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ABoF End of Year Blog: Ed Says goodbye to 2011

In the first of our end of year blogs this week, our super assistant Ed Williams, shares his highlights of the year...

As the relative new guy, 2011 marked my first full year with team ABoF, and what a year it was! I got the chance to work with some amazing artists, and Paul and Claire couldn't have been more helpful, showing me how get to grips with the heady world of PR.

I'm a writer by trade, so I'm always looking for new challenges in my work, and this year for me was all about nailing the perfect press release - chatting to the bands, getting a feel about what they're about, and then making sure their press page reflects that. It's all about making it snap. I've still got a lot to learn, but that's the beauty of working in a challenging environment - every day there's something new.

At times I've wished I could pick up the phone and talk to my 16 year-old self, as they'd be blown away to learn that future me would have the opportunity to work with some of the artists that were staples on the college common room stereo. Suffice it to say, working with Rod Jones from Idlewild in his new solo-project, The Birthday Suit, and the folks from The Moth & The Mirror have been a dream come true for me. Getting to meet Jeffrey Lewis when we put on his show at The Lexington was pretty special too. To be honest, there hasn't been an artist on our roster I haven't been excited about working with - I get to listen to their releases months before they hit the shelves, and it's great to be part of a process that helps them gain the recognition that they deserve.

Towards the end of the year, Paul and Claire were brave enough to let me join them behind the decks when they DJd at the Q Awards after show party and Geek Out at The Wheelbarrow. It had been about 7 years since I'd done any sort of djing, so to say I was nervous was an understatement - I think I did them proud, though I did discover that my music collection mainly consists of old-skool hip hop and angry, angry speed metal. Might have to sort that out for 2012!