This has been a labour of love and an exercise in musicianship , recording and mixing.
Everything was recorded from scratch and played by yours truly.
It's a monster - 5 piece brass parts, synth solos (made up of three different synth patches), piano solos, 2 guitar solos, organ parts, percussion, 3 part harmonies and much more. I have learned so much doing this and I'm just hoping some of it will rub off in my own song writing and recording lol!

Toto - Rosanna - Full Cover

Last year, when the world slowed down, I found myself looking inwards and remembering the past. I see my friendships shift in shape, my relationships ebb and flow, and the ground I’m standing on is moving beneath my feet. This record is an introspective dive, pinpointing the moment I recognised a consistency within me that fights to contradict my life in stasis. Beneath the skin deep layers there is an engine: sometimes idle, but never stalling. This motor propels me with a musical momentum. It compels me to speak my truth, words encircled in melody.

I asked my friend Hannah to draw this concept.

On October 30th, I’ll be releasing a 12 track collection. The music is about 50/50 unreleased and remastered versions singles I’ve published over the last year or so. One song is totally re-recorded to feature the beautiful singing of my good talented friend Sanja Cin.  

The process of recording this music is much indebted to a number of longterm collaborating partners:

Firstly, all of the drums and percussion instruments that you hear were lent to me freely by Aidan Poland. Without unrestricted access to his beautiful drum kit, I never could have captured these rhythms.

All of the keyboards and synthesised FX were produced using equipment loaned to me by Matt G. With the exception of tinkering in humble bedroom studio setup, all of the sounds were captured using Matt’s space where I had unfiltered access to microphones, a computer workstation, and most importantly: silence.

The entire record has been subjected to the fine-toothed audio engineering prowess of my good friend David McLaughlin. Dave took my tangled mess of a record and made it shine bright. 

Special thanks also goes to Maria Toase,, who recorded me acoustically when I was somewhat lost, wandering between disbeliefs, and reminded me to believe in myself. The acoustic music from that session form the bones of the track “Killing Time” paired with instrumental layers that I added almost a year later. 

We all walk a path but rarely do we watch where we are going. Without these individuals’ advice and collaboration I would never have achieved what, for me, is a monumental line in the sand along the shores of my dreamworld.

The Thread Connecting Us

Music video here: https://youtu.be/jxvZpVCwQ1g
This song is based on a true story of how I nearly wandered off the edge of a mountain whilst lost in the mist!

Lyrics:
THIS FRAGILE LIFE
Misty mountain peaks and winding trails
Getting off the beaten track
Camera in my backpack
Purple heather clothes these ancient fells
All the heavy rain last night
Made the river quite a sight  

I almost wandered off the edge today
 Zero visibility
Location was a mystery
Stumbling in the mist I’d lost my way 
Lonely in the cloud 
A silent deadly weather shroud

CHORUS
Life is so fragile
And I had to face it
There in an instant 
Looking me in the eye
Love is what binds us
 Keeps us together
 And I wasn’t ready
No time to say goodbye

VERSE3
 The mist dissolved into a cobalt blue I heard children sing below
And in the hills a rainbow
Somehow transported to a better place
And right there on the village green 
A game of soccer was the scene

MIDDLE	
And all I did was think about you
Unaware of all I’d been through
I only had this picture of you
So much more we’re wanting to do, wanting to do

This Fragile Life

This is dedicated to everyone suffering illness especially those without a diagnosis or effective treatment including several in my own family.

Lyrics:
EVERYBODY TRIES
They told me what you’d say
And they were right 
I might as well have stayed back home
No one has the answers to this pain 
It’s just a long and lonely road
	
Everybody tries to understand
Some have tried their best to lend a hand
I guess I’m just a mystery 
My history’s repeating on and on

I’ve-had-every test from A to Z
They just wont rest until they know
Pride is all it is,  to say your beaten
Is a place they just won’t go

MIDDLE
I have come to rest on a prayer
Accepting that answers are not there
Wohh Wohhhhh
Wohh Wohhhhh

They tried again today to shed some light
But they’re just fumbling in the dark
They put another note into my file
I saw them write a question mark

Everybody Tries

Andy Prosser

Related tracks