So today we are finishing off the mixes for my Songtape EP with the help of the wonderful Nigel Glasgow who is doing an amazing job… I’m so happy with how its sounding and can’t wait to share it with you all. I know I’ve been saying it for facking ages but it will be out very soon, i’m going to set a date this week and that date will be in early december and if I dont stick to that date you have my full permisson to berate me for it. 

Keep an eye out for a short film we’re going to make in advance of it coming it out - would love to know what you think of it. 

Here’s nige doing his thang:

I listened to both Joni Mitchell and Sarah Vaughan pretty avidly when I was about 15. I can’t remember how I ended up listening to either of them, probably just from picking up CD’s I found lying around the house (thanks mum and dad). This was around the same time I was listening to a few other artists - D’Angelo, Aretha Franklin, Stevie - who have impacted on my music-making in a way in which I don’t think i’ve ever been as affected since. Looking back on it now, it was such an important time and one I often try and get back to - in the sense of listening to music purely as a listenerand not as a musician or songwriter - because this was well before I ever considered that I might want to be a musician. Well anyway, I was revisiting this Sarah Vaughan track (one of my faves) earlier today and couldn’t help noticing a similarity to young Joni that I had never picked up on before  - the tone in the higher register in particular

Sarah Vaughan  - I Feel Pretty (Live)

Joni Mitchell - A Case of You (Live)

Maybe it’s just me but it seems like quite a startling similarity in some ways - it’s so strange to look at two artists I feel so familiar with and to only have just noticed a similarity between them….

So then I was thinking about later Joni, and how her voice changed so much as she got older. This track is a pretty great example of this:

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (Live)

and suddenly I remembered hearing a version of Sarah doing Send in the Clowns when she was somewhat older and her voice had also changed in a similar way:

Sarah Vaughan - Send in the Clowns (Live)

once again, the similarity is pretty striking, and how strange that it should still be there even though both their voices have changed quite profoundly. Its amazing to realise that whilst both singers have been so lauded for their respective vocal ranges in particular, that neither has lost the essence of their artistry as a result of their voice deepening and gaining the resonance and character that I guess can only come with age (and booze and fags).