These recordings owe their existence to my good friend and collaborator, Laurence Love Greed. I got to know Laurence a few years back when he first used my voice on one of his many TV and film projects. During the scorching Summer of 2018, Laurence kindly agreed to record some acoustic demos with me at his home studio. These sessions morphed into a deeper musical collaboration and we soon began to discuss the possibility of making a record together.
At that time, I was searching for a sound that’s true to the way I write on acoustic guitar and that picks up where my last album left off. I’d lived with Kairos for four years and had come to see certain songs as cornerstones of the album, the musical and emotional crux of it. Tempus was born out of a wish to re-explore and bring a different nuance to these songs.
Our aim was to present these songs in a “pure” form, tracking my vocal and guitar live and then overlaying sympathetic acoustic arrangements. Tempus begins with a four-part vocal harmony and with each song we added four more acoustic tracks. As the record progresses new textures are introduced, each song growing into the next whilst retaining the acoustic purity we were aiming for.
If we achieved what we set out to do, the credit has to go to Laurence for his masterful production and arrangements. Furthermore, as we developed the concept for this EP, it became clear that what little budget we had would need to be spent on musicians’ fees. Without Laurence lending me his time and studio for free these recordings could not have been made. I am hugely in his debt. I would also like to thank all of the musicians who contributed to this recording. It was an absolute pleasure to work with each of them.