Perhaps the seeds that would eventually grow into Mostly Autumn’s latest album Glass Shadows can be traced back to the evening of April 20th 2006. After several successful years with Classic Rock Productions, a time that included two full length studio albums Passengers in 2003 and 2005’s Storms Over Still Water, Mostly Autumn had taken the decision to venture out on their own and go independent.
The launch of Mostly Autumn Records was celebrated in England’s Lake District an area that had become their spiritual ‘home’. They set about writing and recording the extremely well received Heart Full of Sky album. However the path was to prove anything but smooth and just before touring the album drummer Iain Jennings and guitarist Liam Davison both left. So when founder members Bryan Josh and Heather Findlay returned to Borrowdale, in the Lake District, to begin the process of writing a new album, the actual line up of the band was very much up in the air.
Glass Shadows evolved from a two week stay at a six hundred year old, and reportedly haunted, cottage rented by the two talented musicians during January 2008. Roger Newport’s video diary film (available on the two disc special collectors’ special edition) shows how the initial ideas and inspirations for the album slowly evolved. In fact, the film, which then sees Bryan and Heather take their fledgling ideas back to York and into the studio, provides a fascinating insight into the whole, sometimes painful, sometimes joyous, process of writing and producing any album of worth.
It’s all there, all the doubts, the concerns, the mistakes and the moments that finally see Glass Shadows become a reality. At one point Bryan Josh observes that ‘you can’t just sit down and write songs, they sort of happen’. In front of the log fire the slow development starts to take place and yet seemingly with no real idea of the final outcome. It is a study of the art of song writing in its purest form.
Bryan and Heather recruit Livvy Sparnenn and former Karnataka vocalist Anne-Marie Helder, now of Panic Room, to assist on backing vocals. They then have to audition for a drummer, a seat won by local man Henry Bourne before welcoming long term member Andy Smith to cover bass. Bryan Josh’s skills extend to lead guitar, vocals, a lions share of the song writing and much of the keyboards. Troy Donockley, of Iona fame, also guests providing Uilleann pipes, whistles and some string arrangements. It is the combination of this undeniable musical talent that sees the sessions evolve into another excellent Mostly Autumn album. Like watching an artist form a finished landscape from a few initial and very tentative washes of colour on a blank canvas Glass Shadows grows.
Article comments