Daniel Lynch Writing

https://tmhmusic.com/2018/06/13/five-things-we-learned-on-a-mini-uk-tour/ Tin Man Heart artist  Sonja Sleator  has recently completed a mini UK tour. Clocking up over 1,200 miles and playing shows in Edinburgh, York, Leeds and Manchester in what can only be described as a heatwave was an experience to say the least. Here are five things we learned on the tour… some more important than others. Car DIY Don’t begin to get the car/van sorted at 5pm the day before you’re set to head out. It’s admirable to ensure the oil is topped up, the tyre pressure is correct and the little bit of water will squirt up over the windscreen when you hit moth number 4,000 on the A61 near York. It’s less admirable to then get the car bonnet stuck open and have to enlist the help of a very sympathetic mechanic just so you can make the boat the next morning. Give yourself plenty of time to get the motor in good shape and account for anything going wrong, or you’ll get nowhere! Be open minded It go

This was a piece written from a survey I carried out through my music website, Tin Man Heart.  The survey asked musicians and those involved in music in Northern Ireland their thoughts on media engagement, career prospects, pay and conditions and how the public interacts with the local scene. https://tmhmusic.com/2018/02/14/two-steps-towards-improving-independent-music-in-northern-ireland/ It’s a really exciting time to be involved in music in Northern Ireland at the minute. We have some great bands, excellent studios and producers to help those bands make their music and a few great venues to host events. But the structures around that are, in some cases, letting the talent of musicians and other creatives down. It feels like no matter how good a band is in this country, they will never have the wider general public onside until they’re legitimised by a label or media outlet somewhere else. Too many gigs involving local bands are poorly attended, meaning bands are playing to each