I’m delighted to be joining the UK’s hottest event band Band Theft Audio as a keyboard player this year!
Filling the gap between band and DJ, BTA provide the ultimate musical entertainment experience for your event. Musically focused on keeping heads nodding and feet moving, the BTA repertoire moves from dance, RnB, and hip-hop seamlessly to rock, funk, and pop to cater for all audiences.
It’s the perfect opportunity to flex my synth and programming muscles whilst getting stuck into an immersive live performance guaranteed to leave audiences wanting more.
I’ll be playing with BTA on a number of festivals and other events throughout the year, so keep an eye on the Calendar page and don’t miss the chance to come and check us out.
I’m very excited that I’ll be playing keys with Lincolnshire’s alt-folk duo Candacraig at The Portland Arms in Cambridge next weekend, on Sunday 26th February, showcasing songs from their debut album Thunder of Whispers.
Doors are at seven o’clock with Candacraig going onstage at eight o’clock. Hope to see you there!
The past few months have been a difficult time for many people in the music industry. Lockdown has meant a complete lack of live gigs – and coupled with school closures, a lot of us have found ourselves with very little work, and with an unexpected amount of time on our hands instead. This has been quite a challenging period for me, with a large proportion of my normal work coming from touring. However, I have been recording and producing in my studio more than ever before, and this has also presented opportunities.
Over the last couple of months, I have revisited several songs which I began writing a while back, but which never got finished as I ran out of steam or became too busy to finish working on them. Gradually, these songs have become an EP which I have called When The Autumn Comes (after one of the tracks on the record).
When The Autumn Comes is a collection of five original songs, initially written between 2014 and 2016, and completed during the first half of 2020. The songs are all written and performed by me – except guitars (James Porter, Jamie Roe and Simon Yaxley), and bass guitar (Giles Meehan) – and recorded and mixed by me in my own studio at home.
When The Autumn Comes will be released digitally on 3rd October 2020, and will be my first new piece of work as a solo artist since my album Bones From My Back came out in 2014.
Axis bass drum pedals and hihat stands have been been my number one choice for years. For me, the build quality and the responsiveness of the direct-drive mechanism Axis use are second-to-none.
As a session musician playing a lot of live gigs every year, I need to have absolute confidence in the quality and reliability of the equipment I use – especially pedals, which take a big beating on every show. Even with the rigours and stresses of regular touring – traveling around the country and loading in and out of different venues all the time – I know that Axis pedals won’t let me down on the road, and that my feet will feel fully connected to the drumkit when I am onstage. I still regularly gig with the very first Axis pedal I ever bought, over ten years ago, and it feels just as comfortable to play on as it always has.
In the studio, the smoothness of the pedal action and the quality of the components mean that I always get the consistency of tone and the lack of extraneous pedal noise which my remote recording clients expect from my playing.
Over the lockdown period I have enjoyed some extremely productive discussions with the guys at Axis, and I am very honoured to be able to announce that I am joining the Axis Percussion artist roster this summer. I am proud to be associated with a brand whose products I have relied upon for so long, and to represent Axis Percussion as one of their artists.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, I am very sorry to have to announce that my Avid Sibelius workshop at Benslow Music entitled Your Sibelius Toolkit scheduled for June has been postponed, as the Benslow Music centre will remain closed until at least the end of June this year in line with current government and expert advice.
The staff at Benslow have been fantastic in supporting their tutors during this difficult and uncertain period. Of course we are all extremely disappointed to have to make this announcement, but the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved has the be the number one concern right now.
I am currently in discussions with Benslow Music to try and find alternative ways to deliver this course, so please watch this space if that is something you are interested in, and I’ll try to have more updates available on that soon.
As the situation changes very rapidly, all my postponements, rearrangements and cancellations are being updated regularly on the Calendar page.
For the last two years, I have run and MDed Ultra 90s Jam – a spin-off lineup of the PX Productions’ hugely popular Ultra ’90s dance music show, which recently celebrated its ten-year anniversary.
As of the start of this year, Ultra ’90s Jam is becoming 90s Jam – still based on the tried-and-tested Ultra ’90s concept, but now a separate show in its own right – featuring former star of BBC’s The VoiceJade Mayjean on lead vocals.
I consider myself extremely privileged to have been a part of the PX Productions family over the last ten years, so to have been given the reigns of my own project by them is something I value hugely. We have been hard at work over the last few months designing new logos and branding, creating a brand new Facebook page for the new show, and an all-new website which will go live soon. We’ve got exciting new ideas for the coming year – including (but not limited to!) new arrangements and songs to add to the show, as we seek to bring you even more of the classic ’90s club and dance tunes we all love than ever before – and we can’t wait to get started.
So go and give us a Like on Facebook and a follow on our new Twitter account, and keep an eye on www.90sjam.co.uk to see when we’re next performing near you. (And as always, all the live performance dates will appear on my own Calendar page as well.) Looking forward to seeing you all out there soon, for the launch of 90s Jam and the start of this exciting new era!
You may have noticed that the Studio page of this site has been down for the last couple of months – with just a placeholder image teaser and no information… I was hoping to have everything completed before now. But things get in the way! However, the last few months have seen some pretty radical changes in my little studio space, and I am so happy with how it’s all coming together that I am very excited to reveal the new look to you all.
New Studio
My workspace has expanded, and now fills a little alcove one side of the chimney breast. I have a wonderful new desk to sit and work at; this desk was custom-built for recording studios by my friend and colleague (another Ultra ’90s drummer!) Curtis Aaron, with built-in racking for studio rack gear and a large surface area to work on. The addition of an external GPU has allowed me to move to a three screen setup when working at the computer, giving me extra flexibility for working on studio projects. And the mix position has been treated with acoustic sound absorbers and bass trapping (also made by Curtis) to help me to get the best-sounding mixes possible.
My 40-channel Soundcraft MH3 analogue console has become the hub of the whole studio – not just for audio input but also during the mixing stage, allowing me to make the best use of my high-end analogue outboard effects units, like the Neve 33609 stereo compressor.
And a fully acoustically-treated sound booth for live recordings – built by my ever-resourceful neighbour Glen ‘Woody’ Jordan from natural materials, and fitted with high-end acoustic foam cladding and corner bass cone – has been installed in the other half of the room. With sixteen audio inputs inside the booth, and separate headphone mixes available both in the booth and in the control area, the new setup can comfortably accommodate recording a drumkit or small ensembles playing or singing together.
Snare Drum Selection
Headphone Amps In The Booth
New Studio
Neve 33609 Compressor
Soundcraft MH3 Analogue Console
Drums Inside The Booth
Acoustically Treated Sound Booth
Custom Built Desk By Curtis Aaron
Headphone Amp And Custom Patch Panel
With a wide selection of the highest quality microphones, a variety of vintage and analogue synthesisers, outboard compressor and graphic EQ units, an acoustic upright piano, a 4.2-octave concert marimba and a range of drumkits and cymbals all available to work with, I am extremely proud of the recording and mixing setup I have assembled here in the heart of rural Norfolk. (A full gear list is available on request.)
With the refit nearing completion, the studio is now available to hire at a competitive day rate. Whether you’re a songwriter or composer looking for ‘remote’ sessions on keys, drums or percussion; an artist or a band looking for somewhere to record; or a fellow producer needing a space to work in… Please feel free to contact me to discuss bookings.
I am delighted to announce that I’ll be playing percussion in a live orchestral performance for The Pisces Rising – a popular YouTube channel which re-orchestrates well-known theme tunes into large, epic-sounding masterpieces – at this year’s Summer In The City YouTube festival at the ExCel in London.
The performance will be on the main stage at half-past-five this Saturday, 11th August.
I don’t generally make ‘New Years resolutions’ – but one thing I did want to do as of the start of this year was to update this page more, and be more active here. So far, not so good…!
So what has been going on? Lots of work with Sistema in various local schools, which I am still enjoying and finding really rewarding. And lots of gigs with Ultra ’90s – in all it’s various flavours (Original, Fresh and Jam), both on drums/percussion and as a keys player and MD.
And in between all of that, we have had the eleventh annual Keyboard Camp this year, just one week ago. (More on that in a later post…) And I have been trying to get my studio setup and fully functional at my new house!
Beginnings of the new studio
Having moved house at the end of summer last year, it has taken a little while to move all my gear across and start to get myself familiar with the new studio space. The big plan for this year is to get my recording work properly up-and-running, so I am going to try and start pushing that online a little more as I get everything finalised. Expect pictures and sound clips from the new studio sometime later this year!
Soundtrack recording session on marimba
There are also a few other exciting gigs and other opportunities coming up soon, which I shall be writing more about due course. I am currently writing this in a Costa just off the M5, on my way to another run of gigs in Devon on drums with Ultra ’90s – I’ll be home on Thursday night for a day or so, before heading straight back out on the road.
And as the year goes on, I hope that I’ll be able to stick to my ‘non-resolution’ of writing here more – and uploading ‘on-the-go’ a bit more! And, most importantly, that I’ll keep playing, keep teaching, and keep learning.
March 2017 is something of a landmark for me, so here is a short piece of writing (and a few old pictures) all about it.
Cardiem live on BBC Radio Norfolk, 2009.
It was back in March 2007 that I officially declared myself ‘a professional musician’. Nothing materially changed for having said it, of course – I was still doing one gig every few months, teaching two or three private students, and earning very little – but it meant something to have said it, to have ‘made it official’. It was a line in the sand.
‘Loading’ the van – on tour with Axel Loughrey, 2010.
I registered myself officially self-employed not long later (although it would be another couple of years before I was earning enough for that to have any real tax implications), and I joined the Musicians’ Union. And I resolved not to give in to any of the pressures to get a ‘real job’ (even just while I was building up my income from music).
In the ten years since then, I have gone from intermittent gigs and two or three students to having a thriving business gigging, recording, teaching, writing and arranging music (and – yes – doing actual tax returns).
Crystal Bats at Norwich Arts Centre, 2013.
I have had some amazing opportunities, and met – and worked with – some incredible people. From my work with the Sistema programme, and the chance to travel to Europe and perform at iconic venues like Milan’s La Scala, to touring with Axel Loughrey, Ultra ’90s, Crystal Bats, etc…
I have learnt a lot, improved as a person and as a musician, developed new skills, and done things I never expected I’d be able to. And along the way, I have played some huge shows, made some really fun records, I have recorded tracks at my own studio, and seen my students go on to study music at university and start to build their own successful careers in the industry.
Showing the Carrera Cherry Custom at London Drum Show 2014.
Obviously, I am hugely grateful for everyone who has been supportive over the last ten years – especially right at the start…
Too many people to mention have helped me, supported me and given me advice in that time. But a few who deserve mentioning in particular are Rory Marsden, Simon Dring, Chris and Kelly at PXP, Ivan at Pellwood Drumsticks, and Dave Carrera.
Recording keys for Jamie Roe Band, 2015.
There is so much left to do, and so many more goals I want to achieve… The last ten years have been hard work, incredibly difficult at times, and the whole thing has often seemed hugely daunting – but most of all, they have been more fun, and more rewarding, than I could have ever hoped. Which is why I can’t wait for the next ten years.
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