Gavin Dempsey - Far from a stereotype...

I'm writing today about my nephew, Gavin. He has for a long time had an interest in music and singing and it's only recently I've become aware that he was actually writing song lyrics. Apparently he had been waiting to ask me to assist him in producing a number of tracks but he has never been one to abuse familial privileges. No idea why, it's what family is for!

In all seriousness, I was hugely surprised by the lyrics he produced for me. They were honest, sensitive and vulnerable. Not your typical bravado bullshit that you'd expect from a teen. He had a melody too, so I was tasked with helping him realise the vision he had. Every single thing in the recording was his idea, even my little guitar solo dilly dally towards the end was suggested by him. We goofed around a little for the first day and created a skeleton track which we completely tossed on the second day to create a piece from the ground up.

Gavin is clearly influenced by a little bit of everything. From the classic rock and pop sounds of yester year to the latter day sounds of the rap giants and all that falls in between. Initially we were both scratching our heads as my songwriting production experience is pretty much sandwiched in the rock genre and I was expecting to be inundated with requests for an urban, reverb drenched, compressed shit show that is comprised of current sounds. I was prepared to do this if asked, my only rule from the start has always been no autotune. And I could tell that he was nervous about the vocals as Mother Nature herself has decreed his voice make the shaky transition from boy to man.

I was pleasantly surprised by his production choices, which lent me a certain amount of freedom to have a proper go at the song. Not a single decision was made without his agreement and I think we've created a song he can truly be very proud of. We're already looking towards an e.p. such was the fun we had creating "Stereotypical World". The reception has been great, and the song has even been remixed! Not really to my taste, but I'm sure the kids will lap it up.

Expect to hear more music from the man soon. I'm genuinely honoured he thinks I have the chops to do his work justice. But for now, here's his latest work. Enjoy!

BACK GARDEN GOTHIC E.P.

So after life threw me several curve balls this year, I have decided that it's high time to release another e.p. It's been 4 years since "Heresy". It's not made me famous but as a piece of personal art, it's something I'm proud of, and the satisfaction in revisiting it gives me a buzz every time.

After several false starts, such as "Faith" and "Hades" - I realised I was trying way too hard to reinvent the wheel and songwriting became a chore which led to me producing all instrumentals.

I have had a lot of time to reflect recently. There have been big changes in my life. Between buying a house, family bereavement and growing a little bit older and (hopefully) wiser, I have realised life is a lot more fleeting than we realise. So if I'm gonna promise myself I'll do something, I should keep that promise to myself.

I have selected six songs which, I believe, are up to standard. Each song has been written over the years, a couple have been recorded before, from the mid noughties up until the present. The theme I noticed running through them, is suggested in the name. Neighbours spying on neighbours, children's imaginations running wild, urban legends etc. I can't promise what it will sound like as I don't know myself to be honest. My biggest influence at this current time are Glam Rock, ethnic Romany folk (see "Gypsy" without intending offence) and Yemenite folk music. This doesn't necessarily suggest what it will sound like but I would suggest listeners expect a surprise or 3!

The real work starts on Thursday, my next day off. But the work has already begun and I'm feeling excited about producing songs (of the lyrical persuasion) for the first time in a long time.

Thanks for reading. Watch this space.