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Here are a some of the people I have collaborated with in recent years:
Seb Tomasini - Producer ExtraordinaireI’ll have known Seb for 25 years this year, we first met at college in 1988. He is an extraordinarily amazing guy – not only one of the nicest people on the planet, but blessed with a phenomenal mind and aptitude to reach a high level of expertise in any given subject. Seb’s two big passions are software development and music, and over the years he has managed to become involved in the areas of both of these to which he is most drawn – production being one of his big passions in the music side of things.
Having kept in touch with Seb over the years and been aware of what we have both been doing, we chatted a while ago about Seb becoming involved in the production of my latest CD, “Ojos de la Tierra”. This collaboration really has been the pinnacle of the journey involved with this CD, proving beyond all reasonable doubt that the phrase “Together we can achieve what we can never achieve alone” has never been more relevant.
Having single-handedly recorded, mixed, mastered and produced all my other CDs, I decided to take a leap of faith and put the mixing and mastering in the hands of the one person on the planet I knew would approach it with an unparalleled amount of passion (rather than many companies who just view it as another job). Since taking rough mixes of the completed tracks to Seb, we have heard them evolve into something really quite special. Not only does each track have superb production, but they all have “individuality” – something often lacking from albums in this day and age. Each song is part of a journey, and each song tells a story and evokes emotions, and Seb’s input has brought these qualities to life. From the guitar sound on each track (along with a few genius suggestions he made back at the recording phase), to the arrangement and spacing of the other instruments and overall vibe, Seb just knows “intuitively” what’s needed.
If you want a good job done of the production aspect of your music, there are lots of people out there. If you want an amazing job done, then look no further than Plymouth's very own George Martin.
www.qgates.com |
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EsperantoI met Jon in 2004 on a Flamenco Forum, and we discovered we both played Flamenco guitar (well actually that part was no surprise really) - and lived within 10 miles of each other. We met up for a jam session and decided to form a duo, which we called "Esperanto". The ethos behind "Esperanto" is the creation of a language that transcends nationality and would foster peace and international understanding between people with different regional and/or national languages. Of course, this also applies to music, which itself is a language that transcends nationality and can be understood by all, hence an appropriate name.
After playing many gigs together over the years, 9 years later we have finally got around to recording a CD, "Ida y Vuelta", which is available on the Esperanto website. |
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Guitarra ArrizzaI met Yannaki (Guitarra Arrizza) many years ago via the internet, on the garageband website, where you get to review other people's music (without choosing what you review or knowing who the music is by until after you've reviewed it!). We later hooked up on facebook, and have been great friends ever since. Yannaki is half Greek, and lives in New York, so we have never met in person, yet we get on fabulously, and he has a been a great collaborator on "Ojos de la Tierra" - our guitar styles are such a great blend, with my more traditional Spanish guitar sound, and his "Greek-sounding" Spanish guitar that he manages to make sound half-way between a guitar and a bozouki - very cool and very unique. He plays a tasteful and emotive solo in "Cielos Cubiertos" and then in "Cafe Tierra" and "Ojos de la Tierra" we have some great fun playing off each other's solos, creating some magical guitar-interplay in differing styles that compliment each other perfectly.
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Tim JuckesI met Tim at a party in Somerset (well I recall it was actually more of a mini-Glastonbury than your average party!) - I was playing Spanish guitar, and he was playing electric guitar in the headlining band. We got chatting about our mutual musical interests, and I subsquently played on the same CD as Tim ("Mr Incredible" by Jasmin Homer) - with Tim playing bass on some tracks and myself on electric guitar.
Being impressed with Tim's bass skills, and also discovering he was a talented violinist, I recruited him as a key part of "the Ojos de la Tierra band" for the recording of the album - with him playing bass (both electric and fretless) on eight tracks and also violin on three tracks.
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Giles Newman TurnerI actually shared the stage with Giles at Wellington Music Day in 2001, not knowing that a few years later we would be my father-in-law! Giles is a very talented singer/songwriter, with a real gift for catchy melodies and very thought-provoking lyrics - some of which I think are outstanding (from "Clean up your own mess": 'Take a look round any town, and what do you see when you look down? A hundred million blobs of gum, like the brains in the heads from whence they come' is one of my all time favourites...). I have recorded several songs for Giles and also played guitar, both electric and Spanish, on some of his tracks.
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Chris MaGrathI met Chris when living in Somerset, we used to play at the same restaurant, and ended up both playing many gigs, and on many recordings in the area by local artists, including Sarah Cunningham and Jasmin Homer. Chris also plays piano on my CDs - "Exotica" and "Ojos de la Tierra". His piano playing skills are exquisite.
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Al MarconiI've know Al since 2005, when I bought one of his CDs in Plymouth. We've since then become good friends and also played together several times at gigs and parties, and have become good mentors for each others music. Al introduced me to some great artists of the genre, including Strunz & Farah and Jesse Cook, which have since become musical inspirations to me. Al and I finally collaborated together on a recording, on the track "Palinka" on my "Ojos de la Tierra" CD, where my lead lines are complimented by Al's fiery eastern solo, a style of music we are both passionate about.
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Sarah CunninghamI first met Sarah when I popped a demo CD through the door of her restaurant, "Cunninghams" in Taunton back in 2001. I got a phone call about 10 minutes later offering me a regular gig there, which was great (as was the food!). I have since collaborated with Sarah in various ways - studio session work, as an acoustic accompaniment and as part of a band backing her and other great singers including Jas Homer and Viv Lynham.
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Tiggy AcworthTiggy Acworth has been writing and performing music since 1994. Having recorded three albums over the years, he has released a new album for 2010, making full use of better equipment and modern technology. "These things happen" is available on iTunes and Spotify, as well as alonetone.com and reverbnation. The songwriting, performing and production is all done in the Somerset countryside...
I met Tiggy via the internet, then we met at a gig in Glastonbury a few years ago. I have since played Spanish guitar for Tiggy on his song "Everyday I love you". You can listen to it here.
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