Deja-vu? Footage from Govannen's St Patrick's weekend at the same 3 venues as last year! :-)
29th March 2024
jazz orient - once upon a time - new album release!
Jazz Orient (aka Re-Orient) - release their first album in 12 years.
CC, Baluji Shrivastav & Linda Shanovitch hadn't played together for 10 years due to other projects, and the pandemic.
By chance they all found they were in Leicester at the same time - with an evening to kill, and with instruments - so they went out for dinner, then on to CC's Aloft Studio and recorded 5 atmospheric world music improvisations. Just like that. The old magic was still there...
Chris Conway - piano, keyboards, acoustic 9 string guitar, voice, kalimba, tin whistle, singing bowl, see shaker, bells. Baluji Shrivastav - sitar, steel tongue drum, bodhran, voice, mouth percussion. Linda Shanovitch - voice,
shaker.
A new live songs album is released. Recorded at 2 concerts in Leicester UK - at the Unclocked Songs album launch concert at The Musician, and at the SoundHive Social event at Duffy's Bar. 16 songs - 7 are live versions of songs from the Unlocked Songs album. The rest are a mix of old favourites. For more info, go to the album webpage
It's currently available to hear ir download onBandcamp. - Other stores in a few weeks.
CDrs will be printed to order and will be available from Bandcamp. Have a listen...
17th February 2024
songs set - at winter sessions at the soundhouse, leicester
Twas good to play again at The Winter Sessions at The Soundhouse, Leicester - saw lots of chums too!
Had a couple of lyric memory lapses in my 30 minute set, but I did dig up some old songs and a new one.
I have a date in the diary for The Summer Sessions!
- Sat 20th July - 2.30pm
Thanks to Paddy McCullough for the photo - I used it on my nerw live album!
set - Train Of Thought, Easier, Leaf Boat Dreams, Monkeys On The Moon, Rejoin The Circle, The Wishing Tree, The Alien Jellyfish Song
2nd February 2024
songs set - at the uk filk convention, buxton
I played a 30minute set at the U.K. Filk Convention in exotic Buxton! (Filk = sci-fi songs). There hadn't been a Filk Con
since 2020, so it was great to see so many chums after a long time. The stage was in an amazing Victorian ballroom. It went pretty well, and some songs were nominated for a Sam Filk Award.
Weirdest thing for me at the Filk Con was when I sang Three Headed Girl in the one-shots, as I’d realised it was 10 years since I recorded it in the studio - which made me think it was 10 years old. A chum, Marilisa, reminded me that I sang it when I was U.K. Guest Of Honour exactly 20 years ago! (and now I think about it, it was on my 2010 Live album! ) Tempus sure doth fugit!!!
set - Bombarde tunes, The Alien Jellyfish Song, Love Song, I Wish I Was A Sasquatch, Rejoin The Circle*, Let’s Go To Outer Space, The Fish Song. *debut
26th January 2024
modulight - return to acamar - new live cosmic, electronic album
3rd Album From Modulight Electronic Duo A new live album - and our most cosmic yet! Evocative of a long space flight, it includes an amazing 30 minute track recorded live at The Church Of Sound, Nottingham. The 3 other tracks were recorded live at Quadelectronic events - but there is a continuous space travel vibe across the whole album.
Read more about the album HERE.
It's currently released to stream & download on Bandcamp and CDrs are made to order.
Chris Conway
theremin - moog etherwave pro.
effects - vocalist live pro, boss dd-20 giga delay, moog ringmodulator, & murf moogerfoogers.
acoustic - voice, irish whistles, kalimba, seed shaker.
Jez Creek
synthesizers - continuumini, hydrasynth, microfreak, op-1, opsix, sh-4d.
sampler - blackbox.
effects - dd-20, mini-kp, ms-70cdr
The Deep Ocean Dreams album string-instruments-only mix We had the theremin-only mix, now here is the string instruments only - oceans of strings create different oceanic dreamscapes. Overdubbing of zithers, Celtic harps & kanteles create waves of sound evocative of waves on the shore.
As Guest Musician - 4 (4)
Just The Dust - Beautiful Perfect Shining Boy
Bob Cheevers - Legends & Kings
Silke Kovar - Flüsterbar
Kenton Hall - Omniopath
New Songs Released - 0 (0) (7 written)
Notable Events
30 years since I first recorded & released my songs.
70 Million streams via Amazon of the track Deep Ocean Mind
from the 2006 Aramara Album Spa Gold. (now 150 Million in total!)
1.7 Million annual streams on Spotify just for music releases as “Chris Conway” - up from 1.3 Million streams.
A total now of 164 albums released under own name, bands, or equal collaborations.
30 (22) leaves caught = 30 lucky days next year! :-)
27th November 2023
theremin ocean dreams - new ambient electronic release
My most ambient theremin "flights" album yet.
This is the “theremin-&-effects-only mix” of my Deep Ocean Dreams album, - the foundation tracks, recorded live in the studio. I have kept the track order the same. It's been a while since my last theremin based album Electric Skies, and I thought these sounded good, and different to theremin recordings I made before. Read more about the album HERE.
To celebrate 30 years of Govannen, we are releasing a new recording of The Hothouse Flowers song "Sweet Marie". Founder member Bridget McMahon joins us on it. hear it on Spotify
Why this song?
When Chris Conway & Dan Britton first met Bridget & Adele McMahon, the sisters were in their teens, singing this song in sweet harmony, at an open mic at The Royal Mail pub in Leicester. In 1993 Dan & the sisters formed a band to play at Molly O'Grady's and other Irish pubs & clubs in the city. They didn't have a band name but were sometimes called "The McMahons".
At bigger occasions, like St Patrick's Night where a bigger sound was needed Chris joined them on keyboards, Irish whistles & vocals. When Chris was asked to make a Celtic album for Paradise Records, he brought the others on board, and came up with the band name Govannen, after a Celtic god. That album was Healing Waters. More albums followed, for the label and for themselves, and Govannen were away!
Recently, by chance, Bridget ran into Hothouse Flowers leader, Liam Ó Maonlaí on a train! She told him she and her sister used to sing Sweet Marie, and Liam said he'd like to hear it. So we recorded it, and and we will send it to him!
Bridget & Adele McMahon - vocals
Dan Britton - acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin, bass, harmony vocals
Chris Conway - piano, organ, harmony vocals
Roger Wilson - violin
Damon Clarridge - drums
Produced by Chris Conway & Dan Britton.
1st September 2023
vikki clayton + chris conway - concert report
Great to play with Vikki Clayton again after a gap of 5 years at The Musician, Leicester. Great crowd - 2 chums dove up fro south London to see us!.
My solo opening set flew by, so it was nice to play 4 of my songs with Vikki which she has recorded. It all came back, with the songs of hers & others we used to play as a duo, and in her band in the 90s.
solo set - Leaves, Turn Me Around, Love Space Station, Lifespell, Jazz Potato, Have A Little Fun, The Fish Song
with Vikki - I Want Something, Islands, Coming In To Land, Ten Years
17th September 2023
Melton Folk Festival - concert report
My first MFF! - 2 x 35 minute sets, each at a different Melton venue - an lots of other players doing the same, so I met lots of chums at, and between sets. The first was at a historic Tudor inn, and the second was a bohemian bar with comfy sofas, cushions, & standard lamps. Thanks to Josephine Allen for the photo!
I was due to play a 3rd set later on but it was cancelled - which suited me as I'd had enough excitement!
Anne Of Cleves set - Turn Me Around, Alien Salad Abduction, Long Day’s Waiting/Porth Ui Mhuirghaesa, Forget About You, Leaves, Ten Years.
Charlie’s Bar set - Lost In My Mind, Monkeys On The Moon, Lifespell, Wiccan Chicken whistles, Superheroes Never Die, The Fish Song
16th July 2023
deep ocean dreams - new dreamscapes/new age/ambient album
I sponsored a playlist on One World Music Radio, which features 3 tracks from my Deep Ocean Dreams album, and music by other artists.
Give it a listen HERE- if you do I get OWMRadio points that pushes me up their music charts :-)
1st July 2023
new song music video! - A Song About Nothing
15th May 2023
three gentle men 3 - conway/griffiths/parker - gig report
A great tunrout for 3GM3 - as before we each played a solo set.
Andy Griffiths played a perfect and precise set of his wonderful songs on a wide range of topics and brought on 3 chums for harmonies on his iconic "Last Orders". He also too some great photos (below) Steve Parker spent quite lot of his set telling anecdotes about playing in America years ago including playing at an orgy!
My set - I was quite tired by the time I came on. I had a memory lapse on the first song (Time To Talk) which I had to abandon and replace with Carousel. I rearranged my over ambitious set as I went along. I did debut "I Wish I Was A Sasquatch" which was tricky. I got there in the end. :-)
Setlist -Carousel, Have A Little Fun, Long Day's Waiting, Love Song, I Wish I Was A Sasquatch, Superheroes Never Die, Lost In My Mind, Jazz Potato, Forget About You, The Fish Song
6th May 2023
cc solo song set at the donkey, leicester
I got to play a little longer than the planned 30 minute set at The Donkey. My setlist continued evolving even while I was playing. Unusually for me I stood to play, as everyone else was. Feld odd but OK.
Thanks to Wake up promotions for organising the event, and to John Fryer, Hugh McManners & Calder for their great sets. Thanks to Louise for the photo!
Set - Science Fiction Eyes, Have A Little Fun, Lifespell, The Fish Song, Lost In My Mind, Rainbow Real (twin whistles), Superheroes Never Die (request), Life Magic & Love.
26th April 2023
song gig dates!
28th March 2023
memory wire - no longer thinking - album sampler
20th March 2023
Govannen's St Patrick's Vlog 2023
footage from Govannen's St Patrick's weekend in and around Melton Mowbray at The Grange, Aasforby Hill, Eye Kettleby Lakes, & The Boat Inn.
3rd March 2023
memory wire - no longer thinking - new ambient electronic release
Memory Wire releases our 12th album, and our first in nearly 3 years. My electronic ambient duo with Jim Tetlow has a wider range of electronic textures and more instruments than before. No Longer Thinking has a dreamy quality. Interspersed with the ambient sounds are beautiful 3 minimal music tracks. 2 tracks were recorded live at Quadelectronic events - the rest in the studio.
Chris Conway – theremin, synthesizer, piano, Irish whistles, electric 9 string guitar,
bombarde, voice, singing bowl, bells, chimes, kalimba, zither, effects, field recordings. Jim Tetlow – laptop with keyboard, guitar, effects, field recordings.
EPs & Singles Collection - 4 star review in RnR Magazine!
The excellent RnR Magazine have published a fab4 star review of my EPs & Singles Collection album!
CHRIS CONWAY - EPs & Singles Collection 1995-2020
**** (OBLONG)
Described by Conway as “quite an eccentric album', his EPs & Singles Collection 1995-2020 is in fact a perfectly reasonable attempt to round up various orphans and outtakes from a twenty-five-year period of prolific writing, recording and performance. (It perhaps ought to be noted, however, that he actually turned professional in 1989.)
Covering Conway's solo work, the first five tracks here originally comprised his Lost Tracks EP in 2002 and include 'Remember Me', a leftover from his superb Earth Rising album of 2002. His duo activity with Dan Britton is represented by 'Better Times In Sight' (also featuring Sally Barker). In a lighter vein there's 'Fake News' and 'other silly songs' ('The Space Accountant', anyone?), plus 'Jazz Potato from his work with Celtic/ceilidh band Govannen.
There's a whole bunch of other stuff from the multi-talented Conway, too (a theme for 2009 web TV series Raising Kayn, and 'We Have Life', an anthem sonq for his old alma mater Leicester University, for example), yet anyone unfamiliar with his music would nevertheless find this strong collection a coherent and satisfying whole.
For those who've followed his career with interest, Chris Conway's EPs & Singles Collection is merely the latest addition to an ever-expanding, always stimulatinq musical CV.
- David White - RnR Magazine
2022
. . .
2022 (last year in brackets) Gigs - 50 (14)
Celtic - 39 (8)
Jazz - 0 (3)
Songs - 6 (3)
Electronic - 5 (0)
Albums - 6 (5) Modulight - Liminal Vision
Little Introspections
EPs & Singles Collection
Earth Magic Traveller
When Pianos Dream
Chris Conway & The Talking Fish - Live 1994-96
As Guest Musician - 4 (3)
Just The Dust - Out In The Wind
Kenton Hall - Omniopath
Dan Britton - The Bear
Bob Cheevers & Dave Greaves - A Tendency To Exist
New Songs Released - 0 (12) (2 written)
Notable Events
- 50 Million streams via Amazon of the track Deep Ocean Mind
from the 2006 Aramara Album Spa Gold. -now 80 Million in total!
- 1.3 Million annual streams on Spotify just for music releases as “Chris Conway” - up from 1.1 Million streams.
- A YouTube with my Buddha Dreamer album (twice over) on it has passed 9.2 Million views!
- A total now of 161 albums released under own name, bands, or equal collaborations.
- 22 leaves caught = 22 lucky days next year! :-)
12th December 2022
chris conway at 60 - concert report
Chris Conway At 60 was an amazing concert! So many people came, some from far afield, and a lot of love ion the room! The night was divided into 3 sets. Here are the sets & setlists of each. Click here to see photos!
Chris Conway solo -
Leaves, Alien Salad Abduction, I Don’t Know, Lifespell, Green Clothes, Old Enough, Superheroes Never Die, Forget About You.
Chris Conway & The Conettes -
Ten Years, Love Song, A Little Bit Of Loving, Lost In My Mind, The Fish Song”, Love Space Station, Jazz Potato*.
Chris Conway & Dan Britton + Neil Rabjohn + The Conettes* (Kate Easton, Tonia Sorrell, Judith Silver)
-
Carousel, The Pioneer’s Call, Call Of The Wild, The Return Of Crazy Horse, Train Of Thought, Snow & The Fire, Wiccan Chicken flutes, Alien Jellyfish Song*,
encore - Three Headed Girl* *with the audience
***I made a Spotify Playlist of album versions of the setlist songs in the order they were played at C@60!
2nd December 2022
modulight - liminal vision - electronic duo's 2nd album
Modulight's follow-up album to Ritual Alchemy The Chris Conway/Jez Creek duo delves a little deeper on new album Liminal Vision with a wider range of textures than their debut album. But the blend of CC's theremin & effects and JC's banks of synthesizer is uniquely Modulight
The album is on Bandcamp now HERE Bandcamp - Spotify - Amazon
- Apple to follow soon
CDs will be printed to order and orderable on the album website, or from Bandcamp
02nd September 2022
little introspections - piano improvisations - new release
New release - Little Introspections - 25 piano improvisation miniatures is to be released on Bandcamp on Friday 2nd September, and other stores 2 weeks later.
For my 7th album of piano improvisations I decided to record very short inprovisations - just capture a feeling and stop. I recorded each one on separate nights, so I would approach each piece fresh.
On my previous piano improvisations albumSpring Full Moon Solitude, the tracks are quite sparse and atonal. This time I decided to return more to the tona, melodic improvisations of Nocturnes album intersperesed with the odd sparse track.
I got a nice mini-review in the July/Aug edition of RnR Magazine - especially noce as they don't usually cover this genre of music.
CHRIS CONWAY's Earth Magic Traveller is a world music journey of sorts. Inspired by patterns and the way they shape what is sometimes termed minimal music, the patterns of the natural world and the cycles of the seasons also factor in what is a compelling collection of mood music from the prolific, multi-talented Conway.
Mo Coulson contributes Celtic harp on 'Across The Winter Ocean Of Night'.
www.chrisconway.org
11th July 2022
EPs & Singles Collection - 1995-2020 - new compilation release
EPs & singles tend to get a bit lost, especially in online stores, so I've gathered mine together on an album spanning 25 years of songs!
Included are 15 tracks from... EPs - Lost Tracks
1995-99, Fake news and other silly songs. Singles - Raising Kayn, So Many Years, Better Times In Sight (ft Sally Barker & Dan Britton), & Me Time.
+ 2 bonus tracks
We Have Life (previously unreleased Leicester University Graduation Anthem)
Jazz Potato - from Govannen's
As I Roved Out Album.
I've didn't want it to look like my new songs album so i gave it a release date just after the most recent single Me Time - March 2020
- so you won't find it on the top of the digital stores pages. Bandcamp (CDs - made to order) Spotify Apple Music Amazon UK Album Webpage for liner notes & background (CDs - made to order)
11th June 2022
songs gig - Kontra Roots - report
First songs set in a while. Nice to be back at Kontra Roots Club, in Earls Barton
My set went down very well! I sold 7 CDs and had a gig offer from an acoustic clubs further afield.
Twas fun singing my songs thru a PA again. Playing with the dynamics and reverb!
Set - Ten Years, A Song About Nothing, Nightmare Journey, Love Song, Easier, Monkeys On The Moon, Out Of The Blue, Jazz Potato, Ghosts, Three Headed Girl.
27th May 2022
songs gig - Ju'BEE'lee event - report
Played a silly songs solo set as promised at Ju’BEE’ilee Event. A group of kids arrived during Rainbow Real whistle tune, and joined in with The Fish Song & Three Headed Girl!
I also jammed with Steve Cartwright on his set, and I played to some bees at an Apiary! Thanks to Grace for the photo
Set - Alien Salad Abduction, Nobody Loves me (Like I Do), Nightmare Journey, Let’s Go To Outer Space, Rainbow Real, The Fish Song, Three Headed Girl!
25th May 2022
earth magic traveller -talking about the album
how album came to be made, and how tracks were made.
14th May 2022
earth magic traveller -promo videos
album sampler video
unboxing video
3rd May 2022
earth magic traveller - new world music/new age album
A big cousin to the succesful Dream Traveller album A blend of world music instruments, minimal music, and subtle electronics, each track revealing a new sound vista. A journey through a day, and the seasons with hypnotic and evolving repeated patterns, on a huge cornucopia of instruments and including Earth field recordings.
Release dates
Friday 6th May - digital pre-release. (Bandcamp waves fees to artists on Bandcamp Friday) Monday 9th May - other streaming & download stores. When they arrive from duplicating - CDs
Instrumentation. Chris Conway - piano, keyboards, sampled bass, tin & low Irish whistles, bombarde, acoustic & electric 9 string, & nylon string guitars, metallophone, kalimba, kantele, zither, singing bowl, theremin, effects, voice, overtone chanting, bodhran, temple bells, chimes, percussion,
field recordings - rain, wind, children, thunder, ocean. Mo Coulson - Celtic Harp on 1 track
Collaborations/Compilations 13 (10)
12 albums with the United Isolation Ensemble Help Me With My Heart - Leicester Glenfield Hospital Fundraising CD
As Guest Musician - 3 (2)
Dan Britton - Dead Man’s Axe - single
Dan Britton - Come Back To Us Friend - single - 2021
Lorraine Bowen - Down To Earth EP - 2021
New Songs Released - 12 (8) A Song About Nothing, All About Me, Sleep Life Cycle, New Songs Now, Sky Hugh Seventh Heaven, Let's Go To Outer Space, Nightmare Journey, The Earth Child Returns, Ghosts, Be There, Strange Orbit Of Life, Raising Kayn.
Notable Events
- 30 Million streams via Amazon of the track Deep Ocean Mind from the 2006 Aramara Album Spa Gold.
- 1.1 Million streams on Spotify just for music releases as “Chris Conway” - up from 753,400 streams.
- A YouTube with my Buddha Dreamer album (twice over) on it has passed 9 Million views!
- I completed an A-Z pdf lyrics book of all 204 of my song lyrics & 4 lyric collaborations.
- A total now of 155 albums released under own name, bands, or equal collaborations.
- 40 leaves caught = 40 lucky days next year! :-)
9th December 2021
song lyrics book online
I’ve finished compiling the lyrics of all my recorded songs. I’ve been compiling for a year or so from files, ancient sheets of paper, CD booklets, and transcribed from audio. See the lyrics book HERE as a pdf.
Kishori
Amonkar - Kensington Town Hall,
London 2004
5
desert island discs
Terje
Rypdal - Descendre Terry Riley - Persian Surgery Dervishes Kishori
Amonkar - Born To Sing The Free Design - Stars Time Bubbles Love Eduard Artemiev - Soundtracks to Solaris, Stalker &
Mirror
5
fave movies
Solaris - (70s Tarkovsky version) The Time of Your Life The Gang's All Here Jab We Met You Can't Take It With You
5
fave tv shows
The
Prisoner
Star Trek (all)
Larry Sanders Show
Barney Miller
The Addams Family
1st
tv/movie crush
Mary
Tyler Moore
current
tv/movie crush
Deepika
Padukone
5
authors
Charles Harness
Bruce Sterling
Ian McDonald
Jack McDevitt
William Gibson