Reuben Couzins Electronic Press Kit (SHR4C007R~002) 24101039
Genre: Indie / folk / hiphop
Based in: London / Leeds
Instagram: @reubencouzins
Reuben Couzins is a London and Leeds based 20 year old artist/producer with a passion for songwriting and guitar playing. Born in Hackney and brought up on the sounds of bands from the British invasion like the Beatles and the Kinks, classic post punk bands like Talking heads, Joy division and the Cure and bands that merge dance and hip-hop beats with traditional indie rock like Cornershop and the stone roses. He uses his knowledge of these greats to blend catchy melodies over familiar guitar riffs with strong grooves and beats to tell stories of personal experiences linked to coming of age, facing life changes and dealing with the challenges of loss.
Quarry Hill to Chapel Town -Is a stripped back song about the struggles of moving from home in london to university in leeds and his relationship with his brother
His experiences have varied from being designated campfire guitarist playing traditional folk songs harmonised with fellow campers, being a guitarist in a house band running open mic nights in a pub to performing more formal gigs, showcasing young talent including stoke newington old church.
His ambitions are to record and perform original songs accompanied by a band in loved indie venues across Leeds and London to gather a following as a recording and performing artist in the indie folk scene and to perform on the festival circuit.
Reubens first love is playing and writing with an acoustic guitar, his approach to recording also involoves using electric guitars, effects,synthesizers and samples.
His ability to write record and produce tracks has proven to make songs that combine a multitude of genres and attract a multitude of people.
Supporting Commentary
The purpose of my EPK is to communicate who I am as a musician in a slightly more developed way than say an Instagram bio would. This in turn would be more useful to send to professional establishments and players in the industry like record labels, promoters, potential managers etc. Furthermore, in creating the EPK it would help me develop and understand an image as well as help establish what it is I’m setting out to do.
A brief description of my musical upbringing is there as I feel it translates in what I create and gives context to my musical identity. I then go on to talk about which elements of these influences are combined to create my sound which again helps give context to my sound. I then write about themes in my lyrics and its autobiographical tone to give insight into my writing style and its meaning. Then an example of this is linked in the track “Quarry Hill to Chapel Town” to give a taste of what I do in audio form. My experiences are then mentioned from informal to more formal events. This outlines what I have done and so demonstrates what I am already capable of doing.
Reflecting on what’s included in my EPK, there’s several points that could be considered weak. Minimal experience in working and performing in a band, only some influences mentioned are apparent in given song example. Only one song is included, so there’s no demonstration of breadth and variety, or for that matter 2 songs to compare. There are only ideas of what I am and no tangible evidence of it due to a lack of experience. There are no testimonials from official magazines or blogs. I also have no released music so naturally I am not out there for people to discover me. This means the description of me and my music isn’t as concise as it could be and so could prove to be too vague for potential readers and audiences.
The branding and ethos of me as an artist at this point is linked to personal story telling and nature so an image of me playing an acoustic guitar in a forest campsite seems fitting. The ethos is focused more on a do-it-yourself informal attitude than a well refined fully realised image just yet. I feel the imagery and branding will become clearer once my sound becomes clearer and there’s more of it. The do-it-yourself ethos is prevalent in the genres I’m influenced buy such as post punk, hip hop and indie as appose to classical music or manufactured pop sounds churned out by record label giants. My music is more likely to be noticed by smaller indie record labels thus meaning my EPK should appeal to these labels. The digital presence of social media is far greater than an EPK would be as its used to communicate with a wider audience and fan base rather than industry professionals, therefore my EPK will be used to show people within the industry.
My audience is recording label scouts. I’m specifically interested in attracting people working at smaller independent labels, this. One of the biggest independent labels is Rough Trade, they have been prolific in signing era defining indie greats such as The Libertines and The Strokes. Rough trade is “inspired by City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco which encouraged customers to hang out as much as they did to buy” this emphasises that the label has an inclusive atmosphere which I aim to mirror in my EPK through descriptions of my music and the contents of my lyrics. Most of these independent record labels are based in London so specifying that I am semi based in London which is helpful. My audience would also be people passionate about indie guitar music with a nostalgia for band music through the decades from the British invasion to Britpop. After doing research it’s clear that the demographic of people using TikTok sounds of similar genres are in the age bracket of 16-25. This might be due to being brought up on their parent’s soundtracks and likes much like me. This also means the age bracket of 40-60 might be interested as it shares similarities with music from their teenage hood, this was apparent in a gig that I went to in Oporto Leeds where upcoming indie band the North had an audience from both these age brackets.
Standard practice in the field of today’s indie bands includes short snappy promotional videos playing memorable parts of their songs to catch the increasingly short attention span of todays music enjoyers. Bands like the North do this with videos in idyllic settings to create eye-catching images and videos. These are mainly posted on Instagram and TikTok. Other bands like Man/Woman/Chainsaw collaborate with painting and drawing artists and use their own artwork as album covers and the backdrop to promotional photos and videos. This approach of using artwork is one I prefer as I feel an “arty” image is favoured more by smaller indie record labels. Although I could combine a mixture of promotional videos and art to promote myself. Both bands have music released on streaming platforms however on the contrary, other bands have near no music released but a strong online presence to create anticipation. This has been working for bands like Keo that have had one single released but a sold-out tour which proves this method can work in promoting.
My EPK has potential to attract revenue through being booked for gigs or through being signed to a label. The costs of the EPK could involve paying a photographer in the future when updating it. According to I shoot show a 2-hour shoot could cost up to £200((Owyoung, 2023)) Thankfully my artist name isn’t taken and so I can use the Instagram domain @reubencouzins. Once I release music, I need to make sure I get royalties and payments by using copyright collectives like PRS.
I analysed the music that I’m making and thought about what has influenced it to help paint a picture and give context to my creations. When discussing in seminars someone stated that “Your influences seem to have come from another generation, maybe it would be good to mention more influences that are new and currently releasing music” this would make it easier for people to understand what style my music is and where it fits in today’s music scene thought about this but have decided no not include these influences to avoid comparisons with current musicians. I have also considered where I might play like around a campfire or in nature and in turn the image I want to have, so decided on using pictures that give a do it yourself feel. Another person in a seminar said that “although the candid do-it-yourself impression gives an authentic feel, it would be good to create more manufactured professional image that has a candid feel but is yet seamlessly professional and clearer” I then located an image that was more professional that still has that candid feel. After clicking on my Instagram through my EPK someone in a seminar said “you wouldn’t even know you’re a musician” so in future I will need to make this far more apparent by putting my job description as musician in my bio, uploading clips of my music and promoting gigs that I have been booked for. I could also create a separate Instagram account for my music. Talking to somebody else in a seminar, they said “your writing style is self-deprecating as it is focusing on your inabilities instead of your abilities.” Using this feedback I removed terms like “although Reuben is better at playing guitar” with terms like “Reubens first love is playing the acoustic guitar” I also changed “he aims to use” to “he uses” this helped give a more promotional tone.
I have researched what record labels are in the given genre I have labelled my music as and have understood the ethos surrounding these labels to try and implement and communicate the same ethos in my EPK. Aswell as this I have researched what current bands in the same realm are doing in terms of their promotion and marketing to gauge what is standard in the scene. Using this has helped me understand how to commercialise an image.
Moving forward I think it’s important to realise what is needed and what is missing from my EPK. This is a bare EPK due to a lack of experiences, but I have understood what the gaps are and what I need to do make it better. The EPK has given me the ability to organise my thoughts and help me and others understand who I am as an artist. In the EPK I am missing testimonials, which is inevitable as I have had no music released and no gigs performed.Therefore, moving forward its important I create and release more music that fits the image and genre I have created and to keep updating my EPK with this information to keep making it stronger.This information can be photos and videos from these gigs through paying for proffesional photography. Ultimately, it’s inevitable that at the beginning of my career my EPK will have less to talk about but making it for me has been about understanding who I am what I offer and how I can monetise my practice.
Bibliography
Owyoung, T. (2023). The Music Photography Rates & Pricing Spreadsheet. [online] ishootshows.com. Available at: https://ishootshows.com/music-photography-rates-pricing-spreadsheet/.
