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Our Contributors and Reviewers
This section will be an index of many of our reviewers and regular contributors. There will be links ot reviewers pages, with some background to the reviewer, a list of some of their reviews or articles and probably with some 'top ten' or 'Desert Island Disc' selections from this reviewer.
Alex Monaghan
Chris Mackenzie
Hector Christie
Geordie McIntyre
Mel Howley
Corrine Male
Phil Thomas
Dai Woosman
Iain McQueen
Debbie Cortisas
Jim Bainbridge
Roy Harris
... and more
Reviews - recordings
These should be around 250 words maximum and should always include the name of the recording company and the catalogue number. We'll actually commission the review and send out the CD in question. We don't review unsolicited demo tapes or CDs without final print (white albums); one reason for this is the sheer volume of recordings sent to us, about 20 per week. We don't want track-by-track accounts, although mention of the odd very good (or very bad) track is fine, provided there's an explanation of why it's good or bad. We want to hear overall impressions of the recording, including things like the quality of the album notes. We need the album put in context, too, but that shouldn't involve being told more about the artist than about the actual work itself. Lastly, if fulsome praise is deserved it should obviously be given - although outright condemnation is a bit more dodgy...
Reviews - live events
Nowadays, there are potentially huge numbers of live events to review, including entire festivals. We simply can't cover many of them, for space reasons. (Also, before anybody writes a live event review, it's always worth checking with us that somebody else isn't already doing it). Rather than run-of-the-mill events, however good, we'd prefer to hear about the unusual: the concert with an exotic mix of performers, the unexpected venue, the long-awaited Benefit Night and so on. (We'll still do the 'ordinary' gigs when we can, though). Scene-setting is vital for keeping up the interest - what sort of a crowd was there, the atmosphere, the organization, the highs and lows - all the elements, in short, that make for something truly memorable. Around 650 words would be the maximum.
Features
A feature should be 2000 words maximum, and preferably less. It could be an interview with a performer (but preferably not in a question-and-answer format), an historical piece, an analysis of a player's style (favourite guitar tunings etc), an issue (lack of teaching of traditional music in schools etc) or whatever. Before starting on a feature, it's best to contact us to see if we're interested: it could be a great idea, except that something similar has been done lately. Or, it might be fine in principle but somehow just doesn't feel 'right' for us. We don't like turning people down, but we have to hold to our vision of what LT is about - and we hope that if anybody's knocked back, it won't stop them trying again! As for style, we want clear, accessible writing which is informative but not ponderous. For that reason, we don't want academic-style footnotes or references.
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