Peel Park and POEM

An early, pre-work walk with the Minx through Peel Park and the Meadows. It was misty to be sure but above that the sun was shining brightly. The combined effect was beautiful and I've totally failed to capture that in my Blip today. 

Anyway, today is also college day and just before twelve I walked down to the School of Electronic Music. I arrived a little early but one of my classmates, James, was already there, sat on the benches outside of Porta on Bexley Square. In a rash moment, I offered to play him the draft of my assignment, which I was bemused (and slightly disbelieving) to find he liked.

We've been listening to and working on people's works in progress over the last three or four weeks although not mine. I had actually sent an early draft to the tutor but he thought it was a bit "experimental" for a class session. Today, though, after we'd worked on another track, he asked if I had mine with me. I didn't have the actual 'project' but I did have an MP3 recording of a recent version so we played that.

I had to deliver a brief intro so explained that because I simply couldn't follow all the genres we discuss in class - in fact, I can't even recall what most of them are called now - I had invented my own: 'Poetry Over Electronic Music' or POEM. I said that it seemed to me that this was so inherently a bad idea that whatever I did would be acceptable*.

Why I took it seriously, though, was that I used a recording of Dom reading one of his poems as the foundation for the piece, and I wanted to do it justice. (It's a very good poem.)

Anyway, all jollity to one side, I couldn't have been more nervous. I've grown to really like and also respect my classmates and I care perhaps more than I want to about what they think when it comes to anything I do musically. And, to be honest, it is a loooong way from the work they're doing.

So, dying inside, I sat through all six minutes of the piece, at least taking the opportunity to enjoy hearing it over the studio speakers. But do you know what, I could see they were enjoying it, and giving me nods and grins. Honestly, I could feel myself welling up a bit: I can't recall the last time I felt quite so exposed or rewarded. 

And so it was that when we went down to the New Oxford for post class drinks I was feeling pretty loved up. And to top it off, the sun was shining and it was actually rather pleasant sitting outside and having a glass of wine.

* An exception to this is Hannah Peel and Will Burns' 'Chalk Hill Blue'. Oh, and pretty much everything by Laurie Anderson (but try this).

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Reading: 'Touching The Void' by Joe Simpson