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Guest Blog: Esperi

We recently asked some of our roster to take part in writing some lovely words on our blog. These guest blogs will run a few times a week until Christmas and then start again in January. Kicking-off proceedings, we have the wonderful Halina Rifai of Olive Grove Records and Esperi (Chris Lee-Marr).

Words from Halina - Daydream Management / Olive Grove Records

Esperi released his special Christmas split double a-side today. Chris Lee-Marr and I (Halina) decided to do a joint blog to let everyone know what has been happening and our thoughts about it all to show both sides of this beautiful coin.



I manage Esperi under Daydream Management, but my good friend Lloyd Meredith and I decided to release his special Christmas release Made For Life/Snowman under the guise of Olive Grove Records. It wasn’t a hard decision as we both absolutely adored the music.

As a manager and someone that is releasing this record on a personal label then it is something that is quite a significant responsibility. Essentially you have someone’s life in your hands and Chris is one of the only significant other people that I can cite as submerging his whole being in his music.

When making the decision to manage and support an artist like Esperi it is as easy as breathing. You see the emotion, time and energy that they put into things and you then realise that it would be a travesty not to help them.

From a label perspective Olive Grove Records only release what we love. We heard the new Esperi tracks and some people may think that being a manager may make me biased, and maybe it does, but only a tiny element. If I put my hand on my heart I would still release his stuff even if I was not managing him.

From a management point of view, Esperi is one of the most sonically perfect individuals I have come across. His outlook on his music, life and the world is something that I believe many people should take note of and in some ways has made me a better person, or so I like to think.

The journey taken so far with recording the album has been somewhat emotional. I won’t sugar coat things, it has been incredibly hard at times and you somehow doubt yourself, but when the releases are tangible it is worth every grain of work.

I was going to say that next year is going to be the start of something special, but the fireworks started a long time ago.

I will let Chris explain a bit more about the release, his influences and what he has coming up...

Esperi speaks...

Music means the world to me, there is a lot of meaning in the songs I write for myself (memories, stories, feelings...) and I hope there is something in the new release that will mean something for the listener as well. I like to use organic and interesting sounds in layers around in my songs, which are usually about my life experiences or something I feel strongly about, but in a light hearted laid back kind of way.



This next release the Made For Life/Snowman single is two tracks that were written with winter as a common feature in the song, so we decided to collaborate with artists and friends in making the artwork as a handmade packaged felt snowman with scarf and song title stitched on for an extra nice touch. "Snowman" is a home recording I did on my own except for female vocals by Cat Lee-Marr, but "Made For Life" features bass by Kevin Black of the prog / post-rock band Laeto, drums by Jon Adam of the tech / math rock band Vasquez and the Korda String Quartet, everyone involved are amazingly talented people and dear friends and they'll be on the forthcoming album In A Moment Emotion Sentiment and future records and live shows I hope.

I shot a video for "Snowman" in my garden with my dogs as a tribute to the first one I built with my Dad which Is what the song is about. And the photo of me as a kid is outside the house where I grew up. I also have a few Christmas shows coming up - Wed 15th at the Scottish Church Hall Dundee, Sat 18th at Festive Fest Su Casa Ayr and the 22nd at the Olive Grove Christmas party at The 13th note Glasgow - all winter themed with the winter single and Esperi knit wear on sale!



Working with Olive Grove Records has been amazing, Halina and Lloyd are hard working and passionate about what they are doing and I'm forever grateful for all their help and support, just real gems. I hope to do more with them and to also work with others, I love meeting new people with a great passion for what they do.

The forthcoming album is going to sound a lot bigger than the current live shows, more layers of sounds and general sonic weight than I can manage live as of yet. A big percentage of acoustic instruments/sounds, like acoustic guitar, voice, bells, kalimba, xylophone, chimes, melodica, percussion, drums, toys, strings, double bass and field recordings but also electric bass, rhodes piano, electric guitar and whatever else we might find that works. It should have an interesting mixture of sounds and songs that come from the heart. The title of the album - In A Moment Emotion Sentiment - comes from the idea that we capture tiny moments in life that can mean a great deal to us, the tiniest little moments that last a heart beat but stick with you forever and the thought of them just takes you back there and floods you with emotions.

Welcome to… Ed!

The latest addition to the team - Ed Williams - chats about how he feels being part of the ABoF massive. And thanks Ed, flattery will get you everywhere with us!



As the newest addition to A Badge Of Friendship, I think it's only polite that I introduce myself. I'm Ed, and I assist Claire and Paul in their day-to-day activities, writing news stories, press releases and joining in the general banter about Dexter and True Blood.

I'm a writer by trade, and this is my first venture into PR, and I couldn't have found two better people to ease me in to this hectic, but enjoyable, industry.

I used to write for the gadget and toy industry, and cut my teeth working for IWantOneOfThose.com, writing product copy and testing toys. It's not as fun as it sounds, but the people there were a lot of fun to work with.

It's absolutely staggering how much I've learnt in the short time I've been with ABoF, and there's still so much more to come. I tend to get itchy feet when I discover the job I'm doing isn't teaching me anything anymore - it's highly unlikely that this is going to happen here.

So, Christmas is around the corner, we're all very busy trying to put 2010 to bed so we can turn the page and welcome 2011 into the limelight, and I'm sure there are 101 things I could be doing instead of writing this, so I will let you get on with your jobs (reading blogs at work? Shame on you!) and put my head down and get back to mine.

Keeping the Faith

We're already in the last month of 2009, hurtling towards Christmas. Despite the endless deadlines and intake of new clients and thoughts of prospects for the year ahead, you just can't help but get just a little reflective around December.

We began the year really wanting to branch-out and do different things. Although London's live scene is ever burgeoning and bustling, teeming over with bands old and new playing the big smoke every night, we wanted to help bands in a different, more long-term way. PR and management was the natural route for us to take and we're really glad we took this road. Our very first clients were Phantom, Prego and 85 Bears and we couldn't have wished for better people to work with. As with every new project, starting a PR arm of the company was a little daunting at first but we were genuinely appreciative and overwhelmed with the support from the press covering our bands. As time went on, we were really pleased Function Records joined, bringing all their fantastic bands with them. Shane of Function Records is a breathe of fresh air - he is passionate about his bands, focussed on pushing them whilst considering the business side of things but is also really open to new ideas too - we have deep respect for him and the label.

It's been a really hard working year establishing new contacts, strengthening bonds with existing ones and seeing all the effort and passion we put into every project result in a great quote, a "Track of the Day" or airtime on radio. No matter how far we travel or how large we grow, I know we'll always feel equally as chuffed for every single bit of press we generate for our bands.

I guess, all in all, this year has restored my faith a little in the "scene". I love music with an unbridled passion - it's my life and the reason I wake up every morning and slave tirelessly over my laptop, but it's easy to feel your hope fading a little every time you hear yet another yawnsome record being spun on radio or see yet another "haircut" band or pop gimmick being covered in a magazine. However, we've been shown that there are some great people out there writing about brilliant bands. Collectives like Glasgow Podcart fly the flag for small bands all over with a heavy focus on Scotland and magazine's like Rock Sound and Rock-A-Rolla try and review a diverse range of acts giving coverage to some really brilliant wee finds. Websites like The Line of Best Fit and The Quietus are brilliant online hubs for quality writing and brilliant features and XFM's John Kennedy definitely deserves respect for playing challenging bands like Ex Libras and Nitkowski on his Xposure show.

So with a very hardworking 2009 almost done and dusted, we're looking forward to an equally challenging 2010. We can't believe it's almost 2010 - it sounds a bit too sci-fi to be considered a real year! Having done the PR for art project Art for Kunst, it has definitely reminded us of our second loves - art and fashion. We hope that we can work with similar companies, events and brands in the new year.

Well, that's my little outpouring of love for the time being. It's been hard at times but nothing is ever easy and, hey, life would be a bit dull if it was! We can only hope that the good vibes continue to roll into next year!

Bring it on!

Wee C x

Last ABoF Gig of the Year

Well, last night we promoted our last show of the year. The wonderful Paper Chase came over from the States to rock our little socks off. We had started the evening fairly chilled-out knowing our cheap tickets had sold-out. We were really pleased to see that folk had also come along to see the supports - On Histories of Rosenberg and Ex Libras.

Unfortunately, a few hours before the show, we had a call from On Histories saying their van had packed-in on the motorway, somewhere near Gatwick; some of the band and all of their gear were in this van. What a nightmare! Anyways, Louis had been keeping us updated and at around 8pm, it looked like it wasn't really going to happen. The boys were so lovely though and it wasn't their fault - these things happen!

So onwards and upwards, we open the doors a little later and prepare for the awesome Ex Libras. By the time Ex Libras hit the stage, around 9pm, there are just over 100 people in the room and more pour in to watch the boys as they begin their set. Playing songs mostly from their debut album Suite(s) (out November 30th!), we're reminded of what a real, quality live band sounds like. Kieran playing bass via the keyboard gives the set a real "meaty" quality and Amit's voice is simply spectacular. It's good to hear a band who, not only place emphasis on melody, but also a good off-kilter beat too - Ross provides the perfect backbone on the drums and all these elements combined give Ex Libras an edge over any other burgeoning London band gigging at the moment.

A special mention to Chris and Steve Wheeler who provided some quality tunes on the decks. I'm especially happy Chris managed to play some Grandaddy for me, Steve squeezed in some vintage Queens of the Stoneage and there was a distinct 60s vibe as doors opened, which was a little different from hearing the indie guff that's usually expected from "alternative indie DJs". We're glad the brothers Wheeler brought an eclectic mix to the night.

Unfortunately, rushing around meant that I never had a chance to catch The Paper Chase. However, reports from the gig since have been brilliant. Personally, the best part of the night for me is the fact that the bands have a good time and I think we managed to achieve that. The Paper Chase seemingly told Paul that ours was the best live show they've played in London so far - quite a complement.

And here we are... the last show is over, and the PR onslaught continues as we try to fight the good fight for all the bands on our roster. We love every single one of them and we hope the results keep flowing in as we approach Christmas time.

2009 has been very good to us indeed - let the good times roll!

Peaceout - Wee C x