L!STEN profile picture

L!STEN

About Me

L!STEN was put together by Nick Cohen in Nov 2006 along with friends - Tony Rémy, Pete Lewinson and Steve Lewinson; with technical and logistical support from Jeff Allen and Sensible Music. It was borne out of the need for the wider community of musicians to come together.With the age of the internet and downloading, has come a subsequent slash in budgets and less investment by record companies, with virtually no support for those who do not wish to become a part of the instant-celebrity media phenomenon and the like.The advance of computer technology has also isolated musicians: where, before, musicians would commune and create, more of us are spending hours in front of a screen clicking and editing!In order to survive this changing environment, we must adapt. To help ourselves, we must help each other: empowerment through unification.L!STEN aims to bring musicians together, get people talking to each other, exchanging ideas and information and, most importantly, to create a support network so we can all pursue our music successfully.L!STEN is an opportunity and a challenge - it is a conduit through which you are invited to step out of your comfort zone, to explore different musical approaches and to channel your creative energy for the betterment of yourself and those around you.Please visit www.listencollective.com for more information about past events, future events and how they may be of use to you.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/30/2007
Band Website: www.listencollective.com
Band Members: Track Information

You can hear more tracks on the audio page of the new L!STEN website.

All tracks recorded live at L!STEN in Jan '07.
These are not your standard recordings:
When listening to these tracks, bear in mind that many of the musicians involved had never met each other before.
They are 100% live
There are no drop-ins, no overdubs, no edits, no second chances!

(All tracks mixed by Ahmad Dayes at Sensible Music to whom L!STEN are very grateful).
____________________________________________________________ ________________
TEU SORRISO
Liliana Chachian:lead vocal
Oli Savill:percussion
Andy Gangadeen:drums
Francis Hylton:bass
Leon Stenning:guitar
Jin Goh:background vocal
written by: Liliana Chachian and Oli Savill
arranged by: all participating musicians

This track was written by Liliana Chachian and Oli Savill. They came prepared with the basic bones of the song. They were joined by other musicians and, between them, they worked out an arrangement that they all felt comfortable with. The feel and groove changed from how the track was originally conceived but then, that's what L!STEN is all about - everyone contributing on an equal level.

They rehearsed the track a few times to refine the arrangement then recorded it. Even though some of them had never met each other before, they were able to collaborate openly and come up with a really good result.
____________________________________________________________ ________________
I WAS A FOOL
Lennox Cameron:lead vocal/rhodes
Karlos Edwards:guitar
Steve Lewinson:bass
Pete Lewinson:drums
Jean Toussaint:soprano sax
Darren Abraham:percussion
written and arranged by: all participating musicians

This one really was 'of the moment'. They got together in Studio 3 and worked out the whole thing from scratch - nothing preconceived.
After an hour or so, they transfered to Studio 4 where the recording process started. At first Lennox didn't realise that the whole track needed to be completed at that time i.e. there wouldn't be any revisiting the track for drop-ins or overdubs at a later date. So the recording got held up by a few minutes while he and Steve hurriedly put the lyrics together. You can hear the beginnings of a fine song with potential for further production.
And remember: this was achieved in a little over an hour, from nothing!
____________________________________________________________ ________________
RAINBOWS IN THE SKY
Karen Ramirez:lead vocal
Karlos Edwards:guitar
Steve Lewinson:bass
Troy Miller:percussion
written and arranged by: Karlos Edwards and Karen Ramirez

Towards the end of the first day, Karen and Karlos were in the upstairs lounge with an acoustic guitar putting together the bare bones of this track. This was the last track to be recorded that day and was a nice mellow way to finish.
Again, this is off the cuff: music,lyrics, arrangement and performance the result of one hour's creative energy.

What is really exciting is, that as a direct result of meeting through L!STEN, Karen and Karlos have since been working together on her latest album. They have re-recorded this track with full production and it will be appearing here shortly.
They both got really involved and met many people they hadn't previously, thus perfectly illustrating that L!STEN is there for what you want to make of it.

Influences: This is what some people have said about L!STEN, Jan '07:

“Brilliant day! Everyone had a great time”
Julian Crampton (bass)

"This was a really exceptional and special event. There was an openness to ideas and to people that had the spirit of what I think all music making should be about"
Patrick Wood (guitar/composer)

"Fantastic weekend! A lot of fun as well as a great opportunity to play and talk with musicians I'd never met before"
Steve Lewinson (bass/producer)

“It was nice to meet people who you usually meet only in a gig situation. You got a chance to talk and relax. It was a more personal atmosphere, like being in a front room”
Darren Abraham (drums)

“An invaluable opportunity to interact with other musicians and do some truly ferocious playing!”
Carl Orr (guitar/composer)

read more comments

Sounds Like: Our website is now up and running (it's not quite finished but please drop by).
Or, if you are interested in any aspect of L!STEN, future events and getting involved, then please send us a message via this page.

This is like taking MySpace to the next stage - instead of a virtual community, a real interactive experience: an opportunity to expand your network and creativity is limited only by your imagination.

We look forward to hearing from you.

L!STEN...
"A fool thinks he needs no advice, but a wise man listens to others."

Type of Label: Major

My Blog

L!STEN ’08

L!STEN would like to apologise to the many of you that have been in touch over the recent weeks and months with regard to L!STEN '08. There have been administrative and other unforeseen delays which h...
Posted by on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:59:00 GMT

Mark Bass and Tamburo drums to provide backline

Mark Bass, the Italian makers of fine bass amplification and Tamburo drums will be providing backline for L!STEN'08. Proel will also be involved in providing PA/backline and other companies are being ...
Posted by on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:31:00 GMT