Loved playing in Bournemouth last weekend.
It was especially good to play with Stan Majerski on keys. We met in the Balkans and he produced and played on two albums that were developed out there: “Dreams of a Homecoming” and “This is for you”. We’ve also toured a lot together along with our larger five-price band. In my opinion, the man is a genius – if you’ve heard his melodic solos and creative harmonies, I expect you agree!
Tapestry
Sharing an evening of “Stories and Songs”, we wanted to weave together music, conversation and visual art that point to the reality of the “God who is there”. The One who has come towards us in the person of Jesus to draw us into connection – relationship – with Him through His death and resurrection…
With one or two events most weeks until the end of March, I’ll keep you posted!
Here are some images taken on the evening by the gifted Bournemouth photographer, Loïc Salan…
“Andy has put together a finely crafted set of songs which speak clearly of the Gospel and relate it to the experience of the man in the street (or the man in the jazz café, in this instance). His careful vocals mean that every word is heard and the diverse musical arrangements – particularly those which feature Nick Beston, and some achingly beautiful strings – are wonderfully produced.
“Stan and I met in Serbia – the place that was my home for ten years. I’m always stunned by Stan’s creativity and lateral thinking… a funky man. On ‘This is for you” – as well as playing and programming – it is Stan who has engineered and arranged the songs.”
“He’s playing all over the world but he has time to put in gigs with us too. He’s the ultimate drummer who – as one person pointed out – ‘Can play slow and fast’.”
“Luke’s toured with us several times now and adds some Wastell spice to retro-sounding ‘Flattered’ on this latest album – in fact it was while we were touring in the Balkans that we set aside an afternoon in an artists’ ancient brick studio and asked Luke to play that distinctive retro snare sound.”
“She’s amazing – took time out from London shows to pour in some extra magic to five of the songs on ‘This is for You’. Her voice is incredibly versatile as one reviewer wrote, “a delight”.
“Usually found playing with Catherine in chamber quartets, Daniel came to join us for the recording of “This is for you”. Somehow we squeezed a “strings section” into the “Railway Carriage Studio”…
“Friends from way back and now bringing her sound to this recording, classically trained Catherine is the heart of the string quartet easing into the title track. A most mellow cello.”
“Pete’s a genius. So precise yet with a soul… From the lineup of our first tour, it’s something special to have him back for ‘This is for You’.”
And the crowds are pushing, bustling by: anonymous strangers thronging toward untold destinations – lives in their own personally-contained orbits. Some confused. Some ecstatic. Some limping towards a worrying tomorrow, others striding self-confidently ahead.