Time, and Time Again.

previously published on Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle

It isn't very often that I discover the music I am reviewing by way of answering a listing on Gumtree... But so the story goes, my contract was coming to an end at work and I was scouring the internet for jobs, then I got bored and distracted and instead started scouring Gumtree adverts for musical collaborations instead of job vacancies.

And so I came to meet up with Yann Ryan, enjoy a few alcoholic beverages with him in a pub near Liverpool Street Station and slowly begin work by trading files and ideas back and forth across the internet.

At some point, these new re-imaginings of mine became stuck in hard-drive limbo as real-life sucked me in and spat me out, but I had felt fortunate enough to have been given access to the raw and effecting audio files, to be able to isolate the bewildering vocal take and sit there in wonder as it repeated over, wondering how anything I could do could possibly even attempt to improve upon such a rustic and fully formed talent.

Around a half and a half later or so and I feel my fortunes have changed, I think maybe I can check in on Yann and possibly put this project to bed, but in this time Yann Ryan has pulled together an EP that includes some the tracks I had a stab at reshaping in a far different form, and I'm happy that these songs are finally out in the world, the music that I had been so eager to share but felt that I had to sit upon for fear of over-stepping boundaries can now be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.

Released last December, the Time EP is a downtrodden and fragile affair that is buoyed by the gravitational pull of Yann's crisp, oaken voice, a voice that stopped me in tracks when I first heard it, and the strength and intricacies of his songwriting still captivate me.  Few artists would even dare to weave their lyrics with such obtuse vocabulary as 'inconsequential' and casually reference 'Bosnia Herzegovina', but Yann makes it feel effortless, and the unique outlook he adds to the remit of the singer/songwriter is refreshing.

I still hope that the tracks we collaborated on will still come to light in one form or another, but for now I am happy to support Yann Ryan's talents and selflessly share his music with the wider world without the cloak of self-aggrandising.

Regardless, I'd like to catch up with Yann again over a few more pints and wish him well.

Out now via Bandcamp

counting down

ok, we all know what's going down tonight, and we've just about finalised what we're gonna be doing tonight, which isn't much to be honest, but anything to do with New Years Eve must involve a tremendous amount of mucking around so that you can subscribe to the cliche that New Years Eve must be an amazing celebration

and since december is nearly over once again, we must wait another 11 months before it is officially ok to watch Elf again, so let tune into the sweet sounds of Zooey Deschanel teaming up with 500 days of summer co-star Joseph Gordon-Lovett




this video, along with a couple of free mp3s and looks towards 2012 can be found over at my music blog Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle

and i'll see you all on the other side....

have a good one

cosmic odyssey

and now i am just wondering where to go next.

i did spend the few days after completing my NaNovel not really knowing what to do with myself, knocking out a blog entry, but other than that, feeling slightly lost without the crutch of frantic and near-constant writing to lean on.


i could feel how devoting so much time to it had seemed to have given my life purpose, and how blocking out practically everything else (plus the looming deadline) had given me a strong focus.


sadly i feel it slipping away from me already, as 'normal' life creeps back in and all the jobs i had put off until i had finished writing now needed doing.

in addition to housework etc, there is still some more home improvements that need further advancing (if not finishing) before christmas, mix in my intentions to record another christmas single, a follow up to my 2008 effort, and also wanting to learn to play guitar a little more competently and my time is soon spent.  and then there is the full time job that i will need to fit all of this around.

i've also made promises of a couple of reviews of Enfield bands that need to go up on Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle sometime soonish and seeing if the Enfield Advertiser will go on ignoring pieces submitted on local acts by a local journalist, which i probably can't do until i've rewired some speakers, and i guess i've got my work cut out for me yet again.


progress on the NaNovel will wait for now, i'll take another look at it in January perhaps, give myself some distance from it and return to it fresh in the new year to work on a second draft, but for now my girlfriend is reading her way through it, and i am preparing a pdf copy to fire off to a handful of people for judgement.


and if i could find the time to write 50,000 words in just 29 days, i really haven't got much of an excuse for infrequent blogging, have i?

my list

there are a number of things in my life that i would like to do

occasionally i find it useful to make a list of the certain things that i want to achieve, and i know other people live their lives by constantly listing, i think i particularly find it fulfilling to cross through my list and slowly whittle it down to a short number og goals that have so far remained unobtainable

ok, so i know i bitch everytime NME decides to publish a list in it's magazine and that my last post was over a week ago, inching ever nearer to that two week mark, but those lazy gits actually get paid for bumping their heads together and sticking a bunch of things in numerical order, i merely try and jot down ever may be going through my mind, writing and updating in whatever free time my hectic life allows me

you've probably missed out on some real gems of blog posts that never were, simply cos i just wasn't able to get near a computer for long enough to communicate my ruminations..

which reminds me of something else i should probably add to the list..

this is what i want to do:

• actually get my Riot Music EP completed
• grow a proper beard
• find a decent modern-looking blue sofa-bed for the spare bedroom
• buy some frames and the blinds for the spare room
• remember to actually properly look at the items on the pages of the ikea catalogue that i folded over so that i wouldn't forget
• write up reviews/articles for the new EPs from Getaway and Twisted Hearts
• try and blag my way into reviewing the autumn Crystal Fighters tour
• and work on keeping Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle a little bit more frequently updated

of course there are tons more things i'll have to do, since i went to my cousins wedding last week instead of having time off for myself the upstairs floors need sweeping, but that was possibly getting far too mundane and pedantic to keep listing, oh and i should bring the wheely bins back up the drive this evening, but that would be stupid to give you each and every task and chore

i just wanted to let people know that i am still here

i am still writing (when i get the chance)

and i am still trying to get my house in order and inch slowly closer to having a complete looking (or at least updated) decor throughout

i'll refrain from using my blog as a noticeboard in the future

credit where it's due:

artwork 'Today's Youth' by DangerDog

how i've rolled...

this week may not have been the most productive from a creative point of view

but they are things on the go and ideas up in the air (and articles to write)

i am still tinkering around - on acid - with a remix idea that i didn't find enough time to devote to this week, all the essentials of the finished piece are in place as far as i'm concerned, but now comes the hard graft and spit n polish that should see the track come through the other side as a fully formed remix ready to tackle the blogosphere (tho it will more likely become buried beneath a bundle of other un-inspiring remixes that have already been doing the rounds)

and i have also made prelimanary preparations for another three pieces of music, a couple of which shouldn't take too much time to complete, but then things very rarely, if ever, actually go to plan, so perhaps it would be best not to hold your breath waiting for a prolific splurge of new material from Hunchbakk.... those that hang around shall be rewarded eventually, and the wait shall be cluttered with mutterings, utterings and obviously videos of a geeky nature....

and what of my writing in general?  well, last week i had a preview copy of Beady Eye's debut album posted out to me, and my review should be up on glasswerk in the very near future, i'm also considering knocking together a piece on Liam Gallagher's new band to share between the Advertiser and my new blog, Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle, which is kind of like this blog, but for those with more discerning tastes that perhaps don't want to deal with all of my ramblings and obsessions... yes, it is a music blog in the more traditional sense

talking of music, and blogging, and music blogging, and also talking of the Enfield Advertiser, i have a couple more write-ups to be getting along with, one of which is the long-overdue 9Blind piece, and the second (tho it will likely come first) piece shall be on The Fetts, another local band, that have just self-released their debut album and who played at last week's Sel-out gig at Bar Form at which i DJed, all by myself up in that little triangle window...

the gig was hardly over-subscribed, but it was a nice little turn out for the band in an intimate environment, and without the pressure of trying to please a bunch of willies who have quite clearly turned up to the wrong night, shouting 'play something funky!' i could get a little bit self-indulgent and truly eclectic with my choices, knocking out a set choc-full of tracks i wouldn't usually play or perhaps have neglected, mixed in with a handful of old standards and crowd pleasers, even if the crowd hadn't considered it when they were heading for a night out, they did seem kinda pleased to hear boom-shak-a-lak

the nature of my DJ sets and the obscurity of my tastes did actually prompt a request for a mixtape of decent mixes, which is the third of its kind that i shall have to get to work on, and also brings me back quite nicely to the concept of blogging, and in particular back to Seeking Susan Boyle, for although the content may be pasable for now, i do hope to up the game a little bit, some artwork and an overall style aesthetic is being analysed as we speak, as are plans for a bit of coincidental merch, and also a monthly mxtape, for those that prefer their music in bulk, as opposed to drip fed weekly... all very exciting stuff... if only there were more time to do it all in....

oh damn it, better get started on these other articles......
but do check back, and check Seeking Susan Boyle

and consider yourselves updated
thank you