Super-talented quartet from Canterbury, the Boot Lagoon are pretty quiet these days busy with other projects and careers. This recording is taken from their EP (2011). I had the honour of guesting on tenor sax on this one.

Drawing influence from the vintage Canterbury prog bands from the late 60s/70s (Soft Machine, Hatfield & the North etc.), their music is exhilaratingly energetic, packed with weird (yet danceable) grooves and beautiful melodies.

Composition: The Boot Lagoon
Produced and engineered by Joel Magill & Raven Bush at Wicker Studios

http://thebootlagoon.co.uk

Cameron Dawson: Bass
Seth Scott: Drums
Pete Edlin: Guitar
Callum Magill: Keys

The Boot Lagoon - L'appareil Doux

I've known Tom since school. He's a sickeningly talented individual with many interests and passions. One of these is composition. He wrote this piece in his final year at Manchester Uni and I had the  pleasure of playing bass clarinet for it. 

bryony: viola
stevey p: marimba & crotales
dan: marimba 
me: bass clarinet

He now works on awesome projects with his big sis Charlotte:

http://charlottespencerprojects.org/artists/tom-spencer-sound-artist/

A Still Return (Tom Spencer)

I have been friends and played with accordionist Aidan Shepherd for many moons now. Another nauseatingly talented and multi-faceted musician, for the past few years I have been part of Aidan's Arlet band project. 

Recently we've taken to improvising together in a static caravan named Sandy in a wood just outside Canterbury. If time and space permits it would be awesome to do a record together sometime. In the meantime this is a loose work-in-progress which I like the feel of. 

www.arlet.co.uk

Improvisation No. 4 (with Aidan Shepherd)

Over the past few years my main band project has been with Arlet. Directed by accordionist and composer Aidan Shepherd, we are a mini-orchestra of strings, winds, brass and percussion. 

'V12' is taken from our 2013 Smugglers Records release 'Clearing'. We are currently finishing our 2nd album, 'Big Red Sun', due for release in Autumn/Winter 2015. 

composition by aidan shepherd

fiddle: rosie holden
accordion: aidan shepherd
guitar: ben insall
euphonium: thom harmsworth
me: clarinet

engineered and mixed by joel magill at wicker studios
edited by barney pidgeon
mastered by james stone

http://www.arlet.co.uk/music/clearing-album/


V12 (Arlet)

For a few happy years after finishing uni I was part of Canterbury band Zoo For You. A sprawling 8-piece taking in all kinds of influences, we made a killer debut record then sadly ran out of steam as members grew apart in new directions and life moved on. 

It was the first time I was part of a ripping horn section, and it will always have a special place in my heart. 

Music by Zoo For You
Artwork by Bruno Burton
Released in 2012

http://zooforyou.bandcamp.com

Leaf (Zoo For You)

Another stonking composition from accordion wizard Aidan Shepherd.

Aidan has arranged this for Arlet, but we had fun in a caravan one afternoon playing around with it as a duo. Spicy. 

A work in progress...

Recorded in Summer 2015

Spacey (with Aidan Shepherd)

"Fusing irresistible melodies with a restless musical curiosity and the desire to make songs that feel completely new", Until The Bird are one of my favourite things. 

Led by poet and musician Dave Hawkins, they are a four-piece alt-folk group. Themes running through their music are:

"migration, the place of humanity in the natural world, the passage of time, the role of art in everyday life, and the need for love and difficulty of expressing it in times of war and chaos... Expect detournement, playfulness, poignant metaphors and a healthy dose of careful irony."

I had the privilege of guesting on this beautiful instrumental track from their 2014 album 'Pale Clouded Yellow'. 

Dave Hawkins: Guitar
Ruta Vitkauskaite: Strings
Me: Clarinet

Recorded and mixed by Henry White at Dental Records Studios, London 
Mastered by Tim Rowkins at Hell Yeah! 

Artwork by Oliver Smith

untilthebird.org

Benightingales (Until The Bird)

Manchester-dwelling musician, performer and collaborator. 

Using this as a little portfolio of sounds I've been part of over the years. Some are highly polished studio productions, others are extremely lo-fi works-in-progress. 

Enjoy browsing x

Twitter: @OwenHewson

Owen Hewson