Feeling What I See was recorded in the summer of 2004 specifically for a girl I was falling for at the time. It's about the emotions that surround those initial stages of relationships where you ask yourself "does she like me?" "does she see what I see?". This was the first song I had recorded and written since leaving Uni and it turned out to be the first of a whole string of soppy love songs I've been churning out ever since. This is however currently the only one I've had chance to properly record. This song got it's first public performance in Birmingham at Saint Faith and Saint Laurence church in Harborne back in March 2006. A buddy of mine on my PGCE course, Jermaine Griffiths, took up singing duties whilst I accompanied. He did a fantastic job! This song represents an important change for me as a song writer. Unlike a lot of the stuff I composed at Uni, which was very mechanical and structured, this song was born from an emotion, from a feeling, rather than a specific desire or intent to write a song. I think as a result the song has considerably more heart to it than most of the stuff I've written before.

Helping Hand (The Short-Media Song), is a little number I wrote, for a laugh I might add, about a computer tech site for which I am a member of staff. I wrote and recorded it in the space of about 2 hours. I play all instruments on the track, hence the really bad guitar playing and the usual questionable vocals. Like I said, I wrote the song just for a bit of a laugh, but as it turned out a lot of the members at Short-Media kindly took quite a likening to it. Also as a direct result of the song, I was asked to be interviewed by another great tech site Addaboy.com, which used to have its own weekly web based radio show. The interview from the show can be downloaded here. What was originally just a bit of a joke, at least for me, has turned out to be a very memorable piece of song writing. Its simplicity is one characteristic which I love, it reminded me that songs don't always have to be instrumentally complex to work.

Be There was the last of the songs I wrote for my degree composition portfolio back in early 2003. Be There acted as a great bookend for my composition portfolio by containing elements from all the other tracks. On top of that I felt it neatly summed up the closing of that particular chapter in my life (Uni life). Martyn Kendall returned once again to grace the song with his guitar playing and I, as usual, performed just about everything else. I would best describe the track as an upbeat middle of the road rock song with a pinch of emotional flavour. Even though on a technical level the production on the track is something I am very pleased with, due to certain time constraints there were a few aspects that I would have liked to have given a bit more attention. My questionable singing again being one such example.

Something Good [Arr], was the last arrangement I put together for my degree portfolio. Most of the arrangements up until this track had been based on relatively modern tunes, so I thought to create a contrast I would reach back into the loveable era of the 60's. Originally by Herman's Hermits, this even shorter version (coming in at just over 2 minutes) is not that dis-similar to the original, but it is instrumentally and structurally different and has a stronger rock 'n' roll feel.

Soul, is essentially a piano and vocal ballad. The song is a re-write of a number I wrote whilst at school, it never made it onto tape until now though. Ironically, now it has finally been recorded, is has almost completely changed from how it used to be. The piece was built around two main sections, a jazzy piano motif and a short vocal melody. At first I wasn't sure what its instrumentation was going to be, whether it would be a full line-up of instruments or a minimal and more intimate ensemble. I opted for the latter, which as a result gives the song strong ties with a previous composition of mine, Tell Me. Once again I perform solely (if you excuse the pun) on this track, and in an attempt to escape the sometimes claustrophobic confines of a PC sequencer, I decided to record the main parts completely live, with only a small amount of editing work to patch bits up. I did this in an attempt to create a more vibrant feeling track, which I felt was a real necessity because of the tracks minimal instrumentation. However my poor singing seriously lets the track down and I plan to get a proper singer to re-record the vocal part at some point in the future to do the song justice.

Take Me, was written back to back with Sellavei in 2002, both were recorded half in the studio and half on my PC (notice the synthetic drums). The guitar parts were recorded by Paul Humphreys and all other parts were recorded by myself. A nice guy called Trevor on my Uni course (who I performed with occasionally) sung on this one as well as Sellavei. His vocal parts for both, quite refreshingly, were performed in just one take and his vocal tone definitely compliments the instrumental backing. The only problem to me with this song (apart from it being a cheesy rock number) is its name... Nothings perfect I guess.

Forever With You, in actual fact has no place being on this page, simply because I had nothing to do with it. I didn't play on it, I didn't write it and I didn't sing on it (thank god). So who is responsible for this pop masterpiece you ask? well the frequently mentioned Paul Humphreys is... and I felt it was too good not to put it up for him. He wrote and recorded this whilst at Uni. I personally have no idea who sung on it but I think 90% of the instruments were sequenced/recorded by himself.

Martyn We Love You, was a song I wrote especially for Martyn Kendall's 18th birthday, which was quite a few years ago now. Paul Humphreys again played guitar and the great Lee Chamberlain put his down to play Bass. Paul Clinton did vocal duties and it turned out to be one of his best performances to date. This was played by the DJ at Martyn's birthday bash much to his surprise and even though it was an obvious happy birthday message, it was just as much a rip take.

More To Me, is a piano and guitar based rock track with a touch of heart. I say heart, because some sections do contain some ballad like characteristics, which as a result helps to make the track a blend of lushness and pace. Paul Humphreys is on guitar (generously taking the time to do so on weekend visit back in 2003) and as usual everything else is performed by yours truly. With this track I thought it was about time the piano and keyboard took a more prominent role over that of the usually favoured electric guitar. So More To Me is much more piano and keyboard orientated than some of my other songs in my composition portfolio. Also (slightly ironically) I make my guitar playing debut about half way through the track, I may only play two notes but I thought it was worth mentioning. See if you can figure out which two notes I play.

Carnival, was a instrumental piece I orchestrated for a University sequencing assignment back in 2002. I surprisingly got a 1st for this.

Guitar Instrumental, written by the Martyn Kendall in 1999. We had tried to record this piece together many a time, but had either not been satisfied with the end result (production wise) or had just plain lost the bloody thing.. (Paul!). However thanks to our Uni studio sessions this song has finally been given the production it deserves. It is a guitar solo piece (if you hadn't already guessed)  in a rock style. Paul Humphreys plays guitar as usual, Martyn Kendall plays bass and I'm on drums and keyboards. I think the song itself is about friendship, life and soul... not to mention fast guitar licks. We couldn't think of a proper name for it so we simply glanced at the lead sheets and called it the title which was the page... 'Guitar Instrumental'.

Tell Me, is a really cheesy ballad with an almost show-tune like quality to it. It was recorded back in 1998. Paul Clinton sings and does a great job. The tune suits his singing style perfectly. Paul Humphreys also does a great job with the acoustic guitar solo in the middle. My only criticism of the song is that it's a bit long. If I ever tried to sell it, I would have to get it down to under 4 minutes.

The Tablet, is a little instrumental sequence I put together for one of my earlier University minor assignments. I recently dragged it out of moth balls and thought I would put it up on the site. It's about drugs, as you might have guessed. It's short, a little weird and generally all over the place.

All I Want, is a guitar and piano based rock song that I wrote during the summer of 2002. Paul Humphreys plays all the guitars on the track, everything else, including lead vocals, are performed by me. This was the first track I recorded for my composition portfolio, and even though the production and vocal parts are very rough around the edges, it is still one of my personal favourites. Before I even started writing it I knew I wanted the song to be very upbeat and as it turned out I think I managed to capture that intention. This was in part thanks to some very innovative guitar playing by Paul, so credit where it's due. The real problem I had with this song was performing the vocal parts, as I had stupidly written them out of my own vocal range, which was limited to begin with. Still I muddled through, but the vocal parts in my eyes will always be an aspect of the track I would like to do over again in the future.

Eine Kleine Rock Music, is an arrangement of a classic Mozart piece with an added rock twist. This was recorded back in 1998 whilst myself and the folk who played on it were at college studying music. Lee Chamberlain and Paul Humphreys do the guitar work and the arrangement also owes mostly to them. Martyn Kendall plays bass as usual and of course yours truly on kit. We did countless performances of this rock extravaganza whilst we where at college and my hope is one day we will all play it together again. It contains everything you would expect from a rock track, bad playing, over the top guitar solo's and an intrusive bass solo. I might add though, the bad playing was mainly just by me. This is a must download for any rock fans because they don't come much better than this. It may be poorly recorded and it may be out of time, but it rocks like your grannies chair during an earthquake. Trust me.

Sound6, this was originally written for a University assignment, I can't remember what exactly the brief was but sufficed to say this is what turned out. It's a guitar solo piece, performed by Paul Humphreys (who obviously left one of his tuning pegs at home), all other instruments were recorded by myself. I think this piece, like Guitar Instrumental (above), has a certain optimism about it. I think it would be best described as a feel good track and I think the piece as a whole proves you don't necessarily need words to put a message across. What's the message you ask? Have a listen and found out.

I Say To You, is a relatively downbeat track, which from a compositional point of view is very understated. The track isn't as in your face as some of my other portfolio songs and from my point of view at least, this number adds another touch of contrast. All instruments and vocals are performed by myself, with the obvious exception of the guitar parts which were widdled off by Martyn Kendall. Like More To Me, this track is primarily piano and keyboard orientated, with the guitar parts being reduced to a much less dominating role than usual. The role of the electric guitar in this track is more for textural benefits than anything else, adding to the withdrawn and restrained feeling the song exhibits. On a less technical note however, this song fashionably breaks the mould by not having a three syllable title ; All I Want, Call My Name and More To Me. I didn't do it on purpose, I assure you.

Coming Back Tomorrow, could be considered one of the first proper venture's into song writing I ever took. I wrote and recorded it in 1998 whilst at college, but even though the song holds its own, the production quality (which at the time I thought was great) doesn't stand up as well as it did back then. That however is mostly irrelevant to the fact that this song means quite a lot to me from a lyrical stand point. Paul Clinton graces us with his vocal presence for this one.

Call My Name, which was written near the end of 2002, after All I Want, is a tribute to my compositional roots, carrying many similarities with the track Coming Back Tomorrow which was one of the first songs I ever wrote (see above). Martyn Kendall fills in for my usual guitar man Paul Humphreys and plays all the guitars on the track except for, ironically, the bass. I again sang on the track, slightly more confidently I might add after my first attempt at singing for All I Want. With this one, I also decided to spend a bit more time on the tracks production, making sure that the mixing and mastering did justice to the track as a whole. If you are wondering what the track is all about, it's about getting to know someone properly before you judge them. A simple sentiment, but nevertheless an important one.

Sellavei, a mellow but upbeat rock track which came about whilst I was having a shower. I literally walked out of the shower and onto the sequencer and laid this one down, with of course a lot of the tracks energy owing to Paul who invaluably brought my guitar riff ideas to life. The word 'sellavei', to my knowledge does not exist, it is one which I conjured up. It means happy, joyful, being in a state of bliss. Have a listen to the song to see how it's pronounced. This song is unusual in the fact that even though it has a strong vocal melody it has an instrumental chorus, based around the songs main guitar riff. This is quite abnormal for a song and in retrospect and I'm not sure how well it works. As a result of the chorus being instrumentally based, I think it prevents the song from really taking off. Critical evaluations a side, this is one song I am very pleased with, thanks mainly to Trevor and Paul who put down some fantastic performances. We also got to perform it live a few times which was a laugh.