As the cold weather draws in, it’s nice to be reminded of summer. Here’s the, distinctly summery, video for a track I recorded with Darkstorm. ‘Bittersweet’ appears on Darkstorm’s Debut album, Mind Like Water, released on limited edition cassette and digital download.
Some of you might know that, as well as poems, I write songs. As it happens, it was songwriting that got me into poetry. After taking a break from recording songs I’m happy to be back in the studio working on new material. Here’s a track from an EP I’m working on with Rapsz Katai entitled Trial and Error. You can keep up with my musical output by checking out the music page on this site, where I’ll be posting new stuff.
On Wednesday November 14th I’ll be performing a one-off set with musician and storyteller Christine Cooper at First Floor Portobello in Notting Hill (see event details below). Come along if you can. There will poems new and old with a musical backing and I might even preview a song or two…
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/4602480142?refcode=emobandr
Tuesday was a slightly shorter day with just one engagement: a drama/playwriting workshop at Zayed University.
I had a great time leading this session as we spent the session creating a play from scratch starting with some improv, deciding on a location, deciding on the characters and so on. The play that emerged (a transgressive story concerning an unmarried Yemeni woman attempting to escape a controlling father) was a genuine surprise.Continue reading “‘I’m a travelling man…’ pt. 2”
I am writing this from a hotel room in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The British Council invited me here to take part in an event at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island on Wednesday called Artscape of World Cultures. I snapped the pic above on the way to the arrivals gate at the airport where I was met by staff from The Beach Rotana hotel. On arrival I was struck by the scale of the place and the architectural flare at work in the buildings…and the heat. It is not yet summer here but that still means high 30s/low 40s and 50% humidity.Continue reading “‘I’m a travelling man…’ pt. 1”
Very much enjoying this song from Wiley:
He never seems to release his best songs. I mean ‘Numbers in Action’ is alright but this is something else.
10.CMYK’ – James Blake
9. No Need To Run’ – Kwes
8. ‘Morning’ – Ghostpoet ft. Micachu
7. ‘Heavy’ – Chase ‘n’ Status ft. Dizzee Rascal
6. ‘Oranges’ – Elan Tamara
5. ‘Completely Exposed’ – Jamie Lidell
4.’Flying In To Tokyo’ – Magnetic Man
3.’Hard’ – Breakage ft. Newham Generals & David Rodigan (came out in 2009, but still)
2. ‘Shutterbug’ – Big Boi
1. ‘Limit To Your Love’ – James Blake
Kayo Chingonyi 
