One of my absolute favourite moments from this year. Hashtag Poems reaffirmed to me that as creatives we can do anything if we just get on with it. I won't type out all the details of what happened again, you can read all about that here... needless to say that I'm so grateful to the poets who took part.

​As I've mentioned in previous posts, screenless is an evolving audio brand, and this year has really been about seeing where it could go. Thing is, it could go anywhere, and I'm actually really pleased that I've reached that conclusion. It's a conduit for original audio content and any other wild ideas I might have. 

This is a ​screenless production that has taken me and co-producer Dan Watts the last six months to make. I knew if I was going to reach into the world of TV drama I would need to collaborate and get out of my comfort zone, and approaching Dan was just the best decision. We went about creating something out of nothing, a TV drama soundtrack album without a TV drama. The TV production professionals we approached to have on the podcast as guests all gave their time and advice gladly, and we're so grateful to them.

We're coming to the end of the album, which means the first series will also end, but there are already plans afoot for series 2. You can listen to the whole series for free via your podcast app, and you can see all the links here.

This is the first time that I have two screenless projects in production at the same time. The first series of the Making A Soundtrack podcast is nearly at an end, but I have been writing and recording for this little gem along side. The brain child of fellow Scream Streeter Richard Smith and his daughter Lily, Have You Ever Seen is a series of silly rhymes putting animals in ridiculous situations. We came up with the titles, I wrote, Rich illustrated, and I have been recording the kids and setting them to music. We're hoping that this series will also branch out into books and maybe other media. It's still early days, but we're really happy with what we've done so far. You can learn more here.

With all the centenary commemorations going on over the last few years, I was inspired to write this song, which in turn led me to recording another acoustic EP in 2017.

This EP was supposed to be followed by 'Bandmade EP', but I got a little sidelined with everything else going on. I WILL MAKE IT I PROMISE!

In the meantime, download Handmade EP on me by using the code HANDMADE19 at the checkout.

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'Garden Tales' was the second release by screenless, story poems about the adventures of minibeasts.

​The Little Bit Lost Ladybird was the final track of the series, and I approached it as if I were scoring an animation.

​'Garden Tales' is available here and on all good streaming / download sites.

I've lived next to the Thames since moving back to the London area in 2011. Lucky for me I have a brother-in-law with a boat, and for the summer of 2013 it seemed like every week a group of pals would head out on his boat in the evening, watching the sun go down and floating through the warm dark on dead still waters, accompanied by games of 'top the tune' and a cool box full of refreshments.

This song was a look back on that time. In many ways the river saved us.

You can download The River EP on me by using the code RIVEREP19 at checkout (until 25th December).

I started screenless to provide original content as an alternative to the goggle box. So many podcasts for kids (and adults) are extensions of TV brands, so I wanted screenless to be an audio-first brand.

The first series I wrote for this brand was 'Wibbly Rhymes', a collection of rather silly poems that I wrote in the first half of 2018.

screenless is going from strength to strength. As well as two kids' series (and another on the way), I've worked with poets, made a very silly comedy series, and am currently making a podcast (more on those in another post). I feel like it's evolving and growing organically, which was totally the intention. Here's the very first screenless ​release, 'Bellycopter'.

This is a reflective song, all about navigating my way through my new career (and how nothing could possibly prepare me for it). I had thought it was time I recorded a Band of One album so I did. I was writing a lot of library music at the time so it was a perfect project to have going along side. My pal Katie Holden provided the pencil doodles of the figures on the front cover (clever lady).

The song itself channels part Crowded House and part 10CC and features one of my oldest friends Paul Cutcliffe on backing vocals. 'And if you think of better things then better things are waiting for you out there' seems a bit prophetic as a couple of months later I got the Scream Street gig!

Use the discount code BEINGGHOSTS19 at checkout to download the album for free until the 25th December.