Here’s what Young & Serious have been listening to in April. Happy Friday everyone!

There’s a reason why Ludovico Einaudi’s music is used in all sorts of TV shows and adverts - he has an undeniable knack for commanding emotive attention. What’s more incredible is that, that emotive energy is amplified live. The king of montage music had a sold out Barbican hall awed by his every note.

Minimalism, Classical or Contemporary, call his music what you want, there’s no denying the Italian maestro’s signature sound. His style teeters over so many genre boundaries, and this is reflected very much in his mixed-bag audience. From well-dressed classical fans, to trendy youngsters (including Emeli Sande who was in attendance), he has widespread appeal. Performing numbers from his latest release ‘In a Time Lapse’, the Italian dominated the room with ease.

Einaudi has a way of making the simple sound beautifully complex. The night truly showcased Einaudi’s phenomenal talent as a composer. In stark contrast to his earlier blissful works, the songs from the new album show his more experimental side with wonderfully strange ethereal sounds. Einaudi’s arrangements were mesmerizing throughout the night, and his band deserves much acclaim for really bringing the compositions to life. For a small group of musicians they sure made a powerful sound. The string ensemble was spectacular in delivering the whirlwind sounds and syncopating rhythms. The subtle percussion and electronic manipulations gave much for the ears to feast on.

The setup for the stage mirrored the music being minimalist, yet chic. As the music fluctuated, so did the lighting - from simple reflections off of disco balls creating wonderful silhouettes, to subtle accentuating spotlights all moving beautifully in sync with the sounds. Rather than distract, the lighting effects made each climax in the music feel that much more spectacular.

Einaudi’s show proved to be more than captivating. His music not only sounds sweet to the ears, but his performances are engrossingly moving. ‘I Giorni’, performed solo on the stage, was enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on edge. The emotional investment put into each performance resulted in several goosebump moments.

After a riveting performance of ‘Divenire’ and an incredibly fast-tempo version of ‘Nightbook’ he received a rapturous standing ovation. It was a wholly mesmerising and truly beautiful show, which tugged at every single heartstring.

- Sarika

The stunning Barbican in the heart of London’s east business district was host to one the most exciting and dynamic musicians of our time. The bold angular shapes, bright lights and subtle lighting of the venue added to the highly expectant and excited atmosphere before the show. Einaudi is one of Italy’s greatest musical exports and brought his newest compositions from the “in a time Lapse” album to life. The barbican was the 9th night of his current world tour drawing a wide audience, not typical of many classical musicians currently touring.

The first half of the show opened with a strong bass drum, giving the piece a heart beat, as more and more members of the ensemble weaved their instruments into the rythmic flow. The iridescent lighting, designed by  Francesco Trambaioli gave the whole performance a visual element which was stunning. Throughout the first half of the show the base lines were carried by the Cello’s, piano and electronic effects, whilst the viola, violin and piano took it in turn to carry the melody. This first half showcased Einaudi’s talents as a composer, mixing and developing new sounds and rhythms. All of the pieces were highly percussive with claps, steel pans, clicks, echo’s and many other instrumental and digital sounds. Each of the 5 movements had a distinct flavour. For example, the second piece was mellow and romantic with a strong violin melody. While the fifth piece was darker, thrilling and more exciting, the audience was held on every note and the piece created a tense and imposing atmosphere, the dramatic lightning bolt lighting added to the sense of drama. The second half of the show featured some of Einaudi’s pieces from his last album (the Night book) and other previous albums. Watching him effortlessly hold the emotion of a packed auditorium was spectacular, the ease with which he conveys so much emotion through his pieces made the show feel so personal. The concert ended with a standing ovation and a unanimous call for an encore.

Francesco Trambaioli is to be congratulated on his exceptional lighting design. His masterpieces set the tone for each piece and contributed so much to engaging the audience with the tone and emotion of each piece. The lights were absolutely stunning, the use of spotlights and silhouettes was spectacular, glitter balls, candle lights, moving which I had not expected, made the concert feel more theatrical. What is most remarkable is that this didn’t distract from the music but seemed to flow seamlessly with each movement.

As always, seeing Einaudi perform live is spectacular. This tour is sold out, but be sure to catch him back at the Barbican for shows at the end of July/ start of August 2013.

Y&S 

Mushana

This week Y&S had the opportunity to interview John Cumming, the Director of Serious and one of the founders of the London Jazz Festival. John walked us through his early career and offered helpful tips about programming. 

John Cumming very much worked his way to the top. Sharing his inspiring story with Y&S, he revealed how he started off working in a theatre at the Edinburgh Festival, where he gained fundamental programming experience, “I did all sorts, I started doing lighting management for theatres, so really went everywhere. I very much learnt on the job, going up and down ladders etc, but it exposed me to everything behind the scenes.” 

It’s a new Y&S year, and with our new recruits fully embellished into the group, it’s about time for you to hear what we’re all about. We’ve all added a few tracks of music that has been helping us through these cold Spring months. There’s some fresh tunes, and some absolute classics - it’s our most eclectic playlist yet! Take a listen: 

It’s not WHAT you know but WHO you know!

Whether you’re an artist, composer, songwriter, looking to go into production, management or just interested in the creative industries. The fact remains that getting into the industry is tough!

So what’s the best way in?

Here’s a Y&S guide to music industry NETWORKING EVENTS - London:

• First Mondays 

This is a relaxed music industry gathering held in a bar on the first Monday of every month. It’s FREE to join but you’ll need to sign up to let them know you are coming. The idea is to create personal connections within the industry and have a great time doing it!

Who will you meet here?

People who attend are; management, artists, publishers, producers, lawyers, accountants, photographers, video producers, charities, trade bodies and students/young people looking for internships.

• The Young Guns Network

The Young Guns Network is a new networking group created for and run by young people aged 18-25 who are working, interning or running their own business in music. Each monthly event is hosted by a different music company and will feature one young speaker contrasted with a more established speaker, both talking about one of their current or recent projects. 

Who will you meet here?

This group focuses on nurturing young people in the industry. You’ll meet musicians, managers, producers, publishers and many more key industry players. These are invite only events so you will need to apply and demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm for the industry.

• SOCIAL MEDIA

It goes without saying that in our day and age there is NO EXCUSE for complacency with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In literally at your finger tips!

Twitter  - Follow and tweet at industry professionals. 140 characters can take on a whole new meaning when its coming from a huge label A&R. Twitter is also a great way to find people in the industry to work with. Are you into marketing and know a great band whose social profile could do with some work? Get in touch and see if you could work with them. This’ll give you great experience and grow your network.

Facebook - Join discussion groups and pages. Like relevant company pages and find out what they are doing. Most fan pages have some contact details and will give you a taste of how that company operates and, like our own Y&S Facebook page, when opportunities to get involved come up you’ll be one of the first to know!

Linked-In - Join some of the main music industry groups. Opportunities to submit music, for work experience and jobs are often posted in these groups. Connect with industry professionals and make a record of the kinds of experience they did to get to where they are. If you have relevant and interesting questions (basically the stuff Google can’t tell you) then get in touch and glean from their wisdom!

AND OF COURSE…

Get yourself out to some LIVE SHOWS, the thing that everyone in the creative industries has in common is a love of live events. Go along, mingle and see what opportunities you can find!

Happy networking

Y&S

Mushana