Spring, Summer and sooner!

At long last, my music degree is finally drawing to a close: after a very successful winter term, I am on the cusp of submitting the last few bits of music production work and my 12,000 word dissertation on sound design in multiplayer first-person shooters - which will be available to read very shortly! I'll hopefully know my degree classification by July, but I've got a good feeling...!

Teaching has picked up dramatically, so I've only got a handful of afternoon slots left - although plenty of time for morning lessons, for any early risers! My FirstTutors streak of 5-star reviews remains unbroken at time of writing - accusations include 'friendly, approachable, knowledgeable, patient, trustworthy,' and the most damning of all, 'a natural teacher.' I must admit, I do enjoy it - particularly when it means pushing other people toward the music  and musicians I admire most!

Gigs and recording work have cleared up a little since Christmas. The upcoming Shadow of Acolyte album is morphing into something strange and new, and while I won't be hitting drums on the album, I can already confirm that the material is excellent - and that there are a few very interesting names attached to the project! The Sakura material has shifted back into the capable hands of the guitarist, and so I'm back on the shelf until the situation moves back toward live performance. It isn't all bad news, though - Ambugaton have been recording some very complex, dark and serious music - as evidenced by a particularly dark and serious photograph below. Some recordings should appear in the coming weeks - hopefully for real, this time.

I'll be taking on a lot more recording and gigging work over the next few months. Thus far, I've been hauling drum gear on the bus, which is NOT FUN AT ALL - and so I'll be very happy to be driving in the next couple of months!

I've got a few more projects up my sleeve, which I'd do better to cryptically keep secret until they're slightly closer to completion - but not all just straight music projects! Watch this space - and my project list - for more information coming soon!

Winter Plans

It's been a fair while since the last update: half a dozen gigs, multiple recording sessions with multiple bands for three upcoming albums, plus the writing for said albums, plus the associated rehearsal time plus preparations for the last year of my music degree plus all the usual teaching work - and that's not including the projects I'm running and skills I'm trying to work on in my time off...!

Besides sleeping around 30 seconds a night to fit all of that in, I've also moved my office into a slightly larger space! This has made my life a lot less stressful, having to haul gear every which way across Nottingham.

Witness the spaciousness of this fully armed and operational battle station

I've also been teaching students internationally, recently - although calling it Skype lessons sounds a little less exciting.  If any readers, near or far, are interested in Skype lessons, either contact me, or have a look at the Tutoring page for a little more information!

I'm hoping that by the time I update next, I'll have some exiting new recordings to announce officially, but to keep you busy in the mean time, here's a full concert video of Shadow of Acolyte we released fairly recently. Enjoy!

Music for Sleep

FINALLY, Music for Sleep has been released, and it is every bit as horrible as I had hoped! 9 songs of not-rock anti-jazz weirdness, mixed by a good friend at Ambugaton Records. More like a horror movie in music than anything radio friendly, but I had a great time writing and recording it all. It is currently available on Amazon and iTunes, as well as all streaming services.

Music work is like a hydra, though: if you cut off one head, two more appear in its place - and so I have several more projects to move onto! Nonetheless, I am taking on several more students, now that summer is here. If you're interested, head over to the Contact page and send me a message!

Radio Eroticism, Music for Sleep, and moving onwards...

I've finally gotten around to uploading Radio Eroticism to online stores - the project is doomy, ambient drone music and soundscaping, with a lot of noise and distortion. It was mainly for fun and psychtherapy, rather than a "serious" release - but it seemed like it'd be interesting to put it out there anyway. There are two releases, Beautiful Casino Foundry, recorded during Summer 2017, and the more recent Tumerous Cloak of My Beloved.

 

Music for Sleep is well on the way to completion, but a concrete release date is still to be confirmed; either early March, or else late April, at worst.

I've had to leave Scriptures because of schedule clashes - between rehearsals, gigging and teaching, I was finding very little time for sleep! They're on the cusp of announcing my replacement at time of writing, but are continuing business-as-usual.

December Update - Music For Sleep on the way...

Been very busy juggling work at the minute, and trying plenty of new things in various departments - teaching my first few students internationally is very exciting, but performing live with a sample-pad may have to go back to the drawing-board... Likewise, performing in a cave was a very exciting first, but live-mixing on just a laptop, maybe not... Live and learn!

I've had to jump ship from some projects recently, but got plenty more on the cusp of fruition: most immediately, I am very excited to release my second solo album, "Music for Sleep", which is my seventh solo project, or fifth public release! Currently slated for March-time, assuming all goes well - most of the instrumental writing is finished, and I'm currently in the process of laying down the vocals on the album. It's currently looking like it may be harder-edged and more oblique than Without Pictures I Understand, but I'm very happy with the material as it stands.

November Update

Very busy hacking through rehearsals and preparing material for various projects at the minute, including incorporating some fancy new hardware into Scriptures and Shadow of Acolyte's live show! Both bands have upcoming gigs in November and early December, which I've added to the gigs page.

Besides live work, I am also still available for music lessons on piano, guitar and drums in the Nottingham area! My availability is currently a little ambiguous, but I can adapt my schedule if you send me a message via my Contact page!

DBS Checked

An update for prospective tutees - and the parents thereof - my Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check has finished and cleared. Anybody who would like my certificate number, I can provide it on request.