Update time (with slight Northfieldian rant in the second half).

I'll confess to being a tad irritable this year so far - ill far beyond the call of duty with coldy/fluey stuff and have belatedly realised I'm working too many hours (yeah, it's only playing the piano, but I'm a perfectionist OK?) - seriously need to reorganise my timetable to have more time for the creative stuff.

Despite the above, I'm currently getting on writing the new album (it's about two thirds of the way there and I'm working within certain limitations I've set myself just to make life that little bit more fun). It'll be bloody marvellous when all the arrangements are in place, honest it will. Luckily, bunny season is almost upon us so I actually have some free time. Now all I need is to find the button marked 'inspiration' - I'm sure it was around here somewhere.

Meanwhile, the Waiting For Green choreography duet is almost ready to film (end of next month), though unfortunately I now need to find someone new to film it as the guy who was going to has broken his camera for good. Spanners, spanners. The previously mentioned cello piece is hanging in mid-air somewhere and will probably surface somewhere, sometime, in the way that cello pieces will.

On the more undeniably pleasing side of things, I've continued to have internet radio interest via Sonicbids and should be getting my first print review very shortly (if not already) in a progressive music mag called, unsurprisingly, Progression. Curious territory for me. I'm surprised they didn't find me too commercial (well, maybe they did - I haven't seen the review yet) but clearly the editor had his reasons for selecting me for review. Only a year after the album came out too - now there's progress.

Which brings me neatly to the exciting topic of release dates and campaign planning (woooh!). The whole deal of organising a campaign is clearly something I'm going to have to pay much more attention to for the next project. As the nice label relations woman I spoke to at emusic recently said when I phoned up (their email doesn't work, as I belatedly discovered) asking about the possibility of a review: 'but it was released last year'.

Now, never mind that it took the best part of six months of to-ing and fro-ing with CD Baby to get it on to emusic in the first place (even though they display the March release date on the relevant page), this is a website that exists to sell their catalogue - it's not a magazine. And yet even they (apparently) submit to the tyranny of release date schedules and 'what's new', in an age where such things are becoming increasingly meaningless because fewer people are interested in buying music physically. (Seen the UK singles chart lately? The current number one by Lady GaGa hasn't been 'released' yet and has been in the chart since the beginning of the year.) As far as I'm concerned, I'll be new to most people simply because they won't have heard of me - but no, that is just NOT THE WAY THINGS WORK.

I'm not so big-headed to think that my album is so important in the grand scheme of things and has to be heard by anyone who cares about music, but then what is a site like emusic for if not to promote quality independent musicianship even if the album isn't 'fresh this month'? It kinda goes without saying that independent unsigned musicians are the ones least likely to have a team of people (ah yes, a label) ready to push everything out there in the space of a month or so.

To give her her due, she graciously allowed me to send her a copy to pass on to their New York team; well, it got me off the phone politely, I suppose. (There, told you I was irritable.)

On an upbeat note to finish (nothing like finishing on an upbeat) I'm actually contemplating a live gig or two (well, probably just the one) this summer. A sort of in between album stock-take, if you like. Will keep you posted of any further developments.

Back in the real world of Monday, time for some sanity inducing seed-planting (I love it when the clocks go forward) and trying to decide whether the new Pet Shop Boys album is more retro than the Royksopp or vice versa. Release dates, release dates - it helps when you've got EMI behind you.

Adios.