In 2010 I’m looking to up my game with gig photography. You may have noticed I’ve been a keen gig photographer for some time now. But I’ve always had to take photos from the crowd and sometimes, no matter how hard you try to get there early, you can’t get a spot at the front for photography.

So, I’m looking to hook up with a magazine (printed or online) which reviews gigs or a journalist who writes gig reviews. My part of the deal is I get a photographer’s pass and get even better photos, and in return you get the photos for your publication. I can even organise a writeup of the gig if you need the words. You can see examples of my gig photography here.

I currently do All Tomorrow’s Parties festivals, plus some London gigs and hopefully the End of the Road Festival. So please get in contact with me if you think we can work together. Thanks!

It’s been a fantastic year for new and exciting music. So here are my favourite albums of 2009 (in no particular order):

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Bushman’s Revenge- You Lost Me At Hello

St Vincent – Actor

Cathode – Sparkle Plenty

James Blackshaw – The Glass Bead Game

Gable – I’m OK

Bike For Three – More Heart Than Brains

Apse – Climb Up

The Most Serene Republic – And the Ever Expanding Universe

Rec.Tangle – Heavy Maple

Years – Years

Why? – Eskimo Snow

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

I’ve recently done this artwork for a Japanese only release for the band The Carletons, called “Out of Your Control”. You might want to check out the band – they are really very good. Hopefully I’ll do more for them in the near future (and maybe even get to see them play).

In the meantime, do please continue to contact me for FREE artwork commissions for gig posters, album/single artwork.

Yes, on 11th-13th December we were in Minehead for Ten Years of ATP – a festival celebrating the last ten years of of the festival!

Well the lineup was pretty damn fine and we saw some brilliant sets including:

- Deerhoof, who played an excellent and fun set. Great technical skill, too.

- J Mascis and the Fog were very enjoyable, much more so than Dinosaur Jr.

- Shellac who we saw twice, played some blinding numbers, especially on day two. Also I got some great photos of them – thanks guys!

- Afrirampo, who we knew nothing about, were very entertaining with their crazy performance and some very enjoyable thrashing of metal.

- Papa M played some very relaxing soundscapes. Tortoise were actually very good. Mudhoney were disappointing, as were Mars Volta.

- Sunn O))) were hilarious, actually not at all bad until the “singing” started.

- Discovered an amazing band in The Drones, who were excellent on stage and also sound excellent on vinyl.

- Also the Apse set was brilliant and think it must be one of the best albums of the year.

- Battles, who I was very excited about seeing again were very good but I think they were a bit lost in the pavillion – would like to have seen them upstairs.

- The highlight of the weekend was Modest Mouse – brilliant to see them again and they played a brilliant set with older numbers. We wondered if we’ll ever see Modest Mouse in such an intimate setting again.

So, roll on 2010 and everything ATP has to throw at us! I’m even going to try and get a photographer’s pass so I can improve my photography further. You can see my best photos of Ten Years of ATP here.

In no particular order, here are some of my favourite albums of the last decade. Albums which have inspired me, thrilled me and I’ve always come back to again and again:

Why? – Elephant Eyelash (2005)

Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

Son Lux – At War with Walls and Mazes (2008)

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (2009)

St. Vincent – Marry Me (2007)

Menomena – Friend and Foe (2007)

Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antartica (2000)

Battles – Mirrored (2007)

Volcano! – Beautiful Seizure (2005)

Calexico – Hot Rail (2000)

Amon Tobin – Out from Out Where (2002)

Deerhoof – The Runners Four (2005)