How to Listen

Unlike ordinary music, these pieces were

written with one or two people in mind—

their voice, their memories, their ‘sound’.

A personal song behaves differently.

It lands differently.

It asks something of you.

If you can, listen in a QUIET SPACE,

with headphones or a good sound system,

and without rushing to the next thing.

Let the words sit.

Let the silences speak.

And notice: is there someone you

think of as you listen?

I wrote this as an engagement present for Michelle. It is a love letter, and the idea for Your Special Song sprang from this.

A memorial song—written to hold a life that mattered. Music where grief rests and memory keeps breathing.

They were young and the world felt possible. ‘Arcadia’ became a way to preserve that feeling—something they could return to when life grows full and fast.

Commissioned work can also be performed live—held in real time, and shared with the people who matter.

For recipients Brian and Dan in their 30th anniversary year. This is a ‘mockup’—you can hear me voicing the lyrics for any necessary revisions. Singer and instruments still to be recorded.

‘My name is Noz. My grooming skills are cat-like just because.’ So begins my cabaret tribute to a much-loved American dingo. Noz is a rescue dog, hence the wistfulness of the verses.