This new CD entitled Lost Places, features eight of my compositions played with a group consisting of guitar, harp, double bass and drums/percussion. This music is my own magical vision of world music from Britain, with Anglo-Celtic and multicultural roots in mythology, landscapes art and literature as well as music.
The tracks
Elusa
This piece started when a Portuguese lady called Maria asked me to write a piece for her in Gascony in France where I often stay. I named it Elusa which is the poetic older name for the nearby town of Eauze. The chords, 5/4 rhythm and melody rose up from impressions of a landscape with an ancient dolmen in central Portugal and there are Spanish and Latin influences.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass.
On Downland
This was written many years ago in London when I used to miss the countryside. It is an evocation of the chalk downs – mainly the South Downs in Sussex on a summer’s day. It was inspired by English folk songs and has a feeling of walking over open landscapes and looking at far horizons.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass.
Black Lake
In a vision of both inner and outer worlds I saw a vast loch in the highlands of Scotland set within mountainous walls and thought of shining black waters at night. The harp figure has a rolling mystery and fathomless depth and the melody has a soaring feeling like a bird flying and calling out of the lonely waters. The music changes time and moves into a rock driven soloing section before returning to the theme.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
Lost Places
A hypnotic and ancient rhythm and texture support an emotional yearning voice like melody. It first came to me on a trip to Somerset with thoughts of ancient cities disappearing under the ground. Also an elegy for lost love. This is about memories, journeys in the past and those who have passed away or are no longer part of our lives. This is my favourite piece.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
New Song, Old Song
One of my waltz like English folk melodies sat in a drawer for many years as an unfinished piece – this is the Old Song. Years later I came up with an ascending chord sequence and bass line in 4/4 which I liked and it fitted really well with the older piece and gave structure and contrast- this is the New Song.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
For Autumn
This started out as a group of harmonies from Autumn Leaves which I progressively altered to the point where they had little connection with the original. A romantic, evocative melody emerged from the upper notes of the chords and I found myself singing a line that really did feel like a homage to the season with falling leaves and a sense of stillness and richness. Rhodri is featured on this track.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
Camarna
This is not really impressionistic and seems to have a feeling of Englishness as well as distant countries near the sea. I’m not sure where this title came from, it could be a place, or a woman’s name. This is built from two ideas, this time really both chord sequences with unusual bass notes which I worked on intuitively. There are different time signatures , 3/4 and 5/4.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
Sea
This came to me as crashing waves and a mournful, yet exuberant melody and has a cyclical feeling of the tides advancing and returning.
Instruments- Guitar, harp, double bass, drums.
PRESS
A renowned figure
GUITARIST MAGAZINE
Exciting……esoteric, intriguing
TIME OUT
Richard Chapman gave a rare and utterly thrilling demonstration of his unique approach to nylon string guitar
THE WIRE
A very great player
OXFORD TIMES
THE MUSICIANS
The following musicians are featured on Lost Places and they also perform in my group.
Rhodri Davies harp
Rhodri has his own unique and lyrical Celtic language, which is a synthesis of traditional and contemporary improvisational approaches. He also brings deeper dimensions and sustain to the harmony and the harp blends really well with the guitar. Rhodri is a Welsh speaker and he plays a full size concert harp.
Paul Morgan bass
An old friend who goes back many years, Paul is the mainstay alongside me on the project and the foundation for the sound of the music. He has a great feel and a melodic style with an earthy resonant sound from his double bass.
Mark Fletcher drums
Mark brings rhythmic sophistication, motion and subtlety. The drums have been added in different places and give the music extra dynamism.
Some of the people they have worked with (in alphabetical order!)
Derek Bailey, Charlotte Church, Eric Clapton, Tony Coe, The Cure, John Etheridge, Tal Farlow, Dizzy Gillespie, John Harle, Elton John, Lee Konitz, The LSO, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Michael Nyman, Evan Parker, Pulp, Flora Purim, The RPO, Martin Taylor, Julian Lloyd Webber, John Williams, Robbie Williams, John Zorn.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES AS EQUAL PLANES
My music transcends genre and I see different musical influences coexisting at similar levels. I’ve been inspired by material from both my home country and many parts of the world. This has flowed into my own sound world as ‘equal planes’ of influence and this is expressed through my own English identity and wide ranging British world outlook. I think of my musical influences as forming a deep synthesis rather than existing as an assembly of discrete elements.
I have my own unique voice as a musician and revealing influences only sheds light on certain aspects of my music as the essence of individual creativity is unknown and mysterious.