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#SoundCelebration Day 20: Letter From The Front Line by Band of One (Handmade EP)

20/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 20: Letter From The Front Line by Band of One (Handmade EP)

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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.

​

#SoundCelebration Day 17. The River by Band of One (The River EP)

17/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 17. The River by Band of One (The River EP)

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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).

#SoundCelebration Day 15: Edge Of Future by Band of One (Being Ghosts album)

15/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 15: Edge Of Future by Band of One (Being Ghosts album)

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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.

#SoundCelebration Day 12. Let's Get Together At Christmas Time by Band of One (The Christmas EP)

12/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 12. Let's Get Together At Christmas Time by Band of One (The Christmas EP)

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The good thing about being a professional composer is that because you have the gear, the question starts to become 'why not' rather than 'why'; so when I started humming this tune back in 2014 I just thought I'd record it and see how it sounded.

I then recorded another, and another. You can hear my attempt at a Christmas single below. Oh go on then, if you use the discount code CHRISTMAS19 at check out (code valid until Christmas Day) you can download the whole Christmas EP on me. Happy Christmas!

#SoundCelebration Day 10: Hole by Band of One (Lights EP)

10/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 10: Hole by Band of One (Lights EP)

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The second EP from Band of One was released in 2013. The lovely cover photo (Kingston Upon Thames, where we lived at the time) was taken by Josh Greeves, a friend's son who came to stay to do some work experience at a nearby company. 

​This EP was about my friends...it seemed to be a time when everyone was going through something, and I suppose it came out in the songwriting.

Hole is track 3 (you can stream below), and the EP is available to buy here and on all good streaming/download sites. 

#SoundCelebration Day 6: Box by Band of One (Band of One EP)

6/12/2019

 

#SoundCelebration Day 6: Box by Band of One (Band of One EP)

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By 2013 I was writing for my first TV series, Everybody Loves A Moose. While it was pretty full on it was huge fun and has made me a fan of animation.

I started Band of One as I missed writing songs and making some noise. I hadn't really stopped writing songs so thought I should start getting some recorded, and Band of One seemed like an apt name for a band with one person in it.

If you use the discount code BO1EP19 at the checkout you can download the EP for free here until 25th December.

Band of One: Handmade EP

2/12/2017

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So here it is, Merry Christmas, and Band of One's brand new EP, 'Handmade', so called because it's acoustic. Acoustic guitar, lots of vocals, cello, piano and various rhythmic finger clicks, claps and brushes.

While I was making the next full band EP for Band of One I wrote an acoustic number that didn't fit with the other songs, so rather than shelve it I wrote the others to create this new EP. So not really intended but hey, that's art for you!

The Handmade EP is now available on most streaming platforms and download stores. 
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Animation Composed: A Skwigly Podcast

8/11/2017

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It was such a thrill to be invited to talk to Wez Allard on Skwigly's animation podcast series: Animation Composed. Skwigly has been my go to website for animation news for a long time, and if you're interested in animation it's well worth checking out. 

​You can listen to the podcast below (I'm around 52 minutes in, but it's a cracking podcast if you want to listen to the whole thing).

​Source (with bio info and track listing): Skwigly website

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I Know What I Am

3/10/2017

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My little side project, Band of One, gets attention once in a while. I have been tinkering with this track for a while now, just for fun really. I didn't want to include it on an EP or album so I thought it would be nice to give it away to my social media followers to say thanks.

'I Know What I Am' is a chill version of the Band of Skulls track. Just click on the artwork opposite to hear it.

​I remember stumbling across them years ago on YouTube and seeing this:
Needless to say I was blown away by the swagger and have liked their music ever since.

​So thank you Band of Skulls, and thank you followers. Click here to download the track for free.
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Band of One: The River EP

10/6/2016

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Band of One: The River EP

Release date: 11/06/2016

Available at: all good download stores

Project homepage: Bandcamp

It's that time of year when I release something from Band of One. As the name suggests, this side project is just something I do that's all me, no brief or anything, keeping the song writing muscles exercised and basically trying stuff out for the sake of it.  

Band of One isn't something I actively promote, I'm not signed to a label and I don't have a marketing budget. All I ask is that if you like what you hear then leave a review where you downloaded it from. That helps with the rankings in those stores. Oh, and maybe like the Facebook page / Twitter thingy and share some posts!

So, what's unique about this release? After last year's 'Being Ghosts' album release - a full band 'rock' production - I wanted to do something different. As I've never done an acoustic EP, I thought that could be an interesting thing to try and produce. I did end up adding some other instruments, so I suppose I can claim it to be a mostly-acoustic EP, but I suppose rules are there to be broken eh?
Finally, I sometimes get asked what my songs are about and I almost always fail to explain them properly. So here are some explanations to go with this year's release, along with the instruments I recorded for each song:
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The River


(Acoustic guitar, electric bass, piano, drums, tambourine, hammond, vocals)

Back in the summer of 2013 there was a series of Wednesday evenings where a group of friends gathered on a boat and floated around on the Thames near home. Everyone was going through something and the river was a tonic that soothed. That point in the evening where the sun was nearly down and the water was like a sheet of glass remains one of my favourite things. Add the fact that it was still warm and Pink Floyd was playing on the boat stereo, well, you get the idea.


Learn To Fly

(Guitar thump, hand claps, acoustic guitar, electric bass, 'cello, piano, vocals)

In 2011 I made the enormous leap from teaching to composing music for a living without really considering how to go about it. I was lucky to have a pal who gave me some work initially (thanks Mike), but I didn't really know where I was heading or how to get there. If ever there was a leap of faith this was it for me. So, of course, in the meantime I had doubts and paranoia and inner arguments about whether this career was going work, but (as with most things) the best way to learn how do something is to get on and do it. You can read more about the production of this song here.


Miracles and Accidents

(Acoustic guitar, piano, vocals)

I've learned in the last few years that you can never predict what's around the corner. Sometimes the most rewarding things come from the most unexpected places. So I say celebrate the unexpected.


Cold

(Piano, double bass, vocals, stair case, acoustic guitar)

I recently watched a documentary on Bruce Springsteen who explained that he changed his song writing style early on from writing about himself to making up stories, which gave him endless possibilities. I've always written in a semi-observational way, with my own experiences mixed in with friends, news etc. This song is an attempt to write from imagination rather than experience. Also, it started as the result of a production experiment you can read about here. 


Electric Circus

(Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, drums, tambourine, vocals, piano)

This song was written on a bus (and in a school class room later that same day) while I was doing some supply teaching to supplement the income. It was summer, and Electric Circus is an actual place (and more specifically a bus stop near Surbiton). It's a straight up, breezy pop love song about leaning on someone when life gets too much.

My friend and long time music collaborator Pauly came over one evening to help with the backing vocals.

So that's all for now, hope you enjoy it!

​G
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