Livemau5 on BBC Radio 5 Live

Radio's always best when it's live, and responds to things that happen there and then.

Even if it's unexpected and certainly unwanted.

I love how Shelagh Fogarty deals with this. An honest reaction to an unwelcome guest.

She still manages to back-anno the guests very well though...

Recovering My Religion

This is brilliant. Simple, clever and very, very well done.


Major Scaled #2 : REM - "Recovering My Religion" from major scaled on Vimeo.

London's New Year's Eve Fireworks 2013 - The Story Behind The Soundtrack

Bounce is all about creativity in music, sound and content.

We work with a range of brands and broadcasters producing audio, writing music, providing consultancy and creating content... and so when we were asked to design and produce the soundtrack to the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display for 2013, how could we possibly refuse?

The event is produced on behalf of the Mayor of London by Jack Morton Worldwide. They are one of the world leaders in staging events and a fantastically creative ‘global brand experience company’.

If you’ve ever wondered how an event like the New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display comes together, the answer is simple. You get a company with the experience to pull off something of this scale to do it all!

Fortunately, at Bounce, we didn’t have to worry about crowd control, about viewing areas, and about liaising with all the relevant authorities. No. That was handled by Jim Donald from Jack Morton, whom we christened ‘Head of New Year’. Without him, there is no New Year kids!

Our job was the soundtrack.

And we started, as you always do... in a room... with some people... and some ideas... and a blank sheet of paper.

The people were... myself and Dan McGrath, Bounce’s Creative Director; Jim Donald and David Zolkwer from Jack Morton; and Darryl Fleming - the lead fireworks designer from Kimbolton Fireworks. They know a thing or two about fireworks, and were involved in some small events like the Queens’s Jubilee and the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

David Zolkwer is one of the world’s leading producers of public events and ceremonies, with his credits ranging from the Athens and Beijing Olympics through to the Hong Kong handover and World Cup in South Africa. He has also been appointed as Head of Ceremonies for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

So, it’s fair to say we were working with the best of the best.

The objective was to produce a 10-11 minute soundtrack which not only welcomed in the New Year in style, but celebrated the amazing year that was 2012.

We wanted to produce something that was very British, very London, and would help raise a smile or two on the night as well.

At the initial briefing meeting, we threw round some ideas... some song titles... some potential themes... and that was it. We were off.

Quite a few people have asked me what comes first. Music or fireworks? The answer is the music comes first, and only when that is complete can the fireworks be designed and choreographed to the music, along with the lighting design. So the pressure was on to deliver!

Any collaborative creative process is fraught with ups and downs. You can have what you think is a great idea; spend hours producing a demo of a sequence, only to realise that you were the only one who liked it! Straight away, you’ve got to dismiss any notion of being too protective of your ideas. Yes – bring them to the table, sell them in, be passionate about them... but if they don’t grab everyone’s attention straight away, move on. They’re only ‘ideas’ and there are always plenty more of those.

For several weeks, we worked like this with the whole team, producing ideas and sequences, having daily conference calls, listening, discussing, getting feedback, agreeing, disagreeing... and laughing. It’s important to laugh when the pressure is on. Often, we’d talk several times a day... updating as we went.

Dan and I were working out of 2 studios simultaneously to maximise the output. Technology allows us the freedom to work like that these days, and we honestly couldn’t have done it without Dropbox, Skype, and of course Logic.

I had to go and work for a few days in Vienna half-way through the intensive production period for this, and so my trusty MacBook came with me! I’m pleased to say that one of the sequences in the final cut was produced in a 6^th floor hotel room in Vienna at 3am, fuelled by Red Bull and take-away Weiner Schnitzel!

As things started to take shape, we identified some quotes from the Olympics, Paralympics and Diamond Jubilee that we felt added something to the soundtrack... so permissions were sought from Number 10, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, the IOC, The Mayor of London, BBC Sport, Lord Coe’s office etc. And where rights could be easily granted, they were.

We continued producing different sequences, doing different mash-ups, trying to get the flow right until eventually after several weeks of late nights and early mornings, and gallons of coffee... everyone was happy.

At that stage we’d reached version 17!

And just when we thought we were finished, we got word that there were problems clearing just one particular track (which shall remain nameless!)... so we had to find a new sequence to fit in the exact gap. Darryl had already started designing the fireworks at this stage, along with the lighting from award-winning lighting designer, Durham Marenghi, so we couldn’t just scrap the whole timing.

So of course we did produce a new section... so strictly speaking it was version 17b that went to air!

The result was fantastic. 12.9 Million people watched on the night in the UK, and at the time of writing this, there are over 2 Million views on YouTube and counting. We got great feedback regarding the soundtrack, and even Joe from Nero (who have the very 1st track of the sequence - "Me and You") sent us a lovely email and thanked us for making Nero the opening track of 2013. We apparently made his Mum cry with happiness!  

The fireworks were stunning. The lighting enhanced the show even more and the event looked fantastic on the BBC TV show ‘New Year Live’, guided by Claire Popplewell as Executive Producer, and Catherine Stirk as Producer.

So here are a few thoughts that have come out of the process which may be useful if you’re embarking on any creative venture with a team of people;

• Don’t be too protective over your ideas
• Share everything and welcome all feedback, wherever it’s from
• Fight for the things you’re passionate about
• Always look for how something can be subverted or twisted to make it stand out
• Never settle for ‘average’; aim to make it the best and always improve, improve, improve

You can listen to the soundtrack on its own (without the pictures!) here:

Happy New Year!

The New Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw - First Impressions...

Radio Today asked me to write an opinion piece for them about the new Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw. Here's what I wrote...

“You only get one opportunity to make a first impression... so make it count!” someone once said to me. It’s true, which is probably why getting your first breakfast show ‘half-decent’, is pretty important. At the same time, everyone in the industry knows that a first show may be pretty unrepresentative of what is to follow over the next few months and years.

So how did Grimmy do then?

I tried to listen to the first show more like a regular listener might, dipping in and out. I must have tuned in at precisely the wrong moment though, as the very first thing I heard on this “Now with Added Music” breakfast show was a link that quite possibly ‘Moyles-eque’ in its duration. It was 12m 22s long folks.

Now I wasn’t expecting all 30 second links and 5 in a row, but was this the right approach for day 1?

And as I carried on my listening I got the sense that the zoo / team format was still very much there, but just toned down a bit. Grimmy was understandably using them as a crutch, and threw to them quite a lot. They, on the other hand, were obviously under some sort of instruction not to engage too much with him on-air. So the result was something that, let’s say ‘lacked a little flow’. The chemistry is not there yet for obvious reasons.

Content wise, it already felt younger with his obligatory One Direction mate making an appearance and a Justin Bieber pre-record. This in itself may be enough to drive the older end away, which is of course part of the desired effect.

There’s no doubt that Grimmy is a cool, well-connected guy but I worry that too much ‘showbiz’ might become a bit grating after a while. Mentioning his “manager” on-air and name dropping the people who had got in touch to wish him well is so far removed from the ‘down to earth, bloke in the pub’ shtick that Moyles did, it’s going to take some getting used to. I know he’s a good Northern lad, and getting the balance of ‘enough celebrity’ and ‘too much celebrity’ is tough, but it’s certainly something for him to watch for.

One other thing; he needs to actually tell some stories and have some content. At the moment, it’s all very waffley and lacks any substance or direction. He takes 2 minutes to say what could be said in 15 seconds. That’s something that needs to be addressed pretty quickly I feel.

Now of course, all the above is grossly unfair. Judging a breakfast show based on a couple of outings is more than a little unreasonable, but it certainly is how listeners do it. They don’t always allow the time a show needs to get into its rhythm. But let’s revisit it in 6 weeks and see how he’s doing shall we?

I think Grimmy’s a safe pair of hands for the show. He won’t be overly successful, and he won’t be so bad that he’s forced off either. He’ll probably do it for 3 years... max. But will he provide the injection of energy and creativity that broadcasters like Moyles and Evans brought to the show? I rather doubt it. But he is mates with One Direction, in case you didn’t know.

Goodbye to The Saviour...

I listened to the last Chris Moyles Show on Friday. It was, as you would expect, a suitable send off for a broadcaster whose impact on Radio 1 is undeniable.

He arrived as ‘The Saviour of Radio 1’ and it’s fair to say that he was true to his word.

He took the team / zoo format that Evans had used a decade earlier, gave it his own style, and ran with it, growing the ratings and audience loyalty along the way.

I remember doing a session with Andy Parfitt at a conference just after he left Radio 1, and I asked him how good a broadcaster he thought Moyles was upon reflection. He said plainly “He’s the best.” And you can see why he would say that.

He was able to create great radio moments out of seemingly nothing; bring mega-stars right down to earth with engaging interviews; understand that doing a breakfast show is all about ‘the show’; posses the right balance of ego and fragility, but with the talent to back it up; and draw listeners in day after day with a classic approach to the ‘soap opera’ of team radio.

The best talent always has its haters, and for some Moyles was just not their thing. But the fans loved it. Really loved it. You could hear their devotion when they spoke to him on-air, or you could read it on the messages on Facebook.

Everyone had an opinion when you mentioned his name in the pub. And you can ask for no more than that. People knew him and had an opinion of him.

Yes – the critics in the industry would always point to his age (38) and how he connected more with listeners in their 30’s and 40’s than in the core Radio 1 demo. And there’s no doubt that at times it was an obvious problem for the network, particularly when he’d rather play T’Pau than Skrillex.

But to do what he did for 8 years and 8 months takes enormous talent and commitment. And for that we should applaud him.

I hope he gets back on the radio soon. I know several stations that want him. UK radio is a better place with Chris Moyles on it.

And if you missed his 'Goodbye Song', here is it is, in a typical understated Moyles fashion...

How To Do A Great Interview...

Interviewing a band can be quite a boring experience for both the band and the listener. This is mainly because the band have usually been asked all the same questions beforehand, and there’s nothing really new to stimulate them.

The listener gets a bit bored because, unless you’re a big fan of the band, the ‘route most travelled’ is strewn with cliché and predictability.

So, how do you interview a famous band and give it a different angle?

That was the challenge that Danish comedian Brian Mørk had when interviewing Coldplay in Denmark recently.

First off, Brian is pretty famous in Denmark with his own TV shows and a great stand-up career. He used to write for the morning show at Radio 100 I seem to remember.

He’s a creative guy, so his technique to shape the interview via quoting Tweets about the band is a great vehicle. Might have been done before maybe, but I’ve not seen a whole interview done like this .

It works really well, and you can see how the band seem to really enjoy the process as it unfolds. (Apart from Guy on the end who never says anything in interviews anyway)

The technique creates some really great moments as you'll see, and it’s nice how the flow of the interview shifts from 'funny' to 'genuinely insightful' time and time again.

Being for the Danish market, you can swear as much as you like as they don’t really care about that over there. And the content is pretty liberal (‘Raping dogs’ for example!). Not sure Jonathan Ross would get away with that these days. Not since... well... you know...

Finally, before I urge you to watch the whole thing... remember that English is a second language for Brian. So hats off to his laid back style, his genuine humour, and his ability to pull off a great bit of TV.

He’s done a better job than a lot of British TV hosts could have done.

Enjoy...

How to Make Great Promos...

Promos on radio or TV aim to capture the essence of the programme, the series, or the event they're promoting, in a unique and creative way; a way that makes you sit up and take notice... the makes you want to tune in... that makes you interested in it, whatever it’s for.

Some promos can be pretty straight forward. They show or play clips, maybe good ones, and tell you when it’s on. Functional, but not that creative.

Some promos tease, and allow your mind to do the work and fill in the blanks. More creative.

And some have clips, teasing and include an added narrative or theme. Now here’s where it gets good. The creative possibilities start to open up.

One of the best examples of this I’ve seen is for Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics which are about to get underway this week in London.

The use of training and competitive footage shows what the viewer has in store. Nicely done.

But the added ‘storylines’ in the middle are a touch of genius, giving context and perspective to the whole piece. It makes it personal. It makes it human.

And then the text. It feels like a Hollywood trailer... only less clichéd, because you know it’s actually true.

“Forget everything you thought you knew about strength.

Forget everything you thought you knew about humans.

It’s time to do battle.

Meet The Superhumans.”

Meet The Superhumans – just a fantastic tag line to the whole thing. Positioning it almost above the Olympics in terms of human endeavour, simply because of the feats involved.

And finally the music. Being a ‘music, sound & content’ company, we take particular interest in the selection of these kind of things! So hats off to the team at Channel 4 for selecting Public Enemy – Harder Than You Think. Powerful, gritty, triumphant and positioning the coverage as more 'alternative' to that of the BBC’s Olympic recent coverage (superb as it was).

So, enjoy one of the best promos on TV right now...