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Nicky Havey January 2019 Update – Music Shenanigans, Travel & Life

nickyhaveyPosted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago11 min read

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Introduction

It feels like this month, and indeed year, has got off to a flying start over here at Havey HQ. We're over half way through January and I haven't even done a post yet in 2019... but that's not without good reason!

At the start of a new year, you hear the usual routine of "this is THE year". New year's resolutions are made and there's a lot of hope in the air... until the hangover sets in later on New Year's Day after you wake up from the party!

That is if you actually celebrated like you're "meant to". Some saddos like me spent New Year's Eve writing a 2018 review blog looking back on last year's events to see what mistakes I could learn from and push forward in the year ahead. I hasten to add, I DID stay up and watch the fireworks on TV - party animal that I am haha!

That's about as soppy as it gets today though - no "New Year's Resolutions" here. I believe if you want to do something, you start working on it today, whatever day of the year that is. So with that said, let's crack on with a somewhat colossal update on what's been going on since the beginning of the year as it really has been a "rip-snorting" start to 2019!

Music Shenanigans

Well well well, there certainly have been a few "shenanigans" going on with the music side of things. The start to 2019 will be littered with Drum & Bass releases from me and I've been working with some friends I met through Atom Collector Records to create a new electronic music community. More on that later on. So, with new EPs coming out this year, I think it would be good to start with a reminder of "EPs past".

Comeback EP

Remember this? Haha! Only released a month ago on 20th December 2018 but even that feels like an age away now (it was SO last year after all)! However, I never really gave it the TLC it needs for the more in depth look into the story behind each track - I know you love reading them ;)

Thanks to @gabrielatravels for making the artwork to the EP

Overload and Broken have both had the blogging treatment but we still have another 4 tracks to unravel! I was talking about Broken last night with @d-vine and @onemedia (who kindly invited me to their Spotlight On The Artist show) and I will be presenting the rest of the EP over the course of the next 6 weeks!

Once the show is out, I'll drop a link to the recording. Hopefully you will be able to join in the audience live next time - 18:00-20:00 UK time every Friday!

But if you just want to get your hands on the EP now, you can do so by clicking here. For those of you who love streaming, you can listen in below ;)

(Unsupported https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/4xEVATC3WjQ3JIvudeUD7V)

Ghost Times EP

What's this? A new EP?! That's right boys and girls, I will be releasing a new EP called "Ghost Times" which will contain a couple of familiar tracks if you've been following me for a while. The two in question are "Dark Times" and "Ghost of Snare", which are the darkest I've ever made or indeed, ever likely to make... maybe :)

I was going through the absolute worst time in my PhD between 2008-2014 and I was feeling low... really low. Depression is no joke and if you suffer from it, do not feel ashamed. Please take a courageous step, reach out for support, look online for your nearest mental health clinic and talk to someone. In the UK, Mind Charity does wonders for those with mental health problems, have a look here.

The front cover art of Ghost Times EP (thanks Gabriela)!

I wanted to give these tracks their own place on an EP (more for my own sake of closure as well as single releases) so I needed to summon the graphic design skills of Gabriela Travels and she delivered a masterpiece! In fact, it was her who came up with the name "Ghost Times" and it's a stroke of genius! If you want to get this pre-saved on Spotify, here's the link - release date is February 12th 2019... oh and here's a spooky write-up ;)

"Literally… could feel as though something was coming over me as I couldn't see a way through to the end. A monster within took hold and it almost depicts a chase scene as I am running away from it all."

The back cover art of Ghost Times EP (thanks Gabriela)!

Foundations EP

Why not have another EP on the way?! Haha! Yes I decided I wasn't going to fool around in 2019 and, similar to the Ghost Times EP, I wanted to get closure on the first 6 tracks I ever got professionally mastered by the Audio Animals as that pretty much set the foundations for a new wave of productions for me (you see what I did there ;) ). Once again, I summoned the graphic design help from my friend Gabriela and she came up with these amazing cover designs!

Front cover of Foundations EP (thanks Gabriela)!

This release will also get plastered all over Spotify, Amazon, iTunes etc. from April 12th 2019. Spotify users, click this pre-save link to stay in the loop ;) To whet your appetite even more, here's a cheeky write-up:

Each track of course has it’s own story but when put together, on the whole, the Foundations EP shares random tales of getting through to finish the PhD, overcoming physical challenges and then the party time of travelling in celebration! Here is a brief look at the tracks:

Broken Magic – Based on a game I used to play on the Xbox with my house mate (i.e. procrastinating haha)

I Got Something To Say – I had to keep moving house every year and felt like I couldn’t speak as everything was going a million miles per hour.

3 Peaks – A celebration about completing the UK 3 Peaks Challenge 6 months before finishing my PhD

End of the Tunnel – THE track I made celebrating the end of the PhD in July 2014 – Party time!!

Hasten To Forget – Made when I came back from travelling to take me to a place of tranquillity and just forget about any stresses

I’ll Always Be Around – I made this for a girl I met travelling in that same trip but things didn’t quite work out (they never do) but it concludes the EP nicely!

Back cover of the Foundations EP (thanks Gabriela)!

Electronic Music Alliance (EMA)

I'd be lying if I didn't say this has been a big part of my life in the last couple of months! I've been working with my good friends Bufinjer and DaveyHub who I met last year via the awesome Atom Collector Records and we were inspired to create an electronic music variation of it.

We set up the EMA to build a positive community of active electronic music producers who are open for new collaborations, remixes and DJ mixes. Not only that but we also want to provide a platform for promoting our playlists and encouraging the creation of new tracks so expect new sounds and collabs coming from me. Here's an awesome introduction video that Bufinjer made to explain the EMA even better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyobyOHWIew&feature=youtu.be

We are most active on Twitter but make sure you start following us on the links below so you don't miss our next playlist ;) There's plenty more juice to come from this ripening fruit that's for sure and we're currently at 41 members, really am buzzing!

Spotify
Soundcloud
Choon
YouTube

Please note that this is not affiliated with ema-global.org.

Travel

Ok that's enough of the music side for now, let's talk about the travel plans. Some of you may know I've done a bit of travelling in the past but when the bug grips you, it grips you! I'm going to be jet setting off in April to Australia and New Zealand for potentially 5 months.

It's suddenly dawned on me that's less than 3 months away now and all I have confirmed are my flights haha! But there is a growing to-do list on various post-it notes of where I need to go so I better start checking the Lonely Planet! Also, if anyone reading this can recommend some places, drop them in the comments - I'm thinking of Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs/Uluru, Perth and basically as much of New Zealand as possible for starters :P

It'll soon be time to fly again (I took this when returning from my last travels)

Life

And now we come to this part of the blog which I call "life" to share some other bits and bobs that are happening.

Celebrations

One of the biggest celebrations one can have in their life is getting married (I presume). Over Christmas, my brother informed me that him and his fiancee had decided on a date. Amazing! And that I had 11 months to rehearse my best man speech... initially daunting, well, better to tell than to ask hey bro ;)! Nonetheless, I'll be sharing the honour with a family friend who I've known all my life and the wheels are already in motion :D We are currently rounding up the troops and getting the old "Staggy" planned, which we are very excited about!

Power House Creatives

One other community that I've been a part of the last few months has been the Power House Creatives (rebranded recently from Steemit Bloggers), which is run by the industrious @jaynie and @zord189.

The community they have created has been really supportive and the quality of blogging on there makes me want to do more on my website. So if you wanted to read some great content on a variety of subjects ranging from motivation to finance, look for the Power House Creatives.

Also wanted to say sorry to the community as I had to take a step back from activities this week - with everything that's going on that I talked about here that doesn't leave much time to do anything else in my life really does it haha :)

Finally

All that's left to say is... well, I better get cracking on, a lot to do and time is running out to do it :P

Thanks for reading, stay positive, let's make 2019 a good one!

Nicky



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://nickyhavey.co.uk/2019/01/nicky-havey-january-2019-update-music-shenanigans-travel-life/

This post was posted from Steem with steem2wls

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