Sebright Arms 26th October

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I’ve always admired the way Communion develop their artists, giving a platform for songwriters like Ben Howard, Laura Marling and Daughter to play their music. So I’m very happy for them to present my next London gig at The Sebright Arms.

I know it’s not a massive venue, but this tour has always been about playing in the best small venues around. I love the interaction and atmosphere that those environments offer, so let’s start here and as plans for the next album develop, we’ll see where it all leads… x

Tickets are on sale now at communionmusic.co.uk/live.… Read the rest

New Album + A London Gig

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I can report that writing the ‘difficult second album’ has indeed been difficult. Should it be an elaborate concept album? How many bagpipes to have in my bagpipe orchestra? There was joy, there was *facepalm*. I made a sign.

But along the way I feel like I re-discovered music, and look at many of these new songs as the best I’ve ever written. It’s now time to record them into an album to follow up 2011’s Many Fish To Fry.

Our first studio dates are booked for next month, and although it may not be released until next year, the ball is rolling and will bear its first fruits in the Autumn. Listen out for that.

In the meantime I’d like to invite you to a solo concert at a small venue in Dalston, London next month.

The date is 23rd July 2013. Are you free??
The … Read the rest

More Excellent People Doing Great Things

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Just want to express my gratitude to The People’s Republic of Nizlopi for letting me be part of their special shows in London this week. Two extraordinary people making extraordinary music, it really was a privilege to be one of their support acts along with the brilliant Antonio Lulic.

Who else makes music like them? They really are like nothing I’ve ever seen before and the love in the room is testament to their impact on people’s lives. Thank you also to everyone who listened so carefully to my set too.

As many of you know, John Parker (pictured above, stage diving last night) has been the only bass player I’ve ever played with. We’ve shared so many wonderful gigs together from the outer islands of Scotland down to mainland Europe and everywhere in between. This history, tied in with a little piece of Nizlopi history, meant last … Read the rest

Excellent People Doing Great Things

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One Run For Boston

Wonderful to be introducing two excellent new projects – One Run For Boston and The Little Bird Foundation.

One Run For Boston is a non-stop relay race spanning the width of the United States to raise money for The One Fund, a charity set up to provide assistance to victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Over 1000 runners are taking part, passing on the baton to a new runner every couple of hours for 3 weeks night and day, and due to cross the finishing line of the Boston Marathon on June 30th. So far they’ve managed to raise over $50,000, with more coming in every day.

Danny Bent, one of the organisers, asked if Feet Don’t Fail Me Now could be their official theme song, and of course I didn’t have to think very hard before saying yes. Best wishes to all the runners involved, they’re part … Read the rest

31/05/13 South Devon Arts Centre, Totnes, Devon

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After a couple of very special gigs in Totnes over the last year, I was asked to play the opening night at the new South Devon Arts Centre, hosted by one of its patrons ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris. What a space, I bloody love it. There’ll be some great nights here in years to come.

Totnes is up there with Hebden Bridge for beautiful places people dream of moving to when they’re fed up with living wherever they currently live. I can’t say I blame them. I met so many excellent friendly people.

Also, it’s utterly gorgeous. I went for a run the following morning in the sunshine by a river through a wood and felt totally peaceful and happy.

Totnes run

Just in case you were wondering – I’m not one of those people who run 7 miles every day before breakfast. I was just inspired by the chap who put me … Read the rest

23/05/13 The Moon Club, Cardiff

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Where should my personal life end and my music begin? The best music draws upon our experiences, and I often love music precisely because it is so personal.

Some artists like Daft Punk play down their humanity, enabling them to transcend it and become post-human pop mega-beings. They present us with a vision equally unfamiliar to us all, so we all feel equal before it which can be an epic unifying experience. Good old Daft Punk you’ve smashed it again. Their gig in Hyde Park a few years back is in my top 5 gigs ever. It was like aliens had come to earth to show us how to do music properly, and I wasn’t even on drugs. Lots of people were, what must it have been like for them?!

In contrast, ‘personal’ things tend to divide everyone into two groups: ‘people who feel like me’ and ‘people who don’t … Read the rest

20/05/13 Moles, Bath

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I’ve been in the grip of a bread making obsession recently. Taking a step closer to the sandwich shop perhaps?
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There always was a bit of the ‘never a truer word than spoken in jest’ to that lyric, but I bet I’d get bored of being a baker. I’d soon be craving learning something new.

Before the gig I went to Wagamama’s in Bath with some old friends, and was telling them about my idea to get a job in the kitchens until I’ve learned how to cook the entire wagamama menu. Then I’d quit and do the same at an Indian restaurant, an Italian restaurant and so on. Then you could just keep going – be a builder, a plumber, an electrician, a gardener, a barman, a sailor, a cabbie, each year of your life a new job, like childhood curiosity for adults. You wouldn’t earn a lot, … Read the rest

16/05/13 The Guitar Bar, Nottingham

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There are three main reasons I chose Nottingham for my university:

– It was suitably far away from home to experience the thrill of moving out, but not so far when it came to that cliché about the washing.
– Me and my friend jack visited the campus on an open day. It was gloriously sunny so all the girls looked gorgeous. We sat on the grass next to the lake and the student union served us beer, even though it was an open day so we were quite obviously under 18. Jack found a fiver on the floor.
– It was meant to be good for law, which is what I’d applied for.

For the next three years we all played at being adults, doing things we thought adults did like stay out late in clubs drinking VKs and dancing to awful music. It was a playground of boys … Read the rest

13/05/13 Oporto, Leeds

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Writing a new song is a bit like getting to know someone new. You start with only little superficial details and gradually get to cut the crap and find out what they’re like deep down. What are their true motivations? Where have they come from? Are we going to get on?

For example I’ve got a new song called Falter. For months the music evoked something in me, a sort of sadness, but I ignored that and wrote the lyrics about other things like the joy of repetition or people who don’t stop to think before they act.

Eventually as I got to know the song more, I realised all this was like putting a suit on a surfer dude, or a hippy tie-dye t-shirt on a goth – it just didn’t fit the personality right. I stopped fighting it and let it be who it wanted to be, which … Read the rest

11/05/13 Bucks Student Union, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

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For you or me it might be unusual to stand on top of a woman lying on a bed of nails whilst you play the saxophone. Well, not if you’re part of Slamboree, the raucous DJ/live band/circus party band. At one point backstage a juggler was teaching me to throw a hat correctly to land on my head whilst a rip-to-remove velcro dress was being tested out 2 feet away. I needed all my concentration skills for that one.

That’s right, to quote a line on the new Paper Aeroplanes album (out this week – double underline), I might run away with the circus. Really I might. Ever wondered why running away with the circus is such a cliche? (God what is it with quoting paper aeroplanes songs today…) It’s because they know how to have a good time.

We’re at Bucks New Uni’s end of the year … Read the rest