Socials and more…

Here you’ll find links to all my channels, past and present, all in one place.

Social Media

I’m most active on Facebook and YouTube and all my music is on Bandcamp, but if you want to catch me on other channels, I’m there too. I am also very active on my Climate Protest Music Blog: This Machine Births Change

  • Facebook Page /kimweidotcom : official content, gig announcements, new videos etc.
  • Facebook Profile kimwei.mccarthy : my wall featuring posts about anything and everything from cats to music.
  • YouTube @kimweidotcom : I try and make sure all my important videos are here. Some are duplicated on other platforms too, but this is the main video place for me.
  • Bandcamp kimwei.bandcamp.com : where all my original music and spoken word audio lives for you to listen/buy. It’s the best platform for independent artists since your funds go to the artist not the platform. You won’t find me on Spotify.
  • Blog: This Machine Births Change: Soundtracking The Climate Revolution
  • Twitter @kimweidotcom : I’m not a hugely active tweeter but I put all my news on my feed – gigs, new releases etc, similar to what you’d get on my Facebook Page.
  • Instagram @kimweimccarthy : quite a random feed where I mostly like to post short videos of me messing around with many instruments.
  • TikTok @kimweidotcom : actually entirely me messing around with random musical instruments – isn’t that what TikTok was invented for?

Bard of Exeter

  • Exeter Story Club: As Grand Bard of Exeter (until 2026) I host Exeter Story Club monthly – 1st Wed of every month.

Collaborators and Associates

  • AMSonline and The University of West London through whom I teach on a music BA and Masters.
  • Dr Emily Grossman, my wife and partner in many things, such as our workshops on Climate Change, Relationships and Neurodifferences and more.
  • Extinction Rebellion : I am a highly active musician in the Climate Protest movement. I was also involved in a supportive role with XR Scientists, especially since Emily was a co-founder
  • BBC Radio Devon : Since 2017 I have been a regular on BBC Radio Devon, first on Pause For Thought, then as Artist in Residence for the fortnightly Arts and Culture show and currently as a regular discussion guest, speaking on a number of topics from Queerness to protest.
  • Jessica Kingsley Publishing : highly esteemed specialist publisher in gender, autism and more. I am a contributing author to Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersectional Identities published with JPK 2020, and Emily and have an upcoming book with JPK on autism and relationships.
  • G7th The Capo Company : I am developing a relationship with G7th capo makers to understand how capos can open up the guitar’s possibilities and make new compositional ideas accessible to guitarists on any budget.
  • Dr Adrian Harris : Emily and I developed our Climate Workshop “Harness Your Power To Protect The Planet” with advice on the nervous system and how to work with it provided by Adrian.
  • David Heathfield : I often accompany storyteller David Heathfield as a musician, providing an improvised, or sometimes composed, soundtrack for his stories.
  • Billie Bottle who I collaborate with musically now and then, including recording my song Nothing’s Binary and creating the Do You See Me Workshop which I now deliver solo.
  • South West Dance Hub – Devon based dancers with whom I improvise as a musician
  • Robert Garnham, Professor of Whimsy – together we wrote a happy new year poem for BBC Radio Devon for 2022.

What Music Gear Do I Use?

This is quite frequently asked, so here it is. I don’t currently have any endorsements, but here is the gear I rate:

  • Acoustic guitar: Martin… yes I just have the one. I’ve broken the head off three times and every time it’s in the shop being fixed I look around at other acoustic guitars… but I don’t like them.
  • Strings: Elixir Phosphor Bronze Nanoweb 12-53s and nothing else will do
  • Acoustic guitar pickups: Fishman Rare Earth Blend and nothing else will do.
  • Electric guitar pickups: I don’t have a particular loyalty for any brand of electric guitar but if it has a set of Bareknuckle Irish Tours in it, I’m happy.
  • Cases : Hiscoxs for hard, Mansons for soft.
  • Capos: G7th
  • Picks: Many, but Jazz 3s are essentials to me
  • Ukuleles: Kala
  • Pickups for nylon strings: KNA under-string pickups
  • Battery powered amplification: Roland
  • Mics: Neumann U87 or T103 (they’re effectively the same) for guitar and vocals.
  • Digital Audio Workstation : ProTools is much better but at the moment I only have Logic
  • Plugins: Waves… ALL Waves… oh and RX8 for cleanup.

Past Blogs

From 2011-2019 I was an active blogger, writing text blogs frequently on lots of different topics, all with an alternative slant, from my year house sitting in France as a Digital Nomad, to my £0 Challenge of running out of money on purpose, to living in a Yurt for a year, to riding a bike with only one gear for a year. Have a browse of my past blogs below.

My £0 Challenge Video Series

In summer 2014 I took my own, self-designed £0 Challenge, to run out of money on purpose and then build back up from zero without begging borrowing or stealing. Here’s my video series about the  experience.

The section of my weblog that chronicles this in text starts here: £0 Challenge

Symphony For Happiness: A Lifestyle Blog

IMG_0094Kimwei’s blog covering his alternative lifestyle as a digital nomad, musician and all ’round creative. Topics include minimalism, travel and her £0 Challenge of 2014, in which Kimwei ran out of money on purpose and built his way back up from nothing.

Symphony For Happiness is also available in Vlog form:

Full-Time Fixie: A Cycle Blog

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(This was before I came out as Non-Binary and changed my pronouns he/him)

Kimwei’s first blog – an essential read for anyone thinking of taking up cycling as their full time method of transport. Includes cycle stories, info on how to get started and hints and tips for those wanting to make the transition to carlessness.

For the whole of 2012, Kimwei made the commitment to go car-free and travel everywhere on a Fixed Gear bike, for the environmental, health, and financial benefits. Full-Time Fixie is an archive of her writings from that time period.