Firstly, thanks for taking the time to listen to this album, Audio/ Visual.

It is an album that wasn’t planned but instead has evolved over the last few months.

Following the conclusion of my previous band Multiplier, I wanted to work with a female singer and create beautiful songs tinged by film soundtracks and themes. Not to be a pastiche of the genre but music that conjured strong images or had a cinematic vibe.

It took an age to find the right songwriting partner and just as we had started to get into a writing routine, Covid happened. With that project on ice, I was left twiddling my thumbs.

All but one of the instrumental songs and pieces presented here were created during a nine week period during the spring and early summer of 2020, whilst the UK and much of the planet was in some kind of lockdown due to the Covid 19 virus. As much for my mental health as anything else, I decided to write and record a new track every week and then post it on my Facebook page. I was never quite sure what would actually come out each week or for how long I could sustain it. As it is, with the addition of an extra song (Catalonia) plus the two intros to side one and two, there is enough music to compile the album you have here.

Instrumentals can be difficult. We have become accustomed to hearing songs with vocals and lyrics and our ears have been trained to focus on them. There’s no doubt that a truly great song combining emotive music, a memorable melody and lyrics that resonate with you is difficult to better. Certainly without a symphony orchestra...

There is also a general perception that instrumentals- certainly in a broadly ‘rock’ sense- are self-indulgent. A chance for musicians simply to show off, usually to other musicians. This is most definitely not always the case and a good instrumental song should be able to connect with a listener the same as a more traditional song.

In short, instrumentals can be quite decent in their own right.

The album running order does not reflect the chronological order of when the tracks were completed, but I’ve put them together in as a cohesive flow as I could manage. Hence side one; Audio and side two; Visual. Audio contains five ‘songs without vocals’. Still a bit soundtracky to my ears, but shoegaze and post punk influences are there and even a prog rock guitar solo, strangely enough. Visual presents five tracks that are more overtly soundtrack, theme tune or ambient pieces. If you click on the info button for each track, you will see some notes and thoughts I wrote upon completion of each track.

This really is about as far away from a concept album as you could get. More a stream of consciousness during that nine week period. Genres are all over the place, but I feel that but for a couple of exceptions, the overall mood is mainly uplifting and positive.

I hope you find something that you enjoy.

Thanks again.

Phil Hartley, August 2020