‘In the Dying Light’ is an Indian-inspired song, reminiscent of The Beatles’ mid-period work.  The track tackles the subjects of immortality and spirituality.

In the Dying Light

I've always wanted to release a Christmas song.  When I finally got around to it, I knew the balance (between cliches and originality) had to be just right.  I also knew I wanted the track to be piano-based, but I rarely write on the piano.  In July 2022, this song fell out of the sky (as they all do).

Once I'd recorded the piano and vocals, the glockenspiel part wrote itself.  To me, it sounds like a festive musical box.  After the core instruments were down, strings, woodwind and brass were added.  I'm super proud of how this one turned out and I hope people like it just as much as I do.

Wishful Thinking

Elton John has a song called 'High Flying Bird' and Noel Gallagher has a band called 'High Flying Birds'... I've always loved the title/name and thought it was time another song used it.

One evening, I met up with a friend who was telling me about something they were going through.  As soon as I got home, I picked up a guitar and the song was born.

During the writing process, I knew the song needed strings, panpipes and lap steel guitar.  The rest is history...

High Flying Birds

I've always had a fascination with flamenco music, and it's a genre that I wanted to tackle.  One morning, before work, I downloaded a PDF on Spanish Cadence.  Within ten minutes, I'd finished writing the main body of the song.

I flirted with the idea of buying a flamenco guitar but decided to demo the part on my steel strung acoustic.  Shortly after this, I recruited the super talented Manuel Montero to play guitar.  Further into the process, I wrote a muted cornet part, played by Gianluca Cucco.  As well as vocals, I recorded the percussion, alongside Malick Mbengue.

My aim was to create a flamenco song that crossed over into the Spaghetti Western genre.  I'm really happy with the results.

Shadows in the Night

The composition of this song started with the drum beat, which was really easy to write to.  As always, the song was born very quickly.  The lyric was inspired by my best friend, who was my bandmate in a previous project.  I'd just watched The Beatles' Get Back docuseries, which influenced some of the lyrics.

The Keeper

When I wrote this song, I had a vision of a very low woodwind section, as I'd always loved how that sounded in songs by the band Morphine.  The track also features a lovely French horn solo.

The Pin Drop

'Trying to Be Someone' is a track that I wrote years ago.  However, I never felt that I'd captured my artistic vision.  Feeling braver than ever, I decided now was the time to tackle one of the best songs I've ever written.

I'm super proud of my piano and guitar playing on this record.  It also features a number of session musicians, providing backing vocals, horns, pedal steel guitar and an erhu.

Trying to Be Someone

Like all my songs, ‘Tread Carefully’ was born really quickly.  I’d been thinking about an ongoing saga with a friend and reminded myself that I needed to tread carefully.  As soon as the voice in my head said that, I knew it had to be a title.

Later that day, I picked up my acoustic guitar and wrote the song.  The verses had some chord changes that reminded me of The Smiths, whilst the chorus felt quite stadium rock.  From this point, I had a vision, in terms of the artists I wanted to reference…

Throughout the song you’ll hear a baritone and tenor saxophone section, inspired by The Beatles’ ‘Savoy Truffle’.  I bought myself a 12 string electric guitar, aiming to make the guitars sound like The Byrds playing in the style of Johnny Marr.  Towards the end of the song, an alto saxophone solo takes centre stage, which is my nod to Bruce Springsteen.  Later in the coda, I’m paying homage to Supertramp.

Tread Carefully

‘Let’s See Where This Goes’ is a Celtic rock song, drawing influence from Kate Bush.  A vast array of instruments can be heard throughout the track, including uillean pipes, Galician gaita, tin whistle and the fiddle.

Let's See Where This Goes

‘What More Can I Say?’ is best described as a Middle Eastern waltz.  The track features a string section, as well as several ethnic instruments, including the duclar.

What More Can I Say?

On Christmas Day 2022, I had some Christmas songs on the stereo and went to get ready for the big day, leaving the music playing downstairs.  When 'Lonely This Christmas' by Mud came on, I heard the bassline through the floorboards.  However, as I was in another room, I heard it quite differently.  That moment inspired me to write the double bass line for this track, which everything else fits around.  The song was written by the time I'd finished getting ready.

I'm really happy with the recording.  I scored every part for the song, which features a wide range of instruments, including the tárogató and the piccolo trumpet.

Witch's Brew

S J Denney is a UK-based singer-songwriter. He started out as a choir boy and then learnt to play the clarinet. In his early teens, he fell in love with rock music, after stumbling upon vinyl copies of The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ and Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’. These two records are still amongst his favourites. Other notable influences include Led Zeppelin, Talk Talk, Paul Weller and Jeff Buckley.

‘The Trouble With Me EP’ is S J Denney’s latest release. Like all of Denney’s recent records, the EP was self-produced and features a vast array of instruments.

Denney has more music scheduled for release, which he cannot wait to share with the world.

‘He’s got the edge that can rarely be captured on stage.  S J Denney’s music is meant to be in the spotlight and will only move forward from here on out.’ – LIVAMP

‘I can definitely hear how Noel Gallagher has been a major influence, but S J still makes his music his own.  The details within his writing definitely make his music stand out; especially with his vocal style.’ – My Random Jukebox

‘It’s hard not to find yourself smiling along to Denney’s uniquely nostalgic melodies.’ - Find No Enemy

‘S J is someone who has always had a great way with words and knows how to craft details in his stories to grab the listener’s attention.  But a story is only as good as its narrator, and his voice compliments his words perfectly.’ – The Appetizer Radio Show

S J Denney

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