Hi everyone,
Apologies for the gross lack of updates. I managed to lock myself out of my account, thanks to multiple Google accounts and general confusion. Which brings me on to my next point.
My current internet set-up is, quite frankly, useless. I have multiple email addresses, multiple websites and platforms, and no real cohesion. It makes it difficult to update anything, which leaves stuff stale.
I'm therefore getting myself a sleeker, flashy new website. It should be ready by the start of October, and it will be far more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing than my current one.
It will also have its own integrated news feed, so I can do away with this blog. Sorry, but it's just so much easier to have as much as possible self-contained.
Its launch will with any luck coincide with the launch of my new EP. I've got a couple of new tracks being recorded at the moment, plus there'll be two off the last record, completely remixed and remastered. There's another video on its way too, but I'll keep hush-hush about all that for now. Another time, another post. Hopefully on my new website...!
All the best,
Owen
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Monday, 6 June 2011
Updates on Album #3 (and website!)
Evening all,
A few updates to work through, so I'll keep it brief.
1. ALBUM #3 - I've had a few questions about this, and so I thought I'd write a little on the progress so far and (roughly) what to expect from me over the summer... You can read it here on my website, and I'll sporadically update it as the weeks go by.
A few updates to work through, so I'll keep it brief.
1. ALBUM #3 - I've had a few questions about this, and so I thought I'd write a little on the progress so far and (roughly) what to expect from me over the summer... You can read it here on my website, and I'll sporadically update it as the weeks go by.
2. WEBSITE - I've had several reviews make their way back to me about my music - some glowing, some damning, but on the whole very encouraging. As a result I've added a section to the 'Bio' page of my website quoting some of these reviews plus linking to the full original articles.
Whilst doing this I've given my website a little bit of a late Spring-clean, and will be keeping it more update this summer in accordance with the new album work etc. Check it out.
3. MYSPACE - I'm getting rid of it. The new beta artist page is shoddy, and the whole site (in my opinion) has faded as a bastion of online music and breakthrough acts, and become a spam and virus-ridden pre-teen wasteland. I have enough trouble keeping up with this, the website, the Bandcamp site, the Youtube account... I simply don't, and won't, use Myspace enough to warrant having a profile. Sorry if that breaks anybody's hearts, which I'm sure it won't.
4. ON THAT NOTE... - follow me on Facebook instead. I'm actually going to start using it, as a penitent compromise for this Myspace blasphemy. Also, I am not getting a Twitter account just yet. No comment.
Thanks for reading as always, hope that everyone's enjoying the move towards better weather (in Britain, at least).
Owen
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Know Your NME / Album #3...
Dear all,
Firstly the title is a terrible pun on the Rage Against The Machine song, NOT the vastly inferior Green Day single. That band is a tragedy nowadays.
Secondly the title is of course alluding to the fact that 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' has been featured on NME.com. I'm as shocked as you are.
It's really humbling to think that a pretty scrappy video cobbled together in a couple of hours at the last minute in my mate's living room is now in a playlist alongside Linkin Park, Noah & The Whale, and Fightstar.
Also one of my friends pointed out that at the end of Easter Week, I was the 97th most popular video of the week on NME.com, apparently pushing the latest Noah & The Whale single back into 98th. Owen Franklin - officially more popular than Noah & The Whale since 2011. Ahem.
If I can get this single on NME.com and a few radio stations, which I have, then I must be doing something right... Time to capitalise on it.
I've been writing now for a few weeks and I've got about 7 songs, some of which are finished. I'm being a lot more selective, and have already scrapped some finished songs because they're simply not up to the standard I want.
The overall sound is a bit 'rockier' than the last album, it'll be interesting to see how I end up arranging it. I'm going to be in the studio pretty much all summer, with the capable Matt Thomas on mixing duties. Matt is a good mate and extremely talented all-round sound expert, and more importantly he knows the sort of sounds that I'm after.
I'll keep sporadically updating y'all on recording news, but in the meantime I have a few exams to get out of the way, darn it.
Oh, and here's the link to the video on NME, if you want to ogle/click "Like"/re-tweet, or whatever you will.
Firstly the title is a terrible pun on the Rage Against The Machine song, NOT the vastly inferior Green Day single. That band is a tragedy nowadays.
Secondly the title is of course alluding to the fact that 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' has been featured on NME.com. I'm as shocked as you are.
It's really humbling to think that a pretty scrappy video cobbled together in a couple of hours at the last minute in my mate's living room is now in a playlist alongside Linkin Park, Noah & The Whale, and Fightstar.
Also one of my friends pointed out that at the end of Easter Week, I was the 97th most popular video of the week on NME.com, apparently pushing the latest Noah & The Whale single back into 98th. Owen Franklin - officially more popular than Noah & The Whale since 2011. Ahem.
If I can get this single on NME.com and a few radio stations, which I have, then I must be doing something right... Time to capitalise on it.
I've been writing now for a few weeks and I've got about 7 songs, some of which are finished. I'm being a lot more selective, and have already scrapped some finished songs because they're simply not up to the standard I want.
The overall sound is a bit 'rockier' than the last album, it'll be interesting to see how I end up arranging it. I'm going to be in the studio pretty much all summer, with the capable Matt Thomas on mixing duties. Matt is a good mate and extremely talented all-round sound expert, and more importantly he knows the sort of sounds that I'm after.
I'll keep sporadically updating y'all on recording news, but in the meantime I have a few exams to get out of the way, darn it.
Oh, and here's the link to the video on NME, if you want to ogle/click "Like"/re-tweet, or whatever you will.
Owen
Monday, 11 April 2011
Spring Is Here
First things first: my first radio interview is tomorrow, 11:10am - but more on that in a second.
Things have been ticking gently over, promo copies of 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' have been sent out, and songwriting for the next album has commenced - as previously mentioned (I think), I'll have the whole summer to work on the new material so I'm definitely hoping for a more polished sound.
I'm thinking a slightly more guitar-based sound; it's bold to say 'Reuben-esque' as I'm not even going to try and emulate those guys, but they're a big influence. Then again, I cannot get enough of everything Bob Dylan recorded in the 60s at the moment, so God knows, it's probably going to meet somewhere in the middle (wherever that is...).
Anyway, back to the radio interview! Yep, believe it or not, Leith 98.8FM, a Scottish community radio station, have asked to do a short interview with me, I assume based around my single. For those of you not in the region, you can stream it live here. It starts at 11:10am so if you're up and fancy a listen, there ya go.
Not much else to report at the moment; all quiet on the Western front, but looking forward to doing a bit more gigging as the seasons roll into summer - and before long I'll be in the studio again...
All best,
Owen
Things have been ticking gently over, promo copies of 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' have been sent out, and songwriting for the next album has commenced - as previously mentioned (I think), I'll have the whole summer to work on the new material so I'm definitely hoping for a more polished sound.
I'm thinking a slightly more guitar-based sound; it's bold to say 'Reuben-esque' as I'm not even going to try and emulate those guys, but they're a big influence. Then again, I cannot get enough of everything Bob Dylan recorded in the 60s at the moment, so God knows, it's probably going to meet somewhere in the middle (wherever that is...).
Anyway, back to the radio interview! Yep, believe it or not, Leith 98.8FM, a Scottish community radio station, have asked to do a short interview with me, I assume based around my single. For those of you not in the region, you can stream it live here. It starts at 11:10am so if you're up and fancy a listen, there ya go.
Not much else to report at the moment; all quiet on the Western front, but looking forward to doing a bit more gigging as the seasons roll into summer - and before long I'll be in the studio again...
All best,
Owen
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Overdue Updates/Next Single?
Hey y'all,
Firstly, apologies for the lack of any concrete updates recently - university life has been fast-paced, I swear I updated this last week, but it looks like I've left things dormant for over a month. Ah well...
I've had some really great feedback so far about the album; even those of you who were critical were kind enough to be constructive and obviously took the time to listen to it, so thanks to all. As always, feedback is appreciated, and taken on board!
I'll be honest: I'm already writing stuff for the next album, as yet untitled. I'm going to spend pretty much the entire summer (yep, 3 months, God bless UK university holidays) recording and mixing, so I'm going to be quite a bit more experimental and hopefully will get some really high-quality stuff coming out. All I'll say for now is that it's going to be a bit darker and angrier overall in tone. Oh, and it'll have fooking string arrangements. STRINGS.
'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' is being officially launched as a single this week, so I'll hopefully have more news on that soon! I'll put in the new single artwork at the end of this post.
In other news, I'd really value your input on what the next single should be. I'm kinda torn between 'The Tempest (Part One)' and 'The Lovers & The Losers', totally different feels to each song so I don't know what to choose! Maybe even 'Last Orders'...? Over to you. Comment, message me, tell me what YOU personally think. And if you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, then download the album already HERE.
Or you can tell me on my brand new Facebook fan page - only one stage away from succumbing to Twitter now...
Peace, Love, Empathy,
Owen
Firstly, apologies for the lack of any concrete updates recently - university life has been fast-paced, I swear I updated this last week, but it looks like I've left things dormant for over a month. Ah well...
I've had some really great feedback so far about the album; even those of you who were critical were kind enough to be constructive and obviously took the time to listen to it, so thanks to all. As always, feedback is appreciated, and taken on board!
I'll be honest: I'm already writing stuff for the next album, as yet untitled. I'm going to spend pretty much the entire summer (yep, 3 months, God bless UK university holidays) recording and mixing, so I'm going to be quite a bit more experimental and hopefully will get some really high-quality stuff coming out. All I'll say for now is that it's going to be a bit darker and angrier overall in tone. Oh, and it'll have fooking string arrangements. STRINGS.
'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' is being officially launched as a single this week, so I'll hopefully have more news on that soon! I'll put in the new single artwork at the end of this post.
In other news, I'd really value your input on what the next single should be. I'm kinda torn between 'The Tempest (Part One)' and 'The Lovers & The Losers', totally different feels to each song so I don't know what to choose! Maybe even 'Last Orders'...? Over to you. Comment, message me, tell me what YOU personally think. And if you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, then download the album already HERE.
Or you can tell me on my brand new Facebook fan page - only one stage away from succumbing to Twitter now...
Peace, Love, Empathy,
Owen
Thursday, 20 January 2011
New Year, New Album...
Hey y'all,
Please forgive the lack of updates over the Christmas period. Far from sitting around eating and drinking too much (although there was inevitably some level of festive self-indulgence...) I have been in the studio again, working on and recording some new material.
Basically, I'm going to be putting out a new album in the next few weeks - I'd hope to have it out by the start of February. The working title is 'Portrait of the Young Man as an Artist' (kudos if you get the reference) and it will contain brand new songs, along with 6 off the original release.
The songs that were on the original CD have been totally reworked, and in some instances have had parts re-recorded or added completely. Any problems with playback should be totally addressed now!
The CD will be available for free download off of my website, though there will be an option to make a donation if you like the music. This system allows you to download and review the album, and pay for it retrospectively if you approve - obviously there is no obligation to pay but any contributions are much appreciated! 50% of all money donated goes to 'a LIFE for a CURE', which works in association with Meningitis UK and is seeking to raise £1 million towards the development of a vaccination against meningitis B.
In other news, the video for the album's first single, 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' goes live on Youtube on Tuesday evening, plus it will be available for download off of my in-the-process-of-being-revamped website, so check it out when the day comes!
All the best,
Owen
Please forgive the lack of updates over the Christmas period. Far from sitting around eating and drinking too much (although there was inevitably some level of festive self-indulgence...) I have been in the studio again, working on and recording some new material.
Basically, I'm going to be putting out a new album in the next few weeks - I'd hope to have it out by the start of February. The working title is 'Portrait of the Young Man as an Artist' (kudos if you get the reference) and it will contain brand new songs, along with 6 off the original release.
The songs that were on the original CD have been totally reworked, and in some instances have had parts re-recorded or added completely. Any problems with playback should be totally addressed now!
The CD will be available for free download off of my website, though there will be an option to make a donation if you like the music. This system allows you to download and review the album, and pay for it retrospectively if you approve - obviously there is no obligation to pay but any contributions are much appreciated! 50% of all money donated goes to 'a LIFE for a CURE', which works in association with Meningitis UK and is seeking to raise £1 million towards the development of a vaccination against meningitis B.
In other news, the video for the album's first single, 'The Not-So-Great Gatsby' goes live on Youtube on Tuesday evening, plus it will be available for download off of my in-the-process-of-being-revamped website, so check it out when the day comes!
All the best,
Owen
Friday, 10 December 2010
Live! Tonight! Solo Slot!
Hey everyone,
Details first: tonight, Butler Winter Ball, Acoustic tent, 11:30pm-midnight - I'll be playing an acoustic set.
That last part may not surprise you given the venue.
If you're at the Butler Ball tonight then please come over and say hi, as well as checking out the earlier acts. I'm on last, and I'll be trying to appease drunken people with a mixture of covers and original material, plus the debut of a brand new song (LOLWUT) just to prove I haven't sat at uni for a term and wasted all on my time on trivial stuff like, y'know, my degree.
Hopefully I'll see a few of you there - come and tap your feet and shuffle the night awkwardly away. I dare you.
All best,
Owen
PS: my voice is knackered but I'm not using that as an excuse. Far from it. It's like having an overdrive pedal for the voicebox. In fact I think the huskiness makes me sound sexier. Only one way for y'all to prove me wrong on that one, and that's by listening... ;)
Details first: tonight, Butler Winter Ball, Acoustic tent, 11:30pm-midnight - I'll be playing an acoustic set.
That last part may not surprise you given the venue.
If you're at the Butler Ball tonight then please come over and say hi, as well as checking out the earlier acts. I'm on last, and I'll be trying to appease drunken people with a mixture of covers and original material, plus the debut of a brand new song (LOLWUT) just to prove I haven't sat at uni for a term and wasted all on my time on trivial stuff like, y'know, my degree.
Hopefully I'll see a few of you there - come and tap your feet and shuffle the night awkwardly away. I dare you.
All best,
Owen
PS: my voice is knackered but I'm not using that as an excuse. Far from it. It's like having an overdrive pedal for the voicebox. In fact I think the huskiness makes me sound sexier. Only one way for y'all to prove me wrong on that one, and that's by listening... ;)
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