Firstly, see Nathanial Tapley’s open letter to David Cameron’s parents.

Then have a look at Zoe Williams’ psychology of looting.

And finally, Seumas Milne’s ‘These riots reflect a society run on greed and looting’.

What I have noticed is that people always exert their power. If they are disempowered politically, economically, educationally and socially, they will exert their power physically.

I’m not justifying it, I’m just explaining it. Things are set up in the UK right now to make this kind of violence inevitable. And current government policy is making that worse. Charities and arts organisations do vital work. If you take their funding away, the work does not get done. If you also cut police funding, their is no one to deal with the consequences. I fully expect to see more of this, unless there is a change of government or a u-turn on policy.

The best thing that could happen right now is for the Lib Dems to withdraw their support for the Conservative government. They simply aren’t up to the task at hand.

Enjoy! And if you like it, please drop me a mail and let me know.

And if you really like it, you might want to buy the CD version, which comes with a 16-page booklet filled with writing and images giving more information on the subject matter covered in the songs.

You can read all the lyrics from the album here.

Padma

This is partly because I am an independent musician, and partly because I write a blog on music biz stuff. I’ve also got a natural interest in patterns and systems (and the music industry is one). I like watching things emerge, and I like the ideas that people are forced to come out with to try to make a little money in the current climate.

But aside from being interested in all that stuff, first and foremost, I am an artist. From that perspective, I don’t think about the business side of things AT ALL.

If you are a musician trying to make it in music right now, just pause for a moment and try to remember why you got into this in the first place. For most of us, we got into it because music moves us. There’s something about great music that hits you more directly than pretty much any other artform (and I love most artforms – I am not trying to be a snob here, it’s just how I experience it). You don’t need a degree in music history, you don’t even need to understand the words. When music hits you, it hits you, and that’s magic.

This post was inspired by conversations I’ve had with a couple of people in the music industry recently, who have been around long enough for the internet to feel like a pretty new thing. And also by listening to Elliott Smith the other day for the first time in ages.

The downside of the internet, and of the amazing possibilities these days to record release and distribute your album for sod all quid (trans: practically zero bucks) is that we kind of get caught up in the churn of it all. This constant barrage of tepid new stuff that holds our attention for about 5 seconds. If it holds our attention for more than that, we consider it good, and share it with our facebook and twitter friends.

But great music is worth far more than that, and EVERYONE used to know this. It’s worth hunting out, and cherishing. It’s worth playing again and again and again. For years. And if you make music, it’s worth trying to make it THAT GOOD. Just because you can release it, doesn’t mean you should. Maybe it’s not ready yet. (And maybe it is – don’t listen to me, what do I know? I’ve never even heard your music!)

I’m tired of all the mediocre blah. I want to be moved. What’s great out there? Tell me, please! What music genuinely moves you these days?

In today’s scene (and in fact, always in the past too) if you want a ‘career’ out of music, you have to pay attention to the business stuff. But it’s vital that we keep art as our focus. So that we can produce something worthy of a career.

Being an artist in a market economy is an odd position to be in, in that it’s the one ‘product’ or ’service’ that you need to make without trying to please the customer. Take all market research with a pinch of salt! Do not be swayed by reviews! Do your thing, and maybe you will move us. And if you don’t, maybe you will move the next generation.

Personally I would rather sell no records that are amazing than a million records that are, yawn, fine.

When I got to England I found out that my beautiful Maton guitar had been smashed up by Air Canada. It was in a Hiscox hard case, which you can literally stand on without damaging the guitar. It was also covered in ‘Fragile’ stickers.

They must have dropped it out of the plane, bounced it on the tarmac and then not bothered to tell me about it. Since I left my guitar with a friend and then headed off on a road trip, it was a few days before I found out. I contacted Air Canada and they said ‘tough shit’.

My £800 guitar cost me £400 to repair. It still has a visible crack in the front apparently, but plays and sounds like before. I had to leave it at the luthiers in London and haven’t seen it for 4 months. It is currently convalescing by the sea in Brighton, like a sickly Victorian lady.

So please join me in a chorus of ‘Air Canada, go fuck yourselves you tight bastards’ and tell all your friends about the terrible way they treat people. Screwing the little guy, for money they don’t need.

Things need to change with the way airlines treat musicians. We need to tour and we can’t tour without our instruments. We can’t afford to buy them their own seat (this is actually suggested on the Air Canada website). I know several people who have had instruments damaged by airline companies. This is wanton neglect – it’s not easy to damage a guitar in a hard case. If I smashed up their plane and then said ‘tough shit’ I’m sure that would not be the end of the story. Unfortunately I do not have the money to sue the bastards. I spent all mine on getting my guitar repaired.

What’s more, a guitar is not just a ‘thing’. You can’t just replace it. We form a bond with our instruments. We choose them carefully and hope they will be with us for life. Like Harry Potter buying a wand. So to be forced to check them in and have them thrown around by poorly trained airline chimps is traumatic. And then for them simply to say ‘tough shit’ is enough to make you want to torch their offices. (Note: if Air Canada’s offices get torched in the near future, it probably was not me.)

I released In Defence of the Wild, my second album, in Canada and went on a tour of cohousing communities and eco-villages in Western Canada with my good friends Dve Kytary. It was the best tour I’ve ever done. So much fun, met loads of great people, got to check out some amazing communities, and see a bunch of beautiful parts of Canada. We played to an audience of 100 in Roberts Creek and at Yarrow Ecovillage we played their 10 year anniversary celebration, upstairs in a 75-year-old barn strung with fairy lights and stuff. Awesome.

Cohousing communities are something that more musicians should consider when setting up tours (particularly acoustic acts). They all have a large communal space ideal for hosting events, some even have a proper stage. The neighbours know each other to the point of actually being friends, and they are usually networked into the wider community. So setting up a show on their doorstep means you will probably get a decent turnout. They are inevitably nice people, and nice people make nice audiences!

I am still planning to tour the UK but need to pull some money together first (please buy an album!). I’ll probably focus on unconventional venues there too. If you have any ideas, please get in touch.

It’s starting to get some very nice reviews:

“It seems Environmentalists everywhere now have a soundtrack.” Jenn Ashton, Rave On Studio and NXEW

“… expert compositions and some brillianly played instrumentation. This is an important album for all ears of our modern times, and a very enjoyable listen too.” Ryan Fletcher, host of ‘Melodies in Mind’, CJSF Radio

For those of you in Vancouver, we’ll be having a CD release party at The Railway Club on August 19th. I then do a bunch of shows at communities and ecovillages with my friends Dve Kytary before heading off back to the yurt. I’ll be touring the UK later in the year.

The album is available at itunes and all the other usual places, but it’s cheaper for you and better for me to buy it direct from my website. It’s available in digital and CD formats. The CD comes with a 16-page booklet of writings and some beautiful photographs of my yurt in the Spanish mountains, where the songs were written.

In Defence of the Wild has arrived!

The CDs are now available, and will be discounted until their official release date of 2nd Aug.

They come with a 16-page booklet of writings and a few images of my yurt, and are very beautiful (sounding great too!). They are selling pretty well already, so I’m excited to see what happens when the reviews and touring starts.

You can hear the whole album and order yours here.

Become a Padma dealer

Buy 5 copies at once and get them for just $10 Canadian each (that’s about £7.50). You can either club together with your friends and everyone gets them massively discounted, or try your hand as a dealer – sell them at the full retail price of $15 (or £12) each to people in your local scene and make some money!

This offer is NOT available on my site and is for people on my mailing list ONLY.

Drop me an email to padma@padmaland.com and I’ll hook you up with some class A merchandise

Other news

I’ll be touring Vancouver, the island (I’ve been invited to play the Coaltown festival in Nanaimo on BC day) and hopefully a couple of gulf islands before heading off to Europe in September. See the site for tour dates. I’m going to play as many communities and eco villages as possible, as well as a bunch of regular shows.

I was interviewed recently by Jenn Ashton of Rave On Studios. You can now read it on NxEW.

And I just found out that my album is going to be Album of the Week on Calon FM (a Welsh radio station) so pretty pleased about how things are going really.

I hope all is well in your world, and for those of you in the Vancouver area, catch you at a show soon!

Om shanti shanti shanti

Padma

The album now has its very own website!

Yes friends, there is now a dedicated In Defence of the Wild website, where you can stay up to date on all the happenings, as the album worms its way into the collective consciousness of the world.

And what’s more, it’s the go-to place for buying your copy! It’s available in collector-friendly CD format with a 16-page booklet, in dropcard format (the dropcard is made from 100% post-consumer paper and is embedded with wild flower seeds, so once you download your copy, you can bury the card and watch the flowers grow), and regular digital download.

Something for every taste, something for every pocket.

Head on over to indefenceofthewild.com to read reviews, watch interviews and videos, and hear the entire album.