It was lovely to be back in my old haunt of North London last week as part of a new project I'm working on.
​
This is an exciting new creative direction I'm taking and I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you soon.

Watch this space!

It's rare, in these home studio via Zoom times, to be invited into the 'real' studios these days.

So when it happens, I document it.

That's why I've made this little slideshow from my day out in Dublin city in Screenscene Post, recording voice for KPMG from a couple of weeks ago. I often forget to take pictures when I'm doing the home studio recordings. But I always remember to snap my in-person live sessions. 

Real studios and real people. You just can't beat 'em!

The voice-over world is a mixed bag at the moment - an industry that has seen countless changes over the last three years in particular, with those changes seeming to ramp up in speed and intensity almost daily.
It's keep up or get left behind time!
Pivot or pass out.
Stick or twist.

So, with all this relentless chopping and changing going on, it's refreshing when long-term clients stay steady, like my work for Cow and Gate Ireland, a client I've been representing on their radio and television commercials in Ireland since 2015.
I was naturally delighted when they chose me again for their 2023 round of adverts across the country.
Equally, I was delighted - albeit a little surprised - when Des Kelly Interiors, kings of the hard sell, got in touch to get me on board for their latest commercial campaign, a dreamy, whimsical advert that showcases their new mattresses... ah, just thinking about it now is sending me into a pleasant daze....

Sorry, sorry, nearly drifted off there.
Between the old and the new, in this line of work you can often be taken by surprise by which way the path turns.
In any case, my recent commercial work is very on brand for my current stage of life - between babies and beds, it doesn't take much to get me into character for the reads. Now, a nice nap after a turbulent night with the little one seems just the ticket.

May your week ahead be a restful one.

Until next time,

toodles!

News of my AI shenanigans have hit the Irish shores, in the typical island way of coming around to things a little bit behind everything else.
The News of the World and the Sunday World were first to break it on the Emerald Isle, with the Independent, RTE's Ray D'Arcy, and Declan Meehan at East Coast FM following swiftly after.

You can listen to me and Ray chatting here.

And here, I chat to Níall of TNOTW.

It's a story that keeps on rolling. And there's more on that very soon... watch this space.

HaPPE Earth is a brilliant new initiative by sisters Lisa O'Riordan and Mary O'Riordan tackling the problem of plastic waste in healthcare settings - something that came into sharp focus during the pandemic. These ladies saw that problem and swiftly got to work on finding a solution to it.

So, when they asked me to voice their promotional video for their company I was delighted to get involved with such an inspirational pair.

It's a very worthy project, I'm sure you'll agree. And working on such things - that are good for us, and the planet - make me haPPE.
​

America's tech goddess Kim Komando invited me onto her show to talk about my run-in with #AI as a voice actor, Artificial Intelligence technology as the Gutenberg Press of our time, and what my future holds now.

In short, I'm open to offers!

Thanks for the chat, Kim.

#gokomando

Hi there.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this newsletter laying out the full story on my brush with AI 'theft.' At that point - I thought I'd sort of come to the end of the road with what I could do with the whole thing since I'd signed that dreaded Ursula-esque life 'n' soul crushing contract.

This is turning out to be quite the never-ending story however, as since then a number of international media outlets have taken an interest in it. The whole question of AI, and what it means for the future of humans and human endeavour and creation in our society is a very hot topic right now. So much so that places like The Washington Post and Bloomberg have written about it. Since these articles went live, voice-overs and journalists from around the world have been getting in touch - and tech queen Kim Komando invited me onto her show to talk about my experience (that will be out next week, and will find its way promptly into my next newsletter you'll be very glad to hear!).

Across all industries - well beyond the bubble of voice acting - people are paying attention to what has happened to me and other voice artists who've found themselves in similar situations, like Mike Cooper and Bev Standing. Although this appears to be a discussion about voice-over artists - a niche profession to put it lightly - what it's really about is humanity vs the machine, and the very natural worries that arise when one lives through the rapid development of technology in real time.

During our interview, Kim Komando likened this AI surge to the invention of the Gutenberg press and the powerful cultural shift that took place as a result. AI will - and already is - having huge implications on our society at a pace of change that we've never known before, and across multiple disciplines.

This leaves many of us wondering - what does the future of humanity hold?
If AI is left to run unchecked, without any legal boundaries in place, will it eventually cancel out the work of creatives worldwide? And if art helps to form human society, what sort of a future are we facing into when all of the 'creativity' we encounter may soon be but a shadow of what humans once envisioned and made real? At its extreme end, the next stage of our society could be one devoid of freshness, of the inspired 'new', and of spirit, magic, and soul. 

Ultimately, we still have the power to decide what we wish to step into and create. And I for one, will not let that sort of future come to pass. Not on my watch. 

If you still fancy the human touch, You know what to do.