Jonathan Morgan » music

New Report: Modern Day Slavery still alive and well

Jonathan — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:41:06 +0000

A Global Report on Trafficking in Persons was released on the 12th February. It shows that many countries are in denial about the issue, and that without better information sharing there will be little success in fighting it.

Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa).

(photo © Mitchell Kanashkevich)

Radiohead: Environmentally Conscious

Jonathan — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:53:00 +0000

“But at the moment we make money principally from touring. Which is hard for me to reconcile because I don’t like all the energy consumption, the travel. It’s an ecological disaster, traveling, touring…We did one of those carbon footprint things recently where they assessed the last period of touring we did and tried to work out where the biggest problems were. And it was obviously everybody traveling to the shows.” read more
~ Wired via Jason

In the Press: Sydsvenskan

Jonathan — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:24:00 +0000

I ended up getting interviewed briefly by a Swedish Newspaper yesterday lunchtime. This morning, when Christopher’s paper came through the door, there I was.

Here’s a sketchy translation for you non-swedish speakers:

How much would you pay to download a song off the internet?
About 3 kronor (just over 30p)

Do you download music?
Yes, I recently downloaded the new Radiohead album for £2

For those of you who think I’m a skinflint for paying so little, I assure you that they received more from me this way than they would if they were signed to a big record label.

Check out downhillbattle.org for more on this.
Click here for the original article.

25 Years

Jonathan — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:25:00 +0000

So I’ve just turned 25! A quarter of a century. So far I’ve:

had breakfast with Sofia (including Gingerbread Yoghurt (or Pepparkaks fil for you Swedes))

had Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday played to me by Christopher as he dashed out to work.

As well as: experiencing the Facebook Enigma (more to follow…), and

Spoken to my Mum and Zoe on Skype.

Nice.

Ryan Adams

Jonathan — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:05:00 +0000

When we took the train to Copenhagen on Thursday afternoon, my expectations were high. We were to see the artist who, as a 14 year old said:

“I started writing short stories when I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. Then later, when I was a teenager, I got really hard into cult fiction: Hubert Selby, Jr., Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac.” (via)

He has inspired the likes of Elton John, who credits Heartbreaker as an influence to his Songs from the West Coast album, not to mention the many who have covered his songs (including Bono).

We were excited as we ate Thai food in Fredricksberg, picked up some salty licorice, and joined a long queue that took us into the Falconer Hall.

And we weren’t disappointed.

From the moment Adams and his Cardinals entered the stage we were delighted with the skills of not only a great songwriter, but a band of skilled musicians. They are a band who, for me, redeem a genre (country), which is oft filled with hype, commercialism and a sickly glitz.

We marveled as Adams, who reported that he was going deaf, delivered some of his greatest songs (highlights included Nightbirds, When the Stars Go Blue, Goodnight Rose…the list goes on.) with everything he had.

Yes, I would have liked to have seen him in a smaller venue, but this was still one of the best gigs I have watched.

Last night: Niklas Hegfalk

Jonathan — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:35:00 +0000

I recorded this on my phone. That’s why the quality sucks!

A note on Ringtones

Jonathan — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:18:00 +0000

When choosing a ring tone be careful not to choose a track by a band you really like. For the past month I’ve had ‘The Well and The Lighthouse’ by Arcade Fire. Now I associate the track with stressful moments when time is demanded from me without prior warning.

Black Ox Orkestar: best musical discovery of the week

Jonathan — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:29:00 +0000

Black Ox Orkestar are linked with so-called “New Jewish music”, resetting European Jewish folk ballads traditionally sung a cappella, by writing and performing new, political texts in Yiddish. ~Wikipedia

Their members also play in the amazing Godspeed You! Black Emperor Go listen!

‘At One With The Tide’ by Niklas Hegfalk

Jonathan — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:04:00 +0000

Last week we finished the artwork for Niklas’ new demo. If you want to get hold of the recording visit Demo Butiken by clicking here.

Here’s the new video:

‘Easy Tiger’ by Ryan Adams

Jonathan — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:44:00 +0000

Want to hear Easy Tiger, the new album from the magnificent Ryan Adams? Click here.