Can you tell us about your new album?
‘The Voyage Out’ is my debut album comprised of a selection of early compositions I wrote throughout my early twenties, a time of self-discovery and growth. As I was writing and recording, I was reflecting on my childhood years and simultaneously brimming with the ambition of considering who I want to become both as a person and an artist.
The album is a collection of simple compositions which evolved over time thanks to the expertise, dedication and chemistry of the band. As we rehearsed together, we considered how to express the stories each melody held inside for example, the title track, ‘The Voyage Out’ started off as a warm cozy feeling, a sort of love song with the lower voice meeting the upper voice in a cozy introverted conversation.
I composed this song at the piano – the place where I loved to find solace as a teenager. When I brought my composition along to George Garford, Matthew Holmes and Tom Ollendorff and the music transformed into something so much bigger; a tale of growth and exploration, it was once described by an audience member as ‘a journey’ and that’s what led to me naming it after Virginia Woolf’s debut novel.
As Dreams Are Made, featuring Tony Kofi, was a ballad I wrote dedicated to my grandmother during lockdown. It’s funny to look back and remember the first ever recording of this tune, it was a compilation of home recordings from friends which I roughly put together for a deadline, Emma Rawicz emailed me over a fantastic recording of the melody on tenor during the era of her ‘Ballad Fridays’.
When we returned to performing in person, I was fortunate enough to perform the music of Thelonious Monk with Tony Kofi in a couple of different projects and playing behind Tony on a ballad is nothing short of transcendent, he takes the music to heights I’ve never experienced before or since.
It’s a huge honour to have been able to immortalise this ballad with him. Myself, Matthew Holmes and George Garford have all had the pleasure of performing under his guidance as a bandleader experiencing his musicality, wisdom, calm and generosity in our youth will undoubtedly shape our approach to music-making for many years to come and for that I’m so grateful.
Icarus is notably the only track to feature my vocals, however, I believe the secret ingredient to this tune is truly Tom Ollendorff’s contribution. Tom paints a magical atmosphere with his masterful approach to the guitar which gives me goosebumps every time. When I first heard his album, A Song For You, I knew he’d be a perfect addition for this band and I’m so grateful for his dedication to my music.
The Joy of Being, a track that seems to be a favourite in reviews so far is really a celebration of that flow state that is often achieved through improvised music, being in the moment and I love listening back to the energetic, playful approach towards improvisation each musician contributes to the band.
I’m so proud of how this recording turned out and I’m incredibly grateful to George Garford, Matthew Holmes and Tom Ollendorff for their support and friendship throughout the recording process, gigs around the country and focus and dedication to my compositions. I’m especially grateful for the laughter along the way, both on and off the bandstand, this music really marks a point in time that I’m so grateful for in my life, I hope listeners can extract as much joy listening as we feel to play together.
I was fortunate enough to receive funding and mentoring throughout this project from Trinity Laban Innovation Award, Ed Renshaw Award and National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Some honourable mentions and thanks to those who have helped behind the scenes of this release are much deserved by Joe Browne, Josephine Davies, Phil Meadows, Tony Kofi, Fini Bearman and especially Peter Conway, without their tireless encouragement, insights and support this release certainly would not have been possible.
What other projects are you currently involved with?
Currently I play in a few exciting projects; with an incredible young singer/songwriter Poppy Prescott, we’ve recorded some great music over the past few years and it’s such a joy to work under the creative direction of Dan McConkey and Poppy Prescott who give me a lot of freedom to play how I like. I love Poppy’s voice and the messages in her songs, she’s an inspirational force to be reckoned with. Fans of Nick Drake will love her music.
Recently, I’ve been rehearsing with Jemima Whyte, an exciting alto player new to the London scene, her music draws on Afro-beat and drum and bass music melded with jaz harmony, some of the tunes have really challenging time signatures which delivers a great feeling of accomplishment once internalised and under the fingers. We’ve been rehearsing her tunes for about a year and will be performing her music in EFG London Jazz Festival on November 24th and plan to record early next year!
I enjoy depping on various projects including Women’s Words, Sisters Stories with Ineza and Alex Webb which is always a lot of fun, I love the repertoire they choose to present and Ineza has such incredible phrasing and a wonderful voice, it’s always a pleasure to perform with her.
By some strike of fate, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited to dep for the legendary Rio Kai a few times at Shakespeare’s Globe over the past couple years. I thoroughly enjoy working there, I find the performances are always so exciting and engaging – both musically and politically, it feels good to feel a part of a movement and the new compositions are refreshing and a joy to perform as part of the team there.
This weekend, I’m excited to be performing in a new composition by Jason Yarde as part of the Classically Black Festival at Kings Place and next month I have some plans to record some improvised music with the wonderful Sam Eastmond. I’m grateful to be able to experience quite a varied musical career so far and feel each new experience really fuels and informs my creative practice.
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
New releases I’ve been enjoying lately include Seafarers’ latest album, Another State, and Hohnen-Ford’s I Wish I Had a God and Samora Pinderhughes’ track Masculinity has been on repeat.
The last physical copy of music I bought was an LP of Magico with Charlie Haden, Jan Gabarek and Egberto Gismonti. My partner has an extensive record collection which we enjoy listening to together most mornings, my favourites within that are Bill Connors’ Swimming with a Hole in My Body,
Bill Frisell’s In Line, Eberhard Weber’s Fluid Rustle, of course aforementioned Magico, and lately discovered Old Dreams, New Dreams, the list could go on and on…
What is your all-time favourite album and why?
I don’t think I could commit to an all-time favourite album but if I really had to… John Coltrane’s Crescent. I stumbled upon it via a hilarious article written by Binker Golding and listened on repeat during my first year at Guildhall, I find myself coming back to it time and time again.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas and Misha Mullov-Abbado’s latest release, Za Górami is mesmerisingly beautiful, if you get the chance to see them live, you must! I’ve been a massive fan of those three individually for years.
There’s so many musicians I’d like to give a shout-out but I’d say of those I’ve heard live recently: Lorenz Okello, Matthew Hurley, Nick Willsher, Yumé NET, Tara Cunningham, Olivia Murphy, Immy Churchill and Hoda Jahanpour are all young London-based musicians to watch in the next years or so and I’m sure there’s many more that have briefly slipped my mind much deserving of a mention but it’s always worth keeping an ear out for the great talent emerging from Tomorrow’s Warriors year on year. I’d also like to mention I’m incredibly excited to hear whatever these musicians: Binker Golding, Seb Rochford, Tori Freestone, Alcyona Mick and Lucia Cadotsch will create next because I’m certain it’ll be excellent!
The Voyage Out by Myra Brownbridge is available from Bandcamp
Click here to read our review of the album
