Simon Henderson » Music

Start a new life

mon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:03:06 +0000

Sadly today I learned that a mate of mine, Shem McCauley, passed away over the weekend! I mixed his last album with him in my studio in Bangkok called “Start a new life”. See my old post Slacker (Shem’s stage name)

As I understand it he made arrangements with 2 of my close friends to carry out his last wishes which were to make as little fuss as possible, so there is not much detail about what happened and why, Shem was meticulous with everything about the recording and it seems even his own death also came under his ever critical eye.

So I am not making a fuss! but I wish to celebrate the life of a fellow artist starting with a video of one of the tracks from the album we mixed together. I put more details about Shem which I have copied from his You Tube for more of a background of him. The picture above is a picture taken in my studio, the last time I saw him we were creating, so I will take that memory with me

RIP my friend! On to that Jukebox in the sky!

Shem’s message to his friends: -

“Love to all my other friends in Bangkok please, have a few drinks for me, remember me warmly, then get on quick: know I am living it large in a new place, or dead and free from all the over-thinking and not-enoughness, somewhere similar.”

Can’t Embed video please take a look here http://youtu.be/ph_L0wBxdwI

About Shem McCauley:

SLACKER (http://www.myspace.com/slackershem)As a DJ and producer Shem McCauley AKA Slacker continues to be on the cutting edge, with a reach far beyond most of his contemporaries, a history spanning numerous musical genres and a diverse checklist of fans throughout the business.With a career spanning nearly two decades, it is little wonder that Slacker is usually one step ahead of the game; this is more apparent than ever since the introduction of Ableton Live into the marketplace has finally given him the technology to produce the live show he has always wanted. With a back catalogue boasting over 50 original tracks, and in excess of 100 remixes under his various guises as Streets Ahead, Nation 12, Ramp, Live It!, Head Honcho and Slacker, Shem has been busy developing a new “laptop live” show which will enable him to make every performance unique, remixing live any element of each track as he chooses and giving him the ability to incorporate the many quirky samples and secret riffs that up until now have been locked away in Slacker towers. Throw in a frenzy of scratching and effects from Shem on the CDJ and you have a heady brew indeed.A DJ for over 16 years, the words “been there, done that!” spring to mind. The world map on his website pinpointing the multitude of cities he has played testifies to his global popularity. Originally as DJ Streets Ahead, Shem was one of the pioneers of the UK Hip Hop scratch scene, playing alongside the likes of Tim Westwood and picking up production and remix credits beside Roxanne Shante and Public Enemy. As a student in Brighton, England he established various sound systems alongside fellow South Coast boys Norman Cook and Carl Cox. Production success followed first as Nation 12 with “Listen to the Drummer”, and then after setting up stall with musician and producer Simon Rogers as Ramp, with the singles “Rock the Discotek” and “Stomp”. Both became international club classics.Looking to establish himself further, Shem created a hybrid of his own funk roots with more contemporary house sounds under the moniker of Slacker. The first Slacker single, “Feel Space”, a track that sounds as fresh today as when it was made, became an instant club hit. Shem’s third single “Scared” re-wrote the rule book on progressive house, a haunting anthem with enough funk to rock any dance floor. A record deal with XL followed and “Scared” along with follow-up single “Your Face” went top 40 in the UK and achieved major international success.

On the crest of this wave, Slacker established a live show and heavy touring alongside label mates The Prodigy ensued. It was while touring that Shem rediscovered his love of Djing, and in 1998 he hit the road properly again. He has been criss-crossing the globe ever since. In this time he has enjoyed residencies at Groovejet in Miami, Orbit in Lima, Peru, Slinky in Bournemouth and Fierce in Hong Kong, earnings platinum helpings of air miles throughout the world, especially across the U.S and Asia.

During this period Shem successfully juggled his travelling with further productions, ably assisted by studio partner Simon Rogers. A slew of remixes, such as Junkie XL, Trancesetters, Breeder and Bedrock – many still viewed as classics today – made the Slacker sound the most respected in the business. “Essential New Tunes”, dance chart Number Ones and features on top compilations became the norm. Eager to develop their release schedule, the decision was taken to launch Slacker’s own label, Jukebox in the Sky, and the singles have come thick and fast. Alongside their Northern Exposure classic, Head Honcho’s “Walls of Jericho”, came Slacker’s “Looky Thing”, played by a diverse selection of DJs from Seb to Jules to Seaman to Ivan Smagghe (of Black Strobe). Head Honcho’s “Medicine” is still being hammered by DJs, most consistently Sasha, a year after its release. The decision to concentrate on furthering the label has paid huge rewards, setting the imprint up as one of the strongest of its genre and enjoying regular licenses from the likes of Global Underground, Bugged Out! and Ministry of Sound.

The label continues to go from strength to strength with numerous Slacker original productions ready for release in the coming months, in conjunction with the recent launch of the label’s comprehensive website and webshop. Slacker’s next single, “Best Boyfriend”, will be out mid-November, packaged with remixes by The Scumfrog and Steiger. Currently Shem is back on the road and covering the globe with more than ever to offer, not only as a DJ but now also performing one of the most exciting and revolutionary laptop live shows on the market. Slacker? Far from it!

Hello 2012

mon — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:29:24 +0000

Well…these are exciting times! We start 2012 full of hope and anticipation, but at the same time pushing thoughts of the apocalypse, according to the Myans and perhaps Nostradamus (the lost book theory), out of our minds. There is the Olympics to look forward to (if you like that sort of thing) if you intend being anywhere near London.

I must admit there really is a positive vibe in the air, and it’s not just me – but I am always positive being a practician of “The Secret” and also being a ‘proper’ Buddhist.

Sadly in 2011 we said goodbye to Mr.Mac himself, Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, Ken Russell, Nohn Neville, Cory Smoot (GWAR), Mikey Welsh (Wheezer), Vesta Williams, Nick Ashford (Ashfod & Simpson), Jani Lane (Warrant), Peter Falk (Columbo), Ryan Dunn (Jackass), John Walker (The Walker Bros), Elisabeth Sladen (Dr Who), Liz Taylor, Mike Starr (Alice in Chains), Jane Russell, Alex Kirst (Iggy pop Drummer), Gerry Rafferty (Baker St) and probably more I missed out…RIP people x

Lets hope we don’t lose too many great legends this year.

Makes me feel lucky to be alive and with that in mind, I want to wish everybody a happy and prosperous new year!

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The Hunt For Jeff Williams

mon — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:46:29 +0000

The Boys are back in town

Last weekend I finally met up with my old band TaraZara after not seeing them all for 26 years! I had found Danielz a few years ago as he has always very findable through his work with T-Rextasy, and thanks to Facebook I recently found Bass player Mike Lever and then Andy Street, our original keyboard player.

The first thing we all said to each other was “Where’s Jeff?” They were expecting me to know as Jeff and I we the founder members of the band and had shared our teenage stomping together and created previous ensembles prior to TaraZara. We (Mike, Andy and I) went to see T-Rextasy at the O2 Academy in Islington and really enjoyed the show, especially the rockier elements.

Danielz has also kindly kept the memory of TaraZara alive by remastering and releasing some of our old demos, so at least the tracks saw the light of day.

For more info about the history of TaraZara, see http://www.facebook.com/danielztarazara.

So now we are looking for our beloved guitarist Jeff Williams and when we find him….we will meet up again and the story is complete.

Tarazara ECT 1985

Simon | Myspace Music Videos

Black and Blacker

mon — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:48:40 +0000

Sorry about the gloomy title, but lately things in the UK have been a little on the dark side! I will try and end this blog in a positive way.

I did’t really post anything here for a while due to life and general busyness of one thing and another, but now so much has happened out there that I feel I must say something now!

I will start with poor Amy Winehouse! It has all been said, I suppose, about her being in the “27 club” with so many great stars who also lost the fight with the dark side. On the day of her funeral, I popped out to the local shops and happened to turn into Hoop Lane in Golders Green and came face to face with paparazzi and vans with huge satellite dishes on them. I never met her myself, but I have close friends who were even closer to Amy who told me how nice and down to earth she was. She was a very talented and unique with a very distinctive sound and style, and I will miss enjoying her work that was to come! No doubt the managers and record companies will all cash in now on her sad story, as they inevitably always do! Rest in Peace Amy x!

Ironically enough the ‘News of the World’ has been killed off after the “Telephone Hacking” scandals, certainly one of the tormentors of Amy and so many others! NOTW bye bye!

The final ‘Harry Potter’ film has reached our cinemas, keeping JK Rowling the wealthiest woman in show-business according to the Sunday Times Rich List, that is 11 places higher than the Queen of England! A whopping £280 million!

And now my final thought! Not wishing to sound like Jerry Springer!

Thoughts DO become things! So be careful what you wish for people – and know what it is you are really wanting, and focus on it as if you have it already! If you can hold it in your mind, you will hold it in your hands

Simon xx

Album Covers

mon — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:58:02 +0000

Ok, so this is where I show my age (again) I am now going to ramble on about the ‘good old days’, about a time of waiting for your local record shop (even the days before ‘Our Price’) to stock the latest Queen album or whatever your persuasion/taste was at that time. Ok, I am going to have just a little rant

I remember the feeling of running home as fast as possible so that I could play the album, side to side, for the rest of the day, probably the week and making my mum crazy.

I also really miss opening that ‘brand new’ album by peeling off the cellophane and being hit by that unmistakable ‘fresh off the press’ vinyl smell! I think what made it all the more special was the fact that there was less opportunity to enjoy the music in those internetless days, which is not good, however it’s a bit like sex! The more often you do it, the less interesting and exciting it is (or is my sex life just crap?). Keeping with the sexual parallel (just for a moment) ‘Size IS everything’!!! I am talking about that wonderful canvas of an LP cover, the place where the visual aspect of the work came to the fore.

Nobody minded too much when the whole thing shrunk down to CD covers because we were told …1: The sound will be better (really? is it really? with a standard – ‘across the board’ resolution of 44.1khz – sorry to be nerdy but in plain English this means the higher frequencies we used to enjoy with vinyl are not audible any more) and 2: The CD will be indestructible (NOT..but ok less vulnerable).

So now we just mainly download and not always with the artwork. I miss all the art that goes into music and the people who create it, I just hope we never lose it!!

See below for a bunch of albums, mostly in Thailand, I worked on (those I could find) in a celebration of all these great people who make us look so good!

Gaga Radio Gaga

mon — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 22:51:51 +0000

I did this mash-up and didn’t really know what to do with it, so I put a video together (a bit bad quality) so here it is…enjoy

Cassini’s Division Preview

mon — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:20:14 +0000

Cassini's @ MTV show Kolkata

Hi everybody!

Just a quick blog to let you know that Cassini’s Division (see http://simonhenderson.com/tag/cassinis-division/) my very cool band in India will be releasing their debut album “Ringside View” at the end of September!

There are plans for a SE Asian tour towards the end of the year followed my some shows in the UK and then the USA.

The interest in the band is growing more and more and I am sure the fanbase will increase internationally with this album. (see Rolling Stone article)

I have just completed edits of 1 minute versions so you can go check out the album at http://www.cassinisdivision.com/

Mon

btw…

I just made this video below, it is just some random footage of my journey making this album and something to look at while listening to the album sampler!

enjoy

Mastering Cassini’s Division

mon — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:30:54 +0000

Ahhh! The finish line is in sight, my favourite feeling at the end of a great project.

I am in Islington, London with my good friend Savas, playing “Ringside View” at a serious volume on big boy monitors and mastering the Cassini’s Division masterpiece!

From Monday (when I deliver the album to the label) Cassini’s proper recordings (meaning produced) will be “Out there”!! This is a “Warts and all” recording, as you know me by now, I love REAL sounds, so when you can hear the buzzy amp noise and the snoring sound of Ludo catching his 40 winks at the back of the studio floor, I keep it all in This is NOT music from a box!

Ladies and Gentlemen…I PROUDLY present “Ringside View” by the one and only CASSIN’IS DIVISION

Love it people, enjoy it…listen to it! Hey boys…JAI DADA

btw, here is us drunk in my guest house in Kolkata near the end of the recording (Raul should really do this in the middle of the Cassini’s set…don’t u think?)

Classic pop music

mon — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:08:08 +0000

Thinking big!

Dear diary, well now I am working with Robin Gibb and just loving it!!

Most of the people I have worked with will bear witness that I have always pointed to the BeeGees as the ultimate example of genius pop song creation. It is only more proof to me that the secret is real and the Universe has delivered me into a situation where I would be working with one of them!

Obviously I am so happy and indeed honoured to be involved.

The song is great (of course) created by Robin, Mike Read and RJ (Robins son) for the one and only Peter Andre!

Just got home from a really nice day with Robin and the family in sunny Thame.

So it’s on to vocals this week, then the mix down and upward from here.

Richard with Robin

Happy…Simon

Cecilia at Air Studios

mon — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:42:33 +0000

Yesterday we recorded the first single for Cecelia De Lisle at Air Studios in London.

The song “Addicted” was originally penned by myself and CeCe! Should be finished next week and out there in the very near future.

Watch this space!