Well, it came around pretty quickly after a long and busy year for Dave Massey and me, culminating in a several last minute panics when new Callisto on stage member Neil Fellowes was poorly and forced to miss the planned final rehearsals prior to the gig. Then on the day, during set up, I somehow managed to damage cruciate knee ligaments and was forced to play the entire gig seated and in considerable pain. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and not playing was never an option. Neil enjoyed himself too on his first Callisto outing and the new look live line-up means there is a good chance of future Callisto performances.

This years Hampshire Jam was coordinated by Ian Boddy (Din) and Dave Law (SMD), and was a thoroughly professional and highly enjoyable event for all concerned if the initial reaction is anything to go by – one big electronic music party with a high quality line up producing varied high quality electronic music from traditional Berlin school to avante garde style electronica. All those concerned with its planning and organization on the day deserve full praise for a job well done.

I didn’t watch any of the other acts, no disrespect to them, but in my experience artists try to keep their head clear for their own performance. However, sitting chatting to other musicians in the dressing room during the day, we could hear the on stage acts quite clearly and it all sounded really great. It was also nice to chat to fans as well before our set, but sorry I wasn’t able to socialize afterward due to the knee problem.

Our set for Hampshire Jam was based on music from the long overdue album NYX, and we decided to use several laptops to trigger sequences from Moog, ARP2600, Jupitor 6, Predator and Albino. Rhythms were from Stylus RMX plus some live toms via Alesis DM5 and then additional laptops ran softsynths that were being used for live playing of pads and leads, ie Omnispheres, Albino, ARP, Moog and Minimoog. Various controllers, Roland JP8000, Karma and MS20 completed the physical keyboards used.

We played extended versions of two tracks; “The lighter Side of Gravity” and “The Darkness of Night” and generally we were pleased with the performance. There are often some technical problems, (concerts wouldn’t be the same without ‘em), but mix levels aside, a few bum notes and a slightly ‘off ‘middle section that needs editing before release, the performance was okay and we will be releasing the concert performance through musiczeit, hopefully before Christmas. Check out this youtube for a glimpse of what went on – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hEQ_eGyviY

Thanks to the audience for such a great reaction to the music. We’re working hard to finish the studio album “Nyx” for Christmas release, so hopefully the live Hampshire Jam performance will be a taster of what is to come and a good companion to Nyx! Watch this space………….

Congratulations and well done to the Organizers for another successful electronic music circus event in Beilefeld. It was good to catch up with friends old and new and despite not having the turnout expected (much like our festival the week before) the fans that did attend were appreciative and had a good time. The music on offer throughout the day was varied and of a high caliber and once again, the help and hospitality of the event organizers was excellent. As an artist, I had a few moans about the evening setup, but these were minor quibbles in the context of the whole day and the event was well managed and the guys really did put their heart and soul into it, and we can’t ask for more than that. Look forward to seeing everyone again at the electronic music circus 2010.

Okay, yes, apologies for the long delay. With so much time and effort going into the recent live events and the Shifting Sands album with Ian Boddy, Sines of Life was put on the back burner because of technical issues I had with a couple of tracks. Also, a decision was made to change the artwork. The album will be finished in the next week and will go off for production for end of October release, so expect it to be available at Hampshire Jam!

Sines of Lie volume 2 – At the time of going to press, this is a digital instrumental music download only album and contains all new material, some live, some studio, recorded over the last couple of years. More detail to follow.

So, back in the UK after the Beilefeld concert. Shattered after 1100 mile drive, had great fun with Ian Boddy and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock. Our performance at Beilefeld was not as good as the previous AD Music instrumental music concert due to technical problems. We originally agreed to do the event to help the event organizers try and raise the profile of electronic music after seeing their efforts at last years first event. The problem this year was that, despite all good intentions, and this is NOT intended as a criticism of the organizers, who again did a great job on the day, there was, in my opinion, one act too many and the time allowed for two acts to set up for the evening show and sound check was too short, particularly given the very small stage area. In the end,  the last act suffered, and we just weren’t able to put on the quality of performance we would have liked, and for any artist, that is disappointing.

My initial response may have seemed a little heavy handed to some people, but it was an honest personal reaction from a musician who knew the performance was not as good as it could have been, and who was tired and a little disappointed at that fact. As I have stated before on numerous occasions, the organizers of the electronic music circus event are a great bunch of guys and they are doing a fantastic job for electronic music. Therefore my comments are intended as constructive to help for the future, not to upset or offend.

So, my advise for next years electronic music circus is, maybe consider QUALITY over quantity and ensure all the artists are given adequate time to set up and sound check. The guys did a fantastic job and tried really hard to make it all work, so congratulations and full marks to them for all the effort they put in to make it such a good day, because my moans are minor in the context of a very good event! Hopefully, if they’re still speaking to me, I’ll see them all in Beiefeld next year!

So, we’re back home and trying to catch our breath and chill out for a few days before we load the van again and travel to Germany for the Bielefeld electronic music concert.

AD2009……..was it worth the effort? Absolutely! On a personal note, it was hard work and I must have appeared a tad stressed on occasion, but everything was okay because of the great crew at AD Music who ensured that all that needed to be done, was done. It wasn’t the plan that I play twice, indeed, originally it wasn’t the plan that the evening performance be a combined 2 hour plus set, it just kinda developed that way. Playing twice in one day is certainly not something I would want to repeat or recommend. That said, did I have a good time? You betcha! It was great and a real thrill to perform with my good friends Ian Boddy and Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock, but I did miss not having any time to chat to friends and fans. So to those I wasn’t able to talk to, “Next time” and to the fan who I forgot to announce “Happy Birthday”, please contact Elaine at AD Music asap!

Anyway, the venue itself was ideal for such an event and a provisional date HAS been booked for 11th September 2010. More details to follow when forthcoming concerts are concluded and we’re back home. Look out for an announcement in late November, early December.

My Code Indigo compatriots did well considering they were also expected to help as technicians all day, Nigel in particular did a grand job co-ordinating the sound and lighting, while Neil Fellowes did an excellent job as the PR man on the day. Congratulations to them for a great set. A lot of rehearsal went into it and it was worthwhile!

What can I say about Ron Boots and friends? What a tremendous set they presented, full of energy, very dynamic, the guys clearly enjoyed themselves and that enthusiasm transmitted to the audience. Harold on drums gave the whole thing an added dimension and it was great to have Frank (FD Project) on stage as well, for what I believe was his first UK appearance. Rock on boys, the set was tremendous!!!  It was also great fun to socialize with them before and after the gig.

I can’t say too much about the evening set myself other than to state what a pleasure it was to play alongside Ian and Klaus; everyone seemed to have a blast – the three of us and the audience – and the two hours just flew by! Looking forward to doing it all again!

To those behind the scenes and on the stalls; Dave Massey, Ron, Mike, Dan, Anne, Dagmar, my in-laws Lynn and John, my son Steve and in particular my wife Elaine (man, does she have a lot to put up with or what?!) thanks for all the effort and hard work before, during and after the event. It was also great to meet Uriel who flew all the way from Israel to be part of the day and help promote his new album.

Thanks also to the fans for coming. Maybe next year more will come, because the only disappointment of AD2009 was that the venue was only half full.

David Wright

The forthcoming electronic music CD & Digital album “Shifting Sands” by David Wright and Ian Boddy is now available to pre-order from the AD Music online store. There is also a special 8 minute extract edited from the 5 tracks on the album instead of the usual 30 second snippits. The official worldwide release date for CD and Digital release is the 14th September 2009 although the CD album will be available at the September  Concerts in the UK and Germany.

Instrumental music label AD Music can confirm that FD Project aka Frank Dorritke will join Ron Boots and friends on stage at the AD electronic music festival on 5th September.

David Wright has an exclusive instrumental music track “Depth from Motion” featured on the Schallplatte 11 electronic music compilation CD due for release later this year. Depth from Motion is a very spacey piece recorded in 2007 and is previously unreleased. No other details are available yet about the CD release but artwork, full track listing and other artists involved will be announced in August.

The long anticiptaed electronic music collaboration between AD Music’s David Wright and DiNs Ian Boddy has been confirmed as “Shifting Sands” and is set for release on 5th September 2009 at the Derby Music Festival. There are 5 tracks: Comets, Shifting Sands, Still Motion, Endless Terrain and Halcyon. Some of the album will be premiered during the Boddy, Hoffmann-Hoock & Wright evening performance at the event. The album is currently in post production and sound bites and more information will be available soon.

The long awaited instrumental music album NYX by Callisto (electronic music duo David Wright and Dave Massey) has been given a 30th October 2009 release date, the day before it’s premiere at the UK Hampshire Jam electronic music festival in Liphook on 31st October. The album is now in the final mastering stages and soundbites should be available soon. The music is described as dynamic but melodic rhythmic sequenced electronica in the style of Tangerine Dream, but with a more modern, dynamic edge.