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There is a strange line of thinking that exists in the world today that says people should "stay out of politics". TV presenters should "stay out of politics", sports people should "stay out of politics", it's even been said to musicians, including those whose music is obviously political. It's an absurd notion for the simple fact that absolutely everything is political. There is nothing we experience on a daily basis that is not in some way impacted by a political decision at some point.

I am very interested in politics and whilst I am not stuck in my ways I have strong political beliefs and convictions. Like roughly 48% of the country (and more now if polls are to be believed) I thought that Brexit was a very bad idea. I believe I've been proved right. 8 years on from the EU referendum I found myself wondering if those who voted for it had got what they wanted. That's not true actually, I know perfectly well that they haven't got what they wanted because what they wanted was a childish fantasy, a return to a world that never existed, a simplistic answer to complex issues, of course they haven't got what they wanted.

This song is an angry, punk-influenced track asking a simple question and not waiting for an answer. I'm still pissed off about being robbed of opportunities, having my world shrunk by the stupidity of others, about the country I call home being made smaller and less significant by self-interest and greed. Are you happy now?

You can read the lyrics and listen to Are You Happy Now? below.

[cue id="1181"]

Are You Happy Now?

52 48 defeated all the things you hate
Are you happy now?
Stop the boats, stop the rot
Say it's better when it's not
Are you happy now?
A final act, a final spit
So full of spite, so full of shit
Are you happy now? So are you H A P P Y?
Now it's nearly time to die
There's no one here to say goodbye
You don't look H A P P Y It's what you want, yeah you got it
Empty promise this is not it
Are you happy now?
Feel the fury, feel the fear
Feel the hand of death so near
Are you happy now?
This is all you leave behind
The filthy rich who lead the blind
Are you happy now? So are you H A P P Y?
Now it's nearly time to die
There's no one here to say goodbye
You don't look H A P P Y

Hot on the heels of The Music Plays On comes my next release, Are You Happy Now?, it's a punk song about Brexit, and right-wing fuckery in general. Clocking in at just 2 minutes 30 seconds, it's interesting releasing it against the background of most of the architects of Brexit finally being removed from power after Labour's landslide election victory just a few days ago. It was written and recorded just before that, but the question posed by the song and the sentiment remain relevant. It'll be on general release from 26th of July but will make an appearance on this website and on my Bandcamp page before that.

Work has already begun on August's release, current working title is "Get Used To It" and it appears to be a dance anthem about gaslighting. Watch this space for more!

A few posts back I alluded to writing a new song that was a re-working of one written a long time ago, well, here it is. The lyrics and tune have changed considerably from the idea that I came up with a whole 27 years ago, but I've tried to remain loyal to the spirit of the original. I realise all this might seem odd given that almost nobody else ever heard that original version, but it's important to me that something of that 19 year old me remains in this song because let's face it, I wouldn't be who I am now without that ridiculous younger me and his full head of hair.

You can listen to it now, here, and it will be available on Bandcamp and across all streaming services by the end of this week.

[cue id="1152"]

I'm in the final stages of tracking (recording the instrumentation) for a new song that I hope to release towards the end of June. I've sworn not to clean and tidy my studio until it's finished. There is a rationale to this, I'm not just a minger. It's easy to get side-tracked and procrastinate when working on something, so instead I'm focussed, I'm dialled in, I'm living in filth! I'm really enjoying recording, I've got piano, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, trumpet and lead vocals down now, I've just got some additional harmonies to record then I can start the mixing. Title and artwork to be confirmed soon so watch this space! I promise I'll clean soon.

Last night I played a set of acoustic covers at my local, and favourite pub, Chester's Cornerhouse. I first played there in 2017 and have been playing there regularly ever since. We've had some wonderful nights there and last night was no exception. I've decided to stop doing these acoustic covers gigs though. I want to focus on my own songs now instead of playing other people's so last night was the last one. Thanks to all who came and to everyone who's ever been and who's sung along and made the nights so fun, that's it from me, thank you and good night xx

I don't know who the woman in this photo is and I only just remember who this song is about. Someone Else's Wife was written a long time ago in a life far, far away and I absolutely refuse to elaborate any further on what it's about beyond the lyrics. I've always enjoyed the poignant feel of the melody, the wistful yearning for something never truly desired, so I enjoyed reviving this old tune and breathing new life into it with synths and big drums. It's a simple song about driving and adultery, enjoy.

[cue id="1126"]

This is where it all begins. The above picture shows the start of a new song that I'm currently working on. Technically this isn't where it began, the song took shape many years ago, but I've re-written and re-structured it, the single track you can see above is a basic recording of just acoustic guitar and vocals that I'll use as a guide as I continue to build it up. The plan is to have this finished within the next couple of weeks so I can release it before the end of June.

In the meantime, Bees In My Head is still available on all streaming services right now having gone on general release at the end of April, then in a couple of weeks' time Someone Else's Wife will be revealed to the world!

This one feels like it's been a long time coming but here it is! Bees In My Head - a collaboration between me and my good mate Andre Louis is out now. Andre has done a fantastic job providing drums for this whilst I've concentrated on the mildly disturbing lyrics. In the depths of my anxiety and depression it often feels like nothing good could come of it, but this song is good and that's where it came from. Plenty of people have written about their struggles with mental health, I may be the first to turn it into a catchy, waltzy little earworm!

You can listen to Bees In My Head and read the lyrics below

[cue id="1074"] There are bees in my head
And I wish I was dead sometimes
One is a wasp and it's counting the cost
Of these lines
Then there's this dog and he's trying to hog my attention
He's making me see that there's nowt wrong with me
I just need some sunshine with fresh air I'll be fine

But there's bees in my head

When there's nothing left and my soul is bereft
I need time
At the end of the day it's an effort to say
that I'm fine
The pressure in here though is something to fear
It's alarming
I just need a break coz my brain is opaque
But it's clearing

And there's bees in my head

The jolly green giant is finding me pliant
He's compressing my spine
I'm pretending I'm fine
Florence Nightingale is plying me with ale
But she pours from her knee cos she has her own bees
Can we leave soon? it's no fun in this bathroom
But I'm staying calm with a little self harm
As god is my witness I'll shake off this tinnitus
reclaim my zen and be happy again

But there's bees in my head

The depths that I've plumbed
May appear moribund
But it's passing
There are lessons to learn
From emotions that churn
And I'll learn them
My jiggling knee is a signal to me
That you're boring
This anxiety is a strange energy
But I've got lots to spare and it shows that I care

For these bees in my head

My mind's on the take and this niceness is fake
But I'm glad that you buy these impressions I make
With such obligation comes endless frustration
There's always one more it's relentless there's more But all this too shall pass
Ups and downs don't last

Bransby on stage at (possibly) the Highbury Garage some time in the early 2000s

I wrote my first song when I was 18, I'm 46 now and have written a lot more. In those early days I knew nothing about recording and production and very little about the names of chords. I would hand write lyrics onto an A4 pad, play around with chord structures I couldn't name and eventually come up with a song. Consequently there are old songs that were never recorded, rarely played live and that only exist lyrically on faded bits of paper and musically in my memory. Some of them occasionally reappear in my head to remind me that there was a hook, a lyric, a chord change that was worth remembering. That's happened recently with a song originally called One Chance. I dug out the scrappy bit of paper with the lyrics (written in fountain pen for some unfathomable reason) and tried to remember the chords. Much of it came back to me quite easily, I'd struggle to tell you what I did last Thursday but I can remember songs from decades ago with little difficulty. This has led to a new puzzle for me. It's a song of youthful exuberance (I reference being 19 in the lyrics), optimism and a sense of invincibility and it feels weird to the point of wrongness to sing those lyrics now. The last 27 years have not left me unscathed and I simply don't feel that way or think like that anymore. I'm re-writing it. I'm figuring out a way to respect the original intention and spirit whilst acknowledging with every achy joint that I am not 19 anymore. It's like a conversation between 19 year old Bransby and 46 year old Bransby, fortunately we still seem to be getting on ok.

Bees In My Head is scheduled for release towards the end of April, we're still finalising the artwork but it should be heading into the distributor shortly. Watch this space.

I've finished two songs in the last week. Bees In My Head is complete and ready to upload to my website, Bandcamp and all streaming services, I'm just finalising the artwork and will get it uploaded. Andre Louis, my friend who has collaborated with me on Bees In My Head, is blind and has made it perfectly clear to me that he doesn't give a toss about the artwork, which is completely understandable, nevertheless I need artwork to submit the song to streaming services. Another friend who goes by Design Mechanic is helping me with it, I'm reliably informed that it involves AI, which is exciting.

I had some extra time off work so have recorded and finalised another song, Someone Else's Wife, which is an old song I've revisited and turned into a vocal-lead synthwave track about driving and adultery. Watch this space for more on that!