As promised, here are some photos from the Acoustic Gathering festival held in Scarborough on 16th September. Thanks to Steve Dickinson for these pics.

From L to R: Elliott Randall, Steve Dickinson, Tasmin Archer, John Hughes

Sunday 16th September was the Acoustic Gathering in Scarborough.

The event was held in Peasholm Park. The stage was a small bandstand in the middle of a lake and the audience were sitting/lying/standing on a bank opposite relaxing, eating, drinking and generally chilling out. There was a small cafe and a bar open for refreshments and there was a really good atmosphere about the place. There were performers on stage from midday onwards and we played at about 8 p.m. There is a complete list of all the performers and more general info here.

Elliott Randall joined John and I for this performance. We first met Elliott when he played guitar on some of the tracks on our first album and we’ve been friends with him and his wife Jane ever since. I also sang on his remake of ‘Reeling In The Years’ last year.

About an hour before we were due to play it started chucking down with rain and I feared that we may end up playing to the ducks. Thankfully it cleared up fairly quickly and everything dried up nicely in the warm breeze. It was just starting to get dark as we were rowed across the lake to the bandstand and the sky had some lovely hints of red seeping through. It’s the very first time I’ve taken to the stage by rowing boat We disembarked in a small back stage area on the bandstand where they were back projecting live video shots onto a screen and doing other technical stuff. It’s been a while since John and I did a gig and so I must admit to starting to get a little nervous at this point. After a brief line check we started with ‘Take Care’ and followed that with ‘Effect Is Monotony’. The sound on stage was a bit weird with an echo bouncing back from the banks of the lake but we all seemed to manage to block it out after a while and settled into things. The lights from the stage and the shore shone on the water as we played and ducks were regularly flying in and landing just feet away right in front of us. Obviously ducks of good taste We continued with ‘After Hell’, ‘Violence’, ‘Complaints’ and then ‘Sleeping Satellite’ which as usual got a great cheer from the audience. The rest of the short set was ‘Rain Falling’, ‘Emergency’, ‘In Your Care’ and we ended with ‘One More Good Night With The Boys’.

I’m not exactly sure how many people were there but I’d guess at a couple of thousand or more. There was a good vibe from the audience across the water and I hope they had as good a time listening and watching as we did playing. After we’d finished we left the same way we came in, by rowing boat. We were rowed back to the boat dock serenely and had a nice cup of tea. Rock and roll eh?

So our first venture back to the stage for some time was a very pleasurable experience and big thanks to Steve Dickinson for inviting us to play at this event. Thanks also to Elliott for agreeing to do this show with us and to the boatman whose oaring skills delivered us safely to and from the bandstand. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to put up very soon and we should also have some video footage of our performance too with a bit of luck.

The voice is a musical instrument.

Anything that produces sound and can in some way be controlled can serve as a musical instrument. The voice is an instrument which consists of four parts: the vibrator, the resonator, the motor and the articulator. There are many musical instruments which have the first three parts in some form but the articulator is one of the main characteristics of the human voice. The voice is the most articulate instrument. Other instruments only play the tune, while the voice plays the tune and makes words.

In India the tradition of chant, a form of vocal meditation, is revered as the highest form of devotion. Those who practise this tradition believe that profound spiritual transformation can be achieved and that, through prayer sung from the heart, the voice can reach the divine. Over thousands of years the master musicians and sants (saint singers) have taken the tradition ever deeper although it is also practised by “common people”. They sang their devotional hymns as a part of the formalised music of India which has all helped to develop and progress this tradition. The rishi-singers believed that “Swaras” of Indian music were not merely a collection of notes but they were founded on microtones known as “Shrutis” which could bring the human-mind to meditation leading to the attainment of god-consciousness.

Divine Singing is an Indian tradition of using the voice to reach a realm where you and the divine sound are one. The word “divine” in this instance relates to something which has unlimited or universal power. I agree with those who believe that the voice can serve as a direct bridge to the divine or something bigger than just the individual. I’m aware of this because this is something I have experienced for myself when for example my ego is not present and I feel myself flowing along, singing with ease. I feel I’m being elevated with a sense of deep serenity and it’s like not thinking but observing yourself while doing something. There’s no worry or concern about singing the wrong note, or whether I’m making the right impression on my audience. It feels free of any thought or want and ‘feels like heaven’.

Take a look at the diagram below and check out this link for more information on how the voice works as a musical instrument.

Well it’s been a while since I posted anything on here so apologies for my absence… I have good intentions to post my thoughts more regularly but there are so many other things that are getting in the way. I need to make a more concerted effort

Anyway, here’s a new short clip I’ve made called ‘Methane’. The rhythm track came first and it seemed to set the tone for the melody to emerge. The rough music track is intended to have a celtic/folk feel underlying it which I really like. There are a few key words which pop out here and there that suggest a militant attitude. I don’t like to stop the flow of what I’m doing while I’m sketching so what comes out comes out. The images are a collage constructed from recent footage of all kinds of things that I’ve been randomly shooting. I hope you enjoy it.Please update Flash Player to view this video.

NOTE ABOUT THESE CLIPS

One of the ways we start composing new songs is with a simple musical or rhythmic sequence which I ‘jam’ melodies over until I’m happy I have something that has meaning to me. I thought these song sketch ideas might be of interest to some of you and so I’ve decided to make little movies of some of them and post them up. They don’t all mutate into finished songs, those that don’t often spark off other ideas which we develop in other ways. The pictures are generally recorded with miscellaneous portable implements I carry around with me for spur of the moment things. Please feel free to sign up and leave your comments and please remember that all the material is copyright.

Here’s a little treat for you all. A lovely little video shot recently of my two favourite guitar players (sorry John ) Elliott Randall and Steve Donnelly playing together.

I first met Elliott, who needs no introduction really, when he played some of the guitars on Great Expectations and we have remained friends since. Recently I had the pleasure of doing the vocal on his remake/cover of the Steely Dan classic Reelin’ in the Years. Elliott, of course, played the famous guitar solo on the original. In the mid nineties Elliott joined us to play a show at the Bottom Line in New York, it was a really special gig for me in Elliott’s home town.

Steve Donnelly played guitar on Bloom and was in the band when we did a short tour of the UK following the release of the album. He also joined John, Pete Thomas and myself on some acoustic radio and TV sessions we did here and in Europe.

Here’s the video on YouTube

Check out Elliott’s website and his ep containing the cover of Reelin’ on iTunes.

This gives me a primal sort of feeling, something to do with the sound of the drum loop I think. Its working title is simply “Strong” because I’m singing this word in amongst the other bits and pieces of jigsawed words I’m uttering as I look for a melody. I put the clip together from some footage I shot some months ago, long before the idea for this little loop came. I hope you enjoy it. Please update Flash Player to view this video.

NOTE ABOUT THESE CLIPS

One of the ways we start composing new songs is with a simple musical or rhythmic sequence which I ‘jam’ melodies over until I’m happy I have something that has meaning to me. I thought these song sketch ideas might be of interest to some of you and so I’ve decided to make little movies of some of them and post them up. They don’t all mutate into finished songs, those that don’t often spark off other ideas which we develop in other ways. The pictures are generally recorded with miscellaneous portable implements I carry around with me for spur of the moment things. Please feel free to sign up and leave your comments and please remember that all the material is copyright.

This idea was born on the 9th May 06 and I’ve given it a working title of ‘The Highest Ground’.Please update Flash Player to view this video.
The video shots are taken near where I live. The light was so pretty and mesmerising on that day I felt I had to take some pictures to capture it. I remembered about the video I’d shot after I’d got the song sketch together and I think they fit well together.

NOTE ABOUT THESE CLIPS

One of the ways we start composing new songs is with a simple musical or rhythmic sequence which I ‘jam’ melodies over until I’m happy I have something that has meaning to me. I thought these song sketch ideas might be of interest to some of you and so I’ve decided to make little movies of some of them and post them up. They don’t all mutate into finished songs, those that don’t often spark off other ideas which we develop in other ways. The pictures are generally recorded with miscellaneous portable implements I carry around with me for spur of the moment things. Please feel free to sign up and leave your comments and please remember that all the material is copyright.

I’ve called this song sketch ‘Genevieve’. I started it on the 5th May and added to it a few days later. Please update Flash Player to view this video.

The visuals are snippets of stuff I have lying around on my laptop that I collected just for this occasion.

NOTE ABOUT THESE CLIPS

One of the ways we start composing new songs is with a simple musical or rhythmic sequence which I ‘jam’ melodies over until I’m happy I have something that has meaning to me. I thought these song sketch ideas might be of interest to some of you and so I’ve decided to make little movies of some of them and post them up. They don’t all mutate into finished songs, those that don’t often spark off other ideas which we develop in other ways. The pictures are generally recorded with miscellaneous portable implements I carry around with me for spur of the moment things. Please feel free to sign up and leave your comments and please remember that all the material is copyright.