Great for cutting rug to and great background music whilst you work. Enjoy!

The music is not be confused with my usual acoustic musings as there wasn’t a guitar in sight. The brief was to create a simple and fairytale feel to the story which follows four girls on the run up to Disco Kid 2011 which is the pinnacle of the Freestyle Disco Dancing calendar. The music was primarily classical string arrangements but with some more contemporary styles too. I’ll be posting all of the songs here over the coming week or so but first up is ‘The Adventure Begins.’

“It’s better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would’ve happened if I had tried”
Alfred Lord Tennyson

My first task was to finish my album “Hanging Up My Cape.” This was months of intensive work and a very steep leaning curve but ultimately I was very pleased with the results. Once the joy of creating was over I was left with touring the album and working out how the hell I could make a living from being a solo singer-songwriter…. No easy task. In fact to this day I still don’t really know. Looking at it as a business model I can see no obvious revenue streams*…. at least not the kind that would pay the rent. Music sales are down and even majors with their marketing clout are struggling. Sync and perfromance royalties are the obvious way but that’s easier said than done.

So I decided to expand my horizons and put my eggs in as many musical baskets as possible. So I decided to try my hand as a guitar teacher. Helping others learn the trade and get as much joy from playing as I have seemed an obvious choice and how rewarding it was. So Guitar Lessons North London was born (catchy I know). I also decided to get involved in producing music for TV and Media which has turned out to be one of the most incredible things I have ever done. I realize at heart I am a composer rather than a performer and my first piece of scoring work goes live next week….. more to follow.

*when I say no obvious revenue streams I’m talking about earning a living, at my level, from performing writing and recording as a solo artist.

It’s worth stressing that everything you see is performed live using a loop pedal. Time is taken from the debut album ‘Hanging Up My Cape.’ Click here to watch the incredible animated music video

Have a listen to the album here Acoustic Jim – ‘Hanging Up My Cape’

The song ‘Prejudice‘ is excellent but Storm is my favourite not least because it is animated (I like moving pictures) and I love the way in which he addresses issues with which I too take issue. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

It’s not secret that the best acoustics in most people’s homes is the bathroom, so I thought I’d make a series of videos performing my back catalogue and a few cheeky covers from the comfort of my bathroom. The first in this series is ‘Losing, Lost, Found’ which is take from my debut album ‘Hanging Up My Cape’

Lydian Label‘s Laszlo (AKA Aaron Wheeler) produced my debut EP ‘Life Two Point Oh‘ for me way back when and had a hand in ‘Hanging Up My Cape‘ too. He is an inspirational musician/composer and has become a good friend. Todd Baker is a phenominal guitarist and featured on my debut album. Have a listen to the guitar in ‘She’s The One.’

The theme is based on the ‘Bucket List’ concept of two elderly gents who having found out they they don’t have long to live, embark on an adventure to do all the things they never made time for. The theme of the track Time, is that despite always saying that we ‘don’t have time,’ we do actually have time. It’s just a question of what we choose to do with it.

Chob’s 2D animation pays hommage to the greats like Tex Avery and Warner Bros and is filled with pathos as well as the tongue in cheek comedy that was typical of the era. Look out for a similar video for Superhero – coming soon.