Follow for free on my Patreon.
I post updates and new music every few days.
Free download - 'Leave Well Alone'
It's my birthday - my last album 'Leave Well Alone ' is free / pay what you like for a few days. Click the image for it - please grab and share away.
'KIEL' free download and limited CD-r now available
A recording from my concert at Prinz Willy in Kiel, Germany on the 25th of November is now available for everyone through my Bandcamp as a full quality download and also as a very simple, physical edition on CD-r.
This was a nice evening for me, with a quiet audience and a great sound in the little place. I worked on the recording the past weekend and I think it turned out ok, perhaps the best sounding concert I've had for a while.
When I Was Away
The Royal Canal
Here Comes Your Son
Lover O Lover
Deserter
So Long Song
I Do Wrong
Here
We Could Have, We Should Have, We Didn’t
Work With This
Super Good Advice
Leave Well Alone
Paper Birds
We Swam A Little Song
Free download and Horns Erben in Leipzig this week
I’m returning to Leipzig this Wednesday night for a concert at the beautiful Horns Erben. To celebrate, for this week only I’m making the recording of my first concert there available for free / pay what you like.
17 songs from September 2017, including a bunch of things I don’t normally play. Grab it below and please share this with anyone you think might be interested in this stuff.
If you would like to come to the concert, tickets are at https://www.tixforgigs.com/Event/44717 and the Facebook event is here. I have a few guest list places so why not drop me an email at thegreatpark@icloud.com and I’ll pop you on there.
Thanks all,
Stephen
'I Was In The North Before The Fall' (Speicher, Husum 25/09/21)
Photo by Z13 Fotografie
Posting this as a request for photographer Tim who was at this concert in Husum last September.
Fair warning - lengthy introduction.
Free birthday download
Here’s a free / pay what you like download of my last album ‘Work With This’ because it was my birthday yesterday. No chance to post it then so it’s a little late. I’ll keep it like this for a couple of days so please go and grab it while you can.
Hope everyone else had an enjoyable start to the new year.
Stephen
Free download of 'DESI'
A six song recording from my recent concert at DESi in Nürnberg is now available as a free download to everyone on my mailing list and to all Patreon and Bandcamp subscribers. It’s also available to buy through Bandcamp.
I’ve put the form for the newsletter below. I post once a month maximum and have a few other releases that are available to everyone there. I get that it’s a bit old fashioned but it’s nice to feel like I’m speaking to the people that are wanting to hear from me and not just shouting arrogantly into the void.
31.07.21 DESI, Nürnberg, Germany
The Royal Canal
I Do Wrong
We Could Have, We Should Have, We Didn't
Hove Beach and Eggshells
Lover O Lover
So Long Song
I’ll send an email out tonight with a link to download, and if you miss it drop me a line and I’ll add you to the list and I’ll make sure you get another.
Of course, everyone signed up to my Patreon or Bandcamp subscriptions get all the new music I make and release anywhere so there’s that too. I’d be super happy if more people decide to support me this way as it’s the absolutely one of the best sources of encouragement to me these days.
This was a spontaneous, relaxed evening and I’m happy to share music from it with you.
Cover photo by https://www.instagram.com/lea_laerm/
SUPER GOOD ADVICE last week (free download)
Recorded at one of three little backyard concerts I got to play last Thursday afternoon in Nürnberg, here’s a free download of SUPER GOOD ADVICE:
This was obviously a rare chance these days to play songs in front of an audience and was a lot more fun than it could have been - many thanks to Simone and Daniel for their help on the day. More information about their ongoing series of concerts is here.
I recorded all three sets and have put together a 10 song collection which will be available as a free download at my Bandcamp page in a couple of weeks. Please check back for that or remind me if I seem to have forgotten.
A Carrion Call (free download)
‘A Carrion Call’ was written last week, recorded the same evening and currently available to download for free from my Bandcamp page here.
Stay well everyone,
Stephen
‘Now Wash Your Hands’ now free
My 2011 album is now free to download because of you know what. Here.
I’m still in Switzerland after a week of cancelled shows and with more ahead seemingly not taking place.
Stay safe everyone and let’s see us soon.
Stephen
Free 'Autumn 2019' compilation now available
The third in the series of exclusive releases for subscribers to my newsletter is now available here. Recorded over a couple of months at concerts at the end of last year this is a mixed collection of songs in very different rooms. Goes like this:
song for fee
06.11.19 prinz willy, kiel, germany.
if you build it they will come
27.10.19 el lokal, zürich, switzerland - with sophia basler.
it don’t stop the bleeding
30.11.19 ut connewitz, leipzig, germany.
suit of stones
28.10.19 house concert, luzern, switzerland.
pure black coal
07.12.19 jaz, rostock, germany.
song for a coalman
28.10.19 house concert, luzern, switzerland.
winter
06.11.19 prinz willy, kiel, germany. song by the diamond family archive.
understudy
27.10.19 el lokal, zürich, switzerland.
lover o lover
24.10.19 house concert, heidelberg, germany.
what you fear to be the end comes around
02.11.19 house concert, basel, switzerland.
bad roads ahead
07.12.19 jaz, rostock, germany.
you are more needed here
08.11.19 ruhrwerkstatt, oberhausen, germany.
super good advice / stretch acrobatic
21.09.19 desi, nürnberg, germany - with stefanie vivian void. stretch acrobatic is by vivian void.
we could have, we should have, we didn’t
21.12.19 café mainheim, nürnberg, germany - with stefanie vivian void.
so long song
06.11.19 prinz willy, kiel, germany.
And for a taste, here’s the messy surprise VIVIAN VOID mashup at their 10th anniversary back in September:
‘Autumn 2019’ is completely free to download - I put a password in my newsletter and if you’ve signed up but somehow missed it then drop me a line.
As I wrote earlier this week, things will change around here soon but I’ll keep writing the newsletter and making things especially for those people that have signed up for it. Anything to keep me from feeling pressurised to update my Facebook page. My word.
Be well and thanks.
Stephen
Free download - 07/12/19 Rostock
Here’s a quick reminder in case anyone has missed it - the recording of my recent concert up in Rostock in the north of Germany a couple of weeks ago is available as a free download on my Bandcamp page right here.
The concert was a pleasure to play - was very quiet and dark in there and I kept mostly to the heavy stuff, including a cover of ‘Winter’ by The Diamond Family Archive and one or two things I rarely feel like going through.
Thanks to Marv and everyone at the JAZ for the invitation and the hospitality.
More music coming from me after this in between week we have now. Hope you’re all doing well.
Stephen
Last concert of the year and new free download
I’m playing this Saturday evening at the Café Mainheim in Nürnberg - a label night in a way. Vincent von Flieger and special guest cause she’s in town Julia Laura are also there and we want it dark as it gets so please bring candles. It’s free to get in but there’s no entry without a candle and we’ll start early so everyone can play long and slow.
Also, later tonight or tomorrow I’ll release a free download of a recent live album from Rostock recorded two weeks ago. Find that on my Bandcamp here:
Have a lovely weekend
Stephen
'Winter' by The Diamond Family Archive (free download)
At Prinz Willy
Winter is indeed upon most of us and yesterday I slipped and sloshed through the first snow I’ve seen fall. I’m home for a few days and reflecting and listening on what I’ve been making the last weeks. To start with, here’s a couple of things around a song by The Diamond Family Archive that I’ve been playing in the recent concerts.
At Prinz Willy’s wonderful corner bar in Kiel I played a rather quieter concert that was very enjoyable. Held the songs close and tried not to let things get too loud or unhinged. By the end of the night I was fit to burst and sure enough lashed out a bit at some innocent members of the nice audience. Apologies and whiskies went some way to fixing things, as is often the case.
Anyway, here’s from earlier in the set - ‘Winter’ by The Diamond Family Archive played spontaneously and a little wobbly true enough.
And here’s Laurence’s original, spectral version to listen and download:
Years ago in Brighton we even played it together:
I urge you all to go and listen to more music by this band, always so magic.
The Diamond Family Archive on Bandcamp
The Diamond Family Archive on Spotify
Have a nice weekend, speak soon
Stephen
PS
I believe this is @marshasdad_outside, whose point of view you can see here.
UT Connewitz in Leipzig this Saturday (free download)
I’m very happy to be returning to the magnificent UT Connewitz in Leipzig this Saturday night. A big old cinema and home to a great program of musicians over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have played there twice before. This weekend is a Woodland Recordings label night so my dear friends Vivian Void and Geneva are playing too. If you use Facebook the event is here.
The last time I played there was back in 2014 and the recording from my concert that night is currently up as a free download on my Bandcamp page here.
Also, Mina Reischer filmed the whole thing on Hi-8 video tape and that can be watched right below.
The night before, that is tomorrow, I’ll be at Gelegenheiten in Berlin. Also happy to be going back there and if anyone wants to join me there well that’s really brilliant too.
See you soon
Stephen
Fritzen, Hamburg (free download)
Photos by Jenny.
I recently got invited to play a concert in the wonderful little Fritzen design studio / gallery / shop in Hamburg. Was a real pleasure and a lovely visit and I wanted to share a couple of songs, some photos, brilliant sketches and illustrations from the evening. You can imagine the crowd were all hot creative folks so there was a fair bit of sketching, photographing and that sort of thing going on. Please click through the links, download the songs and share and all that - the people up there make lovely stuff and are incidentally the best hosts. Thanks Kathrin and all fine Fritzen folks.
Photo by Kathrin.
The following illustrations are also by Larissa Bertonasco.
Three songs from Luzern (free download)
I’m slowly getting my shit together after a hectic few weeks of concerts and working on new projects. Just this week we finished the debut album by Geneva, which I recorded and produced and is out now through my label, Woodland Recordings. A lovely little collection of songs in a delightful package - have a listen have a look:
I know, I know - somewhat off topic. Stay on target.
Photo by Neda.
So here’s three songs from a house concert I played at Neda’s lovely place on the hill above Luzern in Switzerland a few weeks ago. Neda takes care of The Phrontistery space in the town but this evening she invited me up to her house to play to a small audience there. Was a wet night, the rain lashing down and I played a collection of slower things, or at least the songs came out in different shapes this night. Here’s three of them edited together - listen separately below or click the button for a free, simple download from Dropbox.
As I said, I’m catching up with things and this weekend my next album ‘St Arbogast’ will be sent out to anyone who pre-ordered it and available to listen in full and buy from my Bandcamp right here.
I’m not lying when I say half of the first edition of 100 are gone so please pick one up kind of quick if you’d like one of those. I’ll write more on that before the weekend I’m sure.
Thanks for sticking with me and please have a lovely week.
Stephen
Empty Room
Empty room in my flat this weekend so this was my Saturday night. I think it’s a six song EP coming at some point but will have the St Arbogast church recording ready before then. Soon.
Songs from the boat at Flensburg and the train station in Kröpelin (free download)
Photo by Detlef Jens.
Despite losing my hard drive with the session I recorded on the Schiffbar one afternoon, I found that my audio recorder still had the memory card with audio from the concert there. Also still surviving was the recording from the concert two days later at de DROM in Kröpelin, so here are some songs from these two nights in the north.
Whenever I get to play in a room that’s built from wood and has a history I get all silly and play folk songs. ‘Jim Jones’ has a boat in it at least.
Kröpelin, with the sound of the crickets and the insects loudly buzzing through their Saturday night. I played everything slow and out of shape.
My guitar is being repaired at the moment - somehow after this the neck got broke. I still don’t know how or when but I’ve time to get it all together again these days. The key is to not get too attached.
Stephen