Postcards From The Coast - Vol. 9
Can you believe ¾ of the year has run past us already? Well, when I stop and think about it a little more in depth, yes I can. This year has been a very busy one for me. Well very busy besides September.
I know I mentioned last month this was always part of the plan and that is true but sometimes it can be hard to slow down after all the excitement of rushing around playing gigs and festivals, new people, old friends, new venues, familiar favourites, intrigue at every corner.
While day to day life always throws up plenty of conundrums (like where on earth have I misplaced my guitar capo this time) summer ending means things change. The coastal roads and country paths free up a little bit more which is a major win; schools are back in session, I love this even more since giving up the PE teaching job; plus, I have more time to return to my sanctuary – the studio.
The leads nicely into the one major music milestone that I have shared with you all this month, which is the release of my new single ‘Sapphires’. If you’re reading this one, I’m pretty sure you are one of the lovely folks who have listened and most likely have dropped me a message about it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about though and you'd like to you can listen here
It means a lot to have such friendly support on music I’m releasing, and I’ve managed to get so organised recently that I have another new song right around the corner. I won’t be releasing any more information about it here but what I will say is if you’re signed up to get updates from me you will be privy to more details about it far in advance of everyone else.
If that all sounds far too cryptic and you feel like you’re missing out, I’m truly sorry, but I guess you should check out here … to see what all the fun is about!
The other main aim of September and beyond was trying to find a more streamlined way to record music. I have so many songs that haven’t seen the light of day, a small part due to fear that they aren’t good enough (which when writing out feels ridiculous because how is that judged anyhow except through internal expectations and doubts) but far more because likely that I haven’t got around to it. Recording and producing songs alone can take longer than envisaged, so I’ve decided I am going to do some more stripped back recordings of songs. For those of you who would like clarification on what I mean by that, it involves less instrumentation and vocal layers for more acoustic/live session style recordings and not less clothing. Times haven’t got that desperate. Yet.
Short previews and demos of these tracks will again be available for people who have signed up already, I don’t expect all these tracks to reach streaming platforms so this is once again another reason you should consider filling out the form above!
I feel like I’m mentioning the signing up form quite a lot in this postcard but it’s part of the way I’m trying to shift the point of contact for my music. I’m not a huge fan of social media, I appreciate how useful it is but a lot of the time it all feels rather disconnected from real life. Plus, new scientific evidence was shared with me recently that social media is literally rotting the grey matter in our brains, yes that stuff is important, as such I feel alternative arrangements to remain in contact with you lovely people and entertain you must be made.
If you do have a daily smartphone screen time of over 4 hours, please take a deep breath and try to remain calm about that information.
Moving into October the gigs start picking up again and I will emerge from a slow month hibernating in the studio. I’ll be in Cornwall this weekend for a gig which I’m really looking forward to, a separate trip to South Devon for an exciting new acoustic night as well as some more wonderful dates at home.
Until next month I will leave you with the thought that the next time you hear from me here the clocks would’ve gone, scary season will be upon us and people will be stocking up on fireworks for a big show. Anyway, I need to slow down I'm getting ahead of myself. Not in the spirit of being where your feet are.
Talking of which I found out this week the rather sobering fact that my 35,000 Spotify streams from my EP ‘Be Where Your Feet Are’ has earned me a whopping £24 so far. Caught somewhere between crying and laughing I realised that is equivalent to selling 5 digital downloads of that EP so if you don’t stream your music and looking for something new to listen to on your ipod shuffle I’ve got a page on Bandcamp waiting to be explored... (it's far left out of the icons at the top of this page)
For now from me on the coast to wherever you are, thank you for listening to my music new and old, I hope to see you fine friendly people out in the real world soon!
Postcard No. 9 – drifting through the day, watching the waves and singing songs on a bench near Baggy. It’s a peaceful spot when the summer ends
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