D I A R Y
13th August 2011 - What is freedom?
Freedom is many things to many people. To some it's living in a country
with a substantial amount of free will. For some it's having money. For some
it's having time - time still left of our lives or just time to do the things we enjoy.
For others it's being able to let go of all the things that hold us back. We trap
ourselves in cages built by our own imaginations. We create and predict future
scenarios which may not ever even happen, yet we let the fear of them consume
us. Freedom is stepping out of that cage and living each day not worrying about
the next. Learning how to do that is harder for some than for others. What does
freedom mean to you?
2ND JANUARY 2011 - FOUND IT!!
A while back I posted here about my ongoing search for this tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbcydnDWOLA
Well it was finally found by one of our listeners, Alin who gets the Total
Legend status for finding this! Finally, after years and years I know what it is!
Thanks!
04TH DECEMBER 2010 - NO SHOW TOMORROW
Just a heads up that there won't be a show tomorrow unfortunately.
Things will be back to normal next week all being well. Sorry!
04TH DECEMBER 2010 - SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW
I remember hearing a version of 'Somewhere over the rainbow' by
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and it really staying with me. I found it again
today by accident and have had it on repeat all morning after
buying it on iTunes. I didn't know anything abut his story and after
reading that he died in 1997 the track has all the more value now. It
lives on long after he created it and still touches people's lives every day.
When his ashes were scattered into the clear turquoise sea, thousands
of people cheered as the sun shone down on them and I just thought
to myself what a nice way to go. Here's the video which says it all:
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere over the rainbow
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
23RD NOVEMBER 2010 - WHERE IS THIS ELUSIVE ALBUM?
"Reuben is your album EVER going to be ready? You've been working
on it for years" Yes, I know, I know, I have been working on it for ages.
But fear not, for it's not that far from completion now. The main hold up
has been with vocalists. I have had such a hard time finding reliable
singers to work with. Some come along with good intentions only to
disappear half way through or be unmotivated to finish a project.
With the exception of Miranda and Marcia (both fantastic to work
with) almost every other singer I've started a project with has been
flaky to say the least. Luckily the album is mainly instrumental but
it will have a few great songs and vocal orientated pieces on it
too. It's coming soon, I promise!
2ND NOVEMBER 2010 - NAME THAT TUNE
I've been trying to find out the name of this for years. It has a sample
from Solarstone '7 Cities' but for the life of me I can't find anyone who
knows whaat this little tune is called or who it's by. If you know please
please PLEASE let me know on the emails! Here's the link tot he tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbcydnDWOLA
24TH OCTOBER 2010 - CHOOSING A DIRECTION
A quick update on my forthcoming album: So far I have 12 tracks I want
to have on there for definate. There are a few more in production and a few
in the planning stage. The trouble is I can't decide which direction the album
should be weighted towards. Should it be mostly orchestral? Mostly
Chillout? Or an even mixture of both? It looks like there's going to be
heaps of tracks crammed onto it, maybe too many to release on physical
CD, but does anyone even still buy CDs anymore?
I'm off to get ready for today's show. I'll be playing some good oldies today!
10TH OCTOBER 2010 - 10/10/10
Today is supposed to be a day of cosmic importance in many cultures. Some
believe it's a day of good fortune. The chinese believe it is the best day of the
year to get married. I've come up with my own meaning for the day. Think of
one important thing you want to achieve or a goal you want to reach in the next
10 days. Then think of one for the next 10 months. And another for the next 10
years. In terms of my music my 10 day goal is to find a new piano plugin I like.
The one I've been using these past few years is starting to sound a bit repetitive.
In 10 months I hope to have long finished my new album and be working on the
next one. I'm 75% there now but the last few tracks are big ones! In 10 years
my only music goal is to still be writing the music I love, to not have 'sold out'
for a bigger pay cheque and to still be doing my bit to keep the chillout/
orchestral scene alive. If you have your own goals for 10/10/10 or your
culture has an interesting meaning, let me know on the emails :o)
5TH OCTOBER 2010 - MY NEW FAVOURITE ALBUM
I just bought a copy of a new album by Hammock called 'Chasing
after shadows...living with the ghosts'. Wow. It's my favourite album of the year so
far. I'd never listened to much post-rock before - in fact I'd never even heard of the
genre before last week. Hammock make tracks which are slow, chilled, ambient trips
to another place, built around simple guitar chords and full of extra-wide-heavy-
on-the-reverb atmospheric backing soundscapes. There's the occasional drop of subtle
vocals but these are rare and hidden throughout the album. I'm totally addicted and
I'll be playing a lot of these tracks on 'Into the light' in the coming weeks. It's inspired
me to widen up some of my future tracks with some extra long reverbs and blow the
dust off my electric guitar. Every chillout fan needs this album in their collection.
4TH OCTOBER 2010 - REUBEN, WHY AREN'T YOU ON FACEBOOK?
People have been emailing me asking if they can find me on facebook. I'm not on
there or any of the other social networks and I know many of you like to keep up
to date with what's happening with my music, the radio show and the next album. So
I'll be keeping this little diary, updating it from time to time to keep you posted on
any news or updates. I see there's a Reuben Halsey fan page on facebook but
I didn't create it. For the most accurate and up to date news on anything to do
with my music, this diary is the place you'll find it.