Let's try that again..

As you can see below, I successfully went on a blogging hiatus for a considerable amount of time...

I've decided that I want to kick-start this blog into life again, London is a city that you date and not marry, which means whilst i'm here i'm going to take every opportunity to see as many weird and wonderful sights the city has to offer. Whilst I'm doing so I'm going to start writing little pieces to publish here, whether that be a gig, an exhibit, a film festival or simply a thought piece.

I'm hugely passionate about music too which means I'm still going to add a track to each post, sometimes related to the post itself and sometimes completely at random.

This post features a 4-piece from Canterbury called Moose Blood, influences from bands such as Brand New and Death Cab For Cutie make these lads a firm favourite already in the short amount of time I've been listening to them. The lead singers honesty and passion is evident straight away and I'd recommend checking out their debut album, available now through Spotify. The title track is below.

I hope you enjoy.

Alex

Insta-Future

"Instagram is dead. Long live Twitter..gram?"

In April 2012 Facebook bought Instagram, the popular mobile sharing and editing photography app. Some popular Instagram features include hashtags and @tagging friends which can also sync across platforms such as on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc. Users can enable one photo to post across various social media platforms. At best, an easily applied vintage filter can add some sophistication and enhance a photo, while critics of the app have argued that it destroys the integrity of quality images but for most it’s about sharing their lives, not engaging in photography as a profession. In the same way, Facebook updates and Blogs won’t destroy the news and industry of newspapers. 

"Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is

what seperates the snapshot from the photograph.” - Matt Hardy

The takeover by Facebook was received with a level of skepticism within the Instagram community, most claiming they'd ruin it, as many feel Facebook has been. At the most recent TechCrunch conference in San Francisco, Facebook CEO and Creator Mark Zuckerberg laid these concerns to rest, claiming that there aren't any plans to "make them come into our infrastructure". All very well and good, or is it?

A quick search through the app store will tell you there are thousands of photo editing and sharing apps on the market, but I believe the conformity of pictures and relatively simple nature of time spent from taking a photo, to publishing one, make Instagram the weapon of choice at the moment for a lot of users. Don't get me wrong, the winds of change will soon be upon us. Just like Instagram is the Emperors New Clothes, something else will come along and claim the title of the social media app you just have to have; Snapchat and Cinemagram are already shooting up app charts as we speak, though some could claim both have some credit due to Instagram.

Update - It seems that a title contender could be closer than originally thought; only yesterday Twitter announced that they are to create an in-app photo editing and sharing service to complement its current 140 character format. The inclusion of a quick, simple, editable option when importing photos into Twitter could be the perfect solution the company are looking for to take some of the market-share away from the powerhouse of Instagram and Facebook.

I'll be interested to see just how similar Twitter's creation is to its predecessor  and whether, like Instagram, photos will then be shareable back to sites like Tumblr and Facebook, although my suspicion is not. Whatever happens the fight for share of voice within the photo-sharing digital space is well and truly in full swing.

This leads me on nicely to my musical feature of this blog. Having followed aspiring hip-hop artist Kitty Cowell on Instagram for a while, it surprised me to bump into her on Carnaby Street, whilst trying to find a winter jacket, last weekend. It’s always a strange situation when the internet presents itself in real life but it was a nice surprise. Graduating from the British Academy of New Music, (alumni include Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora) Kitty has gone solo having previously worked with acts such as Example, Basement Jaxx and N-Dubz. Her blend of feisty rap and infectious choruses layered over hip-hop/dub beats is something fresh in the current climate of recycled pop. Her latest release ‘Headbang’ includes lyrics referencing her love for the metal and hardcore scene which I’m a big fan of. Keep your eyes out for this one.

Track #3
Kitty Cowell - Headbang

Follow Kitty on; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Youtube, Soundcloud.