they didn’t seem like strong contenders for the main stage at Campus Festival. As a newly formed band they came out and performed very confidently and it’s obvious that they have potential, but there seemed to be a consensus in the judging panel that this year was probably not going to be the year for them.

After an incredible night that had been filled with everything from chilled acoustic music to face melting guitar solos, Lake Komo were victorious as highly expected right from the beginning of the night. Despite respectable competition, their meaningful lyrics and beautifully arranged instrumentation seemed to put them in a league of their own and I think everyone can join me in saying that we wish them well in the final as I’m sure they will be a tough bunch to beat.

http://scan.lusu.co.uk/carolynne/culture/2013/03/08/battle-of-the-bands-heat-four-pendle-bar/