Today's spotlight is on Martin from the amazing NBT Project and NBTMusicRadio; from alt country to Brit pop, from experimental bubblegum, to songwriting art from soul to jazz to hard rock.. always alternative always independent. Full line ups can be found here and how to support the radio: http://nbtmusicradio.wordpress.com/
Start at the
beginning, how did you get started with this crazy idea of spreading the word
about music?
Martin: well I have been in the business a long time, starting out DJing
at alternative and rock clubs, managing a new artist evening and also managing
the live operation for a few clubs. was also in a band myself, we did electro
shoegaze sort of stuff. so basically I realized (like anyone who is in the
indie biz realizes) that getting the word out about the millions of cool bands
just wasn’t being done by mainstream media and websites. mainly cause they
didn’t have either the knowledge or the curiosity for anything new.
We're all the
product of our musical past. What's your musical history? First album you ever bought? First musical epiphany moment? First album that terrified the hell out
of you?
Martin: I would fall asleep to music as a kid, my parents bought a disco
light set up so we could ''see'' the music happening, the bass was red, Treble
was blue and so on...
First album I ever owned was a gift... The Byrd’s Mr. Tambourine Man,
First one I recall buying with my own pocket money was David Bowie Superstar...
all his pre Space Oddity stuff.
First musical epiphany moment: mmm I think watching James Brown in the
T:A.M.I: Movie and thinking wow Pop Music
sure is powerful stuff
Most Terrifying album, well the first one anyway: I had heard all about
this artist Diamanda Galas and at my local record shop hang out I asked to hear
a track or two.. Scary stuff.
What's the last
album to grab you by the throat and insist you listen?
Savages : Silence Yourself
What do you see
happening in the music scene today, good and bad?
Good: if a
band has that extra member that focuses
on digital/internet promotion there is no reason why they can’t actually.. You
know, get somewhere. It may be a bad time to be a major label but it’s a pretty
good time for the rest of us
Bad: audiences
still are too happy to be spoon-fed and the majors and the websites and too
many radios are too happy to do the spoon feeding. There is a lot of laziness
around.
With so many
music sites, how would you describe what you do?
With the
NBTMusicRadio at the centre of our operation, basically we get new music heard
all over the world and put new bands up against
the more established ones
What's your
unique take on the music and writing?
If you write pop songs get to the point QUICKLY. That’s
any kind of pop song be it indie/hard rock/ or otherwise.
And if you mean,
what do we look for to include a band on our station/sites? Well just its gotta
be cool, we are NOT tribal and we love all sorts of music from Drone Rock to
Soul Nuggets.
Illegal free
downloads on your site. Yes or no, and why?
Our radio is streaming, so not applicable
really, and that whole issue can be debated
for days or until a Grateful Dead concert finishes, (which ever comes
first) and both sides have many valid points of view
What's been your
all time greatest "Find"? That band you "discovered" before
anyone else and started the word spreading?
That changes almost
every week, I think the thing that constantly amazes me is just how much
absolutely great music there is out there. Hopefully the NBTMusicRadio helps
people find their own ''Discoveries'' and THEY spread the word.
If you could
write a 1,000 word essay on one song, which one would it be, and why?
O Superman -
Laurie Anderson. It’s all about the layers.
What makes that
song so important?
It went against
''established wisdom'' about what constitutes a huge chart hit, and proved the
buying public doesn’t always go for the stupid or the mindless and can embrace
an 8 minute minimalist artwork and take it to the top ten.
Give us three
bands that we need to keep our eyes out for.
Off the top of my
head :
Yellerwood/The
Implicit Order Experimental music at its best
Kat Boelskov dreamy electronica from
Denmark
Texas based
Victoria Love
Tell us about
your personal music collection. Vinyl? CD? What's your prized possession?
Both and lots of
both at that :)
Prized
possessions mmmm the first Scott Walker LP in vinyl, bought at my local
supermarket of all places.
my Conny Plank
and Billy Bragg box sets, all the cool
stuff I get at flea markets and pawn shops
(whatever was bought yesterday :)
What makes it all
worthwhile for you?
When a musician
comes onto the radio to hear their track being played and THEN stays and THEN
goes and raves about the OTHER artists that they have heard.
How would your
life be different if you weren't writing about music?
would be bored I
think, or have to time to write other stuff I guess
Ever been
threatened by a band or a ravenous fan?
no not really,
though I do get some ungrateful idiots from time to time who think I am not
doing enough for them in as quick way as possible, I don’t really let that bug
me, I simply switch them off (literally)
oh and sometimes moan about it on social media (never naming names
though)
In the end, what
would you like to have accomplished, or be remembered for?
It seems I don’t
have sufficient ego to properly answer that question
Many people may
not realize the hours you devote to what you do for little or no pay. Is there
a day job? If so, how do you find the balance?
Nope this IS the
Day, the afternoon, the evening and the late night job. and there is no
balance.
What's next? Any
new projects?
making
NBTMusicRadio even more listened to than it is now. I have branched out in a (very) minor way
into a small management role for an
electronic artist and see if it’s doable or viable...
Finally, other
than the music, what's your other burning passion?
I have had
several Plays written and staged, and writing has always been a life source for
me, and it’s my ONLY regret that I simply do not get enough time to do it these
days.
Links:
Support The NBTMusicRadio
http://nbtmusicradio.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/support/
NBTMusicRadio JUST Joined Twitter: DO add us!
@NBTMusicRadio
The 24hr streaming NBT Radio
http://nbtmusicradio.playtheradio.com/
iTunes: NBTMusicRadio
TuneIn(for Blackberry/Android) : NBTMusicRadio
The NBT Review Page
http://thenbtreview.wordpress.com/
Our Flagship podcast and Our blog
http://nbtmusic.wordpress.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NBTMusicRadio
http://www.facebook.com/NBTmusicproject
add me: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001678575320
The NBT Portal/homepage
http://nbtmusic.de
http://nbtmusicradio.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/support/
NBTMusicRadio JUST Joined Twitter: DO add us!
@NBTMusicRadio
The 24hr streaming NBT Radio
http://nbtmusicradio.playtheradio.com/
iTunes: NBTMusicRadio
TuneIn(for Blackberry/Android) : NBTMusicRadio
The NBT Review Page
http://thenbtreview.wordpress.com/
Our Flagship podcast and Our blog
http://nbtmusic.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/NBTMusicRadio
http://www.facebook.com/NBTmusicproject
add me: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001678575320
The NBT Portal/homepage
http://nbtmusic.de
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