Marc Reck

and i haven’t been blogging enough on this site at all! There’s been a lot going on, so i’ll attempt a quick summary, and be on my way!

So the biggest focus was the Mr Elephant Birthday Bash, and after everyone has been working super hard on it, it thankfully went really well, and generated a bevvy of positive response (and some more interesting offers!)

I’ve also turned 30, and had lots of fun celebrating with friends and family over the last two weeks.

Dj wise i’ve been offered some gigs of a different nature, with one next friday at the Botanical Gardens supporting John Mostyn’s band, a gig with Giles Peterson in June at the Hare and Hounds, and of course the forthcoming Project X Presents gig, all of which is going to allow me to break in some new dj ground, and spread my wings musically, which im obviously looking forward to

Project X is something i should have been blogging about a lot more, as there’s been a lot of interesting developments for the next show, which is to be the first commissioned show since we started back in 2004. This means New Generation Arts have actually offered us some money to help cover the cost of the event, which will hopefully cover the massive production costs that Project X incurs.

My other event, Rockfall, which i promote with local legend Boogie Dave, (and more recently with superstar dj R Caine), is still going nice and strong, though i had to make the very difficult decision to step out of it this year, as i couldn’t afford to put the money or time into it.

I originally started working with Boogie on a night i was running at Forme bar, and from 2007 we decided to move to the custard Factory and turn Rockfall (the current main stage of Drop Beats Not Bombs) into its own arena, so we could bring the breaks to brum, and showcase our own local talent.

We worked really hard, rammed the venues, and its been a really fantastic couple of years, though unfortunatly the costs, and time demands have taken too much of a tole, hence the decision of needing to take a back seat for a while and concentrate on the forthcoming Mr Elephant Presents, and Project X Presens, and my own music and djing projects and workshops.

On the educator front i have a lot of work to do for my course (a whole music tech course to write and two lessons to deliver by the end of the month) but it’s going real well, (getting distinctions each month??!!), and i’m really enjoying it. I stupidly double booked a couple of months, so have a bit of extra work to make up, but it’s all in hand.One of the double bookings was a playscheme i hosted, where i worked with Dramask, and we did a drama and music tech workshop for some kids between 4 and 11. I took my decks, mic, and kaoss pad in, and we produced the soundtracks for a piece of drama that the kids made about space. The kids and playworkers loved it, and so did we, and its given me the confidence to approach funders, and go for our own project ideas this year.

On the music making front i’ve been doing some learning which includes bass guitar, djembe, and guitar, and i’ve made some time to work on my tracks. I actually have about 10 tracks in progress now, all of different genres, (some acoustic, some breaks, some downtempo, all with an electronic edge), and i’ve enjoyed using different parts of my home studio.

One of the main aims is to produce an album, that i can dj it out, and ultimately perform live with other musicians. I’ve been trying hard to get a flow going, so that i can work with other musicians without the constraints of time, whilst sharing the process by providing tutorials as part of my reckorder idea, (in the hope that it will help others), but it’s becoming another thing creating a backlog, so i may have to find an easier way of integrating it (at the moment at least.) Either way its great to be writing music again, and i’m definitly evolving with each session.

Mr Elephant is the main focus at the moment though. Aside from working relentlessly on the website, and developing the various strands, i’ve had a very productive meeting last month with Shu about my business plan, and he offered some great advice. This year i have to find ways of generating some sustainable income, and i hope to do that with the strands of Mr Elephant, some paid djing gigs, and some workshops, (however how that all will fit together at the moment is not clear, as i’m still working for hours every day, and 95 % of the time for free.

That said a couple of the forthcoming djing gigs are paid so far this year, and the Mr Elephant has generated enough to pay everyone AND a bit for myself (which is great!), with the second event’s costs being funded externally, so thats not so much pressure.The workshops and ideas for mr elephant have all been generating interest, and i’ve already had a few offers for some interesting offshoot projects.

So all in all this could be the year i earn an income from my toils. It may not equal the amount of time and effort that goes into it all, but as long as its enough to pay the bills, and everyone fairly for their time, i’ll be most happy.

Wishing you all a very prosperous summer season