f4
I
t’s all go here, quite liter - ally. Following in the foot- steps of many other organ- isations from the BBC on down, we’re getting the hell out of this grubby, ridiculously expensive and soon to be Olympics-blighted capital city and heading out to the alto- gether more pleasant sur- roundings of what gets called “the regions”. Round about the time you read this we’re relocating the fRoots bunker from North London to a rather nice location on a hill overlooking Bristol.
As many of you know, we first started this magazine
out in West Surrey but by the time it had grown into a monthly and onto the national news stands, it had become apparent that there was little choice but to be in London. In those pre-desktop publishing days we were pasting physical artwork up on boards – initially with something delightfully called Cow Gum, then, after some years of lining our lungs with toxic Spraymount, we finally got to grips with hand waxers (no, not that kind!). We found that we needed to be within quick bike courier distance of record labels and advertising agencies who always wanted to send flat art- work or film at the last minute. So we moved the operation up to N4 in 1988, somewhat resigned to being stuck here for good. But little did we know when we purchased our first Apple Mac in 1990 (a IIcx, brain the size of a pea which – along with a mono monitor, printer and scanner, the earliest version of Quark XPress and a few fonts – set us back the best part of thirty grand!) that it would herald the beginning of a new world.
Technology surely moves on (and mercifully its price tag fell!). Physical artwork vanished ages ago. Now, everything moves by broadband and stays digital until ink hits page. And commuting became an expensive and stressful chore for some of our staff: half are already dispersed around the land because this technology allows it. Conventional offices are becoming a relic of the past: broadband and modern telecommunications now mean that people can work more efficiently in their preferred locations and environments, all connected together instantly, digitally and much more effi- ciently. It’s time for fRoots to take another leap forward.
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From my personal point of view it’s also a great comple- tion of a circle. I started as a performer in Bristol folk and blues clubs in the 1960s. We started the Village Thing label there in 1970, just a few doors away on the same Regency crescent from where fRoots will shortly resettle. Of course, in those days I could never have imagined that I could, if I so desired, be in central London in little over a hundred minutes for less than half the cost of driving, or that – as the M4 had not yet been completed – driving there could be done in two hours. So I suspect I’ll not be missing out on any of the important bits of the London live music scene. From here on it’s very definitely the best of both worlds.
Enjoy your summer double issue and the fRoots 36 compilation. Our next issue will be along as usual in mid- September, probably with a broad grin on its face.
Ian Anderson
Photo: Judith Burrows
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