I had a lovely email today from a lady called ‘Joelle’, the assistant producer of a daytime music show called ‘Radio Paradiso‘ on RSR La 1ère which appears to be Switzerland’s equivalent of BBC Radio 1.

It seems they have been playing my music a bit and are wondering if I might pop by to play for them on their show next time I come to play in Switzerland.

Wow.

Anyone got any thoughts on venues to play in Switzerland?!?

I love The Forest. A lot. A lot a lot.

On a number of occasions over the last ten years ago being able to go and hide there whilst freaking out in Edinburgh during the festival has kept me on the rails; and it still makes the best veggie/vegan burrito I have tasted.

It has grown a lot over the last ten years; once a small cafe tucked away off the Grassmarket, it is now occupies pretty big premises just by the student union and is a hub of all things I cherish. I have had the privilege of playing there many times as bassist with The Jonny Berliner Band, performed solo once and recently took my lovely band there.

I am truly honoured to have a track on it’s tenth birthday compilation ‘forest-records-presents-x’ and over the moon that they have chosen ‘Roses From Africa’.

More info here – http://forestrecords.org/forest-records-releases/forest-records-presents-x/ or have a listen below:

Valerie has decided to review everything I have release in one go which is a first! Favourite bit is…

Grey can masterfully express his thoughts without so much shoving it down anyone’s throat.

from http://www.frostclick.com/wp/index.php/2010/08/11/robin-grey-i-love-leonard-cohen/

…anyways, should probably get back to mixing now.

Here is a little live take of us all singing the Ballad Of Hawkwood

There are loads of photos knocking about which I will post as they land in my inbox.

Barbara took this one of me emerging from the gimp-like vocal booth after the last take of the sessions and was able to email it to me straight away from her hi tech new phone so I thought I would post it up now.

The simple plan was, any website which was forward thinking enough to know what creative commons licenses were seemed like a good place to have my music.

Fast forward a few years and I am still very happy to have all my music released using the cc license ‘BY-NC-SA‘ and have had some lovely little moments such as today when I discovered that I have reached the top of the pile on Audiofarm.

‘These Days’ is featured in their most popular tunes by month and day despite my having added the song nearly two years ago which had led to a few new faces finding out about my music – welcome to you!

Screenshot of Audiofarm taken today featuring three of my songs.

Whilst it is nice to get to the top of the pile in this pretty democratic way it is worth mentioning that I am definately in the minority as a male folk artist singing in english using creative commons licenses for my music – so it is quite a small pile to get to the top of! (… so much cc licensed music seems to be electronica or kraut rock!)

Having enthusiastically accosted her after a seeing her perform with ‘Matthew And The Atlas‘ a while back, i have recently had the pleasure of working with Lindsay West.

We have been putting harmonies to some new songs of mine and learning a few of hers. At our rehearsal last week, Barbara (who has gone out and bought herself an accordion which she is playing beautifully) took a few snaps.

My favourite is this one above but if you click on the photo you can see a few more. Hopefully you will get to hear how ace the harmonies sound with accordion soon!

Every so often i google my name. A guilty secret but i am sure i am not the only one. Once in a blue moon i discover a review that seems to have slipped under my radar. Today was one of those moments and i must further confess it totally made my day. The link is below but I have reprinted it in full anyway cos I am proud of it and I can.

http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Review.aspx?id=7243

by Malcolm Carter

I recently realised that the majority of new singer/songwriters that have made an impression over the last year or two have been predominantly female. It became quite worrying at one point, but when it came to male singers that I hadn’t heard before the fact was that of those I did hear none really shone vocally. Robin Grey has finally given me hope though that male singer/songwriters who can not only write songs but can actually sing do still exist.

I know next to nothing about Robin Grey and for once I am quite happy to keep it that way. I do know that ‘Strangers With Shoes’ is his second album although it is obviously the first I have heard. These days we can Google any name and find out what someone had for breakfast yesterday when we had never heard of them five minutes ago. It makes research a lot easier of course but sometimes all we need to know about our new favourite singer is in the songs on the album we just discovered. A little mystery is a good thing.

Robin Grey is the best ‘new’ male singer I’ve heard this year. His warm vocals grab your attention and while it’s not possible to come up with any comparisons vocally it feels like you have been listening to him for years. Grey doesn’t particularly sound like any other singer but he does sound strangely familiar. While I can’t imagine anyone actually disliking Grey’s vocals it’s hard to pinpoint just why he sounds so good. Just one of those voices I guess. I listened to this album maybe five or six times in the car and to be honest it did nothing for me. It was pleasant folk/pop and while it was obvious that Grey had a neat way lyrically, the eight songs didn’t really touch me in any way.

Then one evening I listened to the album on headphones and Grey completely blew me away. I’d take a guess that despite the songs hardly being shorn of instrumentation (there is ukulele, banjo, accordion, violin and flute fleshing out the usual guitar, bass and drums) Grey really comes to shine during those melancholy moments when we need a little real music to lift us up. I’m no technician but it wouldn’t surprise me if Grey, who recorded this music without the help of an outside producer, made this music so it is best appreciated on headphones. There’s just something about the sound on all of these songs that only comes alive when Grey is singing that close to you. It’s not just Grey’s vocals though; the opening song, ‘Younger Looking Skin’ where Grey showcases not just his talent for creating unforgettable, instant melodies but also his skill at writing thoughtful lyrics which can also raise the odd smile or two is a smart way of opening the album. It has you wondering if he can keep this high standard up throughout the album, and the answer is yes he can.

In fact the following song, ‘Till Dawn’ is even better. It’s more or less a duet with a female singer who, despite quite detailed sleeve notes, doesn’t appear to get a name-check which is a shame as her emotive vocals bring out a side to Grey’s work which he alone fails to do. It’s almost as if, because this un-named singer is just so damn good, that she pushes Grey, vocally at least, to another level. With Poppy Villiers-Stuart’s flute adding a jazzy feel to the song, ‘Till Dawn’ is an undoubted highlight on this all too short eight song CD.

Grey’s lyrics raise that smile again a few times during ‘I Love Leonard Cohen’ this time the female backing vocals come courtesy of Madelaine Hart and once again they add texture to the song and really do make the song complete.

Because Grey uses a wide selection of instruments there is always something new to discover in his songs and this really is an album that grows on you. Although those melodies are instant and Grey’s vocals are warm and invite you into his musical world I do feel that to fully appreciate his songs you have to immerse yourself into the songs and not allow yourself to be distracted by anything while listening to them. Grey really is one of those artists you wish you could have playing just for you in your front room.

‘Strangers With Shoes’ is a nice way to spend just over half an hour and leaves you wanting more every time which must be a good thing. Listened to in the right setting Grey has produced one of the most surprising and satisfying albums I’ve heard all year.

On a quest to develop my creative writing skills I have just discovered that I know nothing about the technical fundamentals of writing poetry. My bad, as the kids seem wont to say.

I have been lent an amazing book to help deflower my poetic innocence titled ‘The Ode Lesson Travelled‘. It is written by Mr Stephen Fry, a hero of mine who once promised me tea and cake in a letter but this never materialised due to his busy filming schedule!

…anyways, I have been having so much fun learning about iambic pentameter, enjambment and caesura I thought I might share some of my early efforts with the world!

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Removed from industry, the morning came
So silently my heart began to sing.

My marmite chops, already serviced by
The toasters toil, retired back upstairs.

Awake! Awake! Awake! Tell me what dreams
Do stir this soul away from sacred sleep?

At peace; the lists exhausted; now to my pen
I will go swiftly till we are found out.

Wanting for nothing, apart from another
warm body to hold this body to theirs.

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There we go, that was painless… now for chapter four.