Unfortunately the band I formed (Lunar Rising) when I first came to London has now imploded.  I learned a lot from Lunar Rising and played with some fantastic musicians.  It was also a great platform for me to explore ideas and methods of working, of which some unfortunately never came to fruition.  I had big plans but due to people coming and going quite a lot and a few other awkward issues I could never fully realise what I had in my head.

All is not lost though: Pavel, our drummer wants to continue to work with me and I have also had an offer from a fantastic band called Senopia.  The workings of the new band with Pav needs to be discussed but I’m having a few ideas of how it may work.  I’m thinking that I would like to go back to a stripped-down but effective setup based around the ‘folk’ ideal of being able to play any place, any time.  I would like rhythm to be a central theme meaning that having one or two percussionists as well as Pav would be fantastic: layered rhythm is a great way to get feet moving…!  I would also like to have a strong singer with an ear for melody and willingness to experiment and be larger than life on stage.  This would mean the central emphasis would be on dancing rhythms and vocal melodies that really pull you in.  I envision my acoustic guitar playing to be rhythmic whilst slightly incorporating the atmospheric playing I used in Lunar Rising; nothing showy but nothing bland.  I am cautious of having a setup that is too large as this was one of the factors that led to Lunar Rising’s demise but another acoustic instrument to add more depth of melody would also be great…

Also, I am very honoured to be asked to join Senopia and you can hear their fantastic songs here.  I know about them as Pia (of Henry Spencer Project) sings for them and I have admired them from afar ever since I first heard them.  Pia’s vocals are obviously fantastic and are coupled with strong song-writing and a great view to epic atmosphere.  On top of that they aren’t afraid to experiment and are using electronic noises to their advantage rather than following trends.  To me though, the songs sounded complete and adding anything beyond pressing play for pre-recorded samples seemed unnecessary.  However, this wasn’t what they had in mind.  I would be looking after samples and loops but pretty much have free rein over adding extras… and that’s what interests me…  With Senopia, I will be able to look at each song and decide what to do with it (on agreement with the band of course!).  I will be able to take my current production and experimental (in terms of my own work, not the art movement) ideas and give them a voice as well as a context.  Maybe I will be able to use the various field recordings I have been collecting, and mess around with them; as well use loops for these sounds, synth and acoustic instruments I might play.  I’ve been listening to the songs thinking of what I can do to produce them live and also what I can add to them so I’ll go along to a practice over the next month or so and see how the songs translate live and do a bit of bonding.   Looking forward to it!

Well, I’m sure I’ll be blogging about how all the band stuff goes but this all seems to be happening in tandem with all the other changes I my life.  I feel excited and adventurous and don’t see any of the things that have happened to me as a setback.  With careful thought and by keeping true to your ideas you could say there is no such thing as a setback… well, mostly anyway…