blog

03/12/2024

Another new album - #33 - is on it's way out called "Evolution". To be fair this is actually more of a Greatest Hits playlist, mainly culled from the last 3 album releases, but also includes re-releases of 3 songs that are not currently up on streaming services (ever since I decided to rip everything down and start again back in July).

 The 3 new re-issues are 

"Ripcord" with Luke Austin adding tasty guitar noodles, 

"Spin" with lead vocal by Rianne Buurman and 

"Prometheus At Sunrise". 

The lyrics for both "Spin" and "Prometheus At Sunrise" came from poet Chloe Jacquet and a (very) small amount of tinkering by me to shoehorn them into music I had already written. 

All of the tracks on the album have had some level of reinvention, from hard to detect changes in the overall mix through to re-recordings of certain tracks. A lot of the time it was just putting things right that didn't get done right the first time. Hence the name of the album. It's an evolution, not a revolution.

23/10/2024

So, to be fair, I got tired of just listening to multiple remixes of all those old songs with lots of small tweaks. Clearly I have got no stamina or have a low boredom threshold or both. Think I'd rather just be ploughing on with new stuff. 

So the 26 chosen songs, some of which are much improved compared to the originals, are going out as they stood yesterday 22/10/2024. Thanks go once again to collaborators Jake Philbrick, RyLi, Dread Pirate and Becky Kelly. They will be fixed forever in aspic as "ZOTA" aka album #32. 

Should be released on 01/11/2024. I say should because the artwork that I'm using which was a picture of me made by a good friend - than you Vetty Bam Bam - might get rejected by the album art police. Let's see......and see if you can spot why below!

15/10/2024

So, new tunes once again on their way out. 

Expect 15 new tunes on or around 25/10/2024 in the form of Album#31 "Uneasy Listening".

In other news, I took "a lot" of stuff down from all platforms (well Albums #1 - #29!) whilst I think long and hard about what I'm trying to achieve here. 

It's complicated. 

In the past I just decided to publish pretty much all output - the good, the bad and the downright nasty - but I'm not sure that's entirely helpful as it does make for a lot of stuff to wade through. And also, some of the earlier output was less well produced and I find it hard to listen to if I'm honest. 

So, I'm working on reissue of a number of tracks (26 to be accurate ranging from Z to A) in a remixed and remastered state, but not everything. 

Not exactly a "best of" but inevitably I'm choosing to focus on tracks I really like more than the ones that don't perhaps give so much joy. 

Not sure when that's coming out and I'm trying to get other collaborators on board and it's like herding cats.......   

Onwards and upwards

25/06/2024

Been a while! 

So here we are, on the eve of Glasto Fest '24, in the middle of  Euro '24 and Tay Tay's world conquest and not too far from a General Election for the UK. Lots going on. 

Also true here

Been busy working away on compiling the last 3 EPs into a single cohesive (?) piece of art or at least collection of tracks aka Album#30. In honour of reaching this milestone I decided that it should have 30 tracks. So polished up versions of the 15 tracks off of the EPs XXXi/ii/iii AND some remixes of some of those tracks AND 9 new "tracks". 

Actually the new tracks are more like little infill pieces within the crazy paving of the other tracks, but I had fun making them. 

Be sure to check out "Fishy Swim Fish" which is potentially the most annoying and yet earwormy song to emerge this side of "Baby Shark". Not just my opinion. Other people also love/hate it already. And it has a dance. Will get around to a video and instructions. 

Anyway all of that in the form of "XXX" will be dropping out and into your ears on the day of the GE i.e 04/07/2024. Hopefully. Vote any which way but Tory.    

30/03/2024

Back in Ing-ur-land. Managed to write lyrics to quite a few songs that were in the "just music" stage while I was in Japan or on the plane home, and when I got back I quickly banged down the vocal lines. After a relatively short amount of turd polishing I've decided to release them sooner than I would normally have done.

5 tracks heading out on 12/04/2024 as an EP called XXXiii, which is the third part of Album#30. I have yet to decide how many parts there will ultimately be. Might stop now. IDK. Anyway, the tracks will be as follows:

Human Animals - is about the ongoing human rights violations in Gaza. How is 13,000 dead children NOT genocide?

Missing - is a song about missing somebody. This is some Ivor Novello level shizzle

Namazu - is a love song thinly, disguised as a song about Namazu, the trapped catfish that causes all of the earthquakes in Japan, according to fable.

Full Of Shit - is a fairly bitter song about people who swear that white is black

Knives Out - is a song about toxicity

So......watch out for that when it lands! Lyrics and tabs will be updated / added as and when.

02/03/2024

Here we are again. 

Greetings from Tokyo, where I am sitting at the launch party for my new EP which releases today - in about half an hour in fact. 

OK, there's only me here and I'm sat in my hotel room, but it's a party nonetheless

XXXii is the second set of songs from Album#30. 

5 tracks and about 20 minutes long. The genres are, as ever a bit mixed up. Got some most excellent contributions from musical pals Josh Gordon (guitar break on I Lose My Mind) and Kim "Hill" Billy (backing vocals on Hearts And Minds). 

Hearts And Minds was written over a year ago, when it became patently clear that my good friend Joolz wasn't going to make it much further. She died on 12/03/2023, so this is now finally released in her memory. At the time I couldn't even sing it without breaking up. It's a little easier now that a little time has passed. Anyway, going to raise a glass on 12th March and sing this song again.

More shit in the works, with the expectation of releasing some more tracks in the summer. 

Might be another Hugh Jar Soul Band gig in the works too.......

19/12/2023

Well it's been a while but I've been busy with stuff. 

Played a gig at The Tall Ship Gloucester on 09/12/23 as alter ego Dave Jar with the rest of "The Hugh Jar Soul Band" - jamily members Ryan Hugh* and Becky Soul. A cracking sing-along acoustic covers night was had, the second outing for the band that isn't really a band. 

(*Unfortunately Ash Hugh couldn't make it so his cousin stepped in to fill the gap). 

Also been busy playing a few gigs with Anthill Mob although I've taken the hard decision to knock that on the head, with the last gig (for me) being on 30/12/23. It'll be a private party. A new recruit is being found to take over low end duties. 

Other than that been prepping for Album #30 - yes that's right, #30 - sorting out the release of a 5 track EP that is going to be coming out this Friday 22/12/23. It's called "XXXi" and will be the first of (probably) 3 EPs containing songs from the album which will get fully collated some time next year. Probably.

Plenty more new stuff in the pipeline for 2024 so look out for that and, if anybody reads this stuff, wishing you all the best for a non denominational festive break** and New Year***

(**/*** Assuming you don't work in hospitality - if you do, have a good break later on when everyone else is skint and has gone back to work)   

23/08/2023

It's been a busy old time here at Asbo Slipz towers.

Have been prepping for the release of album number 29: no new songs unfortunately, just a collection of all the singles released since December 2022 into one bite sized biscuit of tunes. 

It's going to be called "Open Up My Beagle Eyes" and will be out on Friday 25/08/2023, just in time for the long Bank Holiday weekend.

Cynically the artwork is based around a picture of a rather cute beagle puppy. 

Also been busy working up some of the other new material that's in the pipeline for further releases later this year. Got three songs pretty much nailed already. Watch this space!

Other than that, did a gig at Cafe Rene in Gloucester on Wednesday 16/08/2023 which, although it was a relatively short notice thing, was a lot of fun and allowed me to do some road testing of some of the new material (released and as yet unreleased) which had never been tried in public before.

04/08/2023

Six Feet Underground released yesterday, with thanks to Dread Pirate and RyLi for their vocal contributions.

Ripcord out tomorrow, with thanks to Luke Austin for adding some tasty guitar tickles. 

One more single to come on 14/08/2023 - a bossanova inspired reworking of Communication Breakdown, just for the hell of it. 

And then I reckon it's time to wrap all of the singles up and call them an album, to give them a "home", 'cos I'm old school like that. 

And I have the artwork and the name all ready to go. Boom. 

18/07/2023

So, Communication Breakdown has been making it's way in the world and is getting some pretty strong support, for which....thanks! 

Looking forward, next release Rocinante will be out on 22/07/2023. 

This will be the 8th release from what will eventually form the next album, the title and artwork for which are already in the bag.

Yeehaa and giddyup.

25/05/2023

Decision made: Mind Bleach up next......ETA 10/06/2023

11/05/2023

Well, that's all that pallaver out of the way. 

Onwards and upwards. 

"Pigs" will be released on 20/05/2023 featuring vocal contributions from my good friends RyLi and Dread Pirate!