"Come away North. Follow the north star and the compass of your heart."
Greetings!
This is my fourth Dialogic newsletter. It's still strange to me to think that many or any folk would be interested in this little news offering when there is so much big 'news' out there to absorb and contend with. But then it's the small things, the hopefully good small things, that can punctuate the grind and help smooth some of the bumps.
Many months ago I decided to take a break from 'the news', finding it all too bumpy for comfort. The steady trickle of updates delivered by the media wasn't doing me any good - feeling a bit like a poison drip-feed. One positive thing that I've noticed is that without all the big world-news considerations constantly in my foreground, there's been more space to spot and appreciate some of the smaller things. Or even some frankly big things that I'd been taking less notice of, like the amazing views here in Northumberland.
New single release!
Those big views bring me to my relatively small musical news... there's a new Dialogic single out this Friday, 'North'.
The inspiration for the song came from my big move six years ago, from the south all the way north, as far as possible whilst staying in the same country. The move had a ‘carrot and stick’ feel about it, the stick being my associations with the cheek-by-jowl south east, and the carrot being the relative peace of the north. It was all too busy and jangly in the south east, and my wife, MM and I yearned for somewhere quieter. When writing 'North', the M25 motorway encircling London kept popping into my mind as a sort of south-eastern archetype. The carrot enticing me north was the contrasting nature of Northumberland - very much including those wide-open views I mentioned. Ah, the big skies!
So, six years have passed since the move north, and in many ways it now feels solidly like home up here. Sometimes I still feel like the southern newbie - a mere six years isn't much. And there's a price to pay for uprooting an established existence. Society in general can sometimes favour established security over branching out - better to stay in the same place, same job, same community, same way of doing things. It makes sense in a way, I suppose, as it's supportive to be surrounded by the familiar. I don't know if this metaphor would have any validity in the plant kingdom, but for me it was like I had reached a stage in my growth when I was ready to be uprooted and transferred to more optimal soil. Are there any plants like that? Or maybe I just need a better metaphor. It was time for a change, anyhow.
As the song 'North' alludes, there was a cost to be borne in moving home the length of the country, leaving loved ones and the familiar behind. But the rhythm and space in the North suits me. And I'd like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to any kindred spirits who, against the perceived wisdom of the over-culture, have resisted getting too established in any one place, or in any one way of doing things. Sure, it's not always comfortable leaving an established home and starting again somewhere else, but it can be exciting exploring new waters and new ways. Keep the soil fresh for your roots, ready for new growth!
Spotify Pre-Save
Have a listen (please) to North when it comes out this Friday 4th November on all major streaming platforms. Here's a pre-save link for you Spotify users: https://releases.dialogicmusic.com/north
Upcoming gigs
And you can see me playing live this month at Chatton Village Hall, Saturday 19th Nov, this time playing Dialogic as a duo with Paul Summers on synth, supporting fab rock band The Longship. I'll post more details nearer the time.