Hi all,
hope all goes well, thanks for all those that made it to the Montague Arms on the 23rd, it was great to play some of the new songs, hope you enjoyed it.
I've just come back from a holiday on the Arran Isles off the west coast of Scotland. It was amazing arriving, the sea was really calm and you could see the dark shapes emerging out the mist. It felt like entering a mystical place. As we got nearer, the island got clearer, the sun shone down illuminating patches of forest, bays and mountains. We spent a week there in a beautiful house overlooking whiting bay. To our left we had a good view of Holy mountain. Quite an intriguing place. You could make out a few white houses and a lighthouse. The shape was of a lion at rest, its head the mountain peak. It is mainly a Buddhist retreat, it seems a perfect place for it.
I brought a guitar with me and had some good jams with my Dad. We noticed one evening there was a music session going on in a pub in a place called Lamlash. So we went along. I introduced myself and asked if I could join them. They were very welcoming and kind. They had a whole array of instruments Ullian Pipes, Violin, guitars and a harp. They played some great tunes and asked me to play a few too. I played a Nic Jones song called 'Canadi-i-o' , 'The Cape' by Guy Clark and a couple of Jude numbers, 'Lean on the sun' and 'Shackleton's Chair'. The audience were very friendly too. I bought a CD they had produced too featuring the musicians that played that night. I'm yet to listen to it but I'm sure it will be very good.
After visiting the museum in Brodick they had lots of personal accounts of people living through the Clearences in the early part of the 19th Century. It talked about their journey from Arran on ships to Canada where they had to start a new life. I just thought it was interesting having sung 'Canadi-i-o' at the music session, since its about the same subject.
Without sounding too much like someone from the Arran tourist board the scenery is quite breath taking. We went for a walk up to a waterfall,on the way up we saw three hares grazing in a field, the track led us over a stream on to another path lined either side by great fronds of fern and bracken. We turned into a pine woodland to get a view of the waterfall. Under the skirts of the tall pines it felt like you were in a secret world. The ground was soft and brown and looking between the trunks there seemed to be a cobweb effect, giving an old time feel. The waterfall looked great, quite big with tonnes of water pouring. We continued our journey back up through the woodland heading for the top of the waterfall. On the way we came to the remenants of an Iron age fort. As you passed through the entrance there was a mound and a path around the outside. There were Bluebells and Red Campion growing on the mound. We saw one or two toads too. Coming over the top of the falls it was a steady decline through lush old trees. The stream at the bottom followed the path. To the right you caught glimpses of hidden glades bathed in the days sunlight, its nice that places like that exist. We eventually came out on to Whiting bay shoreline, greeted by Terns and Guillimots on the water's edge.
While I was there I saw lots of incredible wildlife from Hares, seals and a whale! My bird knowledge increased too , Arctic Terns, Buzzards and Black Guillimots, to name a few. No Golden Eagles though.
All in all a really cool trip. The place is amazingly peaceful and those moments are sometimes what's needed. It did me good, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Cheers
Jude
Friday 2nd May 2008
Hello, Hope you are all ok. It has been a while so I thought I'd update you with the latest Jude news. The new album is nearly ready, it's a joint project with my brother Tom. We have recorded 15 tracks, half mine half Toms. It is called 'Morning Sun', we are putting it out under the name, 'The Jude and Tom Edwin-Scott Band'. The band consist of Pablo Paganotto on drums, Neiloy Mookherjee on Bass, Geoff Edwin-Scott on Mandocello and Citern and Tessa Edwin-Scott on Cello.It is mainly an acoustic album but some electric guitar does sneak in. We recorded it with Pat Collier at Perryvale studios in Forest hill, London. I'm really pleased with the way it's come out there is certainly a folk funk thing going on, hope you like it. We've got our first gig on the 23rd of May at the Montague Arms in New Cross. We are hoping to do a launch for it soon so keep an eye on the gigs page, for where and when. It will be great if you can make it,
Cheers
Jude x
Hi , Thankyou for dropping by. Big thanks to all those that were able to make it to my album launch in february, I was really pleased with how it went .It was really nice to see you all, felt very flattered that people had made such big journeys.Hope you all enjoyed it anyway.
Since then have been doing a few bits and bobs musically. My Dad is recording an album at the moment with Mal Homes, drummer of OMD. So he has been getting us together to put down our parts. Its been cool for me because I'm playing banjo on two of the songs, its encouraged me to practice a bit more. My brother has also recently aquired a banjo, so it was quite a finger-picking weekend. I'm also playing a bit of acoustic and electric guitar on other tracks, so it gave me a chance to go rockabilly not hillbilly!He has lots of other cool musicians on it so I'm looking forward to listening to it.
I have also been writing some new songs, well two. They were both inspired by different things, there is certainly a nature element within each. I find spring an awakening time especially when you see blossoms and flowers suddenly appearing it feels like its been a long time, each season has its quality but the lightness of April/May is always a breath of fresh air.
One of my favourite albums at the moment is Vashti Bunyan's 'Lookaftering' which I'd recommend if you need some gentle nurturing. Her fragile voice and delicated guitar picking is subtly magical. Also I've been listening to Pearl Jams 'Binaural' album, I think just getting a flavour, awaiting their new album which I think comes out tommorrow.
Anyway, I've started arranging a few more gigs in London so take a look on my gigs page it'd be lovely to see you, JX
01/05/2006
Hello,Hello, I felt inspired after I'd been to this years 'Big Green Gathering' in the Mendip Hills, so I decided to write a poem about it. The reason for calling it 'Everythings soft' is how I felt, you know when you arrive somewhere and you have your own stuff going on, its the feeling of letting these things go and resting in your enviroment, like easing into a warm bath, or taking your shoes off and with your feet bare feeling the earth, bringing you back to the stillness within you. Its always a funny thing going back into the world after festivals, so this is a little reminder to myself in the days between, hope you like, cheers Jx
Big Green Gathering-Everything Is Soft
Slow burning candle
Invites the traveller into the small world
Becoming children under our blanket den
Sipping brandy hot chocolate
We talk about our dreams with friends
We sing our songs like poems in the fairy glen
We loose ourselves on soft earth
Grass baked yellow
Warming our feet
Sleep walking
The rhythms of the drumming circle
Floats around the camp
Like a mantra
People dancing in their tribal way
Holding the baby who smiles at the play
Old and young
Melt into the festival drum
Bands are alive
Their words bright
Full of insight
Singing to the crowd
With an open heart
From the mystical morning bliss
To embracing all life’s grist
Uplifting and Caressing
Thank you for the music
That gives this blessing
The craft field
All things wooden
For all those who love the feel of wood
Who love to be near trees
Who love to be submerged in nature
Living under the branches of an eco-friendly house
Making fairies come alive
There’s an elephant sitting at my side
A gypsy caravan beautifully painted
The mystical figures that stand tall
Watching over all that we create
Emotional elementals Pinknruby
Sing in a language only known to them
Yet understood by all
You could feel where it was coming from
The place resonated within you
I felt a gentle love in my heart region
Almost like a sadness, a nice sadness
A sadness of love for oneself
For the dear soul that you are
A loving place
Our secret gifts
Are given a chance to shine
Here they find a place in the world
Poetry circles, sacred singing and chi-gong
As I stand and watch the giant oak trees
Shivering in the healing wind
I find my pause in the earth
Just in front of the arch in my foot
I keep my gaze ahead
Soften my chest
Breathing in the air
Figures move in silence
As if on a distant shore
Feeling their way through the wind
Treading the earth like soft cats
Guided by unseen hands
All dancing on the sand
Remember all these things
In the world beyond the sea
Let all this magicalness stay with me
Let its dancing be in my walking
Let its loving be in my temper
Let its growing be in my falling
Let its play be in my work
Let its heart be in my head
Let its music be in my silence
Let its seed be in the ground
Let its star be in the earth
Let its kiss be in my sadness
Let its hug be in my loneliness
Let its food be in my hunger
Let its water be in my thirst
Let there always be a rainbow when sunshine and rain mix
To keep me smiling I’ll remember all this
Pack my bags with care
As a soft rain falls
My bags feel lighter than when I came
I say goodbye and thankyou to my spot
I take in the view for the last time
I let my experience wash over me like a gentle wind
I catch the stars in my mouth
Those I swallow down will serve me well
The day is lazy and slow
We have always had all the time in the world
We amble and bimble
Bumble and bamble
We have all been blessed by the same Big Green festival hand
We love each other for it
Serendipity walks without a program
Trusting that like attracts like
Where new and good friends are made
The journey home is drifting
We talk from our bubble.
Jude Edwin-Scott 8th August 2006