It was great to properly get back to work this year as restrictions were lifted and the world opened up. In the summer I finally started playing shows again, as well as continuing to record both remotely and in studios throughout the year. Here are some highlights from the past 12 months.
My first gig back after a 14-month break was a joyous London headline show in May with Samuel Nicholson. After working on a record with Sam last year, I loved playing his amazing songs in a live setting with the same band. Despite some restrictions still being in place (limited capacity, all seated), it was a really fun night with an attentive and appreciative audience, and led me to realise how much I’d missed live performance!
In August I played David’s Tent festival for the first time with Samuel Lane. It really is a special place that you can only experience by being there – 72 hours of continuous worship with thousands singing together is an amazing thing. We had a killer band made up mostly of our St Albans Vineyard worship team; it was great to be there with close friends as well as catching up with other pals from around the country. Definitely one of my favourite gigs, and I look forward to hopefully returning soon.
I got to visit some new studios this year, starting with Brighton Electric in April with the lovely John Seaton. We tracked a single with producer Matt Fury, who I worked with last year on Lydia Evangeline‘s ‘Strange’. John and Matt were both a pleasure to work with, and we got some great low and crunchy tones in the studio’s spacious live room. This was also my first in-person session since the start of the pandemic, so it was refreshing to actually be in a room and collaborate with other humans again!
I worked with John again later in the year at Lightship 95, as well as another artist called Electric Pylon Radio. Lightship is an incredible studio located on a boat moored on the Thames that I’d wanted to record at for a while – in addition to the unique setting, it has a lovely vibe and lots of fun vintage gear to play with. Check out the finished EPR track here, produced and mixed by the great Giles Barrett: https://soundcloud.com/electricpylonradio/start-again
I did more remote sessions this year than ever before, making the most of my new space at The Factory Studios in Harpenden. I got to work with both old and new friends from around the world (including Italy, USA, Australia and Hong Kong) on a variety of material, all of which I’m really proud of. One of the highlights was this track for singer/songwriter Jacob Hilton, which suited my musical taste down to the ground:
Another was ‘Prayer Of Consecration’ for Vineyard Worship, produced by Rich DiCas. I’ve been involved with the Vineyard movement for almost 10 years and grew up listening to its records, so it was a joy to finally get to play on one. I’ve worked with Rich before as part of Marc James’ band and we always connected musically. I enjoyed the chance to work with him in a different capacity here – thanks for the call Rich! I was really pleased with how this song came out, with a beautiful vocal performance by Olu Meduoye.
You can check out some of my other favourite remote recordings here, and do get in touch with any enquiries:
I’m looking forward to more of all this next year as things continue to open up and the music industry bounces back. Huge thanks to everyone I worked with in 2021!