A fair, (or unfair,) amount of time has passed since my previous journal entry back in January. So much has happened since then, not least the devastating war in Ukraine due to the illegal invasion by Russia. The barbaric atrocities of the Russian army trample on all notions of honour or humanity. It’s heartbreaking to witness the suffering of the Ukrainian people on television news channels night after night. Russia’s Putin is a man without a soul, feeding outrageous lies to his people, an insidious, sly monster for our times.
Where this will all end is impossible to predict, but I pray it ends with Ukraine being able to retain its independence and sovereignty. We can only hope.
Went to Wakefield cemetery to lay flowers on my Mum’s mini-grave on the second anniversary of her passing in April. It’s now two years since she left us. And still she features in my dreams almost every night. My brother too passed away in April, in 2006. Their loss, along with the loss of all my early family, haunts me constantly. I still find it hard to come to terms with.
The eye surgery I mentioned in my previous journal entry has been completed. My left eye was operated on in January and my right eye also underwent surgery in late February. The operations were surreal affairs, with local anaesthetic so I was aware of the whole process being performed. It wasn’t particularly painful, but certainly uncomfortable and very stressful. Any improvement to my vision is only slight but may become a little better when I’m allowed to get new prescription glasses. Have to wait for the go-ahead for that from the eye clinic. I’ve had three eye injection sessions since the operation, the first of which was incredibly painful. Horrific in fact. They’ve been very careful to administer extra aesthetic drops ever since.
Emiko and I have, unfortunately, contracted Covid recently, though we are now, finally, testing negative. I caught it first, and Emiko caught it from me three days later. Where I picked it up from I have absolutely no idea. We’ve both been incredibly careful to avoid it and have steered clear of catching it through the entire first two years of the pandemic, always wearing our face masks, always using hand sanitiser and trying to keep our distance from people.
But the Government has, (prematurely in my opinion,) relaxed the restrictions and people now seem to be not taking proper care anymore, foolishly acting as if it’s all over, which it clearly isn’t. At the supermarket we are among only a handful of people still wearing our masks, the majority are simply acting as if the virus is non existent. Perhaps that’s where I picked it up?
Anyway, we had a very rough few days suffering with it, despite being fully vaccinated, and it took us a couple of weeks before we shook it off and eventually tested negative. We still have some lingering effects from it though, particularly fatigue. I’m hoping this isn’t ‘long Covid.’ But it’s not like me to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon, but that’s what has been happening. My energy seems very low for part of the day, though I’m managing to continue working in my studio at night when I feel up to it.
And on that level there has been a lot of productivity with 53 new tracks completed so far. Some of these have been set aside for two new albums: ‘Marvellous Realms’ and ‘All The Fun Of The Fair.’ But the running orders are still undergoing changes and will probably remain in flux right up until the last moment. At some point in the near future I will have to decide how to deal with the remaining tracks from these sessions. There are definitely enough tracks left over for at least another couple of albums.
I still, of course, have several unreleased albums sitting in my archives from the last five or six years. ‘Electra’ will be the first of these to see the light of day. It was meant to be released last month but my Covid infection delayed me being able to take the tracks over to John Spence at Fairview studio for mastering. (John also had a Covid infection a little earlier than myself.) However, I have now tomorrow afternoon booked with John at the studio and, once the album tracks are transferred to Fairview’s computer, they can be mastered and hopefully delivered to the factory for manufacture in the coming week or so, (once this extended Jubilee bank holiday is over.)
Had a brief listen to a couple of the other of my archived albums today, ‘Phantom Fuzzbox’ and ‘Stupid-Serious.’ I was surprised by how good they sound. I haven’t heard them for a few years so it was like coming to them with the ears of a stranger. I think ‘Stupid Serious’ might be the next archive release, after the release of the newer ‘Marvellous Realms’ album .
It’s fair to say that I really could sit back and not record anything more for quite a while as there is so much material awaiting release...but that would be frustrating and no fun for me at all. I simply love and embrace the recording process, and the unbounded creative dreaming that goes with it. Every day, my guitars seem to call out to me, the studio does too. I can’t imagine a day going by when I wouldn’t want to ‘make a mark’ on the virtual recording tape. It’s a joyous thing, though somewhat demanding of time and thought. But, if it’s sometimes difficult, it’s always deeply rewarding and fulfilling. It’s what I live to do.
Lots of domestic duties constantly bringing this creativity down to Earth though. Django needing a vet’s very expensive attentions, car troubles, exterior house painting requiring setting up, increasing cost of living issues, guitar repairs in need of doing, etc, etc. Maintaining the creative lifestyle of a musician is not always plain sailing, though I’ve been lucky enough, (so far) in my career. And that despite some distressing and difficult moments over the years. But I’m blessed to have been able to follow my dreams for so long and to, hopefully, have those dreams continue and resonate with others. Music is a wonderful, magic thing...
I could write more, particularly about this country’s lame duck/greased pig prime minister who seems to follow the old Trump style of governing this nation, albeit with added bluster, buffoonery and witlessness. But I’ll end here as I have more work to accomplish in areas that might hopefully be more kind and beneficial.
So here is a list of the 53 tracks I’ve recorded in recent months and which will eventually reach the ears of those who care to hear:
1: ‘BEAMS OF LIGHT.’
2: ‘SOME JIGGERY POKERY.’
3: ‘A COMPASS IN MY MIND.’
4: ‘IN THE BRIGHT TWILIGHT SKY.’
5: ‘ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR.’
6: ‘A MAGIC FRAME OF MIND.’
7: ‘FAST FORWARD, SLO-MO.’
8: ‘RUNNING FROM MY OWN SHADOW.’
9: ‘MAN OF DREAMS.’
10: ‘SHAPE SHIFTER.’
11: ‘SIGNALLING AS WE GO.’
12: ‘THE WEATHER SONG.’
13: ‘STARS AND HALOES.’
14: ‘BEEP BEEP BEEP.’
15: ‘THE CLOUD ENGINEER.’
16: ‘A DISTANT MEMORY.’
17: ‘THIS MAY SOUND STRANGE.’
18: ‘A LITTLE WOOZY.’
19: ‘THE WAY OF THE WORLD.’
20: ‘ATOMIC CORAL.’
21: ‘MEMORIES AND RECOLLECTIONS.’
22: ‘PUSH THE BUTTON, SPIN THE DIAL.’
23: ‘ELEVATOR TRANSCENDANT.’
24: ‘CHELSEA FLASH.’
25: ‘IT’S A LONG TIME BETWEEN DREAMS.’
26: ‘MADAME MIDNIGHT.’
27: ‘THEME FROM AN ENGLISH ECHO CHAMBER.’
28: ‘HERE ON EARTH.’
29: ‘THE SILENT HOUR.’
30: ‘WIND IT UP AND WATCH IT GO.’
31: ‘AZTEC HELICOPTER.’
32: ‘KEEP YOUR TELESCOPE FOCUSSED ON THE STARS.’
33: ‘MARVELLOUS REALMS.’
34: ‘ONE A.M.’
35: ‘DRAGONFLY WINGS OVER STILL DARK WATERS.’
36: ‘ECHO MIRROR ONE.’
37: ‘DRIVING A BLUE CAR TO THE STARS.’
38: ‘WHOOPS! I’M GOING BACK IN TIME.’
39: ‘GLORIOUS MARCH TO THE GATE OF SPRING.’
40: ‘AFTER THOUGHT.’
41: ‘ONCE I DREW PICTURES WITH LAKELAND PENCILS.’
42: ‘IMAGINARY MUSIC.’
43: ‘NEVERNOON.’
44: ‘THE GOLD BEYOND THE BLUE.’
45: ’THE ILLUMINATOR.’
46: ‘MONDO BRAVADO.’
45: ‘THE INVISIBLE KID IN THE CORNER.’
46: ‘SPOOKY DOINGS.’
47: ‘THE HOUSE OF MORPHEUS.’
48: ‘DANCE OF THE SONIC CULTURE GODS.’
49: ‘THIS RIVER.’
50: ‘THE MYSTIC.’
51: ‘ALLOW ME TO INSIST.’
52: ‘DOCTOR SONAR’S WAITING ROOM.’
53: ‘IN MY IMAGINATION.’
