New CDs from Georgia Fearn, John Forrester, Kent Nielsen and Damian Clarke
I love getting the chance to play on other artists CDs and it’s always exciting to hear them afterwards. I am rather honored to be on 2018 releases by Georgia Fearn and John Forrester and slightly less recent (2016) albums by Kent Nielsen and Damian Clarke.
Georgia Fearn – Perfect on Paper
Georgia Fearn’s 2018 CD Perfect on Paper was recorded at Studio49 in my hometown of Narberth by Nick Swannell who plays guitar on my Bluebox album. Georgia’s “indi-folk” songs are presented as an eclectic mix of acoustic pop, rock and jazz and I got to play some piano and penny whistle as well as accordion.
Perfect on Paper
Other musicians on the album include Fiddlebox‘s Helen Adam on violin and Firebyrd‘s Jack Deere-Jones and Alan Argent on double bass and sax respectively. Perfect on Paper is available all over the place but here are links to Spotify and Amazon. Georgia has a Facebook Page and there is an interview on Vibes of Silence.
John Forrester – Restless
Restless is in my opinion John Forrester’s best album to date. I’ve known this singer-songwriter for longer than I care to remember and everything seems to have come together on this excellent production. In a 4 star review Rock ‘n’ Reel magazine say “These are intelligent, thoughtful and involved songs…. An engaging and enjoyable collection.” Folking.com call it “an album full of exquisite pain”. There are also reviews on Music News and Folk Radio.
Restless by John Forrester
I get to do some accordion on 3 tracks and needless to say Restless can be bought, streamed and downloaded – here are some links: Soundcloud, iTunes, Amazon.
Last but not least here is John Forrester’s own website!
Kent Nielsen – Shotgun Seat DJ
I’ve known Kent Nielsen for ages and as he puts it himself he’s “got a history as an author, percussionist, shoe shop clerk, record label guy, mail order honcho, night porter and ukulele player a.o. But there’s one thing he’s been doing for ages – and that’s singing.” It was as a record label guy that I met him and he put out several Pressgang CDs from his base in Lübeck. The label was TWAH! and eventually wound up but Kent now has another called Viking Wreckchords.
Shotgun Seat DJ
Shotgun Seat DJ has a stong country feel and ranges from acoustic to rock. I play accordion and whistle on just one track “Platform No. 3”. It’s probably best for Kent if you get the CD from Viking Wreckchords (always buy direct if you can!) here are the usual other links: iTunes, Spotify.
Damian Clarke – Something to Say
Having been the main singer and songwriter in Pressgang it was no surprise that after we stopped touring Damian Clarke solo albums started appearing. Something to say is Damian’s 3rd and as Damian puts it: “This is an album of autobiographical reflections on my life as a touring musician”. Damian also works as a visual artist and not only is he responsible for the cover art, but texts from the songs are also integrated into some of his paintings – “Art and Music Interlaced” as it says on his Art website.
Something to Say
Damian’s Vocal and dulcimer playing dominate this acoustic folk album with additional instruments from other musicians including Cliff Eastabrook, Marko Neumann and me: I play whistle and accordion on a few tracks. The CD is available at Damian’s Solo site and Graham Steel Music Company as well as iTunes, CD Baby,and Deezer.
Million to One
I’m extra honoured that one of my songs “Miracle” from Fiddlebox’s first album gets a Damian Clarke re-work becoming “Million to One”. Here’s a video.
