No reason needed...

Signs of Life

If you are reading this, then chances are that you are doing so through the medium of the new website. Hello. This blog will be the first port of call for news from now on. Hell, I might even start blogging in the accepted sense of the word...

Meanwhile, the album 'Low Culture' will be released through Pinnacle on July 14th, available from all good record shops (if there are any actual physical record shops left in two months time that is... at this rate not likely) and the usual online outlets. More later.

The best financial advice anyone has ever sent to me.

..is here. http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=362. Its American, so you'll have to substitute "Inland Revenue" for "IRS", and "London" for "New York/LA/San Francisco" but it's still relevant. If you are in any creative profession then take note.

Happy New Year.

Hi,
I'm sitting here listening to some rough mixes of my third album which will be out in May. Its called Low Culture and I think its pretty good. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in 2008, but I just have a bit more crossing of I's and sipping of T's and then it'll be done. Hooray for that.

Also, watch out for a remastered (i.e. mastered at all, LOL!!1!) version of the 'I Am Jim Moray' EP that was initially released back in 2001. Its going to have a couple of bonus tracks on it and it'll be available from gigs, on download and mail order from the website (www.jimmoray.co.uk) in a month or so. A lot of people have asked about this, and there are only 1000 copies of the original in total so if you have one hang onto it!

As if that wasn't enough, the Jim Moray 4 (comprising the Sweet England-era touring band of Laurence Hunt on drums, Jonny Race on guitar and Ryan Trebilcock on bass) played a pretty heavy set at St Martins church in Birmingham on the 2005 tour that remains one of my favourite gigs we ever did. It was recorded and filmed by Scott Johnson of Film Ficciones, and I'm halfway through mixing it for a live EP that will be available at the gigs and from the website. There's some stuff on there that was never released on an album, plus (to my mind) definitive versions of some of the Sweet England tracks played live. I imagine that'll be ready for the March and May dates.

Anyway, happy 2008 and I'll see you somewhere down the road!

Jim

My favourite video in a very long time.

I guess I should explain...

I've got into the habit of just posting photos out of context. sorry about that.

The record is sounding good. I've had all sorts of people to the house in the last few weeks to try to finish it off. The guy playing Kora and Dilruba in the pictures below is called Dan Wilkins who studied at Conservatoire with me. As far as I know he's the first and only student to be a first study Kora player. He's on a track featuring the electric thumb piano I made. I now have several including a bass electric thumb piano. Lots of problems because the track is now in F#min and the thumb pianos are all tuned to G...

My buddy Laurence Hunt is playing drums and marimba on a track. I've played with Loz longer than anyone else (apart from maybe my sister) and he played some of the drums on Sweet England and toured with me for a few years. I've played the majority of the drums this time round but its was still nice to have him on the album. The brass guys are Jim Cornick and Rob Williams, who are in a band called Glow who I share a studio space with, and Dave Byett, musician for Bristol Morris Men amongst other things (more on them later).

Nick Cooke and Jamie Delarre have played melodeon and fiddle respectively, and Jackie has played and sung a bit too. I'm due to go to Manchester to collect some Hurdy Gurdy parts and some more strings in the next few weeks. I'm also hunting round for someone in Bristol with a real piano I can record for an afternoon.

More soon.

...introducing the worlds first Hardanger viola and morris bells duo.