Tag Archives: music

Bose New Product Launch

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Embargo is a word you only learn once entering the journalistic world. In simple terms, it means getting an insight into something new but not being allowed to write, blog, tweet about it until the official release date. It is always very exciting hearing about a new secret product release before everyone else and I felt extremely privileged to be trying out the new Bose wireless headphones before the rest of the world.

Bose launch

The launch was housed in the achingly hip MC Motors building in Stoke Newington. A naturally distressed establishment which is most often used for weddings, but it suited this cause perfectly too.

Bose launch

Refreshing gin cocktails were served from a bicycle basket and waiters wandered round with gourmet finger food – the ricotta and parma ham pizza was particularly memorable. To prove the quality of Bose speakers, singer Callaghan strummed and sang in one corner filling the cavernous room with a lilting melody.

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After much nourishing food and drink I was led by a lovely PR girl into an exclusive room to trial the new products. Three dramatically-lit stands showcased the new headphones, ready for use. The SoundSport wireless headphones are wonderfully light and comfortable, offering active customers a brilliant solution to music on the go. Priced at £139.95, they are affordable too. The QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones were the product I was most excited about, and they didn’t disappoint. Ultra comfortable (with both on-ear and around-ear options), great battery life, and miraculous sound quality, allowing you to completely zone out from your chaotic surroundings. They are priced at £289.95. The final product I was introduced to will be released later this year, a new in-ear, wireless headphones with varying noise-cancelling options.

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Bose never let peer pressure rush their innovative products, producing the highest quality sound devices when they feel ready. These highly-anticipated new wireless headphones enable Bose customers to listen to the best quality sound and music, uninterrupted.

More information about the new Bose products here.

Latitude Festival 2016, Preview

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Latitude has always been one of my favourite summer festivals. Now in its 11th year, Latitude Festival is showing no signs of slowing down with an exciting summer line up of music, comedy and arts events to thrill and inspire creative festival-goers. This year’s event takes place from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th July 2016 in the idyllic grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk.

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The weekend will showcase and celebrate some of the biggest names in the performing arts world, from comedians to poets, bands to cabaret. Unlike some other festivals, Latitude manages to cater to all ages, with acts to suit every generation. This year, headliners include The Maccabees and New Order while talented artists like Beirut and Chet Faker will be taking some of the early evening slots. Needless to say there is a real range of genres and styles on offer, so whether you want to sunbathe on the grass or dance around like crazy, there will be plenty to please.

The comedy line-up is particularly appetising with Russell Howard, Reggie Watts and Josh Widdicombe, to name just a few. Sadler’s Wells will be gracing the Waterfront stage wilth beautifully choreographed dance routines, and those who like to party late can enjoy DJ sets from Guilty Pleasures and Disco Shed among others.

Latitude Festival

Long gone are the festival days when you have to accept an overpriced greasy burger for dinner in between band sets. Speciality food trucks and culinary treats are available throughout the grounds from coffee vans to homemade ice-cream. This year, Latitude welcome a spa, Solas, an oasis of calm where you can book in a festival facial or relaxing foot spa. Manicures, pedicures and nail art are also available, so you can coordinate your nails with your festival outfits.

Latitude Festival

As I’ve been to Latitude before I can truly vouch for decent shower and loo facilities, but if you get really hot and sweaty you could always jump in the idyllic lake… or stay dry and enjoy a free boat ride instead.

Weekend and day tickets are available to buy for Latitude Festival 2016 here.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Soundscapes, National Gallery

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It does no harm to look at familiar things in unfamiliar contexts; in fact, it can be enlightening, stimulating even. In ‘Soundscapes’ at the National Gallery, six much revered pictures are displayed alone in darkened rooms with aural accompaniment – musical, descriptive or atmospheric – created by invited composer/sound artists.

One cannot help but reconsider the works whether one approves of the sounds or not. In some cases the accompaniment is impressive on its own, sometimes it takes a supporting role…

Gabriel Yared’s Satie-esque response to Cezanne’s Bathers is exquisite, seeming to conjure up voluptuous fin-de-siecle France while also hinting at a darkness, echoing the way Cezanne introduces a psychological chiaroscuro into a sensual Impressionist subject.

Nico Muhly’s Long Phrases for Viola da gamba encourages one to contemplate the Wilton Diptych more closely and more profoundly, and for a longer time. The otherworldly cry of the viol enhances the heavenly aura of this strange, diminutive altarpiece.

Chris Watson’s soundtrack to a Finnish Symbolist landscape by Gallen-Kallela initially naturalises the mystical scene with birdsong but then with the eerie chant of a shaman reinforces the mythic atmosphere.

Jamie xx’s electronic installation,Ultramarine, highlights the alarming modernity of van Rysselberghe’s pointillist technique. Even 120 years after its creation, the atomist deconstruction of this coastal view appears new – digital, pixellated.

The most minimal aural intervention comes from Susan Philipsz who focuses on a broken lute string in Holbein’s Ambassadors emphasising this omen of discord with three extended notes from an anxious violin.

Canadian sound artists, Cardiff and Miller, respond to Antonello’s Saint Jerome in his Study more substantially with a large wooden reconstruction of the complex architectural space of the picture. This is impressive and amusing but less affecting than the ambient soundtrack of horses coming and going, crickets chirping and the gorgeous singing of a medieval chanson by Dufay.

It is brave of the National Gallery to risk the scorn of conservatives who wish the collection to be frozen in reverential aspic. It is not only instructive but also essential to occasionally reassess its masterpieces. Furthermore, despite the nervousness engendered in some people, no works were harmed in the making of this exhibition.

Exhibition continues until 6 September 2015, more information and book tickets here.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Chris Kenny.