Where Do The Days Go?

Since Christmas last year a lot has happened for me musically. I’ve played some shows in New York. London, Japan, Singapore and a few others, some small, some big, some insane, but on the whole - the year of 2010 has really been a year of creativity for me.

I’m not sure if it worries me that Christmas is already around the bend, or if I should get excited about the fact that I must have been having so much fun I don’t know where this year has gone, but what’s evident from the increasingly growing ‘My Songs’ folder on my computer is that I haven’t been sitting around waiting for it. Sometimes I’ll write 3 songs a week start to finish, other times I’ll just sit and wrestle with the blank page and throw whatever’s left in to the ‘Ideas’ folder – which is basically the musical equivalent of having a kitchen draw full of screws, pens and Allen keys from Ikea, hoping that one day you’ll find they come in handy. They usually never come in handy.

All the way through our journeys on this mad little circle we call Earth we always have unexpected moments of clarity. They aren’t common, but they’re personal, little moments which make you take a step back and think, ‘wow, so I’ve just come in to this stage of my life have I...?’.

My best friend turned 22 this year, and whilst celebrating I had one of those moments in the knowledge that we aren’t getting any younger. When we’re 15 we can’t wait for the 16^th birthday, the next day we can’t wait to be 18. Then suddenly you’re 21 and instead of thinking about the next birthday you’re thinking about the last, the idea of adulthood dawns upon you like splash of cold water on your face. I’m not saying I’m getting old, I just find it crazy how quickly I got here.

But being in my 20’s rocks. I get the best of all parts of life; old enough to make my own decisions, young enough to get away with the wrong ones. But what’s so special about music is that I don’t believe in wrong decisions, if it always comes from the heart then it’s always the right one. A friend told me once whilst playing jazz – ‘they aren’t any wrong notes, just bad choices’. Which is probably just a nice way of saying I was making a lot of mistakes.

I’m very proud of my first album When the Sun Comes Up, when I wrote it I was young, some songs were written when I was 15 or 16. I was at the age where I was truly discovering the outside world of unrestricted partying, confusing love and lust, exploring, travelling and living out the beautiful stereotype of a kid in his late teens. Now into my 20’s I feel no physical difference but inevitably I have different views on the world, stronger opinions and a burning desire to make my stamp on not only who I am as a musician, but as a person as well

I’ve just moved house in to what I can only describe as a habitat heaven. Instead of the studio inside my bedroom, this new soundproof den is now next door to my bedroom. Every musicians dream:

Because I’m producing all the music at home, a few things happen that wouldn’t normally when working with producers/writers. Firstly, the music I listen to is always changing and this will always influence the music I write, so not working with anyone means there’s no one to stop me and say ‘hang on, that’s a little bit different, where’s this going?’ You could call it a flaw, but something makes me believe it’s just honest music. I’m never going to step too far outside of the style I’ve always written in, but influences of other genres will always delicately tinker with my direction.

The other difference in not working with producers/writers is that it takes a hell of a lot longer to get things done. As much as I love writing music it’s impossible for anyone to recluse themselves in a room for 15 hours a day, everyday, moulding together those major and minor chords to make fit for public ears. So I go out and see my friends at university, lie-in till late afternoon, play sports and keep in touch with family (including the new addition to the family – Bumble the kitten, literally the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, picture at the end).

So for anyone wondering whether I’m still alive and kicking – the answer is yes, more than ever.

The new album is going to be from the heart. Can’t wait to show you, but I have to make it right.

Love always

x

Last stop: Singapore

Stood on my balcony last night with my manager John, a cold beer, an incredible view of the Singapore skyline and celebrated my first #1! What a moment.

The Youth Olympic Games theme song – Everyone – was last night crowned #1 top of the charts in Singapore. All the artists involved in the song were representing the continents they came from:

Myself – Europe

Sean Kingston – North America

Jessica Mauboy – Oceania

Jody Williams – Africa

Tabitha Nauser – Asia

Working with the other artists has been really enjoyable, for me a very different but wonderful experience. It’s a shame Sean couldn’t make it for the opening ceremony but sharing the stage with the other 3 beauties was still incredible, and not to mention the fact that there was 1.5 billion people watching it from around the globe! The ceremony was an absolute spectacle. Thousands of people were involved, thousands of man-hours had been invested and not to mention the amount of coin that no-doubt got pumped in to truly making it a big deal.

This whole experience with the YOG song has also given me a charming little introduction to the Singapore music world and it’s nice seeing things develop for me over here as it’s a country that I very much look forward to coming back to. The streets are spotless and the people are ever so courteous, to think that 200 years ago this place was just a mere fishing harbour is quite something.

So, I think this blog concludes my trip to The East as a massive success. There literally hasn’t been one single day that’s gone passed in the last few weeks that hasn’t been full of excitement, adventure and splendour. From shows on the beach, festivals in the sun, wild nights and time travelling flights this Asian expedition will go down in my books as one of the best yet. For those who have read the blog posts and followed me along the way I hope I have enlightened you as I have enlightened myself on how great these places are if you didn’t already know.

So I will do my best to continue to blog throughout the rest of my journey through music, it’s quite nice putting thoughts into words, memories into paragraphs, for me it’s kind of like re-living it all over again. But right now I start the real last leg of the trip, 10 hours in the sky from Singapore to London, back to my new house in which my new lounge doubles up as my new studio! The second album is starting to fall in to place like never before… can’t wait for you guys to hear it hopefully on CD and on stage!

Until next time you beauts x

Festivals, Photos and Goodbyes

I never know which is worse – leaving something great behind, or knowing you’re going to have to leave it whilst you’re still there. Either way you have to go out with a bang, and damn that’s exactly what we did.

Summersonic festival is one of the biggest festivals in Japan, this year headlined by Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder and to be part of it was a privilege. It kicks off in two places – Osaka and Tokyo, both carrying their own unique stance on how to get a festival to rock… and both succeeding. As I started my last song on Tokyo’s Beach Stage, that’s when it hit me that I won’t be standing somewhere that cool again for a while, so I did what any man would do and jump into the audience for a little hug. Not realising it was a lot easier to jump off the 10ft stage than to get back on it, I caught the eye of a slightly panicked security guard who had only one choice but to allow me to launch myself on to his shoulders for a strange but wonderful entrance back on stage. Summersonic – a big success.

Here are the links to some videos that got taken from stage:

Rule The World

Come Over Here

Hound Dog

After singing along to the relentless classics of Stevie Wonder later that evening we left to spend our last night in Tokyo. Sharing laughs and telling stories, sipping champagne and consequently admitting to a few mistakes we all made on stage made for a world-class night in the Far East.

‘Kampai’ to everyone who came to the shows, yet again you’ve made it difficult to leave not only the stage but the country too, and for that I thank you! But here I type in Singapore and a whole new sense of excitement comes over me, the last week of my trip begins and on Saturday I perform at the opening ceremony of the first ever Youth Olympic Games. Good times ahead! All the photos from Japan will be on Facebook very soon.

Big love x

Summersonic Festival (Osaka)

An early start is never so bad when there’s something so good around the corner. We arrived at the festival into the artist’s lounge and straight away we were right in the thick of it – rockstars playing table tennis, BBQ’s all around us, people jamming in each corner, and oh yeah, Stevie Wonder casually strolling through every once in a while. It was hospitality like nowhere else I’ve been.

Our set time was 3.15, a great time to play at a festival because people are still excited about being there but not too tired from a full day of it, and as we went on to play from the first song to the last the atmosphere that surrounded the stage was magical. From crowd participation to improvised blues solos the set took all sorts of beautiful and unexpected turns. 45 minutes never went by so fast.

I never quite know which one I prefer, the kick you get from going on stage or the buzz from coming off – I guess it’s all just part of the experience. For me a gig is never just the amount of time on stage, it’s everything that surrounds it. Hopefully the show tomorrow at the Tokyo side of Summersonic will rock as much as Osaka, who knows where it will take us, what I do know is that I can’t wait. Here are some photos from today’s adventure:

Possibly The Perfect Place To Blog

From the streets to the beach in only an hour. Tokyo and Zushi are almost liketwo totally different countries that strangely yet wonderfully neighbour each other, but still here in Japan an air similar to that of Hawaii drifts from palm tree to palm tree in this little surfer’s paradise. Lucky I am to have been blessed with the opportunity to venture to a place I would have never known existed if it wasn’t for the fortunate position I am with music.

What makes it all the more special for me on top of just hanging out in this little seventh heaven is the chance to play (on the beach) to an audience of super appreciative Japanese fans, who solely want to see you succeed so that they can do so in the process. I find sometimes when playing a gig in other places it’s an aura of ‘guilty until proven innocent’, whereas here in Japan it’s quite the opposite – innocent until proven guilty, just like it should be.

The show I played was called Otodama Sea Studio, a 72 day mini festival on the sea-front started 7 years ago by a couple of guys in a successful Japanese band called Kimaguren; last year I was lucky enough to go on stage with them on the last song of their headline spot and jam out a Bob Marley song. For me, moments like those are what makes music so special. 2010 Otodama landed me in the middle of all the wonders my memory last left it in; sunny, exciting, hot, fun and always a cracking photo from the stage:

This year also found me on the same bill as a guy called Jason Reeves, a very talented singer-songwriter from America who just so transpired to have written the song ‘Bubbly’ for Colbie Caillat, which reached #1 in the US. Not too long later the sun was in and the mohitos were out, and with the bonfire burning strong a glance to my left saw me two acoustics shimmering in the flame’s reflections. A glance to my right to see Jason eyeing the trusty 6strings himself, and all it took was two excitable smiles to begin one of the best jams I’ve had in a very longtime.

Today I sit on the beach I yesterday played on, this time enjoying it all from the other side of the stage. Some cool reggae bands to some hip hop DJ’s rocked the beach hut all day and left many in the Zushi utopia, needless to say, another super day on the sand ensued. I’ll let the photos do the talking now because I want to play Frisbee, but all I hope is that you can appreciate Japan is so much more than just those bright lights of Tokyo.

(All the pics coming on facebook soon)

Japan : Good To Be Back

Tokyo is one of the most incredible yet confounding cities I’ve ever been to. Covered at night from ground to sky with blazing, eye-ball searing neon, constant flashing lights, car horns and calls make for the relentless hustle and bustle. For a man who sees it in snippets I’m nothing if not consumed by the vibrance of it all; just strolling through is like a beautiful attack on the senses, and with every step taken I feel to reach for the camera to show you what it’s truly like, but never will a photo alone snap the magic of Tokyo.

Why this city furthers to amaze me is just how easy it is to slip from that frenetic, 24hr hustle of the high-road and suddenly find yourself in a new world of tranquil backstreets, owned only by the scent of ‘Old Japan’, although that might just be the noodles. Keep walking and you’ll keep finding them, these peaceful little classic Japanese noodle shacks, crafted in wood by the quintessence of its instantly recognisable culture.

We landed from London yesterday morning, only 11 hours of a mixture of sleeping, watching films and reading and you’re the other side of the world – crazy! Would love to try and tell someone 200 years ago that would be possible, I’d imagine they’d also ask what a film was. Interesting how life develops, just like Japan has developed for me as a place I’m getting more and more familiar with. The language, the people and the city – listening, learning and loving. We always stay in this place called Shibuya (one of Tokyo’s many sub-cities that makes up this amazing conurbation), and the view from the hotel looks down upon the busiest people crossing in the world; breathtaking scenes, every 2 minutes the cars all halt and thousands and thousands of people swarm like beautiful little Japanese bees crossing to getting on with their busy lives. My next move is to do it on someone’s shoulders holding a video cam (soon to be posted on this blog)!

Jetlag’s a bit of a killer but what better way to ease yourself in than a cheeky siesta followed by a stroll round Tokyo with some in-ear headphones blocking out all sound but the music chosen – I stuck on Train’s new album (you know that Hey Soul Sister, Drops of Jupiter band, great album), just walked, didn’t stop, didn’t talk, just watched the world go by. Later that evening I met some friends for a few drinks that I’ve been looking forward to seeing since my last tour in October and took to the town of Tokyo for what was nothing but the perfect first night of this 3 week little venture to the East. Next stop – Zushi – the beach.