{"id":995,"date":"2017-02-01T18:18:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T18:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trailerstar.co.uk\/tstar\/?p=995"},"modified":"2017-02-27T14:05:24","modified_gmt":"2017-02-27T14:05:24","slug":"the-edinburgh-tapes-volume-1-black-tin-barns-released-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trailerstar.co.uk\/tstar\/?p=995","title":{"rendered":"The Edinburgh Tapes Volume 1: Black Tin Barns released today"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Before trailer Star ( Born and died 2001 by the way) I had a brief period as a ‘serious’ singer songwriter. Most seriously whilst in Scotland in 1994-6.
\nI and my then partner Ana from Zaragoza got on a train and moved to Edinburgh in August 1994.<\/p>\n

It was a spur of the moment idea and we then lived there for two pretty gruelling years in which we lived in a very small three room flat at 62 Causewayside , off of The Meadows.<\/p>\n

Edinburgh was a fantastic place to be but the work situation for a Spanish nanny and a penniless English artist less good. I was working as a temp in a share-dealing bank on Black Monday which I will never forget as people started crying as their mortgages doubled in an hour. In that financial climate we were at the bottom of the heap.<\/p>\n

After two years I said enough and we moved back to Oxford but not before I had a pretty serious go at being a \u2018serious\u2019 singer-songwriter. I remember competing in a Edinburgh Songwriters event and of course had met many poets and contributed to the second Shore Poets anthology.<\/p>\n

I had forgotten that I had actually recorded two \u2018albums\u2019 of songs as well whilst north of the border on a 4-track Fostex tape recorder until yesterday when I found them by chance.<\/p>\n

In the mid 1980’s a friend heard me sing ‘Man with no name’ another track on this tape. He said at the time that I was putting my poetry to music and I ignored him..looking back he was spot on the same themes emerge time and again. Perhaps this is my best poetry..I certainly think this works..whatever it…….<\/p>\n

Inspired by Seamus Heaney and James Simmons.. Guy Clark and John Prine ……<\/p>\n

is..<\/p>\n

Planned to be released as number 5 in a horseshoe tapes release schedule I am finally going to do just that 21 years later! Listening to the tapes they sound better than I remembered and I had actually filled out the sound through multi-tracking more than I expected. A few of the tracks went on to form the \u2018Suit of Nettles\u2019 art release in 2008 and also appear sung by a variety of artists on the Moon Over The Downs charity tribute cd to Trailer Star from 2003.<\/p>\n

All alternate versions and collaborations available to listen to on my songwriting blog here :<\/p>\n

www.trailerstar.co.uk\/songwriter\/<\/p>\n

The release will be physically available as a set of two cds or a c90 cassette double and accompanying digital download. I hope to have cassettes ready by end of February along with the still to be completed Chalk Pit Rattle which will be re-recorded<\/p>\n