Apr 24 2012

New Solo Acoustic Album [un]plugged Out Now!!!

Hello folks,

It’s that time of the year again. The time of year when I release another solo album. But this one is different. This one is acoustic. My third solo album [un]plugged is officially out now and available for download right here.

Well, I say acoustic. As the title suggests it’s not entirely acoustic in the traditional sense. The entire record was made using my new Breedlove acoustic bass and my usual live-looping setup. This time I’ve used minimal effects from the Pod X3 Pro and Lexicon MPX G2, concentrating on bringing out the natural sound of the instrument. I’ve been blogging about the writing/recording process quite a bit, so hopefully you’re all familiar with how I came to record an acoustic record after my previous offerings. This album is quite different.

I mastered the album yesterday with Steve Alexander (the other half of Little Alex). The ceremonial naming of the tunes ritual was performed last week, with a couple of interesting results. The final track listing is as follows:

  1. frostbite
  2. into the out
  3. lie down & be counted
  4. repetition is a form of change
  5. sigismund
  6. kalimba
  7. breathe
  8. the avant gardener
  9. midas’ barber

And just like The Knowledge of Things To Come and the Rejectamenta EP the music here is presented in glorious 24-bit better-than-CD quality for your listening pleasure. You can stream the whole album right here if you fancy…

If you like the album, please click the ‘Like’ button on the Bandcamp page (the music tab above will magically transport you there), tweet about it and share the player on your Facebook profiles, blogs etc. This will be such a big help in spreading the word. And you’ll know who amongst your friends will like this music much better than I will…

I really hope you all enjoy this record. If you’re a music blogger and want to write a review then let let me know and I’ll send you a copy. Every little helps.

I look forward to hearing what you think…

Simon x

 


Apr 23 2012

Barnados Oldie Composers Sessions Photo/Videoblog

Hello folks,
This week I spent two days at BBC Maida Vale studios as part of the band for the Barnados Oldie Composers songwiting competition sessions. The last time I worked with Barnados we were recording the top four songs from their Young Composers competition (see the original blog post here) and the process was the same this time. Songwriters were asked to submit their material to the star-studded panel of judges who chose their top four songs to be recorded at Maida Vale by professional musicians. The competition was organized by the wonderful Hellen Bach and Norman Macintosh of Charity Goods, and the sessions were produced by my good friend AD Chivers.

We had a great lineup for the sessions, which were on Monday and the following Sunday. We had Nick Mason and Steve Rushton on drums, Grant Windsor on piano, Marcus Bonfanti on guitars, the string quartet Bond and VocalWorks. There was even a string section coming in on Monday night. A really big production all round. Lead vocals were provided by Anthony Head, FTW and our very own Clare Teal.

Once the tracks are mixed and mastered they will be available for download to raise money for Barnados. Which is where you come in…

I shall of course let you know when the tracks become available. The songs were written by Trevor Wiles & Paul Hadler, Marina Florance, John Mackfall and Maggie Duffy. The songwriter with the most downloads by the deadline will win the competition. More information on the contest and how you can help this great cause can be found at the Oldie Composers website.

Rather than harp on about the session I thought it would be far more interesting for me to post a little photoblog. So here’s a gallery of some of the pictures I took from the two days at Maida Vale. I hope you like them.

Here’s a little video I shot of Vocalworks recording their backing for Marina Florence’s Cry

And here’s a little video of FTW running through some of Loves Forever by Trevor Wiles & Paul Hadler with Grant…

Until next time. Which will be very soon indeed as my third solo album [un]plugged was mastered today with Steve Alexander and as I type the tracks are being uploaded to my Bandcamp page ready for release. Watch this space for the big announcement. Probably tomorrow in fact as I cannot bear to sit on it any longer and want to get it out there for you all to hear…


Jul 1 2011

The Knowledge of Things To Come: Two week update & Other News

Hello folks,

Well it’s been a fortnight since I released my new solo album The Knowledge of Things To Come on Bandcamp and iTunes. So far I’ve had a very positive response from all concerned.

I had a lovely review from Oliver Arditi on the fantastic eBurban site. I was really pleased to get a review on eBurban as I really like that site and they have some great writers working for them. Oliver’s closing comments:

Little presents a series of atmospheres, a selection of airs for us to inhale. They do not take us to extreme places: there is a tang of melancholy, but there is also a sense of purposeful movement. The experience of listening is highly rewarding, for the continual sonic transformations, and the ongoing flow of ideas, as well as for the moods he creates. The Knowledge Of Things To Come is the work of a thoughtful and very creative musician, and one who shows signs of development and growth with every new release.

Oliver is such a great writer. He has previously done reviews for both Mandala and the Rejectamenta EP. In fact he is the only person to have reviewed all my solo releases. He has a brand new website so go check it out and subscribe to the feed.

I also had a little feature on the front page of the Warwick website. For those of you that don’t already know, I am a long-standing endorser for Warwick basses and amps. The whole of the record (and the previous albums) were recorded using my fantastic Warwick Thumb bass and they are a big part of my sound. I was really pleased to be featured on the site again and it’s great to have their support, especially for the solo projects.

One track from the album will be the featured free download of the day on the All About Jazz website on July 16th so keep your eyes peeled for that one. I won’t spoil the surprise and tell you which one.

I’ll keep you posted on any new reviews or features on the album as they come in. Probably via Twitter. I’ll assume that if you’re reading this we probably chat on twitter at some point!

Had a rather busy week last week as I scooted up and down the country with Clare Teal. We played Glastonbury last Saturday in the Bourbon Street tent. Didn’t get much chance to see any other acts (saw two songs from Rumer on the main stage; it was nearest) and only slightly wrecked my bass in the mud. Please remind me to take my electric bass next time I play Glastonbury; it really isn’t the place to be carting around antique instruments.

I went straight from there to play a show in Tychy (I’ve seen it spelt about a million ways) in Poland with Maggie Reilly. We had a lot of fun out there in the short period whilst we weren’t on planes and waiting in airports. For the first time since I’ve been playing with her, somebody in the audience filmed us playing a song that isn’t Moonlight Shadow. Here is a wobbly video of us playing To France. The sound is pretty nasty so don’t get over-excited!

I shall leave you for now. Don’t forget to grab a copy of the new album from the Music page via Bandcamp. It’s the only place where you can get the full hi-res audio. The iTunes versions will be all squashed down to fit in with all their other squashed down music. You know it makes sense… And don’t forget to spread the word of the solo bassist and his new album 😉

I hope you’re all enjoying it.

Simon x