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In case anyone's wondering where the promised Russia post has got to, the answer is pretty simple. I'd planned what I was going to say while I was there, and I'd started writing up my notes. Some of these on the (old) upstairs computer. The monitor of which stopped working yesterday morning. I'll try to remedy this; but not by spending 2 hours retyping. I'll gladly type something fresh, however, hence this post.

Yesterday I went to Audioscope - a music event raising money for Shelter, which took place at the Zodiac, which is where I saw DragonForce just a few weeks back. I went to see Explosions in the Sky, but I'd heard good things about headliner Four Tet.

The gig was over 18s only. Me and about 5 others, out of the few hundred there, must have been the only under 20s, which was pretty cool. I talked to an Iron Maiden fan, who soon started rambling on about how he hated Scotland, but how it was paying for his tuition fees or something. Another person I talked to explained how at his first electronica gig the artist walked on stage wearing a coat with tails, and holding a glass of port. I’d never seen any live electronica before, and he assured me that I was in for something interesting.

The first band of the lengthy session of music was Fell City Girl. They were indie rock, if you’ll forgive my crude and possibly inaccurate genre labelling. They had some really interesting moments, almost bordering on post rock. I got their cheap EP, and it didn’t have my favourite song of the ones they played, so hopefully I’ll get to hear them again sometime to see if they develop.

Next up was Bullet Union, who I missed due to getting food, and trying to resolve the situation with the two people who were left outside with only the possibility of EITS and some hot chocolate to keep them warm.

After them was a band in replacement of Giddy Motors. I can’t remember their name, but I didn’t really like them, they weren’t really my style of music.

Then Ill Ease played. This is one woman (Kinjal didn’t believe this when I told her, and it took me a few minutes to be sure). She was playing live, but getting drum and guitar loops recorded as she was playing, and then playing the other instrument, and singing at the same time. She was good at that, and seemed very likeable, but, to be blunt, she couldn’t sing.

After her was Shooting At Unarmed Men, who I didn’t like. There was too much annoying shouting, and at one point they bass player was walking around and pretending to hoover the ground with his guitar. I was suitably disgusted. Their set dragged on annoyingly.

After this I ventured to the back of the venue (We were in the lower floor, which was beautifully intimate, by the way) to get some merchandise. I got the previously mentioned EP, and an Explosions in the Sky T Shirt, which is awesome. Duncan got How Strange, Innocence, and the Rescue cd, which was made in just 2 weeks, and which he got for £5, and is only available on tour.

I managed to force all my stuff into my pockets, and settled in for the final band before EITS. I was pleasantly surprised – Data Panik were very vibrant, and definitely not my usual musical fare. Their set went incredibly quickly, and it’s a shame that they were only selling a vinyl, as I would’ve probably got a cd.

For Explosion in the Sky, we were pretty much at the front. They were perfect; true music at its best. Everyone was loving it; they were getting rapturous applause from the start. They went brilliantly crazy (crazy isn’t the right word; they were just so forceful but precise too )with their guitars, and were obviously totally connected with the music they were making. They could’ve easily played for 3 hours – I wouldn’t have noticed, no-one else would’ve cared. When they finished their set it was really unexpected. Throughout, everyone seemed affected by the music, they were feeling it; this is true music, and it is beautiful. A few people has started moshing in the last few minutes and after my traditional practise of shoving them back, I really felt like joining in, so I did. It was great.

Four Tet was good, but by this time I was feeling quite tired, and wasn’t really in the ‘dance’ mood that I think I needed to be in to appreciate his work properly. Despite this, I really enjoyed it, but no way near as much as Explosions in the Sky, who should have played for longer.

For too long, I’ve been searching for music. Not generic pop; something real. I’ve explained the start of this journey before, and it’s one that’ll continue indefinitely. Yesterday was another realisation that I’m on the right track. It wasn’t a revelation, just a musical experience that I could wholeheartedly enjoy. I stepped back and just became aware of that fact, and the satisfaction of that was almost as good as the music itself (maybe that’s an exaggeration). It’s taken a while to get here, musically. Until less than a year ago, I hadn’t truly discovered Music. I couldn’t associate with it, or find relevancy, technical skill, meaning, or much of a soul. The mainstream couldn’t provide, so it was left to discovery and luck to find Music.

I’m starting to discover true music. I haven’t got far’ there’s so much more to be done in just scratching the surface. But an endless and happy search for ever more music is probably the perfect employment.
So if anyone feels disaffected by the state of the music industry, they need not be so mournful. There is pure, beautiful music out there, you just need to find it. Regular readers of this journal will probably be more aware of this; it is unenlightened people who need to understand this. People who don’t like music, and those who like lots of it, all can benefit from discovering more. Stepping away from the mainstream is useful for everyone. Explore.