P'dice Review from DPRP (Dutch Progressive Rock Page)

I like to think that advertising never sucks me in, as in “I am an individual, not a number”, and probably you all think that way too. Now take a look around your home, how many things are there because you’re familiar with them, a familiarity reinforced through endless advertising. And how many things are there because you thought “that might be good” having seen something that caught the eye on TV or Facebook or wherever.


Such a thing, if he doesn’t mind being called a “thing” is Paul Cusick who I’ll admit first caught my eye with a Facebook advert a couple of years ago along the lines of “If you like Porcupine Tree you’ll like this”, and as his first album was available then as a free download, what did I have to lose? That first album Focal Point was indeed heavily influenced by Mr Wilson’s combo, and by Pink Floyd but showed enough promise for me and a few hundred others to pay up front for the recording of this his second album.


P’dice, short for The Personal Possession Of A Random Prejudice, is a nice progression from Focal Point although the Floyd/PT influence is still there, as you would expect. With drum duties shared between Marco Minneman and Gavin Harrison it is hardly surprising that the PT and Steven Wilson influences are writ large although there is now undoubtedly a Paul Cusick sound developing that is taking its own path.


Opener Everything rocks out and is the most upbeat song on the album, Marco’s pounding rhythm propelling the thing along at a pace, before slowing to end with what will become the trademark modern atmospherics. Tears is a ballad that could be sad but is actually uplifting and puts me in mind of Peter Gabriel, until the guitar solo lifts the thing into stadium rock territory. When It Rains also has the Gabriel influence as it tells its tale of emotional loss and pain. Hindsight is a personal favourite, the three verses of personal regret being sung to a minimal background at the end of a four and a half minute song that has previously built up a cinematic atmosphere of edgy melancholia, quite a clever piece of writing indeed. A dark place is visited on Waiting as Paul and guest singer Sammi Lee sing a plaintive torch ballad about struggling to come to terms with cancer, and its terminal outcome, sending a shiver down my spine.

Paul plays everything apart from the drums, and as can be the case with one-man band style productions there are moments that lack a bit of clarity but overall the sound is well managed and suitably modernistic. Should Paul ever be able to take this on the road it will be worth a visit that’s for sure.

The straightforward lyrics deal with love, regret and pain, and a nagging dissatisfaction at the way we live in the West, be it railing at capitalism, or the lack of spirituality, or bemoaning prejudice, which is where the album title comes in. Paul has made various announcements through his judicious use of social networking media over the past year or so as to the progress of his work throughout its gestation in order to keep us sub payers up to date. All through this process I always assumed that P’dice was simply a working title as it sounds a bit naff if I’m being honest, but this was the title he ran with. A minor gripe I suppose!

Whatever, Paul is a shining example of how to use modern social communication methods to not only promote, but also to self-finance an album release, and new bands and artists could do worse than follow his example, or at the least ask for his advice. The clincher is will I be paying up front for the third album, should he choose to go that route again? On this evidence why not, as Paul shows a growing maturity in his song craft and is forging his own sound, a sound that fans of mid-period Floyd and lovers of the Kscope bands should have no problems getting into. In fact, Paul recently announced that modern independent music distributor Burning Shed will be promoting P’dice, and a more fitting home for Paul’s music would be hard to imagine. All he needs now is a contract from main Burning Shed suppliers Kscope as that label is probably where he would feel most at home, so if anyone at Kscope Towers reads this, do give P’dice a listen!

 Read Review at DPRP.net

P'dice Review from Alternativematter.net

With 2009′s Focal Point, guitarist Paul Cusick set out on a solo career, taking over all song-writing, production and instrumental duties (bar the drumming). That album created sufficient buzz (largely due to Cusick’s canny use of social media) that there was a large enough fan base to fund the follow-up, P’dice. He has also earned the clout to hire 2 of the greatest drummers of recent times, hell, of any time – Gavin Harrison and Marco Minnemann.

P’dice is a concept album. Prejudice gives the album its idiosyncratic name and lyrical inspiration. Cusick himself describes the narrative as “the story of one man as he explores moments of his life, his actions, his thoughts, his decisions, his feelings, his realisations and how they were shaped, often unconsciously, by prejudice”. Lyrically Cusick has come on leaps and bounds from Focal Point. This is confident, assured writing delivered with conviction and, where appropriate, a vitriol to match Roger Waters. The music self-consciously pays homage to influences like Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Steven Wilson, Marillion, and wears those influences like a badge on its tie-dye sleeve. If you’re looking for Crimsonesque forays of experimental progressive music this may not be for you but if you like well-crafted songs performed with consummate skill then read on…

“Everything” kicks off the album in upbeat fashion with a hard-rocking hammer-on/pull-off guitar riff backed with contemporary synth patterns. Lyrics dealing with social division brought about by class and wealth paraphrase Pink Floyd’s “Money” – “Fast car, caviar, bank accounts, trendy bars”. Cusick so self-consciously channels his influences that it’s difficult to use the accusatory, derogatory term “rip-off” – he’s paying homage to these artists and why not? They’re giants of progressive music. His vocal delivery in “God, Paper, Scissors” is pure close-miked Waters pastiche to an electronic backing that wouldn’t have been out of place on Peter Gabriel’s Up. The track morphs into the electro-industrial prog of Porcupine Tree’s Halo. Such familiar devices do not interfere with my enjoyment of Cusick’s music. He does it so well that yes, it’s fun to spot the references, but there is enough melodic diversity and attention to detail in the songwriting and arrangements that P’dice has its own character. Enough of the prog-spotting, on with P’dice on its own merits.

“Borderlines” is an 11+ minute suite dealing with the artificial geographic divisions we build up and how modern technology bridges those divides – lyrics surely inspired by the Arab Spring. Elsewhere prejudice brought on by race and mental illness are explored. “Waiting” deserves specific mention for the vocal by Sammi Lee which forms a duet with Cusick’s ghostly, whispered interjections. Heart-rending music with an interesting production twist which makes it that bit more special. The production techniques, the overarching lyrical concept, the fact that everything bar the drums is played by Paul Cusick himself – these factors complement one another. P’dice is entirely the vision of one man: from composition to mixing to mastering, it is unsullied by outside interference or band democracy and it sounds all the better for it.

Yes, it’s difficult to escape the reference points – for example, those waiting patiently for the next Porcupine Tree or Anathema album will find this a worthy stopgap – but P’dice stands on its own and deserves to be listened to without prejudice.

Read Review at Alternativematter.net 

P'dice Awarded 5 Stars @ Sea Of Tranqulity

Paul (Q) Cusick returns early 2012 with his second album entitled P'dice. In Paul's own words P'dice is "short for prejudice" or like it says in the booklet, "The Personal Possession Of A Random Prejudice".

Prejudice is something we all are guilty of in one way or another, at least enough to inspire one of Britain's finest multi instrumentalists in making this album.

As with the first album Focal Point, Paul has done most of the work himself. Writing the lyrics and music, producing and mixing. In recording the drums Paul has had the help of two of the worlds most famous drummers, Marco Minnemann and Gavin Harrison. Both excellent musicians therefore a perfect fit with Paul.

Producing an album these days is very very difficult. To ensure the making of the album, Paul has asked his fans to help create the album. In helping him they could earn themselves a spot on the album sleeve. Looking at page two of the booklet he has a lot of fans.

On to the music because that is what the review is for. With Focal Point Q surprised us all, with his fine blend of emotional and melodic rock music. Placing Q's music is difficult. At first glance at all the tracks one learns that the musical genre is wide. Rock music in optima forma, you could call it progressive rock, emo rock, melodramatic rock. I don't know. I for one place his music in the progressive zone.

All tracks are blessed with a fine melody lines, and all of the songs are very well crafted. 10 tracks long nearly an hours worth of music. The album kicks off with a track appropriately entitled "Everything", from the start this track is rocking all over the place, instantly grabbing the listener, sitting in his chair saying "I want more" and you'll get more. In the next song Q replaces "rock, paper, scissors" with "God, Paper, Scissors". Thus making his own version of this "game" . Musically the theme reaches out to fellow dramatic songwriters from the past. Lots of influences of the old '70's great rock stars. Next up is the longest track on the album. Emphasising that Paul is very capable writer, "Borderlines" takes us on a trip through musical time and space. Influences of the great music by Vander Graaf Generator or Porcupine Tree or Genesis, just name any of the big stars from the past. In no way does Paul copy what they have done, on the contrary he uses his own sound and writing. The influences are only there in the way of the feel of the songs. Majestic, true music how music is supposed to sound, in my opinion. Not detailing too much, the whole album like I have said already is full of these excellent songs.

Is this P'dice or just my opinion, you tell me. I think it's a tremendously fabulous album. Well Done Paul.

The Dice of Life – P'dice

5 Stars - Gert Hulshof

Read Review On Sea Of Tranquility

Copyright - Copywrong

Copyright  - Copywrong. Would you work 20 days for 3 days pay?

It's been well over a year since I last blogged but I thought I take a break from mixing and hammer my thoughts down. And yes it's that old chestnut "Illegal Downloads", a topic well discussed online, but when I read most of the articles I note the comments are generally posted from two opposing camps with some of them written from pure ignorance. So I thought I'd have my say.

When I wrote my first album I was in full time employment and Focal Point was a bit of fun. As I started to consider writing my second album I lost my real world contract and money was tight. I decided to take the gift of time I'd been given and build my studio and record my second album, p'dice, using money I borrowed from my family and also money that I raised by selling pre-orders to fans that showed faith that I could deliver.

When you lose your job and find there's no work out there, your confidence takes a beating. But the faith shown by family and fans in my music helped me through the dark days.

With time to focus on my music, and dare I say my "music business",  I scoured the interweb looking at business models or ways and means to encourage sales. In all this reading I saw a common statistic that 85% of all music is illegally downloaded. Yes 85%.

So for every 20 songs downloaded only 3 are paid for. OK to put it another way...

Imagine personally working for 20 days and getting paid for 3. How would you feel?

Now my issue with illegal downloaders is that they try to justify their action using the following (and I paraphrase) statements, and I want to address their arguments from my personal point of view.

1: The big record companies had it coming, they were ripping us of, its a level playing field now.

I don't give a monkeys about the plight of the big record companies. Illegal downloads of my songs are theft from me. I didn't rip you off, so why rip me off?

2: I use illegal downloads so I can hear the full tracks and decide whether to buy the music.

All my music can be previewed in full on my website and the various online streaming services.

3: Buying music is just too expensive.

Making music is also very expensive. Equipment, musician hire, manufacturing costs etc and also keeping food on the table while I'm writing and recording for months on end.

Most people who can afford a PC and broadband can afford to buy music. I am well aware that some people may be a bit strapped for cash and occasionally I give my music away for free. All I ask is for a small donation of what you think it is worth and many people do. I receive donations ranging from a few cents/pence up to significantly more than it costs to buy the CD. But every penny counts and it shows appreciation.

You have to remember that giving away my music for free is not actually free to me. I have to cover the costs of the services/bandwidth used via the host website.

4: I've bought more music because of illegal downloads because I've been introduced to more artists.

OK but if you have been introduced to me by way of an illegal download and you have kept a copy of my music on your player and you listen to it for pleasure, have you rewarded me? The use of an MP3 as a marketing tool can be great and I do it myself, but if my music adds any value to your life then you should add value to my life and and support my work.

5: I get illegal downloads and share them with my friends which helps promote the artist

You could send your friends links to my website or my streaming music player. That would be better promotion.

.....,

The list of these type of arguments goes on and on but;

a: I like MP3s and think they are a great marketing tool but it should be down to me to give my MP3s away not some peer to peer site making big bucks from 3rd party advertisers.

b: if my music adds any value whatever to your life then support me directly so I can make more. It really is what I would love to do for you.

c: if my music adds no value to your life, then delete it from your life, and take yourself of my mailing list / fanbase. We are of no benefit to each other.

Anyway I've had my say and I feel better for it. Back to mixing my music.

Silhobbit Review

Like many of you out there, I had never heard of Paul Cusick until I saw the ads on Facebook and the like, and the tone of them intrigued me enough to get a copy of the Focal Point album. And am I glad I did or what? This was one of 2009s hidden gems to be sure.

For those of you who are still unaware of Paul Cusick (or "Q"), he is a British multi-instrumentalist, formerly of bands such as Gabriel, Ripped and Riversea. A couple of years ago, he decided to "go it alone" and record a solo album. And "solo" really is the word, as he plays all the music himself, except for the drums which are handled by Alex Cromarty. Prog loon Andy Edwards also contributed drums to one of the tracks, Touch.

I'd say that the musical style of this album sits between "Progressive Rock" and "Alternate Rock". There are no overly long songs or complex solos here, just an excellent demonstration of songwriting. My favourites are the Porcupine Tree-ish Big Cars and Soul Words, Hold On, the emotional Touch, and final track (except for the GM remix of Touch), the atmospheric Hello.

There's plenty here to interest the fans of bands such as modern Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd, as well as mainstream rock bands.

The Album Is Dead?

I'm starting to think the album is dead.., well slowly dying?

Now don't go all nostalgic on me and talk of days gone by when you used to queue outside music shops waiting for the latest release, because I'm not talking about the history of the album but more the future.

I have given this a lot of thought and decided to write these thoughts down in order to make sense of them. I am drawing upon my personal experiences as a consumer of music and, in some lesser way, my limited experience as a recording artist/producer.

An album is simply a distribution model for releasing songs. If the songs follow a common "Theme" e.g. Pink Floyd - The Wall then it makes sense to buy the album in whichever format you choose, Vinyl, CD, MP3 Flac or even Tape.

But another way is to view an album is as a "Snapshot" in time of an artist/band(s) work. This is the case for the majority of albums. An album quite simply is a collection of separate songs where the only common denominator is the artist/band that wrote it and the time when it was written.

But I remember buying singles (7" and 12"). Why? Because I couldn't afford the album? Sometimes.., but sometimes it was because I didn't like all the songs on the album. And I repeat this buying pattern online. I preview the album and if I like all the songs I buy the CD. If I find there are only a few songs I like then I buy the downloads of the individual tracks.

There are few artists making concept albums now. The advent of pirate downloads has stripped income going into the music industry. Once upon a time big record labels used to invest in their artists, nurturing their talent and encouraging their creativity. With less money big companies are focusing on those few artists that have a ready audience (X-Factor etc). They are not interested in the music but are focused on the return they can get from an artist as a commodity / T-shirts / Ring Tones / Endorsements / Products etc. This is how the music industry is shaping up. They cut the lower rungs of the ladder and concentrate on the top echelon.

Yes there are lots of smaller independent labels, but they only act as part of the distribution chain and do little to market their artists other than cross pollinate between their signed acts. The artist signed to the smaller label may sell a few more CDs by association, but the Indie Label will take their slice of the ever dwindling cake for their work.

So Vinyl’s, CDs, Digital Albums or Digital Singles?

Now I love liner notes and album artwork but these can be distributed online as digital products and are often embedded in MP3s. All that info can be found quickly online at the artist’s website.

But CDs give better quality.... yes they do but that's to do with the lossey format of MP3 files. But FLAC and other better quality lossless files are now available and I distribute my own work in lossless formats.

But Vinyl’s sound better than CDs..., yes they do? And they can't be digitally uploaded. I think that's the primary reason why many people are starting to release on vinyl. It is a product that can't be stolen and distributed illegally online. Add a limited version of an unreleased song, some great artwork and the artist regains the exclusive control of the sale of their work.

I own an iPod and it sounds acceptable. I've added some studio quality full size headphones and it sounds good. I also use a nokia phone which has a music player and there is an option to rip uncompressed music files to my phone. Add the headphones and it sounds very good. What I'm getting at is digital does not sound as bad as some people would have you believe.

Anyone involved in music production will tell you that the problem with the sound of modern music isn't the digital format in which it is delivered, but it is in the treatment and mastering process done to those digital recordings to make them commercially viable in today's world. There is a trade off between "dynamics" and "volume" and unfortunately to exist in today’s broadcast world "volume" usually wins over "dynamics".

As you can see there are arguments for and against the different formats.

So when I look at things wearing my song writers hat then things change: Focal Point was a collection of songs that represented important points in my life. There was a theme and I hope that is carried through in the CD.

Now as time has progressed I am starting to see how my digital sales have gone in the first few months of release. Roughly 50% CD Albums to 50% Digital Albums. But interestingly over 2000 digital singles have also been sold. So digital is strong, and even with an album that I consider follows the "themed" package, buyers are still cherry picking their favourite singles.

Now I have been working away on Album 2 and again it was going to follow a theme and should therefore be an album. I have been writing away with specific concept(s) in mind and tailoring songs to sit in place. Now I am conscious that it will take some time to write the full album, especially when I do it all myself. But I have been approaching my work from an "album" point of view.

But I keep getting new ideas for new songs that do not tie in with the theme of album 2. I quickly record these and set them aside to carry on with Album 2. A linear approach of one album at a time.

Now I'm starting to think about working on one single at a time, released digitally. Then releasing CD/digital album(s) as and when my body of work warrants it. The albums would be either "themed" or "snapshot".

The next "themed" CD/digital album would be released when I have approx 50+ minutes of related songs that capture a theme. Not all themed songs would be officially released as digital downloads but would probably be released on my own website.

"Snapshot" digital singles (those that don't follow the theme of album 2) would be released as and when they are finished. I did this with "Christmas Through Your Eyes". Then a "Snapshot" CD/digital album would be released once there are enough singles to warrant it manufacture.

My point is there is a demand for both singles and albums but why does it have to be the creation of an album that dictates the release of songs? I'm starting to question why I, and many other bands, focus on releasing album after album? Why not release single after single? Perhaps many do and I just don't buy from those circles. I wonder what the pros and cons are?

Remember I started saying the album is just a distribution package, whether it be a "themed" or "snapshot" album. Buying an album based on the strength of one or two songs is a great way to discover new and, many times, better music.

In the end the songs are the contents of that package and they will continue to sell irrespective of whether the album format lives or dies.

Personally I like the album format, but I think market forces and cash flow will see a rise in the dominance of singles.

I'm looking foward to reading your thoughts on this topic.

Review of Focal Point on musicstreetjournal.com

Focal Point

Review by Gary Hill

I like this album a lot. It’s rather moody progressive rock that gets pretty crunchy. It’s very atmospheric. There’s plenty of alteration here and while some of the music borders on metallic, it never crosses into metal. All in all, this is a fine album that should please fans of neo-prog for sure, but I think classic progressive rock fans will dig it, too.

Track by Track Review

Focal Point
Starting with "Chopsticks", this moves out into fusion from there and as it continues it becomes something akin to both Dream Theater and space rock. This is a killer instrumental and it drops to a weird guitar solo section a bit like Malmsteen or Satriani for the outro.

Everblue
A hard rocking cut this comes in with more instrumental work akin to the first cut. As it moves into the vocal section I can still hear some of that Dream Theater thing, but also Porcupine Tree. It’s hard edged, dark and tasty. The cut is taken through a number of changes and is both meaty and quite cool. It gets very intense on the closing segment.

Fade Away
A sharp contrast to the previous one, this is a mellow and very pretty ballad that has a lot of keyboard layers. This definitely reminds me a lot of modern Marillion. I also make out Pink Floyd and even Queenryche and the Beatles at points on this. It’s got a tasty melodic guitar solo.

Soul Words
This one is simply incredible. It alternates between mellower and harder rocking sections and I can make out Pink Floyd and points on this, but that’s only one small piece of the picture. There’s a killer, almost funky groove to a lot of it.

Scared To Dream
Another killer cut, this is majestic and powerful and yet quite melodic and much of it is fairly sedate.

Touch
This is a melodic and pretty instrumental that has a bit of an electronica texture to it.

Senza Tempo
Here we have basically a bluesy hard rocking guitar solo.

Big Cars
This hard rocker reminds me a lot of Hawkwind. It’s definitely crunchy, but also very space rock oriented.

Hold On
A rather dark cut, this is a real rocker that’s quite accessible.

Hello
Sedate and dark, this somehow reminds me of a totally different arrangement on something from Dan Fogelberg. It doesn’t sound anything like Fogelberg in terms of the way the track is done, but the vocal hook and the lyrics make me think of someone like him. It’s a cool song and seems an intriguing contrast.

Touch (GM Mix)
Here’s a different mix of the track that showed up earlier in the set. It’s cool and quite ambient.