I’ve almost always preferred sunsets to sunrise. When I’m busy I often work through the nights, making the most of the quiet spaces between my days to keep on top of whatever it is i’m working on - or maybe just to get a shot at making something new without feeling guilty for risking wasting a day if it’s not fruitful.
It can feel like free time when the world is sleeping, like i’m getting an extra chance to create something whilst nobody is watching. The best part is, nobody is expecting me to have been up all night making anything so in short; if I fail to create something in that time, I haven’t lost anything…other than a few hours sleep that I’ll catch up on somewhere. I think because of doing this, sunrise always reminds me of the world resuming. Phone calls continue, emails rushed back & forth and by the time I’m finishing for the night, people are starting their days the world’s volume is already back on 11 and that peaceful space of nighttime is illuminated by the daylight.
The beginning of a new year is always a daunting time, whilst everybody talks of their resolutions & grand plans for the next 12 months ahead I find myself standing still both trying to catch my breath after a chaotic end to the year, whilst wondering what my next steps should be. This time round has been no exception. Although there’s been no festive gigs (Christmas is usually a chaotic time for me, 2019 I travelled 5000+ miles and played 35 gigs in 28 days not including the 3 day build of the annual church gig) the last chapter of 2020 was a dramatic one for me, with IMG’s first release on the label services front with Tom Clarke as well writing & producing an album of songs for a library publisher with Matt. I love being busy and even though some of 2020’s projects have spilled into the new year, this doesn’t concern me as I am really proud of everything i’m working on. There’s always got to be some contingency time planned for creative projects, I think it’s only fair on ourselves to allow that breathing room. Even if I didn’t need the extra time, knowing it’s there can relieve a lot of pressure.
On the whole though I’d say that even though 2020 didn’t go the way any of us planned, once I found my feet again and made a plan for the rest of the year I’ve landed at the beginning of 2021 roughly where I thought I would after the pandemic hit. Truthfully, I was hoping to have a real break across the festive period and I did have some time off, but there is already so many great things lined up for this year that I needed to hit the ground running to ensure I actually had a fighting chance of pulling it all off. This month i’ll be finishing off the earlier mentioned album with Matt and hopefully finishing some long overdue recording on my next batch of solo releases (COVID depending: however there really isn’t much left to do now as i’ve been working on it all wherever i’ve been able to carve out some time. Some backing vocals one track, 2 or 3 days of production on another song & then mixing…more on that “soon”) before heading into a BIG project in February.
Next month’s content will introduce the launch of something i’ve been DESPERATE to tell you about for over a year.
Over the horizon though, further away than what I can already see coming up, is an unknown to me. This morning I spoke on the phone to Jack Arnold (who’s been producing a couple of my new songs with me: Real World/Strangers) for almost 3 hours about music we’re working on and beyond; and although I have so much to sink my teeth into already in 2021, creatively I am already thinking about what’s coming after that. I’ll always be that way I think, it’s not that I rush through anything but i’m always curious to discover what the next chapter is going to look like. I am very excited about all the music i’ll be making this year, and can’t wait to see what comes after that too.
I also want to take this opportunity to remind you how truly grateful I am for you supporting me in all I do. Sharing all of this with you is scary because if other people know about it, then it makes all these ideas real. I am so proud of what I’ve been making in the last 8 months whilst i’ve been creating & sharing content here on patreon, and it’s so important that you know how much your support is allowing me to do it/helping me keep going with it all. Thank you.