Here is my February release for 2022 (a year in which I am attempting to release a song a month) – ‘Kings of Nothing’. Below the video is a bit more info about the song and links to other platforms:

‘Kings of Nothing’ was written in the winter of 2021 after I’d been listening to a news item about the state of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of troops and how no one wins and the ‘victors’, whoever they are, are left presiding over misery.

The music emerged from a riff played on my new ‘Faith’ 12 string, which seemed to elevate the fairly simple open string picking with moving bass note to a new level, and create resonance that flowed into the chorus changes and seemed to build up throughout. Because of this gradual crescendo through the verses and choruses, I have opted for an ‘electronic’ drum kit to cut through the mix, with the addition of live percussion to layer this up later in the song (Djembe).

This song is also the first to feature one of my favorite music toys, the Otamatone:

I’ve had this toy for years, but never found the right moment until now! You can hear it in the repeated chorus towards the end of the song, crying out over the madness!

This song also features the use of my new acoustic bass, doubled up from a direct input and microphone – allowing me to blend the deeper rounded tones of the DI, with the top end rhythmic fret and plec sounds.

I’m happy with how it turned out and looking forward to hopefully playing this live later this year in the new duet I am currently rehearsing with – the live version of this is sounding great!

Here are some more links to find this in the major places, but you can also find this on most platforms:

https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kings-of-nothing/1602014933?i=1602014934