I’ve just got back from a few days in Ireland working with David Holmes. These are intended to be the closing sessions for his album which we realised to our horror we have been working on (on and off) for seven years! Though this is evidence more of David’s perfectionism – and the amount of soundtrack work that we’ve had – than idleness or lack of inspiration. He had brought back a huge amount of new instruments from LA and I hardly touched a guitar the whole time, instead being required to coax melodies out of an array of obscure vintage keyboards. The only downer was that the inflatable bed I was sleeping on had a slow puncture, meaning that I spent half the night sinking gradually to the ground before having to pump it up again. Automatic pump though, luckily. Ah, the luxury.

Speaking of luxury, there was possible a little too much of it during a recent leg of the Bryan Ferry tour, in the form of a private jet. I won’t deny the convenience (goodbye check–in, goodbye baggage reclaim, hello kindly German captain with a windswept hairpiece), but the band all felt rather guilty. My friend Steve who has been touring with Air, with his typically magnanimous and warm–hearted resolve, has vowed to come up with a plan to offset our carbon emissions. That’s Chris Spedding in the photo by the way, not the toupéed captain. Further Ferry–related guilt ensued from my reluctant appearance at the Countryside Alliance benefit. Now I certainly support the countryside in the face of unbearable pressure from supermarkets and government alike, but many of those present struck me, frankly, as little more than single–issue, bloodthirsty braying toffs. At a recent street festival in central London there were a variety of stalls selling (relatively) local farm produce, yet at the Alliance festival, not a single example of local produce on offer, and all the backstage catering was provided by a big company. Incidentally, Bryan’s recent ’run–in’ with the press was an absolutely scandalous episode cooked up by malicious reporters with no basis in fact whatsoever. We all know that certain sections of the media are just plain liars, but it really hits home when it’s a friend of yours in the firing line. The highlight–stroke–nadir for me was when the Observer (of all papers) solemnly but suggestively printed a 25 year old photo of Bryan with – shock, horror – a moustache!

Anyway, I mastered my new album too. It’s called ’The Unrest Cure’. Mastering can be something of a dark art, in that you can quite easily spend a grand and come out thinking that it sounds exactly the same. This time however the contribution was immense. The record is stylistically all over the place but mastering has really brought everything together, and listening through at home was the first time I let myself think, ’wow, it sounds like a real album’! There were then a flurry of meetings with people in glass offices making promises you really hope they intend to keep. Apparently, the first step when getting a campaign together with a big label is to ’get a buzz going in the building’, which means making a cd of the best 4 tracks and sending it to absolutely everyone who works there, so that they’re all eager to help out and stuff. Sounds pretty reasonable I suppose, it’s just so strange to think that it’s my record they’re talking about. I have to keep reminding myself.

I also got further underway with my next one, a folky follow–up to ’Honeytrap’, with the help of percussionist Martin Barker and bassist Tim Harries (one of my favourite musicians and a huge influence who I met when we were in Eno’s band). There are now 14 tracks on the go, and the editing has given me something to do in the days when I’m on tour with nothing to do until soundcheck, ie every day. That has made a big difference psychologically. Finished off producing a few tracks for the Smoke Fairies too, which you can hear on their myspace.

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