Vocalist/Songwriter/Musician

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Inspiration and talent. We develop our skills and musical identities by creating work and listening to others. This process strengthens our ability to consistently make music and find inspiration. To me music is a language... finding the poetry in it is the work.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Nylon string guitar, trumpet, RE-20 mic, laptop and my pedal board.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I started out as the lead singer of bands as a youngster eventually becoming the main singer-songwriter/guitarist until I was signed as a solo artist aged 23. So between working as a recording artist and as the frontman for my covers band I’ve been at this for over 25 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Thoughtful, soulful, harmonically rich and lyrical. Even when I sing softer stuff there’s a raw rootsy quality to my vocals as well as my instrumental approach.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Joe Henry as a producer, I think he’d help me to be a little less fussy... in a good way!

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: This has varied over the years from rock to folk-rock, to acoustic pop to soul to jazz. My own music is currently alt-folk with a massive jazz, bossa nova and ambient influence inside of it. I spent a lot of years singing soul, funk and classic pop live and before that in the studio recording folk-rock for a couple of label backed releases. So I’d say I’m pretty versatile although I’m certainly not a modern “clean styled” pop singer.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I’m not sure I have one single strongest skill. I tend to stick to a song and keep developing it. As a jazz musician I’m interested in taking my songs through different writing and improvisatory processes. As a vocalist I have a natural aptitude for connecting with and expressing the emotion of a track.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: This of course depends on what I’m working on. If it’s my own composition then I have no order in which I do things. Sometimes I’ll hum a melody then play around with chords to fit that melody, Something that interests me greatly is how different a note can feel when set to a different chord or set of chords. You can significantly alter the feeling of a melody in this way. If I am recording vocals for a client’s track where the lyrics and melody are already written then it is a case of understanding which style they would like from me. i.e. a harder bluesy soul type vocal, an open airy sound vocal, or more of a soft croon! Of course, I can record the vocals in different styles and they can choose. If I was writing a topline and lyrics for a track that is mostly recorded then I would usually look to write the melody first. Then construct lyrics to that melody. Sometimes I would record a guide vocal using placement lyrics or just vocal sounds before writing the lyrics. Then through listening around a bunch of times the feeling and rhythm of the track will help me develop the words.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a simple home studio setup… I use an Electro Voice RE-20 through a Cloudlifter for my vocals, which works well in my small studio room at home rather than a condenser mic. I record into a Windows laptop and currently use UA’s LUNA or Ableton live 11 as my DAW. If you need something extra and if your budget allows, I can book studio time in my area and have links to a good local studio.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: Many many musicians and producers inspire me. Those with a strong vision and the determination or simply free mindset to realise their ideas. Joe Henry for example is someone that hugely inspires me. He’s certainly not the most commercial person I could point at but both as a producer and a singer/songwriter he has a strong vision yet an open approach to his work and I think this leads to a lot of respect from people who are brilliant in their field. This is illustrated by the wide variety of musicians he’s worked with from Elvis Costello to Solomon Burke, Bonnie Raitt to Allen Tousaint.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: In the past 25 years, I have mainly been a recording artist and live performer. I am new to working as a session singer; but I have done a few sessions as a lead vocalist as well as a couple of recent unreleased trumpet sessions. One of the sessions involved delivering an alt-rock-style vocal for Kinema Audio, a studio in Nottingham that produces library music. This particular session was for Deep East Music - BMG production music. Although I don't have the track, you can listen to it on the BMG website or YouTube. It is called "You Know Your So" on the Indie Speaker Poppers album. I also did a vocal session, performing a Lofi reinterpretation of the Sam Cooke classic "Saturday Night At The Movies" for a removal firm. The person who asked me to do it had heard me at one of my weekly covers residencies where I played soul and pop songs. Additionally, I performed the lead vocal for a local songwriter who wanted a Tom Waits-style vocal for a couple of kids' Christmas songs. I believe my strength lies in being versatile with my vocals, understanding direction to deliver what people want, and bringing a healthy dose of soul to the recordings.