Room Thirteen

Proud to be one of the unsigned picks of the month on Room Thirteen:

"Jon White aka If This Is A Man is a Staffordshire based singer songwriter and his new album was written, performed and recorded in a bedroom over this Summer. The record "Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives" is described by Jon as mixture of genres from slowcore through psychedelia and folk to electronic and shoegaze. The album is lovely and reminds us a little of Death Cab For Cutie. Check out his stuff at Bandcamp!
http://roomthirteen.com/features/887/Our_Pick_Of_Septembers_Unsign.html

Check out Arks on the same review, some really good songs, quite Radioheady.

Jon

By If This Is A Man with No comments

Binge Cringe Whinge

Cheers to Scott at BCW for the review:

"Year: 2011
Genre: Folk, indie

Random Acts displays a flair for genre-hopping that caught me off guard. Towards the end of the sweet folky opening track Indelible, I was sucker punched when the climax roared in with a choir-like effect. I was wearing a smile when my head snapped back from the recoil though.

From there the album progresses very pleasingly, with the occasional lashing of wild ingredients. Thankfully, despite the electric guitar, the tribal percussions, the radio-style monolgue, the album never loosens its grip on its decidedly homey feel. You never feel too far from the foundation of the songwriting talent – warm acoustic guitar and earnest vocals."

http://bingecringewhinge.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

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The Indie Artist Podcast

Write up in The Indie Artist Podcast, the guys were also good enough to include me in their podcast, episode 5, which you can listen to here:

http://theindieartistpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/episode-five-god-gave-rock-and-roll-to-you/

"So when I write these things I do as much research as I can, I check the band’s facebook, they’re tumblr, maybe stalk a few tweets. I’ll read past interviews or even see what other reviewers thought…sometimes bands have all this stuff, sometimes I have to do more with less…while reading up on If This Is A Man, I stumbled across several review sites, but was disappointed to see they only really take the time to write 50-100 words on any given artist. They blurb it. So simple. So concise. And in the end people are still checking out the album’s blurbed on. Maybe I’m wasting everyone’s time with these long reviews, making more work out of a relatively simple concept…if I am I apologize…I suppose if you’re not into it though then you wouldn’t be here, so apology rescinded(except to Jon White of ITIAM, apologies for venting when I should be reviewing). But anyway, If This Is A Man marks The Indie Artist Podcast‘s first international submission, what a monumental occasion! The project is a solo endeavor of Jon White from Staffordshire, whose 8/9/11 release “Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives” is a 9-song shoegaze/psycha/indie release, showcasing ethereal guitar work and White’s subtle vocal style. I really respect the fact that he performed and recorded the whole thing, I’ve done the lonesome bedroom recording thing, and there are definitely moments that make you feel like you’re slowly going crazy. White does well though, in creating a very distinct sound for himself. I think the vocals on the album, while setting him apart, could use a little work, not so much with the way he sings them but in the production; a little more volume, a little less effect. The foundation is there and I can see the dream-like quality of them, but I think they miss the mark just a bit. He also manages to incorporate a large mix of guitar/piano/bass/synth and software base instruments throughout the album, giving it a nice full feel, while staying musically engaging. This production method works perfectly on the track “Networking”, which replaces White’s vocals with samples from the 1976 film Network. The album is undeniably centered on a very specific production sensibility and at times I find myself wishing for a little more variety, but overall If This Is A Man is definitely worth a listen, and I’m interested to see what he does with his next album."

http://theindieartistpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/if-this-is-a-man-pondhopper/

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Polar Sunspots

Today's pick on Polar Sunspots:

"Dreamy, genre hopping release from England. Takes influence from various genres, including shoegaze, folk, psychedelica, slowcore and ambient. You can expect to hear some electronic elements too. If This Is A Man manages to do this whilst still remaining cohesive – no easy feat as you can probably guess! Really heartfelt and emotional album. Highly recommended."

http://polarsunspots.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

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Sethmol Album Review

Thanks to Ian Witzel for this review on Sethmol

"A somber reel of psychedelic guitar strings is cast into the pond of the soul. Tiny ripples break the surface and cascade outward, sending a solemn vibration to the senses. The sound waves lure positive organisms to the air and repel all negativity, creating a submerged cocoon of safety.

If This Is a Man are giving new definition to the word slowcore. They learned from the masters like Low and Red House Painters and added shoegaze influences to send us down a swirling vortex of beautiful sound. Subtle echos and kaleidoscopic guitar manipulations flutter about the brain, breaking the emotional dams we have built for ourselves. The vocals are soothing and consolatory but at times they become obtrusive and too present. When this happens a barrier is put between the mind and the music and you do not get the full experience.

Random Acts of Kindness Have Saved Lives . The title is very fitting. This album is a bandage for the broken heart, a blanket for a frozen body. Listen to this when your soul is ready to scream and give up and somewhere among the guitar strums and piano strikes you will find the strength to keep going."

Standout Track: Nostalgic

Rating: 4 stars 

http://sethmol.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/review-if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives/

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Networking Review

Review of Networking in Indie Music News:

 

Hello Independent Music readers/fans. I went on a bit of a rant the other day. Basically I really appreciate music when musicians spend so much time creating magical boxes of emotion. Then you get artists like Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black who work on segments of money making toblerone that the popular public indulge on. Well guess what? I don’t like toblerone or Justin Bieber…….that’s all I wanted to say; I feel like a preacher……hail mercy!

In other news – I got an email from a man that goes by the name of……If This Is A Man; sounds like a stunt double for James Bond – 011. Anyway I’m going to review his single – Networking – to try and entice people to log-out of Facebook and read this review; that’s as optimistic as George Bush running an ice-cream van, providing the masses with propaganda that his ice-cream is the best. That would probably happen. Before we begin, have a listen to the single….alright?

Networking – social deprivation. Listening to this track you would probably enjoy it more on a bike riding through the slums of democracy/UK. The track talks about society and how it has changed and developed into a ball of technology and ruined communication as a whole.  To be honest what he says is true and I’m left feeling quite annoyed. Wait a minute as I run outside and tell the world…………don’t worry I’m not that mental. What I should say is listen to the track while you’re on Facebook.

Rate: 9/10

Daniel Thomas

http://indiemusicnews.info/single-review-if-this-is-a-man-networking/

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New Album

New album is now properly out for people to listen to. It's called Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives and you can stream it on the new Bandcamp here:

www.ifthisisaman.bandcamp.com

or preferably download it from Megaupload here. If you download it here you get the songs in full WAV files which have lost none of the sound quality that the files on bandcamp have, they really sound a lot clearer and I've also included a 14 page digital artwork in the folder with lyrics, pictures, credits etc. You can download it here:

www.megaupload.com/?d=ASVNQWM0

check the previous post for details on how to use Megaupload if you're unfamiliar.

Thanks

Jon x

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Megaupload - Beginner's Guide

If you haven't used Megaupload before it's really simple once you know how.

• If you don't have it already you need to download WinRar (or another software for extracting/compressing files). It's a small, clean and free trial of a software which you can use to compress folders on your computer to make them easy to share online or just to free up space. Just search WinRar download on google.

Or get it here: http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

Once the trials run out it will still work, it just asks you if you'd lke to buy the full version when you use it.

• Then you need to go to the megaupload link :
  www.megaupload.com/?d=ASVNQWM0

• On the right hand side you will see an icon saying Premium Download (ignore this unless you are a member)

Below there is a timer

• Wait for the timer to count down to 0 and an icon saying Regular Download will appear

A menu will pop asking if you want to save or open the file

• Press Save and put it in a folder where you can find it easily eg Desktop

Once it has finished downloading go to the folder and you will see a Zip icon of the album

• Right click on the icon and press 'Extract Files'

• Chose where you want the album to be extracted to and wait for it to finish

You're done, full high quality wav files of all the songs on the album, artwork and lyrics all waiting on your computer ready to be added to ITunes or whatever software you use. or to burn to CD.

Hope that's helped clear things up a bit, if you can put up with the slightly annoying kid talking you through it, this video is actually a pretty comprehensive guide to how to do the things I've just mentioned:

Enjoy the album

Peace

Jon x

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Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives

 

 

If This Is A Man - Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives

Released: 08.09.11

Tracklist

 

1.Indelible

2.Rabbit Holes

3.Networking

4.Shepard

5.Your Old Room

6.Nostalgic

7.As Above As Below

8.Little Things

9.Starlings

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Watch The Tapes

 Cheers to Billy at Watch The Tapes for this:

"A quiet waif of an album I found in my inbox. Random Acts of Kindness is an understated effort, and if you aren’t paying attention it will fly by your ears before you know you were listening to it. But when you do listen, it’s rewarding. If This is a Man clearly has a distinct vision for his music and it blends a variety of influences (shoegaze, electronica, psychedelia, ambient, singer-songwriter tunes) into coherence. It’s got a well-placed sample from the film Network too, so that nets it some points with me for sure. The whole album is free on Bandcamp for streaming and downloading, so check it out!"

 

http://watchthetapes.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/artist-submission-if-this-is-a-man-random-acts-of-kindness-have-saved-lives-2011/

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Lucy Listens

I put a little preview of the album up on bandcamp and sent it to a hand full of places for previews. One of the picks on Lucy Listens:

"Little Things- If This Is A Man:

A soft lovely voice with alike music to accompany it. This is another song that comes from a whole album of good songs. The Album is called Random Acts Of Kindness Have Saved Lives."

http://lucylistensblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-28th-2011.html

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