I've always felt the urge to reach out to people. It was underneath my training and career as a therapist and is still underneath my music. This strange desire to touch what can't be touched, and to be with people despite, during, and unaffected by even the most horrendous circumstances. I saw scores of things that horrified me, and I've listened to hundreds of people life stories, and I have found that where there is simple willingness to hear and be with pain, there is equal willingness to explode in humour, anger and affection. It's amazing what a difference a listening ear (and heart) can make. Did you know that roughly a third of adults in the UK have been sexually abused? 78% of suicides were male? Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health disorders...the list goes on... The fact is, we all struggle. And one persons problem is everyone's problem. I wrote this for everyone and beyond. Who knows why? Lyrics
Night and day, night and day, I'm with you, night and day. Take me far, far away. I'm with you night and day. We've gone off track, gone astray. I'm with you, night and day. On the mountain stay, I'm with you night and day. Don't wander off, don't lose your way. I'm with you, night and day. By your side or far away. In dark of night or joyful day. And even if you pass away. I'm with you night and day. I'll be true, I'll show the way. I am you, night and day. Watch and learn, give not take. I am you night and day. By your side or far away. In dark of night or joyful day. And even if you pass away. I am you night and day.
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I am presenting a month of new music on Mondays, complete with video, a free download, and a little backstory: In Time One cold November night in the English drizzle, I was sat by candlelight trying to write a song with this new finger picking technique my producer had insisted I learn. For four hours I sat there, staring out of the window into the darkness and jotting down cheesy sentiments. Frustrated with myself, I asked myself what I REALLY wanted to say. And I wrote this song. All in one go. A conversation with myself. And I shed many a tear over it. Oddly enough sometimes sad things can be very beautiful too, even nourishing. "Stop fooling child, you've many years before you,many transitions to go through, nothing's the same don't you know?" Nothing replaces anything else. People don't replace one another in our hearts, and the flux of people coming and going from our lives is utterly natural. It's just that...a loss will always be a loss, no matter what happens afterwards. And in reality, there's nothing to letting people go, or letting go. It requires no action at all. And yet, somehow, I'm still taking my time... Lyrics
Stop fooling child, you’ve many years before you. Many transitions to go through, nothings the same don’t you know. That most of us here, have spent the whole of our lives, desperately trying to find, our ways back in time. And letting it go, is not very hard to do. But it seems that only the few, find that they are able to. You see time rambles on, taking us all in it’s arms. Cherishing your loved ones, and letting them pass on in their own time. In their own time. In time, time, time, in their own time, in time, time, time. Of all of my friends, some faces I will see again, and some aren’t around anymore, but that is a natural law. There’ll be many more, but none like the one from before, I’ll remember his name evermore, though I’m letting his memory go and I’ll travel on. In my own time, in time. In my own time, time. In my own time, time, in my own time, in time, time. So on with the new, who’s telling what’s coming for you. Bring on the hard and the true, I shall not go looking for you even though I have half a mind to. But we’ve all got work to do, and eternity to go through, in our own time, in time. In our own time. Time. In time, time. In our own time, time. In time, time, time, time. 42 minutes of recorded music has a market value as close to '0' as it gets. You may be able to sing like Adele (and in my opinion, way too many people do), but that's not enough. That's not even half the story. Success - both in creating a valuable experience for people and in 'selling' music is ALL ABOUT CONTEXT. I would repeat that, but I think the capital letters do the trick.
In many of the TV talent shows they build a surprise transition into a performance because it's not enough to be amazing in one way. You have to do something unexpected. Or BE something unexpected. In one of the first talent shows I ever watched, a bin man made it to the semi finals. Not because he was more talented than 80% of the others but because his story was so engaging. 'Bin man is secretly a super talented musical genius'... And we all watched his rise to fame.... Talent is not scarce. Amazing music is not scarce. This is what industry people understand, and 99% of musicians don't. This is what branding does. It's about bringing out your context, your story. Because if you hear someone talented playing in the street - heads turn. But if people pay £20 a ticket to see the EXACT SAME PERFORMANCE in say, the Albert hall in London, folks are going to be madly disappointed!! This is partly what has lead into me booking in a tour entirely on donation (dates coming out soon!!!). I want to REMOVE the idea that the audience are in charge and know what to expect. SASKIA and the June Apples concerts have been £12 a ticket on average, and when most people invest that, they do so because they expect to hear a certain sound. And as an artist, I'm going to go right ahead and say that it is NOT up to audience what we do on stage!! I want people to come to the concerts expecting something vaguely nice, and I want to utterly blow them away with something they've never heard before. I don't always know what I'm going to do up there. I like improvisation and above all I value authentic, unrepeatable performances, such that you can't find on recordings. And I am giving me and my band the freedom to do that, as well as giving audiences the freedom to come and take a risk on a new band without feeling concerned by money. The intention to make music available to anyone regardless of price is part of my context. Part of my story is the thrust to GIVE music and musical experiences to people. And to do it for free. Because I know in my heart of hearts, that if I manage to communicate even a tenth of what I feel when I'm on stage, the audience will look after me in return. Besides, no matter how good I get at marketing, music is not something I create to market and make money from. My songs are integral to my whole being (whatever that may turn out to be), and are an expression of life as it occurs to this little girl from the west of England. Whether anyone listens or not. ;) But they will... Yesterday, I completed my 'Gentle Heart' album launch tour, not without some emotion, at an afternoon of music in Barns Green. I was fulfilling my final kickstarter reward by playing this show, and it was a lovely, sunny day, full of quality live music. This post is a tribute and a thank-you to my Kickstarter Backers, to my Producer Robert Weil, and to the Arts Council England (grants for the arts) for making all of this possible. Thank you to everyone who bought my CD's! Retweeted my posts, liked my status's and joined in with this magnificent journey!! I wouldn't be here without you. In the end I played 16 shows, in 13 counties, with 15 different artists. I made 11 youtube videos, and added 200 names to my mailing list, and more than doubled my social media stats (boring I know, but important nonetheless). I've completed my training in marketing and music management with the new artist model, I've been featured in 9 newspapers, I've been on BBC Gloucestershire 3 times, and for some reason, I'm still number 1 in Bristol's folk charts... Where did the arts council grant go? Good question! There isn;t even one penny left! I have invested it ALL directly into art. Both into my business, and into other artists and venues. I so LOVE supporting art and artists of all kinds, and I LOVE being able to orchestrate arts events. Thanks to this investment I've been able to turn my dream into a profession, and I've been able to set the ball rolling for a sucessful future. Everybody knows it's hard to get started in a new industry, but thanks to YOU (ALL of you), I have the skills, experience, equipment and contacts to carry on snowballing into the English music scene. Watch out folks!! And stay in touch. XX P.s. Did I mention how THRILLING it has been?! Watching my music make waves in THOUSANDS of people, seeing their responses, and communicating about my art daily? I've had the time of my life. Never worked so hard, or had so much fun. I'm hooked, and I'm not going back. You ain't seen nothin' yet! BIG thank you to all who came to our first ever donation concert. If you're interested in the breakdown of figures, here goes:
32 people came of 35 that had booked into a 30 person (seated) venue. They freely donated a total of £245 in 'tickets' (that's £7.65 average per person). The most donated amount was £10 with 2 £20's and 6 £5's. On top of that 4 people bought CD's for £10. I added 25 new emails to the list from this one concert (because they had to book in advance with their email address). That's much more than have signed up at a concert in my previous shows (on average). Our last concert was £12 a ticket (home town), and 70 people came, but that was an album launch, not every event will draw in as many people. I am sure that more people came to the event because it was 'risk free', than if we had set a ticket price of even £5. More donation concerts to follow! I believe in free music. Why not? I can't, as an artist, withhold my art. My whole being says 'give it all away' 'give it all away for free'. So here's an experiment in gift economy; https://www.facebook.com/events/1676868502601468/
A free concert (by reservation only). I have hired a small venue (and the PA & sound engineer), and my trio will come and play a concert for anyone who wants to come and hear it. If we have created something beautiful and resonant, I predict that the audience will donate to us. But,only if they want to! We won't be passing the hat,or looking at what people put in. My guess is that done in the right way, it will turn out more profitable than a ticketed gig which someone may or may not want to take the risk on. All I did was put two posters up in the venue's upstairs cafe (one in the loo and another in the window). It 'sold' out within 1 month (see for yourself: www.saskiagmkino.eventbrite.co.uk) . I will be careful to remind everyone to cancel if they can't make it because it's a small venue and there is a growing waiting list! If this experiment turns out to be financially viable, I will put on free shows over the UK in bigger venues - this is just a test run! And I'm doing all this because I know, deep down, that you cannot steal something you love. You cannot steal a beautiful experience. My whole career has been funded by people voluntarily donating what they can, for whom it is a pleasure to support me, as it is a pleasure for me to sing. Programme Support: Adam Sweet Short Talk: Julie from charity partner - Stroud Valleys Project Interval Set 1: Solo performance by Saskia, short talk by producer Robert Weil, four songs with Taz & Ellie Mains. In Time (solo), Are You Listening (Keys & Guitar), Call on Spring (Fiddle, Double Bass, Guitar), Take My Hand (same), Gentle Heart (same). Interval Set 2: Raffle Prizes! Final 5 songs with Taz & Ellie Mains. Wash It Away (Fiddle & Guitar), In The Garden (Flute, Guitar & Double Bass), BlueShade (Guitar, Percussion, Double Bass & 3 Vocals), The Presence (Fiddle, Double Bass, Guitar), Be Not Afraid To Die (Flute, Guitar, Bassoon). Final Thank you's! Robert Weil Produced, Arranged, Played all tracks except Vocals and Guitar, Engineered, and Mastered 'Gentle Heart', Saskia's debut album , in his studio.
Robert began his musical career playing informal concerts, as a self taught pianist, the most memorable was by invitation at the Central Hall in Westminster, for the C.E.W.C. ( Council for the Education of World Citizenship ) a branch of the U.N. He was asked back three times, annually, delighted to accept, and thrilled to get paid as well! Other artistes on the same bill included Larry Adler, Richard Stilgoe, and Cy Grant, among others back in the early 1970s. During this time Robert decided to make music his career, and as a young pianist decided to learn all he could about synthesizers, which were in their infancy back then. Robert set up the first electronic music teaching facility in London at his home later in the 70s, and was subsequently appointed to the Inner London Education Authority ( ILEA ) as a Music Consultant. In this capacity he set up the teaching faculty at the Islington Music Workshop for Camden Council and ran their first courses. He also ran a private teaching practice and was fully booked with a waiting list. Robert went on to form a management production publishing company ( based in London and Los Angeles ) with Ashley Kozak. Ashley had travelled extensively playing double bass, and then Ashley had worked for NEMS ( Brian Epstein ) and then shared an office with London based Producer Mickie Most. Ashley had famously produced and managed Donovan, and Roger Whittaker, amongst many others. Ashley became Godfather to Robert's son Christopher and shared a wealth of knowledge with Robert about recording, production, and arrangement. In 1996 Robert met and played with the band Goma. Robert subsequently moved from London to Devon and there recorded six instrumental albums of healing music. Around 10,000 Cds were sold mostly to therapists. They were used by the Harry Edwards healing centre, Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, and many other wonderful practices and centres. Robert recently donated all the albums to Integral Yoga charities. Robert was introduced to Swami Satchidananda ( the famous Indian Saint who had delivered the opening speech at Woodstock decades earlier ), and was asked by the great man himself to play music for him. Last year Robert recorded Padma Devi's first album ' Meditation of the Heart ' ( Padma runs Integral Yoga Europe ) and a further 2 albums for Ammaprema Grace. Robert has also played at various Integral Yoga retreats. Then one day Robert walked out of the dentist in Exeter and thought he heard an angel singing in the street. He stopped to listen and introduced himself to the singer, in his role as mentor, teacher, and producer, and that singer is Saskia. And the rest, as they say, is history. Robert continues to live happily in Devon with his wonderful wife, Caren Weil. Caren is a visual artist and a teacher in her own right. Robert also has a son, Christopher, who recently graduated in Globalisation and Politics at Brighton University. Can you do business out of love? I could almost stop writing this piece there. Can you build a brand, market effectively, implement growth strategies, and not care one bit about making money? It's almost like the drive to be successful carries it's own momentum, and we all know the emptiness of a life fueled by money, success, security... Contrary to a lot of artists/creatives I am not asking here about where to draw the line between running a business and creating art, I am asking if they can both be art. And therefore if neither of them can be about money!
If you know me personally (or are getting there (or are self employed!!)) you will know just how much work it has taken and how much of a struggle it has been to get to where I am. Self employed people work 24/7/356, and, it's largely unpaid - for the beginning period. That being said; I have hundreds of engaged fans, I've played more gigs than I can (reasonably) count, I've been number 1 in Bristol's folk charts for 5 MONTHS!! And, with the help of producer Robert Weil, I've put together a stellar debut album (Gentle Heart) which I can't wait to share with you, and I planned a 4 month UK headline tour to promote the album and properly establish me and my music. My friend Tracey Bower was inspired by something she saw on the telly about the arts council and prompted me to have a look...6 (utterly boring) weeks later I had managed to put together a proposal for a 'Gentle Heart UK Tour 2016', and submitted the application to Grants For The Arts.
Meanwhile, I wrote songs, continued to travel, worked on the album, created some marketing strategies for the following year, and WOAH, what came through the post? A nice, big, (juicy), envelope! Yes, they have accepted my application, and are funding my tour next year! Every (serious) musician needs a budget to work with to get out there. There are innumerable costs associated with starting up, releasing, promoting & touring, and to begin with, you haven't got any bloody cash! Now that stop has been removed, the only thing in between reaching my goals is time, and I, can't, WAIT!! So thank you to the Arts Council and the National Lottery fund, for recognizing a serious, independent musician, and investing in my future, and in the future of the arts of England. This budget is make or break for me, and will be extremely carefully allocated. Now, first things first...anyone for a 1st class holiday in Barbados? (KIDDING!!!) :D |
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December 2022
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