Autumn Pieces 07: East Cowes Esplanade
This short film and soundtrack from a recent visit to the Isle of Wight are part seven of the Autumn Pieces series.
Working on the Isle of Wight again this week, I had a spare couple of hours in East Cowes before I had to catch the ferry home. I decided to use the time to walk along the Esplanade.
Walking along the esplanade, the road was closed much earlier than it showed on the map. I decided to walk along the pebbles and see how much further I could go, reaching where the land has subsided over the road. Seeing very rough paths across, I decided to try and find my way through.
After totally stacking it — falling multiple times —I learnt a lesson that probably should have been obvious before: Oliver Sweeny brogues are not the shoes to go climbing over wet landslides in. But, even with all the slips, bumps and scrapes, the pay off was worth it: beautiful little spots and secluded views that are well out of sight from all but those who dare to explore.
The misty Autumnal dusk over the water made for views that felt expansive and uninterrupted as boats and the horizon faded in and out of view in the cloud. The peaceful calm that came from the sense of being alone came through in the spaced out notes of the soundtrack composition that accompanies the film.
The old walls marked the end of the esplanade, and the furthers I could go along the coast for the day — I had to get back and catch the ferry home. On another day, with more time and better shoes, perhaps I would have gone up in to the woodland to see if I could make it around the old walls, but, sadly, that's not for today.
I almost forgot to mention my new lens. I will perhaps write about it a bit more, but it is the 35mm version of the 50mm lens I have been using up until now. The less tight field of view makes it more adaptable, and I think leaves these pictures and film feeling a little more open. Although it's still capable of detailed close up shots, It tends to present wider, open views by design.
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Self Care Sunday: Brunch, Baking and Music
Sometimes, you have to take a day for yourself: turn off notifications, write a todo list for work that can wait until Monday, and just relax. For me, that means food — food and music.
Brunch
I've never made hollandaise before, and I'm terrible at poached eggs. So what better way to relax than to try both? But actually, taking time to make poached eggs and hollandaise without any rush meant that it was much easier to get it right.
I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe for the sauce, and free-styled the rest. I will confess that I substituted sourdough in place of the muffins: a much better carb option in my humble opinion.
The results were delicious: well worth a bit of effort to have such an enjoyable treat for an easy Sunday morning.
Lazy Baking: Salted Chocolate Blondies
Lazy Sunday baking requires the right soundtrack, that's why I put together a playlist of some of my favourite songs to lazily bake along to. Raveena is one of my favourite new artists right now. And Ashanti is a given. Honestly, I can't even preheat an oven without hearing the worlds "Awww Baby".
I've not made my favourite salted chocolate blondies in a long time, so there was frankly no other option for baking today. I use this recipe from The Whole Bite blog and it has been fool proof for me. I use cup measures for everything like the recipe gives, but I use weight for the butter (110g) because, even though this is lazy baking, I still don't have the patience to shove butter in to tablespoons.
Other Treats
Burning candles is a must for any kind of self care activity in my book. And this Zoella Lifestyle candle was a birthday present I'd been saving for just such an occasion. The smell is a little sweet for my usual taste, but not unpleasantly so.
It wouldn't be a self care day for me without a bath and some time to take care of my skin and hair. I use Elemis face care daily, and it just gets along with my skin so well. I use a Liz Earl cloth to wipe the products off for a gentle exfoliating effect. The Happy Naturals sea salt body scrub is a great body exfoliator, with a fresh, clean smell. And the Super Drug Argon Oil Hair Treatment is an absolute star find: affordable, yet so nourishing for my hair.
Autumn Pieces 03–06: Isle of Wight
Setting off at 8.30 a.m. last weekend, I took a day trip to the Isle of Wight. After some work in the morning, I set out around the Island to create more Autumn Pieces.
Autumn Pieces 03: Isle of Wight Ferry
8.30 a.m. on a Saturday morning is an ungodly time to be at a ferry terminal, but I made it — and on time. Once again with my GoPro, my Nikon and my iPhone, I was ready for a day trip to the Isle of Wight.
The weather was crisp, and the clouds were clearing, and as the ferry set out from Southampton on the journey to Cowes, I found spaces out on deck to sit, film and compose.
Through Southampton water, the ferry journey takes you past Calshot: it was a satisfying moment sailing past the place I was the week before, but this time, seeing it from the other side.
Approaching Cowes, the call comes to go back to the car, and I must go complete a morning's work before I can explore that afternoon.
Autumn Pieces 04: Newport
After working the morning at Medina College, I drove in to Newport to visit Quay Arts, a cafe and art centre on the bank of Medina River.
Quay Arts is an old industrial building, with a bridge over the river leading you from the gift shop through to the cafe and arts space. The out door area over looks the river, and it was the perfect location to grab lunch, and recharge.
Walking along Newport Harbour after lunch — I had the hand-made burger — it was great! — You see a mix of disused and renovated industrial buildings and along the edge of the industrial riverside, flowers grow through the cracks in the concrete over the water's edge.
With lunch finished, batteries charged, and a brief explore of Newport Harbour, it was time to head off to Alum Bay to see The Needles and explore the coastline.
Autumn Pieces 05: The Needles
Arriving at The Needles at 3 p.m. I spent some time walking and sitting along the cliff tops, capturing time-lapses, taking in the expansive views over the water and turning them in to music.
Grey clouds started to fill the sky, the light started to fade, and with only a few hours left before my ferry back, It was clear that I wouldn't have time to walk along the cliff tops as well as down to Alum Bay beach. And so, with the rain starting to fall, I decided to walk down the steep steps to the beach.
Autumn Pieces 06: Alum Bay
Film arriving Friday at 6pm
As the rain started to fall, I was determined to make it down to Alum Bay to see the needles from the beach. I knew my GoPro would be fine in the rain, but I was tempted to leave my DSLR behind. However, I decided to tuck my D5100 under my jacket and chance it.
The steps down to the bay are steep, but reward you with incredible views across the bay and out towards the Needles: the windy stairs providing perfect stoping points for photos and a quick time-lapse.
Once down on the beach, the soggy walk was repaid with beautiful clear views and an empty beach: I guess the rain had put everybody else off. The view across to the needles was uninterrupted, and I was glad for my (now worryingly rain covered) DSLR to capture the clouds over the bay.
With clouds continuing to gather, and the rain continuing to fall, it was soon time to make a run back up the steep steps, back to the car, and back to the ferry home. With the fan heaters set to full, I tried to dry myself (and my gear) out.
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Music and Mental Health: World Mental Health Day
Today is World Mental Health Day and I wanted to take a moment to join together three thoughts around the music I have made and my mental health. I want to take a moment to do what today calls for: to talk about it.
For me, music and my mental health over the past few years have been inextricably linked.
In June 2014, I released the song 'Collide'. This song was written about the darkness I experienced when I was ill with Ulcerative Colitis. Only looking back afterwards could I see what a huge effect that illness had on me far beyond the physical symptoms. The fatigue that came along with my inescapable and intrusive symptoms demolished my confidence and made me withdraw from the world around me. Whilst my recovery, both physically and mentally is well progressed now, I still carry with me what that time felt like and the effects of it I still feel around me, even with the passing of time.
At the time, I wrote a blog post about the meaning behind the song. I never shared it. It still sits in my drafts folder. I was too afraid, too shy, to talk about it. Even now, listening to this song still makes me cry. Every time.
Perhaps I am being too hard on myself. Because, just like it has taken me over 2 years to finally open up and talk about the meaning behind this song, at the time, it had already taken months to build up the courage to write and record a song that held such a deep meaning for me. Each step has taken time, but has also been cathartic.
In September of this month, I released an EP under the moniker Invaleurs. At the time I wrote:
I have a confession.
For too long, the anxieties I experience around sharing my music online have kept me from creating things I love. But when I set out writing these songs, I made them just for me.
With that freedom, I could explore more freely, able to push beyond the boundaries of my own comfort zone, to create songs I am proud of. And so, I am sharing them with you.
If you enjoy them, if you share them too, then I feel honoured to know that these songs have found new connections beyond the ones I hold with them. If you don't, that's fine too. I've already done what I set out to do.
Being so honest felt scary. But following the release, I had many people share with me how my experiences resonated with theirs. The response I got back is what has given me the confidence to share this blog post now.
This brings me to the third and final thing I wanted to share.
Immediately after releasing the Invaleurs EP, on the spur of the moment, I took my camera and, as I blogged at the time, escaped to Lepe to find some time and space to clear my head. That trip kick started a process that has led to finding myself writing this blog, starting a new Instagram and creating short films and soundtracks that have become one of the most liberating and enjoyable creative processes I have ever been part of.
This process has been quite the opposite experience of releasing songs, EPs and albums. As I blogged just this weekend:
There is something mindful about heading out in to an unknown space and creating my own space within in: through the camera lens and through channeling my focus from the world around me in to the music I compose.
Music and mental health will always be inextricably linked for me. Finding a way to make and release music that is good for my mental health has given me a huge creative boost.
Talking about mental health is scary.
Talking about mental health is important.
Talking about mental health is liberating.
Autumn Pieces 02: Calshot Castle
Now that Autumn has arrived, I want to carry on what I loved about the Summer Shorts series: finding a place, composing piece of music and making an accompanying short film.
The past few weeks have been exceptionally busy for me. The start of a new school year is always busy, but in my new role as project manager for the M-Tech project I have had some of the busiest weeks I can remember. It's been rewarding but exhausting.
Making time to go out and create these Autumn Pieces (and the Summer shorts before that) has become almost a ritual for me now. The boost that I get from the creative release is infectious. There is something mindful about heading out in to an unknown space and creating my own space within in: through the camera lens and through channeling my focus from the world around me in to the music I compose.
I took my GoPro again, and whilst most of the time-lapse video footage didn't come out as well as I hoped, some of the pictures I really loved, particularly this one that I took as I sat over the castle moat, staring in to the glassy pool of water below.
The other thing I have noticed over the past two weekend is how much better my iPhone 7 camera is than my iPhone 6 camera, and, even the disposable Instagram story pictures I took became some more of my favourites from the afternoon.
The music for this piece took multiple restarts before finding an idea that I liked enough to develop in to a full piece. Bob Dylan famously said to write ten songs a day and throw nine away. In a world of digital iteration, finishing nine bad songs doesn't seem like the right approach, but the spirit of trying, and trying again, is one worth remembering when finding new ideas seems illusive.
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Autumn Pieces 01: Hill Head
Even though Autumn has arrived, I still wanted to carry on what I had loved about the Summer Shorts series: finding a place, composing piece of music and making an accompanying short film.
Heading down to Hill Head, I knew the changeable autumnal weather would likely bring challenges that the clear summer evenings had kept at bay. So, I decided to take my GoPro camera with me, and I'm glad I did: as my DSLR and GoPro sat on the beach, and as I sat composing on my phone, the tide rolled in. I looked up, just in time to see the waves rolling through the legs of my DSLR tripod and saved that, but the footage of the tide rolling in over the go pro is some of my favourite of the day.
With the waterproof GoPro and my new "water resistant" iPhone 7, I decided to make my way down the spit to catch the waves breaking, and got quite wet. So, retreating back to car with the heaters blasting on full, I worked on finishing the music.
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Summer Shorts: Compilation
As the year turns to Autumn, it felt right to bring together the short Instagram films from the Summer Shorts series.
Over the summer I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
These 11 short films and their accompanying compositions represent a body of work created during the summer of 2016.
Music was all composed using the app Auxy (www.auxy.co) and films were shot on a Nikon D5100 with a Nikon 50mm f1.8 FX Lens.
Birthday (Part 2)
This afternoon, the whole family went to the Huntsman of Brockenhurst for a birthday lunch.
The pub was so pretty — full of beautiful details and special touches — and the food was delicious. This is the kind of pub you could go back to every week and find something new to enjoy each time.
It was so special to be in a wonderful place with family and enjoy an afternoon together.
After lunch, it was time to have cake and open presents: plus the opportunity to see the scans of the new niece/nephew for the first time!
Birthday (Part 1)
Today I got to spend my birthday afternoon with some of my favourite people.
There was cake. There was pizza. There were party rings. What more could you ask for on your birthday?
Nibbles from M&S. Pizzas from Asda (seriously, their own brand stuffed crust pizzas are insaney great). Disposable party plates/cups/cutlery were from Flying Tiger and the cake was from a local bakery.
Summer Shorts 11: Mansbridge, Southampton
Continuing the summer shorts series, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
With the weather so clear, and the sun so bright, I was unable to resist another afternoon out filming and making music. With the need for new houseplants, after a trip to the local garden centre, the nearby Mansbridge made perfect sense.
I drive past Mansbridge all the time, but the last time I remember visiting was for a school Geography trip: we had to draw the old bridge and the new bridge which sit next to each other across the river Itchen. On returning today, the contrast of the two bridges was striking: the side with the new bridge was bustling with life — families playing and kids paddling in the river — whilst, as soon as you crossed over the old bridge, the peaceful calm was striking.
Summer Shorts 10: Netley Abbey, Southampton
Continuing the summer shorts series, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
Whilst making the summer shorts series in August, I got to Netley Abbey just as it was closing, but promised myself to come back and try again soon. Today, just as the rain started to break after a wet autumnal morning, I drove back over to Netley and to the Abbey.
As the weather started to clear, the Abbey was empty when I arrived. With the sun working hard to break through the fast moving cloud, I was joined by a newly married couple and their wedding photographers.
With the peaceful calm of the empty abbey and the stillness of the ancient structure, it was only the changing light across the old stone that brought movement to the film. The song started as old hymnal chords which, when changed to a major key, let the melodies reveal themselves over the top.
For Annora Bird
Last week, two of my best friends brought the most perfect little baby in to the world: Annora Bird. I wrote this song for her on the day of her birth.
Today, at 11 days old, I met Annora Bird for the first time. She is perfect. My heart bursts with joy and pride and wonder when I look at her, and look at my friends Davyd and Emma, and see them at the start of this brand new journey in life together.
I wrote this song as I thought about this bold new adventure they will take together; inspired by lullabies and the quiet moments of peaceful wonder that come in the stillness between the crazy haze of new life.
Today I found out that Annora hates lullabies. They make her cry. Whoops.
So, I just hope she will grow up to appreciate this gift from a new friend.
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Travel Films: London
Earlier this year, Solent University nominated me for an 'Outstanding Contribution to Music' award from UK Music, and this week I traveled to London to go take part in the award presentation.
Carrying on from my Summer Shorts series of films, I took my DSLR and my iPhone with me on my trip to make films and write music inspired by my surroundings.
Day One: Southampton ▸ London
I took the train from Southampton Central to London Waterloo, and as I traveled I wrote a piece of music that was based around a motorik beat.
UK Music Award Presentations
I video blogged the award ceremony for the M-Tech YouTube channel.
The award ceremony, held at UK Music HQ, was a great opportunity to meet the academics, industry representatives and nominees that were part the partnership. After a meal at the Clarence we went to the O2 Academy in Islington to see the Broken Brass Ensemble perform. I'm so incredibly grateful to Solent Uni and to UK Music for their nomination, and for the award evening.
Day Two: South Bank
After staying over night night (and a lazy morning) in the Strand Palace Hotel, I spent the afternoon on Friday around the South Bank. Lunch included amazing street food, and there was a chance to find a spot by the river and write another piece of music, this time, inspired by the busy movement of the South Bank.
Day Three: Hackney Wick
fter a stay over in Bow Quarter with family, we spent Saturday around Hackney Wick. There was brunch by the canal, a trip to Broadway Market, walks through Victoria Park, all ending up with a late lunch at Billy Smokes. The day was too quickly over, and it was time to be on a train back to Southampton again. Using the travel time to reflect on the day, I wrote a piece of music to accompany the video I had shot throughout the day.
Summer Shorts 09: Meon Shore, Titchfield
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
I wanted to go somewhere this evening to see the sunset, and so I drove east to find west-facing coastline at Titchfield.
I arrived just in time to park along the sea front, find a spot on the beach, and, with my camera set up, open up Auxy on my phone and start to compose.
In some ways, I saw the sunset twice this evening: once looking over Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve, and again from down on the beach. The sky lit up in yellow the first time, and in shades of pink and orange as the sun set over the sea.
Summer Shorts 08: Manor Farm, Botley
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
A walk through Manor Farm this afternoon led me down to Manor Farm Pontoon on the Hamble river. With the sun breaking through after a cloudy afternoon, it was surprisingly quiet down by the water.
Sat on the pontoon, I put my headphones in, opened up Auxy once more and started to write again. Composing using the same app over the past week, I've started to really get to grips with the way it works, and developing a workflow that helps me get the most out of it. I'd love to see new sounds at some point, but equally, the limited choices available has made me be more decisive and get down to working on the musical ideas.
Summer Shorts 07: Mayflower Park, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
Finishing work at 8.30 tonight meant that if I was going to catch the last of any light, it had to be close by, and Mayflower park seemed the obvious choice. Arriving to find the horizon dyed yellow and orange with the last of the dusk sun, and the industrial lights flickering on the docks, I made two friends who showed me where to climb the fence to get the best views.
As my new friends listened to Kanye West out a phone speaker — who am I to judge? after all, I mixed one of my songs on my iPhone speaker this week! — I put my headphones in and started to play with melodies and sounds.
Summer Shorts 06: Mount Lake, Lymington
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
Having spent far too long filming and writing down on Keyhaven Beach, it was becoming clear that I wouldn't make it as far as the castle before sunset, and I certainly wouldn't make it back before dark. As I carried on walking down the coast — the Isle of Wight to my right, Mount Lake on my left and the sunset behind me — the noise of day visitors was replaced with a peaceful calm.
After a couple of misfires — it's a good thing, I think, to write and throw things away — I finally settled on a melody that captured the feeling of quiet stillness that I found sat watching the sunset, sheltered by the pebbly dunes.
As if it were not already clear enough that I wouldn't make it all the way to the castle, it started to rain. The glass-like reflections of the clouds in Mount Lake becoming broken by the splashes of rain and the ripples that spread across the clear surface. With my t-shirt over my camera, it was time to head back to the car and drive back home through the forest.
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Not wanting to carry my big headphones with me on the long walk today, I decided to try writing on my Apple EarPods. Judging the bass was easier than on the iPhone speaker, but still needed some tweaking back on the car speakers later.
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Summer Shorts 05: Keyhaven, Lymington
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
I set out this afternoon with the aim of reaching Hurst Castle just before sunset. After a drive through the new forest, I arrived at Keyhaven to walk along the shore front, down to the castle. After a cloudy afternoon, at 5pm, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. Stood on the edge of Keyhaven Lake I started to write my first piece of music.
As I stood, headphones in — just the Apple EarPods this time — I was absorbed in to writing in a major key again. Walking along the water's edge, I carried on writing, as time quickly moved on.
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Not wanting to carry my big headphones with me on the long walk today, I decided to try writing on my Apple EarPods. Judging the bass was easier than on the iPhone speaker, but still needed some tweaking back on the car speakers later.
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Summer Shorts 04: Warsash, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
This evening I set off to walk along the Hamble at Warsash. With views of marina's to one side, and coastal pools and marsh land the other side, the path leads along the edge of the Hamble river, past the ferry stop and up towards Holly Hill.
There was always going to be one time this week when I would be caught in the rain — this is the British summer after all — and tonight there was a brief moment when, as the rain drops started to gather on the camera, I wondered if I might have to turn back. But it was just a shower.
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I forgot my headphones this time, so I mixed out of my iPhone speaker whilst walking around, and then finished the mix off using my car stereo. It was surprisingly effective, although, the bass needed a complete reworking when I could finally hear it back in the car.
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Summer Shorts 03: Netley, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
With light and time to spare after Weston Shore, I resumed my journey to Netley Abbey, only to pull in to the car park and find that it was closing. Determined to visit Netley Abbey again soon, I continued eastwards, and found Royal Victoria Country Park.
This place holds a lot of memories: we used to come sailing here as kids. With the sun starting to set, the music I created, the photographs I shot, and the film I made, all took on the locations washed out, nostalgic mood.
Summer Shorts 02: Weston Shore, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
After last night's sunset trip, I decided to head out earlier today, and in a different direction — east, rather than west — and at just gone 4pm, I drove to Weston Shore. Or rather, more accurately, I was on my way to Netley Abbey when I got sidelined by Weston Shore.
I found myself a spot on the pebbly beach, away from the sunbathers, and started to write a song. The brighter light made me want to work in a major key. I don't often work in a major key — I find happy songs much harder to write than sad ones — but I gave it a shot: the whole point of this week is try new stuff, so it felt like the right thing to do.
Summer Shorts 01: Lepe, Southampton
This week, I set myself a challenge: find a location, compose a piece of music and create an accompanying short film.
Ever since visiting Calshot last week with my good from Emma, I have been mindful of how many beautiful places there are right on my doorstep. The other night, after posting my new EP online (an activity that has the potential to turn me in to an anxiety ridden shell of a human) I decided to put my internet browsing on hold, and take a trip out past Calshot, to Lepe. I took my GoPro with me, and filmed some shots as the full moon appeared, and having explored as far as I could before it got too dark, I swore I'd come back soon.
And so, tonight, I did.
Leaving work at 7pm, I got straight in the car: made the journey past Totton and Beaulieu and arrived in Lepe. The light was beautiful, and there were just enough clouds in the sky to pick out patterns in the setting sun. Making my way along the waterfront in the fading light, I started filming and I started composing.
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Music:
Auxy is one of favourite music creation apps for iPhone. It's simple, yet powerful. It comes with sounds and effects that sound great right away, but that also allow for the infinite tweaking and adjusting that my production brain needs to be satisfied: I love it.
Film:
I'm absolutely obsessed with this 50mm Nikon lens. Because it's a full frame lens, and my camera is not full frame (a DX model), it acts more like a 75mm lens, and I love it. Also, you have to manually focus it too, which leads to a bunch of extra work and a lot of mistakes, I can't get enough of the unexpected moments that are created because of those two things.
Video Blog: Cornwall
This year marks 60th birthdays for both Old Ma Brombley and Papa Brom, and so, a full-scale family holiday was called for.
Booked through Perfect Stays, our home for the week was Ednovean House in Perranuthnoe, Cornwall (just outside Penzance).
Day one marked our arrival with an evening soaking in the views across the bay, taking in St Michael's Mount and Penzance. Day two was a lazy day: exploring the house, the garden and taking a trip for ice cream at the local beach.
Day three, I made a birthday roast dinner to celebrate the parental units' birthdays. In the evening, we sat around the fire pit, toasted marshmallows and looked at the stars.
Day four was the day we had a photographer come to the house to take pictures as a joint 60th birthday present. Quite how we all ended up playing duck duck goose, and then doing the hokey cokey I'm still not sure, but the photographs were great, so I suppose it worked. In the evening went for dinner in Penzance.
Day five the kids and Papa Brom went kayaking. We set off from Porthleven Harbour and paddled west along the coast. On our return, we ate pasties and returned home to enjoy a well earned, relaxing evening.
Day six we took a trip to St Michael's Mount. We arrived just in time to paddle across the causeway and walk up to castle. When we reached the top, we looked hard to find Ednovean House: having spent all week looking down at St Michael's Mount, it was nice to take a moment to look back up. In the evening, after a quiet meal together, my sister and her boyfriend returned to the house to announce their engagement. As prosecco was opened, my father took the opportunity to watch a Facebook video of a man driving with no arms. Needless to say, we insisted he bookmark the video so it can be played during his wedding speech.
Day seven, and our final day together, we visited St Ives for food and an afternoon at the beach. My sister created her engagement announcement photo from stones in the sand, and the little ones enjoyed some rock pooling. Back at the house, we had just enough time to fly a kite before we say our goodnights and goodbyes.