Once again, there is a palpable feeling that maybe the England team might, in the 2026 men’s football World Cup, make it to… let’s not say any more. One consequence of this is that I’ve been hearing Three Lions around the place a decent amount and, once again, I’m reminded what a brilliant, moving but … [Read more…]
Now that we’re over halfway through 2025, I figured it was time to post some sort of update on this site, even if it is merely an “I’m still here and still cracking on” type post. This year has been generally busy (certainly moreso than I was expecting) but I’ve had some time to work … [Read more…]
I think we can safely call it spring now, here in the UK. It’s the end of the first week of consistently decent weather in southwest England and the delicate sounds of afternoon birdsong fill the air. Birdsong is a beautiful sound, redolent of hope and renewal, but it is now tinged with some ambivalence. … [Read more…]
I recently had the privilege of doing an interview with writer and piano enthusiast Rhonda Rizzo about my new album, Sun and Moon, Sea and Land. I talk a bit about some of the inspirations behind the album as well as the musical journey I’ve been on with it. You can read the whole thing … [Read more…]
Today is the day my second piano album comes out. I’m really proud to share it with you all. Below is a comprehensive embed with links where you can find it.
In an hour and a half’s time, Sun and Moon, Sea and Land will magically appear on all music stores for you to listen to at your leisure. It’s an album of pieces that I’ve practised, tweaked, performed and recorded many, many times, but it still feels fresh and new to me, which I think … [Read more…]
I’m very grateful for some of the radio play the new album’s had in the last few weeks ahead of its release on the 29th of this month. Firstly, thanks to BBC Sounds for including one of my new album tracks in the latest edition of ‘The Sleeping Forecast’. I always enjoy listening to these … [Read more…]
On Saturday night I had the huge privilege of performing at the Steep 900 Celebrations, playing some beautiful music celebrating the South Downs Way by Damian Montagu, alongside The Tippett Quartet, Stewart Prosser, Dave Gale and Will Spencer. I was also honoured to accompany the brilliantly talented violinist Alexandra Peel to perform Vittorio Monti’s Czardas and Vaughan Williams’ … [Read more…]
“Hey everyone. I’ve decided the toxicity of this hellsite has gotten too much since Musk got his mitts on it. I’ll be joining ‘Threads’ and shortly resuming all of the usual compulsive behaviours that I had with Twitter which I am now, for some reason, falsely remembering in its pre-Musk era as a chaotic but … [Read more…]
Ever had the urge to just… flee? To get out of the immediate situation you’re in and deal with the social repercussions at some future date? It was a small but not insignificant part of university life as a composer to bring in compositions to ‘workshops’, to be played by touring musical ensembles. While these … [Read more…]
I am excited to announce that, after many years in the works, piano album no. 2 will shortly be let loose into the world. It’s called Sun and Moon, Sea and Land and is loosely inspired by Herman Hesse’s 1930 novel Narcissus and Goldmund and that story’s themes of time passing, mortality, beauty and adventure. … [Read more…]
I am very excited to be playing piano at the Steep 900 Celebration Concert on Saturday 9th November. I will be joining the Stewart Prosser Brass Trio and The Tippett Quartet to perform a selection of beautiful pieces from Damian Montagu’s albums ‘In A South Downs Way’ and ‘A Walk Into Reverie’, as well as … [Read more…]
For the last month and a bit I’ve been working with my friend Giles Thomas on the music for Ryan Craig’s adaptation of 1984. Directed by Lindsay Posner and starring Keith Allen, Mark Quartley, Eleanor Wyld and David Birrell, the show is at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday and then on tour to: I … [Read more…]
How much digital music and film have I bought? I think I ‘own’ virtual boxsets of a couple of TV shows and have a tentative digital music collection too. But I am undisciplined about where I store it or what account it is linked to, and so on. And some of the services I purchased … [Read more…]
Composers*: We are taking submissions for our 54th Annual ‘Pyramidová Hra’ Composition Competition. Compositions must be written for the livenka accordion (please see attached YouTube video for history and instrumental techniques and familiarise yourself with the left hand lever system if you are not already aware) and any combination of the following: tin whistle, shō, … [Read more…]
I really enjoyed watching some of the coverage of Glastonbury 2024 on TV this year. As I’m sure is the case for many, watching it has become a bit of an annual fixture for me and my partner. I’ve only been to the festival once (2014), when I was there as a session pianist for … [Read more…]
It was a lovely surprise to see an email from BBC Introducing this morning mentioning that my piece ‘Among Summer Hills’ from the Evening Chorus EP I (re)released last year had been included in the latest episode of The Sleeping Forecast. This one’s theme is the summer solstice and the history of Stonehenge (“It’s killing … [Read more…]
Q: What’s the one thing that’s even less profitable than streaming music? [drum roll] A: Sitting and checking your music’s streaming statistics. Spotify for Artists is just one of many tools that tells you loads of quite specific statistical information about your listeners, such as what cities they are concentrated in, how many tracks each … [Read more…]
Well, it’s time for a new single to be released, which is the fourth and possibly final track to be released ahead of my second solo piano album. I’ll be sharing the tracklist of that pretty soon. This one is called ‘Fleur 05 07 18’, named for the sunny day on which I first came … [Read more…]
I had the pleasure and privilege of performing a selection of pieces on the piano at All Saints Church, Wyke Regis, a few weeks ago. This is the third recording in the series. In as much as piano pieces can be ‘about’ anything, it’s a reflection on those ephemeral but meaningful connections that one makes … [Read more…]