Kit Marsden // Musician

Tag: news

  • Your Sibelius Toolkit At Benslow Music Postponed

    Your Sibelius Toolkit At Benslow Music Postponed

    Kit Marsden

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    Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, I am very sorry to have to announce that my Avid Sibelius workshop at Benslow Music entitled Your Sibelius Toolkit scheduled for June has been postponed, as the Benslow Music centre will remain closed until at least the end of June this year in line with current government and expert advice.

    The staff at Benslow have been fantastic in supporting their tutors during this difficult and uncertain period. Of course we are all extremely disappointed to have to make this announcement, but the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved has the be the number one concern right now.

    I am currently in discussions with Benslow Music to try and find alternative ways to deliver this course, so please watch this space if that is something you are interested in, and I’ll try to have more updates available on that soon.

    As the situation changes very rapidly, all my postponements, rearrangements and cancellations are being updated regularly on the Calendar page.

  • 90s Jam Launches January 2020

    90s Jam Launches January 2020

    Kit Marsden

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    For the last two years, I have run and MDed Ultra 90s Jam – a spin-off lineup of the PX Productions’ hugely popular Ultra ’90s dance music show, which recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary.

    '90s Jam

    As of the start of this year, Ultra ’90s Jam is becoming 90s Jam – still based on the tried-and-tested Ultra ’90s concept, but now a separate show in its own right – featuring former star of BBC’s The Voice Jade Mayjean on lead vocals.

    I consider myself extremely privileged to have been a part of the PX Productions family over the last ten years, so to have been given the reigns of my own project by them is something I value hugely. We have been hard at work over the last few months designing new logos and branding, creating a brand new Facebook page for the new show, and an all-new website which will go live soon. We’ve got exciting new ideas for the coming year – including (but not limited to!) new arrangements and songs to add to the show, as we seek to bring you even more of the classic ’90s club and dance tunes we all love than ever before – and we can’t wait to get started.

  • New Studio Open For Business

    New Studio Open For Business

    Kit Marsden

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    You may have noticed that the Studio page of this site has been down for the last couple of months – with just a placeholder image teaser and no information… I was hoping to have everything completed before now. But things get in the way! However, the last few months have seen some pretty radical changes in my little studio space, and I am so happy with how it’s all coming together that I am very excited to reveal the new look to you all.

    My workspace has expanded, and now fills a little alcove one side of the chimney breast. I have a wonderful new desk to sit and work at; this desk was custom-built for recording studios by my friend and colleague (another Ultra ’90s drummer!) Curtis Aaron, with built-in racking for studio rack gear and a large surface area to work on. The addition of an external GPU has allowed me to move to a three screen setup when working at the computer, giving me extra flexibility for working on studio projects. And the mix position has been treated with acoustic sound absorbers and bass trapping (also made by Curtis) to help me to get the best-sounding mixes possible.

  • The Pisces Rising At Summer In The City

    Kit Marsden

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    I am delighted to announce that I’ll be playing percussion in a live orchestral performance for The Pisces Rising – a popular YouTube channel which re-orchestrates well-known theme tunes into large, epic-sounding masterpieces – at this year’s Summer In The City YouTube festival at the ExCel in London.

    The performance will be on the main stage at half-past-five this Saturday, 11th August.

    The Pisces Rising at Summer In The City
  • Lack Of Updates

    Lack Of Updates

    Kit Marsden

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    I don’t generally make ‘New Years resolutions’ – but one thing I did want to do as of the start of this year was to update this page more, and be more active here. So far, not so good…!

    So what has been going on? Lots of work with Sistema in various local schools, which I am still enjoying and finding really rewarding. And lots of gigs with Ultra ’90s – in all it’s various flavours (Original, Fresh and Jam), both on drums/percussion and as a keys player and MD.

    And in between all of that, we have had the eleventh annual Keyboard Camp this year, just one week ago. (More on that in a later post…) And I have been trying to get my studio setup and fully functional at my new house!

    Beginnings of the new studio
    Beginnings of the new studio

    Having moved house at the end of summer last year, it has taken a little while to move all my gear across and start to get myself familiar with the new studio space. The big plan for this year is to get my recording work properly up-and-running, so I am going to try and start pushing that online a little more as I get everything finalised.

  • Ten Years, No Day Job

    Ten Years, No Day Job

    Kit Marsden

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    March 2017 is something of a landmark for me, so here is a short piece of writing (and a few old pictures) all about it.

    Cardiem live on BBC Radio Norfolk, 2009
    Cardiem live on BBC Radio Norfolk, 2009.

    It was back in March 2007 that I officially declared myself ‘a professional musician’. Nothing materially changed for having said it, of course – I was still doing one gig every few months, teaching two or three private students, and earning very little – but it meant something to have said it, to have ‘made it official’. It was a line in the sand.

    'Loading' the van – on tour with Axel Loughrey, 2010
    ‘Loading’ the van – on tour with Axel Loughrey, 2010.

    I registered myself officially self-employed not long later (although it would be another couple of years before I was earning enough for that to have any real tax implications), and I joined the Musicians’ Union. And I resolved not to give in to any of the pressures to get a ‘real job’ (even just while I was building up my income from music).

    In the ten years since then, I have gone from intermittent gigs and two or three students to having a thriving business gigging, recording, teaching, writing and arranging music (and – yes – doing actual tax returns).

  • Production Rehearsals With Ultra ’90s

    Kit Marsden

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    I have played drums for Ultra ’90s almost since the show’s inception in 2008 – and more recently, I have played percussion with the new Ultra ’90s Fresh lineup as well. However, with the popularity of Ultra ’90s expanding quicker than ever, I am very excited to have been offered the chance to take on a new role, leading yet another lineup as an MD, keys player and vocalist.

    So despite playing hundreds of Ultra ’90s gigs on drums, I am spending four days this week at Thatspace in Rochdale with Chris and Kelly from PX Productions, relearning the set on keys and programming my synth rig with the correct sounds and samples – plus developing new skills, including working in Chamsys to patch and programme lights, and rapping!

    Synths with Ultra '90s
    For The Gear Nerds… Synth rig With Ultra ’90s: Nord Stage2, Nord Wave, And Moog Little Phatty

    The rehearsals are long days – there is a lot to get through in a ninety-minute show packed with high-energy ’90s dance classics – but I am relishing the chance to push myself to be better and become and more versatile, more well-rounded musician with a plethora of skills to offer.

    I will still being gigging with Ultra ’90s and Ultra ’90s Fresh as a drummer and percussionist this coming year as well, but I am enjoying seeing the show from a new angle, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to gig a set I know well in a totally different way.

  • Jamie Roe Band CDs Arrive

    Jamie Roe Band CDs Arrive

    Kit Marsden

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    The long-awaited hard copies of this spring’s Jamie Roe Band EP, Reach For The Tide, have finally landed!  Contact Jamie through the website to order your copy now.

    Reach For The Tide – Jamie Roe Band
    Reach For The Tide – Jamie Roe Band

    Unsure? Listen to a track from the EP now:

  • Sistema Europe Summer School In Milan

    Kit Marsden

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    I am delighted to have been chosen to be one one of the tutors going to this year’s Sistema Europe Summer Camp, which is being held in Milan, Italy; a colleague from Sistema in Norwich and I will be going with a delegation from Sistema England, to work for eight days with students and other tutors from Sistema-inpired projects based across Europe.

    This is a very exciting opportunity for me to work with some fantastic music professionals and to learn from them – and to be more involved with the Sistema movement as a whole, to just here in Norwich but throughout Europe.

    Keep checking back here after 21st August for more updates on my time working with the Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra in Italy, and all the wonderful activities we get up to!

  • Carrera Drums Announcement

    Carrera Drums Announcement

    Kit Marsden

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    As most people will know, I have been a proud ambassador for Carrera Drums since the start of 2011, and have been honoured to play their drums and be involved with the company for the past four years.  Everywhere I go – on live shows and in recording studios – I get compliments on my Carrera gear from artists, from other musicians, and from engineers and producers.

    Sadly, however, Carrera Drums is winding up in spring of this year, and will cease trading as of the end of March.  This is the official announcement from the Carrera Drums website:

    It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that Carrera Drums will stop trading as of the 31st March 2015.

    Dave Carrera has fought serious health issues over the last 3 years which have now deteriorated to such a level that he has decided to focus on attempting to recover or stabilise his condition which, even with good extraction, a dusty workshop hinders.

    We have all had fun making some fine instruments for some of the finest drummers active today and want to thank everyone for there support, kindness and love over the last 5+ years.

    Any works currently in progress will be completed and shipped before end of March 2015 and customers have been notified.

Kit Marsden // Musician