2020

Looking to the Future , First Track of the new year then !!  Ok its jazzy, smooth and middle eight is super chilled, with a sparce lead guitar swathed in delay and reverb for extra atmosphere.

Really pleased musically with this as a definite challenge from the start, in playing (for me) and in collating the ideas across jazz chords, the differing beats , yet alone the Bass line and production. Admittedly it was penned between Christmas and the New Year and completed just prior to midnight.  Hope you like it and that its another immediate thumbs up or even better a longburner. Nick.

Verso Il Futuro

Verso Il Futuro.WAV

A Little livener for the new year. Cherrydot in full flow here and vetted by PTB (Phil The Bass) prior to official mixing and release. This one could have taken all month to piece but life's too short. Onwards and upwards. NCG

Rock The House.WAV

This should take the steam off. Move to cool , exhale , lounge and hang loose. You get the idea, Cherry dot rhythm switch.

Monty Chill.WAV

Several ideas came together here. In the spirit of the last song Monty Chill, this is more stripped back and acoustified ! Everytime I play this song the nuance changes and accents move however the feel remains and I have been told that it sounded reaffirming. Hope you like my random chord diagram , music is an education ! N

Affirmation.WAV

This has been a while in the making. It's been reconstructed more times than I care to mention, track 2 particularly got a hammering. Thought my four stringed friend needed some airtime from circa 1.42 secs in , only to be met by space aliens landing their intergalactic vehicle. One day I'll put lyrics to these.
Yes the theme to batman fits over this , that was more than 50 years ago so it needed a shake up. 
Luca said it was definitely 'my sound' and Sophie helped with the percussion, dried rice in a wooden plectrum box. And as for the bongo's …..
NCG.

Twice Frozen.WAV

I think similar in style to Two Way Transmission, catchy riff based rock with a few overdubs ! Had fun compiling the behind the scenes action complete with Sophie's tambourine.  
Thought I should release a track on my birthday, neatly wrapped. NCG

Fleur De Lys.WAV

So this is the start of the journey, the first single and a flood of ideas, let's see where this gets too. A view of the gorge and Clifton suspension bridge from the downs in a sepia focus. This simply had to be done. Now remastered as vox were lost in the mix. Shocker no guitar solo !

A Town In The West

A Town In The West.WAV

Well to follow a 'Town In The West' I feel isn't the easiest of tasks. However if anything I write is going to compete , it's Just the Tonic! . This chord sequence came to play (originally intended as a Jazzer) and I tried some vocal lines which escalated into Just the Tonic. So hope the feedback is similar. Have to admit I can currently churn out guitar songs without too much issue but lyrics and 'bloody' harmonies are a whole new ball game ! Its fun though (if you like herding a chorus of 'wailing cats') and very addictive, even managed to squeeze in a guitar solo here. There's a nod to the great band which is led by Chrissie Hynde in my attempted vocal line, listen to 'Kid' or 'Talk of the Town', timeless classics. 
As I tell L&S, 'this is my best song yet, kids' .
Keep the guitars and harmonies loud and in tune and without peaking into the red zone. 
Nick

Just The Tonic.WAV

Set a precedent here, tunes have (since Sept)been easy to churn out , however the last three culminating in this, have been SO much more rewarding. 
The incredible feedback from you all , the time and energy levels required to nail these and also for me the process of writing, producing, mixing and releasing is all consuming. I LOVE It ! 

Yes I had something to say here and there's always a story. The consistent is the guitar, and the fact that I feel alive playing and love presenting myself through it. Gave myself the luxury of a loud guitar solo here (yes it is that loud in the mix purposefully!!).

Fingers crossed this gets at least half as much positive feedback as Just the Tonic and A Time in the West and I'll be content...that is till the next one, Ha!
NCG

Gotta Get Up.WAV

The Riff has been around for a month so about time it went somewhere. Again this commenced as a jazzer (Arndy would say it still is) but added some 'room drums' and a slightly 'edged' Gibson ES175 solo. Recording with the jazzer is almost as hardwork as producing my vox, it's a beast and can take over the universe if not restricted on the levels.
Gigged this , without vox, last Thursday and think it went rather well, ha! Didn't think I'd say this during writing it though in retrospect the finished article is addictive. L&S , is this my 'best song yet?'. NCG x

Weight Of The World.WAV

Given the volume of Vox (for me) this took longer than expected to perfect. The guitars were fun as usual , hope you like the backward/reverse guitar in the solo. This has had more takes than a kleptomaniac at a car boot sale. 
It's verse heavy for a change and harmonies kick in early, think there's a hook there.
The intro and outro are quite literally how this started life, those successive wah wah lines are a constant for me. 
Already heavily into the next one, no comment ha !  
Guitarist of choice Luca. x

Easy As 123.WAV

In The Beginning.WAV

Variation on a Blues Rock Theme, traditional intro then a free for all till an addictive middle eight of 'Enter Your World' back into another eclectic verse and a T wah solo with backing percussion. Similar in style to 'On The Road' so bursting with 335 lead breaks and 60's Alvin Lee'esque' licks.  Initially wanted to get back to a middle eight but the lyrics took it elsewhere and seemed more natural and the song more concise. Otherwise guitar take over was inevitable! Its a break away from the outside world and has focused most of my attention this passed week.

Enter Your World

Enter Your World.WAV

Just imagined myself in the coolest jazz bar in town , a million miles from this incarceration. All the cats are there and the bar is well stocked and the groove is always well placed. When this is over I'm there, it'll be jumpin', I'll be with the lightly flamed Cherrydot.   Enjoy. NCG

Superjazz.WAV

Most demanding composition yet, but so much fun! It's a bit of an epic with numerous parts all combined to one, I hope. Came together from initial 1min30 section played acoustically between myself and my daughter then took off from there with the rockier riff with both parts returning in various guises.

Humane.WAV

Similar in style to 'Affirmation', an acoustic composition done on the 335. I've layered the guitars after recording in the most echoed situ I could find ! Took a lot less to record than 'Humane' and the next one '(Look) What You Got' , stay tuned. NCG

Believe.WAV

Departure from my norm here to give the fingers a rest!  Was only a matter of time. A slower more broody song about a different side of life. No Wah wah was used honest officer. Like a lot of its predecessor's this came about in the production as all the ideas and recordings were merged together with layers of harmonies over the top for good measure. Next track is back to 335 blues form largestyle, Enjoy. NCG

Constant Battle.WAV

Straight into this one. Loads of guitar, vox, harmonies with both barrels from the off. Disco hi hat on the go, chunky Gibson, cheeky wah wah solo, great fun to record. Hope you like the catchy chorus and mix, certainly the most vox I've done which took far longer than composing the actual song!   Enjoy. NCG

(Look) What You Got.WAV

A Guitar without a stage
Lover without a heart
Master without a muse

This riff possessed me for a week prior to knocking into this shape. These creations have minds of their own , what could be a 20 sec clip turn into 4 minutes for me. Today this is my favourite. NCG

Getaway Car.WAV

So the bang on the ceiling from the Flat below said it all. Too loud, too heavy, too Rawk n Roll ! That was just in the first 5 minutes of creating this. Ideas were flooding through onto the Les Paul this time, so much so I had over an hour's worth of tuneage which had to be compressed and compiled into some presentable form of under 4 minutes.  I am aware lots of my songs are averaging 4 minutes so I set to reduce that , and after five days of solid effort and twists and turns finally got there. I am so stoked by this one as it fires me up and to produce and mix it was exhilarating given the volume of the demo I had to condense.  I'll shut up now, seriously to me this is the best yet. Turn it up. NCG

Cheshire Cat.WAV

Gibson Cherry Dot obsession continues. Inspired by exciting grooves and a 60’s vibe which I wear on my sleeve. There’s an eclectic mix of guitar fuelled rhythms all written, produced and performed by myself which have now culminated in 226 tracks in 5 years. Having added vocals to the mix this has brought a further depth and individuality to the songs. 2020 saw the creativity in writing and self releasing 2 EP's and 9 albums 'The Black Tulip' , 'Prismatic' , 'Who Would You Be?' , 'The Red Carpet', 'Cat & Mouse', ‘How This Plays Out', 'Positive Signs', 'All The Colours' and  '9' from April 2022, it's frenetic.
These are available on the usual outlets Spotify/iTunes/Deezer/Pandora/Napster, Bandcamp etc.

Its eclectic, quirky I confess, British? Experimental in places but above all stuffed full with Gibson guitars, energy and a passion for music and life in the highs and lows that days of late bring.  Hope you appreciate the artwork too all photographed or produced by me to keep it authentic and original.

The tenth album 'Keep On' saw the development of style and flow which  includes my personal favourites 'The Things That You Love', 'Man on The Run' and the title track, 'Keep On'. These all adapted a different approach and development that simply wouldn't have occurred at the start of the journey,  

The music's progressing and the album 'The Perfect Storm' set the benchmark in online attention with the title track single. I think the style and sincerity of performance mirrored the fact that all of my tracks are written for a reason and sparked by quite intense life changing events behind the scenes, you couldn't write it or maybe I could ! 
Personal choices at the moment are the opener Can't Erase The Memory, I Can and of course the single The Perfect Storm. 

Twelfth album ‘Heart Of Blue’, is completed and recently released  September 6th 2024. It's been a while (for me) in the making and each track just builds on the last. The themes of resilience, belief and positivity remain and the music continues to be guitar driven and punchy with hooks and catchy melodies.  

Album 13 is entitled 'Every Time' and is released to all platforms on June 12th. To come so quickly after 'Heart Of Blue' says a lot about the inspiration and creative drive. Themes of resilience, perseverance, hope and love, dominate in what I believe is my most cognitive and mature album yet, see what you think.
 
I'm thankful the creativity continues. The fact the writing and playing still excites and intrigues is a bonus! Where there's a story to tell and a melody to be heard the last song is always my drug for the next, 13 albums in it's not abating anytime soon. 
NickG

2020

NickGCherrydot