Gigtastic

So what has been happening in my world.....

Well I thought it was time for an update on what has been going on with me, rather than all this doom and gloom stuff! Well it has been a hectic couple of weeks. What with this new job taking every second of my life at the moment. Extra seconds are having to be found from nowhere (there goes sleeping!) to work on a couple of films, gigging and odd bits and pieces of random work.

Had a gig on Saturday which was absloutely great, there are a couple of pictures here and a couple of short video clips here (coming soon) looking forward to the next one already.

In terms of films, I am currntly sound designing another film for Kothai Kanthan entitled Aisha and Nadeem. Another great film following on from her film 'Listen in Silence' which will be shown at the The Salento International Film Festival, and will be in competition too for the International Short Film Competition in Italy in September...something to look forward too.....cool stuff.

The other big news, which I haven't really talked about (as I didn't want to jinx it) is that I have been in the process of applying for a PhD as part of an amazing new project entitled 'The Positive Soundscape Project' at Salford. I don't think I could have posibly found another project more suitable to me intrests. So I have been through the application process and I have made it through the first round and I am down to the last four. So I am off up to Manchester next Monday to give a presentation and have an interview...so exciting times ahead...fingers crossed. All going well, I will be moving back up North to start at the beginning of October.

And if that doesn't work out, then I am going to be continuing my study at the OU, and probably go travelling for a few months and come back with a fresh head....as my head is far from fresh at the moment....in particular I will be looking at new areas of employment, as I am keen to get invovled in whatever way I can with NGO's or volunetuary positions which either help the environment or people. No more working in Corporo(TM) world for me!

In particular I would love to use my audio skills to help with sound design/recording for documentaries and for the preservation of natural soundscapes. I think the documentary has the power to change. I know for example that 1 Giant Leap has had a ground breaking (one might say life changing effect) on those who have seen it (it did for me) and I would love to be involved in a similar project. In fact it is a goal of mine and has been for the last 7 or 8 years. Similarly, docs like 'The Corporation' have had a tremendous impact on people I know who have watched them. I guess the aim is to use the medium which feeds us crap to feed us knoweldge....after all knowledge is king!

Peace

Neil