Happy New Year!
First of all, I wanted to wish you all the best for 2021 and hope that is really is a turning point and we can get back to normal soon! I am finally writing with some major progress in my new project…
Since the release of “Hypnotise” in 2017, I have had various delays in my ability to record but despite these setbacks, I have stayed busy writing songs and working on videos (as you will have learned more about in my previous blogs). I was originally recording songs for an album titled “The Road” but the project didn’t quite sit right with me for some time; around half of my songs were really relaxed, stripped back acoustic numbers and the other half were more rock / full band based which made it really hard to get a decent flow across the album.
Another concern I had was that if I am trying to get my music heard by more people, an album in two different styles would be very hard to explain… so I eventually came to the conclusion that I should separate the songs out into 2 albums; one acoustic and one electric. Over the last months of 2020, I have managed to finish the recording of 20 songs (in the gaps between various quarantines!) and have the first half of the album fully mixed and ready to go!
The Road Part 1:
I have decided to release this as two separate albums rather than a “double album” as logistically it may be some time before I can get back to the studio for the last session of mixing (or at least until a vaccine is in place later in the year). The acoustic half of “The Road” is almost ready and I am hoping that I will be able to release this in March. Obviously this may be dependant on being able to get CD’s printed etc around quarantine rules here in England but we shall see…
I have already released 3 songs from this album as videos and will be releasing a 4th as soon as possible…but sadly, again, this is dependant on quarantine rules as it involves me travelling to shoot on location.
Album Art:
I have been working with my friend Jamie Massie on a slightly different approach to the album art this time. Previously, I have almost defaulted to landscape scenes but as the acoustic album is very personal and very stripped back, we felt that focusing on me was more important than scenery. Jay is an extremely talented photographer (you can see his work on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jaymassie/) so I had absolute faith that he would create something special out of my weathered old face!
We had a photoshoot up at Rivington Pike towards the end of the year and although the cover is something I wouldn’t have even considered ordinarily, I am really happy with the result.
The Road Part 2:
All being well, I will have more news on this towards the end of the year and provisionally, I am hoping for an Autumn release.
