‘Test Pieces features six pieces of music written for people and places I was missing during lockdown, recorded with those people and in those places once it was lifted.

When I lived in Sheffield and couldn’t row, I got very interested in climbing, its artistry and ethics. A Test Piece is the title given to a climbing line that shows you where you are up to in your journey as a climber. Like a musical line, a climbing line is also an expression of the imagination and ability of the climber who first puts up the route. The lines in Test Pieces reflect my musical imagination and where I was in my life when they were written and recorded. Like a climb, each piece features a crux - this is usually the most difficult move, emotional moment, or technical challenge that connects the line. The album was recorded using climbing ethics: onsite, in one pass, with no rehearsal of moves ahead of time.

This made recording challenging, both the in situ parts and the final production where each piece is contextualised by moments of what was happening around the recording, and insights from people like Johnny Dawes on the links between creativity, performance and personality.

To find out more about Test Pieces writing, production and release go to Origin(al) Stories.