I was a bit late to the party listening to The Smile, despite being a HUGE Radiohead fan, so I only heard their glorious debut album “A Light For Attracting Attention” a couple of weeks ago. “Free In The Knowledge” leapt out at my ears and I just had to film this one-take performance.

This is the first in a regular segment called “Take a sad song and make it sadder” – comment with your suggestions for sad songs I can tackle next! xo

Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

I’ve been livestreaming my gigs on the internet since 2013, and I’m not stopping now! This video is for anyone who wants to improve the quality of their livestreams by utilising Logic Pro X and OBS, and for music fans interested in the whys and wherefores of online gigging.

In this video, I talk through the equipment I use for my regular livestreams, why I started them so long ago and why I’ll keep doing them even though in-person shows are possible again. I also offer hard-won advice on how to hold your nerve during the performance, and a couple of things that, if avoided, will massive improve the quality of your performance.

Tech in brief: I send audio into Logic through my Focusrite Clarett interface, route it out to an aggregate device created using Blackhole, and then into OBS, which sends audio and video through to YouTube Studio. Alex Bayly’s step by step guide made this possible – watch here if you want to do the same thing (and check out his music, too!).

Full list of gear I mentioned (with some affiliate links)

Focusrite Clarett audio interface
(the Scarlett is also excellent)

Elgato Camlink 4K

Shure SM7B vocal mic
(I also use a Shure SM58 for my loop vocals)

Boss RC30 loop pedal
Sennheiser SE215 in-ear headphones

Godox SL-60W key light
Neewer 10.6 inch round light

I play my Reverend Double Agent OG guitar through a Fender Princeton amp with a Shure E906 mic recording it, plugged back into the Clarett via an XLR cable.

Find my full video gear list here.

If you enjoyed what you watched / read, I make music too! Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

Have a lovely day! xo

People often ask me what gear I use to make my videos, so I’ll keep this post up to date to save us time!

Thanks for asking – but please know that in terms of finding equipment for your projects, my rule of thumb is to decide on a budget and find something that works within that. I started off filming bands on a Handycam bought on eBay, and I worked up from there. I’ve been doing this for 20+ years now, and now own some very nice pieces of equipment, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get good results.

Your ideas are the most valuable part of anything you make – so just make stuff.

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy the item (or any other item in the same web session) I will receive a small percentage from the sale, but you won’t be charged any extra. So, by clicking my links you are directly supporting my future music and videos – thank you. Please do shop around, though!!

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Cameras

• Main camera: Canon R6
  (I also highly recommend the Canon 80D or similar if you’re on a budget)

• Second / livestreaming camera: Sony AX700
  
• Go Pro Hero 9 Black waterproof action cam

• DJI Mini 2 drone – incredible little thing! The new DJI Mini 3 Pro looks amazing too, but remains on my wishlist due to £££!

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Tripods

• Manfrotto BeFree travel tripod – I love this because it goes really tall and is very steady, unlike most smaller / lighter tripods. I use it all the time in my studio, not just for travel.

• PGYTECH Mantispod Pro mini tripod – amazing little thing! Holds the R6, but would work even better with a lighter camera or phone (attachment included).
  
  
• Joby Gorillapod – the classic!

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Lenses

The three lenses I use for video

• Sigma 24mm f/1.4 ART

• Canon RF 35mm f/1.8

• Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 – great for vlogging

If I ever had £2000+ lying about I’d love the Canon 15-35mm RF lens but…yeah right!

Lenses I already owned from my event photography days

• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4

• Canon 85mm f/1.8

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Audio

Audio is more important than picture quality – I mean it!

• Rode VideoMic Pro+
  (the Rode VideoMic is ace too if on a budget)

• Tascam DR-10 portable recorder – I have trust issues with radio mics but many people use them with no issue, and there are some really affordable options these days. I prefer to use the Tascam, though, and plug in the Rode Lavalier II (though the Tascam comes with its own lav mic which is fine but not great). The Rode Lavalier Go is also an excellent wired lavalier mic.

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Lighting

I ignored lighting for years, assuming it was really difficult and really expensive. It’s actually not hard to do a decent job, just search for “three point lighting tutorial” on YouTube or Skillshare!

• Godox SL-60W (my “posh” light, that I use as the main / key light) – there is a “silent” Godox ML-60 now which is better for video (though more expensive), though honestly I don’t pick up noise off this as I make sure my microphone is away from the camera on a stand.
  
  
• Smallrig RA-D55 Parabolic Softbox – goes perfectly with the Godox, diffuses the light and is compact, unlike this Andoer Godox SB-UE 80cm softbox I had originally which would be great for larger spaces.

• Neewer Metal 10.6 inches Round Bi-Color LED Video Light – so flat and easy to use! I’d happily use this as my only key light if I didn’t already own the Godox.

• IVISII G2 Pocket RGB Video Light – small, light, great colours – I find this super useful.
  

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Bits and bobs

• Glidegear Teleprompter / autocue – takes a while to get used to, but makes shooting scripted videos SO much easier!
  

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THANK YOU for visiting my website! I’m Laura Kidd, a music producer, songwriter and podcaster based in Bristol, UK. It’s great to meet you.

+ Get your copy of my album “Exotic Monsters” and browse my back catalogue right here.

+ Get two free songs immediately when you sign up for thoughtful letters about art and music.

+ Watch my weekly YouTube videos here and browse episodes of my music podcast “Attention Engineer” here.

+ You can also follow me around the web, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Have a lovely day xo

Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” is top of the UK singles chart for the second week in a row, 37 years after release! After appearing as Max’s saviour song in “Stranger Things Season 4”, the song is reaching a whole new audience, and I’m delighted to see it happening.

In this video I talk about how and why to “be more Kate Bush”.

The music in this video is the instrumental version of my song “Out Of The Blue”.
Listen here
Get the album here

I mention my friend Marc Burrows’ article “Muso Snobs Don’t Own Kate Bush” – read that here

Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.

My second She Makes War album “Little Battles” just turned 10, so I celebrated with an online gig on 27th April 2022, welcoming you into the new Launchpad for the first time!

Here are three songs from the show: Magpie Heart,. Shields And Daggers and In This Boat.

NEXT:

+ Get studio quality recordings of the full gig here for a limited time, pay what you want/can

+ I’m releasing “Little Battles” plus my debut album “Disarm” on limited edition vinyl for the first time this year, along with CDs and rarities collections

+ Watch the full livestream here

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