The Future Rays

My hometown of Oxford has always had a pretty decent musical CV featuring such indie luminaries as Ride, Radiohead, Supergrass and The Candyskins as well as a whole host of other amazing bands. As a result I always keep a keen eye on what's happening in the city, and to that end, here is a little bit of "future" from the city: 'The Future Rays' are the latest band project from one of my pals, drummer Rory Kirkpatrick, and from the early demos and releases they look to be a band well worth keeping an eye on - not just for the future, but from right now with a searing and soaring blend of guitar tones and delicate vocal melodies dancing around a rhythmically flawless version of the famous "Oxford indie-pop sound".

I first met Rory, when I was in a band with his older brother Tom, and he was just a wee nipper at 12 years old - but was already a fantastic drummer and had a veracious appetite for music and learning his trade. After many years on the scene and doing some fantastic things in music including winning UK Buskers of the year (with his brother Tom) and getting to play with Sir Paul McCartney at Glastonbury (he has also played with Charly Coombes band and jammed with Dave Grohl) and lots more, he formed The Future Rays after writing material with friend John Harris and then teaming up with a brilliantly named bass player 'Everton' Barbota and guitarist Danny Fisher.  

The band have a couple of quite superb tracks up on their Youtube channel and you can hear a selection of very promising demo's on the bands Soundcloud page. Samples of both below. 

Having spent the past six months, writing songs and perfecting their sound, these first demo's appeared from sessions working with top Oxford producer Nick Moorbath at Evolution Studios. 2015 promises to be a busy year for the boys who are planning a UK tour and an their offical debut EP release. The band wagon has only just starting rolling, so be one of the first to jump on board now.

Adverb Ego Mirth Release

Whilst studying for my degree in Commerical Music Performance and Production, I have been regularly sneaking into the college recording studio to lay down tracks for my 'homework' and what has become my first 'proper' solo EP. After many overdubs and remixes I am finally able to release this work to the world, and here it is.

It is called Adverb Ego Mirth - a rather meaningless jumble of the letters that spell my name - and I have 'released' it in the manner of our times on my own little record label 'Less Economically Developed Music' - a far more accurately named entity reflecting my own limited resources. The EP is available to download from my own site, iTunes, Spotify and other such digital mediums. If anyone prefers an actual CD then you can buy one from my bandcamp page.

It is the product of much love and my own inimitable do-it-yourself style of music production with an emphasis on 'vibe' and other such meaningless tangibles. The four songs are from my more recent repertoire of live tracks - given a little touch up and arranged in a way that I am unable to do live without the help of some extra musicians.

Submarine - Mischief - Shadow Boxing - Home

Many thanks to those who have collaborated with me on these tracks to give it a little contrast and humanity: Amy Leggett who plays piano and keys and sings some harmonies, and also Bethany-Siobahn who provided some extra harmony vocals also...

The final icing on the cake comes by way of Cornish artist Ann Boo Whetter, who provided the striking artwork which is so important as the first bite is always with the eye. You can see more of Anne's unique work here.

I must also thank John Russell and Andy Cunningham, from Truro College, who supplied me with extra ears with which to mix and balance all the tracks into a listenable medium.

Please give the EP a listen, and if you like it do please share it amongst your friends on social media as this really does help me to reach new listeners. This music is created on starvation wages so these little gestures of love really do go a long way to claw back some finance from the grip of Apple and the others who largely consider the efforts of musicians to be a worthless commodity.

Love to all, and thanks for listening.

Fuck you Chico time...

Over the past few years I have accumulated a modest little collection of home recordings of songs that I have written to alleviate the overwhelming feelings of under-achievement that I have to live with daily. If I was Prince, this would be a momentous occasion and ground-breaking look into the vaults of one of the true modern greats. If I was even Chico - the one who wasn't even close to winning an X-Factor competition sometime in the past - it might still be the kind of thing that Metro might share with a controversial headline.

However, as a member of the Cornish (not so) super-group 'The Beutons', this musical spattering of home demos will be of very minor interest to a very small and exclusive group of Cornish people and some of my more polite family members and friends, and to them I offer this intriguing insight into the creative process of an extremely minor musician.

On this collection of irreverent, but cheaply and efficiently produced, music... you will find the original conception and recording of Last Dance With Mary Jane, a little known Beuton song "Zombie", a song where I proudly rhyme 'Karma' with 'Llama', and my longest titled song to date: Don't Let The Door Hit You When You Leave. There are also a couple of other songs that are not likely to be heard or recorded again, Caravan, The Circus and the Blur-esque 'You Got It' along with the title track 'Spot The Difference'.

If you like what you hear, you should download the songs here, or give the EP a little knowing nod and share on your social media. If you do this, it'll help this musician to feel significantly more empowered and inflate my ego to a level that, if I were ever to bump into Chico - perhaps on the streets of London during a visit to a national tourist attraction - I could proudly look into his eyes as an equal and not have to avoid his gaze by casting my eyes to the floor.

Of course, I'll never be able to look Prince in the eyes - in part because he's so damn short and would need a box or some very big shoes.