In January 2008 I started 5:4, a blog devoted to the most interesting, innovative and impressive contemporary and avant-garde music of our time. It all began in a pretty understated way with this article, simply sharing some recent sounds that had been catching my ear.

Since then, the blog has grown enormously, both in terms of the scope of my coverage and readership. I've written over 800 articles, including reviews of concerts and new releases, comprehensive critiques of new works, conversations with composers and performers, thematic explorations of new music, podcasts and mix tapes, retrospectives of composers and specific works/albums, and annual lists of the best music of the year.

A decade on, 5:4 is one of the very few websites committed to in-depth coverage and critique of new music. Alex Ross – music critic and author of The Rest Is Noise – has described the blog as "a powerful and uncompromising voice in the international new-music world". My articles have been re-published in print periodicals, and are regularly quoted and cited in academic papers, articles, essays, and programme notes. The blog has therefore come to occupy a rare and important position in the discussion and outreach of contemporary music.

Personally speaking, 5:4 is now one of the most significant parts of my musical life, sitting equally alongside my activities as a composer and researcher. I love writing it; love the opportunity to introduce and explore new and unfamiliar music to a much wider audience; love being able to discover and share landmarks and pointers that help navigate a coherent way through new works; love being able to demonstrate how exciting and ground-breaking contemporary music can be, and how it can transform our understanding and preconceptions of the art.

Writing and maintaining 5:4 requires a lot of time and energy. A typical article takes anywhere from a couple of hours to a full day or more. I regard such a considered approach as this to be vital for a meaningful engagement with music. As a composer myself, I know just how much goes into the creation of even a single bar or a few seconds of sound. It deserves and needs respect and attention.

5:4 is free to read. There's no paywall, no charges for reading certain articles, and this is how I want it to remain. And I want to take the blog much further, review a wider range of concerts and releases, record long-form dialogues with many more composers and performers, make in-depth explorations of individual pieces and albums, and create more podcasts. All of these things will expand further the contribution 5:4 makes to the discussion and understanding of contemporary music.

To do this, I need your help. With even a small donation each month, I'll be able to bring a lot more time and ambition to the blog, and ultimately explore and discuss an even greater range of music in even more depth. So if you have found 5:4 an interesting, entertaining, useful or valuable resource over the last ten years, please do consider becoming a patron.

Thank you for your support!

5against4.com