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Black touring

Live at St. Helen's June 2005



The last four years have seen Colin regularly touring the UK and experimenting with ideas, songs and various line-ups and instrumentation.

I needed to go out there and do some hard work, stand in front of small audiences, feeling bare-arsed naked and find the core of what playing live is all about for me.

The early solo performances had forced Colin to pare down his songs to their basic foundations. Standing on a stage in front of a critical audience performing his work in it’s most basic format, no frills and no backup, is a daunting and humbling experience;

You really learn a lot about your songs and yourself when you perform alone in front of a bar full of people busy talking to each other about the UEFA cup..

While it takes courage to go there alone, it isn’t an experience that should be endlessly repeated. By adding musicians and varying the instrumentation, the musical palette is enriched, the songs can start to take on new life and breathe again. Things happen during a performance that are unplanned and spontaneous and Black is about richness; of experience, textures, timbre, tempo and colour (and of course, irony). After having pared down the songs and performances to their essence, the next step is to let the new songs out into the world and give them a chance to be performed, live, as they deserve to be heard.

If ‘Two Churches’ marks a moving on, then the live shows should too. Much of the recording was centred around getting the right live performances in the studio – they are full of the unique energy that occurs when talented musicians play together and have fun. Hopefully the live shows will be an extension of that energy.

However, touring is a time consuming and expensive business and often serves to divert creative energy away from the job of creating new work. While there will be Black concerts when the time and opportunity is available, it’s unlikely there will be any extensive touring in the near future. If you would like to be kept informed of any live plans, please add your email address to our mailing list.

Posted: 1014 days ago


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