photo by Neil Payne
Here’s a chat I had (back in a previous studio and previous haircut!) with Rok Gulič from Ollo Audio (I use and endorse their lovely headphones) about how I got into music and some of my thoughts on what I do. It’ll give you a good idea of how I go about making music:
A bit of history…
Crafter of songs, singer, eternally distracted multi-instrumentalist, father of two, husband to singer-songwriter Kelly, walker, retired village cricketer. Home is rural Suffolk, my roots are in the Derbyshire peaks, I am drawn to islands and edges, particularly the Scottish islands.
I grew up in a Derbyshire brass band family and played cornet from an early age. Listening to heavy rock & metal in my teens I discovered I could play drums, so I did, but I also wanted to write vocal/guitar songs, so I taught myself guitar and got on with it.
Travel to 1999 and you’ll find me with my first record deal as a performer. What followed was 10+ years of hard work and quiet critical praise alongside musical collaborator Sarah Springett as Springett Booth, AloneMe and The Floe.
This was my first foot in the door of the recorded music industry, where I crossed paths with some great people including Nigel Stonier (Thea Gilmore, Mike Scott…), Mike Cave (The Charlatans, The Zutons…). Midge Ure, Paul Young, Ade Edmonson, Simon Gogerly, Bob Harris…the list goes on.
And yet, I discovered this wasn’t the right place for me. After a lot of soul-searching, I quit the band and watched them move on to other things. So, what do I do next?
The answer was obvious, really. During those ten years a studio had been built, production skills learned, connections made. I naturally turned to producing other artists, and the more I did it, the more I learned and the more connections I made.
Being entrusted with other people’s songs and stories is a privilege. It brings me enormous pleasure, endless variety, an outlet for my creativity and the opportunity to positively nurture upcoming talent. I consider myself fortunate to make a living from doing what I love to do.
Of course, once a songwriter always a songwriter. Having stepped away from the pressure of expectation, the songs began to re-emerge. You can find out more about me as a songwriter and performer, including Kyson Point at davidedwardbooth.co.uk.
photo by Neil Payne
Selected Discography:
*Kelly Bayfield – Wave Machine album: co-writing, recording, mixing, producing, drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals.
*Tony Winn – “Blue Speck” and “Push & Pull” albums: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, backing vocals, flugelhorn.
*Abi Moore – 2022 singles & 2023 album No More Chasing, “Amoeba & Stone” album: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, guitars. “Live In Lincolnshire” album. Live band – drums, backing vocals, guitar. Studio – edit & mix.
*Jess Simmons – “Maybe“, “Why Did You Do That“, “Anyone”, “Mountain, “Fell To The Ground” & other singles, “Are You Lost In The World Like Me?” EP: recorded, mixed, produced, drums & percussion, guitars, bass guitar.
*Kev Walford – “Americanarama” album: recorded, mixed, produced, drums & percussion, mandolin, tenor guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals. Lead vocals on “Tennessee Williams”. Co-wrote “My My My”.
*Kev Walford & Kelly Bayfield (Pritchard) -“Walkin” album & “Acoustic Sessions #2”: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, mandolin, slide guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals.
*Tom Parkes – “On The Loose” and “Stranger in Town” albums: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, backing vocals.
*Drew Young – “Wondering Where This Will End” single: Recorded, mixed, produced, guitar, percussion, backing vocals.
*Richard Townend & The Mighty Bosscats – “Short Stories”, “Live In Moscow”, “Ticket To Memphis“, “God Bless America”, “Goldfever”, “Bossman”, “Boiling Pot”, “7 Deadly Sins” albums: recorded, mixed, co-produced, percussion.
*Terence Blacker – “Just Like James” single, “Playing For Time” & “Sometimes Your Face Don’t Fit” albums: recorded, mixed, co-produced, percussion, bass, backing vocals.
*Louis de Bernières – “Delicate Lies” & “Despatches” albums – recorded, co-produced, mixed, drums & percussion.
*Louis de Bernières with The Bookshop Band – “The Songs of Louis de Bernieres vol 1” album: percussion, drums, extra engineering & mix consultation during final production stages.
*Thomas Hills – singles
*Jake Aldridge – Vocal production on “Partners In Crime” and “King Of The World” singles. Acoustic guitar & production on the acoustic versions.
*Selina Hawker – “Trance“, “Superficial Boy”, “Counting The Stars” & “Memories Fade”: recorded, mixed, produced, drums, percussion, guitar.
*Roisin O’Hagan – “Blue & Grey” EP: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, guitars, bass guitar, mandolin.
*”Guardian Angels The Musical – Original Cast Recording“: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, guitars, bass guitar.
*Fern Teather – “Hiding In The Dark” album: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion, guitars, backing vocals, mandolin, keys, bass.
*Suffolk Acoustic Showcase – “BBC Radio Suffolk Sessions” compilation album: recorded, mixed, produced.
*Songs From The Blue House – “IV” and “Live” albums: recorded, mixed, co-produced, drums & percussion.
*Red Sky July – “Live At Little Rabbit Barn” album: edited, mixed & mastered.
*Anna Coogan and Daniele Fiaschi – “Live At Little Rabbit Barn” album: edited, mixed & mastered.
*BHST (Berkley Hart Selis Twang) – “Live At Little Rabbit Barn”: Live sound & recording.
*Tinderbox – “Live At The Cottage” album: recorded, edited, mixed & mastered.
*Stephen William Hodd – “Live At The Cottage” album: recorded, edited, mixed & mastered.
Albums/singles as featured artist & songwriter:
*Kyson Point – Singles “Vapour Trails (remix)”, “Michael” and “Cloudbusting”: recorded, produced (co-produced by Kelly Bayfield), mixed, guitars, drums & percussion, vocals, brass, bass.
*David Edward Booth – “All My Days” album (2023): recorded, produced (co-produced by Kelly Bayfield & Ian Stephenson), mixed, writer, guitars, drums, percussion, vocals, brass.
*David Edward Booth (featuring Kelly Bayfield) – “Run” single (2023): recorded, produced (co-produced by Kelly Bayfield & Ian Stephenson), mixed, writer, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals.
*David Edward Booth (featuring Susie Ledge)- “Rainbows of October” single (2022): recorded, produced, mixed, writer, piano, guitar, drums, vocals.
*David Edward Booth – “Blackbird” single (2021): recorded, produced, mixed, co-writer (music by me, words by Tomas Dahlberg & Roisin O’Hagan), guitar, drums, piano, vocals.
*David Edward Booth – “My Friend Who Brought Me In” single (2020): recorded, produced, mixed, mastered, writer, guitar, tenor guitar, piano, vocals.
*Bayfield Booth – “A New Way On” album and “Last Man” single (2019): produced, mixed, co-writer, guitars, vocals, drums & percussion.
*David Edward Booth – “Away Away” (2018): recorded, produced, mixed, mastered, writer, guitars, bass, keys, vocals, drums, percussion.
*Bayfield Booth – “Magic Man / Hold On Tight” charity single (2018): recorded, produced, mixed, co-writer, guitars, backing vocals, percussion.
*David Booth – “XI:XV” compilation consisting of three releases – “Find Our Way Back Home” (2012); “By The Sea EP” (2014); The Good Years (2015): recorded, produced, mixed, writer, guitars, vocals, drums & percussion.
*The Floe – “No Looking Back” (2010): recorded, co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals.
*AloneMe – “Sketch” (2007): co-writer, guitars, vocals.
*AloneMe – “Live” (2006): co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals.
*AloneMe – “Paperlake” (2005): co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals.
*AloneMe – “Blurred Words” (2004): co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals.
*AloneMe – “Target Practice” (2003): co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals.
*Springett Booth – “Because” (2001): co-writer, co-producer, guitars, vocals, drums.
*David Booth – “Open Season” (2000): writer, guitars, vocals.