So, I’ve decided I’m going to stay in Manchester. At least for another year, so I have the travails and trials of this to look forward to. I must say that it really doesn’t seem like a year I’ve been back, probably because I’ve spent a lot of it away. It doesn’t seem like I’ve written a lot of music though, even though I completed quite a few large pieces – the Violin Concerto, Ninnananna (which is nearly done, just the mastering process to finish), and hopefully I’ll get the album done before the academic year is out. That’s right, I’m writing an album for the label, so you’ll have that to look forward to. It’s got a long way to go, but it’s as dark and forbidding as my previous stuff.

I suppose after having been here for a year I should feel settled, but I had second thoughts about staying here, and was tempted to move again and try yet another place, probably after a friend’s suggestion that I should try as many new places as I can (at least whilst I’m young).

Today was the carnival/mardi gras for Manchester’s pride festival, and it was truly massive. Floats with cavorting elders, queens, sailor boys, neo-nazi leather-trousered tatooed butch men, people dressed to the nines, whistles at every opportunity, ridiculously loud music ranging from the cheesiest gay anthems to hardcore dance. Generally a very gay affair (in all senses).

I’m also working on a new piece for If Version Linger, and we’re going to go touring in the Autumn/Winter with They Destroyed His Image. The new scoring style works extremely well, at least in terms of visual appeal, and is becoming easier to read. I just hope it’s as intuitive as it appears to me, then at least it’s worth the time and effort spent on it. The hope is that at some point we’ll be able to dispense with the scores, or at least have a very reduced shorthand for it that we’re all au fait with, somewhat like a chart/chord sheet for learning jazz standards, or notes that a band might use for remembering repertoire.

I have officially ventured wholesale into geekdom. That is, I have been toying with Ubuntu and Fedora, two flavours of Linux. Whilst they certainly aren’t for the shy computer user, neither are the installations of any other operating system. What makes it great is that when they’re set up, anyone could use them. They make a potentially slow computer (running Windoze) into a lighting fast machine that looks great. I’m particularly taken with the stylings of Fedora, and there are some great applications available to replace your standard office features and internet applications. Nothing really to sway me from the stable, well supported os that is osx, though.

I’ve been working hard on something new for Concrete Moniker, and it’s taking just so much longer than it should do, especially when I’ve got got more than a few things to write. I’m just starting to get used to using my current setup, but am bemoaning the lack of really good AudioUnit instruments and effects that are available in VST format, something that has hung over from the time I changed from PC to Mac, and which I’m not sure is going to be solved from use of Linux.

I’ve also been thinking about what really I would like to do with a live setup again, and I’ve just come to the conclusion that a lot of the things are fundamental principles which haven’t been solved yet. I’d really like to be able to make sudden changes, and gradual changes in sound. Of course this is possible at the moment, but a unified interface that provided a subtle graduation and a choice of change is absolutely imperative. I want to be able to predict where I’m going, and revisit that place if I want to, something that’s absolutely possible with conventional instruments, but very difficult or impossible with current technology.