COMING SOON!
SEA OF TROUBLE released 8th March pre-order here
I’m incredibly proud to announce the release of a new single ‘Sea Of Trouble’ on 8th March. A performance of a trio consisting of myself on vocal & acoustic, John Hornig (The Idle Hands, The Longshore Drifters) on pedal steel & Alex Hunt (Umbrellabirds) on piano & strings. Alex also co-produced, recorded & mixed the trk. It will be available to stream wherever you like to get it! It’s a piece of work really from the heart. As ever, the uber talented Mrs Hat (fossil glanville) has conjured up a fab original illustration to accompany the song.
For those inclined, here's a longer read about the song....
It’s been 18 months since my LP came out & though I’ve written over 20 songs I didn’t feel inclined to rush anything out till I had captured something special. 2023 was a very difficult year for me too. The lyrics reflect some of the 'trouble' I had keeping my head above water after the unexpected death of my sister, Pippa, on Christmas Eve 2022. There was so much to deal with (physical & emotional) as well as trying to hold down all my usual life pressures or work & family. It wasn’t easy and I did become pretty despondent at times trying to wade through it. However, I’m ok now & glad I have this rather poignant work to show for it.
I also wanted choose a song that I’ve felt has connected as a live track & it’s always been a bit of a moment when I play this live. That kind of visceral, immediate feedback is dynamite & something I didn’t have with my first batch of tunes. I wish I could play & immerse myself in music more but I’ve given this all I have & I feel it shows some progress in all depts since my LP. You’ve always gotta move forward? The experience of helping out with Gene writing back in the day helps me massively but it still taken many hours of trial & error to produce this, despite the stripped back simple arrangement. I’m very self critical but I know this emotes deep personal sentiment & is the sort of track that hopefully makes one take a plaintive moment & listen. I must say that the performances of John & Alex on this are very special too. I’ve been incredibly lucky with the love & help I’ve had from my musician friends since I started this journey. I’m eternally grateful & of course for all the family support I had around the writing of this song.
These days you have to be selling out the Albert Hall & in the top 5 for anyone to take you seriously in the music biz but I am happy this is a decent piece of work. It’s tougher than ever to cut through & it was never easy!! Still, I have a daft rather romantic notion that a special song can still make waves. There’s some amazing songwriters out there but I don’t think I write songs like anyone else particularly!
Thanks for reading & I’ll be back with shameless nudging + music, visual snippets before release day !! Ha ha
Mx
Champione is OUT NOW!
Bandcampers can also purchase or listen an exclusive track 'Graze' which is not on the LP.
Lyrically this song is the one I’m most proud of & was the hardest subject to tackle. It’s about my late dad Eric & his lifelong battle with mental health & addiction issues. The catharsis of airing & sharing this stuff is not to be underestimated…x
My LP BREAKING THE FALL is now available to order for your appraisal & enjoyment. Ther are 555 gorgeous purple COSTERMONGER discs.
Townsend Music have kindly stepped up to take pre-orders on this WORLDWIDE!
Many other independent record stores are also in on the act…
Delivery will be soon after the July 22nd release day.
High Time OUT NOW!
I really love this song & I hope you do too. How ever much you try to control your life it will always throw up the unexpected events that are beyond your power to shape.
‘HIGH TIME’ can be found across all digital outlets.
OUT NOW!
I’m ecstatic to announce that my newest track from my forthcoming LP is out now!
‘SNOWY PEAKS’ can be found across all digital outlets.
I have ‘A SIMPLE MESSAGE’ for you… a song from my forthcoming LP. I can’t say I ever thought I would make such an announcement…
I wrote the song after the last UK election & the scourge of populism had triumphed again. Hasn’t he done well though eh?? Bah humbug. At the time I just wanted to escape & ‘shelter from the storm.’
