COLLIDER

The idea for COLLIDER came to Chris Sharkey in a dream he had – and wrote to all of us, explaining what he’d heard in the dream and that we (myself, Chris, Dave Kane and Chris Bussey) should all meet up and record/play regularly. So, we did – and still do. Yesterday, COLLIDER released an ep, Nantbach & Sandwich – which is available as a FREE download. These recordings are the culmination of the first of those sessions (and there are more awaiting release). Please, help yourself and share with your friends, too!!

Also, last night (September 3rd), an exclusive COLLIDER session for Jazz on 3 was broadcast. If you missed it you still have seven days to listen to it as much as you like. As Phoenix studios are based within the Pinewood Film Studios complex, some of us were lucky enough to meet Russel Crowe, who was filming for Les Miserables, next door. Whilst outside, doing his vocal warm-ups, I invited him to join us in the studio if he got finished early. I guess he didn’t get finished early. In any case, we were told not to encourage him to sing…

Anyway, The idea of this band was to act as a kind of foil to much of the musical activities we’d all found ourselves getting into over the last few years – namely, less and less improvisation and/or, playing in more structured/organised/composed musical settings. Great, but COLLIDER represents a collective acceptance that all we really want to do is just to turn up, chat, and play music without having to think too hard about what we’re going to do – for me this is the exact opposite to many working situations I have found myself in over the last few years! Inevitably, much of what we do end up doing is a LOT of fun – and I think that’s the point, right? If one loses sight of that, or loses sight of why they’ve ventured into music in the first place, it can be a desolate place…

SO, please go to the COLLIDER website and download your free ep. I am grateful to Chris for his dream and then pulling myself, Dave and Chris together – it is a band that exists out of a shared need to just turn up and play – and because we LOVE it. X

All photography: RAY KANE