Top 7 - (things that have inspired) 2009

SystemCulture.org has been going for six months now and it has been a fantastic experience, meeting, finding, accidentally discovering new musicians and artists (I have also rediscovered old mates).

I have never really liked the concept of charts and the idea that the more sales or clicks you get makes you a more successful artist - in reality the ground breaking stuff never gets recognized straight away (if at all). I have tried to hunt down the people that have been on that edge, the edge where invention and creativity lurks.

I am going to list seven artists/bands that have been mentioned on this site - these are not the 'best'; they are the ones that have in someway inspired me to continue making music. The other 100 plus artists that are not on this list are on this website because I have enjoyed listening to them - the comments I have made on them have been honest and truthful. They all deserve our support.

• The Uragany
• First Aid 4 Souls - Interview
• Edge of Chaos - Review
• Torturing Nurse - Interview
• Attrition - Interview
• LisaBe - Interview
• Katerina Stamatelos - Interview

ReverbNation and Microsoft Windows have created a thing called called Playlist 7, which for me has been one of the best things to have happened this year.

Each week there a collection of 50 songs which can be streamed or download from the Playlist 7 site. You can listen to all of the songs and create your own Playlist 7 by downloading up to seven songs for free. The songs that get the most downloads at the end of each week will be Featured Artists and available for free download for everyone. I think this is a brilliant idea to take us into 2010.

TW

Veronica Henry - Romantic Novel Of The Year?

We recently did a review of "Fallen Angel" by Veronica Henry. Since reviewing these tracks there has been hot news in the press about Veronica Henry's latest novel 'Marriage and Other Games' which is published by Orion Books. Read more below...

‘Marriage and Other Games’ has been listed in the final top 20 for a literary award. A starting list of 158 novels, from twenty-four publishers, were submitted for the first round of judging and on the 14th of December 2010 the Romantic Novelists’ Association published the ‘longlist’ of authors who are nominated for the ‘Romantic Novel of the Year Award’ for 2010. 2010 is also the Association’s Golden Anniversary year. Below is a section of their announcement.

‘The long list of twenty novels, announced today, includes an impressive selection of best sellers, among them Erica James, Veronica Henry, Santa Montefiore, Katie Flynn and Sarah Duncan. They share the list with some exciting new names in romantic fiction, and the only male to make the long list, Nicholas Sparks…’ The full list can be seen here.

---

Marriage And Other Games Dowload ‘Fallen Angel’ by Veronica Henry

When girl-about-town Charlotte discovers her husband has been arrested for fraud, she flees to the wilds of Exmoor to nurse her broken heart. Yet despite the slower pace of life, she finds she’s not the only person whose life is in turmoil. There’s Sebastian, bad boy of the British art scene, determined to drink the local pub dry while his wife lives it up in London. Then Fitch, who married the high-spirited Hayley thinking he would find wedded bliss, but is struggling to keep up with her outrageous demands. And finally Penny, recently divorced and quietly determined to have more fun second time around - but who with? As Charlotte adapts to a life without LK Bennett and Starbucks on the doorstep, she turns to her newfound friends for advice. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her husband for what he did? And if she does, will it be too late? ‘With bags of style, they are young members of the middle class have-it-all clan.’ Christine Williams (Daily Express) read more…

---

Two tracks recorded by Veronica Henry in the 1980’s have been released by M4tr Productions is available for download from all major Internet stores. “Fallen Angel” and “Memories” were recorded on domestic analogue recording equipment and give a unique glimpse into a very creative mind - Go to Amazon or iTunes and download these 'demos'

Original Soure: M4tr.co.uk

Newsletter 17 December

Support the brand that supports This Window:

ReverbNation and Microsoft have created another free download partnership. Read more: Playlist 7 - The solution to illegal downloading? We want to print your views on this venture so contact us and have your say. We will include your link etc.We are slowly publishing and getting in contact with artists who have got in contact with us - please be patient we will get to you. As some of you know November was a wipe out for us but....

Things here have gone a little bit crazy again, with us doing a few more interviews for magazines etc.

Your emails about our side project have been helpful and very rewarding, here are few of the latest interview pages we have done on SystemCulture.org.

Katerina Stamatelos - Interview
Garry Smout - Audio Interview
Playlist 7 - The solution to illegal downloading?
Nyla Alisia - Review
Ornob - Review
Veronica Henry - Review
M4tr Productions - Releases December 2009
First Aid 4 Souls - Interview

Finish The Story - Recording 'Doorways'

X-rated stuff this - Breck Stewart - Interview sex sells.The website SystemCulture.org is dedicated to reviewing and interviewing artists. Each interview has the artists link widget and player on it. If you want an interview on SystemCulture.org - We want to ask you some questions; contact us if you want to participate - keep emailing us with your details and we will keep promoting your music.

Support us by buying a track from iTunes

We are pleased to say there is a free download provided by some very nice people - Get it while you can (click on the banner at the very top of the page). We also have new tracks on Amazon, iTunes, Emusic, Napster and 7Digital. Our latest release is called 'Again...' . Preview on Amazon.co.uk

Best Wishes, This Window

iTunes Amazon Mp3 Rhapsody eMusic Napster Play.com Discogs Indiestore M4tr 7Digital

Katerina Stamatelos - Interview

• You have a list of awards etc. as long as my arm, do you think you have had a privileged transition through your career or do you think it has been an extremely hard journey?

I had a normal musical life: studied at Conservatories and Universities for many years. I had a "strict" schooling and excellent teachers. In this, I do feel "privileged". But I also had to work very hard for that. I started as a pianist and continued as a piano teacher/professor for many years, concertizing at the same time. My transition to composition was abrupt: I wrote a choral piece in Greece and it was chosen to be performed at the greatest concert hall of Thessaloniki (my home town) next to Mozart's "Requiem" and Haydn's "Symphonie Concertante". That was a shock! Having my first composition performed in front of an audience of 1,200 people!
After this, all seemed to 'flow' very naturally. I received a fellowship for the DMA degree in piano (from the University of Iowa) and started composition lessons at the same time (under a double-degree program). I changed my degree to a PhD for composition right before the comps!

• Your points of reference appear (to my uneducated ear) to be from the 20th Century (Dadaesque, maybe - maybe not). Would you consider yourself to belong to that 20th Century tradition or do your influences go further back?

My influences are very distinct: Beethoven, Bartok, Xenakis, Christou (in terms of "structural" techniques). Further influences go back to the Pythagorean theories and the tonal system of the Ancient Greeks (with the extended development of it by the Byzantine musicians).

• I have always felt uneasy when 'composers' try to merge traditional instrumentation with electronic synthesis, most fail (embarrassingly). How do you walk that thin line and manage not to fall off? How would you go about creating a piece that still managed to maintain a positive credibility?

I have only written two electronic compositions: both of them are on the CD I just released. The first one ("Moods") is strictly electronic. The second one ("Threnos") is a mixture of two performers (soprano-coloratura and flute) with electronic tape. I believe that the answer to your question is: "create a solid structure". To me composition is like architecture: without the "floor plans" and architect would not dare even start the design of any building-small or large. The same is true about composition (at least for me): if I do not create the structure first, I do not even attempt to write a single note.

• Listening to your pieces has been an absolute joy for me are they available commercially?

Yes, my first CD release will soon be available through itunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and Napster. The CD is titled: "Threnos and Other Chamber Stories". In the meanwhile though, it is also available through my online store right now:

• Do you have any other performances or projects in the pipeline?

In January 2010 a new trio (THAWST I) for flute, guitar, and violoncello will be premiered in Brazil. Then, in March, a song cycle-"Love and Terror" (based on poetry by Constantin Cavafy)-will be premiered at the University of Iowa. In April, a new quintet (THAWST III) for four guitars and charango will be performed in Chile. And in May, a new duo (THAWST IV) for marimba and violin will be premiered in Miami.

Update - I just wanted to "add" some info concerning my future performances: I just heard today that "THAWST II" (for saxophone quartet) will be performed by the AU (American University) saxophone quartet in January at the International Saxophone Symposium in Washington D.C. Actually, the info says it will be performed at the International Saxophone Symposium in January 2010-by the AU saxophone. The place might NOT be Washington, though. (Katerina)