Tim Bowness - Borderline

Another track from Tim Bowness's forthcoming album "Flowers at the Scene".
I am playing double bass, and the track also features sometime Ex-Wise Head Ian Dixon on trumpet, who plays also on my recent album with Robert Jurjendal - "Another World"

Tim Bowness - Flowers at the Scene

I am playing both upright and electric bass on the forthcoming Tim Bowness album "Flowers at the Scene" due in early March.
The first preview track "I Go Deeper" is out now:



The usual pre-order options can be found here: https://burningshed.com/store/timbowness

"Another World" with Robert Jurjendal

I am happy to announce another forthcoming collaborative release for the coming months, an album of instrumental tracks with Estonian guitarist Robert Jurjendal.

Given the popularity and ubiquity and sometimes plain obviousness of the guitar, I never seem to have any trouble connecting and working with interesting, innovative and unique players who have developed their own singular and original approach to the instrument, I am not going to list any, since I am bound to forget someone…but anyone going backwards through these posts can find out who they are...

Anyway, I first heard Robert play with the ambient outfit “Slow Electric”, a joint UK/Estonian collaboration featuring English singer/songwriter Tim Bowness, with whom of course I’ve also played and recorded with.

It is said that opposites attract but I also think it’s true that like attracts like, I am naturally drawn to the “less is more” minimal approach and it was a straightforward thing to link up with Robert as I could easily detect the expansiveness in his musical approach, and for myself, I've always felt that creating a sense of space in music is one of my primary objectives as a bass player, the lacuna being just as important, if not more so, than the occupied frequencies.

Although I spent a good deal of time working on my parts of our album in the confines of my sunlight free basement studio (AKA Nightspace), for me the album is infused with a real sense of openness born from the beautiful medieval city of Tallinn, where I spent an all too short time exploring whilst playing with Ex-Wise Heads, and where Robert and I first started the seeds of our collaboration.

Searching for another “voice” to add depth to our compositions, we were extremely happy to receive the electronic contributions from Isak Nygaard, whose incredibly intricate and detailed programming and sonic manipulations both supplemented and complimented what we sent him.

The final ingredient is the expressive and stirring trumpet of Ian Dixon, a friend from long ago and far away (currently a resident of Melbourne, Australia) who’s also graced several Ex-Wise Heads tracks in the past, not to mention his work in another common thread, the band No-Man. Ian has recently been performing all over the world with legendary Ethiopian musician Mulate Astatke but I am happy to say, he found time to add his highly imaginative, intense and inspired voice to “Another World”.

More details will follow as a release date is firmed up, but for now I'd like to share this cover image by Kitty Jurjendal:

Click the following link for Pre-Order via Burning Shed: https://burningshed.com/colin-edwin_robert-jurjendal_another-world_cd

https://colinedwin.bandcamp.com/album/another-world-colin-edwin-and-robert-jurjendal

Live with Tim Bowness

I'll be joining Tim Bowness at the end of the month for a one-off performance at the Seventh Wave Festival in Birmingham.

Tickets can be found on the link below:

https://www.skiddle.com/festivals/seventh-wave/

Tim Bowness - Songs from the Ghost Light

I am playing both upright and electric bass on several tracks on Tim Bowness's new release "Songs From the Ghost Light", a mixture of studio and live performances.
Available now on CD and vinyl it is, I am told, to be considered a companion release to the latest album "Lost in the Ghost Light", which was released earlier this year.

For a full track listing, audio sample and more info, please see Tim Bowness's website:

http://timbowness.co.uk/songs-from-the-ghost-light/

Upcoming Live Dates

Over the coming summer I'll be playing live with Gaudi, Sdang! and Tim Bowness, at different times, below all confirmed dates with links for FB events where I have them:

With Gaudi All Stars Orchestra:

June 16th  - The Borderline ( "Magnetic" Album Launch)

https://www.facebook.com/events/103559823552609/

July 31st Ozora Festival, Hungary

August 16th Psy-Fi Festival, Netherlands

…see previous blog post here

With S'Dang!

July 7th  Let's go summer fest - Gattorna (Ge) Italy

https://www.facebook.com/letsgosummerfest/

July 8th Indigest festival - Castel San Pietro Terme (Bo) Italy

https://www.facebook.com/indigestfestival/

July 28th Solarrock - Solarolo (Ra) Italy

https://www.facebook.com/events/267342460402131/

August 20th Caga fest - Itri (Lt) Italy

August 21st Tirabusciò - Soveria Mannelli (Cz) Italy

https://www.facebook.com/tirabusci/

September 10 Reasonanz - Loreto (An) Italy

https://www.facebook.com/ac.reasonanz/

…short trailer  can be found here

With Tim Bowness:

September 30th - 7th Wave Festival of Electronic Music, Birmingham UK

https://www.facebook.com/events/1310390769010924

Tim Bowness - "Lost in the Ghost Light"

I am playing (mostly fretless, but some upright) bass on a number of tracks on the the upcoming Tim Bowness album "Lost in the Ghost Light", out on February 17th 2017 on the Inside Out label.

The album has been some time in the making, with various guest musicians and some lengthy, ambitious songs...

For a fuller write up, please see Tim's website here, or visit the webstore here

Digital versions are available from Amazon or iTunes

Spector NS 4H2 MM USA fretless.

Since I received it a few years ago, my Spector USA fretless, has become a firm favourite.

Comfortable, reliable, expressive and tonally flexible, I have used it in a variety of different contexts, always with great results.

EMG Pick ups

High Gloss Cherry finish.

Like most of my basses, it's fitted with a Hipshot D- Tuner

Distinctive Spector Headstock with Logo.

I've recorded and gigged a lot with this instrument over the last few years, below some examples, starting with Twinscapes,:



With O.R.k.



A track with Tim Bowness:



With Jon Durant:




Herd of Instinct:


With Astarta/Edwin:

Tim Bowness Live dates.

I'll be joining Andrew Booker (drums) Mike Bearpark (guitar) and Stephen Bennett (keyboards) playing a new set of Tim Bowness material live at the dates below:

Click here for tickets for the UK dates (via burning shed), alternatively tickets can be bought direct from the venues using the links below:

Louisiana, London:

http://www.bristolticketshop.co.uk/eventdetails.aspx?e=9696

Boston Music Room, Bristol:

https://bostonmusicroom.ticketabc.com/events/tim-bowness-band/

Band on the Wall, Manchester:

http://bandonthewall.org/events/4829/

Rehearsals start very soon, for a taste of the new material here's "Press Reset" from Tim's new  album "Stupid Things that Mean the World"

Tools part 6 - Ovation Magnum II

I get a lot of use out of this unusual late '70's designed Magnum II bass from Ovation.

Featuring a highly distinctive body shape, a thumb rest, unique bridge design and a rarely seen approach to active pick-ups, these instruments were replaced by the later Magnum III and IV before being discontinued.

It's a comfortable, but solid (heavy) piece of wood, also with a longer than usual scale length, which meant initially sourcing strings with windings that went past the nut was a little tricky, but I have settled on D'Addario ECB81 XL Chrome flatwounds.

It's capable of some grinding rock sounds, but it's appeal for me is either for thick rubbery dub type bass, or, with the foam mute in place, played pick style (sometimes in conjunction with a delay pedal) for a retro bass sound that my other, more modern instruments can't get close to.

I also sometimes use an Ovation Magnum I, which is the passive version of the same bass, you can read more on the differences between the two on this original Ovation manual.

\

Two pick-ups, and foam mute.

Close up of the tone/volume controls and pick up selector.

Neck pick up aka "Mudbucker"

Backplate showing serial number.

You can hear this bass in the dub section (an excerpt from the title track) in the middle of the above sampler of the new Metallic Taste of Blood album "Doctoring the Dead".

Also on  "Mesh":




It's very prominent on the title track of the new Tim Bowness album "Stupid Things that Mean the World" too.

Tim Bowness - Stupid Things That Mean the World

I have contributed upright and both fretted and fretless electric bass (and some ebow textures as well) to various tracks on Tim Bowness's forthcoming album "Stupid Things That Mean the World" and below you can hear "Great Electric Teenage Dream", which is the first track from the album to be made public:

I will be joining Tim,  Mike Bearpark (Guitar), Andrew Booker (drums) and Stephen Bennett (Keys) for some upcoming gigs, the first one confirmed so far is in Poland at the end of August, see poster below:

Best,

Colin

Henry Fool live - ticket information

I'll be joining Henry Fool and Tim Bowness for some gigs over the summer, (see previous post here)

Please follow the link below to see the most current Henry Fool/Tim Bowness live information:

http://www.henryfool.com/tour.php

Tickets for the London and Maltby shows can also be bought via burning shed if you click here and here.

So far, one European date has been confirmed in the Netherlands (...see poster below, ticket link is here), but more are set to follow, I am told:

Recent Guest Recordings.

A couple of recent things, I always enjoy finding different contexts to play bass in and two things I've been involved recently couldn't be more different, but linked by intensity and individuality, and perhaps a few shared influences.

Firstly, I am playing mainly fretless bass (….a little upright too) on Tim Bowness's forthcoming album 'Abandonded Dancehall Dreams'.
Some of these tracks will also form part of the live repertoire for the Henry Fool/ Bowness dates this coming summer, which I am very much looking forward to.

Tim's album is coming out next month in a few different formats (coloured vinyl, CD etc) and the usual pre-orders are happening here:

Secondly, equally intense but in a completely different way, below is another track I have completed for Matthew Richard's "Dancing for Architecture" project:



Best,

Colin

Henry Fool Live Dates.

I'll be joining Henry Fool and Tim Bowness for some live dates over the summer, with a couple of dates being a double bill with a set of material from Tim's upcoming solo album "Abandoned Dancehall Dreams" - to which I have also contributed some fretless bass. No doubt there will also be a few other Tim Bowness related tunes in the live set…..

Please see the Henry Fool website, or the Tim Bowness homepage or click here for the press release, venue, ticket and other information.

Recording sessions are also being planned over the summer, so I hope there will be some new recorded output before the end of the year.

Best,

Colin

Henry Fool Live photos

Thanks to Caroline Traitler for these photos showing Henry Fool live at the 5 years of K-Scope event at a very hot Garage in London back in July.

It was an all instrumental set mostly taken from the last album, "Men Singing" , (or I should say "based on" rather than "taken from", given that the approach is to improvise around the structures and themes of the material), and I believe one previously unheard number.

Bearpark and Bowness on interlocking guitars.

Ebowing...

I've recently been tracking bass parts to some more song based material, which is another side of the Henry Fool output, so more to follow I think....

Line up left to right:

Stephen Bennett - keyboards, Myke Clifford on saxes and flute, Andrew Booker - drums, Tim Bowness - guitar, yours truly on bass, Mike Bearpark - guitar.

Best,

Colin

PS. 

I also messed about with my Fisheye Camera in the rehearsal, you can see the pictures over on the bands Facebook page