Press play and have a read below about the tunes.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1SKJliglVHRPbl8VLFjqga?utm_source=generator

#SummerSessions #PaperGhosts
Go! I wanted the collection to work and flow as an album in its own right so made a lot of tough decisions in terms of what to keep/leave off. It’s focussed a bit more on the past 6 or 7 years mostly with a lean towards the “indie” guitar based stuff.

#SummerSessions #PaperGhosts
A rare song that came from just sitting and strumming with no initial spark of an idea. It came out pretty much as is. No idea what the chorus is about. Anyone got any ideas? The verse is the song singing to itself. Let’s see where this takes us.
Didn’t overthink the arrangement. Nice natural feel and I’m a sucker for electric piano. Went for an underwater sound to reflect lyric.@jamieupthemix who helped record and played bass has a better version in the vaults somewhere too!

#SummerSessions #WildestWind challenged myself to write a three chord wonder a la She Bangs The Drums. Bit of a subtle drone going on with the keys. Stuff like this deffo led into Crimson Bloom being an idea to develop. There’s a bit of unintentional influence from The Cult’s She Sells Sanctuary in the guitar. The song is about someone who is a force of nature that disrupts everyone’s lives as they pass through. You know. That person.

#SummerSessions #WhyDontYouCallMe a definite attempt to write something a bit mid-period acousticy Beatles. @badly_drawn_boy said it reminded him of Elliot Smith so I’ll definitely take that! A lot of my songs need the keys changing on the rare occassions they’re played live as I tend to write/record while other people are trying to sleep in the house so keep it hushed.
I make videos now and then that very few people watch. Here’s one for this song a year old currently on about 40 views

https://youtu.be/O97NsBOh49c

#SummerSessions #TheClothesHorse seems quite popular this one. A bit mad, arrangement-wise. Maybe that’s why. I was using a program called Fruity Loops a lot at this time so messed about with stuff I could never play live.
Heavily autobiographical about a “past life” of mine. I’ve always used songwriting as a way to exorcise my demons and vent about stuff but tend to be a bit cryptic in the lyrics. A slight hint of Stevie Wonder and Beta Band in the rhythms.

#SummerSessions#GoodbyeToYesterday I’d been to see @thecoralband in Leeds and came away totally inspired. The Underneath The Damson Tree fell out over the next week. This, admitted rip off, was first. A key song for me though. The song is about growing from a kid to a teen and the loss of innocence that comes with that. The whole album flirtsa around the idea. Musically harking back to my formative years too. It opened a door wide for subject matter.

#SummerSessions #SickJoke from the album #Scratch which saw me picking up my guitar properly for the first time in a while. A borrowed vox amp gave me loads of great, classic sounds so I wrote the album around them. Lots of 60s psych influences & also a bit of The Coral again
I think the riff came first. The chorus is about someone not being direct in what they say (ironic from cryptic ol’ me). The verses are a bit more stream-of consciousness about a rocky relationship. I like most of this record.

#SummerSessions #ILeftMyBootsInSantiago written in my head as I walked 150 miles from Porto to Santiago on the #Camino. My feet were fucked within 3 days but I could see the funny side of it and always get a song out of a situation. Heavy #WichitaLineman influence.
Most of the song is true but I added a relationship element. I did leave my boots there at the end though. I’d recommend walking it but go alone for the best experience. Met loads of great people from all over the world.

I was quite pleased with the strings etc on this. I’m a total blagger in terms of music theory etc. just try to play what I hear in my head!

#SummerSessions #24HourSunshine just built around a bit of a groove this one. The electric piano returns! Never quite got the mix I wanted but quite like the overall funky feel and maybe my favourite middle 8.
It’s kind of about someone/people that exude sunlight and positive energy to others – almost the opposite of Wildest Wind. You’ll know people on here like that. It could be about them

#SummerSessions #BrianWilsonDay written and recorded on a very rainy summer’s day when my son, Donovan, was 6 months old. He’s referenced in the song “my baby” and that’s him laughing too. Exploitation levels are high.

@Bob_Fischer and his mate Stuart provide the doo-wop and “cumulo nimbus” bits. We just listed cloud types and sang them. Wanted a bit of a multi-section song like Good Vibrations without being too on the nose with it. They both perform in a group called Old Muggins who are brilliant in a Bonzos kind of way.
It’s from the #CatchingSparks album which features heavily worked up arrangements. Sometimes I just go back to a stripped back “punk rock” style and then react to myself with baroque stuff like this. Then I react again.

#SummerSessions#AcrossTheSky this is related to Brian Wilson Day in that I totally stole the instrumentation from God Only Knows but applied it to a song that was trying to be a bit like something Simon from @CherryGhostband might write. I don’t think I got close to either!
I quite like it though and it still works well acoustically. The vocal is pretty fragile but it suits the song so I left it. I’ll be the first to admit I sing much better live than recorded. I’m too impatient to get stuff finished and move on tho.

#SummerSessions#JustRemember My anthem for the pessimists. Dates back to #myspace days!@kingsleychapman from @Benefitstheband painted a picture that said “Elvis Was Fat” and it triggered this idea. If those hugely successful people can fuck it all up then what chance do u have?
I do think good songs should have distinctive opening lines and often check back even if writing really quickly. My favourite songs (including mine) always pull you straight in. Hopefully a few of mine do that too.

#SummerSessions #PaperGhosts cheers for listening in! I try to write to a rule of “anything goes” and serving the song. There’s not much flashiness in what I do and I’m open to any style. This collection is just the tip of the iceberg. More “berg” at