It's getting exciting !

Hello, and welcome back to my blog.





Well, lots has been going on, a recent departure from a band, (things didn't quite work out like I had hoped !), another recording session with Elizabeth Fields at Magic Garden studio's in Wolverhampton and most importantly the mastering of my tracks for my upcoming EP "Organic"!! >>>





Spent a few hours with my great friend and superbly gifted Odilon Marcenaro mastering, was brilliant to hear the tracks through the studio system, and there was not much to do, as my producer, Jackanory and the guys had done such a great job on the mixes.


It was nice to be back in the old studio, I used to do alot of my recording there, and it was the studio where I recorded my demo "Burning".


The tracks are sounding amazing, and I am very excited about the forthcoming release on July 31st .





I have to say, I am really starting to relax and enjoy myself now. I think all the years of up and downs, let downs, unprofessional people and sharks..and I am sure there will be more, have taught me well. I have released the pressure, and insecurity and excepted I am on my own personal path. It takes a while to do that, I spent years trying to fit into place, you know, trying to do what others thought I should. I learned that everyone has an opinion, and they are very entitled to it, however you should always trust your instincts and believe in yourself.


It's great to be in this place now, enjoying the process of networking and making music, working on various projects etc, the whole music business/industry can really fry your brain..and I can totally understand why some artists and musicians throw in the towel.


I have been close many times myself, but I know deep down I am a musician and how unfulfilled I would be being anything else !





The way I see it, If people like the music I make and I achieve some success that would be the icing on the cake..but I admit I would continue on making music irrelevant. It's what we all dream of, acceptance, success etc, but it is certainly not guaranteed. Ultimately for me, it is about doing the things that make me happy, after all you only get one life !!





So, the EP will be released July 31st..along side a re-launch of my new look website ! I also have a number of radio interviews set up and hopefully a few appearances and a little promo vid..I am on a serious promotion mission !!


I will keep you updated of dates/times etc..and where my EP will be available for download.





Aja and I have taken a break from radio for a little while, we are doing hour podcasts at the moment, you can download them at Aja & Claire Simone's Ketch A Vibe Podcast site

And don't forget to visit my website for updates ! Claire Simone






See you next time !!
Have fun :-)

Claire xxx

Change is good !

Hello, welcome back to my blog.



I have just come off the phone from a good friend of mine, due to the information I received during the call I decided to write today about the difficulties in attempting to take music forward and create something new.
I have talked about how seemingly impossible it is to make a sustainable income from music in a previous blog, but one thing I didn't mention was the invisible walls and barriers that exist preventing change and the pushing of the boundaries in contemporary music.
During my conversation with my friend, I learned how some of the well established Jazz/Soul/Blues venues in and around London are suffering financially, simply because they had made the decision to support musicians and bands creating new sounds. It has become apparent that people are reluctant to embrace change, ticket sales have fallen and the regulars are requesting the old favourites.
I am somewhat reluctant to say, as an artist within the Jazz/Soul/Blues genre, that this seems to be the case more so in my genre than other forms of music. As someone who enjoys all styles and genres in music, I have observed that other genres are more keen to embrace change and new music, especially in rock music. The audiences are hungry for the next movement and where the music will go next, and as a result the music is thriving.


Of course all music stems from individual or collective influences from music history, John Lennon said it best
"Once a thing has been done, it's been done, so why this nostalgia?. Looking backwards for inspiration, like to the sixties and seventies, copying the past, how is that rock and roll ?, do something of your own, start something new, you know, live your life now " - John Lennnon BBC 1968.

Some people use a term for people who prefer to stay in one place as far as making and performing music is concerned, they call them "purists". They follow a strict set of rules and boundaries in there chosen musical form, and anything outside those boundaries is rejected. The most relevant person I can think of who challenged these boundaries back in the 70's is Herbie Hancock, I know there are many more..but for this piece I will use Herbie. When he introduced his electronic sounds into his Jazz, it was instantly rejected..not as music, but as Jazz music. Thankfully Herbie also began to build support and fans and continued to make his music, and has influenced many many musicians, all keen to move forward..but unfortunately still rejected by the so called "purists".
This contributes to the point I made at the beginning about the venues struggling to support new music today.

The result of which is cheap tickets just to get people in the door, resulting in low wages for the working bands. I myself know all to well the struggle to earn money playing with a band, it is why so many simply cannot take there music to the live venues.
From my own perspective, it seems to be a battle to promote new music, with a very very low success rate for few. Indeed I know some well established music makers who cannot fill a venue, and struggle to sell tickets.
It could be argued that it could be because the music is not good enough, but I would argue against that. I believe it comes down to the reluctance of people to move forward and embrace creativity and new sounds. It is familiarity they seek, the chords and structures they recognise, again, the nostalgia.

I am about to release some new music in July, though it has influences from music history, it is mine and my producers vision for my songs..and I hope, new music. It remains to be seen what kind of response I receive..as I am breaking some of the "rules". But I must say, I look forward to it..even if I am a little nervous !

It comes down to this, you have to keep making the music that is inside you..and not conform..continue to believe in yourself. For me it is the only way you will stay true to your heart and soul..and you can always say you did it for you first, before others. Unfortunately we have no control over how people will respond.
I just say, don't let the "industry and business side of music dictate who you are.. good music is good music and people will love it !!

See you next time !

Making music !

Hello, welcome back to my blog !







Though I recently published a blog on my thoughts about the music industry, It's been a few months now since my last entry and lots has been happening !







The EP I recorded back in January is very close to completion, so I am getting ready for all the hard work of self promotion. I consider myself a bit of a veteren now when it comes to promoting my music, as I am sure all independant artists are these days. I have done very well in the past, securing plenty of airplay and building great contacts. I am very proud of this work, and I am looking forward to getting it out for people to hear ! So gearing up now !!





The track I recorded with Dee C'rell "Black From the day" is now available on the compilation album "Lounge Du Soliel" through Lemongrassmusic and other reputable download sites. The track has aslo been doing well, and received airplay on ono other than Jazzfm if you please !!




Recently, I have become invloved with Blues Is Truth, a wonderful blues band. I recorded a track with them a few months ago, called 'Coming Home'. I have to tell you the story, because I still can't quite believe it myself.



We left lovely Wales for Reading, gave ourselves plenty of time..but alas..just my luck, they had closed off the bridge just as we got there, an accident in the fast lane. So one and a half hours later we were back on our way. Almost 2 hours late I arrived at the studio, I walked in, the guys said "Hello Claire, right are you ready then ? " So on went the cans, and I did the track in one take, and then did another straight away for a backup, how about that for professionalism !!!! I had only heard the song twice before aswell, so I just went with my instinct. Since I recorded it, it has received airplay all over the world ! It is doing really well which is very cool !


Last week we had the Blues Is Truth album 'Today's Specials' launch which was wicked..band were mega..and the crowd was brilliant !! If you were there, huge thanks for coming along.

I am so chuffed to be able to finally say I am officially a recording artist..yeay..now I want to just do more and more..make lots of music.

See you next time
Love
Claire xxx

Do not give up your dreams !

Hello, and welcome back to my blog.


This blog is not really about me for a change, ha ha, but seriously, I felt compelled to write it due to the general feeling amongst my fellow artists about the current state of the music industry.


Of late I have been having more and more conversations with independent artists, and even established artists, all sharing similar views and frustrations with the increasingly evaporating integrity within the music industry.
It has always been a difficult industry to work in, and has seen many great people destroyed, but it has definitely taken a turn for the worse this last decade.

The most common frustration seems to be the seemingly impossible dream to be able to earn a living through making music these days. I do have opinions about why this is the case, but I want to stress that these are my personal opinions, derived from my observations, not only from being in the thick of things as an independent artists myself, but also from working in radio closely with many artists.

I will start with the Internet, it has been both a blessing and a curse for the music industry. It has provided the means and the engine to allow unsigned and independent artists to get their music out and promote it to the world, but it takes time, dedication and a flare for networking. On the other hand the music sites are saturated with 1000's of artists all clambering the ladder for success. Now please don't get me wrong, I am all for people exploring creativity, if you find peace and tranquility in music..that is what is all about. However, most are pursuing fame, fortune and celebrity. I am sure most of you that have used any of the music networking sites have come across those artists who push themselves on you..sending endless promotion messages etc. These tools are great, if and only if you are researching the people you are pitching yourself too, quantity is not the way..trust me. Being selective and approaching people individually who you think will be interested in your music is the only way to get any results !! I cannot tell you how many punk and heavy metal bands send me promotion messages...WHY ??
These sites are also full of people looking to pray on naive, hungry artists..telling them exactly want they want to hear to get hold of their hard earned money, I myself have been privy to a number of these operators as I have told you in previous blogs.

The wonder of the Internet is that people are accessing information and getting more and more for free, and as a result are reluctant to pay for things that they can just as easily get for nothing, due to file sharing..free downloads etc etc. The major artists, with the huge companies are really the only ones these days who still seem to pull in revenue from record sales, even so, they are licencing the music for use in commercials and exhausting all means of generating income from the music.
I was asked the other day, why do people buy into the rubbish music in the charts..Though I don't actually think all commercial music is rubbish, I do understand that point. I see it as clever marketing, bombarding people with images on billboards, and t.v and radio. Most people do not have the time to spend sourcing music they may actually discover they adore..so what they see and hear is all they know. And now with the threat to the closer of BBC6 music I fear it will only get worse.

If you want the whole package these days, success, record sales, world tours etc..apparently you need to be mindful of what the masses are buying and tailor yourself to fit the bill. I am happy to report that most of my good friends and colleagues, including myself fully intend to continue creating the music we love. So here in lies the double edged sword..do you strive to stay true to your heart and your music, consequently struggling to make music a sustainable career in music, or do sacrifice and compromise for success, to become something you are not to achieve your dreams of success ? Can you imagine David Bowie, or Prince compromising their musical integrity, they did what was in their souls...and achieved success with it, however the music industry was a very different place back then, it celebrated and rewarded individuality and originality.
I know many many amazing artists and bands that are losing faith and simply cannot keep going. They are creating superb albums, investing time and money in a product, and not getting heard or recognised, or even making their money back from sales, forcing them to give up. I was told by a good friend just the other day, that in a conversation with music industry folk, he was told that if he wanted a sustainable income from music he should concentrate on writing pop music !

Like I said, this are just my thoughts..please feel free to add any points in my comments box.

I wish I had the answer, or indeed a crystal ball which reassured me that things will change.

All I can say is, many many times I have thought of giving up..things seeming almost impossible to bother to continue, but something drives me on..most of all my love and passion for music and a belief that one day the listening audience will say NO MORE to the greedy corporate engines, and make their own choices about what is great music, whatever style they enjoy.

Keep believing in yourself, remember why you started making music and always be yourself, do not lose sight of your dreams..
I believe we will take back real music one day soon..together :-)

Love and hugs

Claire xxxx

2010 here we come !!!

Hello all, and welcome back !

Happy New year, and what a year so far !

I have had a very exciting and busy start to 2010, I am finally doing what I have always dreamed of..making music with very talented producers and musicians. I feel a little like I have been living in recording studio's these past few weeks, but I am not complaining, it is exactly what I have always dreamed of !

I have to start by saying, how very lucky and privileged I am to be surrounded by immensely talented musicians and friends, including my web designer, photographer , not leaving out all my friends in radio, promotions and production...I am honoured and forever grateful for all the support..and a special mention must go to Mr Ken Short, who had made the impossible, possible for me..I am forever thankful and honoured to have your belief and support...xxx

I am very excited to report that I have just completed the recording of my upcoming new EP, we recorded at the famous Britannia Row Studio's, London..where many many bands and artists have recorded, my favourite being Soul II Soul's Keep On Moving ! The studio was phenomenal, and really had an energy...the creative juices were flowing to the max.
Huge thanks to my producer, Michael Randall aka Jackanory, who not only produced incredible music for my tracks, but is an immensely talented musician, playing on the Bass and all of the keys..and I just have to mention this, the Hammond organ used on my tracks belongs to Pink Floyd, and was the very one they used on The Wall album..how COOL is that !!!!
I would also like to thank, Richard Molyneux ( guitars ), Davide Veno ( studio engineer and all round genius ) and Tim Rickard aka Trickard ( drums ) and the rest of the guys that helped out at the studio. I had the best time of my life !!!!
We were all working until 3am 2 days in a row...heartfelt thanks for the effort and amazing playing.
I cannot wait to hear the results, and I will let you know when I will be releasing the EP.

I have also just returned from a recording session at The Magic Garden Studio's, working with Elizabeth Fields, laying some vocals down for her upcoming EP with producer Gavin Monaghan. I had a great time, and met some super talented musicians. I would like to thank Elizabeth for inviting me to be involved in her music..it was a pleasure and I look forward to making more music together in the future !

My Collaboration with Dee C'rell is due out very soon on Lemongrass Records, so it's all happening :-)

I shall let you know the details of all the release dates etc as soon as I have them.
Once more, thanks for visiting my blog..hope you enjoyed reading my news, and see you next time !

Love Claire xx

Just an update

Hello, and welcome to my blog.

It has been a few months since I last posted a blog, things have been pretty busy and I have been a little poorly.

As I am sure some of you know, Georgejazz came off the air..we will miss the station greatly..but sometimes even good things come to an end. Ironically, it's popularity was it's downfall in the end. The server kept on crashing, and due to finicial restrictions there was not a budget to invest in the station to take it to a wider audience. It seems we are all feeling the pinch...it is a shame but we made some good friends.
The good news is we have joined a brand new Jazz station, and with it some exciting developments.

I am due to begin recording my nu Blues EP the end of the year, I am looking forward to getting back in the studio and getting the creative juices flowing !
I am also looking forward to next year, hopefully taking a band out to the Jazz clubs..and playing some festivals including Malborough Jazz festival.

I am as determined as ever to remain true to my music, and work with people like minded. Maybe I have chosen a difficult path, but to be honest I would rather continue on than make music I am not comfortable with.
We have received alot of albums lately from some well known artists..and I have to admit I have been very dissapointed..I would rather not name names, but some have really chosen to go in a direction not true to their musical roots..over produced commercial r&b and pop really. I suppose money talks, each to their own. I don't knock it, just wouldn't do it myself.

As I have said in earlier posts, I have been offered and turned down the deals where I would have had very little, almost no involvement in the musical proccess, and niether had any control over rights etc..some may say I am daft..but I would prefer not to be a robot !

Anyway, can you really see me making MTV music video's, ha ha

My dream is still to tour with a great band, doing the music I love..I shall continue to work for that goal.

Thank you as always for reading my blog, I won't leave it so long next time

Love

Claire

"Here and Now"

Welcome to chapter 8 of my blog, it's been a little while since my last entry, I have been a busy bee !



Thank you as always to those of you who have come back, and for your emails and messages, very happy to hear you are still enjoying my story, and hello to any new readers.



There was an "incident" yesterday that reminded me of something I thought I would share with you, I haven't included it in previous blogs simply because I had forgotten, but it was another little confidence booster along the way !



About a year ago I was contacted by a musician, as usual, unfortunately I cannot name names, but lets just say he is a very well know guitarist. He came on very strong, saying he wanted to produce an album for me, and take me to New York to play at some major events..it all sounded very exciting, especially as the outfit he plays with included one of my musical hero's. As usual it was all above board, and I spoke to various other people in the circle, so I felt quite confident it was not bullshit. We were in conversation for a few weeks and it was all looking very promising, as my manager I thought it would be a good idea for Aja to touch bases with he who shall not be named, so he contacted him to say hello and introduce himself.

This is where the story ends, that was it, never heard from again..can't tell you why, but I'm sure we can all read between the lines.

I thought the days of doing the odd "favour, wink wink" for someone to further your career was gone, but apparently not !!





Chapter 8

" Here and Now !"

After the excitement of my radio play on BBC things have calmed down a bit. Over the last months I have been working on various projects, writing and collaborating. I am actually writing songs for a musical at the moment for someone in the U.S, something I had never thought I would turn my hand to, it is a challenge, but great fun. I have also done some cool jazz due for release soon, something very different for me..but I do love to keep things interesting and new.

We have very recently had a mix done on my track "He Is My All" , so far it is going down very well, playing in the clubs in Ibiza, Istanbul and on radio all over the world.. very happy people are enjoying it..it is a bit of disco, 70's flavour, again something different for me !

Just to fill you in on another recent "episode" in my music journey, I have had an interesting week to say the least ! Again, not naming names, I was eagerly contacted a number of times by a record producer/label..usual list of credentials. The various emails read how he would love to produce records for me, loved my voice, all very nice. So....we contacted him on his request. I know it sounds terrible, but I enter most conversations of this nature with suspicion. You would think, and naturally so, that the people higher up the food chain would be more honest and up front and more importantly professional ! However, in my experience this is not the case, most regrettably my instincts were right. Yes, he wanted to produce for me, and began a lengthy lecture about how the music industry is not about talent and more about money and celebrity, and asked me if I could get a budget together to pay him !!

Firstly, IF I had that kind of money I know exactly what producers I would approach that I would love to work with..and secondly, what is that all about ??? You chase someone, then ask them for money, PLEASE !!

Maybe I was supposed to get honoured, and grateful for the interest and how dare me not be !!

And secondly, I refuse to believe that success in music is not about talent !! I think the music industry suits and executives have forced it to be that way, mostly in the commercial world. Yes, it is that way in the world of MTV and glossy magazines, but who wants that kind of attention ??

I don't think at any point that I have given the impression that I want to be famous, a celebrity and feature on the front page of Hello magazine falling out of a car drunk, nor I am remotely interested in being the next Pop princess !, can you imagine ha ha ha , me on MTV dancing around in a mini skirt, I can hear you all laughing now.

I realise there is a place for all that, I am not naive enough to think pure talent will always win through, but sometimes it does ! You only have to look at some of the real successes like Jill Scott and Herbie Hancock amongst many others..you don't see them splashed all over the papers and magazines.

Onwards and Upwards !!!

Obviously now I have reached the present point in my story, I will continue to keep you updated on any "developments" as and when they occur !

Thanks for reading my blog, see you next time.

Claire xx