Forum Week 5

Collaborations this week was the defiantly more interesting last week. Because the presenters took a different angle than last week's presenters.

The first, a collaboration with experimental dance and pop/rock/indie/electronica music in an improvisational style was certainly an interesting idea to learn about. Although this presentation didn't present us with many questions, merely a description, the example was an excellent demonstration of abstract collaborations.

Darren's presentation was, by far, one of the best presentations to date. In addition to this, he discussed bands and artists that i have a great interest in. Weather Report and Steely Dan are fantastic examples of fused music, not only fused with styles of music, but also styles of people. Steely Dan working with players that would bring a certain sound to their songs, collaborating out of necessity, maybe not out of choice. An interesting point to bring up. Many people collaborate with other out of necessity and not choice for a host of reasons, usually money however. "Never sell out, unless its for money."

Although I know very little of Michael Patton's music, and from what I listened to, probably will listen to little of his music. The diverse range of music he has been apart of was astounding. And his ability to bring people together to work on a project is a very impressive skill.

Finally, the last presentation about collaborating with other artists to sell your songs is a valid point to make, especially in today's music (i.e. dance). As you find, most of the popular (and even unpopular) dance songs are remixes of other songs. This collaboration between the original artist and the DJ is essential for up and coming DJs and groove writers, but also for older artists to reinvent their songs and come back to the music scene. A prime example is Leo Sayers "thunder in my heart" which was a very popular contemporary dance song on the charts for a significant amount of time. And this revived his career.

Overall, very interesting points made and i will now think differently when i hear a collaboration.

Points Taken from Forum Class 29th March