Staff
Alan Fisher
Email: fishera@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
Audio design, Music Performance and Music Technology industry research.
Experience
A performer with Cabaret Voltaire, studio designer, founding director of Fon studios, Sheffield, and more recently features writer for the Mix magazine. Musician, producer and engineer with projects including Take That, Bjork, Boy George, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and 808 State. Currently working with Music Tank as a professional advisor.
Kienda Hoji
Email:k.hoji@wmin.ac.uk
Programme director BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Expertise
Kienda is an entertainment and media lawyer specialising in music law.
Experience
Kienda a law consultant and lecturer in media law and music business since his move. He is a member of the Georgia and California Bar associations. He has also held two international lectureships in Helsinki Finland and St Petersburg Russia. He has sat on various music industry committees such as the Performing rights society advisory forum, the British R&B Association and is a founding member of the Entertainment sport and media law committee of the African Caribbean and Asian Lawyers group. He has been assisting the UK Government in devising and implementing the New Deal for Musicians programme.
Dr. Chris Kennett
Dr Christian Kennett BA (Hons) (Southampton), MA (Sussex), PhD (Reading)
Senior Lecturer in Music Sociology
Deputy Programme Director and Admissions Tutor, BA (Hons) Commercial Music Chair, Music Research Group
Referee for Music Analysis and Popular Music journals; Founder Member, Society for Music Analysis; forensic musicologist
Email: kennetc@wmin.ac.uk
Chris has published articles in English and in Catalan on music analysis (particularly pop music analysis, and pitch-class set genera), music sociology, and music psychology (particularly on music and memory in TV advertising, with Drs Margarita Alexomanolaki and Catherine Loveday). His research has been published in journals including Music Analysis, Popular Music, Computer Music Journal and Music & Letters, and as book chapters on the history of music analysis and criticism, and also on the idioethnomusicology of personal music listening. He has just been invited to write regularly for the US journal, Open Space.
Current research interests include pitch-class set genera analysis and cognition, popular music sociology and analysis, forensic musicology for music copyright trials, and background music. Chris gained his PhD in music analysis as social history from the University of Reading in 1995, and has supervised four PhD students to successful completion, and currently he supervises five PhD students pursuing research ranging from sound art to copyright; from film music cognition to reggae music history.
As well as having examined PhDs for the University of London, he has taught at UG and PG level since 1991, including the Universities of Nottingham, Bristol, Exeter, Surrey and London (Goldsmiths College) and he was the first full-time Senior Music Examiner for the Rockschool system of graded commercial music exams (1997-2001).
Dr. John Eacott
Musician, Composer
Principal Lecturer in Commercial Music
Email: eacottj@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
Composer for film, television and interactive media.
Experience
Johns most recent work Flood Tide (2008) fuses algorithmic composition with live performance and was premiered at Trinity Buoy Wharf, Docklands in June 2008. A related work Hour Angle premiered in 2008 sonifies solar movement. His interactive sound installation The Street is featured in Viva Viva exhibition at P3, Marylebone in December 2008.
Previous projects include Morpheus (2001) a CD Rom of generative techno and Intelligent Street (2003) developed in collaboration with the Interactive Institute, Sweden which allows users to create a shared sonic environment using text messages.
Theatre work includes the influential production of Gormenghast, which toured world-wide (1991-2007) and the RSC production of Timon of Athens 2002. Film work includes arrangements for Alfie starring Jude Law (2003) and four feature films soundtracks including Escape to Life featuring Vanessa Redgrave (2000) and 3 Steps to Heaven featured in the Cannes Film Festival 1995.
As a performer John has recorded and performed with Damon Albarn, Loose Tubes, Goldie, Stereo MCs and many others.
www.informal.org
Keith Harris
Music Business Consultant
Senior Lecturer, BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Email: keith@keithharrismusic.co.ukkeith@keithharrismusic.co.uk
Expertise
Music Business in general, and in particular Artists Management.
Experience
Worked with Transatlantic Records, EMI Records, The Motown label, in Management with Stevie Wonder in the United States, and many UK based artists. He has also been Chairman of the MMF (the managers trade body in the UK). He is the Chairman of Musictank, He is also the Director of Performer Affairs for PPL.
He has done numerous radio and television broadcasts for both the BBC and Commercial Radio. He has also participated in international seminars on musicians' rights, for the International Federation of Musicians. He was awarded and honorary Doctorate by the University of Westminster in 2007. At the University of Westminster he is also our external consultant on Music.
Mykaell S Riley
Fellow of the RSA & Arts and Business
Music Producer and Manager, Educational Project Development
Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Director of the Centre for Black Music Research UK
Email: rileym@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
Strategic Educational Project Development,
As a professional writer/producer, his work encompasses TV and Film and Theatre, but mainly albums, over thirty of them - resulting in over nine top twenty positions, and three number ones.
Experience
Mykaell S Riley's career spans over thirty years, during which he has performed, produced, managed and consulted on many artists and their projects.
Hes worked as A&R, In-House Writer for publishers and Music Researcher for TV.
He has also developed many educational projects with funding bodies including, the British Council, the Lottery, PRS, Arts council England and broadcasters such Channel 4, ITV and the BBC.
Shirley Thompson
Composer
Principle Lecturer BA (Hons) MMUS, PGCert Ed, FRSA
Email: thompssh@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
The award-winning London composer Shirley J. Thompson is widely celebrated for her pioneering, eclectic and innovative compositional style. She is the first woman in Europe to have composed and conducted a symphony in the last 35 years.
Thompson has gained a reputation for eclecticism, mixing and merging musical languages to produce distinct 21st Century musical fusions.
Reader, Department of Commercial Music
She is often hailed as one of the most original and gifted composers to emerge in contemporary Britain, Shirley Thompson consciously strives to incorporate a range of influences into her oeuvre rendering her music a reflection of the multi-cultural environment of which she is part. (David Katz).
Experience
Shirley Thompson has composed extensively for Orchestra, Ballet, TV, Film and Theatre. She is the first woman to work in the Lime Street Studios at the BBC as TV Composer and Musical Director of the ground breaking drama series, South of the Border. Her full length opera 'A Child of the Jago', earned her a nomination for the Woman of the Year Award in 1997. She co-scored the music for the award winning contemporary ballet, PUSH starring Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant which has won several awards, including the Lawrence Olivier Award, the South Bank Award, and the Time Out Award. The music is performed by her own ensemble, The Shirley Thompson ensemble which she set up in 1994.
International Tour of PUSH 2005-8 has included:
Theater Heibronn, Helbronn, Germany; Athens Festival, Greece; Le Metropole, Lausanne, Switzerland; City Center, New York, USA; Teatro Comunale, Modena, Italy; Opera de Lyon, Lyon, France; Theater Champs-Elysees, Paris, France; Odyssud Theatre, Toulouse, France; Teatro Arcimboldi, Milan, Italy; Auditorium Conciliazone di Roma, Italy; Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain; Teatro alla Fenice, Venice, Italy; Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Italy; Aldeburgh Festival, England.
Her largest orchestral work, New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony has been recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and is a ground-breaking work, that employs the RPO with two choirs, solo singers, a rapper and dhol drummers in an epic musical story celebrating Londons thousand-year history. Shirley J. Thompson sees no boundaries in musical styles and fuses contemporary orchestral classical with Popular and World Music styles.
Steve Beresford
Composer
Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Email: s.beresford@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
Senior Lecturer within the University of Westminster on the Innovation and New Music Course, Score writing and Arranging and various other modules.
Experience
Internationally known as a free improviser on piano and electronics, Beresford has also
composed scores for three feature films, numerous television shows and various commercials. Amongst the other genres he has delved into, often in partnership with leading
practitioners, are: Bollywood, electronica, Jazz, African music, lower case, Japanese pop,hip hop, MOR, string quartets, fanfare bands, French chanson, cheesy pop and free improvisation.
Last year he found himself playing piano for Grace Jones at The Royal Festival Hall and being Ray Davies's musical director; the feature film "Bollywood Queen", with a score by Beresford, was released in 2003.
He is a member of The Accumulator, a group of varying proportions formed by Steve Blake to accompany the dance groups The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs in their residency at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Every month he directs and plays piano with The London Improvisers Orchestra. His appears on three new releases: Check For Monsters (Emanem) with Okkyung Lee and Peter Evans, Foxes Fox Live at the Vortex (psi) with Evan Parker, John Edwards, Louis Moholo-Moholo and Kenny Wheeler and The Wardrobe Trio (Intakt) with Roger Turner and Joe Williamson.
Hussein Boon
Songwriter, Composer
Programme director BMus (Hons) Commercial Music Performance
Email: boonh@wmin.ac.uk
Songwriter, Musician, Composer, Music Educator and Programming.
Experience
Hussein's experience includes 20 years of professional work for the BBC, C4, BFI, Charles and Eddie, De La Soul, Billy Ocean, Freak Power, Beats Intenation, Karen Ramirez, Fame Academy, Alex Parkes and Alistair Griffin. He currently manages his own Music Education Business delivering popular music to pupils and young adults for the London Borough of Harrow, Hammersmith and Fulham the Princes Trust and 4Kids.
Dr Helen Reddington
Songwriter, Researcher
Senior Lecturer, BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Email: reddinh@wmin.ac.uk
Helen Reddington has been lecturing in production and cultural theory on popular music courses for around fifteen years; prior to this she spent more than 7 years performing as Helen McCookerybook in post-punk bands The Chefs (www.myspace.com/thechefs) and Helen and the Horns(www.myspace.com/helenandthehorns) both of which were much admired by the late John Peel and recorded Radio 1 sessions for him) and later, writing music for film and TV, including Channel 4's controversial "No One Likes Us, We Don't Care" about Millwall football club. She has recently started performing and touring again, and has released two solo albums, Suburban Pastoral (available from Rough Trade) and Poetry and Rhyme (distributed by Voiceprint).
She has also written songs for several musicals and musical projects, and has recently been employed by Creative Partnerships as a song writing mentor.
Last year she published The Lost Women of Rock Music (Ashgate Press), an academic book that charts the rise and fall of female instrumentalists in punk and rock bands in the UK punk era, featuring interviews with members of The Slits, Girlschool, The Raincoats and Dollymixture, amongst others.
She runs songwriting sessions across the UK and is an avid blogger (www.mccookerybook.com/blog) She is currently working with Martin Stephenson (of The Daintees) on a joint album to be released in 2009 and has recently recorded some rockabilly tracks with Martin, John Cavener from The Band of Holy Joy, and the legendary Joe Guillan www.myspace.com/helenmccookerybook
Chris Banks
Media composer MD and songwriter
Chris Banks is an award-winning composer and musician. He has toured internationally and recorded with artists such as Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Busted and McFly.
TV credits include Strictly Dance Fever, Ross Noble, Newsround, Space Pirates, Year Dot, and the double-BAFTA winning How To Start Your Own Country.
Matej Dimlic
Programme director MA Audio Production
Principle lecturer in Music and Film, Mixed Media Artist.
Matj has extensive academic and professional experience in several media disciplines including music, sound design, film, TV, theatre, mixed media performance and graphic design.
In addition to course leadership of MA Audio Production, Matej leads Documentary Film and Contemporary World Cinema modules, (MA Film & TV), and lectures Narrative Forms on MA Screenwriting and Producing course. His academic experience also include 5 year stretch at the American Intercontinental University, where he had developed number of audio and visual courses for Media Production and Visual Communication Departments.
Matej's credits include
Absolute Beginners Series, (director, producer)
Eastern Biologicals The Sound, audio-hybrid concept album and mixed media performance around audience,(composer, director, performer)
Fur, dir. Marcela Marcelo, (composition and sound design)
The Captive, dir. Adam Marek, (music and sound design) )
New Nation Rising, Newham Symphony/ RPO, a short film about composer Shirley Thompson, and many more.
Matejs critical review of the Pink Floyd s The Wall features on the
Reflections on "The Wall" 25th Anniversary Limited edition, DVDs disk set, Art House Classics.
He actively participates at national and international conferences, including recent presentation at the Insight Out Conference in Berlin.
In his research, Matej investigates the impact of sound and music on structure and the perception of the visual narrative.
He is currently working on development of the large-scale interactive audio installation project for various sites around London.
Mike Exarchos, MA BSc(Hons)
Record producer and artist signed to Mo' Money Recording$, London (AMG Records).
His hip-hop work as Stereo Mike is licensed by Universal Music (Greece). Independent production personas include electronica alias Keim Thomas (signed to The Sound of Everything label) and band Magneteek (experimental industrial outfit). When he is not on the road performing, he composes as part of his PhD research entitled: "Sound Art and the Image; an exploration of the relationship between sonic and visual content towards a compositional methodology for the sonic artist working with visual media" (Sonic Arts Centre, Middlesex University). Mike has been a visiting lecturer for the University of Westminster since 2001, teaching production and synthesis on the MA in Audio Production and BA in Commercial Music, and as of 2006, he is the module leader for Analogue Synthesis on the BSc in Music Informatics.
Releases
Satyroi Nomades LP (Mo' Money, Universal)
O Allos Mpampis / H Polis AA (Mo' Money, Universal)
Guernica (Hip Hop Culture II compilation, Atlantis Records)
Psychis Apomeinari (Love Hip Hop compilation, Atlantis Records)
Robot Poetry Vol.1 (Hellectronic LP01 compilation, The Sound of Everything)
Rap Tou Tipota (Evnus feat. Stereo Mike, Sunuparksi LP, Minded Rap Records)
Links:
Ade Adefolulu
AD is a music marketing consultant whose services and projects are developed through his company All-Star Marketing & Media.
AD has worked extensively in the music industry in Marketing & Management capacities
AD has worked with a number of mainstream and urban brands on campaigns and projects that have strategically enhanced their awareness in key markets these include; Adidas, Puma, Grace Tropical Rhythms, The Voice, New Nation, Channel U, Urban Music Festival, In The City (Black Music), BPI, AIM, Prince's Trust, Invincible Magazine, Live Listings, Urban Music Awards, Urban News and New Deal for Musicians. He has also worked with clients who have received awards at some of the UKs most established award ceremonies including; Raymond & Co (Best Gospel Act - MOBOs, UMAs and GEMAs), Lisa Maffia (MOBO Awards), Bassline FM (UMA - Best Community Radio Station 2004), Kele Le Roc (MOBO Awards) Xtreme FM (UMA - Best Community Radio Station 2005) and YT (Best Reggae Album - UMAs 2006)
AD also has over twelve years experience as a vocal tutor and has been involved in the development of artist such as; Lisa Maffia (So Solid), Nataylia Roni (Nala, Lion King, Ray), Michelle Gayle (ITVs Reborn in the U.S.A) and MOBO Award winners Kele Le Roc (Best Newcomer) & Allyson Brown (Best Unsigned). Other clients have included Maxine Harvey (Lead singer with UK chart toppers The K.L.F.), Janice Bartholemeuz (Cold-Cut) and Raymond Dyer (Lead vocalist of multi-award winning group Raymond & Co).
Sarah Davis BA hons MA
Deputy Programme Director MA Music Business Management
Senior Lecturer
Email: daviss@wmin.ac.uk
Sarah Davis brings a broad range of experience and knowledge gained over nearly 20 years from working across a range of music industry roles in the UK and Europe.
Musician/Touring Artist
Sarah has recorded several singles and albums and toured the UK andEurope. Director Zip Dog Records As Director of the independent label Zip Dog Records, Sarah was responsible for both Marketing and Promotion and Artist & Repertoire. Under her leadership the label released 23 singles and albums including the renowned Club Meets Dub and Global Explorer compilation series which featured Fatboy Slim, Roni Size, Leftfield, Underworld andmany more.
Music Industry Journalist
As a freelance journalist, Sarah has conducted significant research into the essentials of the music business such as the charts, music manufacturing and marketing. She has focused on the UK and international music industries and includes hard news stories, in-depth features, industry profiles, regular columns, record and live reviews, studio and technical features. Sarah's work has been featured in both trade and consumer publications including:
- Music Week
- Audience
- Muzik
- dotmusic
- Future Music
- Melody Maker
- MBI
- fono
- and others
Author
Sarah is also co-author (with former University of Westminster research fellow Dave Laing) of the popular and critically reviewedGuerrilla Guide to the Music Business (Continuum, 2001). The book is a compendium of research, interviews with key industry figures and benefits from Sarah's experiences as a live and recording musician and record label partner. The Guerrilla Guide is included in the Guardian's Music Book Top 10.
Music Industry Consultant
Sarah consults on many issues in the music industry and is currently working with Universal Music UK on developing and maintaining its intranet site, which includes news, features, chart information and reports.
Stu Lambert
Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Commercial Music
Music Business Journalist
Email: lamberst@wmin.ac.uk
Expertise
Stu Lambert is a music business journalist and analyst. He has written large articles and surveys for Music Week, Music Business International and Audience magazines and has also worked as a composer, musician and independent label manager (Zip Dog Records).
Pete Astor
Theory Tutor BMus Music Performance
Lecturer in theoretical and practical studies
BMus (Hons) Commercial Music Performance
Pete Astor has enjoyed twenty-five years as a critically acclaimed musician, composer, record producer, writer and consultant. A one-time NME journalist and leader of The Loft - one of the first ever acts on Alan McGees epochal Creation Records - he was a stalwart of British rock in the 80s and 90s, regularly topping the indie charts with The Loft and his next band The Weather Prophets. A subsequent solo career made him a star in Europe, while later work with more electronically oriented ensembles the Wisdom of Harry and Ellis Island Sound saw him making records for Matador, Warp and Heavenly EMI, combined with A&R work for Beggars Banquet and 4AD music and a busy lecturing schedule. Still a very active musician (his compositions currently grace several UK TV shows), his work with The Loft was recently the subject of a Mojo magazine feature with Astors 1985 song Up the Hill and Down the Slope identified as one of the eras key tracks.
Savraj Matharu
Savraj is a multimedia specialist for the commercial and creative industries, and University Lecturer at the University of Westminster.
Savraj is best known for his digital portfolio and for his unique 3D Flash animations and sound synchronisation for animation. Since 1999, Savraj has focused on developing innovative ways to blend Flash, Video, 3D and Audio to form a new style of aesthetically pleasing and user friendly Multimedia, delivered exclusively through the web. His expertise in both Flash vector and raster 3D has brought much attention to his work and enabled him to speak at many Flash conferences. Savraj has created websites, design and animation for many world renowned commercial music companies and artists including Deathrow Records, MC Neat & Leona Lewis.
Savraj now finds himself working closely within the music industry and close to music artists in developing multimedia that best reflects the artists music as part of production and distribution, including multimedia for mobile devices, advertising and establishing the artist through brand identity.
Originating from an industry background and spearheading commercial projects in Multimedia Savraj aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, having experienced both dimensions, calling upon knowledge, expertise within fresh new innovation and dynamic teaching style, he now teaches throughout the University in three different schools (Media Arts & Design, School of Computer Science, and School of Informatics) and on a number of degree programs including undergraduate and postgraduate within modular study, and runs over a dozen modules throughout the University, as well as running his own studio.
Samantha Bennett PGCE MA
Sam Bennett spent a decade experiencing the highs and lows of touring and recording with her bands, combined with work as an assistant engineer in 2 London studios and an assistant promoter in a live music venue. Since then, Sam has lectured in sound engineering and music technology for the last 6 years, previously at City of Westminster College and currently at the University of Westminster. She is committed to research in the area of recording & production techniques and is currently half way through an AHRC funded Doctorate at the University of Surrey, actively publishing and speaking at conferences worldwide. Previously, Sam contributed significant research on behalf of journalists and technical reporters for Audio Media UK magazine in the areas of digital audio. She is also an examiner of A & AS Level Music Technology for EdExcel. Sam is currently a member of the JAMES working group - establishing essential industry links with education and course accreditation - and is the JAMES London Regional Centre co-ordinator.
Bob Fisher
Music Business
Sally Gross
Programme Director MA Music Business Management
