An old song of mine, written in 1990 but newly recorded in 2021 using retro 1980's drum machine samples. The original intention behind Any Reason was to write a song in the style of those on Phil Collins' debut album Face Value.
I will arrange for some live drums to be added in due course and I haven't got the brass correct yet but for now, this is Any Reason.


ANY REASON

This is an unmastered mix, with a handful of minor tweaks still to be made. The lyrics were written last year (2020) by my long time friend and collaborator, Dan Pyne as a reaction to the change of pace enforced by the Covid lockdown and those lyrics inspired the music that you hear here.

Learning To Listen is an upbeat plea, as we begin to emerge from the lockdowns, that we don't return to the old normality of environmental exploitation and corporate greed but embrace a more responsible attitude to all our lives, and that we regularly take time out to just listen to mother nature. There is no planet B - Press pause on this noise.

All voices and instruments were played by me, with the exception of the drum kit which is made from loops and samples. The kit (but not the cymbals), radio and birdsong samples are from Apple Loops.

LEARNING TO LISTEN (Hollis/Pyne)

This is a brief snippet from my current recording project - To Ride The Storm (part 1) - which tells the story of the ill-fated inaugural flight of the airship HMA R101 in 1930. All instruments and voices are by me except for the drums which were played by Elliott Manarin of Sofasonic. The drums and guitars were recorded at SoundArc studio in Bedfordshire and the bass and vocals were recorded by Steve Lord, who also mixed what you hear. There is still a lot of work to be done on this track (parts 1-4) but this gives you an idea of where it's headed. JBH.

To Ride The Storm (snippet)

This is parts three and four of Christina, my song inspired by historian Michael Woods' television documentary 'Christina, a Medieval Life'. I'm keeping the structure of parts one and two but am going to rewrite the tune to better suit my range and some of the lyrics.

Christina: parts 3 & 4 (demo).mp3

Full demo mix version of Francesca, inspired by the works of American Photographer and abstract artist Francesca Woodman (1958-1981).

On Being An Angel

First mix of my newest song, inspired by my mandolin playing grandmother.

Queenie's Mandolin (mix 1)

No Punchline

This is the opening section of my song 'To Ride The Storm' which is about the R101 airship disaster of 1930. This version was recorded more as an experiment than anything else as I was trying to remind myself how to use Logic after a few years of not recording anything by myself.

To Ride The Storm - Part 1 (demo)

This song was written and recorded in July 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown and is my attempt at an homagé to the songs of Neil Hannon / Divine Comedy. It was inspired in part by artwork created by Becca Saladin depicting Queen Elizabeth I as a modern-day woman. Check out her excellent work on Instagram @royalty_now_

All instruments were played by me except for the drums which are a mixture of loops and samples.

© 2020 Jason B Hollis. The copyright in this sound recording and artwork is owned by Jason B Hollis.

The Age of Elizabeth

This song was written by myself and Danny Pyne in 1993. We made a recording of it back then using a four track reel-to-reel tape machine and a lot of ingenuity which came out really well. Over the years I have taken to playing it acoustically, covering both the parts that Dan and I played on the original recording and it seems to be a favourite of my audiences, but I always wanted to recreate that original recording. This is that recreation, recorded at home during lockdown last year (2020). It needs a little bit of polish and there's one vocal line I want to redo but overall I'm very pleased with this. I hope you like it too.
JBH

HEATHAZE (Hollis/Pyne)

Millionth Chance is a new project intended to represent the solo output of guitarist and songwriter Jason B Hollis, who also records and performs with Hertfordshire based alternative folk band Westward Ho!

Now based in North Hertfordshire, Jason is a Londoner by birth and has been writing and performing since the 1990's.

The name Millionth Chance was chosen in reference to a quote concerning the British airship R101 which is the subject of one of Hollis' songs originally intended for the Millionth Chance debut album.

The COVID lockdown changed the focus of that debut album, which out of necessity was almost entirely recorded at home and became The Ghost's Companion; a collection of nine original songs of the supernatural, inspired by the works of some of the greatest writers of ghost story fiction.

Find Millionth Chance (aka Jason B Hollis) elsewhere on Socials.

INSTAGRAM:
https://www.instagram.com/millionthchancemusic?igsh=bXdveGxqbnRzZXg5

THREADS:
https://www.threads.net/@millionthchancemusic

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/share/xeGNXnS6LdqgwZFi/

BANDCAMP:
https://millionthchance.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghosts-companion

X / TWITTER: Nope, not there anymore.

Millionth Chance

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