Tiger Tree
EP2
I'm really excited to let you know my new EP 'Tiger Tree' is now out on all digital platforms. You can listen and buy it from my website here, just go to the 'Store' to check it out.
Here are some reflections on my inspirations behind the new EP,
When I lived in London I would always gravitate to the parks and green spaces to find solace and replenishment. 'Green Park' for my lunch when I worked in Trafalgar Square; 'Brockwell Park' on many excursions with my twins in the double buggy; the hilly 'Greenwich Park' in my early London days and 'Dulwich Park' for it's secret silver birch grove! I grew up in the Cheshire countryside so this was my way of touching base with my roots. My move back to Cheshire after these 15 years felt natural. 'Over The Green' was the first song I wrote returning north. It's about embracing the new present moment with a nod to the past. It centres around the village where I live and particularly the 'Town Field' which sits at the end of a long public footpath. You can still see the 'ridge and furrow' archaeological pattern in the field created by years of prolonged ploughing, dating back to the medieval period. It's written in the folk tradition, with a chorus we can all sing along with. The song 'Tiger Tree' was inspired by walks on 'Bickerton Hills' on the Sandstone Way. The next song on the EP 'Green Man' is inspired by the events of the last year. Initially it grew from my post-Brexit blues and feeling disillusioned with the current government. I imagined a fox running away from the hunt, deep into the countryside, fed up with the bickering scoundrels! Then the pandemic happened and we were all at home more. For me this meant being in a more rural environment. When I returned back to work it felt strange to walk on concrete pavements having spent most my time walking in the countryside. The fourth song 'See You In The Light' is about loss and bridging that loss. My mother-in-law, the poet Eleanor Cooke, passed away in 2016 not long after our move up here. The song is about how love continues beyond death. I was interested in the idea of objects as portals of connection, offering comfort to those left behind. When I wrote the guitar part I definitely had a John Martyn feel in mind. The last track on the EP is 'Morning Blues', an instrumental. It's just one of those songs that came about fairly quickly. You might be able to tell I'd been listening to a lot of Bert Jansch at the time. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for your support.
See you soon, Cheers Jude