My name is Justin Spooner and I make slightly odd music with a bunch of other people. I used to have a very ornate and rather lovely website for my small digital label - Eva Hipsey Music, but decided that I needed a much more straightforward approach to enabling people to hear my stuff and sparking off conversation.
This music making thing is a hobby and has been for over 20 years. I have never tried to make a living from it and probably never will. But I still make stuff - I can't help it. I saw an interview on the Proms with Philip Glass, who basically pointed out it that took to his forties until he started being able to live off of his work, but more importantly he pointed out that the real reward is always personal, if you can get away with spending even a little time doing what you love you are pretty damn lucky. I'm pretty lucky.
So I am going to be putting up works in progress as well as finished tracks, sketches, stuff I've done for film and whole albums for your perusal. I will be asking for your opinions and doubtless sometimes for your help. I'll do most of my thinking and playing on the blog here, but for those that come through this particular door I will keep putting up a fresh piece of work. I am also going to talk about and stick pieces up that I make in collaboration on a dedicated page.
By the way Eva Hipsey was my nan. I wrote this a few years after she died. I named my label after her, but now I tend to think of it as more of an approach than a business entity.
I have put a few albums up on Last.fm - it needs a spruce up over there but there is some good stuff to listen to.
Latest tracks and news on the site:
People I like to keep an eye on.
Well first is my business partner Simon who does shouting in a very articulate way on his music laden 'Don't get me started' blog.
Truly one of the most absurd, brilliant and essential music blogs has to be 'Rouge's Foam'. I think this isthe new new writing.
For my daily dose of software madcappery I always have a quick read of Chris Randall's 'Analog Industries' - he's rude and clever and makes beautiful software, so I'm a fan.
I do want to mention one other - Jeremy Denk writes beautifully over at his blog on what he refers to as the 'glamorous life and thoughts of a concert pianist'. Somehow reading about his kind of glamour leaves me either laughing with delight or struck by his uncanny ability to be utterly clear and mainstream with his prose, whilst plumbing the deep and complex places only a classical practitioner can go.