BOOYA!

Hello lovely people! This is probably the shortest time between our blogs ever! Celebrate good times, come on!

So, after the blistering fun of Malcday comes the future plans of Orange and Blue Music. There are going to be some fairly major changes over the next few months and we are all very excited to be sharing some of them with you now.

NEW STUDIO PRICES!

The studio has been a professional operation for 3 years now. At long last we are confident enough with our work to charge a professional price for it. Obviously our ethics of helping up and coming musicians will not change and prices will always be competative and below the industry standard. We have run a discount service for nearly our whole existance in order to support and nurture musical talent when ever weve found it. This approach underpins the business and will never change!

So, from November 1st our standard 10 hour day rate will increase from £150 to £235. This includes all the usual gubbins- 10 hours studio time, Engineer/Producer, use of backline gear, Admin staff, tea and coffee on tap and loads of other stuff that youd expect from a professional recording studio!

Bookings made for before November 1st will be charged at the current £150 a day rate and includes exactly the same package. Get it while its hot!!!!! This a a real chance to grab a bargain guys!

A NEW HOME!

As some of you may be aware already we have been contemplating a move of premises for quite some time now. Well, weve finally decided to take the plunge! Details are yet to be finalised but what we can tell you is that Orange and Blue Music will be opening a new premises in the not too distant future. All going to plan we will expand to 2 studios, expanded rehearsal facilities, arts and media small business incubation and a hub and home for creatives! All very exciting! More details to follow soon!

A NEW WEBSITE!

Finally, we will have a new swanky website up very soon! Hopefully by the start of November. This will be much more exciting than the old design and have expanded content and media options! Basically the whole billion yards!

stay posted for more cheeky chappyness soon!

PROG x

    Hey gang,

as ever, a huge delay between blogs! oh well, weve been busy!

Exciting news for all you sexy bands and artists. Orange and Blue Music are delighted to be able to offer our tour van to you on a hire basis. This is another tenticle in our expanding musical monster!

So, how does it all work? well, as the business is only in its infancy we are taking baby steps. as such, our first few bookings will be offered to artists wishing to play shows in and around the greater London area doing single shows needing a  journey to and from a venue. after weve found our feet we will also start doing more comprehensive tours. the van will come with an experienced driver/roadie/merch man used to life on the road and the 'band way of life!' so your not just getting a grumpy, smelly driver who knows nothing about what your doing!
all our vans have full break down cover and are safe and secure.

prices! ahhhhhh!

as an introductory offer, we will be offering the first 10 bands/acts to hire a van a flat rate of 50 pounds for a return journey. as well as this stupidly cheap price you will also be eligable for a discount on your next recording with us! wooooooow! thats a whole lotta deal!

if youd like to book a van our want any more info, please get intouch with one of our team!

see you soon, keep rocking!
prog steve

Hello there,

has it really been that long since the last blog? wow! thats awazingly poor on my part! apologies.

news- lots of cool stuff passing through the studio doors as always. some really exciting new friends! check oout the friends list for the new faces, booya!

the studio has recently installed a secure display cabinet for merchandise. in the coming weeks we will be opening our studio store for business and soon after onto the web as well. thats rite, a freakin website with bells on is on the way! whoop! if you or your band would like to get your cds, tshirts etc in the cabinet please get in touch with one of the admin team. all going to plan, we will be taking only a minimal cut out of sales (literally 10p etc) to cover admin and security costs (paper and a safe) we also hope to expand the rather swanky looking cabinets into venues and pubs with live music, so your stuff will be available in loads of relevant, easy to find places and with little or no mark up! win-win!

as just mentioned, a new website is on the way thanks to the awesome chaps at metageist.com (check em). hopefully this will be the bomb of sites and O&B will continue to take over the world!

as always, tell us about your gigs so we can put em up! keep rocking!

pROG STEVE

Hello Chums,

Hopefully you all had a fantastic christmas and new year!

The new year looks like being O&Bs most exciting to date with all sorts of fresh ventures and oppurtunities! We will be recording more bands than ever before and at an even higher level, we will be actively training new team members for the first time and expanding the tenticles of O&B into new areas of cottage industry administration. We're always looking for other cool stuff out there so if you know anyone doing anything creative in the arts, get in touch. We're very chuffed to be part of an inclusive, ever expanding network of small arts related enterprises and we're keen to do our bit. Got any bright ideas? Let us know!

2006 was a really successful year for us, we had the biggest and best Malcfest to date with over 900 in attendance, the staff expanded dramically half way through the year, loads of new initatives were introduced into studio life (resulting in a better service and making the team's life a lot easier) such as new band files. The studio's growth continues to amaze us all, the last year has allowed us to meet so many great new musicians and artists. It seems as though the O&B family will continue to comfotably
grow, linking up with all the amazing talent that's out there!

The studio is again booking up fast - about a month in advance - so get in touch if youd like to come down and get your tunes recorded by our team. Call us for a free quote on 02082911956 or drop us an email via myspace! If your looking for a studio where you come away with what you want, we are for you! Variety is what we thrive on, Death metal all the way through techno and into the realms of delicate acoustic folk! We have a bit of a reputation for recording the more experimental or avant garde styles so we really want to hear from you whatever you do!

As i write this, the fantastic Barrelass are ripping out an extremely sexy hot version of 'Eastern Dave' in the studio! Gonna be an awesome EP! Buy it, see this band! Next week the glorious Molotov Sandwich from Leeds! Hurrah, indeed 2007 will rock your metaphorical balls off!!!!!!

Love, Prog Steve

FUCK A DUCK!

well its over for another year! Malcfest has come and gone like the seasons changing! What a festival it was, un-freaking-believable!

First off, thank yous! Huge thanks must go to the crew who did an amazing job running the show. ill try and remember as many of you as possible but if i miss you off its cos we had so many volunteers and too many substances. So....... a huge thanks to Bassey (fooking trooper), Emma, Simon, Spike, Zak, Will, Tim, Richard, Andy K, Miles, Oli, the Dead Duck team, Sarah (Urban minds), Roman, Josie, Chuckles the clown, Jessica,  JD, Sammy Rip, Ned, Jackie, Matty, Kevin, Mickey,  Johnathan B, Geoff, Natalie, Rob C, Carl and of course Malc and Gemma!

Thanks to all the artists who displayed their paintings and artwork around the studio, it really helped create the perfect atmosphere!

Thanks to the neighbours for being kind enough to put up with us for another year, we really do appreciate your acceptance and patience! we love having you guys come by and say hello! Not every set of neighbours would allow such a bustling community event such as ours on their doorstep! from top to bottom we are in your debt!

Also, thanks to the local business' that kept the army of spectators and crew in beer and food for 4 days! Special thanks to Semas, Yaaal, Hong Kong House and the chippy! Again your endorsement of the event and support is invaluable.

It would be impossible to say there were highlights cos everyone who played was awesome, and we truely mean that! Thanks to the 40 bands, acts, dancers an performers who dazzled us all for 4 days and nights! You stole the show, cos thats your job!

Finally, a massive thank you to the amazing crowd! Not one fight, scuffle, heated exchange or sly look amongst you! you were soooooooooo good and helpful and enthusiastic and supportive and everything basically! thanks for buying the merch and supporting the artists, i know it goes a long way!

im sure over the coming weeks all the juicey malcfest stories will do the rounds, there was just too much joy for me to editorialise! Look out for the Malcfest DVD documentary and After school music magazine post-fest edition!

once again, thanks to you all, hope it was as joyfull for you as it was for us!
until next year, keep this atmosphere going, support each other, live music and our O&B community!

much love, Prog Steve xxx

Hello,

hope this blog finds you all well!

updates have been thin on the ground of late (as ever!) so i apologise! have been quite busy. but i have lots to tell you, so really ive just been building it all up!

first news is that the studio side of O&B will now be able to take and confirm bookings via myspace. this can be done via  messages to myself but not comments please. obviously youll still be able to phone the studio on 0208 291 1956 and make bookings as normal.

we have also expanded the staff a bit so that getting in contact with one of us should be possible 9am til 11pm 7 days a week. this now allows the studio to work at 100 apacity for the first time, meaning time can be booked every day of the month!

the studio will also now be available for hire as a rehearsal room from 7-11pm 7 nights a week and can again be booked via myspace and over the phone. this will of course include backline, mics, stands, use of kits etc as with recording bookings.

it is also possible to reserve bits of equipment for recordings such as amps, guitars, cabs etc with our new system. hopefully this will put a halt to rare moments of dissapointment when artists turn up to find no 5150 or a different cab combination. hopefully more choice for you guys!

this years malcfest is taking shape nicely! ive seen the proposed lineup and you wont be dissapointed! the words "boo" and "ya" come to mind! lots of new things going on, especially in the camping area which is having a complete make over. there are plans for a sheltered fire area as well as more sofa seating, projectors and outdoor tvs! please keep your recommendations of bands coming in as we do like the suprises that are thrown up! as ever we are going to need your help to do it all, so if you fancy getting your hands dirty for a few days let us know! please!

the O&B website should be up and running in the next few weeks! we have very sexy plans for this little baby! in theory you will be able to check all booking made via the site, in theory!

im sure theres loads more stuff, but i guess that means i can do another blog in quick succession if i remember! hoooooorah!

prog

howdy!

how the devil are you all?
its been a busy few months at the studio with a whole load of bands in recording. we've had folk to furious death metal and it all sounds ace! Malc has been working pretty much flat out and now frankly looks like a man on the edge! his hair is curlier, his grin is more gurn and his puns are reaching new depths in humour! the man needs our love!!!! so get round to O&B and make him a cup of tea!

loads of gigs at the mo, which is great! please check out the gig listings on our page and sending your show info to us to put up! we really want peeps to know when your performing!!! cos your all funking ace!

on a slightly guffer note, the irrepresibles will sadly be playing their last show very soon. i believe its in brighton, but check their myspace! if you havnt heard them before dont miss this show! they write some really beautiful heartfelt stuff and always put on an awesome show! all the best from the whole O&B family to all the members!

its nearly that time of year! MALCFEST 06 is now being planned and acts being booked! if you were lucky enough to be at last years fest im sure youll know that we've got a pretty humungus job ahead of us if were going to better it! what a weekend! we always try to put the on the most diverse, weird, entertaining and amazing acts we can find in celebration of all things music and of course malcs birthday so start getting excited! infact book the weekend off work now!!!!  as always the lineup will be a slightly guarded secret until the fest for maximum woooooooooooooooow effect! bands, acts wanting to play should start getting in touch now via myspace or speaking to malc direct. there are always more acts wanting to play than is physically possible so get in touch quick and state your intentions!!! last year we put on 26+ acts (all recorded and filmed) plus dancers, fire jugglers, the bass off and ate cake! this year will be even more crazy and i cant bloody wait! woooooooooooow!

anyhoot! keep being ace, supporting each other and making great music!
im off to eat a bacon sandwhich!

PROG

ps- for those not in the know, the fest will be held on the first weekend in september! Friday through sunday!

how do!

okay, so the newsletters will prob start in march now! ive been ill and havnt had the time to get relevant humorous quotes, news and all that guff! stuff has happened honest!

also im aware the skit tune still wont play and having asked some technical questions and probed a few minds i now know why! ITS A PIECE OF SHIT PLAYER! that aside i will try to remedy this so we can all enjoy it!

we have loads of gigs coming up in march and april which is 'ace in yer face LONDON!' some gigs are appearing in multiple and i dont know why so just deal with it! good advertising i say!

the O&B website is getting closer too, looks ace from what ive seen! a few peeps have been working on it for a while so it should be spanking when its up! GET IN!

Finally, a few Albums and EPs will be released by some of our bands/artists in the coming weeks, so keep your ears peeled cos they all sound ace! More details to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i hope your all well and living it up! keep musicing!

Malc says hello and i say i just lost the game!!!!!!! ha ha ha ha!

PROG

Hello all,

just a short one. i will be putting up a monthly newsletter of O&B news (studio stuff, gigs etc) from Feb onwards for anyone who wants to know whats going down in our world. hopefully there will be some exclusive content you wont hear anywhere else (even from the deadly MALC ha ha)

Also, I JUST LOST THE GAME! and would urge anyone reading this that Spike of Barrelass needs to know that you too have just lost the game! sign up to our blog subscription to get this monthly newsletter!

ahoy, goodboy, goodbye!

PROG