Russia, London, Brighton and back to Russia via Kingston...

The last month has been hectic to say the least. But in a very good way.

It all started with an acoustic set with Knifeworld at Celebr8 festival in Kingston.  We borrowed the Larcombe's beautiful harmonium and re-arranged the set and actually played sitting down.  Despite a serious alck of desk channels, it worked out pretty well and we look forward to bringing out the acoustic action in the future. 

Shortly after that, Chrome Hoof got a last minute booking to play a party at Strelka in Moscow.  Terribly exciting stuff. The venue was actually bang smack in the centre and we were just a stone's throw from the Kremlin.  I managed to be in Moscow for less than 24 hours but it was totally worth it.





During a 2 week period of putting on shows and playing them, I did a mad dash to Luxe in Spitalfields to guest with the spectacular A Sweet Niche.  Always a pleasure.  And a massive burst of sax squarking was just what I needed.

This Friday sees Knifeworld back in Brighton for our re-scheduled 'Roast On The Coast' gig following the snowed in action in January.  We are greatly looking forward to playing with Thumpermonkey and Ham Legion.

The month is rounded off with a return trip to Russia with Chrome Hoof, this time playing White Nights Festival in Perm.  I hear that it doesn't get dark and is right by the Ural mountains.

That will be just about it for the summer gig-wise as Chrome Hoof are due to release in the autumn, Knifeworld are more than halfway through finishing the album and I can concentreate on finishing V A L V E at last.

V A L V E album update

We're getting there. Almost ready for mixing.  This project has been a pretty steep learning curve.  Despite having recorded on many albums over the years, this is the first time I have produced anything on this scale by myself and I am really discovering just how much work is actually involved.  With each step, I have gone off and learned how to do what I need to do so that I can get as much of it done myself as possible.  The upside of this is that I have been able to retain complete creative control; the downside being that it's takeing a very, very long time!  But, I've definitely learned a lot of new skills along the way.

I also am totally indebted to the numerous superb musicians who have so kindly agreed to appear on the album.  These include Kavus Torabi, Alex Ward, Ben Woollacott, Charlie Cawood, Sarah Anderson, Ivan Hussey....amongst others.  Full credits to be revealed soon.

***New Chrome Hoof Live Date***

We are playing Land Of Kings Festival in Hackney on May 5th.  Whilst we've been playing internationally, this will be our first London date in two years.  New costumes, lineup shuffle, new material, special action...

 The new album is now pretty much done and more news will be coming of that soon.  In the meantime, we shall be busily rehearsing for our London adventure.

A Sweet Niche Album Launch 07/12/12

Earlier this month I had the great pleasure of doing some mental squealing harmonics at the end of the fabulous A SWEET NICHE's set.  They launched their new album, EYE MUSIC II, at the Miller in London Bridge and completely rocked it.  The night sold out completely. A Sweet Niche are the way forward! 

SADH Tour

I am now back from an exhausting but completely fun tour with Knifeworld.  We played 7 UK shows with Trojan Horse and The Fierce & The Dead.

Over the course of the tour, we created a vlog each day for Prog Mag.  Van 2 created most of the content but, due to breakdowns etc, we sent some content over from Van 1 via iPhone.

Here they all are in order:

DAY 1 - BRISTOL



DAY 2 - CARDIFF



DAY 3 - MANCHESTER



DAY 4 - LEEDS



DAY 5 - GLASGOW



DAY 6 - NORWICH



DAY 7 - LONDON

Valve album recording update

Charlie Cawood came to valve HQ to put down some beautiful saz on one of the tracks this week. We will be doubling this on oud later. The track in question is growing by the day and promises to be pretty epic! Also featured on this track are Kavus Torabi on guitar and Ivan Hussey on 'cello.

Stabbing a Dead Horse Tour

Knifeworld are about to embark on a 1 week UK tour with the Fierce & The Dead and Trojan Horse. We start in Bristol on 27th October, trundle off as far as Cardiff and Glasgow then come back to London for our final show at The Lexington.