roisin whyte

There is no beast. I couldn’t think of a title that I liked, either for this post, or for the thing that I am about to release.

An EP – I am about to digitally release my debut EP. I am quite happy about that. Occasionally, I’m even happy with it. But like many people who make stuff, I am already thinking of what I’d do differently if I had to do it again. I’ve never recorded before, so of course, every day is a school day. I hope to make more recordings and I’ll be leaning more heavily in to my own kind of weird. I do feel like I write somewhat weird little songs.

And I think they stand up.

Anyway. I wasn’t sure what this blog would be about until I started to write it. As the following will illustrate, folk like me who are about to release stuff, need to try and catch your eyes and ears for a bit. I’m not so good at that. I might make a good BeeGee though – ‘Words are all I have’ #notsorry…..

So I didn’t know what I’d write about, but I do now.

There can be an image of independent artists as lazy, unfocused, unreliable, UNSKILLED, funded (generously) by organisations for vanity projects etc. The reality is that many work their asses clean off, often for very little return. In releasing this EP, I am tipping the iceberg of what is required to get original work out there. And I say tipping the iceberg, because I am doing about 30% of what is really required to get my work seen and heard, if I wanted it to be a viable means of income for me and my family. If I wanted the creation of original music to be something that could generate revenue for me….

I would need to do:

• Be on Instagram (and probably TikTok/Twitter, and maybe a whole heap of other social media platforms I don’t even know about
• Stream my music on a range of platforms
• Create “content” daily – i.e., engage in the mind-numbing process of creating posts online that aren’t very interesting but necessary to increase my profile/drive traffic to wherever my music/merch etc is, in the hope of getting radio play/creating a following/making sales etc.[SPOILER: Most artists don’t do this out of vanity; despite the fact that social media is designed to get us addicted to the sweet likes/loves/shares. No, it is an essential, mundane necessity, if their art is to be a real means of making a living].
• Make videos
• Plan and deliver tours (sometimes at a loss).
• Spend a part of every day contacting promoters/festivals/radio stations/venues to see if they have any interest in booking me to play.
• There’s probably a load of other things. I am currently unwilling to do pretty much all of the above.

What I’m willing to do:

• Contact suitable radio programmes that I think there’s an outside chance they’ll play my odd and generally too long songs
• Release my music on Bandcamp
• Link Bandcamp to my Blog-site and write about the whole shenanigans. I like words and music, see. Writing things is kinda the whole point.

Just to do the amount I’m willing to do takes big girl energy. I am in that stage of life where there are caring responsibilities for both younger and older loved ones. I have some; (not serious, but chronic), health issues to manage, and life is always ready to throw random curved balls. I am not trying solicit sympathy. This is how life is for all who live it. I have much to be very grateful for, and I am. I suppose, that this is a small, personal shout out to the makers and the doers. They are working way harder than I am; (and harder than most realise) – and I feel stretched a little too thin sometimes, often times.

I see you folks. I know you how hard you graft to get by, sometimes to just stand still. Often whilst doing all manner of outreach/entirely-unsuitable-paid-gigs/any-work-at-all, to stay afloat.

I’m unwilling to do much of the above, probably because I’m older. I’m not in a position to drop all and tour, to spend a lot of time travelling and away from my family. Neither do I assume that anyone out there would want to hear my little weird songs. But I think that some might, because I love to hear something new. I don’t mean I like every new thing I hear. The one area of my life where I am sure of what I like and what I don’t is arts consumption! And I’m wile and weirdly specific about the things I like and don’t. But I love the buzz of hearing something brand new, of watching the maker share it for the first time. I do think that’s a kind of privilege, because whether I like the piece or not, it is utterly unique and won’t ever be shared in exactly that way again.

So keep on my maker/doer friends. I will be in your corner for moral support should you need it.

Release a beast. Or a tame impala, if you prefer.

All spirit animals welcome.