Well friends, as I have said elsewhere the year has commenced with a quiet ferocity. Lots of gig cancellations so it has been a precarious time, making any kind of creative work very difficult amid the distracting reality of “can I afford to live this week?” Of course this is all really inconsequential because there are people suffering mortally within this pandemic. Although I am concerned for all of us in music, the implications of this time are broader and deeper so we must think in that way.

I wanted to tell you my plans for this year as I am finally feeling some optimism despite the times.

It feels imperative to attempt to isolate myself a bit from the pandemic rollercoaster and divert some energy into writing, so I’m beginning work on a new album. This will be a solo affair, meaning that I plan to record the songs live, with just myself and guitar/banjo/piano. I won’t rule out the possibility of other parts but the main vision is something completely stripped. Because it suits the medium and the facilities are available I plan to do the whole thing on tape too.

This is the kind of record I have been hoping to make really since I started, as I always loved the intimacy of solo recordings. This is also a very nimble way to record. After two fairly megalithic albums in terms of production, I’d like to make something lighter for contrast. The other consideration is that touring solo is a necessary part of what I do, so it makes sense to have a record that reflects this.

I have a great backlog of material and I’d like to make more of it available. Songs are strangely individual so if even one of these lost songs can speak to a single person in a way that is important, that will be a great success. They have no chance of doing so locked inside my notebooks. 

Of course there will also be new material. It’s usually the way that once I start working on older songs, new ones come through. Furthermore it feels necessary to inspect the moment we are living in right now and a lot of things that pre-date this moment feel pale and bloodless now that the world has changed so radically.

As a musician I have never had much of a financial buffer to pay for this kind of project. It’s a rare luxury to be able to write without the distraction of a dwindling bank balance. So I must acknowledge that this is only possible because I have received a small amount of funding (I’m not sure yet if I’m allowed to disclose the details but I will when I can).

One point I wanted to make before I end this: There have been many moments over the past couple of years where I’ve been advised to get a job. In fact, I had a J-O-B up until mid-2020 but I’ve never been able to strike a fulfilling balance between conventional work and creative productivity, so I left to pursue the latter. It’s probably because I’m lazy, indifferent to money and lacking in ambition - along with a host of other sins. In any case, I’m ok with it and I accept the limitations of my choices.

I read an article a while back which profiled a number of quite well known musicians who had (wisely) invested their time elsewhere during the pandemic. Some of them were working, some teaching, some studying. I admired their productivity and wished I had pivoted earlier (I could nearly have a Bachelor's degree by now). However I got to thinking that if many artists stopped creating or even curbed their output during this time then there would be a terrible gulf in the culture and I fear the implications of creative work being further marginalised.

I am certainly overestimating the importance of my small contribution but it is the thing which gives my life meaning and therefore I must continue as long as I’m called to. It’s not a pragmatic choice but one of passion and I only hope my passion will be felt in my work and maybe offer a flake of something to those in need.