Music is Glue
I am a Bristol-based singer-songwriter, recording artist and performer of more than twenty years, and community music facilitator of 5 years, making music because I believe it can bring people together. Music is glue: it helps us feel our shared humanity, be present with one another, speak difficult truths, and hold both collective joy and grief. I am increasingly drawn to music's capacity to heal the disconnection of our time—from each other, from the natural world and from ourselves—and through songwriting, performance, improvisation and collective singing, I seek to create spaces where connection and belonging can emerge.
"a celebration of the humanity that exists even in our darkest hours, a reminder of the magic that people and music possess to shape our world for the better"
For The Rabbits
This spirit of exploration also shapes my work as a community musician and choir leader. I do not separate my artistic practice from my facilitation; each continually informs the other. I write songs and vocal pieces in response to the people I work with, the particular energy of a group, and the times we find ourselves living through. The choir becomes a place of collective creativity, where music is not simply taught or performed but discovered together—an evolving body of work that gives voice to shared experience and reminds us of the profound connections that can emerge when we sing together.
At the heart of it all is a search for connection: music that creates a sense of gathering, that invites us into the present moment, and that reminds us of our shared humanity. Whether on stage, in the studio, or in a circle of singers, I am interested in the fleeting, transformative moments when music brings people together.
"feels like a celebration of life giving comfort and love in such an unkind and unstable world"
Oak Choir member
Photos by Alice Hendy
"Upbeat but off-beam English folk-pop for fans of Cate Le Bon" UNCUT
I write songs and make music that resist easy categorisation. There are echoes of folk and the singer-songwriter tradition in my work, but I have never felt rooted in one genre or musical lineage.
As a multi-instrumentalist, each album explores new territory, shaped by changing collaborations and by the landscapes and communities I have encountered through years of living and travelling between the UK, Europe and Japan. I am drawn equally to the intimacy of song and the spaciousness of contemporary composition.
More recently, the addition of saxophonist Greg Sterland to my forthcoming album, alongside longstanding collaborators Rob Pemberton (drums) and Alex Heane (bass), has opened another door, creating space for improvisation and leading the music into more exploratory territory. I am drawn to the places where composed and spontaneous music meet; where songs can stretch, breathe and become something new each time they are played.
"Folk-pop full of wisdom and instrumental warmth" MOJO
Photos by Alice Hendy