2013 - Best in schmO

If 2012 was my year of photos then 2013 was the year of album covers. Ross Ainslie's - 'Wide Open' was the only cover to have used a photo that wasn't heavily manipulated and with the demonic illustrated chaos of Diamh's - 'Tuneship' I saw a return to the surrealist, bold illustration that has been the backbone of my style since I was an adolescent. It's fair to say that it has been a very good year for Scottish Music and for the first time in many years I actually managed to persuade clients to invest in high-quality, bespoke print. This was always a hard sell in the past but as interest in physical formats dwindles the extra pazzaz that high end print finishing gives really seems to help sales. Both Salt House and Adam Sutherland went for some silver block foiling and believe you me when you see these CD's in the shops they really do stand out with a level of class that scaffy old jewel cases come nowhere near. With James Duncan MacKenzie's album we had a great craic referencing some old tune book and piping memorabilia and having a bit of fun dressing the boy up like a major from the 19th century. Ross and Jarlath got made up as a pair of air fix models and the insane and random 'Nae Plans' came out, experimenting in new formats of recording, promotion and distribution. So we will see how these experiments pan out. It has to be said that to make a living from selling records these days you have to be crafty, innovative and bold and in 2014 I hope that the experimentation and invention continues a pace. It's a brave new world out there in music land and those of us involved in the Scottish Music scene it's a time in which we have the ability to shape and form where the music goes both creatively and financially. 2013 was certainly the year that my enthusiasm for (digital) photography flailed some what. The world is awash with photographs now, that it's hard to see the point in creating any more unless they have a defined purpose. I constantly strive to be different, identifiable and unique, which in all honesty I have been struggling with. In searching for a new style I have gone back to film and invested in a 1959 Russian range finder. The 'Kiev' is temperamental, full of flaws and requires educated guess work, rolls of gaffer tape, oil and a kind of considered patience that digital simply doesn't. In fact using this tank like cosmonaut camera has totally re-informed and re-invigorated my use of digital. With so many limits in force on the film camera, like focal length, cost of film / development, single speed ISO etc, etc. The equipment forces you to look and search for creative solutions to making pictures. Your options are so limited that you are forced in to being creative in 3 dimensions, the ability to correct or mask things digitally simply is not available. You either get the picture into the camera or you don't, simple as that. It's liberating, it requires skill and when you get those prints back it is extremely satisfying. So now if I take the dslr out and about. I set my ISO to my favourite 400, I put on a manual prime lens and that is that. Admittedly it does mean some pictures evade me but these imposed limitations are about growth, introspection and developing a style that is so strong that my photos can be identifiable above all the other millions of photos out there. In truth, style is only one facet of this and the main thing I really need to do, is go out and look for things that are worth documenting. No matter how good a picture looks what ultimately sets it apart will always be it's subject matter, the story it tells and the time and place in which it was captured. This year was also the year of the pitch. The pitch is a strange thing, you are invited on the strength of your previous work, to work for nothing on the speculative chance that you might land a large body of work. The fact that I consider the work I pitched this year as some of my best only adds to the galling sense of deflation that little of it actually made it's way into reality. Truth is that all the projects I pitched for have made little or no progress, at least in the public eye and in some cases the projects seem to have been shelved completely. Indeed from my experience this year I would say that pitching is in essence some sort of managerial experiment that suits employ simply to stir things up a bit, before they retreat back to the status quo, all be it with a slightly better informed opinion on where their failings may have been. So will I pitch again, yes I probably will, it is part of the cut and thrust of business and in truth I love totally re-imagining and mashing up an established company. I get a kick out of it and I guess when I look back on what I submitted I was shooting for some pretty extreme change in the structure of how these people worked. I like to think big and that is not something that will not change in 2014. 

2014 the year of real

2014 will be the year of real and tangible things, music, film & print. To create things that will endure far longer than the refresh rate on your social media timeline. The plan for the new year is pretty simple to use the mediums I work in and go after things that may lift their head proud of the madding crowd and create work that is worthy of legacy, cultural significance and artistic merit. I have a massive film project in my head, something that will only be possible to make in the next 2 years. This film will also inform my photographic work and is designed to be of a culturally significant nature. In a year where Scotland has the possibility of independence I feel it is my duty to document this time from an angle that hasn't been explored before. So watch this space, the project will rely heavily on funding so keep your fingers crossed for me. I am confident I can create something great, valuable and important. Print projects for 2014 will centre around my illustrations. I will endeavour to make money from my own work and transfer it into physical media that people can hang on their walls and enjoy for years. I have a good few streams of ideas that will infer not only my own mad capped ideas but hopefully stir up a bit of conjecture from the wider world. I have made a lot of music in 2013, it has helped me cope with many things and it is a part of my creativity that I have neglected for too long. 2014 will see some kind of record release from me for sure, however I have little illusion of making any money / success out of it. Quite simply I have a desire to make something with other musicians / creatives, release it and perform it. So that is what I will aim to do. There is only one thing I know for sure, it will sound like nothing else you've ever heard before. 

Philosophischmo

In 2013 I have learnt much and created some stuff I am truly proud of. 2014 is going to be different though, I need to get back to my own ideas, to seek out adventure and satisfaction. In some cases this years clients have given me enormous creative freedom, this has been most welcome and a luxury I have not experienced much throughout my career. It's a fine line between artistic freedom and inaccessible wank, so to those who have put their trust in me I give my profound thanks.However life is short and with the death of my Mother last year my outlook on life is somewhat altered. My focus has shifted more to living for life than living for work, I have been lucky to have found a woman who I have very much fallen in Love with, my kids are growing up so very, very fast and I intend to integrate my work into my life much more. Life is not about money, reputation or material gain. Life is about other people, your relationships with them, the world around you and the great satisfaction that can be gleaned from your work. My goal for the year is to get out of the office and get in about the world again, to experience life in the 1st person and enjoy the fuck out of being alive. So here's to you all. Your great success in 2014. Cherish those that you love, revel in the wonder of of the world around you and go into the New Year with fervour, consideration and luck. Slainte. Life is not a bed of Roses until you consider the thorns.