RILEY
‘WHO AM I’ - The Album – by Riley
How did I decide on the title?
People don’t know me as a guitarist/ bassist even though I have been playing since I was nine years old in my own private world...and this has been going on now for over 30 years !
Those who do know me, knows me as a Bass player even-though most of my work has been out of town, so my friends and colleagues would never see me play. And so I was more popular out of town many miles away than in own home town. I was a guitarist in a band and session musician locked away in studios, they didn't even know I did session work... I didn't tell them because I had not considered myself at the time as a solo artist, it was normal for me playing the guitar. I was having fun playing but not in a serious way, pocket money play, so the family didn't know I was doing this session work as I didn't feel it was necessary to tell them. They just thought I was going jamming and strumming out few a things in pubs and clubs, but when I went abroad, then they took me seriously, they then realised that I was serious about music. They had to, I had moved abroad to work full time with bands.
Before then, I used to be teased a bit by my family, “Riley is just a would-be guitarist! A part timer! A pub gigger – he’s not that serious” It wasn't expected of me or anyone in my family for that matter to be completely serious about music and make a living from it, they didn't see the vision I saw. But in my heart and my soul I had the music, it was and is part of me, one toy I wouldn't break.
So the title came from this..... Who Am I? – Some may know me as a Bass player and others may know me as a guitarist that just suited the band I was playing in at the time.
But I became frustrated playing the style of music that suited the band but not me. I was simply there to enhance their music and it was some time later on that my deepest desire came to frustration and I went to Classical guitar school. There I learned how to cultivate the Latin American style that is my world now and I have realised that my style has a flavour of everything... so now when people listen to my music they will realise who I am, what I can really do and where my heart lies in music.... I’m not just a session player! I am the creator of my own music!!! So who am I? Well you can see for yourself now.
It is Ok to dream, just as-long you work to make your dreams come true....
DAWN DELIGHTS
This is a very emotional piece for me, and the music is out there I can now say where this came from. It is a tribute to a very dear friend of mine who I have not seen for 25 years and I may have lost contact with her but she is ever present in my mind because she inspired me when I wrote this piece. There was no love affair as it was taboo....she was attached when I was free and she was free when I wasn’t – so we had an amazing friendship... one that has lasted through the years. She now knows this piece was inspired by her and how I feel.... I am happy now and she is too....we get on with life.
The piece is Latin American flow – a lonely piece, almost sad, it’s love.. It’s everyone’s own interpretation... could be the pain of loss perhaps and it could be the feeling of falling in love, being in love... yearning and losing... it’s directly from my soul.
TOUCH OF PARADISE
Has a flavour – it’s more of an eastern groove... it’s sexy and warm...not something you would expect from me. My inspiration for this piece came from my love of eastern Chinese music...I’ve always wanted to relate this to a western groove in my real world and the strange world in my head. At the time of writing this my head was taken into my eastern promise mode, a promise of a paradise world, I wanted to jazz it up too as I wanted the east to meet the west... having worked with Asian bands... east meets west...you can hear the changes in the work and it becomes a melting pot of sounds.
MAGIC WHERE ARE YOU
Fast and funky – stops you in your steps! This one, whatever you are doing, will stop you - magic in itself! You might be having a conversation in the middle of a room, the music comes in and you focus on what’s going on with this track. It’s difficult for any music to do that for real without been abrasive or disjointed... that can stop you in your tracks....there are certain sounds which appeal to me... these sounds are in this track... I used this piece to build and grow through it’s journey, it takes time...but all of a sudden everything starts to fall into place..... Magic Where Are You is a show stopper... it’s a FULL STOP! Makes you pause in time and makes you want to move..... :)
GUITAR TRAIN
The whole album is about this song... but this song was not inspired by anything I had heard before... it’s brand new! It’s a melting pot of inspiration coming from many different feelings and moments in time in my life - all coming together... I’m a train on the tracks moving, movement created by my guitar and me!! It actually sounds like a train!
The album cover picture was taken by Jenny Pryce. I didn’t know Jenny was going to take the cover photo by a train!! This is just one of many photos Jenny took. I did tell her that one of the titles was called Guitar Train but that was after she had taken me to the location where the cover shot was taken. So here it is and it works! My guitar and me with the backdrop of the train!! There are three guitars in this piece and it all works together... just guitars!! Lie back and melt into the movement of this piece as it takes you wherever you want to go.
SOCA8IT
This piece was inspired by my upbringing. The music I was raised on. My mum and Dad’s music: Reggae! Beautiful colourful calypso, with its infectious rhythm - Carnivals at Notting Hill London...the spirit of unity, the rhythm of life. Listening to the music on the old gramophone at home that I’ve been raised with and going to the Carnival has been brought out in this piece but I wanted to put my own spin on this music...and this one came about from the meeting of calypso rhythm and Riley style – add the two together and you have Soca8it !!
ADORED
Smooth misty nights....chilled out moments....places where you want to be... no fuss or struggle, no tension, just chilled.... in a car driving at night, summer days, absolutely stress free, this piece will take you there.
All my songs are instrumentals with no distractions by a voice... music is powerful to me... doesn’t need words! Just emotions in the music.
This is a tremendous power....My Music – I Am Riley
This particular EP is online now but the album has twelve songs on it.
Follow me.....on my website....I’m here... I’m not going away!! For information just follow my music and share it with me and your friends!!
There will be another album coming out. in the near future
I do work with other artists but that’s another story.... watch this space!
The album is out there now.
This whole album was Composed, Produced, Mixed and Published by ….. Me….. with love.
I am Riley and I am here!
