• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bands & Projects
    • Marty Willson-Piper
    • Marty & Olivia
    • Noctorum
    • MOAT
    • Atlantæum Flood
    • Anekdoten
      • How I Joined Anekdoten
    • The Church
      • Sleeve Notes
    • All About Eve
  • Discography
  • Gear
  • Talking
  • Lyrics
    • SOLO ALBUMS
      • In Reflection
      • Art Attack
      • Rhyme
      • Spirit Level
      • Hanging Out In Heaven
      • Nightjar
    • NOCTORUM
      • Sparks Lane
      • Offer The Light
      • Honey Mink Forever
      • The Afterlife
    • MOAT
      • Moat
      • Poison Stream
    • Seeing Stars
  • Sleeve Notes
    • Of Skins And Heart
    • The Blurred Crusade
    • Seance
    • Heyday
    • Starfish
    • Gold Afternoon Fix
    • Priest = Aura
  • Bandcamp

Marty Willson-Piper

The official home of Marty Willson-Piper

  • News
  • Blog
  • Shows
  • Songwriting & Guitar Guidance
  • In Deep Music Archive
  • Contact

News

Dec 14 2022

AFRIDI/WILLSON-PIPER present IN THE END, THE BIRDS WILL SING

I’m happy to announce today that the album I made with Ahad Afridi is now available for your listening experience on all your favourite streaming services. It is released under the name Afridi/Willson-Piper and the album is called In The End, The Birds Will Sing. At this point the album is only available to stream, we will keep you posted if Ahad decides that he wants to make a CD or vinyl. There have been three singles, Sisyphus, Hand In Hand and Plastik but now you can hear the whole record and its ten tracks. We made it in Penzance, co-produced by Dare and myself, engineered and mixed by Dare, I play all the guitars and bass, Ahad wrote all the songs and sings them. Olivia, Dare and me are on backing vocals, Olivia on violin, Ed on drums, Dare on extra bits and the locals on other instruments.

www.songwritingandguitarguidance.com

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: News

Nov 28 2022

TEXAS ACOUSTIC DATES

Howdy, y’all!

Olivia and I will be playing some acoustic shows in Texas this winter, starting with a New Year’s Eve show at Dallas’ Galactic Headquarters, supported by Salim Nourallah (with Joe Reyes).

Sat, 31 December 2022 – Galactic HQ, DALLAS
Sat, 7 January 2023 – House Concert, CELINA
Thu, 12 January 2023 – Mucky Duck, HOUSTON
Sat, 14 January 2023 – Cactus Café, AUSTIN
Sun, 15 January 2023 – The Lonesome Rose, SAN ANTONIO

To attend the Celina house concert, please send an email to honeycreekhouseconcerts@gmail.com

Houston and San Antonio are also little places and the smallest of all, the Galactic Headquarters only has 30 seats, note that the Austin show at the Cactus Cafe is free entry and supported by the community, so it’s first come first served and all very limited.

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

M & O

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: News

Aug 11 2022

IN DEEP MUSIC ARCHIVE UPDATE | TO WHERE I AM NOW

The Archive – where are we?

The In Deep Music Archive move – Phase 1 is complete but that was just the beginning, most everything is still in England. Phase 2 is going to be much harder as we attempt to move everything from England to Portugal. With generous donations and a lot of elbow grease (thanks Aram in Cornwall and Fred and Gerri Ann in Somerset). We managed to move twenty years’ worth of archive and studio and music gear to storage last October where it’s been ever since, vibrating, desperate to leave and get to Portugal. So what happened? Well, Covid happened and we were unable to move it because there were no transport companies working. This gave us a major problem.

There’s a document called a baggage certificate, the idea is that you list what you are bringing into the country when you become a resident and you have a year to move everything. Well, in my case I had the archive and musical equipment in Cornwall and more archive and musical equipment in storage as well as books and shelving and couches and cabinets and tables, everything you might have in a house as well as a huge music collection and music gear. We were already in Portugal in late 2020, escaping England in a very small Covid window that allowed us to gain Portuguese residency before the Brexit deadline. The alternative of waiting would have been an administrative nightmare. But it took us until October 2020 to get back to England to move the archive out of Cornwall, to the storage facility in Somerset. The plan was to move everything within that year, but the baggage certificate we had to apply for from Portugal was an overview, not a proper inventory. But we needed to drive and ferry to England to bring some things back in our Vanette and the rest would be transported by road to Portugal with a full inventory. If only it was that easy.

We drove back to Portugal after sorting out the complete archive, the musical equipment and household goods in storage. We loaded up with as much as we could in our vehicle, some guitars, the stereo, giant lava lamps, space echoes, and essential stuff and left England armed with our baggage certificate and a proper inventory of what we had in storage. The idea was that we would have the truck follow us to Portugal and we would drive back (via the ferry through Spain). It all went pear-shaped. The trip to England by ferry and vehicle was long and expensive and when we arrived back in Spain the Spanish customs wouldn’t let us in without paying 500€ in duty, the baggage certificate was useless. Then to make it worse, Covid hit again and France closed its borders so we couldn’t move the rest of the archive anyway. Disaster.

Here’s an impression of Phase 1:

 
So suddenly due to Covid, we’d lost our window to get everything in as Portuguese residents and the baggage certificate seemed to be useless as we had to go through other countries before we got to Portugal. So we thought, get another baggage certificate with the complete inventory from the Portuguese consulate in London, explain to the customs that we were unable to move everything in the allotted time due to Covid and get an extension. The consulate wouldn’t give us another baggage certificate as they’d already issued one and they took forever to tell us. Soon it was spring and getting hot and with the heat waves, we have been unable to move anything because it would be too hot in a truck. Records don’t like hot trucks. We got in touch with a lawyer who had a contact within the customs but he has told us that it doesn’t look good to import without duty despite it all being personal belongings.

So what do we do? We have another path and that is through our relationship with a well-known studio here in Porto and the mayor of Porto. We have been talking about the archive as a cultural treasure and bringing it here under the auspices of its cultural value. But getting hold of the mayor who has actually seen the building we will put everything in and has enthused about the idea, has not as yet signed off on it. At this point, we don’t know where we stand with the latest shipping costs in the fuel crisis and the status of moving everything here outside the resident’s year to move personal belongings. What I do know is that if I don’t move it the storage charges in England will be huge anyway as time goes by and all the while this magnificent collection lingers in boxes, waiting, vibrating.

The Archive when it was in Penzance:

 
So last but not least, as we try and find our way through all this, trying to communicate with the lawyers, the transport companies, the customs and the mayor, we are left not knowing if we will succeed in getting the archive here without horrendous costs even though it isn’t commercial goods – we could still be liable for a lot of money. This week we are attempting to get moving with meetings with lawyers, customs and the mayor so we can find out. Ultimately, I can only imagine that we should soon start another GoFundMe page for the potential costs of Phase 2. I hope this has explained to everyone who contributed to Phase 1 how all donations have massively helped to get us where we are and we have been most grateful for the support, but it’s not over yet.

Music today has been the latest album from Sharon Van Etten, which I bought on vinyl as I do with all her records, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong (2022). I only hope the way we are doing everything is the right way.

Music Of The Daze

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: Blog, News

Jun 15 2022

30th Anniversary of SPIRIT LEVEL | TO WHERE I AM NOW

Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of Spirit Level in 1992. One wonders where the time went. Thirty years since Spirit Level was released? It’s hard to imagine that the years have flashed by so quickly. The irony is that the more you do the quicker the time goes and the more time you need. I wonder why time stands still when you have nothing to do and how it’s possible we are already two weeks into Arktik Lake here in Sydney. Doing nothing goes slowly except when you go on an expensive holiday to Italy or Cyprus. Haha. Good night, after another intense day in the studio today, I have to go to sleep but please give Spirit Level another spin and bake it a cake.

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: Blog, News

Jun 04 2022

Marty Willson-Piper & Salim Nourallah present HOLD ON TO THE NIGHT (Official Video)

In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with Salim Nourallah and his band, Richard on keys, Joe on guitars, Jason on bass and drums, and John on drums and bass and in a co-production role with Salim and as a fifth member of his band. After Nashville we retired to Dallas where all but Joe live (he lives in San Antonio) and worked on overdubs, mixing was next…then the pandemic hit. Finally, the album is now mixed and will be released in early 2023 but before that, we have the See You In Marfa EP from those sessions released today on Bandcamp. A CD is also available and streaming will be from August 19th. The lead track on the EP will be Hold On To The Night, complete with a video featuring an animated yours truly and co-written (a bit) by me.

This whimsical video was done by an Australian videographer/musician, Jordan Thompson:

 
Here is the text from Salim’s FB page with the short version of how it all came together and below the text is a link to a magazine interview with the longer story. I hope you enjoy it.

It’s a big day here in Nourallahland. I’ve been waiting 3 1/2 years to release Hold On To The Night. We recorded it in Nashville in September 2018 with Marty Willson-Piper augmenting our band. Marty also helped me finish the tune. It’s part of a five-song EP available today on Bandcamp. Ten more songs from the sessions will be coming out on a full-length LP top of next year!

GLIDE MAGAZINE PREMIERE

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: News

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 14
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

  • spotify
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube

Liking the blog?

Tour Dates

Instagram

Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into their new New Mexico listening space 🌵 #nightjar #schoolkidsrecords
Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵 📷 @oliviaelek Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵

📷 @oliviaelektra 

#danelectro #danelectrobass #redeyerecords #pleasantrylane #pleasantrylanestudio
You usually don’t spend the day in the studio an You usually don’t spend the day in the studio and the night at a gig but if you put the studio next to the gig then there’s a greater chance. So @salimnourallah did just that, he put the gig and the studio next to each other and made it possible for me to spend the day recording and the evening playing live 🎵

📷 @drewliophoto 

#galacticheadquarters #happinessarecordlabel #pleasantrylanestudio #salimnourallah #oliviawillsonpiper
TO WHERE I AM NOW A visit in the studio today fro TO WHERE I AM NOW

A visit in the studio today from old mate Mark Burgess from The Chameleons who has been hanging in Texas recently. I was thinking about the two of us growing up in the northwest of England and all these years later finding ourselves in such an unlikely spot together. We fixed a few issues in the universe and I carried on recording some guitars until Mark had to leave. Mark had played at the Galactic Headquarters next to the studio this year as Olivia and I had four years ago and this reminded me to remind myself to remind everyone to remind their friends that we will be playing there with Salim on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, for the ultimate in intimate performance. You can get tickets here (follow link below).

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1045

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @salimnourallah 

#markburgess #thechameleons #chameleonsvox #pleasantrylanestudio #happinessarecordlabel #martywillsonpiper #oliviawillsonpiper #moatband
📷 @argirgirl 📷 @argirgirl
TO WHERE I AM NOW Sadness manifested in a buildin TO WHERE I AM NOW

Sadness manifested in a building, today we went to visit Paisley Park. Prince built Paisley Park in Chanhassen, about twenty minutes southwest of Minneapolis. It opened in 1987 and he recorded his later albums there. Apart from Prince, REM also recorded and mixed Out Of Time there, recording Kate Pearson’s vocal on Shiny Happy People vocal. Madonna had Prince play guitar on three songs from Like A Prayer and the two co-wrote Love Song, finishing it remotely due to Madonna not being able to stand the cold weather and the rather desolate location of the studio. Of course, there are things around but it’s not in the city and it’s not in the countryside, it’s in a suburb, no distractions, just what Prince wanted.

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1032

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Mailing List

In Deep Music Archive

Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
ORDER HERE

"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

MARTY WILLSON-PIPER © 2023 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller