Begin Again by Iain Clarke
A double album length collection of songs begun at home in the spring of 2016 and completed in the autumn following a sudden and unexpected heart attack. This is definitely the most personal collection of songs I have ever released. It tells two stories, first the musical story of a year, but also a semi autobiographical account of someone going through a heart attack and coming out of the other side. A mix of genres combine together to make one coherent whole from start to finish, the sound of a character and a writer learning to come to terms with a knock from the other side. Written and performed by myself with the aid of Gemma Jarrett, whose voice formed an integral part of the Uneven Slices of Sky sessions in 2015.
Following Uneven Slices...I knew that I wanted to come down in the arrangements; the journey to that sound had been a logical one listening to the collections that came before, and this time I wanted to make sure that this was a more 'organic' sounding recording, and the sound has definitely been stripped back in a lot of places, giving these songs the chance to breathe a little more.
The process for creating Uneven Slices had personally been very satisfying, not only in terms of writing, but also recording and producing another's vocal performance was just as enjoyable, and so it was nice to continue that. This time I've been able to be just as certain in what I wanted Gemma to deliver, but I was also able to give her a little more freedom of expression in doing it, leading us down new avenues on several tracks which helped to bring extra depth to them.
To be honest, the heart attack I suffered at the end of August probably saved this collection; by the time I'd got to August I virtually had all the music written and down, but was still short of the majority of the lyrics. I was happy with the (often unexpected turns) the writing had taken me musically, but I was worried that I'd run out of things to say lyrically. What happened next created both a lyrical and production epiphany; suddenly I had an awful lot to say and explore (I don't condone it as a method of finding inspiration, by the way, if you can avoid dying or indeed nearly dying as a method for exploring your creative side, please do!) and an idea for how the collection would shape. The one thing I was certain of was that I wanted this to sound like one continuous piece rather than a selection of tracks, and I think this has been done. The order was then dictated by how the songs sounded and in some cases the lyrics were written accordingly.
Probably the most personal and ambitious collection I have ever put together, but also the most satisfying in the end because it gives me the opportunity to give back. Every penny that is raised from a sale of these songs goes to the British Heart Foundations, to whose research I essentially owe my life and to whom I am very grateful.
Tracklist
| 1. | Draw The Line | 3:09 |
| 2. | Reborn | 3:40 |
| 3. | False Prophets | 3:52 |
| 4. | Here I See Me | 3:51 |
| 5. | Tell Me It's Not Me | 3:44 |
| 6. | Russet To Silver | 1:08 |
| 7. | Time Lies | 3:58 |
| 8. | Maybe | 5:56 |
| 9. | The Winter | 4:13 |
| 10. | Mid Winter | 1:41 |
| 11. | Heaven Bound | 5:06 |
| 12. | Your Sweet Time | 2:23 |
| 13. | Epiphany Flurries | 0:32 |
| 14. | I'll Be The Rest | 3:10 |
| 15. | Time Flows By | 4:34 |
| 16. | Lighter Nights | 1:02 |
| 17. | Day By Day | 4:50 |
| 18. | Son Of The Jack | 4:08 |
| 19. | Everything | 4:26 |
Credits
Written, recorded, performed and produced by Iain Clarke.
All female vocals by Gemma Jarrett.
License
All rights reserved.
Hailing from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and now residing in Wakefield, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in his own right, Iain has played with well received Yorkshire bands including Hobson, Ringo and the Wolf, Late Arrivals Club, Crossland Fold and Nine Violets as well as releasing an album with respected New York artist Marc Teamaker and songs alongside Craig Buchannan as 2018 BC.