9.00 am. Last night, I completed watching a film documentary on the recently departed blues singer and guitarist B B King, entitled The life of Riley (2012). In order to promote his recordings (which might otherwise have sunk without a trace), he would perform his music 365 days a year. Now that’s how you generate ‘impact’, so called.

After scrutinising incoming mail and dealing with purchase admin, I devoted the morning to a range of interrelated projects (the book, a conference, a grant application, and the developing pre- and post-industrial soundscape project). They’ve a common core of preoccupations: sound, recording, landscape, supernaturalism, history, and memory. Henceforth, the projects need to consciously interpenetrate; they must each be a discrete manifestation of the unifying concept. Back to my notebooks:

1.30 pm. I reviewed the master made of the latest composition. The main vocal line needed a little more sparkle and presence. It’s surprising what you hear when you’ve given your ear a rest. 2.00 pm. I set out a framework for the project cluster and initiated contact with several agencies related to such. When one first describes a proposal to someone else, often new ideas occur and existing ones are immediately clarified. Which is why we should talk about our work to others, as a matter of habit. Not in a self-regarding way, but in order to test the clarity, cogency, and persuasiveness of our ideas. Likewise, we should be available to listen to others talk about theirs.

7.15 pm. A further review of the new composition, tweaking voice tracks within 1dB of the current settings. They were small but significant adjustments that simultaneously drew together and more clearly separated the tracks:

9.15 pm. Ironing a plenty to be dispatched. I watched my Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin live at Montreux Jazz Festival DVD to ease the tedium.